The initial attack had worked to cut the creatures off from escape - one was flung to the side from the blow with the tail, the other - the other had been holding a [i]digimon[/i]. It had fallen during the chaos, but rapidly got back up on its feet. 

[color=a1f4bd]"Blazing Fire!"[/color] The little digimon cried, pelting the monster with sparks and embers that made it lower one arm as a shield. The little digimon spoke again, words that it neither cared to nor could understand, not before it was attacking again. The dragon lowered its hand to block the Terrier Tornado, snarling and swiping at the little digimon.

Large ears whipped against his body as he spiralled backwards through the air. [color=a1f4bd]“Rrrr…”[/color] Terriermon growled, clenching his teeth in the most ferocious manner he could muster through his little body. He wanted to look and make sure that his trainer had made a run for it, but there was no time. The big bully was going to need a lot more of his attention than he had hoped, [color=a1f4bd]“Blazing Fire!”[/color] He bolted, again.

But as the small flames fell upon the beast they merely charred its scales as their oily-slick surface dispersed them. The flames danced thinly but otherwise left their mark undamaged, and the dragon simply hissed in contempt. These constant interruptions and futile struggles were becoming increasingly tiresome, and as it felt one of the morsels trying to run away that frustration approached the limit- and broke through it with a fierce roar.

[b]Giga Crush![/b]

And with its front arms slamming down, a fissure trailed after the fleeing one, not big enough to fall in and be lost, but more than enough to catch their ankle. Feeling the specific rhythm of their escape break down into a panicked stumble and then a tell-tale slam into the ground beneath them, it allowed itself a moment to look for the Terriermon- and as the tell-tale green fire gave their position away, it made its move. 

While the dragon’s claws were powerful, bolstered as they were by the pistons it had accrued upon evolution, they weren’t its primary limbs for burrowing. Those were the limbs located above the beast’s shoulder blades, and their power came not from mechanical adaptation, but pure muscle. Strong enough to tear through Huanglongmon ore and whatever other stones and crystals were put before them, they bore something so vast through the ground with frightening speed and ease. 

And with the full force behind such an ability, it slammed one of those arms down on Terriermon.

The little horned digimon’s body crushed to the ground. He felt crunches throughout him, and everything went dark. All Terriermon could think about was Ryan. He had to open his eyes to save her, but there was too much pain pulsing through him. He thought he could hear her voice, but he was certain she had gotten away. [i]She had to have.[/i] He promised himself she wouldn’t get hurt. He promised himself. [color=a1f4bd]“r… y…”[/color] And, with one more stretch of consciousness, reassuring himself that Ryan was safe, Terriermon felt himself slip away into small pixels.

The dragon lifted its paw and brought it to its mouth as it approached the human, raking its rough tongue over the data spots left behind. The small digimon’s remains were... slightly fulfilling, but tasted nowhere near as good as the morsels here did. It spared the D’arcmon-like creature one last glance and then seized it in one hand. Even if it were a digimon conscious and capable of speech, it had no words to spare for its new meal. Instead, it brought them closer, stretching its jaw to fit them between its sharp teeth-

-and froze.

Its eyes darted about as its jaw trembled, and it became clear: [i]it had not chosen to stop[/i]. Something else had forced it to stop. And, as its vision strained to peer over its shoulder, the answer became clear: there was [url=https://wikimon.net/Nohemon]a scarecrow[/url], around the same height as the two teenagers, both stick-and-straw arms raised and aimed at the draconic digimon. Despite the painted face, the scarecrow was clearly grimacing, pushing all the energy it had into this feat of somehow keeping the monster’s jaw from slamming shut.

“Delta!” the scarecrow shouted before falling to one knee. The beast turned, a distorted growl rising in its throat-

[b]“Mega Dash Impact!”[/b]

Which became a startled-cum-indignant yell as something new still came hurtling towards it from just out of the range of its vision, lunging from the cloud of debris it had kicked up to crash into it with the force of a runaway Trailmon. Tightening its grip on its hard-won morsel, it swept a claw in the direction of the scarecrow before it turned to confront the latest pest to interfere with the hunt; but as its eyes narrowed with a fury against the light and the bruise and punctures left in its side by the attack, it saw nothing but dust.

A split-second later, however, it did feel something simultaneously stab into and snap shut like a serrated vice about the muscular flesh of its shoulder. Unable to see their assailant, the beast let loose a strangled roar, instinctively loosening its grip while trying to reach for the digimon now giving it so many issues. Those on the ground, however, would see what appeared to be [url=https://wikimon.net/Diatrymon]a creature halfway between a ratite and a theropod[/url] doing their best to [i]savage[/i] the far-larger creature, a jaw-like beak locking tight onto the base of the arm holding Ryan as it responded to their target’s movement by digging the metallic claws of its talons deeper into the beast’s flesh. 
 
The scarecrow seemed to see its chance - the beast snapped at the quick Champion now, while its claws were pried off the human, letting her fall to the ground. The scarecrow glanced at the other human, who looked out of it, while a plush crow descended from the forest canopy and alighted upon her shoulder. 

“Get back to the start- of.. the...” The scarecrow’s voice trailed off as she looked behind them, where the dragon had cracked open the earth to emerge from its burrow. She seemed to be doing quick calculations in her head, shoulders slumped and plush bird looking despondent. “Actually, stay down. It mostly detects movement.” She sighed, drawing an arrow with a smouldering cigarette speared on its head. “By the Host, if they knew [i]this[/i] is what we were gonna die for... [i]Derision Crow![/i]” And she raised the plush crow, who laughed with far more confidence than she demonstrated a moment ago. It didn’t wipe the stiff resignation from her pose, nor the fact that the running raptor-bird hybrid was merely distracting, not damaging the massive lizard digimon.