"SIDE WINDER!"
"YEAH! KEEP 'EM OFF!"

Numerous explosions cover the entire length of the bridge. They don't damage the infrastructure, but they force you to pull back into the safety of the partition with a yell.

"What the-"

"Pteramon! Get down!"

"KAIKOUSEN!"

A laser shoots through the doorway, cutting across the giant gap. You all duck unnecessarily, watching it slash through the textureless expanse of wall that's facing the great gate. Cackling emanates from outside, and you lift your wrist to bark into the comms in frustration.

[We found the core, but the Response team is here. They sent Pteramon, they're guarding the bridge!]

[Ooh, clever! Their ground troops would need to follow the pathways, but Pteramon can just look for the first gap and fly straight to the bridge from the outside!] Squid replies.

[Any way to deal with them?] You ask, irritation clear in your voice.

[Kaus Gammamon should be able to fight. Wind, where are you?]

[On my way up. We've reunited. There were some strong Digimon down there... Marnie, there was an Ultimate. But I think it got ripped apart.]

[By you?] You ask with urgency.

[Didn't see what. It was a Parrotmon, but we were long gone by the time the winner started celebrating. It's chaos down there. Exiting is going to be rough.]

Damn it. You look out at the Pteramon. You've made it to the core in good time, without stopping to gather. Sacrificing data wasn't all bad. It means you have an opportunity to cut mission time, which is equally vital. With the obstructions at the network exit point, you could do with some time saving. Clearing out the guards would prevent Wind from spending time on an aerial dogfight. Even just one less foe would help greatly.

The trouble is that you don't have ranged capabilities. At least, none that can compete with a skyborne Pteramon.

>Sit still and wait. You don't want to fight over a gaping abyss and risk your team members, nor your Digimon. This will sacrifice the lead time you've bought, but there's no risk to delaying until the rest of the team gets there.

>Engage. Once again, Porcupamon is the only one who can survive attacks from their weapons. Have him risk going onto the bridge again. If one flies close enough, Madness Broach could be used to knock it out of the sky. He'll have to do a lot of tanking.

>Try and bait them into entering the hallway, in order to take away their aerial advantage and delete the two in close quarters. You need some way to trick, taunt, or convince them. There may be .apps that could work, like your last holographic decoy, or something a Digimon could do. (Write-in)