Digimon Codex

Chapters

New Partners and New Situations
A Rocky First Fight
How to be a Digimon
Digital Exploration
A Tricky Opponent to Fight
Making Friends and Making Enemies
The Castle in the Clouds
Battle Down the Mine
Digital Battle of the Sexes
Like it Ore Not, The Hunt is On
Playing for Keeps
Crushing Loss
A Rematch To Remember
Avians and Insects
Taking it to the Ex-Treme
The Knight's Tale
Royal Knighting
Memories on the Track
The Dragon Soul Stones
A Promise Kept
The Ace of Codex
Battle for the Champion Title
Taste of the Forbidden Fruit
Double Battle, Double Trouble
The Storm of Friendship
Beach Day Mystery
The Battle of Milk and Cookies
Mirror Mirror
Target Locked
Burying the Hatchet
A Rapid Battle
Hook Line and Sinker
Belly of the Beast
Cold Reliable
Fighting Blind
An X-traordinary Turn of Events
Rosewell that Ends Well
Gearing up for War
Silence in the Library
Eclipse Battle
Beauty and the Beast
Canyon Bombardment
True Strength
The Great Dragon War's Climax
Flash V Shining: Rematch Time
Now's the Final Fight
Let's Get Digital
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
Dark Waves Rising
In a Land Before Time

New Partners and New Situations

Back in the real world, Flash and Micro had headed over to the glasses wearing teen's house.

Micro's parents weren't around, which meant the pair could play music as much as they wanted without anyone yelling at them to keep the music down. Currently, Flash was strumming his guitar as Micro was playing his theremin. Despite how unusual it appeared, the two instruments together made a rather rocking sound.

When the song came to an end, the pair struck a pose before laughing at this. They then moved over to where their drinks were sitting and took a swing. As they did, Flash looked at the Digivice still laying on a nearby table. He frowned, wishing he knew how long it was gonna take for his avatar to be verified.

Micro saw this and fought back a laugh, wishing he could tell Flash what was really happening. But he knew Flash would just think he was nuts. "Don't worry. A lot of players end up spending hours waiting for their avatar to get verified. But once it is, you'll realise it was worth the wait."

Flash frowned, but decided to trust Micro and put the Digivice down. As he moved over to grab his guitar, Micro turned to his own device. "Virtual me. You better get Flash's avatar back before he gets mad. Wonder what you're doing over there."

Back in Codex, Micro and Tentomon returned to the floating island and as soon as they did, they ran towards the nearest robot.

"Hey!" He cried, grabbing its attention. "I need to talk to a Codex Commander." The robot looked at him and tilted its head, clearly confused. "Come on! Where's the nearest Commander!? I need to talk to them!" The robot beeped a few moments and as it did, a flash of light occurred behind him.

From this light, a lean figure with tanned skin and spiky brown hair appeared. He was wearing a white robe, with brown trim, and had a calm yet serious demenous. "Mr Chips." Micro stopped and turned to him, "please refrain from damaging our robots. They're not easy to fix."

"Sorry," Micro gulped, "but this was an emergency. I really needed to talk to you. Mr..."

"Gennai," he replied. "Now what seems to be the problem?"

"It's my friend, Flash Sentry!"

"Ah, yes. The new recruit you recommended. Is he having a hard time adjusting to all this?"

"No," Tentomon told him, "he managed to get over the shock pretty quickly. But he's gone missing." This surprised Gennai, and he wasn't the only one. Someone had been walking by when they heard this.

"What do you mean, missing?"

"We were going to Primary Village," Micro explained. "I showed him how to transport there and saw him teleport away. But when I got there, he was nowhere to be seen. And Elecmon hadn't seen him anywhere."

"That is worrying," Gennai frowned. He snapped his fingers and suddenly, a holographic screen and keyboard appeared. "A Fresh Level player with no Digimon in his arsonal would be an easy target for any Digimon they come across. If he's not in Codex or Primary Village, he could be in serious danger."

"Can you find him?" Micro asked.

"I'm looking for him now. Let's just hope I can find him before it's too late. And let's also hope he's in an area that doesn't have any strong Digimon." Hearing this, Micro and Tentomon both shared a worried look. Meanwhile, the other person listening in also seemed worried, along with the little dragon besides him.

Flash could hardly believe what he was seeing, as light flowed out of the rock he had freed the Digimental Of Courage from.

This day had just been one insane moment after another. First, he discovered the Digital World and Digimon were real. Then he was accidently transported to another area of the Digital World away from his friend before getting on the bad side of a grumpy Digimon, leading to him taking cover in this cave. And now, he had to sit there and watch as something formed out of the light pillar.

That something took the shape of a blue lizard Digimon, with a white belly and mouth. A yellow V was also located on his forehead, his eyes opening to reveal they were bright red.

He turned towards Flash before leaping out of the light, "YAHOO!" He landed in front of him before jumping around the confused teen, "free at last! Free at last! You moved the Digimental!" He turned to Flash and held out a hand. "Hi, I'm Veemon. But you can call me Veemon."

"Err...hi." Flash took his hand, shaking it carefully. "Flash." He frowned, "Veemon? I've never heard of a Digimon with that name before."

Veemon smirked, "well you've just met one." He then started stretching out his back, "and I'm really glad you let me out of there. My body feels like it's been stuck in there for a millenium."

"What were you even doing in there?" Flash asked, as Veemon turned to the rock and scratched his head.

"I have no idea."

"What? How can you not know about being stuffed inside a rock? What's the last thing you remember before being freed?"

"Nothing." He turned back to Flash. "I can't remember a thing. All I know is that my name's Veemon, I was stuck under the Digimental of Courage and only someone with a great amount of courage in their heart could move it and free me. So thanks for that."

Flash was really confused. Why was Veemon stuck under this Digimental and why was the cave hidden away? Had someone found this place before and been unable to move the egg? Or was Flash specifically brought to free Veemon? So many questions, so few answers.

It was then that the entire cave started shaking, causing Flash and Veemon to fall to the ground.

They both looked up and when they did, Flash gasped when he saw Monochromon breaking through the hole in the ceiling. Once it had its head inside, it fired its attack towards them. "WOW!" Flash leapt away, the fireball exploding on the ground. "RUN!" Flash screamed, jumping up to his feet and high tailing it.

Veemon also ran, clearly wondering what the heck was going on. "Why is that thing attacking us?"

"Because it thinks I'm the one that threw something at it. Stupid Numemon." They reached end of the tunnel and as they approached, the wall went static again and vanished.

They ran through it before it reappeared, the pair panting as they tried to think of a way to get back to safety. "I need to find a way to defend myself," Flash groaned as Veemon turned to him.

"You have one." He pointed at the Digimental. "If you can unlock the Digimental of Courage, I'll be able to Digivolve and fight against whatever might attack us."

"You can Digivolve with this?" Flash asked, staring at the egg-shaped object. Veemon nodded, "but how do I unlock it?"

"You have to use your courage. The courage that allowed you to move it in the first place. You have it within you, but you have to dig deep and not let your fear control you." As he said that, the wall suddenly exploded and massive chunks of rock went flying towards them.

Veemon quickly tackled Flash out of the way, as the rocks flew passed them and smashed through a few trees. As they did, Monochromon stampeded out of the cave.

"Flash!" Veemon got up, "you gotta run!"

"You can't beat that thing on your own!" Flash cried, as Veemon charged towards the dinosaur Digimon.

"Vee-Headbutt!" He shot off the ground and propelled himself through the air, attempting to slam into Monochromon. But the Champion Digimon simply swung its horn around and knocked Veemon away. "Augh!" He crashed through a tree, falling to the ground in a heap.

Flash gasped at this, as Monochromon turned back to him. Flash slowly stepped backwards, as he wondered if this was gonna be the end. The Monochromon charged and Flash could only stand there, only for a blue blur to suddenly latch itself onto the dino's horn.

"Hey!" Veemon cried, "I'm over here! Focus on me!" Monochromon swung its horn around, trying to dislodge him. But Veemon held on tight.

"Get out of there!" Flash yelled, but Veemon didn't listen and continued to hold onto the horn. "Brave little guy!" He knew he should use this chance to escape. To run away whilst Veemon was distracting it. "I mean...it's not like he's real. He's just a bunch of data given form." But as he said that, Micro's voice echoed in his head.

"Everyone thinks what you're thinking their first time. That this is just some kind of simulation or VR scenario, but it's not. It's real and so are the Digimon. You might not believe it now, but eventually you'll realise this is all real."

"He's...real," Flash whispered. "He's real because if he wasn't, he wouldn't be trying so hard to help me." Veemon was finally tossed off of Monochromon, the little dragon slamming his head into a tree and falling to the ground. When he didn't move, Flash got worried. "No!"

Monochromon moved towards Veemon, looking ready to stomp him out. Flash knew it was insane, but he didn't care.

All the fear he had previously felt washed away, as he charged forward. "Leave him alone!" As he said this, the symbol on the Digimental began to glow. The dinosaur turned to see him and charged forward, Flash barely managing to leap to the side to avoid getting crushed.

He rolled along the ground as Monochromon slid to a stop, then turned to glare at him. "Volcanic Strike!" The fireballs exploded from his mouth, Flash jumping away from them but the explosion still knocked him flying.

"Augh!" Flash crashed into the ground, rolling along it before jumping to his feet. "That the best you go?" The Digimon growled, "come on! I'm not afraid of you." The symbol glowed brighter, "you want some? COME AND GET ME!" Monochromon charged at him, its horn pointed right at him. Flash stood his ground, not daring to let the overgrown iguana terrify him. And as he did, the symbol exploded with light.

Monochromon suddenly found itself crashing into a dome of orange light, which hand completely encased Flash.

The teen looked around, then noticed the light from the Digimental and looked it over. As he did, he could feel something awaken inside of him. Words formed in his head, Flash realising he could unlock the power hidden within. And as Monochromon slashed its horn on the dome, he held the egg up. "Digi-Armor...ENERGIZE!" The symbol burst into light, which consumed the Digimental and morphed it into a light stream that shot towards Veemon. As soon as it hit Veemon, he let out a gasp as his eyes opened.

"RAAAAAAH!" He pushed himself up to his feet, as his body burst into flames. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to...!" His body expanded within the fire and began more lean and stocked. When the flames extinguished, he was revealed as a six foot humanoid dragon with red flame patterned armor and the symbol on his back. "Flamedramon, The Fire of Courage!"

Flash could hardly believe it. Veemon really had Digivolved. And he had helped him do it.

His celebration didn't last long, since with the Digimental gone the barrier protecting him had also vanished. As such, Monochromon could attack him again. And it did.

But as it prepared to crush him under foot, Flamedramon exploded off the ground and shot towards the dinosaur. He slammed his body into its side, knocking it away from Flash. Once he landed, he reached around and grabbed Flash. He then did a massive jump, causing them to go flying up towards the top of the rocky cave they had just been on.

"Stay here!" He put Flash down and leapt back towards the ground, where Monochromon was picking itself up. As he landed, the dinosaur charged forward. Flamedramon held his ground and managed to duck under the opponent's horn and grab him around the neck, then used all his strength lift Monochromon up and slam him into the ground.

The dinosaur was rattled by this and as Flamedramon jumped back, it let out a roar. Flamedramon roared back as he charged, Monochromon's mouth filling with fire. "Volcanic Strike!" The many fireballs exploded towards Flamedramon, who simply punched them away with his gauntleted claws.

He got in close and tried to punch Monochromon, but the dinosaur managed to hook its horn into his arm and throw him into the air. He cried out, as Flash watched in fear. But Flamedramon quickly managed to regain control and straighten himself in midair.

As he did, his entire body burst into flames. "Fire Rocket!" He dived down, heading straight towards his opponent like a giant flaming meteor.

"Yeah!" Flash cheered, "show that overgrown gecko who the boss is!" Monochromon fired the Volcanic Strike attack, but the flames merely bounced off the Fire Rocket and increased its power. Eventually, he smashed right into the dinosaur and caused an explosion that sent the beast fly.

Flamedramon leapt out of the explosion and jumped up towards the cliff, landing next to Flash as Monochromon lay upon the ground. They both looked down, as it pushed itself out of the crater it form. They wondered if the dinosaur would still attempt to attack. But instead, it turned to stagger away.

"It's leaving," Flash cheered as Flamedramon smirked.

"Heck yeah it is!" The dragon Digimon nodded, "thanks to you unlocking the Digimental." Flash smiled, then remembered something Micro had told him.

Now that he wasn't in absolute danger, he decided to take out his Digivice and scanned him. When he did, the Armor Digimon's stats appeared.

Name: Flamedramon
Level: Armor
Type: Free
Attribute: Fire
Species: Dragon Man
Family: Dragon's Roar, Nature Spirits, Metal Empire, Nightmare Soldiers

"Wow," Flash smirked as he stared at the information given to him. He had his first Digimon Scan. But this didn't mean he was out of the Fresh Level yet.

As soon as he finished scanning him, Flamedramon's body was consumed by light before he shrank. When the light flew off of him, Veemon was revealed as the Digimental reappeared between them.

Flash grabbed the egg before it hit the ground, the teen looking it over and feeling the power within it. "This is so cool." But as amazing as this had all been, he was still trapped somewhere in the Digital World with no way out. "I gotta find a way to get back. But how?"

Before he could think of an answer, a loud roar filled the air as they all turned to see something push its way through the trees. A giant red T-rex Digimon with green spikes.

"Tyrannomon!" Flash cried, as another T-rex appeared. This was followed by another and another and another, until five of these titanic behemoths stopped towards them. And unlike Monochromon, they were so big that Flash and Veemon were directly in their line of sight.

The Digimon roared at them, Flash realising he was about to become lunch.

"Look out!" Veemon pushed him out of the way, right as the lead Tyrannomon unleashed its Fire Breath attack. The flames flew over them and the heat was almost unbearable. When it finally ended, they both looked up and saw the other Tyrannomon about to attack.

"You need to Digivolve again!" Flash told Veemon, only to hear a sound coming from the little dragon's stomach.

"Sorry," Veemon moaned. "That last fight really drained me. I don't think I have the energy to Digivolve." Flash gulped as he looked up at the Tyrannomon, which were all about to blast them. But before they could...

"Cyber Nail!" A dark blur shot passed the Tyrannomon and they roared in pain, as the blur shot passed again and caused them to all stagger back and hold areas of their body that were starting to bleed.

The cause of these slashes finally appeared in front of Flash and Veemon, it being a strange Digimon in black rubber armor that had spikes on its elbows, claws and crimson torn wings.

"Wow," Flash whispered, "a Cyberdramon." The Ultimate Level Digimon shot forward and slashed at the Tyrannomon, moving too fast for any of them to react to and stop. When it reappeared in front of the pair, its claws turned green.

"Desolation Claw!" It slashed them through the air, creating trails of green energy that then formed into an orb it held it each hand. Bringing them together, it thrust the now single orb forward and it exploded into a beam of white light.

The beam split into multiple beams, which collided with the Tyrannomon and made them all roar in pain as they were sent staggering back.

Cyberdramon turned to the pair and flew down, grabbing them both in its arms. "Come on!" He cried, as he flew straight up into the air and over the small mountain as the Tyrannomon all recovered from the attacks. Flash and Veemon both felt terrified, fearing they had gone from one dangerous situation to another.

"Hmm," Flash gulped, "excuse me. You're not...planning on eating us or anything, are you?"

"What?" Cyberdramon looked down at him, "of course not. We came to save you."

"We?" Flash asked, before hearing a voice coming from up ahead.

"FLASH!" He looked ahead and was surprised to see a giant blue beetle Digimon he knew as a Kabuterimon was flying towards him, with Micro riding its black helmet.

Micro looked happy to see him, as Kabuterimon and Cyberdramon flew down towards the ground. "You're okay!" Micro leapt down off the beetle, as it transformed back into Tentomon. "What the heck are you doing here? We were terrified something happened to you."

"Something did happen to me!" Flash cried, "instead of going to Primary Village, I got warped here and attacked by a bunch of Digimon. I tried to use the return function, but it didn't work. What the heck happened?"

"I apologise." Flash jumped as someone suddenly appeared. That someone was Gennai, who smiled at him. "I'm afraid some kind of glitch has entered this area of the Digital World. This glitch caused a few issues and one of them was you getting pulled out of the transport stream and dumped here."

"Huh." Flash was a little confused by this, but then he remembered the wall that kept glitching. "Could it have something to do with this?" He held up the Digimental and Gennai's eyes went wide when he saw it.

"Where did you get that?" He asked, only for a light to catch their attention.

They all looked around to see Cyberdramon being consumed by light. He then shrank down before actually splitting in two with the light then fading, revealing a pair of individuals. One of them was a small purple dinosaur Digimon with yellow and red trim and a pair of small wings on his arms. Flash realised this was a Monodramon, a Digimon he had always wanted to play but could never get the card for.

But it was the other light that really caught his attention, as it turned into a man with white skin and blue hair. He was wearing a purple shirt under a white overcoat and black pants.

Flash was shocked, "where did you come from?"

The man laughed, "I was Cyberdramon. You really are a newbie, huh?"

Flash frowned as Micro stepped forward. "Flash, this is Shining Armor. One of the best Codex players around. He and his partner heard about you being lost and offered to help." Flash nodded as he looked down at Monodramon, realising he was the Cyberdramon that had saved him.

"Thanks for the assist."

"You shouldn't thank me," Monodramon smiled. "Shining was the one who saved your butt." Flash was still confused, as Shining laughed.

"Biomerge Digivolution. It allows a human and their Digimon partner to merge and Digivolve together, with the human normally being the one in control of the body."

"Huh," Flash looked impressed, "that's cool." He was still getting used to the whole, being a digital life form. Hopefully, the next time he dived into the Digital World he could try this.

Gennai looked like he was about to speak up, but in that moment he noticed Veemon standing besides Flash. And when he did, his eyes went wide. "Where did you find a Veemon?" Flash looked shocked by this, as Gennai knelt down and looked the blue lizard over. "I can't believe it. I thought the Veemon species had gone extinct."

Veemon looked a little awkward. "Well...I'm still here." He pointed at the object in Flash's hand, "I was just trapped under that."

Gennai stared at the Digimental and nodded. "I see. So another ancient species has been freed."

"Ancient species?" Flash asked, as the others nodded.

Gennai explained. "Veemon is a species of Digimon that hasn't been seen for a millennia. It was believed they had all gone extinct, the data needed for a Digimon to become one lost to time. And he wasn't the only one. There have been other Digimon from the ancient past, long thought gone but in truth were merely waiting along with their Digimental."

Flash looked at the egg he had used to Digivolve Veemon, as the others also looked it over. "Wow," Micro smirked, "A real Digimental. I've seen scans of them, but never seen the real thing."

"There are others?" Flash asked, as Shining nodded.

"So far, four Digimentals have been discovered. Love, Kindness, Knowledge and Light. If we add yours to the mix, that makes five."

"But only two of them had a Digimon hiding beneath it," Gennai nodded. "Both of them were ancient Digimon who, like Veemon, were thought long extinct." He knelt down in front of Veemon and patted him on his head, "you are the last of your kind." Veemon was clearly upset about this, "for now."

"Huh?" Veemon looked up at him, "what do you mean...for now?"

Gennai smiled, "you think we'd let such an amazing species like you become extinct again? If you'll let me, I can take a copy of your data and return it to the Digital World's main information stream. That data will then become the blueprint for more Veemon who can appear. I'm sure there are a few In-Training Digimon with the potential to become a Veemon." Veemon liked the sound of this. "Well, we'd best be getting Flash back to Codex before anything else decides to try and eat him." Veemon didn't like the sound of this.

"I guess," Flash nodded before turning to Veemon. "Well, I guess this is it for now. Hope we meet again someday."

"Yeah," Veemon frowned. Clearly, he didn't want to say goodbye to Flash.

Shining noticed this and smirked. "You know Flash. If you moved that Digimental, it must mean you were meant to meet Veemon." Flash looked at him in confusion. "And it's clear Veemon likes you." Veemon nodded, Flash smiling as he patted him on the head. "So why not take him with you back to Codex."

"How?" Flash asked.

"Make him your partner." This surprised the pair. "That way, Veemon would be allowed in Codex and you guys can continue to hang out together. And if it doesn't work out, you can go your separate ways with no hard feelings."

Flash turned to Veemon, who smiled at him. "I like that idea. Let's be partners."

Flash still didn't look sure, but then smirked. "Sure, why not." He took out his Digivice, "how do I do this?"

"There's a function called partner scan," Gennai explained. "Activate it and it'll connect to the next Digimon you scan." Flash smirked and looked it over, eventually finding the option and activating it. He then pointed it at Veemon and pulled the trigger, causing a beam to fly out and hit him.

Veemon stared down at the red light on his chest, as his information was scanned and a connection was made between him and the Digivice. Eventually, the scan completed and Flash's Digivice beeped.

Connection Established. Veemon data now uploaded and registered.

It then switched to show the information on Veemon, just like it had shown for Flamedramon when Flash had scanned him.

Name: Veemon
Level: Rookie
Type: Free
Attribute: Neutral
Species: Tiny Dragon
Family: Dragon's Roar, Nature Spirits, Virus Busters, Unknown

Several more stats also appeared on the screen, showing Veemon's Attack, Defence, Special Attack and Defence, HP and even Speed. Flash didn't know if any of the numbers on here were good, but he liked to think they were.

"Wow," Flash whispered, "my very own partner Digimon." As he said that, an alert came up on his Digivice. Words then appeared, "congratulations on entering the In-Training Level."

Micro smirked, "your first Digimon was your partner. I think you might be the first Codex Player that's ever done that." Flash smiled, he and Veemon turning to one another and high-fiving. "Alright, let's get you back to Codex."

"How?" Flash held up his Digivice. "When I tried to use the return function, it didn't work." The others looked confused and all quickly brought out their Digivices, Gennai summoning his holographic computer again.

"I see. Must be part of the glitch. Give me a second. I'll send you a patch." He typed away at it before Flash's Digivice beeped, the teen watched as it went blank for a second before rebooting. "Alright, that should have fixed it. Try returning now.

"Alright," Flash hit the return button on the location page before raising the Digivice high and pulling the trigger. As he did, he and Veemon exploded into a flurry of ones and zeros. These numbers shot into the sky, as Micro and Shining did the same. Gennai simply vanished as the pair transported themselves back to Codex.

Flash and Veemon both flew through the tunnel, Flash worried he would end up being blown away somewhere else again.

But to his relief, when he reached the end of the tunnel he found himself reappearing back in the crazy world he had started this whole day from. Veemon was still standing beside him, looking around in amazement.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Veemon nodded as Micro and Shining appeared at the Digi-Port.

Shining smiled as he saw Flash and Veemon looking ready for anything together. "Well, this is where we part ways." Flash turned to him, "hope your little misadventure hasn't put you off Codex." He began to walk away, Monodramon going with him. "Maybe we'll battle one day."

"Maybe we will," Flash smirked as Micro laughed.

"Yeah right." Flash looked at him, "Shining's the best. Literally. He was one of the first Codex players online. He was the first to make it into the Rookie, Champion and Ultimate levels. And pretty soon, he's gonna be the first Mega Level Player. Don't take this the wrong way, but you battling against him is something that's not gonna happen for a long, long time."

Flash frowned, but he wasn't gonna let that get the better of him. If Shining really was that great, he was gonna find a way to get good enough to battle him. And with the Digimental of-

"Huh?" He looked into his hands and saw the egg was gone, his eyes going wide. "Oh no. Where's the Digimental?"

"Relax," Micro told him, "go into your item box." Flash looked at his Digivice and saw said window, pressing it and finding it opened a page with multiple empty squares. Only one was full of something. The Digimental. "See. That's your item box. Anything you find in the Digital World will be stored in there. You can't physically touch it here, but you can still do a bunch of things with it."

"Cool," Flash nodded. He quickly realised that even if he wanted to face Shining, he was still a newbie and needed to learn as much as he could about this world. But first things first, he needed to log out so the real him knew what the heck this all was. "So I just press the top button, right?" Micro looked at him and nodded.

"Yup. You press it and it sends a signal to the real you, who'll press the same button. Then, all the memories you made will be uploaded into the real you's brain."

"Cool," Flash smirked before pressing the button. Micro did the same and a few seconds later, the pair and their Digimon exploded into data that was sucked into the Digi-Port's lights.

Back in the real world, Flash and Micro had taken a break from jamming and were currently making lunch in Micro's kitchen.

Flash had just finished a ham and egg sandwich, when he suddenly noticed the light on his Digivice glowing. "Hey!" He picked it up, "my avatar's been processed." As he said that, Micro's Digivice also glowed. The pair picked them both up and pressed the buttons at the exact same time.

Flash's eyes suddenly went wide, as memories of everything his avatar did were streamed right into his head. Going to Codex, learning Digimon were real. Meeting Veemon. It all flowed into his mind.

When the upload was complete, Flash blinked as the memories settled. They were so vivid and clear, it was as if he really had lived them all himself. He now had two sets of memories, one of his time on earth and these ones. Both memories were completely ingrained in his mind, making his feel like he had lived a lifetime in just a few hours.

"Dude," he finally stated as Micro smiled.

"I know."

"Dude," Flash turned to him.

"I know."

"Du-"

"Flash!" The teen looked down at his Digivice and was surprised when he saw Veemon on the screen. "Hi!" The blue dragon waved, "er...where am I?"

"Relax, Veemon." Flash turned to Micro's Digivice and saw it had Tentomon on it. "This is where you'll be whenever you and Flash aren't logged into Codex."

"Oh. Okay." Veemon looked around at everything he could see through the screen, "so that's the real world?" Flash spun him around and showed Veemon the kitchen. "Pretty cool."

"And there's loads more to show you," Flash smirked. "But I think we should get back in there."

"Already?" Micro asked, "guess I shouldn't be surprise. You're always eager to learn everything you can about something new. Alright. Let's get going!" They both nodded and pressed the button, the pair of them once again transporting their avatars into Codex. As soon as they did, the pair saw their Digivices go blank and Flash frowned.

"Now what?"

"Now we do whatever we want whilst we wait for our avatars to come back. We can keep jamming, go to the movies or do our homework so it's all ready for school." Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "What, I like to get it out of the way so I can enjoy myself." Flash laughed as they finished their lunches.

As soon as Flash and Veemon returned to Codex, the teen looked around the place with wonder. It was still hard to believe that all this was virtual, even him.

Micro and Tentomon arrived as well, Flash turning to them with an eager smirk on his face. "Now that I'm an In-Training player, I can battle in the stadiums. Right?"

"Almost," Micro nodded. "But first, you need to build a deck." Flash and Veemon looked confused, but Micro gestured for him to follow. They headed over to a cafe, where the pair sat down and ordered some burgers. "The best part about this place. You can eat anything you want and not gain a single pound. You'll find a lot of overweight players lose a ton because they're eating healthy food in the real world and enjoying the virtual food here."

"Girls must love that," Flash laughed with Micro nodding. "So how do I build a deck?"

"First things first," Micro took out his Digivice. "We need to get you registered as my friend. That way, we can communicate even if we're not in the same place."

"That could have come in handy earlier," Flash frowned as he opened the page. The pair pointed their Digivices at each other and pulled the trigger, the lasers flying out and hitting one another. Once that happened, they both got a new window inside the page with each other's names.

"There," Micro nodded. "Now that that's done, we can find one another and call whenever we need each other." Flash nodded before exiting the page, then noticing the deck tab.

Activating it, he found it opened up a page with two buttons inside. One said 'New Deck', whilst the other said 'Edit Deck'. But the second button wasn't highlighted. "Alright, so how do I make a deck?"

Micro smirked. "First, hit the new deck button." Flash did so and it brought up an image of several boxes in a row, each connected to the other by a line. Each box had a letter inside, the far left having an R, followed by C, U and finally M. Below them were two other boxes, one with an I in it and the other with BG inside. "Alright, first you need to pick what Digimon you wanna start the deck from."

"Huh?"

"Some people build decks by selecting one of the higher Levels first. Either the Mega or Ultimate Level. They then work backwards. But since you only have Veemon, you'll only be able to put him in your deck."

"But I don't just have Veemon," Flash pointed out. Micro and Tentomon looked surprised by this.

"He scanned me when I was Flamedramon," Veemon smirked. "Before he made me his partner."

"You scanned an Armor Form before you scanned your Rookie?" Flash nodded, Micro laughing. "Only you would do that. Alright, then you can add Flamedramon. First, click the Rookie box." He did so and suddenly, another window popped open. This window had a bunch of empty boxes in it, with two of them filled. Both had Veemon, though one was surrounded by a golden border. "Those are all your scans. If you pick the Veemon in the golden box, that means you're using a partner scan. That'll make it so Veemon merges with you when you fight."

"Like what Shining did?"

"Exactly. Veemon won't be able to do anything, but he'll be able to give you advice and you'll get another Security with him." Flash didn't know what Security was, but he knew Micro would explain eventually.

Flash selected the Partner Scan and it returned to the deck page, the image of Veemon now inside the R box. "Now I pick Flamedramon, right?" He pressed the C box, but nothing happened. "What's going on?"

"If you wanna use an Armor Digimon, you're gonna need to place the needed Digimental into your item box."

"Got it." He pressed said Box and the item page appeared, the Digimental of Courage ever present. Selecting this item, he smiled when the Deck Page reappeared with Digimental in the box and the C one illuminated. He pressed it and sure enough, the Flamedramon scan was waiting for him.

Once he had that scan locked in, he assumed his deck was complete. But then he noticed the BG box and asked Micro what that was.

"Battle Gear," Micro explained. "Weapons and gadgets that give the Digimon using them new abilities. Some are laser blasters, others are drills and other stuff. Each Battle Gear is specifically designed so it can only be used by a certain Digimon Family."

"Cool," Veemon smirked, "I wanna try one."

"But I don't have any Battle Gear," Flash told him.

"Hang on," Micro started typing away at his Digivice. "I managed to get my hands on a double of something. You said Veemon was part of the Dragon's Roar Family, right?"

"And Flamedramon."

"Great. Then this'll be perfect." He hit the button and suddenly, a window popped up on Flash's Digivice.

Micro Chips has sent you a present.

Flash pressed the accept and to his surprise, it took him to the Battle Gear page where he found an item was now in it. Said item was something called a Dragon Booster, Flash smirking but then frowning. "Thanks, but I wouldn't feel right having you hand me something."

"Don't worry about it," Micro smirked. "We're friends, so it's what we do." Flash still didn't feel right.

However, in that moment he realised there was something he could do. "Hang on." He went to his item box and found the Digimental, tapping it and seeing it had three options. Send, delete and scan. He hit the scan button and sure enough, he got a second scan of the Digimental. One he quickly hit send on before attaching Micro's friend address to.

A few seconds later, Micro's Digivice beeped and he looked shocked by what he saw. "Flash...really?"

"Why not? You've more then helped me. Consider it a trade for the Battle Gear." Micro smirked and looked through the info, as Flash added the Battle Gear to his deck. "Alright, I've got my deck. Probably not the best..."

"For an In-Training, it's great. Most players only have a single Digimon in their decks when they have their first battle. You'll be able to Digivolve whilst they're stuck as a Rookie. Now come on. Let's get you to the stadium." They headed out of the main building towards the bridge leading the another of the floating islands.

"So...how exactly do we battle? Is there a trick to it?"

"It's basically just an all out fight," Micro explained. "The goal is to destroy all your opponent's security."

"Security. You mentioned that before. What is it?"

"Security are the lives you have. Each security has a life bar and when that bar drops to zero, you'll lose a security. Once you've lost all your security, your opponent will only have to hit you one more time to delete your Digimon and beat you."

"Oh, got it."

"You're still In-Training," Micro explained. "So you're supposed to have two Security right now. But since you'll be battling with Veemon, you'll get an extra Security." Flash nodded, counting that that meant he had three. With an extra security and the benefit of being able to Digivolve when the opponent probably couldn't, he had a feeling this first match would be a lock.

They finally arrived at the entrance to the In-Training Stadium. There wasn't that many people and Digimon around, but that was likely to be expected. "You ready Veemon?"

"Yeah!" Veemon nodded, "let's show whoever we face what it means to be a Digimon." Flash smirked and turned to Micro, who nodded back with Tentomon.

"Just watch. I'm gonna wipe the floor with whoever I'm facing."

"Yeah you will." He began to walk away, "I'm gonna watch your match from main building. Good luck." Flash nodded and turned towards the building, as Micro and Tentomon ran across the bridge. Now it was just Flash and Veemon.

"Let's go bud!" He and Veemon marched forward, entering the stadium and seeing several people inside. Unlike Flash, none of them had any Digimon. As such, Flash seemed to draw a lot of attention to himself. He suddenly felt very worried and waved as he made his way towards the reception desk. "Hey," he saw a robot behind it, "I wanna compete."

"Very well. Please insert your Digivice into the slot." Flash looked down and saw an opening in the desk appear, Flash pushing the end of his Digivice into it as the data was transferred. "Excellent. The system will now select an opponent for you. If you would please wait until then, your Digivice will announce when you're battle will begin and which room to go to."

Flash nodded and took the device out of the slot, moving over to an empty area of the stadium. He and Veemon didn't have to wait long, however, as a minute later the Digivice announced his opponent had been chosen. He followed the directions on the device and headed down a hallway, eventually coming to a large door that was waiting for him and Veemon.

The young teen and his Digimon Partner stepped into the room, which they found was a large black dome. There, he spotted a pair of podiums in the centre of the room. And as he moved towards it, the door opposite opened and someone stepped inside.

It was one of the teens Flash had seen in the foyer, a slightly overweight teen with glasses and long hair. He walked up to the podium closest to him as Flash did the same, both looking unsure.

"Flash Sentry!" Flash was surprised by the voice that spoke out above him, "Coconut Crasher!" The other teen looked up, "you are both here to compete in your first Codex Battle. The winner will proceed to the Rookie Level and the loser must battle again to gain the rank. Are you both ready?"

"Yes," Crasher stated.

"Yeah," Flash nodded as Veemon cheered with his fist in the air.

"Then place your Digivices into the battle podiums and select your decks." They both placed the devices into the podium slots, causing a holographic version of the Digivice's display to appeared above them. Flash looked at Crasher's screen, but the back of it was black and he couldn't see anything. He assumed the same was true for his screen.

Flash selected the deck box and it brought up the same option to create or edit decks. Flash wondered if anyone ever made a new deck right from this point. He selected edit deck and brought up the one he had just made, selecting it. It asked if he wanted to edit the deck or use it as is, Flash selecting use it.

Crasher quickly selected his own deck and the pair watched as the screens vanished. Then, Flash's screen returned. "Flash Sentry! You have been randomly select to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Flash looked at his options and saw he only had two. Primary Village and Brave Forest. He knew his best bet was to select the Brave Forest, since he already knew about it. "Brave Forest has been select. When both players are ready, hit the start button."

The two quickly found a holographic start button appeared in front of them, the two glancing at one another before Crasher smirked. "Let's get Digital!" He cried, slamming the button. As he did, he was suddenly surrounded by light and shrank down into a smaller form. "Gotsumon!" When the light faded, he was revealed to be a small rock Digimon.

"Cool," Flash smirked before glancing at Veemon. The Rookie Dragon nodded before Flash slammed his hand on the button. "Let's get Digital!" The pair were consumed by light and suddenly merged together, the light flying off of them and revealing a single Veemon. When Flash got over the shock of it, he looked himself over and was amazed. "Wow. I'm Veemon."

"This is so cool," Veemon's voice echoed in his head. "I can see and hear everything you can, but I can't move."

"Well bud, I'm counting on you to be my extra eyes and ears."

"You got it!" As they said that, the entire room radiated a bright light. It blinded Flash, forcing him to close his eyes as he felt the area around him change. The next thing he knew, he felt grass beneath his toes and a gentle breeze upon his skin.

When he opened his eyes, he realised he was back in the Brave Forest. He also noticed several things in his vision. The first was a shield symbol in the top left of his vision, which had a three on it and a green bar next to it. Seems that was his Security. He then spotted a blue bar under the green one, though didn't know what that was. He also notice something at the top right of his vision. An empty gauge of some kind, which he wasn't sure about.

But what he did know about was the two boxes on the bottom left and right of his vision, the left having a familiar I inside of it and the right having BG. Those were likely his Item and Battle Gear options. But he would have to save them for later. Right now, he needed to find his opponent.

"Rock Fist!" He spun around towards the voice and gasped when he saw a large rock flying towards him, slamming into his head.

"Augh!" He cried, staggering back as the green bar next to his Security went down.

Veemon: 3-75%
Gotsumon: 2-100%

He leaned against a tree, holding his head in pain as he turned towards where the rock had come from. And sure enough, the Gotsumon he had seen Crasher turn into was standing right there.

"First blood to me," Crasher laughed. "Hope you're ready to concede." Flash glared at him. He wasn't about to let this guy get the better of him. He had been through too much to just give up at the starting block. He was only just getting started.

Author's Note

And thus, Flash has his partner and is now battling in his first official Codex battle. How will things turn out and will Flash manage to overcome his opponent. Only time will tell. Hope these two chapters got you hooked and I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys think of the story.

A Rocky First Fight

Back at the Codex's main building, three individuals were sitting around a table.

One of them was a gray skinned guy with black hair, wearing a green shirt, blue pants and had a white sweater tied around his neck. He also had a pair of small round glasses on his nose, which seemed to increase his pompous stat by a good fifty percent.

The other was a blue skinned girl with yellow hair, wearing a white shirt under a black leather jacket with yellow lines running down the sleeves. She also had gray pants and an arrogant smirk upon her face. On the seat besides her was a robotic Digimon that appeared to be a large taser with arms and legs.

The humans were eating some junk food, whilst also looking around and watching all the battles that were being broadcast on the many screens inside the cafe. The teen boy smirked when he spotted a new fight was about to begin, "looks like we've got another In-Training battle."

"Nice," the girl smirked. "Love watching those newbies fumble around, trying to figure out how all this works." As she said that, she noticed the Digimon besides him. "Hey, this one's already got a partner." The boy realised she was right, his eye raising as he saw it.

"One that I don't recognise. Where did he get him?" At that moment, Micro and Tentomon arrived on the scene.

"Great," Micro smirked, "we're just in time to see the start of the fight." He and Tentomon sat down, "you can do this Flash. So that guy what you're made of."

"Go Veemon!" Tentomon cheered, catching the other teen's attention.

"Veemon?" The battle started, Flash turning into Veemon whilst his opponent transformed into a Gotsumon. The screen went white for a moment and then showed a forest, where Veemon was walking around looking amazed by his surroundings. "Bad idea. Letting yourself get distracted..." Veemon was suddenly pelted with a rock, "will only end in your getting beat." He laughed as Micro flinched.

"Come on, Flash. Get your head in the game."

Flash was still a little shaken up from the impact of the rock on his hard head.

He hadn't expected to feel any pain, but given how real this was meant to be he understood why he did. "Just gotta be careful." As he said that, Gotsumon charged forward and swung his arms in a windmill fashion.

"Wild Strike!" Flash's instincts kicked in and he leapt to the side, avoiding one of Gotsumon's attacks as it hit the tree behind and broke through it.

"Nice!" Veemon told him, "now you gotta hit back!" As he said that, Flash suddenly felt an intense wave of knowledge wash over him. Moves and names flew through his mind, as he realised he now knew all of Veemon's attacks. And boy, Veemon had a lot of them.

Quickly, he bounced off one of the trees and shot towards Gotsumon. "Vee-Headbutt!" As Gotsumon turned to him, Veemon smashed his head right into his stomach. Gotsumon staggered back, but barely looked like he felt the impact.

Veemon: 3-75%
Gotsumon: 2-90%

Flash landed and as he did, Gotsumon leapt forward and started throwing punch after punch at him. He wasn't using his attacks, which confused Flash, whilst the Veemon did his best to avoid them. But one punch managed to land on his shoulder, making him flinch as his health bar went down again.

Veemon: 3-65%
Gotsumon: 2-90%

"Vee-Punch!" He clenched his fist and thrust it at Gotsumon, slamming him in the face.

Veemon: 3-65%
Gotsumon: 2-85%

But the rock Rookie didn't even flinch at the pair, instead thrusting his own fist into Flash's stomach. "AUGH!" He and Veemon cried, both getting knocked staggering back as their life gauge went down.

Veemon: 3-55%
Gotsumon: 2-85%

"This guy's tough."

"His Defence must be super high," Veemon told Flash. "What do we do?"

"If physical attacks won't hurt him, maybe we'll have better luck with special ones." He dug deep and felt some of his power flow through him, then spat it out into his hand. This formed a small sphere, which he clutched tightly before throwing it like a baseball. "Vee-Shot!" The orb exploded out of his hand, flying towards Gotsumon as two energy trails came off it to give it a V-shape.

The blast slammed into Gotsumon and blew the rock Digimon backwards, Gotsumon crying as he flew back a good ten feet before crashing into the ground.

Veemon: 3-55%
Gotsumon: 2-60%

"Yes!" Flash cheered, Veemon celebrating in the back of his head. As Gotsumon picked himself up, Flash spat into his mouth again. "Vee-Shot!"

Back at the cafe, Micro watched as Flash launched another Vee-Shot, hitting the Gotsumon again and blasting him.

Veemon: 3-55%
Gotsumon: 2-35%

The Securities of both players could be seen on the screen, Gotsumon's life bar getting dangerously close to depleting and making him lose his first security. But that wasn't the only thing it was showing. "No, Flash. Don't use so many attacks one after the other." But Flash clearly couldn't hear him, so launched another Vee-Shot that Gotsumon was able to avoid.

"Yeah!" Flash cheered, "how'd you like that!?"

Gotsumon kept running, a smirk on his face as he avoided another blast. "That's it. Use as much power as you want." A Vee-Shot slammed into a tree and blasted through its trunk, as Flash prepared another attack. But nothing happened.

"Huh?" He tried to use Vee-Shot, but he couldn't summon up the energy. "What's going on?"

"Ha!" Gotsumon laughed, "clearly nobody told you not to waste all your SP."

"SP?" Flash looked confused, but then noticed something. The blue line underneath his health bar was gone, with only a small blue speck left. It was then he realised the major mistake he had made. "Oh no." Gotsumon laughed as he charged forward, throwing a punch in Flash's direction.

Flash tried to avoid it, but got socked right in the face and knocked back as his health dropped again.

Veemon: 3-45%
Gotsumon: 2-35%

Before Flash could recover, Gotsumon threw another punch at him followed by another.

Veemon: 3-25%
Gotsumon: 2-35%

Gotsumon then leapt back, "Rock Fist!" Suddenly, a rock exploded out of his head and slammed into Flash.

Veemon: 3-0%
Gotsumon: 2-35%

"AUGH!" He was knocked flying backwards, as his life bar hit zero and the three on his security turned to a two with a new life bar appearing. He groaned, but pushed through the pain and started picking himself up.

As he did, Gotsumon charged ready to deal another punch. But as he threw it, Flash stood up straight and leaned back. The fist followed his retreating chest, as the Veemon reached up and grabbed him by the wrist. The next thing Gotsumon knew, Flash rolled onto his back and pulled him down with him.

He then thrust his feet into his chest and completed the circle, thrusting his legs forward and catapulting the rock Digimon over him. "GYAH!" He flew through the air and crashed through another tree, smashing through it as Flash continued to roll backwards until he reached his feet again.

Veemon: 2-100%
Gotsumon: 2-30%

Flash then ran away, knowing he needed to regroup and think of a new plan.

"Wimp," the blue skinned girl laughed.

"I don't know," the Digimon next to her stated. "If he's forced to fight like this, he'll probably lose. He must be hoping to find something that can help him get the upper hand." The male teen nodded, thinking the same thing.

Micro watched and hoped Flash could find a way to pull victory out of his hat. "Come on Flash. You need to find a way to turn the tides. You have an advantage over this guy. You just gotta use it."

Flash panted as he managed to get away from Gotsumon, hiding behind a tree as he did so.

"Alright," he tried to think, "I'm pretty sure his first security's running low. One or two more hits and he'll be down to his last one. But I'm completely out of SP and can't use my Vee-Shot anymore."

"Wait, Flash, check out the gauge." Flash did so and realised the blue line had refilled. It was only a little, but there was a noticeable difference.

"So the SP refills after a while. So as long as I use my special attacks sparingly, I'll be able to use them again." Flash was glad he now knew that. "Still, I need to find another way to get the upper hand. His Defence is higher then my Attack, which means I can't do much damage with my physical moves."

"So what do we do?" Veemon asked, Flash trying to think. Then, he had an idea.

"We power up. If Veemon's Attack isn't high enough, Flamedramon's might be." As he said that, he heard movement and looked around to see Gotsumon charging through the trees. "Alright!" He leapt out, revealing himself to Gotsumon. "Time to power up. Digivolve!" He waited, expecting to be consumed by fire, but nothing happened. "Huh? Digivolve!" Still, nothing happened. "Digi-Armor Energise!" Still nothing, "Execute, Digital Evolution!" He was still Veemon. "Oh geez. Micro, I think you forgot to explain something to me."

"Oops," Micro gulped.

"Not good," Tentomon stated. Gotsumon charged forward and threw a punch, Veemon leaping to the side in order to avoid it. "If Flash doesn't know how to Digivolve, he'll be in real trouble."

"Come on Flash!" Micro stared at the screen intensely, "you gotta figure out how it works."

"Rock Fist!" Gotsumon fired the rock towards the Veemon, the blue dragon leaping up and over it.

As he did, he tried to use his Vee-Shot. Sure enough, the energy built in his mouth and he formed the orb to fire. But doing so caused all of his SP to vanish, though it blasted Gotsumon away when it struck.

Veemon: 2-100%
Gotsumon: 2-5%

Flash landed and stared at his SP gauge, which wasn't filling up yet. He frowned, only to then notice another gauge on his right vision. This gauge, which had previously been empty, was now half full with an orange light. "Wonder what that's for?" As he asked that, Gotsumon got back to his feet and charged at him.

Flash dodged the attack and started to run. But as he did, he noticed something appear a ways off. An orange coin-like object that was floating in the air and spinning. "What's that?" Veemon asked, Flash unsure. But as he dodged another Gotsumon punch, he ran forward and reached the coin.

"It looks like the loot you get in other video games. So maybe it'll give me something." As soon as he grabbed it, the coin exploded into orange energy that flew into his body. As it did, the orange gauge grew until it was completely full. And when it did, a notice appeared in front of him.

Digivolution Available.

"Digivolution?" Flash realised what that must mean. "Yes!" As he said that, Gotsumon attempted to punch him right in the face. "WOW!" He jumped back and as he did, he swung a foot upwards and slammed it into Gotsumon's chin.

"Augh!" He was knocked staggering back, Veemon rolling back to his feet.

Veemon: 2-100%
Gotsumon: 2-0%

As the pair regained their balance, Veemon took a deep breath and cried out. "Veemon, ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TO...!" As he said that, the Digimental of Courage appeared in front of him before bursting into flames.

"What?" Gotsumon asked, shocked when the flames spiralled around the Veemon.

As he landed on the ground, his body grew and armored up. The flames then dispersed and the Armor Digimon appeared in front of him. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!" Gotsumon and all those watching were amazed by the sight of Flamedramon, as the fire lizard looked himself over and got the feel for his new form.

"You've got a Digimental?" Gotsumon asked in absolute shock, "how did a newbie like you get the Digidollars for that?" Flamedramon just smirked at him, whilst looking over his gauges. The Digivolution gauge was gone and his health was the same, but his SP bar had completely filled back up.

"Alright, time to see what this Armor Evolution can do." HIs claws all burst into flames as he held them up, "Fire Rocket!" He thrust the claws forward and the three flaming projectiles shot towards the opponent. Gotsumon gasped and tried to flee, but one of the fireballs slammed into him and exploded.

"GYAH!" Gotsumon was blasted a good several feet away, Flash unknowingly doing serious damage to him as he did.

Flamedramon: 2-100%
Gotsumon: 1-65%

Flamedramon smirked, but noticed that attack had taken a serious chunk out of his SP. "Okay, use in moderation." He ran forward, as Gotsumon picked himself up. As he did, his claws and gauntlets exploded with fire. "Flame Fist!" He reached Gotsumon and tried to impale him, but Gotsumon rolled out of the way,

"Rock Fist!" The rock fired out of his head and Flash was too close to avoid the impact, his stomach getting slammed by the rock and knocking him staggering back.

Flamedramon: 2-85%
Gotsumon: 1-65%

"You okay?" Veemon asked, Flash nodding as Gotsumon picked himself up.

"Let's try this one!" Flash rushed forward, his claws glowing. "Express Claw!" He slashed Gotsumon several times, but the attack barely scratched him. In the cafe, people watched as Gotsumon's health only lowed by a few slithers with every hit. After the third hit, Gotsumon had only lost about fifteen HP.

Flamedramon: 2-85%
Gotsumon: 1-50%

Flash then tried to do a seriously strong slash right at Gotsumon's face, but the rock Digimon leapt back.

"Try this. Earth Shaker!" He slammed his fists into the ground and caused a pillar of rock to explode out of the ground and smash into Flamedramon's chest, knocking the Armor Digimon flying backwards.

Flamedramon: 2-55%
Gotsumon: 1-50%

Flamedramon slammed through a tree and fell to the ground, his health getting dangerously close to him losing another security. As he recovered, Gotsumon prepared another attack. But before he could, he noticed something through the trees.

"Oow." He ran through them, as Flamedramon pushed himself back to his feet.

"Where'd he go?" He looked around and Veemon spotted him.

"Over there!" Flash followed Veemon's lead, rushing through the trees after Gotsumon. As he did, he noticed a familiar orange light. And as he spotted the rock Digimon, he found Gotsumon grabbing onto a coin just like the one that Flash had used earlier.

"What?" He cried as the coin burst into energy, which flowed into Gotsumon. "Wait, if you're using that...don't tell me." Gotsumon turned to smirk at him.

"What, you thought you were the only In-Training player who could Digivolve?" His body suddenly began to glow. "Gotsumon, Digivolve too..." He grew larger and the Flamedramon gulped, as his form grew to twice his size. The light then faded, revealing a giant rock beast with metal in several areas. "Golemon!"

"Oh boy," Flash gulped as Golemon stood tall.

He laughed as he stared down at Flash. "As luck would have it, the Gotsumon I scanned was in a fight with another one when I did it. After he beat the other Gotsumon, he Digivolved and I was able to nab another scan of him." He raised his arms and flexed his muscles, the grew serious. "Now to see what this new Digivolution can do." He clenched his fist, "Rock Punch!" He threw the punch towards Flash, who gasped and attempted to leap back.

The fist barely missed him, the knuckles scraping at him enough to make Flash flinch as his health bar went down.

Flamedramon: 2-45%
Golemon: 1-50%

He quickly used his Flamedramon jumping ability to leap back a good few meters, as Golemon pulled his fist back. As he did, Flash noticed how slow Golemon was moving. Something that big and bulky, likely couldn't move that quickly. That gave him an idea.

"Raaah!" He rushed forward, his claws glowing as he got in close. "Express Claw!" He slashed at Golemon and managed to hit him in the chest, then leapt away before Golemon could retaliate.

Flamedramon: 2-45%
Golemon: 1-40%

He rushed around the giant and attack his back, slashing at him as he did so.

Flamedramon: 2-45%
Golemon: 1-35%

The damage he was doing wasn't a lot, but it would all add up so long as he could continue hitting him.

"You're starting to annoy me!" He swung his arm around and tried to swat Flash away, the teen jumping up to avoid the attack as his claws ignited.

"Fire Rocket!" He launched the three flaming missiles and they all slammed into Golemon, each taking a small chunk off of Goleman's health. His Security was getting dangerously close to breaking.

Flamedramon: 2-45%
Golemon: 1-10%

"One more attack should do it!" Flash cried, charging at Golemon and hoping to get a good hit off on him. Golemon prepared to punch him, but Flamedramon leapt straight up and over him. As he did, he prepared to use the last of his SP to blast Golemon with a Fire Rocket. But before he could.

"Sulfur Plume!" From the volcano on his back, a massive blast of toxic gas exploded out and slammed into Flamedramon. Flash's eyes went wide, as every part of his body that touched the gas suddenly burned with intense pain.

"AUGH!" he screamed, his health dropping down to zero and shattering his security.

Flamedramon: 2-0%
Golemon: 1-10%

"FLASH/VEEMON!" Micro and Tentomon screamed, as they watched Flamedramon fall out of the toxic cloud and stagger about. Clearly, breathing that stuff in had not been great.

Golemon quickly spun around and charged forward, raising his fist and throwing it forward, "Rock Punch!" Before Flamedramon could recover, the first slammed into him and he was sent flying backwards.

Flamedramon: 1-65%
Golemon: 1-10%

Flash and Veemon were both knocked for a loop, as they felt themselves flying backwards and crashing through several trees.

When they finally crashed through the last one and hit the ground, the pair could hear the sound of rushing water as they rolled along it. His life points dropped down as he did, hitting the trees having done a bit of damage

Flamedramon: 1-50%
Golemon: 1-10%

He let out a groan as pushed himself back to his feet, as the water noise finally caught his attention. he looked around and as he did, he realised he was standing on the edge of a cliff over a raging river.

"Great. Now what?" The stomping sound of Golemon's approach filled his ear. The rock Digimon was likely only one hit or so away from being defenceless. Flash was hoping he had already destroyed all the Securities, because it was likely he wasn't gonna survive another hit like that.

Over at the cafe, Micro watched with worry as Golemon appeared.

The other two smirked, hoping to see that Flamedramon kid get crushed. At the same time, Shining Armor was also watching. Having wanted to see what Flash could do, he frowned at the situation the teen found himself in. "So, Flash. What are you gonna do?"

Another two were also watching this match. One was an orange skinned blonde girl wearing a cowboy hat, a white and green top, denim skirt and brown boots. Next to her was a white canine Digimon with orange ears and and an orange tail. [AN]

The other was a blue skinned girl with strange prismatic hair, wearing a white top under a blue jacket with black pants that had rainbow lightning bolts on the side. Next to her was a bipedal turtle Digimon wearing a blue helmet on its head.

"Looks like the guy's in trouble," the hat wearing girl stated.

"Yeah," rainbow hair replied. "Too bad. This Digimon he became's pretty cool." They watched as Golemon finally charged forward, holding up its fist ready to slam Flamedramon.

Flash summoned all his strength and ignited his claws. "Fire Rocket!"

"Rock Punch!" The flames shot off his claws and hit Golemon, who pushed his way through them and threw his fist right into Flamedramon's chest. The dragon Digimon cried out as he was blasted backwards over the edge of the cliff, his life points dropping as he did so.

Flamedramon: 1-15%
Golemon: 1-0%

He almost lost consciousness, as he fell towards the river and splashed down into it. Everyone watching gasped, whilst Flamedramon sank to the bottom of the river. Luckily, his heavy armor kept him from being dragged away. However, his current form wasn't exactly meant for swimming.

"What do we do?" Veemon asked, Flash unsure since he had no idea how to get out of the water. And if he didn't do something soon, he could drown.

"Come on," Flash groaned in his head. "Think, what do I have that could help in this situation?" He looked at his SP and saw he was just about to have enough to use Flame Fist, but that couldn't help him get out of the river. And even if it could, he would be completely out of SP and unable to fight against Golemon. It was starting to look hopeless.

"Wait," Veemon cried, "what about Micro's gift?" Flash's eyes went wide as he focused on the bottom right box.

"Of course. I was so focused on Digivolving as my ace, I didn't realise I have something else this guy might not have." He felt kind of stupid. "Alright, let's see how this works." He thought about the Battle Gear and when he did, words appeared in his mind. "Battle Gear...BOOST!"

Up on the cliff, Golemon stared down at the raging river.

Flamedramon had been down there a while, "there's no way he's still kicking." He turned away and looked up at the sky, "does this mean I've won?" But as he asked that, a loud splashing sound filled the air. "Huh?" He spun around, just in time to see something shoot up past him from below.

"I'm back!" Flamedramon cheered, smiling down at Golemon from his spot in the air.

His chest armor had been replaced by a black metal backpack, the pair of which had a large booster rocket with jet wings coming out the side.

Flamedramon's vision now had a new image in place of the Battle Gear box, this one being a battery symbol that was slowly depleting. Clearly, this Battle Gear wasn't going to last forever. "Which is why I need to make it count!" He shifted positions, the rocket now pointing up and propelling him down towards Golemon. "LET'S GO!"

"Sulfur Plume!" Golemon bent down and unleashed the cloud of poison gas, which Flamedramon flew right into. He flinched at the pain, but wouldn't let this stop him. Even as his last Security broke.

Flamedramon: 1-0%
Golemon: 0

Both Digimon now defenseless, the final attack would be the finishing move. As such, once Flash was close enough, his claws ignited. "Flame Fist!" Golemon also threw a punch, the two attacks colliding with one another. However, the heat of the fire connected before the punch did. As such, Golemon took the damage first.

Everyone watched as Golemon's body exploded into a bunch of data, revealing the human that had been inside. Coconut Crasher cried out as he was revealed, whilst Flamedramon leapt back. As he did, a voice above him spoke up.

"Battle, over! Winner, Flash Sentry!" The field around them was consumed by light, Flash closing his eyes as they were returned to the domed room. Then, Flamedramon was consumed by the light and split apart. He and Veemon leapt out of the light, both ecstatic about what had just happened.

"We won!" Flash cheered, turning to Veemon as the Rookie leapt up and they high-fived.

Crasher didn't look too happy, as he removed his Digivice and headed for the door.

"Hey." He turned back to Flash, who gave him a thumbs up. "Great game. Let's play again some day." Crasher stared for a moment, then smiled and nodded. He gave Flash his own thumbs up and left the room, Flash reaching for his own Digivice only to hear the voice again.

"Flash Sentry, you have claimed victory here in the In-Training Stadium. For that, you have earned prize money." Flash hadn't been expecting that. "Also, you have ranked up to the Rookie Level. An additional money reward will now be given to you." Flash was double shocked, as he picked up his Digivice and saw this status page.

Name: Flash Sentry
Partner: Veemon
Rank: Rookie
Reg: 043568240
Money: D2000

"Awesome," Flash laughed as he and Veemon headed out of the room.

Micro and Tentomon were running as fast as they could back towards the stadium, a major smile on their faces.

When they got there, they spotted Flash and Veemon walking towards them. "FLASH!" He cheered, Flash smiling as Micro held up an arm. "You did it!" Flash held his up and the pair high-fived, Veemon and Tentomon doing the same. "I can't believe you won that fight."

"Tell me about it," Flash sighed. "That was a close one."

"Way too close," Micro pushed his glasses up. "I thought you were a goner at one point. But you managed to pull through and get the win."

"Only because I had the Battle Gear you gave me," Flash pointed out. "I would have been doomed if you hadn't done that." Micro nodded, glad he could help his friend out. "But man, that match was great. Even though I was in trouble a half dozen times, it was awesome. I can't wait to try it again."

"Well there's more to this than just the battles," Micro told him. "Now that you're a Rookie, you can start exploring more of the Digital World." Flash couldn't wait to try that. However, before he could suggest they go exploring, a flash of light made them turn to see someone appear.

"Flash," the figure stated, "an excellent battle. It's clear giving you a Digivice was the right move." The light faded and Gennai was revealed, Flash and Micro smiling as he did. "Sorry to bother you like that, but I'm wondering if you wouldn't mind coming with me for a little while."

"What's up?" Flash asked.

"Well, Veemon here has started quite the buzz around Codex. So I was hoping we could get that scan I asked about. Who knows what secrets are hidden away in Veemon's data." Flash remembered what he was talking about and turned to Veemon, who nodded wanting to learn what secrets he was holding as well.

"Alright, so where are we going?" Gennai smiled and led them all back to the main building, the five getting a lot of looks from the players around them. "Is it just me, or are a lot of people staring at us?"

"They're likely curious about the Digimon they've never seen before," Gennai explained as they reached an area of the building that had a large metal door. "Here we are." They stepped through them and Flash found they were in some kind of lab. "Welcome to the Digi-Lab, where we can scan Veemon more thoroughly than your Digivice can."

"Cool," Flash smirked as he looked around. The place was pure white with round lights circling the round room, which also had a bunch of devices that had a circular base behind a computer of some kind. "So how does this work?"

"First, Veemon needs to step onto one of the circles." Veemon did so, stepping onto it as Flash stepped up to the computer in front. He saw there was a slot for his Digivice, which he inserted as the system activated. "Now, to start scanning." Gennai summoned his own computer and started typing away, whilst a forcefield suddenly appeared around Veemon.

"Hey!" He cried, "what's going on?" Before they could answer, he vanished in a flash of light.

"What happened?" Flash looked scared, but Gennai patted him on the shoulder.

"He's okay. He's inside the Digivolution Chamber." He pointed at the screen and Flash looked at it, seeing a massive white room that Veemon suddenly appeared inside. "He can hear and see you, so make sure to keep him calm."

"Veemon," Flash told the computer. "Relax. We'll have you out of there shortly."

"Why am I even in here?" Veemon asked, as Gennai started typing away.

"Well, that chamber is where players Digivolve their Digimon. As you've seen, some Digimon can get quite large. If they all Digivolved out here, the place would get quite crowded. So we use the Digivolution Chambers instead. Now, to scan you and see what you've got hidden away."

Veemon suddenly found a bunch of lights flying over him, the blue dragon attempting to stay as still as possible. "Well, am I as good looking on the inside as I am on the out?"

Gennai hummed as he saw the data being showed. "Fascinating."

"What did you find?" Micro asked.

"Well, it seems Veemon is capable of being Digivolved into by two types of Digimon. One of them is Tsunomon." The image of the In-Training Digimon appeared on screen.

"But it's the other Digimon that intrigues me. Because it's a Digimon I've never seen before." He showed the image of what looked like a smaller version of Veemon, a much cuter version with no horn on his head. "According to this, its name is DemiVeemon."

"Kind of cute," Flash smirked. "So you've never seen this Digimon before?"

"No. I'm betting this is what Veemon was before he was a Rookie. And if I can dig a little deeper, I might be able to discover his Fresh form as well." Gennai did a little more typing and sure enough, another Digimon appeared. One that appeared to be a tiny blob with one of Veemon's ears sticking out the back of its head. "Here it is. Chibomon."

"Aww," Tentomon stated, "isn't he a cutie. So you've never seen that kind of Digimon before?"

"No," Gennai shook his head, "likely went extinct centuries ago." He thought for a moment, "but that can change."

"How?" Micro asked.

"If I take the Chibomon data and design an artificial personality for it, I can create a new version of it."

"Like a clone?" Flash asked.

"Think of it more like a little brother," Gennai explained. "It might not even become a Veemon. It could become a DemiVeemon or another In-Training Digimon. And if it does become DemiVeemon, it might not become Veemon and chose to become an entirely different Rookie. It all depends on it."

"Sounds like fun," Veemon smiled. "Can't wait to see him."

"Well its data will be sent to Primary Village," Gennai explained. "And it might not hatch for a long time. But I'm sure he'll hatch and become a new Veemon, just like you." Veemon smiled at this. "Well, I have everything I need." He turned to Flash, "but there is one more thing I wanted to discuss with you. Your Digimental."

"What about it?" Flash asked.

"Well, it's up to you. You can keep it if you want, or you can sell it to me and the other Codex Commanders." Flash hadn't been expecting this. "You see, Digimentals are very rare. And each one appears to be a one of a kind. So your Digimental of Courage is the only one that exists. It's up to you whether or not you wish to keep it."

"What'll happen if I sell it to you?" Flash asked.

"We'll be able to sell scans of it at the Digi-Store," Gennai explained. "That's what we did with the other Digimentals." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, "you're not the first to find one. The other players who found these Digimentals all agreed to sell them to us. Since then, we've been selling scans of the Digimentals of Love, Kindness, Knowledge and Light to any player that wants one."

Micro then stepped up. "But if you kept it, you would have the monopoly on the Courage Armor. Anyone who wanted one would have to trade anything you want for it."

"Huh," Flash thought it over before turning to Veemon in the computer. "What do you think, bud? This Digimental is technically yours, since it was you stuck under it for so long."

Veemon smiled, "you decide what to do with it. We've got a scan of it, so we don't need one. I trust you to make the right choice." Flash nodded and after a little more thinking, he turned to Gennai.

"Alright, I'll sell it." Gennai smiled as Flash held up his Digivice. "How much will it be?"

"We've bought the other Digimentals for five thousand Digidollars" Flash's heart almost stopped, as Micro looked shocked by this.

"SERIOUSLY! That's insane!" Gennai smirked at this.

"So, is that a yes?" Flash nodded and Gennai typed at his computer, an alert coming to his Digivice asking it he was willing to sell his item." Flash happily pressed yes and the Digimental vanished from his item box, whilst the alert told him he was now five thousand Digidollars richer. "Well, I'm happy our transaction could go so smoothly." He turned to leave, "I'd best be going. Got a new Digimon to create after all. Whilst you're here, why not put those Digidollars to use and get a few new Digimon." With that, he was gone and Flash turned to Micro.

"What's he mean by that?"

Micro smiled, "you can use your Digidollars to Digivolve your Digimon Scans. You can make copies of them as well and Digivolve them in a bunch of different ways." He points at the computer, "try it on Veemon. Trust me, you're not gonna be disappointed."

Flash nodded and stepped up to the computer, placing the Digivice inside as the machine asked what he would like to do with his Digimon. "Ready Veemon?"

"I guess," Veemon nodded. "Hit me!"

Flash hit the Digivolution option and it brought up an image of Veemon. Then, a bunch of lines spread out from the image connecting to blacked out images.

"This is your Digivolution Tree," Micro explained. "These are all the Digimon Veemon can become."

"Wow," Flash whispered, "there are so many." He then noticed how many of the lines had a box next to it, Flash wondering what that meant. At least until he saw one line that led to a picture of Flamedramon, with the Digimental of Courage in the box next to the line linking it to Veemon. "So these boxes must be the items required to Digivolve into them."

"Yup," Micro nodded, "Tentomon has a few of those and you can't even get the scan of them without the item."

"Well that sucks," Flash sighed. "Guess that means I can't Digivolve Veemon into all these forms." He also noticed the whole blacked out form, "what does that mean?"

"It means you haven't seen it yet," Tentomon replied. "Whenever you see a Digimon, either in the Digital World or here in Codex, the Digimon will become visible to you here in the Digivolution Tree. But until then, it's blacked out and you won't know what you're Digivolving your Digimon into."

"Gotcha," Flash looked over the several Digimon he could currently Digivolve Veemon into. "Let's try...you." He pressed one of the boxes and it asked if Flash wanted to Digivolve his Digimon, which would cost him five hundred Digidollars. "Get ready, Veemon." He pressed the yes and suddenly, Veemon started glowing.

"Wow!" Veemon gasped, as he started to grow larger. "Veemon, Digivolve to..." The transformation was complete and the light faded, revealing a large blue and white T-Rex with a large blue V on his chest and a giant horn on his head. "VEEDRAMON!" He roared, as he began to move around in his new body.

"Cool," Flash looked him over and thought he was one of the coolest looking Digimon he had ever seen. "How you feel?"

"Great," Veedramon smirked, "I feel even more powerful than when I'm Flamedramon." Flash nodded as his Digivice beeped, telling him he had gotten the data on Veedramon. He went to his scans and tapped the new info, bringing it up.

Name: Veedramon
Level: Champion
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Wind
Species: Mystical Dragon
Family: Wind Guardians, Nature Spirits, Virus Busters, Dragon's Roar

"Cool," Flash nodded, "can't wait to try this out the next time I face off." He brought up Veedramon Digivolution tree and when he did, he found several lines going down. "What's this?" He scrolled down and found one of the Digimon in the box was Veemon. Another was Monodramon and the other two were blacked out.

"Huh," Micro looked at them, "those must be the other Digimon that can become Veedramon." He smirked. "You know, it doesn't cost anything to De-Digivolve your Digimon. If you want, you could turn Veedramon into a Monodramon and have that be his permanent form."

"Really?" Flash was surprised.

"Yup," Tentomon spoke up, "that's actually what happened to me. I used to be a Wormmon before I met Micro. I always had a dream of flying and when I told Micro this, he told me he could help. We became partners and he knew I could turn into Kabuterimon. So he Digivolved me and then De-Digivolved me into the handsome specimen you see before you."

"Huh. Well it's not up to me." He turned to his partner, "you wanna stay as Veemon or try being something else?" Veedramon didn't even need to think about it.

"I have a day's experience of being a Veemon. Think I'll stick as that for a bit longer." Flash nodded and scrolled back up the screen, spotting one of the blacked out images first and deciding to go for that. Had he not been so hasty, he would have noticed one of the Ultimates was one he had seen earlier that day.

It asked for seven hundred Digidollars and he happily paid it, Veedramon being consumed by light and growing even larger. "Veedramon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of him, revealing he was a massive dragon with wings, sharper claws and horns and metal spikes and shoulderpads. "AeroVeedramon!"

Flash loved the sight of this Digimon as well. And as he watched AeroVeedramon get used to his new body, the Digimon's data appeared on his Digivice.

Name: AeroVeedramon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Wind
Species: Holy Dragon
Family: Wind Guardians, Nature Spirits, Virus Busters, Dragon's Roar

Flash smirked and went to see what AeroVeedramon could Digivolve into. But when he did, he found most of the options were locked like the armors. "What's this?" He asked, seeing only one Mega Level was possible. Micro saw this and frowned.

"Wow, three Digimon that aren't buyable. Talk about powerful."

"What?"

"Some Mega Levels can't be obtained this way. The only way to get them is to actually meet the Digimon and scan them, or have your Digimon Digivolve into it on their own. It's not every Mega, but it's the really powerful ones."

Flash nodded and looked back at the Digimon options. Though he still had one option, he decided he wouldn't use it. Something about it didn't feel right for him. Instead, he selected Veedramon and his partner reverted back to a Champion. He then chose his Rookie stage and Veemon was soon back.

"So what now?" Veemon asked, "try for another Champion?"

"Probably should focus on the forms we've got now then overdo it trying to master multiple." Veemon nodded as Flash found the release button. He pressed it and Veemon suddenly vanished from the chamber, reappearing on the pad he had vanished from.

As he got off, Flash looked over his new forms. Veedramon and AeroVeedramon looked awesome, but Flamedramon still looked just as imposing.

It was then that he had a thought, so tapped on Flamedramon and the Armor Digimon appeared inside the Digivolution Chamber. "What are you doing?" Veemon asked, the lot staring at the still emotionless Digimon. Flash pressed a button and copied the scan, adding the original back into his Digivice whilst the second one remained in the chamber.

Flash then brought up the Digivolution tree and was surprised to find only one branch. "Wonder what it is." He clicked it and paid another seven hundred Digidollars. And suddenly, the Digimon was consumed by light.

"Flamedramon, Digivolve to..." He grew larger and a pair of wings stuck out its back, these ones appearing feathered but being made out of fire, whilst Flamedramon's gauntlets vanished and were replaced by what appeared to be a pair of shields stuck to its arms. Eventually, the light faded to reveal the new form. "BurningGreymon!"

"A Greymon species?" Micro was surprised by this, "I've never heard of this one before." Flash also didn't recognise it, but did think it looked pretty cool. He quickly got a scan and checked it out.

Name: BurningGreymon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Free
Attribute: Fire
Species: Dark Dragon
Family: Nature Spirits, Nightmare Soldiers, Dragon's Roar

He checked its Digivolution line and saw that aside from Flamedramon, there was one other Digimon that could Digivolve from it. As such, he made a second scan of BurningGreymon and De-Digivolved it. They all watched as the dragonoid began to shrink and become more humanoid. Then, when the light faded, it revealed a man with large blonde hair and red flame patterned armor.

Flash quickly checked the scan, finding the Digimon's name.

Name: Agunimon
Level: Champion
Type: Free
Attribute: Fire
Species: Wizard
Family: Nightmare Soldiers, Dragon's Roar

Flash looked at its Digivolution Tree and found it could Digivolve from three Digimon. One was an Agumon, whilst another looked like a similar raptor-like form. But Flash was drawn to the humanoid shape and pressed that one after making a double of Agunimon. They watched as Agunimon shrank down to the size of a child, eventually becoming a small brown humanoid with red hair, horn stumps, red pants and a tail made of fire.

The scan for this Digimon also appeared.

Name: Flamemon
Level: Rookie
Type: Free
Attribute: Fire
Species: Demon Man
Family: Nature Spirits

Flash saved these scans and added them to his list of scans, the teen excited to try them out at some point as well.

Micro smirked, "now you've got three types of decks you can use. You can either have Veemon go into Flamedramon and then BurningGreymon, or have him go into Veedramon followed by AeroVeedramon. Or if you don't wanna use Veemon, you can use Flamemon and have it be Agunimon into BurningGreymon."

"Yup," Flash nodded as they and their Digimon stepped out of the Digi-Lab. "I should probably let the real me know all this, huh?" Micro nodded as they headed over to the Digi-Port. Both of them pointed their Digivices up to the sky and activated them, signalling the real world versions of them that they were ready to come back.

Flash and Micro had finished their homework and were now searching for something to do around town.

But as they walked, their pair felt their Digivices buzz and took them out. Seeing their Avatars wanting to come back, the pair hit the button and they were once again flooded with the memories of their Digital selves. Once the upload was complete, both of them smiled as their partners appeared on the screen.

"Man," Flash sighed, "I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to suddenly having a second set of memories."

"I thought that," Micro smiled. "But you do. Now come on. Veemon must wanna see more of the real world. Let's see how much cool stuff we can show him before it gets late." Flash was all for that and the pair rushed off.

Flash's digital journey had only just begun. A journey where he would meet many amazing people and Digimon, face mind numbing obstacles and go on adventures the likes of which he would never have thought possible. And all whilst being safely at home in his hometown. The Codex truly was a marvel.

Author's Note

And thus, the opening three chapters are here. What did you think to the introduction of this world and its characters. I hope you all enjoy it and will keep returning to see how things go. Until next time.

AN: Just imagine all the purple parts of the picture are orange.

How to be a Digimon

It was another busy day at Codex, where players were busy battling in the arenas, trading with one another, or simply hanging out and enjoying their time together.

At one of the Digi-Ports, two flashes of light appeared from out of them that took shape and transformed into Flash Sentry and Micro Chips. The pair stepped out of the Digi-Port, as their Digimon appeared with them. "Here we are once again," Flash sighed. "Watch out Codex, Flash Sentry is here for another battle!" Many people around him turned to give him a weirded out look, Micro shaking his head.

"You really need to calm down." They began to make their way through the building. "I get you guys are excited for another battle, but you shouldn't let it all go to your head and stop you from thinking. Don't forget, you're still new at this game. Even if you won your first match, you're still a complete newbie. And you've still got a lot to learn about fighting as a Digimon."

"I'm fine," Flash told him. "I got the hang of fighting as Veemon and Flamedramon super quick. I bet I'll get the hang of whichever Digimon I become in this fight." Veemon cheered in agreement, Micro and Tentomon sighing.

Flash and Veemon looked ready to run towards the Rookie Stadium. At the same time, Flash took out his Digivice. Said device was no longer the dull gray colour it had been when Flash first got it. Now it was the same shade of blue as Veemon, Flash glad Micro had shown him how to change the colour in the real and virtual world.

He looked over his many decks and smiled, wondering which one he should dominate the Rookie Stadium in. But before they could rush off, Micro spotted someone that caught his attention.

"Sandal!" Flash and Veemon turned to see him run towards a tall and bulky teen, who had yellow skin and green dreads under a beanie hat.

The teen turned to Micro and smirked, "hey little man!" He smacked Micro on the back, the teen's eyes going wide at the force of it. "How ya'h bin?" He asked, Micro smiling at him.

"I'm fine," he pushed his glasses up. "What about you? I haven't seen you around Codex in a while."

"Yeah," the teen smirked, "been out in the Digital World doing some super special training. Totally worth it, since I'm now even more one with our Digital brethren." As he said that, Flash stepped up to him. "Who's your friend? And who's the super cool looking Digimon he's hanging with?"

"Oh," Micro turned to the blue haired rocker. "This is Flash Sentry. He's just started here in Codex. And the Digimon beside him is his partner, Veemon." He then gestured to the bulky teen, "Flash, this is Sandalwood. He's a really strong player here in Codex."

"Wow," Sandalwood smirked. "A newbie with a partner. Talk about impressive. I was here for a month before I found my partner." Flash wondered what he was talking about, but then noticed a Digimon hiding behind Sandal's leg. It was a Veemon-sized Digimon, that looked mostly like a child made out of wood.

Its head and body were completely fused with no neck between them, his head being slightly rounder than the rest of his body with red leaves circling just beneath it where the neck should be to form a collar. His body was also covered in moss that gave him the appearance of wearing clothes, the moss forming a long sleeved jumper and knee-high boots. Instead of feet, he had three red leaves sticking out the front of each foot whilst his hands had three root-like fingers sticking out each one. Another root-like appendage was sticking out of his rear, giving him the appearance of having a tail.

Finally, from out of the top of his head, a large red leaf could be seen that curled around the back of his head to look like a pony tail.

Sandal moved so the Digimon could be seen, "this here's Mangoramon. My number one Digimon." Flash smirked as he crouched down.

"Hey," he held out a hand, "nice to meet you."

Mangoramon stared at him for a moment, then held out his hand to shake Flash's. "Hi," he smiled, "nice to meet you." As they shook hands, Flash suddenly got a whiff of something coming off his leaf. The smell was that of a red apple, or something similar to it.

Veemon stepped forward, "what's up?" He held out a fist, Mangoramon doing the same before they bumped fists.

"Never seen a Digimon like him before," Sandalwood looked impressed. "Where'd you pick him up?"

"Flash found him under a Digimental," Micro explained. "Actually, it's kind of a tale." The six all found an empty table and Flash began to tell his story, Sandal listening intently with the occasional 'wow' and 'righteous' interruption.

"Sounds like you had one heck of a journey, man."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "but it was worth it. I got to meet Veemon, get a super cool Digimental and a tone of Digidollars that I was able to use to get a bunch of Digivolutions." He cracked his knuckles, "now I'm ready to take Codex by storm."

"Wow, little man." Sandal tried to calm him down, "you might have a tough Digimon, but it takes more then that to be strong here in Codex. How many times have you battled?"

"Just once, but I beat him."

"Barely," Micro pointed out.

"Anyway. It was weird being a Digimon at first, but I got used to it and now I can fight anyone I go up against."

"You were only a Digimon once?" Sandal repeated, Flash and Veemon nodding. "Well, then you're definitely not ready to become the best player in Codex." Flash raised an eyebrow, "you know what it's like to be a Digimon. But do you know what it means to be a Digimon."

"What?"

"You can move in their bodies, use their special attacks and fight. But have you truly synchronised with Veemon and his evolution?" Flash had no idea what he meant by that. "You need to take some time to truly become one with your Digimon. To learn and understand him. To figure out what it truly means...to be a Digimon."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Flash told him.

"Me neither," Veemon nodded. "I was there when Flash battled Gotsumon and he was great as me."

"Then you need to learn what it means to be human," Mangoramon stated. "It's only when the two of you truly understand one another, that you'll be able to beat anyone you come across."

"What does that even mean?" Veemon asked, Flash frowning.

"I think he's just trying to psych us out," Flash stated as he stood up. "I know what it means to be a Digimon and if you don't think so, then let's battle. My first Rookie match can be beating you!"

Sandalwood smirked. "Sorry, can't. I'm not a Rookie." Flash was surprised by this.

"Sandalwood's a Champion Level player," Micro explained. "Been so for about a month." Sandalwood nodded, whilst Flash frowned at not getting to battle this guy. "But there is a way you can battle him." Flash and Veemon raised an eyebrow, as Micro, Sandal and their Digimon got up.

They all headed out of the main building and made their way towards one of the stadiums. This particular Stadium was the largest one there was, Flash expecting it to be the Mega Level Stadium. But instead, he was surprised to see Codex players of all ages at it, some with Digimon and others without it.

As they approached, Flash spotted a screen on the outside of the stadium showing a battle that was just starting. It had an Agumon facing a Dracomon, with the Agumon having three securities whilst the Dracomon had five. "This is the Beta-Stadium," Micro explained. "Here, any player of any rank can fight another player of any rank."

"Really?" Flash was surprised by this, whilst Veemon scratched his head.

"If this is here, why have the other Stadiums split between Levels?"

Tentomon turned to him. "These matches don't count towards a player's Rank. You could win a hundred matches in here and not rise any higher in the ranking."

Micro nodded. "This stadium's for practising with new Digimon, playing against friends that are a higher level than you and whatever else you can think of that you don't wanna do in an important match."

"Great," Flash smirked, "then let's battle."

"Glad to," Sandalwood smirked before heading towards the reception desk. Flash was about to follow, but Micro put a hand on his shoulder.

"Just be careful. Sandal looks like a laid back guy, but he gets super serious in battle. Plus, he's a higher Level then you. That means he'll have more Security."

"Maybe," Flash stepped away, "but he's never faced a Veemon and all his awesome Evolutions before. I'll be fine." He headed over to the desk, as Micro sighed.

"Well, he'll have to learn the hard way." He and Tentomon moved over to an empty table, which had a computer on it that he could watch the match from.

"Alright," Sandalwood smirked. "I got us the battle room. Let's go." Flash nodded and followed him towards the room in question, both of them stepping inside with Flash seeing it was just like the In-Training stadium.

The pair locked their Digivices into the podiums and began building their decks.

Flash looked over the three decks he had built so far, then glanced at Sandalwood. Since his partner appeared to be a plant, it meant he was of the plant attribute. That meant Flash's best bet was to use Flamedramon and BurningGreymon. So, he selected that deck.

Once that was done, the voice spoke up. "Sandalwood. You have been randomly selected to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Sandal smirked as he opened his locations folder and choose where he wished to fight. "Razor Rocklands has been selected." Flash was surprised, since he had expected Sandal to pick a forest area where his Digimon would have an advantage. Had Flash been wrong about him picking his partner? "When both players are ready, hit the start button."

"Aww yeah!" Sandalwood slammed the button, "let's get digital!" In a flash of light, he and Mangoramon suddenly merged into the Rookie.

'He chose his partner. But then why'd he pick a rock landscape?'

"Flash?" Veemon asked, wondering why he wasn't starting.

"Oh!" Flash hit the button, "let's get digital!" He and Veemon merged together and as they did, the battle started as the room was filled with light.

Outside, Micro and Tentomon were watching the battle as it began.

The field shown was a large grassy area, with large rocks sticking out of the ground that all appeared sharp and dangerous. "That's just like Sandal," Micro smirked. "Picking an environment his Digimon wouldn't usually be seen in." Tentomon nodded in agreement.

"Flash seemed a little thrown off. I hope he's able to get his head back in the game before Sandalwood can get to much of an advantage against him." As he said that, the two Digimon appeared and Micro got a look at Mangoramon's info.

Name: Mangoramon
Level: Rookie
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Vegetation
Family: Nature Spirits, Jungle Troopers

Micro brought up the plant's stats and smirked. "Looks like that training's really paid off. Mangoramon's Attack and Speed are way higher then the last time we saw them." He looked up, as Flash and Veemon looked around. "Don't let him throw you off your game."

Flash stared at the area and was amazed by how different it looked from the Brave Forest. But that still didn't explain why Sandal picked it.

"Maybe there's a hidden spot around here that makes Mangoramon super tough."

"Flash!" Veemon cried, "you gotta focus. If you don't-" He didn't get to finish as suddenly something came flying towards him. Mangoramon. "Look out!" Flash spun towards it, only to get tackled by the Plant Digimon and knocked against a rock.

"Augh!" He cried, his health dropping.

Veemon: 4-90%
Mangoramon: 5-100%

He quickly pushed Mangoramon off of him and jumped away. He knew he couldn't waste his SP right from the start, so he needed to do some damage against him the old fashioned way. "Charge!" He ran forward and started throwing punches and kicks at the plant Digimon, who ducked and dived as best he could to avoid them.

But one of the punches hit him in the chest, making him flinch.

Veemon: 4-90%
Mangoramon: 5-95%

As Mangoramon jumped back, he pulled some moss off his body. "Now it's time to teach you want it really means to be a Digimon. Moss Pelt!" He threw it towards Veemon, the blue dragon dodging one of them but the second hit him in the face.

"Augh!" He staggered around, as the moss solidified and blinded him.

Veemon: 4-85%
Mangoramon: 5-95%

"I can't see!" Flash cried, trying to pull the moss off of his face. But it was really sticky and refused to budge. "If I can't get this stuff off me-" He didn't get to finish, as Mangoramon attacked with a fist to the chest.

Veemon: 4-80%
Mangoramon: 5-95%

Veemon tried to throw a punch at the spot that had hit him, but the attack missed. "Cold!" He heard Mangoramon state, making him spin around and punch again, "colder!" He threw another punch and didn't hit a thing. "Oh, dude, you're totally freezing!"

"Raaah!" Veemon started throwing wild punches in every direction, completely missing each and every time. He stopped after getting tired, only to then hear footsteps behind him. "Huh?" He looked around, only to feel himself getting punched. "Augh!" Several more punches quickly landed on him, knocking him backwards as his life points dropped.

Veemon: 4-55%
Mangoramon: 5-95%

"Too bad, bro." Veemon turned towards the voice. "If you can't become one with your Digimon, you don't stand a chance in a real battle." Flash still had no idea what he was talking about. He was one with Veemon, so what was Sandalwood trying to teach him.

It was then that he suddenly got a whiff of something up his nose. "Huh?" He turned to the smell and realised it was the smell of an apple. "Wait!" He remembered that smell. The same smell the first met Mangoramon. "Why couldn't I smell that before?" Last time, he had had to be right next to the leaf to smell it.

The smell got closer and Flash spun around, swinging his fist around wildly. And he suddenly felt the punch connect with something hard, followed by a cry of pain coming from Mangoramon.

Veemon: 4-55%
Mangoramon: 5-90%

He could hear Mangoramon stagger around and moan in pain, the smell getting weaker as he moved away. "Huh," Mangoramon then said, "was that luck or did you finally figure out how to be one with your Digimon?"

"I was able to smell you coming," Veemon replied. "But why? Did you do something to make that apple smell stronger?"

"Nope," Mangoramon replied. "But you're on the right track. Now let's see if you can keep it up. Bloom-Arang!" To everyone who wasn't blind, Mangoramon swung his head around and the leaf atop it shot off. It spun like a boomerang, moving at high speed and morphing into a buzzsaw-like weapon that shot towards Veemon.

The blue dragon had no idea what was happening, but as he stood there he heard the sound of something flying closer and closer. His instincts kicked in and he leapt away, the attack flying passed him and just catching his shoulder. "Augh!"

Veemon: 4-50%
Mangoramon: 5-90%

He staggered around and felt himself step on something sharp, making him cry out as he took more damage.

Veemon: 4-45%
Mangoramon: 5-90%

Flash really did not like having his sight gone. As his foot stopped hurting, he could smell the apple scent again and tried to best to avoid a punch. The smell came from his right, so he shifted left and felt something pass by his face. "Now you're getting it!" Mangoramon stated. "Remember, you're not human right now."

"I'm not human?" Flash replied, as he let that info sink it. Then, he realised what Sandal had been trying to say before. "I'm a Digimon." He took a deep breath and simply listened, only now realising he could hear way better then he could when he was human. And it also explained why he could smell the apple scent easier now. Being a Digimon meant his sense of smell was stronger. "That's what he was trying to say. Being one with my Digimon isn't just about being in the same body. It's about using everything this body can use to my advantage."

"Sorry Flash," Veemon told him. "I didn't realise your sense of smell and hearing were weaker than mine."

"It's okay, bud. I should have realised my senses would be heightened in this new form." At that moment, a strong whoft of apple filled the air. Flash quickly leapt back, barely avoiding a punch, as he built up power in his mouth. Spitting the energy into his hand, he clutched it as he listened and sniffed. "There. Vee-Shot!" He threw the orb towards the sound of footprints and managed to hit Mangoramon.

"GYAH!" He cried, the blast doing serious damage to him.

Veemon: 4-45%
Mangoramon: 5-40%

Veemon cheered at the sound of Mangoramon being hit. But despite being able to locate him through sound and smell, he was still lacking his sight. As such, he didn't notice he had accidently moved over to a small cliff.

"WOW!" He screamed, as he fell over the edge and slammed into a rock on the way down. He cried out with every rock he hit, until he finally reached the bottom.

Veemon: 4-20%
Mangoramon: 5-40%

"Ow," he moaned as he clutched his head. As he picked himself up, he heard a sound and looked. That sound was of rushing water, something that made him gasp as he crawled towards it. He followed the sound until he face planted a rock, "ow!" He clutched his head and reached out, feeling the rock.

Then, he followed said rock until he reached the source of the sound. A spring of some kind.

He quickly filled his hands with water and used them to wash away the moss. The sticky substance finally came off and he was able to open his eyes, allowing him to see the water was coming out of the rock and forming a small stream. It was a small stream and the sound was so weak, he never would have heard it as a human. Luckily, he wasn't human.

"Great," Flash looked around to try and see if he could spot Sandalwood. But he was nowhere in sight. "He's gotta be around he somewhere."

"Maybe we should use our battle gear to fly up," Veemon suggested. Flash wasn't sure if he wanted to waste the battle gear like that. But before he could come to a decision, he heard the familiar whistling sound.

He spun around, just in time to see a trio of spinning leaves heading straight for him. "Wow!" He tried to leap away, but wasn't able to and the leaves slammed into him. "Augh!" He cried, his security breaking with the second impact whilst the third knocked his next one down some more.

Veemon: 3-85%
Mangoramon: 5-40%

Mangoramon leapt down from a rock and smirked at Veemon, who was picking himself up. "Glad to see you've learned to become one with your Digimon. But that just means I can go all our against you." He pulled off more moss and threw it, "Moss Pelt!" The green moss balls flew towards Veemon, who leapt around doing several jumps and rolls to avoid them.

"Hey!" Flash turned to him, as he fired three more Bloom-Arangs att him. "Way to waste your SP!" He dodged one of them, got hit by a second and ducked behind a rock to protect himself from the third.

Veemon: 3-70%
Mangoramon: 5-40%

"You're right," Mangoramon ran over to another rock. "it would be dumb to use all my SP at once. If I hadn't seen this on the way down." Veemon looked around and saw Mangoramon climbing up the rock, the Rookie looking up and seeing something at the top of it. A blue coin with SP on it.

"Don't tell me." Mangoramon reached it and crushed the coin in his hands, the blue energy flying into him and likely restoring his SP. "How many other coins are there?" As he asked that, he noticed something else. His Digivolution Gauge was getting close to being filled. "Yes!" He leapt out at of the rock and spat energy into his hand. "Vee-Shot!" He threw it at Mangoramon, slamming into him and knocking him flying off the rock.

Veemon: 3-70%
Mangoramon: 5-0%

He hit the ground, as Veemon charged at him. He quickly fired another Vee-Shot, but this one Mangoramon rolled away from before swinging his leaf around. "Bloom-Arang!" The leaf shot towards Flash, who was trying to form a Vee-Shot. But it slammed into him and caused him to send the attack flying into the air.

Veemon: 3-55%
Mangoramon: 4-100%

"Wow!" The Veemon rolled backwards as the attack knocked him backwards. He eventually came to a stop and pushed himself back up, as his Digivolution Gauge reached the maximum. "Yes!" He took a deep breath, "time to Digivolve!" He summoned the Digimental and it burst into flames, surrounding his body and making Mangoramon's eyes go wide. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." He grew and when the flames extinguished, he stood above the plant Digimon ready to do some damage. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Wow," Mangoramon was looking amazed, "nice look man. Armor Digimon are so cool. Wish Mangoramon had one." Flamedramon then rushed at him, ready to slash the plant with his claws. "Wow!" He pulled out some moss and threw it, "Moss Pelt!"

Flamedramon wasn't gonna let himself get blinded again, so he quickly swung his claws around and slashed away the moss before it could hit him. He then leapt towards Mongoramon as his claws glowed, "Express Claw!" He slashed at him, but Mongoramon managed to dodge the attack before running over to a nearby rock. "You can't run forever!"

"Don't have to bro!" Mongoramon stated. "Just long enough to find a way to beat you." But as he ran, Flamedramon focused on the Rookie and ignited his claws.

"Fire Rocket!" He launched a trio of flaming projectiles towards Mongoramon, who leapt up into the air as one of the missiles slammed into the ground and made it explode. The embers slammed into his back, doing a bit of damage.

Flamedramon: 3-55%
Mangoramon: 4-95%

Mangoramon landed and swung his head around. "Bloom-Arang!" The leaf shot up towards a rock that was sticking out of the cliff. Flamedramon wondered what he was doing, but shrugged it off and leapt into the air.

"Now I've got you!" He fell towards the ground and ignited his gauntlet, "Flame Fist!" Mangoramon remained where he was and then, at the last second, he leapt backwards as he pulled off some moss.

"Moss Pelt!" He threw it, not at Flamedramon but at the ground. Flamedramon thought he had gone nuts and slashed at him, managing to get the tip of his flaming claw to hit him. "Augh!"

Flamedramon: 3-55%
Mangoramon: 4-80%

Flamedramon smirked as he landed, whilst Mangoramon staggered backwards and clutched his chest. "Sorry man," Flamedramon chuckled. "But against a red hot fire Digimon, plant types like you don't stand a chance."

Mongoramon smirked, "maybe...but there are ways to beat a Digimon that don't involve type match-ups." Flamedramon looked confused, but then he tried to move and found his foot was stuck.

"Huh?" He looked down, but couldn't see anything that looked like it was trapping his foot. Then he remembered Mangoramon throwing something onto the ground. "Your moss!"

"That's right!" Mangoramon smirked, "and that makes you the perfect target." He fired another Bloom-Arang and shot it up towards the same rock he had attacked earlier, the leaf slamming into it and causing the rock to break off of the cliff.

Flamedramon's eyes went wide, as the rock began to fall towards him. "What!?" He pulled on his foot, but it still wouldn't budge. He then tried to blast the rock with his Fire Rocket, but the flames bounced off it without any damage.

Finally, the rock smashed into him and broke apart. He screamed as he was buried alive, Mangoramon smirking as he ran away.

"Ooh," Micro looked away from the fight, then turned back when he saw Flamedramon's health bar drop down.

Flamedramon: 3-5%
Mangoramon: 4-80%

"Oh my," Tentomon frowned. "That did some serious damage. I guess that's Sandal and Mangoramon's style. Using the field to their advantage." Micro nodded, thinking the exact same thing.

"Yeah. He knew Flash would likely use a Fire Digimon to counter his Plant Attribute, so he put them in a field that could do damage to Flamedramon. Flash should be lucky he didn't put them in a water field, though I guess that would also cause problems for Sandal as well." He watched, as the rock pile began to shift and move.

Flamedramon pulled himself free of the rocks, Flash groaning inside his head.

"I can't believe we fell for such an obvious trick!" He had managed to get his foot unstuck from the moss, but it had already done his job. They had taken some serious damage and if Flash didn't find a way to turn the tables soon, he was gonna be in serious trouble.

"We've gotta find him and blast him!" Veemon cried, "the guy's tricky but he's still weak to fire attack. We gotta roast him."

"Maybe," Flash leapt off the rock pile and tried to find Mangoramon. He had to be careful, since it was clear Sandalwood knew this field like the back of his hand.

They slowly made their way through the field of large rocks, all the while trying to once again become more intune with his Digimon senses. They were gonna take a while to get the hang of, but he was already starting to understand how far he could hear, see and smell.

Then, as he made his way passed a rock, he heard movement coming from above and looked straight up. "Bonzai!" Mangoramon leapt down and slammed his feet into Flamedramon's chest, making him stagger back and slam into another rock.

Flamedramon: 3-0%
Mangoramon: 4-80%

The Armor Digimon flinched, but quickly ignited his claws. "Fire Rocket!" He launched the flaming projectiles straight at Mangoramon, who was still reeling back after tackling Flamedramon. As such, he couldn't escape as the attacks rushed towards him.

"AUGH!" He cried, as one struck him right on the chest and did major damage.

Flamedramon: 2-100%
Mangoramon: 4-50%

As he flew back, the other two Fire Rockets exploded against rocks and the embers flew everywhere. Mangoramon flinched as some of them hit him as he flew back, then slammed into one of the rocks behind him.

Flamedramon: 2-100%
Mangoramon: 4-35%

As Mangoramon fell to the ground, Flamedramon pushed himself off the rock and walked towards him. Flash saw his SP was pretty low, so he would need to do some hand to hand fighting until it went back up or he could find a coin. But as he got close, Mangoramon pushed himself up and smirked.

"Almost time!" He pulled several pieces of moss off his body, "Moss Barrage!" He launched the moss balls at Flamedramon, who used his claws to slash most of them away. Three managed to hit him, doing only five points of damage. His opponent then swung his head around, "Bloom-Arang!" The leaf shot towards Flamedramon and hit his leg, slashing at it.

"Haa!" He hissed, his power going down.

Flamedramon: 2-75%
Mangoramon: 4-35%

"Alright!" Mangoramon smirked, "now the SP's all used up." Flamedramon wondered why he would be happy about that, only to then remember a quick way to refill it. "Let's go!" He then exploded with light before his entire body started growing. "Mangoramon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of him, revealing what appeared to be a man-sized robot made entirely out of wood. "Arbormon!"

"There it is!" Micro cried, "Sandal and Mangoramon's favourite Champion Level." As he said that, the data on Arbormon appeared on the screen.

Name: Arbormon
Level: Champion
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Cyborg
Family: Nature Spirits, Jungle Troopers

"Be careful Flash," Micro told his friend. "This form is not one to be trifled with."

"So that's his Digivolved form," Flash realised. "Doesn't matter. Still a Plant Attribute!" He charged forward, ready to cut the otherside wood carving down to side.

"Come get some!" Arbormon yelled, as he thrust his arms forward. "Roundhouse Punt!" Suddenly, his arms detached from the elbows and shot towards Flamedramon, still attacked to his body by cables.

Flamedramon had been so surprised by this, he didn't have time to avoid the first punch and it smacked him right in the face. "Gyah!" He was knocked staggering back, allowing the second fist the chance to get in close and be slam him in the chest. "Augh!"

Flamedramon: 2-55%
Arbormon: 4-35%

As Flamedramon fell backwards, the flying fists continued to snake through the air. The cables coiled and moved, changing to positions of the fists and allowing them to shot forward again to try and punch him. But Flamedramon wasn't going down that easily and quickly slashed his claws at the fists.

This knocked the wooden weapons back, protecting Flamedramon as he waited for his SP to charge back up.

He quickly charged in close to Arbormon, thinking he couldn't use that attack at close range. And sure enough, as he got closer Arbormon had to bring his fists back to his body. The two then engaged in a hand to hand battle, Flamedramon having the clear advantage since Arbormon's mechanical body was unable to move as fast as his opponent.

This allowed Flamedramon to get three good slashed in on Arbormon, knocking him backwards and doing damage to him.

Flamedramon: 2-55%
Arbormon: 4-5%

Arbormon staggered back, as Flamedramon spun around and thrust a kick into his chest. But Arbormon managed to use his arms to block the attack, though he was knocked staggering backwards in the process.

Flamedramon: 2-55%
Arbormon: 4-0%

Flamedramon's gauntlet then ignited, the Armor Digimon rushing forward. "Flame Fist!" But before he could get in close enough, Arbormon lowered his arms as his mouth opened.

"Blockade Seed!" Suddenly, seeds shot out of his mouth at high speed. They were so fast, Flamedramon could react in time to avoid them. They slammed into his chest and instantly sprouted, causing a bunch of vines to appear around him.

"What the heck!?" He cried, as his entire body was tied up by the vines. "Augh! Get these things off me!"

"Roundhouse Punt!" Arbormon quickly fired his fists at the lizard, both of them slamming into him and knocked him backwards into a rock.

Flamedramon: 2-30%
Arbormon: 3-100%

Arbormon laughed as he turned to run away, whilst Flamedramon struggled against the vines. "Man, this guy is tough." He was forced to used some of his SP to ignited his claws again, allowing him to burn through the vines holding his arms locked to his side.

Once they snapped, he was able to cut through the rest and began to make his way through the rocky field. As he did, he heard the sound of water and knew it was likely another stream. And as the water got louder, he noticed something atop one of the rocks.

"Yes!" Flash rushed over to the blue coin, leaping up and grabbing it. Doing so caused his SP to max out, allowing him to launch a flurry of fire attacks again. And as he stood atop the rock, he noticed the water he had heard.

It was a much larger spring from before, which was flowing into a river that ran along the rock covered battlefield. And standing on a rock on th other side of the river, was Arbormon.

"Now I've got you!" He leapt off the rock and flew through the air, Arbormon noticing him as he reached the top of his jump. "FIRE ROCKET!" His entire body exploded, allowing him to propel himself towards Arbormon.

The Champion tried to escape by dodging, but Flamedramon was able to control his propulsion and follow him. "WOW!" Arbormon yelled, right before Flamedramon slammed into him and created a powerful explosion. "AUGH!"

Flamedramon: 2-30%
Arbormon: 3-40%

Arbormon was sent flying backwards and crashed into the ground, as Flamedramon leapt back and land on the other side of the river. "How'd you like that? You might have some cool tricks, but you're still at a disadvantage against my fire attacks." As he watched Arbormon pick himself up, Flash smirked in his head. 'I can still win. I've seen all his tricks and with a few more big blasts, I'll take him down.'

Arbormon chuckled, "you're right about me being weak to fire." He stood tall and stared him down. "But don't forget, you've got weaknesses too." Flamedramon looked confused, as Arbormon held up an arm. "Battle Gear, BOOST!" Suddenly, that arm exploded with light and began to transform. As it did, a rope of light flew off of it and moved to his back. It formed a square shape on said back, the form completing before the light faded.

When it did, it revealed a large white backpack on Arbormon's back that had an opening in the side that was covered with glass. A rubber tube came off the top and was connected to his arm, which had transformed into a white cannon-like weapon with the end looking like a fireman's hose.

"What the heck is that?" Flamedramon asked, as Arbormon moved around and showed him what was on his back. When he did, Flash noticed the backpack's glass hole revealed something inside the device. Water.

"Say hello to the Spray Blaster! The ultimate Battle Gear designed to help Digimon weak to fire, like me, face off against you hot heads." Flash had a feeling he knew what Arbormon was talking about, the Plant Digimon pointing its blaster at him. "Spray Blast!" Before Flamedramon could react, a powerful surge of water exploded out of the nozzle and shot towards him.

"GYAH!" He screamed, the water slamming into him with enough force to blast him backwards. When it stopped, he was still flying back and crashed into a nearby rock.

Flamedramon: 2-0%
Arbormon: 3-40%

"Awwww," he groaned as he rolled onto his front, "no freaking way." He was down to his last security. "Something that strong's gotta have a draw back." He pushed himself to his feet, as he thought about his own Battle Gear. "Maybe it's got limited shots." He turned back to Arbormon, only to see him at the river with his blaster in the water. "What?"

Arbormon chuckled, "gotta love this Battle Gear. It might have limit ammo, but I can reload as long as I'm near a large body of water." He pointed his weapon at him again, "fire!" The water bullet exploded towards Flamedramon, who barely managed to avoid it by leaping to the side.

He then rushed forward, as Arbormon fired several more blasts towards him.

"Not this time!" Flamedramon leapt into the air, the water exploding beneath him as he shot towards Arbormon. "Flame Fist!" He reached Arbormon and punched him, knocking the wooden robot backwards.

Flamedramon: 1-100%
Arbormon: 3-25%

Arbormon quickly recovered and fired another water blast, Flamedramon leaping back to avoid it. The blast exploded and several high speed drops still hit him, the Armor Digimon hissing as he did.

Flamedramon: 1-95%
Arbormon: 3-25%

Flamedramon landed and as he did, he noticed his Digivolution Gauge was close to filling. "Alright, time to go all out!" He shot forward as his claws glowed. "Express Claw!" He slashed at Arbormon, hitting him once.

Flamedramon: 1-95%
Arbormon: 3-15%

Twice.

Flamedramon: 1-95%
Arbormon: 3-5%

Three times.

Flamedramon: 1-95%
Arbormon: 3-0%

Arbormon quickly raised his cannon as Flamedramon went for another hit, but his water level was low so he couldn't launch a stronger blow. He fire and it struck Flamedramon right in the chest, knocking him back.

Flamedramon: 1-75%
Arbormon: 2-100%

As Flamedramon landed near the water, his Digivolution Gauge filled up. "Finally!" Arbormon fired another blast, Flamedramon leaping into the air and bursting into flames. "Flamedramon, Digivolve to..." The fire exploded off of him, revealing the Ultimate Level Greymon Species. "BURNINGGREYMON!"

"Wow!" Arbormon cried, "talk about cool!" But as he said this, BurningGreymon looked down at him and pointed his blaster arms at him. "Uh oh."

"Pyro Barrage!" The gauntlets launched a bunch of flaming bullets togethers the Plant Digimon, who attempted to evade the attack but several of them slammed into him and he cried out in pain.

BurningGreymon: 1-75%
Arbormon: 2-40%

Arbormon fell to the ground, but he was close to the river and quickly dipped his water blaster into it to recharge. As he did, BurningGreymon dived down and landed on the other side of the river. "Crimson Fanger!" He shot forward, building up incredible speed as air broke around him.

Arbormon quickly pulled the blaster out of water and fired a long stream of water, which shot towards the Fire Digimon and slammed right into BurningGreymon.

BurningGreymon: 1-50%
Arbormon: 2-40%

BurningGreymon, though damaged by the water, was able to keep himself from being pushed back and forced his way through the water stream. He then thrust his helmeted head into the robot Digimon, hitting him hard enough to knock him backwards. "Gyah!"

BurningGreymon: 1-50%
Arbormon: 2-20%

Arbormon was knock onto his back and rolled along the ground, as BurningGreymon took to the air. But before he could get away, Arbormon forced himself onto his back and fired his water blaster. The stream flew at him and slammed into the dragonoid. "Augh!"

Micro flinched seeing Flash get hit again, the dragon Digimon's life gauge dropping.

BurningGreymon: 1-25%
Arbormon: 2-20%

"Careful Flash," he frowned. "You're dangerously close to losing this battle." As he said that, BurningGreymon flew down as Arbormon picked himself up. "You gotta get rid of that cannon."

"Gotta get rid of that cannon!" Flash groaned as he saw his SP was growing low. He could only use one big blast. "Might as well go big or go home."

Arbormon stood up as he checked his cannon, but the water was too low and BurningGreymon was now between him and the river. "Not good."

BurningGreymon vibrated, as flames exploded out of every gap in his armor and surrounded his entire body. "Time to bring out the big guns. WILDFIRE TSUNAMI!" He spun around, using his tail to launch the flames off of him straight towards Arbormon.

The Digimon gasped and braced himself, as the flames completely consumed him. "GYAH!" He cried, as he was roasted alive.

BurningGreymon: 1-25%
Arbormon: 2-0%

As he was, BurningGreymon shot forward and prepared his claws. He flew into the flames, completely immune to their effects, and slashed at the Spray Blaster. The claws ripped through the metal and completely destroyed it, the rest of the device exploding into data.

Arbormon flinched at this, but he wouldn't let that stop him. "Roundhouse Punt!" He threw his fist into BurningGreymon and knocked him back, whilst the fire continued to do more damage to him.

BurningGreymon: 1-15%
Arbormon: 1-75%

Arbormon quickly rushed towards the water, still ablaze as he leapt into the river and put the flames out.

BurningGreymon: 1-15%
Arbormon: 1-50%

Flash smirked as Arbormon was surrounded by steam. "Without his water cannon, he doesn't stand a chance against me now." But as he said that, he heard Arbormon yell something before a trio of object shot towards him.

It was his Blockade Seed attack, BurningGreymon attempting to dodge only for one to hit his wing. "Augh!" He cried, as the vines wrapped around them tightly. He quickly fell to the ground and as he did, Arbormon stepped out of the water.

"Don't count me out just yet!" His body began to glow, BurningGreymon's eyes going wide in shock as his body began to grow. "Arbormon, Digivolve to..." The light faded to reveal a giant fusion of a lizard and a plant, with two long tails and root-like spikes sticking off its back. "PETALDRAMON!

"Oh," Micro sighed, "that's not good." As he said that, Petaldramon's data appeared.

Name: Petaldramon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Vegetation
Family: Nature Spirits, Jungle Troopers

He turned to Flash, who looked absolutely shocked that Arbormon had Digivolved. "Flash still has a lot to learn. He was able to become Flamedramon fast because the time it takes to charge the gauge up from Rookie to Armor is shorter then it is for Rookie to Champion. But because of that, it takes longer for an Armor Digimon to build the gauge up for an Ultimate Evolution."

"Who cares why he was able to Digivolve!" BurningGreymon spread his wings, "I've still got the advantage!" He shot into the air and prepared his blasters, the SP having charged up just enough. "Pyro Barrage!"

Petaldramon looked up, as the flurry of fire bullets rained down upon him.

BurningGreymon: 1-15%
Petaldramon: 1-40%

"Augh!" he cried, but he wouldn't let this stop him. "Thorn Jab!" He thrust his tails into the ground as the continued to slam into him.

BurningGreymon: 1-15%
Petaldramon: 1-30%

As the flames kept burning him, the tails exploded out of the ground beneath BurningGreymon.

The Ultimate Digimon barely had a second to notice them before he was grabbed and tied up. "AUGH!" His arms and wings were pinned to his side, as Petaldramon controlled his tail and used it to slam him into the ground. "GYAH!"

BurningGreymon: 1-5%
Petaldramon: 1-30%

BurningGreymon moaned as the roots let him go, the Digimon rolling onto his hands and knees. "I'm...not done."

"Not yet," Petaldramon jumped onto his hind legs. "But this should leave you done!" As he said that, the leaves around his head began to slowly rotate clockwise. "LEAF CYCLONE!" As the leaves spun, a powerful gust began to fly out. At the same time, he started firing leaves out of his nose.

"What?" BurningGreymon cried, as the leaves were caught by the wind and spun around into a powerful tornado. "No way!" He spread his wings and took to the air, attempting to escape. But the tornado reached him before he could and the high speed foliage slammed into him. "AUGH!"

BurningGreymon: 1-0%
Petaldramon: 1-30%

Petaldramon laughed as he quit power to his attack, the tornado vanishing as BurningGreymon fell to the ground.

He watched as the dragon recovered from the attack, still dizzy from the spinning he had had to endure. And as his mind began to focus, he realised he was falling towards a large rock. "WOW!" He spread his wings, trying to slow himself down. But he could in time and smashed into the rock.

There was a huge flash of light, as BurningGreymon's body exploded into date. Flash and Veemon were thrown out of that light, both screaming as they fell to the ground. As they landed, the overhead voice spoke out.

"Battle Over! Winner, Sandalwood." The battlefield was then consumed by light, transforming back into the domed room as Petaldramon shrank down. He was then consumed with light before splitting into Sandal and Mangoramon, the two cheering at their victory and high-fiving one another.

All the while, Flash and Veemon laid on the ground looking shocked that they had been so thoroughly beaten. "I can't believe this." A hand then appeared next to him, Flash looking up and seeing Sandal smiling down at him.

"Good match. That was fun." Flash sighed and took the hand, allowing Sandal to help him up. "You were good, especially when you finally got the hang of being the Digimon."

"You still beat me though," Flash sighed. "You had total control of that battle. I was playing catch up the whole time."

"Yeah," Sandalwood nodded, "just goes to show what experience can do for you." They headed out of the room, both returning to the lobby where Micro and Tentomon was waiting.

"So," Micro asked Flash, "what did we learn?"

Flash sighed, "I've got a really strong Digimon that can fight really well. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna win every match."

"Exactly," Micro nodded, "you're not the first person to get overconfident after one win. Lots of Codex players who win their first match think they're unstoppable. And sometimes, that arrogance never goes away."

"Well I've learnt my lesson," Flash assured them. "I'm not gonna underestimate my opponent again. And I'm gonna do whatever it takes to improve myself. I'll learn everything I can about the Digital World." He turned to Sandalwood. "I might not be able to beat you yet, but just wait. I'll learn and grow stronger. Then I'll battle you again and win."

Sandalwood smirked, "happy to hear it. Can't wait to see how strong you get." He held up a fist and Flash bumped it, Micro doing the same.

Flash might have lost today's battle, but he knew learning something important was worth a loss. Now he would focus his attention on improving his understanding of the Digital World and Digimon in general. It was gonna take a long time before he could truly master this game, but he wouldn't stop until he did.

Author's Note

We get to meet Sandalwood, his partner, and have a fun battle with Flash learning a lesson. All in all, a pretty good chapter. What do you think? And what do you think of Mangoramon? Do you think it works as a Rookie for Arbormon?

Digital Exploration

It was another beautiful day in the Primary Village, just like every other day.

Due to how important this place was, the Primary Village was built to be the perfect place for young Digimon to live in. As such, the weather in the area was always perfect. It never rained, snowed, hailed or had any other terrible weather that would upset the newly born Digimon.

And despite the lack of rain, the plants and flowers there grew as if it did rain. It was truly a place that was brimming with life and when Flash arrived that that day, he couldn't help but be amazed by the place.

He, Micro, Veemon and Tentomon had just arrived, Micro suggesting their visit due to Flash not getting the chance to come given what had happened on his first day. Flash had been a little hesitant, given what happened the last time, but was talked into it and soon arrived at the village of beginnings.

"Here we are," Micro told him once they ported in. "What do you think?"

"Wow," Flash smirked, "this place is awesome."

"I know, right?" Flash was about to walk away, but Micro grabbed him by the hood. "Hold it." He turned to the bespectacled teen. "Before we do anything, we need to load a deck."

"Why?"

"Primary Village is only one of the many places I'm taking you today. And along the way, we might end up getting into trouble. Trust me, you'll want your deck already loaded so Veemon can Digivolve."

"How much trouble can we get into around here?" Veemon asked.

"And does it matter if we did get in trouble?" Flash asked, "it's not like the two of us are the real versions of us."

Micro frowned. "Flash, you have to be careful." Flash was surprised by how serious Micro was acting right now. "We might only be digital avatars, but we're still vulnerable. If we get destroyed, we don't just respawn or something. That's it. Game over." Flash's eyes went wide. "I've known players that got cocky and didn't take care of themselves, only to get crushed by a Mammothmon or something else. And I never saw them again."

Flash suddenly felt very unprotected at that moment, the teen quickly activating one of the decks as he did so. "Alright, so what would happen if I didn't load a deck?"

"Veemon could still Digivolve," Micro explained. "But the evolution would be Veemon's natural Champion, whatever that turns out to be. Every Digimon has a particular Champion they're meant to become, so that's the only one they can Digivolve into if they don't have us choosing the Evolution for them. It could become Veedramon, but he might become something else that we don't wanna have in a bad situation."

Flash nodded as they finally started looking around the village, amazed at all the cribs and eggs that were laying on the ground. "Awe," Flash smirked seeing a Digimon in a crib that looked like a metal computer mouse

"How cute," Veemon smiled before trying to scratch the baby's head. But as soon as he touched the metal, he got zapped. "Ahh!" The others laughed at this, as they heard movement and turned to see Elecmon walking towards them.

"Micro," he smiled, "is this that friend you were telling me about?"

"Yup," Micro nodded. "This is Flash Sentry." He turned to Flash, "and this is the protector of the Primary Village. Elecmon."

"Nice to meet you," Flash told him.

"Same here," Elecmon nodded. "Always fun to meet a new face. Just so long as you show this place the respect it deserves." He began to walk towards one of the eggs, taking out a cloth that he used to wipe the egg clean. "This place is where Digimon can remain safe whilst they wait to be reborn. What happens here has a great effect on the Digimon inside."

"Really?" Flash asked, as her took out his Digivice. "Do you mind?"

"Sure?" Elecmon smirked, "you ain't the first player that's come to scan me or the babies." Flash smiled and pointed the device at Elecmon, scanning him and acquiring his data.

Name: Elecmon
Level: Rookie
Type: Data
Attribute: Electric
Species: Mammal
Family: Nature Spirit, Deep Savers, Metal Empire

"Thanks," Flash put the device away and moved over to look at the egg. "So does your time here really affect the way the Digimon comes out?"

"I like to think so," Elecmon announced. "All Digimon have the potential for both good and evil. Even ones that start as Virus Digimon, have the power to grow into something good." He looked at the Digi-Egg he was rubbing. "The Digimon in this egg had a life before it was an egg. It might have been a great hero, who wanted to protect the weak. Or might have been an evil Digimon that the weak needed protecting from. But that doesn't matter anymore."

"It doesn't?" Flash asked, as Micro stepped over to him.

"When Digimon get destroyed and returned to Digi-Eggs, they lose all their memories of their previous lives. Sometimes they'll remember a few random flashes of their past lives, but it's very rare."

"I see," Flash frowned. "So everything they do. Everything they were...it just disappears?"

"Yes," Elecmon nodded. "But it's also a chance to start anew. To walk a different path from the one they once travelled. And how that path is shaped all starts from here." As he said that, the egg began to shake. "And it looks like this one's path is about to start right now." Flash and Veemon watched in amazement, excited to see a new Digimon be born into this world.

Micro and Tentomon stepped away, clearly knowing something Flash didn't.

And it became clear why when the egg cracked, then exploded in a giant burst of smoke. The force knocked Flash and Veemon back, the pair accidently breathing in the smoke and coughing as the Baby Digimon was born. And as it was, the destroyed pieces of the egg morphed into a crib that the baby laid in.

When the smoke finally faded, Flash was able to crawl over to see the Digimon in the crib was a slimy white Digimon with three bumps on its back.

"Awe," Flash smirked as he took out his Digivice. He scanned it, curious to see what info he would get.

Name: Pichimon
Level: Fresh
Type: Free
Attribute: Neutral
Species: Slime
Family: Deep Savers

Flash smirked as he asked Elecmon if he could pick the Digimon up, Elecmon happy to let him. Flash carefully did so before carefully holding him up. "I bet you're gonna Digivolve into something awesome."

"You can always find out," Micro told him. "It won't cost you much to Digivolve that scan you just got into its Rookie form. You can see what this little guy's gonna one day turn into."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Elecmon told him. "He might turn into what you Digivolve that scan into, but a strong desire can override what it's programmed to become. I knew a Gabumon who had a bunch of egg-mates that all turned into Garurumon, but he didn't want to be Garurumon. He wanted to be a warrior, which caused him to Digivolve into a humanoid wolf Digimon. Low...something-mon. But like I said, it's all about what you want."

Flash smirked, nodding. Elecmon was right. The Digimon might have been digital lifeforms, but that didn't mean their destinies were preprogrammed.

They continued to explore the Primary Village for a little while more once the baby Digimon went to sleep, Flash interested in seeing what happened when a Digimon grew up. Elecmon took him over to where a bunch of In-Training Digimon were playing.

As they did, Micro explained that Fresh Digimon Digivolved into In-Training after just a couple of days. Once in that state, they had the ability to care for their own needs. The only thing they couldn't do was fight, which was why they could remain in the village if they wanted to.

Every now and then, In-Trainings would leave the village to go out on their own. But most of the time, they remained. "There they are," Elecmon stated as they saw a bunch of In-Training Digimon bouncing around playing with a ball. One in particular, seemed to be a lot more skilled then the others. That Digimon looked like the disembodied head of a cat, with a W on its forehead and a tail on its back.

The little guy bounced the ball on his head as he hopped around, then reached the net where he bounced it into the air before jumping after it and slamming its tail into the net.

Everyone watched in amazement, as the ball flew through the air and hit the back of the net. "Goal!" The Digimon cheered as he landed on the ground. But as he did, his eyes went wide before his body exploded with a bright light and started changing. "Wanyamon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of him, revealing a four foot tall bear digimon wearing a hat and leather straps. "Bearmon!"

Bearmon looked over his new body, amazed by what he had become. He turned towards his In-Training friends and smiled, the In-Training Digimon all cheering for his evolution. They started playing again, Bearmon staggering around as he tried to get used to having arms and legs.

"Good for him," Elecmon chuckled. "He'll probably stick around for a few more days to get the hang of things. But then he'll have to go out and find a place for himself out in the Digital World." The others nodded as Micro turned to Flash.

"Well, we've got a long day of exploration ahead of us. We should get going." Flash nodded and they all said goodbye to Elecmon, who happily invited them to come back and visit any time. The two humans and their Digimon all made their way out of Primary Village, Micro smiling as he looked around. "Man, this place hasn't changed a bit."

"You've been here?"

"Duh. I came on my first day. I was so excited, I completely forgot to head back to Codex for my In-Training match. I spent all day just exploring this place. It was awesome." Flash smirked as he looked around, taking out his Digivice and scanning the area so he would have more options if he wanted to use this place in his next battle. But he knew, he was gonna need as many different environments as possible.

"So where we heading now?" Flash asked, as the four of them made their way through the forest.

"We should go somewhere you can experience meeting many different Digimon," Tentomon suggested. "You met plenty of Dinosaur Digimon when you ran into Monochromon and those Tyrannomon. Sandalwood also gave you a pretty good experience with Plant Digimon."

Micro nodded, "what's the opposite of dinosaurs and plants?" An actual lightbulb appeared above his head, "I've got it." He turned to Flash as he took out his Digivice. "Alright, I'm gonna send you a transport request. This'll let you travel to an area that's in my location page instead of yours." Flash nodded and his Digivice beepered, the teen accepting the request before the location loaded onto his screen.

"Machine Town?" He read the location, as Micro held his Digivice up and pulled the trigger. The next thing Flash knew, he was being pulled into the sky along with Micro, Tentomon and Veemon. The four shot through the tunnel of light and came out the other side, materialising as the light around them vanished.

When it did, Flash looked around and saw they were in a giant city that looked like it was something out of a sci-fi movie. It was completely made out of metal, with a bunch of different gizmos and gadgets all over the place. Buildings of different shapes and sizes littered the street, whilst robotic Digimon walked around.

"Welcome to Machine Town," Micro stepped forward and spun around. "The perfect place to meet mechanical or cyborg Digimon. This is as different from the places you've been as it can get." Flash smirked and nodded, holding up his Digivice and scanned the place. It was certainly going to be fun battling here.

He then watched as Micro ran down the street, Tentomon following close behind as Flash and Veemon ran to catch up. As they made their way through the city, Flash couldn't help but notice Micro was barely paying attention to where they were going. "So, how many times have you been here?"

"Oh, I come at least once a week."

"Why?" Veemon asked as they arrived at an area of the city that had moving sidewalks.

"Why not?" They stepped onto it, "this place is nerd heaven. Devices and machines that would be impossible or too dangerous in the real world, all safe and sound right here." They made their way through the city on the moving street, Flash amazed at all the Digimon he was seeing. None of them seemed like the kind Flash would want to fight as, so he would hold off on scanning them. Besides, they might not have been so willing to let him scan them as Elecmon was.

Then, he noticed a purple penguin Digimon on the moving street opposite him.

"I thought you said this place was where Machine and Cyborg Digimon called home?"

"It is," Micro nodded. "But other Digimon can come here if they want. Mostly, it's to get a type of device or machine they need for something they have to do at their own home." He smirked, "which is the main reason I always come here." He stepped off the moving street with the others following, as they came to an between two tall buildings.

They headed down this alleyway, which was really dark due to the building blocking the sun from filling it.

Flash felt a little unnerved as he walked behind his friend, wondering what the heck he was doing here. "Micro, bud? Why are we here?" Micro just looked back at him, smiling before they came to a set of stairs in front of a wall. Flash looked down these stairs and saw they lead to a door that likely went into a part of the building next to them that you couldn't get to from within that building.

Micro walked down the steps and into the room, Flash and the Digimon following behind. The inside of this room was nothing like the city outside. It was dark and dirty, with a bunch of power tools and machinery scattered about on a bunch of different tables.

"Again," Flash asked Micro, "what the heck are we doing here?"

"To see an old friend of mine," Micro smirked. "A genius at creating Battle Gear and almost anything else you can think about. Trust me, knowing this guy will be rewarding." Flash still wasn't sure what he was talking about, but decided he would at least meet this guy.

"Augh!" The lot of them suddenly jumped, as a cry of pain and surprise caught their attention. It came from another room, the four of them stepping over to it only for a loud bang to make them leap back. Moments later, smoke flew through the door as someone staggered out and coughed. "Okay, not gonna do that again for a while." The figure appeared out of the smoke and revealed themselves to be a small machine Digimon, with cable arms and legs connected to mechanical hands and feet that had a glass dome for a head.

"You okay?" Micro asked, the Digimon looking up and smiling.

"Micro!" He cheered, "how's my favourite customer?" Micro smirked and knelt down, the pair shaking hands as Micro turned to Flash.

"This is the guy I was telling you about. Datamon." He turned to the Digimon, "this is my friend. His name's Flash and he's new to the Digital World."

"Ah," Datamon leapt up onto a tall stool that made him eye level with Flash. "Glad to meet you. Always happy to be introduced to a new customer."

"Hi," Flash shook his head, "what exactly do you make here?"

"What don't I make here," Datamon laughed. "Battle Gears, replacement parts for mechanical Digimon and anything else you might wanna have. I can make it all, for a price."

Micro stepped up to Flash. "You know your Dragon Booster Battle Gear?" Flash nodded, "well Datamon built it." This surprised Flash, as Datamon smirked.

"So, you're the one who got that extra scan. How's it working out for you?"

"Well I've only used it once," Flash explained. "But it really helped. Are all your creations as good as it?"

"Some are even better," Datamon laughed before jumping down onto the floor. He moved over to a large computer in the corner of the room. "So, what kind of Digimon do you use? My Battle Gear all work on a Digimon's family, so Digimon like Nightmare Soldiers, Machine Empire and what not."

"Well," Flash hugged, "most of my scans are in the Dragon's Roar family."

"I see," Datamon typed it into the computer and a bunch of different devices appeared. "What do you like the look of? You need something to increase your long range attacks? Or help with hand to hand fighting? Your dragon booster should allow you to fly, but almost all Dragon's Roar Digimon learn to fly by the time they reach Ultimate if not Champion."

Flash thought about it and remembered his battle against Sandalwood. "Do you have anything to help me fight against Water Digimon?" Datamon turned to him. "I fought someone before that had a water cannon Battle Gear, letting him use water attacks despite being of the Plant Attribute. Got anything that could do the same for my Fire Digimon?"

"Interesting," Datamon hummed. "I might have something that could help with that." He typed away at it until he came to an image of a weapon, which appeared to be a black armband with lightning bolt shaped blade sticking out of it. "This is the Volt-Edge. It works as a normal blade, but can also build up electrical energy and inject that energy into whoever touches it." The image then changed to show an Agumon, with the band of the weapon around its arm.

They watched as the Agumon swung it around, the blade sparking as it did so. It then changed to show the Agumon was now a Greymon, the weapon having grown in size to be proportional to it as it did the same.

"That looks great," Micro smirked before turning to Flash. "Veemon, Flamedramon and even Veedramon are all super tough brawlers. This might also help whenever you're low on SP and need to fight whilst you wait for it to charge up." Flash nodded, also liking the look of the device.

He turned to Veemon, who nodded in agreement. They wanted it.

"How much?" Flash asked, Datamon chuckling as he gave him the price. It was a lot, but Flash still had plenty of cash from selling the Digimantal. He happily paid it and the new Battle Gear was all his.

"Happy doing business with you," Datamon stated. "If you ever need anything or want it custom made, come by and I'll see what I can do."

Flash nodded as they saw some more smoke coming out of the laboratory. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you working on in there before we got here? Or is it something that's super top secret." Datamon simply smiled and gestured for him to follow, the machine Digimon walking through the door with the others heading in behind him.

When they arrived, they found a lab that looked almost exactly like the Digi-Lab back in Codex.

The place was made of pristine white metal, with the same kind of lights that illuminated the place. And in the middle of the room was a device that looked exactly like the Digivolution Chamber. "Wow."

Datamon chuckled, "impressed? It took me a long time to build this place. I'm quite proud of it, for now I can strive to complete my life's work."

"And what's that?" Veemon asked, wanting to touch something only to get his finger swatted away by Datamon's extendo arm.

"If you must know, I am working to create an entirely new type of Digimon."

"A new type of Digimon?" Flash asked, looking at Micro who didn't seem the least bit surprised by this. "But how? How do you make a new Digimon?"

"Oh, new Digimon appear all the time. The Digital World is directly connected to the internet of your universe. Since you humans are always creating something new and putting info about it online, that data bleeds into the Digital World and takes shape and form. Sometimes it creates Digimon that already exist, but it can also create entirely new Digimon."

"Cool," Flash had no idea that was the case. To be honest, he hadn't thought about where Digimon came from after learning they really existed. Before then, he figured someone had just created them the same way they created video game and trading card creatures. "So what kind of Digimon are you trying to create?"

Datamon simply pressed a button on the console and it brought up the image of a white and purple Digimon, covered in drills.

"Err...hate to break it to you, but that Digimon already exists."

"I know that," Datamon stated. "I've been taking it one step at a time, starting with working on improving existing Digimon. First I worked on giving them temporary boosts, which is where the Battle Gears came from. Now, I'm working on permanent Digimon augmentation. Just watch. This'll be the next MetalGreymon."

"MetalGreymon?" Veemon asked, as Datamon turned to him.

"Of course. It was a Datamon that created the first MetalGreymon. A Greymon wanted to become stronger, but couldn't seem to Digivolve into any of the other Digivolutions that existed for it at the time. So it went to a Datamon, asking for its help. It happily obliged and started experimenting on the creature. Eventually, it found a way to transform parts of Greymon's body into a machine. And thus, MetalGreymon was born. And when it was eventually deleted, the data that made up its enhanced body became one with the Digital Word and every Greymon gained the ability to Digivolve into one."

"So you want to do the same thing to this Drimogemon?" Flash asked.

"I'm trying. It's not exactly easy to create something entirely new. If the existing Digimon's data can't synch with the enhancements, the entire thing will simply break apart the minute I try to test if out. I'm just glad I was able to create this system based on what Codex players have told me about your Digi-Lab. If I hadn't built this, I never would have been able to even get this far."

"Really?"

Micro turned to Flash. "He's doing his experiments on mindless scans of Digimon, which is perfectly fine. But if he didn't have those scans, the only way he could possible create a new Digimon is by experimenting on ones that are alive. I bet you can guess how many Digimon are interested in volunteering for that."

"Exactly," Datamon nodded. "Which is why I love this lab so much. And I love all the scans you Codex players are willing to trade for my Battle Gears."

"Wait," Flash frowned, "you're saying I could have traded a scan for that Volt-Edge instead of buying it."

"I doubt it. I'm only interested in rare scans. Ones that will allow me to create complex data streams to use to create my Digimon. I doubt a new player like you could possibly have such a thing."

"You kidding. All of my scans are rare. Veemon's a one of a kind Digimon." This statement intrigued Datamon, who was always interested in one of a kind Digimon.

"Well, wish I'd known that sooner. Hey, if you ever need another Battle Gear, come and tell me and I'll happily take some of your scans off your hands for it." Flash smirked as they looked up at the mole Digimon.

"So, what exactly are you gonna try and do to this Drimogemon?"

"Honestly, I think I've hit a dead end with this particular Digimon. It's data's way too complicated to enhance with mechanisation. I need a simpler Digimon. A pure breed, if I can find one." They nodded and Micro decided he should let Datamon get back to work.

"Come on Flash. Let's head to another area to check out." Flash nodded and the four headed out the lab. But as they did, they didn't notice Datamon hold up a hand.

From his palm, a light flew out and hit Veemon's back. The Rookie had no idea the light was flying over him until it was over, Veemon looking around as Datamon stopped what he was doing and smiled with a wave. Veemon waved back before they left, whilst Datamon chuckled.

He turned to his computer and stuck his finger in a port, uploading the data. "Codex players might not be able to scan partner Digimon, but I have no such restriction." The image of Veemon appeared followed by a bunch of possible evolutions. He couldn't unlock any of the Armors, but the Champions were his for the taking. "Huh," he found one that looked interesting, "what's this? ExVeemon?"

As soon as they were out of the lab, Micro had suggested another area they could check out.

Accepting another friend transport, Flash and Veemon found themselves being pulled into another location. This time, they arrived in yet another forest. "I thought we were trying to show me different areas?"

"We are," Micro smirked. "This forest's different from the ones you've been to before." Flash did notice that the trees were different from before, with even an entirely different smell. "This area has a bunch of different Digimon here. I'm sure you'll find something interesting the check out."

Flash wasn't so sure, but he was looking forward to seeing what was waiting for him in this location. He scanned the area and smirked at it, adding the forest to his locations as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Micro. How did you get this location? And all the other locations? Did a friend bring you along with them?"

"Nope. Hours upon hours of exploration. A few spots I bought at the Digi-Store, but most of them I found by exploring near places I already scanned." Flash nodded, understanding what he was getting at.

Suddenly, they heard a loud roar coming from a ways away. "What was that?" Veemon asked, Flash unsure but deciding to check it out.

"Hey!" Micro ran after him, "what are you doing? Usually, when you hear a loud roar, you run in the opposite direction." Flash knew he was probably right, but a part of him feared that maybe someone was in trouble.

"I just wanna see what's going on. If things get dangerous, we port back to Codex." Micro frowned, but knew he wasn't going to win this war. So they kept running and eventually, they came to the edge of a giant cliff.

Looking over the edge, they saw a large beach at the bottom of the cliff. And on that beach were a bunch of Digimon.

Four Digimon instantly came into view. One was a giant lobster-like Digimon with huge claws, another was a giant pink Digimon coming out of a spiral shell whilst the third was a large white squid Digimon with claws on its tentacles.

These three Digimon stood in a line, glaring at the fourth Digimon. A humanoid lion, wearing black leather pants and having a sword in his hands. He glared at the three, as he looked ready to fight.

"Leomon," Flash gasped as the others took stock of the situation.

"Fighting an Ebidramon, Shellmon and Gesomon," Micro realised. "But why? Leomon isn't a Digimon that picks a fight. So why would he be facing off against three Champion level Digimon on their own turf?" Before he could think of an answer, Ebidramon charged forward.

"Twin Scissor!" The lobster swung its claws towards Leomon, who leapt into the air and held up his sword. As he flew back down, he looked like he was going to stab the blade into the claw. But before he could...

"Aqua Blaster!" Shellmon fired a blast of water from the top of its seaweed covered head, the water flying towards Leomon and slamming into him.

"Augh!" He was knocked backwards and as he hit the sand, Tentomon noticed something behind him.

"Look!" He pointed at this and the others realised why Leomon was fighting against these three. He was protecting a trio of Rookie Digimon, who looked like they lived on the beach and had been attacked by the Champions.

"Leomon's trying to protect them," Veemon realised as Gesomon attacked.

"Coral Crusher!" He swung his giant claws legs around and tried to crush Leomon beneath them. Leomon managed to recover from the last attack and raised his arms, barely managing to blocked the arm as it came crashing down upon him.

He flinched in pain, but endured the attack. But it was clear, fighting these three wasn't going to end well for him. "We've gotta do something," Flash told Micro. The teen nodded, unable to just sit back and watch as the three Champions bullied the Rookies and Leomon.

"Let's do this!" Veemon cheered, as Tentomon hovered above him. The blue dragon grabbed the bug's legs and the pair flew down, as Flash and Micro took out their Digivices.

"You ready?" Micro asked, Flash unsure since he had never Digivolved a Digimon out in the Digital World. "You and Veemon need to focus on the same thing. Just think, help Leomon!" Flash and Veemon heard this, their eyes closing as they let this thought flow through their minds. And as they did, the Digivice began to glow.

"Right," Flash cried before opening his eyes, "DIGIVOLVE!" His Digivice exploded with light, which shot down and spiralled around the blue lizard.

"Veemon, Digivolve to...!" He let go of Tentomon, as the cocoon of light appeared and began to grow. The light caught the attention of those down on the beach, who all looked up as the cocoon grew large and finally exploded. When it did, the giant blue T-rex came crashing down on the beach. "VEEDRAMON!"

"My turn!" Tentomon cried, as Micro's Digivice unleashed the energy in the same way. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon appeared around him and enlarged before exploding, revealing the giant blue beetle who took to the air. "KABUTERIMON!"

Digivolutions complete, the pair charged forward. Shellmon and Ebidramon turned their attention to the pair, Shellmon dragging itself towards Veedramon whilst Ebidramon scuttled over to where Kabuterimon was flying. "Go Veedramon!" Flash cheered, catching Leomon's attention.

As Shellmon got close, Veedramon charged and clenched his fist. "Hammer Punch!" It glowed as he threw the punch forward, slamming right into Shellmon's face. This knocked the Digimon staggering back, making it cry out as Veedramon prepared to punch it again. But Shellmon quickly moved around and made its shell spin. Veedramon's fist slammed into the spinning shell, but the drill-like construct was moving too fast and did damage to his fist. "Augh!"

"Veedramon!" Flash cried, Micro watching as Kabuterimon flew above the water that Ebidramon had dove into.

The giant lobster then shot out of the water, its claws primed to grab his target around the neck. But the insect Digimon was able to avoid this and before Ebidramon could attack or fall into the water, he charged with his horn pointed forwards. "Big Horn!" He slammed it into Ebidramon and knocked the lobster backwards, where it came crashing down into the water. "That got him!"

Leomon, having been freed from having to fight three opponents at once, was able to pull itself out from under Gesomon's tentacle.

He was now running around the squid, using his sword to slash at the monster. The squid roared as it swung its tentacle around, attempting to slash at Leomon with its claws. But Leomon's sword blocked the blade and Leomon leapt up into the air, clutching his fist as he did so.

"Fist of the Beast King!" He thrust the fist forward and from it, a blast of fired exploded out and transformed into the shape of a lion's head.

The fireball slammed into Gesomon and knocked it back, Leomon attempting to bring its sword down ready to stab the Digimon. But the squid's mouth shot open and unleashed a blast of black liquid. "Toxic Ink!" The liquid splashed into Leomon's face, making him roar as he felt himself be blinded with the burning ink.

This allowed Gesomon to swing its tentacle around and slam him flying into the side of the cliff. "AUGH!"

Flash and Micro gasped, whilst Shellmon unleashed his Aqua Blaster and knocked Veedramon staggering back. "This isn't good." Flash held up his Digivice, "time to go Ultimate."

"You can't!" Micro told him, "I'm honestly surprised you were able to go to Champion this fast. Getting your Digimon to Digivolve outside of Codex isn't easy." Ebidramon leapt out of the water and grabbed Kabuterimon, using its claws to squeeze the insect. "I haven't gotten Tentomon passed his Champion Level yet. Barely anyone has."

"Shining Armor was able to get to Ultimate." Veedramon charged at Shellmon and the pair struggled against one another.

"Shining Armor's been playing this game a lot longer then anyone else. And he's only been able to Digivolve to Ultimate for a few months. Digivolving your Digimon outside of Codex requires a lot of energy. That energy comes from how in synch you and your Digimon are." Leomon leapt out of the cliff and flew towards Gesomon, sword ready despite the ink still burning. "I'm sorry, but you're just not there yet!"

Flash growled as he watched Gesomon knock Leomon flying away. At the same time, Shellmon thrust its spinning shell towards Veedramon as Kabuterimon struggled to get out of the water.

"So what do we do?" Flash asked, Micro clearly not sure about the answer.

"I'm not sure. Kabuterimon should be able to blast those Digimon with his lightning attacks, if he can get a good shot." As Micro said this, Flash remembered what he had recently acquired.

"We can use Battle Gear, right?" Micro nodded as Flash started fiddling with his Digivice, bringing up the deck he had loaded. He quickly hit the Battle Gear window and brought up to the weapons he now had. "Veedramon, get ready!" He selected his new weapon and pointed it at Veedramon. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" He pulled the trigger and unleashed a beam of light.

It shot down and struck Veedramon's arm, the Digimon seeing this and feeling the weapon appear. The light faded to show the Volt-Edge on his arm, the electrical blade pointing forward. "Oh yeah!" He cheered, turning to the Digimon he was facing. Sparks flew off his weapon as he charged forward, slashing at Shellmon as it tried to use its shell.

But the shell did no damage to the weapon, which unleashed a burst of lightning that caused Shellmon to flinch in pain.

Micro took out his own Digivice and points it at Kabuterimon, who had finally managed to escape the water. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" He fired as the beam hit the insect's lower right arm, then transformed into what appeared to be a water pistol connected to his arm. "Combee Cannon."

"What is that?" Flash asked, as Kabuterimon pointed the weapon at the water.

Micro then started speaking in technobabble. "Chemical Combination." He started lifting of different chemicals and each of them being some parts per million. Eventually, Ebidramon shot out of the water again. "FIRE!" Kabuterimon launched the attack from his weapon and that attack, turned out to be a kind of foam.

Said foam shot through the air and as Ebidramon tried to slash at it, it struck to its claw and completely covered it before hardening. Kabuterimon fired several more times, each one hitting the lobster somewhere. Eventually, everything except its head was covered in the strange white foam.

Ebidramon roared as it fell back into the water, only to float back up and be unable to sink. Flash quickly realised what Micro had been planning, as the Combee Cannon vanished. "Finish him off!" The teen cried out, as his insect's body sparked with lightning.

"Electro Shocker!" The lightning flew off and formed a sphere, which he fired at the Ebidramon.

The lobster saw the attack coming and tried to escape, but the foam it was trapped in kept him locked in place. As such, all it could do was brace itself before the lightning slammed into it. An explosion rocked it into the sky, where it flew far beyond the horizon.

"Alright!" Flash cheered, "one down!" He heard Shellmon's roar, making him look down and see Veedramon slash it again with his Battle Gear. However, that last slash depleted the last of the electrical energy and Veedramon knew it would take a while to recharge.

As such, he charged forward and just as the static ended on Shellmon, he grabbed the beast by the arms and started spinning it around. Shellmon roared and was likely about to fire its Aqua Blaster, but Veedramon let go and threw it into the air.

"V-Nova Blast!" Blue energy exploded out of Veedramon's mouth, flying like an arrow towards Shellmon. It struck the underside of the Digimon and exploded, knocking Shellmon flying in the same direction Ebidramon had flown off to.

Leomon was having issues. The ink that had hit him was still burning his body, but he fought through it in order to protect the other Digimon.

Gesomon threw a slash at him, but Leomon avoid it and threw its sword at the beast. Gesomon blocked it with his tentacles, but the distraction was all Leomon needed. He took a stance and clenched both his fists by his side, as energy flowed into them.

"Your attack on the weak ends now. Hyakujuken!" With that, he started rapidly punching the air. With every bunch, his fist launched a lion shaped blast of fire. The multiple fireballs slammed into Gesomon, making it roar as it staggered back towards the water. Eventually, it was in said water as Leomon stopped his multiple attacks.

Gesomon saw him panting and knew it still had the upper hand. But at that moment, both Veedramon and Kabuterimon appeared next to Leomon ready for a fight.

Seeing it was now in the same situation Leomon had been in earilar, the squid turned and ran off into the water. It disappeared beneath the waves and vanished, making everyone sigh in relief. "We did it!" Flash then cheered, as their Digimon glowed before reverting back to Rookie form.

Leomon moved over to where his sword had fallen and picked it up, sheaving it as Flash and Micro made their way down a path leading down to the beach. He then moved over to check on the cowering Digimon, who seemed much more relaxed now that the danger had passed.

"You guys okay?" Micro asked Tentomon, the bug nodding with Veemon doing the same.

Leomon finally turned to address them, "I thank you for your assistance. That fight would have been difficult, had you not arrived when you did."

"No problem," Flash nodded. "We couldn't just sit back and let you take on those three alone. That alone is hard enough, but protecting those other Digimon would make winning impossible."

"I wasn't really aiming to win," Leomon replied. "I hoped the young ones would use the fight as cover to escape. Alas, their fear got the better of them."

"Not you though," Veemon smirked. "Despite being so small, you were awesome."

Leomon nodded as he turned to walk away. "You are Codex Players, are you not?" The pair nodded. "I've met some of you before. You tend to differ from player to player personality wise. Some of the other humans I met, would have simply used the fight to get scans of me and the others before running off."

"Well," Flash smirked, "that's not me."

"Or me," Micro nodded. "The Codex Commanders invited us here. They're in charge of keeping the Digital World in balance, so it's only right we should help them keep the peace whenever we can." Tentomon nodded, as Leomon decided he rather liked these humans.

"Very well. If you wish it, I will allow you to scan me." Flash and Micro's eyes went wide, the pair happily doing so and scanning Leomon with their Digivices. As soon as they did, Leomon's data appeared on the screen.

Name: Leomon
Level: Champion
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Earth
Species: Beastkin
Family: Nature Spirit, Virus Busters

Flash smirked as he thought about how cool it would be to one day become Leomon. He was definitely gonna work on making a deck to incorporate him.

They put their Digivices away and Leomon asked what they would do next, Flash unsure but had a feeling he had explored enough that day. "I think I might log out and let the real me know what's going on. Then we can decide what to do next." Micro nodded in agreement, Leomon nodding and turning to leave.

Flash and Micro activated their Digivices and pointed them towards the sky, transporting themselves back to Codex. He couldn't wait to learn what his human form had been doing that day. His day of exploration was a fun one and he had learned a lot. Now it was just a matter of figuring out how to use what he had experienced today in order to improve his battle skills in the arena.

He knew this was only the beginning. He still had so much to learn and he couldn't wait to see it all.

Author's Note

Getting to see more of the Digital World, gaining another cool Battle Gear and scan, and helping Leomon protect the weak. Flash sure is a busy player. Hope you enjoyed this and look forward to the next chapter. Until then.

A Tricky Opponent to Fight

Today was the day. Flash and Veemon had spent days learning everything they could about the Digital World.

They had met many different Digimon, tested themselves in many different combat situations. And now, it was time for their first Rookie Level battle. "You ready Veemon?" He told his partner, as the pair of them strode towards the stadium in question.

"You know it!" Veemon cheered, "let's show Codex how much we've improved since our last battle."

Micro Chips, Sandalwood and their Digimon smirked at the pair, happy they were so enthusiastic. "Alright Flash," Micro told him. "We've been preparing for this moment. You've learnt a ton and know not to underestimate your opponents." Flash nodded, as Sandal spoke up.

"Be ready for anything. There's no telling who you'll be facing or what kind of Digimon they'll have. You gotta be flexible."

"Flexible," Flash nodded, "got it. Thanks. I'll be sure to remember that." He turned towards the Stadium, he and Veemon wondering what they might end up facing in there. The pair rushed towards the stadium, whilst Micro and Sandalwood headed to the cafe to watch the match.

Veemon, being a Digimon, was able to run faster than Flash and managed to get to the stadium before him. And as he approached the doors, they suddenly slid open as another Digimon stepped out. "Look out!" The Digimon saw him and froze in place, the pair slamming into each other and falling to the ground. "Ow!" Veemon held his head, whilst the other Digimon sat on the ground holding his own.

"Veemon!" Flash cried, as someone inside the stadium rushed out.

"Kokuwamon!" Flash saw the other Digimon was a cross between a bug and a taser. "You okay?" The one who asked was a blue skinned girl with yellow hair. She helped the Digimon to his feet, then glared at the Digimon on the ground. "Watch where you're running!"

"Sorry," Flash reached her, "guess Veemon is just a little too excited."

"Yeah," Veemon picked himself up, "really sorry." The girl glared at them, as a gray skinned teen stepped out of the stadium with a smile on his face.

"Well, well, well," he smirked. "If it isn't Codex's newest hot shot player."

Flash looked confused, "do I know you?"

"No, but everyone's talking about you. The guy who managed to get a rare Digimon to partner with him before he was even an In-Training Rank, who found a Digimental and managed to earn enough Digidollars to hack your way into several powerful Digimon."

Flash frowned, "I'd hardly say I hacked my way into all that. There was a glitch that sent me to that place and I almost got destroyed because I didn't have any Digimon to protect me from attacking Digimon."

"Yeah," Veemon nodded, "and Flash earned his Digimental. He was able to pick it up and that meant he was worthy of it. Don't go badmouthing him, just because your jealous."

"Jealous? Of this newb. Hardly," he pushed his glasses up. "You obviously don't know who I am?"

"Some guy who accidently sat on a long stick?" Flash quipped, the teen glaring at him.

"I'm Jet Set, one of the best competitors in the Rookie Stadium. I'm undefeated." Flash looked around, not seeing a partner Digimon anywhere. If he was really undefeated, then he must have been really good if he could do that without one. "And this is my confidant. Lightning Dust."

The girl crossed her arms, as the Kokuwamon hid behind her leg. "Hi," Flash told them, "and sorry again for running into you. But if we're done here, can I go? I'm having my first Rookie Stadium battle."

"Hmm," Jet chuckled, "as if you stand a chance. You might have been able to defeat another newb. But against a seasoned opponent, you won't stand a chance." The pair walked off, "have fun getting crushed. It's just too bad I won't get to do the crushing myself." The pair laughed as they walked off, Kokuwamon following behind them.

Flash and Veemon watched them go and frowned, "we'll show them. We're not gonna be easily beaten just because we're new."

"Yeah," Veemon nodded, "let's do this." Flash smiled and headed into the stadium, going up to the counter and asking for a battle. The robot nodded and once Flash was locked into the system, he had to wait for someone to become his opponent. As he did, the doors opened and someone else stepped inside.

It was a blue skinned girl with white and blue hair, wearing a blue hoodie and purple dress. Beside her was a strange white and blue rabbit-like Digimon, with yellow markings and medal around its neck with the moon on the front and pink ribbons.

The pair stepped up to the counter and as the girl got checked in, the Digimon looked around before spotting Veemon. The Dragon Digimon smiled at her and waved, the rabbit waving back as Flash's Digivice beeped.

"Time for our match," Flash told him before the pair walked off together. They headed down the hallway until they found their battle room. The pair stepped inside and found they were the first ones there, Flash wondering who it was he would be facing.

He got his answer, when the opposite door opened and somebody stepped in. That somebody was the blue skinned girl, the rabbit Digimon walking in beside her. She stared at him for a moment and didn't look impressed. "So, you are Trixie's final opponent?" Flash wondered what she meant by that. "Shame, Trixie was expecting something more."

"Now now Trixie," the Digimon beside her smiled. "I'm sure he's strong." She turned to them and spotted Veemon. "Oh, that's the Digimon we watched the other day?" Trixie turned to him and realised she was right.

"Oh, yeah. Trixie remembers your battle against the Gotsumon. I'll admit, your Flamedramon form was pretty impressive. But it's gonna take a lot more then that to defeat the Great and Powerful TRIXIEEEE!" Flash wasn't sure if this girl was sane or not. Either way, he had to be careful. There was no telling how strong she really was.

"Flash Sentry!" the overhead voice stated, "Trixie Lulamoon!" The girl looked up with a smile, "you are both here to compete in a Codex Battle. Flash Sentry, this is your first time battling in the Rookie Stadium. Trixie Lulamoon, a victory here will allow you to rank up to the Champion Level. Are both players ready to compete?"

"Yes," they nodded.

Then place your Digivices into the battle podiums and select your decks." They did so and started looking through their options, all the while Flash thought about what she had said before.

'She thinks I'm gonna be her last opponent because she's gonna win,' he frowned at this. 'Well I'm not going down so easily. She'll regret underestimating me.' He locked in his deck as Trixie did the same, the voice speaking up again.

Trixie Lulamoon. You have been randomly select to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Trixie smiled and chose one. "Cascading Valley has been selected. When both players are ready, hit the start button."

The teens turned to one another and hit the button, "LET'S GET DIGITAL!" In a flash of light, they and their Digimon were fused together. When the light faded, only Veemon and Lunamon were in the room.

Said room quickly filled with light, blinding them both as the field formed around them.

Micro, Sandalwood and their Digimon watched the battle begin, the four in the foyer staring at a TV as the field materialised.

Said field was a giant crater the size of a football stadium. It was roughly fifteen meters deep, with sheer walls that had many edges sticking out of it. Multiple rivers ran into this crater, creating a bunch of waterfalls that flowed into it and fueled a pool in the centre that took up half the bottom.

In a flash of light, Veemon and Lunamon appeared within it as their stats appeared.

Veemon: 4-100%
Lunamon: 4-100%

Name: Lunamon
Level: Rookie
Type: Data
Attribute: Water
Species: Mammal
Family: Deep Savers, Nightmare Soldier, Nature Spirit

"A water Digimon," Micro frowned. "Flash'll have a tough time against it if he chose to use Flamedramon or BurningGreymon. And the field is perfect for a Digimon like Lunamon."

"So you're saying he's at a disadvantage?" Tentomon asked.

"It's looking like it," Micro nodded.

"Don't worry," Sandal told him. "Flash ain't the same rookie I beat before. You helped him learn a bunch more about this game. He'll be fine." Micro hoped he was right.

Flash looked around, trying to get a good grasp on the location he was in.

He then looked down and saw that he was standing on a small rock in the middle of the battlefield, whilst Lunamon was on another. "Great." He almost lost his balance, the rock being rather wet and slippery. "Why would you pick a battlefield with such little footing?"

Lunamon smiled before leaping off the rock and onto the water, Flash and Veemon being shocked to see her not sink. "A special ability Lunamon has allows her to move on water!" He shot forward, the water beneath her feet splashing as she got in close. "That means on this field, Trixie is queen!" She leapt forward and slashed at Veemon. "Luna Claw!" They sliced at Veemon, making him cry out as he was knocked back off the rock.

Veemon: 4-85%
Lunamon: 4-100%

Veemon fell into the water and sank below it, finding that the pool was only about three meters deep. He fell to the bottom and glared up at the top, Lunamon looking down at him before her entire body was submerged as well.

She floated in the water, smiling at him as she looked him over before using her ears to propel herself towards him.

Veemon quickly started swimming and avoided a punch, floating towards a nearby rock and using it as a springboard to propel himself back towards her. Before Lunamon could fight back, Veemon thrust a punch into her gut.

Veemon: 4-85%
Lunamon: 4-95%

Lunamon flinched as she was thrown backwards, whilst Veemon started swimming towards the edge of the pool. The rabbit Digimon quickly recovered and shot upwards, reaching the surface and leaping out of it before Veemon could reach the shore.

"Take this!" She held up her ears as water appeared between then, swirling into an orbular form. "Tear Shot!" The water shot towards Veemon, the blue dragon pulling himself out of the water as it slammed into his back.

"Gyah!" He was blown forward, as Lunamon landed on the water and smiled.

Veemon: 4-75%
Lunamon: 4-95%

Veemon moaned, Flash and his partner trying to come up with a plan. "Let's try this!" Veemon built up power and spat it into his hand. "Vee-Shot!" He threw the energy orb at Lunamon, but the rabbit leapt off the water as it struck the pool and exploded. "Rats!"

"Too slow!" Lunamon landed, "you'll need to do better then that if you wanna beat the Great and Powerful TRIXIEEE!"

Inside Veemon's head, the pair were trying to think. "It's no good," Veemon told him. "As long as the field's mostly water, she has the advantage. She can go anywhere she wants without worry and we're stuck on the limited ground."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "but there's gotta be a way to turn the tables on her." He looked around at all the water, as Lunamon landed again whilst water began to swirl around her four ears.

"Lop-Ear Ripple!" She spun around and in doing so, the ears swirled and caused the water to fly off. That water morphed into a bunch of bubbles, which shot towards Veemon.

"Look out!" The dragon Digimon told his partner, Flash making them try to run. But the bubbles were faster and a bunch of them exploded against him.

Veemon: 4-65%
Lunamon: 4-95%

"Oh," Flash's friends moaned as they looked away, "that had to hurt."

"Flash is in trouble," Micro stated. "If he doesn't figure out how to turn the tables on Lunamon, he's gonna be playing defensive this whole match and he can't win that way."

At the same time, three other girls were watching the match. One was a white skinned girl with purple hair, wearing a blue dress and purple mini skirt. The other was a pink skinned girl with flurry pink hair, wearing white shirt with balloons on and a pink skirt. Finally, there was a yellow skinned girl with pink hair that was wearing a long blue summer dress.

Around them, three Digimon could be seen besides them. One was a small white dog-like Digimon, with a golden collar around its neck.

The second was a long eared Digimon, who was mostly white with green around its neck, on its hands and feet and along it ears that were as long as it was.

The last one was a blue reptile Digimon standing on two feet, whose head was that of an alligator with bright purple eyes. On its chest was a yellow V-shape and it had red spikes running down its back to its tail.

"Oh dear," the white skinned girl sighed. "He's in quite the pickle."

"I hope he doesn't get too badly beaten," the yellow skinned girl frowned. "People might start making fun of him." The long eared Digimon rolled his eyes.

"Would you relax," he told her. "I doubt this guy's gonna give up this easily. The match has just started. He'll figure out a way to make things fair."

The pink girl nodded. "And if he does get made fun of, I'll go help him feel better." They kept their focus on the fight, as Veemon dodged another Tear Shot. He was running around the edge of the pool and fired another Vee-Shot, but Lunamon easily dodged it.

"Come on," Flash growled as he slid to a stop. "There's gotta be a way to stop her."

"Not unless we can make it so she can't stand on the water anymore," Veemon groaned. But those worlds made Flash think and an idea formed in his head. One that made his eyes go wide before a smile appeared on his lips.

"Veemon, you are a genius." Before Veemon could ask what he was talking about, Flash held up his arm. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" A bright light exploded off of his arm, that light taking shape before fading to reveal the lightning bolt-shaped blade on it. "Volt-Edge!"

Lunamon frowned, "you think using Battle Gear will save you? I don't think so. Trixie still has the field advantage."

"You wanna bet," Veemon smirked before thrusting the blade into the water. This caused the electrical energy that surged through the blade to flow into the water, electrifying it.

"What?" She cried, only to suddenly be zapped by the lightning. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!"

Veemon: 4-65%
Lunamon: 4-45%

All those watching were shocked by the sudden turn around, as the electrical energy began to dissipate. Veemon lifted his blade out of the water and waited for the charge to build, whilst Lunamon stood upon the water smoking. "Ready to give up?"

The rabbit lifted her head and glared at him, "never!" She ran forward, heading straight towards the dragon as his weapon charged back up. And when he thrust the blade into the water, Lunamon leapt into the air to avoid getting zapped. "Luna Claw!" She slashed at him, Veemon blocking with his blade and pushing her back. But she quickly landed and jumped back before swinging her ears around.

Veemon was suddenly slapped in the face by them, knocking him staggering backwards.

Veemon: 4-60%
Lunamon: 4-45%

As he staggered back, a pair of lights appeared behind them. When they looked around, they each saw a Digivolution Coin had appeared. They glanced forward and smirked before charging towards them, all the while preparing their own attacks.

"Vee/Tear Shot!" They fired the attacks back towards one another, the energy and water orbs slamming into each other and exploding as they managed to grab onto the Digivolution Coins. The energy flowed into them and charged their gauges up, both smirking as they did so. "DIGIVOLVE!"

Everyone watched as the pair were both consumed by a bright light and began to transform.

"Lunamon, Digivolve to..." The light faded off of her to reveal a pink, purple and yellow humanoid rabbit Digimon, about six feet tall, with purple clothing that had several ribbons around it that acted like flexible blades. It also had leather gloves and straps around its feet, along with a metal mask on its head and the moon medal around its neck. "Lekismon!"

The rabbit stood tall as she looked over at her opponent, expecting to see Flamedramon facing off against her. But that's not what he became. "Veemon, Digivolve to..." He grew giant and when the light faded, he was a much bigger than Lekismon. "VEEDRAMON!" He roared, whilst the Volt-Edge remained on his arm.

"Huh," Sandal smirked, "thought he was gonna go for Flamedramon."

"I think he realised Lunamon was a water attribute," Micro stated. "A fire Digimon would have put him at a serious disadvantage. But now he's facing another problem." He brought up Lekismon's stats.

Name: Lekismon
Level: Champion
Type: Data
Attribute: Water
Species: Beast-Man
Family: Deep Savers, Nightmare Soldier, Nature Spirit

The stats came up and Micro was amazed by the high speed stat. "Veedramon might be strong, but all that power's gonna be useless if he can't hit her."

Lekismon shot forward, moving at a blinding speed as she zoomed towards Veedramon.

Veedramon tried to slash at her with his Battle Gear, but she was able to leap out of the way and started zipping around the place. She landed on the rocks, ground and crater walls before jumping off it at high speed. It was like she was a bouncy ball. And eventually, she managed to slam her foot into Veedramon's back and knocked him forwards.

Veedramon: 4-55%
Lekismon: 4-45%

She then leapt into the air and brought her foot up. "Moon Night Kick!" She shot straight down and tried to perform an axe kick to his head, but Veedramon blocked with his blade.

He then unleashed a pulse of lightning from that flew into Lekismon, making her flinch as she kicked off of it.

Veedramon: 4-55%
Lekismon: 4-25%

"V-Nova Blast!" Veedramon then fired a blast of blue energy out of his mouth, the arrow shooting towards Lekismon as she fell towards the ground. But Lekismon wasn't going to be beaten so easy and reached behind her, pulling an arrow made of ice out from her back.

As she did, one of the purple whips on her back moved in front of her. She grabbed the end and used it to knot the arrow, pulling it back. "Tear Arrow!" She fired it into the blue fireball, the weapon flying through it and melting slightly. When it shot out the other end, it was smaller but still slammed into Veedramon's chest.

"Augh!"

Veedramon: 4-40%
Lekismon: 4-25%

The arrow had also done something else. It had cut the V-Nova Blast in half, causing it to fly passed Lekismon and hit the ground and lake instead. As they exploded, Lekismon landed before kicking off the ground again.

"Raaaah!" She reached him in the blink of an eye and started dealing rapid jabs and kicks into his body, making him roar as he was still reeling from the ice arrow. The blows weren't that strong, but added together it was still a lot of damage.

Veedramon: 4-5%
Lekismon: 4-25%

Veedramon had had enough and spun around, slamming his tail into Lekismon.

Veedramon: 4-5%
Lekismon: 4-20%

This knocked her flying into the water and as sank below it, Veedramon charged forward and thrust his blade into it. "Take this!" He unleashed the electrical blast into the water, the entire pool being filled with the surge of power.

As such, the energy flowed into Lekismon before she could recover and her eyes went wide. "AUGH!" She screamed, as her entire body was zapped. The energy surged through her and it felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside out.

Veedramon: 4-5%
Lekismon: 4-0%

The energy died down and Lekismon's body still sparked, but Lunamon and Trixie fought through the pain. "No way is Trixie letting a newbie beat her!" Lekismon started swimming up towards the surface and pulled herself up onto the water, as Veedramon waited for the Volt-Edge to charge back up. "You're mine!" She shot forward and moved as fast as she could, Veedramon thrusting his weapon into the water again.

She quickly leapt up, but Veedramon smirked. "Now I've got you!" He swung the blade upwards and the lightning exploded off of it, flying towards Lekismon in a powerful crescent. She braced herself and the lightning struck, creating an explosion that completely covered her.

Veedramon: 4-5%
Lekismon: 3-75%

Veedramon smirked, but then Lekismon flew out of the smoke. "Huh?" Before he knew it, she slammed her foot into his head. "Augh!"

Veedramon: 4-0%
Lekismon: 3-75%

Veedramon staggered back as his security broke, up against the wall of the crater as Lekismon landed and feel to one knee. She panted, still reeling from the electrical blasts. "I can't let him hit me again. I've gotta slow him down."

Veedramon shook his head, moaning in pain as he looked down at Lekismon. "You look tired. Feel free to quit and take a nap." Lekismon heard this and smiled.

"A nap's a great idea." She crossed her arms, "but Trixie won't be the one taking it." The moon symbols on the backs of her gloves glowed, "Moon Night Bomb!" She swung her arms around and the light exploded off of them, morphing into a bunch of bubbles that flew towards Veedramon.

The dinosaur saw them coming and quickly swung his Volt-Edge around, trying to pop them all. But there were too many and some hit him in the face. And as they popped, something happened. "What?" Veedramon suddenly found himself being overwhelmed by the urge to sleep. "What...happened?"

"Oh no," Micro frowned. "That move causes the target to become drowsy."

"There's no way Flash can fight if he's tired," Tentomon gulped as Veedramon began to stagger around. "Wake up!" They watched as Lekismon suddenly shot forwards, moving at incredible speed before leaping forward. "Look out!"

She spun around and dealt several powerful kicks to Veedramon, causing him to stagger backwards in pain.

Veedramon: 3-75%
Lekismon: 3-75%

"Ha," Jet laughed as he saw this, "serves the loser right. He should learn not to play with the big kids if he can't handle it." Lightning nodded, the pair laughing as they watched Veedramon staggered into the water, which went up to his knees, as Lekismon landed and drew another icicle.

"Tear Arrow!" She fired and it shot towards Veedramon, slamming into his shoulder and making him roar in pain.

Veedramon: 3-50%
Lekismon: 3-75%

Despite the pain he was feeling, Veedramon was still drowsy. Lekismon rushed forward and he attempted to tear at her with his claws, but she leapt over him and did several flips before landing on the water behind him. She then leapt towards his back and dealt several more hits to his back.

Veedramon: 3-30%
Lekismon: 3-75%

But Veedramon quickly spun around as she was recoiling and swung the Volt-Edge into her, the blade charged with lightning and unleashed a blast of energy right into her. "AUGH!"

Veedramon: 3-30%
Lekismon: 3-25%

As she was thrown backwards, Veedramon staggered out of the water and tried to fight against the sleep that was overtaking him. He had been lucky with his sleep focused hits but if he didn't find a way to wake up, Lekismon was gonna get the advantage over him.

"Come on," he told himself. "Wake up." He then noticed one of the waterfalls straight ahead of him and staggered towards it, as Lekismon pulled herself out of the water.

She looked over at Veedramon and saw he was heading towards the waterfall. "Oh no you don't!" She ran across the water and as she did, Veedramon placed his Battle Gear into the water. "Not this time!" She leapt onto a rock and started jumping from one to another, whilst Veedramon finally reached the waterfall.

"Raaaah!" He cried as he thrust his face into the cold water, the freezing sensation causing him to wake up with a start. "There we go!" He smirked, feeling fully refreshed. But as he woke up, he heard Lekismon cry out.

"Tear Arrow!" He spun around and as he did, the arrow flew towards him. He tried to slash it away with his blade, but the arrow was two fast and slammed into his chest.

"Augh!" He staggered through the waterfall, getting drenched as he did.

Veedramon: 3-5%
Lekismon: 3-25%

Lekismon smirked as she leapt away from the water and onto the ground in front of the waterfall. But as she prepared to attack again, Veedramon's voice roared. "V-Nova Blast!" Suddenly, a bunch of fireballs exploded out of the water and slammed into Lekismon, making her cry out as she was blasted away.

Veedramon: 3-5%
Lekismon: 3-10%

Veedramon charged through the waterfall with his Battle Gear raised. But Lekismon managed to roll back to her feet and shoot forward at high speed. They attacked, Lekismon leaping at him and slamming her foot into his chest. But as she bounced off his chest, Veedramon swung his electrified blade at her.

"AUGH!" She cried as she was zapped, both Digimon's health bars dropping to zero.

Veedramon: 3-0%
Lekismon: 3-0%

Both staggered back and regained their footing, staring up at each other as they did.

Then, Lekismon saw something that made her smirk. "Raaah!" She cheered forward, jumping from side to side so fast it looked like there were multiples of her.

"What?" Veedramon looked around, unable to tell which one was the real one. "V-Nova Blast!" He launched an energy ball at them all, but Lekismon was able to leap over the fireball before it hit the ground. The explosion behind her propelled the Digimon forwards and allowed her to reach Veedramon's head.

"Excuse me!" She slammed her feet into his head and leapt off him, making him cry out.

Veedramon: 2-95%
Lekismon: 2-100%

"RAAAAH!" Veedramon quickly spun around and swung his weapon, hitting Lekismon it the back with a blade of lightning.

Veedramon: 2-95%
Lekismon: 2-60%

"AUGH!" She cried, being pushed into the waterfall and disappearing.

Veedramon waited, but she didn't appear again. "Where is she?" He began to walk through the waterfall, being ready for a surprise attack. But it didn't come. And when he reached the other side, he saw what Lekismon had been doing.

"Thanks for the lift," Lekismon grabbed a Digivolution Coin. "Now the Great and Powerful Trixie is ready to take it to the next level." Veedramon's eyes went wide, as she thrust her fist into the air. "Lekismon," she was surrounded by light, "Digivolve to..." She grew and as the light exploded off of her, it revealed a taller version of Lekismon. She was now sporting black armor and was carrying a double bladed scythe, with a crescent moon for the blade, along with a shield that had a moon-shape on it. "Crescemon!"

"Not good," Sandal gulped as Micro brought up Crescemon's stats.

Name: Crescemon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Data
Attribute: Water
Species: Demon-Man
Family: Deep Savers, Nightmare Soldier, Nature Spirit

"Her speed hasn't improved much, but the added strength and defence power is gonna make this a tough fight for Flash." Sure enough, Crescemon exploded forward with incredible speed.

She swung her scythe around, Veedramon attempting to block with his Battle Gear. But as soon as the weapons collided, a loud clanging sound filled the air. And this was followed by a cracking sound.

"What?" Mangoramon cried, as they saw the Volt-Edge begin to break apart. "What's happening?"

"My Battle Gear!" Veedramon cried, seeing his weapon fall apart whilst the rest of it exploded off his arm. "How?"

Crescemon laughed, "looks like my weapon is better than yours. And now that I don't have to worry about getting zapped." She leapt into the air and over to the lake, landing on the water as she positioned her two weapons together. "Ice Archery!" She fired a blast of ice from her scythe, which shot towards Veedramon at high speed.

"Uh oh!" Veedramon braced himself, the arrow slamming into him and exploding with greater force then last time. "AHHHH!"

Veedramon: 2-45%
Crescemon: 2-60%

He staggered back, Crescemon laughing as she prepared another shot. But Veedramon didn't stay still and began running around the outskirts of the lake. "You can run, but you can't hide."

"She's right," Flash frowned as he checked his Digivolution Gauge. "I need to find a coin or she'll destroy me before I can get to Ultimate." Speaking of coins, he spotted one that appeared behind one of the waterfalls. It was an SP coin. "Perfect." Veedramon's claws began to glow, "Cutting Shoot!" Her swung them around and as he did, blades of wind flew off of them and towards Crescemon.

Crescemon frowned and raised her shield, the air blades slamming into it and dispelling. Some of the wind kept going, hitting her on the shoulder that wasn't shielded.

Veedramon: 2-45%
Crescemon: 2-55%

"Nice try," she told him. "But it'll take more then that to defeat me." As she said that, Veedramon ran through the waterfall and crushed the coin in his hand. As his SP refilled, Crescemon leapt into the air and as she did whilst forming the bowgun from her two weapons. "Dark Archery!" The scythe was surrounded by dark energy, which suddenly exploded off the weapon and shot towards Veedramon whilst forming an arrow.

Veedramon saw this and knew he had only one way to beat it. "V-Nova Blast!" He fired the energy blast, which struck the energy arrow and exploded in midair.

Veedramon was pushed backwards by the force of the explosion, whilst Crescemon landed on a rock in the lake.

Veedramon panted, knowing he was in trouble. But just as he was about to give up, he noticed a Digivolution Coin suddenly appear. The only problem was, it was atop a rock in the lake.

Crescemon also saw it and smirked, "that one's mine!" She rushed forward, ready to take the coin. But Veedramon wouldn't let her have it so easily.

"If I miss, I'm gonna be in serious trouble." He built up as much power as he could and contained it all within his mouth. And as Crescemon drew closer to the coin, it let it rip. "V-Breath Arrow...MAX!" A super powered energy blast exploded out of his mouth, which flew towards Crescemon with incredible speed.

The Ultimate saw it coming and raised her shield, the attack exploding against it but still being strong enough to blast her backwards. "AUGH!" She cried, unable to believe a Champion's attack could be so strong. "What the heck is this thing?" She had never heard of Veedramon before and it was proving to be quite powerful.

Veedramon: 2-45%
Crescemon: 2-15%

As she landed on the water, Veedramon waded in and managed to reach the rock with the coin. "Gotcha!" He cheered, crushing the coin in his hands. But as the power flowed into him, Crescemon leapt into the air.

"Take this!" She screamed, as a moon suddenly appeared behind her. "Lunatic Dance!" She shot forward like she was flying and before Veedramon could react, she reached him and started spinning. Her blade and shield slashed against him multiple times, making him roar in agony as he was sent staggering backwards.

Veedramon: 2-0%
Crescemon: 2-15%

He fell backwards into the water, as Crescemon landed on a rock. "You can't beat the Great and Powerful Trixie!" She told him. "Just give it up already!" But Veedramon didn't give up. He pushed himself up and glared at her.

"Never. I don't quit. Even if my opponent is more powerful. I always fight until I can't fight no more. And eventually, I'm gonna be the best player this game has ever seen. Just watch!" Crescemon wanted to laugh, but she could see from the look in his eye that he was serious. "Now, let me show you my power!" He suddenly exploded with light. "Veedramon, Digivolve to..." He grew huge, so big that the water in the lake was pushed out of it. Then, a pair of wings exploded off his back as the light faded to reveal him. "AEROVEEDRAMON!"

Crescemon stepped backwards in amazement, then found a wave of water flying towards her due to the sudden expansion of the Digimon inside the lake. "WOW!" She cried as she was washed away, whilst Veedramon spread his wings and leapt into the air. The powerful gust this created caused the water to become even more violent, Crescemon having trouble keeping herself from being swept under the water.

"YEAH!" AeroVeedramon roared, loving the feel of being an Ultimate. And as he flew up, he focused back on Crescemon before building up his power. "Time to show you what this Ultimate can do." The energy flew off of him and formed a sphere in front of him. "Dragon Impulse!" He beat his wings and the energy sphere exploded into a shockwave, which took the shape of a serpentine dragon that head straight for the crater.

Crescemon had finally escaped from the water and as she did, the dragonic laser flew towards her. "You've gotta be kidding me!" She raised her shield to defend herself and as she did, the attack slammed into the crater and exploded with tremendous force. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!"

AeroVeedramon: 1-100%
Crescemon: 2-0%

"YEAH!" Micro, Sandal and their Digimon cheered. "Way to go, Flash!" Micro then told him. "She's had the advantage so far because she had home field advantage."

Tentomon nodded. "But now that he can fly, he doesn't have to worry about being outmatched." They all smirked as they watched AeroVeedramon stare down into the crater, waiting to see what state Crescemon was in after being blasted by such an attack. However, something happened that took them by complete surprise.

Suddenly, from out of the smoke, something shot towards AeroVeedramon at high speed.

The dragon's eyes went wide as he saw it was Crescemon, moving towards him like a rocket.

"Wow!" He swung the blades on his arms to block her scythe, the pair glaring at each other as Crescemon's back ribbons suddenly came to life and started whipping around and hitting his arm. "Ahhh!"

AeroVeedramon: 1-95%
Crescemon: 1-100%

He pushed back and Crescemon was thrown away from him, but didn't fall towards the ground. "What the heck. Since when can you fly?" Crescemon just smirked before moving her legs, making AeroVeedramon look down and see they were different.

Instead of her rabbit-themed boots, she was now wearing a pair of metal tubes that had propellers on the bottoms. These propellers were unleashing a burst of wind, which was keeping her afloat. "Air Soles Battle Gear," she explained. "Perfect for a Deep Saver like myself. They let me move fast in water and through the air."

"So you can fly?" He asked, Crescemon simply smirking before she short forward. She swung her weapon at him, but he blocked with his arm blades before slashing at her with his claws. She then used her shield the block this and the pair pushed away from one another, as Crescemon aimed her weapons at him.

"Ice Archery!" She fired a barrage of arrows towards him, but AeroVeedramon refused to let them hit him.

"Wind Guardian!" He beat his wings and a powerful gust of wind formed in front of him, creating a wall that felt practically solid enough to shatter the ice.

The wind then hit Crescemon and pushed her backwards, as the giant Digimon flew towards her. Comparing their sizes was like comparing a cat to an elephant, so as AeroVeedramon slashed at her she could only use her shield to block a single claw. So when the other claws hit her, she flinched and pushed herself away.

AeroVeedramon: 1-95%
Crescemon: 1-90%

Crescemon quickly flew up and then shot straight down, spinning like a top and she attacked his head several times with her scythe.

AeroVeedramon: 1-85%
Crescemon: 1-90%

AeroVeedramon quickly reacted and swung his horn around, striking her with it in the side and knocking her away.

AeroVeedramon: 1-85%
Crescemon: 1-80%

"Now try this!" AeroVeedramon's arm blades glowed, "Twister Sabre!" He swung the blade around and unleashed a blade of energy, which shot towards Crescemon as she struggled to gain control of herself. As such, she barely had enough time to put up the shield before the blade reached her.

It slammed into her, the shield not able to stop her in time. "AUGH!"

AeroVeedramon: 1-85%
Crescemon: 1-40%

She was thrown backwards and as AeroVeedramon shot after her, she managed to regain control and stop herself. Her Air Soles then pushed to their max and propelled her forward, AeroVeedramon slashing at her as they got close.

But she was able to avoid the claws and shot towards his chest. "Lunatic Dance!" She spun around and started slashing at him, morphing into a small tornado that ground against him and made him flinch.

AeroVeedramon: 1-45%
Crescemon: 1-40%

She then stopped and as AeroVeedramon recovered from the attack, she readied her weapon and used the last of her SP. "Dark Archery!" The energy arrow formed before exploding off of her weapons, hitting AeroVeedramon at point blank and exploding whilst she propelled herself away.

AeroVeedramon: 1-5%
Crescemon: 1-40%

AeroVeedramon groaned as he let the energy flow off of him, whilst Crescemon readied her weapon. At this rate, he would only be able to survive one more hit before Crescemon beat him. "Gotta make this attack count!"

"Time to end this!" Crescemon shot forward with her blade at the ready, her shield raised in preparation of whatever her opponent threw at her. As she did, AeroVeedramon dug deep.

"No holding back," he told himself. "I've gotta put this all on this attack!" With that, his horn began to glow. And as Crescemon tried to slash at him, he shot straight up to avoid her. He got several meters high before he divided down towards Crescemon. "V-Wing Blade!" As he did, the energy around his horn flew off and formed a V-shape around his body.

Crescemon glared at him and her Battle Gear pushed her towards her opponent, her shield held up as the two collided.

The impact was immense, making Crescemon cry out as the energy flew into her and burned her body. She screamed as her Battle Gear struggled to keep her from being pushed backwards, whilst her HP lowered. Eventually, the Battle Gear couldn't take it any more and exploded.

"AUGH!" She cried, her jets dying and allowing the remaining force to push her downwards. As it did, she threw her scythe towards AeroVeedramon.

The Ultimate was so focused on his attack, he didn't have time to see the attack coming and avoid it. As such, the scythe slammed into him and he roared as his last security broke. But at the same time, the damage from his attack destroyed Crescemone's security again.

AeroVeedramon: 1-0%
Crescemon: 1-0%

AeroVeedramon moaned as he grabbed her scythe and threw it away, whilst watching Crescemon fall. "It's over," he told her.

Trixie knew he was right. She looked down at the crater and saw the Dragon Impulse had completely vaporize most of the water. The rivers were filling the lake back up, but not quick enough. "Trixie," Lunamon told her, "there's no way we're surviving this."

Trixie could hardly believe it. "The Great and Powerful Trixie...defeated by a NEWB!" With that, she smashed into the shallow water with enough force to destroy her digital body.

AeroVeedramon saw the light, as the voice spoke up around him. "Battle Over! Winner, Flash Sentry." The battlefield was then consumed by light, transforming back into the domed room as AeroVeedramon suddenly split back into Flash and Veemon.

The pair cheered and high fived, then turned towards Trixie as she and Lunamon picked one another up. "Hey," he told, "that was a pretty good battle." Trixie looked at him with a frown. "Seriously, I learned a lot from that match." He held out a hand, "good game."

Trixie stared at the hand for a moment, then took it. "Good game."

The pair turned to leave, both heading out of the stadium the same way. As they did, they and their Digimon began to discuss the battle. "So it's not just Digimon's anatomy that I need to take into account when picking a terrain," Flash hummed. "If it hadn't been for that water walking ability, you probably would have been in worse shape than me in that battlefield."

"Well Lunamon is a Water Digimon," Trixie stated. "Though she's more comfortable in snowy environments. But still, Trixie can't believe she lost to a newbie. She's never gonna be able to live this down." They exited the stadium and as they did, Micro and Sandalwood rushed over to them.

"Flash!" Micro cheered, "you won!" The pair high fived, as they noticed Trixie was there with him. "Oh, you did great as well. Really didn't make it easy for him."

"Of course I didn't!" She stated, "The Great and Powerful TRIXIEEE, never makes anything easy for her opponents." She turned to Flash. "Just watch. Trixie will defeat her next opponent and make it into the Champion Rank. There she will grow even stronger and by the time you eventually make it there, she'll be so powerful you won't stand a chance."

Flash smirked, "looking forward to it." The pair fist bumped and Trixie walked off, Lunamon walking around with her. Flash smirked, having thoroughly enjoyed the match. But Trixie was right, "I can't let this win go to my head. It was close and if Trixie's Battle Gear hadn't blown I might not have won." They nodded, but Flash was still proud about how he had handled himself.

He managed to adapt to the terrain, stay flexible to keep from being overwhelmed by the unexpected and he was about to keep himself calm during the fight. All in all, a good battle that he had learned a lot from.

As they made their way to the foyer, they were watched by Jet and Lightning Dust. "That guy won't be laughing for long," Jet stated. "The only reason he won was because of that Digimon he had." Jet smiled, "I'll just have to take him for myself."

Author's Note

Flash meets Trixie and wins his first Rookie Match. A good day for Flash. Hope you enjoyed it and what do you think of some of my partner choices for the characters.

Making Friends and Making Enemies

It was another beautiful day in the city of Canterlot and Flash Sentry would be spending it...stuck inside because he had to go to school.

Not too long ago, Flash would have hated having to spend all day trapped inside. But now, he had something that made it all the more bearable. Whilst he was learning fractions and other high school stuff, his digital self was going to be having an awesome adventure.

"So what's the other you doing today?" Micro asked as the pair were at their lockers.

"Not sure. Probably gonna check out the Digilab since I haven't been since the first time and now I have a few more scans I can Digivolve. What about you?"

"I got a cool new scan," Micro explained. "I'm probably gonna spend the day in the Beta-Stadium to get used to it." Flash nodded and as he opened his bag, he realised he was missing a book.

"Ah, crud. Maybe I left it in my car." He slammed the locker shut and rushed towards the door, hoping his book was in his vehicle and he could get it before the first bell.

But as he reached the door, it shot opened and someone rushed inside...right into him. "AUGH!" They both cried, falling to the ground with Flash's books flying everywhere. "Hey!" He moaned, sitting up and seeing he had crashed into a girl.

Said girl had light purple skin and dark purple hair that was up in a ponytail, wearing a blue shirt under a pink vest with a purple skirt and pink bowtie. She was looking around, her eyes looking unfocused. And when he noticed a pair of glasses on the ground, he picked them up and held them out to her.

"Here." She noticed the glasses and took them, placing them on her face and sighing. "You-" She didn't say anything, instead rushing back to her feet and running off. "HEY!" But she didn't say anything back, simply disappearing around the corner without even apologising for running into him or thanking him for getting her glasses. "Rude."

He then noticed his books on the ground, making him moan as he started picking them all up. But by the time he was finished, the first bell rang. If it hadn't been for that girl he would have been back from the car by now.

"Great," he sighed, "today's gonna be one of those days isn't it."

Meanwhile, virtual Flash was in the Digilab with Veemon.

The pair looked through the Digimon Flash had managed to get recently, Elecmon, Pichimon and Leomon, wondering what he could Digivolve them into. As he brought up Elecmon's Digivolution Tree, he found Leomon was one of his champion options. He didn't know what the others were, but they didn't look particularly appealing. Especially the one that looked like a pile of...you know.

Instead of going to Leomon's tree, Flash decided to use the Fresh scan he had gotten in Primary Village. "Let's see?" He hummed as he looked them over. "Any take your fancy?"

Veemon looked at the choices and picked one, "how about that one on the far end." Flash picked it, hitting the silhouette and finding it barely cost anything to evolve.

"Alright." He paid and as he did, the Pichimon scan inside the chamber began to glow.

"Pichimon, Digivolve to..." The creature barely changed, growing only a little bigger as its head detached from its body before the light faded. "Bukamon!" It was now a brown sea-lion Digimon with a small string of red hair.

"Okay," Flash looked over its Digivolution Tree, "now what can you become." The images were all blacked out, so he would need to randomly pick one. "Eenie, meanie, miney...moe!" He picked one and the Digimon was once again surrounded by light.

"Bukamon, Digivolve to..." Its body changed to gain an extra pair of legs on the back of its body, whilst its hair seemed to turn into some kind of fin. When the light faded, it was revealed to be a green frog-like Digimon with blue lines and an orange fin. "Betamon!"

"Whoa!" Flash smirked, "now that looks cool." As he said that, Betamon's data appeared on his screen.

Name: Betamon
Level: Rookie
Type: Virus
Attribute: Water
Species: Amphibian
Family: Nature Spirits, Deep Savers, Dragon's Roar

"A water Digimon. Could definitely come in handy if we found ourselves stuck somewhere wet." Veemon nodded, as Betamon's Champions were shown. Flash couldn't decide which one to pick.

Luckily, someone showed up that would make his choice a lot easier. Trixie and Lunamon, who spotted the pair and were interested in what they were doing. "Hey," she caught his attention and noticed Betamon, "doing some evolutions for non-partner Digimon?"

"Yup," he nodded, "now I just need to pick which Champion to Digivolve it into."

"Why waste your money?" Trixie asked, getting his attention. "There's a lake not too far from Primary Village that's full of Betamon. I bet if you look around, you'll find one of his Champion forms no problem." Flash hummed at this, intrigued by the prospect. "Have you seriously never gone on a Digimon Hunt?"

"Digimon Hunt?"

"Yeah, it's where you go out into the Digital World looking for a particular Digimon. Sometimes you can find it in a marketplace or somewhere easy to get to, but then there are times you have to go out into the wilderness. Tracking it and trying to figure out what its next move is."

Lunamon nodded. "All that effort makes getting the scan that much more rewarding."

Flash smirked, turning to Veemon who looked excited at the prospect of going on this kind of adventure. "Yeah," Flash cried, "then that's what I'll do. Come on Veemon!" He rushed out of the room and Veemon followed, "thanks Trixie."

"Thanks Lunamon," Veemon cried back as the two vanished. Trixie and Lunamon smirked, wondering how their Digital Adventure was gonna end up going.

Back on Earth, Flash had gotten to his English class rather late.

The teacher had not been happy about this and Flash just knew he was gonna be getting a tardy. As he sat at his desk, he thought about the girl that had made him late and huffed. At least he wouldn't have to see her again.

In that moment, the door opened and the principal stepped into the classroom. This got everyone's attention and as she entered, someone stepped in after her. The girl that had run into Flash. "Hello students," Celestia smiled. "I'd like you to all meet a new member of our school." She patted her on the shoulder, "this is Twilight Sparkle. She'll be joining your class today."

"Alright," the teacher looked around, "there's an empty desk next to that blue haired teen." Flash moaned at this, as the girl moved over to sit next to him. He hoped she would at least remember him and apologise for earlier, but she simply sat down and didn't give him a moment's notice.

Flash sighed, hoping this was his only class with her.

Flash and Veemon arrived at Primary Village and instantly tracked down Elecmon, asking him where the lake Trixie had mentioned was.

Once they had the directions, they headed out of the village and into the wilderness. They thought they might run into other Digimon on the way there, but there wasn't a single sign of anything else. "Huh," Flash shrugged, "guess nobody wanted to move here."

"Nah," Veemon shook his head, "this area's probably someone's territory. If a Digimon claims a spot, other Digimon won't want to hang out there unless they're invited." Flash let this info sink in and took out his Digivice, scanning the area and finding it was a Rookie Level location.

"That means the strongest Digimon here should only be Champion. Nothing we can't handle." Veemon nodded and as he did, the sound of splashing caught their attention and made them look ahead.

Stepping out through the trees, they found themselves at the top of a hill overlooking a large lake.

The pair used the hill to hide themselves as they looked down at the lake, the splashing sound coming the shore of the lake where a bunch of different Digimon could be seen. There were three species in all, two being one Flash knew as Betamon and Syakomon. But the third type was a new one, being a blue Digimon that looked like a frog that was still transitioning from tadpole stage.

Flash and Veemon marveled at them, both wondering what they were all doing there. But as they watched, Flash noticed movement in the tall grass on the edge of the lake. He wondered if it was another Digimon, but then a head picked up out of it and revealed herself to be a girl.

She was a purple-skinned girl, with dark purple hair tied up in a ponytail and a pair of glasses over her eyes.

The girl stared at the Digimon in question, as another Digimon came out of the tall grass with her. Flash couldn't quite figure out what it was, but he had a feeling it was avian due to its beak. "Looks like we're not the only ones hunting for a Digimon scan."

"What do we do?" Veemon asked, "if we try to scan them, it might make it hard for her to get a scan as well."

"Good question," Flash nodded. But as he thought about it, he noticed movement coming from behind the girl. He stared at it for a moment and realised something was hiding behind the trees behind the girl. Something that was staring at the girl and if Veemon's suggestion about territories was right, wasn't too happy about her being there.

"Flash?" Veemon noticed him staring, "what's wrong?"

Flash watched the girl continue to move through the grass, clearly not noticing she was being watched. And as she got to the edge of the tall grass, the watcher seemed to have had enough. "LOOK OUT!" Flash roared, catching the girl's attention.

This also caught the attention of the one who was watching, who caused the trees around it to move and the girl noticed.

"Huh?" Looking back, she saw the Digimon that had been staring at her. She gasped as the Digimon raised its head, revealing a mostly blue serpentine Digimon with yellow and red on its body.

The Digimon locked eyes with her and hissed, making her cry out as she turned to run away. "Tawnimon, run!" She ran out of the grass and a Digimon ran out after her.

It was a bird-like Digimon whose body was similar to a Biyomon or Falcomon, this one being a mixture of three different shades of brown. His head and body were a grayish-brown, but he had two yellowish-brown circles surrounding his eyes with an orange beak between them. Above these circles were a pair of dark brown eyebrows, which were the same colour as his wings and tail-feathers. Like most bird Digimon, his wings also ended in a trio of claws. These ones were orange and his feet were the same.

The two ran as fast as they could to escape, rushing towards the hill Flash and Veemon were on. As they ran, the Digimon exploded out of the trees and followed after them.

Flash, though scared, knew he couldn't waste this chance. So as the Digimon approached, he raised his Digivice and scanned it. The energy flew over the Digimon and Flash got what he was after, right as the girl reached the top of the hill.

"Water Shock!" The Digimon roared, as a powerful blast of water exploded out of his mouth towards them.

Flash gasped as Veemon tackled him to the ground, the girl's own Digimon doing the same to her. But as they hit the ground, Flash accidentally hit the trigger again and scanned the Digimon a second time.

Once the scan completed, the Digimon's water blast ended and it needed a moment to recharge. "Run!" Flash cried, getting up and running back into the forest. The girl did the same and they disappeared through the trees, the Digimon growling but not following after them. It had done its job.

Back in the real world, Flash was now in his math class. Somehow, the Twilight girl had been in every class he had and ended up sitting next to him each time.

Math had never been his best subject and as the teacher put a problem up on the board for him, he called out to the teen. "Flash, come try and solve the problem." The teen groaned and got up, moving over to the board. He panicked as he looked over the formula, trying to work it out in his head.

He slowly did the calculations on the board, coming to an answer but getting the feeling it wasn't right. "How's that?"

The teacher shook his head, "can anyone tell me what Mr Sentry did wrong?" The other students had no idea, the problem on the board completely over their heads. But one person raised her hand. Twilight.

"He forgot to carry the two and use it as a denominator." The teacher nodded and asked Twilight to come up and correct the equation.

Twilight happily did so, stepping up and using an eraser to get rid of over half Flash's equation. She then wrote out a new equation so fast it was hard for Flash to believe she was actually solving it and not writing something she had memorised.

When she finished, Flash frowned at the teacher being amazed with her skills. "Well done, Ms Sparkle. Seems the school has a new genius in its mits." He then turned to Flash. "Might I suggest spending less time on your hair and more time studying." That didn't make Flash happy, Twilight giggling making it even worse.

They returned to their seats and Flash was fuming, whilst the teacher put up another problem and asked the different students to try and solve them. But every time, they got it wrong and Twilight was asked to correct their work. "Show off," he huffed.

Back in the Digital World, Flash and the others had escaped the angry Digimon.

He was currently laid against a tree, trying to catch his breath as he turned to the girl. "You alright?" She looked up at him, Flash finding she actually looked kind of cute in a bookwormy sort of way.

"Yeah," she nodded, "thanks for the save. If you hadn't said anything, that Seadramon would have probably gotten us before we could move." She turned to her bird Digimon, "Tawnimon. You okay?" The Digimon looked himself over, then nodded.

"Indeed, I appear unharmed."

"Tawnimon?" Flash looked him over, "never seen a Digimon like you before."

The girl smiled and held out a hand, "name's Twilight Sparkle. Champion Rank. You've met my partner, Tawnimon." Flash smiled at her and shook her hand.

"Flash Sentry. Rookie Rank." He looked towards his partner, "and this is Veemon." Twilight looked shocked hearing that name, the girl turning to examine the dragon Digimon.

"Hey," he waved as Twilight adjusted her glasses.

"Amazing," Twilight whispered. "My friends told me about a player with a one of a kind Digimon by that name. That must be you, right?"

"Probably," Flash nodded as he held up his Digivice and brought up the scan he had gotten of Seadramon. The information appearing on screen.

Name: Seadramon
Level: Champion
Type: Data
Attribute: Water
Species: Aquatic
Family: Deep Savers, Dragon's Roar.

Flash then brought up the deck and when he added Betamon to an empty deck, he smiled seeing Seadramon could be used to evolve from him. "Well it might have been luck, but I managed to get a scan of it." But then he noticed two pictures of Seadramon, making him raise an eyebrow. "Did I accidently scan it twice?"

Twilight huffed, "at least you got a scan. I was hoping to get something from the lake as well." She took out her own purple Digivice, bringing up a list of Digimon she had. "I already have an Otamamon scan, but I bet it could Digivolve into that Seadramon we saw if I could get a scan of it."

"Well," Flash showed her the scan, "do you want one of my scans? Having two isn't gonna help me?" Twilight shook her head.

"No way. I'm gonna get my own. Just being handed the scan is no fun." She turned to her partner, "let's go." Tawnimon nodded and the pair headed back the way they had just come, Flash and Veemon sharing a look.

"Think we should go with her?" Veemon asked.

"Probably. She might get in trouble again." They ran after the two, catching up to them as they carefully made their way back to the hill. They made sure to go in stealthily, not wanting to catch the Seadramon's attention, so were crawling through the crass until they reached the top.

"Alright," Twilight stared out at the lake. "Now to wait until that Seadramon shows up again. We'll get a scan of it and warp back to Codex before it can attack." Flash hoped she was right and made sure to keep his focus behind them so they wouldn't be snuck up on.

However, as he did that, something happened that drew his attention. "Wow!" Veemon cried, Flash turning to him and seeing they were all staring at the lake. When he looked towards it, he saw that they were staring at the Betamon, Otamamon and Syokomon.

The many Digimon in the lake had started glowing and in a split second, they grew larger and became more serpenoid. When the light finally faded, it was revealed that they had all Digivolved into Seadramon. The lake was now brimming with them, the water overflowing as the larger bodies caused a wave that drenched the shoreline.

"Awesome," Flash whispered, "I never thought a bunch of different Digimon would all Digivolve together."

Twilight nodded. "My guess is that that Seadramon was protecting them so they could become strong enough to Digivolve. Now that they're all Champion level, they'll probably head out to sea and swim around together as a pod.

Flash continued to look around and then spotted something peculiar. "Hey, there's one left." They all looked at the shore and realised a Betamon had yet to Digivolve. It was staring at the Seadramon and then looked up, as if staring at the sky. "Wonder what's wrong with it?"

"Maybe it hasn't gotten strong enough to Digivolve?" Tawnimon suggested. But as soon as he said that, Betamon's body burst into light. "Never mind." They watched it Digivolve and when it did, its body turned serpentine but not in the same way as the Seadramon.

Instead, a pair of wings appeared on its back and and hair seemed to appear around its neck. When the light faded, the now winged snake beat its wings and took to the air.

Flash stared at the creature as to flew into the sky and knew he had to get a scan of it. But he had been so preoccupied with the Digimon, he didn't realise he had flown above them enough to see the four. And obviously, it remembered them from earlier and didn't like them being in its home.

"Fatal Tornado!" He roared and unleashed a sonic blast, a tornado exploding from his mouth and shooting towards them. The three quickly leapt away from the hilltop, the tornado hitting it and ripping the ground apart within it.

As they did so, Twilight held out her Digivice and tried to scan it. But Airdramon avoided it and began to fly away. "Hey!" Flash got up, "I'm not letting it get away until I scan it."

"Same." Twilight nodded, only for a bunch of water blasts to fly towards them. "Look out!" They all got down, avoiding the water as the many Seadramon began to move towards them. Twilight wanted to scan them, but knew it would leave her too open to an attack. "Tawnimon!"

"Right!" Tawnimon rushed forward and his body suddenly exploded into light, then began to grow larger. "Tawnimon, Digivolve to...!" The light faded and his body was now the same size as a Birdramon, his wings having become more wing-like with his claws vanishing to allow for better flight. Meanwhile, his eyebrows had grown larger and more stylised to resemble a W whilst his beak grew longer. His back feathers grew larger and his legs grew longer, with everything above the knee being feathered. His talons grew, so that they could now curve around and clutch things in them. Finally, a bunch of upside-down triangles appeared on his chest. "HooTawnimon!"

Flash and Veemon were amazed by the Champion, who quickly took to the air as Twilight grabbed one of his feet. "Grab on!" They didn't need to be told twice and both leapt onto his feet, HooTawnimon quickly flying up and out of the Seadramon's range.

Twilight looked back at the Seadramon and frowned, "so much for getting a scan."

Flash felt bad and remembered what she had said earlier. "I'll make you a deal." She turned to him, "help me get a scan of that Airdramon and I'll give you the Seadramon scan as a reward." Twilight smiled at this, liking the plan since she would still need to work for her prize.

"You got it."

Back in the human world, Flash and Micro were in line for the cafeteria.

"Seriously?" Micro asked, "she was able to answer all those problems." Flash nodded, having just told him about Twilight and her embarrassment of him in math class. "Well to be fair, you did get the answer wrong. What, you think she should have kept her mouth shut and not shown how smart she was?"

"No," Flash frowned, "it's just the way she showed it off. She told me where I went wrong and that's fine, but she didn't explain anything she was doing to work it out. I still have no idea how you're supposed to answer that stupid problem." He looked ahead and saw Twilight in the line, as Micro shrugged.

"Well, it's really more the teacher's job to teach the students how to do a question."

"Maybe. But if I saw someone playing the guitar and doing the wrong notes, I wouldn't just play the song for them. I'd try and help them do it correctly." As he said that, Twilight walked away and Flash saw she was carrying two slices of pizza on her tray.

He licked his lips, looking forward to the treat. But when he got there, the lunch lady was taking the pizza trays away. "Sorry boys, just sold the last slice." Flash let out a groan, especially when the alternative were some terrible looking fish fingers.

"Battered?" Flash stuck out his tongue, since at least breaded ones were good. He turned to glare at the girl that had taken the two slices, really annoyed now.

Once he had forced himself to eat the fish fingers, having had to completely drown them in ketchup, he headed off to the library. He had been waited for a book to be returned that he was really looking forward to reading and today was supposed to be the day it was returned.

Rushing into the library, he began searching for the book in question. But when he found the section it was supposed to be in, the slot where it would be sitting was empty.

"Excuse me?" He asked the librarian, "has the Tales of a Gutsy Ninja book been returned?"

"Which one?" The librarian asked, typing away at her computer.

"The Shuriken of Youth." She looked and nodded.

"Yes, it was returned. But someone just checked it out five minutes ago." Flash was shocked by this, since he had placed himself on the waiting list for this book. "Ms...Twilight Sparkle has it." A tick mark appeared on Flash's head, the teen slowly looking around to see the girl in question sitting at a desk reading the very book he had been hoping to get. "Sorry kid. You know the rules. First come, first serve."

"But I booked myself to be the next person to have it."

"You did?" She looked at the computer again, looking shocked. "Oh, I'm sorry. Must have been a glitch or something. I promise, when Ms Sparkle returns it I'll keep it aside for you." That didn't make Flash feel any better.

He left, feeling this day couldn't get any worse. First he was late for class, then he missed out on a delicious lunch meal and now the book he wanted to read was gonna be out of his reach for who knows how long. And the worst part was that every problem was being caused by the same person.

Back in the Digital World, Flash, Twilight and Veemon were now riding on HooTawnimon's back.

The bird Digimon flew over the Digital World, the forest below them beginning to thin out as they chased after the Airdramon Flash wanted to scan. But the Airdramon had out flown them and they had lost sight of it, though that wouldn't stop them from searching. As they did, Flash's Digivice began to beep. "Huh?" He looked it over and saw the screen showing the area's location. "Champion Level."

"It's telling you this area is higher than you're rank," Twilight explained. "Even if you scan it, you won't be allowed to warp back here until you rank up."

"Well I'll focus on that later," Flash put the device away. "Let's just focus on finding that Airdramon." Twilight nodded and looked around, spotting a nearby mountain.

"Airdramon is both a Wind Guardian and a member of the Dragon's Roar. That means it'll be drawn to high mountainous areas." She pointed towards the mountain and HooTawnimon nodded before shifting in the air towards the mountain.

Flash turned to Veemon, "get ready bud. Airdramon might not like us scanning him, so we might end up needing to fight it to get the scan."

"You got it."

"Do any of Veemon's Champion forms fly?" Twilight, Flash shaking his head.

"Nope. Well, none of the Champions I have. Veemon's such an unknown, I've no idea if any of his Champions have wings."

Twilight nodded, "you could always leave your deck blank."

"What?"

"It's when you don't load a particular deck. If that happens, Veemon's evolution will be whatever would help him in that moment. Mostly, it'd be the Champion he would naturally evolve into. But if Veemon found himself falling off the side of a mountain, he'd probably become a flying Digimon...if he has any."

"Huh," Flash hadn't known that. "You sure know a lot about Digimon. You must have tons of experience."

Twilight nodded, "I've been studying Digimon since before I got my Digivice. Ever since my brother told me Digimon were real."

"Does your brother play in Codex as well?"

Twilight nodded and was about to say something, but the mountain was finally close and the pair needed to stay focused on finding Airdramon. "Get ready." Flash nodded.

Despite what Twilight had said, Flash didn't want to leave Veemon's evolution up to chance. As such, he loaded his Flamedramon deck as they began to fly around the mountain. They looked around, but couldn't find any sign of the Digimon. They thought of a moment that maybe Twilight's theory had been wrong. But she wasn't.

"Fatal Tornado!" They all looked up in time to see a tornado of razor sharp wind flying towards them.

HooTawnimon pulled to the side, just in time to avoid them getting ripped to shreds. Those on his back cried out, as Airdramon flew down and glared at them. "Not good," Flash gulped as they drew close to the mountain. A ledge could be seen on the side of it, large enough for them all to safely stand on it. "Come on!" Flash grabbed Twilight's hand and pulled her to their feet, Veemon doing the same as they all began to run across HooTawnimon's wing.

"What are you doing?" Twilight cried, only for Flash to leap off the tip of his wing and force her to do the same.

The pair flew through the air and landed on the edge, Veemon attempting to do the same but just missing. "Flash!" The teen quickly spun around and grabbed his hand, stopping him from falling. Twilight grabbed his other hand and they pulled him up, as HooTawnimon flew around with Airdramon.

"Sky Strike!" HooTawnimon's body was surrounded by a bright light, as he shot towards Airdramon with his head crest morphing into a shining battering ram. He slammed into Airdramon and a small explosion known the Champion back, Flash taking out his Digivice and getting ready to scan it.

But as he aimed the device to scan, Airdramon gained control of its body and started spinning around in the air. "Spinning Needle!" A spiral of wind appeared around the beast that exploded outwards, shooting blades of air in every direction.

"Look out!" Twilight cried, pushing Flash away as the wind blade flew passed them. The attack hit the mountain behind them and caused a piece of the rock to be sliced off and fall towards them, Veemon rushing forward.

"Vee-Headbutt!" He leapt forward and smashed his head into the rock, causing it to shatter and fall around the others harmlessly. Veemon fell to the ground and the humans saw he was staggering around.

"You alright?" Flash asked, Veemon spinning around and staring at them with swirls in his eyes.

"I'm A okay." But then he fell to the ground, clearly not okay.

As the humans rushed to his side, HooTawnimon began to engage against Airdramon again. The winged serpent tried to bite the giant owl, but HooTawnimon was able to avoid the attack and slashed his talons at him. But Airdramon avoided it and swung his tail around, coiling it around HooTawnimon and pinning his wings to his side.

"Ahhh!" He squawked in pain, Twilight grasping at the sight of this before frowning.

"What are you doing?" Flash asked, as she got up and rushed to the edge of the cliff. Twilight took out her Digivice and started typing away at it.

"Let's go!" She swung it around and a pair of translucent cubes appeared on either side of her. One had a ghostly image of Tawnimon inside and the other had a silver bullet-shaped object with wings and a heart shape on it.

"Biomerge!" She cried, as the two cubes moves towards her. "Digi-Armor, Energise!" The cubes absorbed her and merged into a single cube, with Twilight being surrounded by light.

"Wow!" Flash cried, as he watched Twilight's form shift to that of her partner's Rookie Form.

"Tawnimon, Armor Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of her along with the cube, revealing a human-sized owl-looking Digimon with silver armor on its head and feet. "Aurumon, Loving Wisdom!"

"What?" Flash could hardly believe what he was seeing. "I know we can merge with our partners, but I didn't realise we could become other Digimon scans." Aurumon leapt off the side of the cliff and flew towards the battle.

Airdramon saw this coming and opened his mouth, ready to fire his Fatal Tornado at her. But before he could, Aurumon suddenly disappeared. "Where'd she go?"

"I'm right here!" He looked around, Aurumon somehow getting behind her. "Infrared Ray!" Her goggles fired off a pair of lasers, which shot towards Airdramon and hit him in the head.

"AUGH!" He cried, loosening his grip on HooTawnimon. This allowed the larger owl to spread his wings and completely throw Airdramon off of him, HooTawnimon falling out of his clutches and dropping a few feet until his wings caught the air and he was able to fly again.

The two owl Digimon began to fly around the Airdramon, showing incredible skill that made Flash think they had done this before.

He took out his Digivice and thought about what Twilight had done. And with Veemon still out of it, he had a feeling now was as good a time as any to try and figure it out. As such, he brought up the Flamedramon deck and realised he needed to replace Veemon's partner scan with a blank one.

"Here goes nothing," he picked himself up and swung his Digivice around. "Biomerge!" The Digivice unleashed the two cubes, which showed Veemon and the Digimantal of Courage. "Digi-Armor, Energise!" The boxes merged with him and he felt his physical form change to that of Veemon. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." His body burst into flames and he felt himself change again, the flames exploding off of him to reveal his armored form. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

Aurumon and HooTawnimon saw this and Aurumon smirked, glad Flash was actually getting into the fight.

Airdramon had been so focused on the birds, he hadn't noticed Flash's transformation. Nor did he notice Flamedramon's claws bursting into flames, "Fire Rocket!" The triple flaming projectiles exploded into the air and all slammed into Airdramon, making him roar in pain.

Aurumon tried to fly in and attack, but the champion level quickly swung its tail around.

She gasped as it slammed into her, the Armor Digimon crying out as she was knocked flying into the side of the mountain. "Twilight!" HooTawnimon cried, as his partner fell towards the ground too dazed to save herself. He tried to dive down and save her, but Airdramon got in his way.

Flamedramon saw this and leapt off the side of the cliff. making himself as aerodynamic as possible to catch up to her. Once close enough, her grabbed her in one arm and extended his claws on the other.

Fire exploded out of them, strong enough to propel them both towards the mountain. Once within reach, Flamedramon thrust his claws into the rock and was able to hang there. The pair remained where they were, as Aurumon began to come around.

When she looked up, she saw Flamedramon holding her tightly and realised what he must have done. "You saved me?" Flamedramon smiled down at her, as his claws began to slip. "Hold on!" She spread her wings and and took to the air, flying up and grabbing Flamedramon's shoulders.

She flew them up, as HooTawnimon and Airdramon battled in the air. "Alright!" Flamedramon's claws burst into flames again, "Fire Rocket!" He fired the blasts as he reached the cliff Veemon was on, the flames shooting towards Airdramon.

But this time, the winged serpent spun around and used his wings to deflect the fired. But this gave HooTawnimon the opening he needed. "Sky Strike!" He shot forward and rammed his body into Airdramon, pushing him backwards into the side of the mountain.

Airdramon smashed into it and as he did, Aurumon dropped Flamedramon onto the mountain. "Quick, turn back and scan him."

"Right," Flamedramon looked at himself, "how do I do that? This doesn't feel the same as when I'm in Codex." Aurumon rolled her eyes and flew back up, right as HooTawnimon pulled himself away from the still recovering Airdramon.

She flew above her partner and was consumed by light, falling out of it when she was human again.

As she landed on HooTawnimon's back, she took out her Digivice and scanned Airdramon. Scan complete, she saw the Champion was still recovering and took the opportunity to scan him again. "Alright, let's get out of here!" HooTawnimon nodded and flew back down to Flamedramon, who picked up Veemon and rushed over to leap onto HooTawnimon's back.

As Airdramon finally felt itself come around, he looked over at where its opponents were and saw them flying away. It roared, but decided to let it go. Hopefully, it would never see those humans and Digimon again.

Flash was in his last class of the day, chemistry, one of the few sciences he actually had a great interest in.

"Alright class," the teacher announced. "Split into your pairs and prepare to experiment with the formula I'm going to put up on the board." The students all nodded and started pairing up. The only one who didn't was Flash, since the class was an odd number. But since he was really good at chemistry, the teacher had always let him work alone. "Ah, Ms Twilight." Flash flinched at this, unable to believe she was in another of his classes. "You'll need a partner." Flash quickly realised what that meant and begged the universe not to do it. "Mr Sentry is on his own. You can work with him."

"No," Flash groaned as the girl stepped up next to him.

Twilight walked over to him, her hair up in a bun as she wore what looked like a professional lab coat. "Hi," she smiled, "it's Flash...right?"

"Yup," Flash tried to focus on the formula the teacher was putting on the board.

Twilight sat next to him, "nice to be working with you."

"Yeah, sure." Flash began to grab the ingredient needed to make the chemical formula. "You start measuring out the quantities for the acids and I'll make sure the powders are in the right quantity." Twilight nodded and the pair got to work, but Twilight could tell something was wrong.

"Did I say something to upset you?" Twilight asked. "You seem...upset with me."

"Yes, I'm upset with you." Flash poured the powder into the beaker over the flame. "You ran into me this morning and knocked me to the ground. I kept your glasses from getting stepped on and when I gave you them back, you just took them and ran off without a thank you or an apology for running into me."

"Oh," Twilight frowned as she added the chemicals to the beaker, "I didn't want to be late for meeting the principal."

"It takes literally a second to apologise," Flash pointed out. "Then, during class, you humiliated me when you corrected my formula."

"The teacher asked me to correct it."

"It was still embarrassing. You could have just told me where I went wrong and I might have gotten it right the second time." He was so focused on complaining, he didn't notice he had just added too much of a certain chemical to the mixture. Twilight also missed a step, since she was supposed to wait a few minutes for the formula to boil before adding her chemicals. "Then you took out a book I've been looking forward to reading."

"That's not my fault." She put said chemicals in, "I got the book first." The concoction started to bubble.

"I've been on a waiting list for weeks, waiting for it to be returned. The librarian was supposed to keep it for me."

"Well I wasn't told about a waiting list. The book was on the shelf and she didn't say anything when I checked it out."

"You could have asked," Flash threw a bunch of powder into it. But as he did, a banging sound made him look towards their creation and see that something was clearly wrong. "Uh oh." The mixture was bubbling and bright green, which wasn't a good thing. They must have made a mistake somewhere.

"What are you two doing?" The teacher cried, rushing over to try and fix what they had done. But she quickly realised it was beyond fixing. "EVERYBODY DUCK!" They all jumped to the floor and got under the desks, seconds before a shattering sound and several small bangs filled the room.

When the explosion seemed to end, they all climbed out from under the desks and looked back to Flash and Twilight's experiment. And they saw that the glass beaker had exploded, sending several pieces of glass flying into other beakers and breaking them. The liquids were now spilled across the table, but miraculously nobody was hurt.

The teacher turned to the pair, clearly not happy with either of them.

Back at Codex, flash of light at the Digiports signalled the return of the players.

Flash, Twilight and their Digimon appeared with Veemon riding on Flash's back. "You feeling better, bud?" Veemon nodded, though he still had a bit of a headache. "Just take it easy bud. And maybe, next time don't go headbutting a rock as hard as you can." Veemon laughed as the group headed for the cafeteria.

"You should get him some nuts," Twilight explained. "They work great are relieving headaches. Although I don't know if that still works on Digital life forms." Flash nodded as they sat down and Flash ordered some nuts for Veemon, the Rookie Digimon snacking on them whilst Tawnimon enjoyed a bowl of chicken.

Flash and Twilight both ordered a milkshake and as they began to drink them down, the pair took out their Digivices. "Alright," Flash connected to Twilight and offered her a trade. "You've got two Airdramon scans and I've got two Seadramon scans. Ready?"

"Yup," Twilight smirked as she accepted the trade. The pair chose the scan they wanted to give away and with the push of a button, the pair had each other's scan and their quest was complete. Flash stared at his screen and smiled at the new scan that was in his possession.

Name: Airdramon
Level: Champion
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Wind
Species: Mythical Animal
Family: Wind Guardian, Dragon's Roar, Nature Spirit

He smirked as he looked up at Twilight. "Pleasure doing business with you." Twilight smiled back, putting her Digivice away as she spoke back.

"Pleasure's all mine." In that moment, someone walked into the cafeteria and spotted them.

"Twilight!" The pair looked around and saw Shining Armor marching towards them, Monodramon by his side.

"Hey Shiny," Twilight smiled back at him.

Flash was surprised, "you two know one another?" The pair smiled as Shining and Monodramon sat down.

"Of course," Shining stated. "She's my sister." Flash had not been prepared for that. He looked between the two and couldn't detect any family resemblance. "Wasn't expecting you two to know one another."

"We just met today," Twilight explained. "We worked together to get a cool scan we were after." Flash nodded as Shining smiled.

"Well I'm glad to see you're not letting your nerves about school get the better of your."

"School?" Flash turned to her, Twilight nodding as she finished off her milkshake.

"My parents had to leave the country for a few years for work, so they sent my brother and I to live with Shining and his wife in Canterlot."

"Canterlot?" Flash was surprised to hear this, "are you going to Canterlot High?" Now it was Twilight and Shining's turn to be surprised, both nodding as Flash laughed. "That's my school. And you're starting today."

"Yeah," Twilight smiled, "maybe our non-digital selves have already met." She took her Digivice out, making sure Tawnimon had finished his chicken. "I'm gonna log out and see if she knows you."

"Same," Flash nodded once Veemon was finished with his bowl of nuts.

Back in the real world, Flash and Twilight had been on the receiving end of a rather large scolding from the teacher.

Twilight looked especially worried, since this was clearly not the impression she wanted to make on her very first day. Now the pair of them were stuck behind after school, having to clean up their mess.

They remained silent as they worked back to back, Flash sweeping up the destroyed pieces of glass whilst Twilight was carefully wiping down the tabletops. Once she was sure the tables were clean, she made sure to rinse out the dish cloth and safely dispose of the gloves she had on.

"Finished," Flash finally sighed as he put the broken glass in the proper container so nobody would hurt themselves. "Well this day could have gone better."

"It would have been fine if you hadn't blamed me for things I didn't do," Twilight explained. Flash rolled his eyes and went to where his bag was, opening it up and seeing his Digivice's recall light was glowing. And as he took it out, Twilight saw it and seemed surprised. "You play Codex as well?" Flash turned to her, as she took her Digivice out and showed it to him.

"Great," Flash sighed. So not only did he have to deal with her in the real world, he might also have to put up with her in the digital one.

Twilight also noticed her recall button was also glowing. She and Flash pressed it and in the blink of an eye, the pair received the thoughts and memories of their avatars. When the upload was complete, the pair simply stood there and let everything they had done with one another sink in.

They slowly turned to each other and found that despite everything that had happened to them, they smiled at each other before laughing. Their laughter went on for a while, the pair unable to believe they had met twice in the same day. "Thanks for helping me get that Airdramon scan."

"And thanks for saving me twice," Twilight replied. "Guess we didn't start off on the best foot." Flash nodded, now feeling like a jerk for what had happened.

He held out his hand. "Let's start over. I'm Flash Sentry."

Twilight smiled back, "Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you." The pair smirked as they were finally able to leave the now cleaned up lab. Twilight apologised for knocking him over in her rush and not apologising, whilst also feeling bad for upstaging him and so many others in math class.

"It never seemed to be a problem at my old school," Twilight explained. "It was really competitive there and if you couldn't prove you were better then everyone else, nobody listened to you." Flash frowned, feeling sorry for her.

"Well it's not like that here. We prefer to help one another instead of showing each other up. Next time, why don't you try explaining to everyone how to solve the problem."

"Shouldn't that be the teacher's job?"

"We clearly need some better staff." They both laughed as Twilight reached into her bag and took out a book.

"Here," she held it out to him, "you really wanted to read this. It's not right that I stop you from reading it." Flash frowned, not wanting to take it from her. And when he saw a bookmark a third of the way in, he was shocked.

"You read that much of the book in one lunch time?"

"Kinda. I speed read the first time I read a book, cause my brain won't let me stop until I know everything that happens. I usually go back and read it again once I've finished it." Flash could understand and handed her the book back, much to her shock.

"No, you take it. Finish reading it and when your done, you can give it to me so I can read it before anybody else gets their hands on it." Twilight smiled and nodded, tucking the book back into her bag. As she did, they stepped out the school and heard a rumbling in the sky.

Looking up, they saw the clouds had gotten dark and it looked like it was gonna rain. "Great. My bus isn't gonna be for an hour."

Flash smirked and began to walk away, "wanna ride?" Twilight looked at him in surprise, then smiled and nodded as she rushed to follow him to the parking lot. Their relationship might not have gotten off of the best foot, but they both had a feeling things would be different from now on. Both in the real and Digital Worlds.

Author's Note

Well that was an interesting adventure. I always find it interesting how important first impressions are, so when I started writing this I realised I could play with the whole first impressions thing. Hope you enjoyed Flash and Twilight meeting like this.

Also, I hate myself for not realizing that Seadramon and Airdramon are meant to be counterparts with one another until writing this. Both Betamon evolutions. Both serpentine Digimon. Both have names that are dramon with three letter element worlds in front of them. How did I never realize that.

The Castle in the Clouds

It was another busy day at Codex, where Flash stepped out of the stadium having just won another battle.

"Yeah!" Flash cheered, feeling pumped after such an awesome battle. Today was a first for Flash, as he had chosen to use his new Betamon and Airdramon scans in the battle. It had left him at a bit of a disadvantage, given he didn't have an Ultimate form for Airdramon and not using Veemon meant he had one less security, but he had been able to pull through and defeat his opponent before they could go Ultimate.

Heading over to the cafeteria, he spotted Veemon, Sandalwood and Mangoramon sitting there waiting for him. "Dude!" Sandalwood cheered, "totally killer battle. You were awesome."

"Thanks," Flash smirked, "though it was a bit of luck. My opponent put me in a water environment, so my Betamon form was right at home until I could Digivolve."

"Well you still won," Sandalwood smirked. "And you won because you earned it." Flash smiled at this before looking around.

"Hey, where's Micro? I haven't seen him since logging in?" Sandalwood shrugged, stating he hadn't seen him either. Veemon and Mangoramon had the same reply, making Flash curious about his whereabouts.

He was about to log out and ask the real Micro, but a voice spoke up. "You looking for Micro Chips?" He looked around and saw Trixie walking towards them with Lunamon besides her. "I just saw him coming out of the Beta-Stadium."

"Really? Who was he battling?"

"Nobody," she sat down, "I think he was just testing a deck." Flash raised an eyebrow. "You can use the Beta-Stadium on your own if you want. Most people go in to test out being a Digimon or practising in a certain terrain. You can do it on your own or have the computer use one of the house decks against you, which makes an opposing Digimon for you to fight. You can even fight against one of your own decks."

"Huh, alright. But what was Micro doing in there?" They all shrugged and Flash was curious where Micro Chips was right now, only for one of the TV screens to announce a battle was about to start in the Champion Stadium. When the names came up, he was surprised. "He's battling now?"

"You sure we're ready?" Tentomon asked, as he and Micro Chips made their way to their designated arena.

"We've trained hard," Micro pointed out. "And the new deck seems pretty balanced. We'll just have to be careful and not underestimate our opponent." Tentomon nodded as they arrived outside their room. As they did, Micro looked down at his Digivice and stared at the deck he planned to use.

Whilst most people tried to guess how to counter their opponent when they saw them, Micro had decided to use this deck in particular no matter who he was up against. Hopefully, they would be someone it would match up well against.

But as Micro stepped into the room, he saw that his opponent was already there. And he knew who it was, "Lightning Dust." The girl smirked at him, her Kokuwamon standing besides her tapping his pincers together.

"It's her," Flash realised as he saw Lightning on the TV screen.

"You know her?" Trixie asked.

"We ran into each other at the Rookie stadium," Flash explained. "But what's she doing there?"

"She must have ranked up," Sandalwood frowned. "What was she like?" Flash frowned, not sure how to answer that. It was possible she was always the way she was when he met her, but given she had been worried about her partner she might be a lot nicer then he thought.

"Not really sure. Only met her once for a few minutes."

"She's not the nicest of players." The six looked around and saw a girl walking towards them. A blue skinned girl with rainbow hair, who was walking besides a tortoise-like Digimon. "Lightning Dust is all about speed and power. She hits hard and fast and doesn't care what happens to anyone around her."

"She a friend of yours?" Trixie asked.

"Not really. We started playing at the same time and were the first to face each other in the In-Training Stadium." She turned to them, "name's Rainbow Dash. And this is my partner, Kamemon."

"Pleased to meet you," the tortoise waved as Flash offered her a seat.

"Anyway, your friend better hope he gets to pick the battlefield."

"Why?" Veemon asked, as they watched Micro and Lightning begin to select their decks.

"Lightning likes to use small and fast Digimon," Rainbow explained. "Ones that can move around at high speed and work well in enclosed spaces. That's why she always picks areas to fight in that are cramped, like caves or the insides of buildings."

"Makes sense," Trixie nodded. "And since most Champion Digimon are large, that kind of tactic's pretty smart." They looked up at the screen, hoping Micro got picked for the locations.

Micro and Lightning finished selecting their decks. As they did, the voice spoke up.

"Micro Chips. You have been randomly select to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Lightning Dust frowned, clearly not happy she couldn't pick. Micro opened up his list of locations and after considering his deck, he smiled and picked one. "Castle of Dark Illusions has been selected. When both players are ready, hit the start button."

Lightning seemed surprised by this, as Micro went to hit the button. She also hit it, both yelling out in unison. "LET'S GET DIGITAL!" In a flash of light, they and their Digimon were fused together. When the light faded, only Tentomon and Kokuwamon were in the room.

Said room quickly filled with light, blinding them both as the field formed around them.

Back in Codex, Flash and the others watched as the screen changed to show the environment Micro had chosen.

That environment was a large collection of clouds. Within those clouds was a structure, floating high above the Digital World. It was a castle, with many large towers on the top and a bottom covered in spiky rocks pointing downwards. Wrapped around it was a large stone ring, with the kanji of darkness engraved within it.

"Wow," Flash whispered, "that's that?"

"The Castle of Dark Illusion," Trixie replied. "It's a flying fortress in the Digital World, where a bunch of magic wielding Digimon recide." She frowned, "why would Micro pick someplace like that?"

"Yeah," Sandalwood nodded, "that's playing right into Lightning's wheelhouse. He'll be fine as Tentomon, but the second he Digivolves to Champion he's gonna be in serious trouble."

"Maybe he plans on going outside," Mangoramon suggested. "That cloud cover should help conceal him." The others nodded, as the screen zoomed into the castle entrance and into its foyer. There, Tentomon and Kokuwamon appeared.

Tentomon: 5-100%
Kokuwamon: 5-100%

Their stats appeared on the screen.

Name: Tentomon
Level: Rookie
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Plant
Species: Insect
Family: Nature Spirits, Metal Empire, Jungle Troopers

Name: Kokuwamon
Level: Rookie
Type: Data
Attribute: Electric
Species: Machine
Family: Metal Empire, Jungle Troopers

"Tentomon's a Vaccine Digimon," Flash frowned. "Which means a he'll be at a disadvantage against a Data type like Kokuwamon."

Rainbow nodded. "Lightning probably knew Micro was gonna pick Tentomon and picked that Digimon for that exact reason." They all frowned, hoping Micro could come up with a way to win even with the disadvantage.

Kokuwamon looked around the place, smirking at the little room they would have to work with. "Perfect," she smiled, "you really shot yourself in the foot with this location.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Tentomon stated. "This battle's outcome was decided when we chose our decks and I chose the location. I've already won and now, it's just a matter of showing my work."

"We'll see about that!" Kokuwamon leapt into the air, the wings on her back folding up to allow flight. Lightning then sparked between the horns on her head, "Stun Shock!" The lightning exploded off of her head and shot towards Tentomon, who quickly leapt up and took flight as well.

The electricity hit the ground and exploded, but Tentomon was safe. And as he flew higher, he generated his own lightning from the wings on his back. "Super Shocker!" The lightning shot towards Kokuwamon and slammed into her, making her he hiss. But then she just smirked as the power was sucked into her. "What?"

Tentomon: 5-100%
Kokuwamon: 5-100%

"Why didn't her health drop?" Sandalwood cried, as Kokuwamon flew forward to attack Tentomon.

"Is it because she's an Electric Digimon?" Flash asked, but the other shook their heads as they had all seen fights between Electrics types before. There had to be another reason.

They watched Kokuwamon flew forward and slashed at Tentomon with its claws, trying to pinch him with her scissor like claws. But Tentomon dodged it and flew down to land at the bottom of some stairs leading up to the next floor. Kokuwamon then landed at the top, the two staring at each other.

"How did you take no damage from that attack?" Tentomon asked as he looked around for a way to fight the opponent. Said opponent simply chuckled at him.

"Guess you didn't study as well as you thought. I'm an Electric Digimon."

"So?" Tentomon asked, "other Electric Digimon take damage from Electric attacks."

"Unless they're machines types," Kokuwamon replied. "Electric type Machine Digimon aren't hurt by electrical attacks. We feast on them." Tentomon realised what she was saying. "But you're not the same." She crossed her arms, as they sparked with lightning. "Power Surge!" She swung her arms around and unleashed an X-shaped blast of lightning, which flew towards Tentomon.

The bug Digimon leapt up to dodge them, which shot under him and slammed into a stone pillar behind him. The attack was so strong, it cut right through the pillar and causing it to break apart.

Tentomon gulped at this, since he would need to be careful with that attack. But he was so focused on the pillar, he lost sight of Kokuwamon. "Surprise!" She slammed into him, slashing his back with her claws and making him cry out.

Tentomon: 5-90%
Kokuwamon: 5-100%

His friends flinched as Tentomon hit the ground, the bug Digimon groaning as Kokuwamon flew down to deal another attack. But before she could, Tentomon spun around and slashed at her. "Talon Attack!" The claw on his large front legs slashed against the robot, damaging it.

Tentomon: 5-90%
Kokuwamon: 5-90%

Kokuwamon flinched at the pain, but leapt back and flew towards the stairs again. She landed at the top once more and stared down at her, ready to do some long distance attacks which Tentomon clearly couldn't respond to. "You don't have a shot at beating me." Her head sparked again, but Tentomon was ready.

The stairs had a long red rug running down it, which wasn't connected to the floor. So Tentomon grabbed it and pulled before Kokuwamon could fire.

"WOW!" She cried, as the rug she was on was pulled out from under her and she found herself getting dragged over the edge of the top step. She started slamming into the stairs, groaning and grunting with each impact and lost of points. As she did, the rug started to be wrapped around her.

Tentomon chuckled as he leapt into the air, deciding to change up where they would be fighting. As Kokuwamon hit the bottom of the stairs, still cocooned in a blanket, Tentomon shot down a hallway.

Tentomon: 5-90%
Kokuwamon: 5-70%

"Hey!" Kokuwamon cried, as she started ripping through the carpet. "Where'd you go?" She looked around, then noticed a sound coming from one of the hallways. "There you are!" She shot into the air and flew like a jet down the hall, which was a narrow corridor she had to be careful with as she turned corners.

Then, when she turned another corner, Tentomon suddenly shot towards her. "Rolling Guard!" He rolled himself into a ball and shot towards her, slamming into her before she could defend herself and smashing her into the wall behind her.

"Augh!"

Tentomon: 5-90%
Kokuwamon: 5-55%

"Wow," Rainbow cried, "that did some damage."

"Rolling Guard's an Earth type attack," Flash pointed out as he looked over the stats. "Earth is strong Electric and weak to Wind, so it would do a ton of damage."

Trixie nodded. "But since Tentomon's a Vaccine Digimon, his attack power is weakened when he attacks a Data Digimon." They watched as Tentomon pushed himself away from Kokuwamon, who quickly recovered as her head sparked with lightning.

"Stun Shock!" The lightning blasted off of her and towards Tentomon, hitting him before he had a chance to escape and making him cry out in pain.

Tentomon: 5-70%
Kokuwamon: 5-55%

"AUGH!" Tentomon slammed into the ground, as Kokuwamon landed.

"Not a smart move, heading somewhere you can't dodge my attacks." Kokuwamon rushed down the corridor ahead and Tentomon picked himself up, able to leap back and avoid a slash from the machine Digimon. "Give it up. You're not gonna beat me."

"We'll see," Tentomon replied before his wings sparked. "But I've got one more advantage that you don't have." Kokuwamon braced herself, but smirked since he was about to blast her with the thing that gave her strength. "I know this castle like the back of my hand! Super Shocker!" Lightning exploded towards Kokuwamon, but shot passed her and hit the wall.

"You missed!" She crossed her claws as they sparked, "Power Surge!" She launched the attack and the X-shaped lightning blast shot towards Tentomon, slamming into him and blasting him backwards.

Tentomon: 5-20%
Kokuwamon: 5-55%

Kokuwamon smirked as Tentomon was thrown down the hallway and crashed into the wall at the end of it, but wondered what he meant about knowing the castle.

She got her answer when a cracking sound made her look back. The wall that she had previously been slammed into had a small hole in it, likely formed when she was smashed into it, which she noticed had water leaking out and dampening the floor.

The Super Shocker had also hit this spot and done further damage to the wall, as multiple cracks ran along it. And from these cracks, more water seeped out. "Uh oh." She ran down the hallway, as the wall completely exploded and sent a jet of water flying down it. "NOOOO!" She was slammed back the water and sent flying down the corridor towards Tentomon, who had recovered and now flying away to escape.

"How does a castle in the sky have water?" Flash asked.

Sandal hummed, trying to remember something Micro had told him. "It sucks in water from the clouds around it, channelling it through a series of pipes to allow those inside something to drink and bath in, then expels the waste water out." Everyone stuck their tongue out at that statement, as they watched Tentomon escape the hallway and find himself in a great hall that had four large tables located inside of it.

He quickly flew up, as the water flooded into the room and filled the place up with enough water to submerge the tables. And as it did, Kokuwamon was slammed into one of the tables.

The mechanical Digimon moaned as she laid on the table, her body sparking due to her short circuiting and causing a lot of damage.

Tentomon: 5-20%
Kokuwamon: 5-5%

Tentomon waited for the water to reseed, dripping through drains in the floor, the tables emerging from the water but still being soaked as Kokuwamon laid upon it. "See, I know this castle like the back of Tentomon's claw." He flew down and landed, as the mechanical Digimon tried to push himself to his feet. "I'm not gonna let you beat me so easily."

"Oh yeah," Kokuwamon stated. "But you also made a big mistake." He body sparked, "you just soaked this whole room." With that, lightning exploded out of her and was channelled into the water.

Tentomon leapt up and curled himself into a ball, shooting forward as Kokuwamon launched her attack. "Rolling Guard/Stun Shocker!" The lightning exploded off of her and slammed into Tentomon, who pushed through it and smashed his rolled up body into her.

Tentomon: 5-0%
Kokuwamon: 5-0%

The pair were knocked away from one another, both being sent flying in the opposite direction. They then crashed into the ends of the long tables and smashed through them, hitting the ground hard. They both laid there and let themselves recover, the two having a hard time shaking off this pain.

But then, Micro saw something on his display that made him smirk. "Yes." He rolled back to his feet and stood up, jumping onto the table. "Time to turn this game around."

"What are you talking about?" Kokuwamon picked herself up, "you might have been able to trick your way into keeping up so far. But I won't fall for your tricks anymore."

"Don't be so sure," Tentomon stated. "After all, I'm about to shake things up."

Lightning wondered what he meant by that, but realised he must be planning to Digivolve. "You actually wanna Digivolve here? You'll be stuck and there's not enough room to fly."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tentomon replied. "There's plenty of room. And I'm not gonna fly."

"What?" She pushed herself onto the table, "don't try and trick me. Tentomon's Champion forms are all huge flying Digimon."

"Who said I was going Champion," Tentomon laughed as something appeared in front of him. "You can thank my friend, Flash, for giving me this." The object was finally revealed: The Digimantal Of Courage. "Now, Digi-Armor Energise!" The Digimantal exploded into flames and wrapped around him, causing his body to change. "Tentomon, Armor Digivolve to..." The flaming body became humanoid and when the fires began to extinguish, it revealed a figure in flame patterned wizards clothing that was carrying a pair of giant matchsticks. "FlameWizardmon, Burning Magical Courage!"

"WOW!" His friend all cried out in amazement.

"I didn't know Micro had that armor," Sandalwood turned to Flash. "You gave it to him, right?" Flash nodded, explaining how he had traded it before selling the Digimantal to the Codex Commanders.

"I hoped Micro would get some use out of it, but I didn't realise Tentomon could Armor Digivolve." As he said this, Trixie brought up the new Digimon's stats and were amazed. "Guys, I think I know why Micro chose this Digimon." The others turned to her, as she showed them the stats.

Name: FlameWizardmon
Level: Armor
Type: Virus
Attribute: Fire
Species: Demon Man
Family: Nightmare Soldier

"It's Virus?" Rainbow asked, smirking when she saw this. "Awesome. This gives Micro the edge." They turned back to the battle, as FlameWizardmon took out its matchstick wands and spun them around.

"Fire Cloud!" The tips of the matches ignited and as he spun them around, the flames exploded outwards in all directions.

"Wow!" Kokuwamon leapt back, shocked when she saw the room around her catch fire. "Are you insane?" A wall of fire appeared between them, but FlameWizardmon simply walked through it. "Of course. You've turned the battlefield to one you have the advantage in."

"Exactly," FlameWizardmon started swinging his burning wands at the robot, attempting to hit Kokuwamon and burn her. But she avoided the attacks as best she could, only to leap back and find herself hitting the firewall behind her.

"Augh!"

FlameWizardmon: 4-100%
Kokuwamon: 4-95%

FlameWizardmon took this moment to leap forward and slam his foot into Kokuwamon, knocking her backwards and through the flames. "RAAAAH!"

FlameWizardmon: 4-100%
Kokuwamon: 4-70%

She slammed into the ground and slid across it, as FlameWizardmon walked through the fire. She turned to glare at him, realising he had outsmarted her. "Picking a Rookie I was strong against, making me think I knew what he would become, picking this environment to throw me off. This guy's too smart for his own good." FlameWizardmon charged forward, but Kokuwamon wasn't gonna let him beat her this easily. "Stun Shock!" A lightning bolt exploded out of her horns and hit FlameWizardmon in the chest.

"Augh!"

FlameWizardmon: 4-90%
Kokuwamon: 4-70%

Kokuwamon used this distraction to turn to the great hall's exit, realising this was her only chance to escape since the flames were blocking it. She leapt into the air and for the door. as FlameWizardmon recovered from the attack. "Magic Ignition!" The fingertips of his gloves burst into blue flames, the magical Digimon flicking them at Kokuwamon and sending blue fireballs flying at her.

Kokuwamon was able to avoid them and pushed her way through the door, the flames not spreading passed the great hall.

FlameWizardmon ran out of the room behind her, but Kokuwamon flew around a corner and out of range. "You can run, but you can't hide!"

"Never thought I'd see Lightning on the ropes like this," Rainbow was amazed as they watched the robot flying to safety.

"She's not gonna stand a chance if she just runs," Trixie pointed out. "What's she thinking?" They got their answer when Kokuwamon flew into a corridor and found a coin floating in the middle of it. She quickly flew towards it and grabbed it, the coin exploding and flying into her body.

"That's it," Flash nodded. "She's trying to Digivolve."

Sandalwood nodded, "it's easier to Digivolve to an Armor Form than Champion Form. That's why Tentomon Digivolved before her." She kept flying through the castle, searching for another coin. However, she turned a corner only for a blast of fire to hit her in the chest.

"Augh!" She was thrown backwards, her life points dropping even further.

FlameWizardmon: 4-90%
Kokuwamon: 4-40%

She fell to the ground, as FlameWizardmon moved towards her spinning his wands around. "Ready to give up?" He wasn't acting cocky, but Micro hoped speaking this way would rile her up and cause her to make a mistake.

"Never!" Kokuwamon growled as she checked her Digivolution gauge. Lightning saw it was almost full. She just needed to buy more time. "Power Surge!" She swung her claws around and unleashed the electrical X-shape, which struck FlameWizardmon before he could react.

"Ahhhh!" He staggered back, feeling the electrical sting.

FlameWizardmon: 4-75%
Kokuwamon: 4-40%

He staggered back as Kokuwamon leapt into the air and flew over him, making her way through the corridors until they reached another set of large doors. Pushing her way into his room, she found herself in a large library.

FlameWizardmon was right behind her, but her Digivolution gauge finally filled up. "Alright!" She cheered as he body burst into light. "Kokuwamon, Digivolve to..." Her body didn't grow, but it changed shape and became more rounded. A spike appeared from out of its head. The light finally vanished and revealed a purple sphere Digimon with arms and legs that had a lightning bolt on its head. "Thundermon!"

"Thought so," Rainbow nodded. "A small Champion Digimon with a lot of speed and power. Micro's gonna have trouble against that." The others brought up Thundermon's stats.

Name: Thundermon
Level: Champion
Type: Data
Attribute: Electric
Species: Mutant
Family: Metal Empire

"It's still a Data type," Trixie pointed out. "Shouldn't be too much of an issue against a Virus type."

"Maybe," Flash nodded, "but the typing won't matter if the attack can't land." Sure enough, Thundermon started flying around at high speed, as FlameWizardmon launched fireballs towards him.

"Stay still!" The wizard roared as his fire attacks missed.

"Not gonna happen!" Thundermon laughed as she suddenly shot towards him, throwing a bunch right into his back. FlameWizardmon cried out as he was knocked staggering forward.

FlameWizardmon: 4-70%
Thundermon: 4-40%

The attack wasn't that strong, but Thundermon was able to fly away before FlameWizardmon could react. The magical Digimon managed to remain on his feet and looked towards where Thundermon had flown to, but the Mutant Digimon was too fast and he couldn't follow her.

"AUGH!" He was once again struck in the back and thrown forward, a bolt of lightning flying around him and hitting four more times.

FlameWizardmon: 4-45%
Thundermon: 4-40%

Having had enough of getting punched, FlameWizardmon quickly spun around as the last moment. "Magic Ignition!" His hand burst into blue flames and with a flick, the fireballs exploded off his fingers and shot in several directions.

On of those directions was where Thundermon had flown, the living lightning bolt flying straight into the path of a fireball. "AUGH!" Thundermon scream, as the fireball exploded right in her face.

FlameWizardmon: 4-45%
Thundermon: 4-10%

Thundermon spun through the air until he crashed into a bookcase, almost knocking it over. But the Digimon quickly used this and pushed his feet into the case, using it as a springboard to propel himself towards her opponent. "Powerful Punch!" Her fists sparked with lightning and with incredible speed, she punched FlameWizardmon in the chest.

FlameWizardmon: 4-35%
Thundermon: 4-10%

FlameWizardmon flinched as he was knocked staggering back, the magician attempting to launch a blast of fire towards Thundermon. But the Mutant was able to leap back just in time. "Thunder Bomber!" Lightning shot off his horn and into his hands, which be brought together to form an orb of electricity.

That orb was blasted at FlameWizardmon, who attempted to dodge it. But as soon as it slammed into the ground, the sphere exploded and sent out a blast of electrical energy. It electrocuted the FlameWizardmon, making him cry out as his body felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand tiny needles.

FlameWizardmon: 4-20%
Thundermon: 4-10%

He hit the ground and Thundermon shot towards him again, planning to deal a punch right to his face. But FlameWizardmon smirked and thrust his wands out. "Curse of Fire!" Red light shot out of the matches and formed some kind of magic circle, which Thundermon accidently flew through.

As he did, fire exploded around her. "Augh!"

FlameWizardmon: 4-20%
Thundermon: 4-0%

Thundermon fell to the ground in front of FlameWizardmon, who got up and smirked at him. She quickly rolled to her feet and picked herself up, ready to attack, but her body burst into flames again. "GYAH!"

FlameWizardmon: 4-20%
Thundermon: 3-90%

"What happened?" Veemon asked, "FlameWizardmon didn't even touch her."

Lunamon hummed. "My guess, it was some kind magic. When Thundermon flew through the magical circle, she was cursed to be burned every now and then." The others nodded, thinking the same thing. "Magic is a powerful thing in the Digital World. Those with its power can manipulate the coding of the world to make the impossible possible."

Rainbow nodded, "and now Lightning's up against a pretty powerful form of magic. She might not stand a chance."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." They all looked around, seeing the speaker sitting at another table. It was Jet Set, who was sipping a cup of coffee. "Lightning isn't one to give up so easily. She'll find a way to turn things in her favour. Just watch." They turned back to the battle, as Thundermon stopped burning.

"You think you've got me beat?" She asked, as FlameWizardmon readied his wands.

"I don't think I have," the magician replied. "But my strategy seems to be working." He charged forward and swung his flaming matches around, Thundermon leaping around to avoid them. "It's just a matter of hitting you enough times whilst my curse widdles you down."

"I'm not gonna let that happen," Thundermon replied before her body burned again. "Gyah!"

FlameWizardmon: 4-20%
Thundermon: 3-80%

She staggered back, as FlameWizardmon tried to whack her with his staff. But Thundermon leapt to the side. "Time to kick things up a notch." She leapt into the air and flew to the top of a bookcase. "You think turning to a Virus Type surprised me?" FlameWizardmon stared at her, "well it did. But it's not the first time someone's tried to use that trick on me."

"So?"

"So...I always come prepared." She leapt into the air, "Battle Gear...BOOST!" A light then exploded off her back, transforming into a metal backpack of sorts with wires sticking off it that went into her arms. "Virus Buster Breakers!"

"What?" FlameWizardmon hadn't heard of that Battle Gear. But he quickly learned what it did when she shot down towards him, then slammed her fist into him. "AUGH!"

FlameWizardmon: 4-10%
Thundermon: 3-80%

Thundermon then dealt a second strike, hitting FlameWizardmon right in the face.

FlameWizardmon: 4-0%
Thundermon: 3-80%

FlameWizardmon fell back and as Thundermon prepared to attack again, the magician thrust his hand forward. "Magic Ignition!" The fire exploded out and slammed Thundermon head on, making her cry out in pain.

FlameWizardmon: 3-100%
Thundermon: 3-50%

Thundermon was knocked backwards but as she was, her horn sparked before unleashing the lightning into her hand. "Thunder Bomber!" The electrical explosive was sent flying towards FlameWizardmon, exploding to electrocute him as he was also knocked backwards and into a bookcase.

FlameWizardmon: 3-70%
Thundermon: 3-50%

"I don't get it," Flash frowned. "Why are Thundermon's attacks doing more damage?"

"Her Virus Buster Breaker," Jet explained. "With that, any attack she launches are transformed into Vaccine attacks. Even though she's a Data type, she can hit Viruses with Vaccine Attacks."

"That's not good," Trixie frowned. "Now they're both on equal footing."

"Not exactly," Flash sighed. "She's gonna go Ultimate eventually."

"Does Micro have an Ultimate Form for FlameWizardmon?" Sandal asked, everyone else unsure.

"Even if he does, it won't be until after Lightning unless he can get some coins." Flash remembered how hard it was to get from Armor to Ultimate. One of the few downsides of the evolution. "Come on Micro."

"Smart move," FlameWizardmon picked himself up. "But this battle's far from over." Thundermon smirked at this, only for her body to burn once again.

FlameWizardmon: 3-70%
Thundermon: 3-40%

As she burned, FlameWizardmon charged. The pair got in close and with Thundermon still recoiling from the burn, she was unable to avoid getting hit by the attacks FlameWizardmon started hitting her with. But she pushed through the pain and threw her own strikes, the pair trading blows several times.

The library was ripped apart by their fight, as they dealt attack after attack at one another. Eventually, the pair split apart as their life gauges dropped.

FlameWizardmon: 2-100%
Thundermon: 2-85%

Seeing the room had been completely destroyed and no coins had been revealed, Thundermon rushed off at high speed. "Hey!" FlameWizardmon charged after her, but the living lightning bolt outsped him. He chased her out of the library and she whizzed down the hallways, attempting to find a coin or two.

"Come on," she groaned as she searched for a Digivolution Coin.

She then found a route that lead down to the lower sections of the castle. This area wasn't as clean as the rest of the castle, being a strange mixture of dungeons and laboratories. And it was in one of these labs that she found a Digivolution Coin.

"Yes!" She grabbed it and the power flowed into her, her Digivolution gauge getting close to full. "Almost." But as she said that, her body burst into flames again and her life points dropped.

FlameWizardmon: 2-100%
Thundermon: 2-75%

She panted as the flames went out, but knew she had to keep fighting. However, she then heard footsteps coming from outside the room. Seems FlameWizardmon had found her.

"See anything?" Micro asked as the Armor Digimon reached the bottom of the stairs, looking around as Tentomon kept an eye out of anything.

"Nothing that you haven't already noticed," Tentomon replied. "Just be careful. She's gotta be down here somewhere." And sure enough, a soon as he said that Thundermon leapt out of one of the rooms.

"Powerful Punch!" She shot forward and thrust her fist into FlameWizardmon, unleashing a blast of lightning that knocked the Armor Digimon backwards.

FlameWizardmon: 2-80%
Thundermon: 2-75%

Despite being thrown backwards, FlameWizardmon ignited his fist. "Magic Ignition!" He flicked the fireballs forward, Thundermon trying to avoid them but having very little success in the narrow corridor.

One of the fireballs exploded against the wall to her left, the explosion pulling her into the path of another. "AUGH!" She cried, as the flames singed her body.

FlameWizardmon: 2-80%
Thundermon: 2-45%

FlameWizardmon then leapt forward and threw a kick at the still recovering Mutant Digimon.

FlameWizardmon: 2-80%
Thundermon: 2-35%

Thundermon hit the ground and rolled backwards, coming to a stop when she managed to dig her feet into the ground. She panted, but pushed herself back to her feet. And as she did, the Digivolution Gauge became full. "Finally." As she said that, he body started glowing. "Thundermon, Digivolve to..." The spherical Digimon remained the same size, but her arms started changing. The lightning bolt on its head vanished as metal plating appeared on his head. When the light faded, she was now a red spherical Digimon covered in metal armor. Her head had a helmet covering it and her arms were entirely mechanical, with her right fist have a red glove with three metal claws on it and her left arm having a laser cannon of sorts. The Virus Burst Break was still stuck her her back, the wires connected to her arm weapons. "MetalMamemon!"

"Not good," Rainbow frowned. "That Digimon's one of Lightning's strongest." The others brought up the stats.

Name: MetalMamemon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Data
Attribute: Electric
Species: Cyborg
Family: Metal Empire, Virus Buster

"It's still a Data type," Trixie pointed out. "But with their Virus Buster Breaker, Micro's still gonna have trouble."

"And he's not gonna be able to use his Ultimate for a while," Flash reminded them. As he said that, the new Ultimate shot forward at incredible speed.

"Metal Claw!" She slashed at FlameWizardmon with her claws, the Armor Digimon trying to block with his matches. But the claws cut right through them.

"What?" He cried, seeing the wooden weapons falling to the ground. MetalMamemon then slashed at him, hitting him right across the face. "AUGH!"

FlameWizardmon: 2-40%
MetalMamemon: 2-35%

He was thrown backwards, as MetalMamemon leapt into the air and pointed her weapon at him. "Psycho Blaster!" She charged up her attack, but before she could fire the flames exploded around her body. The curse hadn't broken with her Digivolution.

FlameWizardmon: 2-40%
MetalMamemon: 2-25%

Seeing his chance, FlameWizardmon raised his fist as the flames exploded around it. "Magic Ignition!" The fireballs shot off his hand and slammed into the Ultimate, exploding and knocking her backwards.

FlameWizardmon: 2-40%
MetalMamemon: 2-5%

FlameWizardmon then ran forward, knowing his best shot of victory required the destruction of the Battle Gear allowing MetalMamemon to deal him large damage. And to do that, he needed his own. "Battle Gear, BOOST!" He leapt into the air over MetalMamemon, as something appeared on his back.

That something was what appeared to be leaf blower backpack, the wizard pointing the hose towards MetalMamemon.

"Flame Cannon! FIRE!" A stream of flames exploded out of the leaf blower and flew towards the Ultimate Level, hitting the back of her Battle Gear as she was knocked forwards.

MetalMamemon flinched at the heat, but it didn't damage her. However, as she hit the ground, her Battle Gear began to short circuit. "Seriously?" She asked, spinning around as FlameWizardmon landed. "Psycho Blaster!" Her arm cannon fired and shot a blast of purple energy towards him.

"Flame Cannon!" He fired another stream and it struck the energy ball, exploding.

As this happened, the Virus Buster Breaker sparked before exploding. The damage had been too much and now, she was stuck fighting him without her large damage. "Doesn't matter!" She shot forward, "I'll still take you down." She flew through the smoke of the explosion and reached FlameWizardmon before the magician could reach, "Metal Claw!" She slashed at him and FlameWizardmon hissed as he was knocked backwards.

FlameWizardmon: 2-20%
MetalMamemon: 2-5%

FlameWizardmon fired his flamethrower again, the fire stream moving towards MetalMamemon. She leapt up, the fire stream flying under her. However, she wasn't fast enough and the flames struck her foot. "Augh!"

FlameWizardmon: 2-20%
MetalMamemon: 2-0%

However, MetalMamemon quickly pushed through the pain and pointed her blaster at him. "Psycho Blaster!" The purple energy exploded out of her cannon and shot towards FlameWizardmon, who's eyes went wide as he tried to blast it with his flamethrower. But the device needed more time to recharge.

As such, the energy blast slammed into him and exploded. "AUGH!" He was thrown backwards, slamming into a door at the end of the hallway.

FlameWizardmon: 2-5%
MetalMamemon: 1-100%

He smashed through the door and hit the ground, his Flame Cannon getting battered upon the impacts. The device exploded as he fell to the ground, as MetalMamemon landed.

FlameWizardmon groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, his opponent moving forward with her claws ready. But as he did, the Armor Digimon noticed something and looked up to see a Digivolution Coin. "Yes!" He leapt at it, jumping onto a table as MetalMamemon charged forward.

"Oh no you don't!" He grabbed the coin, right as she slammed her foot into his side.

"Augh!" He was thrown away, slamming into the wall. But the coin was still his and the power flew into him.

FlameWizardmon: 2-0%
MetalMamemon: 1-100%

He groaned as he laid on the ground, MetalMamemon standing on the table and pointing her blaster at him. Unfortunately, she had used most of her SP. She couldn't fire it. "Just give it up. Don't you get it? You're not winning this fight."

FlameWizardmon began to push himself to his feet, but only got to his knees, panting as he did so. "I'm...not gonna let you beat me."

"Don't try and bluff me," MetalMamemon stated. "There's no way you have an Ultimate for that Armor. You're stuck like that."

FlameWizardmon smirked, "that's where you're wrong." He pushed himself up. "You know, it's funny. I have a friend in the Digital World that I've known for a long time. He even gave me his scan. But I could never find a Digimon to use him with. But then, Flash gave me the Digimental of Courage. The next thing I know, I'm unlocking an Armor Form that can Digivolve into him."

"You're bluffing," she repeated. She watched as her SP slowly rose, but not enough to attack with.

"You wanna bet," FlameWizardmon smirked as his Digivolution Gauge finally hit the peak. "Well be prepared to lose that bet." With that, his body exploded into flames. "FlameWizardmon, Digivolve to..." He grew taller and as he did, something appeared in his hands. The right one became some kind of weapon, whilst the left was an orb of some kind. Armor appeared to cover his body as well, along with a cape of some kind. The fire finally began to extinguish and when it did, an eight foot tall wizard wearing armor stood there carrying a sword that was on fire and a strong glowing orb. "Mistymon!"

Micro's friends were amazed by the sight before them, the lot wondering where he had gotten that scan from. The Mistymon stats then appeared

Name: Mistymon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Virus
Attribute: Fire
Species: Magic Warrior
Family: Virus Buster

"Wow," Flash was amazed by the power this Digimon possessed. "Lightning doesn't stand a chance." The others nodded in agreement, as the battle continued.

MetalMamemon stared at him in amazement, as Mistymon threw the crystal ball he carried into the air. That ball started floating, as Mistymon held his sword with both hands.

"So what if you have an Ultimate form," she pointed her weapon at him. "I'll still take you down!" She fired a low level blast at Mistymon, who remained completely still. Instead, the crystal ball flew in front of him.

"Core Dart!" The orb unleashed a large amount of light, which formed a wall in front of him that the laser bounced off of. It then fired a beam at MetalMamemon, who leapt off the table that exploded. She leapt out of the door and ran for the stairs, as Mistymon followed.

The crystal ball fired several more blasts at her, but she managed to avoid most of them as she got to the stairs. But one managed to hit her in the back, making her cry out in pain.

Mistymon: 1-100%
MetalMamemon: 1-70%

As she ran up the stairs, Mistymon's orb returned to his hand. Instead, he held up his sword as the flames upon it grew more and more powerful. "Blast Fire!"

MetalMamemon ran up the stairs and managed to reach the top, running into the entrance hall the battle had started in.

But as she looked behind her, expecting Mistymon to run out of the stairs, she suddenly felt the ground getting very hot. "Huh?" She looked down, just in time to see the floor glowing red and smoking. "You've gotta be kidding me!" She leapt back, seconds before it exploded with a blast of fire. "WOW!"

Mistymon leapt out of the hole this caused, his sword raised above his head. "Raaah!" He slashed at her, but MetalMamemon blocked it with her claws.

"Not gonna happen!" She pushed him back and fired her cannon, hitting Mistymon on the shoulder and making him stagger backwards.

Mistymon: 1-90%
MetalMamemon: 1-70%

Mistymon stabbed his blade into the ground to balance himself, then rushed forward again. As he did, MetalMamemon fired at him. "Core Dart!" The crystal ball flowed in front of him and formed the energy wall, blocking the laser and allowing him to get in close.

He swung his sword at her and MetalMamemon couldn't react in time, the orb slashing down her front. "Augh!"

Mistymon: 1-90%
MetalMamemon: 1-55%

Mistymon then leapt back, as his orb unleashed a rain of lasers that flew towards MetalMamemon. But the Ultimate recovered and blasted the ones that would hit her, allowing her to leap up and slash at it with her claws.

The orb was split into four pieces, falling to the ground as Mistymon raised his sword. "Now, let's end this. Blast Fire!" He swung his sword and unleashed all the fire within it, creating a wave of flaming blades that flew out in all directions.

MetalMamemon tried to avoid them, but the flames were too fast and to many. Eventually, they smashed into her with incredible force and ignited her whole body. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" She screamed, her life points dropping.

Mistymon: 1-90%
MetalMamemon: 1-15%

The flames eventually went out and MetalMamemon began to fall, Mistymon charging forward as she did so. But as she fell, she pointed her blaster at him. "Psycho Blaster!" The weapon fired and the energy ball shot towards Mistymon, slamming into him and exploding as he hit the ground and took fall damage.

Mistymon: 1-75%
MetalMamemon: 1-10%

But Mistymon wasn't letting this fight end yet, the Ultimate leaping out of the smoke with his sword still raised. "Raaaah!" He swung it at MetalMamemon, who tried to push herself back to her feet. But the sword sliced through her arm cannon and the tip struck her face, knocking her backwards with a cry of pain.

Mistymon: 1-75%
MetalMamemon: 1-0%

Slamming against a pillar, MetalMamemon almost fell to the ground. The Cyborg Digimon looked up at Mistymon, who was preparing for one final strike. If she was going down...she was going down fighting.

"RAAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" She screamed, running forward with her clawed hand primed to strike. Mistymon also ran forward and had his sword ready to strike.

Everyone watched as MetalMamemon and Mistymon reached one another and in the blink of an eye, the pair were standing back to back with their weapons pointing forwards. That was the scene that remained on the screen for several seconds before MetalMamemon began to fall.

She hit the ground and exploded, Lightning Dust and Kokuwamon replacing her as the voice began to speak up. "Battle Over! Winner, Micro Chips." The battlefield was then consumed by light, transforming back into the domed room as Mistymon suddenly split back into Micro and Tentomon.

"YEAH!" The winners cheered, high-fiving as Lightning and Kokuwamon began to pick themselves up.

The girl turned to glare at him, "you got lucky." She grabbed her Digivice and turned to leave, "don't think this makes you better than me. Next time we face off, you're going down. I'll take that sword you were swinging and stick it where the sun doesn't shine." With that, she marched out the room with Kokuwamon behind her.

Micro sighed, wishing she could have taken her lose with a bit more grace. "Oh well."

Lightning Dust stood outside the battle room with a look of anger on her face. "I had him. I had him at the start but he started turning the tables. This bites."

Kokuwamon looked down, appearing to be ashamed. "I'm sorry Lightning. I wish I could have stronger Digimon for you to become." Clearly, he was worried Lightning would blame him. But she sighed and looked down at him.

"Relax. You weren't the one fighting. I let him beat me so I'm the one to blame." She walked down the corridor, "I gotta find a way to beat Virus types that don't just rely on my Battle Gear."

Micro and Tentomon stepped out of the stadium and as they did, they spotted Flash, Trixie, Sandal, Rainbow and their Digimon heading towards them.

"Micro!" Flash cried, "that battle was awesome."

Micro smiled as he scratched the back of his head, "thanks. I couldn't have won without the Digimantal you gave me." Flash smiled back as Sandalwood stepped up.

"You really worried us back there. We thought you went nuts when you picked the Castle of Dark Illusions." The others nodded, Micro smirking as he noticed Rainbow.

"Hey, you're Rainbow Dash. You're a really strong Champion player."

"I know," Rainbow smirked. "But I guess you're just as strong. You managed to beat Lightning and I know how tough she is." Micro nodded as Rainbow asked him something. "You said you were friends with that Mistymon. I don't think I've ever met a Mistymon before."

"Yeah," Micro nodded, "I met him not long after meeting Tentomon. We hit it off and he took me to the Castle of Dark Illusion." They all nodded, now knowing where he got that scan from. "We've hung out several times and he was always training and trying to get stronger."

"Sounds like my kind of Digimon," Flash smirked. "Hope I get to meet him sometime." But this caused Micro to frown.

"Actually, I haven't seen him in a while. Last few times I went to see him, the other magical Digimon at the castle said he left for a training trip and he never came back." That confused them all, as they wondered where Mistymon might have gone.

The Digital World was full of mysteries and no matter how much you learn, something new shows up and you find yourself just as confused as before. Only time would tell whether or not Mistymon would appear again and the answers of where he had been. Until then, Micro and his friends would focus on getting as strong as they could.

Author's Note

Micro Chips gets some time to shine. I know you were probably all wanting to see him kick butt as Kabuterimon, but I wanted to show his Armor Digimon and evolution to it. Hope you enjoyed.

Battle Down the Mine

In a cave somewhere in the Digital World, a mine of sorts was currently being dug out.

Inside the mine were a bunch of Digimon, who appeared to be green monkeys wearing caveman clothing. They also wore gloves and were currently holding large pickaxes, whilst having chains locked around their legs that stopped them from running away.

The Digimon were busy hacking away at the walls in front of them, trying to find something.

One of these Digimon suddenly stopped, panting as he was clearly exhausted. However, a growl appeared behind him and he went completely still. He then slowly turned to look around, seeing a red and white wolf-like Digimon with a super long snot wearing black leather around its legs.

"Who said you could take a break?" He asked, snapping his teeth at the Digimon and making him cry out before quickly getting back to work. "That's what I thought." The Digimon walked away, as the monkeys kept working.

One of them hit the wall and managed to break a part off of it, revealing something beneath it. That something was a lump of silver rock, completely different from the black rock it was surrounded by. The monkey pulled it out of the wall and examined it, then threw it into a wheelbarrow that was full of the same rock.

The wolf Digimon saw this and ran up towards a different section of the mine, where a large rock was in the very centre and had something atop of it. That something was a tent-like structure, which had a figure inside of it that appeared to be some kind of centaur. "Master, the work is going slowly. But we've been able to collect a large amount of ore."

"You're not going fast enough. Go back to the village and gather more...volunteers."

"Yes master," the wolf nodded before running off. Several minutes later, a large pack of the wolves began to make their way out of the mine and came out of a cave in the base of a desert mountain. They rushed along the sand, moving at incredibly high speed. They would get the workers their master wanted and they knew that nobody would be able to stop them.

The Digital World was home to many different areas, with many biomes located all around the place.

It was in one of these biomes that we find Flash Sentry, making his way over a rock-covered desert area with his trusty partner. The heat of the place was insane, making the pair moan as they trekked through the sand. "Why did I let you talk me into this," he groaned at the group in front of him.

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash smiled as they looked back at him, Tawnimon and Kamemon by their side. The last two members of their group also smiled, the pair turning back to him. "Come on partner," Applejack tipped her hat. "We're not that far from this spot. Trust me, you'll love it there." Flash frowned, remembering how he ended up in this situation to begin with.

Earlier that day, Flash and Veemon were in Codex looking over the many locations he had managed to acquire.

"Brave Forest, Great Lake, Machine City, the Mountains. All looked pretty good. But I'm gonna need some more areas if I really wanna keep my opponents guessing." He remembered Micro's battle against Lightning. The Castle of Dark Illusions had thrown the girl off and given him the edge. Flash needed something like that as well.

"Hey Flash," the teen looked around and smiled when he saw Twilight. He then saw she was also with Rainbow and a girl he hadn't met yet.

"Hey," he waved at them, "I don't think we've met yet."

"Name's Applejack," she smirked before gesturing to the Digimon next to her. "And this is ma'h partner, Labramon." Flash smiled at the dog Digimon, but noticed something odd.

"Hey, I thought Labramon were supposed to have a purple tail and ears? Why's yours orange?"

Applejack laughed, "ya'h not the first one to say that."

Labramon nodded, "mine are just orange. Always have been." Flash was surprised by this, but shrugged. "So what are you doing? Gonna battle?" Labramon turned to Veemon, "I'd love to go up against you."

"Thanks," Veemon smirked, "but we're not looking to battle today."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "we're thinking about going out to get some location scans." This intrigued the girls, who all smiled at him.

"You wanna location?" Applejack asked, "a'h know a great one to go to. But...it's a Champion Level area." Flash frowned, since that meant he wouldn't be able to teleport there on his own. "But I think there's a Rookie Level area next to it. Wanna go?" Flash smirked at this, nodding at the idea of going on a little adventure.

Now Flash was starting to regret it. They had been walking for an hour and Flash was burning up under the heat, having to take his jacket off so as to not burn to death.

"Why is it so hot?" He moaned, "this isn't the real world. So why is it as hot as a real life desert? Maybe hotter." The girls laughed at this, they and their Digimon understanding Flash's plight. It took a while to get used to the heat of the Digital Desert.

"The Digital World is an amalgamation of all the data that makes up our internet," Twilight explained. "This desert was created from the data and info gathered about the deserts of earth. If that information states that deserts are hot, then this place will be hot." Flash sighed as they began to make their way up a dune.

"Besides," Applejack told him, "we're close to our destination."

"Well this destination better have air conditioning," Flash groaned as they reached the top of the dune. And when they did, they saw a large portion of trees off in the distance.

Applejack tipped her hat. "There it is. Serene Oasis."

Flash smirked, liking the look of it. It was as large as a town and appeared lush and beautiful, Flash and Veemon both looking forward to investigating the environment and figuring out the best way to fight there. "So what kind of Digimon live there?"

"Only two types," Labramon replied as they made their way towards it. "Lalamon and Monmon."

"Monmon?" Flash asked, not familiar with that breed of Digimon.

"A combo of a monkey and a caveman," Twilight replied. "They usually carry a giant slingshot, which they use to fire large rocks at their opponents." Flash smirked, liking the sound of this Digimon already. They moved towards the oasis but as they did, Kamemon noticed something in the distance to the left of the oasis.

"Huh?" Rainbow felt her partner pull at her pants and looked down at him, "what's up?" Kamemon simply pointed at the dust cloud, Rainbow seeing it and being confused about what it was. "Hey, Applejack. Does this place ever have sandstorms?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "but nowhere near the oasis. Why?" Rainbow pointed at the large cloud and they all realised something must be wrong, Twilight taking out her Digivice and bringing up her item box.

Suddenly, a pair of binoculars appeared in her hands and she began to star at the cloud. Doing so, she saw a Digimon right in front of it that was running towards the oasis. "Fangmon?" The others turned to her, "there's a Fangmon at the front of that cloud."

"What's a Fangmon doing in a desert environment?" Tawnimon asked. "they're supposed to live in forests." The others shrugged, clearly not knowing why a Fangmon would be there. However, they all knew where it was going.

"The oasis!" Veemon cried, as Applejack and Labramon began to run forward.

"Those Digimon won't stand a chance if it attacks!" Applejack cried, taking out her Digivice as the others followed suit. "Let's go, Labramon." The dog nodded as the Digivice exploded with light, which began to swirl around him.

"Labramon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger and eventually exploded off his body, revealing a large wolf Digimon that was a mix of orange and white, with metal pieces covering its body including yellow drills. It had a drill on its head that seemed to act as a horn, along with a large drill on the tip of its tail. "Dorulumon!"

Applejack leapt up and landed on Dorulumon's back, grabbing the metal vents on his back and holding onto them as the wolf shot forwards. At the same time, Twilight took out her own Digivice. "Tawnimon!" She held it up as the Digivice sent a blast of light towards her partner.

Tawnimon leapt into the air and the light surrounded him. "Tawnimon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew and explode, revealing a large winged horn with a red mask over its face and a horn on its head. "Unimon!"

Twilight leapt onto Unicorns' back, Flash and Rainbow jumping on behind her as Veemon and Kamemon grabbed Unimon's legs.

The flying horse soared into the air, showing amazing strength as he carried the five of them towards the oasis. But the dust cloud was faster and reached the trees first, finally disappearing to reveal a bunch more Fangmon. "How many are there?" Applejack asked, as the wolves leapt into the trees and let out several howls. "Hurry!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Dorulumon growled, hating that he couldn't go any faster on the uneven terrain.

They eventually reached the oasis and rushed inside, Dorulumon leaping through the trees as Unimon landed and galloped passed with Veemon and Kamemon running besides him. Flash looked around and saw the trees were all palm trees whose large leaves came together and blocked out the sun's heat.

Screams filled the air as they arrived at their destination, finding a village of monkey Digimon along with pink and green flower Digimon.

The Fangmon were leaping around, knocking down the houses that these Digimon lived in and howling whenever they attacked. The Monmon and Lalamon tried to escape, but the Fangmon were too fast. One Lalamon became trapped against a still standing house, the Fangmon approaching with his mouth slobbering.

"You're mine," he told her. But as he was about to attack, Dorulumon's voice filled the air.

"Drill Bit Blitz!" He turned towards the voice and saw a flying drill shooting towards him. It slammed into the wolf, burrowing into his side before exploding. The wolf howled in pain as he was blasted away, slamming into a tree and falling to the ground.

Lalamon turned towards her savior and saw Dorulumon running towards her with Applejack on his back. "Applejack!" She cried, flying over to her. "Thank goodness you're here."

"What's happening?" Applejack asked, "why are these Fangmon attacking ya'll." But more cries made them look around and see a Monmon getting pinned by a Fangmon. "Get ya'h dirty paws off him!"

"Make me!" The Fangmon growled, only to hear another voice call out from behind him.

"Express Claw!" He looked around and saw Flamedramon flying towards him, his claws glowing as he slashed at the wolf. This forced Fangmon to leap away, Flamedramon's attacking missing but the Monmon had been freed.

At the same time, another Digimon appeared. This one looked like a mix of a turtle and a duck, with a CD disc on its head.

"DJ Shooter!" He cried, as the disc on his head began to spin around before exploding off it towards Fangmon. The wolf tried to dodge it, but the disc was faster and smashed into him. He howled as more Fangmon noticed the new arrivals and attacked.

"Aerial Attack!" Unimon flew over the village and fired a blast of light from his mouth, which hit the ground and kept the Fangmon from advancing on them. It also allowed the Lalamon and Monmon to run over to the heroes and hide behind them, the four Digimon standing protective of them.

"Why are you attacking this village?" Twilight asked, jumping off Unimon.

"We have our reasons," the lead Fangmon stated. "You'll be wise to stay out of this, human, unless you wanna end up joining these weaklings where we're taking them."

"Taking them?" Applejack looked around and realised something, "where are the others?" The number of Monmon were far less then the last time she had been there. They used to have the same amount as the Lalamon, but now the plants outnumbered the monkeys three to one.

"They took them!" A Lalamon cried, shocking the humans and their partners.

"That's right," the Fangmon growled. "And the rest of them are gonna be joining them!" They all charged, leaping into the air with their claws at the ready. But Dorulumon leapt forward.

"I don't think so!" The drill on the end of his tail started spinning, "Drill Tornado!" The spiral unleashed a blast of wind, which struck the lead Fangmon and sent it flying backwards into the air. Dorulumon them moved his tail and sent the tornado towards the rest of the Fangmon.

Everyone watched as the Fangmon was sucked into the vortex and thrown out of the top, the lot flying through the trees and disappearing out of the oasis. The drill then slowly came to a stop, causing the tornado to vanish as well.

Applejack turned to the Digimon, "everyone okay?" The Lalamon and Monmon all nodded, only to look around and see the damage done to their home.

"Man," Flash sighed, "they really did a number of this place."

"And we'd just fixed it up from the last time," Lalamon sighed.

"Last time?" Twilight looked worried, "you mean they've done this before?"

A Monmon nodded, "the last time was a few days ago. They've been coming here, attacking our home and making off with as many Monmon as they could carry." This angered the humans and their Digimon, as they looked in the direction the Fangmon had come from.

"We've gotta find them and put an end ta this," Applejack stated. "We can't let this continue." The others nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. But the question was, how did they find them?

Dorulumon turned out to have the answer, the wolf beginning to sniff the ground and pick up the many scents that were laced into it. "I've got one of the Fangmon's scents," he stated. "Give me a few minutes to get a better grasp of it and we can track them down."

"That's what I like to hear," Rainbow smirked. "We'll make those Fangmon pay for all the pain they caused." The others nodded and as Dorulumon continued to work on properly locating the smell, they started helping and Monmon and Lalamon in fixing up their homes."

Meanwhile, back at the mine, the Fangmon whined as they all limped back into the cavern.

As they did, the figure noticed their arrival and did no look happy. "Why have you returned with no more workers?" The Fangmon looked down, clearly not happy about the answer they needed to give. "Well?"

"It wasn't our fault!" The lead wolf whined, "a bunch of humans showed with their Digimon. They stopped us from getting any of the Monmon." This did not sit well with the figure, who crossed his arms and thought about what this could mean.

"Humans. Ever since they showed up in the Digital World, they're always getting in the way. One human chased me for three days straight trying to get a scan of me. Well they're not going to stop me from achieving my goals." He focused back on the Fangmon, "get them to dig faster. We don't have nearly enough ore for my purposes. And if you're wanting your own upgrades, you better find a way to get more workers to dig it up for you."

"Yes Armormon." The Fangmon turned towards the Monmon, who had been listening instead of mining. "GET BACK TO WORK!" They cried out and started mining again, but also couldn't help but think about what they had heard.

If these humans had been able to save their friends from falling captive, maybe they would find a way to locate and liberate them. They could only hope that was the case.

Having helped to do a bit of rebuilding in the village, the humans and their Digimon left the Serene Oasis and began searching for the Fangmon's hideout.

Dorulumon lead the search, sniffing the ground and leading them through the desert. As they did, Flash couldn't help but be amazed by how strong he was. "Your Labramon's really tough," he told Applejack. "I didn't even know Labramon could become Dorulumon."

"Nobody did," Applejack smirked. "There've been Dorulumon before, but nobody ever figured out what they Digivolved from. Wasn't even in the evolution chart when a'h first partnered with him. But then one day, we were explorin' a forest when we got attacked by a Togemon. The Needle Spray knocked me back and ma'h Digivice fell from ma'h hand so a'h couldn't load a deck."

"That's when I attacked," Dorulumon stated back as he sniffed the ground. "I had no idea what I was doing, but I had to try and protect Applejack. That's when I suddenly felt a surge of power. The next thing I know, I'm Digivolving into the handsome specimen you see before you."

"Huh," Flash remembered what Twilight had told him about the random Digivolutions usually resulting in the form that particular Digimon would naturally become.

Applejack smirked. "After that, Dorulumon appeared in Labramon's evolution tree. But when someone else tried to Digivolve a Labramon scan he had, he couldn't find Dorulumon anywhere."

"Why?"

"Nobody's sure," Twilight replied. "The Codex Commanders investigated it, but couldn't find anything different about Applejack's Labramon than any other. The only differences are the orange parts instead of purple, but there's nothing in his code to explain why he's so different."

"And who cares," Applejack smirked. "Ma'h Labramon likes being Dorulumon and that's all that matters." The others nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly whilst Flash was just amazed.

Even now, there was so much of the Digital World he didn't know about.

They continued to traverse the desert in search of the Fangmon's lair, though they knew the place couldn't be too far away since one of the reasons they likely kept coming back was because it was close. And after a while, they spotted something in the distance that the scent trail appeared to be leading them to. A mountain.

It wasn't a big mountain, roughly the size of the standard skyscraper, but it looked very steep and the Fangmon likely wouldn't have been able to climb it. So if this was their lair, they were likely located at the base inside a cave or something.

"Guys?" Veemon gulped, "I just had a thought." He turned to them, "what if the Fangmon...ate the Monmon." That thought hadn't occurred to Flash, but now it was flowing through his head at full speed.

But before he could start to imagine the gruesome images they might end up finding, Twilight spoke up from Unimon's back. "I doubt it. Don't forget, Digimon don't leave bodies behind when they die. If they tried to eat a Monmon, they would have just exploded and left nothing behind to feast on. The only way one Digimon could eat another was if they swallowed one whole and given the size difference, I don't see them doing that."

Everyone sighed at this, glad to hear it. But it still begged the question. If they weren't eating the Monmon, why the heck were they kidnapping them?

Eventually, they arrived at the base of the mountain and Dorulumon continued to follow the scent. "Yup," he nodded, "they've been here. In fact, the scent's really strong. This has to be their base of operations."

"Then let's get ready in case they attack again," Twilight suggested. The others nodded and got off of Unimon, the lot taking out their Digivices and activating their decks. "Here we go!" Twilight swung her Digivice around and summoned the cubes. "Biomerge, Activate!" The two cubes moved towards her. "Digi-Armor, Energise!" The cubes absorbed her and merged into a single cube, with Twilight being surrounded by light. "Tawnimon, Armor Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of her along with the cube, revealing her form. "Aurumon, Loving Wisdom!"

"My turn!" Rainbow cried as Kamemon ran forward, the Digivice unleashing a blast of light that surrounded him.

"Kamemon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger and eventually exploded, revealing a giant turtle Digimon who was yellow in colour and had spikes on its back instead of a shell. "Tortomon!"

Rainbow then activated her Digivice and swung it around, summoning the the twin translucent cubes. One had a ghostly image of a red and white bird Digimon inside, whilst the other had the Digimental of Courage inside. "Biomerge, Activate!" The cubes fused with her and burst into light. "Digi-Armor, Energise!" The light then exploded into flames, as Rainbow transformed. "Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve to..." The flames extinguished and revealed a six foot tall feathered dinosaur-like Digimon.

Its body appeared entirely red, though its lower jaw was yellow and its head was surrounded by a bunch of white and dark red feathers. It had long fin arms that had long red feathers coming off them that were white tipped, with three long black claws on the end of them. Its feet, knees, chest and shoulders were covered in the same flame patterned armor as Flamedramon, with the Crest of Courage on its chest. Its head was also covered in red armor, hiding its face, whilst its tail was long and feathery. "Pteryxmon, Flightless Courage!"

Applejack swung her Digivice around and brought up a single box, revealing a scan of Lalamon within it. "Biomerge, Activate!" The cube flew over and she was sucked inside, transforming into a copy of Lalamon who quickly glowed. "Lalamon, Digivolve to..." She grew larger and the light exploded off of her, revealing a lizard-like Digimon with a sunflower for a face and a pair of giant leaves that mimicked wings. "Sunflowmon!"

"Digi-Armor, Energise!" Flash cried, as the Digimental of Courage appeared and exploded into flames.

They flew over to Veemon and wrapped around him, as he began to transform. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." The flames exploded of off him and revealed his armor form. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

Flash quickly swung his Digivice around, as the cube appeared with Flamemon inside of it. "Biomerge, Activate!" The cube sucked him inside and he was quickly transformed into the rookie, only to then burst into flames. "Flamemon, Digivolve to..." The flames grew larger and exploded off of him, revealing his adult form. "Agunimon!"

The four transformed humans and their partners stared up at the mountain, Aurumon, Unimon and Sunflowmon leaping into the air to look around whilst the grounded ones moved towards it. As they did, Pteryxmon looked herself over and smirked.

"Nice. This is pretty cool."

Agunimon turned to her, "first time using that form?"

"Yup," she nodded. "When I saw how awesome your Courage Armor was, I decided to see what it could do to my Digimon scans. Too bad Kamemon can't Armor Digivolve. But at least my Hawkmon can." As she said that, Aurumon called out from above.

"I found an opening!" They moved over to her and sure enough, there was a hole in the side of the mountain a little ways up from the base. However, as Aurumon flew in close to look inside, something shot out of it.

"RAAAAH!" A Fangmon roared as it slammed into her, making Aurumon scream as she was tackled down to the ground. This shocked the others and they rushed into action, Unimon especially wanting to save his partner. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to save your prisoners," Aurumon cried. As she said that, Unimon flew in and swung his front leg into Fangmon. This knocked him off Aurumon and allowed her to roll to her feet before leaping into the air. Fangmon growled but before he could attack, Sunflowmon flew down as her face began to glow.

"Sunshine Beam!" The light exploded off her face and caused the ground at Fangmon's feet to blow up, knocking him flying as the others arrived. He landed and looked down for the count, but he was able to let out a howl that they realised was alerting the other Fangmon.

Sure enough, a few moments later several more Fangmon leapt out of the cave and landed in front of their pack mate.

Tortomon rushed forward and as he did, his shell spikes began to glow. "Strong Carapace!" The spikes rocketed into the air and flew down towards the Fangmon, blasting at them and forcing the wolves away from the cave. "Go!"

"He's right!" Sunflowmon flew down, "Tortomon and I can't fit through that hole. You guys go and find the Monmon!" They all nodded and rushed for the cave, as the Fangmon picked themselves up.

"Don't let them through!" They tried to get to the cave, but Sunflowmon got between them.

"Cactus Tail!" She swung her tail around and slammed the thorn in the end of it into them, knocking them all back and allowing everyone to leap up into the cave. Said cave was a long tunnel, Aurumon flying ahead of everyone and using her night vision goggles to see where she was going.

A Fangmon was in the tunnel and glared at her, "Infrared Ray!" She fired lasers from her goggles, but Fangmon leapt up to avoid it. But before it could attack, Agunimon arrived.

"Pyro Punch!" He leapt up and thrust his fist into the Digimon, making Fangmon howl in pain as he was thrown backwards. They pushed their way through until they reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up into a large chamber that they realised was the start of multiple mine shafts.

"What is this place?" Flamedramon asked, as they marched into the mine and spotted the many Monmon

They were busy hacking away at the rocks, looking tired, hungry and injured. The sight of them in such a state was horrible, the six swearing to free them from their captors. And speaking of their captors, a bunch more Fangmon arrived. They were coming out of the mineshafts, were standing on ledges further up and atop a large rock in the centre of the mine that had a tent on it.

"INTRUDERS!" They howled, making Monmon stop mining and turn to see their saviour. "Master, we have intruders."

"I heard you," a voice coming from the tent spoke up. "Can you fools really not do a task as simple as keeping them out? What am I keeping you here for?" The tent opened up and something stepped out of it, everyone tensing up as they heard the heavy metal footsteps on the rock.

Eventually, the figure reached the edge of the rock and revealed itself.

It was some kind of mechanical centaur, whose body was green in colour from what little of it they could see. Only the upper parts of its legs and waist were visible, whilst the rest was covered in a bunch of heavy machinery that made it look like something out of a gundam anime.

Its arms had large gatlings guns on them whilst its stomach was covered by round metal that had a pair of guns sticking out of it. It also had a pair of guns on its back and its head was covered in a red helmet that had a face mask. This Digimon took armed and loaded to an entirely new extreme.

"What are you doing in my mine!?" The Digimon called out, Agunimon stepping forward.

"We're here to free these Monmon!" He cried, pointing at the captured monkeys. "And we've come to stop the Fangmon from attacking the oasis village. Which I'm guessing you ordered."

"Yes," he replied. "I required labourers to work in my mine. That's why I had the Fangmon recruit some for me."

"Recruit?" Dorulumon growled, "you kidnapped them and chained them up." He saw the chains around a Monmon's leg, preventing its escape. "How could you do something so horrible?"

"I'm just enacting justice on these Digimon for their crimes," the Digimon replied. "They caused pain and suffering, so I'm making them feel that same pain and suffering." They all wondered what the heck this Digimon was talking about, but he said nothing more and pointed his gatling guns at them. "Fangmon, take them down. We'll chain them up and put them to work as well."

"Yes Armormon!" The Fangmon roared before they all leapt at the six, who got into a fighting stance.

"Everyone move!" Aurumon cried, as they split apart in order to not be one large target. She and Unimon took to the air, firing their ranged attacks at the Fangmon.

At the same time, Flamedramon and Agunimon ran forward with their fists and claws bursting into flames. "Pyro Punch/Flame Fist!" They punched the wolves in front of them and knocked them back, only for more Fanmon to run up in their place. The fire Digimon stood back to back and started fighting the Fangmon as hard as they good.

"Wildfire Wingbeat!" Pteryxmon squawked as her wings caught fire, then launched the attack with a single flap. The flames flew off and morphed into a wave, which hit the Fangmon and pushed them all backwards.

Dorulumon roared as he leapt at the smaller wolves, swatting one away with his paws before spinning around and clubbing some more with his tail. He then turned to one of the Monmon and knew he had to free them, so started spinning his drill tail.

As he started cutting through the chains, Fangmon rushed towards him and were about to attack. But Unimon flew in and kicked them. The drill broke through the chain, making Monmon cheer as he ran for the exit.

"Don't let any of them get away!" Armormon ordered, a Fangmon rushing towards Monmon. But Pteryxmon intercepted it and slashed at him with burning claws.

"Blazing Slash!" The wolf howled in pain as he was knocked away, allowing Dorulumon to drill into another chain and break it off, freeing the Monmon. Pteryxmon then spun around and slammed her tail into another Fangmon, knocking it away whilst Agunimon ran passed.

As he did, the white gauntlets around his wrists burst into flames. "Pyro Darts!" He grabbed the flames and they formed needles between his fingers, which he threw towards several Fangmon. Each one found themselves getting hit by an explosion and knocked backwards.

One Fangmon leapt at Agunimon and had its claws at the ready, only for Aurumon to fly down and grab it by the tail. "HEY!" He growled, as he was lifted into the air. He was about to curl up and bite her, but the owl flew in a circle that stopped him from doing that.

The next thing he knew, he was flying through the air and crashing into a rock before falling to the ground near Dorulumon.

This stopped him from drilling, forcing him to use his Drill Tornado to blow the wolf away. When it was, he returned to drilling into the chain. As soon as the Monmon was free, it ran for the exit. Fangmon tried to get him, but the others were able to defend him until he reached the entrance to the tunnel.

Running up it as fast as he could, the monkey caveman was terrified the Fangmon would chase after him before he could get to freedom. But eventually, he arrived at the end of the cave and got outside.

The heat of the sun felt so good, but he didn't get much chance to enjoy it. For as he ran out of the cave, he found himself coming face to face with a Fangmon.

"Where do you think you're going!?" He growled, making Monmon gulp. At least until something caught their attention.

"Spinning Attack!" They looked around and saw Tortomon, whose head and legs were withdrawn into his shell, spinning towards them so fast he whipped up a dust cloud. He then crashed into Fangmon and the wolf was knocked away, allowing Monmon to see his friends hiding behind Sunflowmon as she fought against several Fangmon.

"Sunshine Beam!" She fired the blast and the explosion blew the Fangmon backwards, knocking them into the side of the mountain. "Back off, ya'h no good varmants. Ya'h not getting close to these Digimon." Monmon ran over to them, as another two Monmon arrived out of the mountain. But there were still many more left trapped inside.

"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon launched the flaming missile and the explosion knocked the Fangmon backwards.

As this was going on, Agunimon was dancing around knocking the Fangmon back with kicks, punches and the occasional knee to the face. Unimon flew down and stomped on a Fangmon that tried to attack Dorulumon, allowing the wolf to cut through another chain.

Pteryxmon dashed through the cave, her feathery body catching fire as she slammed past the Fangmon.

This sent the wolf flying and crashing into a rock, as Flamedramon and Agunimon jumped back to back once again. And as the wolf fell to the ground, Armormon looked around and saw its minions laid out on the ground.

"Idiots!" He roared, as he saw more and more of his workers running out on the job. "Enough!" He pointed his weapons as Agunimon as the gatling guns started spinning. "Justice Strike!" They started firing along with the machine guns on his stomach, sending a hail of bullets towards the fire Digimon.

Agunimon noticed this and quickly leapt into action, "Pyro Tornado!" He spun on the spot and and fire exploded out of him, swirling around his body. The flaming vortex acted as a shield that blocked the bullets, slowing them down enough for the heat to melt them. However, some of them still managed to get through.

Luckily, Agunimon had ridden the tornado upwards and dodged these bullets. And when the vortex vanished, he was up above the rock Armormon was on.

"This ends...NOW!" He fell towards Armormon and attempted to kick him in the face, but Armormon laughed and raised his gatling gun arm. The kick connected and did little if any damage to the cyborg, who then pushed Agunimon back and knocked him away. "Augh!" He crashed into the ground as Armormon pointed his gun at him.

"Goodbye!" He was about to fire, but Aurumon flew in first.

"I don't think so!" She kicked the gun and knocked it away, as the weapon started firing. Being knocked off balance caused the recoil of the weapon to send Armormon off staggering as the bullets went flying in random direction, including a good many hitting the ceiling.

"Aurumon!" Agunimon picked himself up, as the owl Digimon flew towards him.

"You okay?" He nodded and the pair turned their attention back to Armormon, right as Flamedramon and Pteryxmon used their flames to propel themselves into the air and land on the rock around him.

The mechanical centaur found himself surrounded on four sides, but didn't look worried in the slightest. "You think you can beat me?" He asked, "don't make me laugh."

"Tell me something," Agunimon stated. "What are you doing here? You're clearly angry at the Monmon for something, but there are other ways to make them suffer. You're having them mine for something specific, aren't you?"

"Clever," Armormon chuckled, "yes I am. This mountain is full of huanglong ore." That statement made Aurumon and Pteryxmon look worried, though Agunimon and Flamedramon weren't sure what that was.

"You're trying to make Chrome Digizoid!" Aurumon cried, with Agunimon and Flamedramon knowing what that was. "Why?"

"To upgrade!" Armormon replied. "I'm powerful now, but by replacing my weapons with those made of Chrome Digizoid, I'll be more powerful than ever. It might even allow me to Digivolve into the Mega Level." Those words made them all worried, for two reasons.

First was the idea of this psycho reaching the Mega Level and the horrors he could inflict if he did. Then there was the fact that if he was trying to get to that Level, he must already be an Ultimate. And that meant none of them had to power to beat him, even if they worked together. But they couldn't let that fact scare them.

"Come on!" Agunimon charged, "we're taking this guy down."

Armormon laughed as he galloped forward, "I doubt that!" He swung his gun arms around and Agunimon ducked under it, as his gauntlets expelled fire.

"Pyro Darts!" He threw the flaming needs at Armormon's face and they exploded, but he didn't even flinch whilst Aurumon flew behind him.

"Infrared Beam!" She fired a laser at his back, but the guns on them folded upwards and started firing. They countered the beams and kept going to try and shoot the owl down, the Armor Digimon barely managing to escape. "WOW!"

Agunimon leapt back, as Flamedramon and Pteryxmon rushed forward. "Flame Fist/Blazing Slash!" They swung their burning claws at the Digimon, but he blocked them both with his metal arms.

"Pathetic!" He pushed the two back and fired at them, whilst his stomach machine guns fired at Agunimon. The three fire Digimon cried out, as the bullets impacted them and they were knocked backwards. Each of their HP went down and they were worried about what would happen if he beat them.

Down below, Dorulumon managed to free the final Monmon. "Get out of here!" He told him, the monkey nodding since he didn't need to be told twice. He ran for the exit, as Unimon blasted one of the recovering Fangmon down again. "We have to get out of here!"

"Then what?" Unimon asked, landing next to him. "If we don't stop this now, Armormon's just gonna attack again when we leave. We need to deal with him, permanently." They looked up and watched as Agunimon changed at Armormon, leaping over his bullet blast and spinning around to deal a kick to his head.

But the Ultimate Digimon absorbed the impact with his helmet and didn't even look like he felt it, instead knocking Agunimon away before attempting to shoot him with his machine guns. Pteryxmon distracted him through, leaping at the Digimon and attempting to slash at him with her feet claws.

Armormon leapt back as she did so, hitting the edge of the rock and having nowhere else to go.

Dorulumon charged, seeing his opening. He leapt at the rock and once he was there, he thrust his spinning drill into it. At the same time, Armormon points his guns at the Digimon. But as he fired, the rock beneath him suddenly crumbled. "GYAH!" He fell, his arms pointing to the ceiling and unleashing a barrage of bullets that continued to cause more damage to it.

Dorulumon leapt back, as Armormon crashed into the ground and was buried by the rocks.

"That got him!" Flamedramon smirked as they looked down at the rock pile, those still on the rocks leaping down to make sure he was taken care of. But as they got close to the pile, they saw it suddenly start to shift and move.

"Everyone, get back!" Flash cried, leaping backwards as the others retreated as well. As they did, the rocks exploded and her destroyed by a barrage of bullets.

Armormon roared as he continued to shoot in multiple directions, including the ceiling. The Ultimate did not look happy that he had just been buried, but he barely appeared damaged. He glared at the intruders, whilst his Fangmon had started to recover from the attack.

Agunimon looked around and realised that if Armormon combined forces with his Fangmon, there was no way they could defeat them. It seemed like they were going to lose, until something fell down and landed at his foot.

He looked down and saw a rock, making him look up and realise the ceiling was riddled with holes that were connected by cracks. "This place isn't gonna take much more punishment," he stated. "One more hit and the roof'll give in."

Armormon didn't seem to hear this, or just didn't care, as he aimed his weapons at them.

Dorulumon attacked first, the drill on his head spinning. "Drill Bit Blitz!" He fired the drill of, which was instantly replaced by another, and it shot straight towards Armormon.

But the Ultimate Digimon simply swung its arm around and the drill was deflected, sent flying upwards and crashing into the ceiling, where it drilled into the already damage roof before exploding. And this explosion was the straw that broke the camel's back.

The entire chamber started to shake and rumble, as the cracks began to grow larger and the rocks began to fall from it. They all knew what this meant.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" Aurumon cried, as the heroes made their way towards the exit. Armormon and the Fangmon were shocked to see this, unable to believe their precious mine was collapsing.

"Grab the ore!" Armormon roared, pointing towards an area that they had placed the ore they had extracted. But it was at the back of the cave and the Fangmon knew that if they went back for it, they would be buried with the ore. "Where are you going?" He cried, as the Fangmon rushed for the exit.

"We're getting out of here before we're crushed!" The leader yelled, as they escaped through the tunnel.

"COWARDS!" He galloped towards his ore stash, as the ceiling began to give way. The entrance was blocked off the minute the last Fangmon ran through it, Armormon reaching the large pile of ore and picking up the rocks. But as he did, more and more of the cave fell upon him. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Outside, Sunflowmon and Tortomon had been making sure the Monmon were all okay when they felt the sand begin to rumble.

They looked up towards the mountain and saw the place shaking, making them worried the whole thing was gonna collapse down on their friends. But before they could consider trying to go in and save them, Aurumon flew out of the cave. She was soon followed by Unimon, Pteryxmon, Dorulumon, Flamedramon and finally, Agunimon brought up the rear.

They all rushed away from the mountain, fearing the shaking would cause the mountain to collapse on them as well. And as they ran, Agunimon looked back to see the Fangmon running out in terror. He wasn't sure if they all got out, but the last one that was part of the pack escaped right as the cave collapsed.

Armormon was nowhere in sight and the heroes all stopped running and watched as the mountain seemed to get shorter, whilst also keeping an eye on the Fangmon to make sure they didn't do anything bad.

But the Fangmon didn't seem to care about them, instead running off in the opposite direction to them as the heroes let what had just happened sink in. "Everyone okay?" Sunflowmon asked, as he body glowed before she reverted back to her human state.

The others all De-Digivolved as well, Flash and Veemon falling to the ground exhausted. "I'm okay," Flash told her. "What about the Monmon?"

"We're fine," one of them stated. "Thanks to you all. You saved us."

"It's the least we could do," Twilight smiled before getting serious. "But what was Armormon saying about you all causing pain and suffering?" The Monmon all thought about it, only for one of them to step forward.

"I think I know," he told them. "I was one of the first they captured. When I met him, I felt like I recognised him. I think he was one of us." This confused them all, gesturing for the Digimon to continue. "A long time ago, there was a Monmon that lived in our village. He was really mean and always looking for a fight, even if there was no reason to."

"Oh yeah," another Monmon nodded. "Total jerk. Always trying to pick a fight over the smallest thing. And whenever he started a fight, it'd always end with somebody hurt or something broken."

The first Monmon nodded. "It got so bad, that we couldn't take it anymore and told him to leave the oasis. He didn't seem to want to fight when it was all of us up against him. We threw him out of the village and he disappeared into the desert, swearing to one day get his own back."

"Wait," Flash frowned, "you think Armormon was that Monmon?" They didn't look sure, but they also felt like Armormon was just like the Monmon they had banished. "He must have done a lot of training in order to get all the way up to the Ultimate form."

"Well he's gone now," Applejack stated. "I don't think he could pull himself out of that, even if he's an Ultimate."

"But what if he survived?" A Monmon asked, "he could be trapped down there." As much as they hated him for what he had done, it didn't fit right for them to just leave him trapped there for who knows how long."

"We'll ask the Codex Commanders," Twilight explained. "They'll be able to figure out if he's down there. And if he is, they'll get him out and probably send him somewhere far away so he can't hurt you guys again." The Monmon nodded, hoping that Armormon would never be a problem for them again.

With that, they all headed back towards the Serene Oasis. They village would still be a wreck and they would need to help rebuild it for the Digimon. Hopefully, the Monmon and Lilamon would no longer have to live in fear of being attacked.

Armormon groaned as he remained trapped under the mountain.

His body had suffered a great degree of damage, so much that he couldn't possibly blast his way free of the many rocks that trapped him. He was going to be trapped there forever and there was nothing he could do but wait until he starved to death and was reincarnated. Maybe in his next life, he would reach the Mega Level and be unstoppable.

However, as he was about to give up, something happened.

An explosion occurred above him, causing him to look up and see the rocks being ripped away be something. Large claws were cutting through the boulders, eventually freeing Armormon's head. "Ah," a Digimon he couldn't make out in the darkness spoke, "there you are."

"Who...who are you?"

"Hopefully, a friend. One who heard about your little racket and wanted to try and convince you to join our cause. But by the looks of things, you won't need much convincing."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm here to offer you a choice. Join us and help my master achieve his destiny, or I'll leave you here to your fate. What will it be?"

Armormon thought about it and realised he didn't have a choice. "Alright, get me out of here and I'll join you. But who is your master and what exactly is this destiny of his."

The Digimon chuckled, "welcome to the Virus Corp. And our master's destiny is the destiny of all Virus Digimon. To destroy the Digital World."

Author's Note

Our heroes managed to topel and evil tyrant and save many innocent Digimon. But who was this mysterious figure that saved Armormon? Only time will tell.

Many of you are probably wondering about the Armor Digimon Rainbow became, the die hard fans thinking that wasn't Hawkmon's Armor. True, but I've never really been a fan of Allomon. Plus, I'm a big fan of a certain Youtuber who re-designed many of the non-show armors. As such, I'll be using the Armor Digimon he created if I think they're better then the originals. Here, check it out.

Digital Battle of the Sexes

Codex was once again busy as it ever was, with the many players all enjoying themselves as they battled, hung out or popped in and out to do some Digimon hunting and Digi-Lab work.

One of those players, Sandalwood, was marching through the foyer with a drink in hand and Mangoramon at his side. "Yow!" He cried out to someone with his Otamamon, "Ripple! Saw your match yesterday. You were totally on fire!" The teen nodded as Sandalwood turned to a girl and her Biyomon parner. "Gabby. Loved that combo you pulled off. Never knew a Birdramon could use a Battle Gear like that." The girl smiled as Sandalwood kept walking.

"Hey, Sandal!" They turned to see Micro and Tentomon at the entrance of the foyer, "you've gotta check out this scan I just got." Sandalwood nodded and moved towards him. But as he passed a table, he suddenly found himself tripping over something.

He cried out, as he fell to the floor and his drink went flying.

Another scream filled the air, Micro and Tentomon flinching as they saw who it had landed on. That who was Trixie, she and Lunamon having been sitting at the table Sandal had just passed checking their decks when the eco kid had tripped over her feet.

Trixie stood up, the cup that had landed on her lap falling to the ground, whilst Sandal picked himself up. "Look what you just did!" She cried, Sandal frowning at her as he realised she had tripped him up.

"What I did?" He asked, "you're the one who tripped me up!"

"I didn't trip you. You weren't paying attention and you tripped over my feet. I was just sitting there minding my own business, when suddenly some idiot goes and trips over his own ego and drenches me in..." She sniffed herself, "is that grape. Yuck."

"Grape is awesome," Sandal told her. "And it wasn't my ego I tripped over, it was your broomstick." The boys around him, minus Micro, all went 'ooow' at the insult he had thrown.

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Nice. You see a powerful woman and you instantly think, witch. Well I see a testosterone challenged, self-deluded, grade A geek, with less than zero fashion sense, acting like he's everybody's best friend and some wise guru who thinks every word out of his mouth has the power to inspire someone. Talk about your typical all mouth, no brain, male." The girls who heard this mimicked what the boys did, many cheering at her whilst Sandal glared at her.

Micro quickly got between the pair and held his arms out. "Hang on guys. Let's not go overboard here. It was an accident and you're both partly to blame. Let's leave it at that, alright?"

"No way!" Sandal cried, "you heard what she called me. I can't let her insult my mother like that."

"But she didn't insult your mother," Tentomon pointed out.

Sandalwood frowned. "If my mother had heard what she just said, trust me, she'd be insulted."

"Let it go," Mangoramon cried. "She's just upset because she smells like grape."

"Come on, Trixie." Lunamon grabbed her skirt, "you don't want to get into trouble for fighting in the foyer." The pair continued to glare at each other, Micro pushing Sandal away from her.

"Just forget about it and walk away," Micro told him. "When you calm down, you'll realise this fight was completely pointless." Sandalwood sighed, but left anyway.

Trixie smirked. "That's right, walk away. It's what you guys do best." Sandal growled at this. "Hey, at least you realise that girls are smarter, stronger and better than boys!" That was it.

Sandalwood spun around and marched right over to Trixie, who crossed her arms. "There is something I want to call you, but I won't because I..." He beat his own chest, "am a gentleman." Trixie rolled her eyes, only for Sandal to point at her. "However, you're no lady. You think girls are better than boys and you're better than me? Great! Then let's find out. You versus me, male versus female. Beta-Stadium...today!"

Trixie smirked, "alright. Then let's do this."

"Oh yeah," Sandal cracked his knuckles. "It's on, like Etemon."

"What does that even mean?" Sandal tried to think, but quickly shook his head.

"Who cares. Let's just battle already!" The boys and the girls around them began to cheer, whilst Micro simply moaned and the Digimon wondered what the heck they were really arguing about. Humans could be so weird sometimes.

The two were soon in the Beta-Stadium, glaring at one another.

They had left their partners back at the foyer, deciding to instead go with another deck since the pair knew each other too well. 'Trixie's probably thinks she has me pegged,' Sandal thought to himself. 'But I'll show her not to underestimate me.' He brought up a deck and slotted it in, but quickly changed the Battle Gear choice. "That should do it."

Trixie smirked as she made her choice. She stared at one Digimon in particular, a special find she had recently gotten her hands on. She was gonna show everyone in Codex why she was known as the Great and Powerful Trixie. "You ready to lose?"

Sandal laughed, "as if. Bring it on!" The battle field was chosen and the pair slammed the start button, "LET'S GET DIGITAL!"

Back at the foyer, Flash and Twilight were making their way there when they saw something odd.

The whole place was split in two. One side of the foyer was completely filled with girls, whilst the other side had every male player sitting at the tables. "Go on Trixie!" They heard Rainbow Dash scream from the girl's side.

"You got this Sandalwood!" A boy yelled from the other, making the pair turn to see a screen and see a battle was starting.

That battle was taking place in a lush jungle, with trees growing in multiple different directions and in many different shapes. It was so dense, the canopy completely blocked out the sun. Two Digimon appeared, one being a strange looking fiend Digimon wearing a purple rubber suit and the other being a green Digimon with a flower on her head.

"Impmon verses Palmon?" Twilight asked, as Flash noticed Micro sitting at a table in the very middle of the conflicting groups with Lunamon and Mangoramon

"Micro," they sat down next to him, Twilight next to Flash on the girl's side and Micro next to him on the boy's side. "What the heck is going on?" Are Sandal and Trixie really facing off?"

"Yeah," Micro nodded, "they got into an argument and it somehow evolved into a battle of the sexes." The others looked at the two groups and realised this was probably not gonna end well.

"I hope they can end this fight without it evolving into a full on gender war," Lunamon hoped as the battle started. As it did, Twilight brought up the pairs' stats to try and gauged how it would likely turn out.

Name: Palmon
Level: Rookie
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Vegetation
Family: Nature Spirits, Wing Guardians, Jungle Troopers

Name: Impmon
Level: Rookie
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Mini Devil
Family: Nightmare Soldier

"Looks like Impmon has the advantage," Twilight frowned. "But we'll have to see how things go as the battle rages on."

Palmon ran through the jungle, whilst Impmon had leapt up onto one of the trees.

"Try this!" The fiend snapped his fingers and a black flame exploded on the tip, "Baba Boom!" The fireball exploded off of his finger and shot towards Palmon, who gasped as she saw it coming. She tried to escape, but it slammed into the ground and exploded whilst knocking her flying.

"AUGH!" She screamed, hitting the ground.

Palmon: 4-75%
Impmon: 4-100%

Impmon laughed as he leapt down, hoping to stomp on the downed Palmon. But the flower Digimon managed to roll out of the way, Impmon landing with a crash as Palmon leapt back to her feet. "Poison ivy!" The vines she had for fingers extended and wrapped around Impmon, trapping his hands to his sides.

"Augh!" Impmon struggled against the bindings, quickly realising he needed to burn his way out. But before he could, Palmon swung him around and released him. He was sent flying and crashed into one of the trees, making him groan as he fell to the ground.

Palmon: 4-75%
Impmon: 4-90%

"Ouch," Flash hissed, "that had to hurt."

"Of course," a girl in the group stated. "Just like a boy to take a tiny little nick and make like they're bleeding out. It's just like that soccer game my stupid brother's always playing. Everytime someone passes by him, he acts like he's dislocated his shoulder or something." The other girls agreed, as Impmon picked himself up.

"Go for it, Sandal!" A guy yelled out, "show that girl who the best players of this game are!"

Impmon charged at Palmon and the pair started brawling it out.

They threw punches and kicks at one another, trying to overpower the other as they waited for their SP to rise. Impmon took a punch to the face.

Palmon: 4-75%
Impmon: 4-85%

Then Palmon was bonked on the head.

Palmon: 4-65%
Impmon: 4-85%

She spun around and thrust her foot into his stomach.

Palmon: 4-65%
Impmon: 4-80%

Only for Impmon to grab her leg and throw her around to be slammed into a tree.

Palmon: 4-60%
Impmon: 4-80%

"Ha ha!" Impmon smirked, as he slowly made his way over to Palmon whilst a flame was on his finger. "Now what cha gonna do?" Palmon sat against the tree, her head down and looking out for the count.

But suddenly, her head shot up and she opened her mouth. "Sleep Spores!" Green mist shot out of it and flew into Impmon's face, causing him to stagger back and clutch his face. "Time for you to go beddy bye." As she said that, Impmon looked like he was having trouble staying awake.

"That's just like what Trixie did to me," Flash frowned. "Guess she has a strategy she enjoys."

They all watched as Impmon fell against the tree, panting as he tried to stay awake. This allowed Palmon to pick herself up and extend her vine fingers, which she used to whip at Impmon. With every hit, the fiend lost small amounts of health. Eventually, she took a break and tried to figure out how much damage she had dealt.

Palmon: 4-60%
Impmon: 4-55%

Impmon groaned as he shook his head, suddenly feeling the sleepiness begin to fade.

As he woke up, he suddenly felt a wave of pain wash over him. The sleep had numbed the feeling before, but now it was back and in full force. "OW!" Palmon laughed at this and ran off, hoping to find something that would allow her to keep the narrow lead she had made for herself.

Impmon finally shook the pain off and glared in her direction, then leapt up to land on one of the branches.

Jumping from tree to tree, he watched as Palmon raced through the forest. And after a while, a light caught both their attentions and made them look ahead to see an evolution coin.

Palmon doubled her speed to try and reach it, but Impmon wasn't gonna let that happened. "Baba Boom!" He launched the fireballs from his fingers and they slammed into Palmon, exploding and making her scream as she was blasted away from the evolution coin.

Palmon: 4-20%
Impmon: 4-55%

Impmon laughed as he leapt down and grabbed the coin, powering up as Palmon started to recover. "Now you're mine!" It was then that he was surrounded by a bright light. "Impmon, Digivolve to..." He started growing and eventually grew to about four feet in height, the light exploding off of him to reveal a figure in white wizards garp that was carrying a snowflake tipped staff. "Sorcerimon!"

Everyone stared at the Digimon, who spun his staff around and got ready for a battle. As he did, his stats appeared.

Name: Sorcerimon
Level: Champion
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Water
Species: Demon Man
Family: Wind Guardian, Nightmare Soldier, Deep Savers, Virus Buster

"That might have been a mistake," Twilight stated as Sorcerimon charged at Palmon. "He might be a Champion now, but he's lost his Virus Typing and Dark Attribute. Now that he's a Vaccine type Water Digimon, Palmon will have a serious advantage over him." They all nodded, but also knew there was more to a fight then just what type of Digimon you were.

Sorcerimon swung his staff around, Palmon doing her best to try and avoid the strikes as best she could. But eventually, one strike landed and she was knocked down. "Augh!"

Palmon: 4-10%
Sorcerimon: 4-55%

She quickly rolled along the ground to avoid his next swing, Sorcerimon leaping into the air as he staff glowed. "Crystal Barrage!" He thrust his staff forward and a hail of icicles exploded from it, flying towards Palmon.

"Poison Ivy!" She extended her fingers and grabbed a tree branch above her, wrapping around it before retracting and pulling her upwards. The icicles slammed into the ground below her and as they exploded, Palmon swung around and threw herself at Sorcerimon. "Take this!" She slammed her feet into his chest and knocked him backwards.

Palmon: 4-10%
Sorcerimon: 4-40%

As he staggered back, Palmon used her vines to swing away before he could attack.

"Get back here!" He chased after her, Palmon looking around for any sign of something that could help her. But she couldn't see any sign of a Digivolution Coin anywhere.

"Alright!" She leapt down and landed, Sorcerimon approaching. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" Her hands suddenly glowed and extended, her hands becoming wrapped up in metal whilst a pair of scissors stuck out the ends. "Power Pruners!" The scissors snapped open and shut, the Rookie rushing forward and slashing at Sorcerimon.

The wizard blocked the slash with his staff, but Palmon then used the other one to slash at him with. "Augh!"

Palmon: 4-10%
Sorcerimon: 4-20%

Sorcerimon staggered backwards, but then thrust his hands forward. "Crystal Barrage!" The ice shot towards Palmon, who used her scissor hands to snip them in half before they could hit her. But she was so focused on them, she didn't notice Sorcerimon charging at her until it was too late. "Raaaah!" He leapt forward and slammed a foot into her face, knocking her backwards.

Palmon: 4-0%
Sorcerimon: 4-20%

She frowned, but fought through the pain and leapt behind the tree she was next to. She quickly used her blades to slice through the tree and send it toppling towards Sorcerimon, who gasped and swung his staff around.

This unleashed a blast of water, which hit the tree and caused it to be ripped to shreds. But as it was, Palmon rushed up to him and swung her Power Pruners at him in an X-formation. "AUGH!" He cried, as Palmon appeared behind him.

Palmon: 3-100%
Sorcerimon: 4-0%

He staggered forwards and as he did, Palmon prepared to attack again. But Sorcerimon spun around and thrust his staff towards her. "Ice Illusion!" A blast of snow shot towards her, Palmon raising her blades to block it.

The force was enough to knock Palmon backwards, making her cry out as her blades began to freeze over.

She smashed through a tree, then another and another before she finally left the range of the attack and crashed into a fourth tree. "Augh!" She cried, as he frozen scissor finally broke apart and she fell to the ground.

Palmon: 3-80%
Sorcerimon: 3-100%

As she fell to the ground, she groaned before a light caught her attention. A Digivolution Coin was close by and Sorcerimon hadn't noticed it.

He was too focused on blasting her, as he launched another Crystal Barrage. But Palmon was able to use her Poison Ivy attack to pull herself away and swing over to the coin. "Got it!" She cried, the energy flowing into her as she landed.

"No!" Sorcerimon cried, rushing over to try and deal more damage. But as he swung his staff at her, Palmon leapt to the side.

She was then also consumed by light, as he body started growing larger. "Palmon, Digivolve to..." Soon enough, she was about twenty feet tall and the light exploded off of her. When it did, a giant cactus Digimon with boxing gloves on her arms appeared. "Togemon!"

Girls smirked at the sight before them, as the giant cactus landed. "That's the way!" A girl cheered as the stats appeared.

Name: Togemon
Level: Champion
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Vegetation
Family: Nature Spirits, Wing Guardians, Jungle Troopers

"So she's an overgrown pin cushion," a boy in the group stated. "Who cares. Sorcerimon's gotta be way more mobile. She won't be able to touch him with those stupid gloves. Guess she thought power was more important than speed. So like a girl to overlook the obvious." The girls glared at him, the guys glaring back.

Those in the middle were feeling very uncomfortable and hoped this fight would end soon.

Sorcerimon watched at Togemon stared down at him, "you don't look so tough."

"Oh yeah," Togemon suddenly spun around, "Needle Spray!" As she span, turning into a tornado, the needles exploded off her body and shot towards him. Sorcerimon gasped and leapt backwards, trying to avoid the needles. But they caught up and started hitting him.

"Gyah!" He cried, feeling a lot of pain as one dug into him.

Togemon: 3-80%
Sorcerimon: 3-70%

Sorcerimon landed and glared at Togemon, then spun his staff around. "You haven't beaten me yet." He thrust his staff forward, "Ice Illusion!" The snow exploded form his staff and shot towards Togemon, but this time it began to spiral around the plant Digimon and completely block her ability to see anything.

Within the swirling snow, images of Sorcerimon appeared and Togemon was unable to tell which one was the real one.

She was about to spin and use her Needle Spray, but before she could one of the Sorcerimon leapt out. "Raaah!" He slashed his staff into the Digimon and made her cry out.

Togemon: 3-75%
Sorcerimon: 3-70%

She staggered around and tried to regain her footing, but Sorcerimon shot out of the snow again and struck. This happened again and again and so on as the Plant Digimon struggled to fight against it.

Togemon: 3-45%
Sorcerimon: 3-70%

"Enough!" She screamed, as Sorcerimon leapt out of the snow tornado again. "Lightspeed Jabbing!" Her fists suddenly went flying in every direction in the blink of an eye, one punch actually hitting Sorcerimon.

"AUGH!" He cried, as he was thrown back through the snow tornado that quickly began to vanish, then slammed into a tree.

Togemon: 3-45%
Sorcerimon: 3-50%

Sorcerimon groaned as he leaned against the tree, whilst Togemon charged towards him. He saw her coming and the giant boxing glove some shot towards him, ready to deal some serious damage. But Sorcerimon managed to push himself up and leap to the side, the fist flying through the tree.

The pair began ducking it out, Sorcerimon focusing on evading as many attacks as he could whilst Togemon tried to hit him hard. They kept fighting and a after a while, they managed to get one another down to their second security.

"Gyah!" Sorcerimon was thrown backwards and crashed into another tree, grunting at the impact as Togemon stood over him.

Togemon: 2-85%
Sorcerimon: 2-55%

He groaned and as he opened his eyes, he saw Togemon about to punch him. But then, he saw something in one of the branches behind her. A Digivolution Coin.

"Yes!" Togemon threw the punch and he leapt to the side, the glove destroying the tree and leaving him safe. He then jumped back to his feet and jumped onto the glove, running up it and the arm as fast as he could before leaping onto Togemon's head. "See ya!" He leapt off and as he did, he pointed his staff behind him. "Crystal Barrage!" The icicles slammed into Togemon' back, pushing her forwards.

Togemon: 2-75%
Sorcerimon: 2-55%

Sorcerimon flew through the air and landed on the branch, catching the coins.

Its power flowed into him, as Togemon turned towards him and rushed forward. She slammed her fist into the tree and caused it to fall, but Sorcerimon leapt up to avoid it.

As he did, he was suddenly wrapped up in a bright light. "Sorcerimon, Digivolve to..." He grew much larger, though still not as large as Togemon, the light eventually exploding off of him to reveal a man with eight white wings. He appeared to be wearing white robes, which were covered in purple, gold and silver armor. His right wrist had brace with a purple energy blade extending from it and his left arm was covered by a purple shield. He spread his wings and spun through the air. "MagnaAngemon!"

"WOW!" Many of the guys whispered, unable to believe they were seeing that Digimon.

"Amazing," Twilight whispered. "MagnaAngemon." Flash looked confused, since the Digimon didn't exactly look all that impressive. "You have no idea how rare a scan of that is. You can't Digivolve a scan into it, so the only way to get one is by scanning the real thing."

"Why?" Flash asked, "what's so special about MagnaAngemon?"

"He's a legendary Celestial Digimon," Micro explained as he brought up MagnaAngemon's stats. "He's one of the top brass of the Angel Digimon and second only to the Megas. He's super strong."

Name: MagnaAngemon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Light
Species: Archangel
Family: Wind Guardians, Virus Busters, Deep Savers

Flash saw the stats and whilst they were impressive, he didn't see anything particularly special about him. But he had a feeling he was about to learn why he was so impressive.

Togemon stared at MagnaAngemon in amazement, as the angel's blade extended.

"Excalibur!" He roared, charging down towards the cactus. Togemon spun around and fired her Needle Spray, but MagnaAngemon leaned in such a way that his shield blocked all the needles from hitting him. He then reached her and thrust his sword into her chest, making her cry out and stagger back.

Togemon: 2-60%
MagnaAngemon: 2-55%

MagnaAngemon pulled back and smirked, but Togemon wasn't going to be so easily defeated. "You think you're tough?" She asked, "you're not!" Before MagnaAngemon could reply, Togemon charged forwards. "Lightspeed Jabbing!" Her fists flew forwards at an incredible speed, slamming into the angel several times.

"AUGH!" He cried,

Togemon: 2-60%
MagnaAngemon: 2-25%

MagnaAngemon quickly leapt back before the attack could strike again. Togemon spinning, "Needle Spray!" The needles shot towards him and MagnaAngemon used his sword and shield to deflect them all, then shot down and slammed his foot into Togemon chest.

Togemon: 2-55%
MagnaAngemon: 2-25%

As she staggered back, MagnaAngemon started thrusting his sword back and forth. She quickly found herself getting stabbed multiple times, making her hiss in pain with each one.

Togemon: 2-35%
MagnaAngemon: 2-25%

"RAAAAH!" Togemon threw her fist forward and slammed it into MagnaAngemon, throwing him backwards and causing him to go flying through the trees and out of sight.

Togemon: 2-35%
MagnaAngemon: 2-15%

Togemon sighed as she moved away, needing to catch her breath and figure out how to overcome his flight. That was gonna be a major issue to overcome. She made her way through the jungle, slipping between the trees until she arrived at an area covered in mud.

She looked out and sure enough, there it was. "I knew one would be here!" He saw a Digivolution Coin in the middle of the mud lake, atop a tree stump sticking out of it.

She started slogging her way through the mud, having trouble at first but managing to power herself through. But as she reached the stump, someone shot out of the trees. "There you are!" She looked around and saw MagnaAngemon, who extended his blade.

Togemon quickly grabbed the coin, the energy flowing into her as her opponent used his sword to draw a circle of light in front of him.

"Gate of Destiny!" Once the ring was completed, it transformed into a gold metal disk that was split down the middle. The disk then opened and revealed a portal of light within it, that light quickly exploding out of the disk and shooting towards Togemon before she could react.

The blast struck her and hit with such force, she was blasted back and screamed in pain.

Togemon: 2-10%
MagnaAngemon: 2-25%

Everyone watching flinched at the impact, as MagnaAngemon floated down towards her. Togemon laid in the mud, looking like she was in a lot of pain.

MagnaAngemon then shot forwards, sword at the ready.

But before he could land the attack, Togemon's eye holes opened and she raised her fist to slam into the mud in front of her. The force created a wave, which flew towards MagnaAngemon and hit him before he could strike. "Augh!" He was pushed towards the ground, trapped in the mud as Togemon picked herself up.

As she did, her hollow eyes and mouth began to glow and the light exploded out of the hair on her head. "Togemon, Digivolve to..." From that light, a large flower appeared which floated out of Togemon's head whilst she vanished into Digital energy. The flower then began to bloom and when it did, a humanoid Digimon a little shorter then MagnaAngemon appeared.

She had light pink skin and wore a dress that was dark pink, with a pink flower helmet on her head, green boots and green arm bracers with yellow flowers around her wrists. Vines stuck out of her head to represent hair and on her back, were a quartet of leaf wings that allowed her to take flight. "Lillymon!"

Those watching were amazed, with even the guys bewildered by this Digimon's beauty whilst Micro brought up her stats.

Name: Lillymon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Fairy
Family: Nature Spirits, Wing Guardians, Jungle Troopers

Micro sighed. "She's strong, but her power's still not as much as MagnaAngemon's." The Digimon in question roared as he forced himself out of the mud and leapt into the air.

Lillymon thrust her hands together, the petals around them merging into a single large flower that began to bloom. "Flower Cannon!" A blast of green energy exploded out of the cannon and flew towards MagnaAngemon, who used his sword to cut it in half.

"Excalibur!" He then shot forward and before Lillymon could react, he thrust his weapon into her chest and stabbed her.

Lillymon: 2-0%
MagnaAngemon: 2-25%

"AUGH!" She cried, quickly flying backwards to pull the blade out of her body. She flew away, MagnaAngemon giving chase and proving to be the fastest of the two. However, when they reached the treeline things changed.

Lillymon flew into the trees and with her smaller body, she was able to zigzag around them much easier than MagnaAngemon. The angel was slowed down by the many winding trees, forced to cut his way through some of them

"Raaah!" Lillymon flew out of the trees from the side and dealt a kick to MagnaAngemon's head, making him flinch as he was knocked staggering back.

Lillymon: 1-100%
MagnaAngemon: 2-15%

Lillymon then brought her hands together. "Flower Cannon!" She fired, the energy flying towards MagnaAngemon. But he was able to recover in time to swing his sword around and cut it away from him. He then shot forward and threw a punch, right into Lillymon's face. "AUGH!"

Lillymon: 1-90%
MagnaAngemon: 2-15%

"Oh!" The girls, Flash and Micro flinched whilst the guys cheered.

"What a brute," a girl with purple hair stated. "If there's one thing you never do, it's hit a woman right in the face." The other girls agreed. "Doesn't he know what it means to be a gentleman?"

"Hey!" A guy cried, "this is a battle. If you can't take a little punch to the face, than I guess girls really are too soft to play this game." This sparked another bout of arguing between the two groups, Flash, Micro, Twilight and the Digimon groaning.

Veemon covered his ears, "they're starting to give me a headache." Flash agreed and watched as Lillymon picked herself up, only for MagnaAngemon to attack again. She barely managed to avoid the attack and Flash could only sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I think MagnaAngemon has this battle won."

"Are you nuts?" Twilight asked, "this battle's far from over. Lillymon might look like a delicate flower, but she's still an Ultimate. Just because she's not a super buff musclehead with a lot of fancy armor and weapons, doesn't mean she's weak."

Flash rolled his eyes, fearing Twilight was going to be joining the girls in trying to prove something that was absolutely pointless. "Look, I get Lillymon's strong. But not every Ultimate Digimon was created equal. Against a stronger opponent, she just can't compete."

Twilight laughed at this, "Volcamon and those Meramon probably thought the same thing. And they couldn't live to regret it." Flash, Veemon, Lunamon and Mangoramon all looked confused, clearly not knowing what she was talking about. "Don't tell me you've never heard the story of Lillymon's heroism." They all shrugged, as Twilight sighed. "Fine. you'll wanna hear this. A long time ago, Lillymon lived in the Forest of Light."

The Forest of Light was a beautiful place.

At first glance, it appeared to be a normal forest. But all the trees that grew there were special, as they grew small crystals from the wood of their trunks and branches. These crystals all produced a soft rainbow of light, making the forest a beautiful place to live.

Young fairy and vegetation Digimon lived in this forest, such as Tinkermon, Palmon Luminamon, Floramon and Cutemon. They all lived happy lives, playing in the forest and not having to worry about a thing. And another Digimon that lived there, was the beautiful Lillymon.

The flower fairy smiled as she flew through the forest, enjoying the laughs of her fellow Digimon who were having fun. Things truly were perfect in the Forest of Light. But that would soon change.

A loud booming sound suddenly rocked the forest, making it shake and terrifying the young Digimon. Lillymon went on guard and quickly flew up above the trees, allowing her to see a bunch of smoke about a mile or so away. This made Lillymon frown, as she flew towards it. As she did, more explosions filled the air and several trees began to crash to the ground.

When she got there, she had to cover her face to stop herself from breathing in the smoke. And as she did, she saw the ones responsible for the damage.

It was a trio of Digimon, with two of them looking like men made entirely out of fire. The third was a figure in what looked like football armor, wearing green pants and black boots and gloves. A D and a one were on his chest and he wore a black hat with a V on it. A mini volcano was also sticking out of his back.

The Meramon launched fireballs at the trees, exploding as they connected and ripping the wood apart. As they did, the crystals growing out of the trees began to scatter to the floor and Volcamon looked very happy and picked on up. "Oh YEAAAAAAAH!" He cheered, singing into a microphone he was carrying. "That's the way, boys. Rip those trees down and get me as many crystals as we can."

"What do you think you're doing!" They all looked up and saw Lillymon flying down towards them. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Hey pretty lady," Volcamon sang. "We're gettin this place construction ready. Gonna landscape this whole drap forest. Make an awesome song hut to bring in the tourists. Volcamon's music needs a place to be heard, the fact that I don't have one is totally absurd."

"You can't rip this forest down," Lillymon glared at them. "This forest is home to many Digimon and I won't allow you to destroy it."

"That's cool," Volcamon replied. "If they're all as fine looking as you, I'll hire them to join my waiting crew. You can make a killing, serving all my guests, and you can listen to my song for free, isn't that the best?" Lillymon's face turned red with rage, as the Meramon knocked down another tree and Volcamon collected the gems.

"ENOUGH!" Lillymon formed the weapon with her hands, "Flower Cannon!" The flower launched an energy shell towards Volcamon, who swung his arms around and knocked the attack away.

"You really wanna face me?" Volcamon cried, as Lillymon glared at him. "Then fine, I'm gonna turn you into one of my dancing girls. You'll be chained to the stage and forced to dance to my music, entertaining my customers." He held up his mic and took a deep breath. "Magma Bass!" He unleashed a blast of sound from it, which shot towards Lillymon.

"Augh!" She covered her ears, giving the Meramon the opening they needed.

"Blazing Flames!" They began throwing fireballs as Lillymon, who could barely fly around to avoid it. As she did, several trees were also knocked down. She had to stop them.

"You want me!" Lillymon cried, "then come and get me!" She flew away from them, the three taking the bait and running after her. They charged through the forest, the invaders rushing in blind completely oblivious to the trap she was setting for them.

As they ran, the Meramon kept throwing fireballs at her. Lillymon was able to avoid most of them, but one finally hit her and she screamed out as the explosion sent her rocketing forwards.

"GYAH!" She was thrown out of the trees and crashed down on the ground, rolling along it until she came to a stop in a certain destination. That destination was a cliff, overlooking a river that ran through the Forest of Light.

She groaned as she picked herself up, but fell to her knees as she was too weak to move. As she did, Volcamon and Meramon stepped out and smiled at her. "Oh," Volcamon chuckled, "delicate little flower. Don't worry, it'll be over soon." He pointed at her, "collect my prize." The Meramon nodded and moved forward, ready to take her. However, as they got close, Lillymon smirked.

"Gotcha." She suddenly leapt into the air and flew over the pair, her hands coming together. "Flower Cannon!" The weapon formed and unleashed the energy blast, which flew down and struck the ground behind the Meramon. The damage caused the edge of the cliff to quickly crack and shatter, sending the edge crumbling towards the water.

Volcamon gasped as he watched his partners fall and go splash into the water, both screaming at the acid the water felt like to them. He then turned to glare at Lillymon, who smiled and gave him a seductive wink whilst flying above him.

"You'll pay for that!" He launched his Magma Bass attack, but Lillymon was able to avoid the sonic blast and fly behind him.

"I don't think so!" She whipped her arm around and a long vine flew out of her sleeve, "it's time you paid for the damage you've done to this forest. Vicious Vine!" She snapped it towards Volcamon and it slammed into his chest, making him flinch but the stronger Digimon didn't take much damage.

"Is that really the best you can do?" He asked, quickly reaching out to grab the vine and pulling it. This caused Lillymon to be pulled towards him and he grabbed her by the neck, holding her tightly and making it hard for her to breathe. "Now I've got you."

Lillymon tried to breathe, but she just couldn't. Volcamon smirked, clearly thinking she had her beat. However, Lillymon wasn't as weak as he thought she was. "Flower..." She brought her hands up and Volcamon thought she was trying for her cannon attack. However, something else happened as she placed her hands around his neck. "Wreath!" Suddenly, a vine appeared around Volcamon and formed a necklace. It was tight, but it wasn't cutting off his air.

Then, flowers and leaves started growing out of it. Volcamon hated this, since it clashed with his tough guy persona. However, he couldn't seem to bring himself to pull it off him. "What?"

"Release...me," Lillymon choked and Volcamon was shocked when he did so. She gasped and pulled herself back, leaping into the air. "Now you're under my control. And you will remain there and not move." She brought her hands together and formed her best weapon. "Flower Cannon!" The weapon fired and Volcamon was hit head on, the explosion making him cry out as his armor was badly damaged. "Flower Cannon!" She fired at him again, the blast hitting hard and making him scream. "FLOWER CANNON!" She fired one last time and it struck Volcamon head on, making him roar in agony.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Were his last words before his body exploded into a million pieces of digital lights.

Lillymon panted as she flew down and landed, having used the last of her energy on that attack. She hadn't wanted to delete Volcamon, but she knew beating him down would have only resulted in him coming back when he had enough support to beat her. Hopefully, he would be less of a creep in his next life.

"Thanks to Lillymon's courage and ability, the Forest of Light remains a peaceful and beautiful land even to this day."

"Huh," Flash smirked, "I guess she's stronger than I thought. Even so, MagnaAngemon's probably gonna win this." As he said that, the angel punched Lillymon in the face. She cried out as she was thrown down to the jungle and slammed through the canopy, crashing through a branch before landing on the ground.

Lillymon: 1-30%
MagnaAngemon: 1-75%

MagnaAngemon flew down towards her, as Lillymon began to pick herself up. "Now it's time to end this!" He quickly drew the circle in the air, "Gate of Destiny!" The ring form and transformed into the disk, which opened up and spun. Only this time, the gate didn't unleash the light.

Instead, a sucking force began to draw everything into it. This included Lillymon, who nailed at the ground as she tried to keep herself from being pulled back. But the force was just too strong.

Thinking this might be the end, she suddenly had an idea and spun around. "Flower Cannon!" She formed the weapon and as she was pulled forward, she fired and the energy shell shot into the Gate of Destiny.

MagnaAngemon's eyes went wide, as the attack exploded right as it entered the gate. The explosion caused the gate to blow as well, unleashing two forms of energy blast that struck him head on. "AUGH!"

Lillymon: 1-30%
MagnaAngemon: 1-25%

MagnaAngemon was blasted into a tree and as he was, Lillymon had leapt into the air to avoid the shockwave from the explosion. And as said explosion died down, she dived towards the angel. "Flower Cutter!" When she reached MagnaAngemon, she spun around and her foot came flying upwards with a trail of flower following at her heel.

"GYAH!" It struck him in the chin and he was knocked backwards through the tree

Lillymon: 1-30%
MagnaAngemon: 1-5%

Lillymon panted, feeling some serious strain. But as she tried to catch her breathe, MagnaAngemon shot forward from behind the tree. "Excalibur!" He thrust the energy blade into Lillymon's stomach, making her scream out in pain.

Lillymon: 1-15%
MagnaAngemon: 1-5%

MagnaAngemon smirked, but Lillymon wasn't beaten yet. "Vicious Vine!" The vine shot out of her sleeve and wrapped around, MagnaAngemon's leg. The thorns dug into MagnaAngemon and made him cry out, the last of his health being taken away.

Lillymon: 1-15%
MagnaAngemon: 1-0%

Lillymon smirked, "time to end this!" She whipped the vine around and MagnaAngemon was pulled away from her, his sword being pulled out of her gut. "Say goodbye!" She cried, attempting to swing MagnaAngemon into something and end the battle. But as she tried, MagnaAngemon slashed at the vine with his sword.

"I don't think so!" He cried, spreading his wings. "I won't let you-AAARRRHHH!" He suddenly found Lillymon had leapt at him and thrown a punch right into his gut, making him gasp as the damage flowed through him. "I guess...you win." He slumped and his body exploded.

The girls all cheered at the victory, whilst the guys groaned.

"I can't believe he lost!" A guy groaned, as many of the girls were doing victory dances. However, Lunamon and Mangoramon looked confused.

"Why are you celebrating?" Lunamon asked the girls, who looked confused until Flash saw who was standing in MagnaAngemon's place when they transformed back to human.

"Trixie?" Everyone looked back and sure enough, Trixie was the one standing there having lost the match. They then turned to the cheering Lillymon, as the Beta-Stadium returned to normal. Lillymon was then transformed back to human, revealing Sandalwood. "So...Sandalwood was the Palmon, Togemon and Lillymon?"

"Yup?" Lunamon nodded, "and Trixie was the Impmon, Sorcerimon and MagnaAngemon. Did none of you know that?" They all shook their heads, as Trixie stood up.

"Well Trixie," Sandalwood crossed his arms. "I gotta admit. That was one of the toughest Digimon Battles I've ever had. Not the toughest, but tough." He gave her a thumbs up, "congratulations. In my book, you're pretty good."

"I'm honoured," Trixie rolled her eyes. "But I guess I have to admit defeat. You're pretty strong." But then she got serious and pointed at him. "But don't think I'll let this defeat go unpunished. Next time we fight, I'm taking your green butt down." She turned to leave the dome in a huff, Sandalwood laughing as he too began to make his way out of the stadium.

"Well," Flash smirked, "I guess Sandal proved that boys are better than girls. At least when it comes to Digimon Battles."

"Yeah," Micro thought for a moment and something made him unsure. "Except Sandalwood used Digimon that would be seen as female. And Trixie used Digimon that would be seen as male." Twilight nodded as she tried to figure out what it meant.

"Which proves that girls are...better than guys?" They all tried to figure out if that was true or not, but they had no idea what this meant. It appeared that this battle of the sexes had no true winner after all. It was just as Flash had said at the start. It was completely pointless.

Author's Note

This was kind of a random chapter, but it's one of the few direct adaptations of an episode from the series that helped me come up with this idea. Hope you all enjoyed it.

Like it Ore Not, The Hunt is On

It was a beautiful day in Canterlot, where Flash, Micro and Twilight were together heading for class.

Twilight was looking over Flash's math homework, the musician having asked her if she could make sure he didn't mess up on any of his work. Luckily for him, it appeared his lack of math skills hadn't stopped him from getting the answers all right. This delighted Flash, since if he had made mistakes he would have wasted three hours of the previous night for nothing.

"So what are you guys planning on doing in Codex today?" Twilight asked as she gave Flash his homework back.

"Oh," Flash smirked, "we were planning on visiting a friend of ours. Datamon." Twilight seemed to recognise the name, "we're hoping his has some new Battle Gear we can trade for."

"That Digimon is a master when it comes to power up items," Micro smirked.

"I know. I've met him before." Twilight smirked, "but he can be a fickle little Digimon. If you don't have a Digimon Scan for him to use, he doesn't want anything to do with you." Flash and Micro nodded, hoping the scans they had would be enough to excite him. "I think some of my friends are going to meet him as well?"

"Really?" Flash asked as they reached the classroom. "Who are they?"

"Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy. You guys might end up running into them. Hopefully, the five of you will get along and maybe team up if Datamon wants you to get something for him." Flash and Micro nodded, hoping the same thing if they did meet. But given how Flash and Twilight's two meetings went, there was no telling what could happen in the Digital World.

Within the Digital World, Flash, Micro and their Digimon partners had arrived in Machine Town.

The giant metal metropolis surrounded them and they smiled as they made their way over to the moving sidewalks, stepping onto it as they looked around to see all the different Digimon around them. "See any Digimon you're not familiar with?" Flash asked, he and Micro keeping their eyes peeled as they tried to spot something they had never seen before.

"Not yet," Micro shook his head. "Tentomon?" The robotic insect was flying above them, the mechanical eyes allowing him to see in multiple directions at once.

"I'm afraid not," he stated. "All the Digimon around are just the usual ones. I doubt Datamon would be willing to part with anything for a scan he probably already has." Flash and Micro frowned, but took out their Digivices and started scrolling through the Digimon scans they had.

They had made copies of every Digimon they hadn't already given to Datamon. With luck, one of them would be interesting enough for the Ultimate Level to hand over some pretty tough new Battle Gear.

They arrived at the spot near Datamon's lab and stepped off the sidewalks, Veemon tripping up as he did so since he wasn't used to moving floors.

They made their way through the alleyways, until they arrived at the stairs leading down into Datamon's workshop. But as they stepped into the messy building, they found they weren't the only ones there. "Datamon?" Micro called out, "it's...me." He stopped at the sight of three girls and their Digimon, the lot of them turning towards them.

One was a white skinned girl with purple hair, a Salamon at her feet, whilst another was a yellow skinned girl with pink and and a Terriermon at her feet. Finally, there was an entirely pink girl with a crocodile Digimon at her feet that Flash didn't recognise.

"Hey," Flash waved, "you girls here to see Datamon?"

The pink girl giggled at this. "Why else would we be in his lab?" Flash smirked at this and looked down at the Digimon next to her, the blue crocodile barely looking at him.

"Hey. Never seen a Digimon like you before." He expected the Digimon to turn and talk to him, but it simple blinked as it stared off into space. "Um...hello?"

The girl laughed, "sorry about that. Dilemon doesn't really do much talking. He speaks through his eyes." Flash wondered what she meant by that, as the girl picked the Digimon up. "Nice to meet you. I'm Pinkie Pie."

"Flash Sentry," he replied.

"Oh," the white girl smiled, "we know who you are darling. You've become quite the talk of the town in Codex. The newcomer with a one of a kind Digimon, the first to Courage Armor Digivolve and the one who's won every main stadium battle he's competed in yet."

The yellow skinned girl nodded. "We watched your battle against Trixie. You were quite good." Flash turned to her and she eeped, hiding behind her hair only for the Terriermon to leap up onto her shoulder and use his ears to pull the hair away.

"Hey, what did we say about covering your face?" He turned to Flash, "sorry about her. Fluttershy's a bit of a wimp."

"Terriermon!" Fluttershy cried, as the white girl picked up her Salamon.

"My name is Rarity, by the way. And you're Micro Chips, yes?" Micro nodded, as Datamon suddenly stepped out.

"Oh," he noticed them, "visitors. Always happy to have you guys in my workshop." He leapt up onto a stool. "Let me guess. You're here to see if I have any new Battle Gear?"

"What?" Micro looked at him sheepishly, "can't a guy come and visit one of his favourite Digimon without needing a real reason." Datamon gave him a look that told him he wasn't buying it. "Alright, yeah. We wanna see what new Gear you've got."

"Well you're in for a treat," Datamon smirked. "I've been working on something that's bound to make you unstoppable."

"Really?" Flash smirked, "what is it?" Datamon leapt down off the stool and over to his computer, bringing up a bunch of images that showed some kind of chest armor with a bazooka-like weapon on the back of it..

"First off, I have the Disablizer Cannon. It's a Battle Gear designed to disrupt a Digimon's battle data." The screen changed to show a Greymon, the Disablizer Cannon on it.

The chest armor was around its chest and as a Garurumon appeared, the bazooka folded down until it was under Greymon's arm. It fired and the energy bolt it launched hit the Garurumon and zapped it, making it howl for a second before it stopped. Garurumon then tried to use its Howling Blaster, but nothing happened.

"Wait?" Micro asked, "that weapon can stop a Digimon from using its special attacks?"

"Not forever. It's effects only last about a minute and it takes five minutes to recharge after every blast. But a minute without your opponent being able to do anything is a heck of an advantage." Flash and Micro both liked the look of that, whilst Datamon showed them something else. "Then I have the Digi-Guard." The image was a six sided shape that looked like a triangle with the tips cut off and a round red light in the centre.

"And what does this do?" Rarity asked.

"Any Digimon equipped with this device will have a shield generated around them that nullifies type and attribute of any other Digimon around them." The image changed to show Greymon wearing the device like a badge on his chest, a red bubble appearing around it. The Greymon had a red Vaccine symbol above it, whilst a Seadramon with a blue Data symbol appeared next to it.

The Seadramon then stepped into the bubble, only for the Data emblem to transform into a grey line that signalled it had no attribute or typing

"So any Digimon that steps into the shield will become neutral," Rarity realised. "Basically, it'll mean you can fight against any Digimon without needing to worry about type matchups."

"Exactly," Datamon nodded. "I'm sure you can see why I said these Battle Gears will make you invincible."

"Indeed," Rarity nodded. "I'll take that Digi-Guard."

"Me too!" Pinkie cried, Fluttershy nodding.

"Well I want that Distablizer Cannon," Flash smirked with Veemon agreeing.

"I'll take the cannon too," Micro agreed with Tentomon nodding. Datamon looked at them with a frown.

"Sorry guys, but I can't sell them to you. They're not done yet." This caused all the excitement in the room to completely vanished, the ten of them looking down and glaring. "They're almost done, but I'm missing an important component to make them complete. A special kind of ore, which will be able to produce the metal needed to handle the device's power."

"Chrome Digizoid?" Flash asked, remembering where they could possibly get a butt ton of it if it despite it being buried under a mountain.

"No," Datamon shook his head, "Chrome Digizoid is great, but it's not what I need. This ore is different but just as rare as that. And without it, I can't complete any of my inventions."

"So where do we find it?" Micro asked. "If you tell us, maybe we can go get it for you."

"That would be good," Datamon smiled. "But as far as I can tell, all the places this ore is usually found have been tapped out for the most part and have yet to regenerate."

"Regenerate?" Flash asked, looking confused whilst Rarity shook her head.

"Still learning how the Digital World works I see." Flash frowned at her. "This is a Digital World, so it doesn't follow the same rules as the real one. If you cut down a tree in a video game, what usually happens when you leave the area and come back?"

Flash quickly caught on. "Oh, it re-spawns. So this ore you need will regenerate in certain areas?"

"Exactly. But it's not an instant process. The Digital World will regenerate the ore that's been mined, but it takes about six months."

"Six months!?" Veemon cried, then looked confused. "Is that long?" Everyone except Flash anime fell, the teen humming.

"How long until the regeneration takes place?"

"It's not for another month," Datamon picked himself up. "But there might still be some out there." He typed away at his computer and as he did, their Digivices all beeped as they took them out to see an new area was in their location map. "I heard rumors that some of the ore can be found in this location. But I doubt there'll be much left. Maybe enough to make one of these Battle Gear, but that's it."

"Only one?" Pinkie asked, "but what about the others?"

"I guess they'll have to wait until the ore respawns," Datamon stated. "Tell you what. Whoever brings me the ore back, gets to have their Battle Gear. You'll find it in a cave that's found in that area and it's purple in colour, so I doubt you'll be able to miss it."

They all nodded, but then turned to one another as a simple question filled their heads. Which of them would go and get the ore, meaning they would get their Battle Gear. "Well," Rarity cleared her throat, "I think it's obvious what needs to happen here." Her Salamon nodded.

"Yup. You boys should let us get the ore."

"What?" Tentomon cried, "why should you get the cool new Battle Gear?"

"Ever hear of ladies first?" Terriermon asked, as Micro rolled his eyes.

"What, are we in the nineteen-fifties?" Micro pointed at them, "gender equality works both ways. You should let us go get the ore and bring it back, so we can get the cool Battle Gear."

"YEAH!" Flash, Veemon and Tentomon stated. The others, minus Fluttershy, glared at them.

"I think it's obvious what has to happen here," Pinkie stated. "A race." She pointed that them, "first one to get the ore and bring it back here gets the Battle Gear."

"Deal!" Flash cried before he held up his Digivice and prepared to port out.

"Hey!" Datamon cried, "don't do that in here. Go outside if your gonna warp away!" Flash frowned, but he, Veemon, Micro and Tentomon rushed outside.

"Come on!" Pinkie told her friends. "We can't let them get ahead of us." She laughed, "this is gonna be fun." The girls and their Digimon followed the boys, leaving Datamon to continue his research.

"Good luck," he stated. "You're gonna need it."

The location Datamon had sent them was a mountainous forest.

From an aerial view, multiple peaks could be seen sticking out of the ground and each of these peaks were covered in a bunch of different trees. It was quite the interesting location, where the rare ore that our heroes were after was said to be located.

In the centre of a mountain circle was a section of flat clear land. And it was here that in a burst of light, Flash, Micro and their Digimon appeared. The four looked around and were impressed by the place, amazed by the calm majesty of the tree covered mountains.

However, their sightseeing would have to wait. As in that moment, another flash of light occured.

They looked around and saw the three girls and their Digimon appear behind them, the two groups realising they were now at war with one another. "Come on!" Flash cried, as he ran towards the forest with the other three following suit.

Once they were gone, Rarity giggled. "Foolish boys. Running off into an unknown forest with no idea where they're supposed to be going." She took out her Digivice, "it'll be much easier to find this cave from the air. Ready, Salamon?"

"You bet," Salamon nodded as Rarity held up her device.

"Well then, Digi-Armor Energize!" As she said that a strange object appeared out of her Digivice. It looked like a creature whose entire body was wrapped up in a pair of silver wings, with only the top of its head and its clawed feet sticking out of them. On the front was a flower-like symbol.

The object suddenly exploded into a blast of golden light, with Salamon leaping up into the air as it wrapped around her. "Salamon, Armor Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger and began to take bipedal form, as a pair of wings sprouted from the back of it. The light then faded, revealing a white sphinx-like Digimon wearing silver armor and a metal face mask with metal hair. "Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

The sphinx Digimon flew down and landed next to the girls, the three of them quickly climbing up onto her back. Nefertimon was just large enough to carry the three, whilst Terriermon and Dilemon combined onto her from legs.

The Armor Digimon then ran forward and leapt into the air, flying up above the trees and beginning her flight over the forest in search for the elusive ore cave.

Flash, Micro and their Digimon were walking through the trees, attempting to find any sign of a cave. But no matter where they looked, there was no sign of a cave anywhere in sight.

"Datamon could have told us which mountain this cave is supposed to be on," Flash sighed as he looked up. When he did, he spotted something flying over them and the trees. "What the heck?" The others looked up and realised what Flash was crying about.

"Nefertimon?" Micro asked, only to hiss. "Ahh, of course. They're flying over the forest to get a better view. Smart move."

"We can't let them get the upper hand on us!" Veemon cried, turning to Flash. "Digivolve me and I'll fly us over the forest to." Flash nodded and took out his Digivice, only to groan.

"I can't. None of your Champion or Armor forms have wings." Veemon's head dropped, as Tentomon flew over to Micro.

"Then I guess it's up to us to fly us." Micro nodded and took out his Digimon, pointing it at Tentomon and unleashing the light. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of him and the giant blue beetle replaced him, "Kabuterimon!" The insect Digimon stood tall and accidently knocked over some trees, "oops."

The others laughed as Kabuterimon reached down and picked them up, then leapt into the air and beat his wings to fly off.

The girls noticed the large insect appearing and frowned. "Of course," Rarity sighed. "Steal our idea, why don't they. Doesn't matter, that large brute will only slow them down." Terriermon then spotted something.

"I think I see a cave." Nefertimon flew down and was able to dodge the trees without any issues. She landed as Kabuterimon flew over them.

"Awe, man!" Flash cried, "they found the cave first."

"They found a cave," Micro replied. "Doesn't mean they found the cave." As he said that, Pinkie leapt off Nefertimon and moved over to it. The cave was more like a hole in the ground, she and Dilemon both sticking their heads inside of it and trying to see if it had the purple rock they were looking for. But they soon lifted their heads up out of it and shook their heads.

"No," she told them, "I don't think it's this cave."

"Then we'll just have to keep looking," Rarity stated. The boys smirked, knowing they still had a chance. They flew off to find their own cave, whilst the girls took off to do the same.

In a dark underground cavern, a Drimogemon was busy digging away as it tried to find something to eat.

The mole's drill nose spun at high speed to dig through the dirt and rock, eventually breaking through it into a ready made tunnel. Drimogemon stepped out into the tunnel and looked around, confused about where this chamber had come from. But it could tell by the size of the tunnel, whatever made it was much bigger then it.

Realising it was a bad idea to stay there, Drimogemon turned towards one of the walls and started digging into the rock. It started making a new tunnel to escape the one it was in, but this action caught the attention of something else.

Deeper in the tunnel, something was fast asleep. But suddenly, its body sensed vibrations in the earth that caused it to awaken. A large eye opened up to reveal a reptilian eyeball, as it lifted its head and started making its way towards the source of the vibrations.

Drimogemon kept digging and soon had a tunnel large enough for half its body to go down. If it could completely fit its body into the tunnel, whatever had made this one wouldn't be able to follow.

But before it could complete its tunnel, the ground around it shook and it could sense something approaching. Something big and dangerous.

It doubled its drill-speed, which put a serious stain on it, allowing it to dig deeper and faster into the earth. But as it was just about to be completely safe in its own hole, something grabbed its back legs. The Drimogemon let out a scream, as it was suddenly pulled backwards into the darkness.

Screams and roars filled the tunnel, as two Digimon did battle against one another. But in the end, only one came out of it. And it wasn't the Drimogemon.

When the sounds of the fight came to an end, the Digimon that had attacked Drimogemon made its way up the tunnel to see if there were any more intruders in its territory. And as it did, it felt something. More vibrations, coming from further up on the surface. Something had entered its home.

The two groups continued to search the mountainous forests, looking for any signs of a cave. And as it turned out, the area was full of caves.

"There's one!" Flash cried, pointing at the ground where a hole in the side of the mountain could be seen. Kabuterimon flew down, but had to be careful since his size meant landing was difficult. Flash and Veemon climbed down the insect's legs and once they were close enough to the ground, they leapt off and dropped a few feet before landing.

The pair headed towards the cave and looked inside, seeing it was a long tunnel that was pretty dark.

Flash took out his Digivice and used it to illuminate the tunnel, but saw no sign of purple rocks. "See anything?" He asked as they moved deeper into the cave, Veemon keeping his eyes peeled but not seeing any hint of purple.

"Nothing yet. Maybe it's further in." They kept walking, being careful not to trip over anything on the ground. But still, there was no sign of the ore. However, as they were about twenty feet into the tunnel, they heard something and all looked straight up.

When they did, they saw a bunch of things moving on the ceiling. Something that Flash had accidently illuminated with his Digivice. This caught its attention and made it look down, allowing them to see a bat-like Digimon who clearly didn't like having something flashed in its eyes. And it wasn't alone.

Micro and Kabuterimon continued to fly above the cave, waiting impatiently for the two to return with or without their prize.

Then, they heard screams coming from the caves and looked down to see Flash and Veemon running out of it. The pair were being chased by a bunch of Pipismon, more than Micro wanted to bother counting. The two ran as fast as they could, whilst the bats unleashed a sonic blast from their mouths that could even rip through the trees around them.

Flash was about to have Veemon Digivolve, but in that moment Kabuterimon flew down and unleashed a blast of lightning that knocked the Pipismon back. The giant insect then reached down and picked the pair up, flying up and out of the trees where the Pipismon refused to follow.

"Good thing they don't like light," Micro spoke as Flash and Veemon climbed up the Digimon to his head. "So, I'm guessing the ore wasn't in that cave." Flash shot him a glare, giving him the answer he was looking for. "Alright, moving on."

Rarity and her friends had flown over to another mountain.

Nefertimon glided through the air above the trees, as they kept an eye for anything that remotely resembled a cave. "Hey, look!" Pinkie pointed down at the ground, the others following her gaze.

"Do you see a cave?" Rarity asked, but Pinkie shook her head.

"No, but I see a Digimon on that tree over there. Maybe he knows where to find the cave we're looking for." The others couldn't see any harm in asking, so flew down to get a closer look. They saw it was a yellow, red, black and purple caterpillar Digimon, which was currently crawling from one branch to another on the tree.

"Hello?" Rarity called out, "can you help us?" He turned to them, "we're looking for a cave that might hold some special ore that we need. Do you know where we might find it?" The Digimon looked at them, clearly unsure what they were talking about. They sighed, "thank you anyway." They flew off and the Digimon got back to whatever it was it was doing. As it did, it hummed.

"Maybe I should have warned them not to step on the ground. Oh well."

Checking out another mountain, Flash made them stop when he spotted a waterfall and suggested checking it out. "Why would a cave be behind that?"

"It's like how Rarity said, this world can run off video game logic. And how many video games have a cave or entrance to a cool place behind a waterfall?" Micro realised he had a point, but felt like Datamon would have mentioned the cave being behind a waterfall.

But Flash and Veemon had already jumped down off of Kabuterimon and ran over to the waterfall, which fed a strong looking river.

The pair rushed up to it and Flash tried to see if he could see anything behind the water, but there didn't appear to be anything there. "Maybe it's hidden?" Veemon asked, forcing himself to go under the water to touch the wall. He felt absolutely freezing, as the water came crashing down on him. He kept patting the wall and eventually, he determined there was nothing there. "Nope, no cave."

Flash groaned, only for his eyes to go wide when Veemon slipped and fell into the river. "Veemon!" He ran after the little dragon, who cried out as he struggled to keep his head above the water. Micro and Kabuterimon sighed at this and chased after the pair.

The girls had checked further down the mountain and there was still no sign of a cave.

Pinkie turned to Rarity. "Maybe Datamon was wrong about there being an ore cave around here." Rarity frowned at this, hoping that was not the case. "Or maybe one of the caves we already checked in the ore cave and it's already been picked clean."

"I guess it's a possibility," Rarity agreed. "But still, we won't know for sure unless we check every part of this forest." They all nodded in agreement and as they did, Fluttershy spotted a cave down below them.

"Down there!" She pointed it out, the others seeing it.

"Perfect," Rarity nodded as Nefertimon flew down. They landed in front of the threes and Pinkie leapt off the Armor Digimon's back, running up to the cave and looking inside of it. "See anything?"

Pinkie could barely see, using her Digivice to light the cave up. And when she did, she saw the cave was a small chamber roughly the size of a person's living room. It appeared to go into the mountain, the area around them sloping upwards. She kept looking and sure enough, there it was.

"Purple rock!" Pinkie cried, seeing it sticking out of the cave wall. The others smiled at their victory, Pinkie stepping into the cave and preparing to pull the ore out of the cave. But as soon as she entered the cave, the ground beneath her feet began to shake. "Huh?"

Rarity, Fluttershy and the Digimon also felt it and all grew worried, Rarity turning to Pinkie. "Get out of there before the cave collapses!" Pinkie nodded and ran back out, as the cave's ceiling began to break apart. As soon as she was out of the cave, the ground at the entrance began to break apart.

"Something's coming out!" Nefertimon yelled, right as the ground exploded and something long flew up out of it.

Pinkie had barely managed to get away in time, Dilemon rushing over and jumping protectively in front of her. As it did, the dust and dirt in the air cleared to reveal what had just exploded out of the ground.

It was a large serpentine Digimon, which looked similar to a Seadramon and Airdramon. Its body was mostly blue, though its neck and underside were yellow with black lines. The blue sections of its body were covered in brown spikes, which stuck out of its body in all directions, whilst its head had a brown mask covering the upper part of its head that had a V-shaped attachment on the top. Finally, the end of its tail had a yellow cone that had a black line spiralling around it to mimic a drill.

"What is that thing?" Terriermon cried, but Rarity had seen this Digimon before in a stadium battle.

"Landramon! It's a Champion Level Digimon that lives its life underground and attacks from below. Its special attacks are Spine Spiker and Dust Buster!" The serpent Digimon glared down at them, its long body coiling around the forest floor and knocking over many trees.

"Why is it glaring at us?" Fluttershy asked, the others unsure but having a theory.

"I think it doesn't like us in its territory," Terriermon gulped as the spines on Landramon's body began to glow. "Everyone move!" They all ran in different directions, as the Digimon roared.

"Spine Spiker!" He flicked his body around and the lights exploded off the spins towards them, the energy attacks ripping through the trees they connected with and making the ground explode.

Terriermon was the first to react to this attack, the Digimon leaping off Fluttershy's shoulder and opening his mouth. "Bunny Blast!" A sphere of green energy shot out of his mouth and slammed against the beast's head, exploding but not appearing to do much damage.

Dilemon then ran forwards, finally speaking up. "Water Gun!" He fired a stream of water out of his mouth and it slammed into Landramon's chest, again not doing anything against it.

Landramon then swung its tail around, attempting to knock Dilemon flying. But the little crocodile leapt into the air over the tail, as Nefertimon flew down as her claw bracers glowed. "Queens Paw!" Gems exploded out of the bracers and slammed against Landramon's head, making it flinch in pain and giving Terriermon and Dilemon an opening.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie cried, holding up her pink Digivice.

"Right," Fluttershy held up her yellow device and the two began to glow.

The Rookies ran forward, as energy flowed out of the Digivices and swirled around them. "Terriermon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon exploded to reveal a larger version of Terriermon, wearing jeans and having a pair of gatling guns around his hands. "Gargomon!"

"Dilemon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon exploded off of him and revealed his new form. He was now a nine foot tall alligator Digimon, that was standing on two legs. He was still mostly blue in colour, though a bit lighter, but now he had a yellow lower jaw and the yellow V that had been on his chest was now on his waist between his legs. His arms were now almost as long as he was tall, with white claws on the end of them whilst the red spikes running down his back and tail had grown larger. He also had three spikes sticking out the top of his head, giving him the appearance of having a mohawk. "Gatormon!"

Landramon stared down his opponents and didn't look at all impressed, as Gargomon raised his gun hands and pointed them at the snake. "Gargo Pellets!" The guns started firing and the bullets bombarded the Digimon, whilst Gatormon rushed forward on all fours.

"Ice Fang!" He leapt at Landramon as his fangs glowed blue, the alligator biting down on the beast whilst Nefertimon flew closer.

"Rosetta Stone!" Her back glowed and unleashed a pillar of light, which a stone tablet shot out of and slammed down into Landramon's face.

To say the Digimon was angry was an understatement, as its spines glowed once again. "Spine Spiking!" The light exploded off and started raining down everywhere, with even one flying into the cave and hitting the back wall.

"Augh!" Gatormon roared, as a spine slammed into him and exploded. One also exploded near Gargomon and knocked him flyingback, whilst Nefertimon managed to avoid it.

The humans all hid behind the trees, but knew they would do little if anything against the spins. "Rarity!" Nefertimon cried, "you have to get out of here!" Rarity wanted to agree, but in that moment Landramon looked up at her.

"Dust Buster!" A stream of high pressure sand exploded from its mouth and shot up towards Nefertimon, slamming into her before she could react.

"AUGH!" She screamed, the blast knocking her spiralling through the air until she crashed into a tree.

"NEFERTIMON!" Rarity screamed, as her partner fell to the ground and glowed. She shrank down and the light flew off of her, flying back into Rarity's Digivice whilst revealing Salamon laid out on the ground. "Hang on!" She tried to rush over to her, but Landramon's tail came crashing down between them before moving around towards her and the girls.

Gargomon and Gatormon leapt in front of them and held out their arms, grabbing the tail and attempting to stop the attack from crashing into them. But they were quickly knocked off balance by the impact, allowing Landramon to pull his tail back as they staggered back.

"Dust Buster!" The sand stream exploded out of his mouth and struck the pair before they could recover and they were knocked backwards, crashing into the ground and moaning. Landramon then raised his tail, ready to smash it down on them. However.

"Holy Shoot!" A small ball of light flew up and slammed into the side of Landramon's head, barely hurting it but catching its attention. It turned to Salamon, who glared up at it but still looking rather hurt.

"Salamon!" Rarity screamed, terrified for her partner. This terror doubled when Landramon opened its mouth and shot forward, ready to swallow the little Digimon in a single bite. But that didn't happen.

"VEE-HEADBUTT!" Something blue shot past Salamon and slammed right into Landramon's snout, making it roar as it was actually pushed back. The blue object bounced away from the snake and landed in front of Salamon, revealing Veemon. "Back off, snakey!" The beast let out a hiss and prepared to attack again, only for something to fly down in front of him.

"Big Horn!" Kabuterimon yelled, as he slammed into Landramon with his horn and knocked it backwards. As he did, Flash and Micro leapt down off the bug and held up their Digivices.

"Let's go, Veemon!" Flash cried as his partner ran forward. "Digi-Armor, Energize!" The Digimental of Courage appeared and exploded into flames, which wrapped around Veemon.

"Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." The flames exploded off of him and revealed his larger, armored form. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!" Flamedramon ran forward and leapt towards Landramon, slamming a foot right into his chest and knocked him backwards.

Micro quickly swung his Digivice around, creating the two boxes around him that had a scan of Tentomon and the Digimental of Courage. "Biomerge, Activate!" The cubes fused with him and burst into light. "Digi-Armor, Energise!" The light then exploded into flames, as Micro transformed. "Tentomon, Armor Digivolve to..." The flames extinguished and revealed the flame clothed magician. "FlameWizardmon, Burning Magical Courage!"

The three fire Digimon stood their ground and glared up at Landramon, whilst Kabuterimon flew into the air and prepared to give them assistance. Agunimon was the first to attack, his fists bursting into flames as he charged forward.

"Pyro Punch!" He leapt into the air, as Landramon's tail swung around and tried to knock him away. But Agunimon thrust his fists downwards and used his fire to propel him upwards and over the tail. As he did, FlameWizardmon's fingertips burst into flames.

"Magic Ignition!" He threw the flames towards them and Landramon was so focused on Agunimon it didn't notice the flames until they crashed into it.

Flamedramon then leapt forward, his claws bursting into flames. "Flame Fist!" He leapt forward and punched the snake, making it his. Landramon was so focused on them, it didn't notice Rarity rushing over to Salamon.

"Are you okay?" She asked, Salamon nodding as Rarity opened up her Digivice and typed away at it until a red and white pill appeared in her hands. "Here, take this HP Capsule." Salamon didn't argue and quickly swallowed it, making her sigh as she felt her injuries disappear. As they did, she heard Landramon roar out.

"Spine Spiking!" The energy spikes appeared on his body and exploded off of him, forcing the three fire Digimon to defend themselves.

Flamedramon knocked one spine away, but another landed on the ground near him and exploded. "AUGH!" He was thrown backwards and crashed into a tree, making her gasp.

"I gotta get back in there!" She began to run forward and Rarity, despite worrying for her, knew she couldn't stop her. Instead, she held up her Digivice and the light exploded out of it and surrounded her. "Salamon, Digivolve to..." The light barely grew and when it exploded off of her, Salamon was replaced by a Rookie height Digimon that was a white bipedal cat with purple on her ears and tail, a golden ring around her tail and gloves similar to Nefertimon on her front paws. "Gatomon!"

She quickly rushed forward and as Landramon prepared to crush Flamedramon under its tail, she leapt up with her gloved fist raised. "Lightning Paw!" She punched it with incredible speed, knocking the tail backwards and into Landramon's head.

Flamedramon smirked as he picked himself up, "thanks."

"Just returning the favour," she told him as Gargomon and Gatormon had finally recovered.

"Hydro Pump!" Gatormon roared, as a powerful blast of water exploded from out of his mouth and hit Landramon in the head. This made it cry out, as Gargomon used the trees to springboard itself upwards until he was right in the snake's face

"Bunny Pummel!" He spun around and smashed both his ears into Landramon's face, hurting it some more as he thrust his guns forward. "Gargo Pellets!" The bullets unloaded themselves into Landramon, making it roar out in pain as Flamedramon lifted Gatomon onto his back.

"Give us some cover!" He cried, running forward as Agunimon and FlameWizardmon did gust that.

"Pyro Darts!" Agunimon threw the flaming needles at Landramon, whilst FlameWizardmon used his Magic Ignition. They flames slammed into Landramon and exploded, knocking him back as Flamedramon leapt into the air.

"Ready?" He asked Garomon, who nodded as they reached Landramon's head. Gatomon then leapt off his back and fell towards Landramon, gravity increasing her speed as she drew near his face.

"Lightning Paw!" She thrust her fist into Landramon's head, as Gargomon, Gatormon and Kabuterimon all attacked as well.

"Gargo Pellets/Hydro Pump/Electro Shocker!" The thres attacks shot towards Landramon and all exploded upon contact, making him cry out as Flamedramon's body ignited.

"Fire Rocket!" He launched himself towards Landramon and smashed into him before it could recover from the other attacks, knocking it backwards through several more trees. It finally crashed into the ground and let out a mighty hiss as it did so.

Flamedramon fell towards the ground and landed next to Gatomon, the lot of them watching as Landramon laid on the ground. "Is it still alive?" Fluttershy asked, staring at the Digimon's still body.

"It should be," FlameWizardmon stated. "If it were dead, it would explode to return to Primary Village." They kept staring at the Digimon, only for it to start moving and begin to pick itself up. They all got ready for a fight and as it turned to glare at them, they had a feeling that fight was gonna be a tough one.

But instead of attacking, Landramon shot them one final angry hiss before slamming its head into the ground and breaking through it. They watched as the long serpentine body disappeared beneath the ground, the drill appendage on the end of its tail being the last thing to disappear into the hole.

They waited for a minute or so, wondering if maybe Landramon was planning to attack them from below when they let their guards down. But eventually, they realised the Digimon serpent wasn't coming back and they all sighed in relief. As they did, the Digimon began to De-Digivolve and the boys returned to human form.

As they did, Fluttershy turned to Flash and Micro. "Thank you," she bowed. "You didn't have to help us, but we appreciate you doing so." The boys smirked.

"Of course we had to," Flash told her. "We might be in competition right now, but we couldn't just let you girls get fragged." They all smiled at them, as Micro turned towards the cave and realised it must have been what they were looking for.

"So is the ore in there?"

"Yes," Rarity nodded before letting out a sigh. "And I guess it's only fair that you take it. Call it payment for saving us."

"We didn't do that so you'd owe us," Flash told her. "You found it, so you should get it." Rarity shook her head, clearly not wanting to leave their debt to the pair unpaid. Flash frowned, knowing she likely wouldn't be accepting the ore. Then, Fluttershy spoke up.

"Why don't we all take it," Fluttershy explained. "We all take it back to Datamon and see which Battle Gear he wants to complete. And you never know, Datamon said the ore was rare. So maybe he wasn't expecting us to get that much. It might be enough for both."

The others doubted that, but decided to do what Fluttershy anyway.

Flash stepped into the cave and found ore sticking out of the back wall that was as large as a pumpkin. He grabbed hold of it and pulled, the rock slowly sliding loose. But as it did, the rock around it began to break. "Flash!" Veemon cried, seeing the rocks of the wall cracking. "Move!"

Flash looked around and saw the cracks appearing, making him think to stop. But before he did, the ore came loose and he fell back. "Augh!" He fell to the ground with the ore landing on his lap, making him wince before the cracking sounds grew louder.

"FLASH!" They all cried, telling him to get out. But the wall cave in and broke apart.

They expected the rest of the cave to also collapse, but it didn't. Only the wall crumbled to nothing and as it did, Flash coughed at all the dust only to then see something appear behind the cave. "Wow." The others had been blinded by the dust but as it settled, they saw what Flash had been amazed by.

Behind the wall was another chamber, which was about five times the size of the cave Flash was in.

They all stepped through the gap in the wall and as they did, they were amazed to see the same purple ore they had been searching for was sticking out of every inch of the wall around them. "I thought Datamon said this stuff was rare?" Flash asked, as Micro and the others stepped inside.

"It is," he nodded. "And I think we just hit the motherload." Everyone smiled at the sight of this, as they realised what this would mean.

"There's enough here for Datamon to make both our Battle Gears!" Pinkie cheered.

"Along with probably two dozen more creations of his," Rarity smiled. Everyone smirked, the lot of them not being able to wait to see what Datamon's expression was when he saw all of this.

And they were not disappointed.

"Wha...where...how?" Datamon's mouth was wide open at the sight of the amount of ore currently filling his workshop. He could hardly believe how much was there. "Where the heck did you find all this ore?"

"Let's not worry about that right now," Flash smirked. "Instead, how about we focus on the Battle Gears you promised us. I think this should be more then enough for you to make them both." Datamon nodded.

"Excellent," Rarity smiled. "Then how about a deal. We give you all this ore and you give us all the two Battle Gears you promised." Datamon had stars in his eyes, "and you agree to let us have the next five Battle Gears you design for free."

"What?" Datamon cried, "that's daylight robbery."

"Well if you don't want the ore," Micro went to pick it all up.

"Wait!" Datamon cried, "I'm sure we can come to an agreement. How about I give you all the Battle Gears you want and one free Battle Gear in the future."

"Four," Flash stated.

"Two."

"Three," Pinkie cheered as Datamon growled.

"Fine. The next three Battle Gears you want are on the house." They all smiled, happy with that deal. They allowed Datamon to digitize the ore and as soon as he did, he got to work programming the two Battle Gears. It wasn't long before they got their scans of the Battle Gear.

They all scanned the two Battle Gear, happy they now had the two after all the hard work they had gone through. And with their purchases made, they left Datamon to get back to work and all headed out of the lab.

"All's well that ends well," Rarity sighed.

"Agreed," Micro nodded. He turned to the girls and smiled, "glad we were all able to get what we wanted. You three are pretty impressive, being able to hold off that Landramon for so long."

"Thanks," Pinkie smirked. "But we would have been toast if you guys hadn't come to save the day." The girls and their Digimon nodded.

Flash held out a hand. "From now on, let's work together whenever we're not in the stadiums. That way, we'll always have the best chance of getting what we want." Rarity smiled at this and happily shook hands, the group all heading back to Codex to log out.

Back in the real work, Flash, Micro and Twilight had just gotten out of class.

As they did, the boys checked their Digivices and saw their Digital Selves were wanting out. They quickly pressed the button and as their memories came flooding back, they were amazed by what had happened to them. When the upload completed, they both smiled as Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"So, you guys run into Rarity and the others?" They both nodded with a knowing smirked, "what happened?"

"It's a long story," Flash told her. "But everything turned out alright in the end." Micro nodded, as Twilight just got more curious. They began to explain as they continued to their next class, wondering what Datamon was gonna use all that ore for. Hopefully, something they could use to get even stronger.

Author's Note

Well, Flash meets Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie. A little conflict at first, but nothing a little beating the living daylights out of a monster won't fix. Hope you enjoyed.

I know a lot of you are also confused about Salamon becoming Nefertimon when in the show, it was Gatomon that did that. But if you look on the Armor Digivolution Chart, Salamon can Armor Digivolve into Nerftimon.

Also, about Landramon. Some of you might noticed a striking similarity to two other serpentine Digimon we've seen before. Yes, Landramon is meant to be a ground version of Airdramon and Seadramon. Not sure if it would Digivolve from Betamon but if it did, it would certainly make a nice trio. Also not sure what its Ultimate or Mega would be. If you have any ideas, feel free to say them.

Playing for Keeps

It was another amazing day in the Digital World and Flash Sentry was currently in a rocky canyon area, Veemon by his side.

The pair were up on a higher section of the canyon, looking down at the grassy bottom that had a river running through it. They were staking out a section of it, following a rumor they had heard of a rare Digimon that liked to show up in the area every now and then.

"See anything?" Veemon asked as Flash stared through a pair of binoculars.

"No," he shook his head, "no. Not yet." But he knew their target would show up eventually. Wait, I think I might see something." He took a closer look, as a T-rex Digimon came around the corner of the canyon and marched through it. But he sighed. "No. Just a normal Greymon."

Veemon groaned as he took out a bag of chips. "You think maybe the Digimon we heard about isn't actually here?"

"I'm sure he'll show up," Flash assured him. "And when he does, we'll grab a scan of him and before he realises we're here." They kept waiting, but nothing seemed to happen. A few more Greymon appeared, but that was it. "Come on." Then, he spotted one that looked different from the others. "There, GeoGreymon!" It looked like a normal Greymon, but its body was leaner and had more spikes on its body. All in all, it looked much more aggressive then the natural Greymon.

They watched, as GeoGreymon made its way over to an area of the canyon that the water pooled into a small lake. There, it started drinking. The other Greymon gave it a wide berth, clearly not wanting to be near it.

"What's the difference between it and a regular Greymon?" Veemon asked, "other then how it looks?"

"GeoGreymon are specifically made for fighting," Flash replied. "All the combat data that Greymon accumulated over their existence eventually created a mutation, allowing some Agumon to evolve into it. Because of that, GeoGreymon actually like fighting and look for any reason to throw down. It's supposed to have a serious temper."

"I get'cha," Veemon nodded. "That's why you wanna scan it." Flash nodded and took out his Digivice, trying to get a good aim at GeoGreymon.

But as he tried to lock onto it, he found they were too far away for him to get a proper scan. "We're gonna need to get closer," he told Veemon. "Either that or we find a way to making him move." Veemon had no idea how they could make him move, so they would need to get closer.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Veemon asked, as the pair crawled along the ground looking for a path down.

"Sure it is," Flash smirked. "After all, we're together. When we work together, nothing can beat us." Veemon smiled, agreeing with that fact. But as the pair found a way down to the ground, they were completely unaware that someone was watching them.

They eventually made it down to the bottom of the canyon and as they did, they hid in a tall patch of grass on the other side of the lake.

Slowly, they crawled through it and as they reached the edge of the lake, GeoGreymon continued to quench its thirst. Flash was in the perfect position to get a scan and as he prepared, the pair tried to remain absolutely silent. However, just as he was about to scan, something fell down from above and landed in the lake in front of them.

It was a rock, which hit the water with a loud splash that echoed through the canyon.

Flash and Veemon gasped as GeoGreymon heard this and looked up, staring at the ripples in the water before noticing the pair sticking out of the grass behind it. To say it was upset was an understatement, the beast letting out a growl and raising to full height.

"Uh oh," Flash gulped as flames filled GeoGreymon's mouth. "MOVE!"

"MEGA FLAME!" It launched a blast of fire, which flew across the lake and hit the grass the pair were in. Luckily, they had managed to jump back before it caught light. They ran and escaped the tall grass before it completely burned, the pair running away only for GeoGreymon to charge at them.

"FLASH!" Veemon cried, Flash nodding and holding up his Digivice.

"Digi-Armor, ENERGIZE!" The Digimental of Courage appeared out of it and burst into flames, which flew down and wrapped around Veemon's body.

"Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." The flames exploded off of him, revealing the armored dragon Digimon. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!" He skidded to a stop as GeoGreymon got in close. "Bring it!" His claws ignited, "Fire Rocket!" He launched the fireballs off his claws and they flew towards GeoGreymon.

The dinosaur lowered his head and the fireballs bounced off his helmet, not appearing to do any damage whatsoever. It let out a mighty roar as it stomped towards them and spun around, its tail swinging at both of them.

Flamedramon rushed over to Flash, grabbing him before leaping into the air over the tail. They both flew down and landed a good distance from GeoGreymon, who turned to them and had its back to where they had previously been hiding.

As it did, something came down from above. It was a light that flew over the Digimon, who was too distracted to notice. But Flash did, making him look up and see someone complete the scan before disappearing over the edge of the cliff. Suddenly, Flash knew what had caused this.

"MEGA BURST!" GeoGreymon unleashed a fire stream twice as strong as the Mega Flame, which shot right at them.

Flamedramon gasped and leapt in front of Flash, crossing his arms as the flames slammed into him. "Augh!" He cried, but wouldn't let Flash be hurt. "Raaaah!" He swung his arms around and caused the fire to explode off of him, knocking the GeoGreymon off balance.

Fire then exploded out of his feet, propelling him forwards and allowing him to slam into the GeoGreymon and knock it down.

Flash smirked as he took out his Digivice, ready to scan the creature. But before he could, several Greymon began to make their way over to him. Despite not being as aggressive as GeoGreymon, they still didn't seem to like invaders attacking their fellow dinosaurs.

Realising he couldn't beat all of these Digimon, Flamedramon turned to Flash and rushed over to pick him up. "Time to go!" He once again rocketed himself into the air, landing on a ledge and leaping up again. The Greymon all launched their flame attacks, but Flamedramon managed to avoid them all as he climbed higher and higher up canyon wall.

As soon as they were out of the canyon, Flamedramon put Flash down and De-Digivolved into Veemon.

As soon as he did, he fell onto his butt panting. "That was way too close," he groaned whilst feeling achy all over. Flash couldn't agree more and remembered what he had seen earlier, making him frown as he looked around. "What's up?"

"Someone scanned GeoGreymon. Someone who likely dropped that rock in order to get its attention. They put us in danger to get the scan. And I bet he's still here." He stepped forward, seeing many rocks and a few trees covering the landscape in front of them. "Show yourself!" He waited a few moment until he heard a laugh, which came from behind a rock.

Someone stepped out from behind that rock, Flash frowning at the sight of Jet Set. "Nice distraction work. I might have never gotten that scan if it weren't for you."

Flash glared at him, "you could have gotten us deleted. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that you being GeoGreymon's target was a lot better than me being his target." He laughed whilst Veemon got up and glared at him.

"Who do you think you are!?"

Jet Set rolled his eyes. "Do me a favour and put your Digimon away. His voice is quite annoying." Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "Huh, guess you don't know. You can use your Digivice to absorb your Partner's data and keep them inside, like when you're in the real world. Keeps them out of sight so they can't annoy you."

"Thanks for the tip," Flash told him. "But I don't plan on trapping Veemon in my Digivice. He's my partner, not my pet. If he wants to be outside, he has that right."

Jet sighed, "such a newb. Treating Digimon like they're living things."

"They are living things," Flash glared at them. "They might be digital, but they're still alive. They think and feel, have hopes and dreams. They care about things."

"Yes, I'm sure that GeoGreymon cared a lot about having you for lunch. Face it, Digimon are just NPCs that follow their programming. This world isn't real and neither are they."

Flash smirked, "guess that explains why no Digimon wants to be your partner." Jet glared at him. "Is that why you wanted to try and frag us. Because you're jealous that you're all alone?"

"Jealous?" Jet asked, "of you? Please. Why would I want some annoying creature yelling in my ear when I fight. All it does is distract you."

"No. Veemon helps me in a fight. I've won loads of battles because of a suggestion he had or thanks to something he noticed. We work together and that gives us the edge against players like you."

Jet smirked, "you're right. You do have an edge thanks to Veemon. But not because of him being there. It's because of what he is." Flash raised an eyebrow. "I've watched your battles and they all seem to go the same way. Your opponent doesn't know about your partner. Because he's one of a kind, they have no idea what to face him as. If Veemon and his evolutions were more common, you wouldn't has stood a chance."

"That's not true," Veemon told him. "We won because of Flash's skill. Not because I'm a rare Digimon."

"Is that so," Jet seemed to have an idea. "Then why don't we put your partnership to the test?"

Flash was curious, "you wanna battle? I'm game. Veemon?"

"Let's kick his butt!" Veemon cheered, wanting to shut this guy up more then anything. But the look on Jet's face told them there was more to his challenge then they knew.

"Let's make this really interesting. Have an Ante-Battle." Flash and Veemon shared a look, clearly not knowing what an Ante-Battle was. "Basically, it's a the same as a normal battle. The only difference is that whoever wins, gets to take one scan from the loser for keeps." That surprised them, since it would mean they could lose one of their precious and hard gained scans. "What's the matter, scared?"

Flash glared at him and after giving Veemon a questioning look, Veemon nodding, Flash turned back to Jet. "Alright, you're one. We'll have an Ante-Battle and when we win, I'm taking that GeoGreymon scan you almost got us killed over."

Jet smirked, "I doubt you're gonna be able to beat me that easily. I look forward to taking you down and taking what you love most." The pair glared one another down, both knowing this next battle was gonna be a big one for both of them.

Back in Codex, everyone was enjoying their day.

Battles were being fought, trades we being made and strategies were being discussed amongst each other. It was a fun time for all. However, that all changed when an alarm sounded that caught everyone's attention.

"What's going on?" A new player asked, as some of the veterans knew that sound.

"That alarm only means one thing," Applejack stated. "An Ante-Battle is about to begin." Everyone who wasn't already there rushed to the foyer, since Ante-Battles were a rare event. Everyone wanted to know who would play such a dangerous game.

Micro, Sandalwood and Trixie were just as curious, along with Twilight and her friends. But when they all arrived, they were shocked by who was on screen. "FLASH!" Micro cried, looking horrified by what he saw. "What's he doing?"

"He's facing Jet Set in an Ante-Battle?" Rainbow asked, "why? Doesn't he know what might happen if he loses?" They all a feeling he didn't know, especially since it was Jet Set he was up against. They all took out their Digivices and tried to message him, but it was too late. The signal couldn't enter the Beta-Stadium. Flash and Veemon were on their own.

As Flash and Jet stared one another down, a beam of light suddenly appeared between them.

Gennai appeared out of the light, a concerned look appearing on his lips. "Gentlemen. You have both agreed to an Ante-Battle. Do you understand the ramifications of this game? I can go over the rules if you wish." Jet Set smirked, clearly already knowing the rules. Flash, meanwhile, just frowned.

"I'm good," he told him. "Let's just get this underway. I'm ready to win a scan off this guy and shut him up."

"Very well," Gennai sighed. "It's clear you both won't be talked out of this, so please set your Digivices into the podiums and prepare your decks." They did so, Flash staring at the decks he had available.

He knew he had to use Veemon, but the question was which evolution chain should he use?

Jet quickly selected a deck and crossed his arms, waiting patiently for Flash to do the same. Flash did so and placed a Battle Gear into the empty slot, locking in the deck as Gennai closed his eyes for a moment.

"Jet Set. You will be the one to select the field you battle on." Jet smirked before opening it up, selecting the location. "Infinity Mountain has been select. Battle...begin!"

"LET'S GET DIGITAL!" Flash and Jet both hit the start button, causing the room to light up.

Flash turned to Veemon and the pair high-fived, the two suddenly merging into one and landing on the ground. This was something Jet could only sigh about, "so predictable." As he said that, light swirled around him and he transformed into a round orb with wings and claws. When the light faded, it revealed what appeared to be a masked head with bat wings and bird feet. "DemiDevimon!"

Back in the foyer, all of Flash's friends watched with worry as the battlefield formed.

That battlefield was a large mountain with a flat top, where a dark and gloomy temple was located. The camera quickly zoomed in on that temple and headed inside, into the main room where two flashes of light signalled the appearance of Veemon and DemiDevimon.

Veemon looked around, whilst DemiDevimon smirked and quickly took to the air as their life gauges appeared on screen.

Veemon: 4-100%
DemiDevimon: 3-100%

Twilight quickly looked up DemiDevimon, hoping Flash had picked a Digimon that was a match for it.

Name: DemiDevimon
Level: Rookie
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Evil
Family: Nightmare Soldier, Dark Area

"A dark virus," she told the others. "I hope Flash picked a deck that has Vaccines in it." As she said that, DemiDevimon charged into the battle.

"DemiDevi Claws!" He cried, swinging his feet around to slash at Veemon before the little blue dragon had a chance to react. The claws hit Veemon in the face, making him cry out as he was knocked back.

Veemon: 4-90%
DemiDevimon: 3-100%

He hit the ground and rolled along it, as DemiDevimon flew up and spun backwards.

As he did, a syringe larger then him appeared in his claws. "Now try my Devi Dart!" He spun forward and threw the syringe, which shot towards Veemon as he picked himself up.

Before he was even on his feet, the syringe reached him and he was stabbed in the chest. "AUGH!" He staggered back, as he felt his strength being drained away.

Veemon: 4-70%
DemiDevimon: 3-100%

DemiDevimon laughed as he watched Veemon pull the syringe from his body, the strange creature quickly turning his attention towards a nearby column before flying towards it. He quickly pushed his foot to push it, causing it to slide to the left a little bit before a clicking sound was heard.

"Huh?" Veemon looked around and when he did, he saw a stone wall tablet on the wall beginning to move and reveal a space behind it. A space with a Digivolution Coin in it.

"Too bad for you!" DemiDevimon flew towards the opening and grabbed the coin, the energy exploding out of it and into him. "I know this battlefield like the back of my currently non-existent hand. I know all the tricks on this place.

"Not the first time I've fought on someone else's turf," Veemon told him. "And I won that time too."

"True," DemiDevimon told him. "But this time, I'm not gonna leave you any chance to use the field to your advantage." With that, he shot towards the exit and as he did, Veemon spat energy into his hand.

"Vee-Shot!" He threw the orb towards DemiDevimon, who was able to dodge it with ease. His body might not have been very aerodynamic, but he sure knew how to fly it.

Veemon watched DemiDevimon fly out of the temple and the dragon gave chase. But this was what DemiDevimon had been expecting for as he reached the exit, he heard the dark Digimon call out. "Demi Dart!" He looked up and gasped when he saw the syringe flying towards him.

He barely managed to leap down, the tip of the needle scraping against his head as he did so and making him hiss.

Veemon: 4-60%
DemiDevimon: 3-100%

DemiDevimon laughed at this and flew up towards the roof, where another Digivolution Coin was waiting. "Sorry newbie. But this is my playground." He grabbed the coin and used it to power himself up, Veemon getting up and seeing this. "And here, I reign supreme."

"Why don't you come down here and fight me like a real mon!" Veemon cried, as DemiDevimon laughed.

"Why don't you come up here and fight me like a demon!" He laughed, but Veemon knew how to do just that.

"Alright," Veemon smirked as he crossed his arms. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" He swung his arms around as his chest burst into light, a pair of jet wings sprouted from his back. The light faded and Veemon was now equipped with the Dragon Booster, which revved up with the rocket exploding and launching him into the air.

"WOW!" DemiDevimon cried, dodging the flying dragon as he almost hit him. "Huh, wasn't expecting a Battle Gear so early."

"I told you not to underestimate us," Veemon cried as he spun around in the air. He then shot back down, ready to perform a Vee-Headbut to DemiDevimon. But the bat-like Digimon smirked before his eyes glowed.

"Butt Smasher!" Light exploded from his eyes and from it, a cauldron of bats flew out and shot straight for Veemon.

He gasped and tried to stop, but flew right into it and suddenly found himself surrounded. And before he could think to escape, he suddenly felt himself getting bitten. "Augh!"

Veemon: 4-55%
DemiDevimon: 3-100%

He then felt another bite, then another and another. Each one sapped away his strength and he knew he had to get out. As such, he pumped his Battle Gear to full speed and shot straight up and out of the bat cloud. He panted when he finally escaped, but his life points weren't doing so well.

Veemon: 4-30%
DemiDevimon: 3-100%

As he regained his strength, DemiDevimon flew up and chuckled. "Even with Battle Gear, you don't stand a chance against me."

Veemon growled, "I'm still ahead of you in life points."

"That'll soon change," he told him as he noticed something. "Starting with this!" His body was suddenly surrounded by light, "DemiDevimon, Digivolve to..." Flash and Veemon were both shocked seeing him Digivolve to quickly, the cocoon growing larger before exploding to reveal a tall lanky humanoid figure in a black leather suit that covered all but his blue mouth. A pair of tattered wings were sticking out of his back and his fingers were a pair of bony claws. "Devimon!"

The rest of Flash's friends were also shocked by the quick evolution, Twilight bringing up the Digimon's stats.

Name: Devimon
Level: Champion
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Fallen Angel
Family: Nightmare Soldier, Dark Area

"This isn't good," Micro gulped. "Devimon's a tough Digimon. If Flash can't Digivolve up to match him, he's gonna be in serious trouble." Sure enough, Devimon spread his wings and shot straight up towards Veemon. Before the dragon could fight back, Devimon reached him and swung his claws around.

"Deadly Nail!" He slashed at Veemon's chest and made him cry out, as he was knocked backwards.

Veemon: 4-10%
Devimon: 3-100%

Veemon managed to regain control of himself in the air and spat into his mouth, the energy ball forming. "Vee-Shot!" He launched the sphere towards Devimon, who didn't look at all worried.

"Death Hand!" He thrust his open palm forwards and a blast of black transparent energy flew out of it.

It struck the Vee-Shot and tore right through it without even being slowed down, the energy continuing forwards until it smashed into Veemon. "AUGH!" He screamed, feeling an icy pain running through his entire body.

Veemon: 4-0%
Devimon: 3-100%

Flash's friends all flinched seeing this. Flash had started out with the advantage, but now Jet had levelled the playing field and taken the lead.

Veemon panted as his body ached, Devimon chuckling before he shot down towards him.

Veemon heard the movement and looked up, just in time to see Devimon right in front of him before the demon swung his leg around and smashed him in the face. "AUGH!" He was thrown towards the ground, crashing into the before falling to the ground.

Veemon: 3-80%
Devimon: 3-100%

Veemon moaned as he pushed himself up, whilst Devimon floated down and landed on the temple's roof. "Do you see now?" He asked, "why you're going to be losing this Ante-Battle."

Veemon pushed himself up and glared at him, "I'm not done yet." Veemon fired his Dragon Booster and took off. But he didn't fly towards his opponent and instead, he shot towards the edge of the cliff and flew down the side.

"Coward!" He spread his wings and leapt into the air, flying after him. With Veemon's Battle Gear, he was the faster flyer. But Devimon wouldn't let him escape so easily.

Veemon flew down the mountain and tried to find a place he could fight Devimon more easily.

He had hoped the mountain would have a cave or tunnel somewhere in the side of it. Someplace a tall Digimon like that couldn't properly fight whilst Veemon could maneuver around better. But there was nothing. Not cave or opening into the mountain at all.

However, after a few minutes flying around he spotted something.

Part of the mountain stuck out to form a large cliff, which had some kind of building atop of it. Or what remained of a building. It looked like some kind of mansion, but the whole thing looked like it had collapsed a long time ago. Stone pillars stuck out of the ground and had sections of flooring above them. But there were very few of these areas.

Veemon flew down and landed on a section of the second floor, where he looked around and saw a few beds here and there. But other then that, the place was a total wreck.

"See anything?" Flash asked Veemon as they looked around.

"No," Veemon shook his head, "I don't think this place is gonna be of much help to us."

"You're right," Flash said out loud. "We've gotta find a Digivolution Coin before tall, dark and ugly shows up."

"My ears are burning." He spun around and gasped seeing Devimon, who had flown down and landed on a high up pillar. He smirked at the pair, who got on the defensive as they glared Devimon down. "Now how would you like to be destroyed? Quick and painful or slow and painful. Either option leaves you in a lot of pain."

"I'm already in pain from hearing your annoying voice!" Veemon cried as he ran forward and used his Battle Gear to propel himself forwards. "Vee-Headbutt!" He shot towards Devimon at high speed and before the Champion could react, smashed into his stomach.

Veemon: 3-80%
Devimon: 3-90%

"Augh!" Devimon flinched, as Veemon pulled back. But the devil wasn't letting that hit go unpunished. "Raaaah!" He raised a fist and brought it down, smashing into Veemon before the little could pull away. His fist struck his head and knocked him downwards until he smashed into the floor.

Veemon: 3-65%
Devimon: 3-90%

Devimon then leapt into the air, as Veemon began to pick himself up. "Death Hand!" He fired the dark energy at Veemon, but the Rookie gasped and leapt backwards to avoid it. However, the blast hit the ground and ripped right through it.

This caused cracks to appear on the entire floor and when Veemon landed, he broke right through it. "WOW!" He fell through it and into the ground, losing a good five points before more of the rocks began to fall upon him.

Veemon: 3-45%
Devimon: 3-90%

Devimon laughed as he flew around the destroyed mansion, trying to see if Veemon was still up for fighting after that.

Some of the rubble began to move and roll away, revealing Veemon who climbed out from under the rocks. But as he did, he found that his Battle Gear had been damaged. "No." The Dragon Booster's wings were a mess and the chest armor was dented and sparking. Eventually, it exploded into lights that quickly vanished.

Devimon laughed again, then flew down towards him before he could react and slashed at Veemon.

The Digimon cried out as he was knocked back, hitting the rubble pile and taking more damage as Devimon flew forward to keep up the attack.

Veemon: 3-30%
Devimon: 3-90%

Devimon reached out to slash at him again, but Veemon quickly grabbed a rock and threw it at Devimon. It hit him in the head, but Devimon barely felt it and swung around to kick the dragon away. "AUGH!"

Veemon: 3-20%
Devimon: 3-85%

He fell to the ground and Devimon flew around, only to then see Veemon roll onto his back with an energy ball in hand. "Vee-Shot!" The thrust the sphere forward and it crashed into Devimon, making him his as it exploded against him.

Veemon: 3-20%
Devimon: 3-75%

Veemon then rushed forward and leapt up, using a large rock as a springboard as he catapulted himself to Devimon's height. "RAAAAH!" He threw a punch and it slammed right into Devimon's face, but the fallen angel didn't even flinch as his cheek was attacked.

Veemon: 3-20%
Devimon: 3-65%

Devimon chuckled as he raised his hand, "pathetic. Death Hand!" The dark energy exploded out of it and slammed into Veemon, making him scream as he was blasted away.

Veemon: 3-0%
Devimon: 3-65%

Veemon was thrown through the air and sent spinning towards a different section of the mansion, crashing through a pillar before falling to the ground.

Veemon: 2-90%
Devimon: 3-65%

He groaned as he picked himself up, only for a light to catch his attention and make him look up to see a Digivolution Coin that had been uncovered by the falling pillar. Devimon had also seen this and rushed down to grab it, but Veemon leapt forward.

"Got it!" He cried, crushing the coin between his fingers seconds before Devimon reached him.

"NO!" He roared, quickly slashing Veemon in the back as he reached him.

Veemon: 2-80%
Devimon: 3-65%

Veemon cried out as he was thrown forwards, but managed to land on his hands and push himself up and spin through the air to land on his feet. As he did, Devimon took to the sky again. "Time to Digivolve!" Veemon cried, his Digivolution Gauge hitting full as he began to glow. "Veemon, Digivolve to..." He burst into light and quickly began to grow, breaking through the top of the mansion above him as Devimon frowned. And when the light exploded off of him, the giant blue T-rex stood in his place. "VEEDRAMON!"

Devimon growled, "Digivolving won't save you now. I'm too far ahead." He thrust his hand forward, "Death Hand!" The dark energy exploded towards Veedramon, who took a deep breath.

"V-Nova Blast!" The blue energy exploded from his mouth and hit the dark stream, both attacks colliding and exploding with Devimon being knocked back. As he was, Veedramon charged forward with his fist clenched. "Hammer Punch!" His fist glowed and he thrust it forward, slamming into Devimon and knocking him backwards with a roar of pain.

Veedramon: 2-80%
Devimon: 3-45%

Flash's friends all cheered at the attack's damage, glad that Flash had chosen to become Veedramon.

"That's it Flash!" Sandalwood cried out, "take him down!" They watched as Devimon spread his wings and took to the air, flying high out of Veedramon's range. "Ha, running scared."

"Don't be idiots." They all looked around and saw Lightning Dust with Kokuwamon sitting at the table besides her. "Jet isn't just gonna stand there and let himself get hit. He's in this to win it, not prove how tough he is." They all looked back towards the screen, as Devimon raised his arms.

"Battle Gear," he announced. "BOOST!" A flash of light around his chest revealed a piece of body armor that had the image of the VIrus Symbol within that had a line running through it. "VIrus Nullifier."

"What?" Veedramon asked, as Devimon flew down.

"This Battle Gear turns me into a Free Digimon, which means your Vaccine typing will do nothing to me." Veedramon frowned, whilst Devimon shot forward. "Deadly Nail!" He slashed at Veedramon's chest and the dinosaur roared as he staggered back.

Veedramon: 2-65%
Devimon: 3-45%

"RAAAAAH!" He rushed forward and tried to chomp at Devimon, but the demonic Digimon dodged and managed to get behind him. "Augh!" He felt a boot slam into him and knock him staggering froward, Devimon flying higher before Veedramon could react.

Veedramon: 2-60%
Devimon: 3-45%

He regained his footing and spun around, "V-Nova Blast!" The energy blast shot towards Devimon, who crossed his arms as the blast exploded against him and he cried out.

Veedramon: 2-60%
Devimon: 3-35%

Devimon fought through the pain and flew down, Veedramon growling since he only had enough SP for one, maybe two, more blasts. As such, Devimon reached him and slashed at him before he could react.

He slashed at Veedramon, but the dinosaur Digimon managed to jump back before it touched and spun around to slam him with his tail. The limb struck Devimon's chest and made him flinch as he was pushed backwards, but he managed grab hold of the tail before he was thrown away.

Veedramon: 2-60%
Devimon: 3-30%

Gripping the tail hard, Devimon beat his wings and started pulling him along. Veedramon felt himself being pulled backwards and staggered around, as Devimon dragged him towards the edge of the cliff.

He saw this and gasped as he tried to fight against it, swinging his tail around and attempting to throw Devimon off. But the dark Digimon let go at just the right moment and was thrown upwards over Veedramon, who now stood between him and the cliff.

"Perfect shot!" He cried, pointing his hand forward. "Death Hand!" He fired the dark energy and it slammed into Veedramon's chest, exploding and knocking him staggering backwards.

Veedramon: 2-50%
Devimon: 3-30%

Veedramon couldn't stop himself from falling over the edge. But as he did, he took a deep breath. "V-Nova Blast!" He roared, launching the energy blast and slamming into Devimon before he could escape. The demon grunted at the explosion, whilst Veedramon fell over the edge.

Veedramon: 2-50%
Devimon: 3-15%

Everyone gasped as they saw Veedramon fall over the edge.

"NO!" Lunamon cried, as the dinosaur slammed down the side of the mountain. He rolled around, unable to stop himself and hitting many jaggard rocks and boulders as he did so. They all wanted to look away, but couldn't even blink as they watched the fight rage on.

Eventually, Veedramon arrived at the base of the mountain and crashed down upon the ground hard. He let out a roar at the pain, as his health dropped dangerously low.

Veedramon: 2-5%
Devimon: 3-15%

"This isn't good," Twilight gulped. "If he doesn't do something soon, he's gonna be out of the game before he manages to Digivolve to Ultimate."

"He's gotta break that Battle Gear," Rainbow cried. "If he can do that, his Vaccine attacks will do serious damage." They agreed, hoping Flash would think of the same thing. But right now, it didn't even seem like he could stand up.

Flash groaned as he tried to push himself back to his feet.

"Flash," Veemon grunted. "What do we do? This guy's way too strong. If we don't find a way to turn things around, we're gonna lose." Flash knew Veemon was right, but he couldn't let this battle end without a real fight.

"We'll find a way to win," Flash told him. "This guy might think he has the upperhand, but there's one thing we have that he doesn't."

"What's that?" Veemon asked, making Flash smirk in his mind.

"Each other." It was in that moment that he stopped looking through his Digimon eyes and was inside his mind, staring at Veemon in the black void they were in. "I don't know what made us find one another, but I like to think it was destiny. We were meant to come together and be the best team in Codex." Veemon smiled. "So as long as we work together and fight as one, nobody can beat us."

"Yeah!" Veemon nodded, excited as Flash focused his attention back on the battle.

Opening his Digimon eyes, he pushed himself up and checked himself out. Nothing seemed seriously damaged and Flash knew he had to think of a plan before Devimon attacked.

However, that thought was a little late as he suddenly sensed a presence above him. Looking up, he saw Devimon charging down towards him. "Bring it!" He took a deep breath and fired, "V-Nova Blast!" The laser arrow shot towards Devimon, but Devimon simply flew to the side in order to avoid the attack.

"Nice try!" He accelerated forward and slashed at Veedramon, making him grunt as his second to last security was destroyed.

Veedramon: 2-0%
Devimon: 3-15%

He staggered backwards, whilst Devimon took to the air again. He surveyed the land and knew it well, a smile appearing on his lips at a thought. "Perfect." He flew towards a bunch of trees, Veedramon chasing after him.

"Get back here!" He reached the trees and pulled the first one he could out of the ground, throwing it in Devimon's direction. The demon Digimon spun around and saw this, his eyes going wide as he saw it flying at him.

He spun in the air and kicked the tree away, whilst Veedramon charged forward and his fist glowed.

"Hammer Punch!" Devimon crossed his arms and the attack slammed into him, knocking him backwards. He smashed into a tree and hit the ground, the punchand impact destroying his first Security.

Veedramon: 1-100%
Devimon: 3-0%

Veedramon roared as he charged forward, his horn ready to skew the demon as he picked himself up. But as he got in close, Devimon leapt into the air and managed to jump off the tip of the horn before it could stab him. He used it to spring himself into the air and as he did, he spotted what he was looking for.

Veedramon looked up and saw Devimon flying towards a tree, slashing at the branches when he reached it and revealing something. A Digivolution Coin.

Devimon laughed as he grabbed it, crushing it in his fingers. "Now you will see, my true power at work." As he said that, something appeared in front of him. It was a cube of light, which had a Digimon inside.

"What the?" Veedramon tilted his head, "Ogremon?"

Devimon chuckled. "I guess you didn't know that you could place Digimon scans in your item box. Most of the time, it wouldn't do anything. But with the right combination of Digimon, it's just like having a Digimental." Veedramon's eyes went wide as he realised what Devimon was talking about.

"Don't tell me...you're gonna..." Suddenly, the Ogremon exploded into data as the cube moved towards Devimon.

The demonic Digimon smirked as the cube enveloped him and the Ogremon data merched with his. "Devimon, Ogremon, DNA Digivolve to..." The light and cube exploded off of him, revealing red skeleton with a black orb in his ribcage and black leather pants. He was wearing a black mask over his face and had black bat wings, along with gloved hands that carried a long red staff that had a hook on one end and a yellow orb on the other. He looked like something of a goth metal album. "SkullSatamon!"

Worry once again filled everyone's hearts, as they saw the dangerous Ultimate Level Digimon now standing before Flash and Veemon. Twilight brought up its stats, making her worried.

Name: SkullSatamon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Undead
Family: Nightmare Soldier

"This is bad," she told them. "Its speed and SP are insanely high. If Flash can't find a way to counter that..." She didn't finish, the lot of them watching as SkullSatamon shot down.

"Hook of Darkness!" He cried, swinging his staff around and trying to slash at Veedramon.

The dino barely managed to stagger out of the way and as he did, he noticed something in a nearby tree. "An SP Coin!" He ran forward and rammed his head into the trunk, shattering through it and causing the coin to fall. As soon as it hit, Veedramon felt his strength returning. "V-Nova Blast!" He spun around and fired the attack at the approaching Digimon, who didn't have time to react.

"Augh!" He cried, as the energy exploded against his chest.

Veedramon: 1-100%
SkullSatamon: 2-85%

This also caused his Virus Nullifier to crack, Veedramon smirking as he went in for an attack. But SkullSatamon recovered and swung his hook around. "Hook of Darkness!" It slashed against Veedramon chest and knocked him back, his points dropping as well.

Veedramon: 1-80%
SkullSatamon: 2-85%

Veedramon quickly regained his balance and glared at SkullSatamon, who leapt into the air. "Prepare to lose everything!" The Virus cried, as Veedramon fired another V-Nova Blast towards him. But SkullSatamon easily deflected it with his hook and flew down, swinging his staff around.

Veedramon barely managed to avoid it before spinning around and slamming his tail into him, knocking the undead Digimon flying.

Veedramon: 1-80%
SkullSatamon: 2-80%

The Virus Nullifier cracked more, this time enough to finally break apart and explode. "Ahhh!"

"Yes!" Veedramon cried, as the others watching cheered. "Now my attacks are gonna be double strong." He took a deep breath and fired, "V-Nova Blast!" The energy arrow shot through the air and slammed into SkullSatamon, exploding and sending him flying backwards as he roared out in pain.

Veedramon: 1-85%
SkullSatamon: 2-55%

He crashed into the ground and lost his staff, with rolled away as Veedramon charged forward. The undead Digimon pushed himself to his hands and knees, as Veedramon got in close and was ready to stomp on him.

But at the last moment, SkullSatamon leapt out from under the foot and grabbed his staff. "That's enough moving around, I think!" He spun his staff around before thrusting it forward, "Nail Bone!" In that moment, dark lightning exploded out of the gem on his staff and slammed into Veedramon.

"RAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" Veedramon roared in pain, as he felt his entire body being badly damaged.

Veedramon: 1-70%
SkullSatamon: 2-55%

As the lightning shocked him, his body started glitching and going static. And even after the attack ended, he couldn't move a muscle. "What's...happening?"

"Why isn't he moving?" Pinkie asked, everyone worried as he just stood there.

"Nail Bone." They all looked over and saw Shining Armor, the lot wondering how long he had been there. "It's a very dangerous ability that disrupts a Digimon's data and causes it to freeze up. He'll recover, but it'll take a few minutes.

"But..." Micro looked back towards the screen, "that'll make Flash a sitting duck!" SkullSatamon got up and charged forward, "get out of there!"

"HEYAH!" SkullSatamon slammed his staff into Veedramon chest, knocking him backwards.

Veedramon: 1-65%
SkullSatamon: 2-55%

Flash and Veemon flinched at the impact, as they hands finally started feeling not so numb. They slowly closed them, feeling returning to his body. But before he could completely move, SkullSatamon slammed his staff into him again. This did more damage and Veedramon could only stand there and take it, as SkullSatamon hit him over and over again.

With every strike, his health dropped lower and low. But he also felt himself being able to move more and more.

"Gyah!" SkullSatamon slammed a foot into his chest and knocked him backwards, crashing through a tree as his health dropped into the red.

Veedramon: 1-5%
SkullSatamon: 2-55%

The demon then leapt up and flew down towards him, ready to deal a final blow. But at the last moment, Veedramon rolled away and managed to get to his feet. "Huh?" He turned to the dino, who slowly stood up. "Finally able to move, huh?" Veedramon panted clearly still not in the best of shape. "I bet you're down to the last of your life. One or two more hits and you're out of this game. Just give up and accept your fate."

"No way," Veedramon growled. "I don't quit. So long as I've got Veemon backing me up, I know I can win this fight." He looked up and glared at him, as Flash and Veemon spoke in unison. "We will not be defeated by the likes of you!" They charged, ready to use Hammer Punch on the Ultimate.

But he was still moving too slow, making him an easy target for SkullSatamon.

"Pathetic!" In the blink of an eye, he vanished and reappeared behind him. "Now you're mine!" He swung his staff at Veedramon and slammed into his back, making him roar in pain.

Veedramon: 1-0%
SkullSatamon: 2-55%

He staggered forward and fell to the ground, as SkullSatamon flew straight up and raised his staff. "Now, to end this!" He thrust it forward, "Nail Bone!" The lightning exploded out of his staff and shot towards Veedramon, but the Champion wasn't going to be beaten so easily.

"V-Breath Arrow...MAX!" He unleashed a powerful stream of energy, which shot out and collided with the lightning.

The two attacks pushed against one another, attempting to overpower the other. But slowly, the Nail Bone attack began to push the V-Breath Arrow back towards Veedramon.

Flash and Veemon saw this and gasped, both trying to power up their attack. But nothing they did worked and eventually, their SP hit zero and the attack phased out. "Sorry Veemon," Flash told him as the lightning shot forward. "Looks like we couldn't win." With that, the lightning struck and the pair roared out in pain before Veedramon exploded in a bright light.

As soon as the light faded, Flash and Veemon were laid out on the ground. Both of them groaned as they laid there, Flash rolling himself onto his back.

As he did, he looked up and saw SkullSatamon floating above him with a grin on his face. That just made the loss feel even worse, as the battlefield began to disappear around them and SkullSatamon transformed back to his human form. And as the dome reformed around them, Flash and Veemon pushed themselves up whilst Jet laughed.

"I knew you were a rank amature," he told him. "But I didn't think you would be that much of a loser. Talk about pathetic."

"Shut up," Flash growled as a light appeared in front of them. Gennai stepped out of the light and looked solemn, as he glanced between the two players.

"The Ante-Battle is over. And winner, is Jet Set." The smug punk kept his nose turned up, as he looked down at Flash with a high and mighty demeanor. "As was agreed, Jet Set may now take whatever he desires from Flash Sentry's inventory."

Jet Set smiled as the holographic screen appeared in front of him, the teen already knowing what he wanted to take. "I pick Veemon." He pressed on it and when he did, Veemon started glowing.

"Huh?" He looked down at himself, "what's going on?" Flash was also worried, turning to Gennai who did not look happy at it.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked Jet. "Taking another player's Digimon Partner isn't something many will forgive you for. And I don't think Veemon will enjoy it."

"What?" Flash cried, turning to Veemon as the light around him began to fly towards Jet's Digivice. As it connected, Flash looked at his Digivice and saw it had something on the screen. 'Transfering connection' was written across the screen, with a loading bar filling it. "What's going on?" The bar was completely full and when it did, the image of Veemon in his playlist disappeared.

Jet chuckled as he picked up his Digivice. "And with that, Veemon is now my partner."

"WHAT?" Flash and Veemon yelled. Outside in the main foyer, Flash's friends all stared in shock. "What do you mean I'm your partner!" Veemon cried, "Flash is my partner, not you."

"Not anymore," Gennai sighed. "Since Jet won the ante-battle, he won the right to take anything from Flash. That includes his partner." Flash's eyes went wide as he thought about what Jet had told him before, going over every word he said. And as he did, anger flew through him and boiled his blood.

"You lied to me," he growled before turning to Jet. "You only said we were putting scans up to bet. You never said anything about being allowed to take each other's partners."

"Didn't I?" Jet asked, looking thoughtful. "Huh," he smirked, "guess it must have slipped my mind." Flash ran forward and looked ready to deck him, but Gennai leapt in front of him.

"No Flash!" He grabbed him and pulled him away, "don't. You don't want want to get in trouble for assaulting another player."

"He tricked me!" Flash roared, "he deliberately left out that partners could be taken! If I knew that, I never would have agreed!" He shot Jet a glare, "you won't get away with this."

"I think I already have," Jet smirked. "I might have left that detail out, but you're the one who didn't let Gennai tell you the rules. If you had, you would have known. This is more your fault than mine." Flash's fist shook, but he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Well, I'd best be off. Need to see what I can Digivolve my new partner into." Jet turned to leave, "come along Veemon."

"I'm not going with you!" Veemon cried, making Jet frown back at him. "You're not my partner. Flash is. I don't care what the Digivices say. I'm staying with Flash."

Jet sighed and held up his Digivice. "I had hoped you would be a little more agreeable." He tapped away at it and suddenly, Veemon exploded into a million tiny lights.

"VEEMON!" Flash cried, as his partner's data flew into the air and shot towards the Digivice. It flowed inside and once it was all absorbed, Jet showed Flash the screen.

"Hey!" Veemon appeared on it, tapping at the glass. "What's going on?" But Jet said nothing else and made his way towards the door.

"Give him back." Jet stopped and turned back to Flash, seeing his head pointed towards the ground. "Give Veemon back. He doesn't want to be with you."

"Oh? Would you have given me my scan back if I asked for it."

"That's different!" Flash looked up and shot him and angry glare. "Veemon is alive. He thinks and feels. Holding him like this is...it's just kidnapping. Being allowed to take a living thing away from its friend is wrong. I don't know why the Codex Commanders allow this, but it's wrong. So give him back!"

Jet stared at him for several moment, looking like he was actually considering this. But then he just smirked and turned away, "I don't think so. I won him fair and square." Flash felt his heart breaking. "But there is something you can do to get him back." Hope suddenly returned to him. "Just challenge me to another ante battle. Beat me and he's all yours." Flash glared at him, Jet laughing. "Not that I would ever agree to it. What idiot enters an ante battle and puts his partner on the line? Besides, now that Veemon's gone, you have nothing worth wagering him over." With that, he stepped out of the room with the doors closing behind him.

Flash just stood there, unable to believe this was actually happening.

Eventually, he fell to the ground and all his anger and frustrations was let out in a single mighty roar. This yell was heard all throughout Codex, with everyone who heard it feeling sorry for the boy who had just lost his partner.

Author's Note

Well, that happened. We have entered a dark section of this story, my friends. Will Flash be able to get his partner back, or will the Digimon be lost to him forever? Only time will tell.

Crushing Loss

It was another beautiful day in the Digital World and in it, Flash and Veemon were running around happily.

The pair ran to the top of a hill with smiles on their lips, both laughing in enjoyment. They turned to each other, not needing to say anything as they just stood there and basked in their friendship. Everything was perfect. Or that's how it appeared.

Suddenly, the clear sky suddenly turned dark, as storm clouds appeared above the pair. This worried them, the sound of thunder filling the air. And before either of them could say anything, a bolt of lightning shot down and struck the ground.

They both cried out as the ground cracked apart where the lightning had struck, creating a giant fissure that split them apart from one another. "Veemon!" Flash cried, as Veemon looked worried. Then, the ground beneath his Digimon broke apart and he fell into the fissure. "NO!" Veemon grabbed the side of the cliff, but the grasp was weak.

Flash called out to him, holding out his hand to try and pull him up. But Veemon couldn't reach.

"Come on!" He yelled, the pair reaching as hard as they could. But the ground finally gave way and Veemon fell into the hole. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed, seeing his partner disappeared into the darkness of the pit. "VEEMON!" His eyes filled with tears, "I'M SORRY!"

Flash gasped as he sat up in his bed, panting from the horrible dream he had had. But it wasn't a dream.

He looked over at his bedside table, where his Digivice was sat. And on the screen, he saw nothing. It was completely blank, unlike most days when it had his probably still asleep partner snoozing on it. The sight of the blank screen reminded Flash that he was now alone, making him curl up and wrap his arms around his legs.

It had been three days since he had last been in Codex. Three days since he had lost Veemon in an Ante-Battle.

Since then, everything seemed to be absolutely horrible. Food didn't taste as good, the air didn't feel as fresh and life was just pointless. He continued to lay there and let what had happen run through his mind again and again. The entire battle, Jet Set had had the upper hand.

Grabbing those two Digivolution Coins, managing to cut his health down super fast, using the environment to his advantage. There had been nothing Flash could do to stop him. He had out played Flash at every turn and in the end, he managed to win and take Veemon away from him.

Anger coursed through him. Anger at Jet Set for not telling him about partners being up for grabs in an Ante-Battle. Anger at the Codex Commanders for letting players take each others partners. And anger at himself for falling for Jet's trick and not letting Gennai tell him the rules before hand. He was just so angry.

But whilst he felt angry, he also felt worried. Worried for Veemon and what Jet Set was likely doing to him.

Micro Chips had just ported into Codex, Tentomon appearing beside him.

He looked around and let out a sigh, since the place didn't feel as enjoyable over the last few days. The people in it were all looking like they were enjoying the place a lot less, and it was clear why. Seeing someone lose their best friend without even knowing why could sour anyone's opinion on the place.

He walked through the foyer and as he did, he noticed someone whose presence filled him with rage.

Jet Set was talking to somebody who clearly hadn't seen the Ante-Battle, the pair having their Digivices out and looking ready for a trade. "Alright," Jet told him, "I'll give you a scan for that MetalTyrannomon and two Battle Gears. That agreed?" The player frowned, clearly not liking giving up so much for one scan. "This is a very rare Digimon. You won't get a scan of it anywhere else, so I'd suggest agreeing." The teen sighed and nodded, "excellent." The pair completed the transaction and the trade was complete. "Pleasure doing business with you."

The teen walked away and Jet smiled at his new scans, then noticed Micro and smirked. "So, how's your friend doing. Still wallowing over his loss."

"If it was just a loss then he wouldn't care," Micro told him. He stared at the black Digivice in his hand, spotting Veemon inside until Jet put it away. "Have you let him out even once?"

"Why should I?"

"He's your partner, not your pet. If you're just gonna lock him away, what's the point of keeping him?"

"He's a rare Digimon," Jet explained. "As long as I have him, I can trade him for any rare scan I want. He's a gold mine." Micro growled at this, Tentomon pointing at him.

"You're horrible. You don't deserve to be in Codex. Release Veemon this instant!"

"I don't think so," Jet stood up. "The only way he's getting away from me is if someone beats me in an Ante-Battle." He gave Micro a look, "are you gonna risk challenging me." Micro frowned, whilst Jet smirked. "Not like you could. You already have a partner." He turned to leave, "I've got a battle to win. If all you're gonna do is glare at me, I see no reason to continue this conversation." With that, he was gone and Micro could just stand there.

Not to far away, Twilight Sparkle had heard the whole conversation taking place. To say she was upset was also an understatement. Something needed to be done, so she took out her Digivice in order to log out.

The bell rang at Canterlot High and Flash was making his way through the halls.

Everyone was giving him a wide berth, knowing he was upset about something and not to be crossed in his current state of mind. Flash had barely said two words that day, only talking when a teacher spoke to him.

He reached his locker and opened it up, only for someone to march up to him and slam it shut before he could do anything.

That somebody was Twilight, who glared at him as he stepped away from her. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked, as Flash's face remained stoic.

"I'm trying to get my math book before I'm late for class."

"I mean, what are you doing here. You haven't logged into Codex in three days. How do you expect to get Veemon back if you're not even gonna enter the cyberverse?" Flash said nothing and pushed her aside, opening the locker and taking out his books. "Flash, you can't just stand there and do nothing. Veemon's waiting for you."

Flash slammed the locker shut, "what do you want me to do? How am I supposed to get Veemon back, when I've lost the only Rare Digimon I had? Jet's not gonna agree to an Ante-Battle because I have nothing worth risking Veemon for."

"So you're just gonna give up?" Twilight asked, "that's not the Flash Sentry I know. You can't let one setback stop you from getting him back." Flash didn't say anything, instead just staring at his locker as Twilight groaned. "You told me about how you found Veemon. You found him by moving the Digimental of Courage. The Digimental sensed the courage in your heart and let you lift it, freeing Veemon. But if the Digimental could see you now, I doubt it would have moved an inch." Flash felt a sting at that statement.

He sighed as he turned to her, "what should I do?"

"Find another rare Digimon to scan," Twilight told him. "Jet won't be able to resist if you have something he doesn't have. Beat him and get Veemon back. That's all you can do. Because right now, Jet's using him as his personal trading card. He's scanning Veemon and handing them out to anyone who's willing to give away a good trade." This angered Flash, as the bell rang and Twilight turned to leave. "You have to do this for Veemon. Jet hasn't let him out since he got him. He's a prisoner again. Worse then when he was under the Digimental. At least then, he wasn't conscious."

As she walked away, Flash realised she was right. He couldn't just sit around moping. He had to find a way to get Veemon away from that guy. And he knew how to do it.

Taking out his Digivice, Flash logged in. In the blink of an eye, he was in Codex once again. The sight of the place made him think back to what had happened, but he quickly shook his head before rushing over to the Codex Store.

The robot running the place saw him coming and seemed to recognise the look on his face. "Great. Another human on a life or death mission." Flash reached him and slammed his hands down on the counter.

"I need a Rookie level location scan."

"What kind of location scan?" The robot asked.

"One that I can find a rare Digimon in. The rarer the better." The robot seemed to be thinking, "come on! There's gotta be one scan I can get that'll help me get a rare Digimon."

"There's always Skyborn Revine," a screen appeared in front of him that showed the image of a bunch of giant rocks with flying Digimon soaring above them. "There's mostly bird and other flying Digimon there, but you might be able to get a few rare Dragon Digimon. But the place can be dangerous. It's almost Champion Level."

"Perfect." Flash purchased the location and his Digivice beeped, signalling he now had it. "Time to find a scan so rare, Jet won't be able to resist it." He ran back over to the Digi-Port and teleported away, completely unaware that someone had just seen the whole thing.

"You think he's gonna be okay?" Monodramon asked Shining. The man frowned as he stared at the spot he had just been in, Shining getting up.

"I'm not sure."

As soon as the transportation completed, Flash looked around and saw he was in the exact same spot he had seen in the image.

The place was actually a giant round hole in the earth, creating a bowl-like structure several miles around. Inside that bowl were many rock pillars, sticking out of the ground and creating a forest of rocks.

As he looked up, he saw a bunch of birds flying above them. The Digimon soared overhead and Flash quickly rushed into the shadow a rock, not wanting them to catch sight of him. He quickly took out his Digivice and opened up the decks, but most of them were locked since he didn't have Veemon.

Sighing, he went to the deck for Flamemon and activated it. "Biomerge!" He swung the Digivice around and the cube appeared, with Flamemon inside. The cube quickly flew over to him and he was sucked inside, being transformed into the Rookie would be smaller and more easy to hide in.

Transformation complete, he rushed out of the rocks and started running through the ravine of rocks.

Over the next hour, he began climbing up the sides of the rocks in search of rare Digimon. He kept finding nests full of Digi-Eggs, which surprised him since he thought only Primary Village had them. But unfortunately, he couldn't scan Digi-Eggs so had to search for something else.

The few nests he found without eggs instead had started bird Digimon. Common ones Flash knew wouldn't interest Jet into an Ante-Battle.

"There has to be something here," Flamemon growled as he reached the far end of the canyon. He looked up at a large rock and as he did, he saw something. A Digimon he didn't recognised. It was an odd looking green Digimon, that kind of looked like a seahorse with a dragon's head.

It was looking over the edge of the cliff and quickly pulled back when it saw Flamemon, who ran towards the rock. "Hold on!" He leapt up and used his Digimon abilities to easily climb it. "I just wanna get a quick scan of you." He huffed and puffed, the rock appearing a lot smaller from down on the ground.

When he finally reached the top, he looked ahead and saw the Digimon. It was staring at him, looking angry. And when Flamemon looked around him, he spotted a bunch of small blue Digimon that just appeared to be a dragon's head with a single foot on its bottom.

"Awe," he smiled at them, "you guys are really cute. And I bet you're really rare." He wanted to pull out his Digivice and scan them, but remembered he had to be in human form to do that. "Just give me a second and I can-" But before he could turn back, the green one unleashed a blast of fire right into his face. "Augh!" He was knocked back and accidently fell over the edge. "Wow, wow, wow, WOW!" He fell backwards over the edge, falling to the ground and crashing into the ground. "Ow."

The Digimon up on the cliffs all started crying, clearly scared by the strange individual. And as Flamemon picked himself up, something heard the screams and flew down towards him.

"Ahhh," he stood up and held his back, "that hurt." He looked up at the cliff and frowned, wondering if he could climb up in human form. However, something suddenly blocked out the sun behind him before the ground shook. Flamemon's eyes went wide as he slowly turned to see a large blue Dragon Digimon glaring down at him.

The Digimon did not look happy to see him, Flash gulping at the sight. "Oh...hi." The Dragon growled and its mouth filled with fire. "Uh oh."

"Blue Flare Breath!" It roared, the fire exploding from his mouth. Flamemon barely managed to leap out of the way in time, the flames hitting the ground and burning it as he ran for his life.

The Digimon took to the air and chased after him, Flamemon crying out as it began to catch up. It launched several fireballs and Flamemon had to keep jumping from left to right in order to avoid them. But eventually, he turned a corner and found himself trapped in a dead end. "Oh, great!" He spun around, the dragon glaring down at him ready to roast him.

But before it could attack, something shot down from above him. A Digimon Flash didn't recognise, being an armored Digimon with swords connected to its shoulders and a mask covering its face.

It quickly drew its swords and rushed forward, swinging the around to make the dragon leap back. The Dragon launched its flames at the new Digimon, but it connected the blades at the handle and spun them around to deflect the flames. When the attack ended, the two glared one another down before the new Digimon spoke up.

"NOW!" Suddenly, a familiar Digimon shot down from above and tackled the Dragon backwards. One that Flamemon recognised.

"Cyberdramon?" He watched as the Ultimate pushed the Dragon Digimon back until it smashed into a rock, making it fall to the ground in pain. It let out a mighty roar as it did so, the other Digimon turning to him.

"We need to get out of here!" He rushed over and grabbed Flamemon, throwing him over his shoulders before leaping into the air.

"Wait!" Flamemon cried, "I need to get a scan!"

"No time. That Digimon probably just called its friends and I don't wanna be here when they arrive." Flamemon growled at this, but could do nothing as they reached the top of the rock and began running. Cyberdramon followed behind them and once they were safely out of sight of any Digimon, Flamemon was put down.

"DAMN IT!" He kicked a rock, "I could have gotten that scan if you hadn't jumped us out of there."

"You would have been deleted," the Digimon began to glow and transformed. When the light faded, Shining Armor stood in front of him. "You can't save Veemon if you get yourself fragged before you get the chance."

"What are you even doing here?" Flash asked.

"I noticed you at the scan shop and realised in your current state, you'd probably get yourself into a situation you couldn't handle."

"You didn't even give me a chance," Flash argued. "I could have Digivolved to Agunimon and beaten that Digimon."

"And it would have roared like it did. Trust me. I know that kind of roar. When Coredramon make that noise, it means it's calling for backup. You would have been surrounded by a bunch of very angry Digimon you couldn't beat." He tapped Flash on the head, "you've got to think about these things. You don't have Veemon around to protect you when things get bad anymore."

"You think I don't know that!?" Flash asked, "but I have to get a new rare scan or I'll never get him back." He turned away from Shining and stared up at the sky, looking over at the now beginning to set sun. He sat down and felt like he had hit a wall. He was completely lost about what to do. Could he get another rare scan, or was he doomed to never see Veemon again?

Shining sighed as he turned to Cyberdramon, asking for a moment alone. Cyberdramon nodded and took to the air, checking the perimeter for any Digimon that might show up. Shining then stepped over to Flash and sat besides him, the two sitting in silence for a moment or so.

"I know you're hurting after what happened, but you can't let this setback stop you."

"I'm not stopping," Flash told him. "I'm here, aren't I? I'm trying to get Veemon back."

"Yeah, after three days of sitting around doing nothing. If this wasn't getting to you, you would have been out here looking for a rare scan the minute the battle ended." Flash frowned, knowing he was right. "Losing the way you did and losing Veemon knocked you for a loop. And you're still in that loop. It doesn't matter if you found a rare Digimon or not, you can't beat Jet the way you are right now."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Flash asked, "I don't have Veemon anymore. I don't even have a scan of him, so I can't use any of his evolutions."

"You have other scans," Shining told him.

"Not as good as Veemon," Flash frowned. "And even if I did have another Veemon scan...I don't think I can win a fight against Jet on my own. Without Veemon there to help and support me, I'm not good enough on my own." He looked ready to start crying, expecting Shining to say some words of comfort. But instead, Shining flicked him on the head. "OW!" He rubbed his head and turned to glare at Shining, "what was that for?"

"You need to grow up," Shining told him. "I know having your partner there is great, but you can't let yourself fall apart just because he isn't there to help you. You've battled before without him. I watched you fight a few weeks back as a Betamon and Airdramon. You didn't need Veemon to win that battle."

"But that wasn't anything special," Flash stated. "An Ante-Battle isn't something I can take likely."

"Which is why you need to get stronger as fast as you can," Shining told him. "You want to beat Jet and get Veemon back, don't you?" Flash frowned, not answering. "Don't you?"

"I want to," Flash nodded. "But...what if Veemon doesn't want anything to do with me?"

"What?"

"I'm the reason he's trapped inside Jet's Digivice right now. If I hadn't let him trick me into that Ante-Battle. Or if I'd let Gennai tell me the rules, we wouldn't be in this mess. I messed up and now Veemon must hate me. What if he doesn't wanna see me again?"

"So what?" Flash looked up at Shining in shock. "It doesn't matter if Veemon hates you. What matters is saving him from Jet. If it's really your fault, then you have to be the one to help him. Free him and if Veemon does hate you, you guys can go your separate ways. At least this way, Veemon will be free."

Flash sighed, knowing he was right. "So what do I do? You said I couldn't beat Jet in my current state. How am I supposed to get stronger as fast as possible to save Veemon?"

Shining sighed as he looked out on the surrounding environment. "Unfortunately, Jet has a bunch more experience then you. One of the reason he beat you is because he knew the battlefield so well. If you want to beat him, you're gonna need to hope you get to pick the battlefield and have a place you know inside and out."

Flash frowned, not liking the sound of that. "Any other tips?"

"You need to get better. I could see from your match that you understood the fundamentals of being a Digimon, tapping into its skills and knowledge. But if you really want to beat him, you need to remember you're not just a Digimon. You're human."

Flash raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean by that?" Shining smirked and whistled, Cyberdramon hearing this and flying back to them.

"I think it's better that I show you." Flash gasped.

"Wait," he stood up, "we're gonna battle?"

"Yup. And hopefully, you'll figure out a strategy to beat Jet with." He stood up and as Cyberdramon reached them, he transformed back into Monodramon as Shining held up his Digivice.

"Wait," Flash frowned, "I can't battle you. You're an Ultimate Level. You're gonna have more Securities then me. I won't stand a chance."

"Maybe. But I won't use Battle Gear or items in the match. That should help." Flash didn't think it would, but decided not to argue. Having the chance to battle such a skilled opponent was an opportunity that likely wouldn't happen again. He had to take it.

As soon as they got back to Codex, the pair made their way towards the Beta-Stadium.

At this time of night, barely anyone was in Codex. As such, they were able to make it to the stadium without anyone noticing them. And when they entered, Shining set the battle to be private so nobody could watch them.

They set their Digivices and brought up their decks. As they did, Shining pressed something and Monodramon was sucked into his Digivice. "You're not using him?" Flash asked, as Shining smirked.

"I think this is a lesson I need to teach you on my own. Monodramon will still be able to watch the fight. He just won't be able to interact with me." Flash frowned, wondering what Digimon Shining was gonna use if he wasn't gonna pick Monodramon.

But the question he should be wondering, was what Digimon should he pick?

He brought up the few decks he had that didn't involve Veemon. The only rookies he had were Elecmon, Flamemon and Betamon. He had used them all in test battles, but never in an actual match like this.

"What's the matter?" He turned to Shining, "can't think of a move without Veemon?" Flash frowned, giving Shining the answer. "Digimon partners are important, but you can't let yourself entirely rely on them. The bond you share with the Digimon has to be strong. But that bond can become a shackle if you let it become one."

Flash sighed, knowing he was right. He wanted to get Veemon back, but to do that he would need to learn to win without him. As such, he selected a deck and Shining did the same.

"You ready?" Flash nodded, "Alright. Then I'll select the battlefield. You need to learn how to fight someone in an environment you know nothing about. I select the Rose Morning Star Castle!" Flash frowned, not knowing that location. "Now...LET'S GET DIGITAL!" They both slammed the start button and were surrounded by light, the two transforming into their Digimon forms.

"Elecmon!" Flash cried, as he transformed into the electric mammal. He then turned to Shining, surprised when he saw what Digimon he had become.

"Monodramon!" The small pterodactyl-like Digimon stood before him, looking ready for a battle. This confused Flash, since he thought the whole point of this match was to not rely on one Digimon. So why was he still using his partner, even if he didn't have his partner in his head.

Before he could ask, the room exploded with light and transformed.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself in a strange building. It was light purple in colour and the walls were rather strange, appearing to be made of an odd rock. He was currently in what he assumed was the great hall, with pillars sticking out of the ground that had flames floating above them.

He began to walk forwards, needing to get used to having four legs. And as he did, he made sure to keep his eye out for Monodramon.

"Shining Armor's gonna be a tough opponent," he told himself before realising something. "And he's an Ultimate Level player. That means he'll have five securities. Six if he'd used Monodramon. Is that why he didn't use him? To give me a chance."

"Maybe." He gasped and looked up at a strange looking balcony, which Monodramon was standing on. "Or maybe it was to show you that a player's greatest strength doesn't just come from having a Digimon by your side." Elecmon got into a fighting stance, as Monodramon leapt off the balcony and spread his wings. They weren't big enough to let him fly, but he could glide.

"Super Thunder Strike!" He cried as he unleashed a blast of lightning out of his body, which shot towards Monodramon.

But before it could reach him, he barrel-rolled to the side and fell to the ground. He quickly skidded to his feet and took a breathed in, "Fire Breath!" A stream of flames shot out of his mouth and slammed into Elecmon, who cried out as he was knocked back.

Elecmon: 3-90%
Monodramon: 5-100%

He groaned as he hit the ground, but realised he didn't take that much damage. "Elecmon's a Data Digimon. Monodramon is Vaccine, I think. That means I've got the advantage."

"Maybe," Monodramon smirked. "But there's more to match ups than just the typings." He raised his claws, "you're an Electric Attribute, right?" Elecmon's eyes widened as he realised what he meant.

"Super Thunder Strike!" He fired the lightning out of his body and this time, Monodramon didn't try to dodge. He crossed his arms and let the lightning hit him.

Elecmon: 3-90%
Monodramon: 5-90%

Monodramon barely seemed to flinch at the attack, instead rushing forward as soon as the bolt finished. Elecmon got ready to dodge when he attacked, but he didn't.

Instead, he leapt into the air over him. "Huh?" He spun around but as he did, Monodramon reached a fire pullar that he kicked off of and flew back towards him.

"Beat Knuckle!" He swung his claws around and slashed at Elecmon, knocking him backwards until he crashed into another pillar.

Elecmon: 3-75%
Monodramon: 5-90%

Elecmon groaned as he tried to pick himself up, whilst Monodramon turned and ran off down one of the passageways. "Hey!" He ran after him, but Monodramon already had a pretty big lead on him. "You're not getting away that easily!" He chased the Rookie down the hallway until he suddenly turned left, Elecmon following him down the tunnel.

At the end of the tunnel was a doorway, which Monodramon quickly opened and ran through.

When Elecmon reach it, he ran inside and was shocked by what he saw. "Huh?" The entire room was a dark void-like place, full of purple staircases that went off in multiple different directions. Flash was reminded of that strange painting his art teacher had once shown him. "What is this place?"

"The Rose Morning Star Castle holds many secrets." Elecmon spun around and saw Monodramon, who was standing on an upside down staircase without anything sticking him to it. "Most Digimon can't hope to understand the mysteries hidden in this lair. But we're humans. We're not bound by Digimon Instincts"

"I don't understand?" He frowned, "I thought we were supposed to listen to our instincts."

"We are," Monodramon nodded. "But unlike Digimon, we can ignore them when we need to." He leapt off the stairs and flew down towards him, "Beat Knuckle!" He landed on the platform in front of Elecmon, slashing at him.

But Elecmon leapt back and jumped into the air. When he did, he didn't feel like anything was pulling him down. It was as if he was trapped in zero gravity. "What is with this place?" Monodramon leapt up and flew into the air with him, using another staircase to push himself towards Elecmon. "Nine Tails!" He spun around and smashed his electrified tails into Monodramon, knocking him backwards as he was shocked.

Elecmon: 3-75%
Monodramon: 5-75%

The impact also knocked Elecmon floating backwards and he landed on a staircase that was sideways, whilst Monodramon landed on one of the floating platforms that were scattered around the room.

He smirked as he picked himself up, whilst Elecmon was still a little freaked out. "This place is insane. Nothing here makes any sense."

"It makes sense if you remember this world is virtual," Monodramon told him. "It doesn't have to make sense if it was programmed to make no sense." He leapt over to another platform before leaping into the air and slashing at something.

That something was a glass vase that Elecmon hadn't notice, which was on a podium in the middle of the battlefield.

When it broke, it revealed an SP coin that Monodramon absorbed before spinning around. "Fire Breath!" The fire stream exploded out of his mouth and shot towards Elecmon, who barely managed to jump out of the way in time. But he was once again in midair and unable to move properly.

This allowed Monodramon to jump around until he reached Elecmon, resulting in him slamming a foot right into his chest. "Augh!"

Elecmon: 3-65%
Monodramon: 5-75%

He flew through the air and slammed into one of the staircases, the impact making him flinch as he bounced off and fell towards a platform.

Elecmon: 3-60%
Monodramon: 5-75%

Elecmon slammed into the ground and let out a groan, as Monodramon flew around until he landed on the same platform. "You're still letting your instincts get the better of you." Elecmon frowned. "Yes, you should have jumped to avoid my fire. But where should you have jumped to? If you only think in the moment, your opponent will have an advantage if they're able to think ahead."

Elecmon growled, realising he was right.

He pushed himself back up, as Monodramon got ready to charge. 'What do I do?" He asked himself. 'There's gotta be a way I can turn the tables on this match.' Suddenly, he spotted another vase not to far off and rushed over to it. Monodramon saw this and smirked, leaping into the air in order to parkour around Elecmon.

The electric Digimon noticed Monodramon's movement and tried to pick up the pace. But the zero gravity thing was still weird to him and he kept moving in the wrong direction.

Eventually, Monodramon flew passed him and approached the base. "Your movements were too obvious," the rookie announced. "You know I have home field advantage here." He landed on the platform with the vase, as Elecmon landed on the side of a podium that was just floating there. "Instead of rushing over here in a panic, you should have tried to fight your way here. I wouldn't have noticed the vase then."

Elecmon frowned, realising he was right. But that didn't mean he couldn't still get the coin inside. "Super Thunder Strike!" He launched the lightning from his body and it slammed into Monodramon, the Rookie flinching as he was zapped.

Elecmon: 3-60%
Monodramon: 5-60%

As Monodramon took the damage, Elecmon leapt for the vase and attempted to nab it. But Monodramon thought through the shock and grabbed the vase, pulling it out of Elecmon's way with the electric Digimon slamming into the ground and skidding to a stop.

"Nice try!" Monodramon shattered the vase, "but not good enough." The coin inside was a Digivolution coin and as Monodramon grabbed it, his entire body began to glowed. "Monodramon, Digivolve to..." He grew taller and as the light faded, it revealed a purple and white Digimon wearing green pants. The top of his head was covered in a meant helmet and he had metal on his shoulder, hands, feet and the tip of his tail. "Strikedramon!"

Elecmon gasped seeing the Champion Level standing in front of him, its claws at the ready. "So, what are you gonna do?" He pointed at him, "this is just like last time. Your opponent's way stronger than you now? How ya'h gonna deal with this?" Elecmon wasn't sure, the nine tailed mammal slowly moving backwards. "Scared?"

"I'm not scared," Elecmon cried before charging forward. "And I've still got the type advantage!" He leapt into the air and swung around, his tail sparking. "Nine Tails!" Strikedramon didn't retaliate, instead simply raising his arm and the tail slammed into him with the lightning surging through him.

Elecmon: 3-60%
Strikedramon: 5-50%

"That the best you got?" He asked before swinging his arm and knocking Elecmon away. Elecmon flinched at this and was thrown backwards, getting caught in the zero gravity and remaining in midair.

"Wow!" He cried, trying to gain control with little success.

Strikedramon quickly leapt into the air and flew around the place, dancing from one platform to another with Elecmon unable to tell which direction he was going to be going until it was too late. "Strike Claw!" He shot forward from behind and slashed at Elecmon's back.

"AUGH!"

Elecmon: 3-35%
Strikedramon: 5-50%

As Elecmon was thrown down towards another platform, Strikedramon bounced off another podium and slammed a foot into his chest. "GYAH!"

Elecmon: 3-30%
Strikedramon: 5-50%

Elecmon fell through the air and as he did, he spotted another vase.

Realising this was his chance, he knew he couldn't let Strikedramon see what he was doing. So as he landed on a platform, he saw Strikedramon flying towards him and pretended to charge up an electric attack. But he stopped when Strikedramon got in close and leapt backwards onto another platform.

"Super Thunder Strike!" He launched a blast, Strikedramon ducking under it but being blinded so Elecmon leapt onto another platform closer to the vase. He panted, feeling exhausted. But he couldn't stop now. And as Strikedramon leapt at him again, he jumped into the air and let the zero gravity take him. "Hope this works. Super Thunder Strike!"

Strikedramon saw the lightning coming and once again dodged it, leaping up to another platform. But as he did, he noticed the blast had blown Elecmon backwards and realised where he was going. "Clever!"

Elecmon reached the podium with the vase and quickly smashed it with his tail, revealing a Digivolution coin. "YES!" The energy flowed into him and as Strikedramon charged, Elecmon's entire body was surrounded by like. "Elecmon, Digivolve to..." He grew to the same height as Strikedramon and as the dragon Digimon threw a claw at him, a large hand reached out and grabbed it before the light faded. "LEOMON!"

Strikedramon stared back at his fellow Champion, the two staring each other down until Strikedramon tried to pull its fist out of Leomon's. But Leomon managed to hold on as he raised his own fist and tried to punch Strikedramon, who managed to catch it.

Now both locked in place, the pair struggled against each other and tried to overpower one another. But neither of them were able to get an upperhand, eventually leading them to both freeing the other and leaping back. As they did, Leomon clenched his fist and pulled it back. "Fist of the Beast King!" He thrust it forward and launched the energy blast towards Strikedramon, how crossed his arms as the attack slammed into him and knocked him backwards.

Leomon: 3-30%
Strikedramon: 5-40%

Leomon then drew his sword and leapt at Strikedramon, slashing at him. But the Dragon Man Digimon managed to recover from the attack just in time to see the attack coming, so used the metal parts of his gauntlets to block the sword.

Leomon landed on the platform in front of him and stab at Strikedramon, only for the Champion to dodge the stab and grab his arm. He then did a move so fast, Leomon couldn't follow. All he knew was that in the blink of an eye, his sword was thrown out of his grip and went flying upwards out of the platform's gravity.

He pulled back and as Strikedramon prepared to charge, he swung his leg around to try and hit his opponent in the head.

But Strikedramon managed to block it with his knee, smirking before pushing him back. Leomon then started throwing kicks and punches into Strikedramon, but he managed to block and dodge each and every attack before thrusting a claw into his chest.

"Augh!" He staggered back, holding the slashed area as he felt the pain.

Leomon: 3-25%
Strikedramon: 5-40%

"Man," he hissed, "Strikedramon's a serious fighter."

Strikedramon smirked, "those skills I just used don't come from Strikedramon." Leomon raised an eyebrow. "You don't know what I do for a living, huh?"

"No," he shook his head, "what do you do?"

"I'm a cop." Flash hadn't been expecting that. "I'm an officer in the Canterlot City Police Department. Soon to make detective if everything goes alright. It's a dangerous job, so I make sure I'm ready to deal with anything that's thrown at me. That includes being able to handle someone in a hand to hand fight or knowing how to disarm someone using a blade."

"So that's how he knocked my sword away," Leomon realised.

Strikedramon smirked. "We may be in the bodies of Digimon, but we're still humans. We have our own skills and abilities, which are now more powerful than ever thanks to our Digimon bodies. Have you ever thought of learning a fighting style or defence skills?"

"Not really," Leomon frowned. "Does that stuff really help?"

"You tell me," Strikedramon smirked before charging with a roar. The next thing Leomon knew, Strikedramon was attacking with a barrage of attacks. Punches, kicks, chops, palm strikes, tail attacks and more. Leomon's battle instincts flew through Flash's mind and he managed to block some of the attacks, but more of them kept coming and he was hit several times.

"GYAH!" One kick to the chest knocked Leomon flying backwards, causing him to fall out of the platforms gravity and float away.

Leomon: 3-5%
Strikedramon: 5-40%

He groaned, but as he recovered he noticed his sword floating not to far away from him.

He managed to get into the gravity of another platform and used it to jump up and grab his sword. He panted as he looked around, not seeing Strikedramon anywhere. "Gotta get out of here. This zero gravity environment is something I'm gonna need to practise in to really get the hang of."

He looked around and saw a set of doors not to far away. He started making his way towards them but as he did, he noticed something atop one of the pillars. A coin.

But this one wasn't blue or orange, instead being red with the same shield symbol as his security. "What's that?" Making a quick detour, he flew over to it and caught the shield. As the energy exploded out of it and into him, he felt his strength being renewed. Then, he spotted something in his vision.

Leomon: 4-5%
Strikedramon: 5-40%

"I got another security?"

"You found an HP coin." He spun around and saw Strikedramon standing on an upside down platform. "It's a rare coin that lets you gain a security. Useful for when find yourself in trouble." As he said that, he leapt down and flew towards him with his claws ready.

Leomon quickly leapt away as her pull his fist back and flew towards the door. "FIst of the Beast King!" He launched the lion fireball, which slammed into Strikedramon whilst propelling himself backwards.

Leomon: 4-5%
Strikedramon: 5-30%

The added propulsion allowed him to reach the doors and kick his way through them, gravity returning to normal as he ran down the hallway looking for another area to do battle in.

He found a staircase and headed up into it, carefully looking back every now and then to make sure Strikedramon wasn't following him and preparing an attack. But the Digimon was nowhere in sight.

He eventually came to a doorway and pushed his way through it, finding himself in a round room with two stories to it. Around the edges of the room were pillars leading up to a round balcony on the second floor, Leomon looking around but not seeing anything that might help him.

He sighed, thinking he should be safe there until he regained his strength. But no sooner had he thought this, that the floor suddenly exploded beneath him. "AUGH!" He cried, being knocked backwards as debris slammed into him.

Leomon: 4-0%
Strikedramon: 5-30%

Strikedramon flew out of the hole that had formed, doing a quick survey of the area and spotting Leomon on the ground. The feline Digimon groaned as he laid on the ground, whilst Strikedramon landed and prepared to attack.

But Leomon quickly raised his legs and swung them around, flipping his whole body around like a breakdancer to get back to his feet. And as Strikedramon prepared to attack, Leomon clenched both fists and called upon all the power he could.

"Hyakujuken!" He screamed, thrusting his fists back and forth to unleash a barrage of lion fireballs.

Strikedramon raised his arms and braced himself, the fireballs slamming into him multiple times and dealing damage to him with every hit.

Leomon: 3-100%
Strikedramon: 5-0%

That was as far as he was willing to let this attack go, the Dragon Man leaping right up into the air and over the fireball streams.

Leomon gasped and stopped his attacks, hoping to fire another barrage. But Strikedramon was faster and fell towards him. "Strike Fang!" As he said that, the metal parts of his body grew red hot. So hot that his claws and back burst into flames without hurting him. And as he reached Leomon, he swung the attack around.

"AUGH!" Leomon roared, being knocked backwards.

Leomon: 3-85%
Strikedramon: 4-100%

Strikedramon quickly ran forward, managing to get behind Leomon before he could recover and grabbing him by the back of his mane. He then started spinning him through the air before letting him go with a mighty roar and toss.

Leomon cried out as he was thrown upwards into the second level of the room and close to the ceiling.

And as he reached the top of his arc, Strikedramon managed to leap up and get right above him. The pair made eye contracted, though Leomon couldn't see his eyes behind the helmet, as Strikedramon spun around and smashed his heel into Leomon's gut. The force knocked the wind out of him, as he was sent down towards the ground.

Leomon: 3-80%
Strikedramon: 4-100%

Leomon shot towards the ground and fell right through the hole Strikedramon had made, causing him to fall three stories before smashing into the floor of a dark room.

Leomon: 3-70%
Strikedramon: 4-100%

He groaned as he rolled onto his front and pushed himself up, whilst Strikedramon slowly made his way down towards him. He barely managed to get to his feet before Strikedramon leapt through the and swung his leg around, Leomon seeing it coming with his instincts kicking in.

He leaned back and Strikedramon's foot sailed over his head. He then leapt back and spotted his sword on the ground, cartwheeling over to grab it before getting into a battle ready stance.

Strikedramon charged forward and Leomon did the same, deciding he needed to be spontaneous if he wanted to get the upper hand on Shining. So as they got closer, Leomon let his legs bend and he was suddenly sliding along the ground whilst slashing at Strikedramon's chest. "AUGH!"

Leomon: 3-70%
Strikedramon: 4-90%

Leomon quickly jumped back to his feet and spun around. "Fist of the Beast King!" The fireball exploded forwards and smashed into Strikedramon before he could turn to face him, the explosion knocking him backwards.

Leomon: 3-70%
Strikedramon: 4-75%

As Strikedramon hit the ground, Leomon ran forward and leapt up. He let out a roar as he held his sword up and began to fall towards the Dragon Man, ready to stab him in the chest. But before he could, Strikedramon raised both his legs and thrust them into Leomon's chest as he fell.

"Augh!" He was kicked backwards, allowing Strikedramon to roll back to his feet.

Leomon: 3-65%
Strikedramon: 4-75%

Leomon managed to land on his feet, the pair staring each other down as Leomon tried to come up with a way to get the upper hand on him. But there wasn't one. 'Our Digimon are evenly matched,' Flash thought to himself. 'Which means the deciding factor is the skill of the one using them. And Shining's got way more skill and experience than me.'

Strikedramon looked ready to attack, whilst Leomon was still unsure how to get an advantage. He knew he had only one hope. As Strikedramon prepared to attack, Leomon suddenly turned and ran towards one of the staircases in the room.

"Get back here!" Strikedramon roared, chasing after him as the pair ascended.

Flash didn't know where the stairs would lead him, but hopefully they would be to somewhere he could have more of an advantage in. But that was only if Strikedramon didn't catch him, the faster Digimon catching up.

Looking ahead, he saw a candle ring up above him and drew his sword. He threw it and the weapon sliced through the chain and caused the holder to fall. Leomon managed to get passed it before it hit the ground, Strikedramon coming to a stop to prevent getting flattened.

Grabbing his sword off the ground, he continued to run until he reached the top and saw a light flowing out through a doorway.

Hoping this led somewhere better, he ran through it and found himself in a massive dark chamber. Crystal spikes stuck out of the ground, with Leomon stepping out from one, that glowed brightly and illuminated the area around him.

"Wow," he was amazed by the looks. "This place is awesome." And as he looked around, he noticed something inside one of the smaller crystals ahead of him. A Digivolution Coin. "YES!" He ran forward and saw his SP still wasn't regenerated enough for him to use any of his attacks.

As such, he threw a punch at the crystal with everything he had.

The crystal shook and cracked, Leomon punching it again and again. But as the cracks grew larger, he sensed movement behind him. Glancing back, he saw Strikedramon had arrived and was ready to attack. This pushed Leomon to punch the crystal several more times, but it still remain solid as Strikedramon charged.

It was then he had an idea and turned towards Strikedramon, pulling out his sword ready to fight.

But as Strikedramon got in close, Leomon leapt to the side. "RAAAAH!" Strikedramon slashed at him, but missed and instead slashed at the crystal.

This caused the whole thing to shatter and release the coin, which fell towards the ground as Leomon smirked. "YES!" He jumped up, reaching for the coin. But before he could grab it, a large chunk of gem slammed into him. "AUGH!"

Leomon: 3-55%
Strikedramon: 4-75%

He was knocked backwards, as the coin fell to the ground.

Strikedramon chuckled as he stepped forward. "Not a bad idea. Using your opponent to do the work for you. But your intentions were way too obvious. I knew there was something in this crystal the second I saw you hitting it." He reached down and grasped it, "you should have kept hitting it and leapt away at the last moment instead of facing me. That would have lulled me into a false sense of security."

Leomon frowned, not thinking for a second he would have fallen for that either.

"But hopefully, this lesson will help you learn to see things from your opponents point of view. Always ask yourself if you would fall for the same thing if you saw that." Leomon picked himself up, as Strikedramon leapt up into the air. He then landed on top of another crystal, "now it's time to take this battle to the next level." His body exploded with light. "Strikedramon, Digivolve to..." The light merged with his body and caused him to grow buffer and stronger. A bunch of wings shot out of his back and as the light faded, it revealed the Digimon Flash had been expecting to see. "Cyberdramon!"

Leomon gulped at the sight of Shining's ace, knowing this battle had just gotten a lot harder for him.

"Now, then, Flash Sentry. Let's see how well you face off against this challenge." Flash wasn't sure if he could win. But if he wanted to save Veemon, he had to get stronger. And winning this battle would surely help him do that.

Author's Note

Flash is recovering from his loss and working to save Veemon. But will Shining be able to teach him what he needs to learn in order to save his partner? Only time will tell.

A Rematch To Remember

Codex was in a flurry, as many players and their Digimon partners rushed to get a good seat.

Twilight and her friends had gotten the best seat in the house, watching as the screen showed the two people that would be battling with everything on the line. Flash Sentry and Jet Set were in the Beta-Stadium, staring one another down as they waited for the official to arrive to confirm their Ante-Battle.

"You think Flash can win?" Pinkie asked her friends, with nobody able to give a sure answer.

They wanted to say yes, but Jet had completely steam-rolled him the last time they had battled. Had he been able to improve himself enough to make a different outcome this time around?

"Come on Flash," Twilight whispered.

At the back of the foyer, Shining and Monodramon watched as the battle began to unfold. "Alright Flash," he told him. "Let's see how much you were able to put into practise."

Flash couldn't help but feel nothing but anger, as he stared at Jet. Memories of how he had beaten him the previous time, caused his blood to boil as he thought back to losing Veemon.

'No,' he told himself, 'stay calm. You're just going to work yourself up and make a mistake.' He looked down at the black Digivice in Jet's hand, knowing his partner was in there. 'Veemon. I let you down before and I can't make that up to you. All I can do now is try and free you from his clutches. After that...we'll see how you want to go on from there.'

A flash of light appeared between them, as Gennai appeared.

He looked between the two and Flash felt like he saw a smile when he looked over at him. "Gentlemen. You have both agreed to an Ante-Battle. Do you understand the ramifications of this game, or would you like me to go over the rules?"

"I'm good," Jet smirked.

"I'm not falling for that this time," Flash stated. "I'd like to hear all the rules in full, so that there aren't any surprises waiting for me." Gennai smiled, glad Flash had learned his lesson.

"An Ante-Battle is almost exactly like a normal battle. The only difference is that when the battle is over, the winner may be allowed to take anything the other player has. That can be a scan, item...or even their Digimon partner." Flash frowned, wishing again that he had heard these rules during the first battle.

"Except this one's different," Jet then spoke up. "Flash and I made a deal. If he wins, he gets his Veemon back. But if I win, I get three of his scans." Gennai looked over at Flash, his expression asking if this was true. Flash nodded and Gennai knew it was likely the only way he could have gotten Jet to agree.

"Very well then. Set your Digivices into the podiums and prepare your decks." They did just that and started constructing their decks.

Within the dark void of Jet's Digivice, Veemon was trapped and completely alone.

The Rookie hadn't gotten to speak to anyone since Jet had claimed him as his own, making him feel worse than when he was stuck under the Digimantal of Courage. At least then, he hadn't been conscious.

Suddenly, a flash of light made him look up and see a screen appear. On that screen was Jet, Veemon sighing as he realised Jet was about to battle. Veemon had watched him fight a few times since becoming trapped, this being the only entertainment he was allowed. But then he saw who Jet was fighting.

"Flash!" He got up and rushed towards the screen, watching as Flash prepared his deck. "Don't tell me. He's about to do another Ante-Battle." He prayed that was the case and Flash would be able to win him back. If not, he truly would be trapped forever.

As Flash looked through his possible decks, he thought about what Shining had taught him.

"If you can get into your opponent's head, to figure out what they're thinking, you'll know how to best counter their strategy." Flash let those words echo in his mind as he thought about Jet. He was the kind of player that enjoyed messing with his opponents. He had pretty good idea how he intended to mess with Flash.

Eventually, the pair selected their decks and Gennai closed his eyes for a moment. "Flash Sentry," he turned to the teen, "you will be the one to select the field you battle on." Jet frowned whilst Flash smirked, since this was exactly what he wanted.

He remembered Shining's words, about hoping something would go his way, and hadn't based his strategy entirely around the location. But now that he could pick it, he would be able to fight with home field advantage.

Opening his locations, he selected the location he had spent all night practising in and Gennai nodded. "Skyborn Ravine has been select. Battle...begin!"

"LET'S GET DIGITAL!" Flash and Jet both hit the start button, causing the room to light up.

The two were surrounded by light and shrunk down, Flash becoming Monodramon whilst focusing on Jet. And sure enough, he did exactly what Flash had been expecting. "Veemon!" Jet cried as he took the blue dragonoid's form. He smiled at Monodramon, expecting him to look horrified. But Monodramon just smirked.

"You really thought that would throw me off my game?" He asked, as the dome exploded with light and the battlefield was created.

Everyone watched as the battlefield formed.

The skyward angle showed them the giant round bowl-like environment, with tall rock pillars sticking out of the ground. And atop two of those pillars, Veemon and Monodramon appeared ready for a fight.

"Oh," Fluttershy hugged Terriermon, "I don't like this."

"Flash has to fight his best friend in order to save him," Sandalwood agreed. "This bites."

"That's why Jet picked him," Micro told them. "He thinks this'll throw Flash off and stop him from fighting properly, but Flash clearly isn't gonna fall for it." They all nodded, seeing the look of absolute determination upon Monodramon's face.

The two dragons stared each other down.

Veemon looked around, clearly not familiar with this location. That allowed Monodramon to rush forward without a second of hesitation, leaping off his rock pillar and using his small wings to glide towards Veemon. "Raaaah!" He cried, getting in close as Veemon looked up at him.

Monodramon slashed at him, Veemon barely managing to jump back in time before Monodramon spun around and swung his tail at him. "Augh!" Veemon was knocked staggering and almost fell over the edge of the pillar.

Veemon: 3-95%
Monodramon: 3-100%

Veemon managed to regain his balance, as Monodramon charged in for another attack. But Veemon leapt away and rolled back to his feet. "Vee-Shot!" He spat the fireball into his claws and launched it at Monodramon, who leapt up as the attack exploded against the rock under his feet.

Once again spreading his wings, he let the force of the explosion push him upwards until he was high above the pillar. "Fire Breath!" He launched a stream of fire out of his mouth, which rained down upon Veemon and slammed into him.

He cried out as the heat, leaping back but still getting burned.

Veemon: 3-85%
Monodramon: 3-100%

Monodramon landed on another rock pillar, a smirk on his face as he stood up and prepared for another attack. But before he could launch that attack, Veemon began to charge forward at high speed. "Vee-Headbutt!" He propelled himself off the rock pillar and flew towards Monodramon, who raised his arms and crossed them.

The attack slammed into him, the hard head knocking him backwards as he endured the attack.

Veemon: 3-85%
Monodramon: 3-90%

But Monodramon was only knocked back an inch or two, meaning as Veemon recoiled from the impact Monodramon was able to spread his arms. "Beat Knuckle!" He threw his claws around and slashed at Veemon, hitting him right in the face and making him cry out in pain.

Veemon: 3-75%
Monodramon: 3-90%

Veemon was thrown over the edge of the rock pillar, Monodramon rushing over to the edge and expecting him to be flat on his back. But when he looked, he found Veemon had managed to grab a rock halfway down the pillar and stop his fall.

He let go and fell the rest of the way, landing unharmed before running through the valley of rocks. "Oh no you don't!" Monodramon took several steps back before rushing forward and leaping over the gap. He had spent ages memorising this environment and knew where all the Digivolution Coins were.

He knew the one in the direction Veemon was heading and rushed to get there ahead of him.

He eventually caught up with Veemon and as he did, he spotted a Digivolution Coin ahead of him. "Fire Breath!" He launched the flames between Veemon and the coin, forcing the Rookie to be stopped in his tracks for fear of getting burned.

Monodramon used this to get ahead of Veemon. But the blue dragon wasn't letting himself be beaten that easily.

Taking a deep breath, Veemon charged forward and leapt through the flames. He flinched at this and felt himself getting burned, but he fought through the pain and continued to charge.

Veemon: 3-65%
Monodramon: 3-90%

Monodramon leapt down towards the coin, using his wings to glide towards it. But Veemon managed to reach him and grabbed his tail. "I don't think so!" He swung Monodramon around and threw him into a rock pillar, the purple dragon crying out in pain.

Veemon: 3-65%
Monodramon: 3-80%

Veemon rushed for the coin, as Monodramon jumped down and kicked off the rock to shoot forward. As Veemon grabbed the coin, Monodramon tackled him to the ground.

Veemon: 3-60%
Monodramon: 3-80%

The pair rolled along the ground until Veemon kicked Monodramon off of him, the purple dragon flying through the air and landed on his feet. Veemon jumped up and charged at him, Monodramon dodging the punches and kicked coming at him with ease before spinning around and slamming a foot into Veemon chest.

Veemon: 3-55%
Monodramon: 3-80%

Veemon slid to a stop and quickly spat into his mouth. "Vee-Shot!" He threw the orb at Monodramon, who prepared to counter. But then he realised the attack wasn't coming at him.

Instead, it flew upwards and smashed into the rock pillar behind him. This caused it to explode and send rubble falling down towards him. The Rookie dragon quickly ran around, avoiding the rocks and kicking some away. But some of them managed to hit him and do a bit of damage until he escaped the fall zone.

Veemon: 3-55%
Monodramon: 3-65%

As Monodramon leapt out from under the rocks, Veemon charged at him. "Vee-Headbutt!" He saw Veemon flying at him and Monodramon quickly leapt backwards, falling onto his back as Veemon flew over him.

"Fire Breath!" He then spat and blast of flames right into Veemon chest, the explosion knowing him backwards as he cried out in pain. He flew through the air and crashed into a rock pillar, falling to the ground after he did.

Veemon: 3-40%
Monodramon: 3-65%

Monodramon smirked as he looked his fellow Rookie over. "Big mistake, picking Veemon." The blue dragon picked himself up. "You thought using him would throw me off, but I knew you were gonna try that. And I remembered what you said about using partners. Even though it would have given you an extra Security, you didn't want him in your ear. With Veemon not in there, I don't have to worry about hurting him. And I've battled with him so much, I know how you'll fight better than you do."

Veemon smirked, "then let's see how you do against something you're not familiar with." As he said that, a flash of light caught Monodramon's attention. When it faded, he saw an object he recognised.

"The Digimental of Light?" Rarity gasped, seeing the same object she used to Digivolve into Nefertimon. "Don't tell me-"

"Digi-Armor Energize!" Veemon yelled before the object exploded into light, which swirled around him and formed a cocoon. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." The Digimon inside the cocoon grew larger and as he did, the light started stretching against his body.

Metal bands then flew out of the light and started wrapping around his arms, legs, waist and head.

The light eventually faded and revealed a lanky Digimon wearing a white suit that covered his entire body, with only his blue tail free. The metal bands locked into place on him whilst a pair of white wings shot out of his back. Blue claws could be seen sticking out of his hands and feet, giving him a dangerous looking cutting ability. the white Digimon took to the air and flew around, letting out a roar as he did so. "Gargoylemon!"

Everyone was shocked by what they saw, as Micro brought up this Digimon's data.

Name: Gargoylemon
Level: Armor
Type: Virus
Attribute: Light
Species: Dark Animal
Family: Nightmare Soldier

Gargoylemon flew up, as Monodramon stared him down.

"You might know how Veemon fights, but what about all his evolutions?" Monodramon raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant. "The second I got Veemon, I checked all his evolutions and found he had too many to count. And I realised most of them...were armors."

"What?"

"You must have gotten a ton of Digi-Dollars when you sold that Digimental of Courage. Didn't you think to use it to buy all the other Digimentals? That's what I always do. Whenever a new Digimental is made available, I get it. Never know when one of your scans might be able to use it. And when I got Veemon, I discovered he could Digivolve using all the Digimentals I had. Quite a versatile Digimon you had. Too bad you lost him."

Monodramon growled, "so what? I'm gonna get him back."

"Yeah, right." Gargoylemon raised his claws arms, as light flew off the bands around his arms. "Freezing Wing!" The lights formed shapes in the air before fading, revealing a bunch of stone statues that were now floating in the air.

Those statues were then sent flying down towards Monodramon, the rookie gasping as they began to rain down upon him. He started jumping around, avoiding the attacks as best he could. But they smashed into the ground, they exploded and the shards flew in multiple direction.

"Augh!" He cried, as one of the shards slammed into him and knocked him back.

Gargoylemon: 3-40%
Monodramon: 3-55%

Another shard flew into his back and hit him as well, making him flinch as more damage was done to him.

Gargoylemon: 3-40%
Monodramon: 3-45%

Another shard would have hit him, but he managed to leap back to avoid it and jumped behind one of the pillars to avoid the rest. Gargoylemon chuckled at this and flew around, flying down as fast as he could with his claws at the ready.

"Peekaboo!" He growled, slashing at Monodramon. The Digimon saw this and managed to avoid it, as he leapt up and slashed at Gargoylemon's chest. "Ahhh!"

Gargoylemon: 3-35%
Monodramon: 3-45%

"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered, "that's the way."

"Armor's aren't as strong as Champions," Tawnimon stated. "Monodramon should still be able to do some good damage to him with the right moves. Especially since here's a Vaccine." The others nodded as they watched Monodramon run to a safe distance.

Gargoylemon then flew up as Monodramon looked around, an idea forming in his head.

"Fire Breath!" He spat a stream of fire towards Gargoylemon, who dodged to the left to avoid it. The fire instead hit the rocks above him and Monodramon moved his head to the side, causing the fire to move with him and almost hit Gargoylemon. But the Armor Digimon flew down to avoid it and the flames continued to hit the rock.

"Ha!" Gargoylemon laughed, "where'd you learn to aim?" But as he said this, something incredibly hot hit his wing and he cried out. "AUGH!"

Gargoylemon: 3-30%
Monodramon: 3-45%

He looked towards his wing and saw lava had dripped onto him, "what?" Then, he felt another hot blob land on his back and he roared in pain.

Gargoylemon: 3-25%
Monodramon: 3-45%

He looked up and was shocked to see Monodramon's fire breath had melted the rocks on either side of him. The melted rock was beginning to break apart and fall towards him, Gargoylemon growling as he flew out from under the lava rain. But as he did, the rock pillar began to break apart.

The melting of some of its supports caused them both to crack apart before crumbling, both Gargoylemon and Monodramon running to escape from being crushed. And whilst Monodramon was able to escape, Gargoylemon found himself getting hit by several of the rocks.

"AUGH!" He cried, with every hit taking more and more of his health awy.

Gargoylemon: 3-10%
Monodramon: 3-45%

He finally escaped and flew straight up, well above the many rock pillars. As he did, he growled. 'This isn't the same loser I beat last time. Somehow, he's improved. But how? There's no way he could get this good in such a short amount of time. Not on his own, anyway.' He growled as he spotted Monodramon running between two of the rock pillars. 'Monodramon. The ace Digimon of Shining Armor. He's Sparkle's brother and he's been seen with Sentry before. Don't tell me the best player in the game decided to help this loser.'

Monodramon continued to slowly make his way between the rock pillars.

He knew he had to be careful, since Gargoylemon could rain death from the sky. The rock pillars could protect him, but he needed to think of how to beat Gargoylemon whilst he had the terrain advantage.

Shining's words once again flowed through his head. "If you only think in the moment, your opponent will have an advantage if they're able to think ahead." Monodramon had to think long term. Gargoylemon being an Armor meant he could Digivolve into it faster than a Champion. But it also meant Digivolving to Ultimate took longer.

"Statue Bomber!" He looked up and as he did, Gargoyle raised his arms as a burst of light flew off his bands and formed a single shape between his hands. When the light faded, a large black statue could be seen above him.

Gargoylemon launched the statue flying in Monodramon's direction, the Rookie rushing away as the stone projectile slammed into one of the rock pillars. This caused it to shatter and send rocks flying everywhere, the statue also exploding into pieces that did the same. Those rocks smashed into more pillars and caused them to start breaking apart, crumbling as Monodramon began to run.

"Not good!" He cried, avoiding the rock shower that fell down around him. But as he did, one rock hit him in the shoulder. "Augh!"

Gargoylemon: 3-10%
Monodramon: 3-40%

As this was going on, Gargoylemon fired another Statue Bomber and threw it at another area of the revine. This destroyed all the pillars in that area too, causing rocks to start littering the field, then fired another large black statue towards another section.

Monodramon frowned as he realised what was going on. "He's trying to make it so land Digimon can't move around easily. Smart." He knew the area he was in was in danger of being attacked, but as he thought of moving he noticed a Digivolution Coin on the ground ahead of him. "Perfect." He rushed over to it, Gargoylemon seeing this.

The Armor Digimon didn't have enough SP to fire his bomber attack, so chose his weaker one. "Freezing Wing!" The multiple white statues appeared around him and he fired, the projectiles shooting towards Monodramon as he ran for the coin.

The Digimon looked back and saw them coming, so quickly leapt up as the first crashed into the ground. "Fire Breath!" He launched the flame stream and hit one of the statues, melting it before it could reach him. But one hit a nearby rock and exploded, a shard flying into Monodramon's shoulder. "Gyah!"

Gargoylemon: 3-10%
Monodramon: 3-35%

Monodramon staggered forwards, Gargoylemon diving down with his claws at the ready to slash at him and take the Digivolution Coin. But before he could attack, Monodramon leapt forward and grabbed the coin himself. "Fire Breath!" As the energy flowed into him, he jumped onto his back and launched the flames right at Gargoylemon.

The Armor Digimon roared as the flames slammed into him, the close range doing even more damage to him.

Gargoylemon: 3-0%
Monodramon: 3-35%

As Gargoylemon flew back, Monodramon jumped back to his feet and stood tall. "Monodramon," he started glowing, "Digivolve to..." The light enveloped him as he grew larger, whilst Gargoylemon glared at him. The light even exploded off of him, revealing the Digimon he had been expecting. "Strikedramon!"

Gargoylemon growled as the Champion rushed forward, the Armor Digimon flying up. But Strikedramon quickly ran to a pair of pillars and used them to zigzag upwards. And before Gargoylemon could get high enough, he leapt off the top and flew right at him.

"Gets back!" He slashed at Strikedramon, but the Dragon Man Digimon was able to avoid the claws and slashed with his own.

"Strike Claw!" He struck Gargoylemon right in the wing, making him howl in pain as the limb stopped moving.

Gargoylemon: 2-80%
Strikedramon: 3-35%

The two fell through the air and eventually landed atop one of the last remaining stone pillars, Gargoylemon trying to spread his wings. But a flinch showed that his wings were no longer an option, Strikedramon smirking.

"That should even things out," he charged forward with his claws ready to do some serious damage to him. But as he got in close, Gargoylemon raised his arm.

"Battle Gear, BOOST!" In a flash of light, a familiar looking shield appeared in his hand. And as Strikedramon slashed at him, he raised the shield and his opponent flinched as he felt his data being drained away.

Gargoylemon: 2-80%
Strikedramon: 3-30%

"A Data Shield?" Applejack asked, "dang it!"

Labramon whined, "this isn't good. Now he can drain Strikedramon's data every time he hits him." The others nodded, Shining and Monodramon surprised that Jet pulled the same move on Flash that the teen had pulled on them.

"How'd he know to equip that?" Pinkie asked.

"He knew Flash would use his new Monodramon scans," Twilight pointed out. "And that entire line being Vaccine is a well known fact to anyone who's been in Codex long enough." They watched as Strikedramon and Gargoylemon began to fight against one another, Gargoylemon remaining on the defensive.

Strikedramon slashed at Gargoylemon, but the Armor Digimon raised his shield and the claws hit it instead.

Gargoylemon: 2-80%
Strikedramon: 3-25%

And before Strikedramon could pull back, Gargoylemon pushed him away before slashing at his chest with his feet claws.

Gargoylemon: 2-80%
Strikedramon: 3-20%

As Strikedramon was knocked staggering back, Gargoylemon raised his arm as the bands around his arm unleashed a bright light. "Freezing Wing!" A trio of white statues appeared out of the light and shot towards Strikedramon, who recovered seconds before he reached him.

All he could do was raise his arms in time to brace himself, as the first statue slammed into him. "Augh!"

Gargoylemon: 2-80%
Strikedramon: 3-10%

He was thrown backwards towards the edge of the pillar, as the other two statues slammed into the ground in front of him.

Doing so caused the pillar's top to start crumbling and as Gargoylemon leapt up, his wings only able to glide, he watched as the whole thing broke apart and Strikedramon was sent hurtling towards the ground.

"FLASH!" Veemon cried, seeing him fall and be crushed but the boulders that fell after him.

The pillar was soon a large pile of rocks, with Gargoylemon gliding above it. The Armor Digimon laughed at this, as the pile started moving and Strikedramon pulled himself out of the rocks. He groaned as he did so, his health having taken a serious hit from all the rocks that had tried to crush him.

Gargoylemon: 2-80%
Strikedramon: 3-0%

Gargoylemon reached the ground and as he did, Strikedramon looked up and let out a growl. "Bring it!" Gargoylemon held up his shield, as Strikedramon's entire body suddenly burst into blue flames. "Huh?"

"What's that?" Veemon asked.

"Not good," Shining frowned. "Flash, using that move at full power is really dangerous."

"Strike Fang!" Strikedramon charged forward, a trail of blue fire exploding behind him as he rushed at Gargoylemon. The Armor Digimon tried to escape, but Strikedramon was too fast and it slashed at him with a pair of blazing claws.

Gargoylemon: 2-50%
Strikedramon: 2-100%

"Wow!" Rainbow cried, "talk about power!" The others nodded, but then saw something strange.

Instead of attacking Gargoylemon as he was knocked back, Strikedramon let out a mighty roar as he and he was still on fire. He then started slashing at the ground, ripping apart rocks and melting him with his flames. Gargoylemon was completely ignored, allowing him to pick himself up.

"What's he doing?" Micro asked, the others wondering the same thing.

"He's out of control." They all turned towards the voice and saw Shining moving towards them, frowning as he watched Strikedramon going wild.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"Monodramon is a Digimon with a wild and untamable spirit within him. In his Rookie state, it comes out as simple excitement. But as his Level increases, that spirit grows more and more wild. Using Strike Fang at full power can cause that to spirit break free. Flash is being overwhelmed by the battle instinct."

"Seriously?" Pinkie asked, as Strikedramon picked up a large rock and threw it in Gargoylemon's direction. The Armor dodge it, as Strikedramon finally started focusing on him. "We've never seen you and Monodramon do this is any of your battles."

"It took a while, but I learned to control Monodramon's spirit. Flash doesn't have that control yet."

Strikedramon charged at Gargoylemon and slashed at him, only to hit the Data Shield. This caused him to lose energy and prevented him from doing any serious damage.

Gargoylemon: 2-50%
Strikedramon: 2-95%

Strikedramon kept roaring as he slashed at the shield again, then again and again and again. Gargoylemon was able to block each of his attacks, the raging Vaccine unable to stop himself and realise he was only hurting himself.

Gargoylemon: 2-50%
Strikedramon: 2-55%

Inside the Digimon's head, Flash felt his brain being overwhelmed by the Digimon's beastly influences. "Can't...think." The teen clutched his head inside of his mind, completely blind to what was happening outside in his real body. "Need...to focus."

Back outside, Gargoylemon leapt back as Strikedramon slashed at him. "Is that the best you've got?" He asked, as Strikedramon roared. He then kicked a rock at him, Strikedramon deflecting it, then leapt back until he back was too a pillar. "Come on! Come and get me!" The Dragon Man Digimon roared as his body exploded into flames again.

"Strike Fang!" He shot forward and moved at full force, only for Gargoylemon to leapt to the side at the very last minute. This caused him to strike the pillar instead, the force of the impact causing the bottom of it to be obliterated.

"FLASH!" Everyone screamed, as the rock pillar fell and slammed right into him. The rock shattered into pieces and rained down upon him, his life points taking a serious hit as they did so.

Gargoylemon: 2-50%
Strikedramon: 2-15%

They all frowned, fearing that Strikedramon might not be able to escape the rock pile. And as they waited and worried, Gargoylemon started jumping over the rocks on the ground. And as he did, he spotted something that made him chuckle.

"Perfect." He moved over to grab a Digivolution Coin, that had been revealed when the rocks were broken apart. He looked up at his Digivolution Gauge and saw it was almost full. Another minute or so and he could go Ultimate.

However, as he did this, the rocks that had buried Strikedramon were finally pushed out of the way. The Champion gasped as he pulled himself free, panting as he did so. "Ow." he clutched his head, "what happened." Strikedramon checked his Securities and frowned when he saw how low his was. "That's not good."

"Oh," he looked over at Gargoylemon, "finally calmed down? I wondered if you were gonna go berserk for the rest of the match."

"Go berserk?" Flash asked, wondering what he meant by that. "Shining obviously forgot to mention that when he gave me these scans." He didn't have time to think about this, as Gargoylemon raised an arm.

"Freezing Wing!" The white statues appeared all around him and shot towards Strikedramon, the Dragon Man barely managing to escape by leaping off the rock pile.

He looked over at Gargoylemon and saw the Data Shield, frowning as he realised that must have been what had caused his security to get so low. And as Gargoylemon shot down, he raised the shield ready to drain more of Strikedramon's power.

But Flash was back in control and knew that he couldn't let himself get touched by that attack. Instead, he reached down and grabbed a rock. And when Gargoylemon was about to slam the shield into him, he raised it up and smashed it into the shield.

This knocked Gargoylemon staggering back and allowed Strikedramon to reach out and grab the shield.

Gargoylemon: 2-50%
Strikedramon: 2-10%

He flinched, but didn't let that stop him as he pulled on the weapon. Gargoylemon was pulled forward as well and with Strikedramon holding the shield, he couldn't use it to protect himself from the next attack. "Strike Claw!" He thrust his claw into Gargoylemon's chest and the impact sent him flying backwards, the straps of his shield breaking as he fell.

Gargoylemon: 2-30%
Strikedramon: 2-10%

Gargoylemon slammed into the ground, sliding along it for several moments before coming to a stop. As he did, Strikedramon threw the shield away and moved towards him. "You're stronger," Gargoylemon stated. "Much stronger than last time."

Strikedramon growled, "you gave me a reason to get stronger."

"Too bad all that strength won't be enough," Gargoylemon smirked as he picked himself up. "It's time, to show you what real strength looks like!" Suddenly, he started glowing as his body grew larger. "Gargoylemon, Digivolve to..." The new Digimon exploded out of the cocoon, revealing itself to be an elephant-sized bipedal beast covered it grayish white fur.

The top of its head was covered in a metal mask and it had black leather bands around its front legs, with bandages around its back. Not only did it have a large fang-filled mouth, but it also had a smaller mouth on the palm of each of its long claws hands. An apron-like dressing was hanging from its neck with Digicode on its and sticking out of its rear were a trio of black whip-like tails with blue and red scorpion stingers on the back.

The beast landed on the ground and shook the earth, as he let out a mighty roar that was strong enough to push Strikedramon backwards. "MANTICOREMON!"

Everyone gasped at the sight of such a strong looking Digimon, Shining frowning as he clearly knew what this creature could do. The others quickly checked its stats.

Name: Manticoremon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Virus
Attribute: Light
Species: Demon Beast
Family: Virus Buster

"Look at that power!" Applejack cried, as Manticoremon began stamping around the battlefield. "But how can a Virus Digimon be a Virus Buster?"

"He's a Digimon that has a hunger for Virus Digimon," Shining explained. "Because of that, Holy Digimon use it as a bloodhound to track dangerous Viruses and eliminate them. But it can go into a frenzy and devour any Virus it comes across. Flash is gonna be in trouble."

Manticoremon leapt into the air, as all three of its mouths opened. "Trinity Gospel!" Lasers exploded out of its mouths and shot towards Strikedramon, who quickly started leaping around to avoid them.

The giant beast then landed, but the many rocks on the ground caused it to trip up and roll around. "Ha!" Strikedramon smirked, "littering the battlefield wasn't such a great idea, huh?" Manticoremon picked itself up and as it did, Strikedramon charged. And when he got close, he leapt under it and slid along the ground "Strike Claw!" He slashed at its chest and the beast roared in pain.

Manticoremon: 2-15%
Strikedramon: 2-10%

But as Strikedramon slid out from under the Digimon, the three scorpion tails swung down and he gasped. "WOW!" They slammed into him and he cried out, as the three weapons did serious damage to him.

Manticoremon: 2-15%
Strikedramon: 2-0%

Flash's friends flinched, fear flowing through them as he was brought down to one security.

Veemon was also worried, as he watched Strikedramon be thrown across the battlefield and crashing into the ground. "Come on Flash!" He watched as Strikedramon picked himself up, whilst Manticoremon swung its tails around and sent the rocks in front of him flying towards Strikedramon. "LOOK OUT!"

Strikedramon saw this coming and raised his arm. "Battle Gear, BOOST!" Veemon watched as his arm was surrounded by light before something formed around it. "Mega Buster Cannon!" A large round energy blaster covered his arm, which charged up with energy before firing.

The laser slammed into the rocks and obliterated them, as Manticoremon rushed forward.

It slashed at him with its claws, but Strikedramon leapt straight up and over the claws. He then pointed his blaster at the beast and fired, the attack flying down and smashing into his back.

Manticoremon: 2-0%
Strikedramon: 1-100%

Manticoremon roared as he fell to the ground, Strikedramon landing next to him. But as he did, one of the tails shot up and tried to sting him. But Strikedramon raised his blaster and the stinger slammed into it, causing the thing to crack apart.

As he leapt back, his blaster turned to dust. He frowned at this but quickly noticed a Digivolution Coin behind Manticoremon as he got up. He wanted to charge at it, but he remembered what Shining had told him.

"Gotta keep him distracted!" He rushed forward with his claws at the ready, as Manticoremon swung his tails around. Strikedramon quickly dodged the stingers, dancing around to avoid them and annoy his opponent.

Manticoremon then tried to stab him, but Strikedramon leapt back and the tail hit the ground instead. And as he pulled his tail back, Strikedramon grabbed it and was pulled up along with it. Manticoremon saw this and was shocked, as Strikedramon was thrown over him and sent flying.

"Thanks!" He cheered as he flew through the air, Manticoremon seeing what he was aiming for and gasping.

Strikedramon landed and caught the Digivolution Coin, crushing it and filling his gauge up. "Trinity Gospel!" The beast roared, firing the three lasers from his mouths. But Strikedramon leapt straight up as the lasers exploded. As he did, he began to glow.

"Strikedramon, Digivolve to..." He grew thicker and a pair of wings grew out of his back, allowing him to stay airborne as the light faded. "Cyberdramon!" As soon as is evolution ended, Cyberdramon shot straight down. "Cyber Nails!" He slashed at Manticoremon, hitting him in the back and making him roar in pain.

Manticoremon: 1-50%
Cyberdramon: 1-100%

"Whoa," Tentomon gasped, "so much damage."

Shining nodded. "Cyberdramon's a Dark Vaccine. That makes his attacks four times as effective against a Light Virus." They smiled, "but it also means that any Light Based Attacks will Damage him a lot as well." They watched as Manticoremon attempted to slash at the retreating Cyberdramon, but the Virus Buster was able to avoid the slash and fly back up.

However, before he could get too high, one of the tails suddenly shot up and extended to three times its normal size. "Acid Injection!" The tail rushed at Cyberdramon and slammed into him, piercing his chest and making him cry out.

Manticoremon: 1-50%
Cyberdramon: 1-75%

Cyberdramon winced as he fought through the pain, quickly pulling the tail out of his chest. The stinger then retracted back to Manticoremon, as Cyberdramon clutched his chest. And before he could counter, he was suddenly shocked by purple lightning sparking around him. "AUGH!"

Manticoremon: 1-50%
Cyberdramon: 1-70%

All his friends gasped, as they realised Flash had just been poisoned. If he couldn't win this fight quickly, he would lose.

Manticoremon laughed as Cyberdramon panted, then dived down towards him. But the Demon Beast started swinging its tails around in a mad frenzy, threatening to sting Cyberdramon again if he got too close. The Ultimate was forced to fly around and try to avoid the tails, only to get struck by the poison once again

Manticoremon: 1-50%
Cyberdramon: 1-65%

"Trinity Gospel!" He fired the triple laser attack from his mouth and Cyberdramon was unable to defend himself, as the poison's effects had him paralysed for a moment. As such, the laser slammed into him and he was blasted backwards.

Manticoremon: 1-50%
Cyberdramon: 1-50%

Cyberdramon smashed into the ground and slid through the rocks, as Manticoremon charged. He panted as he pushed himself up, only for the poison to strike again. "AUGH!"

Manticoremon: 1-50%
Cyberdramon: 1-45%

Manticoremon reached him and attempted to slash at him, Cyberdramon barely managing to avoid it. As he did, he leapt forward with his claws glowing. "Cyber Nail!" He slashed at Manticoremon and struck him in the chest again. The beast roaring as his last security was destroyed.

Manticoremon: 1-0%
Cyberdramon: 1-45%

Cyberdramon tried to attack again, but before he could he was once again struck by the poison. "Augh!"

Manticoremon: 0
Cyberdramon: 1-35%

Manticoremon used this opening to slash at Cyberdramon and knock him backwards. He slammed into the ground and rolled along it until he came to a stop. As he did, the poison once again struck.

Manticoremon: 0
Cyberdramon: 1-25%

Cyberdramon panted as he pushed himself up, whilst Manticoremon prepared for an attack. He knew another poison strike was imminent and he had to end this battle now. So as Manticoremon prepared to fire his Trinity Gospel attack, he stood tall and swung his arms around.

"Desolation...CLAW!" The energy formed in his hands and he brought it together, forming the energy sphere as another dose of poison struck him.

Manticoremon: 0
Cyberdramon: 1-20%

He roared and thrust the orb forward, as the Trinity Gospel attack fired as well. The three lasers shot towards the strong one and the two attacks collided, pushing against one another and appearing at a standstill. But then, slowly, the Desolation Claw began to overpower the three lasers.

Manticoremon gasped, fearing the end. But then, Cyberdramon was struck by more poison.

Manticoremon: 0
Cyberdramon: 1-15%

If Manticoremon could hold out, the poison would finish Cyberdramon off before the laser could hit him. As such, he pumped more and more energy into his own attack to try and slow the Desolation Claw. But this barely managed to slow the beam, which drew closer and closer to him.

Cyberdramon panted as he pushed all his strength into the attack, but his SP was starting to run low along with his health. "Augh!" He cried, as another burst of poison struck him.

Manticoremon: 0
Cyberdramon: 1-10%

The two kept pushing against one another, both running low of energy. Manticoremon's own SP was getting lower and sure enough, both their gauges hit zero at the exact same time.

The lasers fizzled out, the two panting as they stood there. And before either could think to attack, Cyberdramon's poison struck again.

Manticoremon: 0
Cyberdramon: 1-5%

Cyberdramon looked up and started at Manticoremon, unsure if he could actually attack before the poison finished him off. And even if he could, one hit from the beast might take him out as well.

Everyone watched in worry, as the two stared one another down.

Flash's friends all prayed for him to win, Shining tried to mentally predict how this next move would go, and the other players were on the edge of their seats in anticipation.

Veemon stared at the pair, knowing the next attack would end the battle. And as he closed his eyes, he feared he would never get to see Flash again. "Please," he whispered before his eyes shot open, "WIN THIS!" HIs voice echoed through the void and felt like it could be heard from space.

Thorough either a glitch, or the bond they had shared, Flash somehow heard Veemon's voice. "Huh?" He looked around, wondering if someone was there.

And as he recognised the voice, he remembered Shining saying Monodramon was able to watch their battle from within his Digivice. He realised Veemon must have been watching and in that moment, he remembered what he was fighting for.

"RAAAAAH!" Cyberdramon shot forward and had his claws ready, whilst Manticoremon growled before thrashing his tail around. They shot towards Cyberdramon and he managed to avoid their attacks, getting closer and closer as the poison struck once more.

Manticoremon: 0%
Cyberdramon: 1-0%

He wasn't even phased by it, too focused on his opponent. And as he got in close to Manticoremon, the beast raised his claw. "DIE!" He slashed at Cyberdramon and the Cyborg Digimon did the same.

"VEEMON!" He yelled as claws connected and in the blink of an eye, he and Manticoremon stood back to back.

The two remained standing there for several moments, everyone on the edge of their seats. Then, one of them began to fall as his Digital body exploded. "AUGH!" Jet hit the ground, whilst Cyberdramon pushed himself to stand tall. As he did, Gennai appeared between them.

"Battle over!" He announced, as the battlefield began to dissolve. "Winner, Flash Sentry!"

The whole of Codex exploded into a cheer, Flash's friends cheering loudest of all.

The girls hugged one another, some of them crying, whilst the guys jumped up and down. Shining smiled, Monodramon sighing in relief as they watched Cyberdramon turn back to Flash. "Looks like he was able to keep control of himself in that form. Good, but he might not have such an easy time the next time he uses it."

Flash could hardly believe it. He had won. He had actually won.

Jet picked himself up and looked horrified. "This...this is impossible!" He turned to Flash and glared at him, "there's no way this newb could have beaten me. He had to have cheated. It's the only explanation."

"He didn't cheat," Gennai told him. "I was keeping a watchful eye on both players. Neither of you did anything illegal. The battle was won fair and square and because of that..." A holographic screen appeared in front of the teen, "Flash may select one Digimon or item from your list to have as his own."

Flash gasped the second he saw Veemon and hit it without a second of hesitation. As soon as he did, the energy flew out of Jet's Digivice and formed something in front of him. Flash's Digimon partner.

"Flash," Veemon began to cry as Flash fell to his knees.

"Veemon."

"No!" Jet cried, seeing his rare Digimon was now back where he belonged. He growled before taking his Digivice out of the podium. "This isn't over, Sentry. I'll get you back for this!" With that, he rushed out of the room. But Flash didn't even noticed.

He was too busy looking at Veemon, the Digimon smiling back at him.

Veemon was about to say something, but Flash's actions stopped him. "I'M SORRY!" He slammed his head down on the ground, surprising Veemon as he bowed in forgiveness. "Veemon, I'm sorry." He lifted his head up, but kept his gaze on the ground. "It was my fault you went through all that. I let Jet trick me and you ended up paying the price. I don't deserve you as my partner. I'd understand if you never want to see me again."

Veemon frowned, as Flash slowly looked up at him. He then smiled as their eyes met, "it wasn't just your fault. I fell for his trick too." Flash wasn't sure he wanted to accept that statement. "We both lost to him, not just you. And I saw how hard you fought to save me. Why would I never want to see you again?"

Flash couldn't believe it. "So...you forgive me?"

"For what?" Veemon asked, "there's nothing to forgive." He rushed forward and threw his arms around him, Flash holding him tight as the pair hugged. Gennai smiled at this, glad that the two of them were back together.

Everyone rushed towards the Beta-Stadium, wanting to see them as soon as they left.

And when Terriermon spotted them, they all began to gather around the pair and smiled seeing Flash carrying Veemon on their back. "You did it!" Twilight told him, unable to stop herself from smiling. "You had me worried a few times, but you actually did it!"

Flash smiled as Tentomon flew up to Veemon, "we were scared we'd never see you again. Glad to see you're back where you belong."

"Yeah," Veemon smirked, "I'm glad to be back too. And I know the first thing I'm gonna do now that I'm out of that Digivice. Eat as many hotdogs as I can." The others laughed at this, as Gennai suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Flash, Veemon. I'm sorry you two had to go through all that." The pair titled their heads, "we never should have allowed something like this to happen with Ante-Battles. Because of us, you both had to suffer."

"It's not your fault," Flash told him. "If we had let you tell us the rules, we would have known what could happen."

"Either way, the Codex Commanders regret any trauma you might have suffered from this. And we've taken measures to ensure it never happens again." They all wondered what he meant by that, but got their answer when their Digivices all beeped and they held them up.

On the screen, a video began to play that showed Gennai's face. "Players of Codex," he spoke. "It has come to our attention that allowing Digimon Partners to be wagered in Ante-Battles is both painful to those losing their partners and disrespectful to the Digimon themselves. As such, the Codex Commanders have all agreed to change the rules of Ante-Battles. From this point on, Digimon can no longer but won. Only scans and items can be used to wager an Ante-Battle."

Everyone sighed as the video ended, the lot of them glad they could now compete in Ante-Battles without needing to worry about losing their best friends. They didn't intend to compete in any, but it was still a relief all the same.

Gennai gave his goodbyes and disappeared, leaving the players and their Digimon to enjoy the reunion of Flash and his partner.

But before they could head off to party, Flash put Veemon down and stepped over to Shining. The older man smiled at him, as Flash held up his Digivice. "Thanks for helping me get Veemon back. I never would have won without all that stuff you taught me. And the scans you let me borrow."

"Don't mention it," Shining smirked. "Just glad you two are back together. Sorry about you running wild. Forgot to mention that could happen."

"It's cool," Flash assured him. He was about to return the scans he had been given, but Shining held up his hand to stop him.

"Keep 'em." Flash and the others hadn't been expecting this. "I've got plenty of other scans. Besides, I think you're gonna be able to put 'em to good use."

"Really?"

Shining nodded. "You might wanna remove Monodramon from the deck and see what happens." Shining began to walk away and Flash raised an eyebrow, opening up his new deck and doing just that. Once he did, the Rookie window opened and revealed two Digimon that could Digivolve into Strikedramon.

One was Monodramon and the other, to his shock, was Veemon.

"I can turn into Strikedramon?" The Rookie asked, Flash nodding as he wondered what others secrets were to be found. As such, after putting Veemon in the Rookie box, he removed Strikedramon and opened the Champion folder. And he was shocked to see Veedramon could be used to close the link between Veemon and Cyberdramon.

Flash was amazed by this and smiled, glad Shining was letting him keep these scans. But he also didn't feel like he deserved them yet. As such, he called out to Shining Armor. "Hey!" The man turned to him, Flash taking a deep breath. "I wanna another battle. One where you're not holding back like before."

Shining seemed surprised by this, "you're challenging me right now?"

Flash shook his head. "No, I want you to challenge me. When you think I'm worthy of facing you, I want you to challenge me to a fight. When you think I'm strong enough to face you in a real battle, let's throw down."

Shining smirked at this, "I'm looking forward to it. But you've got a long way to go before you can be ready to take me down. You and Veemon better work hard." Flash nodded as he and Monodramon turned to leave once again.

As they did, Flash looked down at Veemon and the Rookie nodded. The two were happy they were back together, but they now had a goal. To become strong enough to earn Shining's respect, so he would want to find them as equals. It wouldn't be easy, but the pair knew they could do it so long as they worked together.

From now until Codex ended, Flash and Veemon would fight to become the best, like no one ever was.

Author's Note

FLASH GOT VEEMON BACK! Not only that, but he gets to keep the scans he got. Hopefully, he can put them to good use. Hope you all enjoyed this and tell me what you thought of the Digimon I had Jet use.

Avians and Insects

In a canyon field, we find Mistymon jumping around the large rocks.

The Ultimate Level landed on a rock and no sooner did he, that something shot down towards him at incredible speed and forced him to leap away from it. A blue fireball collided with the rock and exploded, as Mistymon used his sword and cape to protect himself from the debris.

As he landed, the one responsible for the rock's destruction appeared. Strikedramon.

The Champion's back and claws were ablaze, as he let out a mighty roar before charging forward again. A trail of blue flames passed by him as he attempted to delete Mistymon, who jumped to the side and held up the orb in his hand.

"Core Dart!" The crystal flew out of his grasp and shot towards the Champion, slamming into him and knocking him backwards. Strikedramon roared as he crashed into a rock, but didn't let that stop him as he charged whilst running on all fours. But as he tried to slash at Mistymon, the wizard Digimon leapt to the side and raised his sword. "Blast Fire!"

Strikedramon looked up and didn't have time to avoid the flaming sword, as it swung down and cut him in half.

Strikedramon roared as his body exploded, Flash and Veemon falling to the ground. Mistymon leapt back, as the battlefield around them began to dissolve back into the Beta-Stadium Dome. Moments later, Mistymon split into Micro and Tentomon.

The victorious pair turned towards Flash and Veemon, the pair moaning as they sat up. "Well at least you lasted five minutes longer than last time," Tentomon told them as they stood up.

"Not long enough," Flash told him. "If we wanna be able to use Strikedramon and Cyberdramon, we gotta learn to control that insanely wild spirit."

"It seems the problem mostly stems from Strikedramon," Micro pointed out. "You don't seem to have a problem when you're Cyberdramon. It's just the Champion stage you need to be careful with."

"Yeah," Veemon nodded, "maybe we should just stick with Veedramon and go into Cyberdramon from that?"

"We can't just give up when things get tough," Flash told him. "We need to learn to control that power if we wanna use Strikedramon when he's the best option." They headed out of the stadium and towards the foyer. "But you're right about Veedramon being way easier to control than Strikedramon."

"Veedramon's Veemon's natural Digivolution," Micro replied. "So of course that one would be easier to control."

"Natural evolution?" Flash asked.

"You have tried to fight as Veemon and just see what happens, right?" Micro asked, with Flash shaking his head.

"Nope. Why? Should we?"

"You don't have to, but every player gets curious about their partner's natural evolution. A lot of players try it by putting just their Rookie into a deck and see what happens when they put the evolution up to what comes naturally to the Digimon." Flash nodded, remembering this conversation from before.

As he considered testing out Veemon's natural evolution, his and Micro's Digivice beeped and they took them out. "What's up?" Veemon asked, as Micro smirked.

"Friend list update. Someone on our friends list is about to have a Stadium Battle." They opened the message and saw the name.

"Twilight?" Flash asked, remembering Twilight was a Champion Level player. "This should be good." Micro nodded and the pair rushed to grab a seat, their Digimon in hot pursuit.

They managed to find a table the in the perfect spot to watch Twilight's match, the TV screen right in front of them showing her and her Digimon partner step into the dome. "I wonder who her opponent will be?" Tentomon asked, the others wondering the same question.

Twilight stood anxiously, as a battle normally made her.

Tawnimon saw this and knew why, given they had lost the last two matches they had played. Twilight didn't want to make it three in a row, so of course she was nervous. "Don't worry, Twilight." She looked down at her partner. "No matter what happens, you've got this. You've been training hard to win this battle."

"Thanks Tawnimon," Twilight smiled. "But I'm still nervous. Losing three matches in a row will be humiliating." As she said that, the door opened and someone stepped inside. He was a teen her age, with light green skin and orange hair, wearing a dark green shirt and orange pants along with a purple jacket over his shirt.

On his shoulder was an insect Digimon, who looked just like the Digimon Twilight knew as Kunemon. It had the same body, but its colouring was different. The parts of its body that should have been red and yellow, were instead white whilst its head was black in colour. Its beak and antenna were white in colour, whilst the lines on its head where its eyes should have been were light blue. Its six front legs and the stinger on its rear were light blue.

"Hey," the teen waved at her, "nice to meet you. Name's Thorax."

"Twilight," she nodded back before focusing on the Digimon. "I don't think I'm familiar with your friend there. Looks like a Kunemon Variant."

"The name's Grubmon," the worm told her. "And I hope you're ready to get your butt kicked."

"We'll see," Twilight smiled as she and Tawnimon smiled at one another.

"Twilight Sparkle," the overhead voice stated, "Thorax Hiveborn! You are both here to compete in a Codex Battle. Are both players ready to compete?"

"Yes," they nodded.

Then place your Digivices into the battle podiums and select your decks." Thorax took out a light green Digivice and placed it in the podium before the two of them started selecting their decks.

Twilight gave one last glance towards Grubmon and had a feeling Thorax would pick him, so decided to design her deck with battling bug Digimon in mind. She made a few tweaks to a deck she had and locked it in, Thorax doing the same.

Thorax Hiveborn. You have been randomly selected to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Thorax said nothing and opened up his locations, selecting one and locking it in. "Infest Mountain has been selected. When both players are ready, hit the start button."

Twilight and Thorax locked eyes before a smile appeared on their lips. "LET'S GET DIGITAL!" They both cried before slamming the start button. The dome filled with light as Thorax and Grubmon merged into one.

Twilight smirked at her correct guess, as she also merged with Tawnimon. Then, they were both blinded by the light of the dome.

Flash watched as the battlefield began to form. "I don't think I've heard of Infest Mountain."

Micro slurped his shake, "it's a mountain surrounded by a lush jungle. The entire mountain was hollowed out by insectoid Digimon and acts like a giant ant hill. Not a great place for large Digimon. Let's just hope Twilight picked something small." Flash nodded, also hoping them. Twilight did have Aurumon, so hopefully she picked that Digimon instead of her Champion.

The battlefield was finally revealed as a large domed structure with many holes in the walls, likely leading to a maze of different tunnels. And as the area finished forming, the two Digimon appeared with Flash quickly bringing up Grubmon's data.

Name: Grubmon
Level: Rookie
Type: Free
Attribute: Plant
Species: Larvae
Family: Jungle Troopers, Nature Spirits

As soon as the Digimon materialised, Tawnimon leapt into the air. She quickly got up high, as Grubmon's tail stinger glowed purple. "Poison Stringer!" From his stringer, multiple needles exploded outwards and flew towards Tawnimon.

The owl Digimon started flying around, doing his best to avoid the stringers. But one managed to hit her in the leg. "Augh!"

Grubmon: 5-100%
Tawnimon: 5-90%

She didn't let this stop her and quickly dived down, as Grubmon prepared a second volley of poison projectiles. "Hooting Cry!" She let out a powerful screech attack, which slammed into Grubmon before he could count and blasted him back.

"Augh!" He slammed into the back wall, his health dropping.

Grubmon: 5-90%
Tawnimon: 5-90%

As he hit the ground, Tawnimon landed and rushed forward to with her claws at the ready. "Sharp Talon!" She slashed at Grubmon, the worm getting sliced in the face and knocked back again.

Grubmon: 5-80%
Tawnimon: 5-90%

But as Tawnimon tried to slash at him again, Grubmon dodged the attack and spun around. "Strong Poison Stinger!" He stabbed her right in the chest and Tawnimon screamed as she was knocked backwards.

Grubmon: 5-80%
Tawnimon: 5-75%

As she staggered back, Grubmon picked himself up and took a deep breath. "Slime Thread!" He started spitting dollops of green slime all over the place. The slime slammed into the ground and on the walls, sticking them them and creating a minefield.

"That could be an issue," Micro gulped.

"Ya'h don't know the half of it." Flash and Micro looked around and saw Rarity and Applejack, they and their Digimon walking up to them. "A've fought Thorax before," Applejack stated as they sat down. "He totally wiped me out usin' that move. Labramon and a'h were running around and we got stuck in it. It made us an easy target for Grubmon to use his Poison Stinger attack on me."

"I remember that," Rarity nodded. "You got poisoned and for the rest of the match, Thorax controlled the flow."

"So Twilight can't let herself get trapped by that stuff," Flash realised. "Good thing she can fly."

Sure enough, Tawnimon leapt into the air and started flying, as Grubmon used his insect qualities to climb the walls.

As he crawled, he started firing more green slime balls towards the ceiling. "Hooting Cry!" She launched her sonic blast at him, Grubmon flinching as the attack buffeted his body.

Grubmon: 5-70%
Tawnimon: 5-75%

Tawnimon quickly flew towards him, preparing to hit him with her claws. But before she could, something flew down in front of her. "WOW!" She stopped and pulled back, finding that something was actually a long string of the green slime Grubmon had fired. It had slid down from the ceiling and had solidified enough to stop and act like a long piece of sticky rope.

Tawnimon looked around and was shocked to see the entire room had these sticky lines hanging from the ceiling.

"Oh yeah!" Grubmon leapt off the wall, "now it's a playground!" He grabbed one of the slime lines and used it to swing around, improving his mobility. "Poison Stringer!" The poisonous needles exploded off his tail and shot towards Tawnimon, who gasped as she took evasive maneuvers.

"Hooting Cry!" She screamed, the sonic blast firing at him. But Grubmon let go of the line and grabbed another one, continuing to swing around as he fired another poison needle spray. Eventually, one of these attacks hit her. "AUGH!"

Grubmon: 5-70%
Tawnimon: 5-65%

She fell to the ground and by a miracle, she didn't land in any of the slime traps. But when she picked herself up, she was suddenly struck by purple energy. "GYAH!"

Grubmon: 5-70%
Tawnimon: 5-60%

"Oh no," Salamon gasped.

"She's been poisoned," Flash frowned. He remembered how much that status had weakened him in his recent battle, making it so he had barely managed to win. "This isn't good." But as he said that, Tawnimon stood up as something suddenly appeared in front of her.

It was some kind of memory card, being white with a purple sticker on it that had white bubbles inside.

"What's that?" Veemon asked, as the object exploded into energy that flowed into her.

"A Poison Recovery," Rarity explained. "There are recovery items for every status condition. But you can only use one and it takes up your item slot."

"Which means Twilight didn't use her Digimental," Flash realised as Tawnimon took to the air again.

As she flew up, Grubmon swung himself over to a nearby hole and landed on it.

As he did, he turned towards Tawnimon. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" As he said that, something appeared on his back. It was a larger tube-like cannon with thee spikes sticking out the end. It was attached to his back, with some kind of vest wrapped around his body. "Electro Cannon!" Lightning sparked around the end of it, as the energy charged up.

But before it could fire, Tawnimon got in close enough. "Hooting Cry!" She unleashed the sonic blast, which slammed into him and he barely managed to keep from being blown backwards.

Grubmon: 5-60%
Tawnimon: 5-60%

"Electro Cannon, FIRE!" As soon as Tawnimon's attack ended, a blast of electrical energy exploded out of the cannon and shot towards her. She gasped and tried to escape, but the electrical blast slammed into her and she screamed in pain.

Grubmon: 5-60%
Tawnimon: 5-40%

She fell towards the ground and crashed into it, her body sparking as she moaned. Being a Wind Attribute Digimon, the electrical attack did serious damage to her.

Grubmon smirked and began to head down the tunnel, whilst Tawnimon picked herself up and shook of the electrical pain. "I'm not done yet," she panted before taking to the air again.

She flew up to the tunnel, being careful in case Grubmon attacked with the cannon again. But when she looked inside of it, she found the place was deserted.

She flew down the tunnel and looked around. "He couldn't have gotten too far." But then she found another tunnel entrance, which had been completely filled by the green slime.

She flew down the tunnel she was already in, hoping to cut him off. And as she flew down it, she spotted a Digivolution Coin and grabbed it.

"Alright," Flash smirked, "that's the way, Twilight." The screen was currently split in two, allowing them to watch both Digimon as they made their way through the tunnel system.

Grubmon had also grabbed a Digivolution Coin, as he made his way through the passageways. It was as if he knew the place like the back of his hand, the lot of them realising he likely spent a lot of time there.

He kept crawling through the tunnels until he reached the end and exited out onto a bridge-like structure. The area he had entered was a larger vertical shaft, leading straight up to an opening that lead out the top of the mountain. Multiple holes covered the walls of the tube and a spiralling ledge encircled it, stone bridges connecting higher and lower levels for faster travel.

He smirked as he looked around, seeing no sign of Tawnimon. But as he stepped across the bridge, he heard the Digimon's voice. "Hooting Cry!" The sonic screech exploded up from below and slammed into him, knocking him staggering towards the edge of the bridge.

Grubmon: 5-50%
Tawnimon: 5-40%

Tawnimon flew up from below, heading straight towards Grubmon. But the larvae Digimon crawled onto the bottom of the bridge and charged up his Electro Cannon.

The bird managed to pull to the left and avoid the Battle Gear's attack, flying up above Grubmon and he crawled back onto the top of the bridge. "Poison Stringer!" He launched the poisonous needles, but Tawnimon avoided them before diving down.

"Sharp Talon!" She slashed at Grubmon and hit him in the face, the insect flinching but firing another shot from his Electro Cannon.

Grubmon: 5-40%
Tawnimon: 5-20%

Despite the electrical blast hitting her, Tawnimon forced her way through the pain and slashed at Grubmon three more times.

Grubmon: 5-10%
Tawnimon: 5-20%

"Augh!" Grubmon was knocked backwards and barely managed to keep from landing on his Battle Gear, jumping up as Tawnimon flew away. "Slime Thread!" He launched the green slime ball and it shot towards the owl Digimon, who tried to fly away only for the slime to hit her in the foot.

"Augh!" She cried, as the slime stretched down. And as soon as it hit one of the bridges, it hardened and she was was stuck. "Not good!"

"Very not good," Grubmon laughed as he charged up an electrical attack. "Here we go. Electro Cannon, FIRE!" The electric blast exploded out of the cannon and flew towards Tawnimon, who pulled on the slime rope holding her but was unable to escape.

It struck and she cried out, the blast exploding and electrifying her as she took serious damage.

Grubmon: 5-10%
Tawnimon: 5-0%

The electrical explosion also melted the slime, causing Tawnimon to fall as she was too shocked to fly. Grubmon smirked at this, but before he could celebrate Tawnimon's eyes opened. "Hooting Cry!" The sonic blast exploded out of her beak and shot towards Grubmon, slamming into him.

"AUGH!" He cried, getting knocked off the bridge.

Grubmon: 5-0%
Tawnimon: 4-100%

The two Digimon fell and as they did, they noticed their Digivolution Counters had both filled up.

Tawnimon spread her wings, trying to slow down as she closed her eyes. "Digivolve!" Her body exploded with light and started to grow, Grubmon instead spitting out a stream of green slime. It went taut and he stopped falling, as Tawnimon began to grow. "Tawnimon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of her and revealed the larger version of Tawnimon, who let out a mighty screech as she spread his wings. "HooTawnimon!"

The Champion Digimon stopped falling and as she did, Grubmon pulled himself up onto the bridge. "Nice, but you're not the only one who can go big!" As he said that, he started glowing. "Grubmon, Digivolve to..." The light began to grow and his body changed before he broke out of the cocoon, revealing a large green praying mantis Digimon four legs, scythe arms and a head with no eyes. "Snimon!"

"Pretty standard bug Digimon," Flash realised as Micro brought up Snimon's data.

Name: Snimon
Level: Champion
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Wind
Species: Insect
Family: Virus Busters, Jungle Troopers

"A Vaccine type," Micro pointed out. "HooTawnimon's a Data Type, so Twilight has the advantage." But as he said that, they noticed the now much larger Electro Cannon on his back. "But that Battle Gear's gonna still be a problem to deal with."

Snimon leapt off the bridge, his larger size causing it to break apart, and flew up towards HooTawnimon.

"Twin Sickle!" He swung his scythe blades around and sent wind blades flying towards the owl. HooTawnimon managed to avoid them, but the many bridges around them made flight difficult.

She looked up and realised she had to escape the mountain, so started flying up towards the hole in the mountain. As she did, Snimon started powering up his Battle Gear. "Defence Gale!" She looked back at Snimon and beat her wings, causing a burst of wind to explode off of her and formed a barrier.

Snimon fired his Battle Gear and the electrical sphere slammed into the barrier, pushing against it for several moments and allowing HooTawnimon to fly up towards the hole.

But the sphere eventually broke through the barrier and flew up. The Champion bird looked back and gasped when she saw it, the sphere exploding and making her cry out. The electrical energy had been weakened by the barrier, but it still did damage.

Snimon: 4-100%
HooTawnimon: 4-90%

HooTawnimon barely managed to keep herself in the air. But she only hovered as Snimon shot up towards her. "Raaah!" He slashed at her before she could recover, HooTawnimon flinching at the slash.

Snimon: 4-100%
HooTawnimon: 4-85%

HooTawnimon finally recovered from the electrical blast and as she did, her glared at Snimon before yelling out. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" Her head and chest were consumed by light and when it faded, HooTawnimon was revealed to be wearing a helmet on her head along with a metal chest, which had some kind of twin gatling gun on the back. "Aero Blaster!" Her eyes were covered by a red visor, which seemed to help her lock on as the gatling guns folded down and was now located on her waist beneath her wings. "Fire!"

Snimon gasped, as the gatling guns started launching air bullets towards him. "Augh!" he cried, as the first bullet slammed into him.

Snimon: 4-99%
HooTawnimon: 4-85%

The rest of the bullets quickly followed suit and slammed into him, the barrage knocking him backwards more and more as HooTawnimon flew higher and higher. Eventually, he stopped firing and was able to fly out of the mountain's top.

Snimon: 4-85%
HooTawnimon: 4-85%

"Finally," HooTawnimon sighed, "I've got some room to fly!" But as she sat that, Snimon flew up after recovering from the barrage he had suffered. HooTawnimon saw this and started firing her Battle Gear again, Snimon flying straight through it and fighting with everything he had to get to her.

Snimon: 4-65%
HooTawnimon: 4-85%

Snimon quickly slashed at HooTawnimon, knocking the Champion bird backwards as he charged up his cannon and fired.

The blast flew towards HooTawnimon as she attempted to defend herself, preparing to use her wind barrier. But the electrical blast was too fast and slammed into her. "AUGH!" She screamed, as the lightning surged around her and she began to fall towards the ground.

Snimon: 4-65%
HooTawnimon: 4-60%

She eventually managed to spread her wings and stop herself from crashing into the side of the mountain, instead gliding down it a little above the rocky surface. And as she did, she noticed a Digivolution Coin straight ahead of her.

Snimon flew down to attack, but was forced away from HooTawnimon as she fired her gatling gun behind her. This allowed the owl to grab the coin in her beak before flying back up, heading straight for Snimon as he fired his Electro Cannon. But HooTawnimon dodged the attack as energy formed around her.

"Sky Strike!" Her head crest morphed into a shining battering ram, as she smashed straight into Snimon and made him cry out in pain.

Snimon: 4-45%
HooTawnimon: 4-60%

Snimon was knocked backwards, but refused to be defeated so easily. "Twin Sickle!" He slashed his blades through the air and sent out a pair of energy blades, then fired his Electro Cannon.

HooTawnimon tried to escape, but was too close to avoid getting hit the the attack and was knocked back. Moments later, the electrical sphere smashed into her and exploded. "Augh!"

Snimon: 4-45%
HooTawnimon: 4-30%

HooTawnimon fell towards the ground, with Snimon following after. She attempted to spread her wings, but as she did more lightning sparked around her and her body was frozen.

"That's not good," Micro gulped. "Twilight's been paralysed." The others frowned, wondering how unlucky Twilight had to be to get two status conditions in a single battle.

HooTawnimon continued to fall until she was right above the mountain, when she was finally able to spread her wings and slow down. But not enough to keep from crashing into the side of the mountain. She screamed in pain, losing her balance and going rolling as her Battle Gear was ripped off of her.

Snimon: 4-45%
HooTawnimon: 4-25%

She eventually came to a stop and groaned as she pushed herself up, only to find a blast of lightning shoot down towards her.

She gasped and leapt back, the electro sphere crashing into the ground and exploding. She tried to fly up, but the paralysis struck her again and allowed Snimon to get in close. "Shadow Slash!" His blade glowed black and he slashed at HooTawnimon, making her cry out as she was knocked backwards.

Snimon: 4-45%
HooTawnimon: 4-15%

She fell to the ground and Snimon leapt into the air, charging up his Electro Cannon. But before he could fire, HooTawnimon opened her eyes and beat her wings. "Defence Gale!" The gust of wind flew up and slammed into Snimon, knocking him back and causing him to fire his blaster straight up.

Snimon: 4-35%
HooTawnimon: 4-15%

HooTawnimon used this opening to leap into the air and fly straight up, as the energy formed around her. "Sky Strike!" She morphed into the aerial battering ram and dived down towards Snimon, flying at high speed until she smashed right into Snimon.

"AUGH!" He cried, being knocked down towards the ground as his Battle Gear vest began to break.

Snimon: 4-15%
HooTawnimon: 4-15%

HooTawnimon flew back up, planning to circle around and dive down for another attack. But as she did, Snimon managed to stop his fall and aim his Electro Cannon at her. "FIRE!" He cried, as HooTawnimon shot towards him. But as he fired, the vest of his Battle Gear finally broke and the weapon fell from his back.

"Sky Strike!" HooTawnimon cried, as she charged at Snimon. But this made it impossible for her to avoid the incoming electro ball, which exploded against her and made her scream as she fought through it and smashed into Snimon.

Snimon: 4-0%
HooTawnimon: 4-0%

The explosion knocked them both backwards, both struggling to regain control of the flight. HooTawnimon spread her wings to try and stop herself, but was struck by the paralysis against whilst Snimon's insect wings weren't able to slow it down fast enough.

They both crashed into into the ground, screaming as they began to fall down the side of the mountain.

Snimon: 3-95%
HooTawnimon: 3-95%

Snimon managed to stab his blade into the side of the mountain and stop himself, whilst HooTawnimon continued to fall. The insect began to beat his wings and took off, flying around the mountain whilst HooTawnimon finally came to a stop. As he did, the Vaccine type spotted a Digivolution coin on a ledge and grabbed it.

As the energy flowed into his body, HooTawnimon picked herself up and groaned as she shook her head. She then noticed a glow and looked around to see an SP coin, the bird rushing over and grabbing it. As her SP refilled, she took to the air and spotted Snimon flying towards her.

Inside her head, Tawnimon spoke to Twilight. "He doesn't have his Battle Gear anymore, so he can't attack with electrical blasts."

"Maybe," Twilight nodded, "but that doesn't mean he's defenceless." Sure enough, as they approached Snimon the insect suddenly shifted directions and was at her side.

"Shadow Slash!" He cried, slashing at HooTawnimon and knocking her away.

Snimon: 3-95%
HooTawnimon: 3-85%

HooTawnimon cried as she tried to gain control, but Snimon then shot around behind her and slashed her again. This then happened three more times, until HooTawnimon managed to slash at the champion insect with her talons. "Raaah!" She slashed him across the face, making him cry out in pain.

Snimon: 3-90%
HooTawnimon: 3-65%

Knowing her paralysis was likely to kick in, HooTawnimon chose not to use Sky Strike. Instead opting to use her wind barrier. "Defence Gale!" She beat her wings and the air shot forward and smashed into Snimon, knocking him down to the ground near the base of the mountain.

Snimon: 3-80%
HooTawnimon: 3-65%

HooTawnimon was then struck by her paralysis and fell as well, but managed to keep her wings open so she still glided.

"Twin Sickle!" Snimon roared before he hit the ground, the air blades flying off his arms and slamming into his opponent right as he landed.

Snimon: 3-75%
HooTawnimon: 3-55%

HooTawnimon landed, still reeling from the Twin Sickle. Snimon then rushed forward and slashed at her, but HooTawnimon was able to avoid it before leaping up and clawing at him with her talons.

Snimon: 3-65%
HooTawnimon: 3-55%

Snimon staggered back, right towards the trees behind him. And before he could recover, HooTawnimon beat her wings. "Defence Gale!" The wind flew out and slammed into him, knocking Snimon backwards into the tree.

Snimon: 3-50%
HooTawnimon: 3-55%

Snimon smirked, knowing something HooTawnimon didn't. And as he staggered into the trees, he slashed at one of them and revealed a Digivolution Coin. He quickly stabbed it and absorbed the power, as HooTawnimon flew and swung around to dive towards Snimon.

"Sky Strike!" She smashed into Snimon and knocked him flying backwards, crashing through several trees until he hit the ground.

"AUGH!" He roared, his life points dropping.

Snimon: 3-15%
HooTawnimon: 3-55%

HooTawnimon flew back up, as Snimon began to pick himself up. "Not bad," he told her. "But now things get interesting." HooTawnimon wondered what he meant, only for Snimon to leap into the air before he started glowing. "Snimon, Digivolve to..." A sphere of light completely enveloped him and started growing larger, then exploded to reveal the new Digimon. "MetalSnimon!"

Everyone was shocked to see Snimon's evolution. His body was now a mixture of red and black, his armor appearing to be made out of coloured steel. He was about five feet taller and his body was about the same shape, though it had a few differences. His abdomen was now gone and instead of wings, he had a black bullet-shaped protrusion on his back that was firing energy out and allowing him to fly. His previously green body was now red in colour, though his lower mouth, shoulders, knees, upper legs and lower arms were black.

His scythe hands were gone, replaced by a pair of black chainsaw-like weapons that pointed straight. This allowed its lower arms to be longer, with scythes like his champion form had. Finally, on his face above his mouth, was a black shape that looked like a three-pointed leaf without a stem.

"Wow," Flash whispered, "never seen that Digimon before." Micro quickly brought up his stats.

Name: MetalSnimon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Wind
Species: Insect
Family: Virus Busters, Jungle Troopers, Wind Guardians, Metal Empire

"He's still a Vaccine Digimon," Micro pointed out. "So Twilight should still have an advantage against him."

HooTawnimon charged, hoping to get in some more damage. But as she did, MetalSnimon raised one of his chainsaw arms as they started spinning.

"Razor Destroyer!" He flew forwards and slashed at HooTawnimon, hitting her with his chainsaws before she could escape.

"AUGH!" She was knocked downwards and crashed into the ground, feathers flying everywhere after she was hit.

MetalSnimon: 3-15%
HooTawnimon: 3-35%

She moaned at the impact, MetalSnimon diving down as his lower arm blades glowed. "Sickle Strike!" He slashed them through the air and unleashed an attack similar to his previous form's Twin Sickle.

HooTawnimon gasped as the attack flew towards her, the owl Digimon rolling along the ground and barely managing to avoid the attack. As MetalSnimon landed, HooTawnimon took of and shot towards him. "Sky Strike!" She was surrounded by the energy and smashed into him, the larger Digimon too big to move faster than her.

The impact knocked MetalSnimon staggering, as HooTawnimon flew up to a safe distance.

MetalSnimon: 3-0%
HooTawnimon: 3-35%

MetalSnimon snarled as the rocket on his back began to power up and exploded, launching him into the air at high speed. He was aimed directly at HooTawnimon, making her gasp as she tried to escape. But his speed boost was too much and he swung his chainsaw arms right at her.

"AUGH!" She cried, the Ultimate cutting her down the chest.

MetalSnimon: 2-100%
HooTawnimon: 3-25%

"Try this!" He cried, as he pointed his booster rocket at her. "Metal Swarm!" The device stopped firing for a moment before the end lit up and a massive surge of energy exploded out of it.

That energy split into hundreds of energy meteors, which shot down towards HooTawnimon as she struggled to balance out her flight. As such, she barely managed to move a foot before the meteors came crashing down upon her. With every impact, she took a small amount of damage. But with so many hits, they quickly added up.

MetalSnimon: 2-100%
HooTawnimon: 3-0%

The rest of the meteors smashed down on the forest, causing the whole place to be blown to smithereens.

When the smoke finally cleared, it showed HooTawnimon laying on the ground looking pretty beat up. She groaned as she pushed herself up, but flinched when the paralysis made her freeze. MetalSnimon saw this and chuckled. "Are you gonna give up?"

"Never!" She cried, Twilight digging deep as she forced herself to her feet. As she did, she thought about Shining Armor. Ever since coming to Codex, she had seen him prove he truly was the best. That had always brought her great pride.

Many expected the same great things from her, though Shining had always told her to walk the path she wanted. And she intended to. She wanted to learn so much about the Digital World. Everything there was to know. And to do that, she would need the strength to survive and learn.

She then thought about Flash, who had proven himself to be someone worthy of even Shining's respect. Even when everything was against him, he powered through and overcame great challenges.

"I won't...give up!" She stood tall and spread her wings, as she let out a mighty cry and was surrounded by light.

"HooTawnimon, Digivolve to..." She began to grow larger and as she did, her body began to change. Her head crest changed shape, morphing into more of a V-shape with the middle upwards spike remaining whilst more of the feathers grew out the back of the chest up and around her head before going down the back and joining at the back of her neck to then circle around said neck to form a collar. Some of the crest grew downwards, splitting around the beak and stopping just below her chin to resemble a moustache.

Her wings grew longer and as they did, the outer feathers changed to a more whitish colour with black stars appearing on them. The same black stars replaced the triangles on her puffier chest, then also appeared on the back of her tail feathers whilst her feet-feathers grew down to cover everything except her talons.

Transformation over, she had grown by about half her original height and let out a mighty hoot as she spread her wings. "CresTawnimon!"

Everyone stared at the new Digimon in amazement, as Micro brought up her stats.

Name: CresTawnimon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Data
Attribute: Wind
Species: Giant Bird
Family: Wind Guardians, Nature Spirits

They watched, as CresTawnimon leapt into the air and flew up towards MetalSnimon. As she did, the insect swung his blade arms around. "Sickle Strike!" The energy blades flew towards her, but CresTawnimon dodged the attack as her wings glowed.

"Wing Burst!" She suddenly shot forward as the light around her wings turned into energy blades and when she shot passed MetalSnimon, they cut into him.

MetalSnimon: 2-80%
CresTawnimon: 2-100%

"AUGH!" MetalSnimon growled, as CresTawnimon flew around and faced him once again.

MetalSnimon quickly spun the blades of his chainsaw and he charged, as the star shapes on CresTawnimon started glowing. "Gale Star!" The light flew off her body and she beat her wings, causing the lights to shoot towards MetalSnimon.

The insect Digimon started slashing at the shooting stars, cutting them away from him as he got closer to her. "Razor Destroyer!" He roared, swinging his blade at her. She tried to dodge, but the paralysis struck and she was frozen.

The attack landed and she screamed as she was cut by the chainsaw, eventually being thrown down away from MetalSnimon.

MetalSnimon: 2-80%
CresTawnimon: 2-90%

She fell towards the wasteland that had once been a forest and managed to open her wings long enough to keep from crashing down, as MetalSnimon flew down towards her. The pair began to clash with one another, MetalSnimon using his faster scythe arms to slash at her whilst CresTawnimon used her wings and talons.

The pair slashed, stabbed, slapped and struck one another constantly, with MetalSnimon still proving to be the faster Digimon. He eventually knocked her wing attack away before slamming the bottom of his foot into CresTawnimon, knocking her backwards.

MetalSnimon: 2-60%
CresTawnimon: 2-60%

As CresTawnimon regained control, MetalSnimon flew up as he prepared his best attack. "Metal Swarm!" The energy from his booster rocket charged up before exploding out, splitting into hundreds of meteors that threatened to destroy the battlefield again.

CresTawnimon saw this and her head crest began to glow, as she flew up towards the oncoming attack. "Crested Guardian!" The light flew off and formed a sphere around her, the Metal Swarm slamming down on it and bouncing off with little to no damage done.

She kept flying higher and higher, as the shield morphed into a bullet shape. She eventually reached MetalSnimon and smashed head first into him, the attack knocking him backwards as he cried out.

MetalSnimon: 2-30%
CresTawnimon: 2-60%

He fell towards the ground, his rocket refusing to fire due to the recoil of his attack. Eventually, he smashed into the ground with enough force to make the destroyed wasteland shake.

MetalSnimon: 2-20%
CresTawnimon: 2-60%

"YEAH!" Twilight's friends cheered, as CresTawnimon flew down.

"Who knew she had an Ultimate Level that strong," Flash laughed. "Come on Twilight. Show 'em what you're made of!" Rarity and Applejack smirked, clearly knowing something he didn't.

"Wait until you see her Mega form," Rarity told him. "That's certainly something special." As she said that, MetalSnimon began to pick himself up. "But I doubt this battle will last long enough for her to reach it. Unless Thorax is able to pull a trick out of his hat." The others nodded, as CresTawnimon flew down towards the Ultimate Insect.

"Raaah," he growled, "you think you got us beat?"

"No," CresTawnimon told him. "I know a battle isn't won until the last health point is lost. You could only have ten percent of your last security whilst I have six and you could still win."

"Exactly," MetalSnimon nodded. "Now, time for me to take the lead back." As he said that, his chainsaws started spinning at high speed. CresTawnimon expected him to charge and attack, but instead he brought the weapons down to the ground. As soon as they touched the dirt, the blades cut through the ground and sent a large cloud of dust flying into the air.

"WOW!" CresTawnimon flew up, but was soon overcome by the dust. "What are you doing?"

"You're an owl Digimon. And an owl's greatest sense is its sight. Take that away and the owl will be in serious trouble." She heard this, but the dust in the air made it impossible for her to keep her eyes open.

"Gale Star!" She summoned the stars off of her body and beat her wings, sending the stars flying down where she thought MetalSnimon might be. But the attacks collided with the ground and hit nothing else. "What?"

"Surprise!" She heard coming from behind her, making her spin around before something hard and shard slashed into her.

MetalSnimon: 2-20%
CresTawnimon: 2-50%

She cried out, as she was knocked towards the ground. As she crashed into it, MetalSnimon flew down and once again used his chainsaws to kick up dirt. This once again blinded CresTawnimon, preventing her from seeing where her opponent was.

And once again, MetalSnimon was able to locate her and slashed at her with his chainsaw arms. "AUGH!"

MetalSnimon: 2-20%
CresTawnimon: 2-40%

"I don't get it?" Veemon asked, "how's he able to see in that dust cloud?"

"The dust is effecting Twilight's eyes," Rarity told him. "But MetalSnimon doesn't have any. As an insect Digimon, he's able to locate Twilight without the need for sight. He's using another method to do it. But which one?"

"Twilight needs to stop relying on her eyes," Applejack frowned as CresTawnimon was once again slashed. "She's got other senses that are just as good. She's gotta remember that. They watched, as CresTawnimon was once again slashed from behind.

"Augh!" She cried, as her power dropped.

MetalSnimon: 2-20%
CresTawnimon: 2-20%

"What do we do?" Tawnimon asked, looking worried as the Ultimate flew down and landed on the ground. "What are you doing?"

"We can't beat him in the air," Twilight told him. She closed her eyes and instead, simply listened. Tawnimon saw this and kept quiet, the pair listening for any sound that might give MetalSnimon away. And after a moment, she heard the sound coming from behind her. "There you are!"

She leapt straight up and as she did, MetalSnimon flew under her attempting to slash at her.

"Gale Star!" She beat her wings and sent the stars flying off her body, resulting in them smashing into MetalSnimon and doing serious damage.

MetalSnimon: 2-0%
CresTawnimon: 2-20%

"AUGH!" He cried, as CresTawnimon beat her wings and blew the dust around them away. MetalSnimon turned to growl at her, as CresTawnimon smirked.

"It's true an owl's best sense is their sight, but their hearing isn't half bad either. And with all that machinery covering your body, you make one heck of a noise if you just listen." MetalSnimon smirked at this as his scythes began to glow.

"Not bad, but I'm not down yet! Sickle Strike!" The air blades flew towards CresTawnimon, who unfortunately ended up getting hit with paralysis before she could dodge.

MetalSnimon: 1-100%
CresTawnimon: 2-10%

MetalSnimon then flew up as his chainsaws began to spin, the insect slashing at CresTawnimon before she could recover and hitting her with both. But despite the attack, CresTawnimon fought through the pain and once again slashed at MetalSnimon.

MetalSnimon: 1-90%
CresTawnimon: 2-0%

The two Digimon pushed away from one another before flying straight up, neither able to outspeed the other with their current states.

Once high enough, the pair started dancing around, unable to get a hit on the other. They dodged and flew around to try and get an advantage on the other, completely unaware that they had moved back above the mountain they had started their fight in.

"Gale Star!" CresTawnimon launched the stars towards MetalSnimon, who launched his Sickle Strike attack to block them.

"Razor Destroyer!" He quickly shot forward and slashed at her with his chainsaw, as the paralysis froze his opponent. CresTawnimon flinched at the spinning blades as they cut into her, but quickly fought through the pain and managed to reach up and grab the chainsaw hands in her claws before pushing them away.

MetalSnimon: 1-90%
CresTawnimon: 1-90%

"Wing Burst!" Her wings were covered in energy and as she threw MetalSnimon away from her, she then flew around to pick up speed before shooting forward and slashing at MetalSnimon.

MetalSnimon: 1-70%
CresTawnimon: 1-90%

MetalSnimon fell back and had to push his rocket to max power in order to stop himself, as CresTawnimon prepared to attack again.

Thorax checked his SP and saw he had enough for a Sickle Strike, but didn't want to leave himself without any options. As such, he instead swung his blades around to try and push CresTawnimon away. The owl Digimon pulled back in time to prevent the slash and flew around him before he could recover, slashing at his back with her talons.

MetalSnimon: 1-60%
CresTawnimon: 1-90%

But before CresTawnimon could fly away, MetalSnimon spun around and slashed at her face.

MetalSnimon: 1-60%
CresTawnimon: 1-85%

And when she was off balance, he grabbed her and rocketed back towards the ground. Eventually, they crashed into the side of the mountain and MetalSnimon pinned her wings under his feet. "Razor Destroyer!" With that, he started grinding into CresTawnimon's chest.

She screamed at this, unable to pull herself free as he continued to grind into her for several moments before his chainsaws stopped.

MetalSnimon: 1-60%
CresTawnimon: 1-45%

CresTawnimon panted as MetalSnimon continued to pin her down, his SP zeroing out being the only reason he stopped his attack. But he wasn't done and prepared to simply slash at her to end this. But before he could, CresTawnimon took a deep breath to focus herself. And in doing so, her head crest glowed.

"Crested Guardian!" The light flew off her crest and slammed into MetalSnimon, making him cry out as he was knocked back.

MetalSnimon: 1-45%
CresTawnimon: 1-45%

CresTawnimon took to the air, as the energy around her continued to make her glow. As she did, MetalSnimon spotted an SP coin nearby.

He quickly rushed over and destroyed it, his power raising as his rocket powered up. It then exploded and sent him rocketing into the air, up above CresTawnimon as the energy around her continued to build. Once he was high enough, he cut his rocket and started powering it up.

"Time to end this!" He cried as the energy built to bursting point, "METAL SWARM!" The energy exploded out of his booster and split into hundreds of energy spheres, which began to rain down upon CresTawnimon as she finished builting up power.

"You're right," she told him. "It is time to end this!" With that, she rocketed upwards as the energy continued for form a shield around her.

The shield then changed shape, morphing into a form that perfectly fit around CresTawnimon and mimicked her shape. The first meteor crashed into her and she flinched, the shield not protecting her as well.

MetalSnimon: 1-45%
CresTawnimon: 1-40%

She continued to force her way through the meteors, dodging as best she could but doing her best not to lose any speed and getting hit several times.

MetalSnimon: 1-45%
CresTawnimon: 1-5%

But eventually, she flew through the last one and shot straight towards MetalSnimon. He dodged her as she attempted to slam into him, but CresTawnimon wasn't going to be beaten so easily and pulled around as fast as she could.

As she did, the energy surrounding her began to channel itself into her wings and she dived towards him.

MetalSnimon charged at her, his chainsaw arms primed to attack. "RAAAAH!" He roared, as the pair got closer and closer and he was about to slash at her.

"CRESTED WING BURST!" She screamed as she slashed at him with her wings, MetalSnimon attempting to block with his blade. The two forces collided and pushed against one another, but the energy of CresTawnimon's attack overwhelmed MetalSnimon. And to his absolute shock, she managed to push his arm back and slash her with all the energy she had built up.

MetalSnimon: 1-0%
CresTawnimon: 1-5%

"AUGH!" He cried as his last Security broke, causing him to fall towards the ground.

He attempted to stop himself, but his booster refused to fire after the punishment it had been put through. All he could do was brace himself, as he fell through the hole in the top of the mountain and smashed into the first bridge he came across before exploding into data.

Twilight's friends began to cheer for her victory, knowing it was a very close fight.

They watched as the battlefield disintegrated and reverted back to the dome shape, where Thorax and Grubmon were laying on the ground. CresTawnimon was consumed by light and split into Twilight and Tawnimon, the pair landing on the ground and celebrating as Tawnimon leapt into his partner's arms.

"We did it!" Twilight cheered, Tawnimon nodding before they turned to Thorax and Grubmon. "That was a great fight."

"Thanks," Thorax stood up and rubbed his back where he had hit the bridge. "I almost had you. If only my SP had lasted a few seconds longer." Twilight nodded as the voice announced her victory and gave her points. Now she was one step closer to becoming an Ultimate Level, though she was still a long ways away from that.

The four headed out of the dome room and towards the exit, leaving the stadium and heading towards the main foyer. And as they did, they saw Flash, Micro, Rarity and Applejack heading their way. "Twilight!" Flash cheered, "that was a great match."

"You watched?" Twilight asked, with the lot of them nodding.

"Yeah," Micro smiled. "You did great. Had me on the edge of my seat."

"You were great too," Applejack told Thorax. "Ya'h got better since a'h last fought ya'h."

"Thanks," Thorax smiled as he scratched Grubmon's head. "But I can't take all the credit. Grubmon was the one helping me the whole time." Grubmon nodded, though still clearly annoyed at his loss.

"Well," Tentomon told him, "from one bug Digimon to another. You did a fine job out there. Maybe next time, Micro and I can take you on in a battle. I'm interested in seeing which of our Champion lines can better stand against one another. Your Snimon, or my Kabuterimon."

"Yeah," Micro liked the sound of that. "What do you say? Wanna battle against one another some time?"

"Sure," Thorax nodded. "But I'm actually gonna be taking a break from battles for a while." This confused them. "Grubmon and I have been searching for a special location for a while now and we've almost located it. A rare jungle, that's said to house some really powerful insect Digimon."

"Really?" Twilight asked, "what kinds of insects?"

"Not sure yet," Thorax told her. "But one legend says there's a Digimon in there called Hudiemon, who rules the jungle and protects it from threats. If I can get a scan of it or one of its insect warriors, I'm sure I'll be able to win whatever fight I end up in next."

"That sounds awesome," Flash smirked. "You mind I come when you go? Exploring a location like that sounds awesome." Twilight agreed, though Rarity didn't seem interested in exploring a hot and humid jungle. Applejack and Micro also declined, Micro wanting to prepare for his own next battle.

Thorax smiled, gladly agreeing to let them come once his investigation found something. Flash and Twilight smiled, excited to see what this area was like.

Author's Note

Thorax is now part of the team. Hope you liked my new Digimon forms and I know Digimon don't usually have two main characters with the same type of Digimon, but Micro has already branched out into other types of Digimon whilst Thorax will be mostly bugs.

Also, I wrote this before I remembered this was a thing, so any similarities you see are by total accident.

Taking it to the Ex-Treme

The Digital World Desert. A place Flash had hoped to never have to come to again.

The hot, windless, air was making him regret his choice of clothing, the teen taking off his leather jacket. He and Veemon were once again at the back of the pack, as their friends led the way through the dunes.

Thorax and Grubmon were at the front, looking through a map they had on their Digivice. Twilight and Tawnimon were next and bringing up the rear was Fluttershy and Terriermon, the long eared Digimon moving his head around to make a breeze to cool down his partner.

Flash had been surprised, when he learned Fluttershy would be joining them. But given the butterfly symbols on her skirt, he assumed she was a fan of insect Digimon. "Are we there yet?" Terriermon asked, looking tired of fanning himself and Fluttershy.

Thorax hummed as he studied the map. "Almost."

"You said we'd be going to a lush jungle," Flash pointed out. "There's nothing around here that even looks like a jungle." The others were in agreement, worried Thorax might be leading them on a wild goose chase.

"This map is real," Thorax stated. "I had to trade four super rare scans for it. But it'll be worth it. I'm gonna find the legendary Hudiemon."

"Me too," Fluttershy smiled. "I heard Hudiemon is one of the most beautiful Insect Digimon in the Digital World. And if the stories are true, I already have the Rookie needed to become it."

"Same," Thorax smirked. "I'm hoping Grubmon can Digivolve into it, but if not I can use my Wormmon scan." Hear this made Flash raise an eyebrow.

"Wait, you've already got the Rookie for it? Then why are we hunting it down when you can just Digivolve it in the Digi-Lab?" This question got them to all roll their eyes.

"Two reasons," Thorax stated. "Hudiemon is a locked Digimon. You can't Digivolve into it." Flash nodded, remembering some of Veemon's Megas had that issue. "Two, Digivolving in the Digi-Lab sticks you with a baseline Digimon. All its stats are the ones the Digimon'd have right after evolving. But if you scan a Digimon that's been that Level for a while, or even about to Digivolve to the next, you get a way stronger Digimon."

"Huh," Flash realised he was right, "you got a point there."

"Besides," Twilight smiled, "where's the fun in just buying yourself a new Digimon? Going out and getting the scan yourself is way better."

Flash sighed. "I'd normally agree, but right now I'm sweating bullets."

"Yeah," Veemon groaned, "this adventure's starting to stink." He raised his arm and sniffed his pit, "literally." But as he said that, Thorax gasped.

"We're here!" The others stopped and looked ahead, but all they saw was more desert and a pair or rocks sticking out of the sand.

"I think the heat finally fried his brain," Tawnimon mocked as Thorax frowned. He pointed at his Digivice and they all looked over his shoulder, to see an image on the screen of an old fashioned treasure map. And on that map, they saw a desert with a lush jungle inside of it. In front of the desert was the image of a stag beetle, with an arrow pointing between its horns.

"See, those rocks look just like beetle horns." They stared at the rocks and had to admit, they did kind of resemble horn as they were curved with spikes pointing inwards. "The map says to walk through them and that's what I'm gonna do." With that, he marched forward and the three watched sceptically.

They expected Thorax to simply walk between the rocks and be upset when nothing happened. But then, to their shock, as soon as he was through it both he and Grubmon vanished.

They gasped and rushed up to the rocks, Twilight running around them to see if there was anything on the other side. But it was just a normal desert. She shrugged at the others before Flash and Veemon stepped through the rocks towards Twilight, only to vanish from sight.

The girls and their Digimon looked worried, Twilight stepped through the rocks but finding nothing happening. And when she looked back at the rock, Flash's arm suddenly appeared and was floating there.

Fluttershy screamed, but Flash's arm gestured for them to follow. So they did and stepped through the two rocks.

When they did, they were shocked to discover that the environment in front of them warped and shifted. It was like stepping through a waterfall and when they reached the other side, they found a beautiful and lush jungle waiting for them.

"Wow," the four whispered as they stepped up next to Flash, Thorax, Veemon and Grubmon. "Amazing," Twilight whispered. "Some kind of digital warp keeping it from being entered through." They looked back and saw the desert, Twilight curious what would happen if she left without going through the rocks.

She did so and found the jungle vanishing again, the only way in being to go through the rocks.

"This place is freaky," Grubmon stated. "But that's what makes it awesome." He turned to Thorax, "scan the place so we can come back." Thorax nodded as she scanned the place, the others doing the same with Flash getting warning.

"Champion Level?" Flash asked, a little bit of worry on his face. "This place has gotta be really dangerous if it's that high."

"Don't worry Flash," Veemon told him. "Even if this place is dangerous, the eight of us together's bound to be enough to handle it." The others nodded as they began to make their way through the jungle, trying to see if there were any Digimon in sight.

"Probably none near the edge of the forest," Twilight stated. "If this place is hard to get into, accidently leaving its boundaries could be a problem. We'll probably find them further in." They nodded and all headed inside, completely unaware that they were being watched.

Up in one of the trees, a small green Digimon who looked like it was part pinecone was watching as the group disappeared into the trees.

The Digimon was hanging from a branch by a brown string, which extended to let it drop to the bottom. At the bottom of the tree was a hole, where a mirror could be found. "Minomon Scout to base. Come in base." A few moments later, another Digimon appeared on the mirror. It was a green worm Digimon.

"Report," the Digimon stated.

"Intruders have entered the forest. Four humans who each appeared to be partnered with a Digimon. They're heading north, towards the river."

"Our queen will want to hear this," the Digimon replied. "Stay on alert. More humans may appear." With that, the mirror went blank and Minomon returned to his original hanging position.

In another part of the forest, the worm Digimon crawled through a wooden tunnel until it reached a large chamber.

More worm Digimon were located on the walls, using thread to decorate the place. And at the back of the room was a large throne, where a humanoid Digimon was sitting. "Excuse me, your majesty. Our scout as reported four humans entering the forest, each with a Digimon partner."

The Digimon stood up, entering the light and revealing themselves to be a female human-like creature wearing insect armor and a pair of butterfly wings on the back of their head.

"Humans," she growled, "I will not allow them to tarnish my kingdom. And those Digimon who partner with them. How disgusting." She raised a hand to her subjects, "it is time we make an example of these fools. Find and capture them." The other Digimon all cheered before crawling towards the exit, as the humanoid Digimon sat back down. "When we have them captured, I want you to dispense their punishment." She looked over at a doorway, where a tall humanoid figure was standing.

Their features were hidden in the darkness, but the simple outline of them was enough to convey great strength and power.

The humans and their Digimon had been walking for a while, searching for any sign of a Digimon. Especially the rare ones they had come to find.

"See anything?" Twilight asked Tawnimon, who had flown up to the top of a large tree to try and get a better look. The owl Digimon's killer eyesight scanned the environment, then noticed something off in the distance.

"There's a river further up. Probably leads to a lake or something."

"Digimon do need to drink," Thorax nodded. "It'd be the perfect place to search for them." The others nodded and began to head in that direction, pushing large leaves and branches out of the way as they did.

"Woo!" Flash whipped his brow, "this place feels hotter then the desert?"

"Trees are probably trapping the hot air inside the biome," Twilight explained. "It should be cooler at the lake." They continued to make their way the jungle. But as they did, something suddenly shot out of the trees in front of them and zoomed over their heads.

They ducked down and spun around, taking their Digivices out only to see the Digimon retreating.

Said Digimon was mostly yellow with black parts and was the size of a normal human, the insectoid flying up and away as Twilight recognised it. "Flybeemon."

Flash was surprised by this, "an Armor Digimon in the wild? Doesn't it need a Digimental for that?"

"Yup," Thorax nodded, "the Digimental of Knowledge. And it was found a while back and given to the Codex Commanders." Flash was still confused. "Why do you think they're willing to pay so much for Digimentals? Not only do they sell scans of it to players, they also have a way to make wild Digimon Armor Digivolve if they want."

Fluttershy nodded. "They place them in a special machine that adds the Digimentals into the Digital Data Stream. Now, whenever a Digimon Digivolves, it has the chance to Armor Digivolve if that Digimon is the one they have an affinity for."

"Cool," Flash hadn't known that, "you seem to know a lot about what they used the Digimentals for." Fluttershy smiled before taking out her Digivice and opening it up, a cube of light appearing above it with a Digimental Flash hadn't seen before. A pink flower one with an unusual symbol on it. "Is that..."

"The Digimental of Kindness," Terriermon smirked from her shoulder. "Fluttershy was the one who found and gained its power. When the Codex Commanders asked to buy it, she happily gave it over so they could help Digimon become the ones they wanted."

Flash and Veemon were amazed by this, having thought they were the only ones to find a Digimental.

They continued on until they reached the edge of the river, which actually turned out to be a fast running body of water located between two long cliffs roughly ten meters tall.

The players and their Digimon frowned at its sight, seeing it was likely moving too fast to really be feeding a lake. "So what do we do now?" Flash asked, the others humming.

"It might not be feeding a lake," Twilight stated. "But it could be originating from a lake. Let's head upstream and see what's there." The others nodded as they began to head up that way. But as they did, the ground in front of them suddenly began to crack and break apart.

They all stopped and stared at the crack, the Digimon sensing something and rushing in front of them. And as they did, the ground exploded to reveal a large yellow beetle Digimon with drills on its arms and the end of its nose.

"It's a Digmon!" Thorax cried, as the Digimon's drills started spinning. "Everyone, move!" Digmon thrust its drills into the ground and created a fissure in it, which flew forward as everyone leapt away. "Let's go!" Thorax cried as he thrust his Digivice forward, as the image of a yellow and purple Digimental with a drill on the end appeared.

"Digi-Armor, Energize!" The Digimental exploded into light, which flew around his Digimon Partner.

"Grubmon, Armor Digivolve to..." The light suddenly turned to stone, which broke apart to reveal an insect Digimon that was the size of a human. Its body was mostly yellow, with purple here and there. It had large white and purple wings, with the Crest of Knowledge on them, and on the ends of his tail was a black drill. "Mothmon, the Swarm of Knowledge!"

The two Armor Digimon stared each other down before Mothmon rushed forward, his drill tail spinning. "Spiral Impact!" He tried to stab Digmon, but the Armor Digimon managed to avoid the attack and back handed him with his none-drill arm. This sent him flying, as Veemon, Tawnimon and Terriermon rushed forward.

Flash started tapping at his Digivice, but was unsure which Digimon to make Veemon. Flamedramon and Strikedramon could cause the whole place to burn down, whilst Veedramon was way too big.

He was so focused on this, he didn't notice that Digmon drills were spinning. "Gold Rush!" It cried, launching the drills at them. One was headed straight for Flash and he barely noticed it coming, allowing him to leap out of the way at the last second.

But this caused him to trip on a rock and fall near the edge of the cliff, his Digivice flying out of his hands.

"Flash!" Veemon cried, seeing his partner fall to the ground. As this was happening, Digmon once again slammed its drills into the ground and caused the whole place to start breaking apart. This included the area near Flash, which soon began to crumble.

"WOW!" Flash cried, as the rock he was on broke away from the cliff and he began to fall towards the water.

"NO!" Veemon rushed forward and leapt over the edge, the others crying their names as the two reached one another. They grabbed hold on each other and held themselves close, as they splashed into the water and sank below the raging torrent.

"FLASH!" Twilight cried, as Digmon prepared for another Gold Rush attack.

"That's enough!" Mothmon cried, flying over Digmon. "Gauss Powder!" A bunch of sparkling pieces fell upon the Armor Digimon, causing it to cry out as it made its armor start to burn. It tried to get it off, but Mothmon just kept sprinklings it on him. "NOW!"

"Hooting Cry/Bunny Blast!" Tawnimon and Terriermon launched their attacks, which crashed into Digmon and sent it staggering back. Mothmon's drill started spinning as he prepared to attack. But before he could, Digmon opened his shell and leapt off the cliff.

His wings appeared and lifted him up, the Armor Digimon fleeing to find some place to wash the burning powder off its body. Everyone watched and once they were sure he wouldn't come back, they turned their attention to the water and all began to worry about Flash.

Twilight took out her Digivice, "maybe he's okay. Maybe I can track him."

"That might be difficult." They looked around to see Thorax holding Flash's Digivice, the girls and their Digimon gasping. Without his Digivice, Flash couldn't Digivolve Veemon. And if he couldn't Digivolve, they were going to be in serious trouble.

Flash groaned as he and Veemon finally managed to pull themselves out of the water.

On the plus side, they weren't hot anymore. Negative side, they were stuck who knows where with no idea where their friends were. They had no back up, no knowledge of the area and not even a Digivice they could use to Digivolve or port out if things got bad.

"Veemon," Flash coughed as he lay on the ground, "you okay?"

"I'll live," Veemon laid next to him. "But we're in trouble." Flash couldn't agree more, the pair getting up and looking around. They had managed to come across an area of the river that was stuck between two cliffs, but that area had been on the other side of the river. And since Flash didn't have his Digivice, they had no way to Digivolve and cross the river. "What's the plan?"

"I guess...head back upstream." Flash looked up and found the route ahead sloping back up towards the cliffs, the only way to follow the river being to climb said slope. "Come on. Let's not waste any time." They began to make their way up the slope, using rocks and a few roots to pull themselves up. As they did, Flash couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Veemon asked.

"Nothing's funny. I'm just laughing at how insane my life's become." Veemon looked confused. "I never thought I'd ever trek through a jungle, get attacked by armored insects and wind up being thrown into a raging river. If we were in the real world, nothing like this could ever happen."

"Well that's why the Digital World is so awesome," Veemon smiled.

"Got that right. I'm glad I got to come here." He looked over at him, "and I'm glad we got to meet." Veemon smiled back, as the pair got closer and closer to the top. "Ever since we met in that cave, we've been through some crazy adventures. Fighting against that Airdramon, saving the Monmon and a bunch more amazing times."

"Yeah," Veemon nodded. "I'm happy we got to meet too. And I'm glad we're back together." Flash knew what he was talking about. Even though he had managed to save Veemon from Jet Set, things still felt a little off between them. Being pulled away from one another like that had not been easy. With everything that had happened, it was a miracle their friendship survived.

Flash nodded as they reached the top of the slope, the pair sitting on the edge to catch their breath. "Yeah, I'm glad we're back together too." He patted Veemon on the head, "and nothing's gonna split us apart again."

"You promise?"

"I promise," Flash nodded. "We'll stick together, no matter what."

"And we'll go on a ton of adventures together," Veemon cheered. "We'll make our mark on the Digital World and prove we're the best of teams."

"I like the sound of that!" Flash held out his fist and the two bumped them together before getting out. "Yeah. We'll overcome anything the Digital world throws at us and become the best team that's ever lived." With that, the two continued to make their way upstream.

But as they made their way upstream, they were completely unaware that they were being watched. At least until Veemon sensed something and got into a battle stance. "Flash, we're not alone here!" Flash began to look around, curious what could be watching them.

They got their answer when a stream of white thread exploded out the trees and shot towards them, Flash and Veemon leaping out of the way. "Wow!" Flash looked at where it came from, "who's attacking us?" Suddenly, something leapt out of the tree and landed in front of them. "Wormmon?" The green caterpillar Digimon glared at them.

"Why did you attack us?" Veemon asked, only for another blast of thread to shoot out of the trees towards him. "Yikes!" He barely avoided it, as more and more silk flew at him.

Flash was also attacked, barely managing to dodge the strings. As he did, he looked up at the trees and saw a bunch of Wormmon in the branches. "So many." One of the Wormmon leapt at him, Flash staggering to the left as another Wormmon fired a silk thread at him. "HEY!" He cried, getting hit on the arm whilst the Wormmon that had leapt at him fell over the cliff.

"Flash!" Veemon cried, running at him. But more Wormmon fired thread at him and he was forced to dodge them all, only to find the Wormmon that had fallen over the cliff had swung back up on a web line and tackled him. "HEY!" He was knocked to the ground, allowing the Wormmon to fire more thread at him.

Flash quickly found his legs getting tied up, as Veemon was practically cocooned. The Wormmon began to gather around him, all looking upset. "Let us go!" Flash cried, only for a Wormmon to walk over carrying a large branch like a baseball bat. "Wait, hold on. Can't we talk about this!" That was all he got to see before the bat swung into his face and everything went black.

Twilight, Thorax, Fluttershy and their Digimon continued to search for their friends.

Tawnimon had Digivolved into Unimon, allowing him to carry Twilight over the river in search of Flash. The girl looked around both sides of the river, hoping to see something that might be a clue to Flash and Veemon's location.

Thorax, Fluttershy and their Digimon were on the other side of the river, running after them trying to keep up.

Flash's Digivice was in her hands, Twilight hoping it might be able to lock onto Veemon's location or something. But the screen had gone completely blank the moment it left Flash's hand. "Come on," Twilight looked around. "He's gotta be around here somewhere."

"Twilight!" Unicorn cried, "look down there!" Twilight followed where his hoof was pointing and saw an area of the cliff that was covered in webbing.

Unimon flew down and dropped her off, allowing her to investigate it better whilst he flew over to get the others. Twilight picked up the silk and saw it was stuck to the ground near the cliff and laid about haphazardly, obviously cut after missing a target.

"Something was fighting here," Twilight explained when the others arrived.

Terriermon jumped down off Unimon and sniffed the ground. "Hey, I can smell Flash." They all looked shocked by this, "and Veemon." He crawled along the ground, continuously sniffing the ground. "Yeah. They were all over the place here. And a bunch of other Digimon I don't know."

Twilight frowned, "they must have been attacked by something."

"A lot of something," Fluttershy gasped.

Grubmon gulped. "You think...they got deleted?"

"No," Terriermon told them. "Their scents are leading into the forest. It's really strong on the ground, going in a line. I think they were captured and dragged along the ground."

"That's not good," Thorax gulped. "In my experience, wild Digimon only capture someone for two reasons. Lunch or ransom."

Unimon growled. "I hate to agree, but he might be right. They could be in serious trouble." Twilight didn't look happy about this and rushed into the forest, the others following after her as they searched for their friends. And hopefully, they got find them before they were in any real danger.

Flash let out a moan as he began to come round, the teen sitting up and clutching his head.

"Ow," his head was pounding, "what the heck hit me?" Then he remembered everything that had happened. "Veemon!" Pushed himself to his feet and staggered around, only to feel himself lean against some kind of pole. His vision stabilised and he looked around, seeing he was inside a small wooden cage that was barely taller than he was. "Not good."

"Flash!" He spun towards the voice and looked out of the cage, seeing he was in some kind of wooden chamber, with many cages filling it. And inside one of those cages was Veemon, who was still tied up in the string with only his head and feet free.

"Veemon!" He gasped, "are you okay?"

"I think so. But where are we?" Flash wanted to know that as well, but had no clue. However, the sound of a door opening filled the air. They turned to see a light, coming from one of the chamber walls.

Someone then stepped inside, Flash seeing it was some kind of bug woman hybrid dressed in regal clothing. She was accompanied by a pair of Wormmon. "I'm guessing you're the boss of these guys." He suddenly found his mouth being webbed shut, making him gasp as he ripped it off.

"Silence human!" The Wormmon cried, "you do not address our queen. Hudiemon demands your respect!" Flash glared at them, then realised what they had said and looked at the Digimon. So this was the Hudiemon his friends had been wanting a scan of.

Hudiemon stepped forward. "Why do you filthy our kingdom with your presence, human? It's bad enough you're even able to come to the Digital World. But now you wish to destroy our home."

"Destroy your home?" Flash frowned, "I'm not trying to destroy your home. My friends and I just came to explore and maybe get a cool scan."

"Yes. You humans steal our essence without permission, so that you may mock us in your silly game. Truly, you humans have no respect for us Digimon."

"That's not true!" Veemon cried, "Flash and his friends have nothing but respect for the Digital World. We've always been there to help Digimon in need." Hudiemon turned towards him, an unhappy frown on her face.

"If there's one thing worse than a human, it's a Digimon who's friends with a human." She stepped towards him, "why do you demean yourself to be this human's pet."

"Pet?" Veemon looked insulted, "I'm not Flash's pet. I'm his partner. We work together and he helps me become stronger."

"And yet you were defeated by my subjects," Hudiemon stated.

"Yeah, because you ganged up on me. Put me in a one on one fight with one of those nerds and I'll clean their clocks, just watch me." Hudiemon chuckled at this.

"If that is what you wish. But truthfully, I would rather you realise the error of your ways. Free yourself from the shackles of your captor and join me in protecting this kingdom. I'm sure we can find a way to help you Digivolve into an insectoid Digimon. I've had bird, mammal and a few other Digimon walk in here and discover their ability to Digivolve into Flybeemon and Digmon."

"Yeah," Flash replied, "we noticed them."

"We said silence, human!" The Wormmon cried, as Hudiemon kept her attention of Veemon.

"So what do you say? Will you join us?"

Veemon glared at her. "You might as well keep me locked up in here. I'm not abandoning Flash. We made a promise to stick by one another, no matter what." Flash nodded as Hudiemon sighed.

"A shame," she shook her head. "Then you leave me no choice." She snapped her fingers and turned to leave, her Wormmon guards crawling up the cage towards the roof. Flash and Veemon shared a worried look, as the Wormmon picked the cage up by the thread holding it and carried it towards the exit.

"VEEMON!" Flash cried, rattling his cage. "Whatever happens, we'll find each other!" But as Veemon was removed from the chamber, Flash was beginning to worry they might be in serious trouble.

Twilight and her friends had searched for Flash's trail for a while.

Terriermon continued to sniff the ground to follow Flash's scent. But as they came to a denser area of the jungle, he stopped and sniffed the ground. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked, Terriermon constantly crawling around.

"I...I lost their scent. It's gone."

"How can it be gone?" Tawnimon asked.

"I don't know," Terriermon pointed to the ground. "It stops right here and vanishes." He tried to pick it up again, but he couldn't find anything. "It's like they just teleported."

"Maybe," Thorax frowned. "Or maybe they weren't being dragged along the ground anymore. Maybe something picked them up and carried them the rest of the way."

"Like what?" Fluttershy asked, Thorax shrugging as he thought about all the insect Digimon that lived in the jungle. Any one of them could potentially pick Flash up and carry him away. And if they had, it meant finding him and Veemon could be impossible.

"What do we do?" Grubmon asked.

"We keep going," Twilight stated. "Even if the trail's gone cold, the scent's been moving in a straight line since we found it. Let's keep going straight and hope it's not too far away." She started pushing her way through the trees and the others followed. 'Flash, Veemon. Please be alright.'

Flash grunted, as he tried to find a way out of the cage he found himself in.

He had tried to break through the bars, but whatever wood they were made out of was hard as metal. He then tried to break the bonds holding the cage together, but whatever thread they had used was insane. It was like rock, which Flash assumed was a special ability of whatever Digimon made it. If he had something like a rock or small knife, he might have been able to break through them. But he had nothing.

Flash sighed as he sat on the floor of his cage, worried Veemon was being placed in some kind of horrible torture whilst he was just sitting there. He had to get out, but how?

Suddenly, the doors of the chamber opened and Flash saw a bunch of Wormmon crawling towards him on the roof. "Let me out of here!" He told them. "This is inhuman!" But the Wormmon didn't listen to him, instead crawling towards the thread connecting the cage to the roof.

One pulled and lifted the cage off the ground, the other Wormmon spitting their own threads to hit and lift it. They then started pulling the cage towards the door, Flash having a bad feeling he wasn't gonna like where he was going.

"Where's Veemon? What did you guys do to him?"

The Wormmon all laughed as they left the chamber. "Our queen has something special planned for him. He'll regret teaming up with a filthy human like you." Flash didn't like the sound of this, as he tried to figure out where they were going.

The Wormmon lead them through multiple wooden tunnels, Flash wondering if he might be in an underground tunnel propped up by wood. After a while, they arrived at a dead end and Flash looked curious. "Did we take a wrong turn?" He asked as they reached the wall and the Wormmon put him down.

The Wormmon all climbed down the walls and started to glue the cage to the ground with their treads, as a clicking sound caught Flash's attention and made him look up at the ceiling. The thing was starting to open up, causing light to stream down as Flash saw he was looking up what appeared to be a long tunnel.

"That can't be a good thing." The Wormmon finished their work and moved over to pull a leaver Flash hadn't noticed before, which caused the cage to start moving upwards as it was pushed up by a tower.

The teen frowned, as his cage entered the tunnel and he kept going up. And as he did, he started hearing cheering. This didn't comfort Flash and as the cage rose out of the top of the tunnel, he was blinded by the sudden flourish of light, that forced him to close his eyes until he got used to the brightness.

When he was finally able to open his eyes, Flash looked around and found he was in a large wooden colosseum.

The Wormmon filled the stands and cheered, excited for the event that was about to take place. On the other side of the arena, Hudiemon sat in her throne and her eyes soon locked on Flash. His cage was pushed towards the top of the wall, allowing him to look down onto the battlefield.

Hudiemon then stood and raised her hands, the Wormmon shutting up. "My subjects, we have a human in our mists." The Digimon booed at this, Flash rolling her eyes. "And worst of all, we have a human loving Digimon with us as well."

In that moment, the section of wall below Flash opened up and someone was pushed inside. "HEY!" Flash looked down and gasped.

"Veemon!" His partner looked up at him and gasped. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," Veemon cried.

"Silence!" They turned to Hudiemon, who glared down at the blue dragon Digimon. "Veemon. For the greatest crime a Digimon can commit, you will be deleted and returned to a Digiegg." They both gasped. "Maybe when your memories are lost, will you be able to escape this sickness of loving humans."

"YOU CAN'T!" Flash cried, but the Wormmon around him told him to shut it.

"I am not without mercy," Hudiemon told them. "Instead of executing you, my greatest warrior shall do battle against you. Should you be victorious, I may be willing to let you and your human leave."

Veemon smirked, "me against just one of these Wormmon. Please. They might have beaten me together, but there's no way they'll win in a one on one battle."

"I don't think she'll be sending a Wormmon out to fight you," Flash told him. And sure enough, the doors on the other side of the stadium opened up before something flew out of it. Something large, humanoid and with tough looking armor.

"WOW!" Veemon cried when the attacking Digimon charged at him, the Rookie leaping to the side as it shot passed. Flash watched as the Digimon flew into the air with incredible speed, eventually coming to a stop in the air and letting him see it was a black and green Digimon that looked like a cross between a man and a hornet.

"Behold my greatest Champion," Hudiemon announced. "Stingmon!" The Digimon slowly flew down and landed on the wall of the stadium, arms crossed as it glared down at Veemon. Hudiemon chuckled, as she sat down. "You say having a human partner makes you stronger. So prove it in this battle and defeat Stingmon." With that, she snapped her fingers and Stingmon leapt down to attack.

"Veemon!" Flash cried, as Stingmon got in close and threw his leg around.

Veemon gasped and only had time to brace himself before the kick hit him and he was sent flying backwards. He smashed into the wall behind him, Flash gasping as Stingmon continued to attack. Veemon pushed himself away from the wall, as Stingmon prepared to slash at him.

He barely managed to jump out of the way, as Stingmon slashed through the wooden structure right beneath Flash. "WOW!" The teen cried, as his cage rocked.

Veemon landed and spat energy into his mouth, "Vee-Shot!" He launched the attack and the energy ball flew towards Stingmon, who only raised his arm with the energy ball exploding off his armor with no damage done.

"Pathetic," Hudiemon shook her head. "Is that the best a partnered Digimon can do?"

Veemon rushed forward and launched himself, "Vee-Headbutt!" Then charged and Stingmon made no motion to move, instead holding up his hand. The attacked slammed into his palm and he remained in place, quickly closing his hand around Veemon's head. "HEY!" Veemon thrash as he tried to struggle free, but nothing he did helped him.

Eventually, Stingmon threw Veemon across the arena and he were barrelling through the air before smashing into the wall. "VEEMON!" Flash watched as his partner fell to the ground, whilst Stingmon began to walk towards him.

Veemon began to push himself to his feet. But as he did, Stingmon leapt into the air as his right leg glowed. "Spinning Spiking Strike!" Moving like a blur, he kicked his leg through the air several times and unleashed blade of air that shot towards Veemon.

The Rookie gasped as the attacks slammed against him, cutting into his skin and making him scream in pain. Flash watched in horror and had had enough, the teen starting to slam his body into the cage. Due to the damage done to the wall, the impact caused the wood holding the cage in place to bend a little.

The Digimon saw this and didn't notice the damage, thinking the human was pointlessly fighting against the inevitable.

Veemon could barely stand as Stingmon stood over him, a purple energy blade extending from his armor. "Flash," he looked up and saw Flash fighting against the cage. "Can't...let him get hurt." He stood strong and charged forward, leaping at Stingmon. "Vee-Headbutt!" But Stingmon simply thrust his foot forward and kicked him back against the wall. "AUGH!"

"Veemon!" Flash cried, remembering everything they had been through. He had just gotten his partner back and refused to lose him again. "RAAAAAH!" He slammed his body into the cage and this caused the wood holding it to finally break, causing the whole thing to fall off the wall and crash into the ground.

Everyone turned to see this and was shocked to see the cage break apart, freeing Flash. "What?" Hudiemon stood, "STOP HIM!"

Flash pushed himself to his feet and rushed towards Veemon, but a web line flew down and hit the back of his jacket. "Augh!" He was pulled back and tried to yank himself free, but more web lines flew down and started hitting his body. Soon enough, he was almost entirely cocoon within the silk and fell to the ground. "Veemon!"

Veemon looked up and saw Flash in trouble, the Wormmon starting to pull him backwards along the ground. "Flash."

"Do not interfere," Hudiemon told him. "This is a matter between Digimon." Stingmon turned back to him, as Flash continued to struggle against the webs. "Finish him."

"Veemon!" Flash cried, "forget about me and run. Maybe you can escape." Veemon gasped at this, but frowned. He wouldn't leave Flash behind.

"Raaah!" Veemon cried, getting up and charging at Stingmon. But once again, he simply kicked him back against the wall. "Ahhh!" He fell to the ground, but quickly began to struggle to his feet. "I...I won't leave you." Flash heard this and feared the worst for his friend. "We...we promised. We'd stick together." Flash remembered their conversation before getting captured. "No matter what dangers we faced, we'd face them together."

"You're right," Flash kept struggling against the webs. "We can't let things end this way. We promised we'd go on lots of adventures together." Veemon nodded as he stood, Stingmon flying forward to deal another kick. "Our journey together...is just beginning!"

Twilight, Fluttershy and Thorax were running through the jungle. And as they did, a bright light suddenly flew out of Twilight's pocket.

"What?" Twilight took out Flash's Digivice and saw it was beginning to glow. "A Digivice shouldn't work without being in it's owner's possession." Everyone was confused by this, wondering what could be happening. But as they wondered, the screen grew bright

When Stingmon dealt the kick, he expected Veemon to go flying again. But this time, that didn't happen.

Somehow, Veemon had caught his foot in his hands and was holding him in place. The Digimon was glowing and Flash watched in amazement, as Veemon started to overpower the Champion.

"I won't lose," he told his opponent. "I'll protect Flash and we'll keep adventuring." He threw Stingmon back as the light grew brighter, Flash smiling as they spoke together. "We'll stay together...NO MATTER WHAT!" With that, Veemon's body exploded with light.

At the same time, Flash's Digivice did the same and shot at beam right into the sky. His friends were shocked, but chased after it. The beam fly up and arched down before smashing into Veemon's body, as the light completely enveloped him.

"VEEMON, DIGIVOLVE TO..." The cocoon grew larger and finally exploded with tremendous force, the light slamming into Stingmon and knocking him back whilst slicing through the webs holding Flash. This allowed the teen to see Veemon's new form, which shocked him.

He looked like Veedramon, only his body was more slim and muscular with a more upright stance. He didn't have any horns on the back of his head, instead having longer versions of Veemon's ears, whilst the horn on his snout was more blade-like. His hands were still blue and on his back were a pair of large white dragon wings. And on his chest was a large gray V-shape with two extra bits beneath it that made it look like an X.

The new Digimon stood up tall and spread his wings, roaring as the entire stadium began to shake around him. "EXVEEMON!"

Flash was amazed by the Digimon in front of him, the twelve meter Champion standing tall and glaring down Stingmon as the insect looked over his now larger opponent. "What is this?" Hudiemon cried, "how could he Digivolve like that?"

"Because he has his partner lending him power," Flash cheered as Stingmon charged forward. "Get him, bud!" ExVeemon roared as he rushed forward, dodging the slash from Stingmon's claws before dealing a punch to his chest. Everyone was shocked to see their greatest gladiator be knocked backwards, as ExVeemon rushed over to Flash and picked him up.

Flash smirked as he held onto the back of ExVeemon's neck, whilst Stingmon picked himself up. "Spinning Spiking Strike!" He kicked his legs around and unleashed the air blades, but ExVeemon quickly leapt into the air and spread his wings. The attacks flew under him and cut the walls of the stadium instead, causing the whole place to come apart.

"My turn!" ExVeemon roared as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Vee-Laser!" He swung them apart to reveal the mark on his chest was glowing, the light exploding off of it and flying down towards Stingmon.

The insect tried to escape, but was struck by the attack and knocked flying backwards.

He crashed into the wall and the damage done to the arena caused the whole place to start falling apart. "NO!" Hudiemon cried, leaping into the air and using her wings to fly above the battlefield. "That's it! I'll deal with you myself!" She was about to do battle, only for another voice to call out first.

"Gargo Pellets!" She spun around, only to see a barrage of bullets flying towards her.

She cried out as they slammed into her, forcing her to fall towards the ground and crash into it. At the same time, Gargomon leapt into the air with Fluttershy on his back. "Flash!" She called out to him, Flash seeing her before noticing Snimon and Unimon appeared in the sky above the trees.

"You're alright!" Twilight cried in relief, as Unimon flew down towards them. "Here, catch!" She threw something at Flash and he was able to catch it, smiling when he saw it was his Digivice.

"You found it!" He cheered, only to almost drop it when ExVeemon had to leap back to avoid Stingmon's attack.

Thorax and Snimon flew down and saw the Champion, his eyes going wide. "Wow. Awesome!" He took out his Digivice and as ExVeemon grabbed his arms to stop him from moving, Thorax scanned him. "Gotcha!"

Hudiemon picked herself up and gasped seeing this, "you dare scan one of my precious subjects. I'll have your head!" But before she could attack, something flew over her and she realised she had been scanned as well. "What!?" She spun around and saw Fluttershy was the one who had scanned her, the girl noticing her anger.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She smiled, "you just looked so beautiful I had to scan you." Hudiemon growled before rushing forward, attempting to destroy the young woman. But Gargomon got between them and blocked her kick.

"Back off!" She pushed Hudiemon away, whilst Stingmon continued to attack.

"Spiking Strike!" The Digimon attempted to stab ExVeemon, but the dragon Digimon dodged it as his clenched his fist. As he did, the fist glowed white and he pulled it back.

"Mega Punch!" He thrust it forward and slammed it into Stingmon's stomach, the impact knocking Stingmon flying until he crashed into the remains of the arena.

Twilight looked around and whilst she was sure it wasn't Flash's fault, the damage they were doing to the stadium looked like it was going to spread to the rest of this jungle kingdom. She held out her Digivice and scanned the location, then turned to the others. "We should get out of here. Everyone, port out!" They all nodded and one by one, they and their Digimon warped away.

The last to go was Flash, who turned to Hudiemon. "We appreciate your hospitality. But I think it's best we don't come and visit for a while." He held up his Digivice and hit the button, he and ExVeemon vanishing in a flash of light.

Hudiemon saw this and after looking around, she let out a roar of anger. Her prisoners had escaped, her arena was destroyed and her best gladiator was down for the count. This had been a very trying day for the ruling Digimon

As soon as the four players and their Digimon got back to Codex, they discussed what had happened to Flash and Veemon and were amazed by the tale.

They then headed for the Digi-Lab, wanting to check out their new scans. "Trade complete," Thorax smirked as he and Fluttershy traded a copy of the scans they had gotten. They quickly placed their Digivices into the slots and brought up their new Hudiemon and Stingmon scans. "Come on," Thorax checked their Digivolution trees and frowned. "Ahhh!"

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked, as she and Flash were also checking out their own scans.

"Grubmon can't turn into Hudiemon," Thorax sighed. "All that hard work, wasted."

"It might not be a total waste," Grubmon told him. "Check out Stingmon." Thorax did so and smirked, seeing Grubmon was a possible prevolution alongside Wormmon and Tentomon.

"Nice," he nodded. "And that Stingmon looked really strong."

"He was," Veemon moaned. "I'm still aching from the beatdown he gave me. But it was totally worth it, since I got to Digivolve into the awesome ExVeemon. I don't know why, but he felt way better than any of the other Champions I've been."

"It's probably because he was your natural evolution," Twilight smiled. "Since Flash didn't lock in an evolution line, you ended up Digivolving into your natural Champion."

"Kind of makes me wish I'd tried that sooner," Flash laughed as he brought up Veemon's evolution line. "Check it out. ExVeemon can become AeroVeedramon, Cyberdramon and a bunch more Digimon I've not seen yet." He then spotted one Digimon that made him hum. "Hey, there's one Digimon that has an item box under it."

Twilight took a closer look and nodded, "that probably means ExVeemon has a DNA Digivolution." Flash nodded, remembering how Jet Set had DNA Digivolved back when he first fought him. "You won't be able to unlock it unless you put the Digimon he needs to fuse with inside."

"Huh," Flash scratched his head, "wonder what Digimon it is?"

"Who knows," Thorax shrugged. "Could be any Digimon. It's pretty much impossible to guess. Most players with that type of Digimon get it by scanning the thing in the Digital World and De-Digivolving it into its base forms." As he said that, he found that Stingmon also had a DNA Digivolution possibility. He also wondered what he would need in order to Digivolve it, but knew he would likely never find the needed component.

Twilight typed away at her Digivice and sent the four something, the lot seeing it was a copy of the scan Twilight had gotten at the arena. "I know we're probably never gonna go back there, but I thought a scan of it could be useful." They all smirked and nodded, glad their adventure had been so fruitful.

Flash and Veemon had found their natural Champion form, Thorax and Fluttershy had gotten the scans they were after and Twilight got an interesting location scan. Despite everything that had happened, they considered their little adventure to be quite successful. They just hoped their next outing wouldn't be so exciting.

But little did they know, things were going to get more and more insane from here on out. And the only way to overcome it would be together.

Author's Note

ExVeemon is here! What, you thought I wouldn't give Flash the best Champion Form for Veemon? I like Veedramon, but I'm a 02 guy. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

For those wondering about Mothmon and Flybeemon's lack of pictures, some of you have probably noticed the descriptions don't match their canon looks. well here's the reason why. Hope you like it.

The Knight's Tale

In a strange, unknown location, six figures stood around a strange orb of light.

That orb was showing various battles, that had taken place throughout the Digital World. One scene was of Flamedramon, battling against Monochromon. The next showed Veedramon, battling against a Shellmon on the beach. It then changed to show Flamedramon, battling alongside an Agunimon against Armormon and a Landramon. And finally, it showed ExVeemon as he wrestled against a Stingmon.

Each of these scenarios had one thing in common. They were all ones involving Flash's Veemon.

"The long lost line has finally been restored," one of the figures stated. "The Codex Commanders have already scanned him and placed his Data back into the Data Stream. Digimon will finally be able to Digivolve into him and his evolutions."

"Our numbers can finally become whole again," a female voice answered. "But it will still take time."

"Time which we may not have," a gruff voice stated. "The Digital World is entering a new stage of conflict. It won't be long before the Dragon Soul Stones begin to appear. We must be at full power to aid in their retrieval."

"Then we must find a way to convince this Digimon to join our ranks," a rather posh voice stated.

"But he has a human partner now," the only non-humanoid figure stated. "You know a Digimon with a partner can't permanently Digivolve past Rookie. Even if he has the power, their system won't allow it."

"Humans," the gruff voice growled, "they've been an issue since they first got here."

"That's a bit harsh," the final, winged, member stated. "The humans might have caused a few problems, but they've helped a lot as well. I mean...watch them." They watched the orb, as the humans and Digimon helped free the Monmon from their captors. "I'm sure if we talked to them, the human and his partner will see the importance of Veemon joining."

"And how exactly would we talk to them?" The female figure asked. "Even if we invite them here, what reason would they have to trust us?"

"You forget, I have an in with him." They looked up and watched, as Veedramon and Kabuterimon fought against the aquatic Digimon. The scene then changed to show Flash and Micro. "I can get them to trust us." He turned to the first figure, "what do you say?"

The figure stepped closer to the orb, its light finally illuminating him as a around fifteen foot tall individual whose body was composed of white armor. His arms were either blue or orange and instead of a hand, each arm had the head of a wolf or dragon on it. A red cape flowed down his back.

The figure stared at the image of Flash and Veemon. "I say we had better get in contact with the Codex Commanders."

It was another fun-filled day at Codex and everyone was enjoying themselves.

Flash, Micro, Sandal, Trixie, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Thorax and their Digimon were all gathered. They were currently celebrating a string of wins from several of them, with Flash, Fluttershy and Thorax enjoying the use of their new Digimon to claim victory.

Pinkie was currently making a joke that got them all laughing, as they enjoyed the burgers and fries they could eat without needing to worry about calories.

But their excitement was cut short, when a beam of light appeared beside them. This caught their attention, as Gennai stepped out of the light. "Greetings, Codex Players."

"Hey Gennai," Flash smirked. "You come to celebrate with us?"

"Sadly, no. The work of a Codex Commander is never ending, so we don't really get to party like you players all do."

"That's horrible," Pinkie gasped. "You guys should unionize and demand paid vacation." She seemed to be forgetting that the Codex Commanders had no bosses to demand that from.

"Maybe we will. But right now, I'm here on Digimon business." A holographic screen appeared in front of him and he pressed a few buttons, causing Flash and Micro's Digivices to beep. "You two have been invited to a meeting in the Digital World."

"A meeting?" Flash asked, as he and Micro checked their Digivices.

"Some-mon in the Digital World wants to meet you. They asked us to act as the go between, since a random Digimon inviting a human somewhere might be seen as sketchy."

"Who wants to meet them?" Twilight asked, curious why Flash and Micro of all people would be invited.

"I've been asked not to say. But, I can assure you they can be trusted. I'd suggest going to see them, since you could end up getting quite a rare scan of them." The group became interested at this statement, the lot smiling as Gennai bid a farewell and teleported away.

"What do you think?" Flash asked Micro and the Digimon.

Micro hummed, but Veemon stood up. "I say we go. They invited us and Gennai said they could be trusted. It'd be rude to ignore them." Tentomon nodded as Micro thought about it some more.

"Yeah," he finally nodded, "let's go." Flash nodded as Micro checked the invite. "Says here we're both allowed to bring one friends and their Digimon."

"Really?" Flash looked at the invite and saw he was right. "What is this, a Digimon cocktail party?"

"Who cares!?" Trixie cried, "who you gonna bring?" Flash and Micro hummed, unsure who should come with them. The others were all giving them a look that said they wanted to go and neither of them could pick one, Twilight eventually having an idea.

"Let's play Data, Virus, Vaccine." Flash was confused by this until Twilight took out her Digivice, the others doing the same.

"Data, Virus, Vaccine?" He asked Micro, as the group paired up and started fiddling with their Digivices. Micro smirked as he held up his Digivice.

"It's like Rock, Paper, Scissors, only you use Digimon types instead." They watched as Twilight and Trixie showed each other their Digivice, Trixie cheering when her MagnaAngemon scan trounced a Betamon scan. The others all played and cut the number in half.

The winners kept playing against one another until, finally, only two were left. "YEAH!" Trixie, Sandal and their Digimon cheered, having won the chance to go wherever the heck they had been invited to. The others all looked bummed, but respected the game.

"Okay then," Flash led them all to the Digi-Port. "You guys all ready?" They nodded as Flash turned to the others, "we'll tell you what happens later." They nodded and once Flash and Micro sent the other two a transport link, they ported to the location.

In a bright flash of light, the four and their Digimon all appeared in a rocky environment.

As the light faded, they looked around and saw they were standing atop a large mountain. The word large wasn't even the proper word to describe it, as the mountain was absolutely huge. It wasn't insanely tall, probably around ten miles, but the size of it was enough to fit an entire city top it. And there was.

Truth be told, it was more like a massive castle. It was a large stone structure that was so large and pointed, you could mistake it for being the tip of the mountain. It was surrounded by a large stone wall that looked like it could survive a nucular bomb, with a single drawbridge entrance at the front of it.

"Wow," they all whispered in amazement. They never thought such an extravagant castle could exist, even in the Digital World. But despite how incredible it looked, Micro pulled his eyes away and looked around to take a glance at the surrounding environment.

"Wait a minute," he stated whilst taking a closer look. The others turned to him and watched, as he started pointing at spots in the distance and mumbling to himself. "If that's...and that's...then this is...I know this area."

"You do?" Trixie asked.

"Yeah, I've been here before. Heck, Tentomon and I have climbed this mountain."

Tentomon gasped, "you're right. But there wasn't a castle here last time."

"There wasn't anything here last time," Micro agreed. "We thought we'd find a really strong Digimon, but there wasn't anything here. Which was odd, since this place felt like a great area to claim." They turned back to the castle, "and this was not here last time. I would have noticed."

They all hummed at this, curious what could be going on. Then, Flash had a thought. "Do you think it's possible the castle's hidden? Like the jungle Veemon and I went to before. It looked like there was nothing but a huge desert, but when we found the entrance the jungle appeared. But it only appears when you go through that entrance."

"This place must be really special if it needs protection like that," Lunamon stated as Trixie squealed.

"Which means there must be a really strong Digimon inside!" They all stared up at the castle, excited to see what was inside. However, they quickly realised getting inside was gonna be an issue.

The section of the mountain they were on was broken away from the main top. Looking down over the edge, they saw a sixty foot drop going in a V formation, connecting it to the rest of the mountain. The gap between the two sections was almost as large as the wall was tall.

It was then that they realised the reason for the drawbridge, as in that moment the metal contraption slowly began to lower.

They all stepped backwards, as the drawbridge came down with the end slamming down on the rock. In the real world, this would have caused the section of the rock to shake and maybe break apart. But in the digital one, the rock didn't even shudder.

The pairs stepped across the drawbridge, on guard in case something leapt out at them.

They eventually reached the other side and passed through the gate, finding themselves in a large courtyard so big Flash's school could fit inside of it. And to their surprise, multiple Digimon could be found there.

Some were a bunch of round Digimon in metal armor, covered in leather vests with pummelled ponytails and dual wielding curved rapiers. Some were large fox-like Digimon, with bladed zig zag tails and adornments one would only see on a buddhist priest. And some looked like metal stars with eyes in the centre along with arms and legs.

Wizardmon also made up a part of the group, the Digimon all fighting against one another.

But it wasn't in a malicious way, it being clear from watching that they were simply sparing against one another. The sight of so many Digimon, training hard to fight in order to get stronger, was something Flash and his friends were all amazed to see.

They stepped into the courtyard and as they did, the Digimon stopped their spars and turned to them.

One of the Gladimon rushed forward, pointing his swords at them. "Who are you? Why did you come here?" The humans gulped as the Digimon prepared for a fight, Flash not wanting this to be how their introductions began.

"Hold on!" Flash told them, "we were invited here." The Digimon looked at them, suspiciously. But before they could decide whether to believe them or not, a voice called out to them.

"Lower your blade." They all looked around and saw another Digimon step out of the entrance to the castle. This Digimon was a tall humanoid wearing silver knight armor, with a sword and shield strapped to his back.

"Our lords are expecting them," the Digimon announced. The Champions all nodded at this and stepped aside, creating a path that the visitors could walk through. "Welcome," he told them. "My lords will be happy to learn you accepted their invitation." He gestured to the building. "Please, follow me."

The eight of them headed into the castle, the Digimon known as Knightmon leading them towards its great hall. "This place is amazing!" Micro cried, "look at the architecture of the place."

"The King of England doesn't even live in such an amazing place," Trixie smiled. "How the heck did we not know this place existed?"

"Only a select few are allowed in here," Knightmon explained. "Our lords require their privacy in order to conduct their work to the best of their ability."

"Your lords?" Veemon asked, "they're the ones that asked us to come here?" Knightmon nodded, as they began to ascend a flight of stairs. "Who are they? And why did they want us to come here?" The others were hoping they would also get the answers to those questions.

"You'll see soon enough." Knightmon then looked down at him. "But they're very excited to see you in particular." This didn't surprise them, given Veemon's status as a rare and long lost Digimon. They arrived at the top of the stairs and found themselves at a set of large doors, which were just as well detailed as the rest of the castle. "Here we are."

"So the ones who invited us here are behind these doors?" Flash asked, Knightmon nodding.

"I must leave you now. I wish you all a good day. And...good luck." He walked off, leaving the humans and their partners to stare up at the doorway. They were all a little nervous, fearing what they might find on the other side.

"Well," Trixie turned to them, "we can't stand here all day." The boys sighed, knowing she was right. As such, Flash lead the march towards the doors. And as they approached, the doors began to open on their own.

As they opened, a bright light filled the air and the group were blinded as they stepped forward. But despite the light, they were able to look ahead and see a bunch of stone thrones located inside the room. And as they got closer, they realised six of the thrones had someone sitting in them.

The figures in the large thrones were all staring down at them, as they reached the centre of the throom.

"Welcome," one of them spoke in a booming voice, "we are glad to see you accepted our invitation. Now that you're here, we can get down to business."

"Right," Flash was still trying to see who was even taking, "but before that...could you maybe turn down the lights? We have no idea who we're actually talking too." The figure who spoke raised an arm and as they did, the windows that were unleashing the light had blinds lowered.

This darkened the room, but enough light still filled it to allow them to see. And when they all looked up, they were shocked by who they were staring at.

They were all knightly Digimon in appearance, each of them wearing armor with some carrying weapons on them. They all stood between fifteen and twenty meters in height, giving them a serious presence.

The first was a purple Digimon in dark blue armor, with black trim and skull emblems covering it. He was carrying a double ended spear and a large shield on his back, with the same skull emblem as his armor.

The next Digimon was also purple, only he seemed to be wearing white armor with gold trim. On his back were a pair of purple dragon wings, whilst large red orbs could be seen on the palms of his large purple clawed hands.

The third Digimon was white in colour, but was almost completely covered in pink armor that had long yellow ribbons coming off of their back and shoulders that were made entirely of flexible metal. On her right arm was a large yellow shield, with a blue gem in the centre and a pinkie cross around it.

After that was a Digimon in brown and white armor, looking like a victorian suit, with a pair of small white wings on their back. Their helmet was shaped like a big cat's and a red sash was tied around their waist. This sash was also holding a silver rapier.

Then there was the least humanoid of the Digimon, this one appearing more like a centaur. They appeared to be a large three-legged horse, with the horse's head forming the chest as the arms stuck out the side and the Digimon's real head appearing to also be horse-like. It had a large waft of purple hair and a long white tail, with a large shield covering its right arm and crossbow strapped to its left.

FInally, there was the sixth member of the group. A Digimon that any fan worth their salt would recognise in the blink of an eye. The almost robotic Digimon with differently colours arms. "Omnimon," Flash could hardly believe it. The others were just as amazed, taking in the sight of each Digimon.

"Craniamon and Dynasmon," Micro whispered seeing the first two.

"Crusadermon and Duftmon," Trixie continued.

"And Kentaurosmon too," Sandal finished. The Digimon all stared down at them, as everything suddenly clicked into place for them. The Digimon training outside were all Digimon that could turn into a specific group. A group famous in the Digital World.

"The Royal Knights," Flash could hardly believe it. Their Digimon all looked just as amazed as their partners, whilst Omnimon stood up.

"As you said, we are the Royal Knights. The Digimon who protect the Digital World from all manner of devastating threats. We welcome you here, to our domain."

"A castle," Trixie looked around. "We probably should have seen this coming."

"I just never thought we'd actually get to meet the real Royal Knights," Micro stated. "You guys are legends. There's not a single Codex Player with a scan of any of you guys."

"We are Digimon of great power," Crusadermon explained. "We do not let that power be given to anyone so easily." She crossed her arms, "you are the first humans to ever set foot in this castle." The four looked at one another, amazed by that announcement.

"Um..." Flash looked back at them, "we're...honoured."

Dynasmon stood up and stepped forward, moving over to them as his body glowed. After a few moments, he began to shrink down until he was roughly fifteen feet tall. This surprised them, not realising Digimon had that ability, whilst Dynasmon knelt in front of one of them.

"Micro Chips," he stated in an almost cheerful manner. "It's good to see you again."

Micro was shocked by this announcement. "Um...have we met before?"

"Come now. I know I've changed, but do you really not recognise me? After all that time we were together in the Castle of Dark Illusion." Micro let those words sink in and his eyes went wide, as he realised who this Digimon must have been.

"Mistymon?"

He laughed and stood up. "That is what I used to be called, but now I am Dynasmon. A Royal Knight who protects the Digital World. I am glad we were able to meet again."

"Same here," Tentomon stated. "We were worried about you after you vanished." The other Royal Knights all stood up and started glowing, resulting in them all shrinking down to be between twelve and seventeen feet. "Since when can Digimon do that?"

"Being Royal Knights gives us certain privileges," Craniamon announced. "But we did not summon you here for small talk or to show off our abilities."

Omnimon stepped forward and knelt down in front of Veemon. "We have been watching you for a long time. Since the day you were released from beneath the Digimental."

"You were?" Veemon asked, "why?"

"What do you know of your species?" Omnimon asked, but Veemon frowned showing he didn't know anything. "Aside from being an ancient and rare Digimon, your heritage has a strong connection to the Royal Knights."

"It does?" Veemon asked, "how?" Omnimon stood up and turned to the other Knights, the lot of them nodding before they all stepped towards their thrones. The others had a feeling they should also step aside, quickly moving over to stand beside the knights.

Moments later, the floor in the room began to descend. It split into sections and one by one, they moved downwards to create a stone staircase, which connected to another staircase beneath the throne room. As soon as the last step was lowered into place, the knights moved towards it and began to descend.

The others followed after, finding that each step was at least six foot tall. This caused them to need to sit and slowly lower themselves down so as to not break anything, meaning it took them a while to reach the bottom with the rest of the knights.

Once at the bottom, they were lead down a tunnel light by torches and eventually came to a set of stone doors.

Said stone doors were large and each had six stone squares carved into it, with a different emblem inside each one. Some of the emblems were the same as the emblems on the Royal Knights, such as Craniamon's skull, Kentaurosmon's S and Omnimon's fusion of the Crest of Courage and another Crest.

They stared at the emblems that weren't on the Royal Knights, like a strange M-shaped one and another that were four triangles put together to make a fifth pyramid. They had a feeling those belonged to the other Royal Knights, wondering which one was which.

The doors began to open and the Royal Knights lead them inside. They soon found themselves in a large circular room, with many square tablets lining the wall that had images carved into them. "What is this place?" Micro asked, as Dynasmon stepped over to one of them.

"This is the chamber that holds our history. How the Royal Knights came to be. We tell it to all our members so we never forget where we came from." They nodded, as Dynasmon gestured to what they assumed was the first tablet in the story. This tablet showed a strange looking tree, which was covered in light. "Long ago, when the Digital World was young, it was governed by a wise and mighty ruler. Yggdrasil."

"Yggdrasil?" Lunamon whispered, "I've never heard of that Digimon."

"He wasn't a Digimon," Duftmon explained. "He was a being beyond a mere Digimon. The one who made sure the Digital World ran smoothly and was a place where Digimon could live without worry."

Omnimon nodded as he carried on the story. "Yggdrasil kept the world safe, allowing any Digimon to live so long as it did not endanger the balance of the world. But when a Digimon did become a threat, Yggdrasil used his power to delete them and bring order back to the world."

"I'm not sure if that makes him a tyrant or not," Trixie gulped. "You said it was the ruler of the world. But it's not anymore?" The knights nodded, "what happened to him?"

"We're getting to that," Crusadermon replied. "One day, an evil Digimon appeared that was destruction incarnate." She showed them a tablet that had some kind of creature on it, its body appearing long with many spindly legs. "It was known as the World Breaker and nothing Yggdrasil did could destroy it."

"Seriously?" Flash asked, "the most powerful creature in the Digital World and it couldn't stop this thing? How powerful was it?"

"Very," Dynasmon explained. "But its power wasn't the issue. It had some way of blocking Yggdrasil's ability to delete Digimon with a snap of its finger. Yggdrasil could have destroyed it, if it descended upon the Digital World. But doing so, would have likely ripped the world apart." They gulped again at this. "Instead, Yggdrasil did the only thing it could. It created a Digimon, powerful enough to protect the Digital World from the World Breaker. One it would entrust almost all its power to, along with the ability to wield it without destroying the world."

Omnimon stepped up to a tablet, showing what appeared to be a knightly looking figure with wings, a sword and light flowing off its body. "And thus, Imperialdramon was born."

Veemon stared at the image, amazed as he felt a sense of connection to it. "Imperialdramon."

"That's right," Duftmon nodded. "Imperialdramon descended upon the world in its darkest hour and with its mighty light, it was able to destroy the World Breaker and save the Digital World. But in doing so, Yggdrasil was lost. With most of its power gone, the great being faded from existence."

"Yikes," Flash nodded. "So what happened to Imperialdramon? With all that power, it must have felt a lot of pressure to carry on its master's duty."

"Exactly," Craniamon nodded. "Imperialdramon became the new protector of the Digital World. But without the same omnipotence that Yggdrasil possessed, he was unable to counter an evil before it could become a problem. Many dark and dangerous Digimon, came into existence and caused great mayhem to the world before Imperialdramon could stop it. So to protect their home, other Digimon began to fight back against the evil."

Kentaurosmon then trotted over to another tablet, showing three other Digimon. Two of them looked humanoid and another looked slightly rabbit-like. "Some of these Digimon were the three Celestial Angels. Seraphimon, Ophanimon and Cherubimon. Imperialdramon met them, as they were doing battle against an evil Digimon." The players and their Digimon looked at the next tablet.

This one showed the female member of the group on the ground, looking like it was about to be destroyed by a dark shadow. They then checked the next tablet and saw it showing Imperialdramon protecting the female angel, destroying the evil Digimon.

"Imperialdramon saved Ophanimon's life," Crusadermon explained. "And the three Celestial Angels joined forces with him to protect the Digital World." The next tablet then showed Imperialdramon and Ophanimon together, holding hands with three eggs around them. "In time, Ophanimon came to love her savoir and Imperialdramon loved her back. They came together and bore three children."

"Wait," Flash hadn't been expecting that, "Digimon can breed!?" The Royal Knights rolled their eyes.

"Of course we can breed," Craniamon stated. "How do you think so many different Digimon Variants exist? Digimon breed and create a new Digimon, which is a combo of its parents data. Usually, this just creates a Digimon that looks like one parent's rookie with the colours or assets of the other."

"Huh," Flash was surprised by this, "cool."

"Anyway," Omnimon pointed at the tablet. "The eggs hatched into a trio of Digimon. One of them eventually evolved into a Salamon, whilst the other two became...Veemon."

"What?" Veemon gasped, "how?"

"Imperialdramon is a dragonic Digimon by nature," Dynasmon replied. "Despite never being a Rookie, it's likely he passed on his data to his sons, who both used it to create the form you now exist in. Whether it is also Imperialdramon's Rookie, we don't know."

"So Veemon could Digivolve into an Imperialdramon?" Trixie asked, the knights nodding.

"Yes, though nobody knows which Ultimate Level he is able to Digivolve into it from." Duftmon continued the story. "Imperialdramon and Ophanimon raised their children, as they protected the Digital World. Many believed that Salamon would eventually Digivolve into Ophanimon, like her mother. But instead, she Digivolved into an entirely new Digimon." He showed them another tablet with a beastly dragon Digimon.

"Magnadramon," Flash realised.

"Yes." Crusadermon nodded. "Likely through inheriting her father's dragonic data, she created a new Mega Form that was a dragonic angel. She and her mother worked together to govern the world, whilst the Veemon watched as their father protected it from evil. But as time went on, Imperialdramon's power began to grow weaker. The power Yggdrasil gave him, slowly began to fade from him and he had a harder time protecting the Digital World."

"Ouch," Sandal flinched, "guess even Digimon can get old. So what happened?" Craniamon pointed at another tablet, showing the two Veemon fighting against one another.

"The Veemon, seeing their father's plight, began to train, so that they might Digivolve into warriors strong enough to protect their world, alongside their father." He pointed to another tablet, this one showing four Digimon with three of them being ones they all recognised. "The oldest discovered a great power within him. One that allowed him to overwrite his own data in times of great distress. This power became known as the Ulforce and with it, he was able to Digivolve faster than many Digimon should."

Veemon stepped up to the tablet and stared at the image that looked just like him. Behind him was Veedramon, with AeroVeedramon besides his champion. And behind them was a knightly figure that looked so incredibly powerful.

"Ulforce...Veedramon," he realised the name before he could even think.

"That's right," Omnimon nodded. Suddenly, the centre of the room open up and projected something into the air. That something was a holographic version of the Digimon that was on the tablet. Everyone was amazed by the sight before them, seeing the majesty of the Digimon in question.

"Wow," Flash couldn't believe it, "this is Veedramon's Mega Level?"

"That's right," Omnimon nodded. "And one of the first two Royal Knights to come into existence, along with his brother." The hologram changed to show what looked like Flamedramon, only his armor had been replaced by a set of golden armor that shined. "Magnamon."

"Magnamon?" Micro asked, "I've never heard of that Digimon. What's it's Ultimate and Champion forms?"

"It has none," Dynasmon explained. "Magnamon may have the power of a Mega, but he's actually an Armor Digimon." This amazed them, as Dynasmon turned to a tablet showing a Veemon standing next to a glowing rock. "The other brother, didn't inherit any great power and feared being left behind by his father and brother. Instead, he set out to find his own way to evolve into a great warrior."

"That was when he discovered a mysterious metal," Kentaurosmon explained as they stared at a tablet showing Veemon with a hammer. "With this mysterious golden metal, he crafted himself a set of armor. In a way, you could call it the first Battle Gear." The next tablet showed Veemon wearing the armor, with Magnamon standing behind him. "As soon as he adorned it, the armor's power flowed into him and he Digivolved into Magnamon."

Duftmon pointed to the next tablet, as the hologram of Magnamon vanished. "The two brothers, now strong enough to fight beside their father, entered the fray and proved themselves to be great warriors and heroes. So much so, that their father realised they could become greater guardians of the Digital World than him. As such, he chose to give the two a portion of Yggdrasil's power. In doing so, the pair were granted the title of Royal Knights."

"Wow," Flash smirked before turning to Veemon, "I guess heroics is in your code. Two of your possible evolutions are Royal Knights and you might even be able to Digivolve into the founder himself."

"I doubt that last part," Omnimon told him. "But you're right about Veemon being a Digimon with justice coded into his heart." He gestured to another tablet, showing outlines of other Digimon. "Seeing the great work the first two Royal Knights accomplished, Imperialdramon set out to find others that shared the ambition of protecting the Digital World. When he met a Digimon he felt he could trust the world's safety with, he granted them a small part of Yggdrasil's remaining power. And eventually, the Royal Knights were ten Digimon strong."

This confused the humans, as they looked around and Trixie started counting. "Omnimon, Craniamon, Crusadermon, Dynasmon, Duftmon and Kentaurosmon. Then there's Magnamon and UlforceVeedramon. That makes eight. So who are the other two?"

Omnimon chuckled. "Gallantmon, Gankoomon and Examon."

"But that's three?" Lunamon reminded. "You said there were ten."

"There were ten," Omnimon answered. "But another Royal Knight eventually came into being." He gestured to another tablet, showing Imperialdramon. The image didn't look as vibrant as before, as Imperialdramon now lacked the glow he had and was using his sword to keep himself up. "With every new knight he created, Imperialdramon's power diminished. Many begged him to stop, but he knew the Digital World needed the Royal Knights more than it needed him. But even he knew he was close to his limit and giving just two or three more Digimon the title of Royal Knight, could mean the end of him."

"So what happened?" Mangoramon asked, as Dynasmon pointed at another tablet. This one showed the image of a WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon.

"Two Mega Level Digimon, asked to join the Royal Knights. Both hoped to aspire to further Digivolve or be given the title as they were, but neither of them had what it took. Imperialdramon knew they both had potential, but lacked something that could make them a Royal Knight. But even without being Royal Knights, they vowed to protect the Digital World and travelled beside Imperialdramon, in order to protect those in need."

Omnimon stepped over to a tablet, which showed the image of a large horde of black figures. They were fighting against Imperialdramon, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, those staring at it unable to tell who was winning.

"Then, one day, they discovered a great danger had awakened. A Digimon that wished to cause utter devastation appeared. Imperialdramon recognised it as a descendant of the World Breaker. It was either a reincarnation or the remains of the World Breaker given form. It began to multiply and overwhelmed the Royal Knights, who were unable to find the original and were trapped facing the fakes."

They stepped over to the next tablet, showing Imperialdramon being stabbed by one of the evil figures. "Imperialdramon lost?" Flash asked, as the Knights nodded.

"Had he been in his prime, the monster wouldn't have had a chance." Omnimon stared at the tablet, "but after so many years and giving his power to so many others, he just couldn't stand up to the threat. He fell and was slowly being deleted. And as he did, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon fought against the evil only to be overwhelmed by the numbers and power."

The next tablet then showed the two Megas, fighting the dark figure. But they were being badly defeated, whilst Imperialdramon lay on the ground. After that, there was a tablet showing Imperialdramon glowing once again. The light seemed to be flowing off of him and into the two Megas.

"What's going on?" Veemon asked.

"Imperialdramon knew his end had arrived," Omnimon explained. "But instead of letting the power of Yggdrasil that remained be lost, he chose to give it all to the WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon." The next tablet showed the two Megas glowing, as a large figure was standing behind them. "It was in that moment, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon realised that what they were missing to become knights, was a quality the other possessed. And so, with the power granted to them, they performed the world's first DNA Digivolution."

They all stared at the next tablet, which showed Omnimon in all his glory.

"You?" Flash asked, turning to Omnimon. But the DNA Digimon shook his head.

"No. The first Omnimon was deleted a long time ago, much like the other Royal Knights. Maybe I was the original, but if I was, I don't remember being one." He gestured to another tablet, showing Omnimon destroying the dark figure. "The original Omnimon destroyed the evil Digimon and saved the Digital World, but the Royal Knights lost their greatest hero." The final tablet showed Imperialdramon, surrounded by the eleven Digimon knights. "Imperialdramon could not be saved and for his final act, he entrusted leadership of the Knights to Omnimon before being deleted."

The four humans and their Digimon stared at the final tablet in shock. "That's it?" Tentomon asked, "that's the end of the story?"

"Of course," Craniamon nodded. "What, you were expecting a happy ending? This isn't a fairytale. This is history. Everything you've seen really happened."

"Imperialdramon really gave his life, to let Omnimon come into existence?" Veemon realised.

"Exactly," Kentaurosmon knelt down next to him. "And since that day, the Royal Knights have protected the Digital World. But it hasn't always been easy."

"What happened to Imperialdramon?" Flash asked, "did he reincarnate in Primary Village."

"We don't know," Omnimon replied. "When a Digimon is deleted, they're reverted back to the egg and hatch into their Fresh Form with no memories of their former life. But there are many ways a Fresh Digimon can Digivolve. It's possible Imperialdramon Digivolved into a Veemon and might have even replaced his sons as Magnamon or UlforceVeedramon, after they were deleted. But it's also possible, he became an entirely different Digimon. I hate to say it, but he might have even Digivolved into an evil Digimon."

"I hope not," Trixie frowned. "That'd certainly be fall from grace." The others nodded, as Craniamon turned to Veemon.

"So now that you've learned of your heritage, will you follow in their footsteps?" This confused Veemon, as Kentaurosmon stood up.

"We didn't simply invite you here to learn the origins of the Royal Knights," he explained. "We wish for you to join us." That statement shocked them all, as Omnimon explained.

"We've tried to keep our ranks filled, but have not been whole for many centuries. We don't know why, but the Veemon line vanished. And with them, the only Digimon we knew that could become Magnamon or UlforceVeedramon. With your return, the Veemon species has been restored. New Chibimon and DemiVeemon have come into being, but they are many centuries from becoming their Mega Levels. But you have shown incredible strength, since being freed from the Digimental. We are sure that given time, you could become a mighty UlforceVeedramon."

"Um..." Veemon stepped backwards, "thanks...but I'm really not interested." He stepped up next to his partner. "Flash and I made a promise to stick together. We're gonna become the best team Codex has ever seen."

The Royal Knights did not look happy. "You would turn away from such an honour, just the play around with a human?" Duftmon asked, "don't you understand what we're offering you?"

"The chance to be one of the strongest Digimon that ever lived," Crusadermon stated. "A Digimon that no other will be able to become in your life time."

"Huh?" Trixie asked, "what are you talking about?"

"The Digital World can only hold one Royal Knight at a time," Dynasmon explained before he turned to Micro, "you knew me as Mistymon. But there have been many Dynasmon before me. Same with the rest of us. The Digital World only allows one Royal Knight to come into existence at once. Other Digimon that can potentially become Dynasmon, now have that path blocked until I myself am deleted. And the same will be true for Veemon if he Digivolves into a Royal Knight."

"But Veemon isn't guaranteed to become UlforceVeedramon," Flash pointed out. "His natural Champion is ExVeemon. Sure, he could become AeroVeedramon. But what if he becomes Cyberdramon instead?"

"He'll become UlforceVeedramon with training," Omnimon explained. "As long as a Digimon focuses, he can determine what his next form will be. The same happened to all of us. We could have become something else, but our determination to become heroes allowed us to Digivolve into what you see before you."

"That's cool," Veemon nodded. "But I'm still gonna say no. I don't wanna leave Flash's side. Sorry."

Omnimon sighed, "we can't force you. Just know that if you ever change your mind, our doors will always be open to you."

"Got it," Veemon nodded. "And if you ever need a hand saving the Digital World, just let us know." The others nodded, as the Royal Knights seemed to accept this They then all headed back the way they came.

It took a while to get back up the stairs, but they eventually arrived back in the throne room where Knightmon was waiting for them. "My lords," he bowed. "Will our guests be staying the night?" The others wondered what he was talking about, but then looked out the window and realised the sun was beginning to set.

"That's up to them," Omnimon explained. "They're welcome to stay or return to where they come from. As I'm aware, you humans can exist in both this world and the world you come from. But we understand if you would rather return to your place of origin."

Everyone shared a look and had a mental conversation, eventually nodding. "We'll stick around," Flash told him. "But we should probably send a message to our real selves." Omnimon nodded, as they all took out their Digivices and began to message their real life counterparts. They couldn't wait to see their reactions.

Once that was done, the Royal Knights left the throne room as Knightmon began to lead the humans someplace they could freshen up for dinner.

But as they made their way through the castle, they started hearing explosions and rumbling. "What was that?" Sandal asked, Mangoramon getting on edge, as Knightmon chuckled.

"That would be some of our more powerful recruits, continuing their training."

"Recruits?" Micro asked, "like they wanted to make Veemon?"

"Indeed," Knightmon nodded. "This castle was designed to not only be the Royal Knight's base, but also be their training ground. So that future knights may train and work to become strong enough, to one day claim that title. We all long for the day we can have that chance, but also dread it."

"Why?" Trixie asked, as Lunamon leapt onto her shoulder.

"Don't you remember? There can only be one Royal Knight. So if Knightmon's future form are the ones that already have a Royal Knight, the only way he'll get to become one is after the Royal Knight is deleted. To claim the title of knight, he has to wait for the demise of his lord."

"Exactly," Knightmon nodded. "You understand how this can be both a privilege and a burden."

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "Having to be the one to replace someone you respect. It's probably a lot of pressure." Knightmon nodded as the booming sound filled the air again.

"My word. He must really be putting him through his paces."

"One of your recruits?" Sandal asked, Knightmon nodding as they made their way up a flight of stairs. When they reached the top, they passed a window that allowed them to see out onto a training ground. And as they passed, a large smoke cloud flew passed along with an explosion.

They all rushed towards the window and looked outside, as something shot passed it.

That something was a large blue dragonoid Digimon, with large wings that were connected to its back in a way that made them resemble a hang-glider. A large spear was on its back and in each of its claws, it was carrying a yellow orb.

The Digimon flew through the air, staring down at a Digimon on the ground.

They then looked down, seeing the Digimon and being amazed. This one appeared to be a mechanical brachiosaur, with large mechanical arms that ended in digger shovels and drills covering its back, nose and the end of its two long tails.

"I don't think I recognise those Digimon," Flash stated as the flying Digimon unleashed a blast of fire from its mouth. But the machine Digimon used its large shovel claws to protect itself. "They're knight recruits too?"

"Indeed," Knightmon nodded. "One day, they'll become the most legendary of the Royal Knights. One so powerful, it requires two Digimon to create. Examon."

"Cool," Veemon cried as they watched the pair continue to spar. They all wondered what this Examon Digimon looked like and what made it so powerful. If they were lucky, they might get to see it before they left.

Knightmon lead them through the castle and they eventually arrived at a hallway with several doors. "We hope you find your accommodations acceptable. Each room is designed to reshape itself to fit the Digimon, or human, that stays in it. Simply place your hands on the handle and it will build your room the way you want it."

They were all surprised by this and each stepped towards a door, placing their hands on the handle as the carvings on the wood lit up.

This amazed them all, as the light eventually vanished and they opened the doors. "Wow," was the only word they all said as they looked inside.

Flash and Veemon's room was just like Flash's back home, only it was larger and the bed was a giant fourposter one. A bunch of different musical instruments filled the room and another door lead to a bathroom with a tub big enough to fit six people in it.

Veemon rushed over and leapt onto the bed, laughing as he bounced up and down on it whilst Flash picked up a guitar and found it didn't even need tuning. "Yeah!" Flash played a tune and Veemon smirked. "Man, this place is awesome. You sure you don't wanna stay here?"

"Nah!" Veemon smirked. "It's cool and all, but training to be a Royal Knight sounds like a lot of work. I don't mind helping when I can, but being responsible for saving the entire Digital World would be way too much stress." Flash nodded as he sat down next to him. "I'd rather just train with you and work to be the best players Codex has ever seen."

"Heck yeah," Flash nodded. "And the Royal Knights are doing fine as they are. They don't need our help." Veemon couldn't agree more.

Meanwhile, the Royal Knights were back in the throne room.

They were all sitting on their thrones, discussing the situation they were now in. "Well that was a massive waste of time," Craniamon sighed. "I was certain we would have UlforceVeedramon or Magnamon back in our ranks."

"We couldn't force him to join us," Kentaurosmon told him. "The Royal Knights were founded to allow all Digimon to live the lives they wanted. To take that away from him, would be a violation of everything we stand for."

"Maybe so," Crusadermon nodded. "But the simple fact is, it may be a long time before either of those Digimon can join us. The Veemon race may have returned to the Digital World, but it will take time for it to grow strong enough for them to join us."

"It's a shame," Kentaurosmon nodded. "I may be fast, but UlforceVeedramon's speed is unparalleled."

"We will need to refocus our efforts," Omnimon stated. "Wingdramon and Breakdramon's training has been going well. Once Wingdramon Digivolves, we'll be able to bring Examon into the Digital World for the first time in centuries. With its power, the Royal Knights will be stronger than ever before."

"We'd be even stronger if Gankoomon was around," Craniamon grumbled. "Have we heard anything from him?"

"Not since his last check in," Dynasmon replied. "I'm sure he's working on something important. Once he finds what he's looking for, he'll return and the Royal Knights will be back to full power."

"Indeed," Omnimon nodded. "The Royal Knights have not been at this level of power in centuries. Once Examon is born, all we'll be missing from our ranks is UlforceVeedramon, Magnamon and Gallantmon. If we can find them, we will be whole again." The other knights nodded.

"The Digital World's time of peace is coming to an end," Duftmon stated. "To protect it, the Royal Knights will need all the power we can afford. Only then, will we be ready to face the darkness that threatens to destroy our realm."

Many miles away, in a forested mountain area, several Plant Digimon were preparing for bed.

This included a group of two different Digimon, both of them looking like a cross between a bird and a piece of fruit. One looked like a pink upside down pineapple, with purple feet and a purple beak with green eyes. The other looked like a large kiwi bird, only instead of feathers its skin was that of the fruit sharing the bird's name. It also had green leafy hair and a silver mask covering its entire face and upper beak.

These Digimon were all hard at work, preparing nests to sleep in. They all looked rather sleepy and would enjoy a good night's sleep. But just as they were about to lay in the nests, the ground began to shake.

They all cried out as they leapt to attention and started running, getting up in the trees where they thought it would be safe. But not long after they did, the ground beneath the trees exploded and toppled them.

The birds all squawked in fear, as they fell towards the ground. Many quickly found themselves trapped under the fallen trees, unable to escape and forced to watch as something slithered out of the ground.

That something was a giant Digimon. with many different heads. It was serpentine in appearance, having one normal snake head that was connected to a long snake-like body. A sphere of fur was around the middle of its body and from out of it, a bunch of robotics snake heads could be seen.

The trapped Digimon were all terrified at the sight of this abomination, as they tried to pull themselves free. But it was hopeless. multi-headed Digimon soon looked down and saw them, quickly opening its many mouths and bringing them down towards them.

The screams of many Digimon filled the air before being untimely silenced.

Author's Note

Oh yeah. The Royal Knights are here and they're actually getting the respect they deserve. I hate it when the Royal Knights are made into the villains. X-Evolution, Data Squad, Cyber Sleuth and probably something else. Well this time, they're gonna be the heroes they're supposed to be. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the lore I gave the Royal Knights. Next week, something big is going down.

Royal Knighting

In the Digital World, at the castle of the Royal Knights, Flash and his friends had been invited to have dinner with said knights.

The lot of them had spent an hour or so in their rooms, getting washed up and made presentable for the event. Knightmon soon arrived and asked if they were all ready, the lot agreeing and letting the Ultimate Level lead them back through the castle.

As they headed for the room in question, Trixie frowned as she looked herself over. "I feel really underdressed for such a formal event."

"It's not like we have anything to change into," Flash told her. "Besides, I doubt Digimon care about clothing considering most don't wear any." They nodded at this and finally arrived at the entrance to the dining room, the doors opening as Knightmon left them to step into the room.

There, the Royal Knights were waiting for them as they sat around a large table.

Despite being shrunk down, the table was still quite large compared to the humans. Luckily, there were a series of tall chairs for them that were just like baby highchairs.

Each of them climbed up a chair and took their seat, Omnimon nodding. "I'm happy to hear you all chose to stay for the night. I am actually quite interested in hearing tales of the human world. Though you can travel to our realm whenever you wish, we do not have that luxury. I admit I am curious about the world you come here from."

The humans smiled and happily started telling them about their world, as their food mysteriously appeared.

Whilst the humans and Rookie Digimon began to dig in, the Royal Knights focused for a moment. And as they did, the areas of their heads that the mouths would usually be began to open up. The others heard this and looked up, amazed to see their mouth plates fold into their helmets to each reveal a dark space beneath.

"You guys have mouths?" Flash asked before realising what he had said, "I mean..."

"Relax," Craniamon told him. "You're not the first to be surprised by this. Anyone who sees that for the first time is surprised."

"I was amazed myself," Dynasmon laughed. "After I Digivolved, I tried to eat only to find my mouth was covered. Just when I thought I would starve, my mouth guard opened up and I could eat."

"I guess we never really thought about it," Micro stated. "I mean...a lot of Digimon don't seem to have mouths they can open. And in our world, Mega Levels are never shown eating anything. At least not Mega Levels like that."

"It seems you humans still have much to learn about our world," Crusadermon stated.

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "And I wanna learn as much as I can." The others nodded, as Flash remembered back to what he had seen earlier. "When we were heading to our rooms, we saw a pair of Digimon sparing."

Kentaurosmon nodded. "You must be referring to Wingdramon and Breakdramon." Flash nodded. "Yes, we're lucky those two have arrived. At long last, Examon can be made a part of the Royal Knights. That's something that hasn't happened for eons."

"Really?" Trixie asked.

"Yes," Craniamon nodded. "Due to how difficult it is to create Examon. It requires not just one Digimon to aspire to that level, but two. And one of those two is particularly difficult to have wish to become a knight. Breakdramon is a Virus type. One that has a rather wild nature. Many times, Breakdramon will go on a wild rampage as soon as they evolve."

Omnimon nodded. "We feared when Groundramon Digivolved, he would forget about becoming Examon and become a threat. But we were pleasantly surprised. Now all we have to do, is wait for Wingdramon to Digivolve. And hopefully, it should be soon."

What makes you think that?" Micro asked, Duftmon turning to him.

"He and Breakdramon have been training since Rookie-hood. They were both Dracomon that worked hard, eventually Digivolving into Coredramon Blue and Green at the same time. That's when they came to us to be trained, eventually allowing them to Digivolve into Wingdramon and Groundramon at the same time. However, Breakdramon managed to Digivolve before Wingdramon. We're confident that it won't be long before Slayerdramon is born."

"And then Examon can come into being," Lunamon smiled. "Oh, I wish I could see that." The others nodded, curious what this great and powerful being might look like.

They continued their meal, discussing anything and everything that interested them. Eventually, the meal ended and everyone chose to turn in for the night. They all returned to their rooms and went to sleep, the beds they had been given the best they had ever felt.

But despite how soft and luxurious the bed was, Flash couldn't get to sleep.

He was too overwhelmed with everything that had happened that day. Meeting the Royal Knights, learning their origin and the fear he had felt when they offered Veemon the chance to join them. A part of him felt guilty for Veemon's refusal, knowing the Digital World could use him as UlforceVeedramon or whichever knight he became. But he was also glad he wouldn't be losing his best friend.

Midnight arrived and Flash still wasn't asleep, the teen unable to stand just laying there.

Instead, he got up whilst being careful not to wake Veemon up. He stepped out of the room and started making his way through the castle, exploring it as best he could without getting into trouble. He was still amazed by the architecture, wondering who had built this castle.

Eventually, he found himself stepping out into a courtyard and imagined all the Digimon that trained there to become knights. He had to admit, their dedication was impressive."

Suddenly, he sensed another presence and spun around. When he saw who it was, he was shocked. "Wingdramon?" The giant dragon Digimon was sitting in one corner of the courtyard, appearing to be resting as it continued to clutch the orbs in its hands.

It noticed Flash and raised an eyebrow. "You're one of those humans that the lords summoned."

"That's right," Flash nodded. "Flash Sentry, nice to meet you."

"Likewise, I guess. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"After all the excitement I've been through today, there's no way I could sleep." He moved over and sat beside him, "what about you? Shouldn't you be sleeping as well. You're never gonna be able to Digivolve if you're too tired to throw a punch."

Wingdramon said nothing and looked up at the sky. "When the sky is clear, I like to look up at the stars." Flash looked up and saw the many stars that filled the sky. He didn't know a lot about astrology, but he had a feeling the constellations weren't the same as the ones on earth.

"Wow," he smiled, "amazing."

"Indeed," Wingdramon nodded. "When I was still a Rookie, my brother and I would watch the stars together and be inspired. This world has so much beauty in it and we wanted to protect that beauty."

"Is that why you both wanna become a Royal Knight?" Wingdramon frowned. "You must be super excited. Once you've Digivolved, you and your brother will DNA Digivolve and become the legendary hero the Digital World hasn't seen in eons." But as he looked up at Wingdramon, he noticed the dragon didn't look happy. "You okay?"

Wingdramon remained stoic for a second, clearly conflicted about something. "Can you keep a secret?" Flash nodded. "I reached the point of Digivolution a long time ago. Before Breakdramon." His eyes went wide at this. "I've been keeping myself from Digivolving on purpose."

"Why would you do that?"

"To protect my brother." Flash didn't understand what he was talking about. "What do you know of DNA Digivolution?"

"Two Digimon combined together to create a new Digimon. The Data of the two is merged to unite the best aspects of both. And the Digimon's minds unite to create one super being."

"That's where you're wrong," Wingdramon explained. "I thought the same thing when I was a Rookie and Champion. But after Breakdramon and I Digivolved to Ultimate, we learned the truth. When DNA Digivolution occurs, the minds of the Digimon don't fuse. One of the Digimon absorbs the Data of the other and gets to become the new Digimon, whilst the other...is simply deleted." Flash gasped, realising what Wingdramon was saying. "If Breakdramon and I DNA Digivolve, Breakdramon's mind will be lost."

"Seriously?" Flash cried, "that's insane!"

"I know, but it's the truth. When Breakdramon learned this, he decided he would be the one to be lost so that I could become Examon. He believes that since he's a Virus Digimon, he doesn't deserve to become a Legendary Hero."

"Well that's stupid. Mistymon's a Virus Digimon and he became Dynasmon."

"Maybe, but the fact is only one of us will end up the one in charge of our combined body. Even if Breakdramon wasn't a Virus, he would give up his own life so I could fulfil our dream. But that won't happen until I Digivolve and as long as I can help it, I won't Digivolve."

Flash frowned, feeling sorry for Wingdramon. He wanted to be a Royal Knight, but also didn't want to lose his brother doing it. It was a catch twenty-two, forcing him to choose between what mattered most to them.

"There has to be a way to help you become a Royal Knight without Breakdramon giving up his life." Flash stood up, "I'm gonna find it." Wingdramon looked at him curiously, as Flash took out his Digivice. "Is it okay if I take a scan of you? If I do, I might be able to use the Digi-Lab in Codex to find a way to help you."

"You really think you can do that?"

"Only one way to find out." Wingdramon nodded and Flash scanned him, smiling at the scan he had. "Give me some time. I'll find a way to help you." With that, he rushed back into the castle as Wingdramon watched him. Wingdramon doubted Flash could find an answer, but he was grateful to the teen for even looking.

Flash ran up to his room and quickly woke Veemon up, "what's going on? I was having such a nice dream."

"Sorry bud, but we've got work to do." Veemon looked at him, curious what could be so important.

Many miles away, a Digimon was tearing its way through a forest.

Orochimon, the multi-headed snake Digimon, slithered wherever he wanted in order to cause as much death and destruction as possible. Any Rookie or Champion Level Digimon it came across screamed and tried to fun for it, but the beast would not let them escape.

"Inferno Blast!" His many mechanical heads opened up and unleashed a blast of fire, which torched anything that touched it.

The Digimon screamed as the flames consumed them, causing them to explode into data. And before that data could escape and return to the digital stream and Primary Village, Orochimon used its many heads to suck it all up. Now, the data was trapped. Unable to return to the Digi-Egg until Orochimon was destroyed and did the same. And who knows when that might happen.

Back at Codex, Flash and Veemon arrived.

With it being so late, almost no players were there. This meant Flash and Veemon were able to make their way through the place towards the Digi-Lab without anyone stopping him, which was good since he wanted to figure this out as quickly as possible.

Arriving at the Digi-Lab, he slotted his Digivice into the system and brought up his Wingdramon scan. He was shown the Digimon Wingdramon could become, with most of them locked up. There was one available Digimon and after making a copy of Wingdramon, he Digivolved his scan.

"Wingdramon, Mega Digivolve to..." The dragon was consumed by light and exploded, revealing a large humanoid dragon Digimon in white armor. A flowing green came could be seen on his back and in his claws was a large golden sword, which could split into multiple pieces whilst being connected by a chain of fire. "Slayerdramon!"

He smiled seeing Slayerdramon, admitting that it actually looked pretty cool. But that wasn't why he had come. "There's gotta be a way I can Digivolve him to Examon, without needing to sacrifice Breakdramon"

"What's this about Examon?" Flash spun around and was surprised to see Gennai walking towards him. The Codex Commander smiled when he saw Slayerdramon. "That's quite a rare and powerful Digimon you've gotten. It'll come in quite handy in the future."

"Maybe, but that's not what I'm focused on right now." Gennai raised an eyebrow, as Flash explained what he had learned.

"I see," Gennai nodded. "DNA Digivolution is a powerful form of evolution, but is only without risks to Digimon with human partners. For wild Digimon, you run the risk of being lost or taking the life of another Digimon in the progress."

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "Wingdramon wants to be a Royal Knight, but he doesn't wanna kill his brother to do it. I thought if I could find a way to help him become Examon on his own..."

Gennai hummed as he stared at the Slayerdramon scan, as an idea formed in his head. "I might know of a way to help him." He stepped forward, "do you mind if I take this?" Flash quickly made a copy of Slayerdramon and sent it to Gennai, as his holographic screen appeared. "I've never tried this before, but I think I can make the necessary modifications."

"For what?"

"You'll see when I'm done. But unless you have a Breakdramon scan, this won't help your Wingdramon friend." Flash shook his head, as he brought up Wingdramon. He considered De-Digivolving him and Digivolving all the way up to Breakdramon. But just as he was about to consider that, he noticed something.

"No way." Gennai looked up from his work. "How did I not notice that before?"

"Notice what?" Veemon asked, only for Flash to point at another possible evolution of Wingdramon. One that was locked but not blacked out. "Wow, how come it's visible?"

"Did you see it in the Digital World?" Gennai asked, Flash shaking his head.

"No...but I did see a hologram of it."

"That must have been enough to unlock it's appearance in your evolution tree. If you can get a scan of it, you'll be able to use it along with Wingdramon." Flash wasn't thinking about that. Instead, his mind was focusing on something else entirely.

"I have an idea," he smirked. "And if it works, Wingdramon and Breakdramon will both get what they want."

As the sun began to rise over the Digital World, Wingdramon and Breakdramon had left the castle.

The pair were currently many miles away from the castle, their speed the only reason they could make such a long trip so quickly. They had just arrived in a large rockscape, full of house-sized rocks that were perfect for training in.

"Alright," Breakdramon spun around, "today's the day." Wingdramon frowned, knowing it wouldn't be the day if he could help it. "Let's start with a warm up. Then we can start training for real and get you Digivolved."

"Whatever you say," Wingdramon nodded. Breakdramon frowned, not hearing any enthusiasm in his voice.

"Hey, come on. I know it's hard. But we're gonna get there. You'll be Slayerdramon before you know it and then, nothing's gonna stop Examon from being born." Wingdramon took a deep breath, smiling at him as he took to the air.

Wingdramon felt terrible for keeping this secret from Breakdramon. But it was better than him giving up his life.

He flew up high and prepared to launch an attack. But before he could, he noticed something in the distance. Smoke. "What's going on?" He asked before flying towards it, Breakdramon raising an eyebrow and following him. The pair made their way towards the smoke and Breakdramon soon saw it as well.

"That can't be good." They soon saw that the blaze was coming from a large forest, or what remained of it.

"What happened here?" Wingdramon asked, only for something to slither out of the smoke. "Orochimon!" He cried, Breakdramon growling. "What do you think you're doing? That forest was home to many Digimon!"

"I know," Orochimon chuckled. "And they were delicious." The pair gasped, both instantly getting angry. "They're data is just what I needed. I can feel it making me more powerful with every second. More powerful than even the Royal Knights."

"Yeah, right." Breakdramon began to charge, "like you could ever be a threat to the Royal Knights!" He swung his body around and thrust his tails at him, but Orochimon's mechanical heads flew down and blocked the drills.

"Nice try." Orochimon opened his mouth, "Inferno Blast!" Fire exploded out of his mouth and hit Breakdramon, making him cry out as he staggered back.

"Such power," he cried. "This Digimon is no ordinary Ultimate." Wingdramon flew up before diving down towards Orochimon.

"Exploding Sonic Breath!" The lance on his back became the tip of the slipstream, as energy spiralled around him. But before he could reach Orochimon, two of the mechanical heads shot out and grabbed him by the wings. "Augh!" His energy dissipated, allowing Orochimon to slam him into the ground.

"Wingdramon!" Breakdramon watched, as Orochimon threw his brother away. This made him growl before he raised his arms. "DESTROYED RUSH!" He smashed his arms into the ground as hard as he could, causing it to shake the claws cut through the ground and caused massive fissures to fly towards Orochimon.

The evil Ultimate slammed two of its heads into the ground, using them to push itself straight up and out of the attacks direction.

Breakdramon growled, as Orochimon unleashed another blast of fire that rained down upon the pair and made them cry out in pain.

Back at the castle, Flash and Veemon ported back to the entrance and headed inside.

He instantly spotted Knightmon, looking like he was about to start a spar against a Gradimon, Rekkamon and Wizardmon. "Knightmon!" The Ultimate level looked over at him. "Do you know where Wingdramon and Breakdramon are?" Knightmon stopped and shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. They weren't here when I awoke this morning." Flash groaned at this and headed inside, Knightmon looking confused by his actions.

Flash and Veemon ran through the halls, hoping the Royal Knights were in the throne room. He really didn't want to have to search this whole place for them. And as he arrived at the doors to the throne room, he spotted his friends coming down the hall that lead to their rooms.

"There you are," Micro frowned.

"You missed breakfast," Tentomon stated. "Where did you run off to?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, I need to talk to the knights about something important." He rushed towards the doors and they opened before his friends could stop him.

The knights appeared to be discussing something, when they heard the doors opened and saw their guest stepped inside. "We're in the middle of a meeting here," Crusadermon told him.

"We know," Flash bowed. "And we're really sorry. But we need to find Wingdramon and Breakdramon."

"They left to train this morning," Omnimon told them. "Hopefully, when they get back Wingdramon will have Digivolved into Slayerdramon."

"That's not gonna happen," Veemon announced. "Wingdramon doesn't want to become Slayerdramon." This surprised the knight, along with their friends. "He told us last night that he's been denying his Digivolution."

"Why on earth would he do that?" Craniamon asked, "he wishes to become a Royal Knight and he must Digivolve to do so."

"He knows that," Flash explained. "But he also knows that when he becomes Slayerdramon, Breakdramon's gonna sacrifice his data to help him Digivolve into Examon."

"What?" Trixie asked, the others looking just as confused.

Flash turned to them. "DNA Digivolution isn't like it is for us. When two wild Digimon do it, one of them is deleted in the process." That shocked them, whilst the knights all appeared to have a look of understanding. "If Wingdramon Digivolves, Breakdramon will sacrifice his life to help him become Examon."

Omnimon sighed, "I should have seen this coming. The same thing happened to me." The others looked at him, but then remembered he was a DNA Digivolution as well. "My partner, MetalGarurumon, was badly injured and as he was deleted, he passed his data on to me so I could acquire this form. It was hard and that was when MetalGarurumon was going to die whether he gave me his data or not. But to have someone so close to you sacrifice themselves..."

"We should have realised that," Dynasmon sighed. "We were so focused on having Examon in our ranks, we didn't even consider what it would do to them."

"Breakdramon accepted it," Craniamon stated. "He knows his sacrifice will make the Digital World safer."

"But he doesn't have to sacrifice himself," Flash explained much to the Knight's surprise. Flash then took out his Digivice and held it out, as the Slayerdramon scan appeared. "I talked to Gennai of the Codex Commanders and he modified this Slayerdramon scan I got from Digivolving Wingdramon. Now it can take the place of the real thing in a DNA Digivolution."

Micro's eyes went wide, "I get it. Breakdramon absorbs it and Digivolves. And since it's a mindless scan, nobody has to die."

"Exactly," Veemon cheered as the knights looked amazed with Duftmon speaking.

"So Breakdramon would become Examon and Wingdramon can Digivolve into Slayerdramon without worry. Even if he's not a Royal Knight, he would still be an excellent ally to have."

"Maybe," Flash smirked, "or maybe he can become another Royal Knight." Once again, surprise appeared on everyone's faces. "When I was looking for a way for Wingdramon to Digivolve, Veemon and I discovered Examon isn't the only Royal Knight he can become."

"Yeah," Veemon nodded, "there's two more. One of them is Dynasmon..." The Digimon in question raised an eyebrow, surprised Wingdramon could Digivolve into him. Though considering he was a dragonic knight, it made more sense than his previous form. "...and the other one is...UlforceVeedramon." Their eyes all went wide at this.

"UlforceVeedramon?" Kentaurosmon asked, "are you sure?" They nodded.

"How is that possible?" Craniamon inquired, "no Wingdramon has ever become UlforceVeedramon before."

"They probably didn't know," Flash told them. "They all probably thought Examon was the only Royal Knight they could become, so kept turning into Slayerdramon." They nodded, that making sense. "Anyway, Wingdramon can become UlforceVeedramon and I can give Breakdramon the data he needs to become Examon. You guys will get two Royal Knights and not have to sacrifice anyone."

Omnimon laughed, "I knew asking you here would be helpful. Alright, let's find them and see if this works." They nodded and Duftmon pointed his sword at the ceiling, causing a sphere of light to appear. Said sphere was a holographic version of the Digital World, Flash seeing the landmass was different to the earth's.

The Mega Level began searching the area near them and as they did, he locked onto something. "There they are. Looks like they're together and...they're not alone." He swiped the sword around and the orb changed to show an image of Breakdramon and Wingdramon as they were fighting against another Digimon.

"Orochimon," Crusadermon cried.

"Why are they fighting it?" Trixie asked, as Wingdramon was thrown away. Breakdramon then charged forward, tackling the Ultimate Level Digimon and slashing at him with his scoop arms. Orochimon was thrown backwards and crashed through rocks and other obstacles, as it rolled along the ground and carved a trench. But eventually, it managed to push itself to a stop.

Wingdramon began to pick himself up and as he did, the drills on Breakdramon's body began to spin. "Tazer Strike!" Suddenly, the drills flew off of him and shot towards Orochimon. The multi-headed snake picked itself up and unleashed a barrage of fire, which struck the drills and made some of them explode. But the rest slammed down into the creature and exploded.

"Yeah!" Sandalwood cheered, as the explosion faded. And when it did, it revealed Orochimon was pretty much in one piece. The metal heads connected to his body exploded, but the rest of him looked completely unharmed.

"What?" Mangoramon cried, "how the heck did it survive that?" As he said that, Orochimon's entire body started to glow.

And as it did, it gave off a wave of energy that pulsed across the land. The energy was so great, any tree or piece of grass it touched burst into flames. The energy was also radiating off Orochimon's body, the heat it created making Breakdramon cry out.

"AUGH!" He pulled back, leaping backwards as he stared at Orochimon. "What's going on?" At the same time, the Royal Knight's orb picked up the energy.

Suddenly, an alarm began to ring and the orb started becoming covered in a bunch of strange symbols. A triangle in a circle, with another triangle at each point.

"What's going on?" Flash asked, the others looking terrified. "What's that mark?"

"A Digital Hazard," Omnimon explained. "That only appears when something with the power to destroy the Digital World is about to occur." The hazards kept flashing, but they were still able to see Orochimon's body growing hotter and hotter. "This is bad."

"Destroy the Digital World?" Trixie asked, "how?"

"It's Digivolving!" Crusadermon cried.

Sure enough, Orochimon's entire body was suddenly enveloped by the heat.

A smoke cloud appeared from this heat, which grew larger and larger by the second. "Orochimon, Mega Digivolve to..." Breakdramon saw the cloud coming and rushed over to Wingdramon, picking him up and running away as the Digimon inside the clouds changed and grew more powerful. When Breakdramon looked back, he saw a colossal figure inside the cloud.

Slowly, that figure's head left the cloud and was revealed to be so large that Breakdramon could fit in its mouth. Its head was boomerang shaped, being a purplish-gray colour with smoke coming out of its mouth. The rest of its body was slowly revealed to be a serpentine with short arms. Its entire body was also purplish-gray, but there were holes in its body that allowed one to see a yellow energy source that was glowing within it. On its back were a pair of W-shaped branches with the energy exploding out of the gaps, creating a pair of wings. The tip of its tail was entirely yellow, which turned everything that even got close to it to ashes.

The giant beast slithered forward, the ground beneath it being burned black as it mover. It then let out a mighty roar, as more smoke exploded from its body. "NIDHOGGMON!"

Everyone stared at it in absolute shock, as the newly Digivolved monster's body slithered across the ground.

As it did, the energy coming off of it caused everything it touched to be burned beyond repair. If this creature was allowed to remain, the Digital World would be ruined.

"What do we do?" Trixie asked, but the Royal Knights were already heading out.

"We must stop that beast," Omnimon stated. "Kentaurosmon. You move at your top speed and see if you can hold it off." Kentaurosmon nodded and was about to gallop off, but Flash called out to him.

"Take us with you." They turned to him and Veemon. "If my plan works, we can have three knights fighting this thing instead of just one." The knights shared a look, not liking the idea of taking someone so much weaker than their enemy into the danger. But seeing the determination on Flash's face, Omnimon nodded.

"Alright." He turned to Kentaurosmon and the Mega nodded, scooping the two up and galloping through the castle.

Once outside, the centaur Digimon leapt into the sky and started flying like it was running on the air itself. Flash and Veemon were shielded from the wind, but the speed Kentaurosmon was going felt like they were in a rocket escaping the atmosphere.

"So this...is what a pancake...feels like!" Flash cried, as Kentaurosmon moved at full speed towards their next destination.

Breakdramon continued to carry Wingdramon as fast as he could away from the new danger. Orochimon had been strong, but he knew this Digimon was like nothing he had ever seen before.

Nidhoggmon's many eyes looked around and saw the Digimon that had attacked him, a growl escaping his lips along with a large cloud of smoke. It raised its tail-end and swung it around, creating a powerful gust of wind that was carrying a huge cloud of super hot smoke.

Wingdramon moaned as he came around and saw the attack coming. "Look out!" Breakdramon saw it coming and knew he couldn't outrun it, so slid to a stop before using his shovel claws to lift himself up.

"Gravity Crush!" He slammed his body into the ground with so much force, the ground broke apart and he fell into a large hole with Wingdramon. He then punched the sides and caused the tops of the hole the break apart, the mechanical dragon raising his claws to stop the rocks from crushing them.

As this happened, the smoke cloud flew over them and caused the ground to turn molten. The heat of it was intense, but not as hot as it was outside.

Both Digimon cried out, as they felt like they were baked alive. But eventually, the heat died down and the melted rock quickly cooled. This allowed Breakdramon to smash through it, allowing Wingdramon to fly out whilst Breakdramon pulled himself up.

The pair looked around and when they did, they saw the entire environment had been burned black. The place would likely take centuries to repair itself. "No," Breakdramon whispered, "this can't be."

"So powerful," Wingdramon could handle believe it. "How...how can we stop something like that?" They turned back to Nidhoggmon, who continued to glare at them. It then took a deep breath before unleashing a mighty roar, so loud and powerful that it was practically an attack.

It flew across the battlefield and slammed into the brothers, making them both scream as they tried to fight against it. But no matter how hard they held on, the force of it was just too great. They both let out a scream as they were knocked flying backwards, the pair crashing through several rocks and eventually smashing into the ground and sliding along it.

They let out groans of pain, whilst Nidhoggmon raised its tail again and swung it downwards. This sent out a super hot wave of air, that dug a trench in the ground as it moved towards them.

The pair looked up, believing this might be the end. However...

"Icy Breath!" A powerful blast of freezing cold air flew down, striking the hot one and cancelling each other out.

The brothers looked up and gasped when they saw Kentaurosmon arrive, galloping through the air before flying down and landing in front of them. "Are you two okay?" They nodded, as Kentaurosmon put Flash and Veemon down before turning to Nidhoggmon. "The others will be here soon." He pointed at the monster. "Prepare to feel the full force of the Royal Knights!" With that, he rushed forward ready for battle.

As Kentaurosmon charged in to fight against Nidhoggmon, Flash and Veemon rushed over to the brothers. "You guys have gotta get in there." Kentaurosmon suddenly launched a blast of cold air towards the beast, but the heat coming off of Nidhoggmon stopped it from even getting close. "The other knights are on their way, but Kentaurosmon can't beat that thing on his own."

"We're no match for it," Breakdramon groaned. "That thing is a World Breaker threat. Only a Royal Knight could hope to stand up to it."

"Then it's time you become Royal Knights!" Veemon cried, with Flash moving over to Wingdramon.

"He's right," he told the dragon. "It's time for you to stop holding back and Digivolve!" This statement caught Breakdramon's attention, whilst Wingdramon just looked uncertain.

"You know why I can't," he told Flash. "I know it might be selfish, but I can't do it. Not if it means sacrificing Breakdramon." His brother heard this and was shocked, slowly putting the pieces together. But Flash just smiled.

"You don't have to sacrifice Breakdramon. We have an idea that'll let you both become the knights you dreamed of being."

As this was going on, Kentaurosmon continued to gallop through the air. "ANNIHILATION!" Nidhoggmon roared, as the beams of light exploded out of his eyes and shot towards Kentaurosmon. The second fastest member of the Royal Knights was just barely able to avoid it, as he pointed his crossbow at the monster.

"Inferno Frost!" He roared, as arrows of light exploded out of his weapon and shot towards Nidhoggmon.

The super hot serpent was bombarded by the light, but this did little damage against the colossus. And instead, it swung the tip of its tail around and unleashed a wave of heat in Kentaurosmon's direction.

"AUGH!" He cried, as the heat slammed into him. If his armor had been anything except Chrome Digizoid, he might have very well melted right then and there. "It's not good. He's too strong. I can't do this on my own!" He glanced back at the others, hoping he would soon be getting back up.

"And that's it!" Flash told them. "What do you think?"

"You really think that'll work?" Breakdramon asked, Flash and Veemon nodding. Breakdramon thought about it and could hardly believe it was possible. He had accepted he would need to sacrifice his life, to bring Examon into the world. Now, not only could he survive Examon's birth, but he could actually become the Royal Knight. "Wingdramon, what do you think?"

Wingdramon was also thinking about what Flash had told him. Could it really be possible? "UlforceVeedramon?"

"It's the only other Royal Knight you can become aside from Examon and Dynasmon."

Veemon nodded, "you can achieve your dream and save your brother. But you gotta hurry. Kentaurosmon can't hold out forever." As soon as he said that, Nidhoggmon turned to them and its mouth started steaming up.

The yellow parts of its body glowed brighter and the light moved upwards, concentrating in its mouth. It then opened it, as a brilliant burst of heat escaped. "MELTDOWN!" The heat ray exploded out of his mouth and shot towards them, the four gasping at the approaching death attack.

But seconds before it could hit, Kentaurosmon leapt in front of them. "RAAAAAAH!" He roared, thrusting his shield forward and blocking the heat ray. He screamed as he was burned, his shield starting to grow hotter. Anchoring all six hooves into the ground, he still felt himself getting pushed back.

"Kentaurosmon!" Flash cried, seeing the Royal Knight being pushed to his limit.

"I...won't...QUIT!" He roared, redoubling his efforts. And eventually, the attack ended. "Augh!" He fell to the ground, dropping his blistering hot shield as he panted.

"Kentaurosmon!" Wingdramon cried, "are you okay?"

"None of us will be okay if that monster launches another attack." They looked up at Nidhoggmon and saw it was staying perfectly still. "An attack like that must have left it out of energy. It's recharging."

"Now's your chance!" Veemon told Wingdramon. "Before he attacks again."

Flash nodded. "Digivolve. You just need to keep UlforceVeedramon in your mind. You can do it!" Wingdramon nodded and spread his wings, taking to the air and flying towards Nidhoggmon.

"You wish to destroy everything we hold dear. Well we won't let you!" He started glowing, "I won't let you. Because my brother and I swore to protect this world. We...ARE ROYAL KNIGHTS!" With that, the light exploded off of him and transformed into a cocoon. "Wingdramon, Mega Digivolve to..." Everyone could only watch in amazement, as the cocoon grew larger before exploding off of him.

As it did, it revealed the same humanoid Digimon Flash had seen in the hologram yesterday.

The new Mega Level spread his arms and wings, spinning through the air kicking and punching it to adjust to his new form. "ULFORCEVEEDRAMON!"

Breakdramon could hardly believe it. "He did it. He's...he's a Royal Knight." The knight looked back at them, smiling as he did so before turning his attention back to Nidhoggmon.

The deadly serpent started moving again and as it did, UlforceVeedramon raised his right arm as the energy blade extended from his brace. "Victory Sword!" In the blink of an eye, UlforceVeedramon was gone and Nidhoggmon roared as it was slashed around the neck.

Everyone was amazed by this, as Veemon looked around. "Where'd he go?" But suddenly, UlforceVeedramon appeared in front of Nidhoggmon as another slash exploded on his neck. He then turned towards the serpent and disappeared, slashes exploding around his whole body.

"That's UlforceVeedramon's speed at work," Kentaurosmon stated. "He can move so fast, nothing can match him."

"Really?" Flash was amazed by this, wanting his own scan of UlforceVeedramon. "Go get him!" He yelled, as Nidhoggmon turned towards them again. Its eyes glowed and it unleashed the beam attacks right at them, Kentaurosmon reaching for his shield.

But before he could, UlforceVeedramon appeared as his left bracer transformed into a shield. "Tensegrity Shield!" Energy exploded out of the shield and formed a barrier around them, the laser hitting it but not even causing it to wobble.

Nidhoggmon roared in frustration, UlforceVeedramon lowering the shield once the attack ended before charging in to attack again. As he did, Breakdramon watched. "He's finally following his dream. He's a Royal Knight."

Flash smirked, "don't you wanna help him?" Breakdramon looked down at him, as Flash held up his Digivice. "Come on, let's get you Digivolved!" The Slayerdramon scan appeared and he threw it into the air, the energy cube growing larger as Breakdramon stared at it.

"You're sure this'll work?"

Veemon nodded, "yeah. It's a perfect copy of Slayerdramon, without a mind of its own!" Breakdramon liked the sound of that and rushed forward, charging into the cube. As he did, the Slayerdramon scan exploded and was absorbed into his body.

"Yes!" He cheered, "I can feel it!" The cube began to shrink and the light that made it up merged with him. "Breakdramon, Mega DNA Digivolve to..." The cocoon floated into the air and as it did, it grew larger and larger.

Everyone watched the cocoon increase, until it was almost as large as Nidhoggmon. And from it, a colossal pair of metallic wings exploded out of it. The cocoon then began to dissolve, revealing the rest of the almighty beast. It was a massive red and white dragon, around seventy meters tall if not taller, its wingspan even larger. Its tail was almost as long as its body and in its clawed hand was a giant metal lance.

The humongous dragon spread its mighty wings and with a great beat, flew high into the air as the wind it created blew the heat and smoke off of Nidhoggmon. "EXAMON!" He roared, the colossal Royal Knight staring the great Digimon down.

"Wow!" Flash whispered.

"HE'S HUGE!" Veemon cried, laughing at the sight before him. They watched as the huge Digimon prepared for battle, as UlforceVeedramon flew over to his head.

"Brother," the blue knight whispered, "we're finally here."

"Yes," Examon nodded, "we are Royal Knights. And we will use this power to protect our world." He charged forward and let out a mighty roar, as he thrust his lance forward towards Nidhoggmon.

The giant serpent swung the end of its tail around, but Examon's wing blocked it. Despite the incredible heat, the wind wasn't damaged at all. Examon smirked and swung the lance around, the blade on the end of it cutting into the rocky scales that made up his body.

Nidhoggmon roared in agony and shuffled backwards, allowing UlforceVeedramon to get in close. "Ray of Victory!" He roared, unleashing a V-shaped blast of energy from his chest armor. It slammed into the serpent and caused an explosion, knocking it back as Examon slashed him with the lance once again.

Meanwhile, Flash and the others cheered at how well the pair were doing. And as they watched, a voice called out to them. "Flash!" They looked around and saw the rest of the Royal Knights flying towards them, Dynasmon carrying Flash's friends.

They all landed and saw the two new knights battling it out, as Dynasmon put the others down. "Is that...them?" Trixie asked, with Flash smirking.

"Heck yeah it is. Wingdramon and Breakdramon, Digivolving into the knights they were destined to be." The others smiled, as Omnimon stepped forward.

"Let's not put all the work on the newbies. Knights...CHARGE!" He leapt forward and flew into battle, his sword and cannon appearing. The others knights followed, as Kentaurosmon wished he was in a fit state to do the same.

"Here," Sandal rushed up to him and fiddled with his Digivice. A moment later, a red and white pill appeared in front of him. "HP Capsule A!" The capsule shot towards Kentaurosmon and exploded into light, which spread to the Mega and caused the damage done to him to fade away.

Kentaurosmon was surprised to feel his energy restored and pushed himself back to his feet, picking up his restored shield. "Thank you." He charged forward and everyone watched, as Kentaurosmon took to the air as the other knights reached Nidhoggmon.

"Supreme Cannon!" Omnimon fired several ice blasts from his Garurumon head, which caused powerful explosions that also freezed the areas hit.

"Breath of Wyvern!" Dynasmon's body expelled a light that shot off of him and transformed into a dragon, which collided with Nidhoggmon and blasted the ice off of it. This allowed Crusadermon and Craniamon to fly in closer.

"Spiral Masquerade/Claíomh Solais!" The pair slashed at the beast with their blades, slicing it up as Duftmon flew up towards its head.

The leopard-themed knight held up his sword and a ball of black energy formed on the tip. "Black Aura Blast!" He launched the orb flying at the beast, but Nidhoggmon's eyes unleashed the heat ray. The attacks struck the orb and caused it to explode, threatening to blast Duftmon as well. "MODE CHANGE!" He cried, suddenly being consumed by light. When it faded, Duftmon was now quadrupedal and his cat head helmet had closed to become his real head. "Leopard Mode!"

Duftmon shot through the air, running on it as easily as he was running on the ground and avoiding all the laser as he got in close. "Aerial Barrage!" His front claws glowed and extended, as he reached the head and started slashing at him wildly.

As this was happening, Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon flew at the beast's behind with their swords at the ready. "So, you finally decided to join us in the ranks."

UlforceVeedramon smirked, "you can thank Flash." He slashed at Nidhoggmon, Omnimon doing the same. "As powerful as Examon clearly is. I could never become that if it meant giving up my brother." The pair avoided the tail as it swung at them, both firing their long range attacks. "But when Flash told me what I could become, I knew this was my destiny."

Omnimon nodded as they got to a safe distance. "Have to admit, it's a good look for you."

"It feels good too," UlforceVeedramon nodded. "No...it feels right." As he said that, Nidhoggmon's body started glowing. "It's going to use it's Meltdown attack again!"

"That wasn't fun to block," Kentaurosmon fired his light arrows, as the energy began to build. "We need to combine our power!" The other knights nodded and as Nidhoggmon prepared to fire, they flew around so that they were in a circle. Omnimon, Craniamon, Crusadermon, Dynasmon, Duftmon and UlforceVeedramon held out their arms as they glowed, the light flying off of them and mixing with the other's light to form a ring of light around the serpent.

That ring quickly formed a dome that trapped the beast, who unleashed a powerful energy blast that struck the dome and caused it to shake. The knights all cried out at the impact, but continued to hold strong as the heat laser pushed against the barrier.

After a full minute of this, Nidhoggmon's attack ended and the beast was forced to recharge and couldn't move. "NOW!" UlforceVeedramon cried, "EXAMON!"

High above, the massive dragon was waiting for the chance to strike. And as the Royal Knights retracted the barrier, they sent the energy upwards as Examon held up his lance. "This is for the Digital World!" The energy flowed into his weapon, as he sent his own power into it. "Let this keep the realm safe!" With that, lightning began to spark around it.

The energy then flowed out the tip and formed a blue and white sphere, Examon putting every piece of energy he had into it. And as he did, the other Royal Knight flew away with Dynasmon and UlforceVeedramon grabbing those watching.

"Now!" He pointed it towards Nidhoggmon, "PENDRAGON'S GLORY!" The sphere was launched off his spear and sent hurtling towards the ground its descent showing just how large it was as the Royal Knights rushed to safety.

Nidhoggmon finally recharged and saw the attack coming, attempting to build up power to launch another Meltdown attack. But it was no use and the orb landed before it could fire.

The explosion that followed was like that of a nuclear warhead, as a giant mushroom cloud flew up towards the sky and sent a shockwave out in all directions. However, before it could get too far, the knights that surrounded it stopped their retreat.

After putting the humans and Digimon down, they turned towards the incoming blast and thrust their hands out to create another ring of energy. Instead of forming a wall, the energy was curved to create more of a ramp. As such, the energy that struck it was pushed upwards towards the sky.

Flash and his friends watched in amazement, as the destructive power was sent harmlessly into space where it couldn't cause any hard. The knights were still being buffeted by the force, but luckily they were still able to hold on until the energy finally faded away.

Once it did, the knights lowered the barrier and all fell to the ground in exhaustion.

The mushroom cloud then disappeared, revealing a massive crater where Nidhoggmon had once been. The attack had completely obliterated him and hopefully, he would be reborn into a Digimon that didn't cause absolute devastation wherever it went.

"Amazing," Trixie whispered. That was what everyone else thought, none of them knowing what else to say. The Royal Knights truly were an amazing group of Digimon. Despite a world ending threat appearing out of nowhere, they were able to stop it so easily.

They all smiled, glad the Royal Knights were on their side.

The castle was in full celebration mode, as the Royal Knights had stopped a World Breaker threat and were now stronger than ever.

In the main throne room, the doors opened with Flash, Veemon and their friends walking inside smiling as they did. They looked up and saw the Royal Knights in their thrones, with Examon having shrunk down to the size of the other knights. He and UlforceVeedramon smiled at them, as they arrived in the centre of the room.

"Flash Sentry," Omnimon announced. "Though we brought you all here to try and steal your partner away, you chose to help us in our efforts to protect the Digital World. Thanks to you and your friends, the realm can be at peace once again. We give you our greatest thanks."

"Don't worry about it," Flash told him.

"Happy to help," Veemon smiled.

"You humans are quite an interesting race," Crusadermon stated. "Some of you do nothing but destroy, whilst others go out of their way to help. I must admit, you seem like an enigma to be sure."

"That's just who we humans are," Micro told her. "Every human is different, just like every Digimon is different."

Flash nodded. "Not every human is as willing to stick their neck out for others. But these humans are." The others nodded. "So if you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"We won't," Omnimon nodded. "And if there is anything you humans would like as thanks for your help, name it and we will do what is within our power to make it happen." The humans and Digimon shared looks, clearly unsure whether or not to ask. But after the other three pushed him forward, Flash sighed.

"Well, feel free to say no, but could we maybe get scans of you guys?" The Royal Knights were shocked by this. "You said you don't hand your power out to just anyone, so we'd understand if you all said no. But since the Royal Knight evolutions we have are locked up, this'll be the only way to get one."

The Digimon seemed curious about this, until UlforceVeedramon stood up. "Feel free to scan me. You're the reason I have this incredible form. And since you already have Veedramon and AeroVeedramon, this'll complete your set." Flash smiled and they all pointed their Digivices at him, taking a scan of the great knight as Examon stood up.

"You can scan me as well, if you want. I'm sure with a Digimon like me at your disposal, you'll be able to defeat anyone you face." The rest of the Royal Knights soon agreed, deciding these humans had earned the trust needed to use their powers.

They all smiled and began to scan the knights, looking forward to see what kind of decks they could use with them.

Once that was done, the knights explained they had to start training their new members to fully master the powers they had been granted. The visitors understood this and chose to leave, thanking them one last time before heading out of the castle.

"This is awesome," Micro cried as they checked out their new scans. "Tentomon, FlameWizardmon, Mistymon and now Dynasmon. I can't wait for the next time I battle."

"Same here," Sandal was particularly excited about the Kentaurosmon scan. "I'm gonna De-Digivolve him as soon as we're back at Codex. Then I'll have a complete line."

"I don't need to De-Digivolve one of mine," Trixie smirked. "Check it out. Crusadermon can Digivolve from MagnaAngemon. That'll be fun to use." She turned to Flash, "you excited to use your new knights?"

"Heck yeah I am," Flash smirked as he looked through the Digimon he had. "I've got AeroVeedramon and Wingdramon to go into UlforceVeedramon. And, ExVeemon can Digivolve into Wingdramon."

"Really?" Veemon asked, as Flash showed him a deck that had ExVeemon, Wingdramon and an empty Mega slot. "Awesome."

"Yeah. And that also means you can become Dynasmon and Examon as well. This it great."

Micro laughed. "Well Veemon is connected to the Royal Knight's history. I bet if there's a way to turn him into any of the Royal Knights." Flash had to agree. With all these new forms at their disposal, Flash felt like he and Veemon were on course to become the greatest players in Codex history.

He knew they still had a long way to go, but they would keep at it no matter what the obstacle. And if the Royal Knights ever needed their help, they would be there to do whatever was needed. Because the Digital World was an amazing place and they refused to let it be harmed. By anyone.

In the dark remains of the destroyed forest, a lone figure was making their way through it.

They swept a claw through the ashed up ground and hummed as they did. "So, Orochimon was destroyed. And after we went to such lengths to help him grow stronger. His own fault for being impatient. If he had waited, he would have been able to Digivolve without giving himself away." The figure sighed as he stood up, revealing themselves to be ninja-like Digimon with swords on his back and a bladed tail.

"Doesn't matter. This won't stop our plans. Soon the Dragon Soul Stone will appear and when it does, our master will destroy this accursed world."

Author's Note

The Royal Knights kick ass as always. And thanks to Flash, they now have two new members. Can't wait to see how things go with them from here on out. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know if you guessed what was gonna happen with Wingdramon and Breakdramon.

Memories on the Track

All was peaceful, in an oceanic section of the Digital World.

The digital fish were swimming around, living their every day fishy lives. They had no idea they were just digital recreations of the real thing, since they didn't need to know. All they cared about was swimming, finding enough food to survive and not becoming food themselves. However, one of their hunters was about to appear.

From out of the depths, a Digimon swam up moving at super high speed.

This Digimon looked like a fusion of a man and a hammerhead shark. His head was shark-like, whilst his body was humanoid with shark skin. His hands were webbed and sharp at the fingertips, with bladed fins sticking out of the arms. A large dorsal fin was sticking out of his back, whilst a pair of swim trunks could be seen on his waist. His legs looked strong and with them locked together, the Digimon's swimfin feet allowed it to move incredibly fast.

The Digimon was swimming towards the surface and as he did, the water was getting shallower and shallower. They were coming to an area of the ocean covered in tiny islands, the largest of them being about thirty-five meters across.

He broke through the surface and did several flips through the air, eventually landing as his feet came apart and allowed him to stand. He looked around, trying to find what he was looking for. But there was no sign of it on the island anywhere.

"Ha," he laughed, "coward." But as soon as he said that, he sensed something and spun around to see what appeared to be a large comet flying towards him. "WOW!" He leapt back, as the comet smashed into the island with enough force to cause the whole thing to break apart.

Divemon splashed into the ocean, as the comet flew back up with the energy around it disappearing to reveal a dragonic Digimon.

Wingdramon looked down at the water, "you can't hide forever!" The water then exploded, with the shark Digimon leaping up and slashing at him.

"Raaaaah!" He swung his claws at him, but Wingdramon blocked with the orbs he was carrying. He then swung it tail up and wrapped it around the shark-man, making him cry out as he struggled against the constriction.

Wingdramon then took a deep breath, as the orbs in his claws glowed and sent energy into his mouth. This was when he flicked his opponent into the air. "Blaze Sonic Breath!" He unleashed a blast of high-temp air that slammed into him and made him roar in pain.

Divemon: 2-0%
Wingdramon: 1-95%

Divemon fell back into the water and with a splash, he disappeared beneath the waves.

Wingdramon frowned as he skimmed the surface of the ocean. This battle had been a tough one, made even harder due to his opponent Digivolving into a Data type when he became a Vaccine. "He's here somewhere." As soon as he said that, the water exploded with Divemon leaping out of it.

"Ripple Edge!" He swung his claws around and unleashed a barrage of high-pressure water blades.

"Wow!" Wingdramon flew around, avoiding the water blades as they flew past him. But then, one of them nipped his wing and made him flinch.

Divemon: 1-100%
Wingdramon: 1-85%

"Augh!" He fell down, as Divemon returned back to the water. Wingdramon managed to regain control of his flight and flew over the water, pulling up as soon as he could to keep from getting sneak attacked. And as Divemon's head popped out of the water, Wingdramon started flying in a circle and picking up speed. "Wing Blade!" This formed a spiral of wind, which he sent flying at the water with a powerful beat of his wings.

Divemon saw the blades coming and dived down, trying to escape the attacks. But the air blades slammed into the water and caused a massive explosion, which sent the water flying upwards into the air. And Divemon was sent flying with it.

"Augh!" He cried, as one of the air blades cut into him.

Divemon: 1-85%
Wingdramon: 1-85%

He then fell towards one of the nearby islands and crashed into it, flinching as his body scraped against the hard rocks.

Divemon: 1-80%
Wingdramon: 1-85%

Wingdramon smirked as he flew down, ready to slash at Divemon with his claws and fangs. But as Divemon picked himself up, he looked up and glared at him. "Liquid Veil!" He cried, as water exploded up and swirled around his body. Eventually, it formed a layer of water that covered him perfectly. "Now I'm as strong as I would be in of the water."

Wingdramon frowned as he flew in close, attempting to take him down.

The two began to clash against one another, slashing at each other with their claws. But Divemon was too fast and managed to block his attacks whilst slashing at Wingdramon's chest. "Augh!"

Divemon: 1-80%
Wingdramon: 1-75%

He then tried to swing his tail around, but Divemon managed to grab it in his claws before spinning around. "WOW!" Divemon sent him flying and he crashed into another island, making him cry out as the jagged rocks dug into him.

Divemon: 1-80%
Wingdramon: 1-70%

"Hahaa," Divemon laughed. "We're in my domain. You don't stand a chance."

Wingdramon groaned as he pushed himself up, turning to Divemon and glaring at him. Then, he smiled. "We'll see about that." He leapt into the air, as Divemon unleashed another barrage of water blades. But Wingdramon was able to dodge each and every one of them, whilst his body began to glow. "Wingdramon, Mega Digivolve to..." Divemon's eyes went wide, as the light formed a cocoon around him. And when it exploded off of him, it revealed the blue humanoid dragon Digimon. "ULFORCEVEEDRAMON!"

Divemon gulped as he realised how much trouble he was in. "So what if you're Mega. I'm still the one with the home field advantage!" He dived into the water, as UlforceVeedramon flew straight up.

"Can't hide in there forever!" He crossed his arms, as the V on his chest glowed. "Ray of Victory!" The V-shaped laser exploded out of his chest and slammed into the water, creating an explosion larger than the one Wingdramon had created.

The explosion sent the water flying once again, as multiple fish flew through the air.

Another fish out of water was Divemon, who had once again been thrown out of the water and could do nothing but swing his arms around wildly. UlforceVeedramon then extended his sword and rushed forward, moving in the blink of an eye as he slashed at Divemon.

"AUGH!" The shark Digimon cried, feeling the blade cut into his side.

Divemon: 1-70%
UlforceVeedramon: 1-70%

Before Divemon could recover, UlforceVeedramon spun around and slashed at him again. Then again and again and again, Divemon unable to fight against the incredible speed UlforceVeedramon was moving at.

Divemon: 1-30%
UlforceVeedramon: 1-70%

The force of the explosion finally died down and as Divemon fell into what remained of the ocean, the water came crashing down towards him. He was recovering atop the water, only to see a tidal wave flying towards him faster than even he could handle.

"RAAAAAH!" He dived downwards, trying to escape. But the wave crashed down upon the water and sent the whole thing into a spiralling torrent.

UlforceVeedramon watched, as a whirlpool began to form that buffeted and barraged against Divemon. He screamed in agony, as he was thrown into the very centre of it. By the time the whirlpool finally subsided, Divemon was super dizzy and his health was low.

Divemon: 1-10%
UlforceVeedramon: 1-70%

He floated towards one of the islands and pulled himself up onto the hunk of land, pushing himself up but staggering around unable to get a his balance. He was so disoriented, he couldn't react in time when UlforceVeedramon shot down and landed in front of him.

"Victory Sabre!" His blade glowed as he swung it around, slashing into Divemon and making him scream in pain as his final security was destroyed.

Divemon: 1-0%
UlforceVeedramon: 1-70%

He was sent staggering back, as UlforceVeedramon rushed in to deal the final attack. But the shark-man wouldn't make it easy for him. "Fillet Blade!" His arm fins glowed as he spun around wildly, UlforceVeedramon getting cut by the ones on his arm.

Divemon: 0-0%
UlforceVeedramon: 1-55%

But this wasn't enough to stop UlforceVeedramon, who swung his blade around and cut right through the shark man. And with that, Divemon's body exploded into data as a young man fell to the ground.

UlforceVeedramon stood tall, as the digital voice spoke up. "Battle Over! Winner, Flash Sentry." The battlefield was then consumed by light, transforming back into the domed room as UlforceVeedramon suddenly split back into Flash and Veemon.

The pair turned to one another, Veemon leaping up so they could high five. Meanwhile, his opponent frowned as he picked himself up. "No fair. That Royal Knight was way too fast. That scan should be illegal." Flash smirked, knowing a lot of people were probably thinking that. But Flash had gone through a lot to get these scans and wasn't gonna just not use them.

"Better luck next time," Flash stated as the other player grabbed his Digivice and left.

Flash and Veemon soon followed, smiles on their faces as they thought about how well they had been doing lately. Ever since getting a scan of every Royal Knight, he had been on a serious winning streak.

He couldn't help but remember the first time he had used UlforceVeedramon, which was also the first time he had ever gone Mega. Thanks to it, his opponent had been so dumbstruck he just stood there and let Flash blast him with his Ray of Victory. And it wasn't just him.

Micro had swept the floor with his opponent after turning into Dynasmon whilst Trixie and Sandalwood enjoyed easy wins thanks to Crusadermon and Kentaurosmon.

After their many victories, a bunch of players were begging them to trade a copy of it to them and even offered their best scans. But the four had made a promise not to give away these scans, which hadn't gone a long way to making them to most popular players in the game.

Their friends had also been eager to get a scan of the knights, but understood their reasons for keeping them. They had also been amazed to hear about their adventure with the Royal Knights and their battle against Nidhoggmon.

Flash and Veemon made their way out of the Rookie Stadium, knowing that it probably wouldn't be too long before they were gonna start battling in the Champion Stadium. But they also knew not to get cocky. They intended to take each battle as it came, even if their victory appeared guaranteed right from the start.

They made their way over to the foyer, where they spotted Micro talking to a player he didn't know.

They appeared to be doing a trade and Flash felt himself grow worried that Micro was giving away a knight scan. They headed over there as the trade clearly ended, Micro smirking as Flash reached him. "Hey," the glasses wearing teen waved, "check out this new scan I got."

"I hope you didn't give him anything you might regret trading later," Flash warned him. Micro instantly knew what he was talking about.

"No. I didn't give him the Royal Knight scans. I understand why you'd be worried, but I'm not gonna break our promise." Flash sighed in relief. "But...I did give him something that could lead to him getting a knight scan." Flash was shocked by this. "I traded him a Mistymon scan. If he wants a Dynasmon scan, he can go out and get it himself. And if he does get one, he can use that in the Digivolution line."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Veemon asked, as Tentomon flew over to him.

"Well it's not like he couldn't get one himself. I'm not the only Tentomon out there. Just has to scan me, get the Digimental of Courage and he could Digivolve all the way up to Mistymon." They realised he was right, so decided to leave it be.

The four sat down and watched some of the screens, one of which included a battle involving MagnaAngemon whilst another had a Digimon that looked like an armored winged horse with a long mane and horn.

Flash knew those two were Trixie and Sandalwood, this being the third battle in a row the two had used those Digimon. "Hope they don't get too comfortable using the Royal Knights."

"Why?" Micro asked, "you've been using them."

"Yeah, but Veemon can Digivolve into a bunch of them. And I don't just use the Royal Knights. I used Flamedramon and BurningGreymon in a battle yesterday. Just don't want Lunamon and Mangoramon to feel side-lined."

"Don't worry about it," Micro assured him. "Those two are just enjoying themselves. Once the rush of being Royal Knights wears off, they'll be back to using their partners. Just watch."

"If you say so," Flash nodded as he looked around. "Anybody else coming to watch the battles today? Or are they all out?"

"I think Thorax is in a battle," Micro explained. "But Twilight and the others are out in the Digital World somewhere. Not sure where though." Flash was also curious, wondering what the girls could be up to at that moment.

Out in the Digital World, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack having a blast with their Digimon.

Currently, they were all inside a train carriage moving down the tracks. Twilight was reading a book she had in her inventory, whilst Pinkie and Rainbow were watching the environment zoom past with their Digimon. Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack were brushing their Digimon, whilst Tawnimon was enjoying a nap sitting next to Twilight.

"I think we're almost there," Pinkie cheered. The others heard this and smiled, Twilight shutting her book whilst the others put their brushes away.

"I can't wait to get there," Fluttershy smiled. "I haven't had the chance to see Berry Town in so long." They were all heading to a favourite location of theirs. Berry Town was a forest village, that produced some of the best berry-flavoured foods the Digital World had to offer. The girls liked to go there for a visit whenever they could, each of them remembering it fondly for a simple reason.

A long time ago.

Twilight Sparkle was sitting on the train, reading her book alone.

The book she was reading was one she had gotten at a Digimon library, which featured the many different types of Digimon in the Digital World.

The girl smiled as she looked out the window. She had been in the Digital World for a little over two months now, having been invited by the Codex Commanders on recommendation of her older brother. She was excited to see what the Digital World had in store for her.

Shining Armor had suggested Berry Town as a place to visit, though it meant taking the train due to it being a Champion Level area.

She had just finished a chapter, when the intercom activated. "Next stop, Berry Town" Twilight smiled and stood up, as the town in question came into view.

It was a forest surrounded by rocky mountain lands, with a massive tree in the very centre of it that was the size of a skyscraper. And as the train pulled into the station, she spotted several Digimon on the platform. Multiple ones of different types and species.

Twilight stepped off the train and turned towards the engine, which was actually a Digimon that looked like a cross between a train and a worm.

"Thanks for the ride," she told him.

"No problem," he spoke in a brooklyn accent before pulling out of the station. Once he was gone, Twilight headed into town and started looking around. As she did, she noticed more Digimon located all over the place.

There were more Digimon here then she could possibly register. They were either running stalls, picking fruit off the trees or simply enjoying the place like her. She smiled as she watched the Digimon go about their daily lives, none of them appearing at all surprised that a human was there.

But then she saw something that made her realise why, as a pink skinned girl was actually running her own booth. "Who ordered the banana nut muffins!?" Several Digimon rushed over to accept the sweet treat, the girl happily handing them out as Twilight stepped over to her. "Oh," the girl smiled, "hi. I'm Pinkie Pie."

"Twilight," she replied with a smile. "I didn't realise humans could open stalls here."

"Yup. I get to do what I love most in a place I love most." As she said that, a blue alligator Digimon stepped up next to Twilight carrying a tray on his head. "Try one. It's delicious and the best part is, you don't gain any weight."

Twilight smiled and happily accepted the muffin, taking a bite out of it only to find herself melting due to the delicious taste. Her eyes rolled into her head, a moan escaping her lips. Pinkie smirked, seeing she had captured another one.

Twilight devoured the rest of the muffin and asked Pinkie about her Codex experience, Pinkie explaining she had met Dilemon a week into her journey and they had been best friends ever since. And as she did, Twilight noticed two other humans walk into the scene.

One was a strong looking cowgirl, carrying a large bucket of fruit alongside a purple haired girl who was complimenting a Sistermon Blanc on her clothes. A Labramon was walking besides the cowgirl whilst Salamon was on the purple girl's shoulder.

"Here you go." The cowgirl put the bucket down, the Digimon she gave it to thanking her greatly.

"So where did you get this lovely dress?"

"Oh," Sistermon hummed, "I Digivolved and it was on me." The girl sighed, clearly having heard that before. She and Salamon stepped over to the cowgirl, who picked up an apple and took a bite out of it.

"I wish I knew how Digimon clothes are designed. I'm sure they could teach me so much."

"Rarity," the cowgirl told her, "don't ya'h think ya'h overthinkin' this. Digimon Digivolve and get clothes. It's as simple as that."

"Applejack," Rarity put her hands on her hips. "There's no way something so pretty can be randomly generated by a computer. Someone has to be designing them. And I won't rest until I discover who."

Twilight giggled at this and stepped forward, only for someone to suddenly appear out of nowhere moving at high speed. "Watch out!" She felt that person tackle her, the pair falling to the ground as everyone turned towards them.

"Oh dear!" A sweet voice gasped, Twilight sitting up and seeing a pink haired girl standing over them with a Terriermon on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Twilight groaned as she picked herself up. "I'm fine. Though I'd be happier if someone hadn't run into me." She turned to the one at fault and saw she was a blue skinned girl with rainbow hair, who quickly leapt up and onto her feet.

"Sorry. Totally didn't see you there."

"Maybe slow down next time and you won't have any problems," Applejack told her. The rainbow girl turned to glare at her, clearly about to argue back. But the pink haired girl grabbed her shoulder.

"She's right Rainbow. You really shouldn't run around like that." Rainbow pouted, crossing her arms.

"Guess you're right Fluttershy." As she said that, the ground started shaking. The humans and those with Digimon looked around, confused by it, until they spotted a large tree Digimon walking on his roots and carrying a walking stick.

"What seems to be going on here?" He asked, looking down at the humans. "I hope you lot aren't fighting. Berry Town is a place of joy and fun. Anyone who ruins that won't be welcomed here."

"We're not fighting," Terriermon cried out. "There was just a little accident here and we were just making sure it doesn't happen again." He turned to the others, "right?" They all nodded, the Digimon known as Cherrymon sighing.

"Good. Then let's enjoy ourselves some more. The great tree will soon be blooming. We don't want to miss that!" The Digimon all cheered and started making their way towards it, whilst the humans followed suit.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked, everyone except Pinkie looking just as confused.

"The great tree!" She cheered. "It's the most important part of Berry Town. Once a month, it blooms and grows every type of fruit imaginable. Bananas, apples, strawberries, oranges, you name it. It's amazing."

"Awe man," Rainbow rubbed her hands together. "That sounds awesome. I can't wait!" As she said that, someone stepped out in front of her and she almost tripped over. "WOW!" She staggered around, but managed to keep her bearings. "Hey!" She spun around and saw the Digimon that had almost knocked her over was a Kamemon. "Watch it!"

"Sorry," he told her before holding up a tray of something. "Wanna have one of my blueberry tarts? I'm told they're pretty good." Rainbow frowned, but took the tart anyway and bit into it. Her eyes went wide at this, the others having a feeling it was more then pretty good.

"Not bad," she smirked before eating the rest. "Not bad at all."

"Thanks," Kamemon replied before walking towards the tree.

"Was it really that good?" Twilight asked, as Rainbow started tearing up.

"It was the best tart I've ever had!"

"Why didn't ya'h tell him that?" Applejack asked, with Rainbow rubbing her face of the tears.

"What, and let him get a swell head? I've seen what happens when you tell someone they've created the best of something. They lose all passion for it. No way could I let him stop making those tarts."

"Well maybe he's hoping to hear that?" Salamon told her. "Maybe he wants to hear someone say it, then move on to try and do something else."

"Like what?"

"Who knows," Applejack shrugged. "That'd be for him to decide." They finally arrived at the great tree, where all the other Digimon were gathered around.

They watched, as fruits began to appear on the tree. And just like Pinkie said, every kind of fruit imaginable appeared. "Wow," the six girls whispered. They all liked their lips, hungry to try and take a bite.

Cherrymon chuckled, "the tree never fails to amaze. Now, who would like to pick the first piece of fruit?" All the Digimon raised their arms, making him chuckle more. But as he was about to pick one, he noticed something in the sky. "Huh?" He squinted, trying to get a better look.

The others noticed this and looked over, wondering what he was looking at. They they saw it to.

A large cloud, moving through the sky. But it didn't look like a normal cloud. There was some kind of movement to the inside of it, with the normal sky appearing in gaps that appeared. "What is that?" Rainbow asked, but Fluttershy was enough of a nature watcher to recognise it instantly.

"It's a flock of bird."

"Correction," Terriermon replied. "It's a flock of bird Digimon!"

They were right. It was a large flock of bird Digimon, a bunch of brown owl-like Digimon. "Tawnimon?" Cherrymon asked, "what are they doing here?" They got their answer, when the owl Digimon swooped down on the unsuspecting crowd and started taking whatever food they could get their claws on.

Anything from tarts, to cakes and jams were grabbed and placed in the Tawnimon's mouths. And when the last of this food was taken, they turned their attention to the great tree.

"They're gonna take the fruit!" Twilight realised, as the wild Digimon scattered in fear.

"I'm not letting them steal my sweet treats!" Terriermon leapt into the air, as Fluttershy took out her Digivice. It unleashed a bright light, which quickly wrapped around the rabbit dog and formed a cocoon. "Terriermon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon exploded to reveal his Champion Level, "Gargomon!"

As soon as he landed, he raised his blaster arms and started unloading them into the sky. The Tawnimon all saw this and quickly took evasive manoeuvres away from the tree.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash took out their Digivices and swung them around, Fluttershy doing the same. "LET'S GO!" They cried, as the cubes appeared in front of them. Each one with a Digimon inside of it. Twilight's cube had a Digimon called Patamon inside, whilst Fluttershy's had a Digimon named Lopmon and Rainbow's had a Digimon named Biyomon. "Biomerge, Activate!" The cubes flew over and they was sucked inside, transforming into copies of the Digimon.

One by one, each of them were surrounded by light before transforming. "Patamon," Twilight cried, "Digivolve to..." She grew larger and broke out of the orb, revealing her Champion form. "Unimon!"

"Lopmon!" Fluttershy cried, "Digivolve to..." The cocoon broke apart and revealed a six foot pink rabbit Digimon, wearing a yellow jumpsuit and red gloves with retractable blades on them. "Turuiemon!"

"Biyomon!" Rainbow cried, "Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger then the other two and when it exploded, a giant bird appeared who appeared to be made complete out of fire flew out. "Birdramon!"

Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie took out their Digivices, which unleashed light and surrounded their own Digimon. "Salamon, Digivolve to...Gatomon!"

"Labramon, Digivolve to...Dorulumon!"

"Dilemon, Digivolve to...Gatormon!" The six Champions stood together, as Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie began to help the other Digimon get to safety.

Birdramon spread her wings and leapt into the air, Unimon following after her whilst Turuiemon, Gatomon, Dorulumon and Gatormon prepared for any that might attack the ground. Once Birdramon was high enough, she started building up energy.

"Let's see how you like this. Meteor-"

"Wait!" Unimon stopped her, "you can't use a fire attack. You could set the whole forest on fire." Birdramon frowned, clearly not happy about not getting to just blast them.

"HOOTING CRY!" The Tawnimon yelled as they unleashed their sonic blast, which hit the pair and made them cry out in pain.

Those on the ground looked worried, as Dorulumon held up his drill tail. "Drill Tornado!" He spun it around and unleashed a powerful vortex of wind, which flew up and struck many of the Tawnimon out of the sky.

The owls cried out as they were knocked out of control, many falling to the ground as those there charged in. "Sharp Talon!" One slashed at Turuiemon, but the bladed bunny blocked with her gauntlets whilst Gargomon leapt over and kicked it away.

Gatormon swung his tail around and knocked several into the sides of trees and houses, whilst Gatomon used her Lightning Paw to sock one in the face.

Though she couldn't use her best attack on the smaller avians, Birdramon was still able to stop them by creating a powerful gust. This knocked many of the Tawnimon to the ground and made them cry out in pain, whilst the other Digimon dealt with the ones that could still stand.

As she did this, she spotted the Kamemon from before.

He was surrounded by a bunch of Tawnimon, trying to protect his blueberry tarts. "Water Shot!" He cried out, launching a blade of water from his mouth. It knocked one Tawnimon back, but the others attacked with their Sharp Talons. "Shell Guard!" He hid his tarts behind his back and retracted his head and limbs into his body, the Tawnimon's attacks bouncing off it.

"Wow. That guy's as tough as a tank." She dived down caught the Digimon's attention. "Back off." He used her claws to cage Kamemon, then beat her wings to knock the others back. Kamemon left his shell and looked up at the giant bird, who smirked down at him.

Unimon blasted several more Tawnimon and was ready to attack the rest. But before she could, she noticed something in the distance. Another Digimon, which looked like a giant version of the Tawnimon. "Great. Their boss is here." She expected this Digimon to attack and save his brethren. But instead, he did something rather surprising.

"TAWNIMON!" He yelled, "STOP!" The Tawnimon suddenly stopped their attack and turned towards him, the giant owl landing and look as imposing as possible. "You dishonour our parliament with these actions. Shame on you all!" The Tawnimon looked down, upset.

They quickly stopped the fights and flew over to him, as Cherrymon made his way over to the large owl whilst the fighting Digimon grouped up.

"I apologise for this. The Tawnimon have been having trouble recently with food."

"Is that so?" Cherrymon asked. "Don't you and your flock roost around a nearby mountain? One with its own forest below?"

"We do," the Champion Digimon replied before letting out a sighed. "Or...at least we did. I'm afraid we've found ourselves in a bit of a...territorial dispute."

"Territorial dispute?" Unimon trotted over to him and was consumed with light, transforming back into Twilight. "With who?" The owl hummed as he looked her over, clearly not used to humans.

"A group of Digimon name Jazamon, lead by a more powerful Jazardmon. They attacked us out of the blue and forced us out of our territory. Since then, we've been forced to make do with a less then adequate replacement home. There's barely any food or water there, so you can understand why the Tawnimon all decided to attack."

"You just let these guys kick you out?" Birdramon asked, as she and Turuiemon returned to their human forms. "What are you doing, letting those guys push you around?"

"Don't think we didn't fight with everything we had," the owl cried. "Jazardmon and his flock were just stronger!"

"HooTawnimon is right," Cherrymon nodded. "Jazardmon is a powerful monster indeed. It's mechanical body makes it almost impossible to damage with a standard attack. And with a flock of Jazamon behind it, HooTawnimon and his flock wouldn't stand a chance."

They Codex Players frowned, looking around the flock at the owl group that looked scared and hungry. Despite being against them just a minute ago, they couldn't help be feel sorry for the lot of them.

"There has to be a way for you to get your territory back," Twilight stated. "It's clear you can't stay here. And wherever you were before isn't cutting it either."

HooTawnimon nodded. "Jazardmon is the biggest problem. If it was just the Rookies, my flock and I could handle it. Alas, it's not just the Rookies."

"Well what if you had help?" Pinkie asked, smiling as she stepped forward. "If you had other Champion Digimon to fight beside you, I bet you could even the score with Jazardmon no problem."

"I could," he nodded. "But where would I get Digimon to help? None of my parliament are ready to Digivolve." He then noticed the humans and their partners smiling at him. "Seriously? After all the trouble we've caused."

"You guys were just doin' this cause ya'll were desperate," Applejack explained. "If a'h had to choose between stealin' and starvin, a'd probably have a hard time decidin'." The others nodded, thinking the same thing. They couldn't allow this flock of Digimon to be forced out of their homes.

"Thank you," HooTawnimon nodded. "You don't know how much this means to us."

Twilight turned to the others. "We'll need a plan in order to get Jazardmon away from his flock. Separate him from the rest and those Rookies won't know what to do."

"I wish I could help," Cherrymon told them. "But my place is here. If you force out Jazardmon and his flock, they may choose to come in this direction. I must be ready to protect Berry Town in that event." They all nodded, understanding. "But if any of my citizens wishes to help, I encourage it."

The Digimon all looked unsure, clearly not wanting to go up against such strong Digimon. But one of them appeared to have the backbone to step forward, this one being the Kamemon Rainbow had helped earlier. "Really?" She asked, "you wanna help?" Kamemon nodded. "Nice. You're tougher than you look." Kamemon nodded again, as Twilight started to formulate a plan.

Many miles across the mountainous terrain, a small mountain could be seen surrounded by a lush forest.

Along the sides of his mountain were a bunch of nests, wearing the aforementioned Jazamon were roosting. These Digimon were a bunch of small metal bird Digimon, being silver in colour with blue trim and what appeared to be a camera in their mouths.

Some were resting in the stolen nests, whilst others were down in the forest. Despite being mechanical Digimon, they still required food which they ate to convert into a fuel source.

At the very top of the rather small mountain, a larger then normal nest was sitting there with a larger mechanical Digimon resting in it. This Digimon appeared to be a larger version of Jazamon, only its bird wings had been replaced by jet wings and it had legs almost as big as its body. The bottoms of its feet had thrusters on them, allowing the Digimon to run and fly at incredible speeds.

The Digimon was resting, using the solar panels on its back to absorb sunlight and recharge itself. This wasn't gonna take long, since it had barely used any energy disposing of that HooTawnimon and the rest of his pathetic flock.

"This is the life," he told himself as he charged up. But as he continued to charge, a Jazamon began to squawk.

"Intruders! Intruders! Invading our airspace." Jazardmon opened his mechanical eyes and looked over to see a large flock moving towards the mountain. Jazardmon's vision zoomed in on the flock and he found it was HooTawnimon, along with the Tawnimon they had defeated before. But they weren't the only ones.

Birdramon, Unimon and Nefertimon were flying beside them, carrying other Digimon on their backs. "So, the coward got himself some back up." Jazardmon picked himself up, "not that it matters. They won't be defeating us." He looked down at this flock, "defend our home! Do not let them get past you!"

The Jazamon all took flight and flew towards the approaching invaders, ready to slice them apart.

The flying Digimon continued to hold stead, as those riding atop of them got ready to fight. "Let's go!" Applejack cried, as she, Fluttershy, Pinkie and their Digimon leapt off of them. Kamemon did the same, as the players held out their Digivices.

"Labramon, Digivolve to...Dorulumon!"

"Terriermon, Digivolve to...Gargomon!"

"Dilemon, Digivolve to...Gatormon!"

Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy held out their Digivices, as the cubes appeared in front of them to fall into. "Biomerge, Activate!" The pair merged with their Digimon, Fluttershy once again merging with Lopmon whilst Applejack merged with Lalamon. Pinkie, meanwhile, merged with what appeared to be a copy of an Agumon made out of differently coloured building blocks.

"Lopmon, Digivolve to...Turuiemon!"

"Lalamon, Digivolve to...Sunflowmon!"

"ToyAgumon!" Pinkie cried, "Digivolve to..." From out of the cocoon came a large plastic version of Greymon, with a square waist that was connected to plastic copies of a Greymon's chest and legs. Plastic arms were connected to the chest with the shoulder, elbow, knee and ankle joints being balls connecting the parts. Its head was also made out of plastic, the lower jaw and mouth being yellow like the rest of the body whilst the top half was red. It had green eyes and hands along with a tail that was connected by a series of ball joints allowing the whole thing free range of motion. "ToyGreymon!"

The six Champions and one Rookie landed, ready to fight any of them that came to the ground. At the same time, Rarity took out her Digivice. "Biomerge, Activate!" She swung the device around and a cube with Salamon inside appeared, which Rarity leapt into.

She was quickly transformed and began to change. "Salamon, Digivolve to..." From out of the light, a humanoid Digimon appeared wearing rather revealing clothes. She had four wings and was wearing a mask over half her face, whilst carrying a staff and sword. "Darcmon!"

The Jazamon charged at them as as they did, the Tawnimon all unleashed their sonic attacks. "Hooting Cry!" The wave of sound struck the metal flock and pushed them off balance, allowing the other Digimon to charge in.

"Aerial Attack!" Unimon unleashed her shining energy ball, which struck several Jazamon and knocked them backwards.

"Rosetta Stone!" Nefertimon fired the hole stone from a light coming out of her back, hitting one and exploding to hit several more.

"Dancing Sword!" Darcmon swung her blade around with incredible speed, cutting down several more and making them fall towards the ground.

"Oh yeah!" Birdramon cried, ready to fly up and take Jazardmon down. However, before she could, a bunch of Jazamon managed to grab onto her. "Hey!" She cried, falling towards the ground. "Get off me!" But the metal birds refused to come loose, latching onto her wings as hard as they could.

"Rainbow!" Unimon cried, as the giant bird crashed into the base of the mountain. She wanted to go and help, but a bunch more Jazamon attacked and forced her to fly upwards with HooTawnimon.

Down on the ground, the Digimon there were busy keeping the Jazamon that had fallen from taking to the skies again. "Drill Bit Blitz!" Dorulumon cried, launching the drills from his head piece.

"Sunshine Beam!" Sunflowmon fired the solar beam from her face.

"Gargo Pellets!" Gargomon launched a barrage of bullets towards the Jazamon.

"Gauntlet Claw!" Turuiemon spun on the spot, turning into a mini tornado that flew through the Jazamon and slashed them.

"Plastic Nova!" ToyGreymon launched a giant plastic fireball, which moved like a cannonball and smashed into the metal birds.

"Hydro Pump!" Gatormon unleashed his high pressure blast of water, which struck the Jazamon and knocked them backwards into a bunch of trees.

Kamemon was running around, launching water shots at all the Jazamon he could see. Then he heard a cry and looked over to see Birdramon crash down into a bunch of trees, the Jazamon holding her down and preventing her from moving.

Birdramon wanted nothing more then to ignite her body and burn these suckers, but she would also burn down the forest and that was the last thing she wanted. "What do I do?"

"Water Shot!" A blast of water knocked a Jazamon off of her, making her look around and see Kamemon charging towards her.

"Get back!" She cried, as several Jazamon flew towards him.

Kamemon gasped and hid in his shell, the metal Digimon trying to slash at him. But he wasn't gonna let that stop him from saving his friend. "Kamemon," he suddenly started glowing, "Digivolve to..." He grew larger and as he did, he started spinning and the Jazamon found themselves getting slashed at by a bunch of sharp blades. "Tortomon!" The light faded to reveal the giant yellow tortoise Digimon, who quickly stopped spinning and allowed himself to extend his legs and head.

"Wow," Birdramon smirked at the sight for this. The other Jazamon charged at him, but Tortomon's spiky shell glowed.

"Strong Carapace!" The spikes exploded off of him and knocked the Jazamon out of the sky, Birdramon picking herself up and smiling at him.

The two then stood back to back, ready to take on the rest of the enemies around them.

At the same time, Unimon and HooTawnimon reached the top of the mountain. As they did, they saw Jazardmon pick himself up and leap off the nest. His jets fired and allowed him to hover in the air, glaring at the two as he did.

"You dare invade my territory."

"It's not your territory!" Unimon cried, "it belongs to HooTawnimon and his flock."

"It did. But I won it from them in battle. And I will do whatever it takes to defend it!" He pointed his jets backwards and shot forward, turning into a slipstream and he flew towards them. "Laser Eye!" Red beams of like flew out of his eyes, looking ready to burn the pair of them out of the sky.

"Defence Gale!" HooTawnimon beat his wings and unleashed a blast of air, which struck the laser and caused it to explode in the sky. As it did, Unimon opened her mouth.

"Aerial Attack!" The sphere of energy exploded out of her mouth and flew towards Jazardmon, who barely managed to avoid it by repositioning his legs.

"Sonic Vulcan!" His shoulders opened up to reveal a pair of machine guns, which started unloading bullets at high speed. Unimon gasped as she started flying around, trying to avoid them as best she could. But a few managed to hit her in the wing and leg.

"Augh!" She cried, making Jezardmon laugh only for HooTawnimon to charge forward.

"Sky Strike!" The slipstream flew around him as he tried to slam into him, but Jazardmon swung his legs around and unleashed a burst of energy from his foot rockets. "Augh!" He cried, being pushed backwards by the powerful force.

"Hahaa!" Jazardmon laughed, only to then hear Unimon cry out.

"Spread Nails!" He spun towards the flying horse, only to suddenly be struck by a powerful sonic attack. Said attack was coming out of Unimon's mouth, the alicorn Digimon using all the power she could muster to making him flinch from the sound.

"That's annoying as heck!" Jazardmon cried, launching a laser beam out of his eyes that moved from the sonic blast and almost hit Unimon.

She gasped and pulled back, just in time to avoid getting something lasered off. She growled, only to see HooTawnimon fly up and tackled Jezardmon. "You're not gonna hurt her!" He cried, wrapping his wings and claws around his body. "Or anybody else."

"And you're gonna stop me?" He asked, laughing as he pointed his feet towards the ground and kicked the boosters into full power. "Don't make me laugh!" They flew straight up and once they were high enough, Jazardmon swung his legs around and caused them to go flying in another direction.

"WOW!" HooTawnimon cried, as they were thrown through the air. Jazardmon then changed direction again, making it tricky for him to keep hold of the robot. And finally, after another sudden turn, HooTawnimon was thrown off of him. "GYAH!"

"Sonic Vulgan!" Jazardmon cried, as he summoned the machine guns and unleashed a barrage right into HooTawnimon's chest. The giant owl cried out in pain, as he was knocked falling towards the ground. "HA! Loser!" He dived after him, ready to fire at him point blank.

But before he could, Unimon flew up. "Aerial Gallop!" The next thing Jazardmon knew, his wing was being stabbed by her horn.

"Augh!" He cried, pulling himself away from the alicorn Digimon before pointing his thruster feet at her. She cried out, as the heat of his blast forced her away. But she had managed to do some serious damage to his wings. "You'll pay for that!" He cried, as he summoned his machine guns again. "Sonic Vulcan!" He unleashed another barrage of bullets, which flew down towards the Champion.

Unimon tried to dodge them, but they were too fast and she found herself getting shot multiple times.

HooTawnimon had recovered him his assault and tried to fl up and help her, but Unimon stopped flying and fell. "AUGH!" She fell towards the ground and crashed into the mountain, Jazardmon laughing as he turned to HooTawnimon.

"Now it's just you and me!" He fired his laser eyes and HooTawnimon found himself flying around in a mad fashion, attempting to the lasers as best he could. But the attacks were too fast and he was struck in the shoulder and back. "That's right!" Jazardmon laughed. "This mountain belongs to me. I won it and I won't let you take it away. In this world, the strong survive and the weak either get strong or die!"

HooTawnimon was struck in the chest and screamed in pain, causing him to fall to the ground. But instead of crashing into the mountain, he was caught by Birdramon.

"Or the weak work together to overpower the bully!" The bird Digimon cried, as Darcmon, Nefertimon and Sunflowmon flew up with her. Jazardmon looked down and was shocked to see his Jazamon army were all down for the count. The grounded Digimon were making sure they didn't try anything funny, leaving Jazardmon completely alone.

"Light of Purity!" Darcmon swung her staff around, light flowing out of it and causing both HooTawnimon and Unimon to heal.

The pair stood up and spread their wings, taking to the air again and glaring as they and the other Digimon surrounded Jazardmon. "This is your one chance," Unimon told him. "Give up and leave, or we blast you back to a Digi-Egg."

Jazardmon growled at them. "I refuse. This is my mountain!" He charged at HooTawnimon, getting ready to blast him at close range. But the owl Digimon shot straight up whilst the others prepared their attacks.

"Aerial Attack!"

"Meteor Wing!"

Sunshine Beam!"

"Rosetta Stone!"

"Dancing Sword!" The five attacks flew towards Jazardmon, who tried to escape only for his damaged wing to suddenly blow and cause him to lose control. This allowed the attacks to slam into him, the metal bird squawking in pain as his body was burned, battered and dented.

When the last of these attacks died down, he was still floating in place. But then, HooTawnimon dived down towards him. "Super Sky Strike!" He morphed into a meteor of wind, which flew down and struck Jazardmon before he could react.

He screamed in pain as he was pushed towards the mountain, smashing into it with enough force to push his damaged body past the breaking point. He exploded, his data being reverted back to a Digi-Egg and sent to Primary Village. Hopefully, his next life will be one where he wasn't such a bully.

The Jazamon gasped at this, seeing their leader be destroyed.

The other Digimon finally let them all go, they and the ones in the sky turning their attention to them. Turuiemon looked upset, but the others simply frowned. The message was clear. Leave, or you're next.

And so, the Digimon took to the air and flew away as fast as they could.

"WE DID IT!" ToyGreymon cheered, as the Tawnimon celebrated as well. The flying Digimon flew down, the lot De-Digivolving back to normal. As they did, HooTawnimon looked them over. "Thank you," he announced. "You have allowed my flock to get our home back."

"It was no trouble at all," Twilight assured him. As she did, Fluttershy sighed.

"I just wish we didn't have to delete Jazardmon to do it." Terriermon frowned at her.

"Hey, he made his choice. It was either delete him, or let the bully keep this place." Fluttershy knew he was right and looked up at the Tawnimon, who were now happily munching the berries in the trees, she knew she had done the right thing.

Rainbow moved over to Tortomon, smirking. "You look pretty cool. But I guess it's gonna be pretty hard to make blueberry tarts now."

"That's okay," Tortomon told her. "I was done with that. I wanna try something else next."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I'm stronger now, so maybe I'll train myself to get stronger. Though finding opponents might be tricky. And if I'm not strong enough, I might end up deleted."

Rainbow hummed before an idea formed in her head. "Hey, why don't you come with me?" Everyone appeared shocked by this. "Become my partner."

"Me?" Tortomon asked, "why would you want me?"

"Because you're awesome," Rainbow cried. "You might not be the fasted Digimon, but you're super strong. Plus, no other Digimon's ever stuck its neck out to save me like that." Tortomon was surprised by how enthusiastic she was being. "Come on. I bet Tortomon isn't your only evolution. Maybe we can find one that's super fast, so we can pick between power and speed when we need it. What do you say? Let's show Codex why we make an awesome team."

Tortomon turned to the others and saw them all nodding with a smile, Tortomon smiling back. "Alright," he nodded, "I'm in." Rainbow smirked and took out her Digivice, scanning him with the partner scan. And as she did, Tortomon glowed before shrinking down.

If a flash, Kamemon was back and looking confused. "Huh?"

"Partners get stuck in their Rookie form," Labramon explained. "But you'll be able to Digivolve whenever you want." Kamemon liked the sound of that, he and Rainbow high fiving as Twilight turned to HooTawnimon.

"Well, I guess this is it."

"Indeed," HooTawnimon nodded. "Thank you, for helping my flock. If there's anything you wish that I can do in return, just name it."

Twilight thought for a moment, then smiled. "I don't suppose I could get a scan of you? I'm sure a powerful Digimon like you will be just what I need to kick my game up a notch."

HooTawnimon smiled before nodding. "I would be honoured to help you in...whatever you do with those scans." Twilight smiled as she scanned HooTawnimon, seeing his stats and being rather impressed by them. "Well, I guess this is where we part ways."

"Yes," Twilight nodded. "But if those Jazamon ever give you trouble again, just let us know and we'll come help." The others nodded and started making their way back to Berry Town, HooTawnimon and his Rookie forms waving them goodbye.

They did the same and all smiled at one another. Despite how some of them started off, they were all glad they had met one another on this day. And hopefully, they would all continue to have many great adventures together in the future.

And as the forest got out of view, Twilight looked back and wondered if she would one day meet HooTawnimon again.

Present day.

The answer was yes, but that was a story for another time. Twilight smiled as he woke Tawnimon up, the Digimon waking up and smiling at the sight of Berry Town. They all looked out the window and saw the great tree, just as amazing as it had been so long ago.

The six girls had remained friends after they left this place and every now and then, they made an effort to come back together. They even took a Trailmon, despite now being able to travel there due to Levelling up.

The train came to a stop and the girls got out with their Digimon, looking forward to enjoying some great fruity desserts and reminiscing about all the great times they had had together. The future was important, but every now and then it was good to remember one's past. The good times and the bad.

Author's Note

Bet you weren't expecting that. A bit of a filler chapter after the intense chapter we had last week, which shows how the girls all met and how Rainbow even got her partner. But what about Twilight? Like the chapter said, that's a story for another time.

The Dragon Soul Stones

Night time had fallen on the Digital World and everything seemed peaceful.

In one corner of the Digital World, a massive forest could be seen. It wasn't massive in the sense of miles covered by it, since the forest was only about ten miles from one side to the other, but in the sense of the tree's height and width. The trees on the edge of the forest were large enough to fit a Seadramon within them, completely straight, and they were the smallest of the trees.

And in the very centre of this forest was a large clearing, big enough for four soccer fields to fit inside. It was in this clearing that a bright flash of light appeared, illuminating the forest.

When the light died down, it revealed a stone orb that was now floating in the very centre of the clearing.

This orb was a perfect sphere and had the images carved into the stone. Those images were of four dragons, each one looking rather different from the other, with swirls and lines around them. Whatever this object was, it was something of great power. Which meant somebody no doubt wanted to get their hands on it.

It was another a brilliant day in Codex and in the foyer, Flash and Veemon were sitting at a table looking at their Digivice.

Flash found himself at in interesting situation. He was only one win away from becoming a Champion, something he was very proud of, and thus was preparing his deck. The only problem was, he couldn't think of which Digimon to use for that battle.

"How about Slayerdramon?" Veemon suggested, but Flash didn't seem to like that idea.

"Everyone's been paying a lot of attention to us. They know we have almost all the Royal Knights. And they know I seem to prefer using Free and Vaccine Digimon. They might end up finding a way to counter that."

"Good point," Veemon nodded as he thought about it. "Maybe use a Virus Digimon instead. Don't you have that deck you got after De-Digivolving a copy of Examon?" Flash opened said deck, showing Dracomon, Green Coredramon, Groundramon, Breakdramon and the Royal Knight.

Flash hummed, considering it. But he wasn't quite sure yet.

It was then that something happened, which took Flash's attention away from the upcoming battle. An alert, suddenly appearing on his Digivice. And he wasn't the only one who got it.

All over Codex, every single player received what appeared to be an invitation to someplace. An invitation not unlike the one he had gotten from the Royal Knights. "What's going on?" Veemon asked, as Flash opened the invite.

Greetings, Codex Player.

I send you this message to ask for your help. The details will be discussed when you arrive at the location that we have sent you. You may choose to decline if you wish, but doing so may put the Digital World at great risk. We need all the help we can get to accomplish this mission. Will you accept?

Flash read the message several more times, then looked around. Some players instantly head for the Digi-Port, whilst others looked unsure on what to do. But some seemed to simply ignore the request, two of which being Lightning Dust and Jet Set.

But Flash spotted someone rushing towards the Digi-Port that he knew. Rarity and Salamon.

"Rarity!" He rushed over to her, Rarity looking around and gasping. "You get that message as well? Wonder what that's about?"

"I didn't get that message," Rarity explained. "I got an entirely differently one." Flash looked at her curiously, Rarity taking out her Digivice and showing it to him.

Rarity. I need you and my sister to come to the location I've sent you. It's important and the rest of the players in Codex are being asked to come as well. If you can, convince as many of your friends as possible to come and help us. Trust me, this is could spell the end of the Digital World.

Flash's interest peaked, especially about the first part. "Whose this sister they're asking you to bring?"

"Me." He and Veemon looked down at Salamon, who smiled at them as Rarity picked her up. "When Rarity first met me, I was travelling the Digital World with my sister. Gatomon. It's actually her scan that I use to Digivolve with."

"Cool," Flash smirked, "so any idea what this could be about?"

Salamon shook her head. "No, I haven't really seen my sister since I joined Rarity. I hope she's okay."

"Only one way to find out," Veemon smirked. "let's get going." They nodded and headed for the Digi-Port. When they got there, they saw Micro, Sandal, Twilight and Shining there with their Digimon.

"You guys know anything about this?" Flash asked, Shining checking the location sent to them.

"It's very rare for Digimon to get in contact with players like this," he explained. "No doubt they only did this because they're desperate for as many fighters as possible." They all nodded, thinking the same thing. "You guys up for this? I doubt they'll be much of a reward."

"They're asking for our help," Micro replied. "And they said the fate of the Digital World was at stake. We should at least see what they're asking for help with." The others were in agreement and once they loaded the location, they pointed their Digivices up and pulled the trigger.

In the blink of an eye, the lot of them were transported through the tunnel until they arrived at a large dark room. It wasn't pitch black, but there was still barely any light.

They all looked around and saw many other players and their Digimon, all looking just as confused. But there were other Digimon around as well, like Clockmon, Frigimon, Gorillamon and a few others.

Flash then spotted a Digimon he recognised and smiled. "Leomon!" He rushed over to the humanoid lion, who looked around and smiled seeing him.

"Ah, hello my friends. I was hoping I'd see you here. We certainly need all the brave souls we can get in order to face what's coming."

"So you know why we're here?" Flash asked, but Leomon frowned.

"In a way. But I think it's best that I let them explain it." This just made Flash more curious, as he looked over to see more of his friends arriving. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Trixie and Thorax were all with the others, all just as confused as they were about what the heck was going on. And when Flash returned to them, a spotlight suddenly appeared and illuminated a large stage.

Suddenly, the back of the room opened up and allowed three Digimon to appear within it.

The first was a MagnaAngemon, just like the one Trixie had used in many of her battles. The next was another humanoid Digimon, that looked like a tall blond woman wearing revealing white clothing, with pink trim and eight beautiful white wings on her back. Her head had a metal helmet covering her eyes.

The last Digimon was bigger than the others, barely able to fit through the opening. It was a large serpentine Digimon, that was sky blue in colour. Its head looked like that of a traditional Chinese dragon, with long blue whiskers coming out of its face. Instead of hair coming out the back of its head, the Digimon instead had a substance that looked like a cloud. The same substance could be seen on the end of its whiskers, around its chest, the wrists of its front and back legs and on the tip of its long tail.

"Who's that Digimon?" Flash asked, Shining humming since he seemed to be having trouble remembering.

"It's a pretty rare Digimon. I think it's called...Baoyendramon." Flash nodded, working to remember that name as MagnaAngemon flew forward and landed on the stage.

"Thank you all for coming," he stated. "I had hoped to see more of you, but it seems humans aren't as reliable as I was told you were." Many of the players frowned at this, not liking the way this Digimon was talking about them. "I'm sure many of you are wondering why you're here, so I'll cut straight to the chase. The first of the three Dragon Soul Stones has appeared." This statement brought much confusion to the Codex players and several Digimon.

"Okay," Flash turned to Shining, "and I thought I wasn't a newb anymore. What the heck is a Dragon Soul Stone?"

"Beats me," Shining replied. "Never heard of one." The rest of his friends all shared their confusion, as MagnaAngemon began to explain.

"Centuries ago, the Digital World was almost brought to utter ruin, due to a powerful Digimon appearing. Megidramon. It was so destructive, that it's very presence almost ripped the world apart. To counter it, three other Dragon Digimon appeared. Goldramon, Magnadramon and Azulongmon."

Angewomon continued. "These three Digimon battled Megidramon and destroyed it, sealing away its power. And to make sure it could never appear again, the three gave up their lives and created a lock. The Dragon Soul Stones. Now, the only way to Digivolve into any of those Digimon, is with one of those locks. Azulongmon, Magnadramon, Goldramon and Megidramon will not see the Digital World, unless a Digimon that can become them touches the stone once it's power has awakened."

"I see," Twilight nodded. "And with only three Dragon Soul Stones, only three of these Four Great Dragons can exist at once. And if it's the three good ones, Megidramon can't be born."

"Exactly," Baoyendramon nodded. "Whenever one of the Four Great Dragons is deleted, a Dragon Soul Stone is set to appear at some point in the future. The other good Dragons then make sure that stone comes in contact with one who will become the last good dragon. This has gone on for centuries and there hasn't been any threat of Megidramon returning."

"Until now," MagnaAngemon explained. "The Four Great Dragons are all gone. The three good ones were all deleted a long time ago and now, the first of the Dragon Soul Stones has appeared. Because of that, the danger of it falling into the wrong hands is great. Especially with the Virus Army amassing."

"The Virus Army?" Flash turned to the others, "you guys know what that is?"

"I've heard rumours of it," Micro frowned. "A large group of Virus Digimon, amassing power with the intent of destroying the Digital World that once shunned them."

"This army is no rumour," MagnaAngemon stated. "They are a plague that must be wiped out. And our intelligence informs us, that they intend to claim the Dragon Soul Stone. If they get their hands on it, Megidramon will return and nothing might be able to stop it."

"So what do you need us to do?" Leomon asked.

"Simple," Angewomon explained. "We have located the Dragon Soul Stone and already have members of our resistance guarding it. But our numbers are nothing compared to the Virus Army. We need your help to protect the stone from them." A holographic map appeared above them, showing the forest. "The stone is located here," she pointed at the centre of the forest. "The three of us will remain there and act as its last line of defence. Meanwhile, the rest of you will be located inside the forest surrounding the stone."

"Your mission is simple," MagnaAngemon announced. "If you see a Virus Digimon attempting to get past, destroy it." The group flinched at this.

"Kind of harsh," Flash frowned.

"Well they are trying to destroy the Digital World," Shining reminded him.

"You must keep any Virus Digimon from getting to the Dragon Soul Stone," Angewomon explained. "Once it powers up, one of us will absorb its power. With it, we will Digivolve into the three Great Dragons and prevent the Virus Army from destroying the Digital World. Is that understood?" They all nodded. "Good, then let's get ready. We have to head out soon." With that, the spotlight switched off and the room was filled with more light.

Flash turned to the others, who looked amazed by the situation they were in. "So," Rainbow smirked, "we gotta help save the Digital World. Sounds like fun."

"Oh," Fluttershy looked worried, "what if we fail?"

"We're not gonna fail," Applejack assured her. "With this many Digimon, we can handle whatever that army throws at us." They all nodded and Flash looked around, spotting Leomon once again.

He stepped over to him, smirking. "So are you just helping out? Or are you a member of...whatever the heck this is?"

Leomon smiled. "They call themselves the resistance. Protectors of the Digital World. And yes, I've chosen to ally myself with them. They have a just cause and I wanted to do more good. Although, their leader isn't exactly the most caring of Digimon." Flash wondered what he meant by this, only to hear MagnaAngemon's voice call out.

"FREEZE!" Everyone looked around and saw MagnaAngemon, who was pointed his sword at one of the Codex Players. Though more specifically, he was pointing it at the Digimon he was holding. "What is that, doing here?" He was referring to the Otamamon, who looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"What are you talking about?" The player asked, "you called us here."

"And you brought an enemy into our headquarters?" He looked outraged and ready to attack. But before he could do anything, Leomon rushed over with his hand on his sword.

"Hey!" He cried, "back off! This Digimon hasn't done anything wrong."

"It's a Virus Digimon!" MagnaAngemon exclaimed. "It's very existence is a threat to the Digital World. All Virus Digimon are evil and must be wiped out!" Everyone else frowned at this, but Leomon looked the most outraged.

"You can't just determine if a Digimon is evil just because of its type. This Digimon is only a Rookie. There's no telling what it could become in the future." MagnaAngemon glared at him, only for another voice to call out to him.

"He's right." He looked around and saw Baoyendramon flying over to them. "Little one, do you happen to know what your natural Champion Level is?"

"Co-Coalamon," Otamamon gulped.

"See," he told the Ultimate. "Leave him alone. He came to help and we need all the help we can get."

MagnaAngemon glared at him. "You should mind your own business. I only brought you into this resistance, because you were the only Digimon I could find that was capable of Digivolving with the stone." He spread his wings, "don't think you're an equal in this standing." He turned to Otamamon, "I'll be watching you." With that, he flew off and out of the room, whilst Baoyendramon turned to them.

"I apologise for him. He sees any Virus as a criminal, even ones that wish to do good. I hope this won't dissuade you from helping us in our mission." The player and Otamamon nodded, but looked very worried as they walked off to join their friends.

"Thank you," Leomon nodded. "I'm glad to see some of the Digimon leading this resistance, aren't all hate filled."

"You'll have to forgive MagnaAngemon," Baoyendramon replied. "He suffered a lot of pain in his Rookie-hood, thanks to some Virus Digimon. It's made him grow to hate Virus-types, even ones that have yet to do anything threatening. But I know not all Virus Digimon are dangerous."

"That's good to hear," Flash smiled. "A friend of ours was a Virus Digimon and thought he had to die in order to keep the Digital World safe. But he fought to protect the Digital World and became one of the Royal Knights." It was then he realised something. "If you need help, why not get the Royal Knights to guard the stone? I'm sure they wouldn't want Megidramon to appear."

Baoyendramon nodded. "Unfortunately, there's only so much the Royal Knights can do. For some reason, the Dragon Soul Stone creates a barrier whenever it appeared. It's a ten mile dome that prevents any Digimon that's Mega Level or higher from entering. I'm afraid the Royal Knights can't help in this instance."

"Dang," Veemon cried. "Oh well. Guess we'll just have the fight extra hard."

"Indeed," Leomon nodded. "The Digital World is counting on us."

Flash nodded and turned to Baoyendramon. "You have our word. We're not gonna let a single Virus Digimon near that stone."

"Yeah," Veemon nodded. "You just focus on Digivolving into...whichever of those dragons you're gonna become!" Baoyendramon nodded, as Flash turned to head over to his friends.

As he approached, he noticed another Digimon heading towards them. Angewomon.

As she got closer, the others noticed her approach and that she was focusing on two of them in particular. Rarity and Salamon looked up at her, seeing her smiling as she approached them. "it's so good to see you both again," the Ultimate replied as she knelt down.

Salamon stared at her, then gasp. "Sister?" Angewomon laughed and nodded, Salamon looking ecstatic as she leapt at her. "I can't believe it's you!" The pair hugged, as Rarity smiled. Salamon then pulled back and looked her over. "Wow, you got to the Ultimate Level."

"Yes. And I'm sure you've grown stronger too." She gave Salamon back to Rarity and stood up. "I wish we had more time to spend together, but right now we need to focus on protecting the Digital World from Megidramon's return. Can I count on you to keep me safe until then."

"We'll do our best," Rarity assured her. "I'm guessing this fight won't be easy."

"No, it won't. This army is powerful. We know little about their leaders, but they seek to only destroy the Digital World. We cannot allow that to happen."

"Don't worry," Shining assured her. "We'll fight with everything we have and hold nothing back." The others nodded, as Angewomon smiled.

"Thank you. I'm glad you chose to come and lend us your aid. Just be careful." As she said that, the back wall of the building opened up to reveal what appeared to be a portal. "This will take you to the forest, where the Dragon Soul Stone is located. Once there, get ready for an instant attack." They all nodded and began to head towards the portal, the rest of the Codex players and Digimon heading through it as well.

As they did, they all wondered about this unknown enemy. Hopefully, whoever they were, they would realise they couldn't defeat this many opponents and chose to leave.

In another part of the Digital World, a dark canyon held the army that was preparing to attack.

The army was made up of many Virus Digimon, each one different from the next. There were Ogremon, Cyclonemon, Bakemon, Raremon, Devidramon and many more. There were hundreds, maybe over a thousand of them if not more. They were all preparing for battle, ready to destroy any who got in their way.

Amongst these Digimon, the dark ninja Fumamon was leaping around heading towards a cave at the very back of the canyon.

Stepping inside, he headed down a passageway into a large underground chamber. And there, several Digimon were waiting in the shadows.

Two of them were large Digimon, whilst another was only a little bigger the Fumamon. "Master," he rushed forward and knelt down, "the Dragon Soul Stone has appeared. But the resistance managed to find it first and has set up a defence to protect it from us."

The second largest of the two big Digimon growled. "This is not the news I wanted. You were the one in charge of finding the Dragon Soul Stone before it could fall into their hands. And now you've allowed those fools to get it before us."

"Who cares if they found it first," the smallest of the three announced. "Let's just go there and take it back from them. Our numbers more than outmatch their's. We'll get the Dragon Soul Stone and destroy the resistance in one fell swoop. Two birds, one stone."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Fumamon replied. "From my investigation, I've discovered that the resistance intends to recruit humans and their Digimon partners. Against them, we my not have the advantage you expect us to have." The other Digimon growled at this and stepped forward.

As he did, the sound of metal on rock filled the air. And out of the darkness came a heavily armed centaur Digimon with guns all over his body. "Humans. They're the ones that took everything from me." He started preparing his machine guns. "I'll make them pay for what they did."

"Armormon!" The other Digimon announced. "Don't do anything stupid. We have more important things to focus on right now. Like getting me my hands on the Dragon Soul Stone."

Armormon was clearly not happy about not getting the revenge he was wanting. "Fine. What would you have us do?"

"Fumamon," the Digimon replied, "you will lead the charge. Use the Flymon to drop the warp bombs onto the forest. That will allow us to get our Digimon past at least a few of the defending Digimon. And when you get close to the Soul Stone, create a portal for me to enter. I will deal with the leaders of the resistance myself."

"Yes master," Fumamon nodded before running out of the cave.

Armormon watched him leave and huffed. "I don't trust him. He always seems to have some kind of agenda."

"Maybe," the Digimon nodded. "But we need all the help we can get right now. Especially after Orochimon went and go himself deleted." He then turned to the largest Digimon in the chamber. "As such, we'll be relying on you to deal with any of the fools that chose to side with the resistance. Is that clear, Therizinomon?"

The Digimon turned towards the other two and let out a low growl, one they recognised as a reluctant agreement. Armormon frowned under his mask. "If I had known joining this group would mean teaming up with a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters, I might have decide to stay stuck under that mountain." He just cared about getting more power. And hopefully, those kids that had trapped him under said mountain would be there and he could get his revenge.

Flash and his friends stepped out of the portal and found themselves in a forest full of giant trees.

They looked around, amazed by the sheer scale of the place. "Wow. And we've gotta protect this place from getting overrun with Virus Digimon?"

"Exactly," Baoyendramon announced as he flew through the portal. "This will be a tough battle to be sure. And honestly, I fear we may not all make it out of this alive." The Codex Players and their Digimon all frowned at this. "If at any point, you wish to leave. I understand."

"What are you doing?" They all looked around and saw MagnaAngemon. "What do you mean you'd understand. They can't leave. They promised to help protect the Digital World with us. Are you trying to make them desert us."

"I'm just telling them what's on the line," Baoyendramon replied. "This is war and they have a right to know what they're getting themselves into."

"It doesn't matter," MagnaAngemon stated. "They will remain and fight, even if they end up getting deleted. Their lives will serve the greater good and allow me to ascend into one of the Four Great Dragons, allowing me to wipe out any and all Virus Digimon that exist."

The players all frowned at him, as MagnaAngemon spread his wings and flew towards the centre of the forest. "Does he have to be the one to Digivolve into a Great Dragon?" Veemon asked, as Baoyendramon sighed.

"He may have his prejudices, but his strength is no joke. And he's the only one we know of capable of such an evolution. besides, he started this resistance and has been able to lead us. He's the best Digimon for the job."

"I don't know," Flash shrugged. "You seem like a pretty good leader. You're kind to those around you and I can tell you known when to be firm. I bet you'd be a way better leader than that jerk."

Baoyendramon chuckled, "thank you for the kind words. But I'm anything but leadership material. I'd be terrified of making the wrong choice."

"Everyone has that fear," Shining told him. "I've lead a bunch of teams before and made mistakes. It's impossible to be perfect. All you can do is stick to what you believe and do what you can."

Baoyendramon smiled at this, but was still clearly unsure about his leadership qualities. "We should focus on the battle for now. You should all Digivolve and get ready. It won't be long before the Virus Army begins their assault." They all nodded as Baoyendramon flew off, whilst Leomon turned to the others.

"I've been assigned to the northern side of the forest. This is where we part ways, for now." They all nodded and Leomon headed off, whilst the Digidestined took out their Digivices and began to choose their Digimon.

"Let's do this!" Shining told Monodramon.

"Oh yeah!" The Rookie cried before leaping into the air. The pair high-fived as light surrounded them. "Monodramon, Biomerge Digivolve to..." The cocoon exploded as the Champion appeared. "Strikedramon!"

The other Digidestined held up their Digivices, except for Flash, the light flying off them and towards their partners.

"Lunamon, Digivolve to...Lekismon!"

"Mangoramon, Digivolve to...Arbormon!"

"Kamemon, Digivolve to...Tortomon!"

"Labramon, Digivolve to...Dorulumon!"

"Terriermon, Digivolved to...Gargomon!"

"Dilemon, Digivolve to...Gatormon!"

"Salamon, Digivolve to...Gatomon!"

"Tentomon, Digivolve to..." Tentomon's cocoon exploded to reveal a large robotic hercules-beetle Digimon, being mostly blue with red on its stomach, shoulders and arms along with yellow pipes around his shoulders. On his chest was what appeared to be a large speaker system. "Ballistamon!"

Twilight and Thorax held up their Digivices, as the Digimentals of Love and Knowledge appeared. "Digi-Armor, Energise!" The Digimentals exploded and flew over to Tawnimon and Grubmon, surrounding them in cocoons of wind and earth.

"Tawnimon, Armor Digivolve to...Aurumon, Loving Wisdom!"

"Grubmon, Armor Digivolve to...Mothmon, the Swarm of Knowledge!"

Once their Digimon were Digivolved, the players each selected their own Digimon to transform into. The cocoons appeared around them and they began to morph and change.

"Tawnimon!" Twilight cried, "Digivolve to...Unimon!"

"Grubmon!" Thorax yelled, "Digivolve to...Stingmon!"

"Hawkmon!" Rainbow cried, "Armor Digivolve to...Pteryxmon, Flightless Courage!"

"Lalamon!" Applejack yelled, "Digivolve to...Sunflowmon!"

"ToyAgumon!" Pinkie hollered, "Digivolve to...ToyGreymon!"

"Wormmon," Fluttershy gently announced, "Digivolve to...Hudiemon!"

"Salamon!" Pinkie stated, "Digivolve to...Darcmon!"

"Tentomon!" Micro yelled, "Armor Digivolve to...FlameWizardmon, Burning Magical Courage!"

"Shamamon!" Sandalwood cried, "Digivolve to..." The cocoon exploded to reveal a large yellow monkey Digimon, with a bone on its back. "Apemon!"

They all looked themselves over and smiled at what they saw. But then they noticed Flash and Veemon hadn't transformed. "What's the hold up?" Pteryxmon asked, the pair glaring at her.

"Hey, I'm trying to pick a form!" Flash looked around, trying to take his environment into consideration. "Can't use any of my fire Digimon or I could set the whole place alight." FlameWizardmon and Pteryxmon looked around, realising he might have a point. "Maybe ExVeemon."

"I wouldn't," Stingmon stated. "That Digimon isn't as graceful as the rest when it's in the air. You might end up crashing into things."

"Go with something you know inside and out," Strikedramon told him. "Don't forget, this is an army of Virus Digimon. A Vaccine-type might be the best bet." Flash nodded and knew who to pick, loading one of his decks.

"Ready Veemon?" His partner nodded as Flash swung his Digivice around, it unleashing a light that consumed the pair of them.

"Veemon, Biomerge Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger until it exploded, revealing the large blue T-rex Digimon. "VEEDRAMON!" Now that they were all ready for battle, they turned towards the edge of the forest. The Digimon in the air flew up and perched on the top branches, knowing an attack from the air was very likely.

And so they all waited...and waited...and waited some more. Soon enough, an hour passed from when they had arrived and nothing happened.

"Come on!" Pteryxmon moaned, "what's taking them so long."

"Don't be annoyed they're not showing up," Darcmon stated. "The longer they take, the less time we have to defend the Dragon Soul Stone."

"Yeah," Gatomon nodded. "Hopefully, it'll activate before they get here and we won't have to fight at all." Some of the more battle-loving Digimon and players didn't like the sound of that, preferring for there to actually be some action. But they also remembered how the Digital World was at stake, so there not being a fight was a good thing.

Then, from atop the largest tree he could find, Aurumon's mechanical eyes caught sight of something in the distance. "Something's coming!" The other flyers flew up and saw what he had seen. But with their weaker eyes, all they could see was a black cloud.

"What is it?" Unimon asked, straining her eyes to try and see. Aurumon's eyes zoomed in as far as they could see, allowing him take in some visual aspects of the creatures that made up the clouds.

They were a swarm of insect Digimon, mostly yellow in colour with black stripes and large purple wings. The tips of its four front legs had black spikes whilst its back legs had claws on the ends of them. It had no eyes and a beak-like mouth, with spikes sticking out the sides.

"Flymon!" Aurumon cried, everyone knowing this had to be it.

"Everyone," Strikedramon limbered up, "get ready for a fight!" He started leaping up the sides of the trees and eventually landed on a top branch, looking up at the swarm as it approached. "Ready?" He called, as the Digimon prepared their long range attacks. As they did, he noticed one of the Flymon was carrying another Digimon on its back. "Fire!"

The Digimon all launched the attacks and the Flymon found themselves under heavy fire. "Evasive manoeuvres!" The Digimon riding them yelled, as the Flymon started flying in a random fashion. "Launch the warp bombs!" With that, the Flymon started dropping something towards the ground.

"Look out!" Unimon cried, as the others found a bunch of orbs falling towards them.

"V-Nova Blast!" Veedramon launched out an energy ball, which struck many of these projectiles and caused them to explode. But more hit the ground and unleashed a blinding light, causing them to stagger backwards. The lights then swirled around and formed a bunch of portals, which they assumed were going to bring their army to them.

"Not good!" Dorulumon cried, as something rushed out of the portal.

That something was a battalion of dinosaur Digimon, halfway between Veedramon and Flamedramon in height.

Its body was T-Rex-shaped, being orange in colour with silver stripes covering its body. It had large muscular legs and small arms, with a long tail that had what appeared to be a mace-like wrecking ball on the end of it. But its head was the most noticeable thing about it, since the top of it had a yellow metal hard-hat on it.

The whole thing gave the Digimon the appearance of a demolition man, which made them worry considering they were gonna have to stop them.

"Pachymon!" Hudiemon cried, as the Dinosaur Digimon rushed forward. But they were quickly intercepted by another pair of dinos.

"Blazing Slash!" Pteryxmon roared as he claws burst into flames and allowed her to slash at the dinosaur Digimon. At the same time, Veedramon swung his tail around and sent the Pachymon flying backwards. But more of them kept coming.

"HEAD SMASH!" Many cried, as energy flowed around their heads and turned into a slipstream that covered their bodies as they picked up speed.

"Drill Tornado!" Dorulumon roared, as he spun his tail around and unleashed a tornado that stopped many of them in their tracks.

"Gargo Pellets!" Gargomon unleashed a barrage of bullets upon the Pachymon, as Apemon and Arbormon rushed forward.

"Magical Monkey Punch/Roundhouse Punt!" The pair started punching the Pachymon, making sure to avoid their helmets and aim for their chests to knock them backwards.

"Hydro Pump!" Gatormon unleashed a blast of high pressure water, which hit several Pachymon head on and knocked them to the ground. But some managed to avoid the attack with one swinging its tail.

"Wrecker Tail!" The mace on the end of it threatened to smash into him, but ToyGreymon blocked it with her own. The impact caused her tail to shatter, but she didn't seem at all worried and spun around to face them.

"Plastic Nova!" The plastic fireball exploded out of her mouth and slammed the Pachymon right in the face, knocking it away.

At the same time, FlameWizardmon and Sorcerimon rushed up to another group of Pachymon and leapt onto their backs. "Hahaa!" Sorcerimon laughed, "I'm riding a dinosaur!"

"Now it's time for them to go extinct!" FlameWizardmon cried, as he pulled his Pachymon towards another group and leapt off before it barrelled through them.

Sorcerimon did the same, as the pair pointed their staffs towards the group. "Flame Ignition/Crystal Barrage!" The flames and ice exploded out of the staff and slammed into them, causing them to explode as the pair landed. But as they did, more Pachymon charged towards them.

"Tear Arrows/Seismic Speaker!" Arrows of ice shot towards the dinosaurs and exploded against them, as a powerful sonic blast exploded out of Ballistamon's chest and destroyed the last of them.

The Digimon on the ground smiled, then looked up at the sky where the air Digimon continued to fight. The Flymon were still in a mad swarm, making them easy pickings for the Digimon attacking.

"Spiking Strike!" Stingmon cried, as his energy stinger extended and he thrust it into the head of a Flymon. This caused it to explode, whilst Mothmon flew by.

"Gauss Powder!" Being careful not to hit any of his allies, Mothmon unleashed the burning powder onto the Flymon and made them all cry out at the burning sensation.

Fumamon saw this coming and chose to leap off his Flymon, falling down towards the trees and landing on a branch. But no sooner did he land, he found himself under attack from Strikedramon. "Wow!" He cried, avoiding a burning claw as he leapt to another branch. As he landed, he drew his swords. "Interesting way to say hello."

Strikedramon growled, "are you the one leading the Virus Army?"

"Me?" Fumamon laughed, "I wish. No, I'm just a cog in the machinery. But I have a mission to complete. You wouldn't happen to know where the Dragon Soul Stone is, do you?" Strikedramon growled, "is that a no?" The Champion leapt at him with his claws burning, but Fumamon leapt into the air. "Tsubakuro!" Suddenly, the shuriken on his gauntlet enlarged and her threw it at Strikedramon.

The Dragon Man Digimon slashed at the spinning blade of death, but was quickly overpowered and sent flying. "Augh!" He slammed into a trunk and fell to the ground, as the shuriken returned to Fumamon as he landed on a branch.

"Hope that wasn't too painful," he joked as Strikedramon picked himself up. "I hate to do this, but I've got places to be. So we'll have to cut this fight short."

"RAAAH!" Strikedramon roared, as he felt his anger rise. "Not gonna happen. I'm not letting you anywhere near that Soul Stone." He rushed forward and as he did, light exploded off of him. "Strikedramon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon shot into the air and exploded, revealing the Ultimate Digimon. "Cyberdramon!" He slashed at Fumamon, who quickly used his swords to block the incoming attack.

The two pushed against one another until Fumamon leapt back, throwing several smoke bombs through the air in an attempt to blind Cyberdramon to make his escape. But the Ultimate refused to let himself be beaten so easily and gave chase.

All over the forest, battles were being raged between the resistance and the Virus Army.

Leomon roared as he rushed forward, slashing at an Ogremon that blocked the attack with its club. "Why are you doing this?" He asked, as the pair pushed back from one another. "You realise if Megidramon is revived, all of the Digital World will be destroyed. That includes you."

"I'm a Virus-type," Ogremon announced as he charged forward. "It's what I do." The pair duelled with their weapons, blocking and avoiding each attack. "We destroy data. Even if we don't want to, what other life can we lead?"

"Virus Digimon have an important role to play," Leomon stated tried to sweep his feet out from under Ogremon. "There's a balance in the Digital World. Virus Digimon destroy old data before the Vaccine Digimon stop them, allowing the Data Digimon to build something new where the old data once was." They slashed at one another and eventually came to deadlock, their weapons pushing against one another. "It's a continuous cycle that's important to the evolution of the Digital World. But if you destroy everything, then there's be nothing left to rebuild. It'll all have to start from scratch."

"You call it balance," Ogremon growled. "I call it a life of being hated by everyone. If the Digital World is reset, maybe it'll become a place where Digimon like us can belong!" He leapt away and pulled his fist back, Leomon doing the same. "Pummel Whack!"

"Fist of the Beast King!" The two punched the air and unleashed blasts of purple and orange energy, which took the shape of their heads and collided to create an explosion. When this explosion vanished, the pair continued to stare one another down.

Back with the Codex Players, they were continuing to do battle against the Virus Digimon that appeared out of the warp bomb portals.

Not long after the last Pachymon was destroyed, more bombs had been dropped by another wave of Flymon. These ones created more portals and from them, a bunch of Cyclonemon came charging out.

"Hyper Heat!" One of them yelled as a blast of super hot air flew out of its mouth and struck Dorulumon, making the drill wolf Digimon howl in pain as he was sent staggering back. But before Cyclonemon could attack again, Arbormon leapt at him and sent a punch right to its face.

Hudiemon flew towards Dorulumon, as Pteryxmon and ToyGreymon staggered over to him. "Infinite Dream!" Fluttershy might not have been the most battle willing player, but she had ways of protecting her friends. As such, she unleashed a wave of energy that flowed over the three and caused their injuries to heal. It also re-energized them, allowing them to get back into the action.

"Thanks Fluttershy!" Pteryxmon cried, as she rushed over to battle some Vegiemon that had just appeared out of the portals.

Up in the air, Unimon unleashed a blast of light. It struck a Flymon and caused it to explode, the bomb it was carrying falling to the ground. "Infrared Beam!" Aurumon launched a red laser form his eyes, hitting the bomb and destroying it before it could activate. He then fired a beam at another bomb, dropped when Darcmon impaled a Flymon through the back.

"Sunshine Beam!" Sunflowmon unleashed her super bright beam attack, hitting a bunch of Flymon and destroying them all. It also destroyed their warp bombs, preventing another wave of enemies from appear.

But that didn't stop the portals that had already appeared, allowing more Cyclonemon and other Digimon to attack. One of which was a pile of sludge known as Raremon, walking trees called Woodmon and the giant dark dragons referred to as Devidramon.

"V-Nova Blast!" Veedramon unleashed a powerful blast of fire, destroying several Woodmon. Sorcerimon then unleashed a wave of ice, freezing the Raremon that Lekismon slammed her foot into in order to shatter.

"Seismic Speaker!" Ballistamon fired the sonic blast from his chest, hitting the Devidramon in the air and causing them to fall to the ground.

"Magic Ignition!"

Blockade Seed!"

"Angry Spike!" FlameWizardmon and Arbormon fired their long distance attacks, burning the Devidramon or tying them up with vines. Meanwhile, Apemon's arm fur turned to metal and fired off of him as he punched the air.

The Devidramon roared as they were impaled, some of them exploding whilst the others broke free of the vines. "Spinning Attack!" Tortomon spun around, morphing into a beyblade the sliced several Devidramon in to pieces.

Several Raremon launched a barrage of sludge attacks, but Gatormon counted with his Hydro Pump and allowed ToyGreymon to rush it and slammed them with her rebuilt tail.

"Lead Slider!" Some Woodmon fired a bunch of super sharp leaves from out of their trunk arms, heading straight for Hudiemon. But Gargomon leapt up and deflected them with his metal arms.

"Bunny Pummel!" He cried, smashing his metal arm through the Woodmon and shattering it.

Hudiemon smiled at him, but quickly flew up to avoid getting attacked again. Up in the air, she saw Stingmon grab Flymon's stinger whilst Mothmon slammed his drill tail into its back and caused it to explode. Another Flymon prepared to attack the pair, but Unimon slammed her hoof into it back and pushed it down towards the ground.

The insectoid Digimon exploded upon impact with the ground, Unimon shaking her head and trying to catch her breath. But as she did, a Devidramon flew towards her and let out a roar as it reached out with its clawed hands.

But before it could grab her, Veedramon tackled the dark dragon and pushed it away. He slammed it into the side of a tree and dealt several punches to it, the beast roaring with pain as it tried to claw his eyes out. But Veedramon jumped back before thrusting his horn forward.

It impaled the demonic Digimon and destroyed it, Veedramon pulling his horn out of the tree as Unimon flew up to him. "Thanks."

"No problem," Veedramon nodded as he looked around. There were still many more Digimon, but one in particular was missing. "What happened to Shining?" He asked, not seeing Strikedramon or his evolutions anywhere.

"He ended up battling against a pretty powerful Digimon," Unimon replied. "I think it might be an Ultimate. He had to Digivolve in order to keep up with it."

"That's not good," Veedramon growled. "I hope he manages to beat it."

Unimon nodded. "I just hope that's the only Ultimate we have to deal with." She dodged a Cyclonemon's claws and launched the sphere of light from her mouth, blasting it back and allowing Veedramon to slam his tail into it and destroy it. As he did so, Flash wondered if Twilight was right in her hope.

This Virus Army couldn't be much of a threat, even with this many Champion Level Viruses. There had to be more Ultimates, even possibly Megas, but how many? And what kind were they?

Cyberdramon and Fumamon continued to do battle against one another, the pair's bladed weapons clashing against each other as they leapt form branch to branch.

"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon launched the energy sphere at the ninja, who swung his blade around and cut it in half. The two halves flew behind him and created a pair of explosions, as Fumamon took out his shuriken weapons and threw them at Cyberdramon.

The Ultimate Digimon slashed them away with his claws, then leapt at Fumemon and slammed his tail into him. Fumamon blocked with his sword sheave, the impact still knocking him backwards though.

By this point, their battle had drawn closer to the Dragon Soul Stone. MagnaAngemon, Angewomon and Baoyendramon all noticed the explosions and turned to see them. "Cyberdramon!" Baoyendramon cried, as the pair landed on the ground still locked in combat.

"You were supposed to keep the Viruses away from us!" MagnaAngemon growled, as Cyberdramon grabbed Fumamon and threw him away.

"Don't worry!" Cyberdramon assured him. "He might have been able to get this far, but he's not getting any closer!"

Fumamon laughed as he picked himself. "I don't need to get any closer." With that, he took something out of storage and threw it at Cyberdramon. The Ultimate leapt into the air and saw it was a metal sphere, with a red button on it that Fumamon had pressed. "I'm exactly where I need to be!" With that, the orb hit the ground and unleashed a powerful light.

Cyberdramon and the resistance Digimon cried out, as the light blinded them whilst forming a giant portal of some kind. "What is that?" Baoyendramon cried, as the portal stabilised and the light grew dimmer.

"How do you think so many of my army got here?" Fumamon asked, as he charged at Cyberdramon. Cyberdramon quickly countered with his blades and the two duelled, whilst the three Great Dragon Candidates watched as something appeared inside the portal before stepping out.

It was a giant red, white and black Digimon. It looked like a giant T-rex, but its chest, arms and part of its mouth was covered in red metal. Large blades could be seen on its metal arms and it had long white hair on its head, whilst a metal whip as long as it was tall was sticking out the back of the metal bodysuit. On its chest was a symbol they all recognised as the Digital Hazard.

"Finally," the Digimon laughed as he stepped out and the portal vanished behind him. "You took your time, Fumamon." He spotted the Dragon Soul Stone and smiled. "Ahh, there it is." He stepped forward, but the other three Digimon jumped in front of him. "Out of my way."

"Absolutely not!" MagnaAngemon told him. "We know why you're here. You want the Dragon Soul Stone to Digivolve into Megidramon, don't you?" WarGrowlmon smirked, whilst Angewomon noticed the symbol on his chest.

"The Digital Hazard. You wouldn't have that if you didn't come with some kind of danger." She created a Celestial Arrow and pointed it at WarGrowlmon. "Leave or we will be forced to destroy you."

"Like you could," WarGrowlmon laughed before raising his claws. "Come on then. Let's see just how powerful you are!" With that, he rushed forward as Angewomon fired her arrow. He quickly used his arm blade to block the attack before slashing at her with his claws.

The three leapt into the air, Baoyendramon opening his mouth as air began to swirl within it. "Aero Stream!" A tornado exploded from his mouth, the Ultimate Virus raising his arms and blocking it from connecting. At the same time, MagnaAngemon flew up behind him.

"Excalibur!" He cried, rushing forward to stab him with the sword on his wrist.

WarGrowlmon looked back at this and smirked before the metal whip on his back moved on its own, the blade on the end of it swinging around and blocking Excalibur. "Nice try. But my Assault Balancer protects me from any sneak attack!" Baoyendramon's attack came to an end and as it did, a pair of booster wings folded out of his arm and ignited to push him into the air. "Prepare to feel the full power of the Digimon that will destroy the Digital World." The twin cannons on his chest armor began to power up. "Atomic...BLASTER!"

The three watched as the energy exploded out of his chest and shot towards them. Angewomon quickly flew forwards and held up her hands. "Heaven's Charm!" Light flew out of her hands and formed a protective circle in front of them, the Atomic Blaster hitting this circle and being blocked by the heavenly light.

The two pushed against each other's attack until the Atomic Blaster finally stopped, Angewomon's attack also fading as she fell to the ground panting. The other three Digimon glared at one another, knowing the real fight had just begun.

In another part of the forest, where no Digimon were currently waiting to battle, a single Flymon flew down and placed a metal orb on the ground.

As soon as it did, it flew away as the device started beeping. After a few seconds, a bright light filled the air and created a portal. And from out of that portal, a massive Digimon stepped out.

It was roughly thirty meters from head to tail, its gray body being a mix of a Tyranomon and Peckmon. It had long bird-like feet and legs, along with an egg-shaped body that was hunched over. It had a long neck and long thick arms that were like those one saw on many reptilian Digimon.

Its entire body was also covered in metal and leather. Its long neck had a bunch of leather belts wrapped around it, along with leather shoulder-pads that had metal spikes on them. Its chest was covered in metal chest armor, whilst its legs were wrapped up in leather belts that had metal spiked pads on the knees.

On each arms was a large mechanical gauntlet, with six-foot long claws, that went all the way up to its elbows. Its head had a roman helmet on the top of it and instead of feather, large red blades were sticking out the top. Its tail was almost as long as its body and was covered in metal, making it almost look like a mechanical tail. On the end of said tail was a long bladed tip, which looked like it could split in half.

The Digimon finished pulling itself out of the portal and with every footstep, the ground shook. It looked ahead and moved towards its destination, using its large claws to slice through the trees that got in its way. It was a walking disaster and it was heading straight toward the Dragon Soul Stone. With the power it held, it would take more than a few champions to overpower it.

The Digital World was in great danger and unless this threat was destroyed, nothing would ever be the same again.

Author's Note

Now things are getting interesting. How will Flash and his team deal with this? And who will get the Dragon Soul Stone first? Only time will tell.

A Promise Kept

Inside a forest of the Digital World, a war was being raged by a bunch of different Digimon.

Many Virus Digimon were battling it out against a combination of Free, Vaccine, Data and even a few Virus Digimon, who were doing whatever it took to keep the place from getting overrun. But it was a losing battle.

In one section of the forest, an Ikkakumon was using its Harpoon Torpedo attack to blast a bunch of IceDevimon out of the sky. But every time he blasted one, another took its place.

"Cold Breath!" They all cried, as icy shot out of their mouths and flew down towards the Ikkakumon. Doing so caused the forest around him to freeze up solid, but Ikkakumon was completely unphased. Luck, good for Ikkakumon and bad for the IceDevimon, had caused these two winter Digimon to appear with one another on the battlefield. And now, Ikkakumon was gonna take full advantage of it.

"My turn!" He cried once the icy wind subsided, "Northern Light!" Like the IceDevimon, super cold air exploded out of him mouth and shot up towards them. The ice demons cried out, as the lot of them were beginning to freeze over. Unlike Ikkakumon, their ice control didn't give them its resistance. "Harpoon Torpedo!" One they were frozen solid, the giant walrus fired the horn from his head.

They shot through the air towards the IceDevimon status and pieces through several, shattering the ice and the Digimon inside of it.

The horns then split apart, revealing the hidden torpedoes. These rockets flew through the air and struck the rest of the frozen IceDevimon, shattering them entirely.

Ikkakumon panted as he watched the remains of the IceDevimon exploded into data. He was glad they were gone and even more glad that their ice attacks had left him a nice frozen spot to cool down as her prepared for the next fight.

Explosions could be heard coming from every direction, Ikkakumon just hoped they were being caused by his allies. If all went well, then MagnaAngemon or one of the other leaders of the resistance would acquire the Dragon Soul Stone and Digivolve into one of the Four Great Dragons. And Ikkakumon would do whatever it took to keep the Virus Digimon away from them.

Alas, things were never that simple.

"Justice Strike!" Out of nowhere, a barrage of energy bullets flew out of the trees and slammed into Ikkakumon's side. He screamed in pain, as he was knocked flying backwards by the assault. He then crashed into a tree and fell to the ground, as the one attacking him stepped into the light.

Armormon marched forward, his metal legs cracking the ice with every step he took.

Ikkakumon groaned as he picked himself up, seeing the Ultimate Level Virus staring him down. "No," he moaned out, "I won't let you...pass." He pointed his horn at Armormon, but the Digimon suddenly vanished.

"Surprise Attack!" Ikkakumon spun around, but Armormon's shoulder mounted blasters had moved up and were now pointed directly at his face.

The energy quickly charged up and exploded out of them, hitting Ikkakumon point blank. His scream of agony reverberated throughout the forest, as his physical form was destroyed and the data that made him up was sent off to be remade and reincarnated at Primary Village.

The light and smoke of the explosion died down, Armormon left standing looking rather disappointed. "Is that really the best this resistance has to offer?" He shook his head, "what a letdown." As he said that, he heard a large explosion coming from the centre of the forest.

This made him smirk under his mask, as he realised the leader of their army had gotten to the stone. Now he just needed to wait for it to power up and touch it first. But to do that, he needed to eradicate anyone that got in his way.

"V-Breath Arrow...MAX!" Veedramon unleashed the giant V-Nova Blast.

The energy rocketed across the battlefield, burning a few tree trunks in the process, but struck several Woodmon and a few Cyclonemon. The energy consumed them and they all roared, as they were deleted along with the remaining Flymon that had allowed them to get this far.

Seeing there were no more opponents to battle, they all panted as the exhaustion from the battles caught up with them.

"Catch your breath," Unimon announced. "I doubt they're gonna give us much room to breathe." They all nodded and some of the smaller Digimon sat down.

"Maybe that's the last of them?" Hudiemon asked, "maybe the Dragon Soul Stone will be activated soon and-" She didn't get to finish for in that moment, a loud explosion made them all stand up and turn in the direction of the Soul Stone.

"What was that?" FlameWizardmon asked, with Aurumon flying up above the trees. There he saw a large smoke cloud, coming from where the Dragon Soul Stone was supposed to be. Then, something broke out through the canopy.

WarGrowlmon, with MagnaAngemon and Baoyendramon flying out after him to battle. "Not good." He flew back down, "a Virus somehow got passed the defence. It's battling the resistance leaders right now."

"My sister?" Gatomon asked, looking worried.

"I didn't see her." Gatomon turned to charge towards the battle, but Dorulumon stepped on her tail and stopped her.

"Wait, we can't just leave. Our job is to keep the enemy from getting to them. They have enough problems with one Virus without them facing more problems." Gatomon frowned, clearly not liking the idea of leaving her sister to face such danger. But before she could argue, something caused her attention to be pull away from the battle going on.

Suddenly, she and the other Digimon on the ground felt it shake ever so slightly. "What was that?" Veedramon asked, only for it to shake again. Then again and again. They all knew what this was. Footsteps.

"Something's coming," Apemon stated. The footsteps grew stronger and more rapid, as the sound of a tree falling down made them turn towards it. "Something big."

"Everyone get ready!" Unimon yelled, "there's no telling what could be coming." They all got into a battle ready stance, as a shadow appeared behind some of the larger trees. And as it pushed its way through, they saw a set of massive metal claws tear through the tree trunks.

"What is that thing?" ToyGreymon asked, as the beast came into view and revealed itself to be a thirty foot armored beast with giant claws and a bladed tail.

The massive Digimon marched forward and looked down upon the smaller Digimon, the largest of them being Veedramon who was only a third of its full height. Mothmon broke the silence, knowing this Digimon. "Therizinomon!"

"Is that what I think it is?" Pteryxmon asked, with Mothmon nodding.

"Yeah, an Ultimate Level Cyborg-type Virus Digimon. It can cut through anything with its Claw Blade attack and its Laser Sharp attack is hotter than the sun." Everyone gulped, as Therizinomon stared down at them. It then raised its large clawed gauntlet and prepared to strike.

"Everyone move!" Sunflowmon yelled, as she and the other flying Digimon took to the air. Those on the ground went into a mad dash, attempting to escape the incoming attack.

Therizinomon swung its claw down and struck the ground, causing the Earth all around it to break apart and shake as multiple fissures broke out of the ground. Those on the ground screamed, as they did their best to keep from being swallowed by the Earth, whilst the ones in the sky went on the attack.

"Aerial Attack!" Unimon launched the sphere of light from her mouth, whilst Aurumon flew up towards its head.

"Infrared Ray!" The lasers exploded out of his eyes, but Therizinomon moved its head so the helmet on it blocked the beams.

"Sunshine Beam!" Sunflowmon laughed her attack at the Digimon's head, hoping to blind it. But Therizinomon dodged the attack and spun around to try and slam his tail into her. "Wow!" She dodged it, but the wind this caused pushed her backwards until she crashed into a tree.

"Dancing Sword!" Darcmon slashed at Therizinomon, but the beast raised its metal claws in defence and the blade shattered against it. "How?"

"Spiral Impact!" Mothmon flew towards the claws and dug his drill tail into it, but the Armor Digimon's weapon was weaker than the metal that made up the Ultimate's armoring. As such, Therizinomon didn't feel a thing and simply knocked the flying bug away.

"Mothmon!" Stingmon flew over and caught him, using a tree as a landing pad as he checked his partner. "You okay?"

"Chrome Digizoid," Mothmon groaned. "That armor's gonna be tough to get through." Stingmon frowned, not liking the sound of that. And as he looked over at the beast, the Digimon on the ground rushing forward.

"V-Nova Blast!" Veedramon roared as he unleashed the blue energy ball, which flew up and exploded against the Ultimate's stomach. But the explosion did little to no effect against it.

"Flame Ignition!" FlameWizardmon launched the fire from his hands, whilst Ballistamon primed his speaker system.

"Seismic Speaker!" The flames and sonic blast flew up and struck Therizinomon, but did as little damage against it as the V-Nova Blast. Arbormon and Apemon rushed forward, Apemon pulling his bone club off his back.

"Mega Bone Stick!" He threw it at Therizinomon, whilst Arbormon launched his fists flying. Both attacks collided against the Ultimate's metal arm, but also did nothing.

"Wildfire Wingbeat/Strong Carapace!" Pteryxmon and Tortomon launched their attacks, the spikes and fires slamming into the giant's stomach with no visible effects. "What the heck is this guy made of!?" Pteryxmon cried, as Lekismon, Gatomon, Dorulumon and ToyGreymon charged forward.

"Crystal Barrage!" Sorcerimon swung her staff around and unleashed a burst of icicle spears towards the large Digimon

"Hydro Pump/Gargo Pellets!" Dilemon and Gargomon both fired a blast of water and a barrage of bullets, which struck the Ultimate along with the icicles. But these attacks did absolutely nothing against the Ultimate, whilst the other Digimon finally reached it.

"Moon Night Kick!" Lekismon leapt up and spun around, performing a diving kick against the giant's leg. But the muscular limb was so strong, the impact did nothing against. it.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon leapt up and tried punching it in the stomach, only to bounce off the beast with Darcmon catching her. "It's too strong."

"Plastic Horns Attack!" ToyGreymon rammed her head into its foot, her three plastic horn digging into the beast. But it didn't even scratch the skin, as Dorulumon slammed his tail drill into the other foot.

"Drilling Impact!" This actually seemed to do something, but Therizinomon seemed to have had enough of them attacking it.

It raised both arms as the metal claws coming out of its gauntlets extended to three times their normal size. They then started glowing, Unimon seeing this and gasping. "Everyone get out of there!" But Therizinomon was faster.

"Claw Blade!" It swung its massive claws around and dug into the ground, creating three massive trenches in the Earth. The impact sent rocks and dirt flying everywhere, the force hitting Lekismon, ToyGreymon and Dorulumon.

They all screamed out, as the rock and dirt smashed into them and they were sent flying. their partners all quickly rushed over to help them. They crashed into the ground, whilst Therizinomon spun around and slashed at the Digimon in the air with its tail blade.

The weapon cut through a bunch of trees as it attempted to knocked out those in the air. "EVERYONE MOVE!" Aurumon cried, attempting to fly away. But a falling tree crashed into him whilst Sunflowmon, Darcmon and Gatomon were knocked flying by the tail's impact.

"NO!" Unimon cried, only to hear Veedramon roar as he charged at the Ultimate. "Don't!" Gatormon and Stingmon charged as well, Veedramon tackling Therizinomon and actually pushing him backwards a little. This allowed Stingmon to pick up Gatormon and throw him at the Ultimate's chest, whilst he flew straight up towards its head.

"Spiking Strike!" The insect Digimon summoned his energy blade and charged, attempting to impale its head with his stinger. At the same time, Gatormon clung onto its chest armor and climbed up towards its shoulder.

"Ice Fang!" He bit on his shoulder, the ice beginning to spread out from his mouth and cover the Cyborg Digimon's upper right half.

Pteryxmon and Tortomon rushed forward, as Veedramon worked to push Therizinomon back a little. "Blazing Slash!/Spinning Attack!" Veedramon leapt away, allowing the pair to collide with the Ultimate where he had been.

At the same time, Hudiemon flew over to the others. "Infinity Dream!" She spun around before beating the wings, sending out a bunch of scales them flew over the injured Digimon. Doing so allowed them to all to recover, whilst Gargomon defended them from any attack Therizinomon might unleash against them.

Therizinomon roared as it flexed its right arm, shattering the ice that was upon it. It quickly grabbed Gatormon and threw him off of it, whilst raising its massive foot before stomping it on the ground. The impact caused all the trees around it to shake apart, whilst those on the ground felt the place be shaken up.

Hudiemon flew into the air, but Therizinomon stabbed one of the downed trees and threw it at her.

She gasped and tried to escape, but the tree slammed into her before she could. "FLUTTERSHY!" Her friends all screamed, as she fell to the ground and her body exploded into data. When the light faded, Fluttershy was laid out on the ground looking unconscious.

"NO!" Gargomon yelled, anger raging on his face as he turned towards the Ultimate. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" He charged, Pteryxmon and Tortomon following. But Therizinomon swung its tail around again and smashed the lot of them flying, the trio screaming as they were all knocked through trees and fell to the ground.

Pteryxmon exploded back into Rainbow, whilst Gargomon and Tortomon reverted back to their Rookie states.

Everyone stared in shock at what had happened, knowing that this battle wasn't going to be easy. "Come on guys!" Veedramon told them. "We can't let Baoyendramon and the others down. We swore to protect this spot and we can't stop trying to fight." The others nodded and charged, Therizinomon not looking impressed.

WarGrowlmon continued to do battle against the three defending Digimon.

Despite him being a Virus whilst two of the three were Vaccines, the battle between them was evenly matched. "Radiation Blade!" He flew forward, as the blades on his arms glowed red. He then slashed at Baoyendramon, who flew up and swung his arms around.

"Cloud Barrier!" The clouds around his arms flew off him and moved towards WarGrowlmon, swirling around him and forming a massive cloud around him.

He growled as he slashed at the cloud, attempting to break though it as his glowing hot blade evaporated the water vapour. But once the last of the cloud vanished, WarGrowlmon found Angewomon and MagnaAngemon flying on either side of him.

"Celestial Arrow/Gate of Destiny!" Angewomon fired the arrow of light, whilst MagnaAngemon creating the spinning gate that opened up and unleashed a powerful beam of light. The two attacks shot towards him and he didn't have time to move, so instead held out both arms and let the attack collide with him.

An explosion occurred and the three resistance Digimon waited to see if that was enough to stop him. But then the smoke faded, revealing the Cyborg Virus completely unharmed.

"What?" MagnaAngemon asked, "how is that possible?"

WarGrowlmon laughed as he brushed himself up. "Your power is pathetic. If I didn't know you were Ultimates, I'd have guessed you were Champions...weak Champions at best." The trio glared at him, as he raised his claws and charged forward at high speed.

The three dodged the attacks, WarGrowlmon flying past them. But before they could try for a counter attack, the Assault Balancer shot forward and struck Angewomon in the stomach. "AUGH!" She screamed, as a gash was ripped into her side.

"NO!" Baoyendramon cried, as MagnaAngemon rushed forward.

"FILTHY VIRUS!" He slashed at him, but WarGrowlmon easily avoided it. "I will eradicate you!" He spun around and tried to behead him, WarGrowlmon used his arm blades to block.

"You really hate Virus Digimon, don't you?" MagnaAngemon growled at this, "what could have happened to make you hate us so much? Did we take something from you? Or someone?"

"SHUT UP!" MagnaAngemon began slashing at him, wildly attacking with no thought or technique behind his attacks. As such, it was easy for WarGrowlmon to block them all. But as he did, Baoyendramon flew towards them.

"Aero Stream!" The tornado exploded from his mouth and struck WarGrowlmon, pushing him away from MagnaAngemon before the Virus could attack the Vaccine Digimon. Once WarGrowlmon was far enough away, he turned to MagnaAngemon. "Calm down. You won't be able to beat him if-"

"Be quiet!" MagnaAngemon yelled, "you don't tell me what to do!" He charged in blindly, WarGrowlmon rushing ahead to meet him head on. The pair clashed blades and after a few moments of pushing against one another, WarGrowlmon managed to overpower the angel.

MagnaAngemon was thrown backwards, as WarGrowlmon powered his lasers. "Atomic Blaster!" The explosion of radioactive energy shot towards him, but MagnaAngemon quickly drew a circle in the air.

"Gate of Destiny!" The gate appeared and opened up, the attack flying into it.

As this was going on, Baoyendramon flew over to Angewomon. "Hold on," he told her. "I...I might be able to heal you."

"Forget about me," Angewomon groaned. "You need to stop WarGrowlmon."

"MagnaAngemon can do that," Baoyendramon explained. "I need to make sure you survive. Even if we manage to stop him from getting this Dragon Soul Stone, we'll need you for the next one. If you die now, you'll force someone else to take the burden. Like your sister."

Angewomon flinched as she thought about her sister, not wanting her to give up being with Rarity. "You're right. But you need to be careful too. We'll also need you to gain the power of the other Dragon Soul Stone. You're just as important as me and MagnaAngemon."

"I know I'm just a placeholder," Baoyendramon told her. "If there was a stronger Digimon you knew could use the Stone, I'm sure MagnaAngemon would have never bothered with me."

"Maybe, but power isn't everything. You have a good heart and that's more important than strength. Power used by those who don't deserve it is a waste." Baoyendramon nodded, only to hear a cry of pain and look around to see MagnaAngemon fall to the ground.

WarGrowlmon laughed, as the dragon Digimon floated up. "You really wanna try it? Your Vaccine friends didn't stand a chance against me. How do you expect a Data Type like you to handle a fight?"

"I don't know," Baoyendramon took a deep breath, "but I won't just roll over and let you have the Dragon Soul Stone!" He charged forward, letting out a roar as he attempted to overpower his foe. He was the last one able to stand against him. If he couldn't win, it was likely nobody could.

In another part of the forest, Fumamon and Cyberdramon continued to do battle.

The ninja Digimon slashed at Cyberdramon, who blocked the attacks with his arm blades. The pair pushed against one another, growling at each other as they attempted to overpower the other. "Why?" Cyberdramon asked, "why do this? If WarGrowlmon becomes Megidramon, everything in the Digital World will be destroyed. Including you!"

"You think so?" Fumamon asked. "Who's to say I haven't found a way to survive this catastrophe? You humans know hardly anything of the Digital World. There are secrets that exist to make your head spin. And with those secrets, I will see the Digital World's destruction and walk amongst its ashes."

"I won't let you do that!" He pushed Fumamon back and swung his claws around. "Desolation Claw!" He formed the sphere and fired a beam, which flew right at Fumamon.

But the Digimon took out a pair of scrolls on his waist before throwing them in the air. As they unfurled, he made several hand signs. "Yomi-Modoshi!" The writing on the scrolls lit up, an explosion quickly following. "Come, Troopmon!" From out of the smoke, a bunch of Digimon in strange looking suits and gas-masks appeared.

These Digimon leapt forward, a few getting hit by the laser and exploding. Several more attacked Cyberdramon, who was thrown off by their sudden appearance but quickly recovered.

One of the Troopmon tried to punch him, but he was able to avoid it before slashing at it. The Troopmon exploded and moments later, the rest of the Undead Digimon followed suit. But this distraction gave Fumamon time to prepare, the cyborg ninja raising both his swords and placing all his energy into them.

He leapt forward and swung the weapons at Cyberdramon, who barely managed to grab them before they could cut through him. The armor on his hands barely managed to stop them, but still Cyberdramon felt a serious pressure coming off of the sword.

"Ha," Fumamon laughed. "If it were any other Digimon, I'm pretty sure you'd be in two pieces right now."

"Well...I'm not like any other Digimon!" Cyberdramon roared as he pushed Fumamon away. But as he did, a loud roar filled the air and Fumamon chuckled.

"Looks like my friend finally arrived." Cyberdramon gave him a curious look. "The most powerful Digimon in our army, after WarGrowlmon of course. A Digimon that leaves nothing but shreds in his wake. And I think that roar came from the direction your friends were in."

Inside the Ultimate Digimon, Shining stopped as he let that info sink in. His friends. Twilight, Flash and all the others. They were all in danger. He could tell Fumamon wasn't lying.

"So what are you gonna do? Leave and go run to their rescue?"

Shining wanted to, but he also knew Flash and the others weren't newbs. "No," he raised his claws, "they can handle themselves. They have each other. They'll make it through that. But you're too dangerous to leave." He rushed forward, "I'll end you here and now!" Fumamon smirked under his mask and charged forward, the two Ultimates clashing.

They continued to fight and as they did, Shining fought in a way that forced Fumamon in a certain direction. He might have have faith in his friends, but being closer to them couldn't hurt.

"Flash. Everyone. Be careful and don't let whatever's attacking you make you scared. You guys have more potential than I ever had at your age. You won't fall so long as you stay true to what you're fighting for.'

"Hammer Punch!" Veedramon roared, as he jumped up and threw a fist into Therizinomon's stomach.

The Ultimate didn't even look winded by this and quickly backhanded Veedramon with his metal claws, making the Champion Digimon roar as he was sent flying and crashed through a tree.

"Flash!" Unimon cried, as she and Aurumon flew in and tried to attack. Sunflowmon, Stingmon, Mothmon and Darcmon flew in with them, Gatomon on Stingmon's back. "Aerial Attack!"

"Infrared Ray!"

"Sunshine Beam!" The three launched their attacks, aiming for the chest of the Digimon, whilst the others flew up higher.

Therizinomon swung its claws through the air, trying to swat them like flies. They managed to avoid the attacks, with Gatomon leaping off Stingmon and falling towards Therizinomon's head. "Lightning Paw!" The Cyborg barely noticed her, as she slammed her fist into the beast's head. Once again, the attack did virtually nothing and she bounced off it.

At the same time, Therizinomon raised its bladed tail and swung it around to try and slash at Gatomon. But Stingmon flew down and blocked it with both his stinger blades. "Augh!" He cried, impact too great.

"Gauss Powder!" Mothmon flew overhead and sprinkled its irritating dust towards the Digimon's head, whilst Darcmon swung her staff around and unleashed a light that energised Stingmon.

Meanwhile, FlameWizardmon, Ballistamon, Apemon and Arbormon charged. "Ram Slammer!" Ballistamon thrust his horn into the giant's leg, attempting to knock him off balance, with little to no effect.

"Blockade Seed!" Arbormon fired a bunch of seeds at the Digimon's claw, which instantly broke apart and started wrapping themselves around the metal blades. "That should hold him! Now Sandal!"

"Raaah!" Apemon leapt up, giving FlameWizardmon a piggyback as they flew higher. "Angry Spike!" The fur around his arms turned to metal and when he punched them forward, they shot out and flew towards the Ultimate like a bunch of tiny needles.

"Flame Ignition!" The fire exploded off his matches, exploding against the same spot the hair needles had just scratch. But the two attacks did nothing as Therizinomon raised its tail.

Suddenly, the blade on the end split in half and folded back to the sides of the tail. This revealed a hole in the end of the metal tail, that looked like it was starting to glow. "Laser Sharp!" It roared, as a brilliant red laser exploded out of the end. It shot towards the sky, but Therizinomon quickly swung it around to cut through terrain.

Everyone screamed as they struggled to escape, but Stingmon, Mothmon, Unimon and Aurumon were struck by it and sent flying back as they received serious damage. The laser then moved to the ground and blasted Ballistamon and Arbormon away, whilst FlameWizardmon and Apemon found themselves getting kicked by Therizinomon's leg.

They all cried out as they were knocked away and smashed into trees and the ground, the lot of them reverting back to human and Rookie forms whilst barely being left conscious.

The laser ended and Therizinomon managed to rip the vines off of its claws, as Sorcerimon, Lekismon, ToyGreymon, Gatormon, Sunflowmon, Dorulumon, Darcmon and Gatomon charged in.

But before any of them could attack, Therizinomon stabbed its claws into the ground before ripping them back up. This once again sent rocks and mud flying everywhere, smashing into the Champion Digimon and making them scream as they were sent flying backwards.

They all crashed into the ground and reverted back to human and Rookie forms, Therizinomon letting out a mighty roar as it had defeated all his opponents.

One such opponent, Veedramon, pushed himself up and looked over at his friends. He gasped seeing them all down for the count, then turned towards Therizinomon as the Virus glared at the still alive humans and Digimon.

"Flash!" Veemon cried inside Veedramon's head, "he's gonna eat them!"

"Not if I can help it!" He pushed himself up and charged forward, roaring to catch the Ultimate's attention. The Digimon looked around and saw him rushing at it, energy appearing in his mouth. "V-Nova Blast!" He launched the energy out of his mouth and it shot towards the Cyborg, who swatted it away with a single slash of its claw. Veedramon didn't let that stop him, as he built up even more energy within his mouth. "V-Breath Arrow MAX!" He fired the supercharged V-Nova Blast and when it collided, this actually seemed to hurt Therizinomon.

At the same time, Twilight and the others were starting to come around. The pushed themselves up and looked over to see Veedramon blasting Therizinomon back. But the Ultimate quickly recovered and its claws extended. "Claw Blade!" It slashed at Veedramon and the Champion rushed to the side, barely avoiding the incoming attack.

He then charged forward and tackled Therizinomon with all his might, his feet sliding along the ground and he tried to get traction. Eventually, he was able to push Therizinomon back and the Ultimate Digimon was sent staggering, as Veedramon unleashed another V-Nova Blast.

It struck the Digimon in the chest and knocked it through another tree, surprising his friends. But then the Cyborg's tail rose up and pointed at the Champion Level. "Look out!" Twilight yelled, as Therizinomon fired the laser from it that hit the ground in front of Veedramon and made it explode.

"AUGH!" He roared as he was knocked flying backwards and crashed into the ground, his friends flinching at this. He groaned as he lifted his head, looking up at the Ultimate as it began to march in the direction of the Dragon Soul Stone. "No," he growled as he forced his body up, "I can't let him pass."

Inside his head, Veemon panted also feeling the pain they had gone through. "Yeah, we won't let it end like this." The two willed themselves up and charge forward, their efforts making everyone look up and see them.

"GET BACK HERE!" Veedramon roared as he grabbed the end of the dinosaur's tail, pulling on it to try and stop the colossal beast. This did stop Therizinomon, but only because it was curious what had grabbed him and looked back.

"Flash!" Twilight cried, amazed that he would try something like that.

"What are you doing?" Applejack asked, "ya'h can't overpower him. He's too strong."

"I don't care!" Veedramon cried, "I'm not giving up!" Therizinomon suddenly raised its tail, picking him up as well, then smashed it into the ground and made Veedramon cry out. His friends all flinched, wishing they could help but lacking the strength.

Therizinomon roared as he picked his tail up again and smashed Veedramon into a nearby tree. But still, he would not let go of the tail. "Don't be reckless!" Micro yelled, "get out of there before he destroys you!"

Inside Veedramon's head, Flash and Veemon held onto the tail with everything they had. Micro's words echoed in their heads, but they didn't listen. "We made a promise," Flash whispered.

"We wouldn't let any-mon passed us," Veemon agreed. "Not if they're trying to destroy the Digital World."

Flash nodded, as their body was once again smashed into the ground. As it was, Flash remembered everything he had been through since coming to the Digital World. All the adventures he and Veemon had been on. All the friends they had made along the way. All the challenges they had faced and the times they had fallen, only to pick themselves up stronger.

Then he remembered the Digimon he had met. When he had first come here, he had only seen them as a bunch of computer programs. But now, he knew what they were. They were just as alive as Flash was and as long as he could stand up, he wouldn't let their world be destroyed.

"No way!" He cried.

"Not gonna happen!" Veemon yelled, the pair opening their eyes as they felt themselves truly synchronise with one another. Then, they spoke together. "WE WON'T LET YOU WIN!" With that, a bright light exploded around them and appeared around Veedramon.

The Champion Digimon stamped his feet into the ground and with a mighty roar, spun on the spot and swung Therizinomon around. The virus roared as it was pulled away from where it was going and thrown back the way it had come from, as the light around Veedramon exploded into a massive cocoon.

Within it, Veedramon's body began to change and transform. "Veedramon, Digivolve to..." He grew larger, as the white parts of his body turned a different shade, his normally blue legs changing to the same shade whilst his stomach became more buff. Metal shoulder pads appeared whilst his elbows sprouted metal blades, as the top part of his snout became covered in metal and his head spikes grew longer.

Outside, everyone stared in shock as something exploded out of the cocoon. A pair of large blue and red wings, which beat out a powerful gust of wind that caused the light to explode off of the Digimon. Doing so revealed the beast, which was now twice the size of his champion, though the Virus' was still larger.

"AEROVEEDRAMON!" He roared, as it stood tall and glared Therizinomon down.

Nobody could believe what they were seeing. The sight was just too impossible, even though they saw it with their own eyes. "Veedramon," Twilight broke the silence, "Digivolved to Ultimate."

"No way," Sandal whispered. "How the heck did Flash get to Ultimate before us?" That was what everyone else was wondering. Compared to them, Flash was a total beginner. He should have been the last of them to Digivolve to Ultimate, but he had managed it before any of them.

Therizinomon had finished staring down his opponent and raised his tail, the blade splitting in half and unleashing the laser. It shot towards AeroVeedramon, who spread his wings before beating them.

"Wind Guardian!" The wind created morphed into a powerful barrier, which blocked the laser and caused an explosion. The force of said explosion knocked all of AeroVeedramon's friends away, whilst Therizinomon growled before rushing forward and extending its claws.

"Claw Blade!" It slashed at AeroVeedramon, but the dragon Digimon swung his arm around and used his elbow blade to block them. The two Ultimates pushed against one another and after a few seconds, AeroVeedramon overpowered his opponent and knocked it staggering back.

This allowed AeroVeedramon to spread his wings and leap into the air, flying forwards at great speed as his fist glowed. "Magnum Crusher!" He thrust a punch right into Therizinomon's chest and caused its armor to break apart, shattering as it was thrown backwards and smashed through several trees.

AeroVeedramon then shot into the air, getting a good hundred feet up before stopping. As he did, energy formed around him and Trixie recognised it. "Everyone, we gotta move!" The others didn't argue and they began to run away, as the light flew off of him and formed an orb in front of the dragon.

"Dragon Impulse!" With a mighty beat of its wings, AeroVeedramon launched the sphere flying towards Therizinomon. As it shot down, it morphed into the shape of a serpentine dragon with a V-shaped head. It moved so fast, that Therizinomon had no time to react.

All it could do was raised its blades in a token defence. But the attack smashed into him and he was consumed by an explosion, roaring in agony as his body was reduced to data.

Over with Cyberdramon and Fumamon, the two stopped their battle and landed on different branches when they felt the explosion.

Fumamon recognised the roar and realised it could only mean one thing. "Therizinomon, was destroyed?" He could hardly believe one of the most powerful Digimon in their army had been overwhelmed. "WarGrowlmon's not gonna like this."

At the same time, Cyberdramon looked up and saw AeroVeedramon. "Can't be," Shining whispered inside the Digimon. "Flash...Veemon. They Digivolved to Ultimate already? How is that possible?" It had taken him and Monodramon years to get to that point and those two had reached it in just a few months.

"We can figure it out later," Monodramon told him. "We've still got a battle to finish." Shining nodded and leapt forward, trying to use his Cyber Nail attack on Fumamon. But the evil ninja Digimon leapt into the air, readying his swords to fight.

At the same time, WarGrowlmon had his opponents on the ropes.

Despite the three of them being Vaccine Digimon, the Virus Digimon's power was just too great. He currently had MagnaAngemon by the neck, the angel attempting to slash at him with little look whilst Angewomon and Baoyendramon lay on the ground.

"Filthy Virus!" MagnaAngemon growled, "you won't get away with this."

WarGrowlmon chuckled, "I think I already have." He slammed MagnaAngemon into the side of a tree and made him scream in pain, the other two seeing him fall to the ground. And as he did, a light filled the clearing and made them look around to see the Dragon Soul Stone's groves beginning to glow.

Soon enough, the entire thing was lit up and WarGrowlmon laughed. "Yes!" He stepped forward, "finally. The end of the Digital World. My destiny!"

"NO!" Baoyendramon let out a mighty roar, as a massive glow burst of vapour flew out of his mouth and formed a wall of cloud between WarGrowlmon and the stone.

The Virus turned to the dragon and growled. "You think this is enough to stop me?" He asked, his Assault Balancer whipped over and grabbed the dragon around the neck. "You make me laugh. A weakling like you could never become one of the Four Great Dragons."

"HANDS OFF!" WarGrowlmon looked up and saw something flying towards them. AeroVeedramon.

The dragon roared as he flew in and slashed at WarGrowlmon, forcing the cyborg to drop his captured prey and leap back. He then tried to leap at the Dragon Soul Stone, but AeroVeedramon landed and grabbed the Virus. "Let go of me!"

"Not gonna happen!" AeroVeedramon told him, but he knew that was a bluff. Inside his body, Flash and Veemon were feeling exhausted. Digivolving to this level and defeating Therizinomon had seriously drained them. They couldn't maintain their form for much longer.

"Gotta get him away from the others!" Flash cried, using the last of his strength to push WarGrowlmon backwards. But the cyborg fired its jets and stopped his movement, the two struggling against one another. "GUYS HURRY!"

The three leaders of the resistance looked up and realised this was their chance. One by one, they each tried to push themselves up. But the injuries they received were too great. Parts of their bodies were starting to glitch, as they felt themselves getting close to deletion. If they moved too much, they would be destroyed.

"I can't," Angewomon panted as he wing glitched. "I'm too weak."

"It can't end like this," MagnaAngemon growled. "My destiny as Goldramon...can't end before it starts."

Baoyendramon panted as he tried to push himself up. His body refused to float up and his arms weren't strong enough to lift him. "I have to move!" He growled, looking over at the Digimon that had saved him from WarGrowlmon. "They can't hold him back forever." He remembered what the pair had said before.

"You have our word. We're not gonna let a single Virus Digimon near that stone."

"Yeah."

"They kept their word," he whispered. "I can't let their hard working be for nothing." He let out a cry of pain as he forced himself up, data leaking out of his wounds as he crawled towards the stone. "I might not be the most worthy Digimon, but I won't let that stop me."

WarGrowlmon saw this and gasped, the Ultimate Virus roaring as he raised his Assault Balancer. "NO!" His whip flew around and struck AeroVeedramon, slashing him down the chest.

"AUGH!" He roared, allowing WarGrowlmon to throw him away. The Ultimate Dragon slammed through a tree and fell to the ground. As he did, his body exploded with Flash and a now DemiVeemon falling out of it.

WarGrowlmon's thrusters then pushed him towards the Dragon Soul Stone, whilst Baoyendramon crawled there. And when he saw his enemy approaching, he forgot about his damaged body and leapt forward. The two reached for the stone and got to it at the exact same time, their claws connected with the rock milliseconds apart. But whoever touched it first would be the one to Digivolve.

The Stone exploded, its light radiating out and blinding everyone within it.

Fumamon and Cyberdramon both stopped their fight and turned towards the light, both realising the time had come. "Time to watch the world end!" Fumamon rushed towards it, Cyberdramon following after him and praying it wasn't WarGrowlmon that had gotten to it.

They arrived at the clearing and saw the source of the light, which began to move upwards above the forest. Cyberdramon was forced to look away and when he did, he saw Flash and DemiVeemon on the ground. "No!" He rushed over to them, checking them over and finding they weren't severally hurt.

Fumamon leapt into the clearing and looked up at the light. At the same time, Armormon arrived and also saw the light. He couldn't help but wonder who it was that had managed to get the stone.

"Master?" Fumamon cried, "is that you?" The light didn't reply, but a presence in front of him made Fumamon look ahead and see another Digimon. "No." WarGrowlmon was standing there, not looking happy as he stared up at the orb.

Inside the orb, Baoyendramon felt the energy of the Dragon Soul Stone flowing through him. And as he did, his body began to change. "Baoyendramon, Mega Digivolve to..." His body grew longer as the clouds around his body faded away, whilst his scaly skin began to disappear as well.

Doing so revealed an energy body, transparent blue in colour with multiple pairs of wings appearing out of them to help lift him up. His head was soon encased in a blue helmet, with lightning bolts covering it and a lightning bolt horn sticking out his head. A long beard also grew out of his face, whilst chains appeared from under the helmet and wrapped around his body.

Once the chains connected to his tail end, the cocoon exploded off of him and revealed his new Mega-Level form. "AZULONGMON!"

Azulongmon glowed a radiant light, which flew down and began to heal his fellow Digimon. Flash and DemiVeemon both felt themselves coming around, as their injuries faded away. This allowed them to look up and see the new Digimon, whilst Armormon felt the incredible power coming off the Mega.

"That's not good," he gulped as WarGrowlmon let out a mighty roar.

"HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY DRAGON SOUL STONE!" His chest cannon charged up, "ATOMIC BLASTER!" The twin lasers fired towards Azulongmon, who turned to it as the horn on his head sparked.

"SOURAI!" He roared, as a lightning bolt exploded off of him and shot towards the laser. It cut through the attack and struck WarGrowlmon, making him roar in agony as he was blasted backwards.

He crashed through several trees, whilst MagnaAngemon and Angewomon picked themselves up and to watch him fall to the ground. "Augh!" He looked badly beaten, his armor dented and damaged from that single hit.

"So much power," Fumamon realised. He knew WarGrowlmon couldn't defeat this new more powerful opponent, especially with the other two ready to help him. As such, he rushed over to WarGrowlmon and threw something behind him.

With a loud bang, a portal appeared behind WarGrowlmon and showed several Digimon. "Grab the master and pull him to safety!" The Digimon didn't argue and pulled the cyborg through the portal.

"Time to go!" Armormon galloped forward. But as he did, he noticed one of the humans that had destroyed his mining operation. "Next time," he growled before leaping into the portal.

Fumamon then turned to them, as he took out a flare gun and fired it. The rocket exploded in the sky, signalling the surviving members of the army to retreat. "Until we meet again!" With that, he stepped through the portal and disappeared before it closed.

Battle over, Cyberdramon split back into Shining and Monodramon. "You okay?" Shining asked Flash, who nodded as he looked himself over.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He turned to DemiVeemon, "what about you bud?"

"I feel shorter," he moaned much to his partner's amusement. At the same time, many members of the resistance the the Codex players that had come to help stepped towards the clearing. They all saw Azulongmon in the sky, amazed by the sight of him but also confused about why MagnaAngemon was still there.

"It should have been me," the archangel Digimon growled.

Angewomon shook her head, "just be glad one of us was able to stop WarGrowlmon from getting it." She turned back to the new Mega and flew up. "Mighty Azulongmon. You have saved the Digital World from begin destroyed. For now." She bowed her head. "From this point on, we follow you in the fight against WarGrowlmon and his army." The other members of the resistance bowed as well, many of the humans and their Digimon bowing as well. Even MagnaAngemon bowed his head a bit.

Azulongmon looked over them all and finally caught sight of Flash, bowing along with his partner. Seeing that made him smile. "Rise, my friends. This victory was not mine alone." They all looked up as Azulongmon saw that some of the Digimon in their army were nowhere in sight. "I see this battle has cost us comrades. They are the ones who are the true heroes, for they allowed me to get the stone's power before WarGrowlmon. Let us never forget their great sacrifice."

Everyone nodded at this, whilst Shining stepped forward and spoke up. "We may have won, but this was just one battle. WarGrowlmon wasn't destroyed and his forces are still great. There are still two Dragon Soul Stones out there. If we can't get them both, what happens here today will be meaningless."

"You speak the truth," Azulongmon nodded. "I might not have been the most suitable Digimon to become a Great Dragon. But I will accept this duty and the responsibility that goes with it. I can't promise to be a perfect leader, but I will do my best to help us fight against the forces of evil. Will you follow me?" They all cheered, happy to agree to such a humble leader.

Angewomon smiled whilst MagnaAngemon frowned. He would allow Azulongmon to lead them for now. But one day, he would take his place as the leader of the Four Great Dragons and fulfil his destiny to wipe out all Virus Digimon that threatened the Digital World.

Back in their Army's hideout, WarGrowlmon was getting the damaged parts of his cyborg body repaired.

At the same time, Fumamon was discussing what had happened during Therizinomon's battle. "You're saying he was defeated by that boy and his Veemon?" Armormon asked, growling as he thought about the annoying brat that had helped ruin his mining operation. "I can't believe such a powerful Digimon lost like that!"

Fumamon nodded as he knelt in front of WarGrowlmon. "The battle was in his favour during most of the fight. But when they somehow Digivolved to Ultimate, they were able to overpower him and Therizinomon was destroyed."

WarGrowlmon did not like the sound of this. "Those humans could pose more of a threat than I originally theorised." He then flinched, as the Hagurumon fixing him up pulled out a piece of damaged metal. "We must increase the power of our forces."

"How?" Armormon asked.

"We still have many Digimon under our control. Until the next Dragon Soul Stone appears, they must train until they can Digivolve to the Ultimate Level. Fumamon!"

"Yes master?" Fumamon asked.

"You must find as many Virus Digimon as you can and make them join us. I don't care what Level they're at. Bring them here and make sure they know that it is the only place they will ever be accepted."

"Yes master," Fumamon nodded before getting up and rushing out the chamber. As he did, Armormon stepped forward.

"You sure you want to increase the number of Ultimates in this Army? What if one of them tries to usurp you. You're not the only Digimon that can become Megidramon?"

WarGrowlmon nodded. "I'll keep an eye on any Digimon that has that potential. If they think about betraying me, I'll destroy them before they can decide to even consider it." Hagurumon finished his repairs and WarGrowlmon was back to full power, the Digimon standing up and letting out a sigh. "I will destroy this Digital World and create a new one in its place. One where only the strong shall survive."

The resistance and their allies soon returned to the mountain fortress.

There, the Digimon that had been injured were being healed by Digimon with that ability. This included many of the Codex Digimon, Angewomon and Rarity standing over Salamon as the Cutemon worked of fixing her up.

"You did amazing," the angel told her sister. "I'm so proud of you." Salamon smiled up at her, as Angewomon turned to Rarity. "And you, my darling. You've grown into quite the amazing young woman."

Rarity smiled, "thank you milady. But as much as we would like to take credit, we all know who the real MVP of this battle was." They all looked over at Flash and DemiVeemon, who was sitting at a table stuffing their faces.

Twilight and Tawnimon were sitting opposite them, looking shocked as they watched the pair finish their eighth bowl of food. "Where the heck are you putting all that?" She finally asked, as Flash stacked the plate up and began another one.

"Give him a break." Shining Armor and Monodramon walked up to them. "We were the same after we first Digivolved to Ultimate. The strain it puts on your body is pretty tough."

"Tell me about it," Flash sighed. "I've never felt that powerful, even when I went Ultimate in Codex. It was insane, but it was also hard. It was like I was holding fire. I could use it to beat my opponents, but it was burning me as well."

Shining nodded as he sat down, "Ultimate Digimon are many times stronger than Champions. You guys outnumbered Therizinomon, but you guys could barely scratch him. That's the difference in power level that exists between stages. Learning to handle that power won't be easy." Flash nodded, whilst Twilight still looked unsure.

"I just don't get it." They turned to her. "How did you get to the Ultimate Level so fast? Players who've been doing this four times as long as you haven't gotten there yet. Heck, Shining's been playing for years and he only managed to get to Ultimate a few months ago. So how the heck did you do it?"

Flash frowned as he thought about it, having no idea how he and Veemon had gotten passed Champion. At the time, he hadn't really thought about it. "I don't know."

Shining turned to Twilight, "there's a lot about the Digital World we don't know about. Flash and Veemon aren't exactly your normal team. But I do know that one of the keys to Digivolution is to be synchronised, in both mind and body. Best guess, Flash and Veemon were so determined to beat their opponent, their thoughts synchronised enough. That coupled with their drive to protect their friends and the Digital World, pushed them past their limits."

Twilight hummed, "I guess that's possible. But what does this mean? Are they gonna be able to Digivolve to Ultimate whenever they want, like you?"

"Maybe not at first," Shining turned to Flash. "Be careful next time you're in a fight. It's possible you'll be able to go Ultimate, but it might fail if you and Veemon aren't properly synced up like before. But the more you guys Digivolve to Ultimate, the easier it'll be and the longer you're gonna be able to hold that form. Got it?"

"Got it," Flash and DemiVeemon nodded. But despite this, the pair felt like they had overcome a great limit this day. No matter what, they would remember the moment they Digivolved and work to recreate it when it was needed. If they could, they would be one step closer to their goal of being the best players in Codex.

A cough made them both look around and see Leomon, who was smiling at them. "Azulongmon would like to talk to you both. He's in an upper part of the base." Flash nodded and got up, grabbing DemiVeemon as they headed over towards a set of stairs.

Flash's friends wanted to go with him, but had a feeling this was something Azulongmon would rather have be private.

The pair headed up the staircase and as they did, they found the walls change from simple stone to full on marble. When they arrived at the top, they found themselves in a marble temple with a trio of large pillars sitting in a circle.

One of these pillars had Azulongmon on it, the giant Digimon having shrunken down the same way the Royal Knights could and wrapping his body around one of the pillars. His head was resting on the top of it, Flash not sure if that was comfortable or not.

"Flash Sentry," he smiled. "I thank you for your help on this day. Without you, WarGrowlmon would have gotten the Dragon Soul Stone."

"I guess," Flash nodded. "But it wasn't just me. A lot of Digimon and players fought to give you the chance to get to Stone. We're just sorry we let WarGrowlmon through."

"Yes," Azulongmon nodded, "and he will be back. As a Mega, I will be unable to help when the next Dragon Soul Stone appears. That's why I hope you will be willing to help when that time comes. There's no telling what the Virus Army will do to get that stone."

The pair nodded, promising to be there when they needed them. Flash and Veemon now had a new goal. They would still work to become as strong as they could together, but they would use that strength to also protect the Digital World from evil.

Two Dragon Soul Stones remained. Until they were both used to awaken Magnadramon and Goldramon, the Digital World wouldn't be safe. And Flash would do whatever it took to get strong enough to make sure WarGrowlmon and his cronies didn't get their claws on them.

Author's Note

Bet you weren't expecting Flash to go Ultimate, huh? What did you think of the battle and all the OC Digimon I made? Hope you enjoyed.

The Ace of Codex

School had just begun in the human world and as it did, Flash, Twilight and Micro were making their way through the hallways to their first class.

As they did, they discussed what their Digital selves were likely doing right now. "So you're gonna battle for your chance to enter the Champion Rank?" Twilight asked, Flash nodding in return.

"Yup. Today's the day I become a Champion. Just watch. I'm gonna win this battle, then keep winning until I'm the best player in Codex." Twilight and Micro rolled their eyes, knowing Flash was probably a long way off from that title.

"Well it's about time," Micro told him. "You haven't battled in days. What, were you scared of losing right on the edge of victory?"

"I'm not scared," Flash told them. "But the Champion Stadium isn't going anywhere. The more I train, the better prepared I'll be for when I face my opponent. Just watch. One day, I'm gonna face off against Shining Armor in a proper battle."

"Well you're gonna be in for a long wait," Twilight explained. "Especially if today goes well."

"Why?" Flash asked, "what's so special about today?" Twilight looked shocked.

"You mean you haven't heard? Shining Armor's gonna be battling today. And if he wins, he'll be allowed to enter the Mega Level." Flash looked shocked by this. "It's taken him a long time. But if he wins today, he'll be the first player in Codex to make it to the Mega Level."

"You mean there's no other Mega Level Codex players?" Flash asked, having not realised this detail. When Twilight nodded, Flash whistled. "Wow. No wonder your brother's so famous. To be able to get that far is amazing."

"Well he was one of the first Codex Players," Micro pointed out. "He's been doing this longer than anyone else. Of course he would be one of the best." Micro thought about something and turned to Twilight. "I gotta ask. How did Shining Armor get picked to be the first player? As far as I know, Shining doesn't have any kind of Digimon tournament record."

"I'm not sure," Twilight told them. "He never mentioned it. All he ever told me is that he got sent a Digivice one day and he's been playing Codex every day since." It sounded like there was more to that story than Shining was letting on, the boys wishing they knew the truth.

They both hoped Shining would share the details with them in the future, and that when they uploaded later they would learn that he had become the first Mega Level player.

Over in Codex, Flash was making his way through the building on his way to the Rookie Stadium with Veemon in tow.

The pair had stayed up late the previous night, working on their strategy. Of course, he knew there was a chance his strategy could go up in smoke. He had planned for what would happen if he was allowed to select the battlefield. But he also knew the chance of this happening was fifty fifty, meaning he needed to be ready to improvise if something went wrong.

But as they made their way through the foyer, they noticed a large group of players were gather inside of it.

He was reminded of Trixie and Sandal's battle and hoped it wouldn't be something like this, heading over to check it out. As he did, he saw Twilight and Tawnimon sitting in the best seats to watch one screen in particular. "What's going on?" He asked, sitting down with Veemon as they looked up at the screen.

As they did, they saw Shining Armor and Monodramon on it. Tawnimon then spoke up, "this is it. Shining's chance to be the first player to hit the Mega Level."

"No way," Flash could hardly believe it. All thought of going to the Rookie Stadium flew out of his mind. There was no way he was going to miss this.

He looked around, seeing Micro and Sandal sitting at another table. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity were sitting at another, whilst Trixie and Pinkie were at another. He spotted Jet Set and Lightning Blitz, along with several other players who were interested in the upcoming match.

The camera then panned around, showing another man with yellow skin and black hair with red tips. He was wearing a red leather overcoat with black flame patterns on the sleeves and at the bottom, giving him a serious flaming biker look.

"Who's that?" Veemon asked, Twilight humming.

"Blaze Burner. He's got quite an impressive record. And I think this is the first time he and Shining Armor have battled against one another."

"You think Shining's gonna be okay?" Flash asked, Twilight nodding.

"He'll be fine. He's the top player in the entire game. He was the first to enter the Rookie, Champion and Ultimate stadiums. And now he's gonna complete the streak and be the first Mega Level player." They all watched as the pair stood in the dome, waiting for the battle to begin.

Shining Armor took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He had been in a lot of terrifying situations, both in the real and Digital World. He was used to staring danger in the eye, but today was probably one of the most terrifying moments in his life.

He knew a bunch of players were likely watching him, expecting him to win. And despite knowing a loss here wasn't the end of the world, he didn't want to let anyone down. He would give this battle everything he had and come out on top, no matter what his opponent threw at him.

"Shining Armor!" the overhead voice stated, "Blaze Burner!" The other guy smirked, "you are both here to compete in a Codex Battle. Shining Armor. A victory here will allow you to rank up to the Mega Level, the first player in the game's history to do so. Are both players ready to compete?"

"Yes," they both replied as they set their Digivices into the podiums and started choosing their Digimon.

"Who do you think Shining's gonna pick?" Flash asked, Twilight looking unsure.

"With how important this battle is, Monodramon would be his best bet. But his opponent knows that's his best choice and is likely planning to counter it. If Shining wants to win, he needs to do something unexpected.

The pair finished selecting their decks and as they did, the voice spoke once again. "Shining Armor, you have been randomly selected to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Shining smirked at this and opened his locations, eventually selecting one and uploading it. The Abandoned Factory has been selected. When both players are ready, hit the start button."

"Alright!" Blaze cried, "prepare to lose. I'm gonna be the one to enter the Mega Level first!" He slammed down on the button, "let's get Digital!" With that, he was completely consumed by light and his body began to change. When the light faded, he was a living candle stick. His face and arms were made out of wax and instead of legs, he had a bronze handle holder below him. On his head was a wick with an activate flame, which had blue eyes an a sewn together mouth. "Candlemon!"

"Let's get Digital!" Shining slammed the button and was wrapped up in energy. Monodramon was sucked into the Digivice, everyone shocked to see Shining wasn't using his partner. The light around Shining then faded, revealing his Digimon choice.

It was a four foot dinosaur Digimon, who looked similar to Agumon except for being blue in colour and covered in combat armor. His head, chest and back were armored up, whilst his feet almost appeared robotic. And in his claws was a rifle of some kind, that looked like it could do some serious damage. "Commandramon!"

The two Digimon stared one another down, as the battlefield formed around them. Everyone watched, as the screen changed to a large metal complex. The metal on the walls looked rusted, Flash turning to the others.

"Any of you guys know this place?"

Micro nodded. "It was a factory that long ago, mass produced Machine Digimon. Digimon like Guardromon and other robotic Digimon came into being there, built to be weapons in a war that raged in the Digital World centuries ago."

Twilight nodded. "When the war ended, the factory was shut down and left abandoned. Shining took me there once and the whole place was a mess. There was a massive room in the middle of the place full of Digimon parts. Name a Digimon that's even partly robotic and one of them is rusting in there for sure." As she said that, Commandramon and Candlemon appeared in different sections of it.

Candlemon: 5-100%
Commandramon: 5-100%

Commandramon raised his blaster and quickly went into battle mode, moving with swift precision through the factory hallways.

He constantly zigzagged from wall to wall and whenever her reached a turn, he glanced around it careful as he searched for his opponent. But Candlemon was nowhere to be seen, the Cyborg Digimon slowly approaching an open area of the factory.

Said area was a spot where cranes and many other machines were located. Metal bridges filled the gaps between the walls, with staircases leading down to other parts. It was on one of these bridges that Commandramon found himself under attack.

"Lava Loogie!" A fireball shot down from above and Commandramon quickly acted, leaping off the bridge and grabbing a hanging chain. The fireball exploded and the force caused Commandramon to swing through the air, as he pointed his rifle at the spot where the fireball had come from.

Candlemon was staring down at him from a higher bridge and as he prepared to fire again, Commandramon released the chain. "M-Sixteen Assassin!" A barrage of bullets exploded out of the rifle and reached Candlemon before he could react, the Flame Digimon screaming as he was knocked backwards.

Candlemon: 5-75%
Commandramon: 5-100%

Commandramon landed on another bridge and instantly leapt off it, landing on the arm of a crane and running up it. He continued to fire his weapon as he did, Candlemon quickly bouncing around to avoid the attacks.

"Ouch," Flash winced, "this feels a little one sided."

"Blaze thought Shining would pick Monodramon," Twilight explained. "So he picked a Data Digimon to fight against him. But since Commandramon is a Virus, he's got the advantage."

"Maybe," Tawnimon nodded, "but Shining will still need to be careful." As he said that, Candlemon leapt into the air and started spinning around.

"Paraffin Paralyse!" The wax that made up his body went flying everywhere, hitting the ground, walls and almost anything else.

Commandramon found some wax flying towards him and dodged it, only for more wax to land where he happened to step on. As soon as he did, the wax hardened and he was trapped. "Dang it!" He started pulling, but the wax was like concrete.

Candlemon landed atop on of the cranes and laughed. "Now I've got you! Lava Loogie!" The fireball exploded out of his mouth and Commandramon could only shift his body, the fire hitting a part of his armed form. But it still did damage.

Candlemon: 5-75%
Commandramon: 5-90%

"Paraffin Paralysis!" Candlemon then leapt up and spun around, more wax flying off of him and going towards Commandramon.

The dinosaur rookie fired at the wax, trying to stop it, but the hot substance still slammed into him. "Augh!" He cried as his gun was jammed up and his body was covered, the heat burning the parts of him not covered in kevlar

Candlemon: 5-75%
Commandramon: 5-85%

The wax hardened and Commandramon was unable to move, allowing Candlemon to start escaping. "As much as I'd love to wail on you right now, you won't be in there long and I need to find me some power-ups to even the odds." With that, he disappeared down a hallway.

Commandramon struggled against the wax, the hard substance locking him in place.

He managed to get his finger on the trigger of his gun and pulled it, the bullets breaking through the wax. The kickback also caused the wax around his feet to crack, allowing him to pull himself free. He then slammed his body into the barriers of the bridge and broke the wax off his arms, allowing him to claw at the remaining parts and be completely free.

"That's annoying." He ran down the hallway Candlemon had disappeared down, zigzagging through it in search of the Flame Digimon. And as he ran, he heard a clanging sound. The kind of sound a Digimon on a metal candle-stand would make if it was jumping down the metal hall.

Following the sound, he heard Candlemon's cheer. Shining guessed he had found a power-up and sped up, taking something out of his belt as he did so.

He arrived at the end of the hallway and found himself in a room with a lot of conveyor belts, which Candlemon just so happened to be standing on. "DCD Bomb!" The candle spun around, as Commandramon threw a round metal orb at him. One that started flashing as soon as he had pressed the button on the side.

Candlemon gasped at the sight of it, attempting to escape only for it to explode inches away from him. Candlemon scream as he was knocked flying backwards, crashing into another conveyor belt and rolling along it as his health dropped like crazy.

Candlemon: 5-25%
Commandramon: 5-85%

Commandramon landed near the controls and pulled one of the leavers, causing the belt Candlemon was on to start moving. "Hey!" He cried, trying to pick himself up only for the belt's constant turning to throw him around. "Gyah!" He eventually found himself heading towards a machine, the Digimon not wanting to know what happened to things going inside of it.

He finally managed to roll off the end and fell to the ground, as Commandramon leapt up onto a high up platform. There, he started firing his rifle at the Flame Digimon, making him cry out as he jumped up and leapt behind a nearby column.

Commandramon continued to unleash bullet after bullet, pinning Candlemon down. But eventually, his gun stopped firing as he was out of ammo.

"Now I gotcha!" Candlemon leapt out from behind the pillar, but found Commandramon had already ducked for cover. "Get out here you coward!"

"Pot calling the kettle black!" Commandramon called back, as he opened up his gun and replaced the ammo cartridge. "I don't remember you being out in the open before." He closed his gun and leapt out, unleashing another barrage of bullets.

They shot towards the candle, how leapt behind a machine as Commandramon looked around. There were no other power-ups there, meaning Candlemon had gotten the last one. If Commandramon wanted to even the odds, he would need to find one on his own.

"I should also work to move the fight to the roof," he thought to himself. "This place is fine for now, but I'm gonna need to get some more room if I wanna go Ultimate." He took out another bomb and activate it, throwing it towards Candlemon's location.

The Flame Digimon saw this and wasn't gonna be stopped this time. "Paraffin Paralysis!" He leapt up and spun, the wax shooting off his body and flying towards the bomb. The wax hit the sphere and completely coated it, hardening just as it exploded.

The wax stretch out, absorbing most of the blast but breaking apart before the last of the flames vanished. But the attack had absorbed enough force to not be a danger to Candlemon, who spotted Commandramon running down a hallway.

"Get back here!" He ran after Commandramon, as his Digivolution Gauge grew close to full. Soon, he would have the upper hand on Shining Armor.

"Come on man!" Veemon cried, "you're winning. Why are you running away?"

"He's thinking ahead," Flash told him. "He might have the advantage now, but he knows that can all change in Candlemon Digivolves before him."

Twilight nodded. "He knows this area and knows the best spots to find power-ups. And the best spots to fight in his Champion form. Right now, he has the speed and manoeuvrability advantage over Candlemon. But that might not last, so he needs to focus on using it now to get the upper hand.

Commandramon reached an elevator and called it, the Digimon pointing his rifle at the direction he had just come.

He heard Candlemon's clanging approaching and the just as he was about to turn a corner, the elevator arrived and Commandramon got inside. He rode the elevator upwards two floors, stepping out of it and finding himself in a large room full of old machine parts and robotic arms.

This had been the factory's assembly point, but it hadn't been used in years. And when he stepped forward, he found an SP coin. "Dang. Not the one I was hoping for." He grabbed it anyway refilled his gauge, as the elevator closed and headed back down.

Commandramon pointed his rifle at the elevator, knowing Candlemon would be there any minute. And sure enough, he began to move back up and finally reached him.

He expected Candlemon to attack as soon as the doors opened, but nothing happened. Commandramon raised an eyebrow at this and stepped towards it, gun raised, ready to deal with whatever was waiting for him in there. But there was nothing.

No Candlemon, no wax traps, not even a sign that anyone had been in there after him.

Commandramon stepped inside and looked around, only to suddenly hear a snapping sound.

This made him look up and he saw the elevator hatch wasn't shut too, a result of Candlemon climbing out of it. And when he pushed it open, he saw the Flame Digimon using his fire to melt the cables holding the elevator up.

"Have a nice trip!" He cried as the cable finally broke apart, causing the metal box to fall.

But Commandramon leapt for the door and managed to roll out of it it left the floor. But as he picked himself up, Candlemon swung through the opening and slammed into his chest. "Augh!"

Candlemon: 5-25%
Commandramon: 5-80%

He fell to the ground and his rifle feel from his grasp, sliding away as Candlemon jumped back. "That was fun." As he said that, his Digivolution Gauge completely filled. "And now, to kick things up a notch!" Commandramon picked himself up, as Candlemon leapt into the air. "Candlemon, Digivolve to..." The flame on his wick exploded and consumed the rest of his body, morphing into his new head as he took a more humanoid shape. He was now a twelve foot tall humanoid fire person, with smoke coming off his body. "Meramon!"

"That's not good," Flash gulped.

"Shining still has the advantage," Twilight explained. "Meramon's a Data Type. Shining should still be able to fight on even footing." But as she said that, Meramon reached out and grabbed Commandramon by the tail. "At least I hope so!"

They watched as Meramon swung Commandramon around before slamming him into the ground, then again and again. With each hit, his health went down.

Meramon: 5-25%
Commandramon: 5-65%

Meramon then threw him across the room, Commandramon crying out as he spun through the air.

But as he approached the back wall, he corrected himself and managed to slam his feet into the metal. This stopped him from taking damage and allowed him to leap away from the wall, pulling out a grenade as he did so. "DCD Bomb!" He threw it, but Meramon thrust his hand forward.

"Blazing Flames!" Fireballs exploded out of his hands and hit the bomb, exploding and causing the room to fill with smoke.

This allowed Commandramon to leap over to his gun and grab it, as Meramon walked through the flames of the explosion. "M-Sixteen Assassin!" The barrage of bullets flew through the smoke and collided with Meramon, each one doing its own bit of small damage.

Meramon: 5-0%
Commandramon: 5-65%

"Ahhh!" Meramon staggered back, angry at losing the first Security. And to a Rookie of all things. "That won't stop me!" He cried, as his body flared up, "Heatwave!" A powerful burst of warm air exploded out of him, filling the room and causing everything metal to grow red hot.

This included Commandramon's gun, making him cry out and drop it.

Meramon: 4-100%
Commandramon: 5-60%

The floor was also red hot, forcing Commandramon to jump on the spot as he felt the air burning his skin and doing more damage to him. "Ahh," Meramon sighed, "nice and toasty." He stared at Commandramon, as the Rookie continued to be cooked alive. "Bad move, picking a battlefield that I can turn into a giant oven."

Commandramon continued to jump around and knew he had to escape, but the only way out had been the elevator.

However, he quickly noticed a part of the ground that had been damaged in the explosion. And with the room's heat, the metal was warping.

Grabbing his gun, despite how hot it was, he unleashed a barrage of bullets into the ground that flew right through the damaged metal. Shooting in a circle, he cut a perfect circle right in the floor before running forward and stomping down on it.

This caused the floor to break and fall down towards the next level, Commandramon jumping away from hot circle of metal before landing on the ground and looking around. He had landed in a hallway and quickly checked his health, frowning at how much damage being in the hot room had done to him.

Meramon: 4-100%
Commandramon: 5-25%

His gun was still hot, forcing him to use its strange to throw it over an armored shoulder and run. As he did, Meramon leapt down after him. "Blazing Flames!" Fireballs exploded after him and Commandramon found himself needing to dodge and roll to avoid them, eventually turning down another corridor. And as he did, he spotted a Digivolution Coin ahead of him.

Picking up speed, he grabbed it and ran up a flight of stairs as his Digivolution Gauge filled up even more. He heard Meramon approaching and quickly pulled out a bomb, throwing it down as he reached the top.

Meramon ran to the bottom of the stairs, right as the bomb bounced down and reached the end of its timer. "Uh oh!" It exploded, the force knocking Meramon backwards. Despite appearing to be made of fire, this Digimon did have a physical form beneath the flames. So getting blasted and slammed into a back wall really hurt.

Meramon: 4-65%
Commandramon: 5-25%

Everyone watched, as Commandramon flew down the the hallway at the top of the stairs and jumped into a large containment room with several crates inside.

Once he was sure there were plenty of exits, he took a deep breath before his body was consumed by light. "Commandramon, Digivolve to..." The light and revealed a Digimon Flash had seen Shining use before, being the one Shining had been when he had saved him in the Skyborn Ravine. "Sealsdramon!"

Twilight frowned, "that could be a problem."

"Why?" Flash asked.

"Sealsdramon is a fast Digimon, but it's primary method of attack is with knives. If Shining can't get close, he's not gonna be able to do much damage. And against a Digimon made of intense flames, getting up close and personal is dangerous." As she said that, Meramon ran into the room.

As soon as he appeared, Sealsdramon's red eye beeped.

"Scouter Monoeye!" The robotic lens scanned the fire Digimon and allowed him to see the physical body beneath it, whilst also detecting the weak spots on the fire Digimon.

Meramon growled at the sight of his Digivolved opponent, the Flame Digimon building up fire in his hands. But before he could launch it, Sealsdramon was suddenly right in front of him and slashed at him with a long sharp knife. "Augh!"

Meramon: 4-55%
Sealsdramon: 5-25%

Meramon tried to counter, but Sealsdramon was gone in the blink of an eye. "Get back here!" As soon as he spotted him across the room, he launched a barrage of fireballs towards him. But Sealsdramon was so fast he effortlessly dodged them and disappeared.

"Death Behind!" The next thing Meramon knew, something shot into his back. He screamed, staggering forward and glancing back to see a knife sticking out of him.

Meramon: 4-35%
Sealsdramon: 5-25%

Sealsdramon shot forward with another knife, ready to stab Meramon in the back once again. But the fire Digimon spun around, his body unleashing a wave of heat that melted the knife in his back and struck the Cyborg Digimon. "Ahh!" The heart made him stop and Meramon used this opening to throw a punch.

"Burning Fist!" The blazing Digimon slammed his burning fist into Sealsdramon's chest, the soldier Digimon being knocked flying by the impact.

Meramon: 4-35%
Sealsdramon: 5-15%

Sealsdramon smashed into a crate and kept rolling along the ground, eventually stopping near one of the walls. As he did, a Digivolution Coin fell out of the crate. "Perfect." Meramon ran forwards and grabbed it, as Sealsdramon picked himself up.

As the coin exploded into energy, Sealsdramon started throwing a barrage of knives in his direction.

Meramon saw this and unleashed a wave of heat, burning the knives and causing them to melt. But Sealsdramon quickly shot forward and as the heat subsided, he reached Meramon and slashed at him. "Augh!"

Meramon: 4-25%
Sealsdramon: 5-15%

He slashed at him again, then again and again and again. Meramon roared in pain with every strike, another security exploding. But as it did, he unleashed a Blazing Flame attack point blank. "Gyah!" Sealsdramon was blasted backwards.

Meramon: 3-90%
Sealsdramon: 5-0%

Sealsdramon did several flips and landed on the ground, sliding along it as he pulled out several knives. He quickly threw them at the remaining crates, shattering them and revealing several power-ups. Two were SP coins and another was a Digivolution Coin, Sealsdramon and Meramon seeing it and running forward.

But Sealsdramon was faster, grabbing the coin before Meramon could get even three steps closer. And as the energy of the coin flowed into him, Sealsdramon threw another knife at Meramon.

But the fire Digimon blocked with a fireball, melting the knife before slamming his fist into the ground. Doing so sent a wave of fire towards Sealsdramon, who did a few back-flips and eventually reached a door.

Opening it up, he found another staircase and pushed the door closed behind him. Stabbing a pair of knives into the ground, he ran up the stairs as Meramon tried to push the doors open. But the knives locked them in place, forcing him to instead melt the doors down.

By the time he got through the doors, Sealsdramon had reached the top of the staircase. But Meramon's hands and feet exploded, turning him into Iron Man as he shot up the stairs in a matter of seconds. He spotted Sealsdramon ahead of him and the Cyborg spun around, a pair of knives in his possession as Meramon got in close.

The pair began fighting it out, Meramon dealing several punched to Sealsdramon whilst the D-Brigader slashed at him with his knives. Sealsdramon focused on speed over power, jumping from wall to wall like a rubber ball in order to get his hits in. Meramon, instead, focused on his strength into single powerful attacks.

Eventually, the pair punched one another's fist as hard as they could before getting knocked backwards by the force.

Meramon: 3-70%
Sealsdramon: 4-60%

Meramon then brought his hands together and formed a large fireball, which he slammed into the ground to turn into a line of flames. A line Sealsdramon couldn't dodge, the Cyborg Digimon instead throwing a knife as hard as he could.

It shot through the flames and stabbed Meramon in the chest, whilst the fire blast slammed into him and exploded.

"AUGH!" They both cried, Meramon staggering back whilst Sealsdramon was blown backwards until he crashed through a doorway.

Meramon: 3-55%
Sealsdramon: 4-40%

As he hit the ground, he found himself sliding along a bridge across the room he was now in. And when he came to a stop, he was able to look down and see where he was. The junkyard.

"Wow," Flash whispered.

He was currently looking at the room's floor, where a mountain of discarded Digimon parts could be seen. It was just like Twilight had said. There was a part there from every mechanical Digimon he knew. And a few he didn't. It would look cool if Flash didn't know all those parts used to belong to a living Digimon.

"That's just creepy," Veemon gulped.

"Imagine how Shining feels being there," Tawnimon pointed out. They watched, as Sealsdramon picked himself up and looked around. He then looked up at the ceiling, only to then dodge a blast of fire that Meramon shot his way.

Meramon ran into the room and along the bridge, the heat he gave off causing the metal around him to grow weaker.

"Burning Fist!" He launched a punch towards Sealsdramon's chest, only for the Cyborg to cross his knives and block it. But the heat the attack gave off was still a lot.

Meramon: 3-55%
Sealsdramon: 4-35%

Sealsdramon pushed against the flaming fists and finally pushed them away, then quickly launched two slashed right into its chest. "Augh!"

Meramon: 3-25%
Sealsdramon: 4-35%

As he staggered back, he unleashed a stream of fire that consumed Sealsdramon.

Meramon: 3-25%
Sealsdramon: 4-25%

As Sealsdramon staggered back, Meramon stood tall and crossed his arms. "Meramon, Digivolve to..." With that, the flames covering his arms turned from red to bright blue. He then spread them wide and the blue flames flew down his arms to engulf his chest. His legs then followed and finally, his head turned blue as the Digimon closed his eyes. When he opened, they were now black with yellow in the centre. "BlueMeramon!"

"I don't get it," Veemon looked confused. "That's a Digivolution? How is that any different from what it was before?"

"It might look like he just changed colour," Twilight explained. "But his power really has grown. Blue flames are hotter than red ones, so that means his attacks are gonna be way stronger than they were when he was Meramon. Watch." They did so and as Meramon walked forward, every step it took did something to the bridge.

But instead of melting the bridge, like Twilight expected, instead the metal froze. This confused them, Twilight looking shocked.

Flash smirked. "Guess in the Digital World, a blue flame is cold instead of hot." And sure enough, BlueMeramon held up his hands and called out.

Ice Phantom!" The blue fire shot out of his hands and struck Sealsdramon before he could react.

The cyborg Digimon could only brace himself, as the attack slammed into him. But instead of burning, Sealsdramon felt himself struck by an icy chill and his arms quickly started freezing over. "Augh!" he staggered back, trying to keep himself from being turned into an icy statue.

BlueMeramon: 3-25%
Sealsdramon: 4-15%

"You might have had the advantage before," BlueMeramon laughed. "But now you have to face me along with fire so cold, it burns." The attack ended and Sealsdramon rushed forward, breaking the ice off his body as he drew his knives.

"Scouting Monoeye!" He quickly scanned the Ultimate and found his weak spots, which he slashed at with two powerful cuts. But despite the strength, Sealsdramon could tell the damage done wasn't as much as it should be.

BlueMeramon: 3-15%
Sealsdramon: 4-15%

"That's right," he realised. "BlueMeramon's a Virus Type."

"That's right," he cried as he threw a punch. "Which means I now have the advantage!" Sealsdramon leapt back to avoid the punch, as BlueMeramon brought his hands together. "Ice Bomb!" A shard of ice appeared between his hands and grew larger and larger, whilst Sealsdramon grabbed a bar off the side of the bridge and pulled.

As BlueMeramon launched the attack, as Sealsdramon ripped the bar off and held it like a sword. "Batter up!" He swung it around and hit the ice ball, sending it flying into the air until it struck the ceiling.

It exploded, rocking the entire building and knocking BlueMeramon off balance. This also allowed Sealsdramon to shoot forward reach the Ultimate in seconds. "Take this!" He slashed at BlueMeramon three times, shattering yet another Security.

BlueMeramon: 3-0%
Sealsdramon: 4-15%

Sealsdramon then leapt off the bridge and ran along the wall, moving fast enough that gravity did nothing. And when he was high enough he leapt towards the spot where the Ice Bomb had exploded.

The mist from the attack had faded, revealing a large hole was now in the roof. And when Sealsdramon reached it, he grabbed a destroyed piece of the roof and used it to swing himself through the hole.

"Hey!" BlueMeramon cried, "get back here!" He unleashed a stream of fire, hitting the side of the bridge and creating an ice path up towards the hole.

Outside, Sealsdramon stood atop the factory's roof. He nodded, seeing he was in the perfect spot. But before he could do what he intended, BlueMeramon leapt out.

"Ice Phantom!" He unleashed the blue fire and struck Sealsdramon head-on, the Cyborg Digimon crying out as he was struck and completely consumed.

BlueMeramon: 2-100%
Sealsdramon: 4-0%

Everyone gasped as the attack ended and the mist faded, revealing Sealsdramon was frozen solid.

"Shining Armor!" Twilight cried, as the rest of the people watching were in absolute shock. They watched as Blue Meramon stepped towards him, laughing as he prepared to smash the ice and the Digimon trapped inside it to pieces. "Do something!"

Flash frowned, but knew it would take more than that to beat Shining Armor. And sure enough, a crack suddenly appeared on the ice. "It's not over yet." The others saw this and gasped, as Sealsdramon suddenly started glowing. "YES!"

"NO!" BlueMeramon charged forward, but the ice exploded and a chunk slammed into him. "Augh!"

BlueMeramon: 2-90%
Sealsdramon: 3-100%

As soon as Sealsdramon was free, he leapt into the air as the light completely engulfed him. "Sealsdramon, Digivolve to..." The light grew larger and larger, as he flew higher and higher. And when it faded, an entirely new Digimon appeared that none of them had ever seen before.

It was a massive twin-rotor helicopter Digimon, large enough to fit a double-decker bus inside. It was mostly dark blue, with black, yellow and silver here and there. A gatling gun was located on its underside and in place of a cockpit, it had a large brown robotic dragon head.

The Digimon spun its rotors, allowing it to take flight and soar above his opponent. "Cargodramon!"

Everyone was in shock at this beast, since none of them had ever seen or heard of such a Digimon.

"Incredible!" Twilight whispered, "I thought he'd become Tankdramon. But this..." They watched, as Cargodramon flew back down. BlueMeramon saw this and unleashed a blast of icy fire.

But the Machine Digimon flew to the side to avoid the blast as the gatling gun on his fuselage started spinning. "Suppression Strike!" A hail of bullets began to rain down on the factory, ripping through the metal roof and BlueMeramon's only foothold.

The Flame Digimon rushed towards the edge, a trail of bullets following him as he reached the edge. He then unleashed a burst of blue fire and created an ice ramp, which he slid down only to find it shatter as soon as the bullet hit it.

He cried out as he fell to the ground, slamming into the floor and staggering forward.

BlueMeramon: 2-80%
Cargodramon: 3-100%

BlueMeramon panted as he pushed himself up, whilst Cargodramon circled around to get him in his sight. "Ice Phantom!" He unleashed the blue fire and it shot towards Cargodramon, hitting him head on before he could move out of the way. The flames struck him in the face and froze it solid, then hit the gatling gun and froze that too.

BlueMeramon: 2-80%
Cargodramon: 3-90%

He smirked at this, thinking Cargodramon was now neutralised. But to his shock, the mechanical beast continued to fly downwards.

It hit the ground and rolled atop some wheel on the bottom of its belly, as its rotors stopped spinning. They then turned ninety degrees and curled into a trio of finger-like claws, BlueMeramon gasping as one of the rotors suddenly shot towards him.

Like a claw machine, the rotors clanged together and tried to grab him. But he leapt up and they slammed into the building behind him. But as he was in midair, the other rotor shot up and grabbed him. "Augh!" he cried, feeling it squeeze him between the tips of the rotors. "Let...go!"

The ice shattered off his head, as he finally spoke. "Gladly." With that, he spun his rotors and BlueMeramon around. The Fire Digimon cried out, as he was eventually released and sent flying.

He flew across the complex and smashed into the side of another building, the metal bending so much from the impact the wall gave out and broke apart. Everyone watched, as the Ultimate Digimon was buried alive by the rubble and trapped beneath it.

BlueMeramon: 2-50%
Cargodramon: 3-90%

Cargodramon's rotors returned to their normal state and allowed him to take off, the Machine Digimon soaring back into the air as the ice around his gatling gun began to melt off of it. A few moments later, the pile of rubble was pushed away and BlueMeramon picked himself up.

"This...sucks." He looked up at Cargodramon, only to then notice something behind him.

Looking around, he saw not only an SP Coin, but also a Digivolution Coin had been revealed when the wall and part of the roof came down. "Yes!" He rushed forward and grabbed them both, sighing as the power flowed into him. As he did, Cargodramon began his assault.

"Suppression Strike!" He unleashed the barrage of bullets down upon BlueMeramon, the Ultimate Digimon attempting to escape but still getting hit by a few of the attacks.

BlueMeramon: 2-20%
Cargodramon: 3-90%

But as he took the damage, BlueMeramon launched a blast of ice fire in front of him. Doing so created a U-shaped ramp, which he leapt onto and slid down before flying up and off the end.

He shot into the air, straight towards Cargodramon. And before the Machine could move out of the way, he slammed into the wing and held on tight. "Hey!" Cargodramon started spinning around, "let me go!"

"No way!" BlueMeramon cried, "you're going down." He pulled himself up onto his wing and his fist flames ignited. "Frost Knuckle!" He slammed his fist into the wing and it froze part of the wing, making Cargodramon flinch.

BlueMeramon: 2-20%
Cargodramon: 3-75%

BlueMeramon then punched again, then another three times as more of the wing froze over and Cargodramon felt himself getting weaker.

BlueMeramon: 2-20%
Cargodramon: 3-15%

Cargodramon finally spun around, trying to throw BlueMeramon off of him. But the icy Ultimate had frozen his feet to the wing and held on tight.

"Fine then!" Cargodramon cried. "You wanna ride? I'll give you a ride!" With that, he started flying around wildly. BlueMeramon held on as best he could, as the opponent swung around like crazy. And when Cargodramon levelled out, he let go of the wing and hit it with one more Frost Knuckle.

BlueMeramon: 2-20%
Cargodramon: 3-0%

Cargodramon suddenly felt one of his rotors beginning to stall, the cold of the attacks making flying difficult. If he didn't get BlueMeramon and the ice off him, he would be in trouble.

It was then he spotted a nearby watchtower, designed to allow the factory workers to keep an eye out for any Digimon attempting to attack the factory to stop production. He spun towards it as the gatling gun began to spin. "Suppression Strike!" He unleashed a barrage of bullets upon the tower's base, causing it to break apart.

The tower fell in their direction, as Cargodramon positioned his wing under it.

BlueMeramon saw it coming and gasped, attempting to form an ice shield around him. But the collapsing tower smashed it to bits and sent him flying off the wing, the ice on the wing also breaking off. "AUGH!" He cried, as he fell to the ground and was buried alive.

BlueMeramon: 2-10%
Cargodramon: 2-100%

Cargodramon smirked and as he did, he noticed a Digivolution Coin had been revealed from the rubble.

He quickly shot his claw down and grabbed the coin, absorbing its energy as the rubble atop BlueMeramon began to move. And as he flew up higher, the rubble exploded off of him as BlueMeramon stood tall. "BlueMeramon, Mega Digivolve to..." His body ballooned up to form a giant blue fireball, his head being consumed by the rest of him. After a few seconds, the fire solidified into a blue rock-like substance. This rock quickly began to crack before it finally broke apart.

Doing so revealed a giant Digimon that looked like Frankenstein's monster. His skin was green and he was wearing black leather pants, with metal bolts sticking out of his skin and chains wrapped around him. His face was covered in a metal mask with bolts and wires sticking out the side and on his back was a large metal axe.

Said axe was quickly removed from his back, the Digimon swinging it around as he let out a roar. "BOLTMON!"

"That's not good," Flash gulped as the others nodded.

"Actually," Twilight smiled. "Boltmon's a Data Type, so Shining has the advantage again. But even so, it's still a Mega and has a lot of power behind its attacks." They watched as Boltmon remove the axe from its back and charged forward. He leapt into the air and held the ace up high.

"Tomahawk Crunch!" He swung the axe at Cargodramon and before he could escape, the axe sliced through the rotor on his left wing.

"AUGH!" Cargodramon roared, as his blades were cut short.

Boltmon: 2-10%
Cargodramon: 2-80%

He lost flight ability and began to fall towards the ground, as Boltmon landed and turned to smirk at him. "Not gonna be much issue without the ability to fly!" But as he said that, Cargodramon's gun pointed at him and unleashed a barrage of bullets before he could dodge. "GYAH!"

Boltmon: 2-0%
Cargodramon: 2-80%

Boltmon staggered back, but regained his balance as Cargodramon slammed into the ground and smashed into a building.

Boltmon: 1-100%
Cargodramon: 2-60%

Cargodramon moaned, as he did his best to unbury himself from beneath the rubble. As he did, Boltmon walked towards him with his axe at the ready. "Time to say goodbye."

"Goodbye," Cargodramon replied, "to my Ultimate form." As he said that, his entire body was surrounded by light. "Cargodramon, Mega Digivolve to..." The helicopter Digimon began to transform, its body became more humanoid. And eventually, the light faded to reveal an entirely new Digimon.

It was a giant dragonic Digimon covered in blue armor with yellow and pink trim. His tail had an axe on the end of it and on his right arm was a large energy blaster and lance. His wings were made out of light, which were sticking out of his back and sparked with energy.

The Digimon leapt into the air and spun around, his energy weapon charging up. "DARKDRAMON!"

Boltmon gasped as he stepped backwards, as Darkdramon leapt up into the air. As soon as he did, he raised his lance as it began to light up. "Dark...ROAR!" A sphere of black energy appeared on the tip and the Cyborg Digimon swung it around, launching the blast towards Boltmon.

The Data Type raised his axe and slashed at the orb, only for it to explode right in front of him. "AUGH!" He was knocked flying backwards, taking a lot of damage as he was.

Boltmon: 1-70%
Darkdramon: 2-60%

Boltmon was sent flying and as he was, he quickly threw his axe in Darkdramon's direction. But Darkdramon quickly blocked the attack with his lance before flying forward. As Boltmon hit the ground, Darkdramon was on him and stabbed at him with his lance.

But Boltmon was able to grab the tip of his lance, right before it could pierce his belly. The two fought against one another, only for Darkdramon's pendulum tail to rise up. He slashed at Boltmon, but the Digimon Frankenstein managed to move his head out of the way before pushing the lance back and rolling out from under Darkdramon.

But as he did, Darkdramon's eyes glowed. "Terrible Gaze!" Lasers exploded out of his eyes and hit Boltmon in the chest, making him cry out as he was sent staggering backwards.

Boltmon: 1-50%
Darkdramon: 2-60%

The Cyborg Digimon used this chance to fly in fast, slashing at Boltmon with his tail. "Augh!" He cried, taking more damaged and being knocked back. As he was, he found his axe wasn't too far away.

Boltmon: 1-35%
Darkdramon: 2-60%

Leaping for the weapon, he grabbed it by the handle and pulled it from the ground as Darkdramon slashed at him. The axe and pendulum bounced off one another, the impact knocking Boltmon off balance whilst Darkdramon held up his lance once again.

"Dark Roar!" The orb of black energy shot towards Boltmon, who leapt into the air this time as the attack exploded on the ground beneath him.

But being in the air meant he couldn't properly defend himself, as Darkdramon flew past him and thrust his lance into Boltmon's back. "GYAH!" He screamed, as the attack pierced his body.

Boltmon: 1-20%
Darkdramon: 2-60%

Darkdramon kicked Boltmon off his lance and he fell to the ground, barely able to land without losing his balance. As he did, he clutched his stomach which was leaking data everywhere.

"It's over," Darkdramon announced as he held up his lance and used the last of his SP. "DARK ROAR!" Making the orb as large as possible, he fired it towards Boltmon who tried to once again dodge it. But with the injury he had sustained, he could do nothing except brace himself as the orb exploded in his face.

"He screamed, as the explosion sent him flying backwards towards the rubble of a destroyed building. As he crashed into it, his final Security shattered.

Boltmon: 1-0%
Darkdramon: 2-60%

Darkdramon shot forward, flying as fast as he could towards Boltmon. And as he got in close, the mutant Digimon threw his axe at him. But he simply deflected it with his lance before thrusting it forward, right into Boltmon's chest. Boltmon screamed as his digital body exploded, Blaze Burner falling out of him.

"Battle Over! Winner, Shining Armor!"

Everyone in the foyer exploded into cheer, as the battlefield vanished and Darkdramon reverted back to human form.

"He did it!" Veemon cheered, "that other guy didn't stand a chance." The others all agreed, thinking the same thing. Though Blaze had a few moments where he seemed to have Shining on the ropes, Shining overcame them each time and brought the battle into his favour.

Twilight smiled at the screen, as Monodramon appeared out of Shining's Digivice. "You're amazing, BBBFF."

Shining sighed, that battle having helped him work up quite a sweat.

Blaze sat himself up, clutching his chest as the phantom pains slowly faded. "You were good," Shining told him. "But you've still got a long way to go before you're ready for the next step." Blaze glared at him, as the robotic voice spoke.

Shining Armor, you have claimed victory here in the Ultimate Stadium. For that, you have earned prize money." Shining smirked as his Digi-Dollars increased. "Also, this victory has allowed you to rank up to the Mega Level. Congratulations. You are the first Mega Level Codex Player." That made Shining ecstatic, Monodramon cheering as well.

"You rock!" He leapt up and high-fived his partner, the man nodding as he and Blaze headed out the stadium.

Back at the foyer, Flash looked around and heard many who had been watching as they talked about their favourite part of the battle.

Said battle was being replayed on the big screen, Flash watching as Shining managed to overwhelm his opponent. He realised that Shining was now a Mega, whilst he was still a Rookie. Flash was still a long way off from getting to face off against him. But there was one thing that would help him get closer to Shining.

"Veemon," Flash stood up, "let's go."

"Where are we going?" Veemon asked, getting up to follow Flash.

"To the Rookie Stadium. it's time we ranked up as well." Flash's friends heard this and all smiled, knowing Shining's victory had likely inspired him. Flash would not allow anything to get in his way. He was gonna win this fight and rank up to Champion. And once he did, he would be one step closer to facing Shining Armor.

Author's Note

Shining Armor has reached the Mega Level. Will Flash be able to catch up? How will his battle go and who will be his opponent? Only time will tell.

Battle for the Champion Title

Codex was abuzz with activity. The reason was because one of the players had just won his way into the Mega Level, the first to do so in Codex.

Said player was currently making his way towards the foyer, Monodramon walking besides them. And whenever they passed someone, that person or Digimon stopped and congratulated him on his ascension.

Shining smiled and thanked them, only to be stopped by the next person he walked by. As such, it took him quite a while to finally get back to the main building. And when he got there, he found a large group of players were gathered around a table.

One of them was his sister, Twilight turning to laugh as she ran up to him. "YOU DID IT!" She threw her arms around him, Shining hugging her tightly whilst Tawnimon and Monodramon high-fived. "You were amazing."

"Thanks sis," Shining smiled as they pulled away. "It was a close fight. Could have gone either way."

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow asked. "You totally obliterated that guy. I almost felt bad for him. Almost." Shining smiled at this and looked around, seeing all of Twilight's friends were there and had clearly seen the fight take place. But then he noticed one friend was missing.

"Where's Flash and Veemon? Don't tell me they missed my Mega Level battle?" But then he noticed everyone smiling, "what?"

"Oh, they saw it alright." Micro took a sip from his drink. "And as soon as he saw you win, he ran over to the Rookie Arena."

"He's gonna go become a Champion," Tentomon announced. As soon as he said that, one of the monitors changed to show Flash and Veemon standing in the arena. They all watched as the pair waited for their opponent, all of them biting their nails.

"Kinda hard to believe those two made it to this point already," Sandalwood stated. "I don't think any of us were able to make it to the Champion Stadium so quickly." They all nodded. Many of them had taken far longer. Flash had barely lost any matches in the Rookie Stadium, which was either a testament to how good he had become or proof all the best players had already left that stadium.

"Flash hasn't made it to the Championship yet," Shining pointed out. "Who knows how tough his opponent is."

"Maybe." They all looked around and saw Thorax and Grubmon, the pair walking towards them. "But those two aren't exactly your run of the mill players. I mean, they can already Digivolve to Ultimate."

"That won't help them here," Twilight pointed out. She stared at Flash and noticed the look on his face. It was a mix of excitement and worry. "You can do this, Flash."

As Flash waited for his opponent to arrive, he couldn't help but think back to Shining's battle.

Compared to him, Flash was nothing special. He was still making mistakes, even if he managed to pull out a win after he did. But he couldn't let that stop him from pursuing his goal. He was gonna battle Shining in a full on battle one day and this was his next obstacle to overcome.

The doors of the room then opened and when they did, Flash saw a girl his age walk in.

She was a light green skinned girl, with dark green hair wearing a brown striped jumper and blue jeans. She stepped forward and was surprised when she saw her opponent. "Flash Sentry." The teen hummed at this.

"Do I know you?"

"No," she shook her head, "we've never met in person. But I know you through reputation. I've been playing this game twice as long as you and only now am I getting the chance to play for the Champion Level. Guess it just shows how much better you probably are than me."

"Hey," Flash frowned, "that's not true. I might have been able to get here faster than you, but I bet you have a bunch more experience than me."

"I guess," she nodded. "Still, you'll probably forget about me as soon as we finish playing. Most people do." Flash frowned, seeing this girl had serious confidence issues.

"I doubt that. Especially if you beat me. Anyway, are we gonna battle or what?" She nodded and took out a green Digivice, placing it down on the podium. Flash did the same, as the robotic voice appeared.

"Flash Sentry! Wallflower Blush! You are both here to compete in a Codex Battle. A victory here will allow either of you to rank up to the Champion Level. Are both players ready to compete?" They nodded, "then choose your decks." The screens appeared and the pair began to chose them.

Back in the foyer, Flash's friends were all curious about which Digimon he would pick.

"What do you think?" Rainbow asked, turning to Twilight and Micro. Neither of them had an answer, though they knew there was a high chance of Flash picking Veemon. But after that, there was no telling what might happen.

"Has anyone ever seen his opponent before?" Thorax asked, everyone shaking their heads. "Really, not even once. She's fighting for the Champion Rank to, so she has to have won a lot of matches." Still, they couldn't remember if they had seen her before. And if they had, they all felt bad that they might have forgotten.

Shining rolled his eyes. "Well if she beats Flash, we'll definitely remember her." As he said that, both of them locked their decks in. "Here we go."

"Flash Sentry. You have been randomly selected to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Flash opened up the menu and selected a battlefield. "Flame Terminal has been selected. When both players are ready, hit the start button."

The pair nodded and locked eyes with one another before slamming the start button. "LET'S GET DIGITAL!" Everyone watched as the pair were surrounded with light, Flash's friends shocked when they saw Veemon get sucked into the Digivice.

"He's not using Veemon?" Trixie asked, as Flash's form was revealed.

"Flamemon!" He cried, revealing the impish half man half beast Digimon with a burning tail. He stood tall, as the light around Wallflower vanished as well.

Doing so revealed plant Digimon, who was mostly green with white and purple arms, a collar of red leaves around her neck and two red petals covering the top of her head. She also had a tail with thorns sticking out of it. "Floramon!"

Everyone was still shocked by Flash's choice, wondering why he wouldn't use his best Digimon in such an important battle. "Maybe he's taking a leaf out of Shining's book?" Micro guessed. "We were expecting you to use Monodramon, but instead you used other Digimon and it completely threw your opponent out of whack for the rest of the match."

Shining hummed, wondering if that was true. But he had a feeling Flash had intended to use Flamemon even before seeing his fight.

"Either way," Twilight brought up Floramon's bio-sheet. "Flamemon has an advantage."

Name: Floramon
Level: Rookie
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Vegetation
Family: Wind Guardian, Jungle Trooper

"Floramon's plant attribute is weak against Flamemon's fire attribute. And since Flamemon's a Free-type, Floramon won't be able to do much damage. If Flash keeps using Fire Digimon and Wallflower Plant Digimon, he'll have the upper-hand."

"Maybe," Shining nodded as the battlefield began to form, "but there's no telling how this battle might turn out." The battlefield appeared and revealed a large metal piece of land, surrounded by forests on all sides. On this metal piece of land were many metal building, that were shaped like cactuses and had flames coming out the tops. In the very centre of this city was a large building, that had train tracks running in and out of it.

Inside this train station, Flamemon and Floramon appeared on platforms opposite one another.

The pair stared one another down, Floramon quickly glancing around in every direction. Flamemon didn't need to look around and quickly ran forward, leaping off the platform and flying towards her. As he did, his blazing tail grew stronger.

"Flame Tail!" He spun around, his tail morphing into a whip-like weapon that shot straight towards Floramon.

But the flower Digimon leapt back, avoiding the flaming tail as the petals on her head lifted up and revealed said head was completely hollow. "Rain of Pollen!" A cloud of dust flew out of her head and flew towards Flamemon, surrounding him before he had a chance to escape.

"Augh!" He fell to the ground and started coughing, as the dust entered his system. As he did, his body began to grow numb and he felt like all his strength was leaving him. "What...what is this?"

"My Rain of Pollen," Floramon explained. "Anyone who sniffs it will find themselves losing the strength to fight." She smiled at the vine-like tendril coming out of her hand glowed. "Now, you can do nothing but sit back and let me whip you into shape. Poison Ivy!" She swung her vine around and it extended into a long whip.

Said whip struck Flamemon and knocked him staggering, as Floramon claimed first blood.

Floramon: 3-100%
Flamemon: 3-90%

Floramon kept whipping her vines around, attempting to hit him again. But Flamemon was able to jump away and roll along the platform to avoid them, only for Floramon to spin around and swing them at him again. "Augh!" Flamemon cried, getting hit in the back whilst the second whip flew at him.

Floramon: 3-100%
Flamemon: 3-80%

But instead of hitting him, Flamemon was able to grab Floramon's tendril and yank her towards him. As she staggered closer, Flamemon shook his head to try and focus himself whilst his other hand ignited into fire. "Noble Heart!" He roared, as Floramon got within striking range.

His swung his fist upwards and smashed it into Floramon's chin, the uppercut making her scream in pain as she was knocked backwards.

Floramon: 3-80%
Flamemon: 3-80%

As she staggered back, Flamemon released her and staggered back. His head was still feeling the effects of Floramon's first attack and he knew if he stayed with it still in effect, he would be in for a major disadvantage.

As such, he looked around and spotted a section of the train station that led to a lower area. And the best part was, the doorway was full of fire.

"Where are you going?" Floramon asked as Flamemon charged towards the door, staggering towards it and even running on all fours for better balance. When she saw where he was heading, she realised he was going where she wouldn't be able to follow. "Oh no you don't. Poison Ivy!" She swung both vines towards Flamemon as he got closer to the door.

The first one struck him in the back, making him flinch as he reached the fire.

Floramon: 3-80%
Flamemon: 3-70%

The second vine grabbed him by the ankle and tried to pull him away, but Flamemon used all his strength to pull himself through the fire. "Augh!" Floramon cried, as he vine was singed and she was forced to release him.

Floramon: 3-75%
Flamemon: 3-70%

Flamemon sighed as he stood on the other side of the doorway, on a staircase leading down into the Flame Terminal's sub-levels. He headed down it, knowing there had to some coins down there. He also knew that there were none-flaming entrances into the basement, meaning Floramon would be able to follow him. But the area was a collection of mazes and she would have a hard time finding him.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, the effects of the pollen were finally starting to wain. He knew he had to be careful, since all Floramon had to do was hit him again and he would be back in trouble. "Come on," he whispered as he made his way through a hallway. "There's gotta be one somewhere."

He stepped turned left, then right and straight ahead to arrive at the entrance of a large chamber. Said chamber was dome-like and had metal pipes running along the walls. In the middle of the room was a large pipe, sticking out of the ground that ended a meter or so up. It had a grate over the top of hit and every ten seconds, a massive blast of fire would explode out of it.

It was atop this pipe, floating over the grate, that Flash spotted a Digivolution Coin. "Yes!" He ran towards it, getting ready to leap over it. But as he did, a voice caught his attention.

"Rain of Pollen!" The dust cloud flew out of another entrance and shot straight towards him. This forced him to leap back, covering his mouth as the make of the attack ran into the room. "Poison Ivy!" Floramon launched a vine up into the air, wrapping it around a pipe and using it to propel herself upwards.

The flames coming out of the pipe stopped as she swung towards it, giving her an opening to swing over it and grab the Digivolution Coin. As she absorbed it, Floramon swung towards the other side of the pipe and got out from above it seconds before the flames exploded out again.

She let go of the pipes and landed down on the ground, as Flamemon flew towards her. Floramon saw this and unleashed another Rain of Pollen, but Flamemon was ready for her this time. "Monkey Ball!" He cried, as fire exploded out of every pour in his body.

The flaming veil around him allowed the Rookie Digimon to rush into the dust cloud without fear, the pollen burning up as soon as it touched the flames.

This allowed Flamemon to get in close and start throwing punches at Floramon, who did her best to avoid the attacks as best she could. But Flamemon eventually managed to land a hit on her stomach and knocked her back with a powerful kick.

Floramon: 3-55%
Flamemon: 3-70%

"Augh!" She crashed into the ground and Flamemon leapt up into the air, moving in an arch down towards the flower Digimon. As he did, the fire coming out of his body began to concentrate around his knee.

Floramon opened her eyes and saw the flaming meteor flying down towards her, preparing to crash into her and do serious damage. "Poison Ivy!" She used a vine to pull herself away, Flamemon crashing into the ground as she escaped.

She retracted her vine until she was up by the ceiling, as the smoke from Flamemon's attack vanished along with the flames all around him.

"Not bad," she told him. "Against something like that, getting close to you would be impossible." Flamemon nodded as he got into a fighting position, "but I'm guessing it uses up a ton of SP." She dropped down as Flamemon's tail flared up, "so you can't use it much."

"Maybe not!" Flamemon spun around, his tail extending up into a fire whip. "But I've still got Flame Tail!" The fire lash shot towards her, but Floramon spun in the air and doing so allowed her to create air resistance between herself and the whip. As such, the force around her and the whip pushed against one another and were repelled, allowing her to land.

"Poison Ivy!" She swung her tendrils around and lashed at Flamemon, hitting him head on. Literally, the whip slammed into his head and knocked him back.

Floramon: 3-55%
Flamemon: 3-60%

As he regained his footing, he prepared a counter attack. But before he could his body suddenly went rigid and he couldn't move for even a second, "ahhhh!"

Floramon smirked, "paralysis stat acquired."

"That's not good," Twilight gulped.

"How'd that happen?" Pinkie asked.

"Poison Ivy lives up to its name," Shining replied. "A lot of Plant Digimon developed how to use it because of how useful it can be. Hitting the opponent with a whip covered in a special toxin. Hit them enough times and an effect will kick in. Either poison, sleep or paralysis. Flash just got paralysed."

"That could make things tricky," Micro gulped as Floramon ran forward.

She got in close and with a swing of her arms, slapped Flamemon with her leaf hands.

Floramon: 3-55%
Flamemon: 3-55%

Flamemon staggered back, but Floramon chased after him and started dancing, slapping Flamemon with her hands and feet several times.

Floramon: 3-55%
Flamemon: 3-20%

"Augh!" Flamemon cried as he slammed into the wall of the chamber. Floramon prepared to attack again, but he had finally recovered from his paralysis. "Monkey Ball!" He once again surrounded himself in flames and stopped Floramon from getting to close, the Demon Man Digimon leaping forward and slamming a fist into her chest.

"Gyah!" She cried, getting burned pretty badly as she was knocked backwards.

Floramon: 3-30%
Flamemon: 3-20%

She staggered back, whilst Flamemon's fire went out. The Rookie checked his SP gauge and saw it was at almost nothing. He wouldn't be able to use any of his fire attacks for a while. "Alright," he told himself, "then Battle Gear...BOOST!" A burst of light exploded in his hand and began to take shape.

Everyone watched the Battle Gear, as it appeared in Flamemon's hand. But when the light faded, they were amazed by what they saw. Amazed, but underwhelmed.

"A knife?" Rainbow asked, as Flamemon held a fifteen centimetre blade in his hand. The blade was black with red flame patterns running along the sharp side all the way up to its curved tip.

"Not really a ground breaking piece of equipment," Labramon stated. But as he said that, the entire blade burst into fire and flew out the end to double the blade's length. "Wow, where'd that come from?"

The others were just as surprised, but then Shining realised something. "Ignislash." The others looked at him, "that's a rare item called the Ignislash. A weapon that can only be wielded by Fire Attribute Digimon. Where the heck did he get it from?"

Flamemon smirked as he looked at the knife, remembering where he had gotten its scan.

After their battle with WarGrowlmon and Azulongmon's thanks, Flash had been allowed to look around the temple. There, he had found the mysterious blade on a wall alongside many others. Something about it had called to him and he had been glad when Azulongmon had let him scan it.

"Alright," he told himself, "time to show Codex what I can do." With that, he shot forward with the blade still pointed at his opponent. Floramon saw this and was worried about this weapon, Flamemon slashing at her with the blade's length extending to be long enough to reach her.

She tried to leap back, but the flame blade was too long and the tip slashed against her chest.

Floramon: 3-10%
Flamemon: 3-20%

"Poison Ivy!" She swung her vines around and attempted to swat at Flamemon, but he was able to avoid them and slash back with his sword. Floramon didn't want to risk getting too close, the flower Digimon pulling her vines away before the blade could burn them. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to beat him.

She realised she only had one chance and opened up her head again. "Rain of Pollen." The cloud flew out blocked Flamemon from getting closer, allowing her to run towards one of the exits.

Once she was gone, Flamemon was able to run around the side of the cloud. And once it had cleared enough to allow him to follow, he heard down the tunnel with Floramon.

"What do you think she's up to?" Sandal asked.

"Not sure," Mangoramon frowned. "She must want to get away and rethink her strategy." Against a weapon that's constantly on fire, she's in serious trouble."

"I think it's more than that," Rarity hummed. "She got that Digivolution Coin a while ago. By now, her Digivolution Gauge must be full. But she Didn't Digivolve. Why?"

"Good question," Twilight nodded. "Could it be that the Digimon she'll become wouldn't be suited for fighting in that room?" As she asked that, Floramon ascended a flight of stairs and exited out into the train station again.

Floramon looked around, then back where she saw Flamemon charging at her.

The Digimon still held his Battle Gear in a reverse grip, but the flames on the blade were no longer burning. As he got in close, his hand ignited. "Flame Toss!" He threw a fireball at the Plant Digimon, but she leapt backwards as it exploded against the platform.

As she did, her entire body began to glow. Flamemon frowned, knowing what this meant, and slowly stepped backwards so he could assess the situation. "Floramon!" He heard her cry out, "Digivolve to..." She grew until she was around fifteen feet tall and appeared to have the same body type, though her tail changed and morphed to mimic the legs.

Eventually, the light faded and revealed what appeared to be a taller version of Floramon from the waist up. Her waist and three legs were made of wood, the legs standing in a tripod formation and being covered in many thorns with the feet being made up of four root-like mini-feet. Blue shrubbery was now growing out of her upper body, covering her chest and arms up to her elbows. Her previously flower-like arms and hands had been replaced by five green vines, which were wrapped around one another to form the limb whilst the ends struck out to make the fingers. A pair of long brown vines were sticking out her back, being covered in thorns.

Her head was sticking out of her chest, with the red flower helmets she once had as a Floramon being replaced by brown wood. Wrapped around her neck was a larger version of Floramon's flower collar, which flipped up and covered her entire head for a moment before opening up again. "Barbemon!"

Twilight brought up Barbemon's bio-page, many of the other players having not seen this Digimon before.

Name: Barbemon
Level: Champion
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Vegetation
Family: Wind Guardian, Jungle Trooper

"Now I can see why she wanted to get out of the chamber," Rarity nodded. "That Digimon doesn't seem to have a lot of manoeuvrability. Being in a confined space where a smaller, faster opponent can jump around could be dangerous.

"But she's still a Plant Digimon," Salamon pointed out. "Flash will still have an advantage."

"Depends on what this Digimon can do," Tawnimon told her. As he said that. Barbemon began to act, the vines on her back starting to glow green.

"Frenzy Plant!" The vines extended and shot towards Flamemon, as the thorns on them grew larger.

Flamemon raised his blade and slashed at the first vine, expecting his knife the cut right through it. But the vine's thorns blocked the blade and did nothing, the energy coming off of them somehow protecting them from the fire. "That's not good," he gulped as the other vine swung around.

He was about to leapt away, but in that moment the paralysis stat kicked in again. "AUGH!" He cried, freezing up as the vine slammed into him. He screamed as he was sent flying, crashing into a station pillar and sliding down the metal.

Barbemon: 3-10%
Flamemon: 3-0%

His friends flinched at this, the little fire Rookie groaning as he picked himself up. At the same time, Barbemon's vines retracted as she stepped forward.

Flamemon groaned as he picked himself up, whilst Barbemon raised her arm. As she did, the vines that made up her hands unwrapped and came apart, revealing a hole in the middle of them. "Thorn Assault!" From out of her arm, a bunch of thorns exploded out and shot towards Flamemon.

The Fire Digimon gasped as he grabbed his Ignislash and rushed behind the column. He barely managed it before the thorns caught up to him, the sharp projectiles slamming into the metal and bouncing off it. But Flamemon knew he couldn't hide behind it forever.

He checked his SP and saw he had recovered enough for a single attack. He just needed to wait for the right moment.

And that moment came when Barbemon stopped shooting her thorns. As soon as she did, Flamemon leapt out from behind the column and rolled along the ground with his hand exploding. "Flame Toss!" He shot the fireball towards Barbemon and the flames slammed into the Champion before she could react, exploding and knocking her backwards.

Barbemon: 3-0%
Flamemon: 2-100%

Flamemon then took this chance to rush forward, Ignislash in hand as he charged at this top speed. He got in close and swung his blade at her, Barbemon barely able to lean back enough to avoid the fire sword.

She then leapt onto her back leg and tried to stomp on Flamemon with her front two, but Flamemon leapt backwards to avoid getting stomped on. "Thorn Assault!" She unleashed another barrage of thorn bullets, this time from both hands, with Flamemon using his knife to deflect as many as possible.

But one managed to hit him in the shoulder, doing a tiny bit of damage but enough to allow another one to hit him in the leg and waist. "Augh!"

Barbemon: 2-100%
Flamemon: 2-85%

He staggered back, as Barbemon swung her thorn vines around and tried to crush him under them.

Flamemon raised his arms and braced himself, the first vine slamming down on him and forcing his weakened leg to give out. He cried out as he fell onto one knee, but was able to survive the attack and was about to counter with a fire attack. But before he could, his Paralysis kicked in and he was frozen again.

This allowed the second vine to swing around and as the first one was lifted off of him, it slammed into Flamemon and sent him flying.

Barbemon: 2-100%
Flamemon: 2-80%

He was sent shooting through the air and out of the strain station, the Demon Man Digimon crashing into the ground and rolling along it until he eventually came to as stop. It was a miracle he was able to keep his blade to hand.

"Augh," he groaned as he pushed himself up. He realised that despite having the elemental and terrain advantage, Wallflower's strategy had him at a serious disadvantage. "Come on Flash," he stood up. "You can do this." but as he said that, a barrage of thorns flew towards him. "WOW!" He leapt back and tried to avoid them all, but two managed to hit him in the arm and foot. "Gyah!"

Barbemon: 2-100%
Flamemon: 2-70%

He leapt behind a building, as Barbemon walked out of the station with her arms at the ready.

Flamemon panted as he tried to think of a plan. His SP was still really low and Barbemon's projectiles were a serious problem. Combine that with the paralysis he was suffering from and he was in major trouble. "What do I do? I can't think straight." He was then reminded of Shining's fight.

During that battle, Shining had been in complete control. Even when it seemed his opponent had the advantage, he had been able to remain in control.

"How does he do it?" He asked himself, wishing he knew why Shining was so unbeatable.

"Come on Flash," Shining told him. "This is nothing to be scared over. You've faced worse."

They all watched as Flamemon looked around the building, only to duck again when Barbemon fired more thorns at him. "You got this, Flash!" Micro cried, as Barbemon made sure to stay at a distance. "You just gotta get in closer."

"But how?" Tentomon asked, that being the question on everyone's mind.

Flamemon panted as he thought about Barbemon's abilities. And as he did, he continued to remember Shining's battle.

He also remembered his own battle against the now Mega Level player and all the things Shining had taught him. One of which was learning from all his past battles, wins and losses included. As such, he remembered every fight. Every battle he had previously been in. And as he did, he realised something.

"This is nothing I can't handle." With that, he leapt out from behind the house and charged at Barbemon.

"Thorn Assault!" She laughed the barrage of projectiles towards Flamemon. As she did, the little Rookie started slashing at them with his knife.

'I've fought faster opponents,' he told himself as he slashed the thorns away. Instead of trying to hit all of them, he focused his attention on the ones right in front of him. Keeping his body as small as possible, he slashed at only the ones that would definitely hit him and cut a path right through them until he reached Barbemon. "And compared to Therizinomon and the other stronger Digimon I've face, her strength is nothing.'

He reached Barbemon as she stopped firing, Flamemon slashed at her with his sword. "AUGH!" She scream, as the blade of fire carved its way down her body.

Barbemon: 2-80%
Flamemon: 2-70%

Flamemon jumped back to avoid any retaliation from her, all the while his mind remained focused on his goal. 'I'm going to become stronger, so I can face him.' "Flame Toss!" He launched the fireball at Barbemon and it exploded against her, knocking her backwards.

Barbemon: 2-50%
Flamemon: 2-70%

'And when I do face him...' "I'M GOING TO WIN!" He rushed forward with his blade pointed forward, the flames around it exploding to burn ever brighter. He thrust it forward but found himself be grabbed around the waist before he could reach her.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Barbemon stated as her Frenzy Plant was active and holding Flamemon back. And before Flamemon could react, she raised him into the air and smashed him back into the ground.

Barbemon: 2-50%
Flamemon: 2-60%

The impact caused the Ignislash to be lost from Flamemon's grip and before he could reach down and grab it, Barbemon lifted him up before throwing him into the air as hard as she could.

Flamemon cried out as he was sent flying across the metal city, eventually falling towards the ground. He fell through one of the house flames as he did so and as he did, he used his control over fire to grab some. "Flame Toss!" He launched it at the ground where he would land and it exploded, the force of the explosion hitting him and slowing him down just enough.

He fell the rest of the way and landed, rolling along the ground but jumping to his feet. He then looked down at his hands and frown, as he had lost his best weapon against Barbemon.

But then he noticed something and smiled, then ran back towards where Barbemon had thrown him from.

He ran as fast as he could, but still found himself getting paralysed every now and then. After a few minutes of this, he finally reached the area Barbemon had been. But she was gone.

Flamemon rushed over to where he thought his knife might be, but the weapon was also nowhere to be found. "You're not gonna find it!" He heard before he leapt to the side, some thorns slamming into the building behind him. "I took the liberty of throwing it away so you can't get your hands on it again."

Flamemon spun around and saw Barbemon, ready to take him down. But Flamemon smirked. "That's fine. I don't need it to beat you."

"Maybe. But it's gonna be a lot harder to do it."

"Don't be so sure!" Flamemon ran forward, as his body ignited. "Flamemon, Digivolve to..." The flaming body grew larger until a new figure leapt out of the fire. "Agunimon!" The Champion smirked at Barbemon, who looked shocked to see him as his fist burst into flames. "Pyro Punch!" He threw the fist forward and slammed it right into Barbemon, the explosion that followed knocking the plant Digimon backwards.

Barbemon: 2-20%
Agunimon: 2-60%

She barely managed to land on her back leg, keeping her upright as she raised her arms. "Thorn Assault!" The projectiles shot towards Agunimon, but the Legendary Warrior of Fire summoned fire from his gauntlets.

"Pyro Darts!" He launched his own projectiles at the thorns and they incinerated them before continuing towards Barbemon.

The Plant Digimon used her back vines to propel herself into the air, the Pyro Darts exploding below her and leaving her untouched. Agunimon saw this and prepared to leap up, but was struck by the paralysis again.

This allowed Barbemon to land safely before running off down the street. "Hey!" Agunimon cried, trying to move his body with little success as she vanished between two buildings. "Get back here!" When he could finally move, he chased after her and ignited his gauntlets.

He quickly realised why Barbemon had run away when they turned a corner onto another street, as Agunimon spotted a Digivolution Coin up ahead.

"I don't think so!" He leapt into the air and started spinning, "Pyro Tornado!" The flames around him spiraled into a hellish vortex, which moved towards Barbemon and threatened to pull her in.

The Plant Digimon grabbed onto a nearby metal pipe and held on for dear life, whilst the tornado got closer and closer. But before she could be pulled in, her vines glowed. "Frenzy Plant!" She thrust them forward as they shot into the fire, making her cry out as the energy around them did little to protect the vines.

Barbemon: 2-5%
Agunimon: 2-60%

The fire tornado vanished as Agunimon was revealed to have been caught by the vines, stopping him from spinning. Barbemon then threw him away before he could burn her any more, the plant Digimon rushing over to where the Digivolution Coin was.

And as Agunimon landed, managing to spin around and hit the ground on his feet, Barbemon leapt into the air and grabbed the coin. "Not good," Agunimon gulped as Barbemon turned towards him.

As she did, her body began to glow. "Barbemon, Digivolve to..." With that, her body began to go limp as her back seemed to break apart. As it did, something began to pull itself out of it whilst Barbemon's body began to disintegrate into specks of light.

When the new figure had completely escaped out of the body, it spread a pair of wings and leapt into the air. Doing so revealed a humanoid form, the light fading away to reveal a seven foot tall woman wearing an assortment of flower clothing.

Her skin was green and she had flowing yellow hair that went down to her shoulders, with a red daisy burret in it. She was wearing a pink sleeveless top with blue vine patterns sewn into it, with blue sleeves sticking out from under it that had red flower bracelets around her wrist. Around her waist, she wore what appeared to be a yellow scrunchie belt. And from out of that were a bunch of white petals, which flowed downwards to her knees which gave it the appearance of a skirt.

She was wearing a pair of pink knee-high boots, with blue vine patterns wrapped around them and a red flower just above where the foot met the leg. A daisy was attached to her top at the chest and on her back were a pair of wings shaped like daisy leaves.

Using her wings to fly around, she spun through the air and struck an elegant pose. "Daisymon!"

"Wow," Sandalwood smirked at the sight of her. Mangoramon looked just as impressed and as the girls looked around, they saw almost all the males watching were just as transfixed.

"Boys," Twilight shook her head and checked her brother. She could she he was also impressed with Daisymon's appearance, but for the right reason. At the same time, Rainbow brought up Daisymon's bio-page.

Name: Daisymon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Fairy
Family: Wind Guardian, Jungle Trooper

"Doesn't look like too much for Flash to handle," Rainbow stated.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Applejack pointed out. "I've seen what that Digimon can do." Sure enough, Daisymon flew up and prepared to do something that would really shift the odds.

"Cleansing Synthesis!" Her wings and all the flowers on her body began to glow, taking in solar energy which was sent back into her body and caused the burns covering her to fade and vanish. As they did, everyone was shocked to see Daisymon's life bar increase.

Daisymon: 2-55%
Agunimon: 2-60%

"She can heal herself?" Rainbow asked, Applejack nodding.

"But it takes up a lot of SP and it had a cool down period, so she can just keep using it every time she gets hit." They nodded, but knew that kind of ability was still useful.

Meanwhile, Agunimon looked confused. "What did you just do?" They all remembered he couldn't see her health bar, meaning he had no idea Daisymon had undone some of the damage he had done.

"Whatever," Agunimon summoned more flaming projectiles. "Pyro Darts!" He launched them at the fairy and Daisymon easily avoided them all as she danced through the air.

"Where are you aiming?" She laughed as she dived towards him once he was out of darts, showing incredible speed as she reached him and swung her leg around.

"Augh!" He was sent staggering backwards and fell to the ground, his health dropping as Daisymon flew up.

Daisymon: 2-55%
Agunimon: 2-50%

He quickly started breakdancing in order to get back to his feet, his arms and legs bursting into flames as he did so. "Pyro Tornado!" The flames spiralled around again and formed the vortex of fire, which flew up towards Daisymon and consumed her.

"Augh!" She cried, feeling the heat of the attack beginning to overwhelm her.

Daisymon: 2-35%
Agunimon: 2-50%

"Battle Gear...BOOST!" Daisymon's arm glowed as something appeared within it, the light exploding off to reveal a large metal flower that she now held like a shield. The flower's petals began to spin as she swung her arm around, the shield flying off but remaining attached to her by a green vine. "Razor Fleur!"

She swung the weapon downwards and it extended until it reached the still spinning Agunimon, hitting him in the chest and cutting into his armor like a buzzsaw. "Augh!" He cried, stopping him from spinning and causing the Pyro Tornado to vanish.

Daisymon: 2-35%
Agunimon: 2-35%

He staggered back as Daisymon retracted her weapon. As she did, he raised her other arm as the flowers on her bracelet began to glow. "Floral Flash!" She thrust her hand down and the energy exploded out of it in a powerful burst of light, which shot down towards Agunimon.

The Champion Digimon didn't have the time to react, as the attack smashed into him and exploded. He roared in pain, as he was sent flying backwards by Daisymon's most powerful attack.

Daisymon: 2-35%
Agunimon: 2-10%

Agunimon crashed into the ground and rolled along it, whilst Daisymon flew down. The Fire Digimon managed to roll into a kneeling position, as Daisymon got in close. The shield on her arm continued to spin it, as she swung it around to try and slash at him again.

However, when it came to hand to hand combat, Agunimon shined as he dodged the attack and swung his arm around. "Pyro Punch!" He slammed Daisymon in the face and then dealt a hit to her stomach before she could react, followed by spinning around to try and hit her with a flaming kick. However, Daisymon was able to block that attack with her shield.

Daisymon: 2-15%
Agunimon: 2-10%

The two glared one another down as Daisymon pushed his leg away, then slashed at him. Agunimon leapt back, but Daisymon launched the shield forward and it slammed into his chest again. "Augh!" He cried, feeling his security break.

Daisymon: 2-15%
Agunimon: 2-0%

But he didn't let this stop him, as he knocked the shield away from him and grabbed the vine. With a powerful pull, he yanked Daisymon towards him and dealt a swift knee strike right to her chin, then extended his leg to kick her right in the stomach.

"RAAAAH!" She cried, being knocked backwards and smashing into the side of a building. The heat from a nearby flame made the metal blazing hot, burning away the last of her Security's health.

Daisymon: 2-0%
Agunimon: 1-100%

As Daisymon fell to the ground, the pair panted as they prepared themselves. Both knew the other had to be pretty low on health. so knew landing the next attacks were important.

Agunimon got into a boxers stands, as he stepped back and forth. But as he did, he happened to spot something inside on of the buildings. Something that made him smirk.

Daisymon prepared to counter Agunimon's attack, but it never came. Instead, he dashed towards one of the houses and she quickly realised what he had to be after. As such, she leapt into the air and raised her hand as the bracelet began to glow. "Floral Flash!" She fired the laser at Agunimon, who leapt towards the building as the attack struck the ground and exploded.

Smoke filled the air, as Daisymon raised her shield ready for anything Agunimon threw at her.

But as the smoke cleared, the Legendary Warrior of Flames was gone. "Oh no." She flew down towards the building he had been running for, only for the place to start growing bright red.

"AGUNIMON!" She heard him roar, having managed to get the Digivolution Coin. "DIGIVOLVE TO...!" The building melted as a blast of fire exploded into the sky, a figure appearing within the pillar with glowing red eyes.

"Not good," she gulped as the flames exploded away in a wave of fire. Daisymon barely managed to avoid the fire, flying over it as her opponent was revealed.

"BURNINGGREYMON!" The Beast Warrior of Flames let out a roar, spreading his flaming wings in preparation of the upcoming fight. The pair then glared at one another, as BurningGreymon's weapons spun around. "Pyro Barrage!" Multiple flame bullets exploded out of the weapons, flying towards Daisymon with such speed that the Fairy had no way of protecting herself.

"AUGH!" She screamed, as the bullets exploded against her and knocked her backwards.

Daisymon: 1-70%
BurningGreymon: 1-100%

She barely managed to regain control of her flight and stop herself from crashing into the ground, as she threw the Razor Fleur towards BurningGreymon. But the Dark Dragon Digimon simply blocked with his shields as he flew down, his eyes firmly locked on Daisymon.

As the Ultimates stared at one another, Daisymon saw something in BurningGreymon that she had never seen before. Determination. A drive to keep fighting and win, no matter how impossible the battle seemed.

BurningGreymon slashed at her, Daisymon using her shield to block him. But with every slash, one of the spinning blades was cut off. All the while, BurningGreymon continued to look set on victory.

'Is this how he's been able to win so much and get to this point so quickly?' Wallflower asked, as her Battle Gear continued to take a beating. 'He's chasing something. Something he won't stop chasing until he catches it. What the heck is this guy so motivated by?'

'I won't stop!" Flash cried as BurningGreymon flew backwards, then dived at her. "Crimson Fanger!" He moved at incredible speed and slammed into the Razor Fleur, shattering it to pieces as Daisymon was knocked back. He then quickly slashed at Daisymon, hitting her in the side and making her scream.

Daisymon: 1-55%
BurningGreymon: 1-100%

Daisymon pushed herself back and held up her hands, "Cleansing Synthesis!" The flowers on her body began to glow, but BurningGreymon didn't give her the time to complete the attack.

He shot forward and tackled her, Daisymon crying out as the attack was cancelled. He then threw her towards the ground, the fairy trying her best to stop herself. But she crashed into one of the buildings before she could and took some more damage from the heat.

Daisymon: 1-50%
BurningGreymon: 1-100%

"RAAAAAAAAAAR!" BurningGreymon roared, as flames exploded out of every gap in his armor and surrounded his entire body. "WILDFIRE TSUNAMI!" He spun around, using his tail to launch the flames off of him straight towards Daisymon.

Daisymon was picking herself up when the flames slammed down upon her, trapping her in a vortex of fire that burned every part of her body. "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, taking major damage.

Daisymon: 1-0%
BurningGreymon: 1-100%

BurningGreymon smirked, only to freeze up as he felt the paralysis kick in again.

This allowed Daisymon to leap out of the flames, the Fairy Digimon barely able to fly and falling to the ground. She could feel her Digital body was a single strike from being destroyed, but she wasn't going down without a fight. And as BurningGreymon's paralysis began to fade, she raised both her hands.

"Floral Flash!" The laser exploded out of her hands and shot towards the dragon, slamming into him and making him flinch.

Daisymon: 0-0%
BurningGreymon: 1-80%

As the attack ended, BurningGreymon dived down towards her. "Floral Flash!" Another laser slammed into BurningGreymon, but the Ultimate Digimon pushed his way through it as he continued to fly down towards her.

Daisymon: 0-0%
BurningGreymon: 1-60%

Daisymon prepared to attack again, but her SP had run out. She gasped at this and realised, there was nothing she could do now. "Alright," she told him as he reached her, "you win." BurningGreymon smiled as he raised his claws.

"This was a fun match. Let's battle again some time." With that, he swung his claws down and slashed at Daisymon, making her cry out as she exploded and revealed Wallflower.

The girl fell to the ground and clutched her chest as she did, BurningGreymon standing tall above her. And as he did, the battlefield began to dissolve. "Battle Over! Winner, Flash Sentry!"

BurningGreymon began to transform back to human form, as Veemon appeared out of his Digivice. "You did it!" The little dragon cheered, the pair high-fiving at Flash's victory whilst Wallflower picked herself up.

"Flash Sentry, you have claimed victory here in the Rookie Stadium. For that, you have earned prize money." Flash nodded, his Digi-Dollars increasing even more. "Also, this victory has allowed you to rank up to the Champion Level. Congratulations."

"YES!" The two cheered, high-fiving again as Wallflower nodded. Flash turned to her and smiled. "I meant what I said. Let's have another battle one day. When you get to the Champion Level."

Wallflower smiled and nodded, taking her Digivice off the Podium. "Sure. I look forward to it." She turned to leave and Flash did the same, heading out of the stadium whilst Flash looked at his Digivice's Status Page.

Seeing the word Champion next to his rank made Flash feel like he was as light as a feather. Whilst the rest of his friends had all been a rank above him, he was now equal to them. He could hardly believe it. "Everything changes now, Veemon."

"It does?" The blue dragon asked, as the pair stepped out of the stadium.

"Heck yeah. Our friends have had to go the long way to locations we were going to, even though they could have just Digi-Ported there the whole time. Now they don't have to, because we can go there as well. And that's just one of the new perks to Levelling up. Now we're gonna get to go up against even better players. Ones that have shown they're the best, like no one ever was." He was actually getting giddy, Veemon also excited.

They arrived at the Foyer and when they got their, they saw their friends were waiting for them. "He's here!" Tentomon cheered, everyone turning towards them and applauding.

Flash and Veemon both smiled at this, as they stepped over to them. "Way to go, man!" Rainbow slapped him on the back, "you're officially one of us now." Flash rolled his eyes at this, as the others all smiled at him.

Then he saw Shining and the man smirked at him, whilst Flash smirked back. He stepped forward and when they were close, Flash held up his fist. "I know I've got a long way to go, but one day I'm going to battle against you in the Mega Stadium. And when that happens, I'm going to win."

Shining heard this and was impressed by how sure of himself he was. This wasn't the first time someone had said this, but the way Flash was saying it was different. It wasn't a cocky teen overestimating his abilities. It was someone who knew their flaws and aimed to overcome them, in order to face the one they respected most.

Shining could only smile before holding his own fist and placing it against Flash's. "I know you will. But don't expect me to make it easy on you. If I let some snot nose punk get the better of me, my reputation will be ruined." Flash nodded and the two were both looking forward to the day their fight would come.

Flash still had a long road ahead of him and much to learn, but he was going to push himself past his limits in order to get to that point. And he wasn't the only one. Everyone around them had also been inspired by Flash and Shining's victories. Each of them were aiming for the top, and they would climb up to it together. With them and their Digimon.

Author's Note

Bet you weren't expecting Wallflower to be in this. What did you guys think of my fanmade Floramon evolutions? I'm surprised there hasn't been a real Daisymon made. Hope you liked it.

Taste of the Forbidden Fruit

It was another beautiful day in the Digital World and all seemed peaceful. But looks can be deceiving.

In one corner of the Digital World, there were several mountains covering the area. Some were tall, some were short, some had many peaks and some had no peaks whatsoever. And at the base of one of these mountains, was a large village of champion and Rookie Level Digimon.

On most days, this village would be a great place to live. There was plenty of food, lots of fresh water and the sun rose and set at the perfect angles so the light wasn't obstructed by the mountain.

But today, something had torn the village's serene grace away. And that something was an earthquake.

Earthquakes were a rare things in this area of the Digital World, but they still happened on occasion. And today, the earthquake struck with great power. So great, that the mountain besides the village was shaken up and caused to crack and break apart.

"LANDSLIDE!" A Digimon yelled, as large rocks and boulders began to fall down towards the village.

Down in the village, one Digimon was trying to lead the others to safety. This Digimon was a green humanoid lizard Digimon, who was covered in metal blades and carrying two large swords whilst dressed in native-looking clothing.

"Move!" The Digimon cried, trying to get all his friends someplace safe. But he knew they couldn't escape the village in time.

And sure enough, the rocks started crashing down on the village. Some were smashing down on buildings, whilst others simple crashed into the earth. But all the rocks shattered upon impact, sending pieces flying everywhere as they did. Many of the Digimon who weren't crushed under these boulders, found themselves getting pelted by the smaller rocks.

The Digimon leader gasped as he saw an extra large boulder falling towards them, so rushed forward and pulled the blades of his back. "Lizard Dance!" He started spinning around and leapt into the air, the blades on his arms and in his hands slashing into the rock.

Eventually, the rock shattered into pieces and the Digimon was able to knock them away from anyone. But as he stopped spinning, he was shocked to see three more giant boulders falling towards them. He couldn't stop all those.

"Vee-Laser!" Suddenly, an X-shaped energy beam slammed into one of the boulders and destroyed it. The Digimon spun around and saw the cause, a blue dragon Digimon flying towards the village. And he wasn't the only one.

A dark blue insect Digimon was also flying besides him and he quickly charged up his electrical energy. "Electro Shocker!" He fired the lightning at the second rock, also destroying it. At the same time, two other Digimon leapt off the dragon's back and flew towards the final giant rock.

"Roundhouse Punt/Moon Night Kick!" The pair slammed their feet into the rock and pulverised it, the pair leaping down as four humans jumped off the dragon's back.

Flash, Micro, Sandal and Trixie landed on the ground and looked over at the lizard Digimon, who smiled at them. "Thank you," he told them.

"No problem," Flash nodded. "Happy to help. Just be thankful we were in the area." He nodded, only for the ground to suddenly start shaking again. "Wow!"

"Aftershock!" Micro cried, as the mountain also shook. "That's not good." More of the mountain started breaking apart and falling towards the village, as the uninjured Digimon tried to move those that had been hurt in the first way. "Kabuterimon!"

"Right!" The giant beetle flew up, ramming his head into one of the rocks. But as he smashed through it, another rock crashed down on him. "Augh!" There was another and another. Too many for Kabuterimon to handle.

"Raaaah!" ExVeemon flew up and punched a rock before it could hit the insect, as Lekismon and Arbormon launched their long distance attacks to break several more.

"Thanks," Kabuterimon told him. ExVeemon nodded, but looked up and saw even more rocks falling towards them. "There's just too many. We can't destroy them all."

"Oh yes we can!" ExVeemon cried, "we will save these Digimon. Right Flash?"

"Yeah!" Flash nodded, as his Digivice started glowing. "We're not gonna stop until every rock is destroyed!" Flash let out a mighty roar and as he did, his Digivice exploded with light that flew up towards ExVeemon.

The blue dragonoid was suddenly surrounded by light, which formed a cocoon around him as he began to change. "ExVeemon, Digivolve to..." He grew larger inside the cocoon, his body slowly shape-shifting. His wings merged and changed colour, as a large spear grew out of his back and a mask appeared over his face. Finally, a pair of orbs appeared in his hands and he exploded out of the cocoon. "WINGDRAMON!"

Everyone watched in amazement, as the dragon Digimon flew straight up the mountain. "Go Wingdramon!" Flash cried, as his partner's mouth filled with heat.

"Blazing Sonic Breath!" He unleashed a heat-ray from his mouth and struck the mountain under the spot where the rocks were falling, causing it to melt. He drew a large line across the mountain and made a large section of it melt into a line of lava.

The rocks soon landed in this magma and were slowed down, melting themselves and adding to the pile of lava. Said lava started falling down towards the village and everyone thought Wingdramon had just doomed them in a different way. But then, the Ultimate Digimon flew up and dived down.

He picked up incredible speed and created a sonic boom as he did a V-turn and shot up the mountain. This unleashed a powerful gust of wind and as Wingdramon flew passed the lava, the gust struck it and blew all the heat out of it. In seconds, the lava cooled down to a chunk of rock that was spread out across the mountainside.

Everyone was shocked at this, but quickly started celebrating as Wingdramon flew down.

The other Digimon had all reverted back to their Rookie states, Micro rushing over to make sure Tentomon was okay. And as he watched Wingdramon land, he saw Flash rushing over to his side as the Digimon cheered for them both. This made him frown, as he realised how strong Flash had really gotten.

Wingdramon began to glow and De-Digivolved, going all the way down to his In-Training Form. "You okay?" Flash asked as he picked DemiVeemon up.

"I'm good," he assured him. "But...I'm kinda hungry." Flash nodded as the lizard Digimon stepped forward.

"Brave heroes. I give you my thanks, once again. Your actions have turned this situation from a catastrophe to a simple disaster." Flash wasn't sure what the difference was between them.

"No problem...um..."

"You may call my Dinohyumon," he replied as he bowed. "Leader of this village. Or...what's left of it." They looked around and saw the damage done to the place. There were barely any houses left standing from the combination of the earthquake and rock-slides.

But though the houses could be rebuilt, the Digimon were another story as many of them were severely injured. Many Digimon tried to help them, but their injuries were not something you could simple slap a band-aid on.

"This isn't good," Flash gulped. "They need medical attention."

"If only we had some HP Capsules," Sandalwood frowned.

"What do we do?" Trixie asked, as Lunamon helped care for an injured Agumon. "Any ideas?" They all frowned, as Dinohyumon walked around his people looking upset. He leaned down and tried to comfort and injured Gaomon, as Flash stepped up to him.

"Don't worry. We'll find a way to help them. We won't allow anyone here to get deleted. Even if we have to climb a mountain for a cure." Hearing this, Micro sighed.

Flash really had come a long way since first coming to Codex. He had once been a total newb that had no idea how anything worked. But now, he was not only a seasoned player, but was practically leading them whenever they went out into the Digital World. And, of course, he was able to Digivolve to the Ultimate Level unlike the rest of them.

Meanwhile, Dinohyumon thought about what Flash had just said and his eyes went wide. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Mangoramon asked.

"What's up man?" Sandal asked, "you look like someone just told you you'd won the lottery."

"Climb a mountain," he explained before rushing over to a lake that was situated not to far from the village. The others followed and as they reached the lake, Dinohyumon pointed towards a mountain off in the distance. "There!" They all took a closer look and saw that it was a flat topped mountain roughly two miles. "That's where we need to go."

"How is a mountain gonna help them?" Trixie asked, Dinohyumon turning to them.

"Have any of your ever heard of a fruit called the Sena Fruit?" They all shook their heads. "Stories speak of a forest, hidden within the mouth of a long dead volcano. In this forest, a rare fruit is said to grow. The Sena Fruit. It is said that any Digimon that eats this fruit will be cured of any wound, scar or affliction."

"Really?" Flash asked, "that's awesome. If we get some of this fruit, we can help your friends."

"Hold on," Micro told him. "He said it's a rare fruit. Even if we can find this thing, there's no way there'll be enough to go around." The others frowned, knowing he was right. They looked around and tried to count the number of Digimon currently injured. But they kept losing count there were so many.

"That's alright," Dinohyumon replied. "The fruit doesn't have to be directly eaten to allow a Digimon to heal." This peaked their interest. "It's said that if you squeeze the juice of the fruit into a water source, that water source shall gain the same healing properties as the fruit."

"Really?" Tentomon asked, "that's amazing. It's like a miracle fruit."

"Yes," Dinohyumon nodded. "Though it is said that doing this lessens the fruit's power. It'll only be able to heal recent damage caused to the Digimon. And the water source will only hold this power for a short amount of time."

"How do you know so much about this fruit?" Mangoramon asked, with Dinohyumon thinking back.

"When I was just a Kotemon, a disease spread across the town. My carer, Musyamon, searched for a cure until he met a Wisemon that told him about the fruit."

"Makes sense," Flash nodded as the others wondered who Wisemon knew about the fruit. "So what are we waiting for? Let's get that fruit and save these Digimon." But before he could run towards it, Dinohyumon raised a hand.

"Hold on. You must be careful. That forest is supposed to be filled with vicious Plant Digimon, that don't take kindly to intruders. Musyamon had to drink some of the fruit water himself when he returned, due to how much damage he received getting it."

"I see," Micro crossed his arms and thought. "I guess that rules out flying there. If they see us, they won't hesitate to start blasting us out of the sky."

"We can still fly to it," Sandal suggested. "We fly there and keep below the mountain's top. Then we sneak in, get the fruit, then port our way back here."

"That's not a bad plan," Trixie smiled as they all scanned the area. But as they did, Micro turned to Flash and remembered what had happened before.

As he did, something inside him told the teen he had to do this on his own. "I'm gonna head to the forest and get the fruit," he told them. This shocked the group, since they figured they would all be going. "If we need to sneak in, less people going is a good idea."

"Then shouldn't Sandal be the one to go," Flash suggested. "Mangoramon's a plant Digimon, so he'd stick out less."

"Maybe, but Tentomon can fly in his Rookie form. That'll make scouting a lot easier." He turned to Flash, giving him a serious look. "I'm going. Don't try and stop me." Flash seemed surprised by this, looking like he was ready to argue. But before he could, Sandal rushed up besides them. "Hey, let's chill. Micro and I will get the fruit. Flash and Trixie will stay here. Besides, it's not like you could come anyway." He pointed at DemiVeemon on Flash's head, the In-Training appearing to have fallen asleep.

Flash sighed, nodding. "Alright. I guess someone has to stick around in case there's another earthquake." He turned to Micro, "just be careful."

"I'll try," Micro nodded as he, Tentomon, Sandal and Mangoramon began to walk away. Dinohyumon went with them for a bit, telling them everything he knew about the Sena Fruit. As they did, Trixie stepped over to him.

"Alright," she frowned, "what the heck was that?"

"I'm not sure," Flash watched Micro leave and looked worried. "For the last week or so, Micro's been acting funny."

"Last week?" Trixie tried to think, "you mean ever since you got to the Champion Level." Flash hadn't thought of that, but he realised she was right. After the celebration, Micro had started acting funny around him. "What, you think he's jealous?"

"What would he have to be jealous of?" Flash asked. "You know, aside from the obvious good looks and dashing personality that I have." Trixie rolled her eyes and turned to help the other Digimon make their way over to the lake. If the other two got back with the fruit, they would need everyone as close to the water as possible to allow them to quickly drink it up.

Dinohyumon lead the four through the forest until the mountain got in closer.

"I think that's everything," Dinohyumon had instilled all the knowledge of the Sena Fruit he had into them. "The rest is up to you now. Please, find that fruit. It's the only chance we have."

"Don't worry," Micro told him. "We'll find it. We won't come back until we do." The others were a little surprised with Micro saying that, Dinohyumon nodding before he started heading back to the village. Once he was gone, Micro turned to his partner. "Alright, Tentomon. Time to Digivolve!"

"Alright," Tentomon nodded. "But since speed if of the essence, might I suggest that scan you traded Thorax for." Micro nodded and typed away at his Digivice, loading the scan in question. Once it was loaded, he held the device up and Tentomon flew into the air before he was surrounded with light. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger and eventually, a humanoid insect Digimon broke out of it. "Stingmon!"

The Champion Level Digimon quickly flew down and scooped the group up, flying them into the air and heading towards the mountain. Stingmon might not have had as much power as Kabuterimon, but he more than made up for it with his much higher speed.

Because of this, they managed to reach the mountain in absolutely no time at all. Once there, Stingmon flew up the side of it as the others kept a watchful eye out for any other Digimon that might see them. Eventually, they were a few hundred feet from the top and Stingmon stopped.

"Thank you for flying Air Stingmon," he put them down as he started glowing. He shrank back down to Tentomon, as Micro, Sandal and Mangoramon started climbing up the side of the cliff. Luckily, it wasn't to much of a steep climb and Tentomon was there when it looked like they were about to slip.

Eventually, they reached the very top and pulled themselves up. There they found themselves staring at a giant stone bowl, large enough to fit a large town inside.

Looking into the bowl, they found it was just as Dinohyumon had described. A large forest inside of the mountain, with multiple streams running through it that pooled into several lakes. The whole place looked like a paradise. One that they would need to enter in order to get the fruit they needed.

"Let's go," Micro stated as they leapt over the rock and started sliding down the side of the mountain. They had to be care, so as to not lose their footing and roll to their death. As such, getting to the bottom of the area took a while. But eventually, they found themselves sliding into the top of a tree.

Climbing down said tree, they found themselves in the forest. It was kind of weird, given how isolated the place seemed.

There was no way to see over the top of the mountain bowl, so anyone who lived there would have no idea what the outside would could look like. "Okay," Sandal looked around, "any idea where we find this Sana Fruit?"

"Dinohyumon it could be found near large bodies of water," Micro explained. "Let's start looking around the lakes." The others nodded as Tentomon took to the air.

"I'll do some aerial reconnaissance."

"Just be careful," Micro told him as he flew up. "Remember, the Digimon that live here aren't too friendly." Tentomon nodded as he flew above the trees and looked around, seeing the closest lake was to the east. He pointed this out to the ones on the ground and they all headed in that direction.

As they did, none of them noticed they were being watched. The one watching was a small pink Digimon, with a flower on its head.

It was hanging from a tree, the vine on the top of its flower head wrapped around the branch as she stared at them. A worried look appeared on her face, as she released the tree and fell to the ground. A large leaf acted as a cushion for her, allowing the In-Training Digimon to land safely before bouncing towards another tree.

At the base of the tree, a hole could be seen that was hidden beneath the trunk. The Digimon leapt into this hole and slid down a passageway, eventually coming out at a large chamber. In this chamber, water was pooling at the bottom of it being fed by a tunnel higher up and not overflowing due to another tunnel draining it away.

Something way laying in the pool. Something large and beastial. The In-Training Digimon looked down at the creature and called out to it. "Toropiamon. Someone is here. Someone is searching for the Sana Fruit."

"Is that so," the creature lifted its head out of the water. "They dare steal our home's treasure? Then they shall face my wrath."

Back in the forest, Tentomon had lead them to the larger water body and the group were now searching for the fruit.

"See anything?" Micro asked, as he checked on of the trees surrounding the shore. Sandalwood was further along, doing the same whilst Mangoramon was even further. The pair saw no sign of a fruit on any of the trees, making them shake their heads.

Tentomon then flew in, "no sign of fruit on any of these trees."

Micro sighed, "Dinohyumon did say it was rare. It's possible another Digimon picked it already." He turned to the others. "Let's head to the next lake." They nodded and once Tentomon determined where the closest lake was, they headed in that direction.

As they did, Sandal turned to Micro. "So, little bud, what's got your aura all out of whack?"

"Huh?" Micro looked at him like he was nuts, Sandal smirking.

"You practically jumped at the chance to come here and almost begged Flash to stay behind. What happened? Did you guys have a fight or something."

"No," Micro shook his head. "I just...if Flash came along I know he would have found the fruit and everything would have turned out alright." Sandal looked confused by this.

"So...isn't that what we want?"

"Well...yeah. But, do you remember our fight with Therizinomon?" Sandalwood nodded. "The rest of us were completely useless when it showed up and it looked like we were gonna lose. But then, Flash managed to Digivolve to Ultimate and everything turned out great."

"I'm still not following."

"Don't you get it? I was the one who introduced Flash to Codex. I was the one who taught him so much. I thought that, one day, he'd catch up to me and we'd be equals. But now, Flash hasn't just caught up but zoomed ahead of me."

"That's not true."

"How isn't it? Flash can Digivolve to Ultimate and he managed to get into the Champion Rank. Even though I have way more experience than him, he's now seen as one of the strongest players in Codex."

Sandalwood hadn't thought of it like that. He had to admit, Micro had a point. Flash really had grown since their battle against one another. No doubt if they faced off again, Sandalwood wouldn't be able to beat Flash. "So...that's why you wanted to come here."

"Flash got as strong as he is because of all those insane adventures he's been on. All those battles made him way stronger than me. So the only way to catch up, is to go on an adventure like this myself."

"Okay, I get that. But Micro, Flash didn't go looking for trouble when he found himself in those situations. And I'm sure getting stronger would be the last thing he was thinking about, if he was trying to get this fruit. Digimon's lives are on the line. Now really isn't the time to try and push yourself."

Micro frowned, knowing he was right. But what other choice did he have? He needed a situation where he had to succeed. That was the only way to get stronger. "You're right. Sorry. But now, we don't have a choice. We have to get that fruit." Sandal nodded and they kept walking.

"You know, Micro. I don't think you should really compare yourself to Flash." Micro turned to him. "Yeah, Flash got to the Ultimate Level first, but so what? You and he are completely different people. And you both play Digimon two completely different ways. Flash goes all in and fights with his heart. You fight with your mind. Both are great ways to play. They're two different paths to the same destination, that's all."

"I guess," Micro nodded. "But maybe that's the problem. Maybe I don't use my heart enough. Maybe to get to the Ultimate Level, I need to stop thinking and start doing." Sandalwood frowned, not liking where Micro was going with this idea.

But before he could say anything, they heard a rustling in the bushes ahead of them.

They all got into a battle stance, as the rustling got louder. And suddenly, a trio of Digimon that looked like giant pears with mouths, tentacles and petal hair shot out of bushes towards them.

"Weedmon!" Mangoramon cried, as the Digimon began to whip their tendrils at them. Mangoramon quickly leapt in front of the three as he glowed. "Mangoramon, Digivolve to..." The whips bounced of the light, as Mangoramon transformed into a more humanoid form. The light then exploded off of him, revealing his Champion Form. "Arbormon!" The Legendary Warrior of Wood quickly swung his foot around, as it detached and struck one of the Weedmon.

The first living plant was knocked backwards, whilst the other two continued to charge at him.

"Super Shocker!" A blast of lightning flew down and stopped the pair from advancing, Tentomon heading down towards them. "Get 'em, Arbormon!"

Arbormon nodded as his leg retracted back to him, the cyborg Digimon pulling his fist back. "Roundhouse Punt!" He launched his fists forward and punched the Weedmon several times, making them cry out with every impact. The three Weedmon were all knocked backwards and once they realised they couldn't win, they all ran...hopped for it.

Micro and Sandalwood sighed in relief, turning to their Digimon and giving their thanks. "We should hurry," Arbormon told them. "I don't think they're gonna stay gone for long. Probably went to get reinforcements."

"You're right," Micro nodded. "Let's go!" They ran towards the lake, hoping the Sena Fruit would be there. "Hold on guys. We'll be back soon. Just hold out a little longer."

Back at the village, Flash, Trixie, DemiVeemon, Lunamon and Dinohyumon were getting worried.

The Digimon who had been injured were starting to leak out data from the injuries they had sustained. Like blood spilling from an open gash, the data fell out and flew into the air like embers from a flame. In order to help stop this data lose, Flash, Trixie and Lunamon were doing what they could to block the open wounds.

"Are there anymore bandages?" Trixie called out, as Lunamon rushed passed her.

"No, we're fresh out!" She reached a Gaomon and saw he was leaking a lot of data. "What do we do?" She tried to think of some of her Champion forms, hoping one of the ones Trixie had might be able to heal them. But none of them had a healing power like that.

Dinohyumon eventually returned, having ventured into the forest stating he was getting something that might be able to help. That something were a bunch of large leaves and a bucket of mud. "Here!" He put them down, "we smear the leaves in a thin layer of mud and stick it to the wound. That should allow it to act as a bandage?"

"Um," Flash didn't look so sure, "isn't mud in an open wound a bad thing?"

"Maybe on you planet. But here, this particular type of mud can work as an anti-inflammatory. Excellent for dealing with battlefield injuries, but not so great if it's kept on for too long."

"I get it," Flash poured some mud on a leaf. "Hopefully, it'll work to help the Digimon until Sandal and Micro return."

"If they return," Trixie gulped. "Those two have been gone way too long." She took a makeshift bandage and moved over to a Digimon. "Are you sure they're gonna make it in time?"

"Just have faith," Flash told her. "Finding a rare flower isn't gonna be easy."

"And that's assuming they even find it at all," Dinohyumon stated. "Musyamon might have got one, but who knows if the tree is still there. Musyamon almost died getting it. If your friends run into the same issue..."

"They'll make it," Flash assured him. "You don't know much about Micro, but that guy never stops once he's decided to do something. Whether it's figuring out an insanely complex equation, finding a rare Digimon scan, or getting something to help those in need. Micro will use every tool in his arsenal to figure out how to do it. And with that big brain of his, he'll discover the secret to doing anything that seems impossible."

Dinohyumon sighed. "I hope you're right." They continued to apply the leaf bandages to the Digimon, which slowed the data loss but didn't stop it completely. If Micro and Sandal didn't get back soon, thing were gonna end badly.

Back at the mountain bowl, Micro, Sandal and their Digimon had arrived at the lake.

Tentomon flew up and looked around, seeing no sign of fruit on any of the surrounding trees. But then, he looked towards the lake and was surprised to see a small island in the middle of it. And on this island was a tree, with several pieces of fruit growing out of it.

"Can it be?" He flew towards it, believing their hard work was about to be rewarded.

However, as he was getting closer to the island, something shot out of the water too fast for Tentomon to react. The next thing he knew, he was getting slammed by it and sent flying.

"Tentomon!" Micro gasped, seeing his partner be knocked away by something. Taking a closer look, he saw it was a long green vine-like tendril, that had pink leaves around the end of it and a long yellow sting weapon.

As Tentomon crashed into the lake, another tendril appeared besides the first. Then, something slowly rose out of the water and revealed itself to be a huge Digimon of around AeroVeedramon's height.

It was a fusion of both dinosaur and plant. It stood on two feet, though it looked like it could walk on all fours if it wanted to. Its body was mostly white and green, its arms and legs covered in wood whilst its back had a quartet of leaf wings. Its head was like that of a T-rex, with wood on the top, two purple whiskers on the front and and a bunch of red petals at the back of its head. Around its neck, acting like a jacket collar, were two more large petals that were green on the outside and pink on the inside.

They all gasped seeing it. "Toropiamon," Arbormon gulped as Tentomon picked himself up out of the water.

"What's the big idea?" The ladybug Digimon asked, "don't you know it's rude to knock somebody out of the air?" Toropiamon glared down at him, Tentomon suddenly feeling very small in comparison.

Toropiamon growled before turning to the humans. "You will leave."

"Fine," Micro told him. "But we need a Sena Fruit for the Digimon in a town that are hurt."

"NOOOOOO!" He roared, which shook the ground around them and made the lake turn into a massive wave pool. "The Sena Fruit are our treasure. Those that attempt to steal them will feel my wrath!"

Micro frowned, seeing he wasn't going to be reasoned with. "I'm getting that fruit. You can't stop me." The beast roared, as Tentomon stepped up next to him. "Are you ready?"

"I am. But are you sure this is a good idea. Toropiamon is an Ultimate Level Digimon." Micro knew that and knew their chances of winning were slim to none.

And those chances got even worse when they heard noises coming from the bushes behind them, the four glancing back and seeing a bunch of Weedmon appearing from behind them. It seems the three from before had returned with friends, the group finding themselves staring down opponents on both sides.

"This isn't good," Sandal stood back to back with Micro. "You sure you wanna do this? We might still be able to fight our way out."

"No," Micro shook his head, "I have to do this. Not just for me, but for those Digimon too." He took out his Digivice. "Let's do this, Tentomon!"

"I'm with you!" The insect Digimon leapt into the air, as light exploded out of Micro's Digivice and surrounded his partner. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger before exploding, revealing the giant blue beetle Digimon. "Kabuterimon!"

Micro nodded, as Sandal and Arbormon rushed towards the Weedmon. "We'll hold these guys off! You guys do whatever you need to get that flower!" Micro nodded, as the pair leapt through the bushes. "Go, Arbormon!"

"Roundhouse Punt!" Arbormon swung his arms and legs around, the four launching off his body and connecting with the Weedmon. But each time he knocked one down, another appeared to take its place. "This ain't gonna be easy."

"Yeah," Sandal nodded. "But we gotta do this if we want Micro to have a chance of getting that fruit." The glared at the Weedmon, "you guys are going down!"

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon launched a blast of electrical energy towards Toropiamon, aiming for the lake intending to zap him by surprise.

But Toropiamon quickly leapt into the air and spread his leaf wings, allowing him to take flight and avoid the attack completely. As he did, the petals around his neck started giving off a strange orange powder. "Petal Carnage!" With a beat of his wings, a gust of air blew the pollen towards Kabuterimon.

The giant bug covered his mouth, expecting this to be some kind of poison cloud. But then the pollen made contact with him and when it did, a massive explosion filled the air and he roared at the intense heat.

He was blown backwards, Micro gasping at this, whilst Toropiamon flew forward and slashed at Kabuterimon with his claws. Kabuterimon barely had time to react, grabbing Toropiamon's claws and attempting to hold them back. But Toropiamon was just too strong and and swung the claws around, sending Kabuterimon flying down towards the lake.

"Kabuterimon!" Micro cried, as his partner crashed into the ground. "NO!" Kabuterimon laid on the ground, moaning as he tried to push himself back up. "Come on, you gotta get up!" As he said this, Toropiamon flew down and smashed his tails down atop the insect.

Kabuterimon roared in pain, at the twin tail crushed him underneath him. Toropiamon then spun around and kicked Kabuterimon flying over the lake.

Micro gasped, now seeing just how powerful Toropiamon really was. "This was a mistake." He watched as Toropiamon made his way towards Kabuterimon. "No, I can't let myself succumb to fear." He pushed his glasses up, "Flash was probably terrified by Therizinomon and he still kept fighting. I have to do the same. Come on, Kabuterimon. FIGHT!" But Kabuterimon didn't appear to be in much position to fight back against his opponent.

"Blockade Seed!" Arbormon unleashed a barrage of seeds, which slammed into the Weedmon and started tying them up.

Arbormon then continued to fight against the large horde of Digimon attempting to destroy them, the Legendary Warrior of Wood showing why he was such a famous Digimon. "Go Arbormon!" Sandal cheered, "those Weedmon don't stand a chance against you!"

"Deadly Ivy!" Many Weedmon roared, as they spun their vine arms towards Arbormon. But before they could hit, Arbormon leapt into the air and the vines ended up hitting each other.

The Weedmon flinched at this, as Arbormon started spinning in the air. "Roundhouse Punt!" His arms and legs shot at the plant Digimon and knocked them all flying backwards, Arbormon falling back to the ground and retracting the limbs back to them. "Yeah, how'd you like that?"

Sandal smirked, but then felt something. Another presence, which was slowly approaching them from within the forest. "Arbormon, something's coming!" The Champion Digimon noticed it as well, quickly putting his fists up ready to fight whatever was coming.

They watched, as a large figure appeared that seemed to be a giant mass of tentacles. It pushed several trees over, as it revealed itself to be a giant flower Digimon with a yellow face, purple leaves and a giant mouth. Its body was made out of thorny tendrils and its arms had black and red versions of its head that had no eyes.

"A Blossomon," Arbormon realised. "Not good." As he said that, Blossomon raised its arms before swinging them around. "Sandal, get someplace safe!" Sandal didn't argue, as Blossomon yelled out.

"Spiral Flower!" The small heads on its vines detached and flew through the air, the petals on them turning it into some kind of shuriken that sliced through anything it touched.

The Weedmon had run away, not wanting to get in Blossomon's way whilst Arbormon did his best to avoid some of the attacks. But one of them managed to hit his shoulder and he cried out as he staggered backwards. "Arbormon!" Sandalwood cried, as the heads grew back on Blossomon's vines.

The Ultimate Level Digimon then thrust its tendrils forward, the mouths on the head snapping open and shut.

Arbormon started jumping around, avoiding the attacks as best he could. But one managed to get right in front of him and he could only grab it by the mouth. He grunted, as he was pushed backwards whilst struggling to keep the beast's jaw's open. Eventually, he found himself pinned to the tree as the other tendril heads coiled around him and prepared to swallow him whole.

"Raaah!" Arbormon forced the head down into the ground and leapt onto it, the other heads missing him as he ran up and pulled his fist back. "Roundhouse Punt!" He leapt forward and threw the punch into Blossomon's face, but the attack did absolutely nothing.

"No way!" Sandalwood cried, as Blossomon swung a vine around and knocked Arbormon flying.

The Cyborg Digimon crashed into the ground, crying out in pain as he did so. He rolled onto his front and picked himself up, as Blossomon approached. "Can't...give up. Gotta...keep fighting."

Back with Micro, he could only watch as Kabuterimon was constantly wailed on again and again.

Toropiamon slashed at him with his claws, then swung his tail around to knock him back before unleashing the explosive pollen. Micro flinched as his partner took more and more damage, all the while unsure what to do. "Come on. What would Flash do?" But all he could think was that Flash would just keep fighting and somehow win. That wasn't working here.

In that moment, Toropiamon leapt backwards and took a deep breath. "Tropical Venom!" A purple gas exploded out of his mouth, completely covering Kabuterimon.

Micro gasped at this, fearing the worst as Kabuterimon started screaming in pain. The insect Digimon felt himself being deleted from the inside, with Toropiamon continuing to stop on him. "I have to do something. But what? What would Flash do?" It was then that he remembered what Sandal had said earlier.

"And you both play Digimon two completely different ways. Flash goes all in and fights with his heart. You fight with your mind. Both are great ways to play. They're two different paths to the same destination, that's all."

"Sandal was right. I can't just keep fighting and hope everything turns out alright. I've gotta use my brain and make things turn out alright." He looked around, trying to think of a way to help Kabuterimon. Then, he looked over at the Sena Fruit tree and realised something. "That's it!" He dove into the water, swimming towards the island.

Arbormon leapt into the air to avoid Blossomon's attack, as his mouth opened up.

"Seed Blockade!" He fired a bunch of seeds out of his mouth, hitting Blossomon before they opened up and started sprouting vines around him. Arbormon hoped this would be enough to lock the Ultimate in place, but Blossomon quickly raised its other heads and started chomping through the vines. "Not good."

Sandalwood watched as Blossomon freed itself and once again charged, slamming Arbormon with its vines. "No!" He yelled, as the sound of Kabuterimon's cries also filled the air. "We can't let this thing pass. Micro needs more time." Arbormon groaned as he picked himself up. "We won't quite."

"Not now, not ever!" Arbormon stood tall and took a deep breath, as Sandal's Digivice started glowing.

Micro finally reached the island and with Toropiamon focused on Kabuterimon, it didn't notice him climb out the water and run for the tree.

He leapt up and grabbed one of the fruit, rushing back to the water and crushing it in his hands. "I hope this works." The juice dripped out of his hands and into the water, a glow coming out of it. "Yes!" He watched, as the lake turned bright red like the fruit. "Kabuterimon, drink up!"

As soon as the water around Kabuterimon turned red, he started drinking it. And when he did, he suddenly found himself healing along with the pain in his body vanishing.

Toropiamon saw this and was shocked, as Kabuterimon's body sparked. "Electro Shocker!" The lightning exploded out of him and filled the lake, Micro getting far away from the water, with Toropiamon getting the zapping of a lifetime.

It roared and staggered back, as Kabuterimon began to pick itself up. Micro smiled as he realised Sandal had been right. "Flash has his way of playing this game, and I have mine." His Digivice started glowing. "And as long as I keep following my path to get stronger, I know I'll catch up with Flash." He looked up at Toropiamon. "I'm not gonna let you beat me!"

Sandal glared at Blossomon, "I'm not gonna let you beat me!"

The two humans didn't notice their Digivices glowing brighter, as their Digimon felt a rush of strength flowing through them. And then, the pair spoke in perfect unison. "We're gonna take that fruit and help our friends! No matter what!" With that, the two Digivices exploded with light that the pair finally noticed.

Micro and Sandal stared down at their Digivices in amazement, as the light flew out and towards their partners.

Kabuterimon and Arbormon were quickly surrounded in a cocoon of light, the pair undergoing an amazing transformation within it. "Arbormon/Kabuterimon, Digivolve to..." Arbormon's wooden body began to crack apart, as something inside of it started expanding within it.

Eventually, the whole thing exploded and revealed the large plant lizard Digimon. He continued to grow larger and larger, growing flower parts as he did so. Eventually, he was even larger than Blossomon and roared as he flicked his twin tails around. "Petaldramon!"

Kabuterimon's body started charging colour, turning from blue to a crimson red. The only things that stayed blue were his hands and feet, which his horn grew longer and gained an axe-like protrusion on the end. Then, his wings glowed and merged together on his back to form a large red shell with a blue orb on the back of it.

The new Digimon broke out of the cocoon and was now as large as Toropiamon. "MegaKabuterimon!"

The two new Ultimates landed and glared down their opponents, as their partners watched in amazement. "No way," Micro gasped.

"Wicked," Sandal smirked.

Their opponents were shocked by this turn of events, but quickly got over it and attacked. But Petaldramon and MegaKabuterimon were ready. "Thorn Jab!" Petaldramon stabbed his tail into the ground and from out of it, a bunch of thorny roots exploded around Blossomon and started slamming into the Ultimate.

Blossomon roared at this and tried to fire its shurikens, cutting through the vines. But as it did, Petaldramon leapt onto its back legs as its flower collar started spinning.

"Leaf Cyclone!" A blast of air exploded out of his nostril and a giant tornado of leaves began flying towards Blossomon. It slammed into the mass of viney tentacles and pushed him backwards, slamming him through several trees until he finally left the range of the wind.

He crashed into the ground and the trees started falling towards it, crushing it beneath the mass of wood.

Petaldramon roared as he started glowing, then began to shrink down. Sandalwood saw this and rushed over to his partner, expecting to see Mangoramon. But instead, he saw something else instead.

It looked like Mangoramon's head, only he was just a head with a smaller version of his head leaf. Coming out the back was a small root that looked like Mangoramon's tail. "Mangoramon?" He picked him up, as the Digimon opened his eyes and smiled.

"I'm Sproutmon."

Sandal smirked, "nice to meet you, Sproutmon. You were great back there." He then heard a roar and turned back to the lake, rushing out of the trees to see Toropiamon and MegaKabuterimon wrestling against one another. "No way, Kabuterimon Digivolved too?"

MegaKabuterimon pushed Toropiamon back, as the bottom of his shell suddenly exploded and unleashed a blast of fire. This allowed him to rocket into the air, Toropiamon following after him. But as it did, MegaKabuterimon flew around and charged down towards him.

"Body Blow!" He roared, accelerating down and slamming his horn into the dragon.

The impact knocked the beast backwards, allowing MegaKabuterimon to pull back and began building power within him. As he did, Toropiamon regained control and started shaking his head. "Petal Carnage!" The pollen flew off his body and with a beat of his wings, were sent towards MegaKabuterimon.

But when the cloud hit he beetle and exploded, MegaKabuterimon wasn't even scratched. Instead, the insect sparked with electrical energy which flew out of the orb on his back and into his horn. This resulted in the horn's axe head to be surrounded in an electric sphere. "HORN BUSTER!" The lightning exploded off of it and shot towards Toropiamon, slamming into it and causing a massive explosion.

Toropiamon roared as it fell out of the sky and crashed into the lake, making Micro and Sandalwood cheer as MegaKabuterimon flew down. But as he did, he started glowing before his body shrank down. When the light faded, it revealed a small pink blob with arms.

He fell a good ten feet until Micro caught him, the In-Training Digimon looking exhausted. "Motimon. You did it."

"We did it," Motimon smiled. "Because you believed in your own abilities, you were able to help me Digivolve to Ultimate." Micro smiled at this, only to hear movement coming from the lake.

He looked down and realised the lake was still red, meaning it could heal any Digimon that drank from it. And since Toropiamon fell into the water...

"Uh oh." He rushed up to the tree and grabbed another Sena Fruit, as the water exploded with Toropiamon raising from it. Micro quickly hid behind the tree and glanced around it, spotting Sandalwood at the shore. The teen quickly held up the fruit and Sandal nodded, the pair taking out their Digivices.

As Toropiamon swam around the island and glared at where they were, Micro and Sandal ported out of the place. Toropiamon tried to grab Micro, but they vanished at the last second. The beast let out a mighty roar, furious that it had allowed the thieves to escape.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

Back at the village, Dinohyumon was beginning to grow terrified.

The attempts they had made to keep the Digimon from losing data were no longer working. With every passing second, the Digimon grew weaker and weaker. It wouldn't be long before they were all deleted and when that happened, Micro and the others getting back would be too late.

"Please hold on," Lunamon cried. "The others are gonna be here soon."

Gaomon coughed as more data leaked out. "I'm...I'm not sure I can last much longer." Lunamon looked ready to start crying, fearing all their efforts would be in vain.

But then, a flash of light appeared next to everyone. They looked around and gasped when they saw the four appear, Flash and Trixie noting the Digimon were in their In-Training form. "Micro!" Flash rushed over to him, "did you get it?" Micro smirked as he held up a particular red fruit.

"You sure that's the Sena Fruit?" Trixie asked, as Micro stepped over to the lake.

"Oh, we're sure. I just watched one of these turn an entire lake into the fountain of healing." He knelt down and squeezed the fruit, crushing it and causing the juice to drip into the water. Doing so caused it to slowly turn red, allowing Dinohyumon and the other village Digimon to start filling cups and buckets.

Soon enough, all the injured Digimon were being fed this healing water. "Hurry," Lunamon gave Gaomon a sip of the red liquid. As he drank it, he started glowing with the wound in his side slowly healing up. "It's working."

The other Digimon began to heal as well, whilst Micro and Sandalwood told Flash and Trixie everything that had happened.

"Seriously?" Flash was amazed, "you Digivolved to Ultimate?" They nodded, as Sandalwood scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, though mine wasn't really that stable. Petaldramon De-Digivolved in less than a minute. Micro was the one that managed to keep his Evolution going longer." The other two smiled at Micro, who seemed a little sheepish.

"It was nothing," he told them. "Really." He turned to Flash, "I'm sorry." Flash looked confused by this. "Ever since you got the the Champion rank, I felt like you somehow got ahead of me. I wanted to catch up and I thought being more like you would help me do that. That's why I was so keen on going on this adventure."

"Micro," Flash sighed. "You don't need to be more like me to be awesome. You're awesome in your own special way."

"Yeah," Micro nodded, "I get that now. It wasn't until I stopped trying to be you and acted more like me, that I managed to turn the tables and help Kabuterimon Digivolve. You have your way of battling and I have mine."

Flash smirked and held up a fist, "that's what makes us such an awesome team. Together, we have a way of fighting that can take anyone down." Micro smiled and bumped his fist, DemiVeemon and Motimon leaping onto their arms and doing the same. Everyone laughed, as Dinohyumon moved over to them.

"I want to once again thank you all," he told him. "You saved my village and saved my friends. We are indebted to you."

"You don't owe us anything," Flash assured him. "We only did what anyone would do when they saw other in need." The others nodded. Dinohyumon smiled at this.

"You are all heroes worthy of respect," he told them. "I hope the next time you come here, my village will be rebuilt and we can properly celebrate everything you've done for us." They smiled at this, liking the sound of that.

They had all been through a lot and they had all come out stronger for it. Now Micro and Sandal had accessed the Ultimate Level, but only time would tell if it was a one off or if they had truly levelled up. There were many challenges awaiting them in the future and to overcome them, they would all need to grow stronger. As they continued their adventures in the Digital World.

Author's Note

Micro and Sandal both made it to the Ultimate Level. You're probably a little upset Sandal didn't go through any major growth to get to his evolution, but I think he's already a balanced enough guy. He just needed the right kind of motivation to push himself to the next level. Hope you enjoyed it.

Double Battle, Double Trouble

The weekend had arrived and on that day, Flash Sentry was hanging out at Twilight's place.

The pair were working on a History Report together, both feeling the tedious strain of research baking their brains as they sat in Twilight's dining room surrounded by a mountain of textbooks. If it wasn't for the fact they were likely having fun someplace else right now, the two would have probably been driven insane by it.

"Okay," Twilight typed away at her computer. "I think we've got the introduction nailed. Now we've just gotta figure out the middle and the end." Flash groaned at this and slammed his head down on the table.

Twilight smiled at this, then frowned when she heard another voice crying out. "Come on! Come on! Come on! NOOOOO!" Flash raised his head and turned to look through the doorway that led into the kitchen, where Twilight's little brother was currently at his own computer. He seemed to be distraught about something, the teen slamming his head on the table.

"Is he okay?" He asked, Twilight smiling as she opened another book.

"He's just whining because he probably lost another Digimon battle." Flash could understand that. Before Codex, online battles were the most intense battles he had ever experienced. But now that he had actually been Digimon and fought as them, those matches seemed pretty tame in comparison.

"Is he any good at the game?" Flash didn't want to be rude, but he couldn't help but be curious.

"He wins about half of his matches," Twilight explained. "Though he would probably win more if he wasn't so predictable." Flash wondered what she meant by that. "He only plays using dragonoid Digimon or Digimon that can become dragons. He'll play as Agumon, but only because War and ShineGreymon are Dragon Digimon."

"Really?" Flash asked.

"Yup." She glanced at Spike as he started another game, then leaned in and whispered into Flash's ear. "Whatever you do, don't tell him you have a rare dragon Digimon as a partner. You'll spend the rest of the day answering Spike's questions about Veemon and all his forms."

"Got it," Flash nodded before realising something. "Wait, he knows about Codex?"

"Yup. Shining told us all about it when he first got his Digivice. I didn't believe him at first. But when he got Monodramon as a partner, I couldn't find a way to deny it was real. It's what made me so eager to get my own Digivice, so I could go to the Digital World as well. Same with Spike."

"So he's trying to get his win rate high enough to be chosen?" Flash realised, as Twilight nodded.

"But I doubt he'll be able to win enough. Because he only uses Dragon Digimon, his opponents know how to best counter him." Flash frowned, feeling sorry for Spike.

"Well maybe we can help him."

"Shining and I already tried, but Spike wants to earn his way into Codex on his own." Flash could respect that, but hearing Spike's cry of frustrations coming from the other room made him feel sorry for the teen. "Don't worry about it. Spike will get there in the end. And when he does, he'll appreciate it more since he worked so hard to get in."

Flash nodded as they turned their attention back to their report, all the while Flash wondered what his Digital self was currently up to. He was pretty sure he had met up with some of his friends in Codex, so hopefully he was enjoying himself and might even be learning something.

As it turned out, Flash was learning something in Codex.

Flash had met up with Trixie after the two had both won a battle in the Champion Stadium, both feeling pretty good about themselves. And when they returned to the foyer, they had met up with Applejack and Rarity. And it was there he was learning about a type of battle he had never heard of before.

"A tag battle?" He looked at them in confusion, the pair smiling at him.

"What?" Applejack asked, "ya'h never seen a tag battle?" Flash and Veemon nodded, this being the first they'd ever heard of such a thing. "Well, it's pretty much the same as a regular battle. Except ya'h have to fight alongside someone else."

"So there's four people fighting?" Flash asked, "like a battle royal?"

"No," Rarity shook her head. "Yes, there's four Digimon fighting. But it's a two on two match. Like a doubles match in tennis."

"Oh," Flash nodded, "so you need to work with someone else to fight against two opponents? I guess that could be fun." Veemon nodded, whilst Trixie and Lunamon hummed.

"I think I remember seeing a tag battle before," the blue skinned girl stated. "But...isn't it hard to do?"

"What's so hard about it?" Veemon asked, "just sounds like a normal battle with extra players."

"But not extra Security," Lunamon replied. "If I remember right, both players share the Securities of the member with the highest one. If two Champions compete together and one of them is using a partner, they'll both share the five Securities that gives them."

"Exactly," Rarity nodded, "which means you can't just focus on your own safety. You have to consider your partner's needs as well."

"Huh," Flash thought about this and nodded. "I guess that makes sense. But still, I bet I could fight with anyone."

"Really?" Applejack asked, "even Jet Set?" Flash frowned at the thought of needing to partner with that guy. "Yeah, thought so. Y'all should really try and experience a Tag Battle, just in case you ever find ya-self competing in one. Sometimes, players decide to Tag Battle and two random players are forced to battle against them."

"Yes," Rarity nodded, "Applejack and I actually had that happen to us once. It was quite the surprise, I can tell you. By the time we managed to get into a proper flow with one another, we were already far behind our opponents."

"I still don't think it'd be that hard," Flash stated. "Yeah, Jet Set I might have a problem with. But if it's someone I get along with, I shouldn't have any problems working with them."

"Really?" Applejack asked, "then how about you and Trixie face off against Rare and me?" The pair shared a look, wondering how well they would do in a battle together. But then they remembered all the times they had fought in combat together already. All those times worked out great, so how different would this be.

"You're on!" The pair cried before the four got up, heading towards the Beta-Stadium. As they did, Lunamon frowned.

"I don't think this is gonna work as well as they think it will," she stated.

"You worry too much," Veemon smirked. "Watch, Flash and Trixie are gonna destroy Applejack and Rarity."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Salamon smiled as she past him. "Rarity and Applejack are friends in real life. They know everything about each other, including how they think."

Labramon nodded. "In a Tag Battle, knowing what your partner's gonna do is even more important than knowing what your opponent's gonna do. Just watch, this battle isn't gonna go like you think it will." Lunamon was more worried about this, but Veemon wasn't. He knew Flash and Trixie could work together. This battle would be a snap.

Once they were at the stadium, the four got themselves a battle dome and headed inside. There, they found four podiums for the Digivices instead of the normal two. Applejack and Rarity moved over to one pair of podiums, whilst Flash and Trixie stepped over to another.

"Since this is ya'h first tag battle, one of you two can pick the location." Flash and Trixie nodded but wondered who would pick it. After a came of rock-paper-scissors, Flash would be the one to pick the location.

"Alright," Flash uploaded his deck and Trixie did the same, Applejack and Rarity having already loaded theirs. He then opened his locations and looked through them, whilst trying to figure out the best location of him and Trixie. But since he didn't know which Digimon Trixie would be using, he could only guess. "Geyser Field!" He selected that area and the girls looked at him curiously, wondering why he would pick that location. "You girls ready?"

"Ready!" They all replied, the four of them hitting the start button. "LET'S GET DIGITAL!" The battlefield began to form around them, whilst they and their Digimon turned to one another.

One by one, the four merged with their partners. Flash became Veemon, Trixie became Lunamon, Applejack became Labramon and Rarity became Salamon. As they fused, the battlefield went completely white and the four vanished.

At the same time, Twilight and Rainbow were walking through the foyer when Tawnimon noticed one of the screens.

"Look, Flash, Trixie, Rarity and Applejack are having a Tag Battle." They all looked up and saw the four merge with their Digimon, Twilight and Rainbow smirking as they sat down to watch. The battlefield quickly formed and revealed a large open rockscape, with many pools of boiling water covering it. In several areas, there were small holes that unleashed blasts of steams.

Veemon, Lunamon, Labramon and Salamon all appeared.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-100%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-100%

All but Veemon looked around, the blue dragon quickly rushing forward. "Vee-Headbutt!" He cried, launching himself at Labramon. The larger dog Digimon tried to escape, but Veemon was faster and smashed into him.

She howled as she was thrown towards one of the boiling pools, barely managing to dig her claws into the ground to slid to a stop.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-100%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-85%

Salamon gasped at this and Lunamon used her distraction to run forward. But before she could reach the puppy Digimon, a blast of steam exploded in front of her. This forced Lunamon to come to a stop, allowing Salamon to recover and prepare her own attack.

"Puppy Howl!" She barked, glowing soundwaves flying towards Lunamon as the steam faded.

They slammed into Lunamon, but the moon rabbit was able to hold out as they slammed into her. "Nice try. But you're Vaccine and I'm a Data. Your attacks aren't gonna do anything."

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-85%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-85%

As the attack died down, Veemon charged at Salamon and tried to punch her. But the smaller Rookie leapt back, Veemon trying yet another punch. But before it could land, Labramon leapt at him and tackled him away from Salamon. The two started wrestling against one another, with Veemon starting to pin Labramon.

But just before he could get her down for the count, Labramon was able to thrust her back legs into Veemon's stomach and throw him into the air.

"WOW!" Veemon cried, as he was sent flying through the air. His unintended target was Lunamon, who tried to escape but once again found a wall of steam blocking her way. As such, Veemon slammed into her and the two were knocked rolling along the ground and almost fell into a pool of hot water.

"Hey!" Lunamon cried, "get off!"

"Ow!" Veemon pushed himself back to his feet, as Lunamon picked herself up. "Sorry."

"Why the heck did you pick this place?" Lunamon cried, "I can't build up any speed with all these geysers around stopping me! What made you think coming here was a good idea?"

"Well...I was trying to think of a place having four feet was a problem. I figured they'd use their partners, so I thought about what quadrupedal Digimon would have trouble with."

"And your answer was geysers?"

"More feet means they need to stand on more spots. More spots means more chance of stepping on a geyser!" Lunamon rolled her eyes, but didn't get the chance to tell him how stupid that idea is. The reason being Labramon had leapt at the pair with her claws ready.

The pair leapt back, but Veemon found himself in Salamon's line of sight.

"Puppy Howl!" She unleashed the glowing blast of sound towards Veemon and slammed into him, Veemon crying out as he was knocked backwards. As he did, another geyser exploded and he flew through the steam.

"GYAH!" He cried, the heat of the steam burning him hard along with the damage of the Puppy Howl.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-60%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-85%

He hit the ground rolling a let out a moan when he came to a stop. As he did, Salamon smiled only for Lunamon to attack her. "Luna Claw!" She slashed at the mammal Digimon and the impact sent her flying with a cry of pain.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-60%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-55%

Lunamon charged for another attack, but Labramon intercepted the attack and knocked her back. This allowed Salamon to pick herself up, Veemon doing the same, both then hearing a geyser blow up ahead of them. And when it did, it spat something out onto the battlefield. A Digivolution Coin.

Both Digimon saw this and gave each other a look before breaking into a mad dash. But as they did, Labramon leapt back. "Retriever Bark!" She howled and the sound wave slammed into Lunamon, knocking her flying backwards.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-45%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-55%

She flew over the battlefield and as luck would have, straight into the path of Veemon. The pair were once again knocked into one another, sending them sprawling to the ground and allowing Salamon to reach the Digivolution Coin.

"Ahhh!" Veemon growled, "seriously?"

Lunamon groaned, "now we're even!" The pair pushed each other away and picked themselves up, as Salamon stepped forward.

"Thank you for the power-up," she smiled at Labramon.

"No problem," Labramon nodded. "Put it to good use."

"Oh, I most certainly will." Salamon smiled as she leapt up into the air, looking ready to pounce of Veemon and Lunamon. The pair tried to jump away, but they accidently slammed into each other and fell over. "Petit Punch!" She slammed one of her front paws into each of the pair, making them flinch as their chests were stepped on.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-25%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-55%

The two quickly recovered and tried to grab Salamon, but she leapt up and the pair missed. Then tried to get up, but accidently slammed their heads into one another as they did so. "Augh!" They both moaned, as Salamon landed on Labramon's back.

The dog Digimon rushed forward, as her claws began to glow. "Hound Razor!" Her leapt at them, Salamon leaping off her back as he tried to slash at Veemon.

But the rookie dragon managed to recover from his head bashing and grab the dog before the claws struck. "Not today!" He threw Labramon towards a pool, hoping to boil her and deal with Salamon. But the smaller dog had other ideas.

"Puppy Howl!" She launched her sonic attack under Labramon and the canine fell into the light, only to get blown back into the air with little damage done.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-25%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-50%

Labramon landed on the other side of the pool, the tiny scratch she got much better than being boiled alive. "Retriever Back!" She then unleashed a sonic blast that hit the pool and blasted the hot water into the air.

Both Veemon and Lunamon felt drops of the water splash down on them, making them all cry out as they were burned in several places.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-5%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-50%

"Hot!" Veemon cried, "hot! Hot! Hot!"

"This is all your fault!" Lunamon cried. "You brought us in here. Worst of all, there's so much steam in the air nobody watching's gonna be able to see me!"

"Seriously?" Veemon asked, "that's what you're worried about? Not losing the battle!" The pair glared at one another, looking close to coming to blows themselves.

In the foyer, everyone had started watching the pair battle because of how hilarious it was.

Twilight, Rainbow and their Digimon weren't enjoying this so much. "Those two have gotta get their heads in the game," Kamemon stated. "If they don't, they're gonna be in serious trouble." They watched as the pair kept arguing, Twilight groaning.

"Come on guys. You're supposed to be partners."

"I don't think those two have the best personalities to really work as a team," Rainbow stated as Labramon ran around the pool and attacked.

"Hound Razor!" He slashed at Veemon, making him cry out as he was sent staggering back.

Veemon+Lunamon: 5-0%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-50%

"Tear Shot!" Lunamon launched a bunch of bubbles from her antenna, but Labramon and Salamon were able to avoid them. As they did, Veemon managed to pick himself up and had had enough.

"Battle Gear...BOOST!" His arm was covered in lightning, which exploded outwards and formed a familiar looking blade. "Volt-Edge!" He smirked as he charged up the weapon, then swung it around and unleash a wave of lightning.

That wave shot towards all three of the other players, Lunamon gasping as she ducked under it. "Watch it!" Luckily, the attack slammed into both Labramon and Salamon, who had just landed from dodging the Tear Shot and was unable to avoid the attack.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-100%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-20%

The pair cried out as they were electrified, Veemon smirking as he rushed forward. He slashed at Labramon, the dog barely managing to duck under the attack, then managed to hit Salamon.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-100%
Labramon+Salamon: 5-5%

Salamon staggered back, as Lunamon charged in to attack again. But as she did, Salamon's Digivolution gauge hit the max. "Finally!" She cried, as something appeared in front of her. The Digimental of Light, which exploded into light and wrapped around her. "Salamon, Armor Digivolve to..." Veemon and Lunamon were forced to leap back, as Salamon grew larger and gained a pair of wings. When the light exploded off of her, the sphinx Digimon was revealed. "Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

"Oh, that's not good!" Veemon watched as Nefertimon flew into the air, whilst the armor around her chest began to glow.

"Rosetta Stone!" The light flew off the armor and from it, a stone tablet fired out and exploded.

Labramon had already rushed for cover, whilst Veemon tried his best to slash the rock pieces away. But he and Lunamon were quickly overwhelmed and the shards slammed into them, doing damage with every hit. And as the last of the rocks slammed into them, Labramon leapt into action.

"Retriever Bark!" She cried as she unleashed another sonic blast, which struck the pair and knocked them flying backwards.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-55%
Labramon+Nefertimon: 5-5%

Both Digimon slammed into the ground and rolled along it, barely avoiding rolling into steam blasts. They both moaned as they came to a stop, with a burst of stream exploding close to them. As they picked themselves up, they looked over and saw the geyser had revealed yet another Digivolution coin.

"I GOT IT!" They both cried, rushing to try and grab it. The pair glared at each other, clearly thinking they were the better choice to Digivolve. But this slowed them down enough for Nefertimon to fly down.

"Queens Paw!" She cried, launching several gemstones from her bracelets. These gems rained down on the pair and forced them to jump backwards, though two or three managed to hit them.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-20%
Labramon+Nefertimon: 5-5%

This allowed Labramon to rush in and grab the Coin, powering herself up whilst Veemon and Lunamon glared at each other. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" They each cried, as Nefertimon flew down with the ornament on her head beginning to glow.

"Cat's Eye Beam!" She fired a laser at the two and both barely managed to stop arguing long enough to leap back, Veemon spitting a blast of fire into his mouth.

"Vee Shot!" He launched it towards Nefertimon and though she managed to avoid it, the explosion hit her wing and sent to flying out of control.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-20%
Labramon+Nefertimon: 5-0%

She landed and as she did, Lunamon ran forwards as her claws glowed with dark energy. "Luna Claw!" She slashed at the Armor Digimon, but Nefertimon managed to block using her leg gauntlets and the damage was cut down.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-20%
Labramon+Nefertimon: 4-90%

"Hound Razor!" Labramon leapt at Lunamon and slashed at her, Lunamon leaping back as Veemon charged in. He slashed at Labramon, but the dog Digimon managed to avoid the Volt-Edge attack whilst Nefertimon leapt into the air and spread her wings.

"Don't let her get back into the air!" Veemon cried, as Lunamon pointed her antenna at the Armor Digimon.

"Tear Shot!" The beautiful bubbles flew out of her antenna and headed straight for Nefertimon, but Nefertimon was ready.

"Queen's Paw!" She fired several gems from her gauntlets and they popped the bubbles, then kept going until they slammed into Lunamon several times.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-5%
Labramon+Nefertimon: 4-90%

Lunamon staggered back and Labramon prepared to charge at her, but Veemon shot passed and slashed at him with the Volt-Edge. Labramon flinched, getting a serious zapping as he did so.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-5%
Labramon+Nefertimon: 4-75%

However, she quickly recovered a slashed back at Veemon with her own claws.

Veemon+Lunamon: 4-0%
Labramon+Nefertimon: 4-75%

"Ahh!" Veemon cried, as Nefertimon flew down behind Labramon.

"You guys see now?" Labramon asked. "How important it is to work with your partner instead of against them." Veemon and Lunamon glared at one another, clearly not happy with how barely things were going for them.

Nefertimon nodded. "If you want any chance of winning, you need to put your teammate above yourself. If you don't, you'll never be able to win in a tag battle."

"Maybe if my partner wasn't completely useless!" Lunamon growled at Veemon.

"Me?" He looked insulted, "you're the one trying to show off. You should just follow my lead and let me do all the heavy lifting." The pair glared at one another, their foreheads butting into each other.

Their opponents sighed as Labramon spotted something and smirked. "Looks like we'll have to show you what good teamwork really is." She leapt up, as a geyser exploded between them. As she did, he body glowed. "Labramon, Digivolve to..." She grew larger and her tail gained a new attachment. And as she landed back on the ground, the light exploded off of her to reveal her favourite champion form. "Dorulumon!" She howled into the air, as Nefertimon took to the sky again.

"Rosetta Stone!" She launched the stone into the air and it once again exploded, sending the shards flying towards the Rookie Digimon.

Both of them leapt back, barely managing to avoid the attacks as another geyser exploded in front of them. This geyser melted the rocks that almost hit the pair and as it did, a Digivolution coin was revealed.

Lunamon quickly rushed forward before Veemon could try and grabbed it, smiling as she felt the power flow into her.

"Drill Bit Blitz!" She then heard Dorulumon roar, as he sent several drill rockets flying towards them. She quickly leapt away and Veemon was forced to dive to the ground, making him an easy target for Nefertimon.

But before she could fire an attack, Lunamon leapt into action.

"Lop-Ear Ripple!" She spun around, the four ears on her head turning her into a helicopter as she flew up towards Nefertimon in an attempt to knock her away. But the Armor Digimon was able to avoid the attack and fly up to a safe distance. At the same time, Dorulumon spun the drill on her tail.

"Drill Tornado!" The drill unleashed a vortex of wind, which flew up towards Lunamon and slammed into her.

She screamed, as she was spun around and around several times. Eventually, the attack ended and Lunamon found herself falling out of the wind towards a pool of boiling water. "Not good!" She then noticed her Digivolution Gauge was finally full and smiled, light appearing around her. "Lunamon, Digivolve to..." She grew larger and as she got close to the water, blue tendrils shot out and hit the sides keeping her from falling in.

When the light faded, it revealed Lunamon's champion. "Lekismon!" She cried, her feet barely an inch off the water.

She quickly sprung back into the and and landed on the edge of the pool, rushing forward again as she created an arrow made of ice. But before she could fire, Nefertimon flew down. "Queen's Paw!" She launched the gems towards Lekismon, forcing the rabbit woman to start hopping around to avoid them.

"Tear Arrow!" She launched the arrow towards Nefertimon, but the sphinx Digimon dodged it. However.

"Vee-Shot!" A ball of energy flew up and slammed into Nefertimon, exploding at her side and making her cry out.

Veemon+Lekismon: 3-100%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-55%

She and Dorulumon turned to Veemon, the only remaining Rookie glaring at them as he swung his arm blade around.

The lightning flew off it and shot towards Dorulumon, the wolf unleashing a blast of wind from his tail in order to count it. As he did, Lekismon rushed forward and spun around. "Moon Night Kick!" She thrust her leg forward and slammed it into the wolf's side, knocking her back.

Veemon+Lekismon: 3-100%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-40%

But Dorulumon managed to regain her footing and pointed her head horn towards Lekismon. "Drill Bit Blitz!" The drill launched itself at Lekismon and upon contact, it exploded and she was knocked flying backwards as she screamed out.

Veemon+Lekismon: 3-70%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-40%

"Ouch!" Rainbow flinched, seeing the damage done to Lekismon. "How'd she take so much damage?" Twilight hummed, having not looked at Dorulumon's data in a while. She brought up the bio-page and nodded.

Name: Dorulumon
Level: Champion
Type: Virus
Attribute: Earth
Species: Beast
Family: Nature Spirits. Metal Empire

"Thought so. Virus-type. Not a good match-up for Lekismon."

"So Trixie needs to steer clear of Dorulumon," Tawnimon realised. "let Flash deal with Applejack and let her go after Rarity." The others nodded as they watched Lekismon stare Dorulumon down.

"But are those two gonna be able to figure that out?"

"Time you went beddy byes!" Lekismon cried, as the moon symbols on the backs of her gloves glowed. "Moon Night Bomb!" She swung her arms around and the light exploded off of them, morphing into a bunch of bubbles that flew towards Dorulumon.

But the drilling Digimon smirked seeing them coming. "Really, ya'h expected me to not see that comin?" She spun her tail drill again. "Drill Tornado!" The wind exploded out of her tail and hit the bubbles, pushing them in an entirely different direction. Straight towards another Digimon.

Veemon had been trying to hit Nefertimon with his Volt-Edge, but the Armor Digimon flew up out of range. And as she did, the bubbles flew towards him and he realised too late what had happened.

"Not again!" He cried, as one of the bubbles exploded in his face.

Suddenly, he was feeling very sleepy and could only stand there looking ridiculous. "Are you kidding me?" Lekismon asked, as Veemon staggered around. "Wake up!"

"Flash!" Veemon cried inside his head, "wake up!" But Flash couldn't concentrate, too tired from the attack. As such, he was an easy target for Nefertimon as she flew down.

"Queen's Paw!" She launched the gemstones at Veemon and they slammed into him, the pain not enough to wake him up from his near slumber.

Veemon+Lekismon: 3-45%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-40%

Veemon fell back and rolled along the ground, Lekismon frowning at this. "You need to protect him!" Lunamon cried, but Trixie wasn't listening.

"He didn't dodge in time. Not my fault!"

"But he can't defend himself. And you're both sharing Security. If he takes damage, then so do you." Lekismon groaned, realising she was right.

But as she tried to go and save the sleepy dragon, Dorulumon leapt between them. "Out of the way!" But the wolf growled and leapt at her. She brought up her tendrils and they wrapped around Dorulumon's legs and tail, allowing her to hold him in place.

"Drill Bit Blitz!" He laughed his horn drill towards her and she barely managed to leap out of the way, this causing her to lose her grip on him and allowing him to struggle free.

At the same time, Veemon was laying on the ground letting out a moan. He was still sleepy, Nefertimon flying down preparing to capitalise on it. "You're mine!" She cried, preparing her attack. But before she could, a geyser exploded beneath Veemon and sent a blast of steam right into his face.

"AUGH!" He cried, the heat causing all the drowsiness to suddenly vanish as he was knocked staggering back.

Veemon+Lekismon: 3-30%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-40%

He blinked and realised he was now away, with Nefertimon charging at him. But as she did, he noticed something and smiled. "Finally!" He cried, as the Digimental of Courage appeared before him. "Digi-Armor, Energize!" It burst into flames and wrapped around him, Nefertimon frowning as he grew taller. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." The flames exploded off him, revealing his adult form. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Cat's Eye Beam!" She cried, launching her laser towards the newly Digivolved Digimon.

But Flamedramon leapt into the air, soaring over the lasers as his claws burst into flames. "Fire Rocket!" He launched the fireballs towards Nefertimon, slamming into her and exploding as she cried out in pain.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 3-30%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-20%

As Nefertimon fell to the ground, Flamedramon remained in the air and spotted Dorulumon had Lekismon on the defensive. She was currently swinging her drill tail around, trying to cut into Lekismon with it.

As he landed, he rushed forward whilst the ground in front of him exploded and unleashed a burst of steam. But the now Fire Digimon simply leapt through it without any worry. "Express Claw!" He charged at Dorulumon and tried to slash at her with his glowing claws, Dorulumon seeing this and quickly swinging her claws around.

The claws and drill slammed into one another, the drill grinding away at Flamedramon's attack but doing no damage due to the power of Flamedramon's attack.

Lekismon leapt back and glared at Flamedramon, hating that she had to be saved. The two finally split apart, as Flamedramon glanced back at her. "You focus on Nefertimon. Leave wolf girl to me!"

"What makes you think you can boss me around!" She cried, only for Nefertimon to leap into the air and unleash a Rosetta Stone. The rock shattered and sent the rocks crashing down towards the ground, both Flamedramon and Lekismon getting slammed by them again and again since they were so busy arguing.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 3-5%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-20%

The pair were knocked staggering backwards, as Dorulumon rushed forward. And before they could retaliate, she flew passed and slashed them to the ground so fast she was like a blur.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 3-0%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-20%

The pair moaned as they laid on the ground. "Fine," Lekismon cried, "you take Dorulumon and leave Nefertimon to me." Flamedramon nodded and the pair got up, Flamedramon's claws bursting into flames.

"Fire Rocket!" He launched the flaming projectiles at Dorulumon and he was forced to leap away, allowing Lekismon to rush forwards and passed him.

Dorulumon smirked as she landed, "looks like you two are startin' ta work together. At least, not getting in each other's way." Flamedramon rushed forward and slashed at Dorulumon, hitting her right in the face before spinning around and slamming his foot into her head.

"Augh!" She was knocked backwards, her foot landing on a spot that suddenly exploded and unleashed a blast of steam right at her. "GYAH!"

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-100%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 4-0%

Meanwhile, Lekismon was running after Nefertimon. But the flying Digimon had an advantage, since she was able to fly over the geysers whilst Lekismon had to run around them.

"Tear Arrow!" She cried, firing the ice arrow towards Nefertimon. But the Armor Digimon managed to avoid the attack as a geyser launched another coin into the air, this one being an SP one.

Nefertimon saw it and flew down, grabbing it before it could hit the ground. "Queen's Paw!" She launched the gemstones towards Lekismon, but the rabbit Digimon's tendrils started whipping around to deflect them.

Lekismon then leapt straight up, towards the sphinx Digimon before she could fly up to a safe distance. "Moon Knight Kick!" She slammed her foot right into the Armor Digimon's chest, knocking her flying backwards and even sending her through a newly opened geyser.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-100%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 3-60%

As Nefertimon hit the ground, Lekismon rushed forward ready to deal another hit to her opponent. But before she could, Nefertimon picked herself up and pointed her head towards her. "Cat's Eye Beam!" A laser exploded out of her head and hit Lekismon right in the chest, knocking her backwards.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-85%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 3-60%

Nefertimon used this opening to leap back into the air, whilst Lekismon regained her footing. She looked around, making sure she was nowhere near Flamedramon, then brought her fists together. "Moon Night Bomb!" She unleashed the many bubbles and they flew towards Nefertimon, ready to send her to sleep.

However, Nefertimon unleashed her Queen's Paw attack and the gems popped the bubbles before getting to her. "Nice try," Nefertimon laughed. As she did, she spotted a geyser explode not to far from her and saw it spit out a Digivolution Coin.

Lekismon saw her rush towards it and spotted the coin as well. "Oh no you don't!" She ran for it, hoping to get to it first.

At the same time, Flamedramon and Dorulumon continued to battle. As they did, Dorulumon spotted Nefertimon and Lekismon racing for something. And realising what it was, she knew she needed to help her partner.

So, with the last of her SP, she spun her drill and unleashed a wind. "Drill Tornado!" The vortex flew towards Lekismon, right over a pool of boiling water. This sucked the water into the attack, transforming it into a red hot hurricane.

Lekismon rushed towards Nefertimon and as she did, the water filled tornado reached her.

She gasped as the attack collided with her, Lekismon screaming as she was knocked back and her body burned from the heat.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-40%
Dorulumon+Nefertimon: 3-60%

As Lekismon was knocked away, Nefertimon was able to grab the Digivolution Coin and flew up high. As the energy flowed into her, Nefertimon began to glow as the light formed a cocoon around her. "Nefertimon, Digivolve to..." The light soon exploded to reveal a new Digimon Flash didn't recognise.

It was a humanoid Digimon wearing what appeared to be a blue zip-up bodysuit with white and gold armor on top. Around her waist was a grey spiked ring-like belt, with a red gemstone on the front of it, whilst her chest had white armor with a yellow collar around her neck. Her gloves were also white with yellow trim, the same being true for her leg armor that had yellow claws, whilst she carried a pair of golden khopesh in her hands.

Out the back of her chest armor were a pair of long white ropes similar to a Gatomon's tail, only they were white with red and yellow stripes around them. Her head was mostly covered by a blue helmet similar to Angewomon's, which had a pair of cat ears on it, with her mouth covered by a light blue mask with yellow lines leading down from where her hidden eyes should be.

She swung her khopeshes around as she gently fell back towards the ground. "Sphinxmon!"

Flamedramon and Lekismon stared at the evolved Ultimate and was shocked by what they saw. They had never seen this species of Digimon before. But whatever it was, it was clearly powerful.

Twilight brought up Sphinxmon's bio-page, reading it over and frowning when she saw how strong it was.

Name: Sphinxmon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Light
Species: Puppet
Family: Virus Busters, Nature Spirits

"Not good," she sighed. "Sphinxmon might have lost her flight abilities, but she got a lot more strength and speed in exchange. And he hand to high fighting ability is way stronger."

"Flash and Trixie might be in trouble," Rainbow stated as Sphinxmon rushed forward and her khopeshes glowed.

"Lumino Slash!" She swung the blades around and slashed at Lekismon, making her cry out in pain as she was knocked backwards.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-25%
Dorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-60%

Dorulumon smirked seeing this, but Flamedramon had finally gotten over the amazement of Sphinxmon and began to do battle once again. He slashed at Dorulumon, the wolf doing her best to avoid the claws as she waited for her SP to fill back up. But Flamedramon still had SP to burn.

"Flame Fist!" His burning claws slashed into Dorulumon's side and burned through her, making the wolf howl in pain.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-25%
Dorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-40%

Dorulumon leapt back and swung her tail towards him, but Flamedramon grabbed it right at the base of the drill to avoid getting spiralled to death. Meanwhile, Lekismon and Sphinxmon continued to do battle themselves. The Ultimate swung her khopesh swords at the rabbit, but Lekismon used her ice arrows as swords to block and deflect the attacks.

The two glared at one another, as the gem on Sphinxmon's belt glowed. "Queen's Treasure!" Gems exploded out of it and slammed into Lekismon, making her cry out as she was knocked backwards.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-10%
Dorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-40%

She staggered back, but threw her ice arrows at the Puppet Digimon as she did. However, Sphinxmon was able to block them with her swords before leaping forward and dealing a kick right into Lekismon's side. "Augh!"

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-5%
Dorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-40%

At the same time, Dorulumon swung Flamedramon around until he was forced to release the tail and sent flying.

He and Lekismon slammed into her other, both back to back, causing them to glance back at their partner and glare at them. "Out of my way!" Their opponents rolled their eyes, as Dorulumon's SP recharged enough for an attack.

"Drill Bit Blitz!" He launched the horn drill at Flamedramon and the Armor Digimon leapt into the air, only for the drill to slam into Lekismon and explode as she screamed.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 2-0%
Dorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-40%

As she was blown to the ground, Sphinxmon leapt into the air and slashed at Flamedramon. He saw this coming and quickly raised his claws, blocking the attack before swinging his foot around to slashed at her stomach.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 1-100%
Dorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-35%

The two leapt away from one another, as Lekismon pushed herself to her feet. And as she did, another geyser went off and unleashed a Digivolution Coin. "This one's mine!" She ran forward and tried to grab it, Dorulumon doing the same thing. But Sphinxmon saw where they were going and raised her khopesh swords.

"Baset Brilliance!" Both swords glowed and she swung them through the air, creating an X-shaped blast of light that flew towards Sphinxmon. But because she was distracted by this, Flamedramon was able to get in close.

"Flame Fist!" He slammed his claws right into her head, burning her as she was knocked back and cried out.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 1-100%
Dorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-15%

As she fell to the ground, her attack flew towards Lekismon and the champion gasped. It was too large to avoid, so she had to take it head one. "Tear Shot!" She launched her ice arrows at the attack, firing as many as she could to try and slow the attack down. And when it finally reached her, she thrust two more into it and used all her strength.

With a mighty cry, she was able to push the attack upwards and it was thrown away from her before exploding. Said explosion knocked her off her feet, but still did no damage.

However, this allowed Dorulumon to grab the Digivolution Coin and absorb its power. She let out a howl as her gauge filled, Lekismon getting up and seeing her begin to glow. "No!" She cried, as the light grew brighter.

"Dorulumon, Digivolve to..." Dorulumon leapt onto her back legs, which quickly changed shape to allow her to stand upright whilst her head and front legs shifted positions so she was now humanoid in appearance.

As this was happening, armor appeared around Dorulumon's body. Her chest, shoulders and waist gained silver armor whilst her thighs gained silver and orange armor. The front of her legs also gained silver armor, whilst her left arm became encased within a large metal shield that had three sharp claws sticking out the end of it.

Her tail drill also detached and as it did, it gained a long shaft that Dorulumon caught in her right hand. Finally, from out the back of her armor, a cape appeared that was white on the outside and orange on the inside.

She landed on one knee with her shield raised protectively and her drill lance ready to do battle. She then stood up and got into a fighting stance. "JaegerDorulumon!"

Twilight and Rainbow stared at the Ultimate Digimon, Kamemon and Tawnimon amazed that Dorulumon could become something like that. Twilight then brought up JaegerDorulumon's bio-page.

Name: JaegerDorulumon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Virus
Attribute: Earth
Species: Beast Man
Family: Nature Spirit, Metal Empire, Virus Busters

"Those two are in serious trouble," Twilight stated as JaegerDorulumon rushed forward. She thrust her lance forward, Lekismon barely managing to avoid the attack. He then slashed at her and she once again found herself on the defensive.

"Battle Gear...BOOST!" Lekismon was suddenly holding a large scythe in her hands, which had a crescent moon-shaped blade. She began swinging it around, trying to deflect the drill and claws but finding it hard to do so.

Eventually, JaegerDorulumon managed to hit her hard enough to send the Digimon staggering backwards.

Flamedramon saw this and though he was still battling Sphinxmon, knew he had to do something. As such, he used all his firepower to push the Ultimate Digimon back before rushing over to Lekismon. And as JaegerDorulumon thrust his spear forwards, Flamedramon leapt in front of her and took the attack head on.

"AUGH!" He cried, as the impact made his entire body rattle.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 1-80%
JaegerDorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-15%

Flamedramon continued to scream as he tried to overpower the Ultimate, as he glanced by at Lekismon. "Get a Digivolution Coin...hurry!" Lekismon nodded and jumped back to her feet, only for Sphinxmon to rush towards them.

"Lumino Slash!" She swung her blade at Lekismon and the rabbit raised her own weapon to block it.

"Raaaaah!" Lekismon cried, pushing back as the weapon glowed. "Moonlight Cutter!" She swung it around and slashed at Sphinxmon, knocking her back.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 1-80%
JaegerDorulumon+Sphinxmon: 3-0%

At the same time, Flamedramon pushed the lance away and attempted to slash at JaegerDorulumon. But before he could, the shield the Ultimate was carrying rose up and blocked the attack.

JaegerDorulumon knocked him staggering back and as she did, the claws on the shield glowed. "Weisse Spirale!" She cried, as the energy exploded off the claws and spiralled into a single beam that flew towards Flamedramon.

He tried to avoid the attack and leap into the air, but the beam actually curved up and slammed into her. "GYAH!"

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 1-60%
JaegerDorulumon+Sphinxmon: 2-100%

He fell backwards and crashed into the ground, whilst Sphinxmon leapt up to avoid another slash from Lekismon. She then brought her weapons up and connected them at the point, a flash of light causing them and the handles to merge into one large ringed weapon with a single handle.

Sphinxmon brought this weapon and captured Lekismon inside of it. "Binding Light!" The metal glowed before the light flew inwards and snapped around Lekismon, morphing into a shining band that pinned her arms to her sides.

"Hey!" She struggled against the light, trying to break free with little success.

Sphinxmon then lifted the weapon away from her and detached them before slashing at her, Lekismon crying out as she was thrown backwards.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 1-45%
JaegerDorulumon+Sphinxmon: 2-100%

Lekismon fell down and hit the ground next to Flamedramon, who was picking himself up when he saw Lekismon tied up.

He was about to cut her free, but in that moment he sensed something and spun around to see JaegerDorulumon rushing at him and thrusting his shield at him. He grabbed two of the claws in his own and tried to hold her back, but it was just too much.

"You can't win!" JaegerDorulumon cried, "you guys have no teamwork! That's why, ya'll are gonna lose!" She forced Flamedramon staggering back, as Lekismon struggled to her feet, right as Sphinxmon rushed in.

The Puppet Digimon spun on her heel and slashed at the both of them, making them cry out as the were knocked staggering.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 1-20%
JaegerDorulumon+Sphinxmon: 2-100%

And as they were sent flying, JaegerDorulumon raised his lance up as the drill started spinning.

The two saw this and realised something big was about to happen, Lekismon continuing to struggle against the light holding her. "Get me out of this thing!" Flamedramon tried to cut through it, but had little success and JaegerDorulumon looked ready to attack.

"No time!" He grabbed Lekismon and threw her over his shoulder, Lekismon screaming as he started running. But JaegerDorulumon exploded off the ground with the drill pointing forwards.

"SCHWARZER NAGEL!" She screamed as she flew at the pair with incredible force, Flamedramon throwing Lekismon away from him as the drill lance came at him.

"FIRE ROCKET!" He used all his power to ignite his body and shoot forwards, as Lekismon fell to the ground. She spun around and watched the pair collide, the force of the impact creating an explosion that knocked them both backward.

JaegerDorulumon landed and slid across the ground, not looking at all injured by the attack. But Flamedramon was sent flying backwards and crashed into the ground, Lekismon seeing their last Security break.

Flamedramon+Lekismon: 1-0%
JaegerDorulumon+Sphinxmon: 2-100%

She got up and ran towards him, as the light around her finally started to disappear and she could break through. But as she did, Sphinxmon leapt into the air and threw one of her weapons at them. Lekismon registered it seconds before it pierced the ground, which caused a blast of steam to explode out of it.

That steam slammed into the pair, hitting them head on and making them scream as their Digital bodies exploded into vaporware.

Flash, Trixie and their partners fell to the ground, Sphinxmon and JaegerDorulumon smirking at them whilst they picked themselves up. The battlefield around them began to dissolve, as Applejack and Rarity reverted back to human with their partners next to them.

"Well," Applejack sighed, "that didn't go as well as ya'll thought, huh?" Flash and Trixie stood up and glared at each other, clearly not happy.

"Oh dear," Rarity sighed. "You two have a long way to go before you're ready to compete in a proper tag battle."

Twilight and Rainbow sighed as they re-watched the battle.

It was clear from watching that Flash and Trixie had no skill when it came to working together. They tripped over each other, got in one another's way and argued like mad. Clearly, they had a long way to go before they were ready to Tag Battle.

"This is all your fault!" They looked up and saw the four and their Digimon arrive at the foyer. "If you had just listened to me," Flash told Trixie. "We wouldn't have been humiliated like that!"

"Us losing was your fault!" Trixie cried, "you picked that stupid place!"

"Oh, and what would you have picked?"

"Someplace way better than that place!" Trixie glared at him, "someplace my awesomeness could have really shined."

"My god!" Flash cried, "are you listening to yourself?"

"I always listen to myself!" Trixie cried, "it's one of the benefits of being me!" Flash groaned as he clearly had had enough of the girl.

"Forget this!" He cried, "that's the last time I ever team up with you for anything!"

"For once, we agree." Trixie poked him in the chest, "I think I just realised something. I don't like you. So from now on, you're gonna have to find a way to cope without the Great and Powerful Trixie being by your side."

"Oh," Flash rolled his eyes, "how will I ever survive?" Flash turned to stomp of, Trixie doing the same and going in the opposite direction. Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity had watched this and all shared an unhappy look.

"You think this is gonna blow over?" Twilight asked, as Applejack and Rarity sat down."

"I'm not sure," Applejack shrugged. "A'h think this could go on for a while."

"Oh," Rarity looked guilty, "maybe having them battle together wasn't such a good idea. But I guess this happening now instead of in an important battle was better." The others nodded, but they were still unhappy with Flash and Trixie being at each other's throats. If they couldn't find a way to fix this quick, their friendship might never recover.

But how could they fix it?

In an area of the Digital World, a large forest surrounded what appeared to be an active volcano.

Inside that volcano, a bunch of lava could be seen. Lava that was currently lowering in volume. And as it did, it revealed something that had been hidden beneath the lava. A series of stone pillars, which were now sticking out of the magma lake, with the largest being in the very center of the volcano.

Something was sitting atop this largest pillar. A strangely shaped object that was a mixture of black, grey, blue and yellow. A lightning bolt blade was sticking out the top and on the back of it was a blue symbol.

Author's Note

Flash and Trixie's attitudes seriously clashing in this battle. Will they be able to overcome this, or is this the end of their friendship? And what's going on at the volcano? Only time will tell.

For those wondering about the Nefertimon Evolution, I got the design from good old Karn and his many artists. Go check them out if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed.

The Storm of Friendship

Things were a little tense in Codex. The reason was because despite three days passing, Trixie and Flash hadn't made up yet.

The pair were sitting at opposite sides of the Codex foyer, but every time one of them looked up the others was glaring at them. Because of this, their death glares were spread throughout the entire foyer and anyone who got caught in the crossfire felt a shiver run down their spin.

Twilight, Micro, Sandal and their Digimon were sitting at another table, none of them wanting to be targeted by the other's glare so had kept their distance. "This is ridiculous," Twilight sighed. "Those two can't still be mad at each other, can they?"

"Flash can be a pretty stubborn guy," Micro told her. "And Trixie's clearly just as bad."

"Well we gotta do something," Tentomon cried. "If not for them, then for their Digimon." Veemon and Lunamon were sitting next to their partners, clearly looking uncomfortable about the feud that was starting to become cemented in concrete. Unlike their partners, the pair were clearly still friends and didn't like being forced to not hang out.

Twilight sighed and stood up, "you guys get Flash." She made her way over to Trixie, who noticed her approach and slurped down the rest of her drink.

"How can Trixie help you today? Finally realised how much of a jerk Flash is and coming over to Team Great and Powerful?" Twilight didn't answer and instead, grabbed the girl by her ear. "OW!" She cried, being forced up to her feet and pulled along by the girl. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Oooow!"

To her amusement, Flash was being pulled along in a similar manner. Sandalwood had his arms under Flash's armpits and was lifting him off the ground, the teen kicking his legs like a baby as the two groups met up in the centre of the foyer.

Flash and Trixie were forced into a chair opposite one another and the others stopped them from being able to get up and leave. "Alright, you two." Twilight sat between them. "We're settling this once and for all. You both need to put this behind you before it causes any issues."

"I don't have an issues," Trixie stated. "Except for him drawing breath."

"Funny," Flash glared at her. "You ever think of going into the clown business? You've already got the makeup for it." Trixie let out a gasp and looked ready to leap over the table and strangle Flash, Micro holding her by the shoulders being the only thing keeping her seated.

"Can't you two put your differences behind you?" Lunamon asked. "You were friends before all this. Can't you be friends again?"

"NO!" They both cried, Flash pointing at her. "It wasn't my fault we lost that battle against Applejack and Rarity!"

"Well it wasn't my fault either!" Trixie yelled. "You're the one that picked that stupid battlefield."

"Guys!" Twilight yelled, "you're both at fault for losing that match. Yes, the battlefield wasn't great. But Trixie, you were just as bad with trying to showboat." Trixie glared at her. "But you guys lost because you failed to work as a team. Applejack and Rarity were able to work as one because they fought for each other. Even if you weren't in that battlefield or showboating, they probably would have still won."

Micro nodded. "You two need to accept the mistakes you made. If you don't, you'll never be able to improve and you can forget about winning any Tag Battles."

Trixie crossed her arms and looked away, Flash practically doing the same. Everyone sighed at this, wishing there was a way to force them to forget about how badly they had fought together.

It was then that an alarm sounded and everyone in Codex stood up. They all looked around, as the monitors changed to show one of the Codex Commanders.

"Greetings players," he told them. "You're all probably wondering what this is about. To put it simply, we of the Codex Commanders have located something in the Digital World that we would like you to retrieve. For the first time, we have been able to locate a Digimental." That statement caused everyone to listen very closely.

In the past, Digimentals had just been randomly found by players. This was the first time one had been discovered by the Codex Commanders.

The monitor changed to show a location in the Digital World. A forest surrounding a large mountain. Upon closer inspection, they realised the mountain was giving off smoke. "Magma Forest surrounds a large volcano. This is where we have located the Digimental. The readings aren't exact, so we do not have a guaranteed position. But we would like any player that is Champion Level or higher to investigate the area. Anyone who finds the Digimental and brings it back, will be allowed to decide its fate. You can either keep it for yourself or sell it to us."

"A new Digimental," Twilight smiled. "That's amazing. I wonder which Digimental it is?"

"Only one way to find out," Micro smirked as he took out his Digivice. As he did, he noticed a message and opened it up to see a new location scan. One that would let him go to Magma Forest. "Awesome. Now we can go right there!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Flash asked, only to notice Trixie was no longer there.

They soon found her at the Digi-Port, the girl pointing her Digivice up before porting herself and Lunamon away. "Later losers!" She cried before she disappeared, the others frowning before rushing after her. And they weren't the only ones. Every player in Codex was rushing to a Digi-Port, wanting to get their hands on the Digimental before anyone else.

Everyone quickly ported towards the new location, each wondering where the Digimental could be.

Soon enough, they arrived at the forest and looked around. To the naked eye, it looked like any other forest. "There's gotta be more to this place than that," Twilight stated as they all started looking around.

"I don't know," Flash told her. "When I found the Digimental of Courage, it was in a forest that looked just like this. The only reason I found it was because I was being chased and a wall hiding the cave glitched."

"Maybe it's something like that here," Sandal cheered. "Maybe one of these trees is fake and it's got the Digimental inside." He rushed over to a large tree and knocked at the trunk, but it was as solid as a rock. "Not that one." He started knocking on the trees, whilst Micro and Twilight moved away.

"Instead of just blind luck, let's go the more scientific route and search from the air." Twilight was in agreement and held up her Digivice, Digivolving Tawnimon into Unimon so they they fly. Tentomon, being strong enough to lift Micro, grabbed him and lifted him up too. The pair and their Digimon disappearing above the treetops.

Flash and Veemon weren't sure what to do, neither of them sure where to even start looking.

"Alright Veemon," Flash took out his Digivice. "You'd better Digivolve in case we get attacked by something. I don't wanna almost be trampled like we were by Monochromon."

"You got it!" Veemon nodded, as Flash held up the device and summoned the Digimental of Courage. The object burst into flames and wrapped around the blue dragon. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." He grew taller and the flames exploded off of him, revealing his stronger form. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

Digimon now Digivolved, Flash and his partner began to make their way through the forest. As they did, someone else appeared without him noticing. Jet Set.

The teen spotted Flash and Flamedramon, frowning since the sight of them still put a bad taste in his mouth. But he couldn't worry about them. "I'm going to get that Digimental and when I do, everyone will be handing over their rare scans just to get one of it." He laughed, as he took out his Digivice and summoned a scan of Devimon. "Biomerge, Activate!"

Flash and Flamedramon marched through the forest, seeing several individuals and their Digimon looking around as they past.

The pair decided to head towards the volcano, hoping the Digimental was somewhere over there. And as they walked, Flash suddenly found the ground beneath his feet give out. "GYAH!" He fell a good fifteen feet before crashing into the bottom, Flamedramon rushing over to the hole and looking down.

"You okay?"

Flash groaned as he laid face down in the ground. "I feel like a rainbow." He pushed himself back up and looked around, hoping that maybe he had stumbled upon the Digimental's hiding spot. But it was nowhere in sight, the whole just being a large hole in the middle of the forest. "Great. Can you get me out of here?" Flamedramon nodded and jumped down.

Meanwhile, Trixie was also searching for the Digimental and having little to no luck either.

Lunamon had Digivolved to Lekismon and the pair had stopped at a small pond. "Maybe it's at the bottom," Trixie stated before sticking her head in the water. It wasn't very deep, so she didn't have much to search to see that the Digimental wasn't there.

As she pulled her head out of the lake, Lekismon sighed. "Trixie, can we talk about Flash?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Trixie stated. "He's a jerk and I never wanna see him again."

"But Twilight was right. You were at least fifty percent responsible for that loss." Trixie glared at her. "I'm sorry, but it's true. And I'm only telling you this to help you grow stronger." Trixie crossed her arms and kept walking, Lekismon following her. "You know, that ego of yours has always been your fatal flaw. It's what's kept you from being who you're truly meant to be."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember?" Lekismon asked, "the day the two of us met." Trixie stopped at this and thought about it, remembering that day clearly.

Long ago.

Trixie had been searching the forest for some cool scans, when she heard someone crying and turned to look through some bushes. When she did, she saw a nice looking lake with a Digimon sitting next to it.

Lunamon was crying her eyes out, completely unaware that she had an audience. "Are you okay?" She looked around and saw Trixie, staring at her sympathetically. "What's got you so upset?"

Lunamon sniffed. "All the other Digimon are being mean to me. They make fun of my ears and my antenna." She tried to hide the antenna, but Trixie pulled her arms away.

"Hey, don't hide yourself." She looked Lunamon in the eye, "do you like your ears and antenna?" Lunamon nodded, "then who cares what a bunch of jerks think? The only one who gets to decide if something about you is bad is you. Trust Trixie. If others say something like that to you, then they're not worth listening to." Lunamon smiled at this. "And for the record, Trixie likes your ears and antenna." Lunamon started crying at this, but now they were tears of joy.

"You were so kind to me back then," Lekismon told her. "I got to see the real you. But when we became partners, I also saw how much you hide the real you behind that facade."

Trixie frowned. "Trixie just likes to give people a show. Is that so wrong?"

"No, but you've become obsessed with making people see you as some kind of god. And it's stopping them from seeing the true you. And it's stopping you from making up with Flash."

"Flash is a jerk!"

"Maybe, but he's still a good guy. Look at all the good he's done." Trixie frowned at this, but knew Lekismon was right. "Trixie, what would you do if Flash was in danger." Trixie gave her a surprised expression. "If you saw Flash in danger and the only way to save him was to risk yourself or the Digimental we're after, would you save him? Because I think he'd save you, even though the pair of you are arguing."

Trixie frowned, unsure how to answer that. She simply kept walking, letting Lekismon's words ring in her ears.

Over in another part of the forest, Sandalwood continued to knock on trees.

Mangoramon followed him and watched him do so, the Rookie sighing. "Are you really just gonna knock on every single tree until you find something?"

"Why not?" Sandal asked, "ya'h never know what'll happen until you-" He stopped when he felt his hand go through the trunk of a tree, his eyes going wide as he pushed his whole arm into it. "Yes!" He pushed into the tree and found himself inside a large metal cylinder. "I found it!"

Mangoramon stepped into it and looked around, "this is just a hiding tree." Sandal quickly noticed there was nothing inside the cylinder, including the Digimental. However, he had been right about one of the trees hiding something. He was gonna class this as a win.

Flash and Flamedramon had made their way to a more deserted part of the forest, hoping to find a clue that could lead them in the direction of the Digimental.

They pushed their way through some shrubs, Flamedramon cutting his way through them, allowing them to step out into a section of forest that wasn't as flat as the others. Large portions of the earth was jutting out of the ground, making large hills and other formations. And in one of those formations, Flash saw what appeared to be a cave.

"Yes!" Flash rushed over to it, feeling good about this. His Digimental had been in a cave, so maybe this one held the one he was searching for.

"There's a cave!" Flash suddenly looked around and spotted Trixie walking towards the opening, Lekismon walking besides her. The pair saw one another and glared each other down, Flamedramon and Lekismon sighing.

"Hey!" Flash cried, "I saw this cave first!"

"Says who?"

"Says me!" The pair butted heads and continued to argue, their Digimon rolling their eyes before turning to each other.

"You wanna check it out with me?" Flamedramon asked, Lekismon nodding before the pair stepped inside. Their partners saw this and called out for them to get away from the enemy, but neither listened and stepped inside. They looked around, but the cave was too dark. "Here." Flamedramon ignited his claws and Lekismon smiled.

"Flamedramon!" Flash cried, "why are you helping her?"

Flamedramon glanced back at him. "You two might be dumb enough to let a little falling out get in the way of your goals, but Lekismon and I are fine working together." The pair searched the cave and found it wasn't very big, which upset them since it meant the Digimental wasn't there.

However, Lekismon turned to Flash. "Didn't you say the Digimental was hidden when you found yours?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded.

"I get it," Flamedramon nodded. "This cave might have the Digimental, but it's hidden to look like it doesn't." Lekismon nodded and picked up a few rocks before throwing them at the walls, each one bounce off a making a noise. Lekismon's ears twitched and she smiled before leaping forward.

"Moon Night Kick!" She smashed her foot into the wall, causing it to crack.

"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon launched a blast of fire at the cracks, the explosion causing the rock to break more and heat up.

"Ice Archery!" Lekismon threw an ice arrow and when it hit the rock, it flew right through it and the wall fell apart. Doing so revealed a large tunnel behind it, Flash and Trixie moving over to it. And as soon as they did, a huge wave of heat flew out and the pair felt their skin crawl.

"Wow!" Flash stepped away, "that's hot!"

"It must lead down into an underground cavern," Trixie realised. "Probably part of a magma tunnel." She started heading down it, removing her jacket so she didn't overheat. Lekismon followed and after Flash removed his jacket, they also made their way down. Both teens continued to glare at each other, wishing the other wasn't there. Their partners might have been able to work together, but they both knew only one of them could get their hands on the Digimental. And it was going to be them.

At the same time, a Digimon had flown down after seeing them enter the volcano. Devimon, the transformed Codex Player smirking. They may find the Digimental first, but he would be the one to claim it.

At the same time, Twilight and Micro were continuing to fly over the forest.

Tentomon had finally Digivolved to Kabuterimon, allowing him to carry Micro easier. The pair had searched the entire forest for any sign of the Digimental, but there had been no sign of it. And they weren't the only Codex Players who were searching from the air.

Many players had either become a Digimon or Digivolved their partners to carry them. They were all searching for the Digimental, many finding several areas of interest. There was a clearing with rocks surrounding it in a perfect circle and a cave that went down underground, but neither of them had the Digimental.

Many players had started searching the volcano itself, believing the Digimental was hidden somewhere atop it, Twilight and Micro deciding to search there as well. "See anything?" Twilight asked, Micro shaking his head.

"You think anyone looked inside the volcano?" Kabuterimon asked. "If the Digimental is as powerful as they say it is, maybe the lava in the volcano won't affect it."

"Worth a look," Micro nodded as they all headed upwards. And it seemed several more players were also searching the volcano, as they all flew upwards. "Oh boy. If the Digimental is up here, I get the feeling things are gonna turn into a free for all."

"We'll just have to be the ones to win that fight then," Twilight told him. But then, they reached the top of the volcano and realised there wouldn't be any need for a fight.

The reason was because the volcano was completely full of lava. It was so full, that lava spilled out every now and then to roll down the side of the mountain. "Well, so much for the Digimental being in here."

Twilight hummed, as Unimon looked back at her. "There's still a chance it is in there. I've heard some volcanoes in the Digital World have uncontrolled lava build up. It's possible the lava's height dropped and revealed the Digimental before filling back up."

"I guess that's possible," Twilight nodded. "But if it's true, how are we supposed to get to it?"

Flash, Trixie and their Digimon had been walking down the tunnel for a while.

It had gone deep underground and eventually levelled out, allowing them to walk normally. But as they did, they could feel it getting hotter and hotter. "Geez," Flash pulled at his shirt, "if it gets any hotter I'm gonna burst into flames."

"Be glad you're not in your human body," Trixie told him. "The only reason we're able to survive somewhere this hot is because we're made of data. If we were human, we wouldn't be able to go anywhere near lava. So long as we don't touch it, we should be fine." Boy was Flash glad for that.

Eventually, the tunnel shifted upwards and they had to push themselves to get to the top. But when they did, they reached what appeared to be an exit into a large chamber. And they were shocked by what they found in that chamber.

It was a giant circular chamber made of stone. There was a good forty feet of rock that was wrapped around the outer section of the room before dropping into a large pool of lava, said lava having a bunch of stone pillars sticking out of it that were different heights and sizes. But it was the ceiling that was the most surprising part of it.

Looking up, Flash, Trixie and their Digimon were shocked to see lava floating above their heads.

The molten rock were just floating there, looking like water that had been laid on top of a glass roof. "How the heck is that happening?" Flamedramon asked, as Lekismon jumped up to take a closer look.

With her rabbit abilities, she was able to make it almost all the way to the lava roof. As she reached the peak of her jump, she felt something and nodded. "There's some kind of forcefield!" She landed, "it must be keeping the room from filling with lava."

"Lucky us," Trixie stated before noticing something on the central pillar. "And I think I know what's generating that forcefield." The others turned to the pillar and noticed something not rock on top of it.

"The Digimental!" Flash cried, not able to tell what it looked like from this distance. He and Trixie then glared at each other and rushed forward, only for the edge of the cliff to make them stop and realize their was no way to get to the Digimental.

"Flamedramon/Lekismon!" They both cried, as their partners ran up to them and grabbed the pair around the waist. They then leapt into the air and over the lava pool, each landing on a pillar before jumping again. They did this several times, both completely unaware that another figure had arrived in the room.

Devimon stared down at the pair, as he watched them going for the Digimental. He was about to unleash an attack that would, hopefully, knock them all into the lava. But before he could, and right as the pair were about to jump for the centre pillar, a large column of lava exploded out of the pool and almost fried the bunch.

Flamedramon and Lekismon leapt back, as the column fell back down and drenched the pillars they had been standing on. As it did, something leapt out of the lava and fell onto the centre pillar. "What's that?" Flash cried, as the lava dripped off the figure.

Slowly, a large humanoid figure appeared out of the lava. They were roughly fifteen or twenty feet tall, with reddish orange fur covering their body. They had large clawed hands and feet and a long tail that ended in fire. His waist and upper body was covered in black and grey armor, with flames coming out of his shoulders and the gauntlets around his wrists. His head was that of a lion, with a massive whoft of yellow hairs sticking out the top of his head, with a metal helmet on it that had flames coming out the top and on the cheeks.

The Digimon turned towards them and glared, as Flamedramon and Lekismon landed a good distance away from it. "Any idea who that is?" Flash asked, with Lekismon looking worried.

"That's Flaremon!" She cried, "a powerful Ultimate Level Digimon. But what's he doing here?" The humanoid lion glared at them, as his fists burst into flames.

"You dare enter my home and try to steal my treasure!" He roared, as he threw fireballs at the lot of them. They all cried out as they leapt into the air, jumping from one pillar to another until they were back on the main rock area. "I'll burn you all to a crisp for this!"

"Okay!" Flash gulped, "clearly this guy doesn't want us anywhere near that Digimental."

"What do we do?" Flamedramon asked, putting Flash down seconds before spinning around to destroy a fireball. "He's clearly not gonna let us anywhere near that thing."

"We'll have to take him down," Lekismon stated. Flash and Trixie glared at each other, clearly not happy about having to fight with each other again. "Either that or we abandoned any hope of getting the Digimental." That seemed to soften the glare, with Flash nodding whilst the others waited for Trixie's response.

She eventually sighed. "Alright. But don't get in my way." Flash nodded before Flamedramon and Lekismon rushed forwards before leaping onto the rock pillars, the pair bouncing from one to another as they got in close.

"Flame Fist!" Flamedramon punched Flaremon in the chest with his burning claws, but Flaremon barely felt it and quickly backhanded him away. At the same time, Lekismon charged forward.

"Moon Night Bomb!" She punched the air and sent the bubbles of light flying towards Flaremon's face, but the Ultimate Digimon simply unleashed a burst of heat to make them pop. "No way!"

The gauntlets around Flaremon's wrists then unleashed streams of fire, that swirled around his fists as he held them up. "Guren Juuouha!" He punched the air and sent out fireballs shaped like lions, which flew towards Lekismon and exploded as soon as it hit her.

She cried out, as she was thrown backwards. Trixie gasped at his, but Flamedramon jumped down and caught her before bouncing off a pillar to make his way back up. Trixie sighed seeing this, glad Flamedramon had saved her partner.

They watched, as Flamedramon landed on one of the pillars and put Lekismon down. The pair smiled at each other, only for Flamedramon to then sense an incoming attack.

He spun around and saw Flaremon, leaping at them with his fist raised. He roared as he threw a punched, Flamedramon crossing his arms as he felt it smash into him. He barely managed to brace himself in time to avoid being thrown backwards, the Armor Digimon protecting Lekismon.

"Move!" He told her, Lekismon nodding and quickly getting up to jump towards another pillar. She then spun around and leapt at Flaremon.

"Moon Night Kick!" She thrust a kick into his shoulder, hoping to knock him away from Flamedramon. But the impact did nothing and Flamedramon's feet buckled under the weight of the punch.

Lekismon leapt away from him, right as Flaremon pulled his fist back.

Flamedramon found himself staggering, allowing Flaremon to smash him with a powerful kick. "GYAH!" He was thrown into the air and everyone gasped, Lekismon attempting to save him like he saved me. But before she could, fireballs were sent her way and she was forced to move in the opposite direction.

Flamedramon rolled through the air and even fell towards the lava, Flash praying being a fire Digimon would protect him. But before he could find out, Flamedramon recovered and stabbed his claw into a pillar he was next to. He slid to a stop and panted, seeing how close he had come to taking a lava bath.

He started climbing up the pillar, as Lekismon was forced to stay on the defensive. "Ice Archery!" She fired several ice arrows, but Flaremon unleashed the heat from his body and they melted in seconds. "Oh, come on!"

"What does it take to beat this guy?" Flash asked, as Lekismon jumped away to avoid a punch Flaremon had thrown at her. Flash then noticed the fight had led Flaremon away from the centre podium, where the Digimental was located. "Hey, this is our chance." Trixie gave him a quizzical look. "Whilst Flaremon's busy with those two, let's get over there and grab the Digimental."

"How?" Trixie asked. "We can't make it over there and if we DIgivolve to get it, Flaremon'll see us." Flash frowned, realising she was right.

However, before he could think of how to get to it, he saw something else that made his eyes go wide. "Devimon?" Trixie looked up and saw the demon Digimon flying towards the pillar as well. But she knew who it really was.

"Jet Set!" Flash frowned, catching on whilst Flamedramon finally reached the top of the pillar.

"You're not getting that Digimental!" He was about to launch a Fire Rocket at Devimon, but then realized what might happen if he did so. Flamedramon hated Jet Set, but not enough to try and delete him. "Dang it!"

Devimon laughed at this, that laughter catching Flaremon's attention.

"More intruders!" He roared, as he grabbed Lekismon by the neck and slammed her into the pillar. He was about to punch her, but Flamedramon rushed over to them and launched the Fire Rockets at his face.

But Flaremon blocked them with his palm, then swung his fist around and smashed it into Flamedramon's chest. "Augh!" Flamedramon was knocked flying backwards and as he did, he glowed with the light flying off of him.

The light shot back to Flash and into his Digivice, as his partner shrank back down to his Rookie form. "Veemon!" The little dragon fell onto the pillar and looked to be in trouble. Flaremon prepared to crush him under foot, but Lekismon sprang into action.

"Moon Night Bomb!" She fired the bubbles at Flaremon and was so close, he didn't have time to react when they popped in his face.

He groaned, as the drowsiness began to overtake him.

Lekismon used this chance to rush over to Veemon, grabbing him and leaping back towards the others. At the same time, Flaremon staggered back and fell into the lava.

Lekismon landed next to the humans and gave Veemon to Flash, as Trixie pointed at Devimon. "You've gotta stop him!" Lekismon nodded and rushed towards Devimon, who turned to them and growled.

"Back off! Death Hand!" A blast of dark energy exploded from his palm towards Lekismon, who jumped out of the way to avoid it.

That blast shot towards the humans and hit the cliff they were on, causing it to explode and break apart.

Flash and Veemon managed to leap back, but Trixie wasn't so lucky and the rock she was on broke beneath her feet. She screamed at this and barely managed to grab onto the edge, as the rest of the rock began to break apart.

"Trixie!" Lekismon tried to rush to her aid, but at that moment something exploded out of the lava.

Flaremon jumped high into the air, the heat of the molten rock having gotten rid of the drowsiness. And as he spotted Lekismon, he took a deep breath. "Purifying HOWL!!!!" A sonic blast exploded out of his mouth and and echoed through the chamber, shaking it whilst the main concussive force slammed into Lekismon.

She screamed as she was sent flying into the side of the wall on the other side of the chamber, the champion moaning as she fell to the ground.

The sonic blast had also knocked Devimon out of the air, making him hit the ground on the centre column whilst he reverted back to human form. At the same time, the rock Trixie was holding onto broke apart.

"NOOO!" She screamed, as she fell off the side towards the lava. She thought this was the end and closed her eyes, bracing herself. But then, something caught her hand and she stopped.

"Ahhh!" She opened her eyes and saw a straining Flash, holding her by the arm as he leaned over the edge. "You okay?" She nodded, then noticed the rock he was leaning on was breaking apart.

"You're gonna fall!" She cried, but Flash didn't seem to care. He kept pulling her up, the rock beneath him continuing to crack. Trixie could hardly believe he was risking his life for her.

At the same time, Jet Set had recovered and picked himself up. He looked over at the Digimental and, realising nobody had noticed him, rushed over to it. "Yes!" He smiled, "you're mine!" He reached down to pick it up, only to find the object wouldn't budge. "What?" He pulled and pulled, but the Digimental remained almost fused to the rock. "What's going on? Why won't you move!?"

Flash continued to pull Trixie up, Veemon holding him by the legs and pulling. As he did, he noticed Jet Set at the Digimental and saw him struggling to pull it up.

Trixie glanced around and saw this as well, not realising the trouble Jet was having. "You lost the Digimental because of me." She looked up at him, actually appearing apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be an idiot!" He groaned, "you're more important than a Digimental." Trixie was shocked to hear this, as the rock beneath him broke apart more. "Now come on!" He pulled her as hard as he could, Trixie stomping her feet on the wall to push herself upwards.

Once she was high enough, she grabbed the edge of the cliff as Flash grabbed her under the armpit. And with one final heave, they managed to pull her up and all rolled away from the edge just before it broke apart.

The pair laid far away from the edge, panting in absolute terror. As they did, Trixie turned to Flash. "Why?" He looked at her. "Why would you risk your life for me after how badly I was to you?"

Flash took a deep breath as he sat up, giving Trixie a smirk. "You might be an egocentric, narcissistic pain in the backside, but you're my egocentric narcissistic pain in the backside. We might not always get along, and we might not be able to fight together very well, but I still see you as my friend. And if my friends are in danger, nothing is more important than saving them. Not a little trinket and not even my own life. Because nothing is more important than my friends."

Trixie could hardly believe what he was saying. But she couldn't help but be happy Flash was willing to risk himself for his friends. He really was amazing.

Then, something happened that surprised the pair of them. Flash's body started glowing.

"Huh?" He looked himself over and saw the light, Trixie stepping back in surprise as another light caught their attention.

They looked over and saw the Digimental was starting to glow as well, Jet seeing this and being shocked. And that shock increased when the Digimental suddenly floated up into the air. "Finally!" He tried to grab it, only to get a shock. "Gyah!" He pulled his hand away, as the Digimental started floating towards Flash and Trixie.

The pair watched it float towards them and stop between them both, the pair looking it over in amazement before Flash felt compelled to hold it. As such, he held his hand up below it and the Digimental landed on his palm. "No way."

"HEY!" Jet cried, "that Digimental is mine!"

"NO!" Flaremon roared, "IT'S MINE!" But Lekismon leapt in front of him, trying to hold him back as Flash and Trixie stared at the Digimental.

Both quickly held up their Digivices and scanned it, the data coming through and amazing them. "Digimental of...Friendship?" Trixie asked, only to realize what was going on. "Of course. You showed your friends are more important than your own gain. So the Digimental chose you. That must be why Jet Set couldn't pick it up."

"So the Digimental is mine?" Flash stood up, as he felt the object's incredible power. "Wow." He turned to Veemon and smirked, "you ready to take it for a spin?"

"You have to ask?" Veemon nodded.

Flash smirked and raised the Digimental high. "Digi-Armor...ENERGIZE!" The Digimental exploded into a burst of blue lightning and shot towards Veemon, slamming into his chest before wrapping around him.

"Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." His body began to grow larger and as it did, it morphed into a quadrupedal from. Eventually, once it was the size of a rhino, the lightning flew off to reveal the Digimon's new body.

He appeared to be a mix of a dragon and a wolf, with armor based on the Digimental covering his body. Only his neck, tail, ears and the lower half of his head was visible. HIs body was protected by mostly black armor, with yellow teeth marks running down the sides and three black lightning bolt spikes sticking out his back. His legs were surrounded by a black leather, though his shoulder had armoring with the front legs having lights on the front and his back ones having grey bits.

His head was covered in a black mask with yellow lines running over the eyes and a lightning bolt shaped horn like the one on the Digimental.

The Digimon opened his eyes and let the electrical energy flow through his body, power like the one he had as Flamedramon surging throughout him as he got into a battle ready stance. "Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!"

Flash, Trixie and Lekismon were amazed by the Digivolution, whilst Jet Set and Flaremon just looked annoyed. "Alright!" Flash cried, "you look awesome!"

"I feel awesome!" Raidramon smirked, only for Flaremon to roar again as he punched Lekismon away. "Time to see just how much power this Digimental gave me!" With that, he shot forward at amazing speed. Flaremon saw him coming and tried to punch him, but Raidramon managed to dodge the attack before pouncing at him.

"Raaaaah!" Flaremon roared, as one of the lightning blades on his back slashed into his side.

Raidramon skidded along the ground and turned on his feet, as electrical energy surged around him. "Blue Thunder!" The lightning exploded off of him and formed a sphere of blue lightning above him, that sphere quickly being sent flying towards Flaremon.

"Purifying Howl!" He roared and energy exploded from his mouth, creating a shockwave that blocked the blue lightning. He then rushed forward and threw a punch at Raidramon, who barely managing to leap out of the way. But before he could counter, Flaremon spun around and slammed a foot into his chest.

"AUGH!" He was thrown backwards into the wall, crying out before falling to the ground.

Flash and Trixie frowned, Raidramon's debut proving not as amazing as they had hoped. "Their speed's about even," Flash realised. "But Flaremon's still an Ultimate. He's stronger than an Armor."

"We need to get out of here!" Trixie cried. "We've got the Digimental, so let's go!" Flash had to agree and was about to call out for them to escape. But before they could, Flaremon was suddenly flying through the cavern.

"You're not leaving with my treasure!" He landed in front of the exit, glaring at them as his fists ignited. Everyone quickly realised he wasn't gonna let them go on their own. And things were getting worse.

Likely due to the Digimental no longer being in its place, the force field protecting them from the lava was slowly beginning to disappear. It started in the very centre of the room, causing a tiny stream of lava to fall down and land on the pillar. But it was getting bigger.

"Give me back my treasure!" Flaremon threw a fire ball and Flash pushed Trixie out of its way, the explosion that followed rocking the room.

"Moon Night Kick!" Lekismon flew forward and slammed a foot into Flaremon's chest. But the impact did nothing and he simply flexed his chest to send her flying back. She fell to the ground and Flaremon raised his foot to stomp on her.

"Lekismon!" Trixie cried, only for Raidramon to shoot passed her as his body sparked with blue lightning.

"Wild Charge!" He roared, as was surrounded by a veil of lightning. He leapt at Flaremon, but the Ultimate was able to raise his arms and grab him. The lightning flowed into him, but he seemed barely phased by it. However, the distraction allowed Lekismon to raise her arms and tendrils to grab his foot.

This stopped him from crushing her underneath him, but she was still trapped. And Raidramon was soon running out of juice in his attack. The pair were trapped by the Ultimate, Flaremon swinging Raidramon around and smashing him into the ground and wall whilst Lekismon remained trapped.

Flash and Trixie watched in horror, whilst the lava continued to spill into the room. Both of them knew they had to get out, but how? "This is bad," Trixie whispered.

"We can't give up!" Flash told her. "Flaremon might be strong, but we have something he doesn't have." Trixie turned to him, as he gave her a smile. "Each other. We couldn't beat him before because we weren't fighting as a team. Just like last time. But now, working together's our only hope of getting out of here."

Trixie let that info sink in a realize he was right. "This isn't just about me," she stated. "I let my own ego get the better of me when we fought Rarity and Applejack." She frowned. "And if the roles had been reversed, I might have let you fall to get the Digimental. But...but not anymore!" She looked up and gave Flaremon a serious expression. "I'm done letting my own wants and desires get the better of me. From now on, I'm gonna put others before me!" As she said that, her body began to glow.

"Trixie?" Flash looked her over, the girl not noticing the light.

She was too focused on Flaremon, who was glaring at her. "We won't let you stop us! This Digimental doesn't just belong to you! It belongs to the rest of the Digital World. So Digimon that want to use it to Digivolve can. And we're not gonna let you stop us from making that possible!"

"IT'S MINE!" He unleashed a blast of fire from his mouth, which shot towards them. But Trixie wasn't scared, as the light around her exploded off and formed a shield around them.

The flames slammed into the shield and were quickly expelled, the barrier morphing into a light that flew towards Lekismon and flowed into her. Lekismon felt new strength flowing through her and with it, she was able to throw Flaremon off of her.

The Ultimate was sent staggering away, forcing him to drop Raidramon, whilst she jumped back to her feet and began to glow. "Lekismon, Digivolve to..." She grew larger and eventually stopped just a head shorter than Flaremon. When the light flew off of her, it revealed a large rabbit Digimon carrying armor and weapons. "Crescemon!"

Flaremon was shocked to see his opponent was now much stronger, Crescemon spinning her weapon around before charging forwards. "Guren Juuouha!" He launched the fireballs from his fists, but Crescemon blocked them with her shield before slashing at him with her pendulum scythe. "Augh!" He was sent staggering back, as Raidramon picked himself up.

He watched as Crescemon started pushing Flaremon back, away from the exit, giving him the chance to get them out of there.

He rushed over to the two surprised humans, "get on!" The two snapped out of it and were about to climb onto his back. But then, they heard a screaming and saw Jet Set was still on the other side of the cave. He was stuck on a pillar, the lava getting dangerously close to him.

"Raidramon!" Flash pointed at Jet, the Armor Digimon turning to see him before groaning.

"I know I'm gonna regret this!" He rushed towards the edge and leapt over to a pillar, jumping from one to another as he tried to get to Jet. He had to be careful, as more holes were appearing in the forcefield and allowing more of the lava to fill the chamber.

One such lava stream fell towards Jet, who screamed as he saw the end of his Digital adventure. But at the last second, Raidramon landed and grabbed the back of his shirt in his mouth. He kept screaming as Raidramon leapt through the air, the pair needing to dodge more and more lava until they finally reached the edge of the room.

They finally landed and Raidramon dropped Jet, who started rolling along the ground until he crashed into the side of the wall. "OW!" He moaned as he held his head, whilst Raidramon rushed back over to Flash and Trixie. The pair quickly got on, as Crescemon blocked a fiery punch with her shield.

More of the lava seeped in and all but the outer edge was now being consumed. "We have to go!" Trixie cried, "NOW!"

Crescemon heard this and nodded, quickly leaping up to avoid Flaremon's attack. As she did, the image of a moon appeared behind her. "Lunatic Dance!" She spun around as she fell towards Flaremon, her blade and shield slashing at him again and again and making him roar in pain. When she finally stopped and landed, she shot forward and thrust her feet into his chest.

Flaremon was sent staggering back and fell over the edge, causing him to plummet into the lava seconds before the falling lava fell on top of it.

Crescemon landed and saw the lava approaching, so rushed towards the exit as Raidramon did the same.

Jet Set saw this and quickly ran over, grabbing Raidramon's tail seconds before he flew off at full speed. He screamed as he felt his arms almost come out of their sockets, Flash and Trixie sitting on his back with Flash clinging onto the lightning blades whilst Trixie held her arms around his waist.

Crescemon ran after them as the forcefield finally gave out, causing all the lava to fall and instantly fill the cave. This caused it to also fill the tunnel they were running through, forcing them to pick up the pace in a hope of outrunning the oncoming magma flow.

They ran and ran and ran for everything they were worth, the end of the tunnel eventually coming into sight. But the lava was catching up fast.

Crescemon panted, feeling like she couldn't hold her current form for very much longer. She needed to hold out, just until they reached the end of the tunnel. But the pressure was way too much and as soon as they reached the exit, they both leapt out of the tunnel and Crescemon was consumed by light.

The lava started flowing out behind them and they all landed just beyond where the lava was flowing. As soon as they did, Crescemon began to shrink as the light completely surrounded her.

Trixie saw this and leapt off Raidramon, Jet finally letting go of his tail and falling to the ground panting, the teen quickly running over to her partner as she reverted into a much smaller from. And when the light faded, it revealed a Digimon that looked like a drop of water splashing down from up high.

Trixie picked her up and held her tight, "Lunamon?"

The Digimon opened her eyes and smiled, "I'm Moonmon." Trixie smiled, as Raidramon reverted back to Veemon. As he did, the Digimental flew over to Flash and the teen grabbed it before they stepped over to the pair. "Trixie, I'm so proud of you. Your choice to put others before yourself has allowed you to awaken the power sleeping within you. It's thanks to you I was able to Digivolve to Ultimate."

Trixie smiled as she turned to Flash, who smiled back at them. "I couldn't have realised it without my friends. Thanks Flash." The teen nodded as Jet Set picked himself up.

"Well this was a complete waste of time." He looked over at the pair and saw the Digimental in Flash's hand, the teen growing at him. "Give me that, right now! With that, every player in Codex will hand over their rare scans!"

Flash smirked at him before holding the Digimental out, Jet smirking as he reached out to take it. But at the last moment, Flash threw it behind himself and Trixie caught it. The two laughed at this before grabbing their Digivices. Before Jet could try and grab it again, the pair ported away and Jet let out a roar of anger.

Flash and Trixie arrived back at Codex and as soon as they did, they and their Digimon burst out laughing.

A flash of light then caught their attention and Gennai appeared out of it, the Codex Commander smiling when he saw them. "My friends. We picked up the Digimental's signature upon your arrival. You managed to retrieve the relic?"

"Yup," Flash nodded. "It wasn't easy, but Trixie and I managed to work together and get it back." Trixie nodded as Gennai opened up a box.

"Trixie, you appear to have it on you. I'm guessing you would like to sell it for five thousand Digi-Dollars." Trixie frowned, but realised Flash had thrown her the item before they ported back and that put it in her item box.

"But, Flash is the one that retrieved it." Gennai seemed surprised by this. "And I wouldn't be here if he hadn't saved my life." She took out her Digivice, intending to transfer it to him. Lunamon smiled at this, but Flash stopped her.

"Hang on. We worked together to get it. I say we split the reward." Trixie was surprised by this, Flash turning to Gennai. "How about it. Take the Digimental and give us both twenty five hundred Digi-Dollars?"

"I can work with that, if Trixie is okay with it." Trixie nodded and Gennai started typing away, "you both got a scan of the Digimental already, right?" They nodded again and Gennai finished the transaction, Trixie confirming it with the Digimental disappearing from her item box. She and Flash both got a message showing the increase in their money, bringing their adventure to find the Digimental to an end.

Later on, Twilight, Micro, Sandalwood and all the other Codex Players returned to Codex after getting a message stating the Digimental had been found.

When they and their Digimon arrived, they were shocked to see Flash and Trixie sitting together laughing. "Okay," Twilight tilted her head, "did we miss something?" The boys shrugged as they sat down, asking why the heck they were so chummy all of a sudden. And boy, did they have a story for them.

"You found the Digimental of Friendship!?" Micro cried, the pair nodding. "I can't believe it. Flash already had the Digimental of Courage. How'd you manage to snag another one?"

The pair laughed at this, giving them the same answer. "Together."

"Well," Twilight sighed, "I'm glad to see you guys are getting along again. And Trixie managed to unlock Ultimate evolution. That's pretty impressive." Trixie smiled, then spotted Jet walking through the foyer looking upset.

He spotted them and shot the pair a death glare before walking off. "What's up with him?" Sandal asked, as Flash and Trixie laughed.

"Probably just upset he didn't think to get a scan of the Digimental when he had it. It would have worked even if he couldn't pick it up." Jet heard this and realised he had missed his chance, making him cry out in frustration whilst everyone else laughed.

Flash and Trixie smirked at each other and held their drinks high, toasting their renewed friendship and the insane story they had to tell. And as they got to the part about Flaremon, they couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him.

Back in Magma Forest, the cave that led to the lava tunnel was now completely blocked off by the cooled lava.

However, the now rock solid lava suddenly shook and cracked apart. It shook again and the rocks fell apart, then exploded and was sent flying. The cave had been uncovered and from out of it, Flaremon staggered looking tired and badly beaten after the attack he had taken from Crescemon.

He pulled himself out of the cave and took several steps forward before collapsing on the ground, looking ready to fall into a coma as specks of data began to slowly fly off of him.

But before he could lose consciousness, someone stepped up next to him. The lion Digimon opened his eyes and saw a slender female standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. "Well you certainly look pitiful." Flaremon growled, but couldn't do anything to retaliate. "Here, let me help you." She took out a device similar to the one those humans had had and typed away at it, summoning what appeared to be a red and white pill out of thin air.

She handed it over to the Digimon and suddenly, all the pain he felt disappeared. He groaned, then looked back up at the girl. "Who...are you?"

"My name...is Sunset Shimmer."

Author's Note

Flash and Trixie's friendship is restored and better than ever. Now that a new Digimental has been retrieved, more Armor Evolution for everyone. And what of Flaremon and the person he met? Only time will tell.

Beach Day Mystery

The wind blew fiercely, through a mountain in the Digital World. Said mountain had many tall peaks upon it, that made many different platforms for Digimon to climb and fight upon.

And one of these Digimon, was currently climbing up the side of it. It appeared to be some kind of ape-like Digimon, covered in thick brown fur with only its pink ears and snout being visible. But the Digimon was also covered in rocks, having a rock mask covering its eyes with a rock horn sticking out of its head. Rocks were also covering its shoulders, hands and feet, whilst a bunch of rocks were stacked on top of one another coming out of it butt to form a tail.

The Digimon pulled itself up the rock and reached the top, which was a flat rocky spike sticking out the side of the mountain. He looked around, but saw no sign of what it was looking for. But then...

"BLUE THUNDER!" A sphere of blue lightning shot towards the Digimon and exploded at its feet, knocking it flying backwards towards the edge of the spike.

The Digimon slammed its claws into the rock to slow itself down, eventually coming to a stop just before going over the edge. As it did, it looked up at a smaller rock ledge. And there, its opponent stared down at him.

Raidramon stood tall, his body sparking with energy as he unleashed a loud fusion of a howl and a roar. He then leapt off the rock and landed on the rock spike, his opponent moving towards him. As he did, the electrical energy flew off his back spikes and onto his horn. "Plasma Blade!" The lightning extended the protrusion and he swung it downwards, hitting the Digimon but doing very little damage.

Raidramon: 2-45%
Baboongamon: 1-45%

Over in Codex, everyone was watching Flash's battle and was very worried.

"This isn't good," Shining sighed. "Raidramon's an Electric-type, so it's very weak against an Earth-type like Baboongamon." Sure enough, Baboongamon shook off the electrical attack and charged forward.

"Glide Rock!" He spun around and smashed his tail into Raidramon.

Raidramon cried out as he was knocked flying backwards, crashing into the mountain before falling to the ground. His friends flinched at this, not liking how this match appeared to be going. "Come on Flash!" Rainbow cried, "you can win this!"

"How?" Fluttershy asked. "He's still new with his Friendship Armor. And his opponent is using one of their best Digimon." Everyone didn't like the look of how things were going for Raidramon.

"Don't worry," Twilight told them. "Flash will be fine. He might be new to using Raidramon, but he's practised hard to master it. And the Digimon he Digivolved him into." That surprised the group, since they weren't aware of Flash having an Ultimate for his new Armor Digimon."

Raidramon groaned as he picked himself up, whilst Baboongamon ran forwards looking ready to pummel him into next week.

But at the last moment, Raidramon managed to pick himself up and leap into the air. Baboongamon punched the mountain instead, resulting in cracks forming in the rock face that travelled upwards. As Baboongamon pulled his arm up, Raidramon saw the cracks and charged up a blast of lightning.

"Blue Thunder!" He launched the electro sphere at the mountain and when it connected, it exploded and caused the side of the mountain to break apart. The rocks began to fall, Raidramon far enough away not to be in danger. But Baboongamon wasn't so lucky, resulting in him getting buried before he could try and escape.

Raidramon: 2-15%
Baboongamon: 1-30%

Raidramon quickly ran forward and up the rock pile, which was already being knocked away as Baboongamon punched his way through the rocks.

Raidramon reached the top of the pile and leapt up onto another rock ledge, as his opponent finally broke free with a roar. "Mount Rock!" He grabbed one of the rocks and threw it with tremendous force, the rock flying right at Raidramon and smashed into his side.

"GYAH!" He cried, glad that he was armored there.

Raidramon: 2-0%
Baboongamon: 1-30%

He quickly shook the pain off and started running, leaping off the edge of the ledge onto a higher one. He did this three more times until he reached another flat area of the mountain. And there, he spotted a Digivolution Coin and smirked.

"Yes!" He rushed over and bit down on the coin, absorbing the energy as Baboongamon pulled himself up the side of the mountain. And when he reached the top, the wolf dragon started glowing. "Raidramon, Digivolve to..." His form grew larger, but remained quadrupedal.

The middle spike on his back vanished, whilst the other two transformed into bladed shapes and folded downwards.

When the light finally faded, it revealed a large wolf-like creature covered in white armor with gold trim and blue lines covering it. His lower jaw was blue and his head was covered in a white helmet, whilst his feet had metal cuffs around the ankles that had wheels attached to them. On his back were a pair of golden blades that folded outwards to form wings.

The Digimon's entire body radiated light and he looked incredible powerful. "KendoGarurumon!" He let out a mighty howl after saying this.

Anyone who wasn't Twilight stared at the new Digimon in amazement, having only ever heard stories of this creature with barely anyone managing to find one.

Twilight brought up the Digimon's stats, amazing everyone as they red it.

Name: KendoGarurumon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Free
Attribute: Light
Species: Cyborg
Family: Nature Spirits

"No way," Sandal turned to Mangoramon. "Isn't he a member of the Legendary Warriors, just like Arbormon?"

"Yup," Mangoramon nodded. "He's the Beast Warrior of Light, said to the fastest of the Ten Legendary Warriors. The only one said to equal his strength is BurningGreymon."

"What are the odds that Flash would gain two Legendary warriors from Armor Digimon?" Tentomon asked, as Baboongamon attacked.

KendoGarurumon leapt into the air, his wings allowing him to glide around and maneuver himself over Baboongamon.

As he did, he opened his mouth before streams of light flew into it. "Lupine Laser!" A beam of light exploded out of his mouth and slammed into Baboongamon, hitting him in the back and sending him flying.

KendoGarurumon: 1-100%
Baboongamon: 1-10%

He hit the ground as KendoGarurumon landed, the wheels on the back of his legs folding down as they did. Baboongamon picked himself up as KendoGarurumon shot forward, the wheels allowing him to fly across the ground at high speed.

"Mount Rock!" He threw several rocks at KendoGarurumon, but the mechanical wolf zigzagged using his wheels to avoid them all and shot past Baboongamon to slam his tail into him. He howled as he was sent flying, his last Security breaking when he hit the ground.

KendoGarurumon: 1-100%
Baboongamon: 1-0%

As Baboongamon fell to the ground, KendoGarurumon stopped right in front of him and spread his blade wings out. As he did, his entire body started glowing and his wheels started spinning at high speed. "HOWLING STAR!" He shot forward at blinding speed.

Baboongamon tried to escape, but the Digimon was just too fast and shot by in the blink of an eye. He stopped right behind the Digimon, seconds before an explosion engulfed him and Baboongamon's body exploded to reveal a teenager.

"Battle, over!" The mechanical voice announced. "Winner, Flash Sentry!" The battlefield began to disappear, as KendoGarurumon split back into Flash and Veemon.

The pair smiled at each other and high-fived, then turned to their defeated opponent and letting them know they had been a great challenge. The teen nodded and left, Flash taking his Digivice and smiling at the deck he had just used. It had been a lot of work, but he had gotten enough skill with them to fight on an even footing in a battle.

"That was awesome!" Veemon told him, as they pair left the stadium. "It's still kind of weird to have four legs, but the added speed really makes it worth it." Flash couldn't agree more, as they arrived at the foyer. There, his friends were waiting for him.

"Dude!" Sandal cheered, "that battle was off the chain."

"Thanks," Flash nodded. "It was tough. I'm just glad I didn't accidently slip off the mountain. There was barely anywhere to land whilst climbing."

"I'm more impressed with that Ultimate Evolution," Micro told him. "I can't believe Veemon can become two Legendary Warriors."

Flash smirked. "And that's not all I got." Everyone raised an eyebrow at this, as Flash took out his Digivice and summoned two energy cubes. Inside, they all saw two more Digimon Flash had recently acquired. One was a humanoid wolf-like Digimon with blue fur and white fur, wearing white leather pants covered in belts. He had the same belts around his arms and he also wore fingerless gloves to show off his black claws, along with a scarf running down his back.

The other was a tall humanoid Digimon in white a blue wolf armor. He had a laser cannon of some kind on his right arm and carried a pair of lightsabers, whilst a pair of long scarf ends trailed down his back. On his shoulder was the Japanese kanji for light.

"Wow," Shining smirked, "Strabimon and Lobomon. Now that is some serious power we're talking about."

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "I've been training to use them in my next match, but it isn't easy." He groaned, "Strabimon's as hard to control as Strikedramon."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Twilight held her side and remembered a practise match they had had with that Digimon. That thing had been brutal.

Rarity then turned to Trixie, remembering that she too had managed to get a scan of the Digimental of Friendship. "Out of curiosity, are any of your Digimon able to Armor Digivolve with it?" Trixie smiled and nodded, "which one?"

"ME!" Lunamon cheered, jumping up with her hand in the air. "I can Armor Digivolve into a Digimon called Rabbitmon. The best part is, I can jump super high and I'm big enough for Trixie to ride and hold onto whilst I'm moving super fast." Trixie nodded, also liking Lunamon's new form.

But learning to ride such a speedy Digimon hadn't been easy, Trixie having several bruises from when she was practising.

And she wasn't the only one who had been hitting it hard lately. Now that Flash, Micro, Sandal and Trixie had all reached the Ultimate Level, the rest of their friends had been training hard to try and break their limits as well. They had been training so hard, they had barely had time for anything else.

As such, many of them were looking a little run ragged, something Pinkie Pie and Dilemon couldn't help but notice.

"You all look wiped!" Everyone turned to her. "I get you're all determined to grow stronger, but we've gotta have a little fun every now and then." She pointed at Flash. "When was the last time you weren't exploring or battling in the stadium?"

Flash thought about it and realised it had been a while. Even when things were meant to be a calm relaxing day, something popped up and caused them to go into crisis mode. "I guess it's been a while."

"Exactly," Pinkie stood up and looked them over. "Tomorrow, everyone scan a swimsuit into your Digivices." That surprised them, "we're going to the beach."

"The beach?" Thorax asked, "you want us to spend the day relaxing by the seaside?"

"Exactly," Pinkie smiled. "And I know the perfect beach. It's big, with beautiful clear water and has no strong Digimon there. The perfect place to relax and let the stress melt away."

"I don't know," Rainbow clearly didn't like the idea of stopping her training. But then Pinkie gave her the puppy dog eyes. Something she or anyone else couldn't resist. "Alright, fine. I'm in." The others all nodded, though several stated none of them had swimsuits outside of the standard school issued ones.

"Don't worry," Rarity smiled to the girls without them. "I can make you all some suits that you'll absolutely love." Suddenly, they were all very worried.

That night.

The moon shined down on the ocean of the Digital World, illuminating the water and making the beach of a nearby stretch of land look incredible.

On that beach, a Digimon stepped out of the water. It was a child sized Digimon that appeared like a humanoid frog, being light blue in colour with a dark blue diving suit on its body. On its head, it had a helmet on that covered everything except his mouth. It was orange at the bottom around the nose and the rest was filled with a rainbow of different fish scales. He also had a pair of goggle were his eyes should be and two green fins coming off his head. Around his shoulders and waist were metal bands that looked like floaties, to help this adolescent Digimon from sinking.

The Digimon, known as Sapomon, ran towards the water and smiled once he was inside of it, the floatie around his waist keeping him afloat as he paddled out into the water.

He was enjoying himself and loved the feel of the water on his body. But he was so focused on the enjoyment, he didn't notice something was off with the water.

Despite the illumination of the moon, a part of the water was starting to turn dark. It was like someone had poured oil into the water, creating a section of dark liquid that was moving around.

It slowly made its way over to Sapomon, who was using his floatie like a chair to lean back on and look up at the night sky. As such, he was completely unaware of the dark water moving towards him. It wasn't until the darkness was surrounding him, that he felt a change.

His legs and any other part of him below the surface, began to feel uncomfortable. Despite the temperature of the water staying the same, he felt like it had suddenly turned to ice water and his body was beginning to ache.

"What's going on?" He asked, his voice sounding croaky. He finally noticed the colour of the water and gasped, attempting to swim out of it. But before he could, the dark water began to swirl around and form a mini whirlpool. "HELP!" He screamed, as he was dragged away by the current. He couldn't fight it and eventually, he was sucked into the centre of the maelstrom and pulled beneath the water.

The whirlpool remained for several more moments before slowing to a stop, the dark water beginning to fade away. Eventually, the ocean looked completely normal.

The next day.

Much like Pinkie had said, the beach she had taken them all to was absolutely incredible.

It was half a mile of white sand, shaped into a crescent moon shape with a forest running along the back of it. The only rocks on the beach were large boulders and there was no seaweed or anything that might ruin the perfect fun in the sun.

Flash, Micro, Sandal, Shining and Thorax stood on the beach with their Digimon, wearing swim trunks the same colour as their regular clothes, whilst the girls were all hiding behind a large rock getting changed. This, of course, confused the males since changing clothes in the Digital World, was as simple as pressing a button with a flash of light covering yourself.

Even so, the boys were forced to wait until the girls were done before they could even attempt to enjoy themselves. Luckily, they didn't have to wait long.

"Hello boys." They all looked around and were shocked when they saw Rarity leading the rest of the girls out from behind the rock. "What do you think?" Rarity was dressed in a purple top with a blue skirt and a hat on her head, whilst Twilight was wearing a blue and purple one piece and Applejack was dressed in a blue and green shirt and shorts with an apple on the front of it.

The other girls were all dressed in two piece suits and did not appear happy with them. Pinkie was the only one enjoying it, the girl skipping along in her white suit with yellow ribbons. She was giving the boys quite as show as she did, Flash, Micro, Sandal and Thorax needing to look away.

The other girls weren't much better, with Trixie and Rainbow both wearing dark blue suits with Trixie having a shawl wrapped around her waist. But Fluttershy looked absolutely mortified with her green two piece, the girl likely wishing her arms could stretch so she could wrap them around her entire body.

"Rarity," Fluttershy turned to her friend, "why did you get me this suit. It's...it's..."

"It's perfect on you deary," Rarity smiled. "I always knew you were hiding an amazing figure and now's the time to show it off." Fluttershy clearly didn't want to show it off, Terriermon rushing over to her and leaping onto her shoulder. This allowed him to hang his long ears down over her shoulders, giving Fluttershy the chance to sigh in relief as she was covered up.

Twilight stepped over to Flash, smiling when she saw him looking gormless. "So, what do you think?"

"Um..." Flash wasn't sure how to answer that question, especially since Shining Armor was standing right there next to him. "You look...really good." Twilight smiled, as Flash tried to keep his face from being seen by her and Shining.

Luckily, Veemon decided to yell out and catch everyone's attention. "What are we waiting for? Let's go have some fun!" Veemon rushed towards the ocean, Tentomon and Monodramon following after him.

Mangoramon was not in the mood to go in the water, given salt water and plants didn't mix, whilst Grubmon decided to explore the beach for anything that might be fun to do. Labramon, Kamemon, Salamon and Lunamon also ran towards the water, whilst Dilemon simply stood on the rock the girls had changed behind and stared out at the horizon.

Pinkie laughed, seeing the Digimon enjoying themselves and rushed over to join them. Rainbow, Applejack and Trixie followed after. Tawnimon was sticking with Twilight, who had gone over to a bunch of beach chairs Pinkie had somehow brought with her whilst taking out her Digivice.

Turns out, the Digivice had an E-book setting that Flash was unaware of. The girl sat down and started reading, Rarity and Fluttershy joining her to do the same. Shining had decided to catch some digital sun, whilst the boys just stood there.

Flash, Micro, Sandal and Thorax all watched the girls splash around in the water, the lot of them unable to take their eyes off the sight before them. "Is this heaven?" Thorax asked, the other three unable to answer.

"We should probably do something, instead of just standing around staring." Flash looked at the others, who all nodded. Thorax decided to go see what Grubmon was up to, whilst Flash and Sandal headed out into the water. Micro decided to sit, using his Digivice to take out a shovel and bucket. It might have been childish, but he loved building sandcastle.

"Alright," he started looking through his Locations, "what to build?" He came across the Castle of Dark Illusion and smirked. He might not be able to make it look exactly like the original, but he could work on the top.

The girls in the water were all splashing around, laughing as they played whilst the Digimon were swimming around racing.

Flash and Sandal had dived down to the bottom of the ocean and were investigating the seafloor, all the while having an impromptu breath holding contest.

The seafloor was perfect for swimming close to the beach, as there was nothing one the bottom except sand. No shells or seaweed. It was like this place was programmed to be the perfect beach day location.

It took them a while to reach a section of the ocean that wasn't just sand, with a sudden drop leading down the side of a rocky cliff that added an extra twenty feet to the ocean's depths. It was way too deep for the pair of them to go down, the pair preferring not to drown. But at the bottom of the cliff, the pair saw what appeared to be a coral reef with many different types of fish and water plants living there.

Flash and Sandal surfaced and took in air, the pair swimming back towards the others.

"You guys having fun?" Rainbow asked, as they swam into the shallows.

"Wish we had some snorkelling equipment," Flash sighed. "I'd love to take a closer look at that reef."

"I bet Fluttershy would love to see that to," Pinkie smiled before turning to the beach. "Fluttershy! You should come out and swim with us!"

"I'm good," Fluttershy assured them. The others sighed, wishing she wasn't so shy about herself. Terriermon more than anyone, was upset she would rather hide away then enjoy the ocean.

At the same time, Thorax had caught up with Grubmon as they explored the beach. "See anything?"

"No," Grubmon shook his head, "can't see anything out of the ordinary. This beach is so boring." Thorax rolled his eyes, as they came across a bunch of large rocks near the water's edge. They stepped around it and still saw no sign of anything interesting.

"It's kind of weird," Thorax stated as he stepped into the water. "Such a great beach, you'd think it'd already be claimed by a Digimon or something." Grubmon nodded, starting to wonder the same thing.

The pair continued to speak but as they did, something appeared in the water behind them.

The normally crystal clear water was beginning to grow dark and slowly made its way towards Thorax's feet. And inside the dark water, a pair of bright red eyes appeared

When Thorax finally felt the horrible chill at his feet, it was too late. Whatever was in the water, exploded out of it and grabbed him. This made Thorax gasp, as he felt something grab him from behind and cover his mouth. The next thing he knew, he was being dragged backwards into the water.

Grubmon fell in with him and the pair disappeared into the dark pool, splashing filling the air as the two tried to escape what was dragging them below. But whatever it was had too much of a grip on them and they were soon completely submerged.

Despite the water in the area only being a few inches deep, the pair disappeared within the water and were soon gone. Once they were, the water returned to normal and everything appeared completely normal.

Back with the others, Terriermon had finally convinced Fluttershy to go out swimming with them.

Twilight and Rarity had also joined them, the group swimming towards the edge of the cliff in order to look down into it. "I'm with Flash," Twilight told them. "It's too bad we don't have any scuba gear."

"Can't you just Biomerge into a water Digimon?" Trixie asked, "you both have Betamon and Seadramon, don't you?" They realised she was right, but then frowned at the thought of becoming a massive water Digimon. They wanted to get a good look at the sea life, but giant sea-serpent would probably scare all the fish away.

"Too bad we don't have any smaller water Digimon to turn into," Flash sighed. "I wonder if there's an Digimental that'll let Veemon turning into a water Digimon?"

"Probably," Twilight nodded. "But if it does exist, it might not be discovered for a long time." Flash frowned at this, whilst ducking his head under the water and staring at the reef.

As he did, he couldn't help but notice something and pulled his head back out. "I can buy there not being any Digimon on the beach. But shouldn't there be aquatic Digimon under the water?" The others realised he was right. The coral reef was the perfect location for Digimon like Crabmon and Swimmon to call home. So why weren't there?

They continued swimming for a little while longer before heading back to shore, their stomachs telling them it was time to enjoy a nice packed lunch.

But when they got back to the place, they noticed they were no missing a pair. "Where's Thorax and Grubmon?" Flash asked, but nobody answered.

"Didn't they go exploring the beach?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Micro nodded, "but the beach isn't that big." Tentomon flew up and tried to see if he could spot the pair. But there was no sign of any of them.

"Strange. I can't see them anywhere." That made them worry, Shining spotting a bunch of footprints walking in the direction Thorax had gone.

"Monodramon and I will go find him," he told the others. "You guys stay here in case he comes back." They all nodded and sat down, Shining and Monodramon both heading down the beach. They followed the footprints and eventually, they found themselves stepping behind a large rock.

"The footprints stop here," Monodramon looked forward and saw the water. "You think they went swimming?"

Shining hummed, unsure if that was the case. Even so, it didn't explain how he could have just vanished. "Did he port back to Codex for some reason?" He was about to take out his Digivice and call him, but realised he had left it at the beach. He also remembered Thorax doing the same thing, meaning there was no way he could have ported away. "What is going on?"

Monodramon had stepped into the water to see if that might tell him which way Thorax had gone. But as he did, the darkness began to form again. Monodramon didn't notice it either, at least until it was too late.

A loud splashed filled the air and Monodramon spun around to see a dark creature with red eyes fly out of the water.

Shining also saw this and gasped, as Monodramon was tackled by the creature and pushed under the water. "MONODRAMON!" His voice echoed out, as he ran into the water to try and save his partner. But as he did, another creature leapt out and grabbed him by the arms and legs. "Augh!" He was also dragged under the surface, unable to pull himself free.

The Mega Level player let out another cry as he was dragged into the dark water, disappearing alongside Monodramon.

Back with the others, they had been waiting for Shining and Thorax to get back.

Twilight was watching where her brother had gone off, wondering what was taking him so long to find them. As she did, the others were beginning to snack on some of the treats whilst Pinkie and Tawnimon helped Micro with his sand castle.

"They should have been back by now." Everyone turned to Twilight, seeing that she was getting worried.

Flash was about to tell her she had nothing to fear. But in that moment, they heard Shining's voice yell out. "MONODRAMON!" That caused everyone to get on edge and they quickly stood up, Shining's voice yelling out again at something horrible.

Twilight broke out into a sprint, Flash right behind her. Their Digimon followed with the others right behind them. They ran to where Shining's voice had come from and when they ran around the rock, they found Shining was nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" Twilight looked terrified, the others beginning their search. But everything just looked completely normal.

"Maybe he ported back to Codex?" Rainbow suggested, only to then see Micro holding both his and Thorax's Digivices. "Okay, maybe they didn't."

"This is really bad," Mangoramon stated. "First Thorax and Grubmon vanish, now those two."

"What do you think happened?" Fluttershy asked, looking absolutely terrified. The others weren't sure, but the look on Twilight's face showed she was thinking the worst.

"Everyone calm down," Flash stated. "Let's try and look at this with clear heads." Everyone took a deep breath, as Flash picked up Shining and Thorax's Digivices. They weren't working, but that was normal since they deactivated when not in their owner's possession. "Micro, what happens to a Digivice if the owner is...deleted?"

Micro glanced over at Twilight and gulped. "Well, it depends on how they were deleted. If the Digivice was on them when they got deleted, the Digivice would be destroyed if the owner was blasted or fell into something like lava. But if they fell off a cliff or just didn't have the Digivice, it'd be left behind." Twilight did not look happy hearing this. "But...their info would be deleted from any friends list they're in."

Twilight's eyes went wide and she took out her Digivice, looking through her friends list until she found both Thorax and Shining's data. "They're alive!"

"So then what happened to them?" Applejack asked, the others looking just as confused. Flash tried to think and nodded.

"Let's split up and look around. Nobody does anything alone. Stay in groups of at least two." They all nodded, as Flash looked up at the forest and out at the ocean. "Pinkie, can you and Dilemon go check the ocean?"

"No problem," Pinkie smiled as Twilight stepped up next to her.

"I'm going with her. If Shining's out there, I have to find him." Flash nodded and asked Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and Fluttershy to continue coming the beach. He, Micro, Trixie and Sandal would head into the forest and search for any signs of things happening in there.

"Let's do this!" Flash took out his Digivice and summoned the Digimental of Friendship, Trixie doing the same thing as they called out in unison. "Digi-Armor, Energize!" The Digimentals activated and exploded into lightning, which flew over to Veemon and Lunamon to wrap them up in cocoons.

"Veemon/Lunamon, Armor Digivolve to..." The pair began to transform, with Veemon taking his Raidramon form whilst Lunamon became slightly smaller than him.

The lightning flew off Lunamon and she was revealed to be a large white rabbit Digimon, wearing armor and leather. The lower part of her head, upper arms and upper legs were the only part revealed, whilst the rest was in mostly black armor. Her front legs wore black leather gloves with blue stripes and claws, whilst her back legs were in black armored boots with blue on the toes. The armor on her body was black with blue on the back part and around her neck. Her ears were longer than she was and covered in a black leather strip with yellow triangles on it.

She bounced around, whilst Veemon's evolution howled. "Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!"

"Rabbitmon, Moonlight Friendship!"

Flash and Micro leapt onto Raidramon's back, whilst Trixie jumped onto Rabbitmon and Sandal leapt up behind her. Tentomon grabbed Mangoramon and they all rushed into the forest, as Twilight turned to the others.

"Let's go!" Twilight held up her Digivice and pointed it at Tawnimon. Pinkie and Rainbow did the same, the light exploding off the screens and wrapping around the Digimon.

"Tawnimon, Digivolve to...HooTawnimon!"

"Dilemon, Digivolve to...Gatormon!"

"Kamemon, Digivolve to...Gwappamon!"

Twilight leapt onto HooTawnimon with Rarity and Salamon, whilst Pinkie climbed onto Gatormon with Applejack and Labramon. They headed off out to the ocean, whilst Rainbow, Fluttershy, Gwappamon and Terriermon once again started searching the beach.

In the forest, Raidramon and Rabbitmon moved at high speed as those riding them looked around for any sign of their friends. But they couldn't find anything. Trixie was holding onto Rabbitmon's ears, with Sandalwood holding onto her waist.

"See anything?" The eco kid called out to Flash and Micro, who shook their heads. They continued to run through the woods and eventually decides to split up, Flash and Micro going one way whilst Trixie and Sandal went another. Tentomon dropped Mangoramon onto Sandal's back as they split up, both heading in opposite directions to try and find any sign of their friends.

If they couldn't find anything, then hopefully the others would.

Over with Twilight and the others, HooTawnimon and Gatormon had gone pretty far out. But there was no sign of Shining, Thorax or their Digimon.

"Where are they?" Twilight looked worried, as Rarity placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry darling. We'll find them. We just have to search harder." Twilight nodded and they continued to fly overhead, whilst Pinkie and Applejack rode on Gatormon's back.

The frizzy haired girl leaned over her partner's side and shoved her head into the water, hoping she didn't spot either of them down there since it could mean they were in serious trouble. When she pulled her head out, she sighed and put her chin on her hands. "Why did this have to happen? I just wanted us to all have a fun filled day at the beach. Now our friends are missing and who knows what's happening to them."

"Pinkie," Applejack placed her hand on her shoulder, "we know this isn't your fault. You were trying to do something to help us all and we appreciate that." Pinkie smiled, as they continued to search the area for any sign of their friends. But then, Labramon spotted something in the distance.

"Hey, what's that?" Applejack and Pinkie looked over and saw what Labramon had spotted. A puddle of dark water, which appeared to be growing and moving towards them.

"I'm not sure," Applejack hummed before waving up to Twilight. When she and Rarity looked down, Applejack pointed at the puddle and Twilight had HooTawnimon fly over to take a closer look.

"What is that?" Rarity looked disgusted by it, whilst Twilight was unsure.

"If we were in the real world, I'd guess it was some kind of pollution. But in the Digital World..." She looked down to the others. "Whatever you do, don't let yourself swim into it. Who knows what it'll do?" They nodded and Gatormon began to swim away from it. But as he did, the dark water began to spread faster. That made Twilight worry. "Get out of there!"

Gatormon started swimming at top speed, but the water was faster and Gatormon was soon surrounded by it. "This can't be good!" Applejack stated, as the water started swirling around.

"Whirlpool!" Pinkie screamed as they held onto Gatormon to keep from being thrown into the water.

Twilight and the others gasped, Twilight calling out to them. "Quick, port out!" They took out their Digivices and tried to do just that, but before they could something shot out of the water and tackled both Pinkie and Applejack.

The teens screamed as they were thrown into the water, Labramon trying to grab them with little success. The girls were quickly pulled into the water and Gatormon wasn't far behind, unable to escape the vortex.

Twilight and the others in the air gasped, as they watched them all be sucked into the depths of the ocean. "What's going on?" Rarity asked, Twilight unsure how to answer.

"Get us back to shore!" She told HooTawnimon, who nodded and began to turn back towards the mainland. If they wanted to save their friends, they would need all the help they could get.

However, their escape was a lost cause. For as they made their way towards land, something shot out of the water. Some kind of metal prong, which struck HooTawnimon's wing and made him squawk in pain as he lost control. The girls tried to hold on, but HooTawnimon was unable to beat his wing and rolled in the air.

This sent them tumbling off of him, the girls screaming as they fell into the water with the Champion owl falling right besides them.

They all sank below the water and as they did, many strange creatures appeared inside the whirlpool and swam to them. Each one grabbed them and started pulling them down, Twilight unable to hold her breath and eventually blacking out. And when she did, she thought about her brother and feared he might have been attacked by these creatures as well.

If he was, then who would be able to save them? Their friends on the shore were their only hope, but would they find them before getting attacked themselves?

Back with Flash and Micro, the pair were continuing to search the forest for a trace of their friends.

Raidramon had slowed to about twenty miles an hour, which was basically a crawl for him speed wise, so the other two could look out for any clue that might lead them to the others. "There's gotta be something that'll tell us where the others went."

"I'm not seeing anything," Micro stated as Raidramon leapt up onto a tall rock and then down onto the other side of it. "Maybe Twilight and the others found something. We should check in with them." Flash nodded and Raidramon finally came to a stop.

As they did, Flash took out his Digivice and brought up his friends list. He first tried contacting Twilight, but for some reason he wasn't getting a signal. "Huh." He tried again, but nothing was getting through. He then tried Rarity, but she was also failing to pick up.

Micro took out his Digivice and found Applejack and Pinkie were also MIA. "What's going on?"

Flash finally managed to get through to Rainbow, "what's up?"

"Is Twilight with you guys? She's not answering."

"Hang on, Fluttershy's trying to call her now." They waited, Rainbow frowning on the screen. "Nothing. She can't seem to get through to anyone."

"That's not good," Flash sighed. "Let's head back to the beach and see if we can't find them. We'll call Trixie and tell her to head back as well." Rainbow nodded before they call ended. Micro quickly sent a message to Trixie and Raidramon prepared to head back.

But before he could, the dragon Digimon's ears twerked. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Flash asked, as Raidramon turned to look through some trees. He then ran towards them and the pair held on, the wolf dragon Digimon racing through the forest until they reached an area with a large hole surrounded by trees.

"There's someone down there," Raidramon looked down it and the other two stared into the abyss.

The hole was about thirty feet deep and at the bottom of it, there was a Digimon laying there. It was an almost caveman-looking Digimon, whose body was mostly covered in shaggy long white hair. He wore brown rags and besides him was a wooden staff, with what appeared to be a large pawed fist on the end of it.

"Jijimon," Micro gasped, "that's a Mega Level Digimon."

"Hey!" Flash cried, "you okay?" The Digimon moaned as he tried to move his head.

"My back," was all he could say back. The others frowned and knew they had to help him, so Micro used his Digivice to summon some rope. Tentomon quickly flew down and tied to rope around the Digimon and the others wrapped it around a strong looking branch, allowing Raidramon to pull him up using pulley system. "Thank you."

"No problem," Flash told him once he and Micro swung him out from over the pit and Raidramon put him down. "What the heck were you doing down there?"

"Oh," Jijimon held his back in pain, "I was on my way to seal the breach. But I made the idiotic decision to travel here at night. It was so dark, I didn't see this pit in front of me until I was falling down it. And now I've thrown my back out."

"Well you should be okay so long as you don't strain yourself," Micro told him. "But what did you mean by breach?"

"This part of the Digital World isn't stable," Jijimon groaned. "The dimensional fabric is quite weak. And every now and then, a tear in that fabric appears. That's why I'm here. Every now and then, the area's dimensional wall needs to be reinforced. But I've been stuck in that pit for days."

"So a tear's probably opened up?" Flash asked, Jijimon nodding as he slowly put the pieces together. "If a tear did open up, what would happen?"

"Bad things. This particular area is connected to another dimension. A realm of darkness, where many dark creatures lurk. Creatures that would cause great destruction, if they were allowed to wander free." The four shared a worried look, especially when they remembered the disappearances of their friends.

"What would happen if something from our side fell through one of these breaches?" Jijimon looked worried about this.

"Then they would be in very great danger. If they fell into that realm, then the chances of them getting back on their own would be next to impossible." Their eyes went wide and Flash quickly ran to get on Raidramon, Micro following. "Here." Jijimon took something off from around his neck. It was a white crystal with rope tied around it to form a necklace. "This gemstone is the only thing that can protect you from the dark energy of that realm." He threw it at Flash, "it'll also allow you to close to breach when you find it. If your friends have fallen into that realm, I can only wish you luck in saving them."

"Thanks," Flash put the necklace one as Micro climbed on, Tentomon holding onto Micro's back. "Let's go!" With that, Raidramon shot off and the still injured Jijimon sat there.

"Please close the breach. If he is allowed to break through, the Digital World could be in grave danger."

Back at the beach, Rainbow and Fluttershy continued to search the beach for any sign of their friends.

But there was neither hide nor hair of them. And with Twilight and the other's sudden disappearance, their worries grew even greater. "GUYS!" Rainbow cried out, as Gwappamon stepped into the water. "Come on guys! Show yourselves!"

Gwappamon frowned as he looked around, still seeing no sign of anything out of the ordinary. However, he failed to notice the dark water that was slowly appearing around his feet.

It wasn't until the pool surrounded both his feet that he felt the chilly coldness. "Huh?" He looked down and saw the dark water, but something grasped his feet before he could jump out of it. "GYAH!" His cry made the others look around and see him being dragged underwater by something, Rainbow gasping as she rushed over to him.

"Hang on!" She reached out and grabbed his hands, trying to pull him out. But the pull was too much and she was dragged down with him.

"Rainbow!" Fluttershy screamed, as the pair were dragged beneath the water. She stared in shock as her friend disappeared into the shallow water, fear coursing through her. And before she or Terriermon could think of what to do next, the water suddenly exploded upwards.

"RUN!" Terriermon screamed, Fluttershy turning to run away. But as she did, the water morphed into a giant wave that began to chase after her. Terriermon leapt into the air, "Bunny Blast!" The energy ball exploded out of his mouth towards the wave, but did nothing to stop the dark tsunami from crashing down and hitting them both.

They screamed as the water completely surrounded them, then started dragging them back into the ocean.

As this was happening, Rabbitmon leapt out of the forest with Trixie, Sandalwood and Mangoramon on her back. They arrived just in time to see Fluttershy and Terriermon disappear below the water, the lot of them gasping as they ran forward.

"What happened to them?" Trixie asked, as the water once again exploded into a wave that moved forward.

"Hold on!" Rabbitmon cried, as she leapt into the air in order to avoid them getting crushed by the water. As she did, her ears folded around as electrical energy appeared between them. "Carrot Bomb!" A blast of lightning exploded out from between them, the energy taking the form of a carrot that collided with the wave and exploded.

This was strong enough to blow the water back, Rabbitmon landing down on the beach far away from the water.

"You think that's what happened to the others?" Sandal asked, as Mangoramon jumped off his back. "They got swallowed by that giant wave?"

"Or something worse," Rabbitmon gulped. As she said that, Raidramon leapt out of the forest and landed on the beach near the water. "Get away from the ocean!"

"Huh?" Raidramon asked, only for another wave to explode upwards and try to grab him. "WOW!" He leapt back, the water slamming into the beach where he had been standing. "Plasma Blade!" His horn exploded with electrical energy and he quickly cut the water, dispelling it and forcing the wave to retreat.

"What the heck was that?" Tentomon asked, as Raidramon ran to the others.

"We don't know!" Trixie cried. "But whatever it was, it took Fluttershy and Terriermon!"

"And it probably took the others too," Mangoramon agreed. This made the others frown, Flash realising it had to be the breach and dark monster Jijimon had told them about.

"We need to save them," Flash stated.

"How?" Micro asked, "we don't even know where they are." As he said that, the dark water began to congeal again and exploded into a large water pillar. They all jumped at this, as something appeared within the water. Whatever it was, there were many of them.

The figures threw something at the lot of them, Raidramon and Rabbitmon both leaping into action. "Blue Thunder/Carrot Bomb!" The electrical attacks blasted the oncoming projectiles and destroyed them, but the figures in the water were throwing more than the pair could launch.

"Super Shocker/Bloom-Arang!" Tentomon and Mangoramon launched their attacks to try and stop them, but it was no use. The harpoons that had been launched broke through the attacks and slammed into the pair, knocking them both backwards.

"Tentomon/Mangoramon!" They rushed towards their partners, as Raidramon launched a Blue Thunder attack at the Digimon in the water.

But the column of water split apart, the attack flying between it, as the Digimon threw more harpoons. "GYAH!" Raidramon was struck in the chest, the attack hitting with enough force to knock him back.

Rabbitmon leapt to his support. But before she could do anything, the column of water suddenly curved and blasted towards her. "Augh!" She was struck by it and the second she was, she felt almost all of her energy being sapped away.

She fell to the ground as the water pulled back, glowing as she reverted back to Lunamon and her Digimental returned to Trixie. "Lunamon!" She rushed over to her partner, as Raidramon began to pick himself up.

And as he did, the water column flew towards him as well. "Look out!" Flash cried, Raidramon looking up and charging his body.

"THUNDER BLAST!" He unleashed the most powerful electrical attack he could muster and sent it flying at the water column, the two colliding and pushing against one another. Both seemed evenly matched, but slowly Raidramon's attack overwhelmed the water.

Everyone smiled at this, only for another blast of water to fly out hit Raidramon in the chest.

He roared as his attack was cancelled out, allowing the more powerful water stream to shoot down and drench him. And like Rabbitmon, his strength was also sapped away and he reverted back to Veemon. "NO!" Flash rushed to him, as the water blast pulled back and began to morph and spin.

Everyone looked up and saw the water morph into a tornado, which began to move towards them. They all picked their partners up and ran, but the tornado's force started pulling them in.

Within seconds, the lot were lifted off their feet and sucked into the vortex. They screamed as they were pulled inside, the tornado returning to the ocean and sinking into the depths.

As they sank below the waves, Flash felt himself beginning to black out as the dark water sapped him of all his strength. And he wasn't the only one.

Looking around, he saw the rest of his friends going limp as they were unable able to fight against whatever had them. Flash realised the same thing must have happened to his friends. It was no wonder they had been so easily captured.

However, as he was about to blackout, something floated in front of him. The crystal Jijimon had given him. And as he focused on it, the crystal started glowing. Before he could wonder what was happening, the light exploded outwards and created a sphere that surrounded him. Doing so pushed the water away, allowing Flash to breathe. And when he turned to his friends, the bubble moved.

One by one, it floated over to his friends and pulled them inside. When they were, they were able to breathe and gasped for air. "You guys okay?" Flash asked once the last one was in, the lot of them coughing and panting as they continued to sink into the water.

"What's going on?" Micro asked.

"I'm not sure," Flash nodded. He looked around and as he did, he saw the figures from before swimming around them. But the light of the sphere made them hiss as they were forced to keep their distance.

Eventually, they found themselves reaching what appeared to be the bottom of the ocean. But when the orb hit it, the floor was pushed apart like it was made of more water. In seconds, they found themselves surfacing from the dark water.

As the orb left the water, the group found themselves standing upside down. But that didn't last long and they soon fell on their heads, crying out as they did so.

They moaned as they picked themselves up and looked around, the sight before them like nothing any of them had ever seen.

The whole environment was made of darkness.

It wasn't that there was just no light. Everything about this place was dark. The sky was gray and lifeless. The water was dark and dank. The beach was colourless. And in the distance, a lighthouse was sitting on an outcrop of land and shooting out a ray of dark light.

They all shivered, the air itself feeling like it was sucking the life right out of them. "What is this place?" Veemon asked.

"It's a world of darkness," Flash realised as they finally reached land and found a dark fog was making it impossible to see anything past the beach. But the water was clear and visible. "The water is acting like a portal between our world and this...Dark Ocean."

Everyone else felt worried, as the sphere disappeared and they were dropped onto the beach. Whatever this place was, it was dangerous. And their friends were trapped their somewhere. If they wanted to get them all back, they would need to face whatever evil lurked there and find their friends before it was too late. But could they?

In the murky depths, the strange creatures were swimming down towards the deepest part of the ocean.

When they got their, they all floated there and looked into the abyss. "Master," one of them gargled out, "we have captured many new hosts. But some managed to escape. What do we do?" As he said that, a giant pair of eyes opened up and glowed red. They were so large that twenty of the creatures could fit inside them, showing just how large this creature was.

The light of the eyes illuminated the rest of the form, showing a giant head and many long tendrils coming off of it. The creature was almost indescribable. And it had its eyes set on the visitors of its world.

Author's Note

That's right, people. We've arrived at the Dark Ocean. I love 02, but I hate that they dropped that subplot without expanding on it. Other fanficers have tried to in the past and now, it's my turn.

Also, I wrote this ages ago. Before the new 02 movie came out. And no, I haven't seen it. So if that movie has Dark Ocean stuff in it, I retract what I just said. Still doing this arc though.

For those wondering about Sapomon, he's another creation of Karn EX and his amazing artists. Go check his videos out if you haven't. And keep a look out, since more of these Rookies might be showing up sometime.

The same is true for Rabbitmon's redesign, taking cues from Karn's remake. He just makes such great Digimon.

The Battle of Milk and Cookies

It was another interesting day in Codex, where we find Flash in the Digi-Lab working on something.

Currently, he and Veemon were staring at a copy of their ExVeemon scan. The scan stood there, completely lifeless as they brought up the rest of their Champion scans. Flash let out a hum as he tapped Seadramon's scan.

"Let's try this one. Maybe it'll make a more aquatic form of ExVeemon." He pulled it over to a box next to ExVeemon's Digivolution line. But as soon as he put it in the box, it bounced back into place. "Not that one, I guess."

"Try Airdramon," Veemon cried. Flash nodded and moved the serpentine dragon over to the box. But just like with Seadramon, it bounced back to show it wasn't what they were looking for. "Come on!"

Flash sighed as he tapped his foot. "ExVeemon's your natural champion, so it's a really old Digimon. Best guess, it needs another really old Digimon to DNA Digivolve."

"Do we have any really old Digimon?"

Flash hummed as he brought up his other scans and saw Agunimon and Lobomon. "Worth a shot." He pulled them over to the box, but like the others they both just bounced back. "Dang it!"

"Problem?" Flash looked over and saw Twilight walking towards him, Tawnimon right behind her.

"Not really. Just trying to find the DNA partner for ExVeemon." Twilight stepped up to him and hummed as she saw all the Digimon Flash had clearly already tried.

"What's got you so focused on finding out ExVeemon's partner? You didn't seem so interested in it before." She then noticed Flash looking a little worried. Clearly, something big was going on in his head.

"You remember what we told you happened in the Dark Ocean?" Twilight sighed. She should have known this had something to do with it. "Dagomon almost wiped us out. And Jijimon lost his life protecting us." Twilight nodded. She knew Flash was still a little disturbed by what had happened. "Then there's the Dragon Soul Stones. I promised Azulongmon I would help keep WarGrowlmon away from them. If I'm gonna do that, I gotta be stronger."

"I get it," Twilight nodded. "You've really been through a lot since coming to the Digital World. Most players would have been terrified by half the things you've seen. But you're not alone. Remember that. You getting stronger might not be what determines how things play out."

Flash sighed, "I guess you're right." He shut down his work station and removed his Digivice from the podium. "But still, I just wish I had a clue about what Digimon I needed to DNA Digivolve ExVeemon. It's gonna drive me crazy if I can't figure out what it is."

"Can't Gennai or one of the Codex Commanders tell you?" Tawnimon asked. "They have all of ExVeemon's data, so can't they just look into whatever Ultimate it creates and figure out what Digimon you need?"

"I tried that already," Flash sighed as they headed out the lab

"He said he couldn't show favouritism," Veemon replied. "If he told us what Digimon we needed, he would need to answer every question Codex players have and he'd never get any work done." The pair frowned, but knew that was kind of a good point. "AHHHH! It's no fair. What if that Digimon is my Natural Ultimate! Don't I deserve to know what it is?"

"I don't think a DNA Digivolution can count as a Natural Digivolution," Twilight replied. "If it was Natural, you'd be able to do it without another Digimon." They made their way through the foyer and as they did, they spotted Fluttershy and Terriermon watching one of the monitors with a worried expression. "What's up with Fluttershy?"

They made their way over to her seat and sat down beside her. "Hey, Fluttershy." The girl turned to them, "something wrong?"

"No," Fluttershy shook her head, "it's just..." She pointed at the monitor and they all looked up to see who was on it. And to their surprised, they saw two more of their friends. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie.

"They're battling?" Twilight was shocked by this. "How did this happen?"

"I think they just got matched up," Terriermon replied. "They looked pretty surprised to see each other when Pinkie stepped in."

"Really?" Flash smirked, "they ever battle before?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, this is the first time. And I have no idea who to cheer for." She looked worried. "If one wins, that means the other loses and I don't want that to happen." The others could see the problem. Fluttershy was such a caring person, picking between friends just wasn't in her wheelhouse.

"Relax," Terriermon told her. "Just watch and be happy that at least one of your friend is gonna get a win today." The others nodded as they watched Rainbow and Pinkie start looking through their decks.

Inside the battle dome, Rainbow and Pinkie smiled at each other as they chose their Digimon and Battle Gear.

"Rainbow Dash," Pinkie spoke up. "No matter who wins, let's have fun and be happy for the other. Okay?" Rainbow smirked at this, as she slotted her chosen Battle Gear into place.

"You bet. Let's have a blast and whoever wins doesn't rub it in the other's face." Pinkie laughed at this, nodding as she set her deck and Rainbow did the same thing. Dilemon and Kamemon both smiled at each other as well, glad their partners weren't letting this contest get the better of them.

Once their decks were locked in, the electronic voice spoke up. "Pinkie Pie. You have been randomly select to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Pinkie brought up her locations and smiled when she found one, laughing as she selected it. "Sugar Kingdom has been selected. When both players are ready, hit the start button."

"LET'S GET DIGITAL!" Both girls cried as they hit the start button and the battlefield began to light up. As they did, both their Digimon leapt up and they high-fived to transform.

"Dilemon!" Pinkie cried, merging with her partner.

"Kamemon!" Rainbow cheered, as the battlefield formed.

Everyone watched, as the battlefield materialised and everyone found themselves staring at every five year-old's dream.

The whole place was made out of edible treats. The ground appeared to be made of chocolate and shortbread biscuits, with rivers of milk and fudge mounts covered in ice cream and cherries. There were giant lollipops that acted like trees and atop one of the mountains was a castle made of gingerbread surrounded by a bunch of gingerbread villages.

"There's a place made of candy and I haven't been there yet?" Flash asked, knowing he would need to have a chat with Pinkie about trading for a copy of that location.

The others smirked, as Dilemon and Kamemon appeared.

Dilemon: 5-100%
Kamemon: 5-100%

As soon as they both appeared, Kamemon rushed forward and quickly rolled into a ball.

"Torto-Tackle!" Kamemon rushed forward and suddenly retracted into her shell, which shot towards Dilemon and threatened to slam into her. But Dilemon was able to leap into the air and as she did, her eyes glowed.

"Insight!" Her eyes began to glow, confusing some of the people watching.

"What's Insight?" Veemon turned to Tawnimon, but it was Twilight who answered.

"Insight gives Dilemon the ability to look through almost anything. It also gives her night vision and the ability to see far away like it's right in front of her."

"Wow," Flash whistled before frowning. "And she didn't think to use that when she was searching for huanglong ore?"

With her Insight ability, Dilemon was able to see everything around her as she span through the air.

By the time she landed, she smirked knowing the location of every Digivolution, Sp and even an HP coin. "Oh yeah," she snickered as Kamemon came to a stop and turned to her. Dilemon then took a deep breath. "Water Shot!" A powerful blast of water exploded out of her mouth and struck Kamemon before she could respond.

Dilemon: 5-100%
Kamemon: 5-85%

Kamemon landed on her shell and slid across the chocolate ground, Dilemon smirking as she grabbed part of the ground and broke it off. Taking a bite, she hummed as Kamemon managed to roll onto her back.

"Armored Arrow!" The back of her shell opened up and as it did, a missile of some kind folded out of it before it shot into the air.

Dilemon looked up and saw the missile curve around before flying down towards her. She gasped and began to run towards the milk river, the missile slamming into the ground and exploding with enough force to knock Dilemon flying and slam a piece of shortbread into her back.

Dilemon: 5-80%
Kamemon: 5-85%

She flew through the air and crashed into the river, sinking a good few feet into it before regaining her balance and beginning to swim up towards the surface. She surfaced and drank up some of the milk and broken biscuit. "Yum." She saw Kamemon running towards her and quickly let the current sweep her away.

Kamemon watched her disappear down river and raced after her, panting as she tried to keep up with the river's flow. But being a turtle Digimon, speed wasn't exactly her forte.

Deciding to take the plunge, Kamemon dove into the water and let it sweep her along after Dilemon. And with her swimming whilst Dilemon simply floated, she managed to catch up and the pair started fighting against each other. Kamemon punched Dilemon in the face, whilst Dilemon bit her opponent on the arm whilst scratching at her face.

They kept this up until they reached a section of the river Dilemon had been waiting for, giving Kamemon one final bite before kicking her away.

Dilemon: 5-55%
Kamemon: 5-60%

She swam towards the shore and pulled herself up onto it, running towards an ice cream hill as Kamemon followed behind her. As she ran up it, she turned towards her opponent and took a deep breath. "Water Shot!" The water bullet flew down and truck the ice cream, exploding and covering it in water. This caused the ice cream to go soggy, leading to Kamemon getting her feet stuck in the mud-like surface.

"Hey!" She cried, as she was forced to pull herself out of the ice cream and head back down the hill.

As she did, Dilemon reached the top where the Digivolution Coin she had seen was waiting. "Yay!" She smiled, grabbing it and feeling the energy flow into her. But as she did, a familiar looking missile shot into the air before flying towards her. "Yikes!" She ran down the side of the hill, but the missile impacted and caused the whole thing to explode. "WEEEE!"

Kamemon watched her fly through the air until she found herself slamming into a lollipop tree, the impact bending the stick as she found herself trapped on the sticky surface. "Now I gotcha!" Kamemon leapt into the air and pulled herself into her shell. "Torto-Tackle!"

Dilemon pulled on her arms and legs, managing to get one free until Kamemon suddenly slammed into her. She broke through the lollipop and sent Dilemon crashing towards the ground in pain.

Dilemon: 5-30%
Kamemon: 5-60%

Kamemon landed and jumped out of her shell, smirking as Dilemon laid on the ground. "Strike!" She laughed before running forward, as Dilemon picked herself up. As she did, Dilemon looked up at her and knew she couldn't let another hit like that land.

As such, she decided to take the more defensive approach until an opening presented itself. So when Kamemon tried to punch her, Dilemon jumped to the side. And she didn't just jump to one new spot, instead jumping from side to side and kicking her feet in the air so as to not be an easy target.

Everyone watching saw this and was amazed at now nimble Dilemon was.

She ducked, dived, weaved and leapt over any attack Kamemon sent her way. "Wow," Flash smirked, "never knew Dilemon had that in him."

Twilight nodded. "I think that's more Pinkie's personality bleeding through. She knows she probably can't hurt Kamemon the same way Kamemon damaged her before. That shell and armoring is just too tough."

Tawnimon hummed, as Dilemon landed and tried to snap at Kamemon's arm. "The only way to guarantee a hit is to get up close and personal. But that also leaves her open to a counter attack." They watched Kamemon throw another punch, but Dilemon did a back-flip into the air.

"Water Shot!" The ball of water exploded from her mouth and shot towards Kamemon, hitting her in the chest and knocking her backwards. Fluttershy flinched seeing this.

Dilemon: 5-30%
Kamemon: 5-45%

Dilemon landed and as she did, her back began to glow. "Battle Gear, BOOST!" The light extended upwards and formed a box attached to her back, with a gun barrel on the top that had many holes in the end. "Bubble Bomber!"

Kamemon picked herself up, then saw Dilemon unleashed a barrage of bubbles from the machine. "What the heck?" She stared at the approaching bubbles and hummed. "You realize I'm a Water Digimon, right?" The bubbles began to surround her, "a bunch of bubbles ain't-" One of the bubbles hit her shell and popped. And when it did, it unleashed a concussive sound that sent Kamemon staggering. "GYAH!"

Dilemon: 5-30%
Kamemon: 5-40%

She hit another bubble and it exploded, followed by another and another.

Dilemon: 5-30%
Kamemon: 5-25%

She managed to avoid any other bubbles, but now she was in a giant minefield. "You gotta be kidding me!"

Dilemon laughed as she ran around Kamemon, creating more and more bubbles to surround the turtle. "Bouncy bouncy bubbly fun!" She then leapt into the air and took a deep breath. "Water Shot!" The water exploded from her mouth and Kamemon tried to escape, but found all paths blocked by the bubbles.

The attack struck and knocked her flying backwards, only to stagger through several more bubbles and being it by the explosions.

Dilemon: 5-30%
Kamemon: 5-0%

Kamemon fell to the ground and groaned, as Dilemon landed and got ready to launch more bubbles. But before she could, Kamemon's shell opened up. "Assault Arrow!" The missile fired from Kamemon's back and shot towards Dilemon, exploding at her feet and blowing her backwards.

She shot through a few of her bubbles and was also hit by their explosions, knocking her down to the ground.

Dilemon: 5-5%
Kamemon: 4-100%

Dilemon groaned as she fell to the ground, whilst Kamemon got up and started running towards her. But as she did, Dilemon pushed herself onto her hands and knees before launching a barrage of bubbles towards her.

Kamemon saw this coming and leapt to the ground, sliding on her shell until she reached Dilemon. There, she slammed her foot into Dilemon's chest and knocked her flying backwards.

Dilemon: 5-0%
Kamemon: 4-100%

Everyone watched and smirked seeing the battle grow more intense, as Dilemon was knocked into a large pile of cookies.

The alligator Digimon found several manhole-sized cookies falling on top of her, one of which falling right into her open mouth. Kamemon laughed at this, only to find a cookie being thrown at her like a frisbee.

"Wow!" She ducked under it, as Dilemon threw more and more cookies at her whilst munching on the one in her mouth. One of the cookies finally slammed into her and crumbled, whilst also knocking her back enough to hit one of the remaining bubble bombs. "Augh!" The explosion knocked her forwards, as Dilemon laughed.

Dilemon: 4-100%
Kamemon: 4-95%

Dilemon then started climbing up the cookie pile, unleashing more bubbles as she climbed. Kamemon saw this and frowned before opening her shell. "Assault Arrow!" The rocket shot into the air and slammed into the cookie pile, exploding and sending the alligator Digimon flying.

She slammed into a giant cupcake, flying through the frosting and out the other side before slamming into the ground.

Dilemon: 4-90%
Kamemon: 4-95%

She slide along the chocolate floor as her face was covered in frosting, the alligator licking it off her face as she came to a stop. She the picked herself up and as she did, Kamemon ran towards her after escaping the bubble minefield.

"You're mine!" The turtle cried, getting ready to use her Torto-Tackle attack. But before she could, Dilemon smiled before her body started glowing. "No way!"

"Dilemon, Digivolve to..." She began to grow larger and larger, until the she was roughly nine feet tall. When the light exploded off of her, she was her larger adult form with a larger Bubble Bomber on her back. "Gatormon!"

"Not good," Kamemon gulped.

"Hydro Pump!" Gatormon launched a powerful jet of water from his mouth, which slammed into Kamemon and sent her flying backwards.

Gatormon: 4-90%
Kamemon: 4-70%

"GYAH!" Kamemon spun as she was knocked flying through the land of milk and cookies, soaring over the milk river before coming crashing down into a lake of chocolate pudding.

She splashed down into it, those watching all flinching at the belly flop she did. If it hadn't been for her shell, she would have taken some serious damage from that attack. As such, she sunk into the pudding as Gatormon headed her way.

The alligator swam across the river and continued to walk on her four legs, her Bubble Bomber ready to unleash more bubbles as she looked around. She eventually passed the pudding lake and as she did, it explode with Kamemon leaping out.

"Torto-Tackle!" She slammed into Gatormon's side and made her flinch as she staggered to the side.

Gatormon: 4-75%
Kamemon: 4-70%

She bounced off the alligator and flew back, her shell glowing as she did so. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" The back of her shell began to change and grew something out of it, the light fading to reveal a metal box no on her back with a vent on the bottom and a pair of jet wings sticking out the side. "Acceler-Wing!"

Gatormon jumped onto her back legs, as the Battle Gear's vent started letting out a blast of air.

Kamemon suddenly shot forward and was moving with incredible speed, Gatormon barely able to keep up as Kamemon morphed into a blur that spiralled around her. The next thing Gatormon knew, she was suddenly slashed at by something moving at high speed.

Gatormon: 4-70%
Kamemon: 4-70%

She was then slashed at again, the blue blur striking several more time and making her roar as she was unable to counter.

Gatormon: 4-45%
Kamemon: 4-70%

Gatormon eventually managed to dodge and attack and spin on her foot, the Bubble Bomber unleashing wave of bubbles to surround her.

Kamemon barely managed to avoid this and skidded to a stop, Gatormon seeing this and taking a breath. "Hydro Pump!" The water shot towards Kamemon, blowing up several bubbles along the way.

Kamemon spun around and shot away, outrunning the explosions and the water as she shot up another ice cream hill. When she did, she spotted a Digivolution Coin floating above a candy cane lamp post.

Using all her speed, she ran up to it and leapt into the air. The momentum carried her up and allowed her to grab the coin, as Gatormon arrived at the top of the ice cream hill. "Oh yeah!" She cried, landing with a slide as she began to glow. "Kamemon, Digivolve to..." She grew larger and larger, eventually outgrowing Gatormon as she fell onto all fours and the light faded to reveal her. "Tortomon!"

Gatormon smirked at this, seeing Tortomon still had the Acceler-Wing. Only now, the vent was behind her shell whilst her wings were sticking out of her sides. "This is gonna be fun!" She rushed forward, Tortomon doing the same.

The pair charged at each other and at the last second, Gatormon leapt into the air. "Hydro Pump!" She launched the water blast and Tortomon responded with her own attack.

"Strong Carapace!" The spikes on her back exploded off of her and deflected the water, as Gatormon landed. Tortomon then shot forward, her Acceler-Wing speeding her up. "Grand Dash!" She reached Gatormon and at the last moment, the alligator leapt to the side.

"I'll take that!" She opened her mouth and bit down on the wing in front of her, her strong jaws allowing her to tear it off the base.

Tortomon flinched at this, but wasn't gonna let her Battle Gear break without taking out Gatormon's. "Strong Carapace!" She launched the spikes again and Gatormon didn't have the time to avoid them, spitting the wing out before the missiles slammed into her and exploded.

Gatormon: 4-30%
Tortomon: 4-70%

She was blasted back, the explosions also destroying her Battle Gear.

"Nice," Flash nodded. "But it didn't look like the attack did much." Twilight nodded and brought up Gatormon's data.

Name: Gatormon
Level: Champion
Type: Data
Attribute: Water
Species: Reptile
Family: Nature Spirit, Deep Saver

"There it is," Twilight nodded. "Kamemon was a Data Type, but became a Vaccine when she Digivolved. She might have increased in power, but she's put herself at a disadvantage." They watched, as Tortomon charged towards Gatormon once again.

Once she was close enough, she slashed at Gatormon.

But the alligator Digimon leapt back and slashed with her own claws, hitting Tortomon on the face and making her cry out as she staggered back.

Gatormon: 4-30%
Tortomon: 4-60%

Gatormon then tried to slash at her again, but Tortomon was able to grab her claws in her own. With her larger body, Tortomon pushed Gatormon backwards towards a collection of trees made out of chocolate with cotton candy foliage. She slammed Gatormon into one of the trunks and raised her claw, ready to slash at her again.

But before she could, Gatormon took a deep breath. "Hydro Pump!" She launched a blast of water right into Tortomon's face, making her cry out as she was sent staggering back as she released Gatormon.

Gatormon: 4-30%
Tortomon: 4-40%

Gatormon then charge forwards, her claws ready to slash at Tortomon. But before she could, the spiked reptile spun around and Gatormon found herself slashing at his hard shell. The alligator Digimon flinched and staggered back, her claws hurting after that.

Gatormon: 4-20%
Tortomon: 4-40%

As this was happening, Tortomon pulled her head and limps into her shell. "Spinning Attack!" Morphing into a giant beyblade, she shot towards Gatormon and slammed into her.

Gatormon roared as she was pushed backwards, whilst the spikes on Tortomon's body ground against her.

Gatormon: 4-0%
Tortomon: 4-40%

Tortomon finally stopped spinning and Gatormon was smashed into one of the chocolate trees, causing it to go timber down next to her. The cotton candy foliage fell to the ground, one landing in Gatormon's mouth with the blue alligator quickly swallowing it and groaning in delight.

"Really?" Tortomon asked, "you just got slammed into a tree after getting buzz sawed and you decide to have a snack.

"Why not?" Gatormon rolled onto her front, "I'll need all the energy I can get if I'm gonna win this fight."

"Right, like that's gonna happen." Tortomon prepared to charge, but Gatormon began to run away. "Get back here!" She chased the alligator, eventually reaching the other side of the trees.

But before leaving the small forest, Gatormon slid to a stop in front of a tree. "Come and get me!"

Tortomon snorted at she picked up speed. "Rainbow!" Kamemon cried, "I think it might be a-" But Gatormon leapt into the air as Tortomon got close, "trick." Sure enough, Tortomon slammed into the tree and broke through it. The impact made her flinch, as the three then fell upon her.

Gatormon: 3-100%
Tortomon: 4-35%

As it did, more cotton candy fell out of the tree. Gatormon leapt up and grabbed it. And when she did, blue energy shot out of it and was absorbed by her body.

"I get it," Tawnimon smirked. "That tree had an SP Coin in it."

Twilight nodded. "Pinkie didn't have the SP to break it herself, so she used Tortomon higher strength to do it for her." They watched as Gatormon took a deep breath, whilst Tortomon pushed the remains of the tree off of her.

"Hydro Pump!" The water blast shot out of her mouth and slammed into Tortomon, making her cry out as she was blown backwards out of the forest.

Gatormon: 3-100%
Tortomon: 4-5%

Tortomon found herself falling onto the edge of a hill and rolling down it, straight towards one of the gingerbread villages. She eventually found herself crashing through one of the houses, causing it to fall upon her and destroy her security.

Gatormon: 3-100%
Tortomon: 4-0%

She moaned as she picked herself up, whilst Gatormon leapt out of the forest and slid down the hill. But as she pushed some gingerbread away, she spotted a Digivolution Coin within the wreckage. "Score!" She grabbed it as the power flowed into her. And as Gatormon reached the bottom of the hill, the spikes on her back glowed. "Strong Carapace!"

The spikes exploded off of her and shot towards Gatormon, who saw them coming and gasped as she tried to take cover. But the spikes collided with her and she was blasted through the air. "WOW!"

Gatormon: 3-85%
Tortomon: 3-100%

She slammed into another building and fell to the ground, as Tortomon pulled herself out of the wrecked house and rushed towards her. As Gatormon picked herself up, Tortomon slammed into her and smashed her through the house behind her. The impact did some serious damage as they broke through the other wall, then into and out of another house.

Gatormon: 3-65%
Tortomon: 3-100%

Tortomon finally slid to a stop and Gatormon kept flying, eventually crashing to the ground. Tortomon then rushed up and spun his tail around, as the smaller Champion saw it coming and raised her arms. "Gotcha!" She cried before her fangs began to glow blue. "Ice Fang!" She bit onto the tail and unleashed the frozen energy.

"Augh!" Tortomon cried, as she felt the freezing cold fly up her tail.

Gatormon: 3-65%
Tortomon: 3-75%

As Gatormon continued to bite on her tail, ice began to form and caused Tortomon to freeze up. "Get...OFF!" Tortomon swung her tail around and threw Gatormon off of her, causing her to go flying until she crashed into a house that had been made out of a giant cupcake.

The frosting was sent flying everywhere, as Gatormon quickly swam her way down the into the building until she came out the front door. As she did, Tortomon charge towards her. "Hydro Pump!" She fired a water blast and as she did, Tortomon leapt to the side and barely managed to avoid it as she leapt towards her.

"Take my icy tail strike!" She swung forward and slammed her tail into Gatormon's head, the ice breaking at the impact and knocking her back.

Gatormon: 3-55%
Tortomon: 3-75%

Gatormon fell onto her back, as Tortomon land in front of her. The tortoise Digimon raised her foot and tried to stomp on her, but Gatormon managed to grab it and keep from crushing her. "Hydro Pump!" Using the last of her SP, she blasted water out of her mouth and hit Tortomon head on.

"Augh!"

Gatormon: 3-55%
Tortomon: 3-45%

She fell back and crashed onto the ground, her spikes embedding themselves into the shortbread ground.

Gatormon picked herself up and as she did, she spotted another Digivolution Coin atop one of the Gingerbread buildings. She smirked and began to make her way over to it, but Tortomon saw it and smirked. "I don't think so!" She started rocking back and forth until she eventually managed to roll onto her front. "Now, Spinning Attack!"

Gatormon heard this and saw the spinning blades of death flying towards her, making her gasp as she leapt out of the way at the last moment.

Tortomon continued spinning and smashed into the gingerbread house, causing it and the Digivolution coin to fall on top of Tortomon.

"Wow!" Flash cried. "She made it look like she was attacking, when she was really getting Pinkie out of the way so she could nab the Digivolution Coin."

"That Rainbow," Twilight sighed. "She has a tendency to leap before she looks. She loves speed and attacking as fast as she could. But when she slows down, she's able to come up with some pretty inventive ideas." They continued to watch, as Gatormon stepped up to the destroyed house.

She poked it, clearly wondering what was happening in there. Then, the wreckage of the house exploded.

She leapt back, as a glowing large figure began to grow out of the house. "Tortomon, Digivolve to..." The new Digimon was soon revealed to be double Tortomon's size, being light green in colour. She was standing on her back two feet, whilst her front feet had transformed into clawed hands.

Her arms now had gauntlets around them that looked like turtle shells and both looked like they opened up so something could fold out of them. Her head was the same, but the spikes on the back of them were longer. Meanwhile, her shell had been replaced by one similar to a Zudomon, except it was black and covered in yellow spikes. The front of her shell was like the bottom of a normal turtle, with the only exception being it wasn't actually connected to the top half. Finally, her tail was shorter than before, though it was more like it just hadn't grown like the rest of her body.

The Digimon stood tall and raised her arms, as the shell gauntlets opened up and something came out of them. From out of the right gauntlet, a cannon folded out, whilst from out of the left came the end of what appeared to be a harpoon. "KURMAMON!"

"What is that?" Veemon asked, as Kurmamon began to charge forward. Twilight then brought up his stats.

Name: Kurmamon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Water
Species: Mighty Reptile
Family: Nature Spirit, Deep Saver

"Pinkie's gonna be in trouble," Fluttershy stated. "Kurmamon's one of Rainbow's best Digimon. If she's using that, she's really going all out in this fight."

"You think Pinkie can still win?" Tawnimon asked.

"She still has the type advantage," Twilight replied. "But...I'm not sure." As she said that, Kurmamon raised her cannon arm. "Be careful Pinkie."

"Hydro Cannon!" She roared, as the tank barrel suddenly fired a sphere of water towards Gatormon at high speed.

The alligator gasped as she tried to escape. But the sphere struck the ground and exploded with incredible force, sending a large wave of water out onto the battlefield. The wave knocked over every gingerbread house it hit, then struck Gatormon and swept her away.

Gatormon: 3-35%
Kurmamon: 3-45%

The wave slammed her into the ground, as several pieces of the gingerbread houses slammed down around her. She moaned as she picked herself up, then looked up as Kurmamon began to stomp towards her. "So strong."

"Pretty cool, huh?" She raised the harpoon gauntlet. "Check this out. Shell Shock Strike!" The harpoon suddenly shot off the gauntlet and flew down towards Gatormon.

The Champion leapt back, barely able to avoid getting hit by it. The harpoon slammed into the ground with incredible force, shattering the chocolate road. It was then retracted back, remaining connected to the gauntlet by a rope.

"Hydro Pump!" Gatormon used the SP she had regained to launch a water blast, hitting Kurmamon in the chest.

Gatormon: 3-35%
Kurmamon: 3-25%

The force knocked her back, but she didn't seem to take any damage from the attack. And instead, she regained her footing before spinning around. Her tail swung towards Gatormon and before she could escape, "AUGH!" She was slammed flying out of the village, causing her to fly through the air until she crashed into the ground beside a large gorge overlooking a milk river.

Gatormon: 3-25%
Kurmamon: 3-25%

She moaned as she picked herself up, whilst Kurmamon charged towards her. Gatormon looked around and spotted a chocolate finger bridge, the alligator rushing over it as Kurmamon reached the gorge. "Hydro Cannon!" The water blast shot out of her cannon and struck the bridge, exploding with enough force to obliterate it.

Gatormon cried as the force knocked her off flying, as the bridge collapsed beneath her.

She slammed into the side of the gorge, moaning as she dug her claws into it. She managed to hold on, but the cliff was made of fudge and already it was starting to break. "Not good," she gulped as Kurmamon pointed her cannon at her again. "Oh well." She let go of the cliff and fell towards the milk river. "WEEE!"

Kurmamon watched her splash down into the river and be swept away, the Ultimate following the river down towards a large lake of milk.

She walked around the edge, trying to see if she could spot where Gatormon might be. But as she walked passed a piece of the destroyed bridge, something shot out of the milk and slammed into her back. "Gotcha!" Gatormon cried, as she bite onto one of the spikes on her back. "Ice Fang!" The cold energy was sent into the walking tortoise.

Gatormon: 3-25%
Kurmamon: 3-5%

Ice began to cover her shell and Kurmamon flinched at this, but didn't let it stop her as she began to curl up. "Spike Defence!" The spikes on her shell began to glow, melting the ice before it flew off of her.

"AUGH!" Gatormon was burned by the energy, which formed a construct around her that was covered in energy spikes.

Gatormon: 3-15%
Kurmamon: 3-5%

Gatormon fell to the ground, as the shield disappeared and Kurmamon unfurled herself. She then charged forward and as Gatormon picked herself up, the giant tortoise swung her arm around and smashed the back of her shell gauntlet into Gatormon.

The Champion screamed as she was sent flying and smashed through several chocolate rocks, eventually hitting the ground and sliding to a stop.

Gatormon: 3-0%
Kurmamon: 3-5%

She moaned as she picked herself up, only to then see something that had been hiding behind one of the chocolate rocks. A Digivolution Coin. "Yes!" She moved along the ground and as she did, Kurmamon raised her cannon arm.

"Hydro Cannon!" The water blast shot towards her and Pinkie knew if she didn't move, it would hit and do serious damage. But she had to get the coin.

"Got it!" She snapped her mouth onto the coin and as it flew into her body, the attack struck and exploded. "AUGH!" She was sent flying backwards, as Kurmamon saw her SP gauge almost bottom out.

Gatormon: 2-75%
Kurmamon: 3-5%

Gatormon hit the ground and as she did, she saw her Digivolution gauge hit full.

Kurmamon began to make her way towards Gatormon, but the alligator Digimon pushed herself up and smirked, "My turn." Kurmamon raised an eyebrow, only for a veil of light to surround her form. "Gatormon, Digivolve to..." Brown metal began to form around her body.

The top of her head became covered in a brown version of a MetalGreymon's helmet, her neck and chest getting the same armouring as her skin turned to a bluish gray colour and the spikes on her body vanished. Her arms were soon covered in the same armor and connected to it were a pair of large rectangular cannons. Finally, her feet were transformed into mechanical feet with tank-treads and a mechanised claws.

Finally, she grew until she was a little smaller than Kurmamon and let out a mighty roar as she fired some of her cannons. "CROCANNODRAMON!"

Once again, everyone was amazed to see this new Digimon and Twilight brought up the biopage on her.

Name: Crocannodramon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Data
Attribute: Water
Species: Cyborg
Family: Nature Spirit, Deep Saver, Metal Empire

"Didn't think Gatormon would become a cyborg Digimon," Flash stated as Twilight hummed. Something about that Digimon seemed familiar. She knew she had never seen it before, but she felt like she had seen something similar to it.

Before Kurmamon could recover from the sudden transformation, the treads on her opponent's feet spun and shot her forward. The next thing Kurmamon knew, she was being tackled by Crocannodramon.

Crocannodramon: 2-75%
Kurmamon: 3-0%

As she staggered back, Crocannodramon raised her cannons. They then opened up, revealing a bunch of missiles that were inside of them. "Kaimen Barrage!" The missiles launched out of the cannons and went flying towards Kurmamon.

The giant tortoise gasped as she curled herself up. "Spike Defence!" Her shell spikes launched the energy and formed the protective shield, which the rockets slammed down into. They blasted the shield again and again, making it slowly crack. Eventually, one of them hit a weakened spot and the explosion completely destroyed the shield. This allowed a second one to slam into her and blast her back, "GYAH!"

Crocannodramon: 2-75%
Kurmamon: 2-75%

Kurmamon slammed into the ground, her brain feeling rattled at the impact of what had just happened.

Her friends watching were also amazed. They had never expected such a powerful blast to come from Pinkie's attack. And as Crocannodramon's weapons slowly reloaded, her tread feet revved up and propelled her forwards. "Croc Cruncher!" As Kurmamon picked herself up, Crocannodramon tried to bite her.

But at the last moment, Kurmamon raised one of her gauntlets and used it to stop Crocannodramon's attack. The Ultimate alligator bit on the gauntlet and couldn't damage it, allowing Kurmamon to raise her other gauntlet as the harpoon extended.

"Shell Shock Strike!" The harpoon slammed into Crocannodramon's chest and pierced her chest armor, forcing her to let Kurmamon go and stagger back.

Crocannodramon: 2-50%
Kurmamon: 2-75%

But the harpoon remained embedded in her chest and moved with her, until Kurmamon retracted it and pulled Crocannodramon back towards her. "Raaah!" She slammed a fist into Crocannodramon's face. Making her cry out.

Crocannodramon: 2-45%
Kurmamon: 2-75%

Crocannodramon fought through the pain and quickly slashed at Kurmamon slashing at her face whilst smashing her arm cannon into Kurmamon's chest.

Crocannodramon: 2-45%
Kurmamon: 2-50%

Crocannodramon used this moment to reach down and grab the harpoon, ripping it out of her metal chest as she flinched.

Crocannodramon: 2-40%
Kurmamon: 2-50%

Her treads span backwards and she pulled away from Kurmamon, only to pull the harpoon with her. And when it reached the end of its rope, Kurmamon was pulled forward and staggered around. This allowed her opponent to rush forward on her treads and body slam Kurmamon, pushing her backwards along the ground.

They moved across the delicious looking land towards the mountain that housed the gingerbread castle.

Along the way, Crocannodramon smashed Kurmamon through chocolate trees, rocks and through another tower of cookies. With each impact, Kurmamon flinched.

Crocannodramon: 2-40%
Kurmamon: 2-35%

They reached the base of the mountain and Crocannodramon prepared to smash Kurmamon into it. But at that moment she thrust her harpoon into one of Crocannodramon's treads and forced it to stop. "WOW!" She was thrown off balance and Kurmamon managed to pull herself free, leaping back as Crocannodramon fell to the ground.

As they did, Kurmamon spotted an SP coin and rushed over to grab it. Crocannodramon picked herself up, as Kurmamon absorbed the coin and refilled her SP. "Alright!" She pointed her weapons at her opponent. "Hydro Cannon!" The water pulse fired and before Crocannodramon could react, it slammed into her and explode.

"NYAH!"

Crocannodramon: 2-20%
Kurmamon: 2-35%

She slammed into the ground and Kurmamon charged forward. But as she did, Crocannodramon raised her arms as the missiles were revealed. "Kaiman Barrage!" The missiles launched and shot towards Kurmamon. But this time, she summoned her harpoon and used it like a rope javelin. Spinning it around her and hitting the missiles to blow them up away from her.

One did managed to hit her though, the explosion rattling Kurmamon but she soldiered through the pain.

Crocannodramon: 2-20%
Kurmamon: 2-15%

"Raaaaah!" Kurmamon slammed into Crocannodramon, tackling her backwards. But as she did, the cyborg Digimon bit down on her head as hard as she could and made them both flinch.

Crocannodramon: 2-10%
Kurmamon: 2-0%

Kurmamon pushed Crocannodramon away, pulling her jaws off her head before pointing her weapons at the mechanical alligator. But before she could fire, Crocannodramon flew on her treads to get out of the way. Kurmamon followed her with her aim locked and as Crocannodramon slowed down, she fired.

"Hydro Cannon!" The water exploded out of her weapon and shot towards Crocannodramon. But before it could hit, the cyborg Digimon shot out of the way again and it flew past her.

Instead, the attack flew up towards the mountain and slammed into it, resulting in an explosion that rocked the whole thing. And since it was made out of fudge and other easily damaged things, the whole mountain along with the castle began to break apart.

The two Ultimates looked up and gasped at this before attempting to outrun the landslide. Kurmamon running whilst Crocannodramon used her treads. But the mountain was coming down too quickly and the two found themselves beginning to be overtaken.

Crocannodramon was struck by the avalanche and was buried.

Crocannodramon: 2-0%
Kurmamon: 1-100%

Kurmamon looked back and saw it coming, then saw something up ahead and got an idea. "Cowabunga!" She grabbed a chunk of chocolate that had once been part of the ground, torn up by her opponent's treads, which she leapt onto just as the avalanche reached her.

Everyone was shocked to see the giant tortoise Digimon was surfing the sweet treat rock slide, on a chunk of chocolate.

"Well," Flash smirked, "I can safely say I never expected that." They continued to watch as the avalanche started to lose momentum, Kurmamon eventually flying off the end of it and sliding along the ground on the chocolate bar. She finally came to a stop, as the chocolate beneath her melted from the friction of the slide.

Jumping off the slimy substance, she turned back towards the avalanche and looked curious.

They were just as curious, wondering how Crocannodramon could have survived such a thing. And as they continued to watch, Kurmamon seemed to spot something.

"An SP coin!" She rushed over and grabbed it from out of the pile, crushing it as another part of the pile began to move.

"Must have been on the mountain or in the castle," Kamemon told her before he noticed the movement. "Rainbow, over there!" Kurmamon focused on the spot and saw the top of the pile break apart, as Crocannodramon pulled herself up out of the destroyed mountain.

"Wow!" She cried, "that was fun."

"You okay?" Kurmamon asked, as Crocannodramon laughed.

"Are you kidding? I feel great. I got to eat my weight in fudge and found an SP coin." Kurmamon was surprised by this, as Crocannodramon raised her rocket launchers. "Time to finish this fight. Kaimen Barrage!" The missiles fired with them all flying up before curving around, flying right towards Kurmamon.

Kurmamon saw them coming and knew her defensive attack couldn't protect against all of them.

Thinking fast, she summoned her water cannon and pointed it towards the ground. "Hydro Cannon!" The water exploded out of the weapon and struck the ground, exploding and sending out a large wave of water. The wave was struck by the missiles and exploded, as Kurmamon rushed forward.

When the missiles were destroyed, she leapt through the water and charged at Crocannodramon. But the mechanical alligator had already rushed forward using her treads and slammed into Kurmamon.

Crocannodramon: 1-100%
Kurmamon: 1-90%

She flinched at the impact and was knocked back, but quickly pointed her harpoon shell at Crocannodramon. "Shell Shock Strike!" The harpoon fired and hit one of the cannons on her arms, the impact allowing it to pierce into the weapon before retracting and ripping parts of it away.

This resulted in the cannon sparking and before Crocannodramon could do anything, it exploded right in her face. "Augh!"

Crocannodramon: 1-85%
Kurmamon: 1-90%

The next thing Crocannodramon knew, Kurmamon was pointing her cannon at her and launched the water blast attack. She raised her other cannon to protect, but the impact was still great and sent her flying back.

Crocannodramon: 1-65%
Kurmamon: 1-90%

Crocannodramon slammed into several trees that had still been standing, as Kurmamon rushed forward. The alligator fell on her back and the tortoise charged, ready to use her harpoon to attack. But at the last moment, the cyborg raised her feet and slammed her spinning treads into Kurmamon's shell.

"Gyah!" She cried, as the tread ground against her chest.

Crocannodramon: 1-65%
Kurmamon: 1-75%

Kurmamon staggered back, as Crocannodramon picked herself up and raised her remaining rocket launcher. "Kaimen Barrage!" She launched the missiles and before Kurmamon could save herself, they slammed into her and exploded.

"GYAH!" She cried as she was thrown through the air, taking a bunch of damage as she did so.

Crocannodramon: 1-65%
Kurmamon: 1-40%

She landed atop a small tower of cookies, breaking through them as she did. As laid on top of the crumbled up pile, whilst Crocannodramon rolled toward her. But as she got closer, Kurmamon picked up a large chunk of cookie and threw it at her.

Crocannodramon opened her mouth and let the cookie fly down her throat. But as she did, it got stuck and she gasped unable to swallow it. That allowed Kurmamon to pick herself up and charge at Crocannodramon, the tortoise slamming into her stomach.

Crocannodramon: 1-55%
Kurmamon: 1-40%

This sent the cookie chunk flying out of her mouth and caused her to stagger back, as Kurmamon pointed her harpoon at her. "Shell Shock Strike!" The harpoon fired and once again stabbed Crocannodramon in the chest, making her cry out as she was then pulled towards Kurmamon.

Crocannodramon: 1-40%
Kurmamon: 1-40%

But before Kurmamon could attack again, Crocannodramon slammed her remaining missile launcher right into Kurmamon's face.

Crocannodramon: 1-40%
Kurmamon: 1-30%

Crocannodramon grabbed the harpoon and pulled it out before it could do any damage, then pulled Kurmamon towards her.

"Spike Defence!" The energy shield flew off Kurmamon and slammed into Crocannodramon, the energy spikes stabbing into her and making the alligator cry out.

Crocannodramon: 1-30%
Kurmamon: 1-30%

But as soon as the energy disappeared, Crocannodramon attacked again. "Croc Cruncher!" She slammed her jaw onto Kurmamon's head and bit down hard, making her flinch. But as she did, Kurmamon raised her cannon and thrust it into Crocannodramon's chest.

"Hydro Cannon!" The water blast fired and slammed Crocannodramon point blank, the impact blasting her backwards but causing her fangs to tear at Kurmamon's head as she was pulled off.

Crocannodramon: 1-0%
Kurmamon: 1-0%

Crocannodramon barely managed to stay upright, the two panting as they looked up at their securities and saw they had none left. And when they turned to their opponents, they could tell just by looking that the others was also defenceless.

They stared one another down, then smiled at each other before laughing. They had both been having a blast throughout this entire battle and were glad this was how it would end, with neither of them having any SP to blast the other with and forcing them to use their bare claws.

"You ready?" Kurmamon asked.

"You have to ask?" Crocannodramon smirked. "LET'S DO THIS!" Her tank treads started spinning faster and faster, the cyborg Digimon suddenly shooting forward as she let out a roar of excitement.

Kurmamon let out her own roar, as she charged forward herself with her harpoon extended. The two got closer and closer and for those watching, it was like they blinked and the two were suddenly standing back to back.

Then, one of them fell to the ground and exploded whilst the other stood there limply. The girl and her Digimon fell to the ground, as the voice spoke overhead.

"Battle, over! Winner...Pinkie Pie" Crocannodramon fell onto all fours, as the battlefield began to fade away and she split into Pinkie and Dilemon.

The monitor suddenly froze and rewound before playing the final attack back again, only this time much slower. As such, everyone was able to see Kurmamon thrust her harpoon towards Crocannodramon. But at the last moment, the Cyborg Digimon blocked with her rocket launcher as the two flew past one another. And as they did, Kurmamon suddenly found herself getting slashed by Crocannodramon before they appeared behind one another.

Fast forwarding back to the battlefield, it completely faded as Pinkie, Rainbow and their Digimon laid there panting heavily.

"Well," Rainbow sighed, "I guess I lost."

"Yeah," Pinkie smiled at her, "but it was so much fun. I can't wait for the next time we battle." The two picked themselves up, their Digimon following suit. The girls then fist bumped, their Digimon smiling as the two headed out of the dome.

Back in the foyer, their friends were waiting and all smiled when they saw them. "Pinkie, Rainbow!" Twilight waved them over.

"HEY!" Pinkie cheered, "did you guys see us? I won!" The others nodded, clearly proud of Pinkie for her victory. She and Rainbow sat down with their Digimon, Fluttershy having ordered Rainbow her favourite drink and snack to help her feel better.

They all enjoyed their food, as the battle replayed on the monitor.

Rainbow watched as Pinkie leapt out of the milk like and grabbed her. "Man, I can believe I let myself get dropped on like that. I should have seen that coming."

"I'm just amazed you were able to swim down into milk," Flash stated. "Isn't it thicker than water? Figured you'd float or something." Twilight shook her head.

"Milk actually has a similar density to water. That's why it's so easily soaked up by cereal. I think I remember reading about rulers who liked to take a bath in it."

"That sounds gross," Rainbow frowned as she finished off her snack. She was still a little upset about losing, but knew Pinkie had earned that win. And as Flash spoke to Pinkie about possibly trading for her location scan, Rainbow assured herself she wouldn't lose again next time.

Another day, another battle in Codex. One that hopefully would help both Rainbow, Pinkie and all their friends grow a little stronger. For they would need all the strength they could get, for the battles that were yet to come.

Author's Note

I know this is mostly a filler chapter, but I really wanted to show off Dilemon's and Kamemon's Ultimate Levels. Hope you liked them and next week, something special.

Mirror Mirror

In the Digital World, a large group of humans and Digimon were making their way through a forest towards a mountain.

Flash Sentry led the group, Veemon by his side, with Twilight, Thorax, Rainbow, Micro, Applejack, Trixie, Rarity, Sandalwood, Fluttershy, Pinkie and their Digimon following right behind them. As they marched through the trees, Flash pulled some of the foliage back and got a better look at the mountain.

"You sure this is the right place?" He asked, looking back at Twilight.

The girl hummed as she stared at the mountain. "It's in the area my brother told us it would be." The others looked up at the mountain, Thorax chief amongst them. As they did, he remembered what lead them to this moment in the first place.

Earlier that day.

"How did we get to Ultimate?" Shining asked, turning to Thorax as he and Grubmon stood there. "What the sudden interest?"

"Flash got to Ultimate," Thorax stated. "So did Micro, Sandal and Trixie. I've been in this game longer than most of them and they all managed to pass the Ultimate limit before me. So it's not just a matter of time spent in the game. So I'm wondering, how did you and Monodramon manage to reach the Ultimate Level? If I learn how you did it, I'll know more about what you need to get to that Level. Then, the next time I'm up against a powerful opponent, I'll be ready."

Shining and Monodramon shared a look, as Flash and the rest of their friends happened to walk past and see them talking. "Well, I ended up stumbling across an area that forced me to push past my limits."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Thorax asked, as Shining took out his Digivice.

"There's a mountain in this area," he showed him a location scan. "That mountain holds a place known as the Cave of Reflection. I think you'd be better going there yourself and seeing what's waiting for you on your own."

Thorax saw the location and knew he had a copy of it. But what could be waiting for him there?

And now, there they were. Flash and the others had decided to tag along, each wanting to see what it was that had made Shining able to Digivolve to the Ultimate Level.

"What do you think this Cave of Reflections is all about?" Rainbow asked as they continued onwards.

"Maybe it's full of mirrors," Rarity suggested. She clearly liked the sound of that, the girl careful not to let her hair get caught onto a branch that Applejack had pushed up to get past. The others had a feeling she might be right. But as they continued through the woods, a suddenly explosion of pink smoke flew up into the air up ahead and they all had to cover their ears.

"What the heck was that?" Micro asked, as Tentomon flew up to try and see if there was any sign of a battle.

"I'm not sure," he called back down. "Should we go and check it out?" The others nodded and rushed off, as the pink smoke slowly faded into the air.

As they arrived, they saw a small blast mark on the ground and something appeared to be laying in it. A Digimon. "You okay?" Flash rushed over to him, as the Digimon began to sit himself up.

"Ooowee!" He cried, "guess I shouldn't have mixed those two chemicals together." He saw Flash and Veemon offer him a hand and raised his arms, the sleeves he was wearing being too long for his hands to be seen.

As he stood up, everyone got a good look at him. He was roughly the same size of the humans, though most of his height seemed to come from the large hat he was wearing. He was a humanoid wearing a green cloak and green pants. His cloak was covering most of his face, keeping it hidden as only a pair of yellow eyes could be seen between it and the hat. The cloak had red and yellow parts on the shoulders, sleeve ends and at the bottom of the stomach. His chest had a strange Japanese symbol on it and his knees had pads that were round and had mirrors on them.

The Digimon brushed himself off before looking around. "Hello there. Name's Apothemon. What can I do for you all?"

"We were exploring the area when we saw the explosion," Twilight explained. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes. Happens all the time. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs." Suddenly, several vials of liquid appeared from out of his sleeve and he started shaking them up and mixing them together. Everyone stepped back, as he finished the concoction and downed it. As he did, the scruffs and damage to his body disappeared. "So," he put the vials away, "you folks are exploring? Anything specific?"

"We're searching for the Cave of Reflection," Thorax told him. "A friend of ours said it was where he went to get stronger, so we're gonna check it out and do the same."

"Cave of Reflections, huh? Oow, you sure you wanna go there? Dangerous place, I'll tell you that much."

"Really?" Trixie asked, "what makes it so dangerous?"

"There's a Digimon that lives there. Super strong. If he catches you in his territory, you might find yourself never able to get back out." The sound of this super strong Digimon made them all interested, though Fluttershy, Thorax and Micro didn't like the idea of purposefully walking into one's territory and possibly angering it. "But if you lot really wanna go there, it's on the eastern side of that mountain," he pointed in the direction they had been heading and everyone nodded.

They gave their thanks and left, as Apothemon watched them leave.

"So, they wanna get stronger? But what do they want to get stronger for?" He hummed before taking out a vial and throwing it to the ground, a burst of pink smoke filling the air and surrounding him. When it faded away, Apothemon was gone.

It wasn't long before the group made it to the eastern side of the mountain, where they started searching for the mentioned cave entrance.

"See anything?" Micro asked the Digimon in the air, Tentomon and Aurumon shaking their heads before flying back down.

"Nothing," Tentomon stated. "I don't know what that Apothemon was saying. There's no cave entrance here." The others frowned as they wondered if the strange Digimon had been playing a joke on them. But some of them had a feeling Apothemon had been telling the truth, but that had to mean there was something more at work here.

Thorax hummed as he stepped up to the mountain's base and placed a hand on it, Grubmon looking at him. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking there might be more to this mountain than we can see," Thorax started as he started tapping the rock. "If the entrance really is here, there's a chance it might be hidden."

"Like the cave I found the Digimental of Courage in," Flash realised. "I get it." He also started tapping the rock, expecting his hand to phase through it or something. He continued to do this for several moments, until he came to a branch sticking out of the wall. "Maybe it's higher up." He grabbed the branch and tried to us it to pull himself up and touch a higher part of the wall.

But as soon as he tried, he found the branch suddenly shifted downwards. It didn't break, but was soon pointing down as a clicking sound caught their attention.

Part of the wall then slid backwards, creating a square opening before it slide to the left into the mountain's side.

They stared into the newly made tunnel and found the retracting part of wall was a good ten feet deep, explaining why it hadn't sounded hollow when Thorax had knocked on it. They stared down the corridor with Flash using his Digivice to summon a flashlight, allowing him to illuminate the tunnel.

"I think we found it," Sandal stated. The others nodded as Flash and Thorax began to lead their way in with their Digimon.

As they travelled down into the passageway, Fluttershy began to look worried. "Are we sure this is such a good idea? I mean, you heard what Apothemon said. This place is supposed to be home to a really powerful Digimon. What if we run into it?"

"Relax," Pinkie told her. "We'll be fine. We've got Flash, Micro, Trixie and Sandalwood here. They can all go Ultimate if we really need it."

"Maybe," Thorax frowned, "but I'd rather not go up against a Digimon that strong if I can help it. I wanna get stronger, not trounced."

"Don't be such a baby," Rainbow told her. "Beating an opponent stronger than you is bound to help you level up." Thorax frowned, about to tell her that beating an opponent stronger than you is almost impossible.

But before he could say that, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. "What's happening?" Twilight asked, only for part of the ground to suddenly shatter beneath their feet.

They all screamed and as they did, something appeared below them. Some kind of large sphere, hidden in the darkness and getting closer.

Everyone called for their Digimon but before they could Digivolve, the sphere unleash a bright light that fired a beam towards them. First it struck Twilight and Aurumon, then moved sideways and hit everyone else.

As this was happening, Flash and Thorax's Digivices finally unleashed a blast of light. "Veemon/Grubmon, DIgivolve to..." The light swirled around them and soon enough, their Champions exploded out of them. "ExVeemon/Stingmon!" They cried, grabbing their partners.

But at this point, everyone except them had been captured by the light and the four barely managed to avoid it. The sphere then fired several more beams, but they dodged every one. This was when it finally gave up and suddenly disappeared into the darkness.

"After it!" Flash cried, wanting to make sure his friends were safe. ExVeemon dived and Stingmon followed, all the while wondering what the heck had happened to everyone.

Twilight moaned as she opened her eyes, the girl sitting up only to find she was in some kind of lush forest.

Aurumon was beside her and as they picked themselves up, they found they were alone with the rest of their friends missing. "Where is everyone?" She asked, taking out her Digivice and trying to get in contact with them. But as she did, the screen started glitching whenever she opened anything except her deck page.

She tries scanning the environment, but nothing came up. "This is getting worrisome."

"I'll see if I can spot anything from the sky." Aurumon flew up, but suddenly found himself getting struck by something fast. "AUGH!" Twilight gasped as he fell to the ground, rushing over to him as what attacked him appeared in the air.

"Flybeemon!?" The yellow armor Digimon stared down at her, as several more of them appeared around here. "This isn't good." Aurumon picked himself up and spread his wings, ready to fight in order to protect Twilight. "I hope the others aren't in any danger."

Unfortunately, the others were in danger.

Each of them were in their own location, getting attacked by Digimon that had come out of nowhere. Trixie found herself in a frozen snowscape, being attacked by a Digimon that looked like the cross between a teddy bear and a snowman.

"Subzero Ice Punch!" It launched the attack, but Lekismon leapt up to avoid it.

"Ice Shot!" She launched the ice arrow at the creature and stabbed it in the chest, causing it to explode. But as soon as it was gone, several more appeared around them.

"Great," Trixie frowned as she held up her Digivice. But as she tried to transform herself, she found she couldn't. "What's going on?" It was like something was blocking her ability to become a Digimon. And she wasn't the only one.

In a volcanic area, Rainbow and Gwappamon were fighting a horde of Digimon that looked like Meramon in lizard form, with MetalGreymon's head.

"DJ Shooter!" He launched the disks at the Digimon and destroyed it, only for more to appear.

"Pteryxmon should be able to take these things down!" Rainbow tried to Biomerge, but had the same problem as Trixie. "What gives?"

"Gargo Pellets!" Fluttershy and Gargomon were in a rocky location, the rabbit dog Digimon defending his partner against their opponents. Said opponents were a bunch of Gotsumon, which numbered in the dozens.

As soon as Gargomon destroyed one, two more appeared to take their place. As they did, Fluttershy was trying to contact the others or port out of there. But neither worked.

"Please," she whispered, "someone help us!"

"Hydro Pump!" Gatormon launched a water blast towards a large Seadramon.

Pinkie and Gatormon were currently in another forest area, only this one was full of large lakes. And in one of these lakes, the Seadramon had appeared and attacked them. "Go, go, Gatormon!" Pinkie cheered, as her partner rushed forward and used Ice Fang on it.

"Drill Tornado!" Dorulumon unleashed the vortex from this tail, which struck a bunch of Digimon that looked like living tanks and blew them away.

Lightning exploded above her head, making Applejack jump a bit as she watched more of these Tank Digimon appear and prepared to attack. "Drill Bit Blitz!"

Rarity and Gatomon were running through another mountainous area, only this one was full of power winds that would normally blow anyone out of the sky. As such, the Digimon attacking them weren't flying. It was a large ostrich Digimon wearing purple overalls and a cap on its head.

One of them were about to catch up, but Gatomon skidded to a stop before leaping at it. "Lightning Paw!" She socked the Digimon right in the face, knocking it backwards and over the edge of a nearby cliff.

Rarity sighed, only for another gust of wind to blow past her. "OOW!" She cried, "if we weren't digital this place would be ruining my hair!"

"I think we've got bigger issues than your hair," Gatomon pointed ahead and several more Digimon appeared.

In another location, Sandalwood and Arbormon found themselves somewhere completely dark.

There was barely any light and the only light that appeared were lanterns, being held by the Digimon attacking them. These Digimon looked like Bakemon, only they were wearing large black hats on the head.

These Digimon kept phasing in and out of existence, the lanterns vanishing with them. "Blockade Seed!" Arbormon launched the seeds at one of the Digimon, grabbing it in the vines and keeping it from disappearing. "Roundhouse Punt!" He launched his fists and feet at the ghost and destroyed it, the lantern falling to the ground.

But no sooner was one destroyed, another two appeared in its place.

"Electro Shocker!" Micro watched as Kabuterimon unleashed a blast of lightning, which struck the Digimon attacking them.

The two had found themselves in an odd location, which appeared to be a chamber full of metal shards sticking out of the ground. They were so reflective, they worked pretty much like mirrors. And whilst this was interesting, it made it difficult to tell how many opponents they had to face.

Said opponents were a strange machine Digimon, the best was to describe it being a flying sword that shot out lightning as it attacked.

The Electro Shocker struck the Digimon and caused it to spark before exploding. But as it did, three more appeared with the reflections making it impossible to tell where the real ones were. "What the heck is happening?" He asked, "what is this place and where's everyone else?" He ducked under an electrical attack, "I hope Flash and the others are doing better than us."

Flash and Thorax had chased the Digimon into the darkness, but could find no sign of it.

They eventually reached the bottom of the cavern and when they did, they found themselves in a long tunnel with many different paths leading in several directions.

"Great," Thorax frowned, "which way did it go?"

"I'm not sure," Flash hummed as he looked down all of the corridors. "I guess we just pick a tunnel and hope it's the same one that ball went down."

"Maybe we should get out of here?" Thorax asked, shocking Flash as he turned to him. "That thing captured all of our friends without us able to put up a fight. You really think the two of us can save them on our own? We should head back to Codex and get Shining Armor or another high level player."

"We can't just leave and abandon our friends," ExVeemon stated. "Who knows what's happening to them right now?"

"I'm with these two," Stingmon nodded. "Time is a luxury we can't afford. We have to track this thing down now, before it's too late."

"Let's go!" Flash rushed down a corridor and the other Digimon followed suit, Thorax frowning before following them. Luckily, the tunnels were large enough for the Digimon to walk through with plenty of head room. But if they were attacked, the two wouldn't be able to move much and fight.

"Please tell me you at least have a plan," Thorax called out form the back.

"I wouldn't so much say it's a plan," Flash replied. "I'm more of a...figure it out on the fly kind of guy. I mean...I have no idea what we're facing or what kind of environment we'll be fighting in. So I'll wait until we know that before thinking of something."

"You're gonna try and come up with a plan whilst in the middle of a battle?" Thorax looked surprised, "how the heck do you plan on doing something like that? You really think you can come up with a battle strategy whilst fireballs are flying down on you?" Flash just shrugged, making Thorax sigh. "How do you keep yourself from getting so scared, whilst facing something so much more powerful?"

"What did you say?" Flash asked, Thorax having said that quite quietly.

"Nothing," Thorax sighed as they continued down the tunnel. As they did, Thorax hoped their friends were alright and whatever enemy was waiting for them wouldn't be too strong.

"Infrared Ray!" Aurumon cried, as he unleashed a beam from his eyes that destroyed a Flybeemon.

Twilight watched the insect be destroyed, only for several more to show up and continue their attack. Aurumon wasn't getting a moment's rest and a few times, the attacks managed to get through. "Look out!" She cried, as the Flybeemon launched an electric needle from its stinger and almost hit him. "If that attacks hits you, you'll be paralysed."

"I know," Aurumon nodded. "But there's just too many of them!" He launched out another Infrared Ray, which destroyed another Flybeemon.

Twilight sighed, knowing he was right. She had tried to port away, but something was blocking her. They had tried running, but everywhere they went the Flybeemon showed up. There was no end to them. "Why are we here?" She asked, "what's the point of bringing us here only to attack us?" She noticed the Flybeemon weren't attacking together, but waiting turns. "If they wanted to destroy us, why not just attack at once? There has to be a reason."

Twilight had no idea, that hidden from sight was a giant red eyeball. Said eyeball was watching the battle intensely, mostly focusing on Aurumon as it launched its attacks.

In all the other locations, everyone continued to fight as hard as they could. But there was no end to them and the Digimon were getting more and more tired. And like with Twilight and Auramon, none of them realised a giant eyeball was watching them battle.

Back with Flash and Thorax, they and their Digimon continued to search the labyrinth hoping to find a way out of there or where their friends were.

"Still nothing," Flash stated after turning a corner. "Maybe we should have taken a left when we went right or something." Thorax frowned, really wishing Flash would think these things through.

"We're trapped, lost and our friends are in trouble. Can you please just stop so we can think of a plan!?" Flash turned to him, about to speak up. But ExVeemon spotted something first.

"What's that?" They all spun back around, "over there!" He pointed at the end of the hallway, which had a corner, where they saw what appeared to be a Digimon poking its head around the corner before pulling it back.

Thorax had a feeling he knew that Digimon, but he hadn't gotten a good enough look to determine what it was. "Come on!" Flash ran ahead, ExVeemon and Stingmon following with Thorax on their tail. They ran around the corner, only to see what appeared to be a green cloak running around another corner.

They kept following whatever it was around several turns, Thorax quirking his eyebrows at how they were able to catch just enough of a glimpse to know where they had to go. They eventually arrived around another corner and saw the Digimon was gone, but a bright light at the end of the corridor made them know where they had to go.

They rushed in and despite Thorax being worried this was a trap, they entered through the doorway and found themselves in a massive circular chamber.

It was large enough to fit a twelve story skyscraper inside of it. The whole thing was made out of some kind of reflective substance, which looked like neither ice, metal or crystal. Several large pillars could be seen throughout the room and at the very back, was what appeared to be a five meter tower with a staircase leading up it and a throne made of the same material.

They all stepped into the room, amazed by what they were seeing. But as they did, the entrance suddenly found itself being sealed up. "HEY!" Thorax cried, rushing over to the door and trying to push it open.

Stingmon did the same, but it wouldn't budge. "Great. Now what?"

"Now, you tell me what you're doing here?" That voice echoed throughout the room, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.

"Who's there?" Flash cried, the Digimon getting into a fighting stance. Then, a giant figure appeared in every single mirror that filled the room.

It was as if someone had draped a large green cloak over a giant floating mirror. The mirror appeared to make up the main body, having a golden frame around its reflective centre. The cloak hid the top part and a white scarf of some kind was wrapped around the top of the cloak where the head would be.

A black face of some kind was hidden within the head spot, with a pair of yellow eyes peeking out between the scarf and a large green hat on top of it. The sleeves of the cloak were moving and appeared to have some kind of purple fan sticking out the end, which appeared to act as the Digimon's hands.

"Who are you?" Thorax asked, as the Digimon reflections glared down at them.

"I am the one asking the questions here. Why have you come to my sacred sanctum? Are you with those other trespassers?"

"Other trespassers?" Flash's eyes went wide, "Twilight and the others." He glared at the Digimon, "where are they? What did you do to them?"

"They are trapped and will never see the light of day again. Thus is the fate of all those that trespass upon the domain of AncientWisemon." The four glared at the reflections, only for them to begin to merge with one another. One by one, they combined with the Digimon next to them until only one remained.

That one then shrank down before exiting the mirror above the throne, which he floated down into.

"Now, why are you here?"

"We came because we were told this is where we can get stronger," Thorax told him. "We want to get strong enough, so nobody can beat us!"

"Is that so?" AncientWisemon stated. "So, you simply want power for power's sake? That makes you the least worthy individuals to have said power."

"That's not true," Flash yelled back. "Yeah, we wanna get stronger. But we have a reason. We want to get strong enough to protect the Digital World. So that when evil tries to hurt it, we can fight against it and win."

"Like I haven't heard that one before," AncientWisemon countered. "You say you wish to grow stronger, but how can I be so sure you won't choose to use your new power to hurt the Digital World and others? Many have searched for power, claiming to use it for others. But many times chose their own gain instead."

"Well we're not like that!" Flash cried, Thorax and the Digimon nodding.

"You wish for me to believe that, but how can I be so sure?" He sat there and waved his fan, slowly coming up with a plan. "Very well. I will test you. If you pass this test, you and the other trespassers will be allowed to leave. Fail and you'll be trapped here...forever."

Flash frowned, whilst Thorax looked worried. "Test?" He asked, "what kind of test?" Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to break apart.

Flash and Thorax almost fell into the hole that occurred, only for their partners to grab them and fly away from the hole. As they did, something began to rise up from out of the hole. A large green orb, which was followed by another one connected to the first by a yellow tube. More of these orbs followed, each one the size of an elephant.

By the time the last orb appeared, there were a total of ten spheres. They all bunched up together and slowly pulled themselves apart, now interconnected by the yellow tubes to create a bazaar shape.

The top orb had a strange symbol on it, whilst the central one had a flower pattern. The four wondered what the heck is was, but then saw the top orb part like a mouth. And to their surprise, giant red lips appeared on that mouth with teeth filling the open gap. At the same time, a bunch of eyes appeared on the remaining orbs. The flower orb was the only one without it, but the thirty or so other eyes more than made up for it.

The four could barely believe what they were seeing, as AncientWisemon sat in his throne. "Let me introduce you to my guard. Sakkakumon. If you truly wish to grow stronger, you must defeat him."

"Ha!" ExVeemon smirked, "shouldn't be too hard!"

"Hold on!" Stingmon told him. "We have no idea what-" ExVeemon shot forward, roaring as he prepared for battle. "...he's capable of." Suddenly, Sakkakumon's body folded in on itself. Its whole form morphing into a mass of orbs with the tubes appearing to completely vanish as they rolled around.

"What's going on?" Flash asked, as Sakkakumon finally stopped spinning and pointed one of ts orbs directly at ExVeemon.

"Electro Shocker!" Suddenly, a blast of lightning exploded out of one of the eyes. It shot down and slammed into ExVeemon, making him scream as he was thrown down towards the ground.

"ExVeemon!" Flash cried, as ExVeemon crashed into the floor. "What the heck? That's Kabuterimon's attack!" Sakkakumon then spun around again, pointing another sphere at them.

"DJ Shooter!" CDs flew out of the eye and shot towards Flash and Thorax, Stingmon leaping into action and grabbing the pair.

"Gwappamon's attack too?" Thorax asked, as Sakkakumon once again started spinning his orbs.

"Hydro Pump!" Water blasted out of the eye, almost hitting ExVeemon as he picked himself up.

"WOW!" He leapt into the air. "What gives? How's it using all these different attacks?"

"Impressive, is it not?" They looked over at AncientWisemon. "At this very moment, your friends are trapped inside Sakkakumon's real body. What you're currently facing is an avatar, made up of all the data Sakkakumon acquired from those fighting within him."

"No way," Thorax couldn't believe it. "So we're fighting against a Digimon that has all our friend's attacks?"

"Precisely," AncientWisemon nodded as Sakkakumon fired a Drill Tornado that slammed ExVeemon. "Tell me, do you believe you have what it takes to defeat such a Digimon?"

Thorax frowned, unsure how to answer that question. But Flash spoke up. "Yes, we can." He turned towards Flash, as ExVeemon picked himself up. "You might have our friend's abilities, but that doesn't mean you're unstoppable."

"Yeah," ExVeemon nodded. "Our friends are way stronger than this thing. Let me show you!" He leapt into the air and crossed his arms. "Vee Laser!" The X shaped blast of energy exploded out of his chest and shot towards Sakkakumon.

But once again, the Digimon's body swirled around and pointed an eye at the incoming attack. "Infrared Ray!" The eye fired a beam of red light out and struck the Vee Laser, making it explode as Stingmon put Flash and Thorax down.

He then leapt into the air and his gauntlet unleashed a purple blade. "Spiking Strike!" Sakkakumon rolled around again and another eye pointed at him.

"Lightning Paw!" An energy construct of Gatomon flew out of the eye and countered the Spiking Strike, as Sakkakumon rolled around again and pointed another eye at him. "Gargo Pellets!" Several bullets flew out of the eye and struck Stingmon, knocking him backwards as he cried out.

"Stingmon!" Thorax cried, as his partner fell to the ground.

Flash growled as ExVeemon flew up towards Sakkakumon, preparing to punch his lights out. But Sakkakumon spun around again and unleashed a construct of Arbormon, that used his Roundhouse Pummel attack to counter. "Alright then!" Flash held up his Digivice, "time to Digivolve!" The Digivice glowed, but AncientWisemon shook his head.

"I don't think so." He waved his fan hand and unleashed a wave of energy, which flew across the chamber and struck Flash's Digivice. When it did, it made the device spark before shutting down.

"What?" Flash tried to activate it, but it didn't work. "What did you do?"

"This is my test, so I make the rules. And I say, no Digivolving without my express permission." The pair glared at him, as Sakkakumon unleashed another Drill Tornado and blasted both ExVeemon and Stingmon back.

The two Digimon slammed down on the ground, as Sakkakumon unfurled to its normal shape. "This isn't good," Thorax whispered. "How the heck are we supposed to beat this thing? It's got all our friend's attacks."

AncientWisemon hummed. "For someone claiming to wish to get stronger, you seem awfully afraid."

"What?" Thorax asked, as ExVeemon charged at Sakkakumon.

"You said you came to get stronger," AncientWisemon replied. "Yet when faced with an adversary that defeating can do that, you grow frightened."

"Of course I'm frightened!" Thorax cried, as ExVeemon was blasted by some Gargo Pellets. "Sakkakumon is so much stronger than us. There's no way we can win." His hands shook, "that's why I wanted to get stronger. So that when I face something like this, I don't have to be afraid."

"Don't be a fool," AncientWisemon stated. "You think being stronger will stop you from being afraid? If the only reason you're not afraid of something is because you're stronger than it, then the moment it gets stronger that fear will return."

"So?" Thorax asked. "That's normal. Of course I'm afraid of something stronger than me."

"If you allow yourself to fall to fear, simply because something has the potential to defeat you, you'll never grow stronger. Because fear is what blocks one from growing stronger." Thorax looked confused at this, as Stingmon flew up and started jabbing his legs at Sakkakumon. "Fear can be a great ally. It helps you determine danger and keep yourself from doing something reckless."

"But you said-"

"However," Stingmon was blasted backwards by an Electro Shocker, "fear left uncontrolled will become your greatest enemy." Stingmon slammed into the ground, as ExVeemon found himself getting a Lightning Paw right to the chest. "If you allow fear to overwhelm you, then you have no hope of growing stronger. Because only by facing and overcoming obstacles that you struggle against, will one be able to gain strength."

"I don't understand?" Thorax asked. He looked over and saw ExVeemon and Stingmon, laid out on the ground, both appearing badly beaten whilst Sakkakumon didn't even have a scratch on it.

He then turned to Flash, seeing the teen glaring down at Sakkakumon. At first, it appeared Flash wasn't scared at all. But then Thorax noticed his hands were shaking. He was scared, but he wasn't letting it overwhelm him. "Come on guys!" He told the Digimon, "we can't stop! Not if we wanna save our friends!"

"Flash," Thorax whispered. He then remembered how Flash had first Digivolved to Ultimate. They had faced an opponent so powerful, it had defeated Thorax and the rest of their friends. But despite seeing this, he and his partner had charged in anyway and refused to give up.

ExVeemon picked himself up and Stingmon was right behind him, the two charging forward once again with ExVeemon launching another Vee-Laser. "That's the way!" Flash cried, "don't give up!"

"What keeps pushing you?" Thorax asked, making Flash turn to him in confusion.

"What?"

"What keeps pushing you on against something like this?" To prove his point, Sakkakumon fired an Electro Shocker to counter the Vee-Laser, then swirled around before unleashing a Drill Tornado. "How do you keep facing off against something you can't possibly beat, then end up winning? Therizinomon, Dagomon and who knows what else. How are you able to keep your fear from stopping you?"

Flash smirked. "Sure, I'm scared. Who wouldn't be? But I'm more scared of what will happen to our friends if we don't fight, then what might happen if I do."

"He's right," ExVeemon picked himself up. "Who cares if he's stronger than us? There's more to winning than just strength."

Stingmon also picked himself up. "He's right. We might not be able to beat him directly, but I bet there are other ways of winning this fight. We just have to focus on finding them."

"Other ways?" Thorax asked, as Sakkakumon fired an Infrared Ray at them. The Digimon leapt up and the attack hit the ground, only to then bounce off and hit a pillar.

Seeing this, Thorax suddenly realised something and looked around. The mirror like room could be used to their advantage.

"ExVeemon, shoot your attack right below Sakkakumon!" ExVeemon gave him an odd look, but Flash nodded and ExVeemon did so.

"Vee-Laser!" He launched the attack and Sakkakumon prepared to counter it, only to be surprised when the attack flew past him and hit the ground. The light of it then bounced back up and struck the bottom of Sakkakumon, making it roar in pain as Stingmon flew in.

"Spiking Strike!" He stabbed one of the eyes and made the beast roar as well, then pulled back before it could recover.

ExVeemon launched another laser, using the mirrors to bounce it around and hit the Mutant Digimon again. It hit another eyes, blinding that one as well as Stingmon flew around to attack once more. As they did, Thorax could hardly believe it. They were turning the fight around.

"See!" Flash told him, "this is what happens when you don't quit. If something isn't working the first time, you don't just give up." ExVeemon launched another reflected blast into Sakkakumon's side, then flew forward and punched it in the eye. "You look at the problem from another angle. See how it looks from another point of view."

"You're right," Thorax nodded. "I let myself get to focused on the Digimon's Level. I forgot that this isn't the first time I've faced an Ultimate Digimon and come out on top." He had been in countless Codex Battles that had the opponent go Ultimate before him. And in those battles, he had managed to pull out a win. "So what if it's an Ultimate? I won't let that stop me!"

"I see," AncientWisemon nodded at this. "But will you be able to hold onto that new confidence?" As he said that, Sakkakumon rolled itself into a ball before it started spinning around. As it did, it unleashed every single attack is had left from its remaining eyes.

Electro Shocker, Tear Shot, DJ Shooter, Drill Bit Blitz and many other attacks were exploding out of the eyes, flying every which way they could and causing the place to turn into a minefield.

Flash and Thorax ran towards some pillars, hoping to hide behind one, but a Hydro Pump smashed one and they were forced to run from the falling shards. "Flash/Thorax!" Their partners cried, as they flew down to defend them.

But this allowed Sakkakumon to get a clear shot and unleashed a barrage of Gargo Pellets. Both Digimon were hit and roared in pain, as they fell to the ground and looked close to De-Digivolving.

"ExVeemon/Stingmon!" They both cried, rushing over to their side only for AncientWisemon to laugh.

"Where's all that bravo you had before? Don't tell me them getting knocked down has shaken you?" The pair glared at him, as Sakkakumon prepared for another spinning barrage.

Thorax felt his fear growing stronger, but quickly shook his head. "No, I'm not gonna let you make me doubt myself." He clenched his fist and stopped it from shaking. "I came here because I wanted to get stronger. And you're right, the only way to do that is to push my limits."

"And what if you hit your limit and break?" AncientWisemon asked, only for Flash to speak up.

"Then his friends will be there, to help put him back together and push his limits again." Flash and Thorax smirked, as AncientWisemon laughed.

"Indeed. Long ago, myself and nine others fought against a great evil. One that threatened to destroy the Digital World. It wasn't easy and there were many times we believed we were done for. But we kept pushing and eventually, we overcame that evil." He stood up, "do you have what it takes to protect our world from evil?"

Thorax frowned. "I don't know if I can stop every bad guy that shows up." He then gave the Digimon a serious look, "but I'm gonna give it my all and protect those I care about." Flash nodded, thinking the same thing.

AncientWisemon took to the air and as he did, ExVeemon and Stingmon were reflected in his mirror body. "If you truly wish to become strong enough to protect all you care about, then take this next step and awaken the power hidden within you." The reflections suddenly started glowing before flying off his mirror, shooting into the air and flying towards them.

But strangely, they weren't flying towards the one they were reflections off. Instead, the Exveemon reflection flew over to Stingmon and the Stingmon reflection flew over to ExVeemon.

The two groaned as they saw the reflection appear in front of them, each holding out a hand for them to take. Flash and Thorax saw this and were surprised by this, both glancing over at each other before both nodding. "Do it!" Flash told ExVeemon.

"Take his hand!" Thorax called out to Stingmon.

Their partners nodded and as soon as they grabbed their hands, the reflection exploded into light and flew into the Digimon's body. Doing so caused their partner's Digivices to beep, as they held them up and saw the Digimon's data appearing on the screen.

"Huh?" Was both their reactions, only for their Digivices to suddenly unleash a blinding light that flew over to both their partners.

ExVeemon and Stingmon were suddenly bursting with energy and shot into the air, as the light wrapped around them. As they did, they both yelled out in unison. "EXVEEMON/STINGMON, DNA DIGIVOLVE TO..." The cocoons formed above their partner's heads, growing larger as they did. And soon enough, they shattered to reveal a pair of similar but very different Digimon.

Both of them looked like an odd fusion of ExVeemon and Stingmon, but with very different appearances.

The Digimon that was once ExVeemon, looked as if the dragon was now wearing Stingmon's armor. His body had become slimmer and more humanoid, with Stingmon's chest, shoulder, hip and upper leg armor covering his. HIs chest armor was opened to be more like a vest, allowing his white chest and the XV markings on it to be revealed.

His arms also hard Stingmon's gauntlets on them, whilst his white wings had moved down to his lower back whilst a pair of blue wings appeared just below his shoulders. Finally, his head was completely different. It now appeared more humanoid, being blue with a white mouth piece. But the most noticeable thing about his head was the red mask wrapped around the upper part of his head.

His hip armor also had a pair of rectangular tubes pointing backwards, which ended in a grey gun barrel and was connected to the armor by a hinge. The Digimon grabbed these blasters and spun them forward, unleashing several blasts as he finished his transformation. "PAILDRAMON!"

The fusion Digimon that was once Stingmon looked more insectoid, with four arms and Stingmon's insectoid wings. His body had reshaped to be hunched over, similar to a gorilla, whilst his head looked like Stingmon's only it had orange hair sticking out the back and ExVeemon's ears.

The spiked shoulder pads Stingmon had were now connected around his neck, forming a kind of collar, whilst his front arms were entirely ExVeemon's. A pair of back arms were that of Stingmon's, whilst his legs were entirely armored with two red lines on each upper leg. The Digimon's stomach was unarmored and showed it to be ExVeemon's, whilst the dragon's tail were sticking out of his rear and his white wings were sticking out of his hip.

This Digimon started flying around in rapid zigzags, acting almost like a bug as he finish his transformation. "DINOBEEMON!"

Flash and Thorax were both amazed by this, as the two Ultimates hovered side by side whilst staring Sakkakumon down. "No way," Flash whispered.

"They DNA Digivolved...together?" Thorax could barely believe it, as Sakkakumon finally decided to attack by charging forward. But the two quickly leapt to the side, avoiding it as it flew between them.

As they did, Paildramon pointed his blasters at the Digimon. "Desperado Blaster!" They fired a barrage of energy bullets, which struck the Digimon in the back and hit with enough force to push it down to the ground.

"Irritant Buzz!" Dinobeemon cried, as he started beating his wings and unleashing powerful soundwaves that began to annoy Sakkakumon.

The Digimon roared as he started spinning his orb around. "Gargo Pellets!" One of the eyes started unleashing a barrage of bullets, but Dinobeemon easily avoided them as it flew in closer. The Digimon then spun around and pointed an eye at Paildramon. "Drill Tornado!" The vortex of wind exploded out of the eye and Paildramon flew into it, completely undisturbed.

"Sting Strike!" The spikes on Paildramon's gauntlets extended and he slashed at the giant Digimon, whilst Dinobeemon flew up close.

"Hell Masquerade!" He started flying in random directions around Sakkakumon, moving so fast he left afterimages of himself behind. And every time he passed by the Digimon, which was every other second with his speed, he slashed at the beast with the claws on his feet or four arms.

Sakkakumon roared as it fell to the ground, causing the entire chamber to shake with Flash and Thorax falling over.

Paildramon and Dinobeemon flew up above him, wondering it the battle was over. But then, all Sakkakumon's eyes shot open and it once again started spinning them around. "DJ Shooter!" He fired disks from one eye, "Infrared Ray!" A laser shot out of another eyes, "Hydro Pump!" A blast of water shot up and the two barely managed to avoid all the attacks, which hit the ceiling and caused it to start breaking apart.

Flash and Thorax saw the rubble falling towards them and gasped, only for their partners to fly down and grab them before they were crushed. "Thanks," Thorax sighed. He was still amazed by his partner's new form. But it was clearly no match for a Digimon with so many different attacks.

He looked down at Sakkakumon, who lifted itself up whilst continued to spin its many orbs around. "Electro Shocker!" The sphere of lightning exploded out of it, as it spun around again "Tear Arrow!" An ice arrow shot out, the many sphere spinning around again. "Blockade Seed!" Seeds shot out of another eye, but this caused Thorax to notice something.

"Wait..." He continued to watch, as the many orbs rotated around. And as he did, he realised one orb was staying completely still in the very centre of the cluster. The orb with the flower pattern on it. "That orb's not moving. Could...could that be where he's holding all the data he's using?"

"Infrared Ray!" Another laser flew out of an eye and Dinobeemon barely managed to avoid it.

"You okay?" Flash asked, as he and Paildramon flew up to them.

"Yeah," Thorax nodded. "And I think I know how to beat this thing. But we've gotta get it to stop moving!"

"Leave it to me!" Paildramon shot down towards Sakkakumon, dodging the many different attacks. As he did, AncientWisemon looked interested. Paildramon then managed to get behind Sakkakumon and slid against the ground, as he held up his hands. "Cable Catcher!" Each of his claws suddenly shot off his hands, remaining connected by a metal wire, as it shot towards the Mutant Digimon.

Each of the fingers then grabbed one of the orbs and wrapped around them, stopping it from moving. And when Paildramon pulled the cables back, the Digimon unfurled into its original form and the central orb was revealed. "Thorax, NOW!"

"DINOBEEMON!" His Digimon started glowing as he flew around, cupping Thorax in his dragons claws as the energy flowed around him.

The energy then moved down and started forming around his right foot, as he dived down towards Sakkakumon. "Nightmare Stinger!" He picked up speed and moved like a blur, everyone else barely able to comprehend what was happening. And then, seconds before he reached Sakkakumon, he spun around and thrust the tip of his glowing foot forward.

This transformed him into a glowing arrow that struck the sphere and caused it to explode, unleashing a barrage of light as the data flowed free.

Sakkakumon roared in pain, as the data left its body and the hole in its chest began to expand. Slowly, the rest of its body disappeared and Paildramon's finger wires retracted. AncientWisemon saw this and nodded, as Dinobeemon landed next to Paildramon.

The pair and their partners turned to AncientWisemon, as he once again rose from his throne. "Well done." Paildramon and Dinobeemon both got into a battle stance, but AncientWisemon raised a hand. "Hold on, I have no intention of fighting you. It's clear from your actions that you are warriors I can trust."

"Really?" Thorax asked.

"Indeed," he nodded. "I had a feeling about you, but I had to make sure. That's why I sent you here."

"You sent us here?" Flash asked, only for AncientWisemon to start glowing. He suddenly shrank down and changed shape, the light coming off him to reveal a Digimon they had met before. "Apothemon?"

"That's right," he nodded. "Sorry to deceive you. But I had to make sure you were worthy of the new power you've received." The Digimon looked themselves over, now feeling stronger than ever.

"You knew ExVeemon and Stingmon were able to DNA Digivolve?" Thorax asked, Apothemon nodding as he reverted back to AncientWisemon.

"I have lived for many millennia and have seen many things. I was there when the Digital World had many now rare Digimon, like Veemon and Stingmon. And I have seen the many ways they can unleash their hidden potential."

"I never would have guessed my Ultimate needed Stingmon," Paildramon looked himself over. Dinobeemon was also amazed.

"And you will eventually discover an even greater power is hidden within you," AncientWisemon announced. "But for now, I think it's time you left. Your friends will be waiting for you outside. Take what you have learned here and remember. True strength comes from being able to determine when a battle is one you can and should fight in, or one it is best to escape from. Wisdom, born from one's own experiences, is the greatest weapon you can wield." With that, the mirror on his body glowed.

Flash, Thorax and their Digimon were suddenly consumed by that light, which exploded out and engulfed them.

They screamed as the light blinded them. When it slowly died down, they opened their eyes and found they were back outside the mountain.

The four looked around and then up, only to be shocked by the sight of a massive version of Sakkakumon. It was floating above the mountain and at least five times bigger than the one they had fought.

All the eyes focused on them and before any of them could suggest attack, lights exploded out of the eyes and shot down.

From out of these eyes, Twilight and all their friends appeared. Many looked exhausted, clearly having been battling many opponents. Some were even in the middle of an attack, but stopped when they realised they were free.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked, only to look up and see Paildramon and Dinobeemon with their partners in their hands. They then noticed the even larger Digimon and were shocked by it, as the flower symbol on its chest glowed and it disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.

"What just happened?" Rainbow asked, everyone turning to Flash and Thorax.

The boys shared a look and smirked, Thorax turning back to them. "It's a long story."

The group were soon back at Codex, meeting up with Shining where they told them all about what had happened. Veemon and Grubmon had fallen into their In-Training forms.

Grubmon's was a smaller version of it, though only its head was visible whilst the rest appeared wrapped up in some kind of silk blanket. Its antenna were shorter and its beak was smaller. This Digimon was known as Mitemon and was currently drinking milk through a straw as they finished the tale.

"Leave it to AncientWisemon to take things to the extreme like that," Shining sighed. "My friends were in danger like that as well. It wasn't until I managed to Digivolve to Ultimate that I was able to beat Sakkakumon."

"A little warning would have been nice," Twilight told him.

"If I warned you, you guys might not have gotten the full effect of the training. Besides, things worked out well. Not only did Thorax get to the Ultimate Level, but he and Flash now have their DNA Digivolutions." The pair smiled at this, as they took out their Digivices and saw Paildramon and Dinobeemon in their scan listings. They also had a copy of the other's Champion, though they were unsure how that had happened.

"I still can't believe you both had the key to each other's DNA Digivolution all along," Twilight stated.

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I'm still having a hard time believing it."

"There's one thing I don't get," Rainbow spoke up. "How did your Digimon become totally different Ultimates, when they were both using the exact same components?" That also confused the others, but Shining had an idea.

"Well its probably because of the Digimon that were Digivolving." The others raised an eyebrow at this. "Since ExVeemon was the one in control, his DNA evolution reconfigured his data to be a mostly Dragon Digimon with a few Insect elements. And since Stingmon was the one in control, his Insect Data took in a few dragonic elements. If they had actually DNA Digivolved together, the result would probably depend on which of them was stronger."

"Huh," Flash smirked, "guess that makes sense." He then brought up Paildramon's data and wondered what it would Digivolve into. AncientWisemon seemed to think it was something amazing, but only time would tell.

Their adventure in the Cave of Reflections had been an interesting one, that was for sure, and Thorax had grown greatly from it. And they would need that strength for the battles that were to come, as the Digital World continued to face many threats.

Author's Note

Flash and Thorax finally have their DNA Digivolutions. Thorax has also gained the Ultimate Level and now, they're stronger than ever. Hope you all enjoyed this. Let me know what you think.

For those of you wondering about Apothemon, go look up Karn Ex's Frontier Rookies.

Target Locked

Within their canyon base camp, many Virus Digimon were sitting around waiting for orders.

Some were training, hoping to grow stronger, whilst others were getting into arguments that could have turned ugly if other Digimon hadn't just in to break it up. And in the large cavern, the strongest members of this group were making battle plans.

"Are you sure this Digimon can be trusted?" Armormon asked WarGrowlmon, who glared down at him.

"Are you doubting my judgement?" He asked, raising his claws and showing off the blades on his arms. "Do I have to remind you of whose in charge here?"

"Of course not," Armormon replied. "But letting such a powerful Digimon into our ranks might prove dangerous, especially given what he could Digivolve into. What if he tries to betray you and take the stone for himself? It'll be him destroying the Digital World instead of you.

"He knows betraying me is a foolish idea," WarGrowlmon stated. "He has no ambition when it comes to Digivolving. He only just recently acquired his current form. He will not attempt to take it for himself. And we need all the power we can get, especially after the loss of Therizinomon." It was in that moment that another Digimon arrived in the cave. Fumamon.

The ninja Digimon leapt through the air and landed on the ground, kneeling before WarGrowlmon. "Master, the time has come. Another Dragon Soul Stone has appeared." This statement caused the pair to look towards him in shock. "It's not too far away. If we hurry, we will have the area under our control before Azulongmon and his army can mobilise."

WarGrowlmon smiled at this and stood up. "Prepare to move out. Fumamon, take the Flymon to its location and have them dispense the warp bombs. Armormon, make sure our new recruit is ready to do battle. If you're so worried about him, then keep and eye on him. If he gives you any reason to worry, deal with him." The pair nodded and began to head out, only for WarGrowlmon to speak up. "Another thing." They stopped and looked back, "I will not accept failure this time. Understood?"

"Understood," they both nodded before heading out.

The two left the cave and went to accomplish their assigned tasks, Fumamon leaping over to where the Flymon were stationed. Meanwhile, Armormon headed over to a section of the canyon that held a rather powerful Digimon.

"Hey!" He slammed his arm onto the side to catch the Digimon's attention, "time to get up. Your master has need of you." The Digimon inside of the cave picked itself up and slowly turned towards him, revealing just how large it was. "You're finally going to be putting your destructive talents to good use. And you'd better not mess up."

The Digimon in the cave growled as it pulled itself out, revealing itself to be a large orange and yellow lindworm. It had purple wings and a helmet like MetalGreymon's, along with a pair of mechanical gauntlets on its arms.

"What do you need of me?"

In Codex, the players were enjoying themselves in battles, hanging out with friends from across the world or simply watching the other players duke it out.

Over at the Digi-Lab, Flash and Veemon were staring at an image of Paildramon in the computer. They then looked up at the Digivolution Tree, which had only one branch leading up to the Mega Level. However, it was blacked out and they had no idea what it was that Paildramon was able to Digivolve into. Worst, it was locked so Flash couldn't even buy the Digivolution into the Mega Level.

"Any idea what it might be?" Veemon asked, but Flash had no idea.

"Sorry, bud. A silhouette isn't exactly easy to figure out." He scratched his head, "I think it's quadrupedal...but that's all I've got."

Veemon sighed. They finally figured out what Veemon's DNA evolution was and now, they had an entirely different mystery to figure out. "You think Thorax and Grubmon were able to figure out Dinobeemon's Mega?"

"I doubt it," Flash unplugged his Digivice. "Who knows, maybe it's the exact same Mega Paildramon has." They laughed, thinking that was stupid. What would be the point of them having a split evolution if they just ended up with the same Mega Level?

They stepped out of the Digi-Lab and headed over to the Foyer, where Twilight and the rest of their friends were sitting. They were watching a battle between a Zudomon and a WereGarurumon, whilst talking amongst themselves what they intended to do over the next few days.

"I gotta start training," Rainbow stated. "You guys are starting to go Ultimate and I feel like we're nowhere near ready to do that yet."

"Yes," Rarity nodded. "I would also like to grow strong enough to Digivolve into Ultimate." They noticed Flash and Veemon sit down, "you were able to force your Digivolution. Isn't that right?"

"I'm not sure," Flash replied as he remembered when he Digivolved for the first time. "Back then, we weren't really trying to Digivolve. We were just focused on beating Therizinomon and stopping WarGrowlmon from getting that stone."

"Yeah," Veemon nodded in agreement. "We just wanted to help as many Digimon as we could. We knew if we let WarGrowlmon win, everything we loved would be lost. We couldn't let that happen." The girls all nodded, understanding what had likely pushed Flash to the Ultimate Level.

"We were different," Micro nodded. "When we were fighting against Toropiamon, we were in a bind and I was trying to be like Flash. But it wasn't until I realised I had my own way of battling, that Kabuterimon was able to Digivolve."

"And it was good you realised that," Tentomon smiled. "We would have been up a creek if you hadn't used that big brain of yours to save the day."

"What about you three?" Applejack asked, Trixie, Sandal and Thorax thinking.

"We Digivolved because we needed to help Micro," Mangoramon told them. "I remember. We were fighting that Blossomon and we knew if we lost, Micro would end up fighting two Ultimates."

"Yeah," Sandal nodded. "That's what happened. We couldn't let Micro down. We had to get the fruit to save those Digimon. And that made Arbormon Digivolve."

Trixie hummed. "Lunamon got to Ultimate because we were trying to get the Digimental of Friendship. I'm not really sure how she Digivolved."

"Yes you do," Lunamon smiled. "It was when you decided to put others before you. You wanted the Digimental, not just for yourself, but so others could use it as well. That's why I was able to Digivolve. Because you put your own wants aside and decided to stop being selfish." Trixie smiled at this, as Thorax thought about what happened to him.

"It's not hard to see why you got to Ultimate," Grubmon told him. "Remember. You stopped letting your worries and fears control you and AncientWisemon gave us the Data we needed to DNA Digivolve."

Twilight heard this and noticed something. "So...it's either a desire to help others, an overcoming of some kind of flaw, or a mixture of both. That's how you all got to Ultimate." The others heard this and were interested in that theory, wondering if it was true or not. And if it was, how were they going to get to Ultimate.

At that moment, Flash's Digivice beeped to signal a message. And he wasn't alone, as everyone else seemed to get the message as well. "Anyone else getting deja vu?" Pinkie asked, as Flash checked the message.

Greetings, my friends.

I know it's been a while, but the time has finally come for me to ask for your help. The second Dragon Soul Stone has appeared and WarGrowlmon's forces have already mobilised to take it. We need your assistance to get to it before it's too late.

"It's from Azulongmon," Flash stated. The others got different messages, likely due to not being as tight with the head Digimon as Flash. However, Rarity got her own message from Angewomon.

Shining Armor and Monodramon rushed over to them, clearly having gotten their own message. "You guys get-" He stopped when he saw everyone holding their Digivices. "I'll take that as a yes."

"We have to hurry," Monodramon stated. "Those creeps might already be there ready to take the stone." They all nodded and rushed off towards the Digi-Port. Other players were also heading there, though he heard one having an argument with their partner.

"But that guy's just gonna bully me again!" He looked over and saw an Otamamon looking upset. "You heard what he called me." Flash frowned, remembering MagnaAngemon and his unfair hatred of all Virus Digimon. Luckily, he wasn't the one in charge of the resistance right now. But that could change if he got to the Dragon Soul Stone first.

They arrived at the Digi-Port and brought up the resistance base's location, then teleported there along with the other players that had accepted the call to help. "Leomon!" Flash smiled when he saw the lion Digimon approaching. "Long time, no see."

"Indeed," Leomon nodded. "I can sense that many of you have gained new strength since our last meeting." He was looking over Trixie, Micro, Sandal and Thorax, they and their Digimon nodding as he smiled. "Good. We'll need all the strength we can get if we are to defeat our opponents."

Shining nodded. "Any idea how strong that Virus Army's gotten since the last time we fought them?" He remembered many of the Virus Digimon had been destroyed, including one of their strongest members. But that was a while ago and many new Digimon might have joined since.

"I cannot say," Leomon replied. "MagnaAngemon has led many scouting parties out to try and locate their home base, but none of them were successful. We have no idea where they are or what their strength currently is." That didn't sit well with any of them.

In that moment, the spotlight suddenly appeared and illuminated the large stage.

The back of the stage then opened up, Angewomon and MagnaAngemon flying out to greet them all. Salamon smiled, seeing her sister, whilst a large holographic screen appeared above them.

On that screen, Azulongmon was in the temple located above their heads. "Greetings," he told them. "I welcome you all to our base and to the battle that may decide the fate of the Digital World."

MagnaAngemon stepped forwards. "We called you here to reinforce our campaign. The second Dragon Soul Stone has appeared and WarGrowlmon's forces may have already begun their charge for it. We must get to it first and protect it from falling into his evil claws."

Azulongmon nodded. "Unfortunately, I will be unable to enter the area of the Dragon Soul Stone. I must leave its acquisition to the rest of you. I know I'm asking a lot, but I hope you will fight hard and keep the Digital World from falling to WarGrowlmon's evil." Everyone nodded, knowing they couldn't let WarGrowlmon Digivolve into Megidramon.

Angewomon stepped forward. "Are they any questions?" Shining raised his hand and she nodded to him.

"What can you tell us about the area the Dragon Soul Stone is in?"

"Yes, we were just about to explain that. The area is a rocky landscape known as the Target Mountain. It's named this because it is technically three mountains in one." The screen showing Azulongmon changed to show a large mountain, covered in many different holes. It then shifted to an aerial view of the mountain.

This image showed that it was actually a trio of ring-shaped stone walls, with each one smaller than the last and making it look like a target. Azulongmon began to explain. "The mountain is divided into three sections and each mountain is covered in holes. Some of these holes lead to dead ends whilst others lead back out the way you came. But there are tunnels that lead into the inner side of the ring and will allow you access to the next one.

MagnaAngemon nodded. "The scout that found the stone and contacted us, announced the Dragon Soul Stone is in that centre area of the mountain. We must claim the mountain and keep any Virus Digimon from getting to it. Is that understood?" They nodded as MagnaAngemon turned to leave. "Remember, it's vital I get to the Dragon Soul Stone and Digivolve. Only I have the power needed to destroy WarGrowlmon and the rest of his evil Virus army. You must help me get to it, no matter the cost. Even if it means your deletion."

Flash frowned as he watched MagnaAngemon step off stage, then looked around and saw all the Digimon that seemed a little worried about what he had just said. "Jerk. I get this is important, but you can't just ask someone to sacrifice themselves so you can get what you want."

"Classic superiority complex," Twilight stated. "Though I don't think this one's being used to cover up a sense of inferiority. He genuinely believes he's more important than the rest of us, just because he has the power to Digivolve into Goldramon."

Leomon nodded. "It's gotten worse since Azulongmon took over. MagnaAngemon founded this resistance. But now that Azulongmon's in charge, he probably feels his destiny was stolen from him."

"Let's just focus on what's important right now," Shining stated. "The Dragon Soul Stone is the key. We have to get MagnaAngemon or Angewomon to it. If we don't, WarGrowlmon might take the power for himself."

As they were saying this, Angewomon flew over and saw her sister and Rarity smiling at her. She knelt down, as Salamon leapt into her arms. "You've gotten stronger," she told the Rookie. "I can feel it."

"Thank you," Rarity nodded. "We've been working hard ever since we last met. I know last time things got rough, but we'll do whatever it takes to help you get to that stone."

Angewomon nodded, as she stroked Salamon's head and the Rookie purred. "I know you will, but please don't follow MagnaAngemon's advice. I don't want anything to happen to you. Keep yourselves alive, no matter what." She turned to the others. "That includes the rest of you." They nodded, as the back wall suddenly began to open and reveal the portal.

MagnaAngemon stepped forwards and flew through it, some of his closest Vaccine generals flying in behind him. Shining led the Codex Players and their Digimon, as they marched through it. Leomon and Angewomon were the last through, Leomon noticing Angewomon looking worried.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just wish we didn't have to fight like this," she stated. "So many Digimon are going to lose their lives. All so one deranged Digimon can do what he thinks he was born to do."

"Maybe," Leomon nodded. "But they chose to follow WarGrowlmon. That means they believe in him what he hopes to accomplish."

"Maybe," Angewomon nodded, "but do they believe they have a choice?" Leomon looked confused. "Digimon like MagnaAngemon have spread so much fear about Virus Digimon, that many Virus Digimon have been ostracised by the rest of the Digital World. I wouldn't be surprised if the Virus Digimon partners with humans, did so because there was nowhere else for them to live. Having to live with that kind of stigma, can greatly affect a Digimon."

"I guess that's possible," Leomon nodded. "But unless you think you can change their minds, what else can we do?"

Angewomon sighed, knowing he was right. If only there were Virus Digimon in their army. Then maybe they could serve as an example of other Virus Digimon, showing them there was another way. If only.

Flash flinched at the light of the portal, as he and the others arrived at the area that the Dragon Soul Stone was meant to be in.

As the light began to leave their eyes, they opened them up and found themselves standing on what appeared to be a large savanna. The grass was dry and yellow, there were barely any trees around and the heat was intense. "Is this the place?"

"Indeed," Leomon nodded as he and Angewomon arrived. "Target Mountain should be right ahead." They turned in the direction he was pointing in, Twilight summoning a pair of binoculars that she used to get a better look at the area.

She spotted a mountain and smiled when she saw it appeared to have a large number of holes in the side of it. "Yup, I see it. Just like you said. Shouldn't take too long to-" She stopped at the sight of something, "oh no."

"What's wrong?" Shining asked.

"Flymon. A whole bunch of them are buzzing around the mountain." This worried them, since Flymon had been a huge number of the Digimon under WarGrowlmon's control last time. Twilight zoomed in more and spotted several Pachymon rushing around the base of the mountain, whilst several other Virus Digimon were located inside of the holes. "This isn't good."

Angewomon flew over to MagnaAngemon, "WarGrowlmon has already taken the mountain."

"I know," the angel growled as he stared at the place holding his destiny. "We have no choice. We have to storm the mountain. and force our way through."

"Don't be a fool." A glass orb floated out of the portal before it closed, flying over to the angels and showing Azulongmon within it. "Do you really think you can overpower that many Digimon? Even if you could, you would simply be exhausting yourself."

"So what would you have us do?" MagnaAngemon growled, only for Shining to step forward.

"I've run into situations like this before," he explained. "If a heavily fortified area doesn't appear to have any weakness, then make a weakness."

"What do you mean?" Angewomon asked.

"If we have our forces attack a single area of the mountain, they'll be forced to reinforce it and weaken the defence of the rest of the area. Then you can hit those areas and attack."

"I see," Angewomon nodded. "I understand. We focus our attack on one spot, forcing them to remove units from another. And by the time they realised that area is unprotected, we'll already be through."

"Exactly," Shining nodded.

"Alright," Azulongmon nodded. "Shining Armor. I would like you to lead the attacking force and get their attention. Angewomon and MagnaAngemon will head around the opposite side of the mountain and once the coast is clear, they'll head in. But I want you to take a small detachment with you. Just in case."

"Fine," MagnaAngemon nodded. "Garurumon and Gaogamon are the fastest. We'll take them."

Azulongmon's orb flew over to Flash, "will you go with them? There might still be strong Digimon left and your ability to go Ultimate will come in handy."

"Sure," Flash nodded as MagnaAngemon rolled his eyes. Salamon then rushed over to Angewomon, Rarity running up beside her.

"We'll go with you," she stated. Angewomon nodded as they turned back towards the mountain.

"We have to hurry. There's no telling when the Dragon Soul Stone will activate. We have to get to it as fast as possible." They all nodded and Shining turned towards the group that would take on the full frontal attack.

"Alright everybody," Shining announced. "You all ready to Digivolve?"

"YEAH!" They all cried, as they took out the Digivices and began to transform. Shining also did so, he and Monodramon quickly Biomerging into Cyberdramon. The others soon followed, most letting their Digimon Digivolve before transforming themselves.

"Tawnimon, Digivolve to...HOOTAWNIMON!"

"Tentomon, Digivolve to...KABUTERIMON!"

"Kamemon, Digivolve to...TORTOMON!"

"Lunamon, Digivolve to...LEKISMON!"

"Labramon, Digivolve to...DORULUMON!"

"Mangoramon, Digivolve to...ARBORMON!"

"Dilemon, Digivolve to...GATORMON!"

"Grubmon, Digivolve to...SNIMON!"

"Terriermon, Digivolve to...GARGOMON!"

"Veemon, Armor Digivolve to...RAIDRAMON, the Storm of Friendship!"

"Salamon, Armor Digivolve to...NEFERTIMON, the Angel of Light!"

"BIOMERGE!" The humans then cried, as they brought up a Digimon to combine with.

"Patamon," Twilight cried, "Digivolve to...UNIMON!"

"Tentomon," Micro yelled, "Armor Digivolve to...FLAMEWIZARDMON, Burning Magical Courage!"

"Hawkmon," Rainbow announced, "Armor Digivolve to...PTERYXMON, Flightless Courage!"

"Impmon," Trixie stated, "Digivolve to...SORCERIMON!"

"Lalamon," Applejack cried, "Digivolve to...SUNFLOWER!"

"Shamamon," Sandalwood called out, "Digivolve to...APEMON!"

"ToyAgumon," Pinkie cried, "Digivolve to...TOYGREYMON!"

"Grubmon," Thorax stated, "Digivolve to...STINGMON!"

"Wormmon," Fluttershy announced, "Digivolve to...HUDIEMON!"

The ten transformed humans and their partners all stared the mountain down, Cyberdramon spreading his wings before taking to the air. He flew up, the flying Digimon following. "FOR THE DIGITAL WORLD!" He shot towards the mountain and the rest of the Digimon following after him.

As they did, MagnaAngemon began to fly towards the other side of the mountain. Angewomon flew after him with Nefertimon and Rarity beside her. On the ground, Flash and Raidramon raced across the land with the two wolf Digimon on either side of him.

They knew they had to be fast, since time was of the essence. And hopefully, WarGrowlmon and the other villains wouldn't figure out what they were doing.

Within Target Mountain, at the very centre of the innermost ring, WarGrowlmon stood in front of the Dragon Soul Stone.

He placed a claw on the rock and knew that it would soon activate, allowing him to finally claim his destiny and become the Mega Level that would destroy the entire Digital World. "Soon," he whispered, "soon it'll all be over." As he said that, Fumamon leapt down from the top of the ring.

"Master, a force of Digimon is approaching. It's them."

WarGrowlmon let out a snarl, "do not let them get to this point. Destroy any Digimon that attempts to fly over the rings. And guard every tunnel that leads deeper into the mountain. They will not stop me this time." Fumamon nodded and rushed off to begin commanding the tropes, whilst WarGrowlmon simply stared at the rock. "No, nothing will stop me. Not now."

Outside, Cyberdramon lead the flying Digimon in the attack whilst Leomon did the same to the ground troops.

As they approached, the Virus Digimon guarding that area of the mountain took an offensive stance. They then started launching their long range attacks, the Cyclonemon unleashing blasts of heat whilst the IceDevimon launched icicles in their direction.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Cyberdramon roared, as he and the other flying Digimon began zipping around working to avoid the attacks as best they could. Some weren't able to avoid the attacks and were hit, causing them to fall to the ground where the other charging force was approaching.

HooTawnimon saw this and frowned, as another wave of attacks flew towards them. "Defence Gale!" He beat his wings and unleashed a large gust, which formed a wall that the attacks bounced off of. "Now, counterattack!" They all nodded and began to attack.

"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon launched a sphere of dark energy, whilst Unimon, Kabuterimon, Sunflowmon and Snimon unleashed their attacks.

"Aerial Attack!"

"Electro Shocker!"

"Sunshine Beam!"

"Twin Sickle!"

Other Digimon launched their own attacks, hitting the Virus Digimon on the ground around them and exploding. This caused the defensive line to be broken, allowing Leomon and the other ground troops the opening they needed.

"RAAAAH!" He drew his sword and used it to cut an Ogremon down, whilst several Pachymon charged with their heads lowered to smash into the attacking Digimon.

"Fire Cloud!" FlameWizardmon slammed a fireball into the ground and it exploded, morphing into a wall of fire that the Pachymon ran into. They roared in pain, as the flames covered their bodies.

"Blazing Slash!" Pteryxmon rushed passed the lot of them and cut several down, the Armor Digimon completely unaffected by the flames covering them.

A small group managed to avoid her, but Tortomon charged in. "Spinning Attack!" Retracting into his shell, he spun and barrelled through them like they were bowling pins. As the Pachymon hit the ground, Tortomon came to a stop with Pteryxmon landing on his shell and letting out a squawk.

Several Woodmon had managed to avoid the flames and were attacking another group, but Arbormon and Apemon rushed in. "Roundhouse Punt/Magical Monkey Punch!" The two knocked the Woodmon back, as Hudiemon and Stingmon flew in.

"Spiking Strike!" Stingmon stabbed a Cyclonemon, whilst Hudiemon spun around.

"Flying Kick!" She slammed an IceDevimon in the head, knocking it back. As she did, two more IceDevimon appeared behind her and prepared to attack with their freezing claws.

"Gargo Pellets!" A barrage of bullets shot up and gunned them down, Hudiemon turning to her partner and nodding as Gargomon smirked. As he did, Dorulumon rushed past as some Raremon slithered across the ground.

"Drill Bit Blitz!" He unleashed a barrage of drill missiles, which slammed into them and exploded to scatter their slimy bodies everywhere. "Disgusting."

"Toy Nova!" ToyGreymon fired a plastic missile out of her mouth, hitting another Cyclonemon and knocking it back. But the heat coming off the Virus quickly melted the missile and ToyGreymon frowned.

"Crystal Barrage!" Sorcerimon cried, leaping above her and unleashing a gatling of icicles. These struck the Cyclonemon and knocked it back, as three more approached in order to attack.

"Hydro Pump!" A powerful blast of water struck them and knocked them all back, Gatormon nodding to his partner as Lekismon ran forward and dealt several swift kicks to their chest.

Cyberdramon watched from above, nodding as he saw how easily they were cutting through the force. And as he watched, several more Virus Digimon were heading their way. Their plan was working. But would it work well enough?

On the other side of the mountain, the smaller force had reached the area they hoped would be their way in.

They watched as the Virus Digimon continued to keep guard, not appearing to have any plan on moving. "This is taking too long," MagnaAngemon stated as they hid behind the peak of a hill. "Looks like your friend's plan was useless."

"Hey," Flash glared at him, "I didn't see you coming up with any ideas. We've gotta wait for the others to thin out the rest of the heard, so these Digimon will have no choice but to reinforce them."

"I can understand that," Angewomon nodded. "But don't forget, we're on a time crunch. it's possible the stone could activate whilst we're waiting for them to leave." Flash knew she was right, but also knew they couldn't simply jump in and waste their energy attacking these Digimon and leave themselves tired when they got to the stone and WarGrowlmon.

"Look!" Rarity then spoke up, making him turn back to the caves and see the Virus Digimon beginning to leave. The only ones that stayed were a pair of Ogremon and a Flymon.

"Nice," Flash smirked. "We can handle those three without much issue." The others nodded as Flash rushed over to Raidramon.

"I will take the Viruses down," MagnaAngemon stated. "It will be simple for me."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Angewomon told him. "You're not exactly the fastest Digimon. They'll see you coming and sound the alarm before you can stop them." She turned to Flash, Rarity and their Digimon. "Can you four take them down quickly?"

"Of course," Rarity nodded. Flash agreed and they shot ahead, Nefertimon taking to the air whilst Raidramon raced across the savannah at top speed. They were so fast, the Virus Digimon saw nothing but a blur as they approached.

"Blue Thunder!" Raidramon unleashed the electric sphere and threw it at the Ogremon.

"Cat's Eye Beam!" Nefertimon launched the lasers at the Flymon, hitting it before the sphere slammed into the Ogremon and blasted them backwards. They roared as they were slammed into the mountain, whilst Raidramon and Nefertimon skidded to a stop.

The three fell to the ground and as they tried to pick themselves up, Flash was about to tell them to surrender. But before he could, MagnaAngemon appeared above them and carved a circle of light in the air. "Gate of Destiny!" The circle formed the golden disk, which opened up to reveal the portal that started sucking everything below it up.

The three were unable to save themselves, as they were sucked into the gate and screamed as they did.

The others watched and frowned as the gate vanished. "Don't you think that was a bit excessive?" Rarity asked. "They were already beaten. There was no need to do that."

"There was every need," MagnaAngemon told them. "I am a Virus Buster. It is my sworn duty to eradicate all viruses from the Digital World." They frowned at this, as MagnaAngemon flew towards one of the holes. "Do not mourn them. They chose this path when they Digivolved into Viruses. With hope, their next lives will see them picking the right path."

Angewomon flew down and landed next to the others, as MagnaAngemon, Garurumon and Gaogamon stepped into the tunnels leading in. "Try and forgive him. Despite his actions, he only wants to keep the Digital World safe."

"Safe for who?" Raidramon asked. "Himself?" They sighed and followed the three into the tunnel. Hopefully, it was one that would lead them into the next ring and allow them to get to Dragon Soul Stone before it was too late.

"Sky Strike!" HooTawnimon barrelled through a bunch of Flymon, knocking them back as the rest of his friends continued fighting.

The Digimon were waging complete war on the Virus Digimon. And despite how many new Digimon showed up to strengthen the defence, the attacking force had gotten too much of a lead against them.

"That's it!" Cyberdramon cried, cutting through an IceDevimon. "Don't give them time to regroup. Keep the pressure on them." Those that heard all nodded and kept blasting the Viruses, whilst Shining looked back at the mountain. "Flash and the others should have gotten in by now. I hope they're alright."

"Don't worry," Monodramon told him. "Flash is tough. And if something bad happens, Veemon can Digivolve to Ultimate and protect him. Right now, we gotta focus on giving him the time he needs to get to that Dragon Soul Stone."

"You're right," Shining nodded. "Alright," he dodged a Bakemon's attack and used his Cyber Nails to cut it to pieces, "we just have to keep fighting!" But as he said that, something caught his attention.

Up above him, a Flymon was soaring higher than the others in its group.

Moments later, something leapt off the top of the Flymon and fell towards them. Cyberdramon barely had time to register it before he realised he needed to defend himself. "Raaah!" He spun around and used the blade on his elbow to protect himself, as a katanna blade slam down upon him. "Augh!" The impact pushed him down, but he quickly used his wings to keep himself airborne.

"Hello again," the sword's owner chuckled.

Cyberdramon growled, "Fumamon!" He used all his strength to push the ninja Digimon away, Fumamon falling back and landing on a Flymon. "Should have known you'd show up."

Fumamon chuckled. "What can I say? You and your friends were so much fun to play with last time. Why wouldn't I want to face off against you again?" the Flymon flew upwards, Cyberdramon about to chase after him. But he knew this was just a ploy to make him leave his friends.

He stayed where he was, knowing his friends would need him should any more powerful Digimon show up. If Fumamon wanted to fight him, it would have to be down there with him. However, Fumamon had other ideas.

"Tsubakuro!" The ninja Digimon unleashed a bunch of shurikens, which flew down towards the battling Digimon. The next thing several of Cyberdramon's comrades knew, their wings were being cut into or they were struck somewhere that caused serious harm.

Cyberdramon gasped, as the Digimon took major damage and were left open for the other Virus Digimon to attack. "Coward!"

"You don't wanna play?" Fumamon asked, "that's fine. I can have fun sniping your friends from a safe distance." He threw more shurikens and Cyberdramon tried to deflect them, but there were too many and several hit other Digimon.

"Shining!" Unimon cried, firing an Aerial Attack at a shuriken that almost hit HooTawnimon. "You've gotta stop him. He's not gonna stop until you fight him."

"We can handle these guys!" Sunflowmon assured him. "Go!" Cyberdramon nodded before flying up towards Fumamon, the Flymon carrying him to the very top of the first ring.

"Desolation Claw!" He launched the energy sphere and Fumamon leapt off Flymon, seconds before it was struck and destroyed.

Fumamon landed atop the mountain and Cyberdramon was close behind, the ninja Digimon drawing his swords. "Hope you're ready," he rushed forward. "This is gonna be a blast!" He swung his swords around, Cyberdramon countering with his claws. The two began their clash and would keep clashing until one of them finally gave up. Whoever that was, was up to whoever wanted it the most.

Back inside the mountain, the infiltrators had managed to make through the tunnels and arrived outside the second ring.

As they leapt out of the tunnel, they found a bunch of Raremon waiting for them. "Raidramon!" Flash cried, his partner unleashed a burst of lightning that zapped the Raremon. This made them cry out, paralysing them as the group rushed past them.

"We need to take them out!" MagnaAngemon cried.

"Why?" Nefertimon asked, "we've gotten past them! Let's just focus on the enemies ahead of us!" The others agreed, but MagnaAngemon was clearly upset about leaving the Viruses alone. They headed into another tunnel and flew down it, eventually reaching a fork.

"Which way?" Angewomon asked, only for MagnaAngemon to fly down the left tunnel. "Never mind!" They followed him as he searched for the exit, only to find the tunnel lead to a dead-end.

"Heavens Damn it!" The Ultimate roared, as they spun around and headed back the way they came. But as they did, a Digimon appeared to block their path. A large pile of yellow...let's say slime, with eyes and a mouth.

"Ew!" Rarity cried, only for the Digimon to throw something at them.

"Cat's Eye Beam!" The laser fired and destroyed the projectile, as Garurumon unleashed a blast of blue fire. This attack burned the Digimon, allowing MagnaAngemon to fly in and cut the poor thing to ribbons.

"Hurry!" He cried, continuing to fly down the path. They kept going and had to make several detours back, since MagnaAngemon kept leading them to dead ends. But eventually, they reached an exit leading out the cave and into the space between the centre and innermost ring.

"We're almost there!" Flash cried, but looked around and saw no sign of any Digimon guards.

But before he could think there weren't any, a voice called out from within a hole. "Justice Strike!" Suddenly, a barrage of bullets exploded out of the hole and flew towards them. They all gasped as they attempted to dodge, with Raidramon getting hit by an explosion these blasts caused.

"Raaaah!" He cried, as he was thrown through the air and Flash was dislodged. He then glowed and reverted back to Veemon, he and Flash hitting the ground rolling as they let out a groan.

"Flash!" Rarity cried, as the others looked at where the bullets had come from. Heavy metal footsteps filled the air and eventually, the one who attacked revealed himself. And as Flash picked himself up, his eyes went wide.

"Armormon?" The cyborg centaur chuckled at him.

"Long time, no see." He pointed his gatling gun arms at Flash, "I haven't forgiven you for what you did to me." Flash glared at him, he and Veemon picking themselves up. "Now it's time to take my revenge."

"You know this Digimon?" MagnaAngemon asked.

"Yeah. I left him trapped under a mountain. Didn't think I'd see him here!"

Armormon chuckled. "My new master saved me from the tomb you sealed me in. Now, I fight to fulfil his goals and take my revenge on those that wronged me!" He pointed his guns at them "now DIE!" He unleashed a barrage of bullets, which Flash and the others were forced to evade.

"Damn Virus!" MagnaAngemon cried, using his arm shield to try and block the attacks. "We don't have time for this!"

"Leave this guy to us!" Flash told him, "you and Angewomon have gotta get to that stone." He turned to his partner, who had recovered and was now running in order to avoid the bullet. "Alright, bud! Let's do this!" Veemon nodded and Flash held up his Digivice, loading a new deck and hoping what he wanted do would work. "STINGMON!" Two lights exploded out of the Digivice.

One of those lights shot over to Veemon, whilst another took shape and formed an image of the humanoid insect Digimon.

As the light reached him, Veemon leapt into the air and was surrounded in a shining cocoon. "Veemon, Warp DNA Digivolve to..." The Stingmon data flew into the cocoon and it grew larger, then exploded to reveal the Jogress Ultimate. "PAILDRAMON!"

Rarity and Nefertimon were amazed by this sight, whilst Angewomon was surprised and the wolves were shocked. MagnaAngemon tried not to look impressed, whilst Armormon just stared at it in shock. "Ultimate?"

"That's right," Flash landed. "Last time, you had the Level advantage. Not anymore." He then swung his Digivice around and formed the energy cube, "Biomerge!" The image of Strabimon appeared within it before Flash leapt inside, transforming into the Rookie before glowing. "Strabimon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of him and revealed the armored wolf warrior. "LOBOMON!"

"Desperado Blaster!" Paildramon began to unleash a barrage of blast on Armormon, who jumped back to avoid them. As he did, Lobomon rush forward and pulled out a pair of tubes.

"Lobo Kendo!" The tubes unleashed a beam, transforming them into a pair of Lightsabers. He started swinging these sabers around forcing Armormon on the defensive. As he did, Nefertimon and Rarity turned to the Angels.

"Go!" She told them, "we've got this!"

"You've got nothing!" Armormon roared, as MagnaAngemon, Angewomon and the wolves flew into one of the holes. "GET BACK HERE!"

"Not gonna happen!" Lobomon cried, slashing at Armormon's arm and cutting into it. Armormon roared at this, having had enough. "You asked for it!" His back lasers spun around and shot a pair of beams into the air. The others saw this and wondered what he had just done, Rarity not liking it.

She leapt off of Nefertimon and took out her Digivice, swinging it around as she did. "Biomerge!" She fused with another Salamon copy and transformed. "Salamon, Digivolve to..." She broke out of the cocoon and landed on the ground, "Gatomon!" The cat Digimon glared at Armormon, then rushed forward before he could react. "Lightning Paw!"

"Rosetta Stone!" Nefertimon summoned the tablet and it broke apart.

Armormon dodged Gatomon's attack and as it did, the stone shards started smashing into him. "AUGH!" He staggered back and this allowed Paildramon to land behind him.

"Cable Catcher!" He launched his fingers at Armormon and wrapped him up, making it impossible for him to move. "Now we've gotcha!" And as he held him in place, Lobomon ran forward and held his swords at the ready.

"This might sting a little!" But as he was about to attack, the sun was suddenly blocked out. "Huh?" He looked up and saw a giant mass was now flying down from above. And as it did, it pointed its metal arms at them.

"Dark Side Attack!" A bunch of fish-shaped missiles were suddenly sent flying down towards them. Lobomon, Gatomon and Nefertimon leapt back, but Paildramon wasn't able to uncoil his fingers in time and the missile struck him.

"GYAH!" He cried, being blasted back and forced to release Armormon as the Ultimate galloped to safety.

"Watch it, you giant dolt!" He roared, as the Digimon flew down and filled a lot of the open space there. "I summoned you to help me, not blast me!"

"Sorry," the Digimon replied. "I thought the element of surprise was important." As he said that, the smoke cleared and their opponents got a better look at him.

"Megadramon," Nefertimon stated. "I can't believe they had such a strong Digimon in their ranks."

Armormon chuckled. "Impressed? Yes, he's a new member of our group. We found him just after he Digivolved and welcomed him into our army. Now his great power will be used, to help WarGrowlmon accomplish his mission. Destroying the Digital World." Megadramon seemed to frown at this, but then got serious and began to whip his tail around.

However, Paildramon managed to recover from his earlier injury and rushed over to grab said tail. Despite how big Paildramon was, he was only half Megadramon's size and needed both arms to stop the tail.

Lobomon used Megadramon's temporary capture to point his left arm at it. As he did, a hole in his arm brace began to glow. "Howling Laser!" A beam exploded out of the hole and shot towards Megadramon, hitting it in the chest. But the Ultimate barely seemed phased by the attack.

"Don't make me laugh!" Armormon chuckled. "Megadramon, DESTROY THEM!" Megadramon pulled Paildramon around and threw it at a nearby wall, the Jogress Ultimate smashing into rock and groaning. Megadramon then leapt into the air and pointed both his gauntlet arms at the ground.

"Dark Side Attack!" The fish missiles flew out of them and shot towards the ground, Gatomon leaping onto Nefertimon's back as the Armor Digimon leapt into the air. Lobomon was forced to leap into one of the holes, Megadramon seeing this and moving down to grab him.

Armormon watched as Megadramon reached one of these holes and struck an arm inside, then pointed his gatling guns at the girls and unleashed his Justice Strike attack.

The girls screamed as the rain of bullets flew up towards them, Nefertimon barely able to keep herself from being gunned down. This wasn't an easy feet, as Megadramon's tail whipped around and almost crashed into them. With Paildramon down for a moment, they were up a creek.

Cyberdramon and Fumamon continued their battle, both slashing and jumping around one another in an attempt to defeat the other.

Meanwhile, down below, the two battling Digimon factions continued to fight and appeared evenly matched. The attacking Digimon were starting to wear down, whilst the defenders were coming into the fight fresh. "We're starting to get overrun!" Unimon cried, as she blasted another Bakemon.

Down on the ground, FlameWizardmon blasted an IceDevimon as he looked around. "Guys, I think it's time we kick it up a notch." The others nodded, as Kabuterimon flew down.

"You sure about this? You've never done it without being biomerged with us. Who knows what'll happen."

"Only one way to find out!" Apemon jumped over a Raremon and landed next to them, Arbormon, Stingmon Snimon, Sorcerimon and Lekismon doing the same.

The Digimon all nodded and as the next wave of attackers charged, they closed their eyes and focused. The next thing they knew, they were all glowing and the light exploded off of them. "FlameWizardmon, Digivolve to..." The light faded to reveal the fire sword wielding wizard. "MISTYMON!"

"Kabuterimon, Digivolve to...MEGAKABUTERIMON!"

"Arbormon, Digivolve to...PETALDRAMON!"

"Stingmon, DNA Digivolve to...DINOBEEMON!"

"Snimon, Digivolve to...METALSNIMON!"

"Lekismon, Digivolve to...CRESCEMON!"

Apemon and Sorcerimon both became completely new Digimon. Apemon was now a humanoid monkey Digimon, wearing leather clothes and carrying a large metal staff. "GOKUWMON!"

Meanwhile, Sorcerimon transformed into a beautiful woman with ice blue skin, white hair in a ponytail and a tiara on her head designed around a snowflake. She was wearing a silver dress with blue snowflakes on it, blue heeled boots and a staff in her hand with a snowflake on the end of it. She also had a white cape, running down her back with blue fur around the edges. "Khionemon!"

The Ultimates stood together and all glared at the Digimon currently surrounding them, Khionemon raising her staff.

"Winter Breeze!" The blast of cold air flew out and quickly froze the Digimon, with even IceDevimon unable to withstand it. The other Ultimates quickly rushed into action, breaking the icicles apart. The others smiled at this, thinking this battle was in the bag.

But it would be meaningless, if the others weren't able to get to the stone in time.

Lobomon was still inside the tunnel, Megadramon's arm still being stuffed inside of it.

He had hoped it led to another hole that he could use to escape. But unfortunately, the tunnel was a dead end and barely longer than Megadramon's arm. The metal claws were inches from him, Lobomon trying to decide if using his Lobo Kendo on them were a good idea.

Back outside, Nefertimon was still flying around to avoid getting shot by Armormon.

As this was happening, Paildramon groaned as he came around and saw how things had changed in the battlefield. He spotted Megadramon and realised Flash had to be in that hole, so picked himself up and rushed over to him. "I don't think so!" He thrust his arms forward. "Cable Catcher!" The cables flew out and wrapped around Megadramon's body, Paildramon leaping into the air and pulling the Ultimate Virus with him.

Megadramon roared as he was pulled back, his arm yanked out of the tunnel. Paildramon then released him and grabbed his hip cannons. "Desperado Blaster!" The lasers slammed into him and pushed Megadramon towards the ground, making him slam into it hard and begin to crack around him.

Lobomon rushed out the hole and leapt into the air, seeing Armormon as he did. "Howling Laser!" The beam flew down and struck Armormon in the chest, knocking him back and stopping his attack on the girls.

Nefertimon saw this and quickly flew down. "Queen's Paw!" She fired a bunch of gems from her gauntlets, which rained down on Armormon whilst Gatomon leapt off and fell towards him.

"Nekodamashi!" She started spinning and eventually slammed her tail into Armormon's head, through this did little to nothing against him.

"Pathetic!" He swung his arm around and backhanded Gatomon, knocking her flying until she hit the ground. As she did, Megadramon picked itself up. And Paildramon flew down towards him.

"Sting Strike!" His arm blade extended in an attempt to stab Megadramon, but the Ultimate grabbed the blade in his metal claws and broke it off. "HEY!" Paildramon pulled the blade back, as Megadramon raised both arms.

"Dark Side Attack!" He fired the missiles towards Paildramon, who dodged one whilst using his Desperado Blaster to destroy the other. The first missile then spun through the air and shot down towards him, Paildramon seeing this and diving down.

Megadramon swung his tail around and tried to hit him, but Paildramon dodged this and the missile was struck instead. The tail knocked the attack flying before it crashed into the ground, exploding against one of the cracks.

The entire area shook and everyone on the ground almost fell over. And as it shook, the cracks on the ground grew and grew. But the smoke from the explosions had blinded them all, so none of them noticed this until it was too late.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the ground completely crumbled beneath Megadramon. "WHAT?" Megadramon roared, as he began to fall into the darkness below. He tried to spread his wings, but rocks slammed into them and stopped him from grabbing any air. He let out a mighty roar and disappeared into the darkness. And he wasn't the only one.

Armormon, Lobomon and Gatomon found themselves about to fall in, as the hole grew larger and larger.

"Flash/Rarity!" Their partners screamed, as they flew down to try and save them. The three ground Digimon ran away from the hole, but it expanded too quickly for two of them.

Armormon leapt into one of the holes and quickly pointed his guns at his foes, unleashing a barrage of bullets that flew towards them. Nefertimon managed to grab Gatomon and pull up before she was struck, but Paildramon couldn't reach Lobomon in time.

As such, he was struck by the bullets and pushed backwards, roaring as he was forced to fly back. This meant Lobomon fell into the darkness, Paildramon roaring his name as he disappeared. And at the same time, parts of the two rings began to break apart and collapsed into the whole. The two rock slides collided with one another and were pressed together, causing them to form a lid that covered the hole in the earth.

"FLASH!" Paildramon roared, taking out his blasters and preparing to blow a hole in the rocks.

"No!" Gatomon told him. "If you do that, you might send those rocks crashing down on him." Paildramon growled, as Armormon laughed.

"Oh, that was good. How ironic. You left me buried alive, and now your friend's been buried alive as well. You can't write this stuff." Paildramon growled as Armormon leapt down out of the hole, pointing his gatling gun at the rock pile. "Maybe I'll finish the job for you."

"NO!" Paildramon flew down and tackled the Digimon, throwing him as far from the rock-pile as possible. He wouldn't let Armormon hurt his partner's head. However, Paildramon couldn't help but fear for his friend's safety.

At the same time, MagnaAngemon, Angewomon and the wolves continued to fly through the tunnel into the centre of Target Mountain.

A light was up ahead, signalling a way out. But would it be the spot they were looking for?

They shot out the hole and when they did, their eyes went wide at the sight of the Dragon Soul Stone. And it hadn't activated. "Now's my chance!" MagnaAngemon flew towards it, only for something to shoot towards him from behind it. "WOW!" He barely managed to block it with his sword, MagnaAngemon seeing it was a familiar blasted whip that quickly retracted as the owner stepped out from behind the stone.

WarGrowlmon glared at them, clearly unhappy to see them. "Those useless fools."

MagnaAngemon pointed his sword at him. "Give up! You will not be getting the Dragon Soul Stone."

"You think so?" WarGrowlmon asked before charging, "I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU STOP ME!" The others charged as well, ready for the battle that would decide the fate of the Digital World. Many had fought hard for them to get to this point and they refused to let their hard work go to waste.

Flash groaned as he felt himself beginning to wake up, the teen picking himself up and finding he was covered in rocks.

Luckily, they weren't too heavy so he was able to pull himself out of the pile. But he was pretty badly scuffed up and was aching in several spots. "Ow." He then noticed he was back to being human, which worried him since he doubted he could biomerge again in his current state.

He stood up and looked around, but could barely see anything.

The area he was in was almost pitch black, only illuminated by a few streams of light coming from above. He tried to use his Digivice to light it up some more, but that barely did anything. After attempting to port out, which didn't work, he sighed and sat down.

"I'm gonna have to find another way out of here. But I'm gonna need to let myself recover first." But as he said that, suddenly heard a growl before the rocks next to him started shifting.

He leapt away, as the rocks fell down off of whatever was hidden beneath. And as they fell, they revealed the metal covered head of Megadramon. The Ultimate Digimon did not look happy and let out a mighty roar, which shook the room and made Flash fear the ceiling would be shaken loose again.

Flash realised he was in serious trouble. He was trapped underground, with a dangerous Digimon and the Digital World might be about to end. This wasn't good.

Author's Note

The second Dragon Soul Stone has arrived and soon, the next Great Dragon will appear. But which one will it be? Only time will tell.

Burying the Hatchet

Target Mountain, the location of the second Dragon Soul Stone.

Many miles away from the mountain, the Royal Knights could do nothing but stand around waiting. One of them, UlforceVeedramon, stepped forward and placed his hand against an invisible barrier, but was unable to push past it. "Come on."

"It's no use," Omnimon told him. "The Dragon Soul Stone prevents Mega Level Digimon from getting close to it. It's a defence mechanism, to make sure an already powerful Digimon doesn't find a way to take its power and become unstoppable. Until its power has been claimed, all we can do is wait."

"I hate this," Craniamon growled. "We're supposed to be the protectors of the Digital World, but all we can do is sit around and wait to see what the fate of that world will be."

"I hate it too," Dynasmon nodded. "But what other choice do we have? We just have to trust in the Digimon already in there. And the humans that were summoned to protect the stone from evil." They all nodded, as they continued to watch the battle take place between the two forces. Hopefully, the forces of good were winning.

"Aerial Attack!" Unimon cried, blasting another Flymon with a sphere of light.

At the same time, HooTawnimon flew past and slashed an IceDevimon with his wings. But as he did, he panted from exhaustion. And he wasn't the only one. The rest of their friends were all tiring. And no matter how many of these Digimon they defeated, more kept showing up.

The only Digimon not currently exhausting themselves were those that managed to go Ultimate, the lot of them revitalised by the evolution. "Ice Kingdom!" Khionemon slammed her staff into the ground and caused a circle of icicle spikes to explode out of the savannah floor around her, with all the Virus Digimon surrounding her being surrounded by ice. Showing her skill, the Digimon on Khionemon's side were exempt from the attack.

Crescemon then leapt around the ice field, jumping from ice spike to ice spike and cutting into any that had a Digimon in them.

"Thorn Jab!" Petaldramon roared, as the spiked roots exploded out of the ground and wrapped around several Virus Digimon. Gokuwmon leapt up and slammed his staffs into them all as he did, whilst MegaKabuterimon and MetalSnimon flew overhead.

"Horn Buster!" The lightning exploded off his horn and fried the flying Digimon, whilst MetalSnimon slashed through several more with his chainsaw hands.

Dinobeemon buzzed around at high speed and knocked down several Viruses, whilst Mistymon slashed even more with his sword. The Ultimates were showing no mercy to these Digimon, tearing through them like they were nothing. But they all knew this wouldn't last forever.

Up atop the mountain, Cyberdramon and Fumamon danced around one another. "Cyber Nails!" The Vaccine Digimon slashed at Fumamon, but the ninja virus blocked it with his swords.

"Nice try!" He jumped up and spun around, slamming his foot into Cyberdramon's chest.

"Ahhh!" Cyberdramon staggered back, but managed to regain his balance and stood tall. He sighed and glared at Fumamon. "Why are you doing this? What could you possibly get out of destroying the Digital World?"

"It's hard to explain," Fumamon told him. "Let's just say that I have my reasons. Now let's get back to the fight."

"Why do we even have to fight? What kind of enjoyment could you get out of hurting others?"

"You're good, I'm evil. It's a pretty simple concept."

"You're insane."

"Now now. Let's not say something we'll regret. Especially since I'm the one with the swords." He shot forward, moving at incredible speed. Cyberdramon responded with his own super speed attack, the two becoming a blur that slammed into one another multiple times before landing.

When they did, Cyberdramon kept his defences up. He glanced towards the centre of the mountain, hoping his friends had managed to get there. "Flash. I hope you're okay."

"RAAAAAAH!" Paildramon unleashed his Cable Catcher attack and wrapped it around Armormon.

He pulled the mechanised centaur into the air, away from the large rock piles that his partner was currently trapped under. "Let me go!" Armormon cried, firing his shoulder lasers and slammed them into Paildramon. This forced him to let Armormon go, the Ultimate Cyborg Digimon falling down. He landed on the top of the central ring, as Nefertimon flew Gatomon up beside Paildramon.

"We can't let him get near that rock pile," Gatomon cried, as Nefertimon unleashed her Rosetta Stone attack.

Armormon used his Justice Strike attack to destroy the incoming stones fragments, then fired his shoulder lasers at Nefertimon. The Armor Digimon pulled to the side and barely managed to avoid the incoming attack, as Gatomon flew down.

"Lightning Paw!" She threw the attack, but Armormon dodged it before raising his front legs in an attempt to crush her beneath him. But before he could, Paildramon flew down.

"Sting Strike!" The blade in his gauntlets extended and stabbed into Armormon's chest, knocking him backwards as he roared in pain. He skidded to a stop and glared at them, Paildramon retracting his blade as he landed next to the girls. They all shared a looked and nodded, Nefertimon and Gatomon charging whilst Paildramon glanced back at the stone covered hole.

He hated leaving Flash trapped down there, but he had to make sure Armormon didn't do anything and make sure WarGrowlmon never got his hands on the Dragon Soul Stone. "Stay strong, partner!"

Flash was in serious trouble. He was trapped underground, his friends were fighting against evil Virus Digimon and the Digital World might be about to end. And the worst part, he was trapped with an Ultimate Level Digimon that wanted him deleted.

He could only stare in horror, as Megadramon's roar shook the cavern and caused a few rocks from the ceiling to fall.

Luckily, the rest of the pile blocking the hole remained where they were and the Digimon stopped roaring. He then flinched, as the clutched parts of his body that had been damaged when they fell into the hole. "Raaah." He tried to spread his wings, but couldn't.

Flash frowned, feeling a little sorry for him. "Are you okay?" Megadramon seemed surprised and looked down at him, this clearly being the first time he realised he wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here?" He growled, making Flash frown.

"I fell, just like you did. I was that Lobomon you tried blasting." Megadramon growled, but seemed to accept this. "Looks like you took a bit of damage."

"Like you care."

Flash rolled his eyes and sat down, a little confused. "I was kind of expecting you to try and blast me when you saw me. Or eat me?"

"Don't tempt me," Megadramon replied before looking him over. As he did, his cyborg eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness. "Wait...I know you from somewhere?" He took a closer look at Flash, who gulped as he simply stood there hoping he wouldn't trying anything. "We've met before."

"I don't think so," Flash told him. "I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting you."

"No," he stated, "you definitely look familiar." Then, slowly, Megadramon seemed to realize who he was. "You!" Flash gulped, "you attacked me!"

"When?"

"When I was an Airdramon." That caused Flash's eyes to go wide, the memory of the day he met Twilight flowing through his head. In that memory, they had been chasing an Airdramon in a hopes of scanning it. In doing so, they ended up having to fight it.

"That was you?" Flash could barely believe it, as Megadramon pulled away from him. "Wow. You got...bigger."

"I Digivolved," Megadramon stated. "And you stayed the same."

"Actually, I'd say I'm a lot stronger than the last time we met." Flash then shook his head, "wait a minute. You can't be that Airdramon." Megadramon gave him a look. "That Airdramon was newly Digivolved. How the heck could you get from that to this is such a short amount of time? I've met other Digimon that have done nothing but fight, but were unable to Digivolve."

Megadramon growled. "Most Digimon don't do what I did." He turned his back to Flash and looked over at his tail, which was trapped beneath some rocks. He started smashing them apart, allowing him to pull his tail free.

As he did, Flash wondered what he meant when he said that.

Back above ground, WarGrowlmon continued to do battle against the two Angel Digimon and their two wolf companions.

"Excalibur!" MagnaAngemon flew down and thrust his sword at WarGrowlmon, but the cyborg dinosaur used the blades on his arms to block the attack.

"Nice try!" He swung the blade around and knocked him flying backwards, only for Angewomon to fly behind him.

"Heaven's Charm!" She raised her arms and created a ring of light around them, which she threw down towards WarGrowlmon. The ring surrounded him and began to shrink, trapping his arms against his side.

"Augh!" He struggled against the light and did everything he could to break himself free. And as he did, Garurumon and Gaogamon leapt at him.

"Howling Blaster/Spiral Blow!" They unleashed their attacks and collided with the Digimon. But WarGrowlmon simply endured it as he struggled against the bindings.

"RAAAAAAAAAH!" He ripped the energy ring off of him before swinging his Assault Balancer around, causing the two attacks to be blown away. He then shot forward with his arms crossed. "Radiation Blade!" As he reached the wolves, he swung his arms around and cut into them with the pendulum blades.

Garurumon and Gaogamon howled in pain, as they were deleted right before the Angel's eyes.

"You monster!" Angewomon growled.

"Pot calling the kettle black," WarGrowlmon told her. "How many of my forces have you deleted?" Angewomon frowned. She didn't want any Digimon deleted. "This is war. If you can't handle that, you're in the wrong fight sweetheart." As he said that, MagnaAngemon charged with his sword drawn.

He slashed at WarGrowlmon, who blocked with his arm blades before slashing at him with his Assault Balancer. MagnaAngemon blocked with his shield. "Soul Vanisher!" He stabbed the sword into the ground and from it, a powerful shockwave exploded out towards WarGrowlmon.

The Cyborg Digimon leapt up, his rockets lifting him into the air, as the shockwave past under him. As he did, Angewomon summoned an arrow of light. "Celestial Arrow!" She fired, but WarGrowlmon deflected with his arm blade.

Angewomon growled at this, as MagnaAngemon charged again. She was about to fire another arrow, when she suddenly heard her sister's voice. "Cat's Eye Beam!" She glanced around and saw Nefertimon firing at Armormon, as she, Gatomon and Paildramon fought against him atop the mountain's flat surface.

Armormon dodged the attack and unleashed a barrage from his stomach guns, which struck her and made her cry out. "Nefertimon!"

"Stay focused!" MagnaAngemon roared, as WarGrowlmon deflected his attack and used his Assault Balancer to wrap around him.

"Take your own advice!" He spun around, smashing MagnaAngemon into the side of the mountain. He then flew around, dragging the angel against the rock as they circled the area. MagnaAngemon roared in pain until WarGrowlmon finally released him, sending him flying until he crash into the ground.

WarGrowlmon laughed, only for Angewomon to fly in and try to deal a kick to his head. But WarGrowlmon blocked with his gauntlets and pushed her away. As he did, the hazard symbol on his chest began to spark and he thrust his chest forward.

"Megalo Spark!" A blast of lightning flew out of the symbol and struck Angewomon, making her scream as she was thrown back.

Nefertimon picked herself up as she happened, allowing her to see Angewomon fall. She gasped, "sister!" But then she heard Gatomon cry out as well, as she was thrown backwards by Armormon's backhand. Paildramon fired his Desperado Blasters, forcing Armormon away.

"I've got this," he told her. "Go help her!" Nefertimon turned to Gatomon, who nodded as she picked herself up. She then turned towards the battle and shot down, flying towards WarGrowlmon as he approached the downed Angewomon.

He raised his arm blade and prepared to cut her in two. But before he could, Nefertimon's gauntlets glowed. "Queen's Paw!" She fired a bunch of gems at WarGrowlmon, who saw them coming and raised his arm blades to protect himself.

"Nefertimon!?" Angewomon stood up, as the Armor Digimon landed next to her.

"Sister. We can do this together." Angewomon smiled and nodded, the pair then turning their attention on WarGrowlmon. They then charged, as he rushed forward.

At the same time, MagnaAngemon began to pick himself up. He was still badly injured and looked up towards the Dragon Soul Stone. He then turned to the others and saw them distracting the Virus Digimon. If they kept him distracted, they wouldn't notice him make his way over to the stone.

As such, he carefully dragged himself along the ground. "This is it. Just keep him distracted long enough. And I will fulfil my destiny."

Cyberdramon and Fumamon kept battling atop the outermost ring of the mountain, Fumamon stabbing at him whilst Cyberdramon slashed at him.

Fumemon blocked Cyberdramon's attacks with his swords and then did a back-flip, kicking Cyberdramon in the chin with his clawed feet as he did so. Cyberdramon roared as he was knocked staggering back, whilst Fumamon landed on the ground. "Ha," he laughed, "this is the best Codex Player?" He flipped his swords in the air. "I have to say, I'm disappointed."

Cyberdramon growled as he picked himself up. He could feel his Digimon's battle instincts starting to kick in. He had to say calm and not lose control. "Battle Gear, BOOST!" A light surrounded his clawed hand and when it faded away, it revealed a metal tube that covered everything up to his elbow. From out the end of the tube, a laser extended in the shape of a cutlass blade. "Buster Blade!"

Fumamon frowned, as Cyberdramon rushed forward. When he reached him, he swung his sword around and Fumamon blocked with his own. But the heat from the blade was seriously hurting. "Augh!"

"Like it?" Cyberdramon asked. "This weapon can only be wielded by a Virus Buster. I'm guessing you've figured out what it does."

Fumamon growled. "You think you're so clever?" He pushed Cyberdramon back and leapt into the air, sheaving his blades as he reached for a pair of scrolls on his hip. "Yomi-Modoshi!" He threw the scroll towards the ground and when they unfurled, a puff of smoke exploded out of them.

And from out of that smoke, a bunch of Troopmon rushed out ready to attack Cyberdramon.

The Ultimate Digimon slashed through one, deleting it, then through another and another, whilst Fumamon jumped back and watched. Cyberdramon was quickly beginning to tire himself out. If he wasn't careful, he would eventually leave himself wide open. Like right now.

One of the Troopmon managed to pull its blaster out and fired, Cyberdramon forced to jump back to avoid the attack. But as he did, he was left vulnerable to a surprise attack. And sure enough, Fumamon shot forward and dealt a slash right to his side.

"Ahhhh!" Cyberdramon cried, swinging his sword around with Fumamon jumping back. The other Troopmon began to fire at him, but Cyberdramon was able to avoid their shots as he hit the ground.

Seeing no other option, Cyberdramon pointed his sword at them and the laser shot off. It hit one of them and exploded, the energy consuming the other Troopmon and destroying them. But it left Cyberdramon's Buster Blade out of power, a bar on the side of it emptying out and slowly filling back up.

Until it was, Cyberdramon was without a weapon. And with his side now bleeding data, he was in serious trouble.

"RAAAAH!" Fumamon rushed forward, his twin blades ready to cut the righteous Digimon down. But Shining and Monodramon weren't going to let that happen.

Down below, Unimon and the others were completely spent.

The Champions were barely able to move, with even Hudiemon's healing abilities at their limit, most having to fall back to keep from getting caught in the crossfire of the battles actually taking place. Meanwhile, the Ultimates were also growing tired.

Khionemon froze a few more Virus Digimon and had to rest of her staff to catch her breath. "This is getting tricky."

"Just hold on a little longer," Mistymon stated. "I'm sure the others will get to the Dragon Soul Stone soon." But he also couldn't help but notice, how exhausted everyone else was getting. If they couldn't get a handle on these Virus Digimon soon, they were going to get overwhelmed.

One of the few Champion Digimon that hadn't begun to tire was Leomon, who cut his way through several more Raremon as he leapt over to Gokuwmon. "Remember. The more of the Virus Digimon we defeat now, the less we'll have to defeat the next time we face off against this army."

"That's if we ever actually face off against them again," Pteryxmon stated. "Between you and me, I'm hoping they manage to delete WarGrowlmon so nobody else can try and get that Stone."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Unimon stated as she flew overhead. "WarGrowlmon's probably not the only Digimon that can become Megidramon. If WarGrowlmon does get deleted, another Digimon will probably take his place." An IceDevimon tried to attack her, but HooTawnimon and Dinobeemon attacked and destroyed it.

ToyGreymon fired another plastic blast at an Ogremon and knocked it back, allowing Gatormon to bite into it and freeze the Virus solid before throwing it away.

They continued to fight as best they could but even more Virus Digimon kept appearing. There was no way they could keep this up forever. "Flash," Unimon gasped as she blasted a Bakemon away. "Whatever you're doing in there, please hurry up."

Back underground, Megadramon finished pulling his tail out of the rocks and turned to look back up at the rock ceiling. He spread his wings to try and fly, but flinched as his wings were clearly still injured from the fall.

"You okay?" Flash asked, making Megadramon growl.

"I'm fine. But I'm clearly not going to be flying out of here." He looked around, but the place was too dark to see anything else. "Typical. This stupid body couldn't have come with night vision?" Flash noticed the way he said that and took out his Digivice, then held the screen up.

The light of the screen filled the chamber and improved the lighting situation, though not by much. "I think there's a tunnel down there." Flash noticed a hole in the wall, but it was a good five meters off the ground.

Flash moved over to it and Megadramon slithered after him, the pair reaching the hole with Megadramon unable to see where it went. "It's too dark."

"Lift me up," Flash suggested. Megadramon frowned, but let out a sigh and reached down to let Flash climb onto his metal claw. He then lifted him up and Flash pointed the light of his Digivice down into the hole. "I think it goes upwards."

"Good," Megadramon lifted him higher and eventually placed him on his head. "You get me out of here, then we're even."

"Even for what?"

"You're the reason I'm like this," Megadramon growled as he pulled himself into the hole. It was a tight squeeze, but the Ultimate was able to tuck in his wings and crawl through the tunnel. "All I wanted to do was Digivolve and see the world. When I became Airdramon, I thought everything would be perfect. I could fly and the world was open to me."

"Okay," Flash nodded, "so what does that have to do with me?"

"After you and your friends attacked me, I was terrified the rest of the world would be that dangerous. So I decided to hole myself up in that mountain's cave until I was stronger. And when I did, a bunch of Vilemon appeared and attacked me."

"Vilemon?" Flash had heard of those thing, but never got to see them. "How many were there?"

"I lost count after a hundred." The tunnel began to curve upwards. "That cave was probably their territory or something. I don't care. I just destroyed them all and loaded their data so I could get stronger." Flash frowned, knowing that loading a Digimon's data meant they couldn't revive until Megadramon was deleted. "I thought that was the end of it. But the next day, more of them showed up."

"More Vilemon?" Flash wondered how many there were in the Digital World.

"I don't get it either. Every time I destroyed them, more kept showing up. Their numbers slowly whittled down, but I kept loading more and more of their data. Then, one day, I found I was suddenly Digivolving. I thought I would become something similar to Airdramon. Our Seadramon guardian had told us about how they could become MegaSeadramon. I thought I'd become something like that. A better Airdramon. But instead...I became this."

"You loaded so much Virus Data, it must have forced your Digivolution down the Virus route. Either that or this was always meant to be you Ultimate Form." Megadramon growled at this. "Well you're not that much different from Airdramon. You've pretty much got the same body, just with arms. And you've got cool metal claws that can probably tear through anything. So you kind of are a better Airdramon"

"Except I became a Virus Type," Megadramon stated as the tunnel evened out again. "Do you have any idea what being a Virus is like? I finally left the cave and began to explore the Digital World. But then I discovered that I wasn't welcome there. Everywhere I went, the Digimon there either ran screaming or tried to attack me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a Virus," Megadramon growled. "That's all anyone cares about. That I exist to just destroy data. That I'm nothing but evil." He sighed, "and maybe they're right."

"That's not true," Flash told him. "Just because you're a Virus, that doesn't mean you're evil. There are plenty of Virus Digimon who aren't evil. Look at the Royal Knights."

"The Royal Knights?"

"Yeah. Crusadermon is a member of the greatest protectors of the Digital World. And she's a Virus Digimon. And there's another Digimon called Examon. He used to be a Virus Digimon called Breakdramon. He used to think he couldn't be a Royal Knight, because he was a Virus. He was even willing to sacrifice his life so another could become a knight. But he proved himself worthy and joined the Royal Knights when he Digivolved."

Megadramon let this info sink in, as they came to a fork in the tunnel. "WarGrowlmon told me that a Virus' only reason to exist was to destroy."

"WarGrowlmon was lying," Flash told him. "Nobody is born with a reason to exist. When you became a Virus, your destiny wasn't set in stone. We carve our own destinies. WarGrowlmon chose to be a destroyer. But you don't have to follow his example. You can be whatever you want to be."

Megadramon began to head up a tunnel that went upwards, whilst thinking about what Flash had said. "I don't want the Digital World to be destroyed. But I have nowhere else to go other than WarGrowlmon's army."

"I'm sure that's not true," Flash told him. "Maybe the Royal Knights can take you in. I don't know if you can become a knight, but I'm pretty tight with them. If you promise to help protect the Digital World, they might be willing to let you join their ranks."

Megadramon seemed surprised by this. "You would be willing to risk your relationship with the Royal Knights, just to try and help me. After I tried to destroy you?"

"We all make mistakes," Flash stated. "Besides, I technically started it when I was hunting you." Megadramon smiled as they reached the end of the tunnel. When they did, they found it was a dead end.

"Ahh. Great. I'm gonna have to go back." There was no way for him to turn, meaning he would have to move backwards. "That's not gonna be fun." Flash frowned, only to then hear something.

"Wait a minutes." He listened, "can you hear that?" Megadramon raised an eyebrow, "a whistle." He gestured Megadramon to move closer to the wall, the Cyborg doing so. And he did, Flash tapped the wall until he came across the source of the sound. A hole. "I think this wall has something behind it. There's a breeze blowing against it."

Megadramon smirked at this and pulled back, then thrust his claw into the wall. The force of it smashed the rock and caused it to crumble, the two fearing they might bring the whole tunnel down on them. But then the wall fell away and revealed another tunnel, the two smirking and quickly moving through it before the roof could cave in.

"Not bad, kid."

"Things aren't always as they seem," Flash told him. "If you look closely, you'll find the true worth of something you think can only be one thing. Whether it's a stone wall...or a Digimon."

Megadramon smiled, understanding what Flash had told him. Maybe...maybe there was more to him than he realised. Maybe he didn't have to be a destroyer.

Back above ground, Angewomon and Nefertimon charged forward and attempted to strike WarGrowlmon.

The Cyborg Digimon swung his Assault Balance around, attempting to cut the two in half. Nefertimon flew up whilst Angewomon flew down, the blade flying between them as they got closer. "Cat's Eye Beam!" The laser flew out of the ornament on her head, but WarGrowlmon blocked it.

"Pathetic!" He laughed, as Angewomon flew in close.

"Holy Slap!" She swung around and used one of her now glowing wings to slap WarGrowlmon in the face. But the Digimon just took the hit and chuckled. The next thing Angewomon knew, he reached up and grabbed both her arms in his claws. "Hey!" She pulled on them, but WarGrowlmon refused to let go.

"Fools. Thinking you could ever stop me. You will never wipe out the Virus Digimon. Just accept that."

"I don't want to wipe them out," Angewomon groaned. "I want them to see there's more to them than mindless destruction."

"Please. It is our destiny to destroy."

"Not if they don't want to destroy," Angewomon groaned. "You tricked so many into following your monstrous ideals. So many Digimon, losing their way because they allowed themselves to be tricked by your venomous words. It's despicable." As she said that, Nefertimon flew up and used her claws to stab into WarGrowlmon's shoulder. He roared, losing his grip on the angel.

Angewomon pulled her arm free and quickly fired a blast of light right into WarGrowlmon's eyes.

The Cyborg Digimon was blinded and knocked staggering back, Angewomon freeing her other arm. His roar also caught Armormon's attention, the Ultimate barely managing to block Paildramon's String Strike followed by Gatomon's Lightning Paw.

He noticed WarGrowlmon blinking, his sight clearly impaired by the light. And as he was, Angewomon and Nefertimon fired a Celestial Arrow and Rosetta Stone at him. He roared at the impacts, but managed to jump away as they attacked again.

Armormon dodged another of Paildramon's Desperado Blasts and as he did, an idea formed in his head. "Yes!" His shoulder blasters folded up and his opponents got ready to avoid the attack. But when he fired, the lasers shot past the two and headed straight for another target.

"Look out!" Gatomon screamed, but her warning came too late and the lasers struck both Angewomon and Nefertimon in the backs. The two screamed as they were blown forwards, WarGrowlmon hearing this and knowing he had an opening.

Despite being slightly blind, he pointed his chest at the pair and charged up his most powerful attack. "ATOMIC BLASTER!" He fired and the energy beam shot towards them both, ready to delete anything that wasn't at least Ultimate Level.

Angewomon gasped and despite her back injury, flew forward and grabbed her sister. She hugged her and shielded her, as the blast slammed into them both.

Their screams caught everyone's attention and made Paildramon and Gatomon gasp, Armormon laughing and using the opening to unleash another Justice Strike upon them. Paildramon groaned as the bullets damaged his armor, whilst Gatomon was gunned down and blasted off the edge of the rock.

"NO!" Paildramon leapt down after her and caught the transformed human, seeing she was barely conscious. "Rarity!" He then heard a thudding sound and looked around to see Angewomon and Nefertimon hit the ground, both looking badly burned but Angewomon had taken most of the damage.

Nefertimon and Gatomon both De-Digivolved, Rarity letting out a moan as she laid in Paildramon's hands. Salamon shrank down and opened her eyes, where she saw her sister in a terrible state. "NO!" She pushed herself up and rushed to her head, "get up!" She heard laughing and turned to WarGrowlmon, who smiled down at her as he landed.

"Now do you see? Protecting those weaker than you, will only ever lead to your own defeat. Only the strong can survive in this world."

Salamon growled at him, whilst Armormon leapt off the mountain and came crashing down. As he did, he spotted something and gasped. "Master, the stone!" WarGrowlmon spun around, expecting the stone to be glowing. But instead, he saw MagnaAngemon only a foot or so away from it.

"NO!" He rushed over and as MagnaAngemon tried to grab it, he used his Assault Balancer to wrap around his arm. "You thought you could sneak by me!?" He pulled MagnaAngemon away from the stone, lifting him into the air before smashing him into the ground.

MagnaAngemon roared in pain, then was lifted up into the air and smashed into the ground again.

Paildramon tried to help him, but Armormon unleashing a hail of bullets again that he was forced to defend Rarity from. This allowed WarGrowlmon to smash MagnaAngemon into the ground several more times.

"Never forget what you are!" He spun around and around and around before letting the angel go, sending him flying. "A WEAKLING!" MagnaAngemon spun through the air and smashed into the wall, screaming in pain as he did.

"No!" Salamon gasped, as WarGrowlmon moved over to finish him. But then, Angewomon began to move and picked herself up. "Sister?"

WarGrowlmon saw this and chuckled. "Still want some more?" He turned his attention to her. "Fine, then you'll be the first to go."

Angewomon growled at him. "You may destroy me. But so long as there are Digimon out there with good in their hearts, you will never truly win." She glanced back at Salamon, who seemed to understand what her sister was saying. Could she...

"Doesn't matter how many good Digimon there are." WarGrowlmon raised his bladed whip. "I'll just destroy them all." Angewomon tried to summon her power to counter attack, but couldn't. All she could do was brace herself.

"Sister!" Salamon screamed, tears filling her eyes.

Paildramon growled and attempted to push his way through the bullets, but in that moment Armormon fired his shoulder lasers and hit him in the chest. "Gyah!" He was knocked back and slammed into the wall, Rarity falling from his grasp.

Armormon saw this and laughed, pointing his machine gun at the girl and preparing to fire. At the same time, WarGrowlmon prepared to do the same with Angewomon.

But as they prepared to deal the final strike, the ground around them began to shake. "What?" WarGrowlmon looked around, the others doing the same. For a moment, the shaking stopped and WarGrowlmon returned his focus to Angewomon. But before he could strike again, the ground shook harder and louder. "What is that?"

The others were just as confused. But then, as the ground shook again, part of the surrounding wall began to crack apart.

It was at this moment that Rarity began to come around, being shaken away by the ground's vibrations. And then, with a loud boom, the wall exploded as a fish missile flew through it.

The missile exploded and the force knocked WarGrowlmon away from Angewomon, as something else broke through the now much larger hole in the wall. Megadramon.

The Ultimate Virus let out a roar, as he flew out of the tunnel and took to the air. As he did, Paildramon saw someone riding him. "FLASH!" The others were shocked by this, whilst Flash looked down and smiled at them. Then, he noticed WarGrowlmon and Armormon.

The Ultimate Cyborgs both glared at their cohort, wondering why he was letting that filthy human on his back. "Megadramon, you fool!" Armormon yelled. "You got in the way of our master's work."

Megadramon looked down and growled. "He is no longer my master." He flew down and landed defensively in front of Angewomon. "This human has helped me see I was a fool for joining you in the first place." He raised an arm and prepared to fire. "I'm not letting you get that Dragon Soul Stone."

WarGrowlmon glared at him. "So that's it. You want the Dragon Soul Stone for yourself."

"What?" MagnaAngemon picked himself up, then turned to Megadramon.

"I told you having him in our army was a mistake," Armormon stated. "He wants to become Megidramon." Everyone's eyes went wide at this, with even Megadramon appearing surprised. "What, you didn't know? There are four types of Digimon capable of becoming Megidramon with a Dragon Soul Stone. And you're one of them. You...are nothing but a destroyer!"

Megadramon looked upset by this news, as Armormon prepared his gatling guns. "Hey, shut up!" He looked up at Flash, who glared at Armormon before looking down at Megadramon. "Don't listen to him. He has no idea what he's talking about. Remember what we talked about. A person's destiny isn't set in stone! You might be a Virus Type and Megidramon might be one of your evolutions, but that doesn't make you who you are."

"Yes...but..."

"He's right." He looked over at Angewomon. "Don't let what others say, decide what you want to be." She stood up, giving him a serious look. "Tell me, do you actually want the Digital World to be destroyed?"

"Of course not!"

"Then don't let it. Show the Digital World who you truly are." He and Angewomon stared at one another, a silent conversation taking place between them. He then smiled and nodded.

"I will." He turned back to WarGrowlmon, "you're not getting that Dragon Soul Stone. And neither am I. It's going to a Digimon that deserves it!" With that, he charged forward and tackled WarGrowlmon.

Flash had leapt off him as he did, taking out his Digivice and summoning the light. "Biomerge!" The light flowed over him and he transformed into his fire Rookie. "Flamemon, Digivolve to...AGUNIMON!" The Fire Warrior leapt out of the light, as Armormon pointed at Megadramon. "Oh no you don't!" He quickly leapt forward, "Battle Gear...BOOST!" A burst of fire appeared in his hand and when it faded, he was carrying a knife. "Ignislash!" He channelled his fire power into it and slashed at Armormon.

"RAAAH!" Armormon's gatling gun was cut at the barrel, Agunimon smirking at him. "You brat!" He pointed his other barrel at him, but Agunimon leapt up and avoided the barrage.

As he did, WarGrowlmon and Megadramon struggled against each other. "You traitor!" WarGrowlmon roared, as Megadramon wrapped his tail around his body.

"Call me what you want," Megadramon told him. "I'm doing what I know to be right." And as he said that, something happened. The Dragon Soul Stone began to glow, the light catching everyone's attention.

Megadramon stared at it and as he did, he suddenly felt a great desire to touch it. As he did, an image appeared in his head. An image of a large red Dragon Digimon, whose very presence screamed destruction. A Digimon that Megadramon could become. A Digimon with the power to destroy the Digital World.

"That stone is mine!" WarGrowlmon pulled against him, snapping Megadramon out of his daydream.

The Ultimate Level wrapped his tail tightly around WarGrowlmon and used all his strength to pull him away from the stone, but the struggle wasn't an easy one. "Hurry!" He cried, "I can't hold him forever!"

"Let him go!" Armormon tried to blast him, but Agunimon was able to kick his legs out from under him. This knocked him off balance and made him fall over, whilst both MagnaAngemon and Angewomon tried to get to the stone.

But the pair were still too injured, MagnaAngemon falling over. Angewomon was about to do the same, but Paildramon caught her. "I gotcha!" He placed his arm around her waist and her arm around his neck. "Come on!"

"But...MagnaAngemon-"

"Doesn't deserve it as much as you do," Paildramon helped her move over to the stone.

WarGrowlmon saw this and gasped. "NOOOO!" He used his tail blade and stabbed Megadramon, the Dragon Digimon roaring but still not letting go. Angewomon saw this and smiled.

"That Virus Digimon. He might have fallen to the wrong path before, but his heart is true." They reached the stone, "I must thank him for this." With that, she reached out and touched the stone. WarGrowlmon screamed again, as the stone exploded with light.

Paildramon was forced to let Angewomon go and stagger back, shielding his eyes along with the others. Megadramon finally lost his grip and WarGrowlmon pulled himself free, rushing over as if trying to still get the stone. But the light was too bright and burned him, forcing him to stagger back.

The light exploded into a column that flew into the sky, causing everyone outside the inner ring to stop their fighting and turn to it. This included Cyberdramon and Fumamon, who both watched as the new Great Dragon was born. "Come on," Fumamon stated. "Be WarGrowlmon."

In the inner ring, the light was so bright it blinded everyone there. All except one, who force her eyes open to look over at her sister. Salamon could only watch, as Angewomon was lifted into the air by the orb of light. The sight before her was truly magnificent. "That's my sister."

"Angewomon!" They then heard the Ultimate Angel announce, "Mega Digivolve to..." Her clothes exploded off of her, as the light began to constrict and reshape itself. It soon morphed into a beastly form, with claws, horns and a long tail. The light then began to fade and when it did, Angewomon's new form was revealed.

It was a large pink furred cat-like Digimon. Her head was more dog-like, with long ears, a pair of black and red horns and a mane around her neck. Her pink tail was even longer than her body, whilst five pairs of pink angel wings sprouted from her back. Her fangs and claws were sharp, but she still had a slight elegance to her.

The last of the light exploded off of her and she flew above the ring. "MAGNADRAMON!"

Everyone stared at the Mega Level in awe, her beauty breathtaking as she looked down at them all. She smiled at Agunimon, Paildramon, Rarity, Salamon and Megadramon. She glanced at MagnaAngemon and could see he was angry, but didn't give him a second glance.

Then she turned to WarGrowlmon and Armormon and let out a very beastly growl. "You have caused great harm to those I have sworn to protect. And now, I will make you pay!" She flew upwards and in a circle, causing storm clouds to appear. "Paildramon, Megadramon. Shield the others!" The two didn't need telling twice and flew over to the others, Paildramon picking up Agunimon whilst Megadramon lifted the girls up and shielded them with his body.

"What's she doing?" Rarity asked, as the cloud began to spark.

"Unleashing one heck of a blast!" Agunimon smirked, as the Mega Level called out.

"DRAGON FIRE!" The energy inside the cloud exploded towards WarGrowlmon and Armormon, the bolts striking the ground and exploding to send the pair flying backwards.

"GYAH!" WarGrowlmon roared, slamming into the wall. Armormon was also slammed into it, as the cloud began to disappear. The pair laid there, not looking in the best of shape. They groaned as they began to pick themselves up, as Magnadramon floated down with the others getting ready to fight as well.

"Master," Armormon groaned. "We need to escape. The battle is lost."

"I will not be defeated again," WarGrowlmon stated. But then, a portal opened in the sky. A portal Azulongmon flew out of, looking ready to join the battle. This made him growl as he realised he had no choice.

Luckily, Fumamon chose that moment to leap into the inner circle and landed in front of them. "Master, it's time we got out of here!" Cyberdramon flew down and Fumamon took out some pellets, throwing them and creating a combo of smoke and a flash bang.

WarGrowlmon then called out to Megadramon, "you'll regret this. Those Digimon will never accept you and if we see you again, you will be deleted. You have nowhere to go." The smoke and light faded, right as a warp gate closed and they were alone in the rings.

Megadramon sighed as he looked down, wondering if WarGrowlmon was correct. And sure enough, MagnaAngemon suddenly flew towards him with his sword drawn. "Surrender now!"

"What are you doing?" Agunimon cried, seeing the angel about to attack his new friend. Paildramon aimed his blasters at MagnaAngemon, who glared at them.

"I'm eliminating a threat to the Digital World." He pointed at Megadramon. "You heard what they said. This abomination can Digivolve into Megidramon. We have to destroy him so that can't happen." Megadramon looked down in shame, looking ready to accept this. But before MagnaAngemon could do it, Magnadramon spoke up.

"Absolutely not," she curled her tail around Megadramon protectively. "This Digimon is the only reason I was able to Digivolve. He's the reason WarGrowlmon didn't get the stone. I will not allow you to harm him."

"Magnadramon is right," Azulongmon nodded. "You can't condemn a Digimon for something they might do. We can only judge them on their actions."

"And his actions are good," Flash stated as he turned back from Agunimon.

"Didn't he attack us?" Salamon asked, the others looking to Megadramon for confirmation.

"It's not his fault," Flash told them. "He was an Airdramon and accidently Digivolved into Megadramon. When that happened, all the other Digimon shunned him. The only ones that would let him anywhere near them were WarGrowlmon's group."

"I see," Cyberdramon nodded before splitting into Shining and Monodramon. He then turned to Megadramon. "I'm sorry that happened to you. But you did the right thing. Being a Virus Digimon, doesn't make you evil."

"I know," Megadramon nodded. "Flash helped me realize that. But still, WarGrowlmon is right. I have nowhere to go."

"Wrong," Magnadramon stated. "You helped us keep the Dragon Soul Stone out of WarGrowlmon's evil hands. Your strength is something we desperately need. So, will you please join us in our fight against WarGrowlmon?" Megadramon looked shocked by this, MagnaAngemon appearing outraged.

"You can't be serious. He's a Virus Digimon."

"And he can be a message to all the other Virus Digimon out there," Azulongmon stated. "That just because you're a Virus Digimon, that doesn't make you our enemy. There may be other Digimon in WarGrowlmon's army, that feel the same way as Megadramon. That being in his forces is the only option they have. But if they see we are accepting of Virus Digimon...they may desert him."

"That's great!" Flash smirked as Paildramon De-Digivolved into DemiVeemon. As he picked his partner up, Flash smiled at Megadramon. "Isn't that awesome? You can have a place in the Digital World."

"Yes," Megadramon nodded before turning to Magnadramon and bowing his head. "I devote myself to your cause. I swear that no matter what is needed of me, I will fulfil whatever duty you entrust me with. I will help protect the Digital World, even if it costs me my life."

"Don't go too far," Magnadramon stated. "But, your devotion is noted. I look forward to seeing how hard you work. And as long as you continue to protect this world and its Digimon, you will be under my protection. I promise you that." Megadramon smiled, whilst MagnaAngemon looked outraged.

"This Digimon will betray us, just like it betrayed WarGrowlmon. You can't trust him."

The others glared at him, looking ready to tell him to shut up. But Megadramon spoke up first. "If I ever look like I'm about to betray you, you may delete me. Nobody will punish you for it. All I'm asking for is a chance to prove myself." MagnaAngemon glared at him, clearly not happy about this.

Before anyone could say anything else, many flying Digimon appeared from over the mountain.

Unimon and HooTawnimon were at the front of that group, carrying Rainbow, Pinkie, Kamemon and Dilemon. Dinobeemon was carrying Leomon, Trixie, Moonmon and a few others, whilst Sunflowmon was carrying Labramon, Fluttershy and Terriermon. MegaKabuterimon was carrying Micro, Sandal and Sproutmon. Even the Royal Knights were flying in, ready to fight any evil that had stayed behind.

They all cheered at the sight of Magnadramon, but those smiles faded when they saw Megadramon.

Luckily, Magnadramon and Azulongmon being close to him seemed to lessen their worry as they all landed. When they did, the humans turned Digimon reverted back to normal whilst the Partner Digimon all returned to their Rookie and In-Training forms.

"Are you okay!?" Twilight rushed over to see Flash and Rarity, looking a little scuffed up, then looked up at Megadramon. "What's going on?"

Magnadramon flew up and addressed them. "My friends. We have claimed victory this day and it is all thanks to you. Though WarGrowlmon was able to escape, he failed in acquiring the Dragon Soul Stone. And though I can see we have lost Digimon in this fight, their sacrifice will not be forgotten. Our battle continues and despite losing allies, we've gained new ones." She looked down at Megadramon, who smiled back at him. "Like Azulongmon, I can't promise to be a perfect leader. I may make mistakes, but I will do everything in my power to protect this world and the Digimon in it. Will you follow me?" The Digimon cheered and happily accepted her.

The only Digimon not happy was MagnaAngemon, who glared at the two Great Dragons that had stolen his moments. "I won't let anyone get in my way again. Next time, no matter what, I will Digivolve into Goldramon." He glared at Megadramon, "and my power will cleanse this world of all its filth.

In their hidden lair, WarGrowlmon was being repaired alongside Armormon.

Fumamon watched from the sides and saw that they did not look happy. "How many of our forces remain?" WarGrowlmon asked, as Fumamon took out a list and went through the names of the Digimon that hadn't returned.

"We're down to about twenty-five percent of our original number."

"That won't be enough," Armormon stated. "How are we supposed to wage a battle with such little troops?"

"It's a miracle we were able to save that many," Fumamon told them. "When I saw Magnadramon, I ordered the retreat. Many of the Digimon were taken down before they could escape through the portals. The Royal Knights approaching didn't help." WarGrowlmon snarled. "We need a new strategy. When the final Dragon Soul Stone appears, we'll need to be ready if we wanna get out hands on it."

"And what do you suggest?" WarGrowlmon asked.

"Instead of quantity, let's improve quality. Get the Strongest Virus Digimon we can find. And make ourselves stronger as well."

"You wanna make us stronger?" Armormon asked, "how?"

"I know a guy who's a wiz with Battle Gears. And I think he can be...persuaded to join our cause." The two stared at him, wondering what he had planned. But at this point, they needed all the help they could get.

Those fools would soon come to regret crossing them. And Megadramon would realize the mistake he made, only it would be too late to fix it.

Having told everyone what had happened, the army had returned to their headquarters to heal up whilst the Royal Knights had returned to their castle.

The Digimon had been a little wary of Megadramon at first, but they began to open up to him when they saw how serious he was about protecting the Digital World. Now, Flash, Shining and their friends were climbing up the stairs leading to the Great Dragon's Temple.

"Seriously?" Twilight looked shocked. "Megadramon is that Airdramon we fought?"

"Yup," Flash nodded. "It's...kind of our fault he Digivolved the way he did. We made him scared of coming out into the world, so he stayed in a cave fighting Vilemon. Eventually, he absorbed so many he Digivolved into Megadramon."

"You shouldn't blame yourself," Shining told him. "What happened is in the past and everything's better now. You were able to help Megadramon and that's what matters." Flash smiled at this, as they entered the temple and found Azulongmon and Magnadramon on their pillar thrones waiting for them. Megadramon was also there, since a large Digimon like him didn't really fit in the underground base.

As they stepped into the room, Azulongmon smiled. "It seems we owe you a debt once again, Flash." The teen smirked. "Not only did you help stop WarGrowlmon, you were able to help this lost Digimon find the path he needed."

"Happy to be of service," Flash smiled. "We couldn't just sit around and let WarGrowlmon do whatever he liked." The others nodded, as Flash turned to Megadramon. "If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask. We'll be here whenever you need us."

"Thank you," Megadramon smiled. "You have no idea how much this means to me." Flash nodded, as Megadramon had an idea. "If you want, you can do that scan thing on me. I'm not sure what you'll want it for, but you already have my Airdramon form. Might as well improve the collection."

Flash was amazed by this, "are you sure?" Megadramon nodded and Flash took out his Digivice, scanning him and smiling as he saw Megadramon's data appear. He couldn't wait to try this out later.

Magnadramon flew down off her pillar, as Rarity and Salamon stepped up to her. "The two of you fought bravely this day. I'm very proud of you both." They smiled. "And Megadramon is right. You scanned my Champion and Ultimate Forms. Might as well add my Mega Form to it."

Rarity gasped at this and quickly took out her Digivice, scanning Magnadramon and completing the Magnadramon set. "I hope you use those scans well."

Rarity nodded, "we will." She then frowned. "However, it's clear we need to get stronger. If Megadramon hadn't joined our side, we would not have won that battle."

"She's right," Shining nodded. "This victory was partly luck. We have to get stronger if we wanna defeat WarGrowlmon and whoever decides to cause problems for the Digital World." They all nodded. This battle had been a tough one and they were only going to get tougher. They had to improve, no matter what might show up.

In another part of the Digital World, in a rocky forest, something was happening.

A large rock wall was sticking out of the ground, covered in moss and vines. It looked like a perfectly ordinary wall and most of the time, it was. But something was about to change that.

At the base of the wall, a small triangular opening could be seen. With opening was so small, a child would have trouble getting through it. It appeared to only got a few feet in and looked perfectly normal. But suddenly, a spark appeared inside the opening. This was followed by another, then another and another. And eventually, light completely filled the hole.

That light radiated outwards and did nothing else. And then, something came out of the gap. A blue arm, with sharp red nails on the fingers and a leather strap around the wrist. And on the palm of the hand, was a green eye.

This arm reached out and grabbed the rock around the gap, allowing it to pull the rest of its body free. And as they did, they let out a sinister laugh that only spelled trouble. Trouble for the entire Digital World.

Author's Note

As much fun as this chapter was to make, it was a nightmare to get finished. I wrote this when my old laptop was on the fritz, preventing me from using the comma, K, I and 8 buttons without a lot of pain. Hope this chapter was to your enjoyment. Let me know what you think.

A Rapid Battle

Night had fallen on the Digital World and in Machine City, we find Datamon hard at work within his lab.

The Ultimate Digimon was staring at the holographic screen he was using to work on his next new Digimon attempt, which happened to have a very familiar Digimon within it. ExVeemon.

Datamon stared at the Digimon scan he had gotten, after secretly scanning and Digivolving Veemon. He had been amazed by the Digimon, whose data was so incredibly pure. He had never seen such a stable Digimon before. There was zero chance for it to ever undergo an unexpected mutation. But that was a double-edge sword, as most Digivolutions resulted from unexpected mutations.

"Let's see." He brought up several cyborg and machine Digimon scans, highlighting parts of their bodies and seeing if they could be used to upgrade the Digimon. And even if they couldn't, seeing how well ExVeemon accepted them would go along way to helping him design parts that might.

He was so focused on his work, he was completely blind to everything else around him. As such, he had no idea that his workshop was currently being broken into.

A figure forced their way in, showing incredible stealth skills as they made their way through the workshop towards Datamon's lab.

"Yes," Datamon smiled at some kind of accomplishment. "That could work." The figure loomed over Datamon, who didn't notice it until the shadow blocked out the light. "Huh?" He looked around, only to then scream at what he heard. Unfortunately, his workshop was soundproof. As such, nobody would hear those screams.

The next day.

In an open meadow with many rivers running through it, two Digimon were battling it out. ExVeemon and Kabuterimon charged at each other, the blue dragon throwing a punch into the beetle Digimon only for it to use its hard head to block.

He quickly used his multiple hands to push the dragon back, as lightning surged around his body. "Electro Shocker!" He fired the lightning sphere towards ExVeemon, who barely managed to avoid it before charging forward and swinging his tail around to try and hit him. "Augh!" He was knocked backwards, falling towards the ground where two more Digimon were fighting.

Those Digimon were Lobomon and Ballistamon, the wolfman swinging his lightning sword around in an attempt to cut the robotic beetle to pieces.

Ballistamon leapt back and as he did, he thrust his chest out. "Seismic Speaker!" The hyper sonic soundwaves filled the air and slammed into Lobomon, making him cry out as he tried to cover his eyes. Ballistamon then rushed forward with his horn pointed at him. "Ram Slammer!" He thrust the horn into Lobomon's chest, knocking him backwards with a cry

Lobomon landed in one of the rivers, splashing around as Ballistamon prepared to unleash another sonic. "Vee-Laser!" The X-shaped beam of light shot down and almost struck him, Ballistamon leaping back and causing it to hit the ground to scatter mud and grass everywhere.

He landed but his weight caused the soggy ground to open up and suck his feet in. "Ahh!" He tried to pull himself out, but the hold of the mud was just too much. "Not good."

Lobomon finally swam to the shore and pulled himself up, as ExVeemon flew down and landed on the other side of the river. Once he was out of the water, he raised his arm and pointed his blaster at Ballistamon. "Give this a try! Howling Laser!"

The beam shot towards Ballistamon, but Kabuterimon had recovered and used his hands to shield Ballistamon. The blast struck his hand and he flinched, but this allowed to robotic beetle to finally pull himself free. "Let's do this together," Ballistamon announced. "Seismic Speaker!"

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon unleashed his blast, whilst ExVeemon and Lobomon leapt into action as well.

"Lobo Laser!"

"Vee Laser!" The twin beams flew across the riverlands towards the sonic and electric attacks, the shockwave expected from this collision bound to be a tremendous one that would most likely rip the landscape apart.

It was then that a loud beeping noise filled the air, causing their attacks to fizzle out. At the same time, their bodies began to glow and they all reverted back to their Rookie and human forms.

When they did, they all fell to the ground in exhaustion. "That was brutal," Micro stated.

"Maybe," Flash nodded. "But if we wanna be able to beat WarGrowlmon and stop him the next time he tries to get the Dragon Soul Stone, we're gonna need to be as strong as we can be." He picked himself up and stepped over to the podium with his Digivice. "These time limit battles should help us learn to fight and take down an opponent as fast as possible."

"Don't you think you're overdoing this a little?" Tentomon asked. "I understand you wanna be strong enough to stop WarGrowlmon, but I fear you might be on course to only care about winning instead of having fun."

"I intend to have as much fun as I can," Flash assured him. "Once the Digital World is safe. This isn't a game right now. If we wanna be able to enjoy Codex again, we need to be strong enough to protect it."

"Maybe," Micro stated. "But we can't be overdoing it as well. Training's good, but too much training could make you weaker instead of stronger."

"You're right," Flash nodded. "Let's relax for a bit and recharge." The other three nodded and headed for the exit. They stepped out of the Beta-Stadium, all exhausted after the training they had been doing. Flash and Veemon had every intention of simply sitting in the foyer and enjoy watching some more battles, whilst Micro had other ideas.

"I'm gonna head out to a new area I got the other day," Micro explained. "Hopefully, I'll be able to find something interesting. Then I might head over to Datamon's place and see if he's got any new Battle Gear for me to scan."

"Cool," Flash nodded, "let me know if he has anything good." Micro nodded and headed towards the Digi-Port, whilst Flash made his way over to the foyer.

In the canteena, he looked around and spotted many interesting battles in progress. But he soon spotted Twilight, Rainbow and their Digimon watching one screen in particular.

"Hey," he stepped over and sat beside them, "anyone we know having a match?" Looking up on the screen, Flash saw the ruins of what appeared to be an old city.

The buildings were broken and crumpling, weeds and other plants were growing in areas that would usually have people walking or driving through. The whole place looked like it had been abandoned a long time ago.

Flash was about to ask who was battling, but at that moment a Digimon appeared on the screen. Gargomon. "Fluttershy?"

"Yeah?" Rainbow nodded. "What, you think she doesn't battle?"

"Well I've never seen her compete before. But I guess she'd have to be good, since she's already a Champion."

"It took her a while," Twilight nodded. "Fluttershy isn't the most battle hardened player in Codex." Rainbow laughed at this, making Flash give her a confused look.

"She only became that way when she came to Codex. Before, she was known as the Merciless Mistress." Flash could hardly believe that. The sweet and innocent Fluttershy, going by such a dark sounding title. "Back before she knew Digimon were real, she played online all the time and completely wrecked her opponents. She's a nice girl, but when she was facing someone she absolutely destroyed them without mercy."

"Hence the name," Flash gulped. He could understand that. Flash had thought Digimon were just programs when he first arrived. If someone like Fluttershy learned Digimon had feelings and could get hurt, of course she would be upset about it. "So that's why she doesn't battle much?"

"She battles," Rainbow nodded. "Since you can't get permanently hurt in Codex, she can go all out without having to worry about hurting her opponent."

"Fair enough. So...who's she battling?" He watched the screen, as Gargomon reached a corner and carefully looked around with her guns primed to attack if needs be. But there was no sign her opponent.

She let out a sigh, only the building behind her to suddenly explode.

She spun around, as something flew towards her. It was a giant skull, that looked like it belonged to a T-rex of some kind. She flew towards her and tried to take a bite, but Gargomon leapt up and the mouth ended up biting into the building that had been behind her.

As Gargomon flew into the air, another head suddenly appeared out of the smoke and dust. This one looked like a giant alligator head, with metal covering its top as it reached out to bite her. But Gargomon used her guns to propel herself away from the mouth, shooting herself with the kickback pushing her away before the mouth snapped shut.

As she landed, the dust cleared to reveal the Digimon she was fighting. A giant blue and white T-rex Digimon, with long arms that ended in the skull and alligator heads.

"Deltamon?" Flash had heard of this Digimon, but never got to see it. He quickly brought up the Digimon's data, wondering how much trouble Fluttershy was in.

Name: Deltamon
Level: Champion
Type: Virus
Attribute: Earth
Species: Composition
Family: Unknown

"A Virus Digimon," Flash nodded. "Gargomon's a Vaccine, so Fluttershy should have the advantage."

"Except Gargomon's also an Electric Digimon," Twilight pointed out. "And against an Earth Digimon like Deltamon, she's at a disadvantage. An Electric Vaccine verses an Earth Virus. That's pretty even." They looked back at the screen, as Deltamon rushed in to attack.

"Serpent Bite!" Deltamon thrust the skull arm forward and tried to hit her, but Gargomon leapt up and landed on top of the skull before it could get her.

"Gargo Pellets!" She thrust her guns at the Digimon's head and unloaded a bunch of bullets, which flew up and slammed into his head.

Deltamon: 3-15%
Gargomon: 3-35%

He roared in pain, staggering back as Gargomon did a back-flip off the skull.

As he was regaining his balance, Gargomon rushed into a nearby alleyway and started vaulting up the sides of the walls. Eventually, she reached the top and became level with Deltamon's head. There, she unleashed another barrage of bullets and that flew towards Deltamon's chest.

However, the Digimon used its metal alligator head to block the bullets. He then thrust the skull head into the building, ripping through it and causing Gargomon to go tumbling towards the ground. She cried out, as she barely managed to leap off the building and grab the side of another. But as she did, rocks started pelting her from the destroyed building.

Deltamon: 3-15%
Gargomon: 3-20%

Deltamon smirked as she finally let go and fell to the ground as he opened up his mouths. "Triplex Force!" All three mouths filled with fire and unleashed a triad of flames, which merged together into an extra strong blast that flew towards Gargomon.

She gasped and tried to run, but the flames caught up to her and she was soon engulfed by the fire. "AUGH!" She screamed, as she was badly burned.

Deltamon: 3-15%
Gargomon: 3-5%

Her friend called out to her, fearing the worst. But before they could really start to worry, Gargomon leapt out of the flames and pointed her weapons at the Digimon. "Gargo Pellets!" She unleashed a barrage of bullets and before Deltamon could counter, they slammed into his chest and made him roar at the onslaught.

Deltamon: 3-0%
Gargomon: 3-5%

Gargomon landed and ran off, as Deltamon glared at her and unleashed another Triplex Force. The combined flames chased after her, but Gargomon began to bounce on her large feet to get ahead of it. And eventually, she was out of range of the attack.

Deltamon growled at her escape and knocked down a building in annoyance. And in doing so, he revealed something that made him smirk. "Yes!" He reached down and grabbed the Digivolution Coin, its power flowing into him as he crushed it in his arm mouth.

He then turned his attention back towards Gargomon, but she had disappeared from view.

"You can't hide forever," he called out to her. "I'll find you and when I do, you'll be in trouble."

Gargomon heard this and inside her head, Fluttershy and Terriermon were trying to discuss a strategy. "You gotta hit him hard!" Terriermon stated. "Hit and run! That's the only way you're gonna win."

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy," Fluttershy told him. "Deltamon's huge and he doesn't take any damage if his arm heads are hit, so he can use them to defend himself." She tried to think of the best way to capitalise on her speed. But before she could, part of the building she was hiding behind was destroy.

She gasped and unleashed a blast of bullets to destroy the fragments of building falling towards her, as Deltamon's head stared down at her. "Ah, there you are!" He thrust his skull arm down to punch her and Gargomon leapt away, barely managing to avoid it and jump into the air.

But as she did, the alligator head flew in and the snout slammed into her. "Ahhh!" She was sent flying, her Security breaking as she was

Deltamon: 2-100%
Gargomon: 3-0%

She hit the ground and rolled for several moments until she eventually came to a stop, as Deltamon prepared to strike. But Fluttershy had a plan and as he stepped forward, she pushed herself up and aimed her guns at the large Digimon's feet. "Gargo Pellets!" She unleashed the hail of bullets and struck the Digimon's legs, making him roar as they were bombarded with pain.

Deltamon: 2-80%
Gargomon: 2-100%

He staggered back, flinching as he stepped on his.

"Nice," Twilight smiled. "If Deltamon's legs are hurt, it can't move around too well. That'll make it easier for Fluttershy to get some hits in."

They watched, as Gargomon ran towards Deltamon whilst firing another barrage of bullets. Deltamon blocked these with its arm heads, but that allowed her to get in close and run between his legs.

The twin tails Deltamon had swung down, but Gargomon managed to avoid them and leap out from under the composition Digimon.

"Gargo Pellets!" She spun around and unleashed another bombardment, which slammed into Deltamon's back and made him roar in pain with every hit.

Deltamon: 2-60%
Gargomon: 2-100%

Deltamon began to turn around, but his injured legs were making that difficult. And as he turned, flinching with every step, Gargomon ran forward and got between his legs again. "Where'd you go?" He got his answer when Gargomon leapt into the air.

"Bunny Pummel!" With all her strength, she swung her metal arms around and struck a place that would hurt a lot had Deltamon not been a Digimon.

Deltamon: 2-45%
Gargomon: 2-100%

"OH!" All the males cried, the girls rolling their eyes. "Now I get it," Flash winced. "Merciless Mistress indeed."

"Oh come on," Rainbow told him. "That couldn't hurt that badly. You boys are just way too soft." The boys all glared at her, wishing they could show her just how badly that kind of attack hurt.

They were so busy glaring at her, they almost missed Deltamon's tail.

The twin appendages swung down and before Gargomon could escape, one slammed into her and she was knocked flying. She cried out, as she crashed into the side of a building.

Deltamon: 2-45%
Gargomon: 2-85%

As she fell to the ground, Deltamon slowly turned his attention to her and raised his arms. "Triplex Force!" The three in one attack exploded out of its mouth, shooting towards Gargomon as she picked herself up.

She moaned and looked up, seeing the flames flying towards her. But at the last moment, she spotted a piece of broken rock near the ground beside her and leapt behind it. The flames struck said rock and began to make it melt, but Gargomon used it to regain her breath before leaping straight up into the air.

She was low on SP and would only be able to use one more attack, so made sure it would hit its mark. "Gargo Pellets!" The bullets exploded from her guns and slammed into Deltamon's chest, making him roar in pain and he was sent staggering back on his injured legs.

Deltamon: 2-25%
Gargomon: 2-85%

Gargomon landed, but frowned since she was out of SP to attack. And as she was about to run off and find an SP coin, Deltamon pushed himself off the wall and growled. "You'll regret that." Gargomon expected him to attack, but he didn't. Instead, he did something worse and was surrounded by light. "Deltamon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger and larger, shattering the buildings around it. And when it finally broke apart, the Digimon that was revealed was something truly terrifying.

Everyone stared at it in amazement, seeing the Digimon was a fusion of many other Digimon.

Its chest and lower mouth belonged to a Greymon, whilst its head was that of a Kabuterimon with the hair of MetalGreymon sticking out the back. It had four arms, a Kuwagamon's, SkullGreymon's and two from Devimon. Its legs were that of a Garurumon's and its tail belonged to Monochromon. Four wings were on its back. Two belonged to Airdramon and the other two looked like they belonged to an angel Digimon.

The Digimon was a little larger then Deltamon and when it opened its eyes, it let out a mighty roar that shook the buildings around it to collapse. "KIMERAMON!"

"What is that thing?" Veemon asked, looking shocked as Twilight brought up its states.

Name: Kimeramon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Composition
Family: Unknown, Nightmare Soldiers, Metal Empire.

"That doesn't look good," Flash stated. "How the heck did a Digimon like that even come into existence?"

"Nobody's really sure," Twilight replied. "One theory is that a Digimon once loaded the data of multiple Digimon before getting destroyed. But instead of letting it be released so they could all return to Primary Village, the Digimon forced the data of its victims to become its new body and...that was the result."

"Is Fluttershy in trouble?" Kamemon asked, Rainbow unsure how to reply.

Gargomon stared up at Kimeramon, who glance down towards her and let out a growl as he opened his mouth.

"Heat Viper!" The next thing Gargomon knew, a bright red beam of light flew out of its mouth and shot down towards her. Gargomon leapt back and the beam struck the ground, burning it black as Kimeramon used this to spread its four wings and take off.

Gargomon saw him fly up, as the heat ray began to move and chase after her.

All she could do was run, as the beam followed after her and slowly began to catch up. It barely missed her, as Kimeramon had to close its mouth to take a breath. But it quickly managed to catch up to her and flew down, where it swung its arms around and managed to hit Gargomon with the SkullGreymon arm.

"GYAH!" She screamed, being smashed into and sent flying through the air.

Kimeramon: 2-25%
Gargomon: 2-75%

Gargomon smashed into the ground and slammed into several pieces of rubber, making her flinch with every hit until she finally came to a stop.

Kimeramon: 2-25%
Gargomon: 2-50%

"You okay?" Terriermon asked, as Fluttershy pushed their battered body up.

"I think so," she nodded. But she didn't feel so okay, when Kimeramon flew down and swung its legs around around to try and stomp on her. Gargomon gasped and leapt away, the wind caused by the feet slamming into the ground slamming into her and throwing her backwards. "Gyah!" She landed on her back, as Kimeramon raised the Kuwagamon claw above her.

"Look out!" Her partner cried, making her open her eyes and see it come flying down.

She managed to roll out of the way, but the impact sent out a shockwave that destroyed the street and sent rubble flying everywhere.

It also sent Gargomon flying into the door of a building, the Digimon rolling through its ground floor.

Kimeramon: 2-25%
Gargomon: 2-40%

She quickly picked herself up and when she did, she saw an SP Coin further in. But as she rushed to grab it, the building shook. She quickly realised Kimeramon was smashing the building, trying to bury her alive.

Moving as fast as she could, she grabbed the coin and kept running towards the back of the building. The ceiling was beginning to crack and Gargomon used her Gargo Pellets to break a wall apart, allowing her to smash through it seconds before the roof gave in.

The rest of the building followed suit and collapsed, as Gargomon ran over to another building and hid behind it to make sure Kimeramon didn't spot her.

The Ultimate Digimon looked around the rubble, trying to see where she had been buried. This allowed Gargomon to sneak into an alleyway and parkour up onto the roof. And by the time Kimeramon noticed her, she was unleashing her attack. "Gargo Pellets!" The bullet barrage flew towards Kimeramon and slammed into his chest, making him roar.

Kimeramon: 2-5%
Gargomon: 2-40%

Gargomon then tried to take out one of his wings, but Kimeramon pulled away at the last moment and she missed. "Heat Viper!" He unleashed a blast of heat towards her and Gargomon gasped, running towards the other side of the building to try and escape. But at the last moment, the heat ray struck her.

"AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" She screamed, the heat of the beam being unbearable. What made it worse was it was also super-heating her arm guns, increasing the pain she was feeling.

Kimeramon: 2-5%
Gargomon: 2-15%

She finally managed to leap out of the beam's direction and jumped off the building, where she fell towards the next one and barely managed to grab a vine growing around it. She used this to swing down, but her metal hands were still a hundred degrees and burned through it.

"YAAA!" She fell and hit the ground, flinching as she staggering forward and fell over.

Kimeramon: 2-5%
Gargomon: 2-10%

She continued to flinch at the heat of her gauntlets, trying in vain to remove the or cool them down. The metal was so hot, she could feel them beginning to warp. There was no way they were going to fire now.

Kimeramon flew down and laughed, seeing he had her in trouble. "I got you now!" He saw Gargomon turn to him and pick herself up, as he raised his form arms to crush her. But as he did, Gargomon rushed forward and dodged the Kuwagamon arm. She then dodged the SkullGreymon arm and leapt upon it, running up the limb as one of the Devimon limbs tried to grab her.

But she battered it away and then leapt up to grab its finger.

Kimeramon growled and prepared to unleash a Heat Viper, but Gargomon swung off the finger and flew through the air until she reach his head. And the next thing he knew, she was grabbing onto his horn.

"What are you doing?" He shook his head, but Gargomon planted her feet in the crux of the horn and held on tight.

"Just have to hold on," she stated. Kimeramon's black hands then reached up to try and grab her, but she managed to avoid them as the Digimon then turned towards a building and prepared to smash his head into it. "Almost!" He charged at the building with his head pointed right at it.

Gargomon quickly let his horn go and ran up the Kabuterimon head, leaping off the back seconds before the head crashed into the building. She slid down his back towards the angel wing and with all her strength, smashed her ruined arm gun into it.

Kimeramon roared, as his wing was injured and Gargomon leapt off his back.

Kimeramon: 2-0%
Gargomon: 2-10%

"Yes!" Twilight cheered. "That should stop Kimeramon from being able to fly for a while.

"Aren't its legs still hurt?" Rainbow asked, the others nodding as she smiled. "Awesome. He's a sitting duck like that." They watched, as Kimeramon pulled his head free and as he turned towards the falling Gargomon.

And as she flew through midair, the Digimon suddenly began to glow. "Yeah!" Flash cried, "time to even things up!" And sure enough, the light grew larger as Gargomon changed.

"Gargomon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded, revealing an entirely new Digimon.

This one was taller and thinner than Gargomon, whilst being covered in green and gray armor. Her arms were a pair of cannons with red claws on the sides, whilst a double-ended multi-barrel blaster was on her back. Even her ears were covered in armor, whilst her snout was quickly covered by a mouth plate. "RAPIDMON!"

The long eared Digimon hit the ground rolling and quickly leapt to her feet.

Kimeramon growled as he unleashed another Heat Viper attack, but Rapidmon leapt into the air to avoid it. She then used her giant metal covered ears like hang gliders, allowing her to float in the air. The force of the Heat Viper caught said ears and pushed her upwards, away from Kimeramon.

"Rapid Fire!" She cried, pointing her cannon arms at the frankenstein Digimon before unleashing a barrage of missiles, from them and the launcher on its back.

Kimeramon quickly swung his heat ray around and managed to hit all the missiles, causing them to explode before they could hit him. He then charged forward, his injured wing preventing him from flying, flinching with his injured legs as he threw his SkullGreymon arm through the smoke.

Rapidmon didn't see the attack coming until it was too late, the arm slamming into her and making her cry out as she slammed into a nearby building.

Kimeramon: 1-100%
Rapidmon: 2-0%

Rapidmon pulled herself out of the building she had been cratered into and as she did, Kimeramon moved over and looked ready to unleash another Heat Viper attack. But Rapidmon managed to pull herself free and leapt out of the wall, seconds before the beam struck.

She did her best to glide through the air and avoid the blast, but Kimeramon tried to follow her with the beam. She realised she had to time her attack just right, so flew around and leapt off the building she reached at the very last moment. She did several flips through the air, as the heat ray continued to follow her and destroy the surrounding street.

But then, Kimeramon had to stop and take a breath. And that was when Rapidmon struck. "Homing Blast!" The launcher on her back unleashed a bunch of missiles, which flew at high speed towards Kimeramon and exploded against his chest.

Kimeramon: 1-80%
Rapidmon: 1-100%

Kimeramon roared as Rapidmon landed. She prepared to fire again, but Kimeramon recovered first and attacked. It swung its Monochromon tail around and tried to hit her, but Rapidmon leapt into the air. However, this allowed Kimeramon to throw a punch with its Kuwagamon arm and slam into her.

She screamed, being thrown backwards before crashing into the ground.

Kimeramon: 1-80%
Rapidmon: 1-85%

She groaned against the ground, as Kimeramon attacked. The fact that he wasn't attempting to blast her with his heat ray must have meant he had used all his SP, allowing her the time she needed to push herself back up and. Just as he was about to stomp on her, she leapt to the side and jumped up with all her strength.

She let out a cry, as she swung her leg around and smashed it into the Digimon's chin. "RAAAH!"

Kimeramon: 1-70%
Rapidmon: 1-85%

Kimeramon was thrown backwards and fell onto his back, as Rapidmon landed on the ground before bouncing upwards into the air. And as Kimeramon pushed itself up, Rapidmon pointed her cannon arms at him. "RAPID FIRE!" The missiles exploded out of her arms and the barrel on her back, shooting down towards the stitched together monster.

Kimeramon swung his Wukagamon and Devimon arms around, attempting to create a gust that blew the missiles away. And whilst this caused two of them to explode in the air, the others rained down on him and exploded. "RAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Kimeramon: 1-45%
Rapidmon: 1-85%

Rapidmon nodded at this, as she began to glide down towards the ground. But before she could land, Kimeramon pushed himself through the smoke and roared. "HEAT VIPER!" The heat ray exploded form his mouth and slammed into Rapidmon, making her scream as she was blasted backwards.

Kimeramon: 1-45%
Rapidmon: 1-65%

She tried to escape the beam, but Kimeramon was able to follow her with it and keep it on her. This kept her armor super heated and she started burning more.

Kimeramon: 1-45%
Rapidmon: 1-55%

No matter what she did, she couldn't escape the heat until Kimeramon's SP finally gave out and the ray stopped. But by then, she had taken a lot of damage.

Kimeramon: 1-45%
Rapidmon: 1-25%

She fell to the ground and her armor was slowly beginning to cool down. But before she could properly recover Kimeramon moved towards her.

He raised his Devimon arms, ready to grab the Ultimate Digimon and squeeze the life out of her. The dark energy that flowed through his body, shrouded the hands and looked ready to destroy all her data.

She panted and looked up at Kimeramon, as the Devimon arms drew closer.

"You better not be thinking of giving up!" Terriermon cried, as Fluttershy regained her breath. "We're not losing to this freak. No way, no how."

"But he's so strong," she stated.

"So are you. Don't forget, you're the Merciless Mistress. Show this guy why you got that name. Show him what makes you the best." Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as Kimeramon got closer. And just as he was about to grab her, Rapidmon's eyes shot open.

The next thing Kimeramon knew, Rapidmon was suddenly right in his face and let out a scream as she slammed a foot into his face. "AUGH!" He was knocked backwards, as Rapidmon launched a blast from her cannon to propel her back.

Kimeramon: 1-35%
Rapidmon: 1-25%

As Kimeramon tried to regain his footing, Rapidmon bounced off the side of a building and flew towards him. He tried to punch her with his SkullGreymon arm, but she quickly blasted herself to the side and dodge the punch before bouncing off another building and charging at the beast.

Before he could counter, she slammed a foot into his side and made him roar in pain.

Kimeramon: 1-25%
Rapidmon: 1-25%

And as he staggered into another building, knocking it over, Rapidmon landed and instantly jumped towards him again. And as he tried to grab her with his arm, she started spinning in midair. This caused her to shift out of the Devimon's reach an spun around the arm until she reached his chest.

She continued to spin and slammed her cannon arm into his chest, doing more damage before thrusting her feet into his chest and bouncing back into the air.

Kimeramon: 1-15%
Rapidmon: 1-25%

Once she was high enough, spheres of light appeared around her feet and on the ends of her arms. She then brought her feet together and held her arms apart, as the spheres unleashed a line that connected the three together before the inside of the formed triangle filled with light. "TRI-BEAM!" The triangle exploded away from her and shot down towards Kimeramon, forming a pyramid beam that led back to the Ultimate Digimon.

Kimeramon pushed himself up and saw the attack. All he could do was gasp as the attack landed, slamming into him and making him scream as his HP dropped.

Kimeramon: 1-0%
Rapidmon: 1-25%

Kimeramon roared as he tried to fight through the laser and reach out to grab Rapidmon, whilst the armored Ultimate did her best to keep her power up long enough. It was a match of attrition. Who would give out first?

As it turned out, the loser of that battle was the larger of the two Digimon and Kimeramon let out a scream as his physical form was deleted. Rapidmon's attack ended and she sighed, her mouth guard opening up as the light of her attack faded.

Doing so revealed her opponent, a young man who let out a moan as he lay there.

"Battle Over! Winner, Fluttershy." The battlefield was then consumed by light, transforming back into the domed room as Rapidmon suddenly split back into Fluttershy and Terriermon.

As soon as they split, Terriermon turned to Fluttershy and laughed as he leapt up and she hugged him. "You did it!"

"We did it!" Fluttershy smiled, "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Well, obviously." He laughed and moved to hang from her shoulder, turning to the boy that was picking himself up. "Too bad sport. Better luck next time."

"How the heck did you win?" He cried, removing his Digivice from the podium. "You're usually super shy and look ready to wet yourself when someone talks to you. You should have been easy to beat!"

"What did you say?" Terriermon cried, looking ready to scratch his eyes out. Fluttershy placed a hand on his head, patting him to help the Digimon stay calm.

"It's okay," she told him before focusing on her opponent. "You shouldn't judge someone based on how they appear. People aren't just some easily identifiable cliche that you can figure out just by looking at them. They're more complicated than that. You should try and learn to look past the surface."

"Whatever," the guy glared at her. "This isn't over. I'm gonna beat you the next time we face off." He ran out of the room before Fluttershy could say anything else, making her sigh as she left as well.

"Talk about a sore loser," Terriermon stated. "Couldn't just take the loss like a man."

"If he wants to be upset about losing, that's his right. He's just hurting himself." They made their way out of the stadium and back towards the foyer, where Flash, Twilight, Rainbow and their Digimon were waiting for her.

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow cheered, "you did it." As soon as she was close, Rainbow pulled her in and wrapped an arm around her. Fluttershy smiled as Terriermon jump down. "You were awesome."

"Thank you," Fluttershy nodded as she sat down. "It wasn't easy. He was very strong and I couldn't even touch him at first."

"Oh yeah," Flash nodded. "You had a partner and he didn't, so you must have started out with another Security." Fluttershy nodded, explaining that early in the battle, he had gotten several sneak attacks off on her before she could counter.

"His Rookie Form was really strong," Fluttershy explained.

"What was his Rookie form?" Veemon asked, since he and Flash had arrived after the pair were Champion Level. He couldn't help but wonder, what kind of Rookie Digimon would Digivolve into a dinosaur with three heads.

Fluttershy was about to reply, but Flash got a message on his Digivice before she could. He opened the message up and found it was from Micro. "Huh." He read it and his eyes went wide, "we have to get to Machine Town. Now!" He leapt up and ran for the Digi-Port, the others looking confused but running after him anyway.

They all loaded Machine Town and as soon as they were at the Digi-Port, they transferred themselves over to the city.

They ran over to Datamon's workshop as soon as they arrived, fearing the worst. When they got there, they were shocked to see Datamon's door had been knocked down. "Micro?" Flash rushed inside and found the place was completely trashed.

"What happened here?" Twilight asked, looking worried Datamon might be in trouble.

Micro and Tentomon ran out of Datamon's Digi-Lab and panted. "You're here!"

"Yeah, we're here." Flash looked around, "what the heck happened? Don't tell me Datamon's customers didn't like their new Battle Gear."

"I have no idea what happened," Micro told them. "I showed up and...everything was like this. The place was totally trashed. And it gets worse." Micro had them head into the Digi-Lab, which was in an even worst state than the rest of the building.

Every piece of equipment had been ripped out of the walls and off the ground, making the place look rather sparse.

"Do you think Datamon moved?" Rainbow asked, as the Digimon started crawling across the ground. "Maybe he found another place to set up shop."

"Datamon wouldn't leave without telling his customers where he's going," Micro told them. "He'd definitely tell me, at least." They weren't so sure about that, but they did agree he would try and tell everyone in Codex where to find him before he left. If Datamon was gone, it wasn't of his own choice.

"Find anything?" Flash asked the Digimon, Veemon, Terriermon and Kamemon shaking their heads.

"Nothing," Terriermon frowned. "The only scent on this place is Datamon's. And I can't figure out where it leads."

"This is really bad," Twilight frowned. "Datamon might be small, but he's an Ultimate. If someone else was able to capture him, they had to have been the same Level as him. Maybe higher. And to move all that equipment wouldn't have been easy."

"Hey, you're right." Flash began to leave, the others following him.

"Where are you going?" Twilight asked, Flash heading out the building and out into the city. He ran over to the building Datamon lived under and knocked on the door, the others looking at him shocked as he waited for the door to open. And when he did, a Clockmon was standing behind it.

"Hey. Sorry to interrupt. But I'm wondering if you can tell me where Datamon is?" The Clockmon looked confused. "He's a friend of mine and his store's been destroyed. And he's missing. Did you happen to hear if anything was going on in his lab?"

"Sorry," Clockmon told him. "That guy was always making loud noises. It got so bad, we threatened to kick him out of the city. So he soundproofed his workshop so even the loudest explosion didn't cause a noise. We can't hear anything that goes on outside."

"So you didn't hear anything?" Clockmon nodded. "Did you see anything? A bunch of his equipment's missing. Did you see anyone walking out carrying a bunch of computers or other things?"

"Nope. Sorry. I would have seen something like that. But I didn't." Flash sighed, thanking him anyway.

The others caught on and started asking around in all the different buildings, but the machine Digimon all had the same response. They didn't see or hear anything coming from Datamon's lab. Due to the soundproofing Datamon had done to his workshop, there was no way to hear what might have happened.

They soon returned to Datamon's lab and Micro picked up a damaged piece of machinery. "Datamon. Where did you go?"

"Maybe someone else spotted him," Tentomon stated. "Let's head back to Codex and ask around." They nodded and all headed out. As they did, they feared something terrible might have happened.

But they also knew there was a chance nothing had happened. It was just as likely, Datamon had gone off somewhere and taken all his equipment with him. They didn't know why he would, but he might very well be somewhere nice and happily running his experiments in the bright sun.

Datamon let out a moan, as he felt himself beginning to come around.

As his head began to clear, he opened his eyes and found he was wedged between two things. He looked down and found a bunch of rope was holding his main body to a large rock. Meanwhile, his hands were trapped inside a pair of metal cuffs that held his entire hand and were nailed to the ground to keep him from freeing himself.

He was in a small stone chamber, likely some kind of cave, with a single entrance leading to a tunnel Datamon assumed lead to the outside.

He tried to pull them out of the cuffs, but nothing he did worked.

"Don't bother." He gasped and looked up, allowing him to see someone walking towards him. Fumamon. "You're not leaving this place until you've done what we need of you."

"And what would that be?" Datamon asked. "Where am I? And who the heck even are you?" Fumamon took out one of his katanas and pointed it at Datamon, making him gulp. "I mean...how can I be of service?"

"Better," Fumamon used his sword to cut through the Digimon's rope. Datamon thought he might have a chance to make an escape, but a bunch of Hagurumon suddenly flew in with a bunch more chains. The next thing Datamon knew, his legs were chained together and the cuffs holding his hands were connected.

The Rookie Digimon lifted Datamon into the air and carried him towards the tunnel leading to another part of the cave.

He tried to figure out where they were going, keeping his eyes out for any sign of another route out. But there wasn't one and when they arrived at the end of the tunnel, Datamon found he was in another chamber. One with a rather large Digimon who was waiting for him. WarGrowlmon.

The cyborg T-rex stared down at him and let out a growl, as Datamon was thrown at his feet. He looked up at WarGrowlmon, shaking in fear as he realised who much trouble he was in. "What...what do you want with me?"

"You're going to create some new weapons for me," WarGrowlmon stated. "For all the remaining Digimon in my army. Weapons stronger than anything you've made before. Battle Gear that will leave any previous Battle Gear you've made in the dust."

"I see," Datamon nodded. "Umm...anything specific?" WarGrowlmon snarled at him, making Datamon scream. "There are many different Battle Gear I can create. Without details, how can I make what you want?"

"I want something that will put a Champion on the Level of an Ultimate. I want something that will spread fear throughout the Digital World when it's unleashed. I want something no Digimon can stand against."

"Okay," Datamon nodded. "I can probably make that. But it won't be easy. It'll take time. Materials. And I'll need my lab in order to-"

"We took the liberty of removing the equipment from your lab," Fumamon explained. "It's being set up as we speak."

"I see," Datamon forced a smile despite not being happy. He had a feeling, he wasn't going to be leaving this place any time soon. "Anything else I should know?"

"Yes." Datamon spun around and saw another Digimon enter the cave. Armormon. "I hear you've been working on creating new Digimon. More specifically. Digimon evolutions." Datamon frowned at him. "When you're not busy equipping our army with your Battle Gear, you and I will be having a little talk about granting me an evolution strong enough to defeat anyone I want."

"You want me to Digivolve you?" Datamon asked. "Do you have an idea how dangerous that is? I've never succeeded in creating a stable evolution and you want me to make you a Mega Level, the hardest Level to create a Digivolution for? You're insane!" Armormon pointed his gatling gun at Datamon, making him freeze up.

"You will create an evolution for me. One so powerful, the only one able to defeat it will be another copy of that evolution. And with it, I will destroy all those that have gotten in my way before."

Datamon gulped, looking over at WarGrowlmon hoping he would save him. But it seemed the Cyborg had no issue with Armormon destroying the one he had brought to upgrade his army. If Datamon wasn't careful, he was going to be destroyed.

"Okay," he nodded, "I'll do what I can." The Virus Digimon all smiled at him, glad he was seeing things their way. Soon, the Digital World would tremble before the almighty power of the Virus Army. And nobody would be able to stop them.

Back at Codex, Micro had gotten in contact with everyone on his friends list. But nobody had seen or heard from Datamon since the last time they went to his shop.

"Datamon's missing?" Shining asked, with those that had been to his shop nodding in response. "This can't be good. Datamon doesn't just leave his place. We've gotta find him."

"But where should we look?" Twilight asked, as Shining held up his Digivice. Moments later, a bunch of different scan locations flew into the air.

Everything from mountains, to oceans, to deserts, forests, savannah and more. More location scans than any one person would ever need. "I've been pretty much everywhere in the Digital World," Shining announced. "I don't know where Datamon could be. But if he's out there, we'll find him. And we won't stop looking until we do."

Everyone nodded. They might not be as close to Datamon as Micro, but they considered him a friend. If their friend was in danger, they wouldn't stop until they found him. They swore on that.

Author's Note

We finally get to see Fluttershy fight and what an opponent she was up against. Hope you enjoyed it.

Now, will our heroes be able to find Datamon? What kind of weapons will he be forced to make for the Virus Army? And what other dangers could be waiting for our friends, in the days that are yet to come? Only time will tell.

Hook Line and Sinker

Night had fallen In the mountainous area near the village of Berry Town. As such, all the Digimon living there were fast asleep.

This included the mountain home of HooTawnimon and his Tawnimon brethren, HooTawnimon in a nest at the very top of the mountain whilst the Tawnimon were asleep in some of the lower nests. But a few were still awake, acting as lookout whilst they kept their eyes trained on the horizon.

Ever since the attack from Jazardmon and his Jazamon flock, the parliament had been extra careful to keep themselves safe. But in the two months since that situation had occurred, nothing out of the ordinary showed itself. Until now.

As the Tawnimon kept watch, one suddenly noticed something in the sky. Some kind of dark shape, which appeared to be getting closer.

"Hey," he shook his nest mate awake, "wake up."

"Huh?" He groaned as he opened his eyes, "what?" Then, Tawnimon pointed at the shape and he was very confused. "What is that thing?"

"I don't know. I didn't want to wake anyone else up unless it was nothing. You think it's dangerous?"

"I say we should get the parliament up, just in case." He nodded and the pair started hooting, the sound filling the air and causing the rest of the parliament to awaken.

"What is it?" HooTawnimon asked, as the Tawnimon pointed at the shape. He looked up and with his Champion Level eyesight, HooTawnimon was able to make out what it was. "A sail boat?" It was true. In the air was what appeared to be an old fashioned sailing ship, only there were a few differences to the standard one and the one currently in the air.

Whilst it was made of wood, metal covered a good portion of it. The front and back of it were completely covered, with metal lines running between them along the hull of the ship. And sticking out the side of the ship on either side, were three metal triangles that had some kind of vent on the bottoms of them. A metal spike was sticking out the front and coming out the back, was some kind of booster rocket like on a space shuttle.

The mysterious ship grew closer and closer, eventually flying closer to them. As it did, a blast of powerful wind flew down and struck the mountain. The wind was coming from the vents on the ship's triangles, which were pumping out air and keeping the ship aloft.

The Tawnimon cried out, as they did their best to keep their nest from being blown away. "What's happening?" One asked, as HooTawnimon flew up towards the ship. As he did, part of the ship suddenly began to open up.

The hull at the front, right above the metal spike, opened before a cannon barrel appeared and pointed down towards the mountain. HooTawnimon gasped and turned to his flock. "GET OUT OF THERE!" But it was too late. The cannon fired.

But instead of a cannon ball or an energy blast, it fired an egg shaped projectile that split apart when it got close to a nest and revealed a large net. The Tawnimon tried to escape, but they weren't fast enough and the net wrapped around them.

The other Tawnimon tried to flee, only for the cannon to fire more and more nets that wrapped them up. "NO!" HooTawnimon cried, growling as he flew up to the deck of the ship. If he wanted to stop this, he had to stop whoever was piloting this terrible ship. "Where are you? Answer me?" Then, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Captain Cannon!" He spun around, just in time to see a sphere of metal flying towards him.

Tawnimon gasped, as he woke up and found he was still in Twilight's Digivice.

The girl was currently in her bed, sound asleep with a content look on her face. Meanwhile, the Digivice was on her desk with Tawnimon taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He hadn't thought about that event in a long time.

The Rookie sighed as he tried to close his eyes, but the memory had made him be one hundred percent awake. Every time he closed his eyes, he thought back to the time. For the good and the bad that it did.

The next day.

When Twilight and Tawnimon arrived in Codex, they headed over to the foyer and found Flash, Micro and Rarity around a table. "Is there anywhere else we haven't looked?"

"Tones of places," Flash replied. "The Digital World is a big place. You can't expect to search every inch of it in just a few days." Micro frowned, as Twilight sat down next to them.

"Still no sign of him?" She asked, the others nodding as she sighed. Ever since Datamon's mysterious disappearance, Micro and his friends had been scowling the Digital World searching for any clue that might lead them to their friend's location. But so far, they hadn't been able to find anything.

"He's gotta be somewhere," Micro cried. "I won't stop looking until I find him." The others nodded at this, knowing how close Micro really was to Datamon. But so far, they had no clue where to even start looking.

"There has to be someone who knows where he is," Rarity pointed out. "Even if they weren't there, they must have heard something about Datamon. We need someone who knows where to find Digimon that seems impossible to locate."

Twilight thought for a moment, her eyes then going wide. Flash noticed the look and raised an eyebrow. "You know something?" He asked, making Twilight look away. "Come on. If you think it might help us find Datamon, you gotta tell us."

"I know that," Twilight sighed. "But..." She glanced over at Tawnimon, who looked back at her. As their eyes met, the owl Digimon gasped.

"No," he stated, "you can't seriously be thinking of asking him. Not after what he did!"

"We might not have a choice," Twilight told him. "I know you hate him, but that was a while ago. Maybe he's changed his ways. And if he hasn't, this just gives us an excuse to make him pay again."

"What are you guys talking about?" Flash asked, as Twilight turned to them.

"Hookmon."

"Hookmon?" Veemon asked, "who's that?"

"A dangerous pirate Digimon," Rarity frowned. "Twilight, are you sure going to him is a good idea? The last time we met him, he wasn't exactly friendly."

"Why?" Flash asked, "what happened?"

Twilight sighed. "It was right before Tawnimon and I became partners. We'd met before and had worked together to overcome a problem. But two months later, something new happened."

In an old fashioned Japanese city, a pair of Digimon were fighting.

One was a flower Digimon named Lilamon, said Digimon being a mix of pink and yellow with a large flower on her back and flower petals in place of her hands and feet.

The flower Digimon leapt into the air, flying above the Japanese buildings as she spotted her opponent atop one of them. Said Digimon being a human woman in a black body suit, with gold and purple fox-themed armor covering her. In her hands was a golden staff, with golden rings around it.

"Pollen Spray!" Lilamon cried, unleashing a blast of pollen from her flower hands. But the Digimon leapt into the air, doing several flips to avoid the cloud before landing atop another building.

Once she did, she spun her staff around. "Fox Drive!" She thrust the staff forward and unleashed a blast of blue fire, which shot towards the plant Digimon and slammed into her. The flames completely consumed her, making her scream as she was dealt some heavy damage. And as the fire began to fade, the woman leapt towards Lilamon and smashed her staff into her.

The Digimon screamed as she was deleted, the body vanishing as a girl and a Lalamon fell out of it and hit the ground.

The battle was over, the battlefield slowly disappearing as the other Digimon landed and transformed back into Twilight. "Woo!" She cheered, happy that she had been able to claim victory.

After she and her opponent said their goodbyes, Twilight headed out of the Rookie Dome and headed towards the foyer. There, Rarity and Rainbow were speaking with their Digimon conversing. In the two months since they had met, Rainbow and Kamemon had grown into a real team.

"Twilight," Rarity waved, "great battle."

"Yeah," Rainbow smirked. "You won, even though your opponent had another Security."

"Thanks," Twilight smiled, "but that extra security could have come in handy." She sat back and thought about what getting said extra security would entail. "Having a partner."

"You want a Digimon Partner?" Rarity asked. "Any idea what Digimon you'd want to work with?"

"I have no idea," Twilight sighed. "And I don't just want a partner for the sake of having one. If I had a partner, it would be because the two of us are the perfect team." They nodded at this, understanding perfectly. They could have had a bunch of Digimon as partners, but they all chose to wait until the perfect partner was revealed. And because of that, they had no regrets partner wise.

Before they could say anything else, Rainbow's Digivice beeped as she took it out. "I got a message from the Digital World." She opened it up and was surprised. "It's from Cherrymon."

"Really?" Twilight looked over at the device, "what does it say?" Rainbow read it and when she did, she gasped.

"Berry Town's been attacked!" Kamemon gasped and leapt off his chair, running towards the Digi-Port. "I hear you!" She got up and ran after her as well, Twilight and Rarity running with her. "We gotta get there right away!"

"But Berry Town's a Champion Area," Twilight pointed out. "We can't port directly there." Rainbow and Rarity frowned, the two both being Rookies just like Twilight. That meant they would need to travel to a nearby Rookie level and make their way over to it.

"Then we can't waste any more time," Salamon cried. "We have to get there as soon as possible." They all agreed and once at the Digi-Port, they transferred themselves to an area with a train leading straight to the town.

Luck seemed to be on their side, as when they arrived the train was just about to take off. They quickly got on board and rode it towards the town, whilst sending messages to the rest of their friends who had been there the last time.

Eventually, they reached the station outside of Berry Town and quickly disembarked. As they did, they were shocked to see the place was a total mess. It was in a worse state than when HooTawnimon and his flock had attacked.

"What happened here?" Rainbow asked, as she moved over to a destroyed house and picked up some of the wood. Kamemon frowned, seeing his former home in such a terrible state. They then heard movement and saw a Cutemon poking his head out the door.

"Are you okay?" Rarity rushed over to her, "what happened?"

"We were attacked," Cutemon started crying. "A big ship appeared in the sky and started firing nets on the town. When they caught the Digimon, they were pulled back up into the ship. Some of us tried to fight back, then we were attacked by cannon balls and powerful water blasts."

"That's horrible!" Twilight cried. "And they took the Digimon?"

"Not all of us," Cutemon cried. "But a lot. They came from the direction of HooTawnimon's flock. I don't know, but I think they attacked them first." Twilight gasped at this, as more movement made them look around and see someone walking towards them. Cherrymon.

The Ultimate Digimon was not in the best of shape, as his branches had bandages wrapped around them and band-aids were covering the cracks in his trunk body. "Kamemon," he sighed, "and everyone else. Thank you for coming. I just wish I didn't have to ask for your help like this."

"Are you kidding," Rainbow rushed over to him. "If you didn't tell us about this, I'd be super mad. I'm gonna make whoever did this pay a thousand times over. Just point me in his direction. Where'd he go?"

"I don't know," Cherrymon sighed. "They came in the dead of night and attacked without mercy. I tried to protect the others, but that ship was incredibly powerful. I didn't stand a chance against that onslaught." The girls frowned, since that could mean they went in any direction. "Please. Save my citizens. Who knows what that fiend is doing with them right now."

They nodded and as they did, Twilight turned in the direction of HooTawnimon's home. "I want to make sure the Tawnimon are okay," she told them. "And he might have an idea where this ship went." They agreed and after Salamon and Rainbow Digivolved, the group flew towards the mountainous area.

When they arrived, they frowned seeing the tree surrounded mountain was completely deserted.

The nests were all destroyed and several trees had also been knocked down. The place did not look great. "Oh, this is just awful," Rarity cried. "Why would anybody do this?"

"I don't know," Twilight sighed. "But they couldn't have gotten all the Tawnimon. Maybe one got away and-" She stopped when she saw a section of trees that had been knocked down. And laying in the mass of fallen trees was a familiar Champion Digimon. "HooTawnimon!"

They flew down and once on the ground, Twilight rushed over to HooTawnimon and started looking him over. He was in no serious danger, but he had taken a serious beating.

"I've got a HP Capsule," Rarity cried as she used her Digivice to summon the item. Once it appeared, Twilight used it on HooTawnimon and started healing him.

"Please, wake up." For a few moments, nothing happened. Twilight feared they might have been too late. But the Digimon slowly let out a groan and opened his eyes. "You're alright!"

He turned to her, "Twilight?" She nodded, "what are you doing here?"

"Cherrymon summoned us," Twilight explained. "Berry Town got attacked by a flying ship of some kind. And we're guessing the same thing happened to you." HooTawnimon began to pick himself up and looked around, "don't push yourself."

The Digimon growled before letting out a roar of frustration. "No!" He slammed his wings into the side of the mountain. "He took them. He took them all!"

"Who took them?" Rainbow asked. "Do you know who they are?"

"No," he growled. "They blindsided me before I could figure out who it was. But...I heard them say some kind of attack name. Captain Cannon."

"Captain Cannon?" Twilight hummed and gasped, "Hookmon!" They others looked at her. "I saw a battle before, where the player used Hookmon. Captain Cannon was definitely one of its attack names."

"Hookmon?" HooTawnimon frowned, "so that's the one that attacked us." He spread his wings, "I will make him pay!" But before he could take off, Twilight jumped in front of him.

"Wait!" She cried, "let's not get hasty. You can't just go running off randomly to look for him. You have no idea where he is. You can't afford to waste time going off somewhere at random." HooTawnimon sighed and lowered his wings.

"You're right. What do you suggest?" Twilight frowned as she tried to think, then nodded.

"So what did you do?" Flash asked, as the group made their way towards the location Twilight was taking them.

Twilight smiled. "I tracked down the Codex player who used the Hookmon scan," Twilight replied. "Turns out, he got it from the very Hookmon we were after. It's not an easy scan to find." Flash nodded, as they reached the edge of the cliff they had been walking towards.

They stared down at the ocean, then towards an outcrop of land that was acting as the perfect port. But by the state of the place, it had clearly seen better days. The boats there were nothing more than little dinghys. The wooden piers they were tied to were old, rotten and broken and the few buildings that were left standing, looked like they could be blown over by an extra strong wind.

"This place has certainly seen better days," Rarity frowned as they remembered the last time they had been there.

Arriving at the cliff, Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity and the Digimon stared down at the docks and saw it appeared to be a bustling location.

Many Digimon were preparing the boats to head out to sea, whilst others were working at stalls hoping to sell their wears. "Are you sure this is the place?" Rarity asked, as they stared down at the port.

"The kid I talked to said this was where he met Hookmon. It's the only lead we have, so we need to look into it."

HooTawnimon frowned. "None of these boats are the one I saw last night. He's not here."

"Maybe not," Twilight replied. "But someone here might know where to find him." She patted him on the shoulder, "maybe it would be better if you stayed here. No offences. But a large Digimon like you, might draw too much attention." HooTawnimon frowned, but nodded in agreement.

Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Salamon and Kamemon headed down into the port. Once there, they started asking around. Every Digimon at the port knew Hookmon, telling them about how he was once a great naval captain. He spent years chasing after a legendary White Whamon, but had never been able to capture it.

Apparently, his last boat had been destroyed by the beast and his entire crew had been lost. He had been stranded at sea, trapped there for days with threats appearing every few minutes. It wasn't until he was saved by a flock of Parrotmon, that he was able to return to dry land and recover. But after that, he was apparently terrified of the open sea.

"So do you have any idea where he might be?" She asked a Digimon, that looked like a blue human that had a fish's head, with a fishing rod on its back.

"Well, he used to come here all the time. But ever since he started his new business venture, he's not been seen. I guess he wanted to get as far away from the ocean as possible." Twilight frowned, fearing she might have run the lead dry. But then the Digimon thought for another moment. "Although..."

"Although what?"

The Digimon pointed to an area further along the cliff. "About ten miles that way, there's an ocean cave that Hookmon used to repair his ship inside. It's huge and the only way to get into it is by ship."

"Or a Digimon with wings," Twilight smiled as she thanked the Digimon and ran back to the others. By this point in time, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy had finally caught up with them. The three were just as upset with what had happened to Berry Town as them, so were more than happy enough to help find and save the Digimon. Twilight just hoped this wasn't going to be a wild goose chase.

Back in the present, Twilight and the others walked through the pier looking for any Digimon that might be able to help them.

"Are you sure Hookmon is here?" Micro asked, Twilight unsure how to answer that.

"I'm hoping so," Twilight sighed. "If he isn't, I'm not sure where we'd find him." They continued to look around and Flash eventually spotted a Digimon.

"Maybe he knows where we'll find him." He pointed the Digimon out and Twilight smiled, seeing the same fish headed Digimon she had talked to once.

Said Digimon was sitting, cross legged, at the end of the pier with a fishing rod cast out to see. "Trawlmon!" He looked over his shoulder, as Twilight stepped over to him. "I know you probably don't remember me-"

"Oh, I remember you. The human that was asking about Hookmon. That whole situation certainly was the talk of the town for a while. At least..." He looked around and frowned, "when there was a town." He looked back out to sea. "Let me guess. You're looking for Hookmon again, aren't you?"

"Yes," Twilight replied.

"Well...I haven't seen him since you were last here. I guess he realised he couldn't show his face around these parts again. Not after what he did." They frowned, knowing that finding him might have just gotten a lot harder. "But..."

"But?" Micro asked, "you said you hadn't seen him."

"Yes, but I did hear a few rumours. Apparently, what happened got him over his fear of the ocean. I heard he's back out there, once again searching for the legendary White Whamon. At least...that's the rumours I've heard. You'll want to be careful, chasing rumours. They can only lead to trouble."

"We have no choice," Micro stated. "If this guy can lead us to Datamon, we have to find him." The others nodded, but then looked out at the Net Ocean. None of them were really big on going out to see, especially after what happened the last time they were near the water, but they had no choice. They had to find Hookmon.

Twilight rode upon HooTawnimon's back, as Nefertimon, Birdramon and Sunflowmon flew beside them.

They were following the cliffs of the coast, keeping a look out for any sign of the cave Trawlmon had told Twilight about. "Are you sure he'll be here?" HooTawnimon asked, as Twilight held up her Digivice.

A holographic image on the Digital World appeared above the device, with two areas highlighted. "This part of the Digital World isn't that far from your home. If whatever he's doing involves attack and then retreat tactics, it would make sense that he would use this location as a base."

"I think I see something!" Pinkie cried from Sunflowmon's hands. They all looked down and saw a hole in the side of the mountain, which was half way in the water so allowed the ocean to flow into it. They all flew over to it, attempting to look into the cave but couldn't see all the way to the back.

"What's the plan?" Birdramon asked, "do we fly in and attack?"

"We don't even know if he's in there," Rarity pointed out. "And if he is, charging in without knowing what's waiting for us is suicide."

"I'll go take a look," Kamemon stated as he leapt off Birdramon's back. Dilemon leapt out of Sunflowmon's hands and they both dove into the water, splashing down into it before swimming towards the cave.

"Be careful," Pinkie cried, as the rest of them flew up and out of sight of the boat.

The two water Digimon swam as best they could, their strong eyes allowing them to see just how deep the cave's pool was. A hundred meters into the cave, they finally found themselves reaching the end of the pool. And when they did, they saw something floating in the water. The bottom of a large ship, which was a mixture of metal and wood just like HooTawnimon had described.

The pair surfaced and looked up to see the massive ship that was anchored within the cave, the sails being up to avoid getting ripped. As they swam around the ship, they saw the cave continued to go deeper. It was another fifty meters or so, with large metal cages lined up against the back wall. And as they stared at the cages, they saw many Digimon trapped inside.

Kamemon frowned when he saw Digimon he knew from Berry Town, but that wasn't all.

There was Digimon he had never met before, along with several that looked like they had been in this cave for a good while. And in one area of the cave, he saw a bunch of cages containing multiple Tawnimon.

Kamemon and Dilemon shared a look, nodding before they went to head back outside. But before they did, they heard movement up on the ship and looked over at the gangplank. "Ahhh!" They heard, "come on!" Someone was pushing something down the plank, as a creature let out an angry squawk.

They kept watching, as the Digimon was revealed. It was a humanoid Digimon, wearing a purple overcoat and purple hat. It had white pants and black leather boots with red at the top. Its left arm ended in a cannon whilst, its right had a golden hook on it. Its face was hidden in the shadows of its hat and coat, but a single eye could be seen coming out of it whilst its other was hidden behind an eye-patch.

The Digimon pushed a metal box down the gangplank, which had several bars on the front of it that sealed the cage.

When he reached the bottom, he pushed the cage over to the wall. "There," he sighed, "that's the last of it." He looked around, seeing the many captured Digimon. "Don't give me those pouty expressions. We're going to be rich. Well...I'm going to be rich. With all those humans searching for Digimon to scan, they'll flock to this cave in order to buy the chance to scan you all. And I'll get some serious Digi-Dollar in return."

"That's why he's doing this?" Kamemon did not look happy. His anger distracted him, so much so that he accidentally lost his grip on the side of the boat and sank a little into the water. When his helmet hit the water, it made a small splashing sound. It might have been small, but the cave made it echo loudly.

"What?" Hookmon spun around, turning to the water and spotting the two Digimon. "Hey!" He pointed his cannon arm at them, "what are you doing here?" The Digimon gasped and dived into the water. "Oh no you don't!" He ran towards the water and the weapon charged up. "Captain Cannon!" A blast of energy fired out of the weapon and struck the water, causing it to explode.

The ship's metal plating kept it safe, but the water and sent rippling.

Kamemon and Dilemon tried to out-swim it, but the water began to wave and they lost control. Both were thrown out of the water and slammed into part of the cave's shore, the two moaning as they pushed themselves up.

"Liquid Bullet!" They then heard, making them look over and see a blast of water flying towards them.

"Water Gun!" Dilemon fired a stream of water, which struck the water bullet and caused them both to explode.

Kamemon then ran forward. "Get out of here!" He told Dilemon, as he charged at Hookmon. "Torto-Tackle!" He pulled himself into his shell and rolled towards Hookmon, Dilemon quickly using the distraction to dive back into the water and make for the exit.

Hookmon saw the Digimon approaching and braced himself, Kamemon slamming into him and causing the Champion Digimon to be knocked a few feet back. Kamemon then leapt away and came out of his shell, clearly not happy.

"Let my friends go!"

"I don't think so," Hookmon laughed as he pointed his cannon at him. "But if you miss them, how about I put you in a cage right next to them. "Metal Shot!" A cannonball exploded out of his arm and Kamemon barely managed to avoid it, the iron sphere slamming into the wall and causing the entire cave to shake.

Kamemon frowned, knowing he likely wouldn't be able to beat Hookmon without Digivolving. But with Rainbow outside, he couldn't. And with how large the cave was, Dilemon probably wouldn't be able to get outside for a while. "You kidnapped all those Digimon, just so you can sell them to Codex Players."

"Not them. Just their scans. The Codex players will come in, pay me a bunch of Digi-Dollars, then get their choice of any Digimon to scan."

"Then why capture so many?" Kamemon asked, remembering the large number of Tawnimon in cages. "All you need is one Digimon. Why capture so many of the same?"

"A kid scanned me once and said I had good stats. He said every Digimon has different stats based on what they do in their lives. When the humans come, I'll have one of them scan every single Tawnimon. And when I find the one with the best stats, I'll keep that one and get rid of the rest."

Kamemon knew he didn't mean he would release them. "You monster." He charged, but Hookmon side-stepped his attack. And as he ran past him, Hookmon spun around and used his hook to grab him by the back of his shell.

"Call me what you want!" Hookmon spun around and smashed Kamemon into the wall, "doesn't change what's gonna happen!" He spun around and slammed Kamemon down onto the ground. "I spent my life searching for that White Whamon, only to get my boat sunk and almost eaten by a bunch of sea Digimon."

"So what?" Kamemon groaned, "how does that give you the right to do this?"

"It just does. And nobody's gonna stop me!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that!" They spun around and saw Birdramon flying towards them, Fluttershy and Terriermon on her back. The others were following behind her, though Birdramon was clearly faster and they wouldn't be there for another minute or so. "Let him go!"

Hookmon frowned and raised his cannon, firing a Liquid Bullet attack at her. But Birdramon dodged to the side, Terriermon leaping off as he did. Fluttershy held up her Digivice, which glowed as the bunny dog was surrounded by light. "Terriermon, Digivolve to...GARGOMON!"

Hookmon watched the new champion fall towards the ground, using his ears as parachutes whilst pointing his arm guns at him. But Hookmon leapt away from Kamemon before Gargomon could fire, shooting his own Liquid Bullet as he did so.

Gargomon swung his arms around, deflecting most of the bullets that slammed into him. But one managed to hit his ear and caused him to cry out, his ear folding and causing him to fall to the ground. "Ow!" He cried, as Hookmon began to run.

"Get back here!" Birdramon cried, as she soared after him. As she did, her wings began to smoke as she prepared to unleash a Meteor Wing. But just as she was about to fire, Hookmon launched another Liquid Bullet and a water blast slammed into her. She squawked as she fell into the water, Fluttershy falling in with her, splashing around as she was soaked to the bone.

Hookmon laughed, as he reached his ship and ran up the gangplank.

Fluttershy swam to the shore, as Birdramon continued to keep thrashing around. "You've got to change back!" Fluttershy told her, as Kamemon dived in and swam towards her. Birdramon groaned, but did as Fluttershy instructed and reverted back to her human form.

As she did, the others finally arrived and HooTawnimon gasped. "There! That's the ship that attacked us."

Hookmon had reached his wheel and stared up at them. "Oh, it's you. I didn't think I'd be seeing you again." They all glared at him, as he used his hook to spin the wheel. "Well, I might as well add you to my collection!" As he did that, the sides of the ship opened up and a bunch of cannons folded out.

"Scatter!" Twilight cried, as the cannons started firing nets. They shot through the air, the Digimon quickly avoiding them as they attempted to attack the ship themselves. Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie all took out their Digivices, leaping off the Digimon as they swung them around. "Biomerge!" The cubes of light appeared around them and they started to transform.

"Patamon, Digivolve to...UNIMON!"

"Salamon, Digivolve to...GATOMON!"

"Salamon, Armor Digivolve to...OPOSSUMON!" Pinkie had transformed into a strange looking Digimon, which was a black and white cat-like Digimon with red gloves, boots and a hat. In her hand was a bunch of strings, attached to balloons with faces on that kept the Digimon aloft.

"Aerial Attack!" Unimon launched a blast of light towards the deck, with Hookmon replying with his Captain Cannon. The two blasts collided and exploded, the shockwaves causing the cave around them to shake and form cracks in the ceiling.

Unimon frowned, as she realised this place wasn't stable enough to survive a drawn out battle.

As she thought that, both Gatomon and Opossumon landed on the deck. But before they could charge, multiple parts of the ship opened up and a bunch of cannons folded out. "Fire!" Hookmon yelled, launching net after net at the transformed girls.

Gatomon started jumping around, whilst Opossumon's balloons inflated and she was lifted into the air.

"Sunshine Beam!" Sunflowmon launched the blast from her face, which hit the side of the ship. This made it rock, but the ship's hull managed to stay intact. "What's that thin' made of?"

"I'm heading down," Labramon leapt down towards the water, splashing into it and quickly dog paddling towards the shore. Rainbow and Fluttershy had also reached the shore, where Kamemon and Gargomon were waiting for them. But as they pulled their partners out of the water, the cannons kept firing nets towards them.

"Look out!" Gargomon unleashed a barrage of bullets, which tore the netting apart. This allowed them and Labramon to pull themselves up onto the shore, as Hookmon unleashed more and more nets.

The humans shared a look and nodded, both taking out their Digivices. "Kamemon!" She cried, her Digivice glowing alongside her partner.

The tortoise Digimon ran forward, as his body was wrapped up in light. "Kamemon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger before the Digimon broke out of it. "Gwappamon!" The kappa Digimon reached up to his head. "DJ Shooter!" The CD disks shot out of his head and cut through the nets, allowing Rainbow and Fluttershy to perform a Biomerge.

"Lopmon, Digivolve to...TURUIEMON!"

"Falcomon, Digivolve to...PECKMON!" The ostrich Digimon rushed forward, spreading her wings as more nets flew forward. "Kunai Wing!" A bunch of metal tools flew out of her wings and cut through the netting, Turuiemon rushing after her. The others followed, as they charged towards the ship.

Unimon watched all this, whilst HooTawnimon glared at Hookmon. "HooTawnimon!" He heard Gwappamon yell, making him turn to the water Digimon. "Your friends are at the back of the cage. Hurry!"

"We'll cover you," Unimon assured him. HooTawnimon nodded and flew around the ship, Unimon blasting any nets that got too close to him. He reached the back of the cave and saw the many cages, his flockmate's screams making his heart squeeze.

"We'll get you out of there!" He assured them, as Gwappamon and Labramon also reached him. The others continued to attack the ship, as Hookmon fired at them from the deck.

"Get away from my merchandise!"

"They're not your merchandise!" Unimon cried. "You had no right to do that to them."

"I have every right to do whatever the heck I want!" He fired a Metal Shot at her, but she dodged it and the attack slammed into the ceiling. The impact caused the cave to shake again, causing more and more of the rock to break apart.

"Stop it!" Unimon cried. "Can't you see, you're going to tear this place apart!"

"Then you had better leave!" Hookmon cried. "And leave your partners here. I know I can't sell scans of you, but they should fetch a high price!"

"You're despicable!" Opossumon cried, as Gatomon punched a cannon and destroyed it.

"Call me what you want, but I refuse to let my new business venture be destroyed!" He fired his water cannon arm and struck Opossumon, hitting her balloons and causing them to pop. She screamed, as she fell to the deck and actually fell on Gatomon.

"HEY!" She cried, Opossumon apologising. As she did, a net shot towards them and the pair quickly found themselves getting trapped by it. They cried out, as Nefertimon flew down. "Cat's Eye Beam!" She fired a laser from her head ornament, which hit the deck and moved towards the net. But before she could reach the net, one shot at her and she was also captured.

"Nefertimon!" Gatomon cried, as her partner fell into the water. Unimon saw her trying to swim, but her armor was dragging her down. But before her head could fall under the water, something came up from beneath her. It then lifted her out of the water and kept her from sinking. Gatormon.

"Good boy," Opossumon cheered. But Nefertimon was still trapped in the net, unable to fly. And as Gatormon swam her back to shore, he was a sitting duck for the nets.

Luckily, Unimon was able to protect him from the nets and Hookmon growled. He then noticed Peckmon, Sunflowmon, Turuiemon and Gargomon were attacking the other side. And at the same time, HooTawnimon, Labramon and Gwappamon were beginning to free the captives. His number of enemies were growing larger by the minute.

"That's it!" He cried, pulling several levers on his console. "I'm out of here. I can always start over somewhere else. Plenty more Digimon to capture." The vents on the side of the ship began to unleash blasts of air, which caused the water beneath the ship to turn into waves that flew towards the shore.

HooTawnimon took to the air, but everyone else was struck by the wave. Unimon and Sunflowmon also managed to avoid it, the three watching as the ship was propelled upwards into the air.

"Time for you two to go!" Hookmon cried, pulling another lever that caused the section of the deck under the two cat Digimon to fly into the air. It was attached to a spring, which kept it from being lost. But Gatomon and Opossumon were thrown upwards.

The Digimon both screamed, as they flew through the air and were still stuck in the net. The ship began to fly away, leaving them with nothing to stop them from crashing painfully into the water. Luckily, Sunflowmon flew down and caught them before they could hit the surf. But as she did, the ship vanished down the cave's corridor.

"NO!" HooTawnimon flew after him, "you're not getting away." HooTawnimon refused to let him escape and start all this again. He would not allow other Digimon to suffer the same fate as his friends.

He chased after the ship, but the flying boat started firing nets towards him. "Sky Strike!" Energy swirled around him, the Digimon flying forward and ripping through the net before it could entangle him.

Hookmon frowned and started firing his Metal Shot attack. But he wasn't aiming at HooTawnimon, instead firing at the cave all around them. The cannon balls smashed into the walls and ceilings, causing them to shake and break apart. This forced HooTawnimon to slow down and avoid the rocks, which began to fall towards him.

He dodged one, blew another away before using his Sky Strike to smash through the third. But more and more rocks kept falling and HooTawnimon wasn't sure he could get through them all. "Aerial Attack!" A sphere of light shot up and struck one of the boulders, destroying it.

HooTawnimon glanced back, seeing Unimon flying up behind them. The pair flew side by side, as Hookmon kept firing at the ceiling. Together, they managed to keep the rocks from crushing them. And eventually, they left the cave and flew out to the open ocean.

Hookmon growled as he pointed his arm cannon back at them and fired, the pair dodging the attack as Hookmon let out a roar of annoyance. But then he saw the cannon back hit the top of the cave, which caused it to break apart. "Ha!" He laughed. "Go ahead. Chase me. That'll just leave your friends trapped." The two didn't hear this, or notice the cave's damage.

They continued to chase the flying ship out to the open sea, as Hookmon finally had some room to manoeuvre around.

He spun the wheel and the ship swerved around, the cannons on the side of it beginning to fire the nets. Unimon and HooTawnimon both avoided the nets, Unimon quickly launching her Aerial Attack and hitting the side of the ship.

The pirate vessel shook, as Hookmon continued to fly around and keep the ship under control. But no matter how hard they struck the ship, their attacks couldn't damage it.

"What is this thing made of?" Unimon asked, as she flew over the ship. Once above it, she launched an attack upon the deck. But like with the hull, the damage was practically nothing.

"Liquid Bullet!" Hookmon cried, firing the water blast into the air. Unimon managed to avoid it, but her wing was clipped by the shot and she lost control. "Now, Captain Cannon!" The energy blast exploded out of his cannon arm and Unimon, unable to fly right and dodge, was struck in the chest.

"AUGH!" She screamed, as her body began to glow and she reverted back to her human form.

HooTawnimon saw this and gasped, the owl flying beneath her and catching the girl as she landed on his back. He then flew up, out of Hookmon's range without throwing her off. "Are you okay?"

Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes, then realised where she was. "Wow!" She gripped his back and gulped, "I'm alright!" She watched, as the ship began to fly away. "He's getting away!"

"What do we do?" HooTawnimon asked, trying to fly after it. "Nothing we do damages that ship. It's like it's made of Chrome Digizoid or something!" Twilight frowned, unsure what to do either.

She stared at the ship, taking in every inch of it trying to locate a weakness. Then her eyes fell on the sails, which Hookmon had opened the minute her left the cave. If the ship was propelled by its jets, why have the sails?

She stared at them closer and realised the sails were actually glowing, as the sun's rays beamed down on them. "Solar panels!" HooTawnimon asked what she was talking about, "those sails are the ship's main source of energy. If we take them out, the ship's power will eventually run out!"

"I get'cha," HooTawnimon smirked before shooting forward. "Hold on!" Twilight did so and pushed herself against HooTawnimon, making them as aerodynamic as possible.

As they drew closer, Hookmon fired a bunch of blasts whilst the ship launched net after net at the pair of them. But HooTawnimon managed to avoid each and every attack, whilst barely losing any speed. And as they got closer, his body began to glow brighter than ever.

"Super...SKY STRIKE!" He shot forward, moving at an intense speed that turned him into a blur. As such, he slammed into the mast and shattered the wooden pole and all the wires inside of it.

"What?" Hookmon gasped, as his mast began to fall and hit another mast. The impact pushed the mast over, the two solar collectors breaking away from the main ship before falling over the side. As they did, HooTawnimon flew up and out of range. The light around him vanished, as he and Twilight saw what had happened.

The ship was already beginning to lose power, Hookmon screaming as he tried to call upon reserve power. But that had all been used up inside the cave, meaning the ship could do nothing except fall like a rock.

"No, no, no, no!" He screamed, as the ship smashed into the ocean. The force of the impact caused the wood on the hull to break apart, creating a large hole in the side that the water could seep into.

"Looks like it wasn't so indestructible after all," Twilight smiled. "Those sails were probably powering some kind of shield or something."

HooTawnimon smiled. "And now that they're gone, his ship's a sitting duck." They slowly flew down, seeing Hookmon pulling levers and switches trying to save himself. But he couldn't and the ship continued to sink. "It's over!" HooTawnimon cried, "give up!"

"Not gonna happen!" Hookmon yelled. "If you think I'm just gonna sit back and let you capture me, then you've got another thing coming!" He pointed his cannon arm at them and fired, HooTawnimon dodging it.

"What other choice do you have?" Twilight asked. "We know about your fear of the ocean. It's either come with us, or be stranded out at sea again."

"Don't you know, a captain always goes down with his ship!" He fired again, chuckling as he did so. "Besides, don't you think you have more important things to worry about than capturing me? Like saving your friends."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"The cave wasn't exactly stable when we left it. And that last shot I fired hit the cliff and caused it to start shaking. I'm betting the cave's completely collapsed by now. With your friends inside." The pair gasped, both knowing it could very well be a trick. But did they want to risk it actually being true?

HooTawnimon swerved around and flew back towards the mainland, Twilight looking back and seeing the ship disappear more and more below the waves. Hookmon remained on board, clearly determined not to abandon his vessel. She had to give him props for that.

They raced back to the cliff as fast as possible, praying they weren't too late. But as the mainland came into view, they gasped when they spotted the area where the cave was. Or more specifically, where the cave used to be.

"NO!" HooTawnimon cried, seeing the cave had completely collapsed. They stared in shock, at the caved in entrance. Their friends were likely trapped behind that pile of rocks, either buried under a collapsed ceiling or bobbing in the overflowing water.

"What do we do?" Twilight asked, trying to think but having no idea how they could save everyone.

But then, they heard a voice coming from above. "Twilight!" They looked up and saw Pinkie, standing atop the cliff above the entrance.

They gasped and flew up, seeing all their friends and every one of Hookmon's victims. "You got out!" Twilight cried, "how?"

"It wasn't easy," Applejack told her. "Everyone who could fly had to carry as many Digimon as they could." She held her back, clearly having gone overboard with the number of Digimon she had flown to safety. "What about you? Did ya'h get Hookmon?"

"We took out his ship," HooTawnimon stated. "We would have stayed, but he told us you were all going to be trapped under the rubble."

"We almost were," Rarity sighed.

Rainbow nodded. "We managed to get everyone out barely a second before the cave collapsed." The others nodded, whilst Twilight sighed. It had been a close one, but they had managed to save everyone. And now, Hookmon wouldn't be able to hurt anyone again. At least, she hoped that would be the case. And she also hoped, she would never have to see that horrible Digimon again.

Back in the present, Twilight rode HooTawnimon as they flew over the Net ocean.

Flash was riding atop ExVeemon, whilst Micro was on Kabuterimon's head and Rarity sat astride Nefertimon. The group flew over the water and searched every inch of it, but knew it wouldn't be easy to find Hookmon. "The Net Ocean is huge!" Micro told them. "Searching all of it is gonna take forever."

"Well it's not like we've got any better options," Flash told him. "Maybe it'd be easier if we split up and searched different parts of it." But the moment he said that, he didn't like the idea. Given what had happened last time they were out at the ocean, being alone there felt like it was just asking for trouble.

"There has to be some clue to help us find him," Twilight sighed. But as she said that, HooTawnimon looked down and noticed something in the water.

"What was that?" He pulled himself to a stop and everyone flew up next to him.

"What's what?" ExVeemon asked, as HooTawnimon stared at the water.

"I'm sure I saw something." They all looked down, but none of them could see anything. "Something was moving under the water." They continued to stare at the water. The sun's rays beamed down upon it, causing it to reflect the light and make it almost impossible to see anything beneath the surface.

"Are you sure?" Flash asked. "I don't see anything." The others nodded, whilst HooTawnimon sighed.

"Maybe I was just imagining-" He stopped when he saw it again. Something was definitely moving beneath the surface. "There's definitely something under there!" He stared deeper into it, his powerful eyes able to see a lot better than the others. There was something moving beneath the surface.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, but HooTawnimon couldn't answer. The movements were too random, so he couldn't get a good enough lock on it. It would appear, HooTawnimon would follow it, then it would move suddenly and he would lose track.

"I don't know." He kept staring and saw it again. But this time, it didn't seem to be moving. Instead...it was getting bigger. "What?" He kept watching, as it became a round object that grew larger and larger with each passing second. And by the time he realised what it was doing, it was too late. "MOVE!" He screamed, the other's reflexes kicking in and causing them to bolt.

But HooTawnimon wasn't fast enough and suddenly, the water's surface exploded as something shot out of it. Something so unbelievably massive, it completely dwarfed HooTawnimon.

The world seemed to slow down for everyone, as they stared at the gigantic creature in absolute shock. It was a Digimon they all knew, but there was something different about it. The creature looked like a giant whale, its head being covered in a brown covering whilst its back had no skin and revealed a bunch of red muscle. Its spine could be seen, along with some of its ribs that disappeared into the rest of its body. Its head had a bunch of cables running around the edge of it, where its eyes should have been. The rest of its body was a normal whale body, but that was where it was different.

Instead of being blue, which is what everyone else knew it to be, its body was a ghostly white.

The albino Digimon flew upwards, its colossal mouth opening and surrounding HooTawnimon as he tried to fly out of it. "Twilight!" Flash cried, seeing the girl on her Digimon's back looking horrified. And then, the mouth closed around them and the giant Whamon began to sink back down into the water.

It crashed into the ocean with so much force, the water around it was sent flying into the air.

It smashed into the others, knocking them all flying backwards as their Digimon fought to regain control. And when they finally did, everyone gasped before looking down to see the creature disappear beneath the waves. It vanished into the abyss, taking their friends down with it. "TWILIGHT!"

Author's Note

Well, that's certainly a nail biting cliffhanger. How will Twilight and Tawnimon get out of this? Will Flash and the others find a way to save them? And what mysteries await our heroes in the next chapter? Only time will tell.

Belly of the Beast

Twilight moaned, as she began to come around. When she did, she heard seagulls squawking in the sky and the sound of waves crashing against the land.

The air was packed with the smell of the ocean and as Twilight moved her body, she felt sand beneath her hands. She opened her eyes and saw a clear blue sky above her. She sat herself up, only to realise she was on a beach. And as she looked up and down it, she saw nothing but sand as far as she could. And behind her, was a large number of trees and other plants.

"Where...where am I?" She then heard another moan and looked around, gasping when she saw Tawnimon on the ground beside her. "Tawnimon!" She picked him up, "are you okay? Answer me, please!" He groaned before opening his eyes.

"Twilight?" He looked around, "what happened?"

That was a good question, Twilight trying to think and suddenly remembering. How they and their friends had been out at sea, trying to find Hookmon in hopes of learning where Datamon was. "We...we were looking at something beneath the waves. Something that exploded out of the water and...and ate us!"

Tawnimon looked around. "I don't get it. Why would getting eaten...lead us to waking up on an island?"

"Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth," Twilight took out her Digivice and tried to scan the area. But she got a message saying something was blocking the scan from going through. "Weird." She then tried porting out, but nothing happened. "This can't be good."

Tawnimon frowned. "If we can't port out, I'll just fly us out." Twilight nodded and held out her Digivice, which unleashed a bunch of light that flew over to her partner. "Tawnimon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger before exploding, revealing his Champion form. "HooTawnimon!" Twilight smiled and quickly climbed up onto him, the giant owl taking off.

As HooTawnimon went higher, Twilight looked back and saw they had been on some kind of desert island.

Size wise, it appeared about the same as Codex. A perfect circle of green forest, surrounded by a ring of sand on every side. And in the very centre of it, was a tall mountain-like rock with a flat surface. "Nice looking place," she stated. "Too bad I couldn't scan it for later."

HooTawnimon looked around, frowning as he did. "We might have a problem. I can't seem to see land in any direction." Twilight frowned, since flying in one direction without knowing if it was the right way, could be dangerous if HooTawnimon got tired.

"Try flying higher," Twilight suggested. "That should help us see further on the horizon." HooTawnimon nodded and they kept flying straight up. However, something was about to happen that they never expected. They slammed into something, the pair's heads hitting what felt like a squishy ceiling.

"What the?" HooTawnimon cried, pulling back as they stared up at the blue sky.

Twilight tilted her head before reaching out and poking whatever they had hit, the blue sky wobbling like jelly. "Okay, I wasn't expecting that." HooTawnimon flew in another direction, Twilight tracing her hand across the sky to see if the stuff gave way. But it didn't and the sky continued to wobble. Then, something else happened.

Suddenly, the entire area started shaking. The ocean was thrown back and forth, whilst the island shook with some of the trees being pulled over. And as the shaking continued, a sound filled the air. One that almost sounded like someone trying to stifle a laugh.

"What is that?" HooTawnimon asked, as Twilight pulled her hand away from the sky. And as she did, the shaking and laughing slowly came to a stop. "That was weird." Twilight agreed, but also looked rather worried.

"I think...I think I know where we are."

"Where are we?"

"Inside a stomach. We were eaten and now, we're trapped inside the belly of a giant sea Digimon." Her partner's eyes went wide, clearly horrified by this announcement. And if they really were trapped inside a Digimon, how in the world were they going to escape?

Up above the ocean, Flash, Micro, Rarity and their Digimon were flying over the water still looking shocked.

"See anything?" Flash asked, but the others shook their heads. Flash could barely believe something so unexpected had happened, the young man replaying the event over and over in his head. "Come on Twilight." He held up his Digivice and tried to get a signal, but Twilight's Digivice refused to give its location.

"We need a water Digimon," Nefertimon stated. "One that can dive deep under the water and find that thing."

"That's easier said than done," Rarity pointed out. "I don't have any water Digimon. Do any of you?" Micro shook his head, whilst Flash brought up his Betamon and Seadramon scans.

"I can Digivolve into a water Digimon and search for that thing."

"Hang on," Micro told him. "The Net Ocean is huge. That thing might have been big, but it's still an ant compared to the ocean. Finding it just by searching isn't gonna do us any good. It dove down deep and could have gone off in any direction."

"There has to be some way to track it," Kabuterimon stated. "It's a whale Digimon, so maybe we can use information on whales to help us track it."

"Great," ExVeemon smirked, "what do we know about whales?" Nobody said anything, not having any info at all. "Okay, do we know anyone who might know about whales?"

Rarity smiled and took out her Digivice, bringing someone up who might have an idea. "Fluttershy, are you there?" A few moments later, Fluttershy appeared on the screen.

"I'm here, Rarity. What's wrong?"

"Don't panic, but Twilight has been eaten by a Whamon." Fluttershy's eyes went wide, "we need your help in coming up with a way to help find it and free her." The girls frowned, clearly trying to think. "Anything you can think that might help would be appreciated, even if it's a small thing.

"Well," she said, "I might have one idea. But it's a long shot and I have no idea how you'd pull it off." She explained it and as they did, Micro smiled.

"I think I might be able to pull that off," he told her. "But do you think you can get something for me? It'll be key." Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, wondering what it could be.

In the belly of the beast, Twilight and HooTawnimon had returned to the island.

"So let me get this straight?" HooTawnimon gulped. "We got eaten by a humongous Digimon and somehow, said Digimon has an island and ocean inside his stomach."

Twilight nodded. "This is the Digital World. Anything is possible. But the real question is, how on earth are we gonna get out of here?" HooTawnimon nodded, as the pair looked around the beach. "Maybe there's another way out of here. If we search the island, maybe we'll find something that'll help." He nodded and they took to the air again, flying over the island searching for any clue that could help them escape.

But just as they were flying over the ocean, a new sound filled the air. A sound that made Twilight's heart almost stop. A gun shot.

The loud bang filled the air and several birds were scared out of the trees, HooTawnimon instantly going on alert at the sound. "What?" He looked around, "what happened?"

"Someone just shot at us!" Twilight cried, looking down and trying to find where the shot came from. "This isn't good." Another shot filled the air and HooTawnimon pulled to the side, as something whizzed by them.

"Hang on!" HooTawnimon suddenly swerved around, flying back towards the beach. They were an open target in the air, but HooTawnimon didn't want to surround himself in trees that would make moving difficult. That meant, the only safe spot was at the beach.

But as they flew towards it, something suddenly shot out of the trees. A giant anchor, attached to a chain, shot towards them and slammed into him.

"AUGH!" He was sent plummeting to the ground and Twilight screamed, as she barely managed to hold on until they crashed into the trees and knocked several over. Twilight was finally thrown off his back and hit the ground, rolling along as HooTawnimon groaned.

She picked herself up and took out her Digivice, getting ready to Digivolve if the need arose.

But as she did, someone stepped out from behind the trees and slammed a boot upon one of the fallen ones. "Well I'll be a barnacle on a biscuit barrel. Never expected to see you two here." Twilight finally got a look at the assailant and despite definitely being a Digimon, he was one of the most humanoid Digimon she had ever seen.

He stood at around eight feet, with cream coloured skin and silvery gray hair. He was dressed in red and black pirates clothing, including a black hat with a skull and crossbones, a black coat he wore as a cape, black sleeveless vest with a white undershirt, black pants and brown leather boots. In his right hand, he was carrying a revolver pistol with a barrel as long as his arm. His left arm had a silver and gold gauntlet around it, with an anchor connected to the end.

His right leg, the one propped up on the log, wasn't a real leg. Instead, it was a mechanical prosthetic that was mostly silver with a brown foot. The entire leg was actually a giant revolver gun, but the handle was on the front just below the knee.

The Digimon smirked at them, as he used his overly long pistol to push his hat up. "Long time, no see."

"Who are you?" HooTawnimon asked, as he pushed himself up. "We've never met before."

"Ah...but we have. You scalawags are the ones that ruined my business venture and destroyed my ship, leaving me standard out at sea." The two's eyes went wide, as they realised who they were talking to."

"Hookmon?" Twilight asked.

"CaptainHookmon," he corrected. "The scourge of the sea. The demon of the deep. The badass of the bermuda." He pointed his long pistol at the pair. "And the one that's going to put you two out of your misery." They frowned. If Hookmon had Digivolved, he was likely much stronger than them. This could be bad. "But before I send ya'h to Davy Jones' Locker, why don't ya'h bilgerat tell me how you ended up in the stomach of the White Whamon."

"White Whamon?" Twilight remembered the story she was told, about how Hookmon was always hunting for the legendary Digimon in question. "What about you? How'd you end up here?"

"I'm asking the questions," he stated. "But since I'm in a good mood, I'll answer. After you marooned me out at sea, I was forced to fight and eventually made it back to land on my own. And in doing so, my fear of the murky depths was overcome. So, I managed to acquire a ship and once again went searching for the legendary White Whamon. But...things didn't go exactly as I'd hoped."

Hookmon sailed upon the open sea, in his newly christened ship.

Alas, said ship wasn't the mighty vessel he had once had. In fact, it was nothing more than a small dinghy. The tiny boat barely held him and a handful of supplies, but Hookmon was not to be deterred. As such, he used his cannon arm as a booster rocket and flew across the open ocean.

He laughed, as he bounced across the water in search of the great whale Digimon. And as he did, he looked up at the sky. "Oh merciful Neptunemon. Take pity on this humble marina." But as he said that, he heard a rumble of thunder and looked ahead. Dark clouds were filling the skies ahead and they did not look friendly. "Oh geez."

It wasn't long until the waves were fifty feet high and the rain pummelled down upon his poor boat.

"Wow!" He cried, holding onto the boat's side as best he could. Then, a large wave began to curl up and his boat was pulled up with it. "Curse you, merciful Neptunemon!" With that, the boat was tipped over as the wave smashed down into the water. The ship shattered and Hookmon sank below the seas. And as he did, something appeared in the darkness.

His one good eye went wide, as the creature moved through the waters towards him. And as a flash of thunder illuminated the dark waters, he was shocked to discover the object of his endless hunt had suddenly appeared before him.

The White Whamon opened its mouth and Hookmon screamed, attempting to swim away. But that was tough to do, when your hands were a hook and a cannon. He then tried firing his cannon, but it did nothing to the creature and he was soon swallowed whole.

"The next thing a'h knew, a'h was on this island. Didn't take long to figure where I was and a've bin here ever since."

"You've been here for...how long has it been?" Twilight couldn't help but wonder how the heck he could have survived for so long, though another part felt like maybe she didn't want to know.

"Honestly, no idea. It's always day in here, so there's no real way to measure time. But it couldn't have been that long. Happened about a week after you two sunk my ship. So what is that...a month?" Twilight and her partner glanced at one another, their eyes going wide.

"A little longer than a month," Twilight replied.

"A lot longer than a month," HooTawnimon replied. "So you've been living here, for that long? And even managed to Digivolve." CaptainHookmon smiled. "How did you survive? What have you been eating?"

"Fruits that grow on the trees," he replied. To prove his point, he fired at one of the trees and a moment later, an apple fell down and landed in his hands. "And I fish."

"There are fish in here?" Twilight asked, CaptainHookmon laughing.

"That giant white beast will swallow anything that gets in his way. Fish, dolphins, other marine Digimon. And by the looks of things, you two."

"There are other Digimon?" Twilight asked, as CaptainHookmon nodded.

He looked like he was about to answer, but in that moment something made him stop. "It looks like you're about to get a demonstration." He turned away from them. "You want my advice. Get up high." With that, he leapt away from them. His mechanical leg allowed him to leap a great distance.

Twilight and HooTawnimon weren't sure what he was talking about, but a sudden rumbling made them worry.

As such, Twilight climbed onto her partner and they took to the air. HooTawnimon flew as high as he could and as they got above the island, Twilight spotted movement on the rock in the middle and saw the metal anchor from before flying up and embed itself into the rock. The chain then retracted and pulled CaptainHookmon up, the Ultimate landing on top of the rock.

A bright light then appeared in the distance and Twilight wondered what was happening, only for a wave of water to come barrelling into the area they were in. "What?" The water crashed down on the island and completely submerged it, with only a few feet of the rock's tip remaining above it. CaptainHookmon was kneeling, keeping himself from being pushed over by stray splashes of water.

The water was carrying something. A bunch of fish, which were mostly being swept past the ocean and pushed towards the back of...wherever this place was. And there, a dark light appeared that the water flowed into. Eventually, the flow of water ceased with most of the excess being sucked into the dark light. The water level dropped and the island reappeared, looking like nothing had even happened.

CaptainHookmon stood back up and quickly leapt down to the ground, where a bunch of fish were flopping around.

He stabbed one with his pistol and lifted it up, as HooTawnimon flew over to him. "See. That's what happens when White Whamon opens its mouth. I was lucky to get slammed into that rock when I was swallowed. But most aren't so lucky."

"How many Digimon has this thing swallowed?" Twilight asked, fearing to know the answer.

"Not really sure. I saw a few Gomamon once, but they were sucked into the dark light before I could get any info out of them." He turned towards the area the dark light had been in. "Can't be sure, but I'm guessing that leads to the stomach. This is probably meant to act as a storage. The fish get stored here for later use, like if the Whamon can't find food in a long while. Not sure why there's an island, but I'm not complaining." He threw the fish away and glared at her. "Now, to deal with you." He pointed his pistol at them.

The pair gasped as they flew away, CaptainHookmon running after them.

Back in the ocean, Flash and Rarity waited for Micro's plan to go into action.

Flash was on Kabuterimon's back, tying a bunch of rope to the insect's horn. As he did, he turned to his friend. "This is either completely brilliant, or absolute madness."

Micro smirked. "It's amazing how often those two things can be mistaken for one another." As he said that, Rarity was suddenly reminded of something.

"Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form."

"What?" Nefertimon asked.

"It's a quote from an old story, about a man who was obsessed with hunting down a dangerous whale. He went to great lengths in order to find it."

"And what happened to him?" Rarity didn't answer, "I see. Hopefully, this story doesn't end the same way." At that moment, Rarity's Digivice beeped and she smiled when she saw a file being uploaded to it.

"Micro, Fluttershy sent the music you asked for."

"Alright," Micro nodded, "get ready to send it over." He took out his Digivice and swung it around, unleashing a cube with the image of Tentomon within it. "Biomerge!" He stepped into the cube and transformed into the ladybug Digimon. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." He grew larger and Kabuterimon seemed to be struggling with the weight, until the light exploded off of him. "Ballistamon!"

The robotic Digimon moved towards the edge of Kabuterimon's head, as Flash rushed over and started tying the rope around him. At the same time, Rarity began to upload the file to his system.

"Okay. Time to sing to some whales!" With that, Ballistamon rushed forward and leapt off his partner's head. He then splashed down into the water, the rope connecting him to Kabuterimon going taught.

The Champion was pulled down for a second, but managed to keep himself above the water.

Flash leapt back onto ExVeemon's head, looking down at the area Micro had sunk into. He then took out his Digivice and connected it to Ballistamon's robotic server. "Micro, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Ballistamon replied. "Preparing to unleash the whale noises."

Down below, Ballistamon's speaker stomach switched on.

The sounds of whale calls started vibrating out of it, echoing into the water as Ballistamon made himself spin around. The sound went off in all directions, pulsing through the ocean as far as it would go. "Fluttershy said that whales have incredible senses of hearing. So Whamon must have the same kind of hearing."

"Maybe," Rarity agreed, "but do you really think that thing is close enough to hear your sonic blasts?"

"I'm Ballistamon," he replied. "The greatest sound maker in the Digital World. If anyone can draw that oversized tuna to them, it's me." He kept unleashing the sonic blasts. "We've just got to be patient."

"No offence," Flash told him. "But I'm pretty sure Twilight would rather we hurry this up. There's no telling what she could be going through inside of that thing." Ballistamon frowned, but knew he was right. He had to draw that Digimon to them, fast. If they didn't, Twilight might not last much longer.

So, he kept working. Blasting the whale noises into the ocean as loud as he could make them. And after a few minutes, something replied.

His highly sensitive ears then picked up a noise, making him look around but there was nothing there. But he blasted the whale noises in that direction and a minute later, a similar noise returned. This made him up the noises, remaining in that one single spot. And as he kept it up, something suddenly appeared from out of the water's darkness.

His robotic eyes went wide, as a round blob appeared and grew larger and larger. So large, that Ballistamon started panicking. "Pull me up," he tugged on the rope. And Whamon grew larger and started opening its mouth. "PULL ME UP!" The rope suddenly tugged on him and he was pulled upwards, barely managing to avoid the giant mouth that was coming at him.

He finally broke through the water and everyone was staring at him, but he told them all to fly as high as they could.

They did so and as they did, the water exploded with the White Whamon flying out of it. It opened its mouth and tried to swallow Ballistamon, looking like it was about to suck him down its gullet.

"Vee-Laser!" ExVeemon quickly fired his chest blast, hitting the Whamon in the side and knocking him away from his friend. And as Whamon smashed down into the ocean, ExVeemon saw its tail flying up towards them. "Oh geez. Hang on!" He braced himself and caught the tail, but the force of the impact knocked Flash flying off his head. "FLASH!"

Flash quickly took out his Digivice and pointed it forward, the cube of light flying out of it and appearing below him.

He fell into it and transformed into a copy of his partner, which quickly started glowing. "Veemon, Warp Digivolve to..." He grew a hundred times larger and exploded out of the light, a pair of wings spreading as he came to a stop just above the ocean. "AEROVEEDRAMON!"

The giant dragon flew up and once he was at the tail, he grabbed it alongside ExVeemon. "Pull!" ExVeemon cried, the pair tugging on the giant sea beast's tail. But the creature started thrashing about in the water, his tail waving back and forth with great strength. "Too...heavy."

"Kabuterimon!" Ballistamon cried, "time to power up." Kabuterimon nodded and dove down, glowing as he did so.

"Kabuterimon, Digivolve too..." He grew larger and his body shape charged, the light eventually flying off him to reveal his Ultimate stage. "MEGAKABUTERIMON!" The large red insect grabbed the tail before the rocket on his butt exploded, allowing them to lift the creature higher.

"It's still not enough," AeroVeedramon groaned. "We need more lift!" Rarity chose this moment to take out her Digivice and Biomerge, leaping off Nefertimon as she transformed into her normal Digimon of choice.

"Darcmon!" She cried, as she and Nefertimon flew forward. The pair grabbed the tail and pulled, with half of the white whale being lifted from the surface of the ocean.

"ExVeemon," AeroVeedramon groaned, "you need to Digivolve."

"Can't! Too heavy!"

"Let go. We can hold it long enough." ExVeemon looked around, the others nodding before he released the tail. The loss of his grip made them almost drop the Whamon, but they managed to keep him up as ExVeemon flew up.

As he did, the data of Stingmon appeared in front of him. "ExVeemon," the image flew into him, "DNA Digivolve to..." He began to glow and transform, Stingmon's armor appearing around him before the light exploded off of him. "PAILDRAMON!"

The Ultimate Digimon looked down and thrust his hands forward. "Cable Catcher!" His fingers shot off of him and began to wrap around Whamon's tail, Paildramon quickly pulling him upwards as hard as he could. This, combined with the lift of the others, finally pulled the giant whale out of the ocean.

The beast roared and continued to thrash around, as Ballistamon turned to AeroVeedramon. "Well, we've got him out of the water. Now what do we do with him?" Flash frowned, unsure how to answer that. He looked down at the giant white Digimon, knowing Twilight was somewhere inside of him. The only question was, how the heck did they save her?

On the island, Twilight clung to HooTawnimon as he flew through the air. "What's the plan?" He asked, as a gunshot flew past them.

"We have to get out of here!" Twilight yelled. "Maybe...maybe if we fly to where that light came from, we can escape. He's gotta open his mouth again at some point. And when he does, we leave."

"I guess we can try," HooTawnimon nodded. But just as he was reaching the beach, the anchor shot out of the trees and wrapped around his leg. "WOW!" He was suddenly pulled down and slammed into the ground, Twilight being thrown off and sent flying further down the beach. "This guy is really starting to annoy me."

CaptainHookmon leapt out of the trees and into the air, grabbing the gun handle on his prosthetic leg as he did so.

"Leg Revolver!" He pulled the trigger and fired several laser shots towards HooTawnimon, the owl gasping as he leapt away. Several of the lasers hit him, making him squawk in pain as the pirate landed. As he did, he pulled out his extra long pistol and laughed.

"If anyone deserves to get out of here, it's me!" He pointed his weapons at HooTawnimon. "But only after I destroy you." As he said that, Twilight picked herself up and glared at him.

She took out her Digivice and quickly activated it. "Time to even things up!" The cube of light appeared in front of her. "Biomerge!" She rushed into it, transforming and Digivolving as she broke out the other side. "Unimon!" The winged horse took to the air and built up power. "Aerial Shot!" She fired the sphere of light towards the pirate.

CaptainHookmon saw it coming and leapt back, the sphere exploding against the sand.

"Ha!" He laughed, "nice try!" He pointed his pistol at her and shot several bullets, but Unimon managed to avoid them all as HooTawnimon picked himself up.

"Defence Gale!" He beat his wings, creating a wall of wind between them and CaptainHookmon. But the Ultimate just pointed his anchor arm at them.

"Raging Giga Anchor!" The metal object exploded out of the gauntlet and shot towards the wind wall, slamming into it and pushing through it without slowing down. He then slammed into HooTawnimon, knocking him backwards.

"Augh!" He fell to the ground, CaptainHookmon laughing as he retracted the chain and anchor back towards him.

Unimon growled, then opened her mouth. "Spread Nails!" She let out a high pitched sonic blast, which sounded like nails on a chalkboard. The sound struck CaptainHookmon and made him scream, covering his ears and he staggered back. Unimon smiled, HooTawnimon using the Ultimate's distraction to pick himself up and take to the air.

CaptainHookmon fell to the ground and grabbed his prosthetic, firing his Leg revolver at Unimon and finally forcing her to stop the sonic blast. "Aaaah," he shook his head, "that was unpleasant." He raised his other gun and fired at her, Unimon avoiding the bullets as best she could. As she did, HooTawnimon charged.

"Sky Strike!" He glowed and attempted to ram into CaptainHookmon, but the pirate leapt into the air above him. And as HooTawnimon flew underneath him, CaptainHookmon slammed his metal leg into his back. "GYAH!" He was smashed into the ground and slid along it, eventually stopping whilst CaptainHookmon did several flips through the air.

But as he landed, Unimon charged. "Aerial Gallop!" She points her horn at him, attempting to stab him in the chest. But at the last moment, CaptainHookmon sidestepped the attack and Unimon went sailing past him.

"Nice try!" He reached out and grabbed her tail, which caused her to stop dead in her tracks. "But you can't hope to defeat me!" He swung her around and smashed her into the sand, making her scream as HooTawnimon picked himself up. But before he could rush to his partner's rescue, CaptainHookmon fired his anchor chain towards him.

"Gaaah!" The owl suddenly found himself getting wrapped up, the chain holding him in place whilst the pirate swung Unimon around again.

He slammed his metal leg into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. He then let go of her tail and pulled the trigger on his Leg Revolver, the laser striking at her point blank. She screamed at this, as she was blasted backwards and started glowing.

HooTawnimon watched, as Twilight fell to the ground looking in bad shape. "NO!" He tried to break free, but CaptainHookmon pulled on the anchor and he was dragged towards him at high speed. And as he was pulled forward, the pirate spun around and smashed his metal foot up into HooTawnimon's chin. "GYAH!" He was thrown upwards, the anchor retracting from around him as CaptainHookmon leapt upwards.

When the pair were at the same height, the Ultimate swung his anchor around and smashed it right into the Owl Digimon's head.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as the world around him started to fade, the darkness swirling around him as he was smashed down into the beach.

He laid there, his body going limp, as CaptainHookmon landed beside him. "You put up a good fight," he stated. "But this battle is over." He began to move towards Twilight, who was starting to pick herself up. But before she could get her bearings, the Ultimate reached down and grabbed her around the neck.

"Aaah!" She choked, as CaptainHookmon lifted her into the air. She tried to kick at him, but it did nothing. The pirate just smirked.

"You first. Then your feathery friend will join you in sleeping with the fishes" She kept choking, feeling like she was gonna pass out at any moment.

She couldn't believe that her Digital adventure was going to end like this. Trapped, in the stomach of a Whamon, being choked by someone who would rather get revenge than try and escape. Then, she looked over at her partner. HooTawnimon was completely out of it, unable to help himself or her.

"Hoo...HooTawnimon!" She choked out, "wake up!" That was all the air she had to give. 'Please. Wake up. We can't let it end like this. Not to him.' Her eyes began to flicker closed.

A long time ago.

Having saved all of Hookmon's captured victims, Twilight and her friends helped each of them get back to their respective homes. And the last group they helped were the Berry Town Digimon, who were overjoyed to see them all safely returned.

"Thank you," Cherrymon told them. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"We're happy ta help," Applejack tipped her hat. "And if that Hookmon ever shows up again, we promise we'll be there to make sure he doesn't get away with anythin'."

"You got that right," Rainbow smirked. "But it wasn't just us."

"She's right," Twilight turned to HooTawnimon. "You help us too."

"Maybe," HooTawnimon nodded, "but you're the one who found Hookmon. I'd be flying around with no idea what I was looking for, if you hadn't come to help. Thank you, for helping my flock again." Twilight smiled back, the others noticing how the two seemed really close.

"Twilight," Rarity stepped forward. "You were saying earlier, how you wanted to find the perfect Digimon partner." Twilight turned to her. "Well it looks like, you've found your perfect partner." Twilight was shocked by this, turning to HooTawnimon as she did.

"Oh, yeah!" Pinkie nodding. "You two being partners, would be AMAZING!" The others all nodded, with even the Digimon seeming to agree.

"Me and...HooTawnimon." She turned to him, the owl looking just as surprised. Then, she smiled. "They're right. We do make a pretty great team."

HooTawnimon seemed to agree. "Maybe. But what about my parliament?" He turned to the Tawnimon, each of them smiling at the Champion.

"It's okay," one stated. "You've protected us long enough. If you want to be with her, then you should."

"We'll work together and grow stronger," another stated. "And when you come back, we might even be the same Level as you."

HooTawnimon smiled at them all, but still didn't look sure. "You should do what makes you happy," one final one stated. "And I bet, working with this girl will make you even stronger. So one day, if we ever need you again, you'll be strong enough to fight whatever comes and attack." The other Tawnimon nodded, agreeing as the Champion nodded.

"You're right." He looked back at Twilight. "Let's work together. And grow stronger." Twilight smiled back, nodding as she took out her Digivice.

"Together, we'll face any challenge. With brains and the strength of our bond, nothing will be able to beat us." With that, she used her Digivice and scanned him over. Doing so made him her partner and HooTawnimon began to glow, his body shrinking as he De-Digivolved.

In the blink of an eye, another Tawnimon was standing with many others all around him. And despite the drop in power, he had never felt stronger.

Twilight knelt down and held out her arms, Tawnimon rushing forward and hugging her as everyone cheered. A new beginning had just happened, for both of them.

HooTawnimon opened his eyes and looked over at Twilight, who was still being held by the neck.

"No," he groaned, "I won't...I won't let you hurt her!" He began to pick himself up, CaptainHookmon turning to him and raising an eyebrow. "She's my partner. And more than that. She's my friend. So you won't hurt her!"

"I do what I like," the pirate Digimon announced. "And if I want to delete this annoying human, then that's what I'll do."

"No," HooTawnimon growled, "you won't." As he said that, his body began to glow along with Twilight's Digivice. The girl noticed him and could feel the power coming off of him. "You won't hurt her, or anybody else. This time...I'll make sure of it!" He suddenly spread his wings and in the blink of an eye, he shot forward before CaptainHookmon could react.

"What?" He tried to point his pistol at him, but HooTawnimon unleashed his Defence Gale and the powerful wind smashed into him. "Augh!" He was thrown backwards, Twilight falling from his grasp with HooTawnimon catching her on his back before taking to the air.

"HooTawnimon!" Twilight cried, as the light around him glowed brighter.

"He's not going to cause any more harm. Are you with me?"

Twilight smiled. "You know it, partner." The glow once again brightened. "Let's show him why you don't mess with one of the Digital World's best teams." HooTawnimon arched around and dived towards the pirate, he and Twilight letting out a mighty cry as HooTawnimon's entire body was consumed by the light.

CaptainHookmon was blinded, the pirate roaring as he pointed his weapon at them and fired. But the bullets simply bounced off the light now shielding the two.

"HooTawnimon, Digivolve to..." He began to grow larger and as he did, his body began to change. His head crest changed shape, morphing into more of a V-shape with the middle upwards spike remaining whilst more of the feathers grew out the back of the chest up and around his head before going down the back and joining at the back of his neck to then circle around said neck to form a collar. Some of the crest grew downwards, splitting around the beak and stopping just below her chin to resemble a moustache.

His wings grew longer and as they did, the outer feathers changed to a more whitish colour with black stars appearing on them. The same black stars replaced the triangles on his puffier chest, then also appeared on the back of his tail feathers whilst his feet-feathers grew down to cover everything except his talons.

Transformation over, he had grown by about half his original height and let out a mighty hoot as he spread his wings. "CRESTAWNIMON!"

CaptainHookmon was shocked by this sudden Digivolution, Twilight equally as amazed but quickly smiling as she turned to their opponent. "Let's take him down!" CresTawnimon needed no more encouragement than that and quickly pointed his star covered chest at him.

"Gale Star!" The stars glowed before the light flew off him, CresTawnimon beating his wings which caused the lights to shoot forwards.

"WOW!" CaptainHookmon braced himself, as the stars slammed into the ground and exploded. "Gyah!" He was thrown about, sand flying everywhere as he hit the ground. "Annoying pigeon." He spun onto his back and pointed his anchor towards them. "Rage Giga Anchor!" The anchor fired off and flew towards the owl, but the new Ultimate simply smiled.

"Crested Guardian!" His head crest glowed before the light exploded off and formed a protective barrier, which the shield simply bounced off without doing any damage. And as CaptainHookmon retracted the anchor, the bird dived as his wings glowed. "Wing Burst!"

CaptainHookmon fired his pistol, but CresTawnimon easily dodged it before flying past him. And as he did that, the wing slammed into the pirate and unleashed the energy directly into him. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" He was thrown backwards, his pistol flying from his hand as he crashed into the ground.

CresTawnimon flew up, panting as he did. His first time as an Ultimate wasn't an easy thing and he knew, if he didn't end this, he would run out of energy. "But even if we beat him, we're still stuck in here. What do we do?"

Back outside, Twilight's friends had come up with a plan.

"Are you sure this will work?" Darcmon asked, clearly thinking this was absolute madness. "What if he's stronger than you think he is?" AeroVeedramon frowned, but shook his head. This had to work.

"We can do it! Now, you all ready?" They nodded, but were all clearly concerned. "Then let's do this thing. Three, two, one...NOW!" With all their strength, they swung Whamon around and let go of the tail. This made Whamon fly through the air and straighten out, Paildramon flying up above him and using his Cable Catcher wrap around the Digimon's middle.

At the same time, MegaKabuterimon flew beneath him and charged upwards. "Sorry about this!" His horn smashed into the Digimon's stomach, causing him to let out a mighty roar as his mouth flew open.

And before it could close it, AeroVeedramon flew into the mouth. There, he forced his feet into the lower jaw and slammed his hands into the upper one. This caused the mouth to be wedged open, Whamon unable to close it. It tried, and used all its strength, but AeroVeedramon was stronger and managed to keep his mouth open.

"Aaaaah," he groaned. The smell of fish wafted out the creature's throat. "Twilight! If you can hear me, please get out of there. Hurry!" As he kept the mouth open, a glow appeared at the end of the Digimon's long throat. "What is that?"

A glow caught their attention, making Twilight look back and see the same light from before off in the distance.

"CresTawnimon, you have to fly up!" He nodded and did so, as CaptainHookmon sat himself up. He then glared at the pair before raising his prosthetic, grabbing the trigger handle as he did.

"Leg Revolver!" He fired the weapon and unleashed a laser, but CresTawnimon managed to avoid it once again. And as he did, Twilight noticed the water wasn't coming in.

"This is our chance!" Twilight cried, "we have to go...now!" But as she said that, CaptainHookmon kept firing his leg gun and CresTawnimon did everything to avoid the.

"Time to end this!" He cried, as his crest glowed and formed a protective veil around him. He then dived, as CaptainHookmon fired until his weapon was out of ammo. "CRESTED WING BURST!" The light then flew into his wings and made them glow, as he then beat his wings and unleashed a powerful wave of light.

It flew towards the pirate Digimon, who screamed as it slammed into him and exploded. "GYAAAAAH!" He cried, being consumed by the light. And as he rived in pain, CresTawnimon flew towards the light.

Back outside, everyone was having trouble keeping Whamon up.

With AeroVeedramon no longer carrying the weight, the dragon in fact adding to it, the others barely managed to keep the beast lifted up. Paildramon pulled, as MegaKabuterimon, Ballistamon, Darcmon and Nefertimon all pushed. They groaned, as the water was getting dangerously close.

"Can't...hold out...much...longer!" Darcmon panted, her feet starting to touch the water. "This is bad."

"Keep pushing," Ballistamon cried. "They'll escape." But MegaKabuterimon's feet were already in the water and up to his knees. "They have to."

"Gaaah," AeroVeedramon was starting to buckle and lose strength. "Twilight, hurry!"

CresTawnimon flew as fast as he could, but the light seemed to be getting dimmer. "He's closing his mouth!"

"HURRY!" Twilight screamed, as the owl Digimon flapped his wings as hard as he could. The light grew darker and darker, looking ready to disappear at any moment. And CresTawnimon refused to miss it.

"RAAAAAH!" He screamed, flying into it seconds before the light vanished. They flew through a tunnel of light and as they got closer to the other side, they noticed something blocking the exit. "Coming through!"

AeroVeedramon heard this and gasped, as he looked down into the mouth and saw something appearing out of the darkness.

"Raaaaah!" He used all his strength to throw the mouth open wider, then leapt backwards and away from the giant's teeth. Moments later, CresTawnimon came shooting out after him. He rocketed away from the mouth, which slammed shut seconds later. "Twilight!" AeroVeedramon cheered, as the others laughed.

MegaKabuterimon pushed his rockets to the limit and managed to push Whamon off of him, the giant sea beast rolling through the air as Paildramon and the others released him. He splashed down onto his back, the impact creating a circular tsunami that flew out in all directions.

Luckily, everyone flew straight up and managed to avoid getting hit by the wave. They flew higher and higher and higher, until they were at least three times higher than Whamon was long.

And they were glad they were, since moments later the giant whale exploded out of the ocean with his mouth open again. But it didn't get close to them and was forced back into the ocean, sinking below the waves and diving down as fast as it could.

"Twilight!" AeroVeedramon turned to her, "you're okay!"

"And you got to Ultimate!" Darcmon stated, the others noticing Tawnimon was in his Ultimate Stage. "How on earth did you Digivolve to Ultimate, whilst inside the belly of a giant Whamon?"

Twilight sighed, "it's a long story." She turned to Ballistamon, as he and the other humans reverted back. "I'm sorry to say, Hookmon doesn't know anything about Datamon. He's been...busy, for a while." The others looked confused, Twilight promising to explain as she took out her Digivice. "Let's get out of here. I've had more than my fair share of the ocean, to be honest."

The others couldn't help but agree and all took out their Digivices, porting themselves away before the White Whamon could try again.

Back inside the whale's stomach, CaptainHookmon laid on the beach.

The Ultimate was still recovering from the attack he had taken, anger flowing through him. "Just you wait. I'll make you pay for this. I'll get out of this creature and when I do, you will suffer the consequences." But before he could start planning his revenge, the area began to rumble. "What?"

He slowly picked himself up and as he did, he noticed the light appear in the distance.

"Oh no." He turned to run, but suddenly found his prosthetic leg buckling under his weight. It had been damaged during the last attack and now, the thing had fallen apart. "No," he tried to crawl along the ground. As he did, the rumbling continued as the wave of water washed towards the island. "NOOOOOOO!"

The water slammed into him and he was swept away, cutting through the forest and slamming into several trees. He tried to point himself towards the rock, but the current tugged him around it. And to his horror, he completely missed it and was pushed out towards the black light.

"Please, this can't be the end." He fired his anchor at the mountain, hoping to ride out the wave. But he was pulled out of range seconds before it hit. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Were his last words before he was pulled under the water and disappeared into the dark light.

Back at Codex, Fluttershy was leading Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie and Trixie towards the foyer.

There, they saw Twilight and the others sitting around a table. "Twilight!" They all cried, rushing over to them and seeing Flash and Micro had DemiVeemon and Motimon in their laps.

Twilight had her own Digimon in her laps. He looked similar to a Poromon, only he was greyish-brown in colour with dark brown wings and eyebrows. He also had an orange beak. "Twilight?" Rainbow pointed at the Digimon, "is that..."

"Call me Tweetmon," the In-Training Digimon announced.

"Why's Tawnimon in his In-Trainin' form?" Applejack asked, "Fluttershy told us ya'll were trapped inside a giant whale."

"We were," Twilight smiled. "I was just telling everyone what happened after I got swallowed. And they were telling me how they managed to free me from Whamon's stomach."

Rarity nodded. "I can't believe Hookmon spent so long inside that creature." That statement caught the others by surprise, with only Trixie looking confused. "And that he was willing to sacrifice his freedom just to get even with you."

Twilight nodded. "If he had just asked, we would have tried to help him. Nobody deserves to be trapped like that. But he gave us no choice. If he had been trying to fight us, there was no way we could have carried him out of Whamon's mouth. Now he's trapped there. Probably forever."

"That's not your fault," Flash told her. "He made his choice and now, he's gonna have to live with it."

"Well," Fluttershy hugged Twilight, "at least you're safe." Twilight smiled and thanked Fluttershy, for that and for helping the others free her. As Fluttershy pulled away, she looked down at Tweetmon as he smiled up at her.

"I'm glad we met when we did," Twilight brushed her hand through his feathers. "When I first came to Codex, I told myself I wouldn't accept anyone except the perfect partner for me. And when we came together, I knew that was exactly what you were. And now, I'm even more sure of it."

"Thanks," Tweetmon smiled. "I feel the same way too. No matter what challenges we face, we'll always be able to overcome them together." Twilight smiled and pulled him in, hugging him tightly as Tweetmon pretended to gasp. "Okay, okay! Need air!" They all laughed at this. All except Micro.

He continued to rub the top of Motimon's head, as he thought about their little adventure today. Whilst he was glad Twilight was alright and even got to the Ultimate level with her partner, that didn't change the fact their search had been a total waste.

Datamon was still missing and they still had no clue where to find him. They would have to keep looking, but Micro feared the worst. Every day that past, was another day who knows what was happening to the mechanical Digimon. And if enough time past, people might start ending their search for him.

"Datamon," he sighed whilst looking up at the Digital sky. "Where are you?"

Author's Note

Twilight and Tawnimon not only escaped, but managed to get to the Ultimate Level. Only time will tell if the others will be able to do the same. Now, where will our friend's search for Datamon and WarGrowlmon lead them next time. Stay tuned to find out?

Cold Reliable

In a city a good distance from where Flash Sentry and his friends lived, we find a rather impressive looking house surrounded by more houses that looked fit for a king.

In a large bedroom of this house, a teenager was just waking up.

Said teenager was Thorax, the green skinned boy yawning as he got out of bed. He quickly moved over to his walk-in-closet and a minute or so later, he emerged wearing a fancy looking school uniform. He adjusted his tie, as he returned to his bed and grabbed his Digivice off of the side.

Putting it in his pocket, he headed downstairs. There, he found his mother, brother and their housekeeper in the kitchen.

Said mother was a black skinned woman, with bluish green hair. His brother had dark green skin and reddish pink hair, said brother also wearing a uniform whilst his mother wore a business suit.

As Thorax sat down, he spotted something on his plate. A report card.

His mother looked up from the files she was reading, an unhappy look on her face. "Thorax," she stated, "can you tell me what's wrong with your report card?" The boy picked it up and ready it over before sighing.

"I got a B for my math class."

"Exactly," she frowned. "Pharynx has all A's, but you've let your grades slip. Do you know what that means?"

"Not really?"

"It means you're not studying enough." The housekeeper walked over, carrying plates of breakfast. "How do you expect to take over the family business when you're older, if you don't work hard and study?"

"I am studying," Thorax told her. "It's just one B. It's hardly gonna ruin my entire future."

"This B could be what decides your entire life. Who do you think colleges will pick between? Someone with all A's, or someone with some A's and a B?" Thorax wasn't sure how to answer that. "You need to get serious with your school work. You stopped playing that silly Digimon game, but that's just a start. You need to spend every waking moment, preparing for your future."

"That's insane," Thorax cried. "I'll burn myself out."

"I studied that much when I was your age and look at me." She ate a little bit of her breakfast before getting up. "You want to have fun? Get good grades, get into a good college and get your career set. Then, you can have all the fun you want."

Thorax frowned as Chrysalis headed for the door. "That's what you did, but I never see you having any fun." Luckily, his mother didn't hear this.

He ate his breakfast, whilst his brother finished his and took out his phone to text one of his friends. As they both finished their breakfast, Thorax helped their housekeeper clean up before he and his brother headed out to school. "Why is she always getting on my case?"

"That's what you get for being the older brother," Pharynx laughed. "Should have let me get out first. Then I'd be the one Mom's always hounding."

"You could always tell her you want to take over the company."

"Yeah, right. Sorry bro, but this is your destiny. Not mine. Besides, we both know you'd do the job better. Face it, you're too reliable."

"Of course I am," Thorax sighed. As the pair headed towards their private school, Thorax took out his Digivice and started messing with it.

"What even is that thing?"

"The only way I'm able to have fun without mom blowing a gasket." With that, he uploaded his mind and the human world completely vanished around him. The next thing he knew, he and Grubmon were flying through the digital portal together.

In the blink of an eye, they appeared in Codex and were surrounded by the other players of the game. But despite being in the Digital World, Thorax's mind was too focused on what had happened in the real one.

"You okay?" Grubmon asked, looking at his partner with concern.

"I'm fine," Thorax assured him. "Just a little overwhelmed, that's all." They made their way through the floating island, towards the foyer and looked around for his friends. But he couldn't spot any at the moment.

As he found a place to sit, he spotted a screen showing a Dorulumon fighting a Musyamon. He wondered if that was Applejack, competing in another battle. But before he could figure it out, he heard a voice call out to him. "Thorax!"

He looked around and spotted Flash, Veemon, Twilight, Tawnimon, Trixie and Lunamon. "Hey guys," he nodded. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Flash told him. "Micro's still trying to find Datamon, whilst we're looking for someplace WarGrowlmon might be hiding out."

"Right," Thorax nodded. He also wondered where Datamon and WarGrowlmon might be, especially after the near miss that the last battle against WarGrowlmon had been. "So you think you've found someplace he might be hiding?"

"Not really," Twilight frowned. "But, we've discovered an interesting location scan I recently got. You ever been to a snowy biome before?"

"No," Thorax shook his head. "You guys are going somewhere cold?"

"Why not?" Flash asked, "it sounds fun. Come on. I bet it'll be a great adventure." Thorax thought for a moment, then nodded his head.

"Sure," he got up, "why not. I might find an interesting Digimon to scan."

"That's the spirit," Trixie smiled. "Just watch. This'll be great." The others nodded, as they all headed towards the Digi-Port. But as they made their way over there, Thorax continued to think about what his mother had said.

He loved coming to Codex, hanging with his friends and going on adventures in the Digital World. But was it distracting him from his studies back home? He thought about his days in the real world, where he would spend his days studying. But all the while, he couldn't wait for his digital self to return and show him all the amazing things that had happened during his time there.

"Thorax," he turned to Flash, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine. We going?" They nodded, with Twilight sending them a transport link. Once they all locked on, they pointed their Digivices up before hitting the button.

In a flash of light, they were all flying through the tunnel together.

Once they reached the other side, they found themselves standing in a winter wonderland. Their feet suddenly sank several inches into the snow, whilst a biting wind suddenly started raging around them.

"Gyah!" Trixie cried, "why did I think this was a good idea?"

Twilight held up her Digivice. "Everyone has winter scans, right." They nodded and started typing away at their Digivices, finding the clothing they had all uploaded for just such an occasion. In a flash, they were all transformed into different clothes.

Flash's remained mostly the same, except with red gloves and a red hat on his head.

Trixie was dressed in a long blue coat, white thermal leggings, a purple scarf, gloves and a green hat. Twilight was dressed in a similar way, except with pink ear warmers instead of a hat and purple pants. Thorax was dressed in a thick woolly jumper, black pants and an orange hat and gloves.

"Much better," Trixie sighed. But then she heard shivering and saw Veemon, Tawnimon and Grubmon looking just as cold.

The only one not appearing bothered by the cold was Lunamon, who happily walked along the top of the snow without any issue. "This is great. Why haven't we come here before?"

"Flash!" Veemon cried, "flame me up!" Flash nodded and loaded a deck.

"Digi-Armor...Energise!" The Digimental of Courage appeared before shooting towards Veemon, hitting him in the chest and causing him to burst into flames.

"Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." He quickly reshaped himself before the flames extinguished to reveal his first ever Digivolution. "Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!" His armor began to heat up and both Grubmon and Tawnimon got right up next to him, letting out a sigh. "So much better."

"Um...Flamedramon." Flash pointed at the ground. "You might wanna turn your feet off." Flamedramon raised an eyebrow, only to then realise Flash and the others were getting taller.

But then he looked down and saw his feet armor was melting through the snow, causing him to sink into it. "Wow!" He leapt out and stopped channelling heat to his feet, allowing him to stay on the snow but causing his toes to get rather cold. "Why couldn't I have a Digivolution that likes being in the snow?"

"Maybe there's an Armor form," Flash pointed out. "Just have to wait and see if one ever shows up."

Twilight hummed. "I'm pretty sure the Digimental of Friendship does that. Some of the armors I've seen it make have ice abilities. I think it's a two fold Digimental. And since Veemon uses the lightning half, he doesn't have an ice form." Flash frowned, as they finally took in their surroundings.

They found themselves surrounded by snowy hills and as they climbed up to the top of one, they found themselves looking down at a beautiful landscape.

A large forest, covered in snow, with a lake of some kind located in the middle of it. Mountains could be seen behind the forest, looking like the perfect area to ski or snowboard. "Amazing," Grubmon stated.

"Do you think any Digimon live down there?" Flash asked, as they slowly began to make their way down the forest.

As they did, their Digivices suddenly started beeping. "What's that?" Trixie asked, as they held the devices out. The next thing they knew, some kind of radar screen appeared on the device and had a red dot on the very edge of it.

"The Digivices must have picked up on something." Twilight tried to determine what it was.

"Since when have they been able to do that?" Thorax asked, with Twilight turning to him.

"Remember that last update? It was right after our little trip to the Dark Ocean." They all shuddered, as they remembered that horrible place. "The Codex Commanders developed a program to detect unusual energy signatures. Either from digital distortions or items of great power."

"So the Digivice is picking something up?" Flamedramon asked, looking over Flash's shoulder. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Flash frowned. "I just hope it's not anything dangerous. I really don't wanna find myself someplace like the Dark Ocean." The others had to agree, as they reached the bottom of the hill. As they did, the signal continued to remain on the edge of the screens.

Twilight hummed. "Wherever this signal's coming from, it must be pretty far away." She turned until the red dot was at the very centre of the screen's top. "That way." She pointed towards the forest, the others getting the same direction.

"Let's go." Flash led the way, as they entered the forest. They found the snow under the canopy wasn't as thick as it was outside the forest, which meant they didn't have to worry about trekking through the knee high white powder. But there were still plenty of other things they had to worry about, like tripping over roots hidden under the snow.

Flamedramon unleashed a flameless wave of heat, which quickly melted the snow in the direction they were heading.

Trixie then looked around. "So what kind of Digimon do you think we'll see here?" The others thought about it, trying to remember which Digimon they knew of that were known to use ice-type attacks.

"Frigimon are known for living in icy environments," Thorax pointed out. "There's also Icemon, IceDevimon, Hyogamon..."

"And those are just the champions," Twilight agreed. "We might find more powerful Digimon in this area. Like Frozomon."

"I've heard of that Digimon," Flash nodded. "Doesn't it focus all its attention, on rescuing those in danger? And if anyone gets in the way of its mission, it'll attack without mercy." Twilight nodded.

"Yup. So we best be careful if we run into one."

"Great," Trixie frowned. "Just what we need. Ice rescue that might mean we need rescuing." As she said that, they suddenly heard a sound and looked ahead.

The Digimon stepped forward, getting ready to attack if they needed to. And soon enough, a short figure appeared through the trees. If it was a Digimon, it seemed to be Rookie size. But appearances could be deceiving. "Who's there?" Flamedramon asked. "Show yourself."

"I will," the figure stepped forward. "But only because I want to know what you're doing here." The Digimon was a strange looking snow bear Digimon, wearing brownish green armor on his head, chest and feet. On his chest armor was the kanji for ice and the little Digimon was carrying a rocket launcher in his hands, which he was currently pointing at them.

"State your business here!" He cried, the rocket launcher looking set to blast them all.

"Aw," Trixie smiled, "he's so cute and fluffy."

"Cute?" The Digimon cried, "I'm the Legendary Warrior of Ice. I am not cute. I'm fierce and dangerous. Now I won't ask you again. State your business here!"

"Wow!" Thorax stepped forward, "our business is peaceful. Very peaceful. We came here out of curiosity. To look around and see what was here. Then we detected something."

"Detected what?"

"We don't know," Twilight stated. "That's why we're searching for it. We swear, we mean you no harm."

The Digimon hummed for a moment, then chose to lower his blaster. "Alright. I'm going to give you the chance to prove this. But you haven't earned my trust yet. Take one step out of line and you'll be in trouble." They nodded, as the Digimon placed his blaster away. "My name is Kumamon. As I mentioned before. I'm the Legendary Warrior of ice."

"Like Flamemon and Strabimon?" Flash asked, but Twilight shook her head.

"No. I think his power level is closer to Agunimon and Lobomon."

Thorax stepped closer. "We're sorry for disturbing you. We really are just here to look around."

"You say you detected something," Kumamon stated. "Could this something be dangerous?"

"Honestly," Twilight shrugged, "no idea. We'd have to see it first to know what it is." Kumamon thought for a moment before turning away, gesturing for them to follow.

"Come with me." He made his way through the forest, the others following after. They were heading in the direction of the signal, making them wonder if Kumamon knew about whatever it was.

After a few minutes of travelling, they found themselves stepping out of the forest onto a larger snowy field. The lake was right next to this field and filling it, were a bunch of igloos the size of houses.

Digimon filled the village, being a collection of Penguinmon, Frigimon and two Digimon they had never seen before, though they looked similar to ones they did. One was a Gotsumon, made entirely of ice. Whilst the other was a snow white Agumon.

The Digimon noticed their arrival and a Frigimon stepped towards them. "Kumamon. Who are these individuals?"

"They are explorers, claiming to be here in order to learn. But they also say they've detected something. Something that could be dangerous." The Digimon all looked worried, as Twilight began scanning the area to try and get a lock on the item in question.

"What could be dangerous?" Frigimon asked, then turned towards the lake. "Could this have something to do with the legend?"

"What legend?" Flash asked, clearly curious about what they were talking about. "If it might help us find this thing, any info you have could help."

Frigimon nodded before turning towards the lake, the others following him. As they approached, they noticed something. The sides of the lake were quite high and based on how muddy they appeared, water used to be up against those sides. Had someone drained the lake?

"Every ten years, a Digimon appears from out of this lake. A Digimon of incredible power. Akhlumon."

"Akhlumon?" Twilight asked, having never heard of that Digimon before.

"It's a savage beast," Frigimon gulped. "The last time it appeared, it tore the village apart and deleted half the villagers living here. I barely survived its rampage."

"Sound dangerous," Trixie frowned. "So what? Is it gonna show up again?"

"It most certainly will," Frigimon nodded. "It's always the same. An aurora in the sky, right above the lake. Then, the ice covering the lake breaks apart and sinks to the bottom of it. The lake gets shallower and eventually, Akhlumon appears."

"I was wondering why a lake wasn't frozen," Thorax nodded. "But wait. If you know Akhlumon is coming, why are you still here? Leave!"

"That has already been done. But this Digimon is a tracker of the highest degree. If we run, all it would do is hunt us down. It is nothing but a giant killing machine." That didn't sound good to them, the humans and their Digimon looking worried at one another. "All we can do, is pray that we survive and it returns to its treasure."

"What treasure?" Flamedramon asked.

"We do not know. All we know is, there is something within that lake. Something that Akhlumon protects from anyone who tries to get close to it."

"I'm guessing that's what we're detecting." Twilight held her Digivice out to the lake, the signal actually being slightly closer. "So somewhere, down there, Akhlumon's treasure is waiting to be found."

"And you wanna go see what's down there?" Flash asked, Twilight giving him a smirk.

"Well have fun," Trixie told her. "I might like using ice Digimon, but there's no way I'm jumping in there and turning myself into an icicle."

"She's right," Thorax nodded. "There's no way we'll be able to swim down there without freezing." Flash and Twilight realised she was right, but Flash smirked before taking out his Digivice.

"Let's try this." A cube of light appeared, with Betamon inside. "Biomerge!" The cube flew over him and he transformed. "Betamon, Digivolve to..." The cube exploded, as a large serpentine Digimon suddenly grew out of it and slithered into the water. As he did, the light faded to reveal him. "Seadramon."

Everyone stared at the Digimon in shock, as Seadramon dived down into the water.

"Hey!" Twilight cried, "you could have taken me with you!" But Seadramon quickly swam down into the deepest areas of the water, the icy cold of it not even bothering him. And thanks to his brilliant eyesight, he could see everything in front of him no matter how dark it got.

As he reached the bottom of the lake, he started searching for any kind of treasure. But there was nothing there. Nothing worth calling a treasure, at the very least. The place was nothing but sand and a few weeds.

Then, as he reached what he assumed was the exact centre of the lake, he spotted something that made him raise an eyebrow. An opening, on the lake's floor. A large crack of some kind, big enough to fit a truck through.

As he swam up to the crack, he studied it and noticed the edge of each side perfectly aligned with the part at the exact opposite. Did this crack close to perfectly fit together?

He looked down the crack and found a long tunnel, leading deep into the earth.

He wanted to check it out, but realised the tunnel wouldn't quite fit him. It was large enough, but Seadramon would just barely fit. If there was a dead-end, there'd be no way for him to turn around and swim back up. He would be stuck.

Seadramon pulled away from the crack and began to head back towards the shore, surfacing and causing many of the Digimon to look startled until they realised who it was. "Found something," he spoke in his hissy voice.

"Really?" Twilight smiled. "What did you find?"

"A crack. An opening on the lake-bed. It looks like it can close and fit perfectly into place, making it look like the crack was never there. And it leads to some kind of tunnel. It's too narrow for me to go down, but I'm sure that something's down there."

"Great," Trixie frowned, "so how do we get down there?"

"We'll need a smaller Digimon," Twilight realised. "But do we have any that fit the bill? Most water Digimon are pretty big. Unless we go Rookie. But I wouldn't want to go down there without having some added power."

Thorax took out his Digivice and looked through it, stepping forward as he found what he was looking for. "I have one that might help." They turned to him, as he showed them an image of the Digimon Dolphmon.

"How long have you had that?" Seadramon asked.

"I've had it a while," Thorax explained. "I've just never had an actual reason to use it. But I kept it in case I ever needed a Digimon that could swim down somewhere. It's pretty fast, so I shouldn't have too much of an issue getting down that tunnel before I run out of air."

"Now we're talking," Flamedramon smirked. "Nice work, Thorax." The others nodded, as Thorax gave them a weak smile.

Down below, a creature was swimming through the water of the lake.

It moved with incredible speed, heading towards the surface. And when it got close, it noticed it wasn't the only Digimon in the water. There was another, living inside its lake. And it wouldn't let that happen.

"So Thorax will go down," Twilight nodded. "And the rest of us will-"

"WOW!" Seadramon suddenly found himself being dragged backwards into the lake, shocking everyone as he disappeared into the water. His friends called out to him, as he curled around and looked back at what was currently biting his tail.

That something was a dark figure, becoming camouflaged with the darkness of the lake. Even Seadramon's great eyes couldn't tell what it was. "Water Shock!" He fired a blast of water from his mouth, which created a pressure wave that slammed the water in front of it into the beast.

The impact forced it to release Seadramon, the Digimon quickly swimming up to the surface. But the Digimon attacking him was strong, as well as fast. Before Seadramon could reach the surface, it somehow got in front of him and unleashed a sonic blast of some kind.

That blast slammed into Seadramon and knocked him backwards, as the creature flew forward. "Ice Blast!" He unleashed a torrent of freezing cold water, which formed a large ice cube in the water.

The creature smashed into the ice and bounced off it, looking rather dazed. Seadramon then wrapped himself around the ice, as it began to float up towards the surface.

Everyone watched the water, worried that Flash was in danger.

But then, a large chunk of ice came out of the water and Seadramon was revealed. "FLASH!" They cheered, as Seadramon smiled. He then used his Ice Blast, to freeze the surface of the lake between him and the shore. This allowed him to slither along it, without needing to go into the water.

But as he slid along the ice, part of it exploded and something shot out of the hole. It landed in front of Seadramon and now that it was out of the water, he could take in what it looked like.

It was some kind of crossbreed Digimon, looking like a fusion of an orca whale and a wolf.

It was around the size of an elephant, its body being mostly wolf-shaped. It had a wolf's head and ears, along with a large body and strong front legs. But its body was hairless and had orca skin, being black at the top of its head, back of its body, legs and tail. Its lower jaw, neck and underbelly were with, with two white spots on the black parts just before the back legs.

It had three dorsal fins. One between its shoulder blades, one just before its tail and one directly between the other two. Its tail was that of an orca, being a long black limb with a whale fin on the end of it. Around its eyes were white marks and instead of dog paws, its feet had a pair of human-like hands with claws and webbing between them.

Everyone was shocked by this creature and realised it had to be Akhlumon, as the creature stepped across the ice.

"The beast appears," Frigimon gasped.

"We've gotta help Flash!" Flamedramon rushed forward, the others looking to do the same. But Twilight stopped Thorax. "Go dive into the water." He looked shocked, as Flamedramon unleashed a Fire Rocket onto Akhlumon. "This could be our only chance. Whilst it's distracted."

"Lunamon, Digivolve to...Lekismon!" The moon rabbit leapt forward and dealt a kick to its face, as Thorax nodded.

"Alright." He and Grubmon ran off, as Twilight and Tawnimon turned towards the battle.

Akhlumon staggered around, as Seadramon, Flamedramon and Lekismon surrounded it. And as Lekismon ran in for another attack, the Digimon leapt into the air. "Howling Sonic!" The beast unleashed a powerful sonic blast, which caused the three to flinch. The sound was so high pitched, it felt like nails on a chalk board.

The attack also caused the ice beneath them to crack and break apart, trapping them all on an island

Akhlumon then dived down into the water, whilst the others did their best to keep their balance so they were thrown in. "Ice Blast!" Seadramon tried to freeze the water again, but Akhlumon exploded out of the ice before it could settle.

It swam through the water, its three fins sticking out the surface as it shot towards Seadramon. "Look out!" Flamedramon cried, as the Digimon slammed into the ice berg and caused it to rock.

Seadramon struggled to keep his balance, as the creature turned its attention to Flamedramon. "Hold on!" Lekismon took out an ice arrow and fired it, but the ice simply shattered against Akhlumon's tough body.

"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon launched a fire blast, but nothing happened.

"Water Shock!" Seadramon also launched a stream of fire, but Akhlumon was just too strong. "What Level is this Digimon?" Akhlumon dived under the water and moments later, Flamedramon's ice float was capsized.

"WOW!" He cried, as he fell towards the water. No doubt once he fell in there, the cold of it would cause him to De-Digivolve.

But at the very last minute, something caught him by the arm and he quickly was lifted into the air. "I gotcha!" HooTawnimon announced, as he was lifted up above the lake.

Unimon and Sorcerimon were also there, as Akhlumon leapt out of the water and landed on another ice float. The beast roared, as the Digimon glared down at him.

"Be careful," Unimon cried. "Only Seadramon and Lekismon can handle water that cold. Don't let yourself fall in." The others nodded. "We've gotta keep this thing distracted until Thorax gets back."

Thorax had run around the outer edges of the lake, the sounds of the battle filling the air.

"Thorax!" Grubmon cried, "I'll get in the Digivice. Just in case you need me." Thorax nodded and quickly sucked his partner into the device, as he reached an area where Akhlumon wouldn't see him.

"Alright," he activated the cube, "Biomerge!" Inside, an image of Penguinmon appeared within the cube. He leapt into it and transformed, Penguinmon flying out of the other side and into the water. "Penguinmon, Digivolve to..." He was soon surrounded by light, as his body reshaped itself until it became a dolphin-like Digimon. He was a mixture of blue and white, with light blue stripes on his back and a scar on his bottle nose. "Dolphmon!"

The icy water did nothing to him, as he swam down towards the bottom of the lake and spotted the crack Seadramon had told him about. And as he got closer, he saw how large and deep it was. "Oh man."

"You can do this," Grubmon told him from his Digivice. "The others are counting on you. For all we know, what's down there could be the only reason Akhlumon is here. If we get rid of it, that overgrown wolf whale might go away.

Thorax sighed, then dove down into the crack. He could only hope whatever was down there wasn't dangerous.

"Moon Night Bomb!" Lekismon unleashed the bubbles, which flew towards Akhlumon and attempted to put it to sleep.

But the orca wolf leapt into the air, the bubbles flying under it. "Howling Sonic!" He unleashed the sonic blast from his mouth, which slammed into Lekismon and caused her to be sent flying backwards. She barely managed to get her feet on the water, allowing her to skirt along it until she came to a stop.

Unimon and HooTawnimon flew down, Flamedramon and Sorcerimon being dropped onto ice floats as the pair attacked. "Aerial Shot/Sky Strike!" Unimon fired the light orb from her mouth, which Akhlumon dodged by leaping into the water. This caused HooTawnimon to have to stop and pull himself up, allowing Akhlumon to attack.

He shot out of the water, his claws becoming covered in ice. "Subzero Slash!" He struck HooTawnimon, the ice covered claws slashing against him and making the owl cry out.

"Ice Barrage!" Sorcerimon unleashed a blast of icicles, but they did nothing as they bounced off Akhlumon's body. The Digimon turned to her and Flamedramon before unleashing another Howling Sonic, which caused the ice they were on to shatter.

Both Digimon leapt into the air, as their ice broke apart. And before Sorcerimon could try and find another place to land, Akhlumon leapt out of the water.

"WOW!" She cried, as the hybrid spun around and smashed its orca tail into her. The force knocked her flying backwards, as he Digital form shattered to reveal her human self.

"Trixie!" Lekismon leapt up and caught her partner, but Akhlumon used this opening to unleash another Howling Sonic. The blast slammed into them both, with Lekismon shielding Trixie as they were both blasted across the lake until they crashed into the bank.

They both moaned, as Lekismon reverted back to Lunamon. "Are they okay?" Kumamon and the others rushed up to them, seeing both weren't in the best of conditions.

"I think so," Frigimon nodded. "But if Akhlumon attacks, we're gonna be in trouble."

Flamedramon leapt off his ice float and fired another fire blast towards Akhlumon, but the Digimon simply dove into the water. At the same time, Seadramon dove in as well. He chased after Akhlumon and tried to wrap his serpentine body around him, but the Digimon was having none of that.

Akhlumon swam back towards the surface and as it leapt out of the water, Unimon charged at him. "Aerial Gallop!" She tried to stab it with her horn, but Akhlumon counted with its Subzero Slash before swinging its tail around. "Gyah!" She cried, as she was thrown backwards and fell towards the water.

HooTawnimon flew up and caught her, as Seadramon surfaced and tried to blast it with a water blast.

Akhlumon dodged the attack and landed in the water, then quickly surfaced before Unimon could recover. "Howling Sonic!" The high pitched air blast slammed into the two and sent them flying backwards, eventually crashing them into the snow at the edge of the lake. The impact also caused snow to fall off a nearby try, right onto them.

Both were suddenly covered in snow and overwhelmed by the cold, causing them both to lose focus on their forms and reverted back to their normal states.

As they pushed themselves up, they shivered as they watched Seadramon and Flamedramon continue to fight against Akhlumon. She then looked down at the lake, hoping Thorax had found what they were looking for.

Dolphmon had been swimming for a good while and the tunnel seemed to go on forever.

Eventually, he found it curved and headed sideways for about half a mile before curving back up. "I hope this leads somewhere that has air." Being a Digimon, Dolphmon could hold his breath much longer than a real dolphin. But he didn't have limitless air. "Come on."

It was then that he saw a light at the end of the tunnel and swam faster, moving towards that light and eventually breaking through the surface of the water.

He took a breath and looked around, seeing he was in some kind of ice cavern. The walls and pillars holding it up were all covered by ice, but the pillars also had some kind of luminous rock that was glowing through the ice and filling the place with light. Thorax didn't know how much air was in there, but he didn't want to stick around to find out.

As he swam towards the shore, he leapt out of the water and reverted back to human. He landed and Grubmon came out of the Digivice, the pair looking around. "This must be Akhlumon's home."

"Yeah," Thorax nodded. "Don't know why it'd want to be stuck in here for ten years." Suddenly, his Digivice started beeping and he found the detection system was going nuts. Whatever they had picked up, it was coming from here.

He followed the device towards the back of the cavern, where a small opening was located.

It was just big enough for Thorax to squeeze through, Grubmon not having any issues. And when he got through, he found a small chamber behind the opening. And in that small opening was a stone table, which had something in the very centre of it.

"Is that..." Thorax stared at the object on the table, which was almost shaped like a bowling pin. One side of it was silver, with a red collection of triangles on it that made the shape of a fish, whilst the other side was purple and had a gray symbol on it that was a cross with triangles around it.

Thorax held his Digivice up and scanned it, getting a bio of it that Grubmon read. "Digimental of Reliability?"

"So this thing will let Digimon Armor Digivolve." Thorax stepped forward and grabbed the object, attempting to lift it up. But it was stuck to the table. "It won't budge!"

"Put your back into it," Grubmon cried. Thorax tried, but he couldn't lift the Digimental.

"It's no use. It won't move." Thorax stepped back and thought about it, a frown on his lips. "Flash was able to move the Digimentals of Courage and Friendship, because he's pretty much the embodiment of those attributes. And Fluttershy's the kindest person I know. Of course she could lift the Digimental of Kindness. I bet the other Digimentals only let themselves be lifted by people who represented those traits."

"So," Grubmon asked, "what does that matter?"

"I can't lift it. So it doesn't think I have what it takes to wield it."

"Thorax." Grubmon jumped down on the table, as Thorax staggered back and leaned against the table.

"My friends were counting on me to find this thing."

"And you did."

"But I can't take it back with me." He slid down the wall. "The Codex Commanders need this. To help Digimon Digivolve into the armored forms they could want. I've got the Digimental right here and I can't do anything with it."

"So what?" Grubmon asked.

"You heard what Frigimon said. This place doesn't stay open forever. If we can't find a way to move it before it closes, the Digimental will be lost for another ten years." Grubmon realised what he was getting at. "The others were counting on me and I failed...again."

"Again?"

"Ice Blast!" Seadramon roared, unleashing the super cold breath towards Akhlumon.

But the orca wolf dodged the attack and dived down into the water, Seadramon about to dive in after him. But before he could, he felt something grab his tail and pull him along. "Flash!" Flamedramon cried, as his partner was pulled backwards before being yanked under the water. "NO!"

Moments later, the water exploded and Akhlumon flew up into the air.

Seadramon's tail was still in its mouth and with a powerful swing, the sea serpent was completely pulled out of the water and thrown into the air. Seadramon tried to fight back, but Akhlumon was too strong. "Howling Sonic!" He unleashed his sound blast attack and it slammed into Seadramon, knocking him backwards as his digital form exploded.

Flamedramon gasped and rocketed into the air, grabbing Flash before he could hit the water. And as Akhlumon prepared another attack, his feet exploded and he was rocketed towards the shore.

Akhlumon dived down into the water and chased after them, as Flamedramon landed on the bank and put Flash down. The creature then swam forward, preparing to attack. But before it could get close, Kumamon ran up to it.

"Blizzard Blaster!" His weapon fired a bunch of snowballs, which slammed into Akhlumon but simply bounced off the creature. This thing was practically unstoppable.

Back below, Grubmon jumped down and moved over to Thorax. "You've been acting weird all day. Does this have something to do with what happened this morning?"

Thorax frowned. "All my life, my mom's wanted me to be the best I can be. She wants me to be nothing but a perfect little son, so she can mould me into someone just like her. My family's run our business for generations and it's always been expected of me to take over one day."

"But do you?" Grubmon asked.

"I...I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. I've never really thought about it. I just kind of assumed it would happen."

"Maybe you should think about it. You don't want to spend most of your life doing something you don't care about and one day realising, you've wasted your life just to make your family happy."

"But she's counting on me," Thorax told him.

"Maybe. But it's your life. Your mother doesn't have the right to make you decide how you'll spend it. You have to decide what kind of life you want. What you want to do with your life." As he said that, Thorax's Digivice beeped and he took it out. As he did, he found a message from Twilight.

"Thorax," it played, "please tell me you've found whatever's down that tunnel. Akhlumon's too strong. We can't keep it distracted much longer." The message ended abruptly and Thorax realised his friends were in danger.

He looked up at the Digimental of Reliability. He couldn't be sure, but something told him its power would allow the wielders to become aquatic Digimon. But he couldn't lift it.

"What do I want to do with my life?" Thorax asked. "I want to help my friends." He stood up. "If I can't lift this thing, so be it. I've got a bunch of strong Digimon I can use to fight against Akhlumon." He stepped out of the small gap and back towards the water. He had scanned the village, so he should be able to Digi-Port right there. "My friends need me. And I'll use what I have to help them."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Grubmon cheered, only to then notice a light coming from the gap. "Huh?"

Thorax turned to the crack and noticed the Digimental was glowing, the teen moving towards it and feeling the light was pulling him to it. He quickly placed his hand around the item and pulled, finding the Digimental was now as light as a feather. "What?"

Grubmon laughed. "Don't you see. Because you were willing to do whatever you could to help your friends, the Digimental saw you were reliable. That's why it let itself give you its power. Really reliable people are those that will do what they can, with what they have."

Thorax smiled. "Thanks, Grubmon." He looked at the egg and wondered, "can you Digivolve with this?"

"I have no idea," Grubmon told him. "Wanna give it a try?"

"Maybe later," Thorax took out his Digivice. "We need to figure out how everything's going with the others first." He quickly slotted the village and raised the Digivice upwards and fired, the pair teleporting.

"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon shot towards Akhlumon, who leapt out of the water to meet him.

They both slammed into each other, with Flamedramon's propulsion pushing Akhlumon back slightly. But before it could be overwhelmed, Akhlumon suddenly spun around and slammed its tail into him.

"Gyah!" Flamedramon cried, as he fell into the water. His flames were quickly put out and the cold of it was like a million tiny needles, stabbing into him. He cried out, as he shrank down and his armor disappeared.

Veemon did his best to swim back to the surface and as he got closer, Akhlumon dived down into the water and created a wave. This wave pushed Veemon through the water until he crashed into the bank, crying out as he did so.

"Veemon!" Flash rushed over to him and grabbed the freezing Digimon, as Akhlumon surfaced again. It spotted them and roared, as it began to swim towards them.

"Blizzard Blaster!" Kumamon cried, firing more snowballs. But they didn't even phase the Digimon. "What's it gonna take to beat this thing?" It was then that a light appeared on the bank of the lake, catching everyone's attention.

When the light faded, Thorax was standing there with Grubmon and something in his hands. "Thorax!" Twilight cheered, only to see what he was holding. "Is that..."

Thorax looked around and spotted Flash and Veemon were in trouble, as Akhlumon looked ready to finish them off. "FLASH!" He held the Digimental up before throwing it with all his might.

The Digimental flew through the air, Flash turning to see it and going wide-eyed when he saw it. And before Akhlumon could do anything, he caught it and spun towards Veemon. "Digi-Armor...ENERGISE!" The Digimental transformed into a bright light, which flew towards Veemon and hit him in the chest.

As soon as he did, his body was suddenly surrounded by a bunch of bubbles. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." His form began to change and transform, his legs disappearing whilst his tail appeared to grow and consume his entire lower half.

The bubbles then began to pop, revealing his new form. He was now some kind of mermaid-like Digimon, with a long fish tail covering his lower half. From head to tail, he was around the same height as Flamedramon. He was wearing blue and white armor on his chest, shoulders, waist and upper arms. His lower arms were in silver armor, with metal claws on his hands that had webbing between them.

His exposed stomach was a lighter blue than Veemon, almost white in colour, with the front of his tail also being that colour. The back of said tail and the shark fin on the end were made of the same metal as his claws, whilst his head was covered in a blue and white helmet. Said helmet had a scuba diver's mask, covering his eyes, whilst a bush of orange hair was sticking out the back.

The Digimon used his tail to spring into the air, spinning around as the transformation was complete. "Depthmon, the Reliable Deep Sea Scout!"

Depthmon began to fall towards the water and dived into it, the cold no longer affecting him thanks to his resistant armor. And as he swam, Akhlumon dived down after him. It swam as fast as it could, but Depthmon wasn't scared.

The tips of his armor's spikes all had a bunch of holes on them, which began to suck water in from the whole at the base and blasted it out of the tips. This allowed Depthmon to move through the water, swimming around at an incredible speed. He was so fast, Akhlumon didn't stand a chance of catching him.

He swam around the beast, who slashed and howled at him with no shot at hitting him.

"Nice try!" He cheered as he dived down towards the lake-bed. Akhlumon swam after him, picking up more and more speed as they drew closer to the floor. Then, at the last moment, Depthmon suddenly pulled up and Akhlumon found itself crashing into the ground.

Depthmon laughed as he swam back up, as Akhlumon pushed itself back to its feet.

He then started spinning, moving faster and faster with the water swirling around him. This formed a whirlpool in the water, which the others on the surface quickly noticed. And as the maelstrom grew larger, Akhlumon suddenly found itself being pulled inside.

It roared, as it was dragged around by the powerful current.

At the same time, Depthmon let himself be taken by his own current and used it to pick up speed. He then used his jets to propel him upwards until he shot out of the water. His friends all saw this and gasped, as Depthmon swung his clawed hands around and started pulling water out of the air.

Akhlumon finally escaped the whirlpool and its head surfaced, only to then see Depthmon above it with a large water sphere between his hands. "Bubble Bomb!" The sphere shot towards the Digimon and slammed into it, exploding with a blast of water slamming into its face.

Akhlumon sank back into the water, as Depthmon dived down under the water as well. And as they both fell deeper, Akhlumon recovered and unleashed another Howling Sonic. But Depthmon managed to dodge the attack without issue thanks to his jets, then shot forward.

"Marine Knives!" His claws and the fins on his arm glowed as he shot past, slashing at Akhlumon and cutting right into the beast's body.

Akhlumon roared in pain, as Depthmon prepared to attack again. But before he could, something happened that caught his attention. The entire lake started to vibrate.

Everyone on the surface also felt it. The ground was beginning to shake, whilst the surface of the water rocked and splashed around.

"An earthquake?" Twilight asked, as Frigimon looked surprised.

"This is what happens after Akhlumon disappears. When it's finished attacking our village, it dives back into the water. After that, the ground begins to shake and the water gets violent." The others realised what this meant and turned towards the lake, hoping the fight going on down there was drawing to a close.

Akhlumon used Depthmon's surprise to attack, swimming forward and slashing at him.

Depthmon barely managed to block with his armored arms, the slash knocking him backwards and causing him to crash into the bottom of the lake. As he did, he could feel the ground starting to shift beneath him. The crack was beginning to close, pushing water out from between it as it did.

Akhlumon dived down, attempting to slash at Depthmon. But the Armor Digimon managed to jump to the side, avoiding the attack as he brought his hands together. "Bubble Bomb!" He launched the attack and it struck Akhlumon before it could try to avoid it, the oncoming explosion disrupting the water around it and making it dizzy.

Depthmon then swam forward and grabbed the Digimon by the tail, using his jets to propel himself as he pulled Akhlumon behind him.

The Digimon roared as it was dragged around, unable to escape the pull of Depthmon's propulsion. And as they got closer to the crack, Depthmon spun around and swung the hybrid Digimon around. It roared as he swung it around and around and around. And eventually, Depthmon let him go and he was thrown downwards.

Akhlumon roared as he sank downwards, into the crack that was still big enough to fit him in.

But at the last moment, the crack shrunk again and caused a blast of water to be pushed upwards. It slammed into Akhlumon's back and pushed it back up, as it began to recover and was about to swim back up. If it wasn't in the crack when it finally closed, it might never leave and the village would be in serious danger.

"Here goes!" Depthmon started swinging his claws through the water, creating a bunch of air bubbles that it started forming into a sphere in front of him. And as Akhlumon got close to the top of the crack, he thrust it forward. "Sargasso Drag!" The water exploded into a powerful stream, which shot down towards Akhlumon and slammed it in the chest.

The beast roared, as it tried to fight against the current this was forming. But the push was too strong.

Depthmon watched, as Akhlumon was pushed down into the crack. It went down deeper and deeper, as another shake caused the crack to close again. More water was pushed upwards, slamming into Depthmon and pushing him back. And as he was, the crack grew smaller and smaller. Eventually, it got too small from Akhlumon to swim through.

The Digimon was either crushed between the rock, or swam back down to its den. And who knows what would happen when it discovered its treasure was gone.

Finally, the crack slammed shut and was sealed. Hopefully, the Digimental being gone would mean that crack would never open again. And if it did, Depthmon hoped it wouldn't be for a very long time.

Back on the shore, everyone watched and waited to see what happened.

Thorax also explained what he found inside the tunnel and when he was finished with his story, the water splashed and something flew out of it. "Depthmon!" Flash cheered, as his partner flew down and landed on the shore. As he did, they noticed he was somehow floating in the air. "Did you do it?"

"You bet!" Depthmon cheered before he started glowing, the light flying off of him and flying towards Thorax.

It formed the Digimental, Thorax catching it as Veemon returned to his Rookie stage. As the dragon got used to having legs again, everyone looked out at the lake. The water had risen and now, the lake looked completely normal.

"Akhlumon is gone?" Frigimon asked.

"Yes," Thorax told him. "I don't know if it'll be back, but hopefully it won't be." He looked down at the Digimental. "It was protecting this. I don't know if that's why it was there to begin with, but now it's gone. Hopefully, Akhlumon will choose to leave the lake for good the next time it opens up."

"I hope so too," Frigimon nodded.

"Thank you," Kumamon told them. "You've really helped us. Thanks to you, our village was untouched and nobody was hurt." The others nodded, glad they were able to fix things. And they had gotten something great out of it, as the players quickly scanned the Digimental. They were all excited to see what kind of Digimon this Digimental would give them.

As soon as they returned to Codex, Thorax was greeted with Gennai.

The Codex Commanders had discovered the Digimental's existence, as soon as Thorax had scanned it in the cavern. "So you're sure you want to sell the Digimental to us?" Gennai asked, with Thorax nodding. "You're doing a great service to the Digital World, my boy. With this, Digimon everywhere will be able to access this armor form should they want it." He finished the transaction and Thorax found himself many Digi-Dollars richer. "Thank you."

"No problem," Thorax smiled as Gennai disappeared.

He headed over to the Digi-Lab, where Flash and the others were checking out the scan they had gotten. Flash had already created a deck for Depthmon, but was now trying to figure out what Depthmon could become.

Twilight and Trixie were doing the same, though Tawnimon and Lunamon couldn't Armor Digivolve with this new Digimental. Thorax placed his Digivice into the slot and as he did, he found Grubmon could Armor Digivolve. Into a Digimon called Tylomon.

"All the Digimon that use this seemed to be aquatic in nature," Twilight smiled. "I bet we'll be seeing a bunch more water battles from now on."

"That's fine by me," Flash smiled. "Gives me more of an excuse to use Depthmon. Right bud?" Veemon nodded, as Flash turned to Thorax. "And we have you to thank for it. Great work out there."

"Yeah," Trixie smiled. "Guess it makes sense that you'd get the Digimental of Reliability. You always were a pretty reliable person."

"Thanks," Thorax smiled. "I've always wanted to be the kind of person that can help anyone, no matter what they need help with." He thought about what his mother wanted him to do. He still didn't know whether or not he wanted to take over the family business, but he knew he wasn't going to stress out about being the absolute perfect.

He would do his best and accept the grades he earned, using them to carry on with his life. And in that life, he would work to be the most reliable person he could be. Help as many people as he could, with whatever he had available to him. That was the kind of person he was. That was the kind of person that others could rely on.

Author's Note

Thorax develops some more and thanks to him, Flash and everyone got a brand new armor evolution. I know it's a little cheap, Flash and Veemon getting to win when Thorax was the one who got the Digimental. But come on, Depthmon is just too cool not to have show up. I really wish it had shown up in 02 at least once.

Will Flash and the others find something about Datamon next time, or will something else happen to catch their focus? Find out next time.

Also, I don't know if some of you have seen it yet. But there's a side-story to this story. It's written by the author Ajustice90. It might not look like much right now, but I'm sure it'll pick up with time. So check out Dahlia's Codex Tales

Fighting Blind

Once again, we find Flash, Micro, Twilight and Sandalwood in the Digital World.

The four were out, searching for any sign of Datamon. But like all the other times, the Ultimate Digimon was nowhere to be found. But Micro refused to give up and now, they began searching in the most random areas one would think to look.

"What makes you think Datamon's in here?" Tentomon asked, staring at the large mountain that was full of different holes.

Micro sighed. "Honestly, I'm just clutching as straws here. I know this mountain is supposed to have a lot of rare materials in it. It's possible Datamon came here to find some for his experiments, but it's just a guess at the moment."

Flash placed a hand on Micro's shoulder. "It's okay, Micro. I know you're desperate to find Datamon. And we'll keep looking until we find some trace of him." Micro smiled, as they looked up at the many holes in the side of the mountain.

"Searching them all's gonna be tricky."

"So we'll split up," Twilight told him. "Each take a section of the mountain to search. If we find anything, we'll call it in."

"Alright," Micro nodded. "You guys ready?"

Sandal laughed. "You kidding? Let's do this thing." He took out his Digivice and swung it around, Mangoramon rushing forward as he did so. "Go for it, little buddy!" The light flew out of the Digivice and into Mangoramon, the light swirling around him.

"Mangoramon, Digivolve to..." His body grew larger than it normally did when he Digivolved, confusing them as he expanded to the size of a Greymon. And when the light faded, it revealed a large purple sphere with multiple eyes on its body. The sphere had a pair of long purple arms, with metal claws on the end of it, and a bunch of green vines beneath it that it walked on. The Digimon was certainly...odd. "Argomon!"

"Wow," was all Flash could say. "This is new."

Sandal laughed. "Pretty cool, huh. I just got this scan. Not as cool as Arbormon, but I'm betting it'll come in handy more than him." He leapt up and landed on Argomon's head, the Digimon beginning to crawl along the ground and up the mountain.

The others smirked at this and nodded to one another, as they each took out their Digivices and prepared to head up the mountain.

"Digi Armor Energize!" Flash and Twilight announced, as they summoned a Digimental. The Digimental of Friendship burst into electrical energy, which started swirling around Veemon. Meanwhile, the Digimental of Love exploded into a gale of wind that surrounded Tawnimon.

"Veemon, Armor Digivolve to...Raidramon, The Storm of Friendship!"

"Tawnimon, Armor Digivolve to...Aurumon, Loving Wisdom!" Aurumon flew down and grabbed Twilight's shoulders, lifting her up into the air whilst Micro jumped onto Raidramon with Flash. They all headed towards the mountain, completely unaware that they were currently being watched.

Two figures stood behind a tree, glaring at the group as they headed towards the mountain.

"Is that them?" The smaller of the two asked, letting out an almost insane cackle as they watched. The taller one nodded.

"Yup. That's them. Your target is the blue haired kid and the Digimon he's riding on. Time to make them regret ever crossing me." The smaller one cackled again, as the pair moved out to follow the group.

When the group reached the mountain, Raidramon dropped Micro and Tentomon near their chosen area before heading to their own.

At the same time, Twilight and Aurumon flew up to the top of the mountain whilst Argomon started climbing until they reached their area. "You ready?" Sandal asked him, though Argomon seemed a little uneasy.

"I'm not sure. I haven't really had a lot of practise with this."

Sandal smirked. "You'll be fine. I know you can do it. Just take it slowly and we'll have this done in no time."

Argomon took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I'll give it a try." Sandal nodded as he jumped off his partner, who turned towards the many caves that covered the side of the mountain.

As he did, the front of his orbular face split apart. The X-shape running across the front opened up, revealing a large space behind it full of pink tentacles. Each tentacle had a bunch of eyes on the end of it, which slowly started stretching outwards and entered the caves.

Sandal smirked, thinking that was a pretty cool thing to watch. He knew others might be a bit grossed out by it, but he didn't mind. "You got this." He watched as the tentacles disappeared down the holes, then looked up at one Argomon hadn't sent a tendril down. "I'll go check this one. Holler if you need anything." He climbed up until he reached the hole and headed inside, using the light of his Digivolve to illuminate the place.

Meanwhile, up above, Twilight and Aurumon had arrived at one of the higher caves.

Aurumon's special goggles were in night vision mode, allowing him to look around without needing to worry about how dark it was. "Maybe you should stay here," he suggested to Twilight. "I can fly around without the dark affecting me. But you might trip and hurt yourself."

"Alright," Twilight nodded. "Just be careful, okay." Aurumon nodded and flew into the cave, his robotic eyes scanning the walls and tunnel for any sign that Datamon was there. But by the looks of things, nobody had been in these caves for a long time.

Flash had led Micro up to one of the caves and dropped him and Tentomon off.

Once there, Micro Armor Digivolved Tentomon into FlameWizardmon. The Armor Digimon ignited his match stick staff, using them to light their way through the caves as they also searched for their friends.

"Datamon!" Micro cried, "can you hear me? If you're there, answer me. Please!" But there was no reply, Micro frowning.

"We'll keep looking," FlameWizardmon assured him. "Even if he's not here, we'll keep looking until we find him." Micro smiled at him and nodded, as they continued down the passageway.

They got deeper and deeper into the cave, when they suddenly found themselves coming across a large wall made up of fallen rocks. "You think Datamon could have been trapped behind this?"

"Maybe," FlameWizardmon nodded. "Only one way to find out." Micro nodded and they started moving the rocks away, being careful to watch the other ones and make sure the place didn't fall down upon them. This was gonna take a while.

Flash and Raidramon had arrived at their allotted caves, Flash jumping off and taking out his Digivice.

"Let's do this thing!" Flash swung his Digivice around and the white cube appeared, with Strabimon inside of it. "Biomerge!" The cube then flew over to him and he was transformed into the Rookie, which then began to glow. "Strabimon, Digivolve to..." The cube exploded off of him, revealing the Digimon Warrior or Light. "Lobomon!"

Lobomon and Raidramon nodded at each other, then headed into the cave with Lobomon's armor beginning to glow and light the place up.

Raidramon started sniffing the ground, working to get a lock on anything that might have walked through the area. "I'm not smelling anything," he stated. "Maybe further in." Lobomon nodded, the pair delving deeper into the darkness. And as they did so, they were completely unaware that a dark figure had arrived at the entrance of the tunnel.

Sandalwood carefully made his way down the tunnel, being careful not to trip over anything.

But then he came to a curve in the tunnel and when he stepped around it, he suddenly came face to face with a giant eyeball. "GYAH!" He leapt back, but then realised he was looking at one of Argomon's eye tendrils. "Geez, man. Don't scare me like that." But he suddenly remembered he was only talking to an eye, not ears. "Right, you can't hear me."

The tendrils looked around and then gestured to the way Sandal came.

"Oh, you wanna know if there are any other passages down this tunnel." He shook his head, "nope. The place just goes straight to where I came in." Sandal wasn't sure if he understood that, but the tendril started to retract. "Hey, wait for me."

Micro and FlameWizardmon continued digging through the rocks, pulling more and more of them away from the pile.

They had chosen to move up and remove the rocks from the top, hoping to make an opening they could fit through. And to their joy, the pile was slowly giving way. FlameWizardmon grabbed a rather large rock and pulled it free, which caused many other rocks to fall away from the pile.

"Wow," Micro moved, as the rocks fell down the pile and almost hit him. He then looked up and saw it had created a large opening, which Micro could fit through. "Yes!" He crawled up to it and used his Digivice to illuminate the other side, Micro seeing it was a ten foot long passage which came to a dead end.

Datamon was nowhere in sight, Micro realising he wasn't there.

Lobomon and Raidramon had gotten pretty deep into the cave, but now found themselves at a fork in the road.

"I'll go this way," Lobomon told him partner. "If you find anything, try and call out to me." Raidramon nodded and the pair split, heading down the different paths. And still, they had no idea that a dark shadow was following them.

Raidramon's horn sparked as it lit up, illuminating the place and allowing him to see down the dark tunnel. "Datamon?" He called out, but nobody answered. "Are you there? Come on. Answer us. We're worried about you." But still, there was no answer.

However, as he turned a corner, he thought he heard something coming from behind.

He spun around, looking down the dark tunnel, but there was nothing there. He then turned away, only to hear a skittering sound coming from behind. "Who's there!?" He roared, glaring into the darkness. "I know you're out there. Show yourself."

Then he heard it. A cackle, coming from above.

He looked up and saw something, hanging from the ceiling and hidden in the darkness. "What the?"

The creature suddenly held up its hands. And when it did, a pair of eyes suddenly glowed in the darkness and unleashed a bright light. "Eye of Nightmare!" Raidramon's roar then echoed through the cave.

Lobomon heard this and gasped, looking around as he did so.

"Raidramon?" He ran back up the tunnel until he arrived at the fork where he and Raidramon had split up, the Warrior of Light illuminating his armor to the max so that he would be able to see everything in front of him. "Raidramon!" But there was still no reply.

He ran up the tunnel, fearing something might have happened to his partner.

But then, he noticed a figure ahead of him and the light of his armor quickly revealed who it was. "Raidramon!" He sighed at the sight of his partner. "Why did you yell? Why didn't you answer?" Then, Raidramon turned around. And when Lobomon saw his eyes, he gasped.

Raidramon's eyes were pure white. And as he moved around, Lobomon noticed he was staggering like he wasn't really there. He was about to ask what happened, but Raidramon's armor began to spark.

"Blue Thunder!" the blue sphere of energy formed above him and shot towards Lobomon. The Warrior of Light leapt back, the attack slamming into the ground and exploding. The whole place shook at this, as Lobomon landed on one knee.

"What are you doing?" He cried, as Raidramon's horn sparked.

"Plasma Blade!" He swung his head around and the lightning shot off his horn, shooting towards Lobomon and threatening to cut him in half.

"Lobo Kendo!" He summoned his laser swords and used them to block the electric blade, as Raidramon leapt forward in an attempt to slam into him. "Something's controlling you!" He cried, leaping into the air and over his possessed partner. "Snap out of it."

"Blue Thunder!" The energy sphere fired at him and he crossed his swords, the blue orb slamming into them with incredible force.

He grunted, as he was pushed backwards by the attack. Eventually, the energy died down and he slowed to a stop. But the effort he needed to stop the attack had exhausted him, whilst Raidramon charged again. "Sorry bud!" He put his weapons away and raised his blaster arm. "Lobo Laser!" The light beam fired from his gauntlet and struck the ground in front of Raidramon.

The ground exploded and forced Raidramon to stop, allowing Lobomon to run forward and leap over the Friendship Digimon.

Once he was on the other side, he ran up the cave as fast as he could. But Raidramon was soon on his tail and kept firing electrical blasts at him.

The explosions and shaking of the cave, had drawn the attention of the rest of their friends.

Twilight stared down the mountain, as Sandal, Micro and FlameWizardmon rushed out of the caves. "What the heck is going on?" Micro asked, as Aurumon flew out the carve and Argomon retracted the last of his tendrils.

An explosion flew out of one of the holes and along with it, Lobomon was thrown outside letting out a cry of pain. "Flash!" Twilight cried, as Aurumon grabbed her shoulders and lifted her into the air.

The others made their way down, as Raidramon leapt out of the cave with his body sparking. "What's he doing?" Sandal asked, only to see him fire his Blue Thunder at Lobomon. "Is he nuts!?"

Lobomon pushed himself up and leapt to the side, the blast causing the ground to explode. "He's being controlled!" As he said that, Raidramon turned to the others and they saw his eyes. He then rushed forward and leapt into the air, his body charging up energy as he prepared to attack.

"Entrap!" Argomon cried, as his face opened up and unleashed the pink tendrils.

They wrapped around Raidramon and held him tightly, keeping him from pulling himself free. But before he could think of what to do next, Raidramon unleashed a blast of lightning that zapped him. Argomon flinched, but his plant-like nature allowed him to withstand the shock.

"Hold him still!" FlameWizardmon yelled, as he leapt into the air towards Raidramon. "Sorry about this. You'll thank me later!" With that, he swung his leg around and kicked him in the head.

Raidramon howled in pain, as FlameWizardmon fell back down. And as he landed, Raidramon went limp in Argomon's tendrils. "Did that do it?" Twilight asked, as they all gather around him.

Then, Raidramon groaned as he opened his eyes. They were back to normal, "what happened?"

"Raidramon," Lobomon sighed. "You're okay." The others looked just as relieved, Argomon putting him down. "Something was controlling you. Making you attack us. Don't you remember?"

"No," Raidramon shook his head. "The last thing I remember is...something in the cave. Something hiding in the shadows." He looked around, "then everything's a blur." But as he said that, he noticed movement up above. "There!" They all looked around and saw some kind of Digimon, who quickly hid behind a rock.

"Entrap!" Argomon unleashed a tendril, which shot up towards the rock and grabbed something behind it.

"HEY!" They heard the Digimon cry, as he was lifted into the air. "Let me go!" The Digimon was revealed to be a small whitish blue Digimon, wearing black pants and a black mask covering its face. His fingers were long and had red claws on them, whilst the palm of his hands had an eye on it that was either red or green.

Lobomon and the others stared at the Digimon, completely lost by what they were seeing. "What the heck is that thing?" Twilight asked, the others just as confused.

"I've never seen this Digimon before," Micro stated.

"Same here," Sandal nodded. He looked over at the Digimon, but none of them seemed to recognise him. "Who the heck are you? And why did you make Raidramon attack Flash?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Digimon growled.

"It was him," Raidramon growled. "I remember now. Those eyes on his hands can take control of you. They let out a light and that's what got me." The Digimon still said nothing. "Let me fry him."

"Hold on," Twilight held out her Digivice. "Let's see if this tells us anything." She tried to scan him. But when it was complete, the device beeped and told her she couldn't scan a partner Digimon. "Partner." She looked up at him, "you're someone's partner?"

"Yeah, mine." That voice made them all gasp as they spun around, shocked by who they saw step out from behind a boulder.

"Jet Set?" Lobomon could hardly believe it, the Digimon reverting back to human form and glaring at him. "What are you doing here?"

"My partner and I were out searching for some Digimon to scan," Jet smirked. "Now, would you be so kind as to release him. He's very important to me."

"Since when do you have a partner?" Twilight asked, "you hate the idea of Digimon partners."

"I'm allowed to change my mind, aren't I?" They all glared at him, as he gave them all a serious look. "I'm serious, though. Release him."

"After what he did to me?" Raidramon growled. "He took control of me. Tried to make me hurt my friends."

"Really? Do you have any actual proof of that? Did anyone see him take control of you? Did anyone see him order you to attack Flash and the others?" They all frowned, as they realised they didn't have any proof. "I thought not. Now let him go, or I'm contacting the Codex Commanders to report you for attacking my partner for no reason."

They all glared at him, but eventually realised they had to release him.

Argomon lowered him to the ground and let him go, Dracmon brushing himself off as he did so. "About time." He walked over to Jet Set. "Thanks."

"Any time," Jet smiled. "I guess introductions are in order. This is my new partner Digimon, Dracmon."

"Where the heck did he come from?" Twilight demanded. "I've never seen a Digimon like him and I've studied every piece of Digimon media out there."

"Well I guess you don't know everything," Jest smirked. "I met Dracmon a little while back, wandering the forest. We got to talking and finally agreed to partner up with one another. It was a win-win. I get a one of a kind rare Digimon to trade scans of, whilst he doesn't have to wander around looking for something to eat or live."

Raidramon glared at him. "You left me locked up in your Digivice. Why aren't you doing the same to him?"

"Because I don't want to," Jet simply shrugged. "Plus, he doesn't annoy me enough to warrant locking him up." Raidramon growled. "I was hoping to surprise Codex during my next battle, but I guess you guys are going to spread the word about him anyway. So much for that. Might as well leave." He turned to walk off, whilst the others glared at them.

They all wanted to know more about this Digimon, and if it really could take control of things. And Sandal decided he wanted to face off against it.

"Hey, Jet!" The teen stopped and turned to him. "If you wanna impress Codex so much, then face me with him." That was a surprise, Jet chuckling.

"You really think a no talent battler like you, can stand up to me?"

Sandal smirked, glancing back at Argomon who nodded. "We can handle anything you throw at us." Jet gave a cocky grin, as he and Dracmon looked ready for a hunt.

"Then bring it on."

Word quickly spread around Codex, that a never before seen Digimon was going to be battling.

In the foyer, Flash, Micro, Twilight and their Digimon watched. "You think Sandal can handle Jet?" Flash couldn't help but remember his own battles against the cruel teen. They had not been easy, and that was when Jet used known Digimon.

"Sandal's got this," Micro assured him. "No matter what Jet throws at him." As he said that, the screen came on and shot Sandal and Jet, who had chosen to have an actual stadium battle in the Champion Arena.

The pair stared across from one another, Sandal still trying to get a feel on Dracmon and how he'd likely fight.

"Sandalwood!" the overhead voice stated, "Jet Set! You are both here to compete in a Codex Battle. Are both players ready to compete?"

"Yes," they nodded.

"Then place your Digivices into the battle podiums and select your decks." They did so and Sandalwood looked over at Jet, who began building his deck as Dracmon just stood there looking bored.

'He doesn't believe in the whole partner thing. So he's not gonna use Dracmon, even if it'll give him an extra security. That's our advantage.' He began building his deck. 'But I gotta be careful. Flash had the same advantage and still lost. I can't let him get the upper hand.' He finished his deck and slotted it in, Jet doing the same as the robotic voice spoke up.

"Sandalwood. You have been randomly selected to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Sandal smirked as he had an idea, selecting one of the locations and loading it up. "Shining Garden has been selected. When both players are ready, hit the start button."

Sandal and Jet locked eyes before a smile appeared on their lips. "LET'S GET DIGITAL!" They both cried before slamming the start button. The dome filled with light as Sandal and Mangoramon merged into one.

"Yeah!" The newly formed Mangoramon appeared, ready to kick butt.

However, when he turned to Jet, something shocking happened. Instead of Dracmon being sucked into the Digivice and Jet transforming, the pair turned to one another before merging into one. "Dracmon!" He cried, landing opposite Mangoramon.

"What?" Sandal couldn't believe it. "They're actually working together?" That was all he said before the dome was completely filled with light, which started forming the battlefield.

Everyone watched as the battlefield was revealed to be a giant garden.

But this garden wasn't like most gardens. This one was huge, looking like a scene from that shrinking movie. It also lacked any normal vegetation. Instead, the plants there were all partly crystal. The giant blades of grass were a bunch of thin wavy gems that flowed with the wind, whilst the flowers had normal stems but the petals were crystal.

The gems refracted the light of the cloud covered sun, making them glow bright and fill the place with light.

Two lights also appeared on the field, which quickly disappeared to reveal Dracmon and Mangoramon.

Dracmon: 5-100%
Mangoramon: 5-100%

To say everyone was surprised by Jet's decision was an understatement. "I can't believe Jet's actually using his partner," Flash cried. He was still having a hard time believing he even had a partner, especially one he let loose. "This isn't gonna be good for Sandal."

"I'm still trying to find Dracmon's data," Twilight stated. "Whatever this Digimon is, that's barely any info on it in the database." But as she said that, the computer finally lit up and showed Dracomon's stats. "Finally.

Name: Dracmon
Level: Rookie
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Undead
Family: Dark Area, Nightmare Soldiers

"Oh that's not good," Twilight frowned. "Mangoramon's a Data Type. Against a Virus, he's gonna be in serious trouble."

"And there's still barely any info on Dracmon," Tawnimon frowned. "Where in the world did this thing come from?" The others were wondering the same thing, as the battle began.

Dracmon didn't even bother to look around, instead charging forward as he held his hands up. The eyes on the palms of his hands started shifting around, as he reached Mangoramon.

"Demi Darts!" Suddenly, the same syringes a DemiDevimon would wield appeared in his hands. He threw them forward and Mangoramon barely managed to leap back and avoid them, whilst he swung his head around.

"Bloom-Arang!" His head leaf shot off and shot towards the undead Digimon, Dracmon skidding to a stop and swinging his arms around to deflect it. But the blade still dug into his arm and he flinched.

Dracmon: 5-85%
Mangoramon: 5-100%

Mangoramon landed and reached onto his moss jumper, pulling it off and throwing it. "Moss Pelt!" He threw the green slime towards the mysterious Digimon, but Dracmon leapt to the side and it missed.

"Demi Darts!" He pulled another syringe out of hammer space and threw it, this one stabbing Mangoramon in the chest and making him scream in pain.

Dracmon: 5-85%
Mangoramon: 5-80%

Mangoramon fell backwards and groaned, the syringe sticking out of his chest as he laid there letting the pain shoot through him. "Ow." Dracmon laughed hearing this, whilst Mangoramon reached up and pulled the needle out of him.

But as he threw it away, Dracmon took a bunch more out. "I'm not done yet!" He started throwing the needles towards him, but Mangoramon leapt away and ran towards a giant blade of grass.

When he finally got behind it, he took a deep breath whilst Dracmon threw more syringes at him. But they didn't even scratch the crystal grass, giving Mangoramon the time he needed to come up with a plan.

"He's a Virus. He's fast and he can attack from a distance."

"This doesn't look good," Mangoramon pointed out. "What do we do?" Sandal tried to think, but Dracmon suddenly leapt around the grass blade.

"Surprise!" He tried to slash at Mangoramon, but the plant Rookie leapt back and barely managed to avoid him. Then, Dracmon raised his hand eyes up to his head eyes. "Eye of Nightmare!" The eyes began to glow, but Mangoramon quickly closed his eyes.

However, this left him open to attack and Dracmon leapt forward before dealing a swift kick to the plant's chest. "AUGH!" He was knocked backwards, crashing into another blade of grass and bouncing off it.

Dracmon: 5-85%
Mangoramon: 5-60%

As Mangoramon picked himself up, Dracmon laughed his head off. "This is so much fun. You losers don't stand a chance against me now!" Mangoramon growled as he stood tall, then noticed Dracmon jumping from one foot to another.

"Moss Pelt Barrage!" He started throwing moss ball after moss ball after moss ball at the virus, who barely managed to react.

"Wow, wee, waa!" He made a bunch of random posses, as he let the moss fly past him. "Nice try!" But then, Mangoramon used his Bloom-Arang attack and sent it flying towards him. Dracmon leapt backwards, avoiding the bladed leaf. But as he did, he landed on a piece of moss that trapped his foot. "Gaaah!"

"Yes," Flash cheered. "That's the way. Show him who's boss."

"Now he can attack," Veemon cheered. But instead of doing just that, Mangoramon began to run away. "Hey, what's he doing?"

"He's being smart," Micro told him. "Mangoramon can't do much damage in his current form. And even with his foot stuck, Dracmon can still move around a lot. Sandal needs to use this chance to grab as many Digivolution Coins as he can find."

They watched, as Mangoramon rushed through the crystal garden. At the same time, Dracmon was using his claws to cut through the moss. And it wasn't long before Mangoramon found what he was looking for.

"Yes!" He cheered, seeing a Digivolution Coin pressed against the face of a crystal sunflower.

He rushed over to a blade of grass and ran up it, the crystal quality of the grass keeping it from bending as he ran up to the edge and off the end. Flying through the air, he collided with the flower as it bent down under his weight.

The Digivolution Coin exploded and flew into his body, as he let the flower go and rolled along it. The flower touched down, as the plant Digimon rolled off the end of its petals. As he did, the flower suddenly shot back upwards and bent the other way before smashing into the blade of grass he had been on.

The two collided and exploded, the force of the impact sending crystal shards flying everywhere. "Boom!" Mangoramon laughed, as he continued running through the garden. He seemed to know the place like the back of his hand, eventually reaching yet another flower that had the same Digivolution Coin.

But as he began running up a blade of grass, Dracmon suddenly leapt out of nowhere. "Gotcha!" He slashed at Mangoramon, but the plant managed to dodge the slash and the undead Digimon landed on the grass.

But his feet suddenly slipped out from beneath him and he cried out, hitting the blade and sliding down it. "Ha!" Mangoramon laughed before rushing up the blade. As he did, Dracmon dug his claws into the crystal and stopped himself. He then started climbing up, as Mangoramon leapt off the end.

"Get back here!" He cried, reaching the end of the grass tip as Mangoramon flew across and landed on the flower again.

The flower bent back towards the ground and as Mangoramon absorbed the Digivolution Coin, an idea formed in his head. One that made him smirk as he released the flower and rolled off it. And as he reached the very edge, he gave Dracmon a smile before sliding the rest of the way off it.

Dracmon watched the flower suddenly shoot towards him. "WOW!" He cried, attempting to escape as the flower crashed into the grass blade and caused the two to shatter. "AUGH!" He cried, as the gems slammed into him whilst he was sent flying.

Dracmon: 5-50%
Mangoramon: 5-60%

He crashed into the ground, rolling along the ground as he let out a moan. And as he laid there, Mangoramon rushed a safe distance away from him. "Go time!" He announced, as his body started glowing. "Mangoramon, Digivolve to..." Dracmon began to pick himself up, as the light made him look away. And as he did, the growing Digimon rushed forward before the light exploded off of him. "Arbormon!"

The now Champion Level Digimon leapt forward and swung a leg around, attempting to kick Dracmon in the head. But the Rookie gasped before rolling away, Arbormon's kick hitting the ground instead. "Is that the best you've got?" He asked, snarling as he stood up.

"Nope!" Arbormon spun around. "Blockade Seed!" He fired the seeds out of his mouth, which shot towards Dracmon and began to wrap around him as soon as they struck. The vines tied the Rookie up, his arms locking to his side as he struggled against the bindings.

Arbormon then rushed forward and as he threw a punch towards Dracmon, the Rookie leaned to the side and the punch missed. "Undead Fang!" he suddenly bit into Arbormon's arm, making the warrior of wood cry out in pain.

Dracmon: 5-50%
Arbormon: 5-45%

"GET OFF!" Arbormon swung his arm around, trying to dislodge the dark Digimon. But Dracmon held on tight and refused to let go. Arbormon then raised his other fist and tried to punch Dracmon, but the Rookie let go and the punch missed and caused Arbormon to be knocked off balance.

"Undead Fang!" He then bit into Dracmon's leg, making him scream some more.

Dracmon: 5-50%
Arbormon: 5-30%

"Ouch!" Tentomon winced. "That had to hurt."

"This Digimon is even giving a Champion a run for his money," Micro realised. They watched as Arbormon swung his leg around, whilst Dracmon's claws worked to cut through the bindings around him.

Arbormon then turned towards one of the grass gems and ran towards it, leaping into the air and swinging his legs around to try and smash Dracmon into it. But at the last moment, Dracmon cut through the vines and released himself. He let go of the leg and jumped away, as Arbormon kicked his leg into the gem.

The crystal cracked, as Arbormon turned towards Dracmon as the Digimon laughed.

"Even as a Champion, you don't stand a chance against me. What a loser." He jumped up and down, Arbormon glaring at him. But then he noticed something and smiled.

"Well this loser knows more about this battlefield than you do." With that, he leapt behind the grass blade and crouched down. Dracmon raised an eyebrow at this, only to then feel a bright heat coming from above.

"Huh?" He looked up and saw the sun coming out from behind the clouds, which sent a bunch more light streaming down on the battlefield. And then the light's rays flew down and hit the crystals, they started refracting in multiple different directions. "What?"

The lasers bounced around the place, some hitting the ground or non-gem plant parts, whilst others just kept bouncing from one crystal to another. And eventually, they started firing towards Dracmon.

"Gaaah!" He barely managed to dodge one blast, then another and another. Eventually, the lasers out sped him and he was blasted in the back. "GYAH!"

Dracmon: 5-40%
Arbormon: 5-30%

The lasers kept bouncing around the place and eventually, the sun disappeared behind the clouds again and the lights slowly faded away. As they did, Arbormon leapt out from behind his cover and rushed towards Dracmon. As the Rookie picked himself up, he found a wooden foot flying towards him.

"WOW!" Was all he could say, before the foot smashed into his face and he was sent soaring into the air.

Dracmon: 5-30%
Arbormon: 5-30%

Everyone couldn't help but smile, as Dracmon was sent soaring through the air and incredible speed.

"He's going...going...going...GONE!" Flash cheered, the others laughing. They watched, as Dracmon barely managed to avoid slamming into one of the grass crystals and instead, grabbed the end and used it to break his fall.

The grass bent and slowed him down. But stopped a good ten feet off the ground and was about to bounce back, forcing Dracmon to let it go so he fell to the ground. He hit the dirt and moaned, whilst the grass swung back up towards the sky. And as he picked himself up, he noticed a light and looked ahead.

A crystal flower laid on the ground, looking like it had just sprouted from below. And coming out of it was a bright light.

Dracmon rushed over to it and leapt atop the gem, using all his strength to push it open. And sure enough, hidden within, a Digivolution Coin was waiting for him. "Gotcha!" He grabbed it, just as Arbormon rushed in.

"Roundhouse Punt!" He launched his arms towards Dracmon, who leapt off the flower as the power surged within him.

"Too late!" He cried, "now it's time to power up!" And sure enough, his body started glowing. "Dracmon, Digivolve to..." His body grew larger and began to reshape itself, turning quadrupedal as her grew to the size of a Dorulumon. Many wondered if that was what he was becoming, as he morphed into a wolf-like form. But then his feet began to gain several edges, as if giant blades were sticking off of them. And when the light faded, his new form was revealed.

Sure enough, he was a wolf-life Digimon. Except this Digimon was a mix of gray, red and bluish purple. His head was entirely gray, along with his neck, chest, underside and the tip of his tail. The rest of his body was purple, but had red bat-shaped markings on it. But the most noticeable thing about him were the blades and bat wings.

A pair of dark purple bat-wings were wrapped around his head, covering his eyes, whilst a larger pair of wings stuck out the back of his neck and wrapped around that. Finally, his legs were dark blue and had a bunch of blades and claws sticking out.

The wolf let out a mighty howl, as he did a flip through the air and swung his bladed claws around to slice through several nearby crystals. "Sangloupmon!"

Everyone in Codex was staring at the screen showing this battle, each of them completely shocked by this never before seen Digimon.

"What is that thing?" Flash asked, the others just as confused. Twilight tried to bring up data on him, but his biopage appeared and was very sparse.

Name: Sangloupmon
Level: Champion
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Demon Beast
Family: Dark Area, Nightmare Soldiers

She tried to bring up more data, but nothing showed itself. "Where did Jet find this thing?" She asked, as the dark wolf Digimon prepared to strike. Arbormon was clearly thrown for a loop by this creature, as he stood apprehensively trying to get a read on this Digimon.

Suddenly, Sangloupmon rushed forward with incredible speed.

"Raaah!" Arbormon was broken from his trance and tried to strike back, throwing a punch into the wolf's head. But at the last moment, Sangloupmon's body exploded into a black mist that seemed to fade away. "What the?"

"Where'd he go?" Mangoramon asked, as Arbormon looked around. But there was no sign of the creature, anywhere.

"Where are you?" He cried. "Come on. Don't go hiding. Where's the fun in that?"

"Says the guy that hid behind some crystal grass before." The voice came from behind him. But when he spun around, there was nothing there. "I'm closer than you think."

"Come on out and fight me!" Arbormon cried. And as he said that, his shadow began to wave and move in an unusual way. But since he currently had his back to his shadow, Arbormon couldn't see it. And he also couldn't see when the wolf materialised out of his shadow.

"Black Mind!" He howled, as he slammed into Arbormon's back and dug his claws deep into his wooden armor.

"GYAH!" He cried, feeling his wood body being torn into.

Sangloupmon: 5-30%
Arbormon: 5-5%

Arbormon spun around, attempting to throw the wolf Digimon off of him. But Sangloupmon dug his claws deeper and deeper into him, eventually doing more damage and breaking the security.

Sangloupmon: 5-30%
Arbormon: 5-0%

"Get...OFF!" He finally threw the wolf off of him, but Sangloupmon spun around and landed on his paws. As he did, Arbormon tried to regain his composure. But Sangloupmon suddenly rushed forward as he did.

"Drain Slash!" In the blink of an eye, he shot past Arbormon and the blades on his legs cut into the wooden Digimon.

"AUGH!"

Sangloupmon: 5-30%
Arbormon: 4-90%

His friends flinched, as Arbormon fell to the ground. "That didn't look like it did much," Flash pointed out.

"Look again," Micro pointed at Arbormon's SP bar and the others realised it had gone down. "That attack must not be for draining HP. It's about draining the opponent's strength to fight back."

As Arbormon picked himself up, Sangloupmon spun around and charged at him again. "Draining Multi-Slash!" He morphed into a blur and suddenly, Arbormon felt himself getting slashed at in multiple areas. They only did half the damage from before, but just as much SP was taken.

Sangloupmon: 5-30%
Arbormon: 4-70%

"This is bad," Micro cried. "If Sandal doesn't do something, he's gonna be all out of options to fight back."

Arbormon staggered over to a grass blade and leaned against it, panting as Sangloupmon appeared in front of him.

"You're out of your league," the wolf snarled. "My new Digimon is way too powerful for a wimp like you to take." He began circling around, like a hunter about to finish off his prey. But just as he was about to pounce, Arbormon noticed the sun was about to appear from out of the clouds.

"Bring it on," Arbormon told him. "You think your little tricks will work twice? Dream on, dude."

Sangloupmon growled before charging, his claws ready to tear Arbormon to pieces. But at the last moment, the warrior of wood sank down as the sun appeared. And the next thing Sangloupmon knew, a beam of light was being shot straight towards him thanks to the crystal grass.

A howl of pain filled the air, as Sangloupmon was knocked backwards. The laser did serious damage, as it struck him in the chest and burned him.

Sangloupmon: 5-5%
Arbormon: 4-70%

As Sangloupmon was knocked away, Arbormon raised his arm. "Battle Gear, BOOST!" His arm began to glow and changed shape, the light fading to reveal a green tube-shaped weapon with vine patterns etched into it. "Seed Shooter!" He pointed the device at Sangloupmon, firing as he picked himself up.

From out of the tube, a bunch of seeds shot out faster than bullets.

They zoomed through the air and before Sangloupmon could react, they slammed into him. The first struck him right on the chest, breaking his security.

Sangloupmon: 5-0%
Arbormon: 4-70%

Then, several more speeds struck and did minor damage that quickly began to build up.

Sangloupmon: 4-75%
Arbormon: 4-70%

Sangloupmon finally recovered enough to actually dodge the onslaught of seed bullets, the wolf leaping into the air as Arbormon looked up. "Sticker Blade!" He roared, spinning backwards as the blades on his claws glowed.

And from out of that light, many shards of metal came flying out towards Arbormon.

He gasped, trying to avoid them. He managed to dodge a few, but three of the blades sank into his wooden chest. "Gaaah!"

Sangloupmon: 4-75%
Arbormon: 4-40%

He staggered back, as Sangloupmon landed and ran forward. His blades were ready to slice the Digimon to bits, but Arbormon yanked the blades out of him before thrusting his arm upwards.

Said arm extended and grabbed the bottom petal of a flower, then retracted to pull him upwards and away from the wolf's claws. "Fire!" He cried, launching the seeds down towards Sangloupmon.

They slammed down upon him, making him howl in pain before he leapt back.

Sangloupmon: 4-55%
Arbormon: 4-40%

He once again leapt backwards, as his leg blades glowed. "Sticker Blade!" The shards shot up towards Arbormon, threatening to stab into him again. But at the last moment, Arbormon let go and fell towards the ground. As he did, the blades flew over him and one cut through the stem of the flower.

As Arbormon landed, the crystal flower began to fall towards him and Sangloupmon.

Both ran in opposite directions, as the flower crashed into the ground. The impact sent out a gust of wind that slammed into the two of them, whilst shards of crystal flew everywhere.

Arbormon staggered around, doing his best to avoid the crystals as they rained down everywhere. And as he managed to regain his balance, he noticed a light coming from between some grass blades. A Digivolution Coin.

"Yes!" He rushed forward and as he got closer, Sangloupmon picked himself up and saw where he was going.

"Oh no you don't!" He rushed forward, moving at an incredibly high speed as he shot towards him.

Arbormon spun around at the last moment and managed to block Sangloupmon's bite with his Seed Shooter, the weapon breaking apart as the wolf's teeth dug into it. But before Sangloupmon could slash at him, his mouth opened. "Blockade Seed!" The small projectiles shot out and slammed into the wolf's chest, quickly sprouting and wrapping around him.

Tied up, Sangloupmon was unable to protect himself as Arbormon pushed him away before kicking him right in the face.

Sangloupmon: 4-45%
Arbormon: 4-40%

Sangloupmon howled as he was thrown backwards, whilst Arbormon's Battle Gear fell apart.

Arbormon then turned towards the Digivolution Coin and closed the gap, grabbing it as Sangloupmon started cutting through the vines with his blades. And as he freed himself, Arbormon spun around and glared at him before his body burst into light. "Arbormon, Digivolve to..." His wooden body broke apart, as the Digimon inside it sprang free and grew giant.

Sangloupmon was forced to run back, as a giant foot almost stomped down on him. And as it smashed into the earth, the light faded to reveal the giant plant lizard. "PETALDRAMON!"

The beast of wood looked down towards Sangloupmon, who slowly backed away as the Ultimate leapt onto his back legs. "Leaf Cyclone!" The petals started spinning around his head, as he took a deep breath in and unleashed a blast of air towards Sangloupmon.

The gale blasted down upon him and started slamming into him. "Augh!" He cried, digging his claws into the ground to keep from being blown away. As he did, the leaves slashed at him and he flinched.

Sangloupmon: 4-20%
Petaldramon: 4-40%

As the guest began to weaken, Petaldramon raised his tails into the air before stabbing them into the ground. "Thorn Jab!" The ground began to shake, as Sangloupmon tried to pull his claws free of it. And as he started running forward, giant spiked vines stuck out of the ground and flew into the air all around him.

They started whipping around, trying to grab him. But Sangloupmon started slashing at them with his claws, cutting through most of them. But then one grabbed him around the waist and gripped him tightly. "Augh!" He was pulled into the air, as several more vines swung around to try and crush him.

But before they could strike, Sangloupmon disappeared.

"What happened?" Flash asked, as Petaldramon looked around.

"He disappeared!" Veemon cried, but Micro and Twilight had another theory. Their eyes turned towards the darkness of Petaldramon's shadow and remembered what had happened before.

"Look out!" Micro cried, as the shadow began to shift and move. And Petaldramon noticed only at the last moment, as the vampiric wolf shot out of his shadow and aimed his blades right at his throat.

"Augh!" Petaldramon cried, as he was slashed at the neck by Sangloupmon.

Sangloupmon: 4-20%
Petaldramon: 4-20%

His plant-like nature quickly allowed him to repair the damage, but Sangloupmon was flying through the air and pushed his feet against one of the crystal grass blades. He leapt off it, shooting down towards the beast of wood with his claws at the ready.

"Drain Slash!" He aimed for the beast's legs, but the roots on Petaldramon's back quickly shot forward and wrapped themselves around him.

"I don't think so!" He threw him away before he could disappear, but Sangloupmon started spinning as he did so.

"Sticker Blade!" The metal shards exploded out of his claws and flew towards Petaldramon, raining down upon his and cutting into his body. Petaldramon flinched at this, as Sangloupmon landed atop a grass blade which bent down to slow his fall.

Sangloupmon: 4-20%
Petaldramon: 4-0%

Petaldramon shook his head, as Sangloupmon leapt off the grass tip and onto the ground. "Too bad," he told him. "You thought Digivolving into a big strong Digimon would give you the edge. But it didn't. Instead, all it did was turn you into a bigger, slower, target." He rushed forward, as Petaldramon's back vines grew larger.

As the wolf leapt forward, claws at the ready to slash into him, Petaldramon used his vines to hit the ground and push off.

This caused him to be thrown up into the air, causing Sangloupmon to miss. "Who's big and slow now!?" Petaldramon cried, as he swung his tail around as hard as he could. "Thorn Jab!" The tail slammed into Sangloupmon, making him howl as he was sent flying backwards.

Sangloupmon: 4-5%
Petaldramon: 3-100%

He spun through the air and eventually crashed into a blade of grass, the force of the impact causing the crystal structure to shatter. Several pieces of it cut into Sangloupmon's body, making him flinch in pain as his security was broken.

Sangloupmon: 4-0%
Petaldramon: 3-100%

Sandal's friends cheered, as Petaldramon fell back to the ground. "That's the way," Flash yelled.

Twilight smiled with a nod. "This Dracmon might be an unknown. But a Digimon is still a Digimon and as long as you can figure out how to fight it, not knowing where it comes from doesn't really matter." The others nodded, as Sangloupmon began to pick himself up.

"Go Sandal!" Micro cried. "Hit him before he manages to recover. Take him down!"

Petaldramon leapt onto his back legs, preparing to use another Leaf Cyclone.

But as he breathed in, Sangloupmon suddenly shot to his feet and ran in the opposite direction. Petaldramon frowned as he jumped back onto all fours, then started chasing after him. Sangloupmon's speed allowed him to weave between the blades of grass, whilst Petaldramon simply barrelled through them.

"He's running scared?" Sandal smirked, but Mangoramon had a different theory.

"He's running to even the playing field," he stated. "He's trying to find a Digivolution Coin." This made Sandalwood worry, since it was likely he would become another Digimon Sandal wouldn't know.

"Gotta stop him." He doubled his pace in an attempt to catch up, but Sangloupmon was just too fast.

As such, the wolf Digimon soon arrived at a grassless clearing with a large flower on it. And just as the Champion thought, the flower had a Digivolution Coin on it.

"Raaah!" He slashed through the stem and as he did, the flower began to fall.

Petaldramon saw this and realised he wouldn't be able to get to it before Sangloupmon, so leapt onto his back legs. "Leaf Cyclone!" He unleashed the tornado and it shot straight towards the wolf, who saw it coming and realised he wouldn't be able to get through it before the flower fell.

"Black Mind!" He once again exploded into a million bits, seconds before the tornado slammed into him. As he did, the flower hit the ground and crystals were sent flying everywhere. And so was the coin.

Petaldramon looked around, but quickly realised where he had to be and stared down at the shadow below him. But he was so large, his shadow was equally as big. And as he tried to find Sangloupmon, the shadow of his tail warped before the wolf shot out of it.

He howled as he flew through the air, landing atop Petaldramon's back before shooting into the air.

Petaldramon tried to grab him with his back roots, but the beast started spinning around and slashed through them before they could catch him. And eventually, he landed next to the Digivolution Coin and smashed it under foot.

Sangloupmon smirked, as the power flowed into him. "Now it's time to take things up a notch. You won't be so tough, once you've faced the power of my Ultimate!" His body began to glow, the light consuming him completely as he grew. "Sangloupmon, Digivolve to..." The beast's body completely reshaped itself again, turning back to a more humanoid form. Giant claws appeared on the end of his arms, whilst his back legs grew thinner and his feet changed to a strange shield shape.

The light finally faded and what was revealed was some kind of bladed clown. He was now wearing clothes that were a mix of pink, red, green and black. His head was white, with sharp blades on the end and a large head of yellow hair on top. Five sharp claws stuck out the ends of his sleeves, whilst his feet had a pair of large bladed shoes around them that looked large enough that one could use them to stand on water.

The Digimon swung his claws around, then leapt into the air and kicked his bladed feet around to unleash several air cuts that sliced through surrounding flowers. "MATADORMON!"

Everyone stared at the new Digimon in shock. Once again, none of them had ever seen such a Digimon. Whatever it was, it looked dangerous. And Sandalwood had to find a way to beat it, if there was one.

Author's Note

Bet you weren't expecting to see Jet Set with his own Partner. And one nobody knows anything about. How will Sandal handle this new opponent? What other surprises could Dracmon have up his sleeves? And what secrets is he hiding? Find out next time.

An X-traordinary Turn of Events

The battle between Sandalwood and Jet Set rages on, but it was a difficult battle for both sides.

Whilst Sandalwood had the terrain advantage, Jet's new partner and its evolutions were proving to be rather difficult to deal with. Currently, Jet had just Digivolved into the Ultimate Level Digimon. Matadormon. The razor sharp Digimon spun around, his claws and bladed feet swishing through the air as Petaldramon stared him down.

"I hope you're ready," Matadormon laughed. "Because it's about time I cut you down to size."

Over in the foyer, Sandal's friends watched and were just as shocked as Sandal.

"Another completely new Digimon," Micro could only whisper. "Dracmon, Sangloupmon and now Matadormon. I don't think I wanna know what its Mega looks like." Twilight tried to bring up Matadormon's stats, but it was just as difficult as when she tried to bring up the data on the other Digimon.

Name: Matadormon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Undead
Family: Dark Area, Nightmare Soldiers

Flash frowned. "Sandal's gonna have his work cut out for him." Matadormon then charged forward, his claws at the ready whilst Petaldramon tried to counter.

"Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon leapt onto his back legs and started spinning the leaves on his head.

But Matadormon rushed forward at high speed, getting too close for the Leaf Cyclone to hit him. He then leapt up, the blades sticking out of his robes extending. "Assault of Arrows!" He started thrusting the tips of the blades towards Petaldramon, stabbing him several times.

"Gyah!" Petaldramon roared, as he felt his chest getting pierced several times.

Matadormon: 3-100%
Petaldramon: 3-55%

Petaldramon staggered back, as Matadormon leapt backwards and landed upon the crystal grass blade. "Pathetic," he growled with a chuckle. "The Legendary Warrior of Wood. What a joke. Against true strength, you don't stand a chance."

Petaldramon landed on his legs, his chest still stinging from all the stabs. He glared at Matadormon, refusing to let himself get outclassed like that again. "Thorn Jab!" He thrust his tails into the ground and seconds later, the ground erupted with giant roots flying into the air around Matadormon.

"Ha!" He swung around and slashed one of the roots in half, but another managed to grab him around the waist. "Gaaah!" He was lifted into the air, but quickly swung his leg around and cut through the root. As he fell, more roots flew up and tried to catch him.

He rapidly swung his legs around, cutting them to ribbons. But this allowed Petaldramon to rush forward. And before Matadormon could react, Petaldramon slammed his head into the Digimon and knocked him flying backwards.

Matadormon: 3-90%
Petaldramon: 3-55%

"Gaaah!" Matadormon fell towards the ground, but two roots flew up and caught him around the arms, waist and legs. "Augh!" He struggled, but the roots had him held in such a way that he couldn't cut himself free. "Dang it!"

"Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon leapt onto his back legs and unleashed the tornado, which flew towards the undead Digimon and slammed into him. The leaves slashed into him, cutting up his clothes as he could do nothing but let them slash at him.

Matadormon: 3-60%
Petaldramon: 3-55%

As they cut into him, they also cut into the root around his waist and arms and caused it to slowly be torn apart. And once it was weak enough, Matadormon let out a roar and pushed against the root. It finally gave way and Matadormon's arms were freed, allowing him to swing around and shift his feet to cut into the other root.

Now free, he let himself fly through the tornado until he landed atop a crystal flower. Said flower curved backwards, Petaldramon realising what he was doing and running away. Matadormon then leapt off the flower and it bounced back, bending forward and shattering against the ground.

Crystal shards went everywhere, some digging into Petaldramon's side and making him flinch.

Matadormon: 3-60%
Petaldramon: 3-45%

He staggered around, as Matadormon charged. But before he could strike with his bladed feet, Petaldramon grabbed a pair of crystal flower petals in his back roots and lifted them up.

The undead Digimon kicked them, cutting them to pieces. But Petaldramon then used a weaker Leaf Cyclone to blow those pieces into him. "AUGH!" He cried, getting stabbed several times.

Matadormon: 3-40%
Petaldramon: 3-45%

He fell back and crashed into the ground, as Petaldramon stabbed his tail into the ground. "Thorn Jab!" Several roots quickly sprouted up around Matadormon, who was currently brushing his front down to remove the crystal shards. The roots then came crashing down towards him.

Matadormon looked up, as the roots prepared to crush him beneath them. But at the last moment, he started jabbing his claws upwards and cut the roots to pieces. But as they fell around him, he looked over to see Petaldramon stalking away.

The Beast of Wood quickly marched through the crystal garden, spotting a faint glow through the blades of grass.

Pushing his way through it, he spotted an SP Coin and smiled before marching over to it. But as he got close, Matadormon leapt onto the top of a grass blade and looked down at him. "Trying to run away?" He leapt into the air, "I don't think so!" Petaldramon saw him coming and reached out with his back root, grabbing the coin at the last moment. But as he did, Matadormon slashed at him with his metal foot.

"GYAH!" He cried, staggering back as his SP rose but his HP dropped.

Matadormon: 3-40%
Petaldramon: 3-30%

He reacted by spinning around and smashing his tails into one of the crystal grass blades, shattering it and sending the shards falling towards Matadormon.

The undead Digimon slashed at most of them, but several still hit him.

Matadormon: 3-25%
Petaldramon: 3-30%

"Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon roared, unleashing a blast of wind from his nostrils that blasted Matadormon and knocked him flying back. The Ultimate crashed into another grass blade, smashing through it and causing several more fragments to fall into him.

Matadormon: 3-10%
Petaldramon: 3-30%

Matadormon laid on his back, groaning as crystal shards jabbed into his back.

Inside the Digimon, Jet groaned whilst Dracmon frowned. "I know our deal is that I keep my mouth shut, but you should really listen to what I have to say."

Jet groaned, "and what would that be?"

"Keep moving," Dracmon announced. "Don't stop, even for a second. No matter what happens, always be in motion. Matadormon should never remain in the same spot for more than a second."

Jet sighed, letting those words sink into his head before he focused back on the battle they were in.

He picked himself up and as the crystals fell off him, he started jumping on the spot. He then jumped from left to right, as Petaldramon watched him move.

"What's he doing now?" Veemon asked.

The others were wondering the same thing, but Flash had a bad feeling he knew. "I think he's getting into the swing of being that Digimon." The others turned to him, "he's figuring out the best way to be Matadormon. It's clear he's not used to that Digimon, so this isn't him at his best."

"You're right," Twilight realised. "But how'd he figure it out so quickly?"

Micro frowned. "I know this is probably unlikely, but you think Dracmon's giving him advice?" They all frowned at this, wishing they could figure out what Jet's deal was. He goes on and on about not needing a partner, then suddenly has one he's actually listening to.

"What is with this guy?" Flash asked, as Matadormon rushed forward.

Petaldramon summoned more roots and created a wall of them between him and the undead Digimon.

Matadormon side-stepped one as it tried to crush him, then dodged another and kept dancing around whilst using his feet to cut through the forest of roots. Eventually, he got in close to Petaldramon and leapt into the air.

"Earth-Shattering Stomp!" He cried, spinning forward several times before smashing his metal foot into Petaldramon's head. The force of the impact made him roar in pain, as he was smashed into the ground and caused it to shake.

Matadormon: 3-10%
Petaldramon: 3-5%

Matadormon quickly leapt back, as Petaldramon pushed himself up and staggered around. Matadormon was constantly jumping from side to side, staying on his toes whilst going in for another attack.

Petaldramon spun around and swept his tail around, but Matadormon leapt into the air and did several spins before thrusting his claws into Petaldramon's tail. "GYAH!"

Matadormon: 3-10%
Petaldramon: 3-0%

Matadormon then leapt straight up. But this turned out to be his undoing, as at that moment the sun came out from behind the clouds again. "Huh?" He looked up, as the light shone down from the sky and struck one of the grass blades. "Oh no."

The light refracted off the blade and bounced around the place, more and more lasers forming and bouncing around them.

Petaldramon shook his head, as he recovered from the last attack, and quickly used his Thorn Jab attack, the roots spreading around him and forming a cocoon. This protected him from the lasers, which continued to ricochet off the many crystal plants.

Matadormon leapt around, trying to avoid them as best he could. But eventually, one of the lasers struck him in the back. "GYAH!"

Matadormon: 3-0%
Petaldramon: 2-100%

He fell to the ground and groaned as he tried to get up, only for another laser to almost hit him. He staggered around, barely dodging the incoming blasts. But then, the sun went behind another cloud and the lasers slowly faded. "Damn this battlefield." He then turned towards the cocoon, waiting for Petaldramon to come out. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

The cocoon remained there, Matadormon and the watchers wondering if Sandal had given up.

"We can't just sit here all day!" He finally charged, spinning his feet around. "If you won't come out, I'll make you!" He cut through the roots and opened the cocoon, only to find Petaldramon was gone.

In this place was a large hole, freshly dug by the giant Digimon.

"Impossible!" He looked around, trying to figure out where Petaldramon had gone.

In another part of the battlefield, the ground exploded as Petaldramon pulled himself out of the ground.

He panted, exhausted after the effort of digging through so much dirt. But he knew Matadormon wouldn't be far behind and started marching, whilst looking at his Digivolution Gauge. It was close to being full, but still wouldn't be for a while. Not unless he got a Digivolution Coin.

But as he searched for one, the sound of clanging filled the air.

He looked back and saw Matadormon, leaping from grass blade to grass blade with his metal feet dinging on the crystal. As he leapt up, he spotted Petaldramon and began to position himself to head towards him.

But Petaldramon wouldn't let that happen and jumped onto his back legs. "Leaf Cyclone!" The tornado exploded into the air and shot towards Matadormon, slamming into him and threatening to push him back. But Matadormon crossed his arms and embraced the attack, as he flew through the powerful wind and let the leafs slice into him.

Matadormon: 2-75%
Petaldramon: 2-100%

Eventually, Matadormon broke through the wind and flew down towards Petaldramon. "Assault of Arrows!" Before Petaldramon could respond, he was suddenly jabbed a bunch of times with the rapier blades.

"Gyah!" He fell backwards, as Matadormon did several back flips through the air.

Matadormon: 2-75%
Petaldramon: 2-60%

As Petaldramon fell to the ground, Matadormon landed and smirked. But then, the ground shook and he noticed the plant dragon's tails were stuck in the ground.

"Thorn Jab!" The ground exploded and a single vine flew out and wrapped around the Ultimate's neck.

"Gaaah!" Matadormon choked, as the root pulled him up and swung him around before he could retaliate. It then let him go, sending him rolling through the air until he crashed through a grass blade and got cut up.

Matadormon: 2-60%
Petaldramon: 2-60%

As this was happening, Petaldramon rolled back onto his front and looked around. Eventually, he spotted what he was looking for. A flower bud that likely had a Digivolution Coin in it.

He rushed over to it and as Matadormon picked himself up, he used his vines to pry the crystal bloom open. "NO!" Matadormon rushed towards him, but Petaldramon reached into the bloom with his vine.

"Got it!" He smirked, feeling the Coin's energy flow into him whilst the gauge filled up. As it did, Matadormon leapt towards him ready to slash him with his foot. But before he could, Petaldramon leapt back and he missed.

"Dang it!" He cried, as the Beast of Wood skidded along the ground to a stop.

"Petaldramon, Mega Digivolve to..." His body began to grow larger, as his neck suddenly extended. All but two of the roots on his back retracted, those two roots growing larger and changing shape until they looked like a pair of wing-frames. Inside those frames, multiple leaves started growing out and filling the gaps. As this was happening, his front legs grew longer and everything below the knee started becoming covered in wooden gauntlets with root-like claws sticking out the front.

His new neck gave him an extra two meters and his tails grew longer to accommodate this, said neck being almost completely covered in moss with the exception of the front. His head also began to change, the petals around it falling away as wooden horns grew out of his head and snout like a triceratops. He also started growing vines out the bottom of his chin, giving him the appearance of having a beard.

Finally, the moss on the back of his body spread to cover his chest, as flowers started blooming along the mossy parts of his body. He spread his new wings and took to the air, roaring as he did so. "DRACHLOROMON!"

Everybody watching was amazed by what they were seeing, Flash and Veemon more than most. "Is that..."

"Mangoramon's Mega Level?" Micro asked, "you bet it is." Twilight brought up Drachloromon's biopage, showing it to Flash and Veemon. They looked it over, amazed by the stats and abilities they had.

Name: Drachloromon
Level: Mega
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Flora Dragon
Family: Nature Spirits, Jungle Troopers, Wind Guardians, Dragon's Roar

"This is just the edge Sandal needed," Tawnimon smiled. In that moment, Drachloromon spread his wings and started flapping them. Despite these wings having nothing but leaves within them, they were still able to pick him up and leg him fly up into the air.

Matadormon stared up at the Mega Level, not impressed by the transformation.

"You think that scares me?" He asked, as he raced forward. "You're dead wrong!" He leapt onto a grass blade and as it bent down, he crossed his arms ready to slice him to bits. The blade bounced back up and he was sent flying towards Drachloromon, but the Mega Level spread his wing.

"Floral Hurricane!" He beat his wings and unleashed a powerful gale of wind, which blew a bunch of leaves off them and sent them flying towards Matadormon. The leaves grew back the second they left, allowing him to continue flying as the wind slammed into Matadormon.

"Gaaaah!" The undead Digimon was pushed back towards the ground, the leaves slicing into him as he tried to defend himself.

Matadormon: 2-30%
Drachloromon: 2-60%

"Ahhhh!" He crashed into the ground, as Drachloromon dived down ready to deal some serious damage. "Alright," he pushed himself up, "let's try this again." He leapt forward and as Drachloromon got within reach, he spun around. "Earth-Shattering Stomp!" But Drachloromon managed to dodge the attack, Matadormon flying past him as the dragon's tails swung around.

"Splinter Strike!" The twin tails slammed into him, the wood covering them bothsplintering off and digging into Matadormon's body.

Matadormon: 2-15%
Drachloromon: 2-60%

The force of the strike knocked Matadormon flying backwards, smashing him through three different grass blades and shattering his security.

Matadormon: 2-0%
Drachloromon: 2-60%

Inside Jet's mind, Dracmon looked worried. "This guy's strong. He's Mega Level. The gap between that and an Ultimate is greater than any other stage."

"I know," Jet groaned as he picked himself up. "I have to get out of here. I can't win in a head to head fight." Drachloromon roared as he flew back up, looking ready to unleash another Floral Hurricane. "There's only one way I can survive this." He started running, "I have to find a Digivolution Coin!"

The plant dragon saw him running and chased after him, able to keep up with him no issue. "Should we start powering up?" Mangoramon asked.

Sandal thought about it and nodded. "Alright. Let's do it." He spread his wings as wide as they would go, allowing the leaves that made them to soak up as much energy as they could. "It'd help if the sun came out to play."

Matadormon continued to run through the garden, not daring to go above the grass.

He soon came to a crystal flower and looked up at it. But found there wasn't a Digivolution Coin on it. "Come on!" He kept running, trying to keep as low a profile as possible. He also kept an eye out of the sun, knowing it could come out from behind the clouds at any moment.

He quickly came to a stop and changed direction, hoping to throw Drachloromon off his scent as he searched for another Digivolution Coin. And as he came out of the grass into an open area, he spotted another flower bloom. "Yes!" But as he ran towards it, Drachloromon appeared in the air.

"There you are!" He cried, as his wings shined brightly. "Time to give it everything we've got." The light in the wings began to fade, as it transferred up his body and into his mouth. "SOLAR CANNON!" The light exploded from his mouth and flew down in a powerful beam, which slammed down on the ground right where Matadormon had been a second again.

The explosion rocked the entire field, slamming into Matadormon and sending him flying as he screamed out.

Matadormon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-60%

He struck the ground rolling and eventually came to a stop, whilst all the crystal plants were threatened to be blown away. Several shattered and fell to the ground, whilst Matadormon laid there.

Everyone watched as the Ultimate remained still, all wondering if he was okay. "You think that's it?" Flash asked. "Think Jet's down for the count?"

Micro hummed. "He was lucky he didn't get directly hit by that blast. That would have taken him out for sure. Too bad Solar Cannon takes forever to charge up." Then, Matadormon began to pick himself up and dragged himself along the ground towards the flower bloom.

"Hurry!" Twilight told Sandal. "Finish him off."

Drachloromon flew up and prepared to unleash his Floral, Hurricane attack.

But Matadormon reached the flower and ripped it open, revealing the Digivolution Coin within it. And as the flower dragon beat his wings, the undead Digimon grabbed the coin before ripping the entire flower out of the ground.

He then spun around and raised it up, using it like a shield as his metal feet dug into the ground.

The wind slammed into him and he barely managed to keep himself from being blown back, as the crystal flower protected him from the leaves. And when the wind finally died down, he threw the crystal away as his body began to glow.

"Oh no," Drachloromon cried. The light completely enveloped Matadormon, beginning his transformation.

"Matadormon, Mega Digivolve to..." He grew larger. Even larger than Drachloromon. His body shape changed again, as he gained a centaur-like form whilst something jutted out from above his front legs.

Slowly, the light faded to reveal a demonic centaur with a pair of black wings sticking out the back of his body's curve. His lower half was covered in red fur, with blue areas along the back. He had black feet and his humanoid body was covered in red leather. The bat-wings wrapped around him like a collar and he had blonde hair and a blue mask covering his face, whilst a pair of horns stuck out of his head. A pair of shark head-like protrusions stuck out of his legs, each having razor sharp teeth and a long tongue.

The giant Digimon was a few feet taller than Drachloromon and let out a roar from all three of its mouths. "GRANDRACMON!"

Everyone in Codex stared at the beast that had just appeared.

Many looked terrified at the sight, fearing something like that actually existed somewhere out in the Digital World. And sure enough, when Twilight tried to bring its stats up, she had a hard time. "What are these Digimon?" She asked, as the biopage finally appeared. "Why have we never seen any of them?" She looked over the sparse info page.

Name: GranDracmon
Level: Mega
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Demon Beast
Family: Dark Area, Nightmare Soldiers

"Where the heck did Jet find this thing?" Flash asked, as the giant Digimon turned towards Drachloromon.

"DEATH SCREAM!" It roared, unleashing a high pitched scream from all three of its mouths.

The sonic waves flew through the battlefield, causing the crystals around it to shake. Some even began to crack and as the noise struck Drachloromon, he roared in pain. "GYAH!" He tried to cover his ears, but the sound was just too strong to block out.

GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-40%

The sound was so powerful, it made moving his wings in time tricky and he started falling to the ground. And as he did, GranDracmon galloped forward and intercepted him. The noise finally stopped, but only because the Mega Demon Beast pulled back a fist before throwing it forward and into Drachloromon's chest.

"AUGH!" He was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground, skidding along it before finally coming to a stop atop a pile of crystals.

GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-25%

He pushed himself up, only for GranDracmon to rush over to him. As it did, Drachloromon clawed at him. "Splinter Strike!" His wooden claws almost racked across the Digimon, but GranDracmon managed to pull back at the last moment before leaping onto his back feet and thrusting the front ones forward. "Aaaaah!" They slammed into his chest and knocked him back.

GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-15%

As Drachloromon fell to the ground, GranDracmon moved around him. "Now you see it. The power difference between the pair of us. Against my Digimon's might, yours has no hope of defeating me."

Drachloromon groaned. "I'll admit it. Your Digimon is strong. I don't know where you found him, but he's tough." He picked himself up and stood on all fours. "But I know I can still win." He spread his wings and looked ready to charge, whilst GranDracmon's leg mouths snapped opened and shut.

As this was going on, something was happening at GranDracmon's feet.

Unbeknownst to everyone watching, every time the Digimon took a step, the ground he had been on glitched and sparked. But the two Digimon were so big, they didn't notice this.

The glitches slowly spread, causing some of the grass blades to glitch as well. It was only then that the Codex Commander watching was made aware of the situation, but it was too late.

The two rushed forward, roaring as they drew closer and closer together. And eventually, they met as GranDracmon's steps caused more glitches in the stadium. And as the pair collided, a brilliant light exploded out of the ground where GranDracmon had stood.

That light filled the battlefield, blinding the cameras as more of the battlefield glitched out and some of the plants just vanished. Everyone watching saw nothing but white light, whilst the Codex Commanders had no idea what was going on.

Sandal groaned as he opened his eyes, only to look down and see he was back in his human body. "What the..."

"Sandal!" He looked around and saw Mangoramon, floating beside him looking as confused as him. "What's happening?" Sandal wasn't sure, another light then catching his attention and making him look ahead to see Jet and Dracmon floating in front of them.

"What did you do?" Jet asked, but Sandal just shrugged as they looked around and saw they were in some kind of white voice. And before Sandal or Jet could say anything, a roar made them look down and see the void around them disappear.

Now, they were floating above an open rockscape. And down below, a bunch of Digimon were running as fast as they could. They looked familiar, but something wasn't right about them.

"Are those...Monochromon?" The herd looked like the rhino-like Digimon, but there was something different about them. Their unarmored sections were as dark as their armored parts and instead of a normal horn, they had what appeared to be a giant buster sword on their noses. Their claws were large and white, whilst their tails ended in a scythe-like blade.

"What is going on?" Jet asked, as another group also appeared. This one was a Digimon he had never seen before, being a flying Digimon that appeared robotic. It seemed to resemble a giant wasp, as it was a black and yellow creature with a large rear end that ended in a stinger of some kind.

More Digimon appeared, all of them appearing to be running in the same direction. Some were Digimon they had never seen before, whilst others were Digimon they recognised but had more of an...edge to them. "What is this?" Jet asked, whilst Sandal happened to catch Dracmon's expression.

The Rookie was staring down at the scene below them, looking horrified as if he was reliving a horrible memory.

Then, suddenly, a loud roar filled the air. One that made them look in the direction the Digimon were coming from. And from behind some mountains, a large dark cloud appeared and made its way towards the fleeing Digimon. And as it got closer, they realised it was a cloud. It was a giant flock of Digimon, which were flying as fast as they could towards them.

"Now what?" Mangoramon asked, only for movement to catch their eye and make them turn to see a quartet of Digimon appear flying over the crowd of fleeing Digimon.

Three of them were Digimon they knew, with Sandal and Mangoramon having met one of them, whilst the fourth was a complete mystery. Four knightly Digimon, looking ready to fight the oncoming horde. But the three they recognised looked different than normal.

The four charged forward, all ready to defeat the monsters that were coming to destroy them. And as they reached the large flock, the world around them went white again.

The light then faded to reveal they were floating above a large forest, the moon shining down through the trees and illuminating the darkness. And as it did, they noticed movement down below. But it was so dark, they could barely see what was going on.

Then, they heard a cry of pain coming from the area where the movement came from. And suddenly, a Digimon shot out of the trees and was illuminated by the darkness. Matadormon.

The undead Digimon flew through the air and landed upon a tree, holding his side as a small cut ran through it.

Everyone turned to Dracmon, who stared at the situation in shock. And before they could ask anything, another Digimon leapt out of the shadows and swung his claws at Matadormon. "Shadow Claw!" But the Ultimate leapt away, barely managing to avoid what was happening.

This also revealed the Digimon's identity, as BlackWereGarurumon.

The humanoid wolf landed on the tree and clung to the trunk, glaring at Matadormon as he swung back and forth. "Give it to me!" He leapt at Matadormon and the two fell into the trees, both arriving at an area of open forest so the others could watch.

As BlackWereGarurumon attacked, Matadormon countered with his own attack. "Assault of Arrows!" He viciously stabbed into the wolf, making him howl in pain and causing him to stagger backwards. And he eventually hit a tree and slid down, sitting at its base.

Matadormon also fell to the ground, looking exhausted whilst his wound leaked data.

The pair remained like this for several moments, those watching curious about what was going to happen. "I just wanted to survive," BlackWereGarurumon sighed.

Matadormon looked up. "Taking it from me wouldn't have helped you survive. It would have just put a larger target on your back."

"Don't give me that," the wolf growled. "We're only in this mess, because of Digimon like you. If you hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened."

Matadormon growled. "I didn't ask to be created. Don't go blaming me for something that wasn't my fault." As he said that, BlackWereGarurumon's body started to disintegrate. "What's the point of all this? If you hadn't gotten to me, something else would have. If not another Digimon, then one of those...things." He picked himself up and made his way over to him. "I'll give it to you." He looked ready to reach into his wound and rip something out. But in that moment, the wolf stopped him.

"No," he shook his head, "don't."

"Why not? You wanted it before."

"I didn't want it. I just didn't want to die."

"Then take it!"

"No. Keep it. And fight. Find a way to survive. Show those things they're wasting their time."

"Why should I?"

"Because your very existence is proof anything can happen. You weren't chosen, but you're still standing here. If something like that is possible, maybe defeating them is just as possible." His body was starting to disappear. "Find a way to stop this. The whole Digital World might very well be counting on you." With that, he vanished and the lights he became disappeared into the sky.

Matadormon watched him vanish, but could only look down in sorrow. "Yeah, right. This world is doomed. And the rest of us are just as ill fated." He turned to walk away. And as he did, those watching heard a growl.

They looked around and saw something in the sky. Hidden in the darkness, they couldn't make out anything aside from a pair of dangerous looking wings.

The beast snarled down and Matadormon looked up, gasping as he began to run for his life. He ran and ran and ran, but the creature continued to chase him. It then fired a blast of something that impacted the ground and blasted Matadormon flying, obliterating the trees and anything else in the vicinity.

He crashed into the ground, his body being cut in several places. But he forced himself back to his feet and forced himself forward, as the creature kept chasing after him. More and more projectiles were shot down towards the ground and Matadormon barely managed to avoid getting blasted by them all, as he reached the top of a hill.

It was then that he tripped and began to fall, causing him to go tumbling down the steep slope until he crashed through a tree and the bottom of it.

He simply lay there, as the beast flew overhead letting out a menacing roar. He wanted to simply give up, but BlackWereGarurumon's words echoed in his mind and he pushed himself up. As he did, he noticed a light coming through the darkness and looked up.

Ahead of him was a cave, hidden in the side of another hill that headed back up the way he came. A small light was shining within it.

The others weren't at a good enough angle to see what exactly that light was. All they could do, was watch as Matadormon staggered forward and into the cave. "What are you doing?" Jet cried, "you'll be trapped. But, of course, the Digimon didn't hear him and disappeared into the rocky tunnel. As he did, another light exploded out of the cave and blinded them all.

They screamed, forced to cover their eyes for fear of going blind. And as they did, the world around them burned away and they returned to the white void.

Back in Codex, everyone was still waiting to see what had happened in the battle.

Then, the screen started coming back into focus and both Drachloromon and GranDracmon could be seen laying on the ground. Both groaned, as they began to pick themselves up. "What happened?" Flash asked, but everyone was as stumped as him.

Once they were back on their feet, they shook their heads to try and clear the fuzziness they had.

"Sandal," Mangoramon called out, "you did see what I just saw, right?" Sandal was still a little confused, as he remembered everything he had seen.

"Yeah," he nodded before turning to GranDracmon. "What the heck was that?" The Mega turned to him, as if raising an eyebrow. "Dracmon had something to do with that. Don't deny it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." GranDracmon picked himself up. "And I'd appreciate it, if you didn't go accusing my partner of things you have no proof of. Now," he stood tall, "let's finish this battle!"

"Are you insane?" Drachloromon cried. "After what just happened? You can't seriously-" He didn't get to finish, as GranDracmon rushed forward with a roar. Before Drachloromon could respond, he was tackled to the ground and skidded through several crystal blades.

GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-0%

"If you're not gonna fight, then just lay there and let me beat you!" GranDracmon opened his mouth and prepared to unleash another Death Scream, but Drachloromon jumped to his feet.

"Fine!" He yelled, spreading his wings. "Floral Hurricane!" He flapped his wings and unleashed the powerful air blast, which sent the leaves flying at GranDracmon. But the Mega leapt into the air, over the wind before falling back towards Drachloromon.

The wood dragon jumped back, GranDracmon's feet barely missing him. But before Drachloromon could unleash another attack, the leg mouths opened up and started spraying out a freezing cold air. "CRYSTAL REVOLUTION!" Multiple ice spikes appeared around him with a single thrust of his hands, GranDracmon sent them flying towards his opponent.

Drachloromon gasped as he was suddenly struck by the icicles, which ripped through him and tore through his leaf wings. "GYAH!"

GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 1-50%

He fell to the ground and flinched at the biting chill he was feeling from his wounds, whilst GranDracmon charged.

Once near him, he leapt onto his back legs and tried to stomp on Drachloromon. But at the last moment, the wood dragon rolled onto his back and grabbed the feet in his wooden claws. He groaned, as GranDracmon was seriously heavy. But he managed to hold him up long enough, so his leaves grew back into his wings.

GranDracmon looked like he was about to use his Death Scream. But before he could the wooden tails swung upwards. "Splinter Strike!" They whipped into GranDracmon's rear, making him roar in pain.

GranDracmon: 1-40%
Drachloromon: 1-50%

This gave Drachloromon the opening to throw GranDracmon away, then spread his newly repaired wings and take to the air. And as he did, the sun appeared from out of the clouds.

The light flew down onto the field, but many of the crystals around the Digimon had been broken and unable to refract the light down. However, it allowed Drachloromon to absorb a butt ton of light super fast. His wings glowed brightly and were fully charged in a matter of moments. And at the same time, the leg mouths on GranDracmon unleashed the frozen mist and the ice spikes started forming.

"SOLAR CANNON/CRYSTAL REVOLUTION!" The two attacks launched at the same time, the laser shooting down towards GranDracmon whilst the ice spike soared up towards Drachloromon.

One of the spikes slammed into the laser and was pushed back, but the others flew up and smashed into Drachloromon. "GYAH!"

GranDracmon: 1-40%
Drachloromon: 1-0%

GranDracmon saw the ice spike fly back towards him and grabbed it, pushing it back up in an attempt to shield himself from the laser. But as the beam battered into the icicle, the heat from it caused it to start melting in his hands. Slowly, the ice grew smaller and smaller with the water running down GranDracmon's arms.

He held out as long as he could, but eventually the icicle was completely destroyed and the beam pushed forward and smashed into his chest. "AUGH!" He screamed, feeling his chest being burned by the intense solar laser. And slowly, his HP dropped until the laser finally gave out.

GranDracmon: 1-5%
Drachloromon: 0-0%

Attacks finished, the pair just stayed where they were and let the damage they had taken sink in. Both felt exhausted and wanted to take a nap, but they didn't want to give up and let the other one win.

And so, the pair completely out of SP, Drachloromon dived down whilst GranDracmon rushed forward ready to end this battle. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" They roared, as they got closer and closer to one another. But at the last moment, one of them suddenly felt their bodies give out.

"Augh!" Drachloromon cried, as his wings stopped working and he smashed into the ground. He slid along the ground and with his securities all gone, all it took was a single shard of crystal to scratch him.

His body exploded into light, Sandalwood and Mangoramon falling to the ground at GranDracmon's feet.

They just laid there, whilst the Demon Beast Digimon stared down at them and smirked. He then raised one of his giant feet, as if he was going to crush them. But before he could, the battlefield exploded into light.

"Battle, over. Winner, Jet Set!" GranDracmon reverted back to human form, as the stadium formed around them.

Sandal groaned as he sat himself up, feeling sore all over. He then looked over at Jet Set, as the teen removed his Digivice from the podium and Dracmon hung off his shoulder. "Looks like you're as pathetic as I thought you were," Jet chuckled. "Couldn't even stay airborne long enough to let me deal the finishing blow."

Sandal glared at him, as he picked Mangoramon up. And as Jet turned to leave, he called out to them. "Dracmon!" They stopped and looked around. "What was that before? Just tell me. What did we see?"

Dracmon stared at him, Jet clearly annoyed by this question. But Sandal could see the indecision on the Digimon's face, which made Sandal wonder if it was something that frightened the Digimon.

"No idea," Dracmon finally stated. "Don't go blaming me for all this. I'm as clueless as you are. And that's saying a lot." Jet laughed at this before they left the room, Sandal and Mangoramon still curious about the vision they had seen. They knew Dracmon was lying. He knew what that all was. But it wasn't like they could force an answer out of him.

Mangoramon turned to Sandal. "What are you thinking?"

Sandal sighed. "I'm thinking something big's coming. And we're gonna need to be ready when it does."

In the giant void that the Codex Commanders worked in, the lot of them were furiously trying to figure out what the heck had happened.

"This data is insane," the Mexican Gennai announced. "What the heck happened during that battle? We're getting warning flags all over the place." Sure enough, another glitch had been detected in the system. They had been popping up all over the place, ever since GranDracmon showed up.

"Massive amounts of unknown data," the Russian Gennai stated. "Flowing into the server. Whatever that Digimon was, something about it caused the system to go into overload. But I can't figure out what."

Gennai typed away at his console and had a scan of GranDracmon up on the screen. A line was running up and down the Digimon, searching every piece of data for some explanation about what the heck just happened.

Then, he found something that made him raise an eyebrow. "Hello. What's this?"

"Did you find something?" The Chinese version of him asked. Gennai didn't say anything at first, focusing on what he had found. Then, he brought it up.

"There's some kind of program inside this Digimon." He did the same scan to the other three Digimon Jet Set had used. "They all have it. Going Mega caused this program to start overriding our own systems."

"What is it?" The French Gennai asked.

"I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it seems to be connected to Dracmon's core programming. It's affecting everything. From Dracmon's battle strength to his Digivolution Lines."

"And it's affecting our systems?" The Japanese Gennai asked. "That's bad. We need to take action."

"The system's scanning this program now," Gennai stated. "Once that's done, we should be able to reinforce our systems so they can't be affected by...whatever this is again."

"And what about Dracmon?" Mexican Gennai asked. "What should we do about him?"

Gennai wondered. "I don't think he did this on purpose. We shouldn't punish him for something that he's doing by accident. We should keep an eye on him and see if he tries anything. If he doesn't, we leave him alone. If he does...we deal with it then."

They all nodded and got to work on the patch needed to undo and protect the system from further damage. As they did, Gennai stared at the image of Dracmon and frowned.

"What are you? And where did you come from?" During his time as a Codex Commander, he had seen many Digimon species come and go. Some had simply appeared through Digivolution, whilst others had been formed from human data that had mutated into a living thing. But all those times, Gennai had been able to find the source of those Digimon.

Dracmon and his evolutions simply came out of nowhere. And that made Gennai very worried.

Sandal sighed as he made his way through Codex, eventually arriving at the foyer.

He spotted his friends there, the lot of them looking worried. "Hey," Flash waved him over, "you okay?" Sandal sighed as he sat down, the loss still stinging. "Yeah, we get it. Losing is bad enough. But losing to Jet...that really bites."

"We still think you were awesome," Veemon told them. He turned to Mangoramon, "your Mega Level looks awesome."

"Thanks," Mangoramon smiled. "And we're okay. It's not losing that's got us annoyed." The others wondered what was wrong, Sandal leaning forward and putting his arms on the table.

"It's what happened when Jet Digivolved to Mega."

"You mean that weird light?" Twilight asked. "What was with that? The screens just went blank. Since the two of you didn't lose any life points, I'm guessing whatever it was stopped the battle."

"It did more than that," Sandal cried. He started explaining what happened during their vision, Flash and the others Listening intently. He told them about the horde of strange Digimon, running from something they hadn't gotten a good enough look at.

He told them about the Royal Knights he had seen, along with the strange new knight he had never seen before. And how the knights he did know were different from how he knew them.

He then told them about the vision they had seen involving Matadormon, along with the way Dracmon had looked through the entire event. "So what?" Micro asked, "you think you were seeing into Dracmon's memories or something?"

"I don't know," Sandal shrugged. "All I know is, that Digimon is hiding something. He comes out of nowhere, has never been seen before and when we fought, I get a strange vision involving a bunch of different Digimon I've never seen."

Mangoramon nodded. "And when Sandalwood asked about it, Dracmon got all defensive."

"So what do you think?" Twilight looked worried. "That Dracmon might be up to no good?" Sandal didn't answer, obviously not wanting to make any accusations without proof.

"I don't know. I just hope Jet hasn't gotten in over his head."

"So what if he has?" Veemon asked. "If Dracmon's really up to no good, let Jet fall into the middle of it. He deserves it after all the problems he's caused us." They all wanted to agree, but were worried. Despite all the trouble he had caused for them, there was no telling what Dracmon's secret was. And nobody deserved to be in danger. Not even Jet.

"What do you think?" Flash asked. "Should we warn Gennai and the other commanders?"

"It's not like they can do anything," Twilight sighed. "I mean, we still have no proof Dracmon's guilty of anything. In a way, he's just like Veemon. Veemon came out of nowhere and we don't know anything about what happened to him before he was stuck under the Digimental. What, should we be suspicious of him because we don't know anything about his past?"

Veemon suddenly felt very small, whilst the others thought about it.

"I guess not," Flash sighed. "Even so, Dracmon still worries me."

"It's okay to be cautious around him," Tawnimon agreed. "But Twilight's right. We shouldn't judge someone for something they haven't done. if he is up to no good, we'll deal with it when he actually shows his true colours."

"I just hope it's not too late by then." Flash looked around, wondering where Jet Set was. Despite being a jerk, Flash knew Jet wasn't an idiot. If he really did see what Sandal saw, he had to be just as curious about it as them. Which meant he was either willing to turn a blind eye to whatever Dracmon was up to, or he was actively planning on helping. And given who Jet was, Flash wouldn't put it past the teen.

In a dark corner of the Digital World, Jet Set and Dracmon were inside a bar.

They both stepped up to the bar and sat down, Jet signalling to the barkeep Digimon. Moments later, two large pints of juice slid across the bar and landed in the two's hands. They quickly took a swig of the liquid, sighing once they had consumed half of it. And when they did, Jet glanced at Dracmon.

"So," he asked, "are we going to just sit here? Or are you going to actually tell me what the heck happened back there?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," Dracmon stated.

Jet took another sip. "I know we're not partners, in the same way that all those other idiots and their Digimon are. But if this is going to work out, we still need some level of trust. Which means I need to know if anything big is going down." He glanced at Dracmon. "So...is it?"

"How should I know?" Dracmon sipped his own drink. But Jet kept staring at him, clearly having no intention of letting this go until he got some kind of answer. "Alright. Let's say I had a secret. One I didn't want anybody knowing about. What would it take to keep that secret and still make you happy?"

"Tell me the basics without giving any details away," Jet replied. "For example. Are you planning on causing anything big? Yes, or no?"

"No," Dracmon replied. "All I want, is to live my life free of strife and difficulty. I don't want to conquer the world or become the leader of an evil army of Digimon that will destroy everything. Honestly, that all sounds like too much work. All I want is a way to live without having to worry about finding food, or a safe place to rest my head."

"And that's why you chose to join me," Jet realised. "Well, can't say I'm upset. This is purely a business arrangement."

"Exactly." They both took another sip.

"But that thing we saw. What are the chances of it showing up?"

Dracmon frowned, clearly unsure how to answer that. "Honestly. I don't know. If I had it my way, I'd say we'd never have to worry about it showing up. But...life is never that easy." Jet nodded and the pair chose to sit in silence, enjoying their drinks.

Dracmon was a mysterious Digimon, with a mysterious past. But in time, the Digital World would come to learn everything there was about him. And when that happened, nothing would ever be the same again.

Author's Note

Well that happened. What did you think of Sandal's Mega Level? I'm guessing the creators wouldn't make something like that for Petaldramon's true Mega, but I think it looks good. Let me know what you think.

Rosewell that Ends Well

Machine Town. A place where Digimon of all sorts could be found. The mechanical Digimon walked about, doing their Machine Digimon thing as they enjoyed their existence.

In a flash of light, a young human appeared. That wasn't uncommon, given the influx of humans that had started appearing in the Digital World as of late. And this human was a purple skinned teen with dark hair and glasses, the nerd looking around and gasping at everything that was happening around him.

"Amazing!" He rushed around, investigating every nook and cranny of the place. "I can't believe this all really exists!" He was seriously geeking out, but quickly stopped and took a deep breath. "Calm down, Micro Chips. Don't go getting the Digimon weirded out. Stay calm." He walked around until he spotted the Digimon ahead of him were moving without walking.

He gasped and rushed forward, where he saw the sidewalk was moving.

He screamed, jumping up and down in excitement as he leapt onto the sidewalk himself. "This place is a dream come true!" But the Digimon in front of him wasn't too happy with him yelling in his ear.

"Would you quiet down!?" Micro looked down and saw the Digimon known as Datamon, turning to look up at him and frowning as he did so. Datamon was carrying a bunch of boxes in his arms, the stack looking taller than he was. "We're not deaf. You don't need to yell."

"Oh," Micro blushed, "sorry. It's just...I can't believe I'm really here."

Datamon stared at him. "You're one of those humans, aren't you?" Micro nodded. "Thought so. Heard about you guys before. Didn't think you'd be this energetic." He looked him around, Micro looking confused. "Where are your dials? You need to seriously lower your enthusiasm."

"I don't have any dials," Micro told him. "I'm not a machine."

"I see. That's annoying." Datamon stepped off the moving sidewalk, only to suddenly lose his balance with the boxes he was carrying threatening to fall over.

Micro rushed forward and caught some of them, taking them off the top. "Here. Let me help you carry these."

"Thanks." Datamon began walking, carrying the boxes higher so his face wasn't obstructed. Micro followed him, as they made their way through the city until they arrived at a building Micro assumed was Datamon's home. "So, you new to the Digital World?"

"Yup. Just got my Digivice the other day. I can't wait to see some of the awesome Digimon this world has to show me. And I get to actually battle as them. It's awesome."

"I see," Datamon walked around the building and headed towards some stairs leading down under the building. "Well be careful. The Digital World isn't exactly a safe place to go gallivanting around. One wrong move and you'll be in serious trouble."

"You sound like you speak from experience." They walked down the stairs and into the building, Micro finding the place was some kind of work shop.

"Oh, I do." Datamon put his boxes down. "I've travelled through the Digital World, searching for Digimon data I can use in my experiments."

"Experiments?"

"I'm attempting to create a new type of Digimon. One that will live on in the Digital World and allow me to leave something behind, which will remain long after I'm gone. But to create a new Digimon, I need data from other Digimon to work with. That's why I go out to find that data."

"Cool," Micro smiled before an idea hit him. "Hey. Would you be able to use one of my scans in your experiments?"

"Your scans?" Micro took out his Digivice and showed it to Datamon, who stared at the scan data he brought up. "Amazing. Where did you get this?"

"I scanned it from another Digimon. This is what I use to play in Codex. But I can make a copy and give it to you." Datamon looked excited about this. "And I bet other players would be willing to give you scans, so long as they get something in return. Maybe you could set up some kind of business."

Datamon let this sink in and slowly began to smile. "Micro. I think this might be the start of a beautiful friendship." Micro smiled back, only to suddenly hear an alarm ring in his ear.

Micro's eyes shot open, as his alarm continued to blare in his ear.

He sat up and hit the alarm, shutting it off as he let out a yawn. As he did, he remembered the dream he had just had. Or was it a memory? Either way, it had reminded him of all the time he had spent with Datamon.

Getting scans for him to trade for Battle Gear. Letting others know about Datamon's services and getting materials Datamon needed to make his inventions. They were close friends and Micro hated that he still didn't know where he was.

"Maybe he really is gone."

"Micro?" He looked over at his Digivice, where Tentomon was staring back at him. "Are you okay?"

Micro nodded as he picked the device up. "I'm okay," he assured him. "Just...Datamon." Tentomon nodded, as Micro got up to get dressed. "I just wish I had some clue where he could be. I search and search, but I can't find anything."

"You'll find him," Tentomon assured him. "You've just gotta keep looking." Micro frowned, since he had no idea where he was supposed to look.

He got dressed and headed down stairs, where his parents were already up and making breakfast. Micro sat down and began to eat the meal his mother had put down for him, whilst also checking the homework he had done last night. And as he stared at it, he noticed a mistake and frowned.

"Dang it." He would need to fix that.

"You okay son?" His father asked, with Micro nodding. "You sure? You've been a bit distracted lately. You sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, dad. Just...I have a lot on my plate right now."

"Can't be that much. You've never had an issue getting A's and you're in...what, just two clubs at school. That can't be that much. What are you doing that's got you so frazzled?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." His parents gave him a curious look, as his Digivice suddenly beeped. He saw he had a message and when he read it, his eyes went wide.

Dear Micro Chips.

I'm a player who'd like to stay anonymous. But I have important information for you. I know where Datamon is. This message has a link to a location scan, where you will find Datamon. But be careful. A powerful Digimon lives there and if you want to save Datamon, you'll need to be quick. And go alone. This Digimon is really smart and too many people going, will tip it off and they'll make Datamon pay.

"Micro?" His mother asked, "are you okay?" Micro frowned as he reread the message several times, trying to figure out if he should believe it or not.

"I'm fine." He tapped the Digivice and quickly entered the Digital World. This was the first clue he had found. He had to take it. And as his real world self stayed behind to get on with his day, his digital self flew through the tunnel of light until he arrived at Codex.

He materialised at the Digi-Port, with Tentomon appearing by his side.

The ladybug Digimon turned to him. "Micro. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. But if there's even the slightest chance that Datamon is there, I have to at least try and help him." As he was saying this, Flash and Veemon appeared at another area of the Digi-Port. And when they spotted Micro and Tentomon, Flash instantly knew something was wrong.

But before he could call out to him, Micro ported away and the pair watched them vanish. "What do you think that was about?" Veemon asked.

"I'm not sure." Flash took out his Digivice and brought up Micro's friend page, which wasn't telling him the location he had ported to. That meant he was either at a place Flash didn't have a location scan for, or something was blocking the signal. "Where did he go?"

When Micro and Tentomon arrived at their destination, they looked around to see they were in a rather interesting location.

They were in a large desert, only it wasn't like the deserts they had been to before. The ground beneath their feet was a mixture of red sand and dirt, whilst several mountains could be seen in the distance. The heat bearing down on them was insane and as they stood there, the two were already starting to sweat.

Tentomon flew straight up and looked around. "See anything?" Micro asked, his partner spinning in place and eventually spotting something.

"There!" He pointed towards it, "there's some kind of building in that direction. Actually, I think it's a bunch of buildings." Micro nodded and the two headed in that direction, but quickly felt themselves getting even hotter as they walked.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining at a hundred and ten percent, causing the pair to feel like they were in an oven. "So hot."

Tentomon groaned. "Please tell me this place we're going to is air conditioned." Micro didn't want to talk back, feeling too hot to do that. They walked, or flew in Tentomon's case, towards the distant structure in perpetual heat and dehydration.

As they got closer and closer to the building, Micro was able to determine what some of the buildings were. Whilst there were some normal buildings, there was also what appeared to be some kind of air-plane hanger. And when they were close enough, Micro noticed the ground these buildings were on wasn't the red sand and dirt mixture they were walking on.

The ground was concrete, which surrounded the buildings in a perfect square. And when he saw a metal fence surrounding the complex, Micro realised what it was. "An army base." They finally reached the fence and looked inside, where a bunch of jets and cargo planes could be seen. But there was no body there. "An abandoned army base."

"Why would Datamon be here?" Tentomon asked.

Micro was wondering the same thing, but his curiosity was keeping him from deciding to leave this place. He needed to explore it and find out what secrets it was holding. "Can you lift me over the fence?"

"No problem." Tentomon grabbed his arms and lifted him up and over the fence, though Micro had to pull his legs up to avoid the barbed wire.

Once they were on the other side, they dropped down and Micro noticed how much sand and dust had been blown onto the concrete. "I don't think anyone's been here for a long time." Micro headed towards the nearest building, which was some kind of barracks.

The place was just as abandoned as the rest of the base, with beds overturned, trunks open and even a random shirt hanging from the rafters. "This place is giving me the creeps," Tentomon stated.

Micro had to agree. And as they left the barracks, his gaze shifted from one building to the other. Each one was completely empty, with broken windows and power out. This place was a ghost town. Or so he thought.

Suddenly, Micro spotted movement inside one of the buildings. It was a control tower, with some kind of shadow moving within it. "There!" Micro rushed towards the tower and Tentomon followed after him, the pair reaching the tower and heading up the stairs. They could hear movement above, as they reached the top and were greeted with a door. "Datamon!" Micro cried, "are you there?"

"Answer us!" Tentomon cried, but there was no reply. "We're coming in." The two nodded at one another and slammed their bodies into the door.

As soon as the two smashed into it, the door gave way and they fell forward. And the moment they did, a bright light flashed in their eyes and they cried out as they closed their eyes. The light stayed for a few moments before stopping, allowing them to open their eyes and see what had caused the light.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." The Digimon in question was one of the weirdest Digimon they had even seen. Its body was a single noodle-like shape, with many different noodley tentacles for feet. It had two rather muscular arms and its head was light-bulb shaped, with the top looking like a giant brain with cables sticking out of it. In one hand was a flash light and in the other was a ray gun of sorts.

"My apologises," he threw away the flashlight. "I was looking for something in here and then you came barging in. You certainly gave me quite the fright."

"Who are you?" Micro asked.

"My name is Vademon," he replied. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Micro and this is Tentomon," he gestured to his partner. "Why didn't you answer us before?" it was then that he noticed something on the ground. A Walkman.

"Sorry," Vademon picked up the musical device. "I was listening to music whilst I worked. Never could do anything without music playing." Micro and Tentomon were a little weirded out by this Digimon, who looked inside an opening of the console he was in front of.

He reached in and pulled something out, which confused Micro. "What are you doing?"

"I need this circuit board," Vademon replied. "But the question is, what are you doing? More specifically. What are you doing here? This isn't usually a place one finds humans."

"We're looking for someone," Micro explained. "A friend of ours. Datamon."

"Datamon?" Vademon looked surprised. "Why didn't you say so earlier? He's here." Micro's eyes went wide, as Vademon began to walk towards the door. "I can take you to him, if you want." He left and the two remained unsure about what to do.

"Do you think we should trust him?" Tentomon asked.

"I'm not sure," Micro frowned. "He could be leading us into a trap. Then again, he could have attacked with that space gun when we were blind. But he didn't." They still weren't sure, but Micro eventually decided he had to be sure. "Let's go. Just be ready in case we're attacked." Tentomon nodded and they headed down the stairs after Vademon.

Back at Codex, Flash and Veemon were in the foyer watching a battle. But Flash couldn't keep his mind off of Micro.

Twilight, who had just come back from a rather tough battle, spotted them and could tell something was up with him. "Hey," she walked over to him and sat down. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded.

"Are you sure?" Tawnimon asked. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Alright. It's Micro." Twilight nodded. "I don't know why. Call it intuition, but I think Micro's gone somewhere dangerous. I saw him porting away somewhere and he had a really unsure expression on his face. Like he was suspicious of wherever he was going."

"Where'd he go?" Twilight asked.

"That's the thing. I don't know. I looked on my friends list, but it didn't show me where he is. I'm pretty sure I've got all the locations Micro has, but it's not telling me which location he's in." Twilight grew worried by this and took out her own Digivice, bringing Micro up in her friends list. But it also had no location listed for him.

"I know this is probably nothing, but I'm starting to worry as well."

"So what do we do?" Veemon asked. "If we can't track him on the friends list, how do we track him?"

"Good question," Twilight tried to think. "Maybe...maybe one of the Codex Commanders can find him."

"Would they do that?" Flash asked.

"If it's an emergency," Tawnimon nodded. "I think they would." Twilight got up and went over to one of the robots, which turned to her as soon as it realised she was approaching.

"Excuse me. Could we maybe talk to one of the Codex Commanders?"

"Reason?" The robot asked.

"We're worried about our friend. Micro Chips. We can't seem to locate him and we're worried something bad might have happened to him." The robot beeped a few times, Flash, Twilight and their Digimon watching as it connected to the Codex Commanders.

"Commander Gennai will check his location," it stated. It beeped again, as the four continued to wait. The beeping then stopped, making them raise an eyebrow.

A flash of light suddenly appeared next to them, shocking the four as Gennai stepped out of the light. He did not look happy about something. "I can't seem to locate Micro."

"What?" Twilight asked, "how can the Codex Commanders not find him?"

"That's why I'm here," Gennai frowned. "For some reason, I can't lock onto his signal. Wherever he is, it's blocking my computer's system." This worried them, the five fearing Micro might have gotten himself into a serious situation."

Once they left the control tower, Vademon led them across the army base towards the large aircraft hanger.

"Datamon's been a big help," Vademon told him. "Ever since I crashed on this world, I've been trying to get it working. But engineering was never my forte. That's why I'm so happy, Datamon agreed to help me do the repairs."

"Repairs on what?" Tentomon asked, as they arrived at the hanger.

"What else?" Vademon began to pull the doors open. "On my ship, of course!" As the doors slid open, it revealed a large metal object that took up almost all of the room. It was a flying saucer, just like the ones Micro had seen in old fashioned movies and TV shows. The whole thing looked like it was made out of tin and wouldn't survive in the fast emptiness of space.

"An actual flying saucer?" Micro asked, as the pair stepped into the hangar and saw how big the ship was. "How'd you get this thing in here?" But as he asked that, he heard a loud bang that sounded like a balloon exploding. This was followed by a cry, coming from a voice Micro knew all too well.

"Dag nab it!" Micro and Tentomon rushed under the ship, Micro needing to get on his knees, and came across a hole in the ship that smoke was bellowing out of. "Why won't you work?" Micro could hardly believe it.

"Datamon?" A few moments later, something fell out of the hole.

Datamon looked filthy and his glass dome had a crack on it that was new, the Digimon's hands having several tools in them. As he wiped his robotic eye, he looked up at them and gasped. "Micro!" He reached over and pulled him into a hug. "Good to see you. I should have known you'd find me."

Micro quickly pulled back. "What the heck is going on? Do you have an idea how worried I've been since you went missing? Your lab was a complete mess!"

"It was?" Datamon looked shocked, "what do you mean?"

"I mean the place was trashed. The machines were ripped out of the wall and the computer was destroyed. Are you saying it wasn't like that, when you left?"

"No!" Datamon cried. "Great," he looked back at the hole into the ship. "I knew I should have locked the place up when I left. But I didn't think I'd be gone this long."

"Datamon," Tentomon spoke up, "your computer was taken. That means all your work that was saved on it, was taken as well. Including your work to create a new Digimon."

"I get that," Datamon nodded. "But whining about it won't help me right now. I need to get this ship up and running." He climbed back into the hole and got back to work. "Vademon needs to escape before it's too late."

"What do you mean?" Micro looked up into the ship and saw a bunch of wires, with many of them damaged and hanging loose.

"Vademon's been trapped here a long time. He wants to return to his home, out in space. And the only way for him to return is to get this ship up and running." Another explosion filled the air, smoke flying out of the hole and making them all cough. "if I can figure out how to get this infernal machine working."

"Do you want some help?"

"Yes, actually." Micro's eyes went wide. "I could do this on my own, of course. But your help will get it done faster. Vademon will tell you what needs fixing."

"But he said he doesn't know anything about engineering."

"He knows what the ship is like when it's working. He can give you a problem and you can use that big brain of yours to figure out the problem. Go, go, go!" The pair shared a look before crawling back out from under the ship, both feeling like something wasn't right. But they weren't sure what it was right now.

Until they figured it out, they would have to focus on the task at hand. Fixing this ship.

Back in Codex, Gennai was sitting at a table with Flash, Twilight and their Digimon.

The Codex Commander was hard at work, trying to locate Micro's signal. "Ahhh!" He groaned, "I can't find him anywhere. Whoever's doing this, they're clearly technologically adept." He scanned an area of the Digital World, but nothing happened. "The only way I can possibly find Micro is to scan every sector of the Digital World and see if any of those areas refuses to allow the scan to go through. If I can't scan it, something must be blocking it."

"But the Digital World is huge," Twilight pointed out. "Scanning the whole place could take forever."

"I know," Gennai frowned. "But what other choice do I have?"

"There has to be some other way to find him," Flash frowned. He tried to think of a reason for Micro to go somewhere. The only thing he could think of was if he had found out where Datamon was. And if that was the case, why wouldn't he tell him or anyone else? "Unless someone told him not to."

"What?" Veemon asked, as Flash turned to Gennai.

"Would you be able to find out if Micro received any messages or anything?" Gennai raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Could you maybe check the last message he got. Maybe there's a clue that'll help us."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I can find out when Micro received the message and who sent it to him, but not what was sent."

"That could still work," Twilight pointed out. "Whoever sent him the message, might know where he went." Gennai nodded and started working on it.

"Okay," he logged into the messaging system. "There was a message sent to Micro this morning." They smiled. "Huh, the one who did it masked their IP address. That might have worked against other people, but not against me." He typed away at the computer and eventually uncovered the IP address. "There you are."

"Who was it?" Flash asked, as Gennai showed them the biopage. And when they saw who it was, they frowned.

Jet Set, Lightning Dust, Dracmon and Kokuwamon, were sitting in another part of the foyer.

They watched and laughed, as a player was completely stomped by his opponent. "What a loser." But as he took a swing of his drink, he suddenly felt a presence behind him and looked around. There, he saw Gennai, Flash, Twilight and their Digimon. "Oh. What do you want?"

"You sent a message to Micro Chips," Gennai replied. "And now he's disappeared."

"I send a lot of people messages. Doesn't mean I'm the one responsible for what happens to him." Gennai glared at him.

"Tell me where you sent him."

"I don't know," Jet shrugged. "I just sent him a message challenging him to a battle. Not my fault he was a chicken and chose to run away somewhere." Flash looked ready to argue, but Gennai stopped him.

"Alright then." Gennai opened his holo computer and started typing away, eventually hitting the enter button. The next thing Jet knew, his Digivice beeped and he took it out.

On the screen was a countdown. "What's this?"

"Force log out," Gennai replied. "If that countdown hits zero, your Digivice will force you out. The real you won't get any of your memories and he won't be able to log back in for...how does a month sound."

"You can't do that!" Jet cried.

"You've toed the line on acceptable behaviour before," Gennai told him. "But if you're going to cause innocent players to get into dangerous trouble, I can't risk having you around. So what's it going to be?" Jet frowned, clearly thinking he was bluffing. But the countdown grew smaller and smaller, with Gennai's smirk not wavering.

When it got down to less than ten seconds, Jet finally broke. "Okay!" Gennai halted the countdown, "I sent him a message saying I knew where Datamon was."

"You what!?" Flash looked ready to tackle him.

"Why would you do that?" Twilight asked, looking disgusted.

"I didn't have a choice," Jet replied. "Dracmon and I were investigating a new location scan and we came across a Digimon named Vademon. He was really strong and when we tried to port out, we couldn't. He was planning on doing something horrible and the only way he let me go was to bait another player into going."

Flash glared at him. "So you tricked Micro into thinking Datamon was there and sent him a scan location?" Jet nodded. "You're despicable."

"Look, it was either him or me."

"What did you tell Vademon?" Twilight asked, "how much about Micro did you tell him?"

"Just that he was looking for Datamon and that he can Digivolve to Ultimate. I'm sure he'll be fine. Vademon might be too much for a Champion, but he's a pretty weak Ultimate."

"Then why hasn't Micro come back yet?" Flash asked, as he took out his Digivice. "Send me that location scan." Jet clearly didn't wanna do that, but Gennai started the countdown again.

"Okay!" He brought up the scan and sent it to Flash. "It's an abandoned army base. I don't know where Vademon and Micro would be, though."

"You'd better hope Flash finds him," Gennai replied. "If Micro was deleted because of you, it'll be more than a month you'll be banned for."

"Relax," Jet told him. "Vademon's not gonna delete him." This confused them, as they asked what exactly Vademon wanted from Micro.

Micro had no idea what he was doing.

Obviously, he had never worked on a flying saucer before. He knew nothing about how they worked, so had no idea what they were supposed to look like when they were broken or fixed. But what he was seeing right now, certainly didn't make any sense.

"Why are there so many wires in here?" Micro was looking inside an opening at the top of the ship, just below the cockpit. There were a bunch of different wires inside the opening, all different colours and being connected to different parts of the ship. Staring down at it, he could barely figure out what any of them did. But he did know that the wires that weren't connected to anything, were clearly the ones he needed to fix.

Tentomon grabbed a green wire and looked at all the connectors that didn't have a wire connected to them. "Shouldn't they be colour coded? Like the connectors are painted the colour of the wire they need?"

"Normally," Micro nodded as the pair looked down at Vademon. "I don't suppose you have a manual, that tells us where everything is supposed to go?"

"Sorry," Vademon shook his head, "got burned up in the crash. But I'm sure you'll figure it out. If Datamon thinks you can help."

Micro frowned at that. "Yeah. Tentomon, have you ever known Datamon to ask for help with anything mechanical?" Tentomon thought about it. "I mean, he'll let us help with manual labour. But anything to do with science or engineering..."

"You're right," Tentomon nodded. "He always refused to let anyone help in that area. Like it would wound his pride or something."

"Exactly," Micro frowned. "And fixing this ship is the biggest engineering task he's ever done. There's no way he'd let someone help him, even if it did make the work go faster."

"Well he did say that Vademon doesn't have much time," Tentomon pointed out. "It's good he's putting a friend's safety above his own pride. Now come on. Let's figure out where this green wire-" He stopped when he looked at the wire, making Micro look down and see he was holding a yellow wire. "This...this was green before."

"Yeah," Micro looked down into the hole, "it was." He stared at the wires and realised they had all changed. They were all in the same location they had previously been, but some of the colours had swapped with one another. A few were even twisted around in a way they hadn't been before. "What the heck?"

"Maybe the ship has some kind of wire shuffle function?" Micro gave him a look. "Or not."

"Something's not right here," Micro frowned. He looked up at the ship's cockpit and crawled up towards it, Tentomon flying up with him.

He opened up the cockpit and looked around. There was a large chair in the centre of it, surrounded by a circular console that looked like it controlled everything. But whilst it looked like a fully functioning ship, Micro knew it was missing a few things.

"Hey, Vademon." He jumped back out and looked down at the alien. "I gotta ask. Do you eat the same food as normal Digimon, or something completely different?"

"Oh, I eat pretty much anything that's edible. My species doesn't have taste-buds or anything, so anything can be eaten by us so long as it's good."

Micro nodded as he looked back at the cockpit. "And what about sleeping? Do you need to sleep, or did you find a way to go without it?"

"No, we sleep. Though I think I only need to sleep about two hours less than you humans do. Which is surprising, given how much bigger my brain is than yours."

Micro frowned as Tentomon flew up to him. "What's with all the questions?" He asked, as Micro pointed at the cockpit.

"What's missing from this saucer, that a creature that needs to eat and sleep would require." Tentomon looked inside the cockpit and slowly put the pieces together.

"No bed. Or anything that looks like it could produce food."

"Exactly," Micro nodded. "Something's going on here." Micro jumped down off the ship and started crawling under it, until he reached Datamon's hole. There, he reached up and grabbed the Digimon. "Hey! What are you doing?" He pulled him out and dragged him along the ground, throwing him towards Vademon once they were out from under the ship. "GYAH! What's your problem."

"I don't like being lied to," Micro glared at him. "I know you're not the real Datamon. Or at least, you're not the Datamon I know."

"That's right!" Tentomon agreed. "Datamon would care about his life's work being destroyed. You barely reacted when we told you about your computer."

"I cared," Datamon replied.

"Not as much as you should have. And then there was letting us help fix the ship. The Datamon I know would never accept help, from anyone. Even if it would help the work go faster." Vademon and Datamon both frowned, "there's more. Something about this place just isn't right. I'm not sure what, but there are things here that don't make sense."

"Like those wires that kept changing colour," Tentomon spoke up.

"And how did you get your ship in here?" Micro replied. "Those doors are way too small for this ship to be pushed inside."

"Um..." Vademon looked worried, "we reassembled it inside this place. You should have seen the mess it was when I first crashed. It took forever to get all the pieces in here and put back together."

"Oh really?" Micro turned to the ship. "Strange. This thing doesn't look like it was in a crash. Where are the dents? Where are the scratches? Where are the burn marks? You expect me to believe that you crashed into the desert, your ship needing to be reassembled afterwards, but it didn't leave a scratch on the hull?" The pair looked worried, as Micro glared at them. "Something's not right. All these inconsistencies...it's almost like..." His eyes went wide, "this isn't real."

"Of course it's real," Vademon told him. "How could it not be real?"

"We're in some kind of dream state," Micro realised.

"Of course," Tentomon cried. "I bet we're not even in the hangar. Something's making us see some kind of illusion, or hallucination." The pair glared at the two, Micro and Tentomon seeing they had hit the nail on the head.

"What's really going on here?" Vademon and Datamon both shared a look before they suddenly transformed into a bright haze, which merged together to create a new Digimon. This one was smaller than the other two and looked like the fusion of a lamb and a sleeping pillow.

Its body was mostly pink, with white legs, a white face and white balls around its head. It also had golden ram's horns and a purple sleep cap on its head.

"Pillomon," Tentomon realised. "I should have known. Why are you doing this?"

"I'm sorry," Pillomon told him. "I don't have a choice. He's making me do this. If I don't, he'll hurt me." The pair shared a confused look, as Pillomon looked ready to cry. "Vademon. The real Vademon. He's making me keep you in this slumber, giving him the time he needs to hack into it."

"Hack into what?" Micro asked.

"Your Digivice."

In the real world, Micro and Tentomon were laid out on the floor of the control tower.

Pillomon was floating above them, keeping them in a state of sleep. A chain was tied around her waist, leashing her to the real Vademon. Said Vademon, was doing something to Micro's Digivice.

Said device was hooked up to a strange looking machine, attempting to hack into its systems. "Come on," he told it. "Override it already. Override it!"

"Why would Vademon want to hack into my Digivice?" Micro asked.

"He wants to override your connection to it," Pillomon explained. "If he does that, he'll be able to use it to escape the Digital World."

"What?" Micro asked. "That's not possible. A Digimon can't leave the Digital World. The best he could do was enter my Digivice in the real world, but there's no way he can leave that."

"He said that humans have the power to come and go as they please. He wants to leave the Digital World and explore your world." Micro thought about this and realised what he was trying to do.

"He thinks the Digivices let us teleport in and out of the Digital World. He doesn't know I'm not the real Micro Chips. If he tries to port out with my Digivice, he'll destroy himself." Pillomon looked confused by this. "When I leave the Digital World, I'm not teleporting out. My physical form is being shut down and all my mental data is uploaded into my real body."

Tentomon looked scared. "If Vademon tries that, he could destroy his body and get uploaded into Micro. And there's no telling what that'll do. This version of Micro is a perfect copy of the real one's mind. That's why it's safe for them to merge together again. But Vademon isn't Micro. If he uploads himself into Micro's brain..."

"The real me could be mentally damaged. My brain could explode. We'd both die!" He turned to Pillomon, "let us wake up. Wake us up, so we can stop him!"

"No," Pillomon cried. "If I release you, Vademon will be angry."

"No he won't. If he tries anything, he'll have to answer to us." But Pillomon didn't look so sure, Micro frowning. "I don't wanna hurt you. But we will, if you won't let us go."

"How can you hurt me?" Pillomon asked. "If we were in the Digital World, you might be able to threaten me. But in the dream world, I reign supreme."

"Wrong," Tentomon told her. "You might have brought us into this dream, but it's still our dream. In our heads."

Micro nodded. "And when a person knows they're dreaming, they can take control of that dream." He snapped his fingers and a ball of fire appeared in his hands. "In a dream, anything's possible." Pillomon looked concerned and floated upwards, as a bunch of dream smoke floated off her body.

They watched, as the smoke took shape and eventually formed Vademon. The alien Digimon glared at them before firing his blaster at them, with Micro shooting the fire off of his hand.

As this was going on, Tentomon flew up and began to glow. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." He grew larger. So large, that he ripped through the top of the hangar. "Kabuterimon!" The hangar began to collapse and Micro and Pillomon flew out of the hangar, Micro flying like superman as he looked down at Pillomon.

Kabuterimon flew into the air, as Pillomon created another copy of Vademon. "Abduction Beam!" He fired the ray gun and it almost hit Micro, until Kabuterimon blocked it with his hand.

The insectoid Digimon flew into the air and began to spark, as Vademon flew up as well. "Electro Shocker!" He fired the sphere of lightning, which flew towards Vademon. But the Digimon simply placed a hand to his lips.

"Evil Kiss!" He did just that, a pink lipstick mark appearing off his mouth and flew towards the attack. The Electro Shocker slammed into it and they both exploded, but something flew out of the smoke. A meteorite.

"Wow!" Kabuterimon tried to dodge it, but the meteor slammed into him and he was knocked flying backwards. "Gyah!"

"Kabuterimon!" Micro cried, as another laser almost hit him. "Wow!" He pulled back and glared down at Vademon. "Come on! We can take him. Together!" Kabuterimon heard this and let out a groan, as he rolled in the air and righted himself. And as soon as he did, he glowed.

"Kabuterimon, Digivolve to..." His body grew larger, as it transformed into the red beetle form with a booster in his butt. "MegaKabuterimon!" Vademon looked shocked by this, as the red beetle flew forward and slammed its horn into him.

Vademon cried out, as he was thrown towards the ground. But Pillomon created a cloud of Vademon to land on, the soft surface stretching as Vademon was pulled back before bouncing forward. "Haha!" He fired his ray gun again, with MegaKabuterimon blocking them with his shell.

"That the best you've got?"

Micro flew up, creating a giant fireball in his hands before throwing it downwards. The fireball moved like a rocket, flying down towards Vademon as the alien created another lipstick mark. That mark struck the fireball and exploded, a meteor flying out of the smoke cloud.

But MegaKabuterimon flew forward, his horn sparking as he approached. "Horn Buster!" He rammed into the meteor and destroyed it before charging towards the alien, who screamed as he was smashed with the electrified horn.

He was once again thrown backwards and this time, Pillomon couldn't create anything to save him in time. He smashed into one of the buildings and the whole thing collapsed, whilst Micro and MegaKabuterimon turned to Pillomon. "It's over," Micro told her. "Release us, now!"

"I can't!" She cried, "he'll hurt me!" Vademon leapt out of the debris, glowing as he did. "I'm sorry." Vademon started glowing.

"Vademon, Digivolve to..." The light morphed into a form of arm, which covered Vademon's body. He gained more tendril feet and another pair of arms, which were topped by some kind of weapon. And his light-bulb head changed, becoming more tube-like before bending backwards.

The light flew off the Digimon and revealed him to be a robotic version of Vademon, with white armor and a black glass screen on the front of his head. His blaster arms sparked as they powered up, whilst the rockets on its hips pushed it upwards. "Ebemon!"

The Digimon started firing blasts from its weapons, the pair crying out as they did everything in their power to dodge them. But one blast managed to hit MegaKabuterimon, knocking him backwards as he cried out.

"MegaKabuterimon!" Micro cried, as Ebemon flew up towards him. It launched its now cable arm towards him and before he could react, it wrapped around his throat and made him choke. "Gyah!"

Pillomon watched this and was clearly upset. "I don't want to hurt you. Vademon said I couldn't delete you, because it would cause your Digivice to go dead. And I don't like hurting people."

Micro struggled against the chord around his neck. "If you let Vademon do this, you'll hurt me far worse than if you delete me now." Pillomon looked up at him. "I'm just a digital copy. Me getting deleted will do nothing to the real me. But...if you let Vademon go through with this, the real me will be hurt far worse. please, don't do this."

"I don't have a choice," Pillomon cried. "I don't want to hurt anyone. But I don't want Vademon to hurt me. I'm sorry."

"Apology not accepted!" MegaKabuterimon flew up and grabbed Ebemon in his hand, squeezing it tightly and forcing it to release Micro's neck. And as Micro flew away, the insect tried to crush the robot.

Ebemon flinched, but suddenly turned limp in his hand. MegaKabuterimon stared at him, only to suddenly feel the Digimon's entire body suddenly expand in his grasp.

He tried to keep his grip, but Ebemon suddenly exploded out of his hand as he grew larger and larger. In seconds, he was almost as big as MegaKabuterimon. "Neuro Destroyer!" His blaster arms fired and he roared in pain, as he was knocked flying backwards.

Micro watched his partner fall back, whilst Pillomon floated upwards. "I'm sorry. But there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Don't be so sure," he told her. "Like we told you, this is our dream. And in our dream, nothing is impossible." MegaKabuterimon flew up behind him. "No matter how much you make it seem hopeless, we'll find a way to get out of here. Right, MegaKabuterimon!?"

"You got it!" Lightning sparked around his body.

"Last chance!" Micro cried. "Let us go, or else!" Ebemon fired a blast from his ray gun, but Micro launched a fireball and destroyed it.

As he did, the electricity around his partner exploded off of him. "MegaKabuterimon, Mega Digivolve to..." The lightning began to take shape, as four golden yellow arms appeared before slamming onto his arms. A pair of legs then appeared and merged with the Ultimate, as the rest of his body transformed into a golden armor. His booster disappeared, as his shell opened up to reveal his newly restored wings. And two more horns grew out of his head, completing his transformation to the next stage. "HERCULESKABUTERIMON!"

Pillomon was shocked, despite her eyes being closed, whilst Ebemon fired another blast. But the new Mega Digimon flew forward and slapped the attack away. "How?" Pillomon asked. "How can he be a Mega?"

"The same way you made Vademon a Mega." Micro flew onto HerculesKabuterimon's head. "We might not be able to Digivolve to Mega in the real world, but in a dream..." Ebemon fired another shot, but the giant beetle dodged the attack and flew forward.

"Giga Scissor Claw!" He swung his clawed arm around and slashed at the robotic Digimon, smashing into its metal body and breaking through it.

Micro then leapt into the air and did several spins as he flew down towards Pillomon.

Pillomon tried to fly away, but Micro tackled her to the ground and slammed her into the army base. Pillomon cried out, as HerculesKabuterimon tackled Ebemon away from them. "Let me go!"

"Not until you free us from this dream," Micro told her.

Ebemon fired another Neuro Destroyer, but HerculesKabuterimon wasn't even phased when it slammed into him. "My turn!" His entire body sparked with energy, which flew up to its horns and began to swirl into a sphere. "MEGA ELECTRO SHOCKER!" He swung his head around and the sphere shot off his body, smashing into Ebemon and exploding.

The electric wave surged into the Digimon and ripped it apart, causing it to disappear into a cloud of dream mist, then flew over the battlefield. It shot towards Micro and Pillomon, Micro holding the Digimon up. "Are you insane? If that hits us..."

"Last chance..." The attack got closer and closer. "Free us from this dream!" Pillomon cried out, as the lightning wave was seconds away from hitting them.

"AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" She screamed, as a light suddenly exploded out of her.

Micro and Tentomon's eyes flew open, the pair gasping as they sat up.

"What?" Vademon looked up and gasped, when he saw the pair waking up. "You useless pillow!" He pulled on the chain around Pillomon, pulling her towards him. Micro and Tentomon shook their heads, their minds still half asleep. But when they fully woke up, they looked around and saw Vademon holding Pillomon and Micro's Digivice.

"Hey!" Micro sat up, "let her go and give me back my Digivice!"

"I don't think so!" Vademon told him. "I'm close to overriding your control on it and making myself its master. When that happens, I'll be free to travel to your world."

"That Digivice won't transport you to the human world," Tentomon told him. "It'll delete you and cause the real version of Micro to be infused with your memories. You'll kill him."

"What?" Vademon didn't look convinced, "don't be ridiculous. This device is my ticket to come and go inside the Digital World."

"No, it isn't. The Digivice can't convert data into flesh and blood. Nothing can. That's impossible. Please. Don't do this. You'll regret it."

"I don't think I will. Now back up, or I crush this pathetic excuse for a Digimon." The pair frowned, whilst Vademon laughed. "I'm amazed you actually care about it. After what it did to you, I would have expected you to let me destroy her."

"It's not her fault she did that." Tentomon looked angry. "You forced her to do all this. Anyone would do anything, if they had been abused enough. We can't blame her for that."

"True, but that just makes things easy for me." Vademon gripped Pillomon tighter, causing her to cry out in pain. "Just walk away and let me leave this world. You enjoy it so much, you can live here permanently."

Micro wasn't sure what to do. Without his Digivice, they couldn't Digivolve or Port away. What could they do?

Suddenly, he noticed something that shocked Micro. He then smiled, making Vademon look confused. "You might have beaten us, but our friend is a different story."

"Friend?" Vademon turned to the window, moments before it shattered and BurningGreymon flew inside. The beast warrior of fire roared, as he swung his tail around and slammed it into Vademon. The Ultimate alien roared as he was thrown backwards, Pillomon and the Digivice flying from his hands as he fell to the ground and was pinned by the large dragon's foot.

Micro managed to catch the Digivice, whilst Tentomon helped get the chain off of Pillomon. "Flash?" Micro asked, as BurningGreymon nodded. "Boy, am I glad to see you."

"Let me go!" Vademon cried, only for BurningGreymon to point his blasters at him.

"I don't think so. The Codex Commanders have a few choice words to say to you." Vademon suddenly looked very worried. "They don't appreciate their devices and systems being hacked into."

"I'm sure there's been some kind of misunderstanding."

"No misunderstanding. Jet told us everything that happened."

"Jet?" Micro frowned, "what's he got to do with this?"

"He's the one who sent you that message. Vademon tried to do to him, what he tried to do to you. But Jet got out of it by promising to bring someone for him. That's why he sent you that message." Anger surged through Micro's body, as BurningGreymon turned back to Vademon. "Now, for you."

He gulped. "Now now. I'm sure we can come to some kind of compromise. How about I just let you all go and-"

"No deal!" Micro glared at him, "you gave up making deals when you refused to give me my Digivice back and free Pillomon."

"Besides," BurningGreymon told him, "the Codex Commanders wanna talk with you. Now, where's the device stopping them from locking onto our Digivices." Vademon gulped and announced it was on the roof, causing the beast warrior of fire to grab him and pull him out of the control tower. They looked towards the roof and spotted a device of some kind, strapped to the antenna of the tower.

BurningGreymon fired at the device, destroying it as Micro, Tentomon and Pillomon flew out of the tower.

They all glided down to the ground and as they did, a flash of light appeared on the base floor. And out of it came Gennai, Twilight, Tawnimon, Jet and Dracmon.

To say Vademon looked worried was an understatement, as BurningGreymon threw him to the ground at Gennai's feet. The Codex Commander stared down at him, clearly unhappy, whilst Micro glared at Jet. "You tricked me."

Jet shrugged, "shouldn't be so gullible." Micro looked ready to tackle him, with Tentomon pulling him back from doing so.

Gennai stepped up to Vademon. "Do you have any idea what you almost did?" Vademon said nothing. "It's one thing for a Digimon to endanger a player's digital form. But to try and hurt their real world selves..."

"So...that whole mind uploading thing was true?"

"Of course," Gennai glared at him. "There's no telling the kind of damage you could have done to Micro, had you accomplished what you were trying."

"Alright," Vademon frowned, "I'm sorry."

"Are you sorry for what you did to Pillomon?" Micro asked, with Vademon turning to the sleepy Digimon before huffing and looking away. "Hey!"

"It's alright," Gennai told him. "Clearly, he needs to be taught a lesson." He opened his computer and with a few taps, Vademon started glowing.

"What?" He looked himself over, "what are you doing?" He started disappearing, "NOOOOO!" With that, he completely vanished and everyone was shocked.

"What did you do to him?" Twilight asked.

"Teleported him to the most dangerous area of the Digital World," Gennai explained. "A spot so dangerous, even a Mega Level player would be in trouble there. Seemed like a fitting place to send him, given the danger he placed Codex in."

Micro nodded. "If other players found out their brains could get hijacked by Digimon, a lot of them might not want to enter anymore."

"Exactly. If he survives, I'm hoping he'll have learned his lesson." He turned to Pillomon. "Now, for you, little one. You were helping him."

"I'm sorry," Pillomon cried. "He made me. He stole me from my home and threatened to delete me if I didn't do what he said."

"It's not her fault," Micro told him.

"Very well," Gennai nodded. "How about I send you home." Pillomon gasped in delight. "Just be careful. You might be a Champion, but your powers can be as dangerous as any Mega. There are those out there that can exploit that." Pillomon nodded as she disappeared, turning to Micro and apologising at the last moment.

Micro nodded as she vanished, then turned to glare at Jet.

"What?" He asked. "He was gonna do that to me and I couldn't escape. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing if you could." They all glared at him as he took out his Digivice. "Whatever. I'm out of here." Before they could say anything, he disappeared and everyone sighed at him.

"I'm sorry, Micro." Gennai told him. "The Codex Commanders never thought something like this could happen."

"Yeah," Micro nodded, "I get that." He frowned, "I just can't believe I fell for such an obvious trap." Flash placed his hand on Micro's shoulder.

"It's not your fault. Datamon's your friend. I think we'd all fall for something like that, if there was a chance we could find someone important to us." Twilight and the others nodded. "We'll keep searching. Datamon's somewhere and we'll find him. I promise." Micro smiled at this. "Now come on. Let's get back to Codex. You're probably exhausted after what happened."

"Actually, I feel wide away. Like I just had the best sleep ever." He and Tentomon smiled before they all ported away. Datamon might not have been there, but they managed to stop a crazy Digimon from causing a serious problem. Hopefully, that was the last they would see of Vademon.

Author's Note

Well, that was a crazy chapter. Just to be sure you understand, Micro and Tentomon can't go Mega now. That was all just a dream. Anyway. Hope you enjoyed this and let me know what you think.

Gearing up for War

In the Digital World, a large group of Digimon were flying through the air.

This group was being led by none other than Megadramon, the Virus Type Cyborg Digimon leading Azulongmon, Magnadramon, MagnaAngemon and several other flying Digimon towards a canyon area. One of the Digimon flying with them was Kabuterimon, who was carrying Micro, Sandalwood, Trixie, Shining, Thorax and their Digimon.

Riding atop Megadramon's head were Flash and Veemon, the pair smiling as they felt the wind hit their faces.

"It isn't too far from here," Megadramon stated as they pushed through the wind. "I'm starting to recognise landmarks around us. WarGrowlmon's canyon base is close."

"And you're absolutely sure this is the location?" Magnadramon asked him. It wasn't that she didn't trust Megadramon, but they had been searching for this area for a while.

"Absolutely," Megadramon nodded. "I might have warp gated there when I first joined, but I flew around the area a lot when I was there." Megadramon knew he was risking a lot on this statement. When he first joined the Great Dragon Army, he had offered to look through maps to try and find the base. Since he never knew which part of the Digital World it was in, he had to look through countless maps. But eventually, he found one with the right typography.

"Why are we listening to him?" MagnaAngemon growled. "He could be leading us into a trap."

"Would you shut up already!" Flash cried, "I trust Megadramon not to stab me in the back more than I trust you not to." MagnaAngemon glared at him, but the others turned to give him a look. Clearly, they weren't in the mood to hear him right now. It didn't help that when Megadramon had found the base, he hadn't been invited to come and had to tag along.

"Let's all just calm down," Shining stated. "Remember who the real enemy is right now." The others nodded, as the canyon came into view.

"There it is!" Megadramon cried, the others turning to see it. "Be ready. They could attack at any minute."

"I doubt it," Azulongmon stated. "They would have been fools to remain here after Megadramon left. They likely abandoned this area right after our last battle with them."

"You think?" Trixie asked, "so why are we investigating it?"

"This is just a scouting mission," Magnadramon replied. "Hopefully, they'll have left something that might help us learn more about them and find a weakness we can exploit. But there may be a small chance they didn't leave. Either they haven't had the chance, or they just didn't think Megadramon would be able to find this place. If that's the case, Azulongmon and I will be able to handle WarGrowlmon without much trouble. We'll leave the rest of the army to you."

"Got it," they nodded as Micro turned to Shining. "Too bad Twilight and the girls didn't want to come."

"It's not that they didn't want to come," Shining replied. "They're working on another project. Something that might be able to help us win this war." Everyone shared a look, wondering what the heck Twilight and the others were doing.

In another section of the Digital World, Twilight, Tawnimon and their friends were in an old library.

To say some of them weren't happy about this was an understatement. "I'm so bored!" Rainbow cried, as she leaned back on her chair. "What the heck do you even expect to find in a bunch of dusty old books?"

Twilight rolled her eyes, as she took another book off the shelf and opened it up. "The Dragon Soul Stones have appeared before," she stated. "If we can find out where they appeared, we might be able to figure out where the last one will appear."

"Do you really think you can figure that out?" Applejack asked. "A'h thought they just showed up in random places."

"Nothing in the Digital World is random," Twilight replied. "Remember, this is a digital world. Everything that happens here is controlled by a program. So there must be a program controlling where the Dragon Soul Stones are appearing. And if I can find where that program sent them previously, I can figure out where it'll send the last one."

"I hope you're right," Rarity sighed. "The last two times it appeared, WarGrowlmon almost got his grubby metal hands on it. If they get to the stone before us again..."

"That's why we've got to find the stone first," Tawnimon stated. "So come on. We've got a lot of books to go through and barely any time. The next stone could appear any day." They nodded and all started searching the different books for any clue of where the Dragon Soul Stones could be. But there were a lot of books to go through. This was gonna take a while.

Back with Flash and his group, they had arrived at the canyon base and dived into the fissure.

Arriving at the bottom, they found the place was completely deserted. "Looks like they did abandon this place," Shining stated as Kabuterimon put them all down. "What do you want us to do now?"

"WarGrowlmon's cave was in there," Megadramon pointed at a small hole in the canyon wall. "Fumamon and Armormon were the only ones that used that passage. WarGrowlmon always used Warp Gates to get in and out of it."

"Well that certain is a waste of resources," Magnadramon stated before turning to the humans. "Do you mind investigating? The rest of us will search the outside of the cave. If you find anything-"

"We'll let you know," Flash assured them. They looked into the room and each took out their Digivices, turning to their partners who nodded back before they dialled up a deck to use. "BIOMERGE!" They cried out, the humans and Digimon combining their powers together.

The other Digimon watched, all still amazed when they saw the Digimon and humans merge into one. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to...Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Monodramon, Digivolve to...Strikedramon!"

"Tentomon, Armor Digivolve to...FlameWizardmon, Burning Magical Courage!"

"Lunamon, Digivolve to...Lekismon!"

"Mangoramon, Digivolve to...Arbormon!"

"Grubmon, Digivolve to..." Grubmon began to turn into an entirely new Digimon. When the light faded, it revealed a large stag beetle Digimon that was around the size of a Garurumon. It was mostly a fusion of brown and blue. Its head was brown, whilst its body and rear-end were dark blue with yellow lines. He had six brown legs, the front four being the type of legs you would see on a normal beetle whilst the back two here kite-shaped in appearance. His front four legs had hand-like limbs on the end of them, with two white clawed fingers and a thumb on each of them.

On the front of its head, on either side of its mouth, were a pair of long white horns with white spikes covering them. On his back were a pair of insectoid wings. The Digimon landed on the ground and spread its wings, snapping its horns together. "Lucanumon."

The six Digimon turned to one another and nodded, then headed inside the cave whilst the rest began searching the canyon. Inside the cave, they looked around for any sign that WarGrowlmon might be there. But nothing was showing up. "See anything?" Flamedramon asked, the others shaking their heads as they came to a section of the cave that split into multiple tunnels. "Well, this could be an issue."

"I'll head down this way," FlameWizardmon announced as he pointed down one of the tunnels.

Arbormon stepped up next to him. "I'm with you." They nodded and headed down the tunnel, whilst Lekismon and Lucanumon head to another tunnel.

"We'll head down here," they stepped into the tunnel. That just left two more tunnels, Strikedramon turning to Flamedramon.

"You okay heading down the last one on your own?" Flamedramon nodded, the pair splitting up and heading down the final two tunnels. "Yell if you run into anything." Flash nodded, Veemon in his ear keeping a look out for anything he might have missed.

They stepped through the cave, the tunnels growing larger and larger with every step they took. Soon they were so large, even Megadramon could have fitted inside of them. "This must be where WarGrowlmon hangs out."

"I just hope he's not here right now," Veemon frowned. "I'd hate to have to fight him on our own."

"If he does show up, we'll head back up the tunnel until it gets smaller." He frowned. "Although, I wouldn't put it past him to try and bury us." They arrived at a large chamber, full of different pieces of machinery. "What's this?" He stepped over to one of the piles and picked it up, finding it was a damaged motherboard of some kind. The walls were also covered in some kind of red metallic substance, which didn't make them feel too good about it.

He rubbed his claws against the rock and the red substance came onto them, Flamedramon taking a closer look and realising it was specs of red metal filings. And the shade of red had Flash humming.

"WarGrowlmon." He looked around. "I'm betting this is where he's been getting fixed up after each of his battles."

"He had to get fixed?" Veemon asked.

"Well he is a Cyborg Digimon," Flash pointed out. "His biological parts can heal normally, but machines don't heal on their own." Veemon nodded in understanding. "But all these parts couldn't have only come from WarGrowlmon."

"Maybe they were fixing the rest of their Digimon in here," Veemon guessed. "Armormon's a Cyborg Digimon as well." Flash nodded, but couldn't remember seeing any other mechanical Digimon as part of that army.

"They were working on something here. But what?"

In another part of the cave, FlameWizardmon and Arbormon walked through the tunnel until they arrived at their own chamber. And this one was also full of machine parts. But these machine parts were a bunch of wires and cables littered around the room.

FlameWizardmon rushed over to them and started examining them, whilst Arbormon gave him a curious look. "You okay?"

"These wires were hooked up to something," he explained. "Something that was clearly drawing a ton of power." Arbormon wondered what that something might be. "There's only one thing in the Digital World I can think of that would draw that kind of power. Datamon's computers."

"You think Datamon was taken by WarGrowlmon?"

"I've been searching the Digital World ever since he disappeared," Micro stated. "Going to every place he might be and asking any Digimon that might know his whereabouts. But nobody's seen him. It's like he vanished into thin air. And right now, there's only one way I can imagine him just disappearing without leaving a trace. Being dragged through a Warp Gate and held prisoner somewhere."

"But don't you think this is a bit of a reach?" Arbormon stated.

"Sometimes when you reach for something, you grab the truth." Arbormon didn't know where he got that line from, but damn was it chilling. "I know it's insane to think that Datamon was taken by WarGrowlmon, but I've exhausted every other option I have. WarGrowlmon must be getting desperate for more power. And the best way to get more power without Digivolving...is Battle Gear."

"And Datamon's the best Battle Gear maker in the Digital World," Arbormon nodded. "I get it. Have you told anyone else this?" FlameWizardmon shook his head. "We should. If Datamon is gonna make Battle Gear for the enemy, Azulongmon and the others will need to know."

FlameWizardmon sighed, but nodded in agreement. The pair continued to examine the wiring, Micro hoping he was actually wrong. If Datamon was making Battle Gear for the Virus Army, there was no telling what kind of damage was going to be done.

As they made their way through their tunnel, Lekismon and Lucanumon found themselves coming to a set of large metal doors.

"You don't find these in canyon caves," Lekismon stated.

"Well, this is the Digital World," Lucanumon stated. "This place could have always had a pair of metal doors hiding something behind it." Lekismon nodded, realising he was right. They stepped forward, searching for a way to open the doors. But there was no handle. No buttons to open it up and not even a fingerprint recognition device.

"How the heck are we supposed to open this thing?" Lekismon asked, with Lunamon giving a suggestion.

"Maybe you can force them open. They might only be a few inches thick."

"Worth a try."

"What's worth a try?" Lucanumon asked, as Lekismon stepped backwards. "What are you doing?" But as he asked, Lekismon rushed forward and leapt at the doors, swinging her legs around and smashing them into the door. But the only thing that happened with a shooting pain going up her leg.

"GAAAAH!" She leapt back and started hopping on the ground, holding her foot as it turned red and throbbed like in a cartoon. "Stupid thing!" She slammed a fist into the wall. if Lucanumon could see through her skin, he would see an image of her hand bones shattering to dust. "GEYOW!" She screamed, Lucanumon fighting the urge to laugh as he turned to the door.

"Let me try!" He took several steps back, as his horns began to glow. "Power Horn!" He rushed forward and slammed the horns into to the metal door, hoping that would be enough to damage it just a little. But the door didn't even shake and Lucanumon found himself vibrating. "Ow."

Lekismon frowned as she stared at the door. "They wouldn't have such good security, if they weren't protecting something important. We're busting through here, no matter what it takes."

Back at the library, Twilight and Tawnimon were the only ones still searching the library for information.

The others were all sitting around tables, looking exhausted and bored. "How many books have we checked?" Terriermon asked, as Fluttershy looked at a large stack of books they had already gone through.

"I've lost count," she sighed. "But not one of them had any information on the Dragon Soul Stone."

Pinkie looked over at Twilight, who was speed reading through books as fast as Tawnimon could bring them to her. "Twilight, maybe you should take a break. You can't keep studying like that. You'll break your brain."

"Not until I find some documentation about the Dragon Soul Stone," she stated.

"Maybe there isn't any," Rainbow told her. "Who would actually take the time to write down when and where these things showed up? And even if they tried, don't they show up a few centuries apart? There's no way one Digimon could survive long enough to do that."

"She might have a point," Rarity agreed. "It's possible the answers we seek just don't exist. I'm sorry, Twilight." The girl sighed as she closed the book, right as the librarian stepped up to them.

Said Librarian was a Digimon name Bokomon, who was a short white Digimon with a pink wool belt around his stomach.

The Digimon looked up at the last stack of books and gasped. "What is happening here?" He turned to them and they all gulped. "Well?"

"We're searching for information," Twilight replied. "Have you heard of the Dragon Soul Stone?" Bokomon looked surprised by this. "We're trying to figure out where they've appeared in the past, so that we might be able to find it in the future."

"I see," he nodded with a hum. "I'm afraid you won't find any books in here, that have that particular piece of information. I've read every book in this library and none of them have it." Twilight frowned, "but you might be able to find it somewhere else." They all looked up at him, as Bokomon rushed off.

"Was that story over?" Pinkie asked, as they all got up and tried to follow Bokomon. They eventually found him coming out of a back office, carrying what appeared to be a very old scroll.

"This scroll contains all the information we have on the Library of Infinite Knowledge."

"The Library of Infinite Knowledge?" Twilight quickly took the scroll. "What's that?" She had an idea and it felt promising, her brain about to burst at the possibility.

"It is the greatest library in the Digital World," Bokomon stated. "It was created by a Digimon named Wisemon, who wished to know everything there was to know about everything. So he created the library, which could store all the information in the Digital World. Whenever something happens in the Digital World, it is recorded in the library.

Twilight gasped. "That means the Dragon Soul Stone locations have to be there as well." The others smiled. "So where is it?"

"Wisemon was said to have hidden the library away, so that nobody could use the information he had collected for evil. The last known location of the library, was within the Desert of Deception. A large desert that is said to create mirages, making it impossible to cross."

"Ha!" Rainbow laughed. "Maybe impossible for others. But not for me!" The others nodded. They knew it was hard, but they had to find this library. If it contained the information they were after, it was worth the risk.

"Thank you," Twilight told Bokomon. "Let's go, everyone." They nodded and took out their Digivices, the six and their Digimon porting away to find this desert.

"Good luck," Bokomon told them when they disappeared.

Strikedramon continued to search his tunnel, but unlike the others he wasn't turning up anything.

He eventually turned a corner and found himself coming face to face with a dead end, which made him frown. "Great." He was about to head back, but then stopped and turned back to the wall. His cop instincts were screaming that something wasn't right. He stepped forward and placed his claws on the wall.

"What is it?" Monodramon asked, as Strikedramon leaned against the wall. He started knocking at it, as if trying to hear something through what was likely a hundred miles of solid rock.

He then leapt back, as his claws and hair burst into flames. "Strike Fang!" He shot forward and smashed his claws into the wall, causing it to shake and break apart. The wall crumbled to nothing, Strikedramon being careful to watch the roof in case it began to collapse. But once he was sure it wouldn't, he walked forward and found himself in another cave.

Carefully stepping forward, he used blue light from his burning claws to illuminate the place. "See anything?" Monodramon asked.

"No," Shining replied. "Why was this room hidden if-" He stopped when his gaze shifted over to a nearby rock, the Digimon pointing his flaming claws towards it. "Who's there? Don't try hiding. I saw you!" But rock remained unmoving, as Strikedramon stared at it. "Maybe I was wrong?" He turned to leave, smirking as he turned away from it.

Monodramon laughed. "Three...two...one." Strikedramon leapt up and spun around, allowing him to see a Digimon had just leapt out from behind the rock and was pointing something at the spot he had just been on.

That Digimon was a Troopmon. And in his hand was some kind of rifle, which was definitely not a Troopmon's standard weapon. "Fire!" He shot a laser, only to then notice Strikedramon had moved. "Hey, where'd-" He looked up and saw Strikedramon, who was beginning to fall towards him. "Uh oh." He leapt to the side, barely avoiding the claws Strikedramon tried to cut him to pieces with.

"Give up!" Strikedramon cried, only for Troopmon to stagger around and unleash a laser from his weapon. Strikedramon dived under the laser and rushed forward, slashing at the weapon. "Strike Claw!" The claws cut through the rifle and it broke into pieces, causing the Troopmon to stagger backwards.

"Hey!" He cried, "you know what I had to do to get one of those things?" Strikedramon rushed forward and tackled the Troopmon, making him scream as he was forced to the ground. "Please don't delete me!"

"Then start talking!" Strikedramon snarled. He could feel his digital instincts starting to build up, forcing him to take a deep breath so he wouldn't lose control. "Where is WarGrowlmon? Why did they leave you here?"

"I don't know where he is!" Troopmon replied. "I swear. They left me here as a guard. If nobody showed up by the time they returned, we were going to start using this place as our base again. Guess that idea is out the window." Strikedramon glared at him, "I promise it's the truth."

"Alright." Strikedramon jumped off of him, but then hoisted him to his feet. "But don't think this means you're off the hook. We'll see what Azulongmon wants to do with you." Troopmon gulped.

"Just so long as that MagnaAngemon guy isn't around. I've heard about him. He's nuts."

"Can't argue with you there. So long as you don't do anything stupid, I'll protect you. Now get moving." But as he pushed Troopmon forward, he didn't notice the Virus reaching into a pocket on his suit. There, he fiddled with something before pressing a button. A button that sent a signal out to a different area of the cave.

Lekismon and Lucanumon were still trying to open the doors. But nothing they did worked.

"Aaaah!" Lekismon cried, unable to pry the doors open. "Come on! What do we have to do to get you open?" She kicked the the doors again, though not as hard as she had the first time. As she did, Lucanumon suddenly had an idea.

"These are mechanical doors. Maybe they open through voice activation." Lekismon thought about it and realised he might be right. "But if it is, that means we might never be able to open. Not unless we can guess what the command is."

Lekismon sighed, as she slide down the doors and sat against them. "I guess it wouldn't be something as simple as open sesame." But as soon as she said that, the doors let out a beeping noise and they looked up to see the doors were slowly moving apart from one another. "No way." The pair moved away from the doors, watching as the gap between them got larger and larger.

Light flowed out from the gap and blinded for for a moment, forcing them to close their eyes and look away. By the time they could turn back and look into the light, the doors were completely open.

They stepped through the now open doors and were shocked by what they saw. Inside the room were a bunch of strange looking vehicles, all of which were identical. They were a bunch of giant metal rings, with spikes on the outside of them. The ring was made up of two parts, one inner ring and the outer ring with the spikes. Inside the inner ring was some kind of control console and a seat, which reminded them somewhat of a Harley bike.

"What are these things?" Lucanumon asked, trying to count how many there were. But before he could get past fifteen, the vehicles all began to rev up whilst the lights on them glowed. "Uh oh."

"I think we should leave," Lekismon stated. They turned to run and as they did, the vehicles began to move. The outer ring began to spin forward, whilst the inner ring and control section remained in place.

The vehicles rushed down the tunnels, their spikes ripping up the ground as they rolled along it. "Get on!" Lucanumon cried, as he spread his wings and started flying. Lekismon leapt onto his back, surfing him as he flew down the tunnel. But the wheels were still in hot pursuit.

The rings were spinning so fast, they were causing the tunnel around them to shake. At the same time, their engines revved louder and louder, echoing through the cave system.

Flamedramon, Strikedramon, FlameWizardmon and Arbormon all felt the shaking and heard the engines, which worried them since that couldn't have been a good thing.

"What's that?" Strikedramon asked, turning to Troopmon who coward.

"I don't know, man. I wasn't told anything about the caves shaking." Strikedramon couldn't tell if he was lying or not. But a scream caught his attention and made him rush forward, dragging the Virus Digimon around with him. He flew through the cave until he reached the area he had split up from the others, as Flamedramon, Arbormon and FlameWizardmon ran out.

"Did you guys hear that?" Flamedramon asked, the others nodding before they noticed Troopmon was there. "Err...Shining?"

"He's one of WarGrowlmon's gang," Strikedramon snarled. "Left here to be a spy in case anyone showed up." Before he could say anymore, another scream filled the air and they looked around.

Lekismon and Lucanumon were racing down the corridor and before any of them could say anything, they shot right past them. "RUN!" Lekismon screamed, making the four blink before looking down the corridor. There, they saw a legion of metal rings racing towards them. Several were currently rolling side by side, almost mirroring a steamroller with spikes.

The four all went wide-eyed, panic flooding their systems as they turned to follow the others. But as they did, Troopmon was finally able to pull himself out of Strikedramon's grasp. "Hey!" He cried, trying to catch the Digimon. But Troopmon rushed back towards the spinning wheels of death. "Don't, you'll be destroyed!"

But Troopmon didn't listen and kept going, as he pulled something out of his suit. Something that looked an awful lot like a car fob. And when he pressed the button on it, the wheels suddenly came to a complete stop.

Strikedramon glared at him. "You lied. You did know what they were."

"Well you were stupid enough to believe me!" Troopmon leapt into the central ring, landing on the seat and grabbing the handlebars. "And now you face the power of master WarGrowlmon's newest weapons. Our Battle Gear!"

"That's Battle Gear?" Flamedramon asked, as Troopmon hit the button on the fob again. When he did, the Battle Gears he wasn't riding it once again shot towards them. "RUN!" They race down the tunnel, Troopmon laughing as he revved up the engine and raced towards them as well.

Back outside, Megadramon had just flown out of another cave looking disappointed. "Nothing in there."

"We were unable to locate anything in our caves as well," Azulongmon stated. "However, several of the tunnels grew smaller as we got deeper inside. We may have to ask our smaller friends to go take a look." Magnadramon agreed, whilst MagnaAngemon flew out looking unhappy.

"There's nothing here!" He cried, glaring at Megadramon. "This is clearly just a trick to keep us distracted. For all we know, this Virus informed WarGrowlmon of our base's location. He could be attacking it right now whilst he keeps us here." Megadramon glared at him, but Azulongmon flew down.

"Enough!" He cried. "Your constant accusations of Megadramon are beginning to grow stale. You need to put aside your hatred of Virus Digimon. We can't afford infighting if we're to defeat WarGrowlmon."

"Can't you see, he's making a fool out of you. There's nothing here and there never was." In that moment, Lekismon's screams filled the air and they looked down to see her and Lucanumon flying out of the cave.

Lucanumon noticed them first and quickly flew up. "I don't know what it is, but WarGrowlmon clearly left it to attack intruders." As he said that, Flamedramon, Strikedramon, FlameWizardmon and Arbormon ran out of the cave. Behind them were a bunch of strange machines.

Megadramon turned to smirk at MagnaAngemon. "Who's the fool now?" The Celestial Digimon glared at him, as Magnadramon flew down.

"Come on! We have to help them!" But now that they were in the open, the four Champions didn't seem as scared and quickly skidded to a stop as they spun around.

"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon unleashed a blast of fire, which shot towards one of the wheels. It slammed into it and exploded, but the device simple barrelled right through the flames. "No way!" Flamedramon leapt up to avoid getting crushed.

"Seed Blockade!" Arbormon launched the seeds from his mouth, which hit one of the wheels and began sprouting seeds. But as they tried to wrap around the wheels, the spikes began tearing them apart when they were pulled down to the ground under the wheel.

Strikedramon didn't try an attack, instead charging at one of the wheels and attempting to stop it on his own. "Ahhhhhh!" He cried, as the wheel ground against his arms. He fought through the pain and tried to push the wheel onto its side, but the Battle Gear refused to budge.

At the same time, FlameWizardmon stared at them in total disbelief. He was sure these things were Battle Gear, just like Troopmon stated. But he only knew of one Digimon with the skills to create something this powerful. "Datamon. I knew it." More of the Battle Gear rushed towards him and he barely managed to dodge it in time. "Magic Ignition!" He launched the fireballs towards a wheel, but it simply exploded against it with no damage done. "Seriously?"

One of the wheels shot towards Flamedramon and the Armor Digimon leapt into the air, only for another wheel to somehow use a rock to propel itself into the air at him. "WOW!" He crossed his arms and the wheel smashed into him, making him cry out as he was thrown backwards.

But before he could hit the ground, Megadramon flew down and caught him. "You okay?"

Flamedramon moaned. "Yeah. Thanks for the catch." As he said that, Magnadramon flew down and swung her tail around. This created a powerful gust of wind, which the Digimon were able to grab onto the ground to protect themselves from. The Battle Gear wasn't so lucky and was thrown into the air, Azulongmon flying towards them as his horn sparked.

"Sourai!" He unleashed a burst of lightning, which rained down from the sky and struck the Battle Gear.

The spiked wheels were electrocuted and had some serious damage done to them, the electrical blast eventually ending as the wheels fell to the ground. "Is everyone alright?" Magnadramon asked, as Lucanumon flew down and let Lekismon off.

"We'll live," Strikedramon growled. "Now where is that lying-" He heard another engine and they all turned to see Troopmon fly out of the cave, where he saw the destroyed Battle Gear.

"What?" He looked around, "how did you-" He stopped when he saw the two Mega Levels glaring down at him. "Oh." MagnaAngemon then appeared, making him scream as he kicked the Battle Gear into flying off. They watched him shoot down the canyon, everyone rushing after him. "You're not gonna get me!"

"You're only making things difficult for yourself," MagnaAngemon growled. "Give up before I get annoyed." But Troopmon kept racing off and he frowned. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way!" He accelerated and shot past the wheel, stopping right in front of him as he extended his blade.

But before he could attack, Troopmon pulled a lever on his controls. And to everyone's shock, the spikes on the wheel started glowing with energy whilst the wheel's speed increased. This caused the light of the spikes to fuse into a single bright light ring, which encircled the entire vehicle.

"What the?" Flamedramon asked.

"MagnaAngemon!" Azulongmon cried, "get out of there!"

"I will not run from a Virus Digimon." MagnaAngemon charged, letting out a roar as he rushed towards the vehicle. He swung his sword around and struck the light ring, attempting to cut through the spikes and destroy the Battle Gear. But the speed of the Battle Gear was much faster than his speed, so when they connected he quickly found himself being overpowered. "Augh!"

Everyone watched as his armor and weapons were shredded to pieces, until he was finally knocked backwards and crashed into the ground. Smoke came off his chest, as Troopmon went flying over him and swerved around to a stop. "Pathetic Vaccine!" He revved his engine and charged, planning to crush him under his spiked treads.

But before he could reach MagnaAngemon, Flamedramon, Strikedramon, Lekismon, FlameWizardmon and Arbormon landed in front of him.

The five Digimon braced themselves, as the wheel slammed into them. They all cried out, but pushed against it to stop it from deleting the angel. Lucanumon flew down to help them, but realised they weren't going to be able to do anything at their current level.

"Ready Grubmon?"

"Oh yeah!" He cried, before their bodies burst into light and they spoke in unison. "Lucanumon, Digivolve to..." His body began to grow smaller, transforming into a more humanoid form. His wings disappeared and he fell to the ground, landing with a crash as the light flew off of him. "HyperLucanumon!"

Everyone looked around at his new form, seeing that he now looked a lot like Stingmon.

HIs chest, arms, upper legs and feet were blue in colour, whilst the rest of his body was brown. His head was similar to Stingmon's, with his mouth, forehead and the section between his red eyes being brown whilst the rest of its head was blue. Instead of antenna, a pair of stag beetle horns stuck out of his head. From out of his back, a pair of Stingmon wings extended. His shoulders were covered by a pair of blue square shoulderpads, which had a pair of blades attached to them. Those blades quickly detached and moved over to his humanoid hands, allowing him to catch them and swing them around.

"Raaaah!" He roared, rushing forward as the blades glowed. "Power Stag Slash!" He flew into the air and raised the blades, preparing to cut the machine in half.

Troopmon saw this and gasped, grabbing another leaver and pulling back on it. This caused the wheel to stop spinning, allowing the other five to push it back. This caused HyperLucanumon to miss his attack, whilst Troopmon pulled the lever back further.

The wheel started spinning, but in the opposite direction, allowing Troopmon to reverse away from them. And when he did, he stopped the wheel before pushing the lever forward and once again rolling forwards.

The Digimon prepared to attack again, but the Battle Gear suddenly swerved and moved over to the wall. And too their amazement, it was actually able to climb the wall and raced along it despite being sideways. "Okay," Flamedramon stated, "I wasn't expecting that." They raced after him, as the bike raced towards were the higher Level Digimon were.

"I got this!" Megadramon roared, as he launched a bunch of missiles towards the Battle Gear. But the vehicle leapt off the wall and they exploded without causing any issues. The other five kept chasing after him, leaping through the smoke as Troopmon rolled under the dragon Digimon and back towards the cave.

"Why do I get the feeling he's not trying to escape," FlameWizardmon stated. The others were starting to think the same thing, but couldn't figure out what he was planning.

Troopmon looked worried, as he returned to the area where the destroyed Battle Gears still laid. "I was told not to use this unless it was an absolute emergency. And I can't think of a bigger emergency than this!" As he reached the field of Battle Gear parts, he pressed a button on the controls and the spikes glowed again.

Lightning then exploded out of the spikes and struck the metal fragments, lifting them into the air and pulling them towards the Battle Gear. When it reached the remaining wheel, Troopmon watched the parts slam into it and fuse with the metal. Different parts and machinery came together, creating an entirely new type of device.

The others rushed onto the scene and when they arrived, they saw the Battle Gear rebuilding itself. "What the heck?" Arbormon asked. "What's it doing?"

Slowly, the new shape formed and revealed a giant metal sphere with the spinning wheels coming out of every angle. The working wheel was in the very centre of it, Troopmon inside starting at the through a gap in the metal. He smirked at them, whilst they just stared at him in shock.

"Something not good," Strikedramon growled.

"Maybe you should let us deal with it," Magnadramon stated. But Strikedramon raised a claw.

"No. Who knows what else that thing could do. You and Azulongmon should hold back unless there's no other way. We'll handle it. But that thing's too much for our Champion forms."

"Then let's evolve," Flamedramon smirked as the others nodded. And as the metal monstrosity finished forming, the five of them all rushed forward and dug deep before their entire bodies burst into light or flames. "Flamedramon, Digivolve to...BURNINGGREYMON!"

"Strikedramon, Digivolve to...CYBERDRAMON!"

"Lekismon, Digivolve to...CRESCEMON!"

"FlameWizardmon, Digivolve to...MISTYMON!"

"Arbormon, Digivolve to...PETALDRAMON!"

Digivolutions complete, they and HyperLucanumon attacked the machine with BurningGreymon the first to attack. "Pyro Blaster!" The flaming bullets exploded out of his arm launchers and they exploded against the metal wheel, up the spinning gave them a little protection against them.

At the same time, Mistymon and Cyberdramon charged forward. "Blast Fire!" His sword was surrounded by fire and he swung it around, unleashing a flaming wave that struck the metal rings from beneath.

"Cyber Nail!" Cyberdramon leapt up and slashed his claws through the steal, the heated metal now much weaker. The claws sliced through the blades like a hot knife through butter, Troopmon panicking as he got damage alerts.

"No way," he pressed several buttons and levers. "I am not letting you beat me!" The spikes around the many rings light up as they spun clearing the energy rings that had taken MagnaAngemon down.

HyperLucanumon rushed forward, his blades glowing as he swung them around. "Hyper Boomerang!" The blades unleashed a burst of light, which took the form of spinning energy blades that shot towards the machine and slammed into it. The impact caused it to stop moving forward, getting knocked backwards as they did.

At the same time, Crescemon and Petaldramon charged forward. "You ready?" Petaldramon asked the armored rabbit, who nodded before leaping onto one of his tails. Petaldramon then let out a roar as he flung her up into the air, whilst she brought her shield and scythe together.

"Ice Archery!" She launched a barrage of icicles towards the device, aiming for the joints. The ice shattered against the metal, the fragments rolling into the machine as the heat from the spikes caused them to melt. Crescemon smirked as BurningGreymon caught her. "Doesn't matter how well that thing was made. Get water in it and its bound to get fried."

"Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon then unleashed a tornado, with leaves inside of it. The tornado struck the sphere and caused it to be blown backwards, Troopmon pushing it to continue forwards in its attack. But the water that had been sucked into it was starting to cause problems, along with the damage that had already been done to it.

"Come on," he cried whilst fiddling with several controls. "Work! Why won't you work!?"

"Give it up," BurningGreymon cried. "You're not gonna win this. Surrender and you won't get hurt!" But Troopmon refused to let himself get captured, forcing the machine into overdrive. Everyone watched as the spikes glowed even brighter, as the machine raced forward. But as it did, the controls exploded in Troopmon's face and he screamed as he lost control.

The Digimon all leapt around to avoid the lightning that was shooting off the spikes, which caused the canyon around them to explode.

As it did, Megadramon chose to fly in and launch several missiles into the machine, the explosions causing the wheels to break apart. "Now!" He cried, as BurningGreymon took this chance to fly in.

His body burst into flames, as he spun around. "Wildfire Tsunami!" The fire shot off of him and struck the machine, causing more explosions.

Troopmon reached for the controls, attempting to eject himself before it could kill him. But the console blew again and Troopmon was unable to escape. "NOOOOOO!" He screamed before the entire machine was consumed in an explosion, everyone leaping back to avoid getting hit.

When the smoke from the explosion faded, the remains of the machine littered the ground.

Azulongmon and Magnadramon flew down, as all but Megadramon glowed and reverted back to human and Digimon. Monodramon was in Rookie form, alongside Veemon. But the others were all back in their In-Training form, Veemon groaning as he fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"That was nuts!" He cried. "WarGrowlmon sure knows how to make things exciting."

"At least you're all okay," Magnadramon told them. "You all did well." She turned to Megadramon, "all of you." Megadramon smiled, whilst Azulongmon studied the wreckage. "Battle Gear. I can't believe WarGrowlmon has something like this in his possession."

"I think I know how he got it," Micro stated. "My friend, Datamon, is one of the best Battle Gear designers in the Digital World. But he's gone missing."

"And you think he built these for WarGrowlmon?" Magnadramon asked.

"If he did, it wasn't by choice. Datamon would never let his inventions be used for evil. WarGrowlmon has to have captured him. He's forcing Datamon to build these and if I know Datamon, these are just the start." He sighed. "If we don't find Datamon soon, we might have to face an entire army of Virus Digimon with these things."

"It was hard enough to counter just one," Flash frowned. "I don't like the idea of an entire army having this kind of power." The others agreed, hoping they might be able to find Datamon before he did anything he would truly regret.

What none of them realised, was that their entire battle with Troopmon and their conversation had been recorded by a hidden camera.

In another part of the Digital World, Fumamon was watching a video feed.

Said feed was showing the metal sphere of death being destroyed, an unhappy hum escaping his lips as he turned to leave the stone chamber he was in. He made his way through the dark tunnels and arrived at another chamber, where WarGrowlmon and Armormon were watching Datamon as he worked.

"Our old base is no longer available to us," he told them. They turned to him, as he marched forward. "Azulongmon and the others have found it. Seems we were right not to assume Megadramon wouldn't be able to find his way back there."

"I see," WarGrowlmon snarled. "And what of the Battle Gear we had stored there?"

"Troopmon attempted to use it to destroy the invaders," Fumamon stated. "As you can probably guess, that didn't go so well. The Battle Gear have all been destroyed." WarGrowlmon did not look happy. "And it seems they we were right not to keep them here. They malfunctioned and destroyed Troopmon."

"I told you," Datamon glared at them. "They were prototypes. It was his own fault for riding them when they weren't ready."

"Well your next patch had better be improved," Armormon stated. "They need to be powerful and safe to use. If they aren't, you will not like what I will do to you."

Datamon glared at him. "Make up your mind. Do you want me to focus on the Battle Gear or your new...you. Getting me to split focus like this will only end in disaster."

"We want them both done and perfect," Armormon stated. "So you'd better learn to split your focus and still do a good job. You know what will happen to you if you don't."

Datamon sighed as he turned back to the computer, bringing up the fail on Armormon's new form. "I've been able to create a base to work from. Take a look and tell me what you think." Armormon stepped forward and hummed, as he looked the image on the screen over.

"Not bad," he nodded. "Not bad at all. But it needs a few more tweaks. Maybe a little more firepower."

"More firepower?" Datamon looked horrified. "You're already gonna be a walking disaster. How much more power could you possibly want?"

"Enough to make sure I survive anything," he replied. "I want to be able to survive, even if the entire Digital World collapses around me. I want the power to destroy anyone who stands in my way."

"You can't be serious?" Datamon asked, "that's insane. You know, there is such a thing as being too powerful. If I gave you that kind of firepower, the body I'm designing might not be able to take it. You'll destroy yourself."

"Then you'd better make sure the body can handle it. Remember what'll happen if you fail." Datamon sighed, as Armormon walked away. Datamon wasn't sure what he could do. Whether he succeeded or failed, he was going to get deleted. "Micro...anybody. Help."

Back at Codex, Flash and the others had returned to the foyer and all sat down in exhaustion. "That was certainly a day," Shining sighed.

"Tell me about it," Flash agreed. "We almost got ourselves run over and have nothing to show for it."

"I wouldn't say that," Micro told him. "We now know that Datamon is being held captive by WarGrowlmon." The others didn't say anything, not wanting to point out that that wasn't confirmed. "Plus, we took those Battle Gears out. I'd rather face them like that rather than have to fight them whilst we're getting the Dragon Soul Stone." The others nodded, agreeing with that.

Shining then looked around, wondering if Twilight had returned from her mission. But there was no sign of her or her friends, making Shining wonder where she could possibly be right now.

In a large desert, Twilight and the others were working to make their way through the sand.

Currently, Kamemon had Digivolved into Tortomon and was carrying them across the hot desert. But a powerful wind was blowing the sand around, everyone glad they had packed goggles to shield their eyes.

"My hair!" Rarity screamed, the girl currently dressed in safari clothes with a hat. But it was doing little to protect her hair.

Twilight was doing her best to keep their scroll safe, as they struggled through the desert. "Rainbow. How is Tortomon doing?"

"This is nothing," Rainbow assured them. "Not for my partner. Right, bud?"

"You know it," Tortomon nodded.

Rainbow smirked, but then patted him on the head. "But if you do start feeling tired, let me know."

"I don't think he needs ta worry about that," Applejack stated. "A'h think the storm's starting ta die down. Look ahead!" They did and saw what appeared to be an end to the sand cloud, Tortomon rushed forward and escaping the storm to find a large empty desert.

They all looked around and saw nothing, making them frown as Rarity complained. "So we went through all that for nothing?"

"It has to be here," Twilight sighed as she looked down at the scroll. On it were several directions, alongside an image of the library. Said image made it look like a large temple with a tall spire coming out the top.

Pinkie stared into the desert and gasped when she saw something. "Over there!" They looked around and saw nothing, as Pinkie leapt off of Tortomon and ran into the desert. "Don't you see it!?" They frowned, "and giant chocolate castle!"

"Chocolate castle?" Applejack asked, as Twilight gasped.

"Pinkie, no! It's a mirage!" Pinkie heard this and as soon as she did, the chocolate castle vanished. And the next thing she knew, the sand beneath her feet suddenly vanished.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" She fell into a sink hole, falling towards the very centre where a bunch of quick sand was waiting.

"PINKIE!" Her friends screamed, as Tawnimon leapt into the air and flew down after her. He grabbed her in his talons and started pulling her up towards the top of the sand pit, as the others rushed to the edge.

"Can't...hold on...much longer!" Tawnimon cried, as Pinkie reached up to grab one of their hands.

"Tortomon!" Rainbow cried, "use your tail." But as Tortomon moved forward, Twilight gasped.

"Now, stay back!" Tortomon stopped. "His weight could make the edge of the pit collapse."

"So what do we do?" Fluttershy gasped, as Rainbow and Applejack nodded at one another. The next thing they knew, Rainbow leapt over the edge as Applejack grabbed her legs. The multi-haired girls slid down the pit, Applejack holding on hard as the others grabbed her. This led her to be only a few feet away from Pinkie.

"Grab my hand!" Rainbow cried, but Pinkie was a few inches short.

Tawnimon pulled even harder, using the last of his strength to drag her up enough for Rainbow to get her. Once their hands were grasped, Tawnimon lost his grip and Pinkie also fell out of Rainbow hand. But Rainbow managed to hold on as the others started pulling, making them all groan as they finally pulled both girls up and back over the edge.

Once there, they all panted and regained their breath. "Thanks," Pinkie sighed in relief. "That was too close."

"They don't call this place the Desert of Deception for nothing," Twilight frowned. "We shouldn't trust anything we see here."

"So we shouldn't trust that?" Terriermon asked, pointing to the distance and making them all look up and see something sticking out of the ground several miles away. A long tube-like construct, that was sticking out of the sand and pointing to the sky.

They all frowned, knowing they couldn't just ignore it since they were looking for a building. But they feared it might be another trap. "Alright," Twilight stood up, "but we need to take precautions."

Said precautions were having Tawnimon, Rainbow, Applejack and Salamon Digivolve in order to carry them all. HooTawnimon led them towards the structure, with Sunflowmon carrying Pinkie, Labramon and Dilemon. Rarity was riding Nefertimon, whilst Birdramon carried Kamemon, Fluttershy and Terriermon.

They soon arrived at the structure and found it wasn't a mirage, instead being a twenty meter tall circular tower with a pointed roof. They circled around it and frowned.

"This can't be the library," Rarity cried as they all landed. But as Twilight stared at the scroll, she realised something.

"No, it is the library." She showed them the library's image, pointing at the top which had a spire. They stared at the scroll, then at the spire as they realised what must have happened. The library, almost the entire building, had been buried beneath a billion tons of sand.

Author's Note

I know we didn't have any big character moments or earth shaking discoveries in this chapter. But we did get to see some new forms for Thorax and see a new form of Battle Gear. Hope you enjoyed it.

Silence in the Library

Within the Digital World, Twilight and her friends were staring up at a large spire that was sticking out of the sand.

Said spire was actually the very top of a legendary building. The Library of Infinite Knowledge. A place that was said to hold everything that has ever been known within the Digital World. There, the secret of the Dragon Soul Stone's Locations might be discovered. But there was just one problem.

"Great," the Birdramon turned Rainbow groaned. "We spent all that time looking for this place, and it's full of sand."

"What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked, as Labramon leapt down off Sunflowmon and started digging.

"I'll dig it up," he stated. "Shouldn't take me too long. Applejack, Digivolve me into Dorulumon." Sunflowmon tilted her head, clearly thinking her partner wouldn't be able to dig an entire library up. Especially one that was likely the size of a mountain.

Nefertimon and Rarity flew up towards the top of the spire, Rarity seeing a bunch of open windows at the very top. And when she looked through them, she looked down and found nothing but darkness. "Interesting. Nefertimon. Do you think you could use your Queen's Paw attack, but only make a single gem?"

"Easy," the Armor Digimon stated. Her gauntlet glowed before a single light shot out and formed a small gemstone, the sphinx catching it before it fell and throwing it back to her partner.

Once Rarity had it, she held it into the window and dropped it.

She didn't expect to hear anything, but several seconds later she heard the gem clang off a hard surface. "Everyone. I don't think this place is full of sand. Some of it might have escaped being buried." The others were surprised by this and Twilight flew up on HooTawnimon, the girl carefully climbing off her partner and balancing on the window frame to look down into it.

"Anybody got any rope?" Everyone had their own various lengths of rope, which they each took out and began to tie together into an extra long rope. The end of the rope was soon tied around another gem Nefertimon had made, Twilight throwing it in with the rope following after it. And to her amazement, almost all the rope was pulled into the library before the gem finally hit the ground. "Forty five meters."

"You want us to climb forty five meters?" Fluttershy looked terrified, only for Birdramon to fly up to the top and return to human form.

She quickly grabbed onto the ledge, which Twilight was tying the end of the rope to. "I'll go first. I do this kind of thing all the time in the real world. Then you guys can follow and I'll catch you if I need to." Before anyone could argue, Rainbow grabbed the rope and leapt into the darkness, shimmying down it into the darkness.

The spire was really dark, but Rainbow didn't have a problem with that and managed to get all the way down it

And once she was out of the spire, she was finally able to see light around her. And to her amazement, the entire library was completely untouched despite being buried. "Guys!" She cried out, "you've gotta see this." She continued climbing down the rope, until she reached an X-shaped bridge that was in the very middle of the area she was in.

Soon enough, the others began to make their way down

Twilight gasped at the amazing view before her. Everywhere she looked, columns upon columns of bookcases could be seen. "Amazing," she whispered. The others were also impressed, as they kept climbing until they reached the bridge.

Fluttershy was last, followed by Terriermon who helped her down since she had her eyes closed. When she was with the others, she opened her eyes and was also amazed. "Beautiful."

"It really is," Rarity nodded. "And so many books."

Applejack nodded. "There must be every book ever written here. Wonder if this is where E-books come from?" They all laughed at this, as Twilight tried to figure out the best way to begin their search.

But before she could think of where to look, movement caught her attention and made her look around. "Did you see that?" The others turned to her, as they stared into the darkness of one of the columns at the end of a bridge. "Something moved in there."

"What do you think it is?" Tawnimon asked, taking a cautious step forward to stand protectively in front of his partner.

They kept staring at whatever it was, only for Applejack to then notice movement in the corner of her eye. "There!" She turned to her left, as a dark shadow passed across the bridge's end. The others looked over that way, then all turned to the bridge closest to them. And when they focused, more movement made them all gulp.

"Who's out there?" Rainbow called out, she and Kamemon both getting ready for a fight. "Show yourselves!" Fluttershy looked terrified, as she hit in the middle of the group.

And then, finally, four shadows shot out of the darkness and flew towards them. Four figures, each moving at incredible speed, shot towards them. "Duck!" Twilight cried, as they all fell to the ground. And as they did, the four assailants past over them and each brandished a long red knife.

The figures flew over them and did several flips before each landing on one of the bridges, sliding to a kneeling stop as the humans and their partners finally got a good look at them.

They were humanoid Digimon, dressed in a mixture of black and white clothing. They wore a black leather shirt, though only the left arm of it could be seen beneath a white vest that had a long white sleeve covering the right arm. They also wore white pants and black boots, whilst the long white sleeve had several leather belts wrapped around it. On top of all this was a white cloak, which was brown on the inside, which also had a collar covering the Digimon's lower face. The top of their heads was covered in a blue bandanna, hiding most of their blonde hair beneath it.

The four Digimon stood up and raised their long sleeved arms, as part of that sleeve pulled back to reveal the ends of a double barrel shotgun. "Who are you?" One asked, "why do you trespass upon this sacred ground?"

"Trespass?" Rarity asked.

"We're not trespassing," Rainbow cried.

"Trespassing," another replied, "verb. Definition: To enter someone's land or property without permission."

The third spoke up. "You did not enter this place with permission. Therefore, you are trespassing."

Applejack frowned. "Well it's not like there was a sign saying to stay out."

"Maybe," the four replied. "But do your homes have signs telling others to stay out?" They were about to answer, but all stopped and closed their mouths.

"Well..." Twilight sighed, "no."

Pinkie nodded. "My house actually has the opposite. Welcome mats are just a robbery waiting to happen." They all sighed at this, knowing that they might be in serious trouble.

The first one stepped forward, the knife in their hand looking rather sharp.

"We will ask again. Why did you come here?"

"We came here seeking knowledge," Twilight answered. "Important knowledge that could help save the entire Digital World.

"Is that so?" A new voice replied, making them look up. When they did, they saw a giant book that was flying towards them. And standing on that book, was a humanoid Digimon wearing red robes and a yellowish white cloak over it. His yellow eyes were sticking out the hoof of the cloak.

Another of the strange knife wielding Digimon were standing beside him, as they landed on the bridge and stepped off the large book. Twilight stared at him and knew who he was. "You're Wisemon. The Digimon that created this library."

"I am," Wisemon nodded. "My apologies for the cold welcome you received. It has been a long time since anyone's been in my library. The Reapmon have been looking for a reason to fight."

"Why would they want to fight?" Twilight asked. "I thought this was a place of knowledge."

"It is," Wisemon replied. "But knowledge is power and my Reapmon are here to make sure nobody uses that power for the wrong reason." He stepped forward, looking down on the group as if studying them under a microscope. "Now, why are you after knowledge? You state that it is for the good of the Digital World. But the last time I heard that, the one after my knowledge was attempting to destroy a hated enemy of theirs." He bent down and stared at Twilight. "Is that what you're after?"

Twilight gulped, sweating as she tried to think. If she told him the truth, that they wanted to find the Dragon Soul Stone before WarGrowlmon, he could consider that the same as trying to destroy him. She would need to word this properly.

"We seek information on the Dragon Soul Stones," Twilight replied. "Two of the three have been claimed by Digimon that have become Azulongmon and Magnadramon. But there's still one left. And if the wrong Digimon happens upon it, they might end up becoming the horrible Megidramon. We want to prevent that from happening."

"I see," Wisemon pulled back. "So you wish to find the location of the Dragon Soul Stone and get to it before a Digimon with Megidramon's potential reaches it."

"Exactly," Twilight nodded.

"Well then, I'm afraid you've wasted your time." He turned away from them. "I know everything there is to know about this library and I also know, that the Dragon Soul Stone's future location is not one of the known things."

"We figured as much," Twilight replied. "But we think we might be able to predict where the stone will appear. All we need, is the locations that they showed up in previously." Wisemon seemed intrigued by this statement.

"I see," he turned to her. "So you wish to know where the stones have previously appeared. That, this library has." They all gasped, as Wisemon moved back over to the book. "Very well. I will help you in this endeavour."

"You will?" Tawnimon asked.

"Indeed. I would hate to see the Digital World be destroyed. I'm only on the fifth volume of Gravekeeper's Destiny. It's such an interesting story. I'd hate not getting to see how it ends." Everyone smiled, thinking they were safe. "But, you must do something for me." They turned to him. "I will allow you free reign of my library, so long as you swear that you will not use the knowledge you gained here to hurt or get one over on another."

The twelve shared a look and weren't sure how to answer that. There was no guarantee of that, given they had no idea what they might learn. But at this point, they had no choice. "We swear," Twilight stated. The others nodded, Wisemon appearing to believe this before snapping his fingers.

Out of nowhere, five round platforms appeared in front of all but Twilight and Tawnimon. "Then take these directories. Simply stand on them and state the subject you wish to learn about. And they will take you to the area of the library that has it." He then stepped onto his book and offered a hand, "Ms Sparkle?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this. "How do you know my name?"

"I know all about your adventurers. Everything that happens in the Digital World, is recorded right here. And I know everything that's recorded." Twilight was amazed by this and took his hand, Wisemon pulling her onto the book with Tawnimon right behind her.

Once the pair were on board, the book floated up before shooting off. Twilight and Tawnimon screamed, as they zoomed down the corridors and disappeared into the darkness of the library.

"Wow," Rainbow cried, "now that's fast."

"Well," Rarity moved over to one of the platforms, "we might as well make the best of it." She climbed on, Salamon beside her. "Take me to the section involving fashion and clothing design." The platform moved over the abyss and floated downwards, to a lower section of the building. Once she was at a certain level, the platform zoomed off and the girls cried out in surprise at the speed.

Pinkie laughed and leapt onto her own platform, Dilemon grabbing the end of her hair as she zoomed off to an area on the level they were on. Applejack and Fluttershy rode their's down to a lower level, whilst Rainbow asked about the sport section and zoomed off to the opposite side from where Pinkie went.

As they disappeared, the Reapmon turned to one another and nodded before vanishing in a flash.

As they zipped through the many corridors and aisles, Twilight was amazed by the number of books on each shelf.

"Incredible," Twilight whispered. "I could spend a lifetime studying a single row and not get close to finishing." She turned to Wisemon, "you've really read everything here?"

"Of course," Wisemon stated.

Tawnimon then spoke up. "If you've already read it, why are you taking us to the part that has the book. Can't you just tell us where the Dragon Soul Stones appeared?" Twilight wanted to tell him not to be rude, but realised he had a point.

Wisemon sighed. "Whilst I have read every book here. Every detail is not at my disposal right now. Everything in the Digital World has limited memory. Even me. As much as I wish I could, I wouldn't be able to stand having all those facts flowing through my head. The second I learn something new, I'd forget something else I'd previously learned."

"That's horrible," Twilight frowned.

"Maybe. But I found a work around. I didn't just build this library to store all the books. I used it to store my memory. A special orb I crafted, which contains everything I've ever learned. Whenever I learn something new, the info I would normally lose is stored there instead. Then, when I need it, I can assess the info. Only takes a few minutes to call upon it."

"Amazing," Twilight smiled.

"Yes. I'll bring up what I can about the Dragon Soul Stones. But until then..." The book came to a stop in one of the aisles, "we should be able to find what we're looking for here." They stepped off the book and started looking through all the titles, Twilight amazed by the sight of it.

Tawnimon whistled, "this might take a while."

"Then we shouldn't waste any time," Twilight agreed. "Let's get searching." And so they did, knowing the answer was somewhere around here.

In another part of the library, Fluttershy had gone to an area full of different animal books.

She smiled, as she took one book out and started flipping through it. Terriermon watched from the ground, having found a comic he was now reading. "Should have known you'd come here," he joked. "I bet your favourite movie has animals as the main characters."

Fluttershy laughed. "True, but is that so wrong? I love animals." She opened a book on different animal anatomy. "I should learn as much as I can while I'm here. I wanna know as much as I can, about all sorts of creatures. Knowing more about them will help me look after them better."

Terriermon smiled. "That's what you gotta love about you. Always caring about others." Fluttershy smiled back, as they continued to read side by side.

In another part of the library, Applejack had found a book on farming.

Labramon had found a scratch and sniff book, which he was half reading as Applejack flicked through the book. "Don't see why you're even bothering to read that. You probably already know everything in it."

"Probably," Applejack smirked. "But ya'h never know what secret techniques might be out there. If this library has everythin' about farmin', then a'h wanna learn it." She sat down and Labramon decided to close his book, instead placing his head on her lap.

She smiled and scratched his behind the ear, the pooch smiling at this whilst the pair simply enjoyed one another's company.

"Look at this," Salamon turned the book she was reading around to show Rarity.

The girl looked down and gasped, marvelling at the dress inside the book. "Simply gorgeous," she whispered. She then looked back at the book in her hand and smiled. "But can you imagine that style of dress, with this fabric pattern?" She showed it to Salamon, who looked absolutely amazed by it.

"Wow," Salamon nodded. "I wish I could wear clothes."

"Well why can't you?" Rarity asked. "I'm sure I can find some fabric and make you something stunning to wear when we're not in battle." She frowned, "but what would happen to it after you Digivolved?"

"I don't know," Salamon hummed. "Most Digimon that wear clothes, get them when they Digivolve. I don't know what happens to other clothing when they do."

"Well, we'll have to find out. Maybe if I tie a strip of cloth around your neck and you Digivolve, we'll see what happens." Salamon smiled at this and leapt up onto her shoulder, the two rubbing their cheeks together as they kept reading the books they had found.

In another part of the library, a strange sound was being made and echoed through the aisles.

That sound was coming from Pinkie, who was currently drooling at the sight of a beautiful cake that she had found in a large cook book. "Looks so delicious," she whispered before staring at the image. "Must...commit recipe...to memory." She kept scanning every word of it, attempting to burn it into her mind.

As she did, Dilemon was up on one of the high up shelves. He was pulling out books, staring at them for a moment before either putting them back or dropping them onto a pile below him.

As soon as Pinkie finished memorising the cake recipe, she closed the book and held out her hand. Moments later, another book landed in it. "Thank you." She opened the book and started reading, as Dilemon leaned over and fell off the shelf. He landed atop Pinkie's hair, bouncing off it as Pinkie focused on the book.

The pair stayed like that, simply reading the many recipes inside the books and licking their lips whenever they found them.

Dilemon was starting to look especially hungry, Pinkie reaching into her hair and taking out a lollipop that she held up for him to snap his mouth on. Pinkie laughed at this, then kept reading.

The least interested member of the group, Rainbow was simply walking around looking bored despite being in the sports section she had asked for.

Kamemon was following behind her, Rainbow just looking from side to side. "Aaaah," she stopped with a cry of annoyance. "Why did I come here? Who cares if it's a secret library nobody's stepped foot in for who knows how long. I'm not an egghead and this is boring!"

Kamemon frowned at this, as he looked around. And in doing so, he saw a book with a rather interesting looking title.

He took it out and looked it over, amazed by the title. And he knew Rainbow might enjoy it, if she just gave it a chance. As such, an idea formed in his head. "Hey, Rainbow." She turned to him, as he held the book out to her. "Can you read this for me? I'm not so great at reading." A bit of a lie, but Rainbow might thank him later.

Rainbow picked it up and read the title. "A hundred and one athletic tricks only the best of the best can do." That title was just as intriguing to her, the girl deciding she had nothing better to do. So, she sat down and began to read whilst Kamemon sat in front of her and listened.

And as they read, they were both getting into it and smiled at one another.

Back with Twilight, she was looking through a few books whilst Tawnimon pulled some from up above.

As she kept reading, Wisemon arrived carrying a rather large book. "Twilight. I think I've found what you're looking for." Twilight looked up, as Wisemon held out the ancient tome. "I believe the answers you seek are in this book."

"Really?" Twilight could hardly believe it, taking the book and flipping through it. And sure enough, it was a book all about the many times a Dragon Soul Stone was discovered and the Digimon that used them to Digivolve into the Four Great Dragons. To her surprise, the Digimon that acquired them the most were the same ones that were trying to get them this time.

"Angewomon and Baoyendramon," she flipped the page and frowned at who was on it. "MagnaAngemon too. These Digimon are the ones that have become the Great Dragons the most." But as she flipped through it, she was surprised by what more she saw. "Lilymon and MegaKabuterimon can become Magnadramon." She hadn't been expecting that revelation. "Wait." She noticed one of the earliest entries. "The first Goldramon was once an AeroVeedramon?"

"Really?" Tawnimon was shocked by this. "So Flash and Veemon will be able to Digivolve into Goldramon."

"Yeah, though I doubt MagnaAngemon will let Flash scan him." She kept flipping through the pages. "This is pretty amazing. And all the places they were found are in here too." She smiled at Wisemon. "Thanks for this."

"Of course," he nodded. "Your thirst for knowledge is clear. So many only care about learning something, if it can help them in their goals. But you wish to learn simply for the love of learning."

"Well," Twilight smiled, "that is true. I do love learning. But I also have a goal that I need to accomplish with what I've learned here. Finding the Dragon Soul Stones is important. It's the only way to keep the world safe. And keeping this world safe, will mean I get the chance to learn even more."

Wisemon nodded. "And that is all that matters in the world. Improving your knowledge base. If something is out there, then it is our mission to learn it. For if we do not learn of it, there is a chance the knowledge will be lost forever." He placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "I hope we will get to learn more about the world together."

Twilight smiled, "I'd like that."

Wisemon nodded and stood up, walking away to get another book. "Ahh," he said. "The info I asked for on the Dragon Soul Stones has finally been uploaded to my memory. Now I know everything there is to-" It was then that Wisemon came to a stop, completely freezing as if someone had just hit pause on him.

Twilight and Tawnimon turned to him, both looking a little worried. "Wisemon?" Twilight stepped over to him, "are you okay?" But as she got closer, Wisemon finally started moving and spun to glare at her.

"You lied."

"What?" Twilight tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember when I told you, everything that happens in the Digital World is recorded. Well that includes all the battles, such as the ones between WarGrowlmon's Army and the Great Dragons." Their eyes went wide. "You lied to me. You came here to get a tactical advantage against WarGrowlmon. To defeat him before he gets the Dragon Soul Stone."

"I didn't lie," Twilight cried. "We do want to find the last stone and make sure the right Digimon uses it."

"But you didn't tell me you had a foe who is already after the stone. You wish to use the knowledge I gave you to get the upper-hand against them."

"We're sorry," Twilight cried. "We didn't have a choice. If we told you about WarGrowlmon, you might not have let us have the info we need. You have to see why this is so important. It's one thing if a Digimon stumbles upon the stone and accidentally becomes Megidramon. But WarGrowlmon actually wants to become Megidramon. He wants to destroy the world. We can't let that happen."

"So you chose to deceive me and steal the knowledge I swore to protect, from thieves and villains that would use it for their own good." Wisemon began to float. "If you had simply told me this, I may have agreed to let you use this knowledge. But you chose to lie to me. And now, I can't trust anything you say!" Suddenly, all the lights began to grow red.

"What's going on?" Tawnimon asked.

"What is that?" Rainbow asked, only for Kamemon to notice movement near them.

"Look out!" He tackled Rainbow to the ground, seconds before one of the Reapmon appeared and tried to slash at them. The pair rolled along the ground, as Reapmon accidentally stabbed one of the bookshelves.

Rainbow looked up, shocked by this. "What are you doing?" She cried, as Reapmon pointed his gun at her.

"You have betrayed our master's trust. That means you cannot be allowed to leave this place with the knowledge you have learned. You are not worthy of it." He fired and Kamemon pushed Rainbow out of the way.

"What do you mean, we betrayed your master's trust?" Fluttershy screamed, as Reapmon fired at her.

But Terriermon pushed her out of the way. The incoming bullets caused a bookshelf to explode, sending books scattering around everywhere. And as Terriermon turned to Reapmon, he saw the Ultimate leaping at them with his blade raised.

"Master has deemed you unworthy of the knowledge!" He slashed at Terriermon, but the Digimon leapt up.

"Bunny Blast!" He fired the green energy sphere, but Reapmon simply battered it away with his sleeve. Fluttershy gasped at this, whilst Terriermon landed in front of her. "Run!"

"I'll handle this guy!" Labramon cried, then rushed forward. "Hound Razor!"

Reapmon watched Labramon fly towards him, his claws glowing. But before it could land, Reapmon spun around and slammed a foot into the dog's stomach. This made him howl in pain, as he was knocked flying back.

Applejack gasped and caught her partner, but the impact sent them both flying backwards and crashing through several bookshelves. "Augh!" Applejack slammed into the ground after shelf number five, the pair laying there as Reapmon leapt atop the shelves and rushed over to them.

Rarity screamed, as more and more bullets flew towards her and Salamon.

She began to run, as Salamon leapt onto her shoulder and fired her Puppy Howling attack behind her. "We've gotta get out of here!" The Digimon then cried, as Rarity took out her Digivice. But when she tried to port out, she was shocked to find she couldn't.

"You will not escape from this place!" Reapmon cried, as he threw his knife towards them. Salamon gasped and pushed Rarity forward, knocking her to the ground whilst the knife hit the ground between the pair.

Pinkie was also running, Dilemon clinging to her hair as she bolted.

Reapmon was hot on her tail, firing several shots at her. But she stretched and moved her body, without even looking at where the bullets were coming from. And sure enough, she managed to evade the bullets and she turned to skid down another aisle of books.

"You won't get away!" Reapmon roared, rapid firing at her with Pinkie practically rolling into a ball to avoid them.

The many gun shots and explosions filled the air, Twilight hearing them and looking worried.

"What are you doing?" She asked, as Wisemon glared down at her. Slowly, she started putting the pieces together. "You're going to delete us. Just so we won't leave with everything we've learned?" Wisemon said nothing. "Why? If we don't find the Dragon Soul Stones-"

"Maybe you shouldn't find them," Wisemon stated. "How can I be sure you're more worthy of having its power than WarGrowlmon? I've seen your battles and that MagnaAngemon fellow, doesn't make a great impression."

Tawnimon spoke up. "But if WarGrowlmon gets the Dragon Soul Stone, the Digital World will be destroyed. All the knowledge you've worked so hard to collect will be lost. You can't really want that, just because you don't like one Digimon."

"This Digital World is full of nothing but conflict," Wisemon stated. "If I allow you to leave, you'll tell others where to find my library. They will come, looking for a way to defeat their enemies. Conflict after conflict after conflict. That's all this Digital World knows. Perhaps the next one will be less full of conflict." With that, Wisemon began to float up. "You will meet your end here and my knowledge will remain safe." Spheres of energy appeared on his hands, which he fired towards them.

Twilight gasped, but Tawnimon leapt in front of her.

"Tawnimon, Digivolve to...HOOTAWNIMON!" The Champion braced himself, as the spheres slammed into him and exploded. "Augh!" He was knocked back, but managed to stay upright. "I won't let you hurt Twilight."

"You won't have a choice," Wisemon stated.

At the same time, the other Digimon had decided to kick things up to the next level. And as the Reapmon attacked, each of them avoided the gunshots and started glowing.

"Kamemon, Digivolve to...TORTOMON!"

"Terriermon, Digivolve to...GARGOMON!"

"Labramon, Digivolve to...DORULUMON!"

"Salamon, Digivolve to...GATOMON!"

Dilemon, Digivolve to...GATORMON!" The Five Champions glared at the Reapmon, though the larger ones accidentally knocked over some of the bookshelves as they stood to full height. The Reapmon stared them down, then fired their guns at them.

Tortomon quickly shielded himself with his shell, whilst Dorulumon unleashed a tornado from his tail to try and blow them away. But these methods proved ineffective, as the bullets broke through Tortomon's shell and pushed through the tornado.

The others chose to dodge the attacked, Gatomon and Gargomon leaping into the air. Gatormon was forced to jump to the side, the bullet flying past him as he opened his mouth. "Hydro Pump!" He unleashed a blast of high pressure water, which shot straight towards Gatormon.

But Reapmon simply spun his blade in hand and slashed through the water, cutting it in half without any issue.

"What?" Pinkie cried, as the water ended. Reapmon then shot forward and with his sleeved fist, uppercut Gatormon right in the chin. "No!" She gasped, seeing Gatormon be thrown backwards and knocked onto his back.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon flew down and tried to punch her Reapmon, but the humanoid Digimon blocked it with his sleeve before spinning around and kicking her right in the face. "Gyah!" She was sent flying through some bookcases, Rarity gasping at the sight of it.

"Gargo Pellets!" Gargomon unleashed a flurry of shots from both his hands, but Reapmon used his knife to deflect each of the bullets. "No way." Reapmon then rushed forward and before Gargomon could react, he slammed a knee right into his gut. "AUGH!" He was sent flying backwards.

"Gargomon!" Fluttershy gasped, rushing over to him.

Tortomon charged at Reapmon, pushing over more bookshelves as he did, but the Digimon was too fast and leapt into the air above him. "Strong Carapace!" Tortomon sent the spikes on his back flying towards Reapmon, who did several flips through the air to avoid them all.

He then landed and grabbed Tortomon, showing incredible strength by throwing the turtle flying.

"Tortomon!" Rainbow cried, as her partner began to fall towards her. She gasped, running as fast as she could. She managed to get out from under Tortomon, but the impact caused the floor to break apart and they fell through to the next level down. "Gyah!" She landed on Tortomon's stomach, as books and the shelves began to fall towards them.

But Tortomon rolled around and Rainbow was quickly under him, as the debris began to bury the pair of them.

Dorulumon leapt into the air, trying to tackle Reapmon to the ground. But the demon man Digimon did a backwards cartwheel to dodge him, then fired several bullets towards him. "Augh!" They grazed him in the side and legs, making him flinch and preventing him from dodging.

Reapmon then leapt forward and tried to stab him, but Dorulumon's tail barely managed to block. The knife dug into the metal, doing serious damage as Dorulumon used his Drill Bit Blitz.

But Reapmon leaned to the side, the drill missing before he spun around and smashed him in the head.

Dorulumon howled, as he was knocked flying backwards and slid to a stop in front of Applejack. "No!" The farm girl cried, looking up to glare at the Digimon that hurt her partner. "A'll get you for that!" But the look Reapmon gave her, showed he didn't think that was gonna happen."

"Sky Strike!" HooTawnimon dived down and charged at Wisemon, who suddenly caused the large book to materialize.

"Pandora Dialogue!" The book opened up and as HooTawnimon got closer, words appeared on the page. And the next thing HooTawnimon knew, a blast of light flew out and morphed into a twice as big version of him.

"Wow!" He cried, as the fake slammed into him and he was knocked flying through several books on a shelf. "Gaaah!" He smashed through them, crashing into the ground on the other side.

"HooTawnimon!" Twilight rushed around the aisle, skidding to his side. "Are you okay?"

"That hurt," HooTawnimon picked himself up. "He slammed me with my own attack. But, it somehow had twice the power." They looked up, as Wisemon floated over the aisle and stared down at them.

"It isn't too late," Twilight cried. "You don't have to do this."

"Oh, but I do. And once my Reapmon finish off your friends, they come help me deal with you."

Twilight glared at him. "Don't underestimate them. Those girls are stronger than you think. If anything, they'll be showing up to help us after they've taken your Reapmon down." But Wisemon laughed.

"Don't try to insult me. They don't stand a chance. Reapmon is an Ultimate Level Digimon, whilst your friends are all stuck as Champions. No Champion can defeat an Ultimate. And if you think your friends will Digivolve to help, forget it."

Fluttershy tried to transform into Hudiemon, hoping to heal Gargomon. But when she tried, nothing happened.

"Don't bother," Reapmon told her. "Our master studied your ability to change into Digimon. And he figured out how to block it, for this exact occasion." Fluttershy panicked and in the other areas, the other girls tried to Digivolve with the same result.

"Don't you see what you're doing?" Twilight cried, gesturing to the destruction their fight had already caused. "If we keep fighting, all your books are gonna be ruined."

"I can always rewrite them," Wisemon stated. "And even if I couldn't, this is better than letting you use this knowledge for evil." Twilight glared at him. "Never again, will I allow my knowledge to be given to such selfish individuals."

"You're the one being selfish!" Twilight cried, as she stood up. "Knowledge isn't something you can just horde. You don't have the right to decide who should know it. Knowledge is something everyone has a right to learn. If they want to know, you have an obligation to help them learn."

"Even if they wish to use that knowledge for evil?" Wisemon asked.

"If they want to learn something that can be dangerous, you should show them why it's dangerous. Not hide the knowledge away and make them more curious." HooTawnimon picked himself up. "I'm sorry we tricked you, but you're not gonna stop us from getting what we learned to those that need it."

"That's right!" HooTawnimon nodded, spreading his wings. "So let us pass, or we won't be responsible for what happens to the rest of your precious library." He started glowing and as Wisemon prepared another attack, he leapt forward and was consumed by light. "HooTawnimon, Digivolve to..." He grew larger and as he tackled Wisemon, the light exploded off him and his transformation was complete. "CresTawnimon!"

Wisemon cried, getting pinned to the ground by CresTawnimon's talons. "Damn you!" The large book came flying over to them and slammed into the owl, knocking him staggering off him and causing the bookshelf to be knocked over.

Over with Rainbow, she and Tortomon finally freed themselves from the books and wood pile.

As they did, Reapmon leapt down and landed on a railing before pointing his gun at Rainbow. "It's over." He fired at her, but Tortomon leapt forward and shielded her.

"Tortomon!" She cried, as he yelled out in pain.

"I won't let you hurt her," Tortomon growled as he pushed himself up. Rainbow gasped, seeing data leaking out of his wound. "I don't care what you do to me, you're not gonna hurt her."

"Tortomon," she whispered before Tortomon started looking wobbly. "NO!" She got out from under him and stood tall. "Back off! Leave him alone!" Tortomon was surprised by this, whilst Reapmon tilted his head.

"Get back," Dorulumon swung his damaged drill tail at Reapmon. The Ultimate leaned back, the weapon missing him. "You want to hurt Applejack, then you've gotta get past me."

"With pleasure," Reapmon rushed forward and tried to stomp on Dorulumon. But Applejack leapt in front of her partner, Reapmon stopping seconds before crushing her.

"No. If ya'h wanna hurt Dorulumon, ya'h gotta go through me!"

"Applejack!" Dorulumon groaned.

Despite not being able to become a Digimon, Fluttershy didn't let her fears stop her.

As Reapmon slowly got closer, Fluttershy helped him to his feet and placed an arm around her back. "Come on!" They tried to hobble away, but Reapmon could easily follow after them.

"Fluttershy," Gargomon groaned, "you gotta run. Leave me and get out of here."

"No," Fluttershy cried, "I won't leave you. We're getting out of this together." But Reapmon fired his gun and she barely managed to turn them around a corner in time.

Rarity ran as fast as she could, Gatomon in her arms.

"Hold on," she told her partner. "We'll get out of this." Reapmon suddenly appeared in front of her and as he slashed at her, she screamed and dropped to the floor. Sliding under Reapmon, she quickly got back up and ran.

"They're too strong," Gatomon cried. "And they know the place too well. We'll never get out before they catch us."

"Don't say that," Rarity told her. "I promised your sister I'd look after you. I'm not about to break that promise." A bullet caused part of the bookshelf to explode, the whole thing beginning to topple towards them. Rarity sped up and barely managed to leap out from under it. But as she rolled along the ground, Reapmon appeared in front of her and pointed the gun towards them. "You cad! Attacking defenceless young ladies. Have you no shame?"

"Get away!" Pinkie jumped in front of Gatormon, as Reapmon pointed his blaster at them. "You big meanie!"

"Pinkie!" Gatormon tried to push himself up, staring over at his partner as the girl stared back at Reapmon. It was clear, she had no intention of turning away. No matter how much danger it placed her in.

"I won't let my friend get hurt anymore," Pinkie cried. "This fight's pointless, so there's no reason he should have to suffer anymore. So just leave us alone." The Reapmon raised his blade, the other demon man Digimon mimicking his movements. They all intended to gun down the weak human before cutting the Digimon to pieces.

And as the Reapmon shot forward, human and Digimon moved to shield their partners whilst yelling out in unison. "I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY FRIEND!" In that moment, the entire library was filled with an explosion of light. The girl's Digivices unleashed a brilliant flash, which began to wrap around their partners.

"Tortomon, Digivolve to..." He leapt onto his back legs, as his body grew and reshaped itself to become more powerful. And when the light faded, it revealed the heavily armed tortoise with shell gauntlets on his arms that had a cannon and spike sticking out the ends. "KURMAMON!"

"Dorulumon, Digivolve to..." The wolf leapt up, his body becoming humanoid as armor and weapons appeared on his body. His tail disconnected and formed into a lance, which he caught as the light faded to reveal an orange wolf knight who howled as his cape formed. "JAEGERDORULUMON!"

"Gargomon, Digivolve to..." His body became thinner, as armor formed upon him and her grew taller. A metal cannon appeared on his back, as the light faded to reveal the green armored Digimon with cannons on his arms. "RAPIDMON!"

"Gatomon, Digivolve to..." Her body completely transformed, becoming humanoid and tall. Clothing started to materialise around her, as the light faded to reveal a beautiful woman with eight angelic wings and a metal helmet covering the upper half of her head. "ANGEWOMON!"

"Gatormon, Digivolve to..." His body grew, as brown armor began to materialize around him. This included a pair of metal cannons, which attached themselves to his arms as the light faded to reveal the now partly mechanical alligator, who roared. "CROCANNODRAMON!"

Lights fading, the girls were all amazed by their Digimon being in the Ultimate stage. "No way," Rainbow whispered.

The Reapmon were just as shocked by this, but quickly got over it and rushed forward to attack. "Shell Shock Strike!" Kurmamon raised his gauntlet and fired a harpoon out of it, which moved with incredible speed that Reapmon could barely avoid.

He leapt into the air and fired, but Kurmamon rolled up and used his Spike Defence to block the bullets. And once the attack ended, he unfurled and pointed his cannon at him.

"Hydro Cannon!" The high pressure water sphere exploded from his cannon and slammed into Reapmon, the explosion sending him flying backwards.

JaegerDorulumon rushed forward, weapons in hand. Reapmon fired his gun, but the wolf knight used his clawed shield to block them before getting up close. "Schwarzer Nagel!" He thrust his spear forward and Reapmon barely managed to dodge it, though his side was sliced open.

JaegerDorulumon smirked before spinning around, his cape working to blind Reapmon for a moment, then slammed his foot into the Digimon's chest and knocked him flying backwards.

Rapidmon leapt into the air, avoiding the bullets fired at him, and used his new jumping ability to bounce around the place. And once Reapmon was thoroughly confused, he leapt down and pointed his arm cannon towards him. "Rapid Fire!" He launched the missiles, which homed in on Reapmon and exploded to knock it away.

Angewomon took to the air, carrying Rarity as they flew away from Reapmon.

The demon man Digimon chased after them, but Angewomon raised a hand. "Heaven's Charm!" The trio of light rings appeared around her wrist, which she swung towards Reapmon. The rings shot towards it and before the Digimon could react, they wrapped around his body and tightened to lock his arms to his side and his legs together.

"Kaimen Barrage!" Crocannodramon roared, firing the missiles from his weapons. The missiles flew around and caused explosion after explosion, which blasted Reapmon backwards. And once the Digimon was far away, he turned to Pinkie and quickly picked her up.

"Let's get out of here!" The others were thinking the same thing, rushing through the library as fast as they could.

At the same time, Wisemon continued his attacks on CresTawnimon.

The owl Digimon dodged the energy spheres, Twilight holding onto his back as he flew around. All that these attacks did, was cause more and more damage to the library. And as she saw this, Twilight's heart broke. "Knowledge like this shouldn't be destroyed. Even if it's being hoarded by a selfish individual."

"We should get out of here," CresTawnimon cried. "Before we're forced to do any more damage." Twilight nodded and once Wisemon fired the last energy sphere, CresTawnimon quickly flew around him. "Gale Star!" The energy stars flew off his body and before Wisemon could counter them, they exploded and knocked him flying backwards.

"Augh!" He cried, slamming into a shelf and getting buried in books.

As soon as he was down, CresTawnimon swung around and flew towards the exit. And he wasn't the only one. The other Digimon were slowly making their way through the library as well, all heading towards the spot they had come in from.

Kurmamon and Crocannodramon were lucky to already be on that level, since climbing up would be impossible at their size. Meanwhile, Angewomon flew through the air whilst Rapidmon and JaegerDorulumon used their more agile bodies, to leap up and up once they reached the centre of the building.

And as they did, the three met up with one another and were just as surprised to see each other at the Ultimate Level. And when they found Kurmamon and Crocannodramon, they all smiled.

But celebrations would have to wait, since they needed to escape. "What about Twilight?" Rainbow asked, jumping down off Kurmamon's back. But as she did, they heard movement and looked down to see CresTawnimon flying up the shaft.

"Hurry!" Twilight called out to them. "We've gotta get out of here!" The others nodded and Angewomon offered to carry some of them. As she said that, Kurmamon and Crocannodramon both glowed before shrinking down.

In a flash, they were replaced with a pair of In-Training Digimon. One looked like Kamemon's shell, except it only had a single hole where his head should come out of. And poking out of that hole were a pair of eyes.

The others looked like a blue Koromon. Only instead of the long ears, he had a mohawk on his head made up of Dilemon's red spikes. His mouth was full of sharp looking teeth.

"Sherumon!" Rainbow picked the shell up.

"Hagamon!" Pinkie grabbed her partner before Angewomon grabbed Pinkie and Rapidmon grabbed Rainbow. Angewomon then flew straight up, whilst Rapidmon used his incredible jumping skills to leap straight up. Once he reached the spire, he started jumping from side to side to get higher.

Applejack turned to JaegerDorulumon, who took several steps back before running forward and leaping up. But whilst his jumping ability was good, it wasn't good enough to get him all the way to the spire. His armor weighed him down and he was quickly pulled back to the bridge.

Twilight saw this and called out to them. "De-Digivolve. Hurry!" As she said that, a sphere of energy shot past them. "Wow!" She looked back to see Wisemon, flying towards them on his book.

"You're not getting away!" He cried, quickly catching up.

JaegerDorulumon saw this and leapt up again. And as he got close to the spire, he allowed himself to De-Digivolve. Doing so caused him to revert back to his own In-Training form, which was a small egg-shaped creature with a dog's face, orange legs and orange ears.

Applejack caught him as they fell, with CresTawnimon flying under them.

As they landed on his back, He shot straight up and used all his speed to propel them to the spire before folding in his wings. He moved like a rocket, shooting upwards and eventually smashing through the top of the spire as he did so.

He spread his wings and flew around, attempting to fly away from the building. But the impact had seriously drained him and he soon began to glow. "Not good!" He flew down towards the ground, where the others were waiting with their In-Training Digimon.

CresTawnimon got closer to the ground and eventually, he lost his power and shrank down to Tweetmon. "WOW!" The girls cried, Twilight catching Tweetmon as they hit the ground and started rolling around until they came to a stop.

"You okay?" Pinkie asked, as the girls rushed over to them.

"Yeah," Twilight sat up. "We'll live." But as she said that, Wisemon flew out the top of the spiral. They all gasped and took out their Digivices, each of them preparing to teleport away. But Wisemon didn't attack, clearly knowing he had been bested.

"You may have escaped. But you will never darken the halls of my library again." As he said that, the spire started shaking and the sand beneath their feet vibrated. "Never again, will the knowledge I've collected be used for evil." The spire started sinking and the last thing they saw of it, was Wisemon floating back down into it.

They watched as the spire was soon entirely submerged, disappearing into the darkness of the desert. The ground kept shaking, but eventually came to a stop.

"What just happened?" Fluttershy asked.

"Wisemon took his knowledge with him to who knows where," Twilight sighed. "I don't think that library will ever be found again." They frowned at this. Whilst they weren't as into reading as Twilight, they knew losing the knowledge within that place was a huge loss. But they had escaped and that was the important part.

"So much for finding where the Dragon Soul Stones were," Applejack frowned.

But Twilight smiled. "Actually..." She took out her Digivice and with a few taps, a familiar tome appeared in her hands. "This tome should help us plot all the locations for the stones. And once we know where they appeared and when, we'll be able to figure out where the last one showed up.

"Twilight," Rarity looked shocked, "did you steal that? Is that why Wisemon attacked us?"

"Of course not," Twilight frowned. "I scanned it and made a copy. Wisemon attacked because he found out we lied about WarGrowlmon."

"You mean you lied about WarGrowlmon," Applejack pointed out.

"Let's not get bogged down with the details," Twilight told them. "What matters, is that we have the info we were looking for."

"Yeah," Rainbow held up Sherumon. "And now we're all at the Ultimate Level. Isn't that awesome?" The others nodded, each holding their partners close to them. They had reached the second highest Level and now, they were stronger than ever before. The next time they fought against WarGrowlmon and his army of Virus Digimon, things were gonna be different.

"Come on," Twilight put the book away. "I don't know about you, but I need a milkshake and something to eat. And our Digimon need to regain their strength. Let's port back to Codex and see if Shining and the others are back from their mission.

Pinkie laughed. "I bet their little adventure had nothing on us." The others agreed, as they all ported away. Their trip to the Library had certainly been an interesting one. And with the info they had gathered, The Great Dragons would have the edge over WarGrowlmon in their race to the final stone.

Now, they just had to find it.

Author's Note

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know a lot of you avatar fans will like it. What did you think of me giving the girls their Ultimates all at once here? Might seem a bit rushed, but I hope it was still enjoyable.

Eclipse Battle

Somewhere out in the Digital World, the moon was shining brightly in the sky.

But as many Digimon were trying to sleep, a loud noise filled the air. The sound of an engine, revving throughout a valley. It was loud and moving fast, as if someone was driving a car or a truck somewhere as fast as they could.

Inside said valley, a Digimon was moving for their lives.

This Digimon was a large yellow machine Digimon, roughly the size of a bulldozer. That made sense, given it practically was a bulldozer. It had a square body, with Caterpillar treads instead of wheels, that had a crane coming out the back and arms on the side that ended in a shovel or a forklift. Its head was a silver tube with a yellow dome.

The Digimon raced as fast as he could, to try and outrun his pursuer. But as he turned a corner, a ball of fire came flying down towards him. And before he could react, it smashed into him and he exploded.

A scream left his mouth, as he burst into data and flew into the fireballs.

The flames vanished from the Digimon, delving it back into the darkness. All that could be seen of it, was that it was a four legged creature with wings. And as the data flowed into it, it roared as someone stepped out of the darkness.

"You're getting stronger every moment," the female voice replied. "Do you think you're strong enough, yet?"

"Maybe," the Digimon growled. "But I want to be stronger. Strong enough to make those that hurt me pay." The human sighed at this.

"I think you're strong enough. And we can't spend too much time on this. If we keep training, we might miss when the Dragon Soul Stone appears. We weren't there in the last battle and I heard it almost ended in disaster. We should challenge them now."

The Digimon growled, "fine. We'll get our revenge on them, then help with the Dragon Soul Stone." The human nodded, as the Digimon looked up at the moon. "You'd better watch yourself. I'm coming for you.

It was another brilliant day in Codex, with Trixie and Lunamon meeting up with Flash and Twilight.

They had plans to go to the base of the Four Great Dragons, hoping the info Twilight had given them might have helped them find the location of the final Dragon Soul Stone. "Alright," she headed towards the spot they were planning to meet up. "I just hope Twilight's discovery works."

Lunamon nodded as they walked. "If we can find the Dragon Soul Stone before WarGrowlmon, we'll have the advantage." Trixie nodded, remembering how close the fight had been last time. And if the army really were being armed by Datamon, then they were going to need every advantage they could get.

But as she spotted Flash and Twilight, her Digivice suddenly beeped. "Huh?" She took the device out and found there was a message, the teen looking around to see if anyone else had gotten a message. But no, it was just her. "Guess it's not about the Dragon Soul Stone."

Flash and Twilight noticed what she was doing and headed over to see what was up, as Trixie opened the message and looked surprised. "What's wrong?" Lunamon asked.

"Someone just challenged me to a stadium battle." Flash and Twilight heard this.

"Someone challenged you?" Flash asked, "who?"

"Doesn't say," Trixie read it again. "But apparently, they're calling me out."

"That's odd," Twilight hummed. "You don't usually get challenges like that. Whoever they are, they must seriously wanna battle you." She gave Trixie a curious look, "are you gonna accept?"

Trixie turned to Lunamon. "What do you think? I mean...we did have plans for today."

"But they want to battle you," Lunamon replied. "It would be rude to say no." Trixie nodded and turned to the others, who nodded back. They would stay and watch.

"Alright then." Trixie sent a message back to the sender, whose info was blocked. "Be there in five." She headed off and Lunamon followed, whilst Flash, Twilight and their Digimon went to find a table to watch the match.

As they ran, Trixie got another message saying they had a battlefield waiting for them. All she had to do was ask at the front desk.

"Whoever this is, they really don't wanna wait." They soon arrived at the Champion Stadium and headed inside, spotting a robot who wasn't being talked to by another player. "Hey, Trixie Lulamoon. Apparently, I have a battle scheduled."

"Of course," the robot nodded. "Battlefield six-A." Trixie nodded and headed to the battlefield, nerves beginning to get to her. Whoever this was, Trixie had a feeling they weren't challenging her just to test themselves against a good player.

"Could I have done something to upset them?"

"Maybe," Lunamon nodded. "Maybe it's someone we've already beaten, out for a rematch." They arrived at the door, which likely had their opponent inside.

"Only one way to find out." Trixie opened the door and stepped inside, spotting someone and their Digimon.

The player was an orange skinned girl with red and yellow hair, wearing an orange top under a black leather jacket, pink skirt and leather boots. The Digimon next to her was a two foot tall lion cub, standing on two legs. It was mostly red, but had a bunch of yellow hair on his chest. It also had some strange looking bracelets around its wrists and a similar looking crown atop its head. Its tail was that of a normal cat, but the end had a burning ball of fire on it.

As Trixie and Lunamon stepped forward, Trixie tried to remember if she had battled this girl before. But she was sure she hadn't.

She then noticed the Digimon was glaring at her, which made Trixie feel like she had seen a Digimon like it somewhere. But she just couldn't figure out where. "Hey," she waved, "Trixie Lulamoon. And you're..."

"Sunset Shimmer," the girl replied. "The one who's going to take you down."

Trixie smirked, "I don't think so." Her focus then turned to the Digimon, "who's your friend?"

"Coronamon!" The Digimon stated. "I hope you're ready. We're gonna make you sorry you ever entered the Digital World." Trixie and Lunamon shared a concerned look. The way it said that was more than just boasting.

"Trixie Lulamoon!" the overhead voice stated, "Sunset Shimmer! You are both here to compete in a Codex Battle. Are both players ready to compete?"

"Yup," Sunset smiled whilst Trixie just nodded.

"Then place your Digivices into the battle podiums and select your decks." They did so, Trixie bringing up her deck and choosing to use her standard Lunamon evolution deck. As she did, she stared at Sunset's partner, whilst glancing at her Mega Digimon. She had never used this in an actual match. Would she get to this time?

The pair locked their decks, as the voice spoke again. "Sunset Shimmer. You have been randomly selected to choose the battlefield you would like to use." Sunset smirked as she selected a field. "Geyser Field has been selected." Trixie's eyes went wide, as she remembered that battlefield. The same battlefield she had tag battled with Flash in. She really didn't wanna go there again. "When both players are ready, hit the start button."

Trixie and Sunset smiled down at their partners before hitting the start button. "LET'S GET DIGITAL!" The battlefield began to form around them, whilst they and their Digimon turned to one another.

"Let's do this!" Sunset cried as Coronamon leapt into the air and the pair fist bumped, causing them to combine.

At the same time, Lunamon leapt into Trixie's arms. "We've got this," the girl told her partner before they merged as well. Soon, the humans vanished and only the Rookies remained, as the battlefield vanished.

Back in the foyer, Flash and Twilight saw the battlefield forming. A large open rockscape, with many pools of boiling water covering it. In several areas, there were small holes that unleashed blasts of steam.

"Not that place again," Flash gulped.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Twilight suggested. "I mean, Trixie's fought there before. So she knows what to expect. And no offence, but this time she won't have someone holding her back." Flash frowned, feeling very offended by that statement. But before he could say anything, the Digimon appeared on the field.

Lunamon: 5-100%
Coronamon: 5-100%

Twilight brought up Coronamon's stats.

Name: Coronamon
Level: Rookie
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Fire
Species: Beast
Family: Dragon's Roar, Virus Busters, Nature Spirits

"A Fire Vaccine," Twilight smiled. "Super weak to a Water type Data Digimon. Trixie can do this." Flash hoped she was right, as Coronamon ran forward.

Lunamon watched, as the humanoid lion ran towards her.

As she did, Coronamon's fists started steaming. "Corona Knuckle!" She thrust a punch towards Lunamon, who raised her arms to block and was knocked backwards.

Lunamon: 5-85%
Coronamon: 5-100%

Lunamon staggered back, but managed to pull herself to a stop. Lucky for her, since a pool of boiling water was right behind her. And as she came to a stop, Coronamon charged again.

But she managed to dodge this time, leaping to the side as Coronamon tried to throw a punch. The lion missed and almost lost her balance, as Lunamon rolled back to her feet and raised her antenna. "Tear Shot!" What appeared between her antenna and when she slapped them together, it shot towards Coronamon and slammed her in the chest.

"GYAH!" She screamed, the four times effective attack blasting her backwards.

Lunamon: 5-85%
Coronamon: 5-60%

The blast knocked Coronamon into the pool, Lunamon hissing as she watched the lion fall into the scolding hot water. "That had to hurt." She expected Coronamon's points to go down, but those watching saw Coronamon was unaffected by it.

And before Lunamon could think to prepare another attack, the water exploded as Coronamon leapt out of it. "Raaaaah!" She cried, slamming one of her feet into Lunamon's chest.

Lunamon: 5-80%
Coronamon: 5-60%

As Lunamon staggered back, Coronamon landed and charged. The lion cub Digimon showed incredible speed, as she started wailing on Lunamon with super fast punches and kicks.

Lunamon cried out in pain with each hit, her life points dropping every time. And when she tried to slash at Coronamon with her claws, the fire Digimon leapt backwards and did several flips to get to a safe spot.

Lunamon: 5-55%
Coronamon: 5-60%

Lunamon growled at her and rushed forward, only to stop when she saw a crack in front of her. And it was a good thing, because not two seconds later a blast of steam came shooting out of it.

She staggered back, giving Coronamon the chance to leap forward. She shot through the steam, the heat not evening singing her, as she got in close to Lunamon. "Petit Provenance!" The crown on his head unleashed a bunch of fire, which flew around him and transformed the little Digimon into a blazing fireball.

Lunamon gasped, as the flames slammed into her and she was knocked backwards.

Lunamon: 5-35%
Coronamon: 5-60%

Lunamon groaned as she was thrown backwards, slamming into the ground and rolling along it until she came to an eventual stop. As she did, Coronamon's flames vanished as she smirked. "This is my playground. Coronamon's completely heat proof. I doubt even the heat of the sun could hurt me in this state."

Lunamon pushed herself back to her feet, as Coronamon charged forward.

"Get up!" Lunamon told Trixie, as Coronamon prepared to punch her once again. But when she threw the fist, Lunamon spun around and blocked with her antenna ears.

"Not happening!" She cried, quickly springing the eats upwards and knocking Coronamon backwards. "Luna Claw!" She shot forward and slashed at Coronamon, making her cry out in pain as her chest was sliced at.

Lunamon: 5-35%
Coronamon: 5-25%

"Gaaah!" Coronamon hit the ground and Lunamon chose this moment to run off, knowing she would need to find a Digivolution Coin in order to make up for the speed difference between them. But as she ran off, Coronamon picked herself up.

Inside the Digimon's head, Sunset smirked. "Don't let her get away!" She then heard, making her roll her eyes.

"Would you relax. It's not like she can escape. The only way we get out of here is if one of us wins. Until that happens, she can run but she can't hide." She started walking forward, whilst Coronamon seemed annoyed. "I know you wanna get her back, but we've gotta be careful. She has the advantage and if we're not careful, she'll get the upper hand on us."

"I know," Coronamon sighed. "But I hate waiting like this."

"Don't worry," Sunset smiled. "We'll win this fight. Then you can move past what happened and live your life."

Lunamon ran as fast as she could over the warm ground.

But as she ran, she couldn't help but think back to Coronamon. "Something about that Digimon seems really familiar." She groaned, "but I just can't place it."

"I know," Lunamon sighed. "When I stared at him, I got the feeling I'd met him somewhere before. But it just won't come to mind." As she said that, Trixie saw a Digivolution Coin.

It was floating on the other side of a large pool of boiling water, Trixie looking around and trying to figure out how long it would take to get to it. "Too long," she frowned before an idea popped into her head. "Oh, this is gonna hurt."

"What's gonna hurt?" Lunamon asked, as Trixie stepped backwards several steps before running forward. "What are you doing?" Trixie didn't answer and instead, leapt off the side of the pool towards the centre of it.

"Is she nuts?" Veemon asked, "she'll boil herself alive!"

"Not if she's doing what I think she's doing," Flash smirked as he remembered his first battle with Trixie. And sure enough, about a third of the way across the pool, Lunamon landed on the water. But she didn't sink. Instead, she leapt off the water like it was a solid floor.

"Oh yeah," Veemon smiled. "I forgot she could do that."

"But it's not without a risk," Twilight pointed at Luna's HP counter.

Lunamon: 5-30%
Coronamon: 5-25%

Trixie flinched at the hot foot, as she fell back towards the water again. She landed and once again, she cried out as her foot touched the boiling liquid and was burned.

Lunamon: 5-25%
Coronamon: 5-25%

She leapt towards the other shore, crying out at the pain in her foot. And as she fell back down, it looked like she wasn't gonna make it. "Tear Shot!" She fired a blast of water at the pool and upon impact, it evaporated and created and upwards burst of steam.

Said steam was hot, but not hot enough to burn her. But it was a strong enough force to push her back into the air, allowing her to reach the other side of the pool and take the Digivolution Coin. "Good," she sighed, "that should make things easier." Her gauge filled up by a lot, but still not enough to allow for Digivolution. "Now. Where's Sunset?"

It was in that moment, she heard a noise and looked around to see some kind of fireball was moving towards her.

Atop that fireball was Coronamon, the Rookie smiling as she rode the flaming projectile towards Lunamon. And when she got to the hot spring, the flames vanished to reveal some kind of red snowboard-shaped object below her feet.

"Surprise!" Coronamon cheered, as the board hit the water and was moving fast enough to slide over the surface. And when she got close to the other side, the board burst into flames and the steam it caused propelled her up into the air.

"Look out!" Lunamon told Trixie, the girl gasping as she leapt back. But Coronamon flew overhead and the flames caught her shoulder. Trixie cried out, clutching her shoulder as she rolled away.

Lunamon: 5-20%
Coronamon: 5-25%

"Yehaa!" Coronamon cried, as she did several flips through the air. "Corona Flame!" A burst of fire exploded out of the crown on her head, hitting Lunamon before she could escape.

"GYAAAAAAH!" Lunamon cried, being burned alive.

Lunamon: 5-0%
Coronamon: 5-25%

"Ooh," they all flinched seeing this.

"It did that much damage to a Digimon she's weak to?" Twilight wondered how powerful that attack actually was, making a mental note to try and watch if Sunset ever used Coronamon against a Virus Digimon.

They watched as the flames died down around Lunamon, who fell to the ground looking to be in a bad way. At the same time, Coronamon smiled as she hovered above the ground on her Battle Gear.

"Had enough?"

Lunamon looked up at Coronamon and gave her a glare. "Not on your life!" She pushed herself up and summoned a water sphere. "Tear Shot!" She fired the water blast and Coronamon lent back on her board, the water slamming into it and extinguishing the flames as she was knocked off it.

"Augh!" Coronamon hit the ground, as Lunamon summoned water around her ears.

"Lop-Ear Ripple!" She spun around and in doing so, the ears swirled and caused the water to fly off. That water morphed into a bunch of bubbles, which shot towards Coronamon.

The Rookie picked herself up and before she could avoid them, the water shots slammed into Lunamon and made her cry out at each impact

Lunamon: 4-100%
Coronamon: 5-0%

As Lunamon stopped spinning, she noticed her gauge fill up and smiled. "Lunamon, Digivolve to..." She started glowing and transformed. As she did, Coronamon picked herself up and ran to grab her board. She leapt on it, as the light exploded off her opponent. "Lekismon!"

The moon rabbit Digimon looked over at Coronamon, who was constantly flying around trying to avoid the oncoming attack. "Raaaaah!" Coronamon then dived down and shot towards Lekismon, who raised her gloved hands.

"Moon Night Bomb!" She swung her arms around and unleashed a bunch of water bubbles, which formed a wall between them.

"Wow!" Coronamon started swerving around, being sure not to touch any of the bubbles. And as she tried to get away from the wall, Lekismon leapt up and over it.

"Moon Night Kick!" She spun around and brought her foot down, Coronamon barely managing to avoid it in time.

The lion Digimon flame boarded through the battlefield, Lekismon following after her. As she did, a wall of steam erupted in front of them. Coronamon flew straight through it, not even getting hot, whilst Lekismon was forced to stop.

Coronamon looked around, needing her own Digivolution Coin. And as another geyser exploded in front of them, it shot something into the air. "Yes!" She cried, seeing the coin falling towards the ground.

She pumped all her power into the board and it propelled her upwards, as the steam blocking Lekismon disappeared.

"Tear Arrow!" She formed an ice arrow and fired it, the projectile shooting through the air and slamming into the bottom of her board.

"WOW!" Coronamon was forced to leap off the Battle Gear, grabbing the coin as she fell towards the ground. And as she hit the floor near a pool, Lekismon ran forward ready to deal a kick to her. But Coronamon managed to roll to the side and dodge the stomp, Lekismon frowning.

It was then that Coronamon's entire body burst into flames, shocking Trixie and forcing her back. Then, her body began to grow and reshape itself. "Coronamon, Digivolve to..." Once the transformation was complete, the flames extinguished and revealed a large lion Digimon.

Its body was mostly red, but her head and most of her chest was surrounded by a mane of yellow hair. Her head had an upgraded version of Coronamon's crown, which had now morphed into some kind of helmet. The bracelets around his wrists were now on his front legs, with identical ones now on his back legs. a similar apparatus was on the upper part of his back legs, which was giving off small bursts of fire along with all the other parts of its armor. Its tail was longer and the flame on the end was burning brighter, a black band around the tip giving it a flamethrower design.

But the thing that was most noticeable about this Digimon, were the two large red wings sticking out its back through the mane. With a single beat, the wings lifted the Digimon into the air and let it soar into the sky. As it did, Sunset let out a mighty roar. "FIRAMON!"

Everyone was amazed by the new Digimon, as Twilight brought up the stats.

Name: Firamon
Level: Champion
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Fire
Species: Beast
Family: Dragon's Roar, Virus Busters, Nature Spirits

"Still a Fire Type Vaccine," Flash pointed out. "Trixie still has the advantage." Twilight frowned, clearly thinking something different. And Flash quickly saw why, as Lekismon ran forward and leapt into the air.

"Moon Night Kick!" She flew towards Firamon and spun around, trying to hit the Digimon. But Firamon beat her wings and dodged the attack.

"Nice try!" She laughed before the flames burning off her bracelets, wrapped around her front feet. "Fira Claw!" She swung her claws around and sliced right down Lekismon's chest.

"Augh!" She cried, as the impact knocked her back to the ground.

Lekismon: 4-80%
Firamon: 4-100%

She did several flips and landed, as Firamon continued to fly above her. "This isn't good." Lunamon agreed, as Firamon began to dive down towards them. And as Lekismon tried to run, the ground split open and another wall of steam exploded out of it. "Wow!" She leapt back, as Firamon reached her and slashed with her claws. "Augh!"

Lekismon: 4-70%
Firamon: 4-100%

As she staggered back, Firamon took to the air. "We've gotta find a way to stop her from flying around."

"Try shooting at her wings," Lunamon suggested. Lekismon nodded and summoned some ice arrows.

"Tear Shot!" She fired, the arrows shooting into the air. But as the arrows flew towards Firamon, the winged lion unleashed a burst of heat that caused the arrows to melt. However, it wasn't hot enough to completely evaporate the water and it slammed into him.

"Augh!" She cried, the water feeling like acid against her.

Lekismon: 4-70%
Firamon: 4-80%

As the pain wore off, Firamon shook her head and glared down at Lekismon. And at the same time, something about the way she stared at her made Trixie feel like she knew this Digimon. "This is starting to drive me nuts."

"Focus!" Lunamon cried, as Firamon seemed to be up to something.

The fire of her helmet exploded, growing four times as big and morphing into a sphere. Trixie could tell this attack had everything Firamon had within it. "Fira...BOMB!" She roared and the shockwave sent the attack flying down towards Lekismon.

"Not good," Trixie cried. "Any ideas?"

"I'd say run, but the shockwave of that thing's probably gonna hit us." Trixie agreed and realised she only had one chance, as she raised her arm.

"Battle Gear...BOOST!" In a flash of light, a metal dish appeared in her hands. "Sonic Shield!" She leapt back as much as she could and as the fireball struck the ground, she smashed the shield into a rock.

The whole thing began to vibrate and as she lifted it up, the shockwaves from the shield flew outwards and struck the shockwaves from the Fira Bomb.

The two waves pushed against each other, cancelling the other out and giving nothing for the fire to ride upon. This left Lekismon safe, but not for long as Firamon flew down and let out a roar as she swung her claws at the moon rabbit.

"Wow!" She raised her shield again and the claws struck it, the impact causing it to vibrate and create a ringing sensation that slammed into Firamon.

The beast roared at this, the ringing causing her sensitive ears to scream at her.

Lekismon: 4-70%
Firamon: 4-70%

As he staggered back, Lekismon saw her chance and leapt into the air. "Moon Night Kick!" She spun around and before Firamon could counter, slammed her foot into the Digimon's head. The force of the impact made Firamon roar in pain, as she was knocked flying back and flew through a wall of steam.

Lekismon: 4-70%
Firamon: 4-45%

Lekismon smiled, as those watching her cheered for the great move. And when the steam wall vanished, she spotted Firamon picking herself up. "Let's try this again!" She leapt up and with all her strength, slammed the shield into the ground.

Firamon heard this and realised what was coming, so quickly spread her wings and leapt into the sky before Lekismon could hit her with it. She flew as high as she could and by the time the waves hit her, they had weakened enough to be annoying but not damaging.

An idea then formed in her head and she started flying around and around, building up as much speed as possible.

She then dived straight down, as the flames coming off her armor exploded before spiralling around her. "Flame Dive!" Transforming into a powerful meteor, Lekismon frowned before slamming her shield into the ground.

The gong unleashed the sonic blast, which she pointed at the fireball. But Firamon was moving so fast, the sonic blast didn't slow her down. It did blow away the fire before the sound faded, allowing Firamon to get in close. She then used her claws to grab onto the edge of the shield and used them to pull it out of Lekismon's grip, Firamon quickly throwing it into a nearby pool before slashing at her.

"Augh!" She screamed, as the claws racked down her chest and she was knocked backwards.

Lekismon: 4-60%
Firamon: 4-45%

Firamon then leapt back as a nearby geyser exploded and sent a coin into the air, Firamon looking around and seeing it was an SP Coin. She quickly rushed up towards it and bit down on the coin, absorbing the power before turning to Lekismon and unleashing a bunch of fire from her head. "Fira Bomb!"

Lekismon saw the giant fireball form above her before being sent rocketing towards her, the rabbit Digimon looking around to try and find a place to hide. But there was nowhere for her to hide and eventually, she realised her only option was to brace herself as it slammed into the ground and exploded.

"GYAAAAAAH!" She cried, as a wave of fire slammed into her and knocked her backwards.

Lekismon: 4-35%
Firamon: 4-45%

She was sent flying backwards and smashed into the ground several times, as she slowly rolled along it before eventually coming to a stop near the edge of a water pool. She moaned, as Firamon moved towards her. She smirked as she stepped forward, her claws ready to slash at Lekismon.

But as she got close and prepared to cut her up, Lekismon spun around and revealed a bunch of ice arrows in her gasp. "Tear Arrow!" They shot towards Firamon and pieced one of her wings, making her roar in pain.

Lekismon: 4-35%
Firamon: 4-30%

As she staggered back, Lekismon pushed herself to her feet and shot forward. And before Firamon could respond, Lekismon dealt several powerful kicks right to Firamon's face.

Lekismon: 4-35%
Firamon: 4-0%

Firamon growled as she tried to take off, but her wing was too badly damaged to allow that. So as Lekismon spun around to strike her again, Firamon ducked down and the kick flew over her head. She then pounced and slashed at her twice.

Lekismon: 4-15%
Firamon: 3-100%

Lekismon staggered back and as she did, a geyser exploded behind her and Firamon noticed something get thrown into the air. A Digivolution Coin.

Firamon smirked as she ran forward, looking like she was preparing to slash at Lekismon again. The moon rabbit then leapt to the side, Firamon's attack hitting nothing. But this allowed the lion to leap up and catch the Digivolution Coin, Lekismon gasping when she saw it.

As Firamon landed back on the ground, the flames once again burned around her paws. "Fira Claw!" She charged, ready to burn Lekismon to ashes. But Lekismon quickly raised her arms.

"Moon Night Bomb!" The bubbles exploded out of her gloves and before Firamon could react, she slammed into them and they popped.

Drowsiness overtook her, allowing Lekismon to pick herself up.

"Now I've got you!" Lekismon charged, ready to deal a powerful blow to Firamon. But before she could, the ground exploded and she was struck by a wall of steam. "AAAHHHHHHH!"

Lekismon: 4-0%
Firamon: 3-100%

Firamon staggered forward and into the steam. The heat didn't hurt, but it quickly woke her up and she smiled before charging forward. "You're mine!" Her Fira Claw was still active and before Lekismon could defend herself, she was slashed down the front and screamed again.

Lekismon: 3-85%
Firamon: 3-100%

As Lekismon staggered away, Firamon smirked as her gauge was completely filled. "Perfect." And once again, her body burst into flames. "Firamon, Digivolve to.." And as her body grew large, she leapt up onto her back legs and took a humanoid shape. And when the flames extinguished, it revealed a Digimon Trixie, Lunamon, Flash and Veemon all recognised. "FLAREMON!"

All thought of the pain Lekismon was in, vanished as soon as she saw the Digimon. And now, she realised why the Digimon looked so familiar. "You."

"It's him," Flash gasped. "Flaremon."

Twilight turned to him. "You told us about that Digimon. The one you and Trixie fought to get the Digimental of Friendship?" Flash nodded, as Twilight brought up Flaremon's stats.

Name: Flaremon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Attribute: Fire
Species: Beast Man
Family: Dragon's Roar, Virus Busters, Nature Spirits

"Hold on," Tawnimon spoke up. "Lots of Digimon could potentially become Flaremon. Just because it's the same type, doesn't mean it is the Flaremon you fought." Flash knew he was right, but something about that Digimon made him feel it was the one they had faced.

Trixie thought so as well, Lekismon staring up at the Ultimate. "You're him...aren't you? The one we fought that day."

Flaremon smiled. "Yes, he is. After you destroyed his home, I found him and nursed him back to health. He had nowhere to go and we connected, so I asked him to join me. And now, here we are. Let me tell you, he's been eager to fight against you for a long time."

"So that's why you sent me the battle request."

"That's right," Flaremon raised her fist. "I want to help Coronamon move on with his life. And to do that, I'm going to beat you and make us all even." Her gauntlet unleashed a burst of fire, which wrapped around her fist. "Guren Juuouha!" She punched the air and sent out a lion shaped fireball, which flew towards Lekismon and exploded as soon as it hit her.

Lekismon: 3-60%
Flaremon: 3-100%

"Augh!" Lekismon crashed to the ground, as Flaremon leapt into the air. Though she now lacked wings, she clearly made up for it with her jumping ability.

She fell towards the ground and looked ready to crush Lekismon underfoot, but Lekismon managed to avoid this though just barely. And as she did, she swung her arms around.

"Moon Night Bomb!" The bubbles flew towards Flaremon, but she unleashed a wave of heat that popped the bubbles before they got close. Flaremon then rushed forward, through the fire, and tried to deal a punch straight towards Lekismon.

But whilst she was bigger, she had lost a lot of speed. So Lekismon was able to leap up, the punch hitting the ground instead, then deal several super speed kicks right into Flaremon's face. "Gyah!"

Lekismon: 3-60%
Flaremon: 3-50%

That last kick sent Flaremon staggering back, whilst Lekismon noticed another geyser explode near them. And it sent a Digivolution Coin into the air. "This one's mine!" She moved at full speed, as Flaremon recovered and spotted the coin.

"Oh no you don't!" He charged after her, but Lekismon was just too fast. She reached the spot the coin was falling towards. But as she did, Flaremon took a deep breath. "Purifying HOWL!!!!" A sonic blast exploded out of her mouth and shot towards Lekismon, hitting her as soon as she touched the coin.

"AUGH!" The blast knocked her flying and she crashed into the ground.

Lekismon: 3-5%
Flaremon: 3-50%

Lekismon pushed herself up, as Flaremon charged and looked ready to deal some serious damage. But before she could get close, Lekismon started glowing and the light blinded Flaremon. "Lekismon, Digivolve to..." She grew taller and stronger, as new armor appeared around her. The light then faded, revealing her Ultimate form. "Crescemon!"

As Flaremon blinked the light out of his eyes, Crescemon leapt into the air and raised her moon themed weapon. "Lunatic Dance!" She started spinning and her blade began to slash against Flaremon, making him roar as she raised her arms to defend only to get some serious cuts.

Crescemon: 3-5%
Flaremon: 3-5%

As soon as Crescemon started slowing down, Flaremon pulled her fist back and dealt a powerful strike to her. But she raised her shield and blocked the attack, getting knocked backwards several feet.

Flaremon then clenched her fists, as fire wrapped around them. "Kurenai Shishi no Mai!" She started punching the air and sent multiple lion fireballs at Crescemon. She blocked several with his shield before charging, using her Nova Luna to slash at the others as she got in close. And as the last fireball was deflected, she swung her blade at Flaremon.

But Flaremon just managed to dodge before thrusting a fist into her stomach, knocking the wind right out of her and making her cry out in pain as she was knocked backwards.

Crescemon: 3-0%
Flaremon: 3-5%

Crescemon fell back and rolled along the ground, but managed to get to her feet as Flaremon charged. And as she threw another punch, Crescemon braced herself before raising her shield. The fist quickly made contact and pushed her down, but her springy legs propelled her back and she pushed Flaremon back before slamming her leg into her stomach.

Crescemon: 2-100%
Flaremon: 3-0%

As Flaremon staggered back, another geyser exploded. And this one shot two coins into the air. An SP Coin and a Digivolution Coin, which Crescemon rushed for.

She charged at Flaremon and as the Digimon tried to punch her, she dodged the attack and used Flaremon's arm as a ramp to run up and leapt off. "Ice Archery!" She quickly fired several ice arrows down towards Flaremon, who spun around and unleashed a blast of heat from her gauntlets.

This distracted her, as Crescemon reached the coins and slashed them with her weapon.

But as the power flowed into her, the spot she was going to land on broke apart and unleashed a bunch of steam. "Wow!" She raised her shield and blocked the steam, but the heat from it caused her shield to get red hot. "Augh!"

Crescemon: 2-90%
Flaremon: 2-100%

She reached the other side of the steam and landed, but was forced to throw her shield away due to it being so hot. "Ow...ow...ow...ow!" She waved her arm around, as Flaremon burst through the steam.

"Purifying HOWL!" The sonic blast slammed into Crescemon before she could protect herself and she was blasted back, towards a pool of burning water.

Crescemon: 2-65%
Flaremon: 2-100%

She slammed her Nova Luna into the ground, hoping it would slow her down. But she reached the pool before it did and she was thrown out onto the water, the rabbit slamming her boots into the water. Luckily, the padding of said boots resisted the water and she was able to leap up and out of the pool without getting burned.

But as she landed, Flaremon rushed towards her and tried to punch her back into the pool. But Crescemon dodged and managed to get behind her, slashing at her with her weapon.

Crescemon: 2-65%
Flaremon: 2-80%

Flaremon roared before spinning around and slamming a foot into Crescemon's stomach, knocking her flying backwards.

Crescemon: 2-55%
Flaremon: 2-80%

Crescemon slammed into the ground, sliding along it until she came to a stop. And as Flaremon charged, she swung her legs around to make her body spin until she was back on her feet. Then, she swung her blade around and slashed at Flaremon with everything she had.

"Augh!" Flaremon roared, the Nova Luna cutting into her chest.

Crescemon: 2-55%
Flaremon: 2-60%

As Flaremon staggered back, Crescemon raised her staff. "Lunatic..." Flaremon realised this attack would hurt if she didn't do something, but then noticed the ground and smiled. "DANCE!" Crescemon shot forward, but Flaremon punched the ground with all her strength. Doing so caused it to break open and unleash a jet of steam, that smashed into Crescemon and burned her up. "AUGH!"

Crescemon: 2-15%
Flaremon: 2-60%

As Crescemon staggered back, Flaremon summoned more fire around her fist. "Guren Juuouha!" With a powerful punch, she sent the fireball flying at Crescemon and slammed into her.

"GYAH!" She cried, the explosion knocking her flying backwards.

Crescemon: 2-0%
Flaremon: 2-60%

Everyone flinched seeing Trixie take serious damage. If she didn't do something quick, she would lose.

"Come on!" Flash cried. "You can do this. Just keep fighting." They watched as Crescemon picked herself up, but they could tell that steam blast had done a serious number of her. And as Flaremon charged, it looked like Crescemon was down for the count.

"Trixie!" Twilight cried, the others calling out to her.

Trixie's head was buzzing, her fur and helmet still hot from the blast.

"Trixie!" Lunamon cried, "raise your weapon. Hurry!" Trixie did so and at the last moment, the fist of Flaremon slammed into it and she was knocked sliding backwards. She almost fell into a pool, but managed to stay upright. And as Flaremon charged, Trixie's focus finally came back. In that moment, she spotted something.

As Flaremon tried to punch her, Crescemon leapt into the air and did several flips as she flew over Flaremon. As she did, she slashed at the Beast Man and sliced her right down the back. "AUGH!"

Crescemon: 1-100%
Flaremon: 2-40%

She landed and did several back flips, Flaremon spinning towards her and growling before she charged. And as the Ultimate threw another punch, Crescemon grabbed her shield and lifted it up.

Flaremon's fist slammed into the weapon, but Crescemon held her ground and managed to stay in place. And with every hit, Trixie stayed focused on the battle whilst Lunamon focused on the gauge in the corner of their vision.

"Almost," she whispered as Flaremon brought both hands together and smashed them into Crescemon's shield. The impact made their teeth rattle, but they stayed put as the gauge filled. "Almost!"

Flaremon then leapt back, taking a deep breath whilst Trixie got ready to dodge the incoming attack.

But before she did, Lunamon saw the gauge completely fill up. "NOW!" Crescemon threw her shield at Flaremon, forcing him to duck as Crescemon raised her Nova Luna up.

It was then that her body began to glow, blinding Flaremon and causing her to go staggering back. "Crescemon, Mega Digivolve to..." She leapt into the air, as her body began to grow larger and her armor became more streamlined. And when the light faded, it revealed a beautiful looking woman wearing silver and blue armor designed around a rabbit and the moon.

She wore a silver helmet with a blue mouth guard, long blue ears and a pink scarf around her neck. The rest of her armor was silver with blue accents, whilst beneath it she wore a purple body suit. On her legs, between her knees and feet, were leg guards shaped like a crescent moon. And in her hand was a long white and blue striped pole with crescent moon blades on either side of it.

The Digimon floated in the air, spinning her weapon around before striking a pose. "DIANAMON!"

The light shining off her armor was like nothing Flaremon had ever seen. And she wasn't the only one amazed.

"No way," Twilight whispered.

"What is that?" Veemon asked, feeling a strange sense of devotion. Like this was a Digimon that needed to be worshipped, or else.

"It's one of the Olympus XII," Twilight explained. "A powerful group of Digimon, on the level of the Royal Knights." She brought up Dianamon's data. "How could Trixie have a scan of it? I heard that Digivolution Line was locked, like the Royal Knights."

Name: Dianamon
Level: Mega
Type: Data
Attribute: Water
Species: Deity
Family: Deep Savers, Nightmare Soldiers, Nature Spirits

Flaremon stared up at Dianamon, who continued to float there.

Then, she clenched her fists and summoned as much fire as she could into them. "Kurenai Shishi no Mai!" She punched the air and launched the lion fireballs, but Dianamon raised her weapon and spun it around. The blade cut through the flames and left her untouched.

Then, she shot down and was right in front of Flaremon.

"What?" Before she could react, Dianamon spun around and slammed one of her high heeled boots into her. "Gyah!" She was sent flying back, crashing into the ground as her HP dropped.

Dianamon: 1-100%
Flaremon: 2-20%

"So strong," Flaremon groaned. She pushed herself up, as Dianamon flew into the air and started spinning.

"Good Night Moon!" As she slowed down, she brought her legs together. The moons on her legs began to glow and when they came together, a crescent shaped beam flew down off of them and slammed into Flaremon.

"AUGH!" She screamed, as the beam exploded against her and knocked her back.

Dianamon: 1-100%
Flaremon: 2-0%

As Flaremon staggered back, she was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of drowsiness. It was all she could do to stay awake, as Dianamon flew down. "Raaaaah!" She swung her clawed hands around, but Dianamon easily dodged the attack and spun around to deal a kick straight to Flaremon's back. "Augh!"

Dianamon: 1-100%
Flaremon: 1-80%

As Flaremon staggered forward, she almost let herself fall asleep. But before she did, she noticed a crack in the ground and moved behind it. And as Dianamon charged forward, Flaremon smashed her arms into the crack and unleashed the steam.

It jetted towards Dianamon, but the Mega saw it coming and spun her staff around. Doing so created a shield of wind, that deflected the steam back towards Flaremon. The Ultimate was quickly slammed by the vaporised water, with no pain occurring from it. But it did wash away her drowsiness, making her smile as she summoned as much power as she could.

As she did, Dianamon flew up into the air and pointed one end of her weapon towards Flaremon. Said end was quickly surrounded in ice, which made it morph into an icy crossbow-like weapon. And on it, an arrow made of sparkling ice appeared.

"Purifying HOWL!" Flaremon roared, unleashing a sonic blast that shot straight towards Dianamon.

"Arrow of Artemis!" She cried, the ice arrow firing as the crossbow shattered. The arrow shot down towards the sonic blast and slammed right into it, piecing through the sound without even being vibrated by it. The arrow moved so fast, Flaremon had no hope of stopping it.

"Look out!" Coronamon cried, as Sunset tried to move them away. But it was too late.

The arrow slammed into Flaremon's chest and exploded, the force blasting Flaremon back as his chest was covered in a layer of quickly spreading ice.

Dianamon: 1-100%
Flaremon: 1-30%

Dianamon stared down at her, Trixie and Lunamon watching as Flaremon began to look around. Clearly, she was trying to find a Digivolution Coin. But there was no sign of one. "I feel bad for them," Lunamon then stated. "We destroyed his home and now, Coronamon might never let it go."

"Maybe," Trixie sighed. "But if he can't let go of the past, he's only hurting himself. If we let him win, he'd probably lord it over us forever." She was suddenly overwhelmed with some kind of knowledge, which felt like it was coming from the Digimon she currently was. A vast amount of wisdom, flowed into her head. "An eye for an eye, only leaves everyone blind."

Lunamon nodded. "Let's just finish this as quickly as possible."

Dianamon nodded before shooting down, as Flaremon ripped the ice off her chest. And when she landed, Flaremon saw her and growled before charging at full speed. He covered his claws in fire and slashed at her, but Dianamon swung her double ended Nova Luna around.

Claws and metal connected, scraping against one another as the two locked eyes. Dianamon then pushed Flaremon back and started spinning on the spot, as the fire lion kept slashing at her. But she used her weapon to deflect every strike before spinning around and hitting Flaremon with her foot.

Dianamon: 1-100%
Flaremon: 1-15%

Flaremon almost fell over, as Dianamon leapt into the air and brought her weapon up to swing down. But Flaremon was able to regain her balance and dodge the blade, barely, grabbing it by the staff and pulling the Mega towards her. "Guren Juuouha!" He smashed the fist into Dianamon and knocked her back.

Dianamon: 1-85%
Flaremon: 1-15%

As she landed, Flaremon threw her weapon away and charged. But Dianamon ran forward as well and quickly did a front flip, using her hands to balance as she kicked towards Flaremon. But the lion leapt away, causing Dianamon to fly past her. Only this allowed Dianamon to grab her weapon and as Flaremon charged, she swung it around and slashed at her.

"Augh!" She screamed, as her last security was destroyed.

Dianamon: 1-85%
Flaremon: 1-0%

And as she fell backwards, Dianamon leapt into the air. There, she began spinning her staff around. A humming came from the weapon, as the two blades blurred into one and created the image of a moon. And as Flaremon looked up, Dianamon spun through the air. "CRESCENT HARKEN!" She threw the moon illusion towards Flaremon, whose eyes flinched at the light.

When she opened them again, she was met by the image of the moon itself, plummeting towards her.

"No," Sunset whispered.

"No," Coronamon cried. Then, the moon image shattered and the double bladed staff was spinning towards them both. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" They screamed, as the weapon slammed into them and their body was destroyed.

Sunset and Coronamon fell to the ground, as the weapon spun through the air and was caught by Dianamon.

The Mega Level floated down, as the electronic voice spoke. "Battle, over. Winner, Trixie Lulamoon." the battlefield began to dissolve, as Dianamon split into Trixie and Lunamon. The pair looked over at Sunset and Coronamon, Sunset looking disappointed whilst Coronamon was staring at the ground in shock.

"No," he whispered. "No," he slammed his fist on the ground. "No! No! No! NO!"

Sunset sighed, obviously wishing she could help her partner. But she wasn't sure what to say.

And as she tried to think of something, Lunamon stepped over to Coronamon. The lion cub Digimon looked up at her, seeing the upset look on her face. "I'm sorry about what we did. We took the Digimental and it meant your home was destroyed. I'm so sorry." Coronamon looked away, clearly not wanting to say anything to her. "But it's not all bad."

"Not all bad?" Coronamon glared at her. "You took my home."

"But you got to meet Sunset," Lunamon pointed out. "You care about her, don't you?" Coronamon said nothing and glanced over at his partner, Sunset staring back wondering what he would say.

"Yeah."

"And you never would have met her, if we hadn't done what we did. And taking the Digimental also helped a lot of other Digimon. Many who can now use it to Armor Digivolve into a Digimon that they like being."

"I guess," Coronamon sighed.

Trixie stepped over to him. "We are sorry. Flash and Veemon are probably sorry too. But defeating us in a battle wouldn't change anything. It'd make you feel good for a little while, then it'd just make you hollow."

"She's right," Sunset told him. "We did our best. We gave them a fight they won't soon forget. But now I think it's time to move on." She picked herself up and reached down to lift him up, hugging him close to her chest. "Time to stop looking back. Let's look to the future, together."

Coronamon still looked upset, but after a sigh he let out a smile. "Alright," he nodded, "look to the future. Together." Sunset smiled and the pair hugged tightly, Trixie and Lunamon smiling at them.

"Come on," Trixie grabbed her Digivice and headed for the exit. "Let's get out of here. I'll buy you something at the foyer."

Sunset gave her a look. "Buy? The food in Codex is free."

"Which is why I'm buying." They all laughed at this and headed out of the battle room, then out of the stadium towards the foyer. There, Flash and Twilight were waiting for them.

"Trixie," Twilight smiled, "that battle was amazing."

"Of course it was," Trixie flicked her hair over her shoulder, "I was in it." The others rolled their eyes, as Trixie turned to Flash and Veemon. "Boys. I think we owe someone here an apology." The boys turned to Coronamon, who sat down in a chair. They quickly realised what Trixie was getting at and nodded.

"We're really sorry," Flash told him. "About what happened to your home."

"Yeah," Veemon nodded. "We didn't mean to destroy."

"Yeah, yeah." Coronamon looked away. "Whatever. Sunset's right. I need to put that behind me and focus on the future." The others nodded, hoping Coronamon actually did forgive them and could move on.

Wanting to change the subject, Twilight turned to Trixie and Lunamon. "That Digimon you became. Dianamon. How did you get a scan of an Olympus XII Digimon?"

"Honestly?" Trixie shrugged, "I have no idea. It was locked when I tried Digivolving Crescemon in the lab. But then I was practising with Lunamon in the Beta-Stadium. We were fighting against my Crusadermon deck and we were in a really bad spot. It was when I was about to Digivolve that I remembered, I forgot to add a Mega into my deck."

Lunamon nodded. "But we didn't want to stop the battle, so we just let the Digivolution go through. The next thing we know, we're Dianamon and I never felt so great."

"Dianamon must be your natural Digivolution," Twilight realised. "I've heard of the Olympus XII and studied them, but I don't think I've ever seen a member of them before." The others nodded, none of them having seen one either.

Trixie and Lunamon shared a look, wondering just how special their Mega Form was. Either way, it didn't matter. They had managed to put their differences with Coronamon aside and hopefully, this meant they could work together when they needed to. The Digital World would need all the help it could get, for the battles that were yet to come.

Author's Note

Well, there you have it. Many of you were wondering where the heck Sunset was and now, you have your answer. And that means she'll get to join the cast. It'll be a slow integration. Give us time to really know her before she gets more spotlight episodes. Hope you enjoyed it.

Beauty and the Beast

Lightning boomed within the Digital World, as a mighty thunderstorm was raging in one area of the virtual realm.

This area consisted of a number of mountains, each of them appearing alluvial due to the amount of grass and other things on them. Each mountain had a river running down it, keeping the land fertile and perfect for growing crops. Each river flowed into a lake located in the very centre of the mountain circle, which then flowed into another river running through the only gap in the mountains.

It was on this river that a raft of some kind was being ridden.

On the raft were three Digimon, which all looked the same. They were a trio of yellow rabbit-like Digimon, wearing red spandex pants.

On the raft with them were a bunch of barrels, tied to it tightly so they wouldn't fall overboard. The three Digimon each had a long stick, which they were using to try and slow themselves down on the fast flowing river. And by fast, the river was moving at a ridiculous speed. That was thanks to the storm, sending more water down the mountains, through the lake and into the river at high speed.

"Hold on!" One cried, as he did his best to keep the raft from overturning.

"I'm trying," another yelled. But as they continued to ride the waters between the mountains, part of said mountain suddenly broke away and fell towards the raft.

The last Digimon saw this and gasped. "Don't slow down!" He cried, "SPEED UP!" They didn't argue and lifted their sticks, letting the river take them as fast as possible. And eventually, they got out from under the rock moments before it crashed into the river.

But this caused a large wave to be thrown up and move towards the raft, the Digimon gasping as it overtook them.

They screamed as the raft was overturned and the barrels were dunked into the water, the wooden containers breaking apart along with the raft. This sent its contents spilling into the river, said contents being a bunch of different vegetables.

The Digimon tried to grab what they could, but they barely got anything before they needed to surface.

They gasped as they broke through the top, each grabbing a long or barrel part that had risen to the surface. "Our crops!" One cried, "they're all gone." They continued to wash down the river, "what do we do?"

"There's nothing we can do," the other Digimon looked up and saw the moon. It appeared almost full, but it wasn't quite there yet. "We've only got a few more days. Once the moon is full, it'll wake up and we'll have nothing to feed it with."

"Our home's gonna be destroyed!" The last one cried, as they rolled down the river and out from between the mountain.

As they did, they reached an area of open flat land. The river ran through it and towards a large dark forest, which made them worry. Something inside there was giving them the creeps and they quickly swam to the end of the river, pulling themselves up. They had to get back to the village. To warn them of what was coming.

Complete, unbound terror.

In Codex, Fluttershy and Terriermon had just arrived.

The pair looked around, seeing if they could find any of their friends. And after a moment of searching, she spotted some of them walking towards the Digi-Port. Twilight, Sunset, Trixie and their Digimon were heading her way, the six spotting them as they approached.

"Hey Fluttershy," Twilight smiled. "You just get here?"

Fluttershy nodded. "What are you girls planning on doing today?"

Sunset smirked. "I agreed to show them a pretty interesting area they haven't been to yet. Lots of different Digimon and locations to scan. You wanna come?"

Fluttershy turned to Terriermon, who nodded as she smiled. "Sure," she nodded. "What's this place called?"

"They're called the Mountains of Abundance," Sunset explained. "Twilight was telling me about a place called Berry Town and how much she and her friends love it there." Fluttershy nodded. "Well, the Mountains of Abundance are similar to that place. Large mountains surrounding a small town in the very centre of it. Every mountain grows a different kind of vegetable."

"Yuck," Trixie stuck her tongue out. "Vegetables."

"Oh grow up," Twilight told her. "They're good for you." Trixie rolled her eyes, as Sunset stepped up to the Digi-Port and sent them all a transport invite. They all accepted and pointed their Digivices up, transporting to the location in a flash of light.

Before Fluttershy could even blink, they were travelling through the tunnel of light.

They eventually arrived at the end of the tunnel and when it faded, Fluttershy's feet were suddenly wet. "Huh?" She looked down and found she was in ankle deep water. And she wasn't the only one.

They were in a flooded valley, surrounded by mountains. As they looked around, they saw the mountains were covered in crop fields. And in the centre of the mountain circle was a lake, with a bunch of houses built atop it.

The houses were basic huts, built atop platforms that had stilts raising them out of the water. But the houses were soaked and destroyed, looking like the lake they were on had risen and shrunk to completely drench them. And the area they were currently standing on, was wet and slushy.

"Ew," Trixie cried, "why?"

"That's weird," Sunset frowned. "This area isn't usually flooded." She took in the sights around them and frowned, "something's happened here."

"Sunset?" They looked around and spotted a bunch of boats, moving towards them. On it were a bunch of yellow rabbit Digimon. On the front most boat was an older version of the Digimon, with wrinkly skin and a white beard.

"Neamon," she gasped, "what happened here?"

"Oh," the older Digimon looked heart broken. "It was terrible. A rain storm, three days ago. It completely flooded the valley and caused our homes to be destroyed."

"That's awful," Fluttershy gasped.

"Well," Terriermon didn't look so sympathetic. "You did build your homes on a lake. You probably should have seen this coming." Lunamon leapt up and flicked the tip of his ear, "ow! I'm just saying."

"I'm sorry this happened," Sunset frowned. "What happened to the Jagamon?"

"They're fine," the older Neamon pointed his cane at one of the mountains. Said mountains looked as muddy and soaked as the valley below, the girls all fearing a mudslide might be imminent.

It was then that a bunch of Digimon appeared from out of the mud. They were a four legged Digimon whose bodies were made entirely out of rock, with an ugly face sticking out of their rock covered head. On their rears were a single green sprout, that looked like a tail.

The Jagamon stared down into the valley and noticed the humans. "Sunset!" One waved, with Sunset waving back.

Twilight stared at the houses, seeing how damp the wood that made them up was. "Those houses are gonna need to be completely rebuilt," Twilight stated. "That wood's soaked to the bone. It's a perfect breeding ground for mould, fungus and rot."

"That shouldn't be too hard to get," Sunset smiled. "There's a forest behind one of those mountains. We can just ride the river down to it."

"Absolutely not!" Elder Neamon announced. "Nobody is going into that forest" This worried them, wondering why the forest was forbidden. "Sunset. Things are not the same as the last time you were here." Sunset raised an eyebrow. "A beast has appeared. It has taken up residence within the forest."

"A beast?" Twilight asked. "What kind of beast?"

"We do not know," Neamon replied. "It comes to us at night. Every month, when the moon is full. It appears inside the forest and attacks. The only way we've found to quell it is with food. We farm as much as we can, save as little as we can for ourselves and send the rest to the forest."

Sunset suddenly looked very angry. "It's attacking this town to get a free lunch."

"What kind of Digimon do you think it is?" Fluttershy asked, looking rather worried.

"A full moon," Twilight looked up. "I'm guessing it's some kind of wolf-like Digimon. Maybe a WereGarurumon, or a variant of it."

"Who cares what kind of Digimon it is," Trixie yelled. "It's terrorising these Digimon and we've gotta stop it."

"Please, don't do anything that might anger the beast." The Neamon elder looked worried. "It'll already be angry enough, because it won't have any food."

"Why won't it have any food?" Sunset asked.

"The rain," another Neamon replied. "We tried to deliver the food to it in the rain and it made our raft capsize. All the vegetables we made for it are gone."

"So it's gonna attack you either way," Sunset pointed out. "Why not let us deal with it. We'll save your home and make sure you never have to worry about this thing again. I promise."

Neamon stared at them, as if trying to determine whether or not he should believe they could do something. Then, he nodded. "Very well. We will let you defeat this monster. But be warned. It's power is incredible. The four of you together might not be enough to overcome it."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Coronamon smiled. "After all, three of us can Digivolve to the Ultimate Level." He turned to the Digimon in question, Tawnimon, Lunamon and Terriermon nodding. They had no idea what was awaiting them, but they would find it.

And so, the four girls and their Digimon prepared to head towards the forest.

Twilight, Sunset and Fluttershy took out their Digivices, but Fluttershy was still worried. "A powerful beast. What if it's more than we can handle?"

"Do you wanna stay here?" Twilight asked, "with the Neamon and Jagamon?" Fluttershy didn't seem sure.

"I...I don't wanna just leave my friends to go into a dangerous place on their own. But do we have to go in there. Can't we find another way to stop this creature."

"Maybe," Sunset told her. "But we need to know what we're dealing with. There's no way I'm letting that thing near the village, so I'm not waiting around here to see what it is." She turned to Fluttershy. "You can stay here and be scared if you want, but I'm going in."

"Sunset," Twilight frowned, "it's not a crime to feel fear. Fluttershy has every right to be scared."

"Maybe," Sunset nodded. "But letting your fear control you should be a crime. You think I'm not scared to go into that forest, not knowing what the heck's inside?" She took out her Digivice and pointed it at Coronamon, "but I'm more scared about what'll happen to these Digimon if we don't stop it." The light exploded from the device and flew into her partner.

"Coronamon, Digivolve to..." He burst into flames and grew, taking his quadrupedal form. The flames then extinguished and revealed his Champion form. "Firamon!"

Sunset rushed over and leapt onto his back, Trixie and Lunamon doing the same.

As Firamon spread his wings, Sunset turned back to Fluttershy. "You know, the scariest thing in the world is the unknown. Whatever's in there might be terrifying, but probably not as terrifying as whatever your brain's cooking up to fill in the gaps. You wanna not be scared, go into that forest and see what's waiting for you." With that, Firamon ran forward and took off.

As Fluttershy watched them go, she looked upset at being called out on.

"You shouldn't let Sunset upset you," Twilight told her. "I know you. You're the bravest person I know."

"Maybe," Fluttershy huffed, "but sometimes I wish I didn't have to be so brave. If I wasn't so scared, I wouldn't need to be brave so often."

"Maybe," Twilight took out her Digivice, "but fear is useful. Helps you stay sharp and focused. Sunset was right about not letting your fears control you, though she could have found a better way to say it." She held up her Digivice and it unleashed a blast of light, which swirled around Tawnimon.

"Tawnimon, Digivolve to...HooTawnimon!" The giant owl spread his wings, allowing Twilight to climb up on his back.

She glanced back at Fluttershy, as if asking if she was coming or not. And after a few seconds, Fluttershy ran up and leapt onto HooTawnimon's back. "Before I change my mind!" HooTawnimon leapt into the air and flew after Firamon, the pair flying over the mountain and following the river towards the forest.

As they did, Fluttershy stared down at the tree and moaned at how dark and scary they looked.

As they reached the forest and flew over it, Lunamon and Terriermon leapt off and fell towards them. Trixie and Fluttershy quickly held out their Digivices, the light exploding out of them.

"Lunamon, Digivolve to...Lekismon!"

"Terriermon, Digivolve to...Gargomon!"

The pair landed atop the trees, as Sunset and Trixie jumped down off Firamon. They were quickly caught, Gargomon putting Sunset down and offering to catch Fluttershy, but the girl had other ideas and scrolled through her Digivice.

Once she had what she was looking for, she pointed it down. "Biomerge!" The cube of light appeared below her, Wormmon materialising within. Fluttershy then took a deep breath and slid off HooTawnimon, falling into the cube as it merged with her. "Wormmon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded and Fluttershy had taken the form of the insect princess. "Hudiemon!"

Everyone watched as Hudiemon spread her wings and flew down towards the trees, looking a lot more confident now that she was in Digimon form.

Twilight leapt down and was caught by Gargomon, the girl glancing up at HooTawnimon. "Stay above in case we need aerial assistance."

"You too," Sunset told her partner. They both nodded as the group began to climb down the trees, Lekismon and Gargomon jumping down and checking the place out.

"Place seems clear," Gargomon pointed out.

"That doesn't mean it is," Twilight stated. They reached the ground and Twilight quickly took out her Digivice, bringing up a Digimon and summoning it. "Biomerge!" An image of a fox-like Digimon appeared with a cube, Twilight running into it. In a flash of light, she transformed into the humanoid fox with purple arm binders. "Renamon!"

Trixie took out her Digivice and summoned a cube as well. "Biomerge!" She leapt into the cube, transforming into her Rookie stage. "Impmon, Digivolve to...Sorcerimon!" The ice themed wizard appeared, as Sunset summoned her own cube.

Inside was a Candlemon scan, Sunset stepping into it. "Biomerge!" She transformed and quickly began to change. "Candlemon, Digivolve to..." She burst into flames and grew taller, forming a humanoid figure. When the flames vanished, it revealed a red skinned woman wearing obsidian armor.

Her chest was covered in triangular black stone breast armor, that covered her shoulders and upper back before stopping just above the stomach. Similar V-shaped armor was around her waist and went between her legs, with a red cloth flowing down from under it that covered her legs. She also wore high heeled boots made of the same material, with obsidian arm bands between her hands and elbows.

From her shoulders, an obsidian rod stuck out to the sides and had a black stone skull on the end of it. Coming out of the skull's mouth was a long chain that ended just below her hip, with a spiky black lantern hanging from the end that was filled with fire. She had a pair of elf ears and on her head, was an eye blocking helmet similar to what Angewomon wore. Only it was made of obsidian.

The Digimon was floating in the air, looking like the only thing keeping her from floating off was her heavy armor. "LAMPAMON!"

The other Digimon stared at her, impressed by what they saw. Renamon then turned to look around the forest. "See anything that might give us a clue?" The others began to look around, but couldn't find anything that might help them figure out where this Digimon was hiding.

Sorcerimon then realised something. "Maybe somebody should have asked the Neamon where they leave the vegetables. I'm assuming there'd be a clue there or something." The others frowned, realising they were right. But before anyone could complain, HooTawnimon squawked out from above.

"I think I can see something. Due north." Everyone except Sorcerimon turned in that direction, the winter wizard turning south by accident. Once she realised her mistake and turned the correct way, she and the others looked into the trees.

"What do you see?" Renamon asked.

"An empty line in the trees," Firamon replied. "Some kind of path. It's possible this creature made it." The others headed in the direction and sure enough, they discovered an area with a bunch of logs scattered about the place. Some were laying on the ground, whilst others had been thrown into trees and knocked them down too.

The path was filled with tree stumps, making a line that headed straight in the direction of the Abundant Mountains.

They head in the opposite direction to the path, careful in case whatever this creature was decided to attack. HooTawnimon and Firamon continued to fly overhead, as they followed the stumpy path until they came to a large cave in the forest. "Of course," Sorcerimon sighed. "Does every real world forest also have a cave in it?"

"Not sure," Renamon shrugged. "Come on." They headed inside and Hudiemon looked rather terrified, Lampamon leading the way so the flames of her lamps could light the cave.

Said cave wasn't very large. it was about the size of a normal house, with a pool of water taking up one section and stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The place was dark, damp and didn't look particularly appealing. But it was home to something and that something, was laying in the back of the cave curled up in a ball.

As the Digimon got closer, the light from Lampamon's flame allowed them to get a better look at it. But due to how it was curled up, all they could tell was that it was large and covered in a yellowish fur.

"What is it?" Sorcerimon whispered, but they couldn't figure it out.

Renamon hummed. "I think there's only two ways to figure out what it is. Wake it up..." The others shook their heads panicking. "Or scan it."

"You'll need to return to human to do that," Lampamon pointed out. "You sure that's a good idea?" But in that moment, a stray ember flew off her shoulder lamp and landed on the creature's fur. Only Hudiemon saw this and gasped, as the ember turned to a trail of smoke.

"We have to leave," she cried. "I think you just woke it up."

"Huh?" Lampamon turned to it and noticed the smoke, which was followed by its fur catching alight. "Uh oh."

"RUN!" Sorcerimon screamed, as they all rushed out of the cave. At the same time, the creature began to move and a loud roar echoed out of the cave.

Outside, Firamon and HooTawnimon heard the roar and noticed their friends running out. "What happened?" HooTawnimon asked, but got their answer when something came smashing out of the cave after them.

It was a giant yellow beastly Digimon, the size of an elephant if not a little larger. It was covered in yellow fur and its head was bat-like, with a brown face and two sets of ears, two large and two small. Its feet and hands were covered in metal gauntlets and boots, with long claws on the end of them. Coming out of its arms were a set of gray feathered wings, with a smaller set of wings on its back. And on its lower back was a metal case, with two sword handles sticking out the ends.

The Digimon roared as the others turned to stare at it. "That's a Lamortmon," Renamon cried. "Ultimate Level. This isn't good." The Digimon spotted them and charged forward, its claws glowing as it attacked.

"CALAMITY CLAW!" Its target was Sorcerimon, who gasped as she slammed her staff into the ground.

"Ice Illusion!" A blast of frozen wind exploded out of the staff and shot towards Lamortmon, spiralling around it to trap the beast. It roared as it slashed its claws, trying to remove the snow trapping it. "I can't keep this up forever."

"You don't have to!" Lampamon leapt up, the flames from her torches flying into her hands. "Torch Magic!" She thrust her hands forward and the fire shot towards Lamortmon, as the snow tornado vanished from it.

Lamortmon looked up and the flames slammed into it, exploding and trapping the Digimon in a column of fire.

"Nice!" Firamon cheered, only for the pillar to suddenly explode. The reason it did was because Lamortmon had drawn a pair of large swords from its back holster, though they only looked like daggers in its hands, and swung them around to cut through the fire. "Oh no."

Lekismon and Gargomon charged forward, both preparing to attack with their close range strikes.

"Moon Night Kick/Bunny Pummel!" They charged, but Renamon gasped.

"Don't do it!" But it was too late.

"STRIKE AND DESTROY!" Before either could land a hit, Lamortmon raised its swords and brought them crashing down on the pair. The flat of his blades slammed into them and they were smashed into the ground, both Digimon crying out. As Lamortmon raised its swords, the pair glowed and reverted back to Rookie Level.

"NO!" Hudiemon cried, as Lamortmon prepared to crush them. But before he could, HooTawnimon flew down.

"Sky Strike!" He slammed into Lamortmon and pushed him back, away from the Rookies and allowing Hudiemon and Sorcerimon to grab them.

Lamortmon was using his swords to block the Sky Strike, as HooTawnimon's power was beginning to wane. "Get out of there!" Renamon cried, but it was too late.

Lamortmon roared as it swung its swords apart, knocking HooTawnimon back before they glowed. "Wind Fangs!" He swung the swords around and unleashed blades of pressurised air, which shot towards HooTawnimon and slammed him in the chest.

"AUGH!" He cried, getting blown backwards until he crashed into a tree. Smashing through it, he reverted back to Tawnimon and fell to the ground.

Renamon saw the tree beginning to fall towards him and rushed forward, managing to pull him out from under the tree before it could crush him. As it did, Firamon flew down to try and fight. "We have to get out of here!" The others turned to see her revert back to human and take out her Digivice. They all did the same and as Firamon dodged Lamortmon's blade, they all brought up the Abundant Mountains and ported away.

The beast watched them all vanish and roared, still enraged that it had been awoken, burned and not given anything to eat. It would make them pay for this.

Back at the village, the girls had rushed their Digimon to the hut in the best condition.

Once there, Coronamon used his fire attacks to dry the place off as best he could. They then laid the Digimon down as the Neamon did their best to start treating them.

"Are they gonna be okay?" Fluttershy asked, turning to Terriermon with worry.

"They should be alright with some rest," the elder replied. "But I thought you said you would make sure this creature never hurt us again?" He was looking concerned and the girls shared a shamed look.

"We're sorry," Twilight told him. "But we're not giving up. Now we know what kind of opponent we're up against."

"A crazy strong one," Trixie cried. "He took our Digimon down in one hit. How?"

"Lamortmon is a powerhouse Digimon," Twilight explained. "Compared to other Ultimates, his power is in the upper levels. It would take a Mega to outpower him." The girls looked worried. "But in return for all that power, it lacks a lot of reasoning and strategic abilities. All it knows how to do is attack."

"And that helps us how?" Coronamon asked.

"We can beat it," Sunset told him. "We just can't attack it directly. We just need a plan."

"What plan?" Trixie asked, with Sunset and Twilight looking just as confused. "We've gotta think of something fast. That thing could be here any minute."

"I don't think so," Twilight shook her head. "Lamortmon are night time hunters. They're very sensitive to light, which is probably why it was in that cave."

"So we have until sundown to come up with a plan?" Sunset asked. "Great. That's still barely any time."

"Maybe we should head back to Codex," Fluttershy suggested. The others looked at her in shock. "I don't mean stay there. What if we went back and got our friends? Flash, Micro or even Shining."

"I don't need someone else to bail me out," Sunset announced. "If you're scared, then leave. But I'm not gonna run away." Fluttershy frowned and stood up.

"What chance do you have against that Digimon?" Sunset looked surprised by this sudden statement. "Out of all of us, you're the weakest person here. You're stuck at the Champion Level. At least we can go Ultimate."

Sunset looked shocked by this. "You can go Ultimate?"

"It's true," Twilight nodded. "She hasn't been able to go for very long, but she can Digivolve Terriermon to Rapidmon or one of his other Ultimate Forms. Not that that's much use now." She looked over at the three Rookies, none of them looking in the right condition to Digivolve into anything.

Trixie then spoke up. "Hey, don't forget we can go Ultimate as well."

"You can," Twilight stated. "Going Ultimate on our own is a lot harder than Digivolving our partners."

"But we still can," Trixie stated. "If we Digivolve to Ultimate before Lamortmon gets here, we'll stand a chance."

"Are you sure?" Sunset asked. "Do any of you have an Ultimate form that can overpower that thing?" They all frowned and took out their Digivices, trying to find a deck they could use. But none of them had anything that could match Lamortmon's power."

"Maybe we should go find Flash," Trixie frowned. "AeroVeedramon and Paildramon would come in real handy at this point."

"We don't need power," Twilight told them. "We just need to think of a plan." She stepped out of the hut and looked towards the mountain between them and the forest. "Lamortmon can glide, but it can't fly. That means it'll have to cross the mountain to get here." She smiled, "I have an idea. But we need to do a lot of prep work."

"What do you need?" Neamon asked.

"Buckets. As many buckets as you can get. In fact, anything that can hold water." Neamon nodded as Twilight turned to the others. "Use Digimon that can fly. I don't want any of us falling into our own trap." They nodded as they began to get to work, whilst the Neamon continued to look after the injured Digimon.

Hours passed and the sun began to set.

Within the forest, Lamortmon stepped out of its cave. The beast unleashed a mighty howl towards the full moon, ready to go on a rampage and destroy anything that got in its way.

As the moonlight shined down on the forest, he began to charge through it towards the open field. He roared and snarled, his voice echoing into the night. And eventually, he arrived outside the forest. And he was met by five other Digimon.

Unimon, Hudiemon, Firamon, Lampamon and an IceDevimon, the five all flying just above the ground.

The sight of Hudiemon, Firamon and Lampamon made the Digimon roar, as it charged towards them. But when he got close, the five Digimon flew upwards towards the top of the mountain.

Lamortmon roared and with all its strength, leapt into the air and spread its wings. It glided towards them, but they flew backwards towards the mountain. And Lamortmon followed after them with its claws at the ready.

"Almost," Unimon cried as it drew closer and closer. "NOW!" They all flew in a different direction and Lamortmon flew between them, its gliding wings forcing it to fly towards the mountain.

The beast spun around and prepared to slam its feet into the mountain, attempting to push off and glide once again. But as soon as its feet hit the soil, the dug into the earth and Lamortmon found itself unable to move. And to its horror, it found the earth sliding away and it lost its balance.

The beast roared, as it slammed into the mud covered mountain and began to fall towards the base of it.

"Yes!" Unimon cheered, seeing the Digimon rolling down the mountain. It tried to dig its claws into the ground, but the mud just gave way and it couldn't hold on. All it could do was roll down the mountain until it reached the very bottom, And then, it splashed into a massive puddle of mud.

Everyone watched him flail around in the mud, smiling as they watched the beast attempting to pull itself out.

It was so large, the puddle only covered half its body. But it was so strong and sticky that the beast couldn't pull itself free. "Nice," IceDevimon smiled. "It's like quick sand."

Unimon nodded. "The trick is getting the right water to soil ratio. Not enough water and it won't sink. Too much water and it just becomes a soil filled swimming pool. Get just the right amount of water, and the soil becomes impossible to free yourself from."

Lamortmon pulled on one of its arms, attempting to break free, but the mud was like silly putty and bounced back with its arm still inside of it. "So what do we do now?" Hudiemon asked, the others turning to her. "We can't just leave it there. Eventually, the mud will dry and it'll just break free and attack."

"She's got a point," Lampamon nodded. "I hate attacking a defenceless Digimon, but maybe we should destroy it whilst we've got the chance."

"I don't know," Unimon frowned.

"He hurt Lunamon," IceDevimon stated. "And he planned on attacking the village. To heck with letting it live." The Digimon flew down, spreading her wings. "Avalanche!" With a mighty beat of its wings, icicles shot towards the Digimon and started slamming into it.

Firamon followed suit. "Fira Bomb!" He fired a powerful fire blast, which shot towards the Digimon and exploded upon contact.

Lampamon flew down and summoned the fire from her lamps. "Torch Magic!" She unleashed the fire blasts, burning Lamortmon along with Firamon's attack.

Unimon frowned, but decided to fly down with them. "Aerial Attack!" She launched the sphere of light, hitting Lamortmon as well. All the while, Hudiemon watched feeling bad for the Digimon.

But then, she noticed something the others weren't noticing. Every attack slammed into Lamortmon, unleashed a lot of heat. And that heat was causing the water in the mud to evaporate. "Oh no." She flew down, "STOP!"

Lampamon pulled her arm back to fire again, but Hudiemon grabbed her and pulled her back. "What are you doing?"

"You're making the mud dry out!" She cried, catching the other's attention. "If it gets too dry-" A cracking sound filled the air and they looked down, just in time to see Lamortmon's claws break through the now rock hard mud.

The girls gasped, as the rest of the mud was broken out of and Lamortmon pulled itself free. "Oh no," Unimon gasped.

"Calamity Claws!" The beast leapt into the air and before Unimon or IceDevimon could blink, they found themselves getting slashed down the chests.

Both girls screamed as their Digimon forms exploded, the humans falling towards the ground. Luckily, Firamon managed to catch them on his back seconds before they crashed into the mud. But this caused Lamortmon to chase after him, pulling his blades out to cut them to ribbons.

"Flying Kick!" Before anyone could react, Hudiemon shot down and slammed her foot into the Digimon's head. The surprise impact knocked him away from Firamon. "Go!" She called out to the Champion, who nodded and took to the air. He had to find a safe place to let the two recover, leaving Lampamon and Hudiemon to battle Lamortmon.

Lampamon flew up to Hudiemon. "You're actually gonna fight?"

"I never said I wouldn't," Hudiemon told her. "I don't like fighting, but I'll do it if I have to." Lamortmon picked itself up and growled at the girls, Hudiemon flying forward. "Stand back!" As the beast charged forward, Hudiemon spun on the spot with her arms crossed. "Infinity Dream!" She swung her arms around and unleashed a green mist, which flew towards the Ultimate.

Lamortmon found itself flying into the mist, breathing it in and causing the Digimon to cry out.

"What did you just do?" Lampamon asked, as Lamortmon started moving more sluggishly. As it did, sparks appeared around it.

"Paralysed it, apparently."

"I can work with that!" Lampamon flew up, her torches swinging around her as she summoned their power. "Infernal Madness!" The flames exploded off the torches and flew down towards Lamortmon, morphing into a flaming copy of the Ultimate.

Lamortmon saw it coming and quickly drew its swords, the fake doing the same. Both Digimon slashed at one another, but Lamortmon's blades just passed through the fire clone's. But the clone's blades sliced across its chest, burning it as it did.

"Ha!" Lampamon cheered, as Lamortmon fell to the ground and slid along. "How'd you like that!? You want some more!?" The clone flew down to attack again, but Lamortmon pushed itself back up before throwing its blades right at the clone as hard as it could.

The blades spun through the air and flew into the clone, moving right through it without causing any damage.

Lampamon laughed as she dived down behind her clone, only to suddenly find the blades flying out the back towards her. A gasp escaped her lips, as one of the blades slammed into her and she was knocked back. This also caused her clone to fade away, allowing Lamortmon to leap up.

The Ultimate caught its swords before flying up to Lampamon and spinning around, slamming one of its metal feet into the Digimon and making her scream out in pain.

"SUNSET!" Hudiemon cried, as Lampamon exploded and the girl fell out of the light.

Lamortmon would have continued its attack, but the paralysis kicked in and it froze in the air. As such, Hudiemon was able to fly up and catch Sunset. She flew back towards the ground and put her down, as Lamortmon landed whilst still paralysed.

"Are you okay?" She asked, as Sunset coughed.

"You...need to get out of here." Lamortmon roared as it began to move again. "You can't beat him on your own." Hudiemon stood up and watched as Lamortmon began to charge forward, the Champion standing tall.

"You're not gonna hurt her," Hudiemon stood firm before charging forward. Lamortmon roared again and swung both its blades towards her from either side, Hudiemon leaping up and curling her wings up as she spun.

She spun between the blades like a video game quick time event, uncurling once she was out from between the blades.

She then leapt straight up and kneed Lamortmon in the chin, knocking it back as she back-flipped and landed in front of Sunset. The girl saw this and was amazed. "I'm giving you a choice. Leave now and never attack the village again. Promise to do that and this'll end now. I don't want to hurt you."

Lamortmon regained its balance and slammed both its fists into the muddy ground, roaring as it prepared to charge again.

"Very well," she sighed. "You leave me no choice." She brought her hands together, like she was about to pray, as Lamortmon charged. She then leapt forward as her wings spread wide. And as she did, light exploded off her body.

Sunset was blinded by the light, whilst the sensitive Lamortmon roared and covered its eyes. As it did, Hudiemon flew into the air.

"Hudiemon, Digivolve to..." She started to grow taller and seemed to mature, as the blue parts of her wings and skirt turned pink. Her eyes and the other yellow parts of her body turned aquamarine, as the white and silver parts of her outfit changed to yellow.

Her wings changed shape, looking more elegant than before, whilst her skirt grew longer and connected at the front and back to look more like a dress.

Suddenly, a flash of light occurred and a second set of arms appeared beneath the first, that looked just like them. The top part of her helmet then changed, shifting to look like she was wearing a tiara of sorts, with a butterfly gem on the front. She finished growing and was now a foot or so taller, with a more regal look to her. She spread her wings and struck a pose, as the light faded. "GREATHUDIEMON!"

"GreatHudiemon?" Sunset asked, as the beautiful butterfly Digimon floated down towards Lamortmon and looked ready for a fight.

Lamortmon growled before swinging its swords around. "Wind Fang!" The air blades flew towards the Digimon, but GreatHudiemon danced around without getting a single hit. She then spun in the air, as her wings began to glow.

"Silver Wind!" She beat them and the light flew off, carried on a powerful wind that shot towards Lamortmon.

Lamortmon tried to dodge, but the paralysis kicked in again and it was frozen. This allowed the Silver Wind attack to smash into it, the light blades it carried cutting into the Digimon's skin.

Sunset picked herself up, amazing by what she was seeing. She never expected Fluttershy to be this strong, even if she was in an Ultimate's body. "You go girl."

Lamortmon pushed through the pain and leapt into the air, spreading its wings as it glided towards GreatHudiemon. The Digimon snarled as it pointed its swords at her, attempting to impale her on the ends of the blade. But before it could land the hit, GreatHudiemon flew upwards and he missed.

All four of her hands then did the Spider-Man motion, "Silk Thread!" White silk exploded out of her wrists and shot towards the Digimon, hitting it on the wings and causing them to become useless for flying. And before Lamortmon could try to cut itself loose, GreatHudiemon flew down and wrapped the silk around its body.

She began circling around him, over and over again, whilst continuing to fire the silk that coated itself on the Ultimate Digimon's body. Eventually, everything but its head and the tips of its feet were wrapped up in a silk cocoon. GreatHudiemon then let it go and it fell to the ground, crashing into the muddy land.

"Nice!" Sunset cheered, as Lamortmon struggled against the bindings "Give it up. There's no way you're gonna get out of that." But just as she said that, Lamortmon's sword suddenly pierced through the cocoon. "Oh." The blade tore through it, as GreatHudiemon flew down to shield Sunset.

The beast ripped itself free, though several parts of its body were still covered in webbing.

It charged and GreatHudiemon picked Sunset up, lifting her up into the air and the monster charged. Sunset had to pull her legs up to avoid getting them bitten off, GreatHudiemon's lower arms holding her whilst the top ones fired more silk.

Lamortmon's face was covered in the webbing and it roared, as GreatHudiemon flew back down and put Sunset back on the ground. She then flew towards the beast, as it ripped the webbing off its face and charged forward. As it did, its eyes turned completely white and it started swinging its blades around wildly.

"Great Grudge Killer!" They swung towards GreatHudiemon, attempting to rip her to shreds.

The butterfly Digimon flew straight up and the blades barely missed her, as Lamortmon attempted to fly up after her. But its berserker state caused it to miss the fact its wings were still webbed up, so all that happened was it fell back towards the ground.

As it crashed into the ground, GreatHudiemon seized the opportunity and dived towards it.

She swung her legs around and kicked the blades out of Lamortmon's claws, shooting her webs at them and pulling with all her might to lift them into the air. And as Lamortmon picked himself up, she started spinning in the air to swing the blades around and around before letting go.

Sunset and Lamortmon watched, as the twin blades went flying off above the forest. They eventually disappeared into the trees, lost and leaving Lamortmon completely defenceless.

"Sunset!" She heard Firamon's voice and looked around to see him flying to her, having dropped Twilight and Trixie off somewhere safe. He then noticed the Ultimate and looked surprised, "who's that?"

"Firamon!" Sunset cried, "give her a hand!" He nodded and flew up, summoning as much fire as he could into a sphere above his head.

"FIRA BOMB!" The attack launched and the fireball flew down towards Lamortmon, who saw it coming and roared before thrusting his claws up and into the flames. As it exploded against him, GreatHudiemon flew straight up.

She started spinning, as both her boots started glowing. And as the flames began to die down, she dived down towards the Ultimate Digimon.

The beast pushed the last few flames away and as it looked up, it was greeted with the sight of the butterfly Digimon spinning around. "GREAT FLYING KICK!" She screamed before slamming her boot into the Digimon's chest, causing an explosion. She then slammed her other booth into its chest, another explosion following, then stomped with the first then the second and so on.

The kicks were moving like lightning, a hundred of them landing in only five seconds.

The hundredth kick allowed her to push off and do a back flip, landing on the ground and sliding along it until she stopped right in front of Sunset. She struck a pose and watched as Lamortmon exploded, causing it to stagger back and eventually fall to the ground.

Firamon flew down and landed in front of the girls, as GreatHudiemon suddenly started swaying and fell back.

Sunset gasped and rushed forward to catch her, as her form exploded and Fluttershy landed. "Are you okay?" She noticed how exhausted Fluttershy looked.

"Digivolving to Ultimate without a partner...really hard."

"Yeah, I guess it would be tiring." But as she said that, movement caught her attention and she looked over to see Lamortmon pick itself up. "No way. It can still fight, even after all that?" They watched as Lamortmon made its way forward, staggering as it growled at them.

Firamon stood protectively in front of them, as the Ultimate got closer.

But just as he was about to attack, Lamortmon fell to the ground as his body started breaking down. Fluttershy forced her eyes open and saw this, feeling sorry for what had happened. "I'm sorry, but you left us no choice." Lamortmon's form slowly began to fade away. "May your next life be a more peaceful one." Those were the last words it heard, before it disappeared into a million tiny lights.

As those lights floated up into the air, Firamon returned to the girls as Sunset helped Fluttershy up. "I guess the Neamon don't have to worry about Lamortmon any more."

"I guess not," Sunset nodded as she smiled at Fluttershy. "And it's all thanks to you."

"I didn't do much," Fluttershy stated.

"Are you kidding? You were awesome! Digivolving to Ultimate like that, all on your own. You totally beat him." Sunset frowned. "I'm sorry for what I said before. I was wrong. You're not a coward."

"Maybe. But I do get scared an awful lot." Firamon let the girls climb up onto his back. "And it takes a lot for me to get over that fear."

"Like seeing your friends in danger," Sunset nodded as Firamon took off. "But I guess your fear let you be more focused. You were the one who noticed we were ruining the plan. I guess I should have picked another Digimon."

They flew up towards the top of the mountain, then down towards the village. When they arrived, they saw Twilight and Trixie standing on the porch of the hut. Their Digimon were also there, finally awake.

"Ms. Sunset!" Elder Neamon cried, "what happened? Lamortmon. Is it..."

Sunset smiled as she jumped down off Firamon. "Lamortmon is no more. You can rest in peace, knowing your village is once again safe." The Neamon all cheered, whilst Twilight and Trixie looked amazed.

"Oh, thank you Ms Sunset. You've done us a great service."

Sunset smiled as he wrapped her arm around Fluttershy, who had just climbed down off Firamon. "I'm not the one you have to thank. Fluttershy's the one that defeated Lamortmon. She protected me after the beast beat me and fought it single-handedly." Fluttershy started blushing, as Twilight and Trixie looked impressed. "Three cheers to Fluttershy!"

The Neamon and Jagamon all cheered three times for the girl, as Terriermon ran up to her and jumped onto her shoulder.

They hugged one another and the Neamon applauded, happy that the beast was no longer going to cause them any problems. Twilight then stepped up to Fluttershy.

"I know that couldn't have been easy for you. Destroying a Digimon like that."

Fluttershy nodded. "I didn't have any choice. If I didn't, this village would have been destroyed." She sighed, "I just wish there was another way. Why do some Digimon have to cause harm to others?"

"Digimon are the embodiment of concepts from your world," Elder Neamon announced. "If mindless beasts exist and have been documented in your world, Digimon with the same mindless savagery will be born. It is the way of the Digital World. A mirror, giving life to all the concepts that your world holds."

"He's right," Twilight nodded. "As much as we want the Digital World to be a peaceful place where everyone gets along, that's not the world it's meant to be. Everything has both a good and bad side to it. And if you want to enjoy the good parts, you have to be willing to accept the bad with it."

Fluttershy nodded, knowing she was right.

The next day.

Crescemon, now recovered and Digivolved to Ultimate, swung her blade around to cut down several trees. Those trees would be used to repair the Neamon's huts, HooTawnimon and Firamon carrying them to the village.

The humans, Neamon and Terriermon watched them work, Neamon turning to Sunset. "Thank you again for this. It would have taken us forever to cut down all that lumber and get it to the village. With your help, it'll be done by the end of the day."

"No need to thank us," Twilight smiled. "We're happy to help."

Sunset nodded. "And if you ever need help again, just let us know. We'll do what we can."

"Thank you," Neamon nodded. "I pray we will never need your help, but we appreciate your offer of help." They watched, as Crescemon swung her blade around again to cut another long down. As they did, Trixie smiled and turned to the others.

"Well this has certainly been an interesting trip." The girls all nodded. "Gotta wonder what our real world selves are thinking right now. We've been gone for over twenty four hours." They realised she was right. They would need to return to the real world soon, or their other selves might think they'd been deleted or something.

"You four are welcome to return whenever you like," Neamon assured them. "The Abundant Mountains will always be here for you." The girls smiled and nodded, happy they were able to help when they could.

The Digital World might have some bad aspects that were hard to accept, but the good ones more than made up for it. And no matter what, they would help protect those parts from anything that threatened them.

In a large canyon, somewhere in the Digital World, a bright flash of light had appeared.

That light came from the very centre of the canyon, deep within the sunken section. And when the light began to fade, it revealed the final Dragon Soul Stone. The final thing standing between the Digital World and utter destruction.

Author's Note

Another fillery chapter, but one that also helps with character development. And now, it's time for the final arc of this story. What will happen? Who will win? I can't wait to find out.

For those wondering about Sunset's Lampamon. It's based on the greek underworld nymphs called lampades. Let me know what you think of the design, along with your thoughts on Hudiemon's Ultimate Form.

Canyon Bombardment

In a dark hidden cave, many pieces of machinery filled the cavern. All of it was interconnected, leading to one large machine in the centre of the room that had a larger glass tube on top of it.

Datamon was currently working at one of these machines, typing away at the computer whilst his arms were still chained up. Hagurumon were floating beside him, holding the chain and staring at the computer to make sure Datamon didn't do anything stupid.

Then, Armormon stepped into the room. "Is it ready?"

Datamon sighed, "yes." He stepped away from the computer, "all you need to do is step into the device and activate it. It'll upload the new data into your system. But I have no idea if this will work. It could give you the outcome you're hoping for, or it could turn you into a horrible mutation."

"Well, you'd better hope it works out. Because if it doesn't, you'll never leave this chamber alive." Datamon frowned as Armormon stepped over to the machine. But as he did, Fumamon appeared.

"It's here!" Armormon turned to him. "The final Dragon Soul Stone. It's appeared."

"I see," Armormon smiled. "Then I'd better get this done as soon as possible." He stepped into the chamber. "Have one of your Troopmon carry a tracker I can use to warp there when I'm finished." Fumamon nodded before disappearing, whilst Armormon turned to the Hagurumon. "Do it."

They nodded and pulled one of the levers, causing the glass tube to close around Armormon whilst the rest of the machines began to power up. They watched, as they hummed and sparked with energy. Slowly, parts of the machine under the tube began to unfold from it. There were a bunch of square metal columns, connected to the machine by metal arms. On the sides of the columns pointing at the tube, a bunch of lights could be seen beginning to light up.

Then, parts of the machine began to spun and the columns started spinning around the tube. And as they did, the lights started unleashing blasts of energy into the tube.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Armormon screamed, as the energy flowed into his body and started uploading the new data into him. It was pure agony, but the Ultimate Digimon refused to let himself be beaten by the pain. He would become the most powerful Digimon alive. And when he was, he would get his payback on those that had wronged him before.

Within a large cave system, a Digimon was running through the tunnels. That Digimon's body was shaped like a star, with a pair of black sunglasses on the front of it. It also had arms and legs, white and red in colour with white tassels.

The Digimon rushed down the cave and eventually came to a giant open space. But as it did, it heard a voice calling out. "Genocide Attack!" Suddenly, a bunch of fish missiles flew down and exploded around the Digimon. This knocked him flying and he crashed into the wall, falling to the ground as the one who fired the missiles flew down.

Megadramon smirked as he saw his opponent, SuperStarmon, was in trouble. "Now I got you!"

"You got nothing," SuperStarmon cried as he practically break-danced around until he was back on his feet. And when he did, he exploded into the air. "Superstar Uppercut!" Before Megadramon could stop him, the fist slammed into the Digimon's chin and knocked him backwards.

"Gyah!" He crashed into the cavern wall, SuperStarmon leaping away, but used his claws to keep from sliding down the wall. "Let me show you what I've got!" He cried before his body started glowing. "Megadramon, Digivolve to..." His body quickly reshaped itself into a winged humanoid shape, the light then exploding off of him. "ULFORCEVEEDRAMON!"

SuperStarmon gulped and shivered, the Royal Knight floating above him looking ready to do some serious damage. "Mommy."

"Ray of Victory!" UlforceVeedramon unleashed a beam of light, which shot down and struck SuperStarmon. The Digimon screamed in pain, as he was blasted backwards. And before he could recover, UlforceVeedramon was suddenly right in front of him and his sword was thrust into the star Digimon's face.

The Digimon exploded, a human boy falling out of it. As he did, the cavern began to disappear and the Royal Knight floated down to the ground. When he landed, he was transformed back into Flash Sentry.

"Yes!" He cheered, as the battlefield returned to its natural domed state. He then looked over at his opponent. "No hard feelings?"

"Yeah," he sighed as he picked himself up. "Whatever." He grabbed his Digivice and headed out of the room, as Veemon appeared from out of the Digivice.

"That was awesome!" The Rookie cried, the pair high-fiving before they left the dome and returned to the foyer. "I didn't know Megadramon could Digivolve into UlforceVeedramon."

"Me neither," Flash smirked. "We'll have to let Megadramon know the next time we see him. I know there can only be one UlforceVeedramon at a time, but I'm sure hearing he can become a great hero Digimon will make his day." They stepped out of the dome and headed towards the foyer. And he wasn't the only one.

Twilight and Sunset were ahead of him, walking with Tawnimon and Coronamon. They had just been in a double battle and from the happy looks on their faces, they had managed to win.

"Hey!" He caught their attention, "success in the stadium?"

"You have to ask?" Sunset smiled. "Of course we won. Who do you think we are?"

"Don't answer that," Twilight stated before Flash could reply. "How'd your battle turn out?"

"Pretty good," Flash stated. "I won, but it got kind of hairy for a minute or so. My opponent stuck us inside a cave system and I was worried my bigger forms wouldn't be able to fit. But I managed to find a couple of open spaces I could fight in." They arrived at the foyer and found their friends enjoying some snacks and playing games with one another.

The only one who didn't seem to be enjoying himself was Micro, who was sitting at the table looking through location scans he had.

"Still worried about Datamon?"

"Yeah," Micro nodded. "What if...what if got...deleted?"

"Datamon's pretty strong," Shining told him. "He is an Ultimate Digimon after all. He wouldn't go down so easily." They all nodded. "Besides, I can't see why anyone would want him deleted. His Battle Gears are way too useful." Micro nodded. He new Shining was right, but it didn't make the situation feel any better.

Suddenly, everyone got an alert on their Digivices. One that made them frown since they knew what it likely was. And sure enough, they opened the messages and found themselves being asked to come help gain the final Dragon Soul Stone.

"This is it," Flash told the others.

Shining nodded. "We've been pretty lucky the last few times. But now, we have to give it everything we've got. WarGrowlmon might not have found the stone. But if they have, then we can't let him get anywhere near it." They all headed towards the Digi-Port, along with many other Codex Players who were answering the call.

Flash spotted Jet and Lightning, both sitting at a table looking like they didn't have a care in the world. At the same time, Dracmon was asking what the alert was for. Flash doubted the Rookie would care once he knew about it, though Jet's explanation seemed to cause him to sweat bullets. Flash wondered why that was, but quickly focused on the situation ahead of them.

"Let's do this!" Flash uploaded the location scan and transported into the mountain base of the Great Dragons.

When they arrived, they found the base wasn't as jam pact as the last two times they had been there. And it was clear why. The army clearly hadn't been able to rebuild their numbers after their previous battles. Flash could only hope the same was true for WarGrowlmon's side.

"Flash!" He looked around and spotted Megadramon, the giant dragon Digimon taking up a large corner of the cave.

"Megadramon!" Flash and Veemon rushed over to him, the others following right behind him. "It's great to see you. How's things been?"

"Great," Megadramon smiled as a Frigimon stepped up to them. He was carrying a tray of Digi-Bites, offering them to the brave heroes that had come to offer their help. They each took some and once they had, Frigimon turned to offer some to Megadramon. The cyborg smiled and took a box, Frigimon walking off. "Almost everyone's really opened up to me. Magnadramon and Azulongmon have helped as well. It's great. Feels just like home."

"That's good," Twilight nodded before a frown appeared on her lips. "But when you say almost everyone's opened up to you. I'm guessing that means..."

"MagnaAngemon." They turned and smiled when they saw Leomon walking towards them, box of Digi-Bites in hand. "Yes. The close minded fool still thinks any Digimon that's a Virus Type is nothing but a danger to the Digital World. And with more and more of us accepting Megadramon into our ranks, he's been growing more and more annoyed."

"Jerk," Rainbow frowned. "I don't get why Magnadramon and Azulongmon keep him around. I'd have kicked his sorry behind out of this place by now."

"Unfortunately, creating this army of going after the Dragon Soul Stones were his idea. Plus, he's the only Digimon capable of becoming Goldramon. If there was another MagnaAngemon around, I'd happily ask him to take the role." The others nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly at that idea.

It was in that moment, the back of the wall opened up and someone stepped out of it. Everyone frowned, but knew they had to at least show him respect since he was their key to winning this war. As he stepped out, a pair of holographic screens appeared above the stage.

On them, Azulongmon and Magnadramon could be seen. "Greetings, my friends." Azulongmon smiled. "I'm happy so many of you could come. I'm afraid we've been unable to increase our numbers as of late. We lost so many Digimon in our campaigns against WarGrowlmon. But having you here is certainly giving us hope."

"Indeed," Magnadramon nodded. "We cannot offer you much in the means of reward, but I'm sure none of you wish to lose the Digital World. That is why we must work together, in order to protect this land from suffering the scourge of Megidramon. And now, let us show you where the final Dragon Soul Stone is located."

The holographic screen changed, now showing what appeared to be a giant canyon. It was several miles from one side of the edge to the other and looked four times deeper. As the image moved over to the terrain, they saw the place was full of waterfalls, several rivers, a couple of treed areas and a lot of rocks.

"The Great Canyon," Azulongmon announced. "It is quite the sight, I'm sure you'd agree. But marvelling at the environment will have to wait. Somewhere in this canyon, the final Dragon Soul Stone is waiting to be claimed."

MagnaAngemon stepped forward. "You all have but one duty. To make sure I get to the Dragon Soul Stone. No matter what, it's imperative that happens. Even if it means giving up your lives. You must make sure I get to the stone. Is that understood?" The Digimon didn't look happy about being cannon fodder, but they all nodded. "Good. Then get ready. We're heading out as soon as possible." They nodded, as a pair of golden orbs appeared.

One of the orbs flew over to Flash and the others, Salamon smiling when she saw it had Magnadramon within it. "Sister."

"Hello Salamon," Magnadramon smiled. "And Rarity, I understand the two of you managed to get to the Ultimate Level."

"Indeed," Rarity nodded. "It wasn't easy, but we should be able to put up a much better fight if we come up against WarGrowlmon and the rest of his legion."

Magnadramon nodded, as she flew up to Megadramon. "I have a favour I need to ask of you."

"Of course," Megadramon smiled. "After everything you've done for me, you don't even have to ask. Just let me know and I'll do it."

"Thanks you. But you may not be happy to accept once you know what it is." This intrigued them, "I need you to watch MagnaAngemon's back." Their eyes went wide. "I know the pair of you don't have the best relationship."

"That's putting it mildly," Flash stated. "He hates him, just because he has a hatred for Virus Digimon."

"Yes," Magnadramon nodded. "Even so, we must make sure MagnaAngemon gets to the Dragon Soul Stone before WarGrowlmon. So I am asking you to protect him."

Megadramon sighed. "Very well. If that is what you wish. I'll do my best to protect him. But I don't think he'll like that very much."

"Yes. Azulongmon is telling him that now."

"WHAT!?" And sure enough, MagnaAngemon looked absolutely insulted. "You dare state I need protection in the form of that...thing!" They frowned at this. "I will not allow it!"

"This is non-negotiable," Azulongmon stated. "WarGrowlmon knows you're the only one who can stop him. He's going to be sending all his forces after you. You may be able to take them on, but that'll cost you time and energy. Neither of which you have. Megadramon is our strongest Digimon. He will be going with you. End of story."

MagnaAngemon growled. "Fine. But I don't have to like it." He turned to Megadramon, "you'd better not get in my way. And if you try and make a grab for the Dragon Soul Stone. I'll tear you to shreds. Understand!?" Megadramon sighed, but nodded his head anyway.

MagnaAngemon flew over to where the portal was being set up, stepping through it as soon as it was open. The others began to make their way towards it as well, whilst Megadramon picked himself up off the ground.

"Don't listen to him," Flash stated.

"Yeah," Veemon nodded, "he's just a meanie. A woosy meanie at that. I bet anything, he's gonna end up getting his rear handed to him when WarGrowlmon shows up."

"He'd better not," Megadramon stated. "Like Magnadramon said, he's the linchpin in our plan. If he gets defeated, WarGrowlmon will claim the Dragon Soul Stone and we'll be in trouble. We have to protect him, even if he is a jerk." The others nodded, as the portal opened up.

"Alright," Shining told the others, "let's get going." MagnaAngemon stepped through the portal first, followed by Leomon and Megadramon. The others soon followed them through, all hoping they would be able to make it out of this battle without any lose.

When they stepped out of the portal, they found themselves in a large open rocky area. This area was flat landmass as far as the eye could see. But a little ways in the distance, they saw the area they were looking for. The Great Canyon.

"There it is," MagnaAngemon stated. "That is where the final Dragon Soul Stone is located." He spread his wings and took off, flying towards the canyon as the others followed suit.

"Better get ready," Shining stated as he took out his Digivice. "Let's do this, guys!" The others nodded and took out their Digivices, holding them up as they unleashed burst of light. Shining, Flash, Twilight, Rarity, Thorax and Sunset all called out in unison. "Biomerge, Activate!" They leapt up as they combined with their Digimon.

"Monodramon, Digivolve to...STRIKEDRAMON!"

"Veemon, Digivolve to...EXVEEMON!"

"Tawnimon, Digivolve to...HOOTAWNIMON!"

"Salamon, Digivolve to...GATOMON!"

"Grubmon, Digivolve to...SNIMON!"

Coronamon, Digivolve to...FIRAMON!"

The others held up their Digivices and light flew off of them, moving towards their Digimon in order to Digivolve them. "Tentomon, Digivolve to...KABUTERIMON!"

"Lunamon, Digivolve to...LEKISMON!"

"Mangoramon, Digivolve to...ARBORMON!"

"Kamemon, Digivolve to...TORTOMON!"

"Dilemon, Digivolve to...GATORMON!"

"Labramon, Digivolve to...DORULUMON!"

"Terriermon, Digivolve to...GARGOMON!"

Once that was done, they brought up another Digivolution deck and both Rainbow and Micro called out together. "Digi-Armor Energize!" They and the others were consumed by the light and began to transform.

"Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve to...PTERYXMON!"

"Tentomon, Armor Digivolve to...FLAMEWIZARDMON!"

"Impmon, Digivolve to...SORCERIMON!"

"Shamenmon, Digivolve to...APEMON!"

"Wormmon, Digivolve to...Hudiemon!"

"ToyAgumon, Digivolve to...TOYGREYMON!"

"Lalamon, Digivolve to...SUNFLOWMON!"

All around them, the other Codex Players were either fusing with their Digimon, or Digivolving them and Biomerging into their own Digimon. Once Digivolved, the Digimon that could all fly picked up the smaller ones that couldn't and took to the air. They flew after MagnaAngemon, Megadramon and the other Digimon, whilst Leomon, Gatormon, Tortomon and Dorulumon all ran after them.

At the same time, another portal opened up further back. And from out of it, Omnimon, Dynasmon and all the other Royal Knights flew out. The only one not there with them was Examon, the gigantic dragon waiting back at the castle in case he was needed.

Omnimon watched the Digimon rush into battle, knowing this could very well be the day the Digital World might end. "Be ready," he told them. "If they fail, we may have to step in and slay Megidramon." They nodded, but many had faith in their friends.

However, Kentaurosmon happened to look around and spot something flying towards the canyon from another direction. "What's that?" They looked around and spotted when he had seen, the lot realising it was a swarm of Flymon.

"Not good!" Omnimon summoned his Supreme Cannon. "Shoot them down!" He started firing, the others with long range attacks doing the same.

In the swarm of Flymon, Fumamon was riding one of them and sensed the danger approaching. Looking around, he spotted the Royal Knights and the attacks they were unleashing. "Evasive maneuvers!" The Flymon began to buzz away from one another, trying not to be such a big target.

Several weren't able to escape in time and got hit by the attacks, causing them to be deleted. But more were able to escape the blasts and keep flying, as they flew towards the barrier.

"Hurry!" Fumamon cried, "get to the barrier!" The Flymon managed to cross into the Dragon Soul Stone's barrier, the Royal Knight's attacks bouncing off of it as they got to safety. "Too close."

Omnimon growled as the last Flymon flew into the barrier. He then raised a golden orb in his Greymon hand. "Azulongmon, the enemy has arrived. We tried to stop them, but they got past us into the barrier."

"I see," Azulongmon nodded. "That is worrying. I shall inform the others right away."

MagnaAngemon and Megadramon had reached the canyon, the pair flying down into it whilst the others followed suit.

The canyon was rather deep, so deep that a skyscraper could fit inside and there'd still be room for a jet to fly through the canyon without going above the edge of the walls. Leomon and the rest of the flightless Digimon, had needed some help getting down. But once they were down, the group began to make their way through the canyon. But as they did, a pair of golden spheres appeared beside MagnaAngemon with Azulongmon and Magnadramon within them.

"Be careful," the blue dragon announced. "The enemy is approaching. Expect them to show up any moment."

"Understood," MagnaAngemon nodded. He looked up and sure enough, there were the Flymon. "Everyone, get ready. We're about to have some company!"

Strikedramon looked up and spotted one of the lead Flymon, who was carrying something on its back. "Fumamon!" He growled, as he rushed towards the wall. "Leave him to me. I've got a score to settle."

"Be careful!" HooTawnimon called out, as he began to leap up the wall towards the edge. With his incredible speed and jumping ability, he was able to reach the top before the Flymon got to close.

"Battle Gear...BOOST!" A flash of light appeared appeared around his chest and shoulders, as something appeared. A large set of tubular cannons hanging from his shoulders, Strikedramon having a metal vest around his chest they were connected to. "Hyper Cannon!" The cannons began to charge up and Strikedramon let out a mighty roar. "FIRE!" The cannons unleashed a pair of twin energy blasts, which shot into the sky at high speed.

Fumamon noticed it at the last moment and his eyes went wide, causing him to leap off the Flymon as the blast slammed into him and it was blown out of the sky. As it fell to the ground, Fumamon pulled out his swords and prepared to slash at Strikedramon. But the Champion leapt back, his Battle Gear needing a few more moments to charge back up.

"Nice try," Fumamon told him. "But it'll take more than that to get the drop on me." He rushed forward swinging his swords around as the Flymon continued to zoom overhead.

And as they did, they started dropping the warp bombs they were carrying into the canyon.

MagnaAngemon saw them coming and growled, knowing any moment he was likely going to end up getting swarmed by those filthy Viruses. But at the last moment, Megadramon raised his arms and fired the fish-shaped missiles.

They flew into the air and exploded, taking out several of the warp bombs. But they couldn't get them all and several struck the ground, exploding as they did so and creating a bunch of portals.

"Great," Leomon growled. He drew his sword, as Ogremon, IceDevimon, Troopmon and other Virus Digimon stepped out from the portal. "Just what we need."

"We can take em!" ExVeemon stated. "We just gotta blow a hole in their group, so MagnaAngemon can get through." The others nodded as the Virus Digimon charged forward. ExVeemon leapt into the air and crossed his arms. "Vee-Laser!" The beam of light exploded out of his chest, flying down and exploding upon contract with the opponent.

This blew them back, whilst the others followed suit. "Magic Ignition!" FlameWizardmon unleashed a barrage of fireballs, which exploded to knock the Virus Digimon down.

"Sky Strike!" HooTawnimon flew forward and smashed her way through the crowd, a veil of light surrounding her as she did so.

Lekismon then leapt into the air. "Moon Night Bomb!" She punched the air, unleashing a barrage of bubbles at the remaining Virus Digimon. As they popped, the Digimon found themselves feeling rather sleepy. And this allowed the others to get in some attacks.

"Crystal Barrage/Angry Spike/Electro Shocker/Blockade Seed/Wildfire Wingbeat/Strong Carapace/Gargo Pellets/ Plastic Nova/Hydro Pump/Sunshine Beam/Drill Bit Blitz/Twin Sickle/Fira Bomb!" Several more Digimon launched their attacks, Leomon amongst them. The canyon was soon filled with explosions, which knocked the Virus Digimon back.

Megadramon saw the opening and turned to MagnaAngemon. "Let's go."

"Don't give me orders!" The Ultimate Angel flew into the sky and shot past the Virus Digimon, but knew this wouldn't be the last of them. Several Flymon had flown ahead, likely dropping those Warp Gates further along. MagnaAngemon would have to mow them all down. Nobody was getting between him and the Dragon Soul Stone.

As soon as MagnaAngemon and Megadramon flew around a corner, ExVeemon flew down and started getting up close and personal with the enemy. He punched an IceDevimon in the face before spinning around and slamming his tail into a Pachymon.

The others were also fighting hand to hand, each of them being sure to not waste too much power. Leomon slashed at many of them, whilst Gargomon slammed his metal fist into their faces. The flying Digimon continued to stay in the air, Sunflowmon carrying Gatomon as the cat leapt towards an IceDevimon.

"Lightning Paw!" She threw the punch right into one's face, knocking it back as Sunflowmon caught her.

"Sunshine Beam!" The sunflower Digimon blasted the IceDevimon, along with several more. Snimon then flew past the pair, slashing at a bunch and knocking them to the ground. Firamon did the same, igniting her entire body and smashing into another ice devil.

Apemon blocked a Pachymon's tail mace, pushing it back and allowing FlameWizardmon to blast them with a fireball. Gatormon unleashed a burst of water, which Sorcerimon quickly froze to make a bunch of ice below the Virus Digimon's feet.

The Ogremon roared as they fell to the ground, whilst Troopmon leapt over to some rocks for better footing. And as they did, they fired at the Digimon with their guns.

Several of them, both Digimon and player, found themselves getting hit and knocked backwards. But as they did, Hudiemon flew over them. "Infinite Dream!" She beat her wings and the powder flew down, landing on the Digimon and healing them up.

As this was happening, Dorulumon, Tortomon and Arbormon rushed forward to deal some serious blows to the opponents. "Things are looking good," HooTawnimon stated. "But..."

"But?" ExVeemon asked.

"I can't shake the feeling this is going too well. This is their last chance to take a Dragon Soul Stone. You'd think they'd pull out all the stops." ExVeemon realised she was right. Why weren't they using their best warriors, like Armormon? Where even was he?

Back in the cave, Armormon continued to scream as he was being subjected to Datamon's upgrade.

A Hagurumon was staring at a screen on the computer, watching as a loading bar filled up. "Almost finished!" He stated. "Ninety-six percent. Ninety-seven percent." The machines then started exploding, smoke and fire filling the chamber. "Ninety-eight percent. Ninety-nine percent!" More explosions went off, causing bits and pieces of the machine to go flying everywhere.

Armormon kept screaming as the energy went haywire, with one of the energy columns being sent flying. And finally, the entire machine blew up and the other Digimon were forced to run.

When the smoke and fire faded away, the coughing machine and cyborg Digimon stagger back towards the now trashed device. And when they looked over at the computer, they saw the progress bar reading one hundred percent. "Did it work?" A Hagurumon asked, the lot of them turning towards the chamber.

From out of it, Armormon staggered forward. He coughed and moaned, clearly having a lot taken out of him from the process. But he was alive and when the pain of the experiment began to wear off, he looked himself over and smiled.

"Yes. I can feel it. The power is within me. All I have to do is let it out." Datamon gulped, wishing he wasn't such an amazing genius. If he really had given Armormon the power he was after, then nothing could stop him.

"I'm sorry, my friends."

Up on the top of the canyon, Strikedramon and Fumamon continued their battle.

"Hyper Cannon, Fire!" The Champion unleashed a blast of energy, which shot straight towards the Ultimate Ninja. But before they could hit, Fumamon crossed his swords and the laser slammed into them. He was pushed backwards by this, but managed to maintain his footing as he waited for the energy to die down.

Eventually, it did and he smirked before charging once again. "Nice toys!" He swung his blades around and in the blink of an eye, Strikedramon found both his cannons getting cut up. "But I bet our toys are better!"

Strikedramon gasped at his destroyed weapons, then heard what Fumamon had said. "What?"

Fumamon leapt back and laughed. "What? You don't remember? When you attacked our old base, we left you a little something behind. A prototype of the weapons we've been preparing since you beat us the last time." He pointed his swords at them, "well they're finally ready." He suddenly threw the swords into the air, distracting Shining as he pulled out a flare and ignited it.

The firework shot up and exploded, getting the attention of the other Digimon as he caught his sword.

"What was that?" Strikedramon asked, only for Fumamon to chuckle.

"Your friends are about to find out."

Down below, everyone noticed the firework and the Virus Digimon smiled.

"Finally!" A Troopmon cried. He then took something out. It looked like the fob one would use for their car, the other Virus Digimon doing the same. "I've been waiting to try out these new toys."

"What are you talking about?" ExVeemon asked, only for the Digimon to press the button on the fobs. This caused a bunch of portals to appear behind them. And from out of these portals, a bunch of strange vehicles shot out. "What the heck?" These vehicles came in many different shapes and sizes.

Several were high-tech motorcycles, which the Ogremon leapt onto. Others were coin-shaped flying vehicles, with spinning spikes on the edge that the IceDevimon leapt into. And then there were a bunch of futuristic tank-like weapons, which the Troopmon leapt into and started piloting.

The Pachymon didn't have any vehicles, instead getting a bunch of mech suits that covered their bodies. Their backs had rockets on the back, whilst their feet were covered by a pair of rollerblades. Their short arms gained metal coverings with drills and buzzsaws on the ends and their heads had large metal helmets on them.

"What are those things?" Pteryxmon squawked, as the tank vehicle came to life and pointed its railgun-like weapon towards them. Lightning sparked between it before firing, the Digimon all crying out as they leapt away. The electro sphere struck the ground and caused a serious explosion, the force of the blast knocking everyone close away.

They screamed as they were slammed into the ground, ExVeemon and HooTawnimon flying up. But as they did, the flying disk vehicles sho towards them. The spikes spun faster, transforming the vehicles into a bunch of flying buzzsaws. "Wow!" ExVeemon almost got cut in half. "Not cool."

Back on the ground, the Ogremon laughed as they raced around on their motorcycles. Leomon growled as he tried to slash at them, but had little success. "What's the matter?" One of them laughed, "too fast for you?" The top of the bike's front then opened up, as a laser barrel folded out. "Too bad!" The barrel fired and Leomon was struck in the chest.

"Gaaah!" He fell backwards, hitting the ground as the other Ogremon launched a barrage of attacks at the other Digimon on the ground.

"Augh!" Dorulumon howled. as some Garurumon and Ikkakumon were knocked down. The Orgemon then rushed forward and collided with a Frigimon, causing it to explode as it was knocked down.

At the same time, the Pachymon's rockets ignited and they shot forward on their rollerblades. This allowed them to move at incredible speeds, either ramming their armored heads into Digimon or attacking them with their arm weapons.

Gatomon was barely able to avoid getting run over, Sunflowmon flying down to pick her up. "This isn't good," she stated as a Starmon tried and failed to stop one of the bikes.

"Where the heck did these things come from?" Sunflowmon asked, FlameWizardmon having a good idea as he used his fire blast attack to try and stop several.

"They have to be Battle Gear," he stated as Kabuterimon rammed his head into one of the buzzsaws. "But I've never seen Battle Gear this advanced." He instantly knew this could only be the work of one Digimon. "Datamon, what have you done?"

"Vee Laser!" ExVeemon unleashed his chest beam and struck one of the tanks on the ground. But the weapon was so well armored, it didn't do a thing against it. And in return, the tank pointed its railgun at him. "Not good." He barely managed to pull back in time to avoid getting hit in the chest, HooTawnimon almost getting hit as well.

This distraction allowed the buzzsaw vehicles to fly up and slam into them, both screaming as they felt the blades cutting into their bodies. Soon enough, they were all thrown towards the ground and at the mercy of the other Virus Digimon.

"Drill Tornado!" Dorulumon unleashed the powerful vortex from this tail, which he shot towards the Pachymon flying across the ground.

The dinosaur Digimon were slammed by the tremendous gale, but the rockets on their backs allowed them to push through and continue fighting. Once they were close enough, one thrust their drill arm into his side and Dorulumon howled in pain.

"Dorulumon!" Sunflowmon cried, as Gatomon leapt out of her hands and fell towards the Pachymon.

"Lightning Paw!" She slammed her fist into one of their heads, but the metal helmets made it so he attack did nothing. And before she could get away, the Pachymon spun around and slammed his tail mace into her chest. "GYAH!" She was sent flying backwards, Hudiemon managing to grab her before she smashed into anything.

"Are you okay?" Hudiemon asked, Gatomon having trouble catching her breath. Had Rarity been in the human world, an impact like that would have probably powderized every bone in her chest.

"These brutes certainly don't know how to treat a lady." As she said that, Gargomon called out for them to watch out. They spun around and saw one of the buzzsaw Battle Gears flying towards them. Hudiemon barely managed to avoid it before Gargomon unleashed a flurry of bullets.

But the spinning blades were able to deflect the attack, as lightning began to spark around them. "Try this!" IceDevimon yelled, as he hit a button that caused the energy to explode off of the blades and form a wave that flew out in every direction.

Everyone who saw the wave managed to avoid it, but several Digimon were unable to escape and got struck by it. They cried out, as they were blasted backwards and crashed into the ground. They let out a bunch of moans, as several of them either reverted back to Rookie Level, human form, or split into a human and their partner.

"You okay?" HooTawnimon told them, as they pushed themselves back to their feet. As they did, the Digimon started attacking by shooting at them again. They all cried out, as the other Digimon worked to protect them. "All of you, Port out of here!" The players didn't need to be told twice, quickly grabbing their partners and disappearing before they could be struck by another attack.

HooTawnimon wasn't so lucky, getting struck by several bike blades and knocked down to the ground. As she did, the Pachymon rushed towards her and prepared to use their buzzsaws to cut her to pieces.

"Vee-Laser!" The X-shaped beam struck the ground and carved a line into it, causing them to stop and look up at ExVeemon. The champion was clearly not about to let them hurt his friend. But before he could attack again, one of the tanks pointed their railgun at him and fired a blast.

At the same time, Strikedramon had removed his weapons and was now fighting against Fumamon head on.

The Ultimate Ninja Digimon threw several shurikens towards Strikedramon, who managed to jump and spin out of the way. When he landed, Fumamon rushed forward with incredible speed and slashed at him several times. "Wow!" Strikedramon barely managed to avoid the attacks, only for Fumamon to then slam a foot into his chest and knock him flying backwards. "GYAH!"

Fumamon laughed, as Strikedramon was thrown back and rolled along the ground. Eventually, he came to a stop and let out a moan. "You really think you have what it takes to end us?" Fumamon asked. "We have the best Battle Gear ever created. You fools can't hope to stand up to that."

Strikedramon pushed himself up and turned to glare at Fumamon. "Battle Gears can be powerful, but they're nothing more than a tool. Their strength is only matched by the strength of the user. And you guys are hardly worth considering as strong."

Fumamon glared at him, only for an explosion and a cry of what sounded like ExVeemon to fill the air. "And how, pray tell, do you intend to overcome the power they've given us?"

"By relying on our own power," Strikedramon began to glow. "The power granted through hard work and inner discovery. Our true power!" He rushed forward, as the light exploded off of him. "Strikedramon, Digivolve to..." Fumamon was blinded by the light and when he finally recovered enough to open his eyes, he found himself staring at an incoming fist seconds before it smashed into him. "CYBERDRAMON!"

Fumamon was thrown backwards and he ended up doing several flips through the air until he eventually smashed into the ground, rolling along it before he slid to a stop. When he looked up, he saw the Ultimate Digimon and knew he the fight was really about to start.

ExVeemon groaned as he laid on the ground, the rest of his friends laid out in the same way.

The rest of the Virus Digimon were lined up, their vehicles ready to blast them all to atoms. Seeing the vehicles rev up to attack again, ExVeemon pushed himself to his feet. "I'm not done yet. What about the rest of you? You guys gonna be beaten by a bunch of oversized toasters?" The Digimon all pushed themselves up, refusing to be beaten so easily. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You wanna use those things to try and get the upper hand, but you're a million years too late for that."

"Yeah, right." One of the Ogremon laughed, "we've got you completely overpowered."

HooTawnimon spread her wings. "If you had had those things during the first Dragon Soul Stone's appearance, maybe you would have us beat. But we've come a long way since then."

"Everybody ready?" FlameWizardmon cried, the others cheering as ExVeemon leapt into the air.

"Then let's show them what true strength looks like!" As he said that, the ghostly form of Stingmon appeared before being absorbed into the dragon and making him glow. "ExVeemon, DNA Digivolve to..." He quickly transformed and grew larger, the light exploding off of him. "PAILDRAMON!"

The other Digimon began to glow as well, only Pteryxmon, Hudiemon, ToyGreymon, Sunflowmon and Firamon remaining the same. "HooTawnimon, Digivolve to...CRESTAWNIMON!"

"FlameWizardmon, Digivolve to...MISTYMON!"

"Kabuterimon, Digivolve to...MEGAKABUTERIMON!"

"Sorcerimon, Digivolve to...KHIONEMON!"

"Lekismon, Digivolve to...CRESCEMON!"

"Apemon, Digivolve to...GOKUWMON!"

"Arbormon, Digivolve to...PETALDRAMON!"

"Kamemon, Digivolve to...KURMAMON!"

"Gargomon, Digivolve to...RAPIDMON!"

"Gatormon, Digivolve to...CROCANNODRAMON!"

"Dorulumon, Digivolve to...JAEGERDORULUMON!"

"Gatomon, Digivolve to...ANGEWOMON!"

"Snimon, Digivolve to...METALSNIMON!"

The now Ultimate Level Digimon stared down at the vehicle driving Digimon, who suddenly felt very vulnerable. "So what if they're Digivolved!" An Ogremon cried, revving his bike's engine. "They still can't beat us!" He shot forward, racing along the canyon floor towards Paildramon.

But the Ultimate looked down at him before pulling one of his blasters forward. The next thing Ogremon knew, a laser flew down and struck the ground in front of him. "GYAH!" The explosion knocked the bike flying and Ogremon was thrown off of it, Paildramon then extending the blades on his arm.

"String Strike!" With a single slash, the stinger cut through the bike and caused it to explode.

The other Viruses roared in anger and rushed forward, the tanks firing at them. But before they could hit, Kurmamon appeared and curled himself up. "Spike Defence!" The energy dome appeared around him and blocked the electric blast, as several of the bikes flew forward and smashed into the barrier.

The flying Battle Gears flew overhead, then dived down to try and attack some of the remaining Champions. But Mistymon, Gokuwmon and JaegerDorulumon appeared, using their weapons to block the attacks. "Nice try!" Mistymon cried, pushing a buzzsaw back. He then leapt up and before the IceDevimon could react, his sword pieced the machine and caused it to spark and smoke up.

He leapt away, seconds before it exploded, as Gokuwmon and JaegerDorulumon used their weapons to damage the flying Battle Gear as well.

"Winter Breeze!" Khionemon unleashed a wave of freezing wind, which struck the Pachymon and caused them to start freezing up.

"Hey!" One of them yelled, as their feet were frozen to the ground. They started using their drills and saws to cut through the ice, but they were sitting ducks in the meantime. And sure enough, Crescemon rushed forward and started swinging her bladed weapons around.

The next thing the Pachymon knew, their new Battle Gear was being cut to ribbons and they had no way of stopping it. All they could do was cry out, as Crescemon landed behind them.

Khionemon smirked at this, but was almost hit by one of the tank's blasts. "You're next!" She unleashed another wave of cold air, which struck the tanks and caused them to start freezing up. They quickly froze to the ground, their treads moaning under the stress of trying to move.

"What's happening?" a Troopmon cried, trying to get his machine back up and running. But nothing he did worked. "Fire!"

"We can't!" Another Troopmon yelled, "whatever this is. It's freezing up our connections. We can't access our energy banks!" MetalSnimon, Rapidmon and MegaKabuterimon charged at the frozen vehicles.

"Razor Destroyer!" He used his chainsaw blades to smash through the ice and cut into the metal, the railgun being torn to shreds as parts of the tank began to malfunction.

"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon unleashed a barrage of missiles, whilst MegaKabuterimon charged with hit horn sparking.

"Horn Buster!" He rammed his horn into the tank, ripping it apart and causing it to overload from the energy being sent into it. The Troopmon all screamed, as they quickly abandoned their weapon in order to escape.

They leapt out of the tanks, which exploded and consumed several of the Troopmon before they could get away. And as they did, the Ogremon on their bikes tried to escape so as to not lose their best weapons. But before they could get away, Angewomon flew up.

"Celestial Arrow!" She fired the arrow of light towards them, hitting one of the bikes and causing it to explode. As she did, several buzzsaw weapons charged towards her. But Petaldramon quickly came to her rescue.

"Leaf Cyclone!" He unleashed a leaf infused tornado, which rocketed upwards and slammed into the Battle Gear. The riders lost all control of their vehicles, eventually being thrown out of the tornado and sent flying.

"Gale Star!" CresTawnimon beat her wings and sent the glowing stars on her chest flying towards one of them. They smashed into the vehicles, ripping it apart and forcing the IceDevimon to escape.

"Kaimen Barrage!" Crocannodramon raised his missile launchers and then fired at another buzzsaw, which was also abandoned seconds before it was destroyed. And as the two wrecked vehicles fell to the ground, the last one found itself being targeted by all the un-evolved Digimon.

"Fist of the Beast King!"

"Wildfire Wingbeat!"

"Sunshine Beam!"

"Plastic Nova!"

"Fira Bomb!" The attacks fired and slammed into the damaged machine, causing it to also be broken up beyond repair whilst the IceDevimon leapt to safety.

Paildramon flew around the battlefield and watched as an Ogremon raced towards him. "I'm taking you down with me!" But Paildramon didn't look at all worried, landing and simply reaching out to grab the bike by the front end. "WOW!" Ogremon found himself being thrown off the bike, which was just stopped whilst his momentum continued forward.

Paildramon then lifted the bike up and ripped the machine in half, followed by him throwing the pieces towards two more bikes and knocking their riders off it.

As the pair continued to fight, the explosions and screams of Fumamon's team filled the air. This made Cyberdramon smirk, "so much for your toys." But then, Fumamon just smirked.

"What, you thought that was the only plan we had for you guys?" He laughed, "we refuse to lose to you this time. That's why, we're pulling out all the stops. Battle Gears aren't the only things your friend has been working on. We've been putting his other interest to good use."

"Other interests?" Cyberdramon asked, only for his eyes to go wide. "No way. He couldn't...he wouldn't."

"Oh, but he did. And the procedure should have finished by now. Once Armormon has stabilised himself, he'll be making his way into the battle. And I'm sure he's eager to show off his new abilities to your friends." Cyberdramon glanced over to where the battle was taking place. This wasn't good.

Everyone panted as they finished off the last of the Battle Gear, the pieces of junk nothing now but scrap metal.

Paildramon ripped one of them apart and looked around, seeing the many Troopmon and other Digimon still preparing to do battle. "Bring it on!" He cried, grabbing his Desperado Blasters and aiming them at the lot.

But before he could fire, a portal opened up behind one of the Troopmon. "Now, now." Paildramon instantly recognised the voice. "Let's not do anything rash." Armormon stepped out of the portal. "We wouldn't want to cause any unneeded injury."

"Armormon!" Angewomon growled. "We were wondering where you got to."

Paildramon chuckled. "I just figured you hightailed it from WarGrowlmon's army. Considering the thrashing we gave you last time, it seemed like something a coward like you would do?"

"Coward?" Armormon growled. "You'll regret calling me that when this is over." He then let out a chuckle, "after all. I have something that you'll certainly find rather interesting." They all raised their eyebrows, as Armormon pulled on a chain he currently had coiled around his arm.

From out of the portal, another Digimon was pulled out by the chain. "Datamon!" Mistymon gasped, seeing his friend in a rather sorry stated. "I knew it. I knew you were the only one that could build Battle Gears that advanced." He saw a look of shame on Datamon's face, Mistymon turning to Armormon. "Let him go! Right now!"

"Sure!" Armormon pulled on the chain so hard, Datamon was yanked into the air. He then spun the chain around before letting it go, sending Datamon flying until he crashed into the canyon wall. "He's of no more use to us. Now that he's given me what I wanted."

"What are you talking about?" CresTawnimon asked, as Datamon picked himself up.

"I'm so sorry," he told them. "I didn't have a choice. They made me do it."

"Do what?" Pteryxmon asked, only for Armormon to laugh as he slowly stepped forward.

"He's given me the power to destroy you all, once and for all." Everyone got ready to attack, expecting him to use some kind of high class Battle Gear. "You know, this little barrier the Dragon Soul Stone erected has a slight flaw. It's designed to only keep Mega Digimon out. But there's nothing to stop new Mega Digimon from appearing within."

Everyone looked at him in confusion, wondering what the heck he was talking about. But then, Mistymon gasped. "Datamon, you didn't!"

"Oh, he did!" Armormon laughed, "and now it's time I unleash my new power upon you all!" Armormon's body began to glow and before anyone could stop him, he started growing to a colossal size. "Armormon, Mega Digivolve to..."

His body filled the canyon and everyone was forced to run or get crushed, several of the Ultimates unleashing long range attacks but having no effect on the Digivolving beast. Slowly, its form began to take shape and everyone found themselves staring at what appeared to be a giant glowing brachiosaur.

Then, the light faded to reveal his appearance and many were reminded of a Digimon named Cannondramon. This Digimon was similar in appearance, though it appeared almost entirely robotic. The metal that made up most of its body was pure white, though it had several blue patterns covering it. The front of its super long neck was purple and ran all the way down to its chest.

Said chest was covered in white armor that appeared to open, whilst its four white legs looked similar to Armormon's legs but were entirely metal and covered in blue lines. Its back had a pair of large metal wings, which didn't look like they would be able to allow for any kind of flight. At the same time, its metal tail was almost as long as it was and was divided into multiple octagonal sections. These eight sided sections each had a small laser turret sticking out of each side and slowly, they began spinning in opposite directions to the one next to it. The end of the tail also had a large laser barrel on the tip.

The head of this Digimon was also very strange. It looked like that of a normal lizard's head, with metal spikes sticking out the top with a chomping lower mouth. But the top of the head had no eyes or nose. Instead, that entire section of the head was made of glass. And inside that glass was a cockpit of some kind, but one without any controls or buttons.

Instead, Armor was there. The Digimon's entire upper body was inside the cockpit, whilst the lower parts of his body from the waist down was surrounded by a strange yellow substance that looked like skin. His arms from the elbow down were also inside this flesh section, the Digimon's eyes beginning to glow as his new form powered up.

Everyone was in absolute shock at the sight of this Digimon, having never seen anything like it before. The blue sections of the Digimon began to light up and Armormon yelled out, his voice being projected from the new mechanical Digimon over some kind of loudspeaker. "BOMBARDRAMON!" His voice echoed across the canyon, deafening several individuals.

Mistymon turned to Datamon, seeing a look of shame appear on his face. He had dreamed of creating a new type of Digimon and had succeeded. And now that Digimon would likely destroy them and everything around them.

Bombardramon laughed hysterically, as he felt his new power flowing through him. "Yes!" He stepped forward, "YES! Behold, the most powerful Digimon ever created!"

Author's Note

And so, it has begun. The forces of good and evil do battle, with only one side able to be the victor. Flash and his friends face a new threat. One that they might not be able to overcome. How will this battle end? Only time will tell.

True Strength

The battle for the final Dragon Soul Stone had begun and everyone was in a race to acquire the stone before anyone else, but things had been made complicated by the opposing side.

Outside the canyon, the Royal Knights watched and waited to see what would happen. They prayed that this would just be a waste of their time, all of them knowing that if they were needed then the Digital World might already be doomed.

"I don't like how quiet it's gotten," Omnimon stated. "The air feels too tense. Like something bad's about to happen." And sure enough. As soon as he said that, an explosion of light caught their attention and made them look towards the canyon.

"What is that?" Crusadermon asked, as the light grew brighter and brighter.

"That's the light of Digivolution," UlforceVeedramon stated.

Omnimon held up and glowing golden orb, which showed an image of Azulongmon. "What's happening? Please tell me that's one of your Digimon."

"I'm afraid not," the Great Dragon replied.

Inside the canyon, Megadramon and MagnaAngemon flew through the air rocky terrain whilst looking back.

"What is that?" MagnaAngemon stated. They watched as whatever was producing that light grew larger, forcing them to look away it was so bright. "That's a Digivolution. But it's not like any Digivolution I've ever seen."

"You sure?" Megadramon asked. "I've seen light that bright only once. When Angewomon Digivolved." The angel realised he was right. That was Mega Digivolution. But that could only mean one thing.

"They've figured out a way around the Mega Level barrier. Digivolving inside it. So long as they don't leave, they can do whatever they want inside the barrier. That's not good."

"Flash," Megadramon glanced back. "I hope you and your friends are okay."

To say Flash and his friends were having a trying day was an understatement.

First, they had found themselves up against powerful Battle Gear made courtesy of Datamon. But even after overcoming all that, they now faced an even larger problem by the name of Bombardramon. The giant robotic dragon was now looming over them, with Armormon inside the head ready to do some serious damage against them.

"What the heck is that thing?" Pteryxmon asked, as the mechanical dragon powered itself up completely.

"Datamon actually did it," Mistymon stated. "He made an entirely new Digimon. And it's a Mega." He would be proud of his friend, if the created Digimon had not been on the enemy's side of the field.

Datamon stared up at what at what he wished he didn't have to call his masterpiece. After so much time, he had created a fully functioning Digimon. But now that Digimon was going to help destroy the Digital World.

Bombardramon laughed as he raised one of his giant mechanical feet, then thrust it down towards the ground. The impact it made was so strong, it shook the ground and caused everyone not flying to lose their balance.

"Everyone hold on!" Paildramon cried, as Bombardramon opened his mouth.

"Let's see what some of my new features are," the mechanical Digimon cried as a laser blaster barrel folded out. "Bombarding Blast!" The weapon unleashed a laser that shot down and struck the ground, exploding with enough force to send anyone near it flying.

"GYAH!" They cried, as ToyGreymon, Firamon, Leomon, Petaldramon and Gokuwmon were slammed into the ground. As they hit it, Paildramon, CresTawnimon, MegaKabuterimon and MetalSnimon flew up.

"Desperado Blaster!" Paildramon unleashed the barrage of lasers, whilst CresTawnimon flew higher.

"Gale Star!" The energy shot off the stars on her body, which collided with Bombardramon at the same time the energy bullets hit him. But none of them did any real damage.

"That the best you got?" Bombardramon asked, only for MegaKabuterimon and MetalSnimon to reach him.

"Horn Buster!" MegaKabuterimon's horn sparked with energy before he rammed it into Bombardramon, whilst the chainsaws on MetalSnimon began to spin.

"Razor Destroyer!" The chainsaw ground into the metal body, but didn't even scratch it whilst the electrical attack didn't even singe him.

"Wow," Bombardramon laughed, "I think I just got stung by a mosquito." As he said that, Angewomon and Sunflowmon flew up.

"Celestial Arrow!" The angel Digimon unleashed the arrow and it shot towards him, whilst Sunflowmon's face began to glow.

"Sunshine Beam!" A laser fired and struck Bombardramon, at the same time the Celestial Arrow landed. But nothing they did was doing any damage.

"Blast Fire!" Mistymon swung his blazing sword, which engulfed the Mega Level in a massive flame. But the Digimon simply stepped out of them, not looking damaged in the slightest. "What the heck is that body made of?"

"I'm sorry," Datamon cried. "I designed this body to have absolutely no weaknesses. I didn't have any choice" As he said that, Bombardramon raised his wings and parts of them began to open. "Oh no. Everyone take cover!" From out of the wings, a bunch of missiles launched and flew into the air, then curved down towards the canyon.

"Oh boy," Paildramon cried as the missiles drew closer. He raised his blasters and started firing, the lasers hitting some of the missiles and destroying them. But there were just too many to take out.

The others tried their long range attacks, but they didn't react in time to destroy them all and the missiles collided with the ground. Everyone screamed as the explosions slammed into them, throwing them all backwards as they let out screams of pain. Bombardramon could only laugh, loving the new power he had been given.

Up atop the canyon wall, Cyberdramon and Fumamon continued to do battle.

As the ninja Digimon threw a bunch of shurikens at him, Cyberdramon slashed them away with is claws before the canyon began to shake. "What?" He turned towards the source of the shaking and saw a large amount of smoke coming up from within the canyon. "What is that?"

"Don't get distracted!" Fumamon rushed forward and slashed at him, Cyberdramon leaping back to avoid his blade.

He landed and glanced back again, fear coursing through him as he realised that was where his friends were. "What did you do?"

Fumamon chuckled as he spun his sword through the air. "Your old friend Datamon really pulled through. He managed to create an entirely new Digimon for Armormon to Digivolve into. A Mega Level Digimon." Shining's eyes went wide. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's already crushed your friends."

"Don't underestimate them!" Cyberdramon cried. "My friends are stronger than you think they are."

"Maybe," Fumamon nodded. "But they're all stuck at the Ultimate Level. Against a Mega..." He rushed forward, his swords swinging around, "they don't stand a chance!" Cyberdramon ran forward and blocked the sword his his claws, all the while worrying about his friends.

It was bad enough they had those insane Battle Gear to deal with. But if Armormon really had gotten to Mega, they were in serious danger. "Be careful."

The explosions filled the air with Megadramon and MagnaAngemon hearing them as they continued through the canyon.

The turned a corner and saw a bunch of Troopmon charging at them, Megadramon flying ahead and swinging his tail around to knock them away. MagnaAngemon wanted to finish them off, but Azulongmon's orb flew up next to him. "You don't have time for that. Focus on the Dragon Soul Stone."

"Fine," he growled before they kept going. Eventually, after turning three more turns, they found themselves staring at the giant rock that held the power of the final Great Dragon. "This is it." MagnaAngemon flew forward, "the power of Goldramon will soon be mine."

Megadramon felt uncomfortable around the stone, knowing that a single touch upon its activation could lead to his own evolution into Megidramon. Magnadramon had trusted him, so he wouldn't let her down. "Please tell me you know how long it'll take to activate."

MagnaAngemon frowned. "Alas, I do not. The power of the Dragon Soul Stone will not be awakened until the right time. And that time could be any moment now, or it could be several hours. I just don't know." Another explosion filled the air, making them all look back and see smoke coming from far off. "But the longer we have to wait, the more likely it is WarGrowlmon will show up to take it for himself."

Megadramon nodded, only to then notice something above them and look up. "Huh?"

Up above them was a Flymon, who was hovering over the canyon with something in its claws. A familiar sphere-like device that Megadramon had seen before, his eyes going wide as he watched the bug drop it.

"Warp gate!" He raised his arms and fired the missiles, MagnaAngemon looking up and seeing the orb fall as well. The missiles got closer, but at the last moment the orb exploded and a portal opened where it had been.

The missiles flew into said portal, seconds before something flew out of it. WarGrowlmon.

The cyborg Digimon rocketed out of his cavern base, which was quickly consumed in an explosion caused by Megadramon's missiles. He smirked as he fell towards the pair, as his chest armor charged up. "Atomic Blaster!" He launched the laser towards the Digimon, both gasping as they were forced to leap away from it.

The laser struck the ground and caused an incredible explosion, which rocked the entire battlefield whilst WarGrowlmon landed.

He let out a chuckle as he stood to full height, Megadramon and MagnaAngemon glaring at him as the smoke cleared. "Well this is a sight. The high and mighty MagnaAngemon, standing beside a disgusting Virus Digimon. I never thought I would see the day." He glared back at the Dragon Soul Stone, the sight making him smile. "Such a beautiful sight. And this time, its power will be mine."

"That's not happening!" MagnaAngemon extended his blade, "this is where your reign of terror ends."

WarGrowlmon slowly turned to him, an arrogant smirk on his metal mouth. "Really? You're going to stop me? And how do you intend to do that? Don't you remember what happened the last two times you faced me?"

"Of course. We defeated you and you ran off with your tail between your legs."

"No. Your friends defeated me. And both times they did, it was after I laid you out and almost deleted you." He chuckled as he raised his Assault Balancer, ready to attack and destroy them both. "You might see yourself as some high and mighty warrior who's destined to save the Digital World, but the truth is you're nothing but a weakling that targets weaker Digimon in order to make yourself look strong."

"That's not true," MagnaAngemon growled. "I am a mighty Angel Digimon. Protector of the Digital World and destroyer of evil."

"Oh please. You Angel Digimon are pathetic. If you're not fighting a Dark Virus Digimon, you're almost as weak as a Champion. Now..." He raised his arm blades. "Do yourself a favour and run along. Spend what little time you have left in the Digital World enjoying yourself. Don't waste it in some foolish crusade."

MagnaAngemon didn't listen to him and charged forward, letting out a mighty roar as he tried to slash at WarGrowlmon. But the Digimon easily blocked the attack with his arm blades and sighed.

"Some Digimon are just too stupid to learn!" He used all his strength to push the Angel Digimon backwards, then shot his Assault Balancer forward in an attempt to stab him in the chest. But at the last moment, Megadramon thrust his arm in front of MagnaAngemon and the blade bounced off it. "And you!" WarGrowlmon glared at him. "How long do you intend to keep this farce up?"

Megadramon glared at him, WarGrowlmon leaping forward in an attempt to cut him in half. But Megadramon quickly raised his arms and blocked the blade, the pair glaring at one another.

"Why are you risking your life to help this fool, who would destroy you without a second thought? How does helping him benefit you in any way?"

"It doesn't," Megadramon groaned. "I admit it. I hate this guy. But Azulongmon and Magnadramon trusted me to help him." He pushed WarGrowlmon back, "and that's the least I can do to pay them back for everything they've done for me."

"How sweet," WarGrowlmon charged again. "But it's equally as pathetic!" He swung his tail around, trying to knock him down, but Megadramon did the same and their tails spiralled around each other. The pair tried to pull the other around and throw them about, but they were of equal strength and in a tug of war.

But MagnaAngemon flew around him and charged forward, trying to stab his sword right into WarGrowlmon's chest. But as he got close, the cyborg T-rex's chest unleashed a burst of lightning. "Megalo Spark!" It shot towards the angelic Digimon and slammed into him, knocking him backwards. And at the same time, WarGrowlmon's jets ignited and pushed him into the air.

Megadramon was pulled up with him, his non-powered wings not strong enough to stop him. The next thing he knew, he was being thrown around and his grip on WarGrowlmon was lost.

"WOW!" He slammed down into the ground, right next to MagnaAngemon, as WarGrowlmon laughed.

"This is too easy. And with Armormon keeping the rest of those fools busy, nothing will be able to stop me." The two groaned as they pushed each other up, Azulongmon and Magnadramon powerless to do anything but watch. Things weren't looking good. Not in the slightest.

The smoke began to clear, Bombardramon saw how well his foe's states were.

Paildramon had crashed into the side of the canyon, alongside CresTawnimon and Mistymon. Crescemon and Angewomon appeared to have barely managed to avoid getting blown away, Petaldramon using his roots to shield himself and several others as best her could.

Gokuwmon and Khionemon had crashed into the ground alongside several other Digimon, as Pteryxmon, Sunflowmon, Hudiemon and Firamon glowed and reverted back to their human form. Sunset let out a moan, as Coronamon laid beside her. She pulled her partner in for a hug, as Rainbow tried to push herself up. But she couldn't and fell back to the ground.

"Rainbow!" Kurmamon cried, Rapidmon and JaegerDorulumon gasping at their partners in distress. The giant turtle rushed over to them, Bombardramon seeing this and preparing to fire a laser at the downed human. But at the last minute, MegaKabuterimon and MetalSnimon slammed into him.

"Oh no you don't!" The insects cried as they managed to push the robotic head upwards just enough for the laser to shoot past the others. Kurmamon used this opening to pick the three up and carry them to safety, but Bombardramon saw this and growled.

"Get off of me!" Suddenly, his entire body surged with electricity. The power struck the pair and made them scream in pain, allowing Bombardramon to throw them off of him. But just as he was about to fire another laser at them, he heard Rapidmon's voice.

"Tri-Beam!" He looked over and saw a triangular beam of light shooting towards him, hitting the Digimon in the chest.

"Weisse Spirale!" JaegerDorulumon fired a beam from his shield, hitting Bombardramon as well but the metal just absorbed it.

At the same time, Leomon rushed towards Bombardramon and leapt into the air. "Fist of the Beast King!" He punched his fist into the machine's chest, but it still did nothing.

"Toy Nova/Kaimen Barrage!" ToyGreymon and Crocannodramon both launched their attacks, hitting the Mega Level before he could retaliate. But still, the damage was barely a scratch.

"There's got to be a way we can hurt him," Leomon stated before noticing Datamon hiding behind a rock. As Paildramon, CresTawnimon, Angewomon, Khionemon and Crescemon rushed at robot, Leomon ran over to the Digimon and grabbed him.

"Hey!" He cried, being pulled out from behind the rock. "What are you doing?"

"We need to get you somewhere safe," Leomon told him. "Somewhere you can find a way to stop that thing."

"I can't!" Datamon cried as Bombardramon saw them fleeing.

"Oh no you don't!" He launched a laser in their direction, only for Mistymon to appear in front of him. He let out a roar as he swung his blade around, unleashing a burst of fire that struck the laser and caused it to explode. The impact sent Mistymon staggering back, whilst Leomon got Datamon around a corner of the canyon.

"I don't care if you think you can't do it," the lion man stated. "You've got to find a way to beat him. You designed this form."

"Exactly," Datamon cried. "That's why I know the form doesn't have a weakness. They forced me to go over every detail of the design again and again. I couldn't let a single fault through." A large explosion made them look back and see Mistymon being blown back.

"GYAH!" He cried, crashing into the ground and sliding to a stop as he started glowing.

"Micro!" MegaKabuterimon yelled, flying down to grab his partner as Micro reverted back to human.

"Cable Catcher!" Paildramon launched his finger bindings towards Bombardramon and wrapped them around his neck, flying past him in an attempt to pull him away. At the same time, CresTawnimon slashed at the metal with her wings, Crescemon used her scythes and Khionemon unleashed a burst of cold air.

But Bombardramon's metal body simply absorbed the attacks and refused to even be scratched by them. "Nice try!" Bombardramon swung his neck around with enough force to throw Paildramon around, forcing him to release his finger binds as he was sent hurtling through the air.

He accidently crashed into CresTawnimon, the pair falling to the ground. And as they did, Angewomon and MetalSnimon flew up towards him. "Heaven's Charm!" Angewomon created the ring of light, which he threw at the Digimon in an attempt to bind him.

Armormon looked up from the cockpit and smirked before opening his mouth, allowing his mechanical body to bit into the ring and make it explode. At the same time, MetalSnimon flew up and pointed his booster rocket boot at Bombardramon. "Metal Swarm!" He fired a blast of energy, which exploded into multiple energy meteors that rained down on him.

Bombardramon laughed as he raised his large tail, the multiple sections beginning to spin. "Laser Massacre!" The multiple laser barrels exploded and sent lasers flying in every direction, destroying the Metal Swarm attack and hitting several Digimon at once.

"GYAH!" MetalSnimon, Angewomon, JaegerDorulumon and Rapidmon were blasted back. MetalSnimon and Angewomon quickly divided into their human and In-Training components, whilst the two solo Digimon were simply forced to De-Digivolve into their In-Training forms as well.

MegaKabuterimon saw this and gasped, fearing they would either be hit by a laser or injured upon hitting the ground. As such, he flew out from his cover and the lasers began to strike him. "GRAAAH!" They bounced off his shell, doing serious damage but he forced himself to hold on until he reached the others. "Gotcha!" He continued to shield them until they were safely behind the rocks of the canyon.

Once there, he started glowing and reverted back to Motimon. Doing so caused him to accidently drop the others next to where Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy and Micro were. They all laid out, Kurmamon, Leomon and Datamon seeing their forces dwindling by the second.

"This isn't good," Leomon stated.

"What do we do?" Kurmamon asked, as Petaldramon and several other Champion Level Digimon attacked. At the same time, Paildramon flew in and used his String Strike attack whilst Crescemon slashed at him with his scythe. CresTawnimon and Khionemon unleashed their long distance attacks, but nothing worked.

"I'm afraid Bombardramon can't be stopped," Datamon stated. "One Mega is enough to defeat two dozen or more Ultimates. There's just no way we can beat him."

"I refuse to let that be the case!" Leomon rushed back out, Kurmamon following behind him. "Fist of the Beast King!" He launched the fireball, which struck Bombardramon's leg. But again, nothing happened.

CresTawnimon flew overhead and started at the Digimon, then had an idea and turned to those still able to fight. "Aim for the joints!" They looked up at her. "There's no way they can be well shielded and allow just ease of movement. Aim for the joints!"

"You got it!" Paildramon cried as he started dancing around the lasers that Bombardramon started firing. When he got in close, he extended his Sting Strike blades before thrusting his attack into a section between his body and his leg.

The cone-like weapon entered the area and seemed to do some kind of damage, but Bombardramon quickly pulled back before using one of his large wings to bat Paildramon away. "GYAH!" He crashed into the ground, whilst Leomon, Crescemon, Khionemon and Kurmamon, Gokuwmon and Petaldramon got in close.

Petaldramon used his Thorn Jab attack to wrap around Bombardramon's back legs, keeping him locked in place and allowing the others to attack. "Raaaah!" Leomon leapt up and stabbed his sword into the joint on Bombardramon's other leg, whilst Crescemon stabbed her scythe into the ankle joint and Gokuwmon thrust his staff into the back of the knee.

Khionemon flew up and unleashed a burst of cold air, freezing up another leg at the knee joint whilst Kurmamon pointed his arm cannons at another knee. "Shell Shock Strike!" The harpoon fired out of the shell launched and struck the joint, preventing Bombardramon from moving too much.

"You think this will stop me?" The Mega Level Digimon asked. "Pathetic!" He summoned the cannon from his mouth and pointed it at the Digimon, his neck bending around giving him the perfect aim to hit the Digimon at his feet.

"Look out!" CresTawnimon cried, but the laser launched and struck Crescemon.

"Gyah!" The Ultimate Rabbit Digimon was blown away, slamming into the ground and beginning to revert back to her In-Training form.

"Moonmon!" Khionemon flew down and picked her partner up, as Bombardramon tried to blast them both. But the snow spirit Digimon managed to dodge the attack and carry her partner away, only for Bombardramon to open up his wings.

"Unending Devastation!" The missiles launched again and flew down towards the ground, Khionemon gasping as she did her best to shield Moonmon whilst avoiding the missiles and explosions. At the same time, everyone else did their best to escape as well. Unfortunately, Petaldramon was too big to escape and got struck by the blasts.

"Gaaaaah!" He was knocked flying, his roots ripping out of the ground and freeing Bombardramon's back legs. He hit the ground and skidded along it, reverting back to Sproutmon as he did.

"No!" Gokuwmon yelled, but couldn't get out from under Bombardramon without getting blasted. And as CresTawnimon was attempting to avoid the explosions, she suddenly found herself flying into a swinging around metal tail.

"GYAH!" She screamed, getting hit and knocked flying by the tremendous impact. As she did, she glowed and split into Twilight and Tweetmon.

"TWILIGHT!" Paildramon leapt into the air, managing to avoid the explosions going on around him. But before he could reach the two, Bombardramon laughed.

"I've got you now!" Suddenly, his chest opened up and something shot out of it. A bunch of metal cables that shot towards Paildramon, wrapping around him before he could notice them.

"What the?" He looked down at the cables, which bound his arms and wings to his side before looking around and seeing the cable connecting to Bombardramon's chest. And the next thing he knew, it was retracting and he was being pulled backwards. "Twilight!" He watched her and Tweetmon falling, as more explosions went off around them.

But before they could pick up too much speed, a ramp of ice appeared and the pair began to slide down it. Khionemon was the one who had saved her, quickly picking the pair up. "I've got you!" But before she could get them away, Bombardramon unleashed a blast from his mouth cannon.

It blasted its way through the ice ramp and struck Khionemon's feet, causing an explosion that blasted her backwards and made her scream in pain.

As she hit the ground, she reverted back to human form with Twilight, Tweetmon and Moonmon beside her. Twilight groaned, as she forced her eyes open and looked up to see Bombardramon charging up another blast to send her way.

But as it fired, Kurmamon suddenly appeared behind them and the laser slammed into him. "Gyah!" He cried, the laser sending him staggering forward. "Hurry," he scooped them up and started staggering forward, but Bombardramon launched another barrage of lasers from his tail.

"Stop it!" Paildramon cried, trying to pull on the chord holding him only for Bombardramon to suddenly unleashed a burst of electrical energy. "GYAAAAAAAAH!" He cried, getting zapped by the energy whilst the lasers struck the area around Kurmamon and finally blew him off his feet.

"Yaaaah!" He crashed into the ground and the girls were thrown from his grasp, as he reverted back into Sherumon.

Gokuwmon and Leomon rushed out from under Bombardramon, running over to try and cut the chords holding Paildramon. But the metal was just too strong.

Paildramon groaned as he opened his eyes, then saw Bombardramon pull his leg back. "Look out!" Gokuwmon and Leomon spun around and saw the let flying at them, the beast men attempting to leap back and managing to avoid the foot. But the force from the kick was so powerful, the wind it unleashed slammed into them like a brick wall.

"GAAAAAAH!" They were flung backwards, spinning through the air until they smashed into a back wall.

"NO!" Paildramon cried, seeing Gokuwmon revert back to human whilst fearing the Champion Digimon might be deleted. As they both fell towards the ground, Micro and the rest of those who had been moved to a safe spot came out of hiding.

Rainbow gasped seeing her partner on the ground, rushing over to help whilst the others did the same for those littered around the ground. The only one left who was still in fighting condition was Paildramon, but he wasn't in the best shaped and was currently tied up.

Bombardramon laughed as he stared down at the DNA Digimon, as the chords around him tightened. "Things aren't looking too good for you, are they?" Paildramon glared at him as he pulled on the metal rope, but he couldn't escape. "Face it, losers, you've lost. By now, WarGrowlmon has likely destroyed those fools you sent to face him. And once the Dragon Soul Stone is his, the world will end. It's over."

"RAAAAAH!" Megadramon rushed forward and tackled WarGrowlmon, wrapping his tail around him as he tried to force the Digimon to the ground.

But WarGrowlmon could only laugh as his Assault Balancer coiled up and pointed at the back of his neck, then thrust itself forward in an attempt to stab him. It was only at the last minute, that Megadramon noticed and shifted his head so the blade struck his metal helmet.

But as it bounced off, WarGrowlmon pulled one of his arms free before punching him right in the chest. "Gaaah!" He fell backwards, WarGrowlmon quickly grabbing his tail and using it to swing the Digimon around. Megadramon soon found himself getting slammed into the ground, then again, then into a nearby wall before getting thrown away.

As he let Megadramon go, MagnaAngemon flew at him and tried to slash him. But WarGrowlmon spun around and blocked it, MagnaAngemon slashing at him again and again with little success. "Seriously? Who taught you how to fight?"

"Nobody!" MagnaAngemon spun around to try and kick him, but WarGrowlmon blocked with his armor's claws and pushed him back. "Ever since you Virus Digimon attacked my home, I swore to stop anyone from ever feeling the same pain I felt. I trained tirelessly after that, eventually managing to Digivolve into my Champion state. And once I was, I began to crusade to wipe you out!"

"That explains why you're so weak," WarGrowlmon chuckled.

"Weak? I've destroyed many Virus Digimon in my time. Wiped them out before they could even attack and cause more harm."

WarGrowlmon snarled. "It's Digimon like you that make this world unbearable. Despite your weakness, you think you'll win just because you've deluded yourself into thinking you have right and justice on your side. But the fact is, there's no such thing as right or justice. All there is is power and only the strong decide what is right."

Megadramon picked himself up, as WarGrowlmon sent his Assault Balancer flying at MagnaAngemon. The angel Digimon used his arm shield to protect himself, whilst WarGrowlmon charged up his Atomic Blaster. And at the last moment, Megadramon leapt at him and grabbed him around the waist before lifting him up.

The laser fired and missed MagnaAngemon, who quickly flew forward attempting to stab WarGrowlmon.

But WarGrowlmon pointed his thrusters at Megadramon and fired them, the flames hitting him in the face and forcing Megadramon to let him go. This allowed WarGrowlmon to fly upwards, avoiding MagnaAngemon's attack with the blade almost hitting Megadramon.

WarGrowlmon then spun around and dived down towards the pair, crossing his blades as he did so. "Radiation Blade!" Before either of them could react, he shot past them and was behind the pair before they could even blink.

Then, the Digimon were both consumed by an explosion that originated from their chests and they roared in pain. They both fell to the ground and WarGrowlmon laughed.

"Now do you understand! You can't hope to defeat me. My power can not be matched by any other Ultimate. And without your precious Megas here to save you, you don't stand a chance." The pair groaned as they laid on the ground. "Nothing can stop me! NOTHING!"

Fumamon spun around and slashed his sword as Cyberdramon, only for the Ultimate Digimon to leap backwards.

He spread his wings and flew up out of range, then swung his claws around. "Desolation Claw!" The orb of dark energy formed and with an almighty thrust, it exploded into a beam that shot towards Fumamon.

The Virus pulled his sword out of the ground and crossed them over, the beam hitting them and sending the energy flying off in different directions. The force of the impact made him flinch, pushing him backwards as he did. After a few moments of this, he finally slid to a stop.

He lowered his sword and looked up at Cyberdramon, who didn't look like he was coming down. "So, you think you're safe up there?" He put his sword away, "think again." He then took something out. A remote of some kind. And when he pressed a button on it, a portal opened up behind him.

Cyberdramon thought maybe he was running away. But instead, something flew out of the portal at an incredible speed.

It was some kind of futuristic motorbike, with no wheels that was flying through the air. "What do you think?" Fumamon leapt up and landed on the bike's seat. "I had Datamon make this custom for me!" He revved the engine and shot into the air heading straight for Cyberdramon.

The Ultimate Digimon barely managed to leap out of the way in time, as the vehicle flew past him. It then swerved through the air and as it did, the front opened before a pair of laser blasters folded out. The next thing Cyberdramon knew, a barrage of energy bullets flew out and slammed into him.

"AUGH!" He cried, as he fell towards the ground and crashed into it.

Fumamon laughed as he flew down, hovering above the ground and staring down at him. "And you thought you actually stood a chance against us." Cyberdramon pushed himself up. "By now, your friends are probably all deleted. Why keep fighting?"

Cyberdramon sighed as he stood tall. "I told you not to underestimate them. They're stronger than you think." He glanced back at where the large explosions had been coming from. "Those kids have more potential than any other in Codex. Even if I can't overcome an obstacle like that, I know they can." He looked back at Fumamon. "So if you want any chance at getting out of this alive, you need to realize I'm not the biggest threat to your plans. It's them." With that, he charged forward and Fumamon did the same. The pair continued fighting, Shining's word's running through Fumamon's head.

Was he right?

Back with the others, Bombardramon stared at those he had already defeated.

The humans and In-Training Digimon looked rather pitiful in their sorry state, whilst Leomon looked ready to collapse even as he pushed himself to his feet. He then noticed Datamon, who was still hiding behind a rock. "Don't hide away. Come out and celebrate your amazing accomplishment. You've created the most powerful Digimon currently in the Digital World."

Datamon frowned. He wasn't sure if Bombardramon actually was the most powerful Digimon right now, but he did know that he was the most powerful Digimon in the area. Even the Royal Knights would likely have issue defeating him. And they couldn't come and fight until after the Dragon Soul Stone was claimed.

Bombardramon then retracted the chords around Paildramon and pulled him forward, only to let it go slack as he swung his leg around and smashed it into him. "GYAH!" Paildramon was thrown backwards, only for the cable to go stiff with him almost feeling his spine snap when he was stopped and fell into the ground.

"Flash!" Twilight cried, she and the others fearing what might happen if Paildramon didn't escape.

"Biomerge!" Rainbow cried, trying to become a Digimon. But as the light swirled around her, she flinched in pain and it exploded off of her. She fell to her knees, in too much pain to try and Digivolve again.

"This isn't good," Micro sighed. "Paildramon's the only Ultimate left. But he's trapped."

"De-Digivolve!" Trixie told him. "You'll escape then!"

Micro shook his head. "Flash is probably in just as bad a shape as us. If he does De-Digivolve, he and Veemon won't be able to Digivolved again." As he said that, Bombardramon fired a laser at the ground next to Paildramon. The explosion and flying debris buffeted him, but the cable kept him from being blown away.

He grunted, but held his ground as he kept trying to break free.

As Paildramon struggled against the bindings, Bombardramon laughed seeing him completely helpless. "I've been looking forward to this." His mouth opened and a large cannon barrel folded out of it. "The moment I finally get to delete you fools once and for all."

Paildramon grunted as he struggled against the metal chords, then looked around at all his friends. They were all in a real bad state. If they didn't find a way to stop Bombardramon now, it would all be lost. "No," he pushed himself back up to his feet. "We...we're not gonna let you win."

"Let me win?" Bombardramon laughed again. "You don't have a choice. I am the most unstoppable Digimon that ever lived. Nothing you fools could try would let you even scratch me. Soon, the Digital World will be destroyed."

"That means you'll be destroyed as well!" Twilight cried, as she hugged Tweetmon close to her chest. "What's the point of gaining all this power, if you're just going to lose it when the Digital World is decimated!?"

"The Digital World may be destroyed, but I won't be. With this new power, I'll easily survive it and get to see the new Digital World that will replace this one. And once I'm there, I'll be able to rule it like I always should have."

"You're insane," Leomon groaned.

"Call me what you want. Doesn't change the fact. This world relies on power. Only the strong can survive in this world and the weak fall to the wayside."

"No," Paildramon groaned, "that's not true."

"Oh, but it is. It's just a shame you didn't see it. Think about it. Every fight you've ever been in. Every battle you've ever seen. Who ended up winning in the end? The strongest of the two. WarGrowlmon has only lost because each time he was about to win, his opponent managed to get stronger. Strength is what matters and nothing else."

Paildramon looked down, as is letting this info sink in. And as it did, Flash and Veemon were suddenly reminded of something. Due to their linked minds, they were able to see memories they both had and something about them made them realize an important truth.

"You're right," Paildramon looked up at Bombardramon. "Strength is important." His friends all looked shocked, whilst Bombardramon simply smiled.

"Ahh, you finally understand. Too little too late."

"Oh, I understand more than you'll ever know. Strength is important. But your strength isn't important." Bombardramon tilted his head. "True strength, doesn't come from how much firepower you have. So what if you can blow up a mountain. Doesn't matter. True strength comes from within." He struggled against the cables and they actually seemed to be straining at this.

"What are you talking about?" Bombardramon asked.

"Strength come from having something important to use that strength for. Something you want to protect. And you have nothing you want to protect, so you have no real strength." The cables began to slow fray. "Ever since I came here, I've been happy, I've been sad, I've been angry. I've faced constant challenges and constantly found myself almost getting deleted. And every time it happened, I managed to get out of it because I've had my friends there to help me."

"So what?"

"So...I love this world. Coming here is the best thing that ever happened to me. And the reason it's the best thing...is because of all the friends I've made here. They're what make this world worth living in. And if you think I'm gonna let you destroy it, just so you can try and live out some mad power fantasy, you're wrong. I don't care how strong you are, I won't let you destroy it."

"You think a weakling like you can stop me?"

"We're...not weak," Veemon's voice came out of Paildramon's mouth.

"We," Flash's voice followed, "have strength you'll never understand." A soft glow began to form around the pair, but only his friends noticed. Bombardramon was too far away to notice.

"Is that so," Bombardramon chuckled. "Well then show me." The two continued to struggle against the chords, as Bombardramon charged up the mouth cannon and prepared to fire. "What is this strength you have?"

Paildramon struggled, the chords tightening, but the glow didn't stop as Flash spoke up. "You'll see..." He started.

"Our strength..." Veemon carried out, as the glow was finally noticed by Bombardramon. And as they yelled in unison, the chords finally strapped. "RIGHT NOW!" The light suddenly exploded off of Paildramon and surrounded him.

"AHHHH!" Bombardramon was blinded by the light, alongside everyone else as it flew up into the air. "What is this?"

Inside the light, Paildramon spun through the air as new power flowed through him. "Paildramon, Mega Digivolve to..." His armor quickly began to reshape itself. His gauntlets grew larger and his claws grew longer, quickly changing from white to gold as his String Strike blade transformed.

The chest armor began to open up, as the X mark on his chest disappeared. His legs were soon surrounded by light, which transformed into black armor. And as he hunched forward, his arms reshaping into legs, his white wings were surrounded by light and grew larger. The same was happening to his tail, whilst his blue wings disappeared. And when he beat his glowing wings, the light exploded off of them to reveal they were now large red dragon wings spanning more than his length from head to tail.

His head also began to reshape itself, his mask and helmet changing to accommodate it. White hair sprouted from his head and he quickly gained a new mouth, his white lower jaw opening up whilst the rest was hidden behind the front mouth. At the same time, a flash of light signalled a black tube appearing on his back. A golden ring was around the end and it looked like it could unleash one serious blast of power.

As all this had been happening, the Digimon's body had been growing larger and was now four times Paildramon's size.

The orb of light had flown above the canyon and stopped above it, still within the barrier of the Dragon Soul Stone, before exploding to reveal the new Digimon. A blue quadrupedal dragon wearing black and gold armor, with large red wings and a red and white helmet over his head along with a cannon on his back.

The dragon opened its eyes and let out and mighty roar, which shoot the ground and caught the attention of all those fighting in the canyon. "IMPERIALDRAMON!"

Down on the ground, Flash's friends were all shocked by what they were seeing. "Flash...Mega Digivolved," Twilight whispered. She could hardly believe it. Digivolving to Ultimate so quickly was an amazing sight. But Digivolving to Mega, something even her brother had yet to accomplish, was unthinkable.

Over on the canyon wall, Cyberdramon and Fumamon had been fighting when they noticed the brilliant light. "Okay," Fumamon tilted his head, "I was not expecting that." Cyberdramon was also shocked by this.

Despite not being close enough to hear the Digimon's announcement before the evolution, he knew that could only be one Digimon. Which meant it could only be one player. "Flash." He was shocked by this, but also proud. He really had come a long way. "Go get 'em."

As they continued to stare at the new Mega Level, Micro, Trixie and Sandal all remembered when they first met the Royal Knights.

"What did he say his name was?" Micro turned to the pair, "Imperialdramon?" They nodded, the name sparking a memory with the lot of them. "That's...that the same name as the Digimon that formed the Royal Knights?"

Sandal remembered more and looked confused. "But...I thought he was supposed to be a humanoid Digimon? That's what all those images showed."

"Yeah," Trixie nodded. "And he was supposed to have a sword. This Digimon doesn't have a sword?" So many questions were flowing through all of their minds. What was this Digimon and what was its connection to the Digimon they had learned about from the knights? And more importantly, would this new Digimon be able to stop Bombardramon?

Speaking of the Mega Level. Bombardramon stared up at the descending dragon, who now filled just as much of the canyon as him. They were roughly the same size, though Bombardramon's long neck gave him the height advantage. "Impossible. This is impossible. There's no way you could be strong enough to Digivolve to Mega. IT SIMPLY ISN'T POSSIBLE!"

"Oh, it's possible." Imperialdramon spread his wings. "If you have a strong enough desire to protect those you love, then nothing is beyond your limits." He took off and flew towards his fellow Mega. "And now you'll see our true strength."

Bombardramon staggered back, but quickly recovered and locked all his weapons on Imperialdramon. "Stay back!" He fired a barrage of missiles from his wings, which shot towards Imperialdramon. But the Dragon Digimon leapt into the air and they sailed beneath him.

But instead of exploding, they curved around and chased him into the sky. But whenever they got close to hitting him, he simply avoided them and they would smash into each other and explode.

"So fast," several of his friends cried at the sight. Despite being huge, Imperialdramon was incredibly fast and agile in the air. The missiles didn't even touch him, nor did any of the smoke from the explosion.

"Fast smast!" Bombardramon opened his mouth cannon whilst his tail blasters started firing. "Lasers move at the speed of light!" But no matter how many shots he launched, Imperialdramon was able to avoid each and every one of them as he drew closer. "That is fast!"

Once Imperialdramon was close enough, the claws and blade on the end of his right leg glowed. "Imperial Claw!" He swung around and slashed at the robotic dinosaur, his claws ripping through the armor that made him up.

"AUGH!" He staggered back in pain, but quickly recovered and began to fire a single laser stream from his mouth. But Imperialdramon jumped back as the laser carved itself into the ground trying to chase after him.

"Eternal Zeal!" Flames filled Imperialdramon's mouth and with a roar, they exploded out in a powerful stream. The fire quickly consumed Bombardramon and he once again screamed, as warning lights went off in his cockpit.

"You insolent worm!" The flames dispersed and he saw Imperialdramon was gone, the Mega Level looking around but not seeing him until he looked up. "Get down here and fight!"

"I am fighting!" Imperialdramon stated. "I just figured you wanted a break, but okay!" He shot down at incredible speed and in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Bombardramon and slashed at him once again. He aimed for one of the legs and used the blade on the back of his leg to gouge into it, sparks and oil flying everywhere as he was unable to control it any longer.

"Gyah!" He staggered back, unable to believe this was happening. "What is this!? You were at my mercy and suddenly, you just evolved and got super powerful. Where did this strength come from? How were you able to do this so fast, when it took me so long to reach this power level?"

"You're too self-centred to get it!" Imperialdramon unleashed a fireball that completely destroyed the leg they had damaged. "Our power comes from being a team and working together, for the good of all!" The others cheered, as Imperialdramon got in close. "They are what gives me strength! What lets me pick myself up any time I'm knocked down. And I won't let you hurt them!" He slammed his tail into Bombardramon and pushed him back.

"Oh, give it a rest!" Bombardramon rapidly fired from his mouth and tail, but the lasers simply bounced off Imperialdramon's armor as he flew up. "What matters is power. And I'm still the most powerful one here." He kept shooting, with nothing happening to Imperialdramon.

"Not for long." The cannon on his back began to light up, drawing in energy that it would soon unleash upon the opponent.

Bombardramon looked worried, but then noticed his cheering friends and smiled. "You say your friends are your strength. Then I'll destroy that strength. Unending Devastation!" He unleashed every missile and laser he had, which all flew towards Twilight and the others.

They all gasped at this, as the attacks prepared to destroy them. They couldn't outrun them or hope to protect themselves. Was this the end?

But before the attacks could land, Imperialdramon suddenly appeared above them. His feet surrounded them and his body shielded them, as the attacks slammed into him. "Graaaah!" He cried, as the impacts continued.

"Flash!" Twilight cried, but saw the dragon's face showed a look of determination. "YOU CAN DO IT!" The others yelled out in agreement, as the cannon on his back completely charged.

He glared Bombardramon down, "big mistake. Threatening the Digital World is one thing. But nobody threatens my friends!" The weapon on his back hummed, as the onslaught from the Unending Devastation ceased. "Time to make sure you never harm another Digimon again. Positron...LASER!" The weapon unleashed all its power in a single, all powerful attack.

Bombardramon gasped seeing the attack coming. But as he tried to counter with his own blasts, he found his body was completely out of power. "No." He couldn't even move, his mechanical body just standing there like an oversized target. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The laser slammed into him and almost his entire body was consumed, with only his head and half his neck being spared.

Everyone was forced to shield their eyes, as the attack filled the canyon with light. Bombardramon's screams filled the air, the sound being oddly enjoyable to everyone who had suffered from him.

When the light finally faded, everyone heard something heavy hit the ground and opened their eyes. They looked around and saw that something was Bombardramon's robotic head and neck, the rest of the body having been completely destroyed.

"Incredible," Datamon gasped. "I built that body to be almost indestructible. And he destroyed it with a single blast." He looked up at Imperialdramon. "Just how powerful is he?"

Imperialdramon flew over to the head and saw Armormon inside, looking rather pathetic in his current state. "How," he groaned, "how did you do this?"

Imperialdramon simply stared down at him. "So long as I have something to protect, I'll always find the strength I need to win." The metal head began to disappear. "Return to the egg. Let your next life be one where you find friends you wish to protect."

Armormon said nothing, his eyes losing their colour before he and his Mega Level head vanished into digital dust.

Everyone watched, then turned to Imperialdramon. They were still in shock about Flash somehow getting to the Mega Level. It seemed almost unthinkable.

But before anyone could ask how he did it, an explosion up ahead caught their attention. "That must be Megadramon," Rainbow cried as Imperialdramon flew higher.

"What are you doing?" Rarity asked, as the dragon prepared to shoot off.

"Flash!" Twilight cried, "you don't know how much longer you'll remain Mega. Don't go doing something reckless." Imperialdramon chuckled down at them.

"Come on. You know me better than that." He then flew off, before anyone could try and stop him. "Of course I'm gonna do something reckless!" With that, he disappeared in a flurry of motion. The sight of him flying off amazed everyone, but also made them frown since they would now have to travel there themselves.

The battle of the final Dragon Soul Stone was going to be a close one. Despite Flash having reached the Mega Level, they all knew victory wasn't going to be so easy. They had to hurry, or it would be too late.

Author's Note

Well, some of you were probably expecting that. But for those that weren't, I hope you enjoyed the surprise. Flash has achieved Mega. But will it help him stop WarGrowlmon? Only time will tell.

The Great Dragon War's Climax

The war between WarGrowlmon's Virus Army and the Great Dragon's Army continued on.

Currently, the newly Digivolved Imperialdramon was flying above the canyon as fast as he could. The giant dragon was loving his new power, having never felt so strong even inside of Codex. "This is awesome!" Flash cheered, Veemon laughing as well. "I still can't believe we managed to Digivolve to Mega."

"Tell me about it," Veemon nodded. "But...I don't think we're gonna be able to stay Mega much longer. I'm already starting to get tired."

"Yeah," Flash agreed, "we have to do what we can whilst we are Mega though." Veemon agreed, as a large group of Flymon flew in front of them. "Out of our way!" Imperialdramon swung his claws around and batted them back, not wanting to waste energy against Digimon they could so easily defeat without using their special moves.

They then heard a noise from up ahead and and accelerated, turning a corner and seeing a bunch of Digimon battling.

Megadramon swung his tail around to try and knock WarGrowlmon away. But WarGrowlmon ducked under it before dealing a powerful slash to the tail. "Augh!" Megadramon pulled the limb back, as MagnaAngemon thrust his sword towards the cyborg's side.

WarGrowlmon spun around and saw it coming, so easily sidestepped the income attack. "Pathetic!" He spun around and slammed his tail into MagnaAngemon, making the Digimon gasp as the wind was knocked out of him. He was thrown through the air and crashed into the side of the canyon, WarGrowlmon laughing at this. "Is that really the best you've got? What do I have to do to get a real challenge?"

"Just turn around!" WarGrowlmon spun on the spot and saw Imperialdramon heading toward him, the shock causing him to freeze for a moment before raising his arm to block an incoming slash. "Imperial Claw!" Imperialdramon flinched as the tips of his claws cut into his armor, the impact forcing him backwards.

As this was going on, Megadramon picked himself up and saw the new Digimon. The golden orbs with Magnadramon and Azulongmon within floated around him. "Who the heck is that?"

"We're not sure," Azulongmon replied. "We sensed an tremendous amount of energy before. It must have been this Digimon." As he said that, Imperialdramon pointed his back cannon at WarGrowlmon.

"Positron Laser!" The beam exploded out of it and WarGrowlmon gasped, as he leapt into the air and barely managed to avoid the attack.

"What are you?" WarGrowlmon asked, as Imperialdramon leapt into the air and flew towards him. WarGrowlmon barely managed to avoid another set of claws, his thrusters propelling him away in shock.

"Eternal Zeal!" He breathed out an extra powerful blast of fire, WarGrowlmon being struck by it and feeling himself being burned badly.

"AUGH!" He cried, getting pushed back until he crashed into the canyon wall.

He fell towards the ground, whilst Imperialdramon flew down and landed next to the other two Ultimates. "Who..." Was all MagnaAngemon could say, "who are you?" Imperialdramon turned to them, a smile appearing on his dragonic lips.

"It's me. Flash and Veemon!" Their eyes went wide, WarGrowlmon also hearing this and being shocked.

"What?" He pushed himself up. "Are you telling me, that fool Armormon let you all past?" Imperialdramon turning to smile at him. "After all that work we did to make him Digivolve. Did he even use that evolution?"

"Oh, he used it alright. Bombardramon was a serious pain in the behind. But he didn't stand a chance against me after I Digivolved." WarGrowlmon snarled at this. "Give it up. You're not getting that stone. Not whilst I'm here!" He leapt forward and flew towards WarGrowlmon, preparing to impale him. But WarGrowlmon leapt into the air and Imperialdramon ended up stabbing his claws into the side of the canyon. "Oops."

"Hahaa!" WarGrowlmon spun around and unleashed an Atomic Blaster, whilst Imperialdramon tried to pull his claws free.

The attack struck and caused the wall to explode, sending rocks crashing down onto WarGrowlmon. The Mega Level was soon buried alive, making him roar as he tried to escape with little success. WarGrowlmon landed down in front of the pile, chuckling before turning towards the pair.

Megadramon and MagnaAngemon glared at him, both preparing to attack.

Back with Twilight and the others, they were currently running through the canyon as fast as they could.

Leomon was leading the group, the Champion Level Digimon still badly banged up but still able to fight. And it was a good thing, since the others were all still badly injured and carrying the In-Training Digimon in their arms. "Seriously Flash!?" Twilight cried, as she clutched Tweetmon in her arms. "You couldn't have given us a ride on your huge dragon back?"

"He probably thought he was doing us a favour," Micro stated. "He's gone off to fight against WarGrowlmon. We're not gonna be much use against a Digimon like that. At least not in our current state."

"Maybe," Rainbow started as they turned around another corner. "But how are we supposed to fight against that!?" That, turned out to be a large group of Ogremon, Pachymon and Troopmon.

The Virus Digimon turned towards them and the Troopmon quickly raised their blasters, ready to shoot them all down.

"Take cover!" Leomon cried, as they all leapt behind some rocks to avoid the shooting. And as they did, the Ogremon and Pachymon rushed forward. "Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon leapt out from behind the rock and fired, alongside several other Digimon who had survived Bombardramon.

The Digimon began to clash and as they did, Leomon turned to the others. "When you see an opening, get going!" They frowned, not liking the idea of leaving him. "Do it!" He rushed forward and tackled an Ogremon, whilst the other Digimon also ran forward and started distracting the Virus Digimon.

Some of them got shot down the second they tried to rush in, whilst others took some serious damage but continued to press on. Slowly, they managed to pushed the Virus Digimon away and managed to make an opening for them.

"Let's go!" Twilight cried, rushing through the gap and being careful not to get hit by a stray strike. The others followed after and once they were far enough away, Leomon and the others were able to let a bit of ground go. They continued to keep the Virus Digimon's attention, whilst they all ran further into the canyon.

Fluttershy looked ready to cry. "I hate this. Our friends fighting whilst we just run."

"I know," Gummymon nodded. "I hate it to. But we don't have a choice. We gotta get to Flash and the others and make sure WarGrowlmon doesn't get the Dragon Soul Stone." They all knew that was true. But in their current state, what could they possibly do against him?

Many of them hoped that Imperialdramon had dealt with WarGrowlmon. A Mega Level like him against an Ultimate should be an easy victory. Right?

Cyberdramon and Fumamon continued their duel against one another, refusing to give up until the other was destroyed.

Fumamon continued to fly around on his Battle Gear, firing his lasers at Cyberdramon as the Ultimate spun through the air. "Desolation Claw!" He fired the dark energy beam towards the bike, but Fumamon managed to pull up and the laser missile him. And as he did, the bottom of the bike opened up and fired a pair of energy missiles. "Wow!" He barely managed to pull to the side in time, the missiles flying past him but exploding behind the Ultimate.

Fumamon watched as the shockwave slammed into Cyberdramon and pushed him upwards, the ninja Digimon spinning his bike around and flooring it.

The Battle Gear raced towards Cyberdramon and slammed into him, Cyberdramon crying out as he was pushed towards the ground. And at the last moment, Fumamon pulled back and the Ultimate Vaccine was thrown off the bike's front until he smashed into the canyon's edge.

"Gaaaah!" He groaned, as he laid there feeling like hell.

"Shining!" Monodramon cried. "You gotta get up!" Shining forced his body to pick itself up and as he got back to his feet, Fumamon pushed his Battle Gear down towards him again. "Look out!"

Cyberdramon leapt into the air, as the hover bike rushed under him.

Fumamon flew over the edge of the canyon and shot over it, the ninja swinging his bike around to try and get back to attack. But before he could. "Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon fired the beam, which struck the bike's rear as he was spinning around.

"Ahhh!" Fumamon suddenly found himself having very little control over the device, forcing him to leap off of it.

The bike flew down and smashed into the cliff, exploding as Fumamon landed. "Dang it!" He drew his swords, "I really liked that Battle Gear."

"Too bad!" Cyberdramon rushed forward. "Maybe Datamon can make you a new one." He laughed, "yeah right. If I know my friends, they've managed to free Datamon around the same time they beat Armormon."

"You really think that's true?" Fumamon laughed back at him. "Don't be a fool. I don't care what that light was, there's no way those pitiful fools managed to defeat Armormon's new form." However, as he slashed at Cyberdramon, the thought that they might have actually succeeded flew through his mind. If it was true, then they would now be heading towards the Dragon Soul Stone.

"Problem?" Cyberdramon slashed at his chest, Fumamon leaping back and throwing several shurikens in his direction. He deflected them, a smirk on his face. "Are you starting to realize that maybe my friends are stronger than you think?"

"Don't be foolish," Fumamon stated. "But...I guess a little reconnaissance couldn't hurt." He pulled out several scrolls and threw them towards Cyberdramon, then made several hand-signs. "Yomi-Modoshi!" The scrolls unfurled and from them, burst of smoke filled the air.

Cyberdramon leapt back and saw a bunch of Troopmon appear. "That move's getting old!" He rushed forwards and dodged their blasters, quickly leaping past them and clawing at the Digimon with his talons. Each Troopmon cried out as they fell to the ground, getting deleted.

Once Cyberdramon had dealt with all of them, he looked over at Fumamon and saw him running at an incredible speed along the canyon wall.

"HEY!" He leapt into the air and changed after him, but Fumamon was pretty fast. Fast enough to keep ahead of him despite Cyberdramon flying. Shining and Monodramon both looked worried. If Fumamon reached WarGrowlmon, the pair might escape and continue to cause problems. "I can't let that happen."

Back at the Dragon Soul Stone, MagnaAngemon slashed his sword through the air and unleashed several waves of light.

WarGrowlmon blocked them all with is arm blades before they started glowing. "Radiation Blade!" He slashed at MagnaAngemon, but Megadramon's tail coiled itself around his before he could strike. The Ultimate looked down, just in time to be swung around and thrown towards the ground.

He roared as he smashed into the ground, whilst Megadramon flew up. "Genocide Attack!" He launched his fish missiles at the cyborg and they exploded upon impact, making WarGrowlmon roar in pain. And as he did, MagnaAngemon flew down.

"Gate of Destiny!" He carved the circle into the air and from it, the golden disk form and opened.

WarGrowlmon was just recovering from the Genocide Attack, when he suddenly found himself being pulled towards the gate in question. "Stop it!"

"Not until you're gone forever," MagnaAngemon. "You and all the other vile Virus Digimon."

WarGrowlmon smirked, as he used his claws and tail blade to stab into the ground. "Does that include your new friend, Megadramon?" MagnaAngemon frowned. "He's a Virus. Why don't you delete him?"

"I will," MagnaAngemon stated. "Once he's given into his true nature." Megadramon turned to him in shock. "Magnadramon and Azulongmon have convinced themselves that he's a good Virus. That he can help them protect the Digital World. As long as they hold that belief, he has their protection. But it won't last." WarGrowlmon was slowly being dragged towards the portal. "Eventually, his true nature will overpower him and they will see he is nothing but a destroyer. When that happens, I will be there to stop his evil."

WarGrowlmon turned to Megadramon. "See. You'll never be accepted. This world has no place for us. We must make a new one and hope that world is more forgiving."

"You're wrong," Megadramon told him. "I am accepted." WarGrowlmon got close to the gate. "And honestly, I am worried I'll give in to my Virus nature. So if that happens, I'm fine with MagnaAngemon destroying me. I'm just glad I was given the chance to prove I'm more than a virus."

WarGrowlmon snarled and suddenly thrust his Assault Balancer at the gate, hitting the ring and knocking it spinning. This caused sucking force of the attack to be sent all over the place, pulling several rocks from the pile currently burying Imperialdramon.

"Close it!" Megadramon cried, with MagnaAngemon doing just that. The gate slowly slid closed and faded away, whilst WarGrowlmon picked himself up. "ATOMIC BLASTER!" He launched the laser out of his chest and before either Digimon could react, the blast exploded and knocked them flying backwards.

They crashed into the ground and bounced along it several times before coming to a stop, the pair laying beside one another.

WarGrowlmon chuckled at this and turned towards the Dragon Soul Stone, moving towards it as if expecting it to activate right then. "Now, awaken and grant me the power I deserve." But the stone didn't react, causing the Ultimate to growl. "I said AWAKEN!" He pulled his fist back, looking ready to strike it. But he stopped and lowered his arm. "Why do you deny me?"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" WarGrowlmon spun towards the rock pile and saw it being ripped apart, Imperialdramon finally pulling himself free.

WarGrowlmon chuckled. "Took you long enough. I thought Megas were supposed to be powerful."

Imperialdramon growled as he took flight again. If he hadn't been worried about running out of energy, he would have simply blasted his way out of the rocks. But now that he was free, he didn't hold back and summoned the power into his back cannon.

"Positron Laser!" The beam exploded out the weapon and shot towards WarGrowlmon, who leapt into the air as the beam struck and exploded. Said explosion consumed the Dragon Soul Stone, making WarGrowlmon gasp.

But when the light faded, the stone was undamaged. "You idiot!" He roared, "do you know what you could have done if you had destroyed the Dragon Soul Stone?"

"Um...stopped you from becoming Megidramon."

"Possibly," WarGrowlmon stated. "But you could have also released the seal that was stopping me from awakening to Megidramon on my own." Imperialdramon went wide eyed, "too bad I'm not one hundred percent sure of that. If I was, I would have already destroyed this stone."

"Whatever," Imperialdramon rushed forward. "Imperial Claw!" He slashed at him, but WarGrowlmon blocked with his arm blades and quickly flew around him.

"Megalo Spark!" He fired several lightning bullets from his chest, hitting the dragon and making him flinch before the pair flew down. Imperialdramon spun around and tried to slam him with his tail, but WarGrowlmon managed to grab hold of him. "Strange. You claim to have defeated an evolved Armormon, yet you have trouble with me?"

Imperialdramon growled, only to then be thrown down towards the ground. He cried out, smashing into the canyon floor and sliding along it. "Flash!" Veemon cried, "you okay?"

"Yeah. But I'm still not used to fighting in this form. And at this power level. Bombardramon was newly evolved, so I didn't have any issue with him. But even though WarGrowlmon's weaker, he's used to his body and knows its limits." He picked himself up and unleashed his Eternal Zeal, but WarGrowlmon managed to dodge it. "I'm not gonna last much longer. We need to end this, quickly."

At the same time, MagnaAngemon began to pick himself up. As he did, he turned to Megadramon and saw he was still recovering. "MagnaAngemon!" He looked around, seeing the golden orbs floating around them. "You have to hurry. Imperialdramon won't last much longer."

"Right," he prepared to attack.

"You need to wake Megadramon," Azulongmon stated. "You'll need his strength if the three of you wish to win." This seemed to insult the angel.

"I don't need his evil power to destroy this monster. I'm a Virus Buster!" WarGrowlmon heard this and glanced around, seeing MagnaAngemon glaring at the orbs. "I might not be able to purge this filth from the world, but I refuse to sully myself by accepting its help."

"MagnaAngemon," Magnadramon sighed, "you need to let go of this hate you have. If you don't, it'll only blind you to the truth of the world."

"Let go of my hate!? My hate is the only thing that's kept me going! I never would have gotten where I am, if it wasn't for the hate I feel." Megadramon chose this moment to awaken, the dragon groaning as he opened his eyes. "Only when the Digital World is cleansed of this disease, will I ever stop. And with the Dragon Soul Stone's power. I will eradicate That filthy scum." He noticed Megadramon had awakened and glared at him. "You hear that, you monster? You will be destroyed by my hands. Once I'm Goldramon, I will rid the world of you infection. NOTHING WILL STOP ME!" Then it happened.

Suddenly, MagnaAngemon felt an intense pain going straight through his back and chest.

He gasped, then looked down and saw a blade sticking out of it. He slowly glanced around and saw the blade was connected to a metal chord, which turned out to be WarGrowlmon's Assault Balancer.

Megadramon and Imperialdramon was shocked, whilst WarGrowlmon laughed. "That's what you get for standing in my way." He pulled the weapon out of MagnaAngemon's chest and the Ultimate Digimon roared in pain, falling to the ground as he did.

Imperialdramon slashed at WarGrowlmon, who leapt back and fired his Atomic Blaster at him.

As this was happening, Megadramon knelt down beside MagnaAngemon. The Ultimate Digimon coughed as the hole in his chest grew larger. "The...Stone."

"Hold on," Megadramon told him. "The stone will activate. Flash will give us time. We'll get you to it and you can heal when you Digivolve."

"No," MagnaAngemon coughed, "it's...it's too late." The orbs flew around him, Azulongmon and Magnadramon staring at him in shock. "I guess you guys are all happy to see this."

"What?" Magnadramon asked, as MagnaAngemon smiled.

"You didn't exactly keep how you felt about me a secret. Seeing me like this must be like Christmas for the lot of you."

"Of course not," Azulongmon stated. "We might have had our differences, but we always respected you. You were the one who brought us together and came up with the plan to take the Dragon Soul Stones."

"Maybe," MagnaAngemon stated. "But you hated how I see Virus Digimon." The hole almost completely consumed his chest. "Ever since I was a Patamon, I hated Virus Digimon. They did nothing but destroy any time I saw them. I realised the only way to stop them was to eradicate them all. But nobody seemed to understand that. Virus Digimon shouldn't exist. And now, I'm about to be deleted in the arms of one. The shame."

Megadramon looked sad. "I'm sorry you had such a bad time in your past. All I can do is hope, in your next life, you won't be so angry with them."

"Maybe," MagnaAngemon coughed. "That depends on whether or not I'll have a next life." He looked over at WarGrowlmon, who slashed at Imperialdramon only to be blocked by the dragon's leg blade. "We can't let WarGrowlmon get to the stone. If he becomes Megidramon, it won't just be my life that ends."

"But what am I supposed to do?" Megadramon asked. But MagnaAngemon was unable to answer. As he could do was stare at him, as his body disappeared followed by the rest of him. The lights he became floated into the air, Megadramon watching them disappear as WarGrowlmon unleashed another shot from his Atomic Blaster.

Imperialdramon leapt into the air and the canyon shook as the blast exploded, the dragon Digimon flying around trying to figure out how to stop him.

It was then that everyone noticed a light and spun around to see the Dragon Soul Stone beginning to glow.

Their eyes all went wide, as they realised what this meant. MagnaAngemon was gone, which meant Goldramon couldn't be born. The only Digimon that could be born...was Megidramon.

WarGrowlmon laughed as he picked himself up. "YES!" He ignited his boosters and propelled himself towards the stone. "This time, nothing will stop me!" But as he said that, Imperialdramon flew down and got between him and the Dragon Soul Stone.

"I don't think so!" He unleashed a Positron Laser that shot towards WarGrowlmon, who was barely able to avoid it. "You're not getting to that rock!" Her flew forward and tackled WarGrowlmon, forcing him to the ground. He pinned the Digimon down and WarGrowlmon snarled.

"You think you can stop me?" Imperialdramon actually didn't think that. He had been Mega longer than the first time he had been Ultimate. He could feel his energy beginning to drain.

"I can...hold you back until..."

"Until what?" WarGrowlmon asked. "Don't you get it? You've lost. MagnaAngemon is gone and there's no other Digimon that can take his place. It doesn't matter what happens right now. You're going to lose. My destiny as Megidramon is set in stone."

Over with Megadramon, he was slowly picking himself up and looking over towards Imperialdramon. The quadrupedal dragon had a strained look on his face and Megadramon realised his friend was moments away from changing back to his human and Rookie state. When that happened, there would be nothing to stop WarGrowlmon from destroying the Digital World. Nothing...except.

An idea form in Megadramon's head. An idea that was absolutely terrible and stupid, but might be their only chance at saving the Digital World. It was a long shot, but Megadramon saw no other way.

He pushed himself up and spread his wings, catching Imperialdramon's attention. "Megadramon, we gotta take him down. Hurry." But instead of flying towards him, Megadramon leapt off towards the Dragon Soul Stone. "What are you doing?"

"The only thing we can do to ensure WarGrowlmon doesn't get what he wants." The two saw him approaching the Dragon Soul Stone, their eyes going wide as they realised what he was planning.

"Megadramon...DON'T!"

As he flew forward, the orbs with floated up beside him. "Megadramon," Azulongmon stated, "what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry" Megadramon replied. "I swore I would stop Megidramon from being revived and I'm breaking that oath." The Dragons looked worried. "I'm going to become Megidramon."

"You can't!" Magnadramon told him. "If you do, you'll destroy the Digital World."

"Maybe not," Megadramon reached the stone. "Maybe I can hold the evil back. At least long enough for the two of you to come in and destroy me."

"Destroy you?" Azulongmon asked.

"There's no other way. If I become Megidramon, I'll do everything I can to hold back the evil within me. You two can then delete me. That'll give you time to find another Digimon that can become Goldramon."

"That's insane," Azulongmon told him. "You have no idea if you can hold the evil you'll become back."

"I have to try," Megadramon stated. "It's better than WarGrowlmon getting the Stone."

"Megadramon," Magnadramon cried, "please don't do this. Even if you're able to hold the evil back, you can't expect us to just destroy you. There has to be another way."

"There is no other way," Megadramon sighed. "It's okay. I'm okay with this. You guys gave me a home and accepted me, despite everything I did. Despite everything I was. You're my friends."

"Exactly," Azulongmon told him. "Do you really wish to force the task of destroying you to your friends?"

"No, but we don't have another choice." Sure enough, WarGrowlmon had had enough of being pinned down.

"ATOMIC BLASTER!" Before Imperialdramon could react, the lasers shot out of his chest and exploded into the dragon's. Imperialdramon roared as he was blown backwards, crashing into the wall of the canyon. As he did, he glowed and began to split apart.

Flash and DemiVeemon fell out of the light, hitting the ground and appearing unconscious. Megadramon gasped, but WarGrowlmon had his attention.

"GET AWAY FROM MY STONE!" He charged, rockets at full blast. But Megadramon was quicker.

Before WarGrowlmon could stop him, the Cyborg Digimon placed his hands on the stone and the light exploded out of the rock. "Goodbye my friends," were his last words before he was engulfed by the light. Azulongmon and Magnadramon both cried out, the orbs blinded as well as the light filled the large canyon.

Megadramon opened his eyes and when he looked around, he was in a large white void.

"What?" He looked around, but saw nothing that could clue him in on his location. But then, the white void turned dark in an area and he spun around to see a blazing red fire column erupt from the ground. And inside the column, he saw a figure that he recognised from his visions. "Megidramon."

The evil Digimon snarled and roared within the fire pillar, clearly ready to escape and bring the world to ruin. But Megadramon wouldn't let that happen.

"I won't let you control me!" He cried, "don't expect to enjoy life for too long. My friends will destroy you the second you show up."

"No," the Digimon snarled darkly, "you will destroy everything around you." Megadramon was shocked to hear his next incarnation speak back to him. "You are the dragon of annihilation. You will become the destroyer that decimate all around you. That is your destiny."

"No," Megadramon shook his head, "you're wrong. My friends taught me there's more to a Digimon than what our attributes are. I might be a Virus Type, and I may become you. But you will not become me. I decided what my future holds and I decided to sacrifice my life to stop you from awakening."

"What makes you think you can overcome the evil that I embody?"

Megadramon smiled, "my friends believed I could become more than the type I became. I was their enemy, yet they allowed me to stand with them as an ally. I refuse to let their faith in my be seen as a mistake. Besides, I don't have to overcome the evil within you. I just have to hold it back long enough for the others to delete me."

"And you're okay with that? Why should you have to sacrifice yourself for them?"

"Because I care about them." Megadramon's statement was all he needed to say, with Megidramon growling before thrusting its fire covered claw towards him. Megadramon gasped as he was grabbed around the neck. "Augh!" He screamed, as the dark energy flowed into him.

Outside the canyon, the Royal Knights were watched and were suddenly contacted by an orb of light Omnimon held.

He held it up and Knightmon appeared within it. The knight Digimon looked terrified and in the background, they could heard an alarm going off. "Knightmon, what's happening?"

"My lords. The alarms are going off. It's the Digital Hazard." The knights shared a look, whilst a portal opened up above them. Magnadramon and Azulongmon flew out of them, shocking the knights even more.

"Hurry!" Magnadramon cried, "the barrier is down. The final Great Dragon is being born." She frowned, "and we fear it isn't the one we were hoping for." The knights gasped, realising what the Digital Hazard meant.

They all leapt into the air and flew towards the canyon, UlforceVeedramon frowning. "Flash, be careful."

Flash groaned as he picked himself up, as the light made him look up and see the Digimon currently being born.

He pushed himself to his feet and picked DemiVeemon up, as WarGrowlmon fired an Atomic Blaster at the light with a roar. "You fool! You think this changes anything? All you've done is make yourself responsible for the destruction of the Digital World."

"No!" Flash cried, WarGrowlmon turning to him. "Megadramon will hold that power back. He swore he would protect the Digital World and I believe him. He's stronger than you'll ever be. He won't give in to evil."

"Don't be ridiculous," WarGrowlmon snarled. "A weakling like him will never overcome the evil of Megidramon. He'll either accept it and become the destroyer willingly, or be overwhelmed and completely rewritten."

"You're wrong," DemiVeemon groaned out. "We believe in him." Flash nodded and turned towards the light. "Megadramon!" They both cried out. And they weren't the only ones yelling to him.

"Megadramon!" Magnadramon, Azulongmon and the Royal Knights cried, as they flew over the canyon whilst the others rushed towards the area. Twilight and the others stared over at the light, hearing the others crying out and realising what was going on.

"MEGADRAMON!" They all screamed, their voices being carried over the wind towards the sphere of light.

Megadramon felt his mental data slowly being rewritten, to be replaced by the evil data of Megidramon.

He felt his will breaking, his mind slowly going blank. But just as he was about to give in, he heard something. "Megadramon!" It was Flash and DemiVeemon, their voices making his eyes shot open. They kept calling out to him, soon joined by the voices of others. Magnadramon, Azulongmon, The Royal Knights and the rest of his friends.

"Don't give up!" Flash told him. "You're stronger than that Digimon. Remember. You decide who you are and nobody else."

"I...decide," Megadramon groaned as he began to fight against the evil once again. Megidramon felt this and clutched his neck tighter, but Megadramon kept fighting. "I decide...who I am." The he reached up and grabbed the claws around his neck, prying them off of him. "I decide...what I become." As he said that, he started glowing and the light coming off him began to burn away the darkness. surrounding him. "AND I WILL NOT BECOME YOU!"

"AUGH!" Megidramon screamed, as the light pushed him away. And as it did, another light appeared behind Megadramon. This pillar shone brightly, as a figure appeared within the light. A figure Megidramon recognised. "You!"

Megadramon spun around and saw the figure, who stared down at him. And slowly, Megadramon realised what was happening. "I did have a choice." The figure nodded before merging with the light, which then shot towards Megadramon.

It slammed into his chest and he gasped, as the light consumed him and shined brighter. Doing so burned Megidramon, making him scream in agony he was disintegrated.

The light began to weaken, as Megadramon's Digivolution neared completion.

Fumamon and Cyberdramon had also arrived, Cyberdramon forgetting about Fumamon for a moment as he saw the light. Fumamon also saw WarGrowlmon, making him realize that he had failed again. But that meant...

"Megadramon, Mega Digivolve to..." The light began to merge with him and reshape his body, transforming him as he grew larger. Many prepared to instantly attack their fellow friend, though they hated themselves for it, but then noticed something. The form he was taking...wasn't what they expected.

The metal claws covering his hands transformed into a pair of bracers, whilst his wings disappeared and were replaced by three pairs of metal wings. This tail grew longer, but smoothed out so it didn't look so robotic anymore. And finally, his head changed whilst the metal helmet transformed into a horned mask. A golden arm band appeared between his elbow and shoulder, as the light faded to reveal his new form.

He now appeared to be a golden lamia, with six metal wings on his back. His upper body appeared humanoid, with yellow skin and white pecks on his chest, whilst his lower body was a long yellow and white tail that ended like a lion's with four golden feathers around it.

His head was covered by a white mask, with red patterns on it and a pair of white horns with red stripes. Those same red patterns were also on his chest and he wore a pair of metal bracers on his arms, a red one on his left wrist and a blue one on his right. Despite the mask covering his face, he had a short gray beard coming off his chin. The back of his head was covered by bushy mop of gray hair and sticking out the side of his head were a pair of long yellow ears.

The new Digimon swung his arms around and expelled the rest of the light, as his eyes opened and he bellowed to the sky. "GOLDRAMON!"

Everyone stared at the new Digimon in absolute amazement, with none being more amazed than Flash Sentry. "Megadramon?"

"I am Megadramon no more," the Digimon stated. "I am the Last Great Dragon. Goldramon!" He stared down at Flash and though he couldn't see the Digimon's face, he could tell he was smiling. "Thank you, my friends. Your faith in me allowed me to overcome the evil of Megidramon. When I refused to be overpowered by it, another Mega Level was made available to me."

Flash and DemiVeemon smiled. "We just showed you the path. You're the one who took the steps." He looked down at his footless body. "Theoretically speaking." Goldramon laughed before turning to Magnadramon and Azulongmon, both smiling at him.

"I'm sorry about MagnaAngemon. I know you weren't expecting me to become one of you, but-"

"You're a hundred times worthier of the power than he ever was," Azulongmon stated. "I'm glad it was you." Magnadramon nodded, making Goldramon sigh.

But then, he got serious and turned to WarGrowlmon. The cyborg T-rex looked a little worried. "This wasn't supposed to happen!" He cried, "you're supposed to be Megidramon."

"I'm not supposed to be anything," Goldramon stated. "I chose not to give in to the evil and this was my reward. I decide my destiny. And I've decided to protect this world, no matter who that puts me against."

WarGrowlmon looked around, trying to find any sign of Fumamon. And then he spotted him. "Open up the warp gate!" He cried, preparing to take off. "We're getting out of here!" Fumamon just stared at him, clearly not impressed. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Oh, I heard you." Fumamon took out the remote he had used to summon his Battle Gear. "But given you can no longer Digivolve into Megidramon, I see no point in our continued partnership." He pressed the button and a small portal opened up behind him. "If you manage to somehow survive this, then maybe we'll meet up and can work on another scheme. But I don't see that happening."

Cyberdramon rushed over to him, trying to stop him. But at the last moment, he leapt through the portal and it closed behind him. At the same time, Leomon and several other Digimon had arrived. They had all seen the light and knew their battle was now pointless. The Virus Digimon had rushed over to the area, hoping Megidramon was there to make things right. But instead, they heard their master scream.

"FUMAMON!" They couldn't believe he had failed. Not only that, he had also been betrayed.

WarGrowlmon then saw the others closing in on him. Quickly spreading his thrusters and igniting them, he tried rocketing into the air in an attempt to escape. But as he flew up, UlforceVeedramon and Kentaurosmon blocked his path.

"Where do you think you're going?" UlforceVeedramon asked, only for Goldramon to speak up.

"Leave him to us." They looked down to see him, Magnadramon and Azulongmon flying up towards them. "As the Great Dragons, it is our duty to make sure he doesn't get away." The three surrounded him, WarGrowlmon feeling trapped. "This is your only chance. Surrender and we won't be forced to destroy you."

"You think you can destroy me?" WarGrowlmon laughed, as he tried to stab Goldramon with his Assault Balancer. But Goldramon simply caught it in his hands without appearing to even look.

"So be it." He pulled on the chord and dragged WarGrowlmon towards him, then punched him in the chest so hard his armor exploded into a million metal pieces.

"AUGH!" He pulled back, Goldramon karate chopping his Assault Balancer and cutting right through it. "Damn you!" Magnadramon charged at him and he swung his arm blade towards her, but she easily avoided it.

"Fire Tornado!" She roared, as a blast of golden fire exploded out of her mouth and slams into WarGrowlmon. He screamed as he was blown backwards, Azulongmon waiting where he was thrown.

"Lightning Whip!" A thunderbolt exploded off of his horn and shot towards WarGrowlmon, electrifying him and causing a roar to escape his lips as he fell towards the ground.

The rest of the Digimon, at least those that could fly, carried those that couldn't out of the canyon as they watched WarGrowlmon crash into the earth with tremendous force. They had to admit, watching this was kind of fun.

WarGrowlmon pushed himself up, his metal armor completely destroyed. And as he stood, Goldramon flew down and crossed his arms. "Fatal Flame!" His arms burned and he swung them around, unleashing a wave of golden fire that shot down towards WarGrowlmon.

The Ultimate Digimon raised his claws and tried to stop the attack, but it collided with him and he was pushed backwards and burned alive until he reached the edge of the canyon. That was when the flames faded away, WarGrowlmon forced to simply stand there looking rather pathetic.

The three Great Dragons flew down and glared WarGrowlmon down. "This is it," Goldramon stated. "Your last chance. Surrender or pray you do better in your next life." WarGrowlmon panted as he stood there, clearly not willing to accept this.

"I would rather die than let myself become your prisoner." His arm blades, then cracked and warped, began to glow. "Radiation Blade!" He rushed forward, clearly planning to take one of them down with him.

"So be it." The golden ring around Goldramon's arm glowed, the power flowing out of it and into his fist. He then shot forward, as the other Great Dragons told everyone to get back. "GOLD FIST!" The Digimon all flew as fast as they could, as Goldramon shot forward.

WarGrowlmon slashed at the Mega Level, but Goldramon blocked with his red brace as he pulled his glowing fist back. He then let out a mighty roar, as he thrust his fist forward before WarGrowlmon could stop him. The fist impacted into his chest with enough force to shatter every window within a hundred miles.

The impact knocked many of them flying and they crashed into the ground, whilst the golden energy was sent straight into WarGrowlmon. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He screamed, the pain like nothing he had ever felt before. The force should have sent him fly, but for some reason he remained in place and absorbed all the power of the punch.

The shockwave finally died down and when it did, everyone turned back to Goldramon and WarGrowlmon.

The cyborg T-rex began to give off specks of light, whilst looking Goldramon in the eye. "I guess...you win." Goldramon sighed as he pulled his fist away.

"It didn't have to be this way," he stated. "I can only hope that in your next life, you'll find friends that can teach you the same lesson mine taught me." WarGrowlmon began to stagger back. "But if you should rise again, I will be there to stop you. You can count on that."

WarGrowlmon actually smiled, as he staggered to the very edge. "Until we meet again." With that, he fell over the edge and into the canyon. Goldramon flew over to the edge and watching him transform into a shining figure, which exploded as it struck the ground.

The lights flew into the air, Goldramon sighing. "Farewell. And good riddance."

The rest of the Digimon returned, many looking rather dizzy after the shockwave had knocked them down. "Goldramon!" Flash laughed, rushing over to him, "you did it! You beat WarGrowlmon."

"Yes," Goldramon nodded, "but I couldn't have done it without all your help. Thank you." He turned to the rest of them, "all of you." They all smiled at ths, glad they could help.

But before they could celebrate, Twilight noticed something and gasped. "Look!" They turned towards the canyon and saw a large group of WarGrowlmon's Virus type Digimon. They had obviously seen their master be destroyed and probably felt worried something bad was going to happen to them now.

"What do we do with them?" Rainbow asked. Nobody was really sure. They thought maybe they should just leave them to make their own way in the world, now that WarGrowlmon was gone. But that left the possibility of another Virus taking over.

Goldramon spread his wings and flew into the air, the Virus Digimon looking scared. They tried to run, but Goldramon flew past them and landed in the canyon to block off their exit. "Wait," he told them. "I just want to talk."

"Yeah right," A Troopmon replied. "You just want us not to run, you can blast us like you did WarGrowlmon."

"You just saw what I could do. You really think I'd need to trick you in order to delete you?" That didn't seem to make them feel any better. "I just want to tell you that you're all free to leave if you want." This caught them off guard. "I'm giving you a chance to start your lives anew. There's been enough deletion this day. I'd rather not continue if I don't have to."

"You're really going to let us go?" An Ogremon asked, Goldramon nodding.

"But only if you promise not to hurt anyone anymore. If I let you leave and discover you attacked a village or started causing trouble for other Digimon, then I will track you down."

"You're not leaving us with a lot of options," a Pachymon stated. "What do you expect us to do instead?"

"There's so much you can do," Goldramon told them. "I used to be just like you. WarGrowlmon made me think all I could be was a destroyer. But look at me now. I chose to be more than a mindless Virus Digimon. So can you be?"

"So what?" Troopmon asked. "You want us to all Digivolve into something other than a Virus Digimon?"

"Of course not. If you want to stay Virus Digimon, that's your right. All I'm asking is for you to try and find a place for yourselves in this world that doesn't involve destroying."

The Digimon all frowned. "But what if we can't?" Ogremon asked. "What if we try and find that destruction is all we can do."

"I wondered the same thing. I was scared I was just fooling myself. But even if I did fail, I would have been glad I at least tried. Because just trying to be more the destruction proves you have the ability to do it within you." He thought for a moment, then looked around. "As far as we know, this canyon is home to nobody. It had plenty of space to keep you safe along with water and other resources. And the land around it seems pretty healthy. The perfect place to build a new home for yourselves."

The Virus Digimon looked around as well, seeing he had a point. "You'd let us have this place?" A Pachymon asked, with Goldramon nodding.

"And if anyone tries to give you any trouble, I promise I'll help you. So long as you promise to behave." They looked at one another, clearly still unsure. "What would you rather do? Go on being feared and despised, or try and build something new here?"

Finally, an Ogremon stepped forward. "I...I think I wanna try and build something."

"Me too," A Troopmon nodded. The other Virus Digimon all started to agree, Goldramon nodding as everyone else cheered. Goldramon flew up and the two other Great Dragons nodded.

"Well done," Magnadramon told him. "You really are the perfect Digimon for this role."

"Thank you," Goldramon nodded. "I just want these Digimon to have the same chance you all gave me." He then turned to Flash, curling his tail up to land on and lean down. "Well my friends, this is where we likely part for now. I still have much to learn about my new role and you all likely have things you need to work on."

"You're right," Flash nodded. "Now that WarGrowlmon's gone, we can get back to enjoying Codex in the knowledge that the Digital World is safe." The others nodded in agreement, as Goldramon agreed.

"Well, you already scanned my Champion and Ultimate Form. Might as well complete the set." Flash smiled and took out his Digivice, holding it up to scan the Mega Level. A beep filled the air as his scan was complete. Flash couldn't wait to try this Mega out in the Beta-Stadium. Goldramon then stood back up and turned to the Royal Knights, giving them a bow.

"Thank you, for coming."

"We didn't really do anything," Omnimon stated. "But your thanks in appreciated. And if you ever require our help again, we will be ready to lend you our aid." The other Knights nodded and the Three Great Dragons all took to the air. Portals opened up and the Digimon in their army began to step through it, all happy they no longer had to worry about WarGrowlmon.

Leomon smiled at the humans. "Farewell, my friends. Until we all meet again."

"Yup," Micro nodded, "hopefully next time it won't be when the Digital World is about to be destroyed." Leomon laughed at this before heading through the portal, the Great Dragons flying into it as well before it disappeared.

"Well," Dynasmon stated, "I guess we should be off as well."

"Wait!" Flash rushed over to them, "I have something I need to show you." The knights looked quizzical, as Flash used his Digivice to summon a scan cube and enlarged it so the knights could get a good look at it.

They all stared at the armored dragon, able to tell just from looking that it was a Mega Level. "I don't recognise this Digimon," Omnimon stated.

"It's a Mega Level Veemon and I were able to Digivolve into." Flash was still in shock over being able to do that. "When we did...we called ourselves Imperialdramon." Their eyes went wide hearing this. "Isn't that the Digimon you said founded the Royal Knights?"

"It was," Duftmon stated. "But that's impossible. Imperialdramon was meant to be a humanoid Digimon."

"That's what we were wondering as well," Twilight nodded. "Is there anything from your history that might explain this?" The Royal Knights shook their heads.

"No," Omnimon told them. "Imperialdramon has not been seen since the original was deleted. Little to nothing is known outside of the story we told you before." He stared at the scan and was still very confused. "It seems there's more to the legend they were thought we knew." He turned to Flash. "If anything new is discovered about this scan, please let us know."

"I will," Flash promised as he dispelled the image. The Knights all stood up and soon took to the air, giving their goodbyes before flying off back to their castle.

Once they left, Flash sighed. The excitement of the day had taken a lot out of him. He fell to the ground, with DemiVeemon on his chest. The pair laid out, wanting nothing more than to sleep. The others laughed at this, knowing he was probably wiped after Digivolving to Mega.

Shining stepped over to him, Monodramon by his side, the squatted down. "You look like you just ran a thousand miles in ten minutes."

"I feel it," Flash groaned.

"Well, you'd better rest up." He stood up, "you're gonna need it for next week." Flash looked over at him in confusion.

"Why...what's happening next week?" Shining turned back to him, a smile on his lips. He then held up a finger and pointed at Flash, giving him a serious look.

"Seven days. In seven day, we will battle." That statement shocked everyone. The best player in Codex had just challenged a Champion Ranked player. "You've become the first person to ever Digivolve to the Mega Level. I don't know what that means, but I do know you couldn't have done that unless you've gained considerable strength. So I want to put that strength to the test." He gave Flash a smirk, "you think you're up for this?"

Flash let the challenge sink in, then slowly smiled before turning to DemiVeemon. The tiny dragon smiled up at him, nodding as Flash began to stand up. The pair turned to Shining and held out a hand. "You're on." Shining smirked and took his hand, the pair shaking as everyone else looked excited.

A battle between Flash and Shining was going to be epic, no matter who turned out to be the winner. The next seven days were gonna be hell, since everyone would be too excited to wait.

The Digital World was safe and its protectors were stronger than ever. Now, it was time to enjoy this world for all it was worth.

Author's Note

With that, the war has come to an end. I think the right Digimon got the stone in the end, wouldn't you agree? So now Flash and Shining are going to do battle. How will that turn out? Only time will tell.

Flash V Shining: Rematch Time

Codex was in a frenzy.

It had been one week since the defeat of WarGrowlmon and the saving of the Digital World. One week since Shining Armor had challenged Flash Sentry to a battle. All over the foyer, the place was packed. Every player in Codex was waiting for the battle to begin.

Flash's friends had managed to nab the best seats in the house, all of them excited to see how this battle would turn out. "Come on," Sunset groaned. "How much longer are we gonna have to wait?"

"I'm sure they're almost ready," Twilight assured her. "This is one of the biggest battles they've ever had. Probably the biggest for Flash. They're both gonna wanna make sure they're completely ready."

"I hope so," Rainbow smirked. "I want this battle to be the best one ever. With how pumped everyone is, anything else is gonna be a let down." The others nodded, as they waited for the battle to begin.

As they did, Twilight remembered the entire week leading to this. Every day, Flash and Veemon had been working hard to get ready for this. They trained like crazing, with all of their Digivolutions. They even went into the Digital World, to train in a real environment. And that had revealed a slight problem.

Flash and Veemon couldn't Mega Digivolve. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get past Ultimate Level.

To say they were annoyed by this was an understatement, but everyone told them it made sense. Getting to Mega wasn't easy and with how intense the battle was when they Mega Digivolved, it was likely they had only managed it thanks to their survival instincts. They still held the distinction of being the first team to ever reach Mega. And that was something they would always be remembered for.

As they waited for the match to start, everyone wondered how Flash and Shining were feeling. Shining was no doubt ready to battle and see how strong Flash was. But Flash and Veemon were probably feeling nervous as heck.

Within the Beta-Stadium, Flash and Veemon were standing side by side.

Flash placed his Digivice on the podium and with a few swipes, multiple Digimon appeared around them. Flamedramon, Raidramon, Depthmon, Veedramon, ExVeemon and Strikedramon. Their Champion Level scans stood around them, with BurningGreymon, KendoGarurumon, AeroVeedramon, Paildramon, Wingdramon, Cyberdramon and the rest of their Ultimate Forms behind the Champions. And finally, Imperialdramon, UlforceVeedramon and all the other Megas they could become appeared.

Flash and Veemon looked at all the Digimon they had used in battle, both inside and outside the Codex Arenas. As they did, they remembered each and every battle they had fought to get to this point.

"This is it, Veemon." Flash turned to his partner. "I know the chances of us winning this fight are slim. But still..."

"Let's fight with everything we've got," Veemon cheered. "Last time you fought him, you went up against Shining Armor alone. That's not gonna happen this time."

Flash smiled. "You're right." He held his fist up. "Let's go show the Digital World why we're the Ultimate Team." Veemon cheered and bumped his fist, the pair grabbing their Digivice and heading out.

In another area of the Beta-Stadium, Shining and Monodramon watched a replay of one of Flash's battles.

UlforceVeedramon ducked under a SkullMammothmon's trunk and stabbed his sword into the Mega, destroying it and claiming victory as the battlefield dissolved. "Flash has really come a long way." It felt like only yesterday, when Shining was saving Flash and Veemon from the horde of Tyrannomon.

"Did you know?" Monodramon asked. "When you met him, did you know he would get this far?"

"Honestly, I just thought he was a kid with a lot of potential." Shining removed his Digivice. "But then he kept overcoming challenge after challenge. Even when he fell, he was able to get back up and fight harder than ever. He's got the strength to overcome any obstacle. Again and again, he does the impossible." He smirked, "I wanna see just how far he can push that talent of his." With that, he and Monodramon turned to leave.

It wasn't just Codex that was tuned in to watch the fun.

In their temple, Azulongmon, Magnadramon and Goldramon were watching a digital screen that the Codex Commanders had tuned up for them. Leomon and a few other Digimon were also watching, excited to see how well these two heroes of their war would do against each other.

"You can do this," Goldramon told Flash. "Just believe in yourself."

"Flash and Veemon stand on the prefaces of greatness," Leomon stated. "If they can win this battle, their strength might very well have no equal."

"That very well may be needed," Azulongmon stated. "I sense that the Digital World is far from safe. We may have defeated WarGrowlmon, but there are other threats out there. And we will need all the power we can get in order to protect the Digital World from it." They all frowned, wondering what kind of threat he could be sensing.

In another part of the Digital World, the Royal Knights sat in their throne room.

Said knights were also watching the screens, eager to see how strong Flash and Veemon had become. "Do you think they'll use it?" UlforceVeedramon asked. "The scan they acquired of the creator?"

"We've yet to determine if that really is the same Digimon," Craniamon pointed out. "I do hope they use it, just so we can see whether or not it is the real thing." The other knights nodded, also hoping to see the infamous scan that had saved Flash and his friends a week ago.

In his newly repaired lab, Datamon was also watching.

He glanced between the screen tuned into Codex, and another screen that showed an image of ExVeemon. Said image had several mechanical parts surrounding him, each one with a line pointing to an area of the Digimon's body.

As he looked over the data he had, he hummed at the thought of what he might learn from this battle. "Maybe it'll give me the key I need to figuring this out."

Flash and Veemon walked towards the room they had booked for this battle. And as they did, Flash was overwhelmed with memories.

Memories of his first day in Codex, meeting Veemon and battling as a Digimon for the first time. Memories of meeting all his friends, like Sandal, Trixie, Thorax and Twilight. Good memories, like when they explored the Digital World and had fun. Bad memories, like losing Veemon to Jet Set or being imprisoned by Hudiemon. And memories of all the difficult battles they had been through.

They had almost been deleted so many times, but each time they had come out the other side stronger and ready to fight again. And now, they faced their biggest test yet.

They arrived at the room and stepped inside, finding Shining and Monodramon waiting for them. The player's eyes locked, Flash showing a serious expression whilst shining smiled. "I hope you're ready."

"Oh," Flash smirked, "we're ready."

"Good," Monodramon smiled. "You've fought a lot of powerful opponents in your time. But they're nothing compared to us. If you wanna win, you're gonna have to bring your A game."

"A, B and C Games are all with us!" Veemon cried, as they placed their Digivices into the Podiums.

As they did, the electronic voice spoke up. "Flash Sentry. Shining Armor. You are here to compete in a Beta Stadium Battle. And, by special request, this battle will have certain rule changes."

"Rule changes?" Flash hadn't heard anything about that.

"It's just one rule that's changed," Shining replied. "You're gonna have the same number of Securities as me."

"What?" Flash hadn't been expecting this. "Why? I don't need your charity."

"This isn't charity," Shining smirked. "I want to see everything you have. I don't want this win to happen just because I have more Securities than you. We're going into this on an even footing. Unless you're scared of facing me like an equal?"

Flash smirked, "bring it." The two set their Digivices and started building their decks, the two carefully deciding which Digimon they would use.

"What do you think they're gonna pick?" Applejack asked Twilight.

The girl hummed as she watched them work. "Honestly, I don't know. Flash's best Digimon is Imperialdramon. But that locks him into a pretty predictable Digivolution line. If he wants to surprise Shining, he might make it look like he's going for Imperialdramon but then switch to an entirely different Digimon."

"What about Shining?" Trixie asked, "you think he's gonna use Monodramon's normal line?"

"He said he wanted to see everything Flash had," Micro pointed out. "It would make sense he'd pick his strongest Digimon to do that with." The two finished building their decks, everyone turning their attention back to the battle.

"Shining Armor, you have been randomly selected to choose the battlefield you wish to compete on."

"Alright then," Shining opened the location scans. Flash expected him to go with the Rose Morning Star Castle, likely to see how much better Flash actually was. But instead, Shining chose something else. "Brave Forest!" Flash's eyes went wide, as that location was locked in. "The area where we first met. And the area you had your first battle in. Let's see how much you've improved since then."

Flash smirked, "lets."

"When both players are ready, hit the start button."

The pair glanced down at their partners, who nodded back up at them before the two slammed on the buttons. "LET'S GET DIGITAL!" As the battlefield began to form, Monodramon and Veemon leapt up and gave their partners a high-five. This caused them to merge into one Digimon, Veemon and Monodramon staring each other down as the battlefield formed.

In the blink of an eye, the pair were in the forest. Flash saw he was in the exact same spot he had arrived in during his first battle, with Monodramon standing right in front of him. "Let's do this," the purple rookie stated before charging forward.

Veemon: 7-100%
Monodramon: 7-100%

"Beat Knuckle!" He leapt forward and tried to slash at Veemon, but the Rookie leapt back and did several flips before landing.

"My turn!" Veemon spat a bunch of energy into his hand, "Vee-Shot!" Throwing it like a fast ball, the energy ball shot towards Monodramon and slammed into him before he could react. To everyone's amazement, Flash had drawn first blood.

Veemon: 7-100%
Monodramon: 7-80%

As Monodramon staggered back, Veemon launched himself forward and tried to throw a punch his way. But Monodramon wasn't gonna let him get two attacks in on him. So he quickly caught Veemon by the arm and threw him over his shoulder, Veemon crying out as he was sent flying and smashed into a tree.

"Augh!" He cried, hitting the bark with enough force to break it.

Veemon: 7-90%
Monodramon: 7-80%

Veemon groaned as he fell to the ground, hitting head as he landed. "Ouch." He quickly opened his eyes and saw Monodramon charging, the blue dragon yelping as he spun around and leapt away.

"Oh no you don't!" Monodramon leapt into the air and glided through it, catching up to Veemon as flames filled his mouth. "Fire Breath!" He launched the flamethrower at Veemon, who barely had any time to raise his arms to protect himself.

The flames slammed into him and he was knocked backwards, his life points burning away as he fell to the ground.

Veemon: 7-70%
Monodramon: 7-80%

Veemon groaned as he pushed himself up, whilst Monodramon landed and got ready to strike again. But Veemon managed to spin his body around and dodge his claws, eventually making it back to his feet. The pair stared one another down before both getting into a fighting stance, the two looking like they were about to brawl.

And they did, both charging forward before throwing punches, kicks and slashes towards one another. Both tried to block or dodge the attacks, but every now and then one managed to land on the target. "Ahhh!" Monodramon cried, getting punched in the face. But he quickly recovered and spun around to slam his foot into Veemon's chest.

"Gyah!" He cried, but then grabbed the foot and pulled it close, allowing him to deal a punch square into Monodramon's jaw.

The two kept fighting like this for a while, eventually hitting each other and staggering back panting.

Veemon: 7-35%
Monodramon: 7-50%

Veemon leaned against a tree, catching his breath whilst Monodramon breathed in. "Fire Breath!" The fire stream shot towards Veemon and he narrowly managed to duck under it, the flames slamming into the tree and making it catch fire.

But before it could completely burn up, Veemon pressed his feet against it and pushed himself off with all his strength. "Vee-Headbutt!" He rocketed across the battlefield and smashed into Monodramon, hitting him with every ounce of power he had in his tiny body.

"AUGH!" Monodramon was knocked flying backwards, crashing into another tree with enough force to break it apart.

Veemon: 7-35%
Monodramon: 7-20%

In Codex, everyone cheered. The fact that Flash was able to get such a powerful hit on Shining, was something to behold.

"Go Flash!" Rainbow cheered, as they watched Monodramon pick himself up. And as Veemon charged in to do more damage, Monodramon kicked a bunch of wood in his direction before leaping into the air.

"What's he doing?" Sandal asked, as Veemon was forced to stop and protect his eyes from the wood.

"Fire Breath!" They heard Monodramon cry out, unleashing a burst of flames that hit the ground and ignited the grass. This created a wall of fire, that prevented Veemon from following as Monodramon disappeared into the forest.

"Got him running scared," Grubmon laughed.

"Shining doesn't get scared," Thorax pointed out. "He's getting to a location he can turn the tables on Flash in." The flames finally died down, allowing Veemon to run through it after Monodramon.

"This isn't good," Veemon gulped.

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "If Shining finds someplace he can get the upper hand in, we're gonna be in serious trouble." He looked around, checking the ground from tracks or any sign Monodramon had come this way. "Where are you?"

"Beat Knuckle!" He spun around and heard the cracking sound of wood, which made him look up and see a tree falling towards him.

He gasped and leapt to the side, the tree crashing down next to him. He then tripped over a root and went rolling out of control. He cried out as he rolled and rolled, eventually slamming into a tree at the bottom of a hill. "Ow."

Veemon: 7-25%
Monodramon: 7-20%

Monodramon then appeared and glided towards him, as Veemon picked himself up. "Fire Breath!" He launched another burst of fire and it shot down towards Veemon, slamming into him and exploding to knock him back.

Veemon: 7-5%
Monodramon: 7-20%

As Veemon hit the ground, Monodramon jumped over at a tree and slammed his foot into it with all his strength. Doing so caused something to fall out of the branches, a blue coin that Monodramon crushed in his fingers.

Veemon cried, as he picked himself up. As he did, Monodramon turned to him and started cracking his knuckles. Veemon stood tall and looked around, a light then catching his eyes and making him carefully glance around to see a Digivolution Coin.

Monodramon hadn't noticed it yet, giving Veemon the chance he needed. He just had to get over to it without Monodramon noticing. "Vee-Shot!" He created the energy ball and fired it, Monodramon leaping up so the sphere shot under him. It then slammed into a tree and caused the bottom to blow up, making it tip over and fall towards the ground.

Monodramon was still in the air when this happened, so couldn't move in time to avoid the tree slamming down on him.

He cried out, as the tree pushed him down towards the ground. As he was buried under a bunch of branches, Veemon ran around him and rushed towards the Digivolution Coin. "Fire Breath!" He glanced back to see the tree burst into flames, Monodramon flying out of it.

He spotted the Digivolution Coin and used a tree to shoot off and glide towards it and Veemon, with the blue dragon leaping forward and grabbing the coin. Seconds later, Monodramon slammed into his and slashed at his back. "Augh!"

Veemon: 7-0%
Monodramon: 7-20%

Monodramon kicked away from Veemon, who started swinging his arms around wildly to try and hit him. As the purple dragon Digimon flew to a safe distance, Veemon started spitting out Vee-Shots and throwing them.

Monodramon leapt away, avoiding the explosions and the falling trees. And eventually, Veemon ran out of SP. "Alright!" He ran towards the area of knocked over trees, jumping onto a pile of logs as Monodramon watched. "Plenty of room to spread my wings." With that, his body exploded with light and started growing. "Veemon, Digivolve to..." He grew massive and spread the newly forming wings, as he leapt off the ground and the light exploded to reveal his Champion form. "EXVEEMON!"

Monodramon smirked, Shining and his partner watching as ExVeemon took to the air. "I knew he'd pick ExVeemon," Shining stated. "And I bet I know what the rest of his deck uses."

"We're going up against the creator of the Royal Knights," Monodramon stated. "This is gonna be fun." Shining nodded, as ExVeemon crossed his arms over his chest.

"Vee Laser!" The beam exploded off his chest and shot down towards Monodramon, who ran off to try and avoid the blast. It struck the ground and caused it to explode, sending dirt, rocks and trees flying everywhere.

Monodramon did his best to avoid the debris, but was struck by some of the smaller pieces and flinched.

ExVeemon: 6-100%
Monodramon: 7-5%

As smoke and dust filled the battlefield, ExVeemon watched from on high as he waited for Monodramon to appear.

Part of him wanted to unleash another blast and keep Monodramon on the defensive, but also knew he had to save as much SP as possible. "Where are you?" He got his answer when a fireball came shooting out of the trees and almost hit him, ExVeemon pulling to the side in order to avoid getting burned. "Nice try!" He flew down towards the tree and slammed his fist into the ground, sending out a shockwave that sent several trees flying.

But before the trees could be ripped out of the ground, Monodramon leapt out of another one and landed on the back of his head. "Gotcha!"

"Not for long!" ExVeemon leapt into the air, flying in a circle as he tried to dislodge Monodramon.

But the Rookie was able to hold on and unleashed a fire ball, hitting ExVeemon on the back of his head.

ExVeemon: 6-85%
Monodramon: 7-5%

ExVeemon finally reached back and grabbed Monodramon, pulling him off and throwing him towards the ground. But as he fell, Monodramon spotted something and smiled as he opened his wings. He glided down and ExVeemon saw a Digivolution Coin had been revealed, either by his laser or his punch.

"Vee Laser!" The beam shot from his chest and flew down towards Monodramon, who saw it coming and did a barrel roll before the laser shot past him. It hit the ground and exploded, Monodramon tucking his wings in and diving into the shockwave.

The explosion slammed into him and the force slowed him down, but didn't blow him away. And as it did, he was struck by a piece of rock. "Augh!"

ExVeemon: 6-85%
Monodramon: 7-0%

He flew out of the explosion and spread his wings, flying down and landed before running towards the Digivolution Coin.

He grabbed hold of it, as ExVeemon flew down and slammed his fist into the ground. And the resulting shockwave knocked Monodramon backwards, causing him to crash through a tree.

ExVeemon: 6-85%
Monodramon: 6-90%

As ExVeemon pulled his fist out of the ground, Monodramon picked himself up. "You really have gotten a lot stronger," he told the Champion. "All you've been through. All the trials you've faced. They've helped you grow into a battler worthy of respect."

ExVeemon smiled, "thanks."

"But you've still got a long way to go," Monodramon stated. "Now show you can keep pushing forward." He charged, "DEFEAT ME!" His body exploded with light, as he grew larger and body powerful. "Monodramon, Digivolve to..." The light exploded off of him, revealing his Champion form. "STRIKEDRAMON!"

ExVeemon gasped as Strikedramon flew forward and slashed at him, the Digimon leaping back and avoiding his claws. "Vee Laser!" He fired the beam right at Strikedramon, but the Champion Digimon managed to avoid it with ease and leapt into the air before it hit the ground.

When it did hit the ground and exploded, the force slammed into Strikedramon and propelled him upwards at a higher speed. "Strike Claw!" He reached ExVeemon and slashed at him, ExVeemon roaring in pain.

ExVeemon: 6-65%
Strikedramon: 6-90%

ExVeemon was blown backwards, as Strikedramon fell towards the ground. The flightless Champion landed atop a tree, as ExVeemon flew up higher.

"He's gonna Digivolve to Cyberdramon eventually," Flash told his partner. "So we need to take advantage of our aerial advantage for as long as we can."

"But we can't keep using Vee Laser," Veemon pointed out. "You're already starting to run low on SP."

Flash smirked, "that's why I added this to our deck." ExVeemon raised his left arm, as it was suddenly enveloped with light. "Battle Gear...BOOST!" His arm extended and gained edged on the top and bottom, the light fading to reveal a round cannon arm similar to one belonging to a RizeGreymon. The only difference was this weapon was round and had a pair of single edged swords running up the top and bottom of the barrel. "Razor Cannon!"

Strikedramon smirked, as he watched ExVeemon point the weapon towards him. "Not bad."

"Fire!" The weapon launched a blue laser at Strikedramon, who leapt off the tree seconds before it was vaporised. Strikedramon leapt onto another tree before leaping off it, that tree getting blasted as well.

Everyone watched as ExVeemon continued to blast away, forcing Strikedramon on the defensive. "Flash is gonna toast him," Rainbow cried.

"I don't think so," Twilight shook her head. "I've seen him practise with that weapon. He can only fire it a certain number of times before it needs to cool down." And sure enough, the laser stopped with ExVeemon looking it over. "See."

"I doubt that's gonna stop him," Applejack pointed out. And sure enough, the blue dragon flew down towards Strikedramon.

ExVeemon swung the weapon around, slashing at Strikedramon and forcing him to leap up to avoid it.

"Vee Laser!" He then unleashed the beam from his chest, which slammed into Strikedramon and made him roar as he was blown back. He slammed into a tree and smashed through it, then slammed into another tree and fell to the ground.

ExVeemon: 6-65%
Strikedramon: 6-60%

As Strikedramon landed, ExVeemon flew down and prepared to attack again. But Strikedramon pushed himself to his feet and raised his claws, as they, his back fur and the rest of his armor burst into blue fire. "Strike Fang!" He caught the sword in his grip and held on tight, then pushed the blade back up before leaping forward and slashing at ExVeemon.

The Champion roared, as he was knocked backwards.

ExVeemon: 6-40%
Strikedramon: 6-60%

As ExVeemon staggered back, Strikedramon snarled and roared before charging again. From experience, Flash could tell Shining was having trouble keeping himself from losing control. He reached ExVeemon and slashed again, but the dragon blocked with his sword.

ExVeemon then pushed him back and slashed at him, Strikedramon growling as he was knocked back.

ExVeemon: 6-40%
Strikedramon: 6-45%

As he hit the ground, ExVeemon pointed the weapon at Strikedramon and fired a quintet of shots. Strikedramon charged, his claws still burning as he swung them around. The first four lasers were deflected by his slashes, but the fifth one slammed into him. And as he fought through it, he was burned. But he still managed to get close to ExVeemon and slashed at him.

ExVeemon: 6-25%
Strikedramon: 6-30%

ExVeemon once again took to the air, aiming his weapon at Strikedramon. But the flames from his attack finally died down and he was starting to get some of his sense back, at least enough to know to dodge the incoming attacks. ExVeemon kept trying to follow him, waiting until he stopped before firing.

But as Strikedramon moved, Monodramon suggested something and Shining nodded. "Let's go." He reached an open area, "Battle Gear...BOOST!" A light flew off of him and took shape, becoming almost as large as he was. And as Strikedramon leapt towards it, the light vanished and revealed a machine they had seen Fumamon ride during the battle. "Sky Cycle!"

"What the?" ExVeemon hadn't been expecting that, Strikedramon revving the engine as the floating bike hovered off the ground and shot forward. ExVeemon fired at it, but the bike was too fast and his attack missed.

"Now this is the type of heavy machinery I can get behind!" Strikedramon pulled on the bike and it took to the air, propelling him upwards towards ExVeemon. And as he flew forwards, part of the bike opened up and revealed a bunch of lasers.

"Uh oh," ExVeemon gulped. The next thing he knew, the lasers were flying towards him.

He roared as he tried to protect himself, but the beams slammed into him and he flinched. The attacks weren't too dangerous, but they were still doing a little bit of damage that built up.

ExVeemon: 6-0%
Strikedramon: 6-30%

As his Security shattered, ExVeemon had had enough and swung his Battle Gear around. The force of the swing sent a blade of air towards Strikedramon, causing his bike to go out of control for a moment. And as he worked to get it back under control, ExVeemon fired his Battle Gear.

Not wanting his bike to get damaged, Strikedramon swung it around and slammed his claw into the oncoming laser. As it exploded, he flinched as ExVeemon charged forward.

ExVeemon: 5-100%
Strikedramon: 6-15%

ExVeemon swung his sword at the bike, but Strikedramon swerved around and dodged it. He got behind ExVeemon and fired, his lasers hitting the Champion in the back before he spun around and blocked with his Battle Gear.

ExVeemon: 5-80%
Strikedramon: 6-15%

ExVeemon swung his sword around again, Strikedramon dodging, but this time he also swung his tail around and crashed it into the bike. This sent it spinning out of control, allowing ExVeemon to point his weapon at the bike and fire.

"Augh!" Strikedramon growled, as the beam slammed into his side and knocked him out of control again.

ExVeemon: 5-80%
Strikedramon: 6-0%

Strikedramon managed to pull his bike back under control, then put it into high gear and shot back towards ExVeemon. The blue dragon pointed his Battle Gear at the Digimon, only for Strikedramon to suddenly swerve and fly in an opposite direction.

ExVeemon tried to follow, but the bike flew in a bunch of different directions to keep him from locking onto his exact location. And as ExVeemon felt himself getting a little dizzy, Strikedramon appeared behind him and leapt off the bike.

"What's he doing?" Thorax cried, as Strikedramon flew towards ExVeemon.

"He's taking Flash by surprise," Twilight realised.

"Look out!" Pinkie screamed, as ExVeemon finally sensed his presence and spun around. He tried to shield himself with his sword, but Strikedramon's feet caught onto the side of the barrel and he leapt upwards.

"Strike Claw!" He snarled, as he spun around and slashed at ExVeemon's face.

ExVeemon: 5-60%
Strikedramon: 5-100%

Strikedramon then kicked off and flew backwards, landing right where his bike had flown. He was able to grab onto the handles and get it revving again, allowing him to fly up and unleash a barrage of lasers on ExVeemon before he could recover.

"Gaaaah!" ExVeemon flinched, the lasers bouncing off his body feeling like a bunch of bee stings.

ExVeemon: 5-45%
Strikedramon: 5-100%

"RAAAAH!" ExVeemon flew forward and swung his blade around with everything he had, unleashing another air wave that pushed the bike out of control. And whilst Strikedramon was prepared this time, ExVeemon flew up towards him and slashed at the bike's engine.

The machine had a large gash ripped through it, causing it to spark and explode. Strikedramon was unable to bring it back under control and as he leapt off it, ExVeemon's chest glowed.

"VEE LASER!" The beam exploded off of him and shot towards Strikedramon, who tried to summon his Strike Fang fire but couldn't react in time.

"WOW!" He was slammed by the beam and pushed towards the ground, crashing through several trees as he was severally burned.

ExVeemon: 5-45%
Strikedramon: 5-50%

Strikedramon lay on the ground, surrounded by destroyed pieces of wood, whilst ExVeemon panted and felt his SP gauge drop to nothing. "That might of been a mistake."

"At least you got rid of the Battle Gear," Veemon pointed out. ExVeemon looked down and saw the bike had fallen to the ground, exploding when it crashed and leaving Strikedramon grounded.

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "Now let's go get him!" He dived and pointed his weapon towards Strikedramon, who picked himself up just in time to see a rain of lasers falling towards him.

"Oh, great!" He started jumping around, avoiding the lasers as best he could.

But as he dodged, he spotted something that made him smirk. But he didn't head towards it, instead leaping in the opposite direction and grabbing a tree, which he threw towards ExVeemon.

This forced the dragon to stop shooting, instead using the weapon's blade to cut and deflect the tree. But Strikedramon quickly started throwing more and more logs at him, forcing him to keep cutting. And when the last log was slashed out of the way, he turned his attention back to the ground. But he saw Strikedramon was gone.

"Where'd he go?" He considered blasting some of the surrounding trees, but didn't want to waste ammo. Instead, he flew down and landed. But that was a mistake.

"Strike Fang!" He spun around and saw Strikedramon explode out of the trees, his claws and hair aflame as he shot towards him. ExVeemon barely managed to block the first slash, though his weapon got severally cracked by the impact, but the second one got him right in the chest.

"Gaaaaah!"

ExVeemon: 5-20%
Strikedramon: 5-50%

Strikedramon then leapt into the air, curling himself up to transform into a burning wheel of death. This, ExVeemon was able to counter by firing a beam straight at the attack.

The laser slammed into the wheel and burned Strikedramon, whilst ExVeemon leapt up and dodged.

ExVeemon: 5-20%
Strikedramon: 5-35%

The fire wheel smashed into the ground and exploded, sending debris flying everywhere. ExVeemon was able to dodge it, panting as he looked down at Strikedramon. And as the dust began to fade, the Champion was standing there looking no worse for wear.

"Geez. What does it take to make him stay down?"

"Hit him again?" Veemon cried, but Flash found their Battle Gear needed a cool down period.

ExVeemon was about to dive down and attack, but Strikedramon did something he wasn't expecting. He started glowing. "Strikedramon, Digivolve to..." He grew more bulky and a quartet of wings exploded out of his back, the Digimon leaping into the air as the light shot off of him. "CYBERDRAMON!"

"What the?" ExVeemon couldn't believe it, as Cyberdramon flew towards him and slashed at the Champion with his claws. "Wow!" He blocked with his Battle Gear, but the claws did some serious damage to it. "How did you Digivolve before me?"

Cyberdramon smirked. "When I was throwing those trees at you, I wasn't just trying to damage you. It was a distraction, so you wouldn't see me run into the trees."

ExVeemon caught on. "There was a Digivolution Coin there."

"That's right. My sneak attack after getting it was to keep you from getting suspicious. Remember what I taught you. Don't just go for the coins. Make your opponent see something else." He flew around ExVeemon, who started slashing wildly at the Ultimate in a hopes of getting a clean slash on him.

But Cyberdramon was just too fast, his strong yet lightweight armor making him almost impossible to hit. "Hold still!"

"Gladly!" Cyberdramon appeared before waiting his arms around, the spheres of energy appearing within them before he brought them together. "Desolation Claw!" He thrust the sphere forward, the orb shooting towards ExVeemon.

The dragon roared as he spun his sword around to block the attack, trying to slash through the orb. But as soon as the blade collided with the sphere, it exploded and ExVeemon was knocked backwards. "Gyah!" He fell towards the ground and crashed, slamming through several trees as he did so.

ExVeemon: 5-0%
Cyberdramon: 5-35%

Cyberdramon dived down towards him, his claws ready to slash at ExVeemon and deal some serious damage. But as he got in close, ExVeemon suddenly spun around and pointed his badly damaged weapon towards him. "FIRE!" He unleashed a beam with all his power towards Cyberdramon, slamming into him and pushing him backwards into the air.

ExVeemon: 4-100%
Cyberdramon: 5-10%

As Cyberdramon was blasted away, the Battle Gear began to crack and finally broke apart. ExVeemon could only watch, as his weapon fell to the ground and he was left unable to defend himself.

He picked himself up and started flying over the land, looking for the tell-tale signs of a Digivolution Coin. But as he did, he heard the rushing of water and flew over to the cliff where he had once defeated Golemon. Staring at it, he remembered how that battle had gone down. And as he played it backwards in his head, he and Veemon remembered something.

"This way!" He flew over the trees and eventually came to a stop where Gotsumon had found his Digivolution Coin. And sure enough, there it was. "Gotcha!" He flew down and as he reached for the coin, another sphere of energy flew down and crashed into him. "GYAH!"

ExVeemon: 4-75%
Cyberdramon: 5-10%

He fell forward, hitting the Digivolution Coin, and landed on the ground.

Above him, Cyberdramon flew down towards him. "Don't get distracted. That's the last thing you wanna do against an opponent." He got in close, as ExVeemon spun around.

"Vee LASER!" The beam exploded off his chest and slammed into Cyberdramon, blasting him back.

ExVeemon: 4-75%
Cyberdramon: 5-0%

As Cyberdramon fell to the ground, ExVeemon got up and leapt into the air. And as he did, the ghostly image of Stingmon appeared beside him. "Let's do this thing!" The image flew into him and he started glowing. "ExVeemon, DNA Digivolve to..." His body grew, as the armor formed around him along with a second set of wings. And when the light faded, the DNA Digimon stared down at Cyberdramon. "PAILDRAMON!"

Cyberdramon picked himself up and smiled. "Not bad." He leapt off the ground and flew up towards Paildramon, who quickly brought his weapons forward.

"Desperado Blaster!" The lasers flew off with incredible speed and slammed into Cyberdramon, exploding as each blast pushed him downwards.

Paildramon: 4-75%
Cyberdramon: 4-80%

As Cyberdramon was pushed down, Paildramon dived with his blades extending out of his gauntlets. "Sting Strike!" He thrust the blades forward, but Cyberdramon managed to avoid the attack and fly up.

"Raaaaah!" He threw a punch, right into Paildramon's chin.

"Aaaaaah!"

Paildramon: 4-65%
Cyberdramon: 4-80%

Paildramon flew back and shook his head, as Cyberdramon charged and started slashing at him. But Paildramon managed to defend using his gauntlets, blocking each of his strikes and eventually slashing at Cyberdramon. "Augh!"

Paildramon: 4-65%
Cyberdramon: 4-65%

As Cyberdramon fell back, Paildramon thrust his claws forward. "Cable Catcher!" His claws shot forward and the metal chords quickly wrapped around Cyberdramon's body, locking his arms and wings to his side.

The Ultimate fought to try and free himself from the hold, but the cables refused to give way. And as Paildramon began to spin, he pulled Cyberdramon around and around.

"I'm getting dizzy just watching that," Fluttershy looked a little queasy.

"My brother won't let him hold onto him for that long," Twilight pointed out. Paildramon seemed to hear this and released Cyberdramon, causing the Ultimate to go flying off before crashing into the ground.

Paildramon: 4-65%
Cyberdramon: 4-55%

Despite being released, one cable remained wrapped around his leg. And as he was about to pick himself up, Paildramon retracted the cable and he was pulled towards him.

Cyberdramon tried to pull himself free, but the hold Paildramon had on him was too great.

By the time the cable unravelled from around his leg, the momentum was carrying him towards Paildramon at too great a speed. "Desperado Blaster!" He fired one of his hip blasters and Cyberdramon found himself flying into a barrage of laser blasters, making him cry out as he was knocked back toward the ground.

Paildramon: 4-65%
Cyberdramon: 4-30%

Cyberdramon spread his wings and came to a stop, hovering above the forest whilst Paildramon flew above him. The DNA Digimon's claws returned to their normal spots, allowing him to pull his second blaster around. "Think you can beat me so easily?"

Monodramon watched from within, remembering all the battles they had seen Paildramon fight in. "Despite how big he is, he's still really fast. Almost as fast as us."

"Almost," Shining agreed. "But almost, isn't enough." He shot forward and Paildramon fired his blasters, only for Cyberdramon to disappear in a blur.

"Where'd he go?" The dragon bug hybrid asked, only to feel a presence behind him. He spun around and sure enough, Cyberdramon was right there and threw a punch right into his face. "Augh!"

Paildramon: 4-55%
Cyberdramon: 4-30%

Cyberdramon pulled back and Paildramon shook his head before charging forward, slashing at Cyberdramon. But the Dragon Man Digimon was able to dodge his claw, then kicked his arm away before charging forward and punching him in the chest.

Paildramon: 4-45%
Cyberdramon: 4-30%

"Cable Catcher!" Paildramon fired his claws at Cyberdramon, but the smaller Ultimate was able to dodge and deflect each one. He charged at Paildramon, but the DNA Digimon flew straight up as the cables returned to him. Cyberdramon flew under him and he dived, trying to punch him from above.

Cyberdramon spun around and caught said punch before spinning through the air, using Paildramon's own momentum to send him flying towards the ground at high speed.

"WOW!" He cried, trying his best to spin around and land on his feet. But he only managed to get half way around and crashed into a bunch of trees on his back, crying out as he did so.

Paildramon: 4-35%
Cyberdramon: 4-30%

"Ow," Flash groaned as he tried to pick them up. "This isn't going too well."

"We're too big," Veemon pointed out. "This area was fine, back when we were small and could hide anywhere. But at this size, we can't do anything."

"And it's gonna get even worse when we get to Imperialdramon," Flash sighed. "That must be why Shining picked it. We're not gonna be able to use the terrain to our advantage this time." But then he thought about it and something clicked. "Or maybe we can."

"What do you mean?"

"Follow my lead." Paildramon lifted himself up and spread his wings, Cyberdramon preparing for a frontal assault. But then, the DNA Digimon shot forward along the ground and flew away from Cyberdramon.

"Where's he going?" Monodramon asked.

"He's up to something," Shining realised before chasing after them. With their higher speed, they were able to slowly close the gap as Paildramon headed over to the cliff area. The DNA Digimon stopped right next to the edge, looking over it at the raging water.

"This is your plan?" Veemon asked.

"Wait for it," Flash told him. He heard Cyberdramon coming at him and quickly spun around, "Cable Catcher!" His claws flew off and before Cyberdramon could react, they wrapped around him and tied him. "Time for a dip!" He leapt off the cliff and fell towards the water, retracting the cables back towards him as he did so.

The pair crashed into the water and Paildramon threw his opponent downwards, into the river.

Due to his size, the river came up to Paildramon's waist. He slammed his back against one side of the canyon and a foot against the other, so that the rushing water didn't push him away. But Cyberdramon didn't have that ability and found himself getting buffeted by the water.

The Dragon Man Digimon did his best to hold his breath, as he sank lower and lower. And eventually, Paildramon let him go and he was swept away. The DNA Digimon then leapt back up. "That should have been long enough."

"Long enough for what?" Veemon asked. "were you trying to drown him?"

"Nope." Paildramon shook his head, as the river exploded further down stream, as Cyberdramon shot towards him.

"Cyber Nails!" He slashed at Paildramon, the armored dragon raising his gauntlets to defend himself. "What was the point of that? If you were trying to drown me, you should have kept me under longer."

"I wasn't trying to drown you." Paildramon pushed Cyberdramon away before firing his Desperado Blasters, the lasers flying all around Cyberdramon. "A funny thing happens to leather when it gets wet and dries." Cyberdramon could feel the heat of the lasers, making his leather armor dry up.

Twilight gasped as she realised what Flash was doing. "Brilliant!"

"What?" Coronamon asked, "what did he do?" Paildramon's barrage ended and Cyberdramon charged forward, pulling his fist back. But as he did, they noticed his arms were moving slower than before. And when he threw his punch, the speed of it wasn't as fast.

Paildramon dodged the punch and flew up, thrusting his feet forward to slam into Cyberdramon.

Paildramon: 4-35%
Cyberdramon: 4-20%

"Leather becomes stiff and brittle when it dries out," Twilight explained. "Flash dunked Shining in the water and dried him out with his blasters, so the leather's bonds would constrict and make it harder to hit. Cyberdramon's leather armor is now slowing him down."

"Awesome," Rainbow cried.

"Write that down. Write that down!" They then heard a bunch of people crying out, as they hurriedly started taking notes about what they had just learned.

"I think Flash just gave away Shining's weakness," Tentomon pointed out.

"Someone was bound to figure that out eventually," Rarity argued. "Shining is the best player in Codex. It'll take more than a small weakness to make him become a target." They turned their attention back to the battle, as Cyberdramon picked himself up.

Shining frowned as he felt how stiff his leather armor was. In all his years in Codex, Shining had never had this issue before.

"Guess it's true. You're never too old to learn something new." He looked up and saw Paildramon, diving towards him with his Sting Strikers at the ready.

Cyberdramon used all his strength to leap back, but his stiffer legs meant he didn't go as far back as he'd hoped. He got far enough away from Paildramon, whose blade pierced the ground, whilst Cyberdramon began collecting energy. "Desolation Claw!" He merged the two spheres he made and fired them, slamming into Paildramon before the DNA Digimon could pull his blade out.

"Augh!"

Paildramon: 4-10%
Cyberdramon: 4-20%

As Paildramon staggered back, Cyberdramon spread his wings and flew forward. His arms and legs might not be able to move as fast, but his wings were still working at one hundred percent. And as Paildramon regained his balance, Cyberdramon reached him and slashed at his chest. "Gyah!"

Paildramon: 4-0%
Cyberdramon: 4-20%

But as his Security broke, Paildramon quickly spun around and slammed his tail into Cyberdramon before the Ultimate could escape, knocking him flying backwards and crashing into a tree.

Paildramon: 3-100%
Cyberdramon: 4-5%

As Cyberdramon pushed himself up, a light caught his attention and made him glance over and see a Digivolution Coin. And Once again, Paildramon failed to notice it due to his height. "We've gotta be careful," Monodramon told Shining. "If we rush at it, Paildramon will see us and might use his Cable Catcher on us."

"You're right," Shining nodded. "Time for a diversion." He pushed himself up as Paildramon flew up, pulling out his Desperado Blasters.

Cyberdramon turned to the tree he had smashed into and used his claws to tear through its trunk, then swung the tree around and threw it right at Paildramon. The Ultimate destroyed it with his blasters, but noticed Cyberdramon had disappeared once again.

"Not this time." He started firing at the trees and destroyed them, revealing Cyberdramon hidden within it. Paildramon glanced around, trying to spot the coin he had obviously seen. But he couldn't. "It's somewhere there." He flew down and before Cyberdramon could get too far, he thrust his claws forward. "Cable Catcher!" The claws shot forward and wrapped around the Ultimate, Cyberdramon crying out as he was caught.

Paildramon then threw him away, Cyberdramon crying out as he was sent rolling through the air in the opposite direction. Paildramon let him go and turned his attention in the direction Cyberdramon was going, whilst Cyberdramon smashed into a tree.

Paildramon: 3-100%
Cyberdramon: 4-0%

But as Paildramon looked around, he saw no sign of the Digivolution Coin or any other coin. "Why would he come this way if there wasn't...he was tricking me." Paildramon turned, just in time to hear Cyberdramon cry out.

"Desolation Claw!" The sphere fired at him and exploded against his chest, blasting Paildramon back.

Paildramon: 3-80%
Cyberdramon: 3-100%

As Paildramon slammed into the ground, Cyberdramon turned to the coin Paildramon had unknowingly thrown him towards. "You've grown a lot since our last battle. But you've still got a ways to go." He grabbed the coin and crushed it, the energy flowing into him as he turned towards Paildramon. "Now, let's see how well you do against this opponent."

"Not good," Paildramon picked himself up and Cyberdramon leapt into the air.

As he did, his body was surrounded by light and began to change. "Cyberdramon, Mega Digivolve to..." His body became more streamlined, as his wings disappeared and his right arm grew bulkier. And when the light faded, it revealed the Mega Level hero of justice. "JUSTIMON!"

Paildramon watched, as the Mega Digimon floated down and landed atop one of the trees.

"This is bad," Veemon cried. Flash had to agree, as Justimon leapt off the three and flew down.

"Justice Burst!" He thrust his arm forward and a sphere of electrical energy exploded out of his hand, flying straight towards Paildramon. The Ultimate leapt into the air, the lightning sphere exploding beneath him and creating a shockwave that pushed him upwards.

"Wow!" He cried, as Justimon leapt up after him. And before Paildramon could recover, he spun around and dealt a powerful kick right into his chest. "Augh!" He fell towards the ground, crashing into it and taking damage.

Paildramon: 3-65%
Justimon: 3-100%

Paildramon groaned as he tried to push himself back up, whilst Justimon landed and held his arm up. "Trinity Arm!" His mechanical limb glowed before it transformed, morphing until it was larger and more powerful. "Accel!" Paildramon saw him raise the arm and the DNA Digimon quickly spread his wings. "Thunderclap!" He smashed the arm down on the ground, causing a shockwave to explode out of it and fly towards Paildramon.

The Ultimate leapt up just in time to avoid getting blasted by the shockwave, which ripped through the battlefield and tore down a bunch of trees.

Paildramon looked around, spotting an SP Coin that had been revealed by the shockwave. He knew he couldn't reach it before Justimon, but had an idea and reached out. "Cable Catcher!" The claws flew out and shot towards the coin, as Justimon raised his arm again.

"Trinity Arm, Critical!" The arm transformed into a rectangular cylinder, a blade of lightning appearing on the end of it. "Voltage Blade!" He shot into the sky and flew towards Paildramon, reaching him the same time his claws caught the SP coin. And as the energy flowed into him, Justimon slashed at him.

Paildramon held up his gauntlets, the laser cutting into him and making the Ultimate cry out.

Paildramon: 3-45%
Justimon: 3-100%

As Paildramon was pushed back, Justimon flew upwards with his arm changing once again. "Trinity Arm, Blitz!" It returned to its normal form and the electric sphere appeared with it, "Justice Burst!" The sphere was thrown towards Paildramon, as his claws finally returned to him and he was able to grab his hip weapons.

"Desperado Blaster!" He unleashed the energy shots, which flew up and caused the orb to explode. And as the smoke filled the battlefield, Paildramon flew into the cloud. "Sting Strike!" His blades extended and stabbed into Justimon, making him flinch as he was knocked backwards.

Paildramon: 3-45%
Justimon: 3-85%

Justimon flew away from the cloud and switched his arm to the Critical form, expecting Paildramon to fly out and slash at him again. But as the smoke cleared, the DNA Digimon was nowhere in sight.

"Electric Bolt!" Justimon looked straight up and saw Paildramon, his hands together with lightning sparking between them. And with a mighty thrust of both hands, the lightning exploded towards him and Justimon barely managed to raise his weapon and block.

The lightning slammed into his Cyclonic Arm, travelling up the weapon and giving him a good zap. "Gyah!"

Paildramon: 3-45%
Justimon: 3-60%

Paildramon dived down, looking ready to slam his armored knee into the Mega. But despite being zapped, Justimon was able to fight through the pain and held his hand out. "Trinity Arm, Accel!" His mechanical limb morphed into the large form and actually caught Paildramon by the knee, the metal fingers holding on tightly as he swung around and threw Paildramon.

The DNA Digimon cried out, as he was thrown towards the ground. But at the last moment before crashing into it, he was able to spread his wings and came to a complete stop.

As he did, Justimon returned to his Blitz Arm and dived down. Picking up speed, Paildramon looking up and gasping when he saw the Digimon spin around. "Justice Kick!" He slammed into Paildramon's chest and sent him flying backwards, smashing into the ground and digging up several trees as he did so.

Paildramon: 3-20%
Justimon: 3-60%

Paildramon groaned as he lay there, whilst Justimon floated down with his arms crossed. "Is this as far as you can go?" He asked, as Paildramon sat him. "Despite all your victories. Despite everything you've been through. Is this really the limit to your strength?" Paildramon said nothing. "You've faced many powerful opponents and overcome incredible odds. You even saved my life before. Are you really gonna let yourself be defeated now?"

"Of course not," Paildramon stated. "Even if you knock me down, I won't stop. I'll keep fighting until I have nothing left to give!"

"Then show me!" Justimon cried, "SHOW ME YOUR POWER!" Paildramon raised his arms and unleashed bolts of lightning from them.

"Electric Bolt!" The lightning shot out in every direction, forcing Justimon to leap back and shield his eyes. And as he did, Paildramon took to the air and flew off. During his fall, he had spotted something and rushed over to get it.

"Here we go!" He grabbed the Digivolution Coin and absorbed his power, then shot straight up with Justimon in pursuit. As they did, Paildramon's body glowed. "Paildramon, Mega Digivolve to..." He grew even larger and reshaped into his dragonoid form, Justimon needing to pull back to avoid his massive tail. And when the light finally faded, Flash's most powerful Digimon hovered in the air ready to fight. "IMPERIALDRAMON!" His roar echoed throughout the battlefield, Justimon covering his ears.

The battle between Flash and Shining Armor had reached its final stage. Whoever would win was still a mystery. And everyone watching was excited as heck to see who it would be.

Author's Note

The battle between Flash and Shining is only starting to heat up. Who will win? Only time will tell. Join us next week, when the battle, and this story, comes to a thrilling end.

Now's the Final Fight

All over the Digital World, many were watching the battle taking place in Codex.

The match between Shining Armor and Flash Sentry continued, with the battle having finally reached its final stage. Imperialdramon against Justimon. Two mighty warriors, battling it out to see which of the two was stronger.

The Royal Knights watched the battle in question and were rather interested in the Digimon Flash and Veemon had just become, since it was supposed to be the legendary former of their order. "That's Imperialdramon?" Examon asked.

"That's the scan Flash showed us before," Dynasmon pointed out. "The Digital World recognises it as Imperialdramon. So that must be it."

"I'm still curious how that Digimon was the Digimon that Yggdrasil created. It doesn't look the least bit like a knight." A cough from Examon made her look over at him. "You know what I mean. You'd think the one who formed the Royal Knights would look like a knight."

"She has a point," Craniamon agreed. "Are we sure this is the same Digimon?"

"I'm not sure," Omnimon replied. "Whether it is or not, it doesn't matter. A Digimon of this power is something to behold. And if Flash is able to become it in the Digital World, then he will become a great ally in the battles to come." The other knights nodded, thinking the same thing. And so, they watched the battle carefully.

Justimon stared up at Imperialdramon, the giant dragon looking rather imposing.

"Not bad," he told him. "You look badass. But looking strong and being strong are two completely different things." He clenched his fists, raising them in a battle ready position. "So give me all you got. Show me how strong you really are."

"With pleasure!" Imperialdramon cried before diving down. And he was so fast, Justimon could barely keep up with him. To everyone else, it was like he was there in the blink of an eye. "Imperial Claw!" He slashed his glowing claws and arm blades at Justimon, said claws and blades almost as long as he was tall.

Wow!" Justimon raised his arm and blocked it, cutting the damage taken down as he was thrown towards the ground. "GYAH!"

Imperialdramon: 3-20%
Justimon: 3-40%

Justimon crashed into the ground and skidded along it, as Imperialdramon flew back up.

As he did, his mouth filled with flames. "Eternal Zeal!" The fire exploded out of it and shot towards Justimon, who picked himself up and saw it coming.

"I don't think so!" The lightning sphere formed in his hand. "Justice Burst!" With a single swing, he threw the orb towards the flamethrower and caused it to explode before it could get close to him. Justimon then leapt up and flew towards Imperialdramon, getting in close as the dragon recoiled from his last attack. "Justice Kick!" With a single spin, he slammed his foot right into Imperialdramon's chin.

"Gyah!"

Imperialdramon: 3-0%
Justimon: 3-40%

Everyone in Codex flinched. Even if Flash had gotten to Mega, he was still facing a much more experienced battler.

"Come on, Flash!" Pinkie cheered. "You've gotta win this." They watched, as Imperialdramon flew up into the sky. Justimon followed, the cameras chasing after them as they entered the clouds.

"You think Flash can win?" Tawnimon asked Twilight, who was watching the battle closer than most.

"Honestly, I think they're now on an even footing." The others glanced over, shocked to hear this. "Not all Megas are created equal. From what I can tell, Imperialdramon's power is far higher than Justimon's. If Flash was fighting any other player with that Digimon, I'd say he has the advantage. But Shining has more experience, training and has most likely mastered Justimon's abilities."

"So they're on even footing?" Trixie asked, with Twilight nodding.

"This could be anyone's game."

Imperialdramon broke through the clouds and looked around, waiting for Justimon to appear.

And appear he did, shooting out of the clouds as his arm transformed into the Cyclonic form. "Voltage Blade!" The energy weapon sparked and formed the sword, which Justimon used to slash at Imperialdramon. But the Ancient Dragon leapt to the side as he flew past him.

"Eternal Zeal!" He fired a blast of fire from his mouth and it slammed right into Justimon, who couldn't react in time to block the attack.

He cried out, as his body was burned up.

Imperialdramon: 2-100%
Justimon: 3-20%

"Trinity Arm, Accel!" His arm morphed into the Big Wave Form and he swung it around, expelling the fire. But as he did, Imperialdramon flew in closer and rammed his head into him. "Augh!"

Imperialdramon: 2-100%
Justimon: 3-10%

As Justimon fell back, Imperialdramon's claws glowed. "Imperial Claw!" He flew forward and slashed at Justimon, but the Cyborg Digimon was able to spin in the air and avoid it. He then swung his long arm around and pushed Imperialdramon right in the face.

Imperialdramon: 2-90%
Justimon: 3-10%

Imperialdramon was thrown backwards, as Justimon started flying about in multiple different directions. The dragon tried to follow him, but Justimon had built up some serious speed and every time he locked eyes on him, he disappeared again.

"Raaaah!" Justimon suddenly flew down and slammed his Big Wave Arm into Imperialdramon's back, making the dragon roar in pain before Justimon shot off again.

Imperialdramon: 2-80%
Justimon: 3-10%

As Imperialdramon swung around to try and counter, Justimon vanished and reappeared somewhere else. There, he shot forward and dealt a powerful kick to his side. "Gyah!"

Imperialdramon: 2-70%
Justimon: 3-10%

As Imperialdramon was thrown back, he glanced around and saw Justimon vanish. He once again started zipping about and threatened to appear anywhere. "Eternal Zeal!" He spun in the air, unleashing a blast of fire that began to spiral around him.

"Wow!" Justimon just narrowly managed to avoid this attack and continued to fly around, heading straight for Imperialdramon. As a blast of fire came, he swung his Big Wave Arm around and the wind it made blew the flames away. He then closed the distance between them and punched Imperialdramon right in the chest.

"GAAAAAH!"

Imperialdramon: 2-60%
Justimon: 3-10%

But since he had to slow down to deflect the flames, Justimon wasn't able to escape before Imperialdramon recovered and swung his claws around. They slammed into Justimon and broke his security, knocking him backwards.

Imperialdramon: 2-60%
Justimon: 3-0%

As Justimon was thrown backwards, Imperialdramon righted himself and started building power in his back cannon. He knew this would likely cost him a lot of SP, but it was his best shot. And as Justimon started pulling himself under control, Imperialdramon yelled out. "POSITRON LASER!" The beam exploded out of his back cannon and shot towards Justimon, who pulled himself into control just as it reached him.

"WOW!" He screamed, before the beam slammed into him. "GYAAAAAAAAAAH!" He was sent flying, as he took a serious amount of damage.

Imperialdramon: 2-60%
Justimon: 2-50%

Everyone gasped, as they watched Justimon get set flying.

"ALRIGHT!" Rainbow cried, hardly believing he had just seen Shining Armor take such a hit. And as the beam began to lose power, Imperialdramon started flying down towards the ground. "Where's he going? Go finish him off."

"I don't think he can," Twilight told her. "An attack like that must use up a ton of SP. If he wants to keep fighting, he'll need to find a coin to restore his health." The others nodded, as Imperialdramon flew further down to the ground.

As he reached the ground, Imperialdramon glanced around but saw nothing that looked like an SP Coin.

As such, he started beating his wings. Creating a powerful downwards wind that blew many of the trees. Some were pulled out of the ground, whilst others were able to bend enough to survive. But none of them were holding a coin, meaning Imperialdramon would need to wait for his gauge to recharge.

It was then that he heard it. A sonic boom, coming from where Justimon had been blasted to.

He looked around, as something moving faster than the speed of sound came flying towards him. Justimon, his arm back in its Thunder Form, was flying at top speed towards him. If it had been any other Digimon, he would have slammed into his opponent and done some serious damage.

But Imperialdramon could also move at mach speed and with the sonic boom giving him warning, he was able to fly straight up and dodged Justimon's initial strike.

But the Mega Level hero Digimon quickly spun around and summoned a bunch of electro spheres into his hand. "Justice Burst!" The orbs went flying at Imperialdramon, who could do nothing but fly about and dodge him. But even with his incredible speed, his size worked against him and one of the orbs exploded against him.

Imperialdramon: 2-40%
Justimon: 2-50%

Justimon flew up towards him and the pair began to battle it out, Justimon throwing punches and kicks whilst avoiding Imperialdramon's claws and teeth.

To those watching, it was like seeing a gallant knight trying to slay a deadly dragon. But some of them actually wanted the dragon to win, so the turning of the battle was different depending on who was routing for who.

At one point, Imperialdramon managed to grab Justimon between two of his claws and hold him tightly. Some were excited by this, whilst others feared the worst. But then Justimon managed to get an arm free and pushed it to pry the claws loose, which excited those rooting for him and annoyed those rooting for Flash.

But before he could escape, Imperialdramon swung his claws around and sent him flying. He crashed into a tree before slamming into the ground, rolling along it several times before finally coming to a stop.

Imperialdramon: 2-40%
Justimon: 2-40%

Justimon quickly leapt forward and grabbed the remains of the tree he had destroyed before flying up, Imperialdramon charging with his claws ready to slash him. But as they got in close, Justimon swung the tree around and launched it at the dragon. The beast quickly clawed through it, only to then find Justimon flying through the remains and smashing a fist into his face.

Imperialdramon: 2-30%
Justimon: 2-40%

Justimon then flew forward and prepared to knee Imperialdramon in the chest, but the blue dragon swung his tail around and suddenly wrapped it around Justimon. This stopped him long enough for Imperialdramon to spread his wings and stop himself in the air. He then spun forwards, pulling Justimon around with him, picking up speed before finally launching him.

Justimon was once again sent hurtling through the air, spinning around several times. But unlike last time, he managed to right himself and come to a stop before landing on the top of a tree.

But before he could counter, Imperialdramon was rocketing towards him. Having chased after him the moment he released the Mega, the dragon slashed at Justimon before he could respond and knocked him off the tree

Imperialdramon: 2-30%
Justimon: 2-30%

Imperialdramon then shot off, as Justimon managed to land on his feet before jumping into the air. He chased after the dragon, both Digimon racing around the map. Picking up more and more speed, the two morphed into a pair of blurs to everyone else's eye.

"So fast," Fluttershy whispered.

"How fast are they going?" Terriermon asked, as the two blurs suddenly slammed into each other and caused a sonic boom. As they were knocked away, they flew around again and collided with the same result.

"Faster than any two Digimon have ever gone in Codex," Twilight announced. The two streams of black and purple light spiralled around one another before colliding and being blasted away. Twilight was amazed the impacts weren't doing any damage.

Sunset was starting to get a queasy from watching them move like that. "How much longer can those two go on?" Nobody was sure how to answer that, as the two Digimon began to rocket towards each other again.

"This is gonna be big!" Coronamon cried.

"Go Flash!" Veemon cheered, as they picked up more and more speed.

"You can do it!" Monodramon cried, Justimon pulling his fist back. And as they got in close, he threw the punch forward whilst Imperialdramon swung his tail around. The resulting impact sounded like a bomb going off, the shockwave flying in all directions and knocking the leaves off all the trees.

After a few seconds of pushing against one another, the pair found themselves getting blasted back. Imperialdramon spread his wings to let himself slow to a stop, whilst Justimon spun through the air several times.

As he did, he spotted something that made him smile beneath his mask. And instead of stopping his spiral out of control, he rolled up and let himself spin around until he was at the spot he wanted to be.

It was then that he uncurled and grabbed the top of a tree, the thin trunk bending as he slowed down. And once he was slowed down enough, he released the tree and let himself fall as the trunk bounced back and flickered around.

He fell towards the ground, as Imperialdramon flew overhead. And when the dragon reached him, he saw the Mega pick up an SP coin. "Oh no."

Justimon smashed it in his hand and absorbed the energy, whilst Imperialdramon flew back to get a safe distance away. But Justimon wouldn't let him get too far and summoned a bunch of electro spheres around him. "Justice Burst!" He launched them into the air, Imperialdramon gasping as they came flying at him.

He dodged most of them, but the very last one hit him and exploded before he could move. "Augh!"

Imperialdramon: 2-10%
Justimon: 2-30%

Justimon then leapt up and as Imperialdramon tried to recover, the Cyborg Digimon threw his fist right into his face. Imperialdramon roared, as he was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground.

Imperialdramon: 2-0%
Justimon: 2-30%

Now down to his last security, Imperialdramon tried to roll himself off his back. But as he did, Justimon raised his mechanical arm. "Trinity Arm, Accel!" Once again, his arm moved into the Big Wave Form. And as Imperialdramon finally managed to get to his feet and pick himself up, Justimon flew down with his arm raised as it sparked with power. "THUNDERCLAP!" He smashed it into the ground, causing the electrical energy to explode outwards in a large wave.

Imperialdramon heard the boom of the impact and looked around, gasping when he saw the shockwave approaching.

He tried to spread his wings and fly out of the way, but the wave was too fast and slammed into him. "GYAAAH!" He roared, as he was blown backwards and smashed through half a mile of trees.

Imperialdramon: 1-50%
Justimon: 2-30%

Everyone gasped at the sight, fearing Flash might be in trouble. "No way," Rainbow cried.

"This isn't good," Twilight sighed as the camera was covered by the dust and smoke. "Flash needs to get his SP back up before it's too late. If Shining lets off another attack like that, he might not survive."

They watched, as the dust slowly began to settle and allow them to see what had happened. And they saw Imperialdramon, laying at the end of a long trench, looking unconscious. "Oh no," Fluttershy gasped.

"Get up!" Trixie cried.

"Come on, man!" Sandal yelled, "you can't let it end like this." They waited, but nothing seemed to be happening. Many feared this was the end, knowing Shining wouldn't let an opportunity like this go to waste for long

Flash wasn't sure what had happened.

One minute, he had been battling against Shining and slammed with a powerful attack. And the next thing he knew, the world had gone completely dark. "Flash!" Veemon's voice called out, "get up. Hurry!"

"Veemon?" He opened his eyes and as he did, Imperialdramon's eyes slowly started flickering open. "What happened?"

"We were hit pretty bad," Veemon told him. "But we can still fight. Come on, partner. I believe in you." Hearing Veemon's words, Flash felt the fogginess beginning to fade away. He let out a groan, as he began to force his body to move. Imperialdramon's body slowly shuffled around until he was back on his feet.

"Thanks, bud. We can't let this battle end yet." As Imperialdramon began to pick himself up, he let out a groan and shook his head. His vision was swirling, but slowly began to stabilise as he looked around. And when he did, he noticed something. "We're here."

"Where?" Veemon asked, as Flash focused his gaze on a certain area. They were right next to a small rocky hill-like area, with a flat section of it staring right at them. It was an area Flash knew all too well.

"That's the cave we met inside," he told his partner. "Well...there's no cave right now. But that's where our journey together started. Right here, in this forest."

"Oh yeah," Veemon smiled. "Wow. We've been through a lot since then, huh?"

"So much." Flash couldn't help but remember everything again. Every fight they had thought. Every opponent they had faced. Every challenge they had overcome. And not just the fights. So many times the pair had hung out, in the real and virtual worlds. They had laughed, cried, even argued a few times. But they did it all together.

Justimon flew down and landed on a nearby tree, the heroic Digimon staring down at him.

But Imperialdramon barely noticed him, too busy lost in his past. "It's weird. The only reason we ever met at all, is because of so many coincidences. A glitch that sent me to the wrong place. A bunch of Numemon attacking, causing a Monochromon to chase me. Finding that hidden cave at just the right moment. If just one of those things hadn't happened, we never would have metal."

"You're right," Veemon smiled. "Guess we're lucky it did all happen."

"Luck...or something else?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe...maybe it wasn't a coincidence that we found each other. What if we were brought together, by something else? That glitch that sent me there. Maybe it wasn't a glitch."

"You're saying something pushed us into meeting?"

"Maybe," Flash replied. "And if they did, I know they were right to do it." He smiled, "they must have known what we've always known"

Veemon smiled back, "that we belong together."

"Yeah," Flash cheered before Imperialdramon turned to face Justimon. The hero Digimon clutched his fist and leapt into the air, only to dive down towards Imperialdramon. "No matter what happens, we'll always be together." A light glow began to come off Imperialdramon. "Because we're a team."

"The ultimate team!" Veemon cried, as the light grew bright. "We fight as one."

"We fight for each other," Flash agreed before the pair spoke in unison. "We fight, no matter how impossible it seems. And together...WE WILL WIN!" The light exploded off of him and Justimon roared as he was blinded, but forced himself to look through it to see what was happening.

Imperialdramon's eyes glowed as he leapt into the air, his entire body beginning to transform before Justimon's eyes.

"IMPERIALDRAMON, MODE CHANGE TO..." He suddenly stood upright, as his head merged into his body and became the new chest. Doing so also caused a light to appear where his head had once been, a blue humanoid head forming out of it with a golden crown and white hair.

His front legs glowed as they changed, the feet armor moving back to become shoulder pads whilst the claws changed into coned blades. The legs morphed into a pair of arms, which folded downwards whilst his back legs extended to become more humanoid. The cannon on his back suddenly teleported onto his right wrist, giving his wings more freedom to move.

The new Digimon was now a humanoid knight, with a dragon's head for a chest and large red wings on his back. The cannon on his arm charged up and fired a laser into the air, the force of the blast appearing more powerful than before. "FIGHTER MODE!"

The light from the transformation died down, allowing Justimon and the others watching to see the change that had occurred. "Fighter Mode?" Justimon could hardly believe it.

"He Digivolved again?" Sandal was shocked.

"No," Micro shook his head, "he's still Imperialdramon. Mode Change allows a Digimon to shift certain stats around." A biopage appeared on the screens and showed Fighter Mode's new stats. "He's not as fast as he was, but his attack power's gotten a serious boost."

"Did Flash know he could do that?" Trixie asked, but Twilight shook her head.

"I don't think so. He must have unlocked it just now."

"Talk about timing," Tentomon stated.

The Royal Knights were also shocked by what they were seeing, as they remembered the image below them of Imperialdramon.

"A winged warrior," Omnimon stated. He imagined this Digimon in the same position as the image on the tablet and sure enough, it really did look like the Imperialdramon spoken of in old. "Incredible."

The other knights nodded, but Craniamon hummed. "Something's missing. Shouldn't he have a sword?" The others realised he was right.

"Yes," UlforceVeedramon nodded in agreement, "and shouldn't he be more...majestic. I figured a Digimon created by Yggdrasil would be more...glowing." Omnimon hummed at this and then looked down at himself, as a thought occurred to him.

"Of course." The others turned to him. "This is Imperialdramon in his natural state. Without the power granted to him by Yggdrasil. It's possible that if the original Imperialdramon had survived, after giving his power to the first Omnimon, he would have devolved into this form."

"That makes sense," Crusadermon nodded. "So this Imperialdramon is the creator without that divine power. I'm curious what would happen if he was given that power back." The others were wondering the same thing, but chose to focus on the battle that was still going on.

Justimon stared up at his newly remade opponent, surprised but also intrigued. "You can't help but be full of surprises, huh kid?"

Imperialdramon smirked, "what can I say. I like to make sure my opponents remember me."

"No worries there then," Justimon nodded. "This has been one of my more memorable battles. Be even more memorable when I beat you." Before Imperialdramon could reply, Justimon shot off the tree and flew up towards him. His Big Wave Arm pulled back to throw an extra strong punch in his direction.

But before it could land, Imperialdramon shifted out of the way.

Justimon shot past him and before he could get to a safe distance, Imperialdramon swung around and slammed his leg into the Mega's chest. "AUGH!" The force of the kick sent him flying, as Imperialdramon flew up higher.

Imperialdramon: 1-50%
Justimon: 2-20%

As Justimon straightened himself out, Imperialdramon raised his cannon arm as it began to charge up. "How are we doing this?" Veemon asked, seeing the SP they had gathered wasn't enough as it was the last time they fired this attack.

"I'm not sure," Flash replied. "Maybe in this mode, our attacks don't use up as much SP." He thrust his cannon forward. "Positron Laser!" The blast exploded out of his weapon and shot towards Justimon, who responded by switching his Trinity Arm into its Cyclonic form.

"Voltage Blade!" He swung the electric blade downwards and cut into the attack, flinching at the impact whilst the laser was cut in half.

This locked him in place, allowing Imperialdramon to fly in closer. And as soon as his attack finished firing, he swung his other arm around and smashed his fist into Justimon's side. "Majestic Strike!" Justimon was knocked flying again.

Imperialdramon: 1-50%
Justimon: 2-5%

As Justimon worked to once again regain control, Imperialdramon noticed a blue light and looked down. There, he saw another SP coin on the forest floor. "Yes!" He flew down and snatched it up, letting the power course through him as Justimon regained control.

"Trinity Arm, Blitz!" His arm transformed back to its regular state, the electro sphere forming at his fingers. "Justice Burst!" He fired and the sphere split into multiple orbs, but Imperialdramon wasn't scared.

"Imperial Claw!" His coned arm claws glowed as he slashed them at the orbs, destroying them as he dodged the resulting explosions. And once he destroyed the last one, the dragon mouth in his chest suddenly opened up. "Mega Crusher!" A cannon of some kinds, extended from the mouth and charged up. And in the blink of an eye, a powerful laser exploded out of it and shot towards Justimon.

"Justice Burst!" Justimon cried, launching another wave of electro spheres.

They flew down and smashed into the laser, but every hit only slowed the blast down. By the time the last one was destroyed and the laser reached Justimon, its power was cut in half. But it still did damage as it smashed into him.

Imperialdramon: 1-50%
Justimon: 2-0%

Everyone in Codex was amazed by what they were seeing.

"This new Fighter Mode is a serious ringer!" Applejack smirked. "A'h guess there's a reason humanoid creatures are at the top of the food chain." They watched, as Justimon fell to the ground and barely avoided landing on his head.

Imperialdramon shot forward, looking ready to kick Justimon away. As he did, Twilight frowned. "Don't get cocky," she told him. "My brother won't stay on the back foot for long. Once he's gotten the hang of how your new form fights, he'll be back in the game."

And sure enough, as Imperialdramon tried to kick Justimon, the cyborg Digimon did a back flip and avoided the foot.

As soon as Justimon managed to avoid the foot, he landed and propelled himself forward.

"Raaah!" He swung his leg at Imperialdramon, who barely managed to block with his gauntlet. Justimon then kicked off him and launched several Justice Burst spheres at him, but Imperialdramon countered with a Positron Laser. The attack managed to destroy the spheres and head straight for Justimon.

The cyborg moved down to the ground and once again leapt off the forest floor, heading straight towards the laser.

At the last moment, he started spinning and surrounded himself with a veil of wind. And when the laser touched that wind cushion, it pushed Justimon out of the way. Imperialdramon was shocked to see the Mega spiralling around his laser, not even getting burned as he got in closer.

"Raaaaaaah!" Justimon kept spinning and used his momentum to increase the speed of his next punch, hitting Imperialdramon's chest and knocking him backwards.

Imperialdramon: 1-40%
Justimon: 1-100%

As Imperialdramon fell backwards, Justimon formed another wave of electro spheres. "Justice Burst!" The spheres went flying towards Imperialdramon, but the Ancient Dragon Man wasn't going to let it end so easily. As the spheres got closer, Imperialdramon's chest mouth opened.

His Positron Laser also teleported off his arm, appearing in front of his chest.

Imperialdramon grabbed the cannon and shoved one end into his chest opening, locking it in place. The weapon began to charge up and as it did, one of the spheres slammed into him. The explosion made him flinch, but he refused to let himself lose now.

Imperialdramon: 1-20%
Justimon: 1-100%

"Here we go!" He cried, "GIGA CRUSHER!" The laser fired and the force of it was massive, the power pushing Imperialdramon backwards whilst the electro spheres were completely vaporised.

Justimon gasped, never seeing an attack with that much power.

It was so large, there was no chance Justimon could dodge it. Instead, he transformed his arm into the Cyclonic form. "Voltage Blade!" He thrust the blade into the blast and screamed, as the power coming off it was too intense. The electric blade didn't last a second a Justimon was soon completely enveloped by the attack, the Cyborg Digimon screaming as he felt himself getting burned. "GAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!"

The entire battlefield rocked, as a dome of light quickly filled the place and wiped out the forest.

Everyone watching was in utter shock at the power being displayed. Even the Royal Knights and Great Dragons were amazed, whilst also fearing what might happen if a Digimon like that were ever to fall into the wrong hands.

The laser ended and Imperialdramon pulled his cannon out of his chest, panting at the amount of SP he had to spend. He was completely drained and had no idea if Justimon had survived or not. And slowly, the light from the dome began to disappear and revealed a massive crater where the forest had once been.

And there, standing in the centre of the crater, was Justimon.

"No way," Imperialdramon gasped. Justimon wasn't looking in the best of conditions. His red scarf was almost destroyed, now barely flowing down half his back with multiple tears and burn marks. One of the ears on his helmet was missing and a large crack was running over the front of it. But his arm was the worst part.

The Cyclonic Arm was damaged and battered in areas. Several pieces of the metal were missing, revealing its inner wiring, and the end of it was completely destroyed and sparking.

Flash and Veemon were shocked that Justimon had survived such a blast, even though he was clearly damaged. Both wondered how much health he had left, since they were the only ones who couldn't see it.

Imperialdramon: 1-20%
Justimon: 1-35%

By the looks of things, Justimon was completely out cold. The Digimon was just standing there without moving. Imperialdramon feared he might have done too much damage to him, the dragon man flying down. "Shining? Are you okay?" He flew into the crater to take a closer look, but that was a mistake.

As he got closer, Justimon suddenly shot up towards him and swung his destroyed arm around.

"Wow!" He pulled back, as the smaller Digimon tried to hit him. "Okay, you're still good to go."

"More than good," Justimon cried as his arm glowed and transformed. When the light faded, it revealed the Thunder Arm but the mechanical limb was still damaged. Somehow, the damage had carried over from his other arm, though not to as bad an extent.

He flew at Imperialdramon and slammed the damaged arm right into the dragon's chest. But in doing so, his arm sparked and he flinched in pain.

Imperialdramon: 1-10%
Justimon: 1-30%

Justimon was so focused on the damage to his arm, it allowed Imperialdramon to rear back and spin in the air. His tail then smashed into Justimon, pushing him backwards. "Augh!"

Imperialdramon: 1-10%
Justimon: 1-20%

Justimon fell into the crater and landed, as Imperialdramon dived down with his claws at the ready. "Gotta try," Shining stated. "Justice Burst!" He formed the sphere of lightning in his hand and threw it, the sphere splitting into several orbs that shot towards Imperialdramon. But as he did, his arm exploded completely. "GYAH!"

Imperialdramon: 1-10%
Justimon: 1-5%

As his arm fell to the ground, completely ruined and unable to change form, Imperialdramon began dodging and deflecting the many orbs that had been sent his way. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He roared, dodging one orb and using his claws to slash at another. He managed to dodge another and charged at Justimon, but the final orb managed to hit him in the shoulder and exploded. "GYAH!"

Imperialdramon: 1-0%
Justimon: 1-5%

Justimon looked up and watched, as Imperialdramon was covered in smoke. He prayed that that was it, the finishing blow. But he knew better than to hope in battle.

And sure enough, something shot out of the smoke at high speed and Justimon had just enough time to hold up his arms and brace himself before he was slammed into. "GYAH!" He cried, as Imperialdramon sent him flying backwards.

Imperialdramon: 0-0%
Justimon: 1-0%

Imperialdramon watched, as Justimon was sent skidding backwards towards the wall of the crater. And at the last moment, he managed to kick himself upwards and do several back flips before landing atop the edge of the crater.

Imperialdramon and Justimon were now eye level, both panting. Whilst Justimon was badly damaged and looked ready for the scrape heap, Imperialdramon wasn't doing much better. His wings were tattered, one of his cone claws was broken and his armor and crown were cracking apart.

They stared each other down and as they regained their breath, they started laughing.

Everyone watching was surprised by this, but could tell the pair were having a blast. "I don't remember being pushed this far by anyone," Justimon told him. "Not for a long time, anyway."

Imperialdramon smirked. "Glad I could be a challenge for you." He raised his clawed gauntlet, "sorry I have to break your winning streak."

"Don't worry about that," Justimon stood tall. "My streak is only going to continue!" He suddenly leapt into the air and did several flips before diving down towards Imperialdramon, who spread his wings and pushed himself up. Both Digimon called upon the little SP they had left, both wanting to end this here and now.

Justimon then spun around, as his foot sparked with energy. "JUSTICE KICK!"

"MAJESTIC STRIKE!" Imperialdramon threw his fist forward, as it glowed with energy. The two attacks slammed into one another and pushed forth, attempting to overpower the other. It was all a matter of whose attack would stop before the other's.

Both Digimon groaned as they pushed against each other, neither side wanting to give an inch. And as they did, the light from their attacks seemed to burn away everything else. The battlefield disappeared into a void of white light, whilst Imperialdramon and Justimon's forms melted away.

Flash, Veemon, Shining and Monodramon were now floating in the void, smiling as they stared at the other. "You really have come along way," Shining told them.

Monodramon nodded. "When we first met you, we never would have guessed you'd get this strong so quickly. You've gotten to the point in a few months, what's taken us years to reach."

"Thanks," Flash smiled. "But I still think I've got a lot to learn."

Veemon nodded. "We were able to go Mega, but we can't seem to figure it out again."

Shining smiled. "I know you'll get there in the end. And I know I can trust you to lead us when we need it." Flash hadn't been expecting that.

"Me, lead? Against what?"

"We defeated WarGrowlmon and saved the Digital World, but there are gonna be other challenges that threaten us. The Dark Ocean may one day return. A Digimon like Nidhoggmon might appear, or another evil Digimon might try and destroy the Digital World. When we entered Codex, we agreed to fight in order to protect the Digital World."

"And you want me to lead when something like that happens?"

"Why not?" Shining asked. "There may come a time we find ourselves facing multiple challenges. I'm good, but I can't be everywhere."

Flash smiled. "Then I won't let you down."

"Yeah," Veemon cheered. "And we're gonna show we're ready to lead, by beating you here and now." Shining and Monodramon smirked, as the battlefield suddenly returned and they found themselves being pushed back into their bodies.

"You can try," Justimon stated. "But I can't make this too easy for you. If I let you win, you might stop trying."

"No chance I'd let myself do that!" Imperialdramon pushed harder, with Justimon following suit. "Who cares if I beat you? I'm still gonna keep pushing myself to be the best." His attack started to overpower Justimon.

"Better safe than sorry!" Justimon groaned before pushing even harder. The pair appeared to be at a stale mate once again, but it wouldn't last forever.

Eventually, one of them would lose out. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" They both screamed as they gave it one last push, throwing everything they had into the attack. And in doing so, one of them finally lost the battle of wills and was pushed back. This allowed their opponent to finally land the finishing blow.

In the blink of an eye, the two Digimon were back to back. Justimon continued flying forwards and landed in the crater, whilst Imperialdramon stopped flying and just floated there.

Everyone watched, wondering who the heck had won. They just remained where they were, completely still. They were like this for several moments before one of them moved. "Augh!" Justimon fell onto one knee, clutching his sides.

Everyone gasped at this, but Justimon's form remained. "GYAH!" They then turned to Imperialdramon and saw him falling to the ground, the crater shaking as he landed. "Damn. Guess we're not there yet." With that, he fell to his knees and his body exploded, Flash and Veemon falling out of him and slamming into the ground.

Justimon then forced himself back to his feet, as the robotic voice spoke up. "Battle, over. Winner, Shining Armor!" The battlefield began to disappear, as Justimon split back into Shining and Monodramon.

The pair fell to the ground, all four of them panting as the exhaustion from what had just happened. "That...was crazy," Shining cried.

"Heck yeah it was," Flash nodded before letting out a groan. "Ahhhh. I can't believe we lost."

"We were so close," Veemon yelled. "At least, I think we were close." He turned his head so he was focusing on Monodramon, "were we close? How much Security did you have left?"

"None," Monodramon sighed. "If you gotten that hit in, we'd have lost." Flash and Veemon moaned, as they let that piece of info sink in.

"It was a close battle," Shining sat up. "I honestly thought I had you beat, but then you pulled the Mode Change out of nowhere. That sure threw me for a loop." He turned to Flash. "Did you know you could do that before the battle start?"

"No way," Flash sat up as well. "That came completely out of left field." He pushed himself to his feet and moved over to his Digivice, bringing up his scans and finding a new one. It showed Imperialdramon Fighter Mode, now sitting beside Dragon Mode in the scans list.

Looking through its stats, he saw they all added up to the same as his Dragon Mode. They were just distributed differently. He then opened a deck file and tried to put Fighter Mode in the Mega section, but the scan refused to be selected.

"That's weird." He hit the Dragon Mode scan and that happily went into the Mega section, which suddenly gained an extra slot beside it. When he selected Fighter Mode, this one actually went in. "I guess Fighter Mode can't be Digivolved into. You have to go into Dragon Mode, then Mode Change to Fighter Mode."

"Interesting. I've never used a Mode Change Digimon, but I have heard of a few players that have some. From what I heard, Mode Changing requires you to fill up your Digivolution Gauge again, but it's way shorter than it normally is. Also, after Mode Changing once, you can switch between the two forms without much issue."

"I see," Flash nodded. Dragon Mode had greater speed, whilst Fighter Mode's agility and fighting skills were better. Flash assumed he would learn to properly use them both with more time. But for now, he smirked thinking of how many more surprises the Digital World had in store for him.

"Come on," Shining told him. "I think the others are eager to ask about your new form too." Flash frowned, imagining getting swarmed with questioning players.

They headed out of the Beta Stadium and when they returned to the foyer, they were greeted with a massive crowd. Their friends were at the front of it and all rushed over to them, Sandal and Applejack hoisting Flash and Veemon up on their shoulders as the people cheered.

"Flash," Micro yelled, "you were awesome."

"Veemon too," Tentomon agreed. "And that new form. Truly incredible."

"Thanks guys," Flash smiled as the crowd continued to cheer. Despite Flash having lost, he was still being treated like a hero. Because his battle had been so amazing and he had been so close to defeating Codex's best player.

Twilight stepped over to Shining, "you were amazing too."

Shining smirked, "of course I was. But Flash really stole the show." He turned to Flash, as he and Veemon were let down and everyone rushed over to enjoy the food they had ordered for the unexpected party. "I get the feeling those two aren't done surprising the Digital World."

"Really?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I get the feeling those two are gonna be at the centre of a lot of crazy events. I just hope I'm there to see it all." Twilight smiled and the pair moved over to enjoy the food as well. It was a party that would go well into the night, with everyone happily enjoying themselves and talking about their favourite parts of the battle. It was a day they would all remember.

Gennai smirked as he watched a rerun of Flash and Shining's battle.

The Codex Commander was so focused on Flash unlocking his new power, he didn't another another of the Commanders floating up beside him. "Gennai, what are you doing?"

"Nothing!" The man hastily cried, quickly closing the window and bringing up the one with his work on it. "Just...working on these new updates. We want them to be ready as soon as possible, don't we?"

"True," the other commander nodded. "Just don't rush. If we make the updates too fast and accidentally cause them to be buggy, our reputation could be ruined."

"True," Gennai nodded. "Don't worry. I'll go over every inch of the data with a fine toothed comb, to make sure nothing goes wrong with them." The other Commander nodded, as Gennai got to work actually doing what he said he was doing.

After a few more minutes of that, another Commander floated up. "Guys! What do you think of the new design we just came up with?" He pressed a few buttons on his screen, as the other Codex Commanders got several images on their screens.

The first image was of a wristwatch-like device, being worn by a Codex Commander. The watch was black with a white border around it and a white wrist band, though the image kept changing to show the white parts as a bunch of different colours.

"That's what it'll look like in the human world."

"Screen seems a bit small," one of them stated.

"That's just what it'll look like to anyone not wearing one," the Commander announced. "To everyone else, it'll just be a normal watch. But if someone else is wearing one..." The second image showed the watch projecting a holographic screen, the same size as the normal Digivice screen.

"Interesting," Gennai nodded before flipping to the next page. "I'm guessing this next one is what it'll look like in the Digital World?" The image showed the Codex Commander, only now his wrist had some kind of gauntlet running up it. The gauntlet went from his wrist to just before his elbow, being white but changing to a bunch of different colours. There was also a glove connected to it, which the Commander was wearing

On the back of the gauntlet was something that looked like a human smart phone, having a black screen and the colour changing border around it. "That's right," the Commander nodded as they shifted to the next screen. This one showed the phone sliding out of the gauntlet, allowing the one holding it to place in a podium or hold out as if to scan something. "The player will be able to scan with it like that, or use the gauntlet's scanner."

The final image showed the Commander and an Agumon. The Commander was holding out the gauntlet, his palm open as a light flew out of it and washed over the Agumon.

Gennai smiled. "This new Digivice is gonna be a big hit with the players. Instead of lugging around a large object they won't be able to hold all the time, they can just keep this on their wrists."

"Exactly," the other Commander replied. "Am I hearing any complaints?" The others shook their heads, as the Commander smirked. "Great. Then I'll get to work, building and distributing the Digivices to all our current players. I'll try and get it done by the time the new players are being invited."

"Speaking of the new players," a Commander spoke up. "I've been looking over one of the applicants that have been recommended. The younger brother of Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle."

"Spike," Gennai remembered. "His battle record just wasn't good enough."

"But he's been on a real winning streak lately," the other Commander explained. "I've watched some of his fights and they've been going really well."

"Is that so?" Another Commander asked, the lot bringing up Spike's info. "Looks like you're right."

Gennai nodded. "So if he manages to keep that record up, we all agree to invite him into the game. Shining and Twilight will be happy about that." The others nodded, as they continued their work on getting everything ready for the update. When it was done, Codex was gonna be better than ever.

In the human world, Flash Sentry was in his room.

He had received the memories from his digital self not too long ago, the teen being a little upset about losing his battle against Shining. But that had only reaffirmed his determination to get even stronger. And as Veemon slept inside his Digivice, Flash looked through his scans and several messages he had received from his digital friends.

The Royal Knights had messaged him, saying they were amazed by Imperialdramon Fighter Mode. They hoped to see it in person, which meant Flash had to find a way to get to Mega in the Digital World. Leomon and the Great Dragons had also messaged him, saying how amazing his battle was and they hoped he wasn't too upset with losing.

The final message had been from Datamon, asking if Flash would be willing to share a scan of his Dragon and Fighter Modes.

Flash smiled as he stared at the messages, then put his Digivice down and looked out the window of his room. He had been through so much since entering the Digital World and he was sure, his adventures were only gonna get more and more insane.

But he knew, that no matter what he faced, he would overcome it. As long as he had his friends by his side, nothing could defeat him.

In a rocky forest area of the Digital World, something was happening.

A large wall with a missing triangular section, was beginning to glow. And as it did, a sound came out from the light. A growl. A low and beastly growl, that could never be made by anything of high intelligence.

As the growl reverberated out of the light, the entire rock suddenly shook. Doing so caused it to crack, as small pieces of the rock fell apart. Another shake soon followed, causing more cracks and more of the wall to break apart. As it did, the light started leaking out through the cracks.

More and more, the wall shook and broke apart to reveal more light leaking out. And as one section broke off, it allowed something behind the wall to look through it. A large blue eye, lizard-like in design, was peaking out through the hole. It looked around before pulling away, as a loud roar echoed through the hole.

Another powerful shake then followed, more of the rock breaking apart. And then, not a moment later, the entire wall suddenly exploded as something came barrelling through it.

The light kept its form concealed, but whatever it was was large.

It ran out of the light and into the shadows, the mixture of the two causing only its outline to be seen. Whatever it was, it was big. It was shaped like a real-life T-rex, except it had a bunch of hard spikes sticking out of its head, running down its neck, back and all the way to the tip of its tail.

The beast let out a powerful roar, as the light from the cave died down. The creature then charged off into the night, disappearing through the foliage and leaving the massive hole in the side of the cave. A hole big enough for almost anything to get through. A hole that would bring about a great calamity for the Digital World.

Author's Note

Ladies and gentleman, the Digimon Codex story has come to an end. I thank everyone who has been reading and commenting for their time. This was a really fun story to do and I can't wait to get to the next one.

Thanks to SuperSonicHeroes for the TVTropes page and SlidDiamond3214 for drawing the OC Digimon.

Speaking of the OC Digimon, I'd love to hear which of them was your favourite. I can't take credit for some of them, but I hope you enjoyed them all and this story. Until next time. Thanks for reading.

Let's Get Digital

Author's Note

Welcome, my beautiful readers, to Digimon Codex. Some of you might remember this chapter from the One-Shots I did, even if you did I'd suggest reading it again to refresh yourself on it. I've even added a little something to make it more interesting. Hope you enjoy this and tell me what you think.

Let's Get Digital

"Hi. My name's Flash and I'm about to tell you a pretty amazing tale.

What I'm about to say may seem insane, but it's all true. Heck, even I have a hard time believing it. But it happened and I changed my life forever. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me backup to the beginning and explain how I got into this situation. Buckle up, because you're gonna be in for a major ride."

Volcanoes exploded everywhere and spilled out rivers of lava, which filled the air with ash and smoke.

From out of those clouds, a large figure could be seen stepping out of it as it moved along one of the lava streams. That figure was a large orange T-rex creature, standing at around two stories tall with blue stripes littered around its body and a large brown helmet on its head that had three large horns.

It moved along the rocky terrain, keeping an eye out for anything that might endanger it.

And as it moved around a large boulder, said danger came charging towards it. A mighty roar filled the air as it looked ahead and saw a large white rhino-dinosaur hybrid covered in black armour along its top. Its head had a triceratops thrill but it only had on large horn on its snout.

It stomped towards the dinosaur at top speed, slamming into it and digging its horn into its stomach.

The T-rex flinched at the pain, but managed to grab the rhino and push it back. As it did, flames filled its mouth before exploding out of it and smashing into the rhino. It staggered back, but quickly recovered as flames filled its own mouth. From it, several fireballs exploded out and hit the T-rex several times, causing it to stagger back towards one of the lava pits.

The rhino then charged forward and smashed its head into its opponent's stomach and threw it backwards, the T-rex roaring as it toppled over the edge of fell into the lava. A mighty splash could be heard as the dinosaur sunk below it.

The rhino stared at the lava for a second, then let out a snort of air from its nose and turned to leave.

But in that moment, the lava exploded and something rose from it. That something was the skeleton of a much larger T-rex, with a large beating heart in its rib-cage and a strange looking fish torpedo attached to the back of its spine.

The beast let out a mighty roar before swinging its arm around and slapping the rhino away. The dinosaur roared as it hit the ground and slid along until it stopped just short of another lava stream. And as it picked itself up, the skeleton lowered itself so the fish torpedo was pointed at it. And then, the missile exploded off its back and shot towards the rhino.

The monster tried to escape, but couldn't pick itself up fast enough and the torpedo struck it and exploded.

"YEAH!" The voice of a teen boy filled the cafeteria of Canterlot High, said teen being a blue hair boy with orange skin that was sitting at a laptop. He looked at another boy, who was sitting opposite him on another laptop. "SkullGreymon one, Monochromon nil."

"Ahh man!" His opponent cried as he shut the laptop, "I thought I had you."

"Maybe next time," the teen smirked as he shut his own laptop.

"Hey Flash." He then turned to see a friend of his moving over to him, this friend being a purple skinned boy with black hair that wore glasses and a yellow and green turtleneck. "Another win?"

"You bet," Flash replied as the two bumped fist. "Thanks for those Greymon tips Micro. You were right about sometimes using a Virus evolution every now and then."

"Don't mention it," Micro pushed his glasses up. "But you know, it takes skill to pull off tips like that. You're really good at Digimon battles." Flash smiled back, happy for the complement. He then saw Micro looking around suspiciously. "I bet you could even play in the big leagues."

"You mean like...championships?"

"Bigger," Micro smirked as they left the cafeteria, "I'm talking Codex."

"Code...what?"

"It's a really exclusive league," Micro reached into his pocket and pulled something out. At first glance, it appeared to be some kind of scanner you would find in a supermarket. It was yellow in colour and had a screen in the middle, with a button above and below the screen. The handle even had a trigger on it. "If you get in, they give you one of these special Digivices."

"Cool," Flash whispered as he stared at it, "how'd you get in?"

"It's invite only," Micro explained. "Only the best of the best get chosen to play. The first few players were all sent Digivices and entered, then some of those players recommended other players they knew and it kept going like that. If you're sent a Digivice, it means either someone recommended you and they agreed you were worth inviting, or your online skills caught the attention of the people who run the league?"

"So everyone playing would be the ultimate best of the best," Flash realised.

"Exactly. And the game is awesome. It's more than just watching pixels on a screen. You actually feel like you're there, in the the body of the Digimon you're battling as."

"How?" Flash asked, Micro giving him a look that said he wasn't just how to respond.

"It's...complicated. If I told you, you'd think I was some kind of nut-job. Only someone who actually plays in Codex can understand."

"Then I gotta play in Codex," Flash said in a serious tone. "I gotta find a way to get an invitation." As he said that, Micro gave him a smirk that made Flash feel like his friend knew something he didn't.

"I already recommended you to the Codex Commanders." Flash raised an eyebrow, "the guys who run it. They should have already checked your online scores and determined whether or not you're Codex material. If you are, then they'll send you a Digivice to start playing with."

"So it's just a matter of waiting?" Flash asked, Micro nodding his head.

"It usually take a week or so to get an answer. Either you'll get a Digivice in the mail, or I'll get a message explaining my recommendation has been denied. But even if they decide not to let you in, you'll still be in their system so they might decide to invite you later."

Flash nodded, "I guess I'll just have to wait and see whether I'm good enough or not." Micro nodded in agreement as the two left the school.

"And that was it. For the next two days, I didn't hear anything from those Codex Commanders or Micro. Each day, I felt less and less sure that they were gonna let me into the Codex League. But then, on Saturday..."

With the school week over, Flash was in his room at his house.

He did what he always did on Saturday mornings. Playing his guitar and seeing if he could come up with any new songs. But so far, nothing was coming to mind. "Come on people," he said as he strummed his guitar. "Come on people now..." He let out a sigh and stopped strumming, laying back on his bed.

He stayed like that for a few minutes, trying to get a song to appear in his head. But just when it seemed to be a day of no event-

"Flash!" He heard his sister call out, the teen sitting up. "There's a package for you!" Flash raised an eyebrow and got up to leave his room, heading downstairs and finding his sister at the door.

Scootaloo looked up at him as she stepped aside to reveal a delivery man holding a medium sized box. "Flash Sentry?" Flash nodded as the man handed him and electronic pad to sign, then handed him the box once he did so. When he was gone, Flash took the box into the living room and put it on the table in front of the couch.

"What is it?" Scootaloo asked, Flash unsure.

But then, he remembered what Micro had told him the other day. "Could it be..." He quickly ripped open the box and when he did, he found a familiar looking device Micro had shown him the other day. "A Digivice," he stated before taking it out of the box. He looked it over and found that unlike Micro's, it was grey in colour.

"What's a Digivice?" Scootaloo asked, Flash not answering as he took out his phone and called Micro.

"Hello?" His friend asked once he picked up.

"Micro, it's Flash. I got a Digivice!"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"AWESOME! Alright, don't do anything with it yet. I'll be there as soon as possible. In the mean time, find something cool you wanna wear when I scan you."

"Scan me?"

"Yeah. The Digivice works by scanning you and creating an avatar that looks exactly like you. You can buy some new clothes once your in Codex, but for now find something cool to where. Don't make the same mistake I made and scan yourself when you're wearing checked pyjamas."

Flash laughed at this but did as Micro told him, taking the device upstairs and flinging his closet open. For the next half hour, he looked through everything he owned and eventually found a look he liked for his avatar. He wore a white shirt under a black jacket with his signature lightning shield emblem on the shoulder, along with blue pants and black and white sneakers with lightning on the side. He thought this would be enough, but then he noticed something hanging from a hook in his closet. A pair of blue strapped aviator goggles he had once bought at a steampunk fair.

He grabbed the goggles and looked them over, then smirked before putting them on so they hung from his neck.

As he did that, he heard a knocking at the door and a moment later, footsteps on the stairs. Then the door opened and Micro stepped in, looking around and spotting the Digivice on his bed. "It really is here." He reached over and grabbed it, then hit the button under the screen.

The device came to life, Flash moving over to see words appear on the screen.

Welcome, Digidestined.

You have been chosen to enter the amazing world of Digimon. In Codex, you can play using any Digimon you scan. Explore the Digital World. Befriend Digimon and add them to your collection. And battle using their power and might. With each victory, you grow stronger. With each loss, you grow wiser.

Enter, if you dare.

"I have goosebumps," Flash whispered.

"I got them when I read it the first time," Micro stated as the screen changed to show squares with every letter of he alphabet. "Alright, first we type your name into it." He wrote the words Flash Sentry into the screen before pressing enter, the screen then changing to show a formless humanoid figure. "Alright, now we scan you into the device." Flash stepped away as Micro looked him over. "Gotta say, you're looking awesome."

"Thanks," Flash smirked as Micro held the device out and pulled the trigger. The Digivice then unleashed a light that washed over Flash's body, scanning him from head to toe. After a few seconds, the process completed and Flash moved over to Micro. He looked at the screen and it showed the image of him staring back, wearing the same clothes he was. "Awesome. Now what?"

"Now you send your avatar to Codex. Everything will become clear once it's processed." He pointed at the button above the screen, "it's this one."

"Alright," Flash nodded before gripping his Digivice in hand, "then let's play!" With that, he pressed the button and when he did...something happened. The next thing Flash knew, he was suddenly being pulled forward. "WOW!" He cried as the world around him suddenly morphed into a tunnel made of blue and white streaks of light. "What...what's going one?" He asked, looking around but seeing no sign of Micro or anything familiar.

He looked ahead and saw his Digivice was still in hand, being the thing pulling him through the tunnel. He tried to let go, but he couldn't. And finally, he found himself reaching the end of the tunnel and a bright white light was waiting for him.

"YAAAAAH!" He cried as he was blinded by the light as he flew through it, then felt something appear below his feet. "Wow!" he cried, losing balance and staggering over.

He felt himself land on something metal and moaned, rolling onto his back and sitting up whilst clutching his head. "Hey," he then heard, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded as he opened his eyes, "I'm all-" He stopped when he saw who he was talking to. Or should that be...what he was talking too.

Standing in front of him was a yellow T-rex standing at about two and a half feet tall. It had long arms with sharp claws and big teeth in its oversized mouth. The dinosaur stared at him, then tilted its head. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"AHHH!" Flash cried, shuffling backwards in terror. The dinosaur looked shocked by this, whilst Flash's brain finally caught up to him and made him recognise what he was looking at. "Ag...ag...Agumon?"

"That's me," the dinosaur smiled.

"Agumon!" Another voice called out, Flash turning to see a boy standing a ways off. "Come on. We've got a match."

"Okay," the dinosaur ran over to him. Flash watched as it and the boy walked off, the teen glancing at him and smirking at the shocked look on his face.

"Newbies," he said before they disappeared. Flash then looked around and found her was surrounded by people and Digimon, ones he recognised.

A girl was carrying a Salamon in her arms as she walked and a boy had a Patamon on his head. A group of three were walking alongside a Dondokomon and another group were walking beside a Gazimon and Palmon. Some groups and people weren't with any Digimon, but even so the fact that there were any Digimon walking around was complete insanity.

"No way," he whispered as he stood up. He then noticed he was standing under a large metal gazebo, which had a circle of large round lights under it. One of those lights lit up and began to expel a bunch of ones and zeros, which somehow materialised until it took human form and vanished to reveal a girl holding a pink Digivice. She didn't seem at all phased by her sudden appearance and walked off before she noticed he was staring at her. "No way." He looked out of the gazebo and found he was in a large domed building with several more gazebos along with benches, tables and chairs scattered around. "No way!"

"Can't you first timers come up with anything more original than no way?" Flash turned towards the voice and found he was looking at a floating robot, which was a body and astronaut helmet connect by a metal pole. And helmet's visor lit up, showing a digital face made of pixels. "It gets so boring. Originality separates the Mega levels from the chumps."

"Errrrr," was all Flash could say back.

"Why do I even bother," the robot replied. "Anyway, welcome to Codex!" The robot waited for a response, Flash simply looking around until his brain finally caught up and made him do the only thing he could think to do.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!"

In another part of the building, in what looked like a cafeteria, several teens and a few Digimon were sitting around talking. "I just got a new scan of MegaSeadramon," a boy told another one. "Wanna go try it out in the Battle Dome?"

"Maybe later," the boy stated. "I heard there's a bunch of newbies coming in. That's always fun to watch." The other nodded and as they continued to speak, the sound of a scream caught their attention and made them look around to see Flash running through the cafeteria being chased by a robot.

"Mr Sentry!" The robot cried, "this is really unnecessary?" It accelerated, but Flash quickly jumped behind a column and it zoomed passed him.

"What's happening to me?" He asked as he looked around and continued to see Digimon around him. "Am I going-"

"Crazy?" Flash looked around, expecting another robot, and saw Micro Chips standing besides another column. "You wish being crazy was this insane." Flash panted and slowly walked towards him, starting to calm down now that a familiar face was around. "It's a good thing you were screaming so loudly, or else I'd have never found you." It was in that moment the robot returned, Micro turning towards it. "Don't worry. He's a friend of mine. I'll handle this." The robot nodded and flew off, Micro turning back to Flash as he kept looking around.

Then, he turned to Micro before a smile appeared on his lips. "Dude."

"I know."

"Dude."

"I know."

"Dude!"

"You don't even say dude."

"I KNOW!" Flash cried, looking like his head was about to explode. "What is happening?"

"I told you the Codex League was something you had to see to understand," Micro explained before gesturing to the area around them. "Here in Codex, humans and Digimon exist side by side. They can hang out, or fight in Digimon Battles."

"This is insane," Flash told him. "Digimon aren't real. They're just...characters in card and video games."

"Hey!" Flash leapt back as a voice called out from behind a pillar, "who you calling a video game character?" From behind the pillar, a large robotic ladybug stepped out. "Do I look like a video game character to you?"

"Errr," Flash whispered, "you're..."

"Tentomon," Micro replied, "my partner Digimon."

"Partner?"

Micro nodded. "Every Codex player can partner with a Digimon they become friends with. They only get one, so it has to be a Digimon they get along with."

"And Micro and I get along great," Tentomon stated as he opened his shell and flew up. "It's nice to meet you," he held out a claw and Flash hesitantly reached out to shake it.

"Flash," the teen turned to Micro as he placed his hands on his shoulders, "listen to me. I know this is a lot to take in, but believe me. Digimon are real." Flash was about to argue, but Micro continued. "Everyone thinks what you're thinking their first time. That this is just some kind of simulation or VR scenario, but it's not. It's real and so are the Digimon. You might not believe it now, but eventually you'll realise this is all real."

Flash remained silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Alright. Say this is real and Digimon are living things. Why are they also a card game, video game, heck even an anime?"

"Everyone has that question," Micro explained before gesturing Flash to follow. He did so and they headed for the exit. "Long story short, Digimon was made into a game and everything else so people know what they are. Kind of a way to help people adjust to the fact that they're real. Then coming here is the next step. Getting people to know them and forming friendships. A lot of people think the Codex Commanders one day plan the reveal Digimon are real to the world, creating diplomatic relations between the two worlds."

"So we're in the Digital World?"

"Not exactly," Micro replied as they finally left the building. Flash looked around and noticed the sky didn't look at all...sky-ish.

It was just like the tunnel that had first brought him here, being a mixture of blue and white streaks that were spiralling around them. He then looked down at the ground and noticed a ways off that there was some kind of barrier, which seemed to encircle the building. Every now and then the barrier would break to reveal a long bridge which his eyes followed until it reached some kind of platform that was suspended in the air. That platform had a large stadium built atop it which people and Digimon were entering and leaving.

Micro lead him over to the barrier and allowed Flash to look over it, the teen's eyes going wide when he saw nothing below them. They were on a platform too, which appeared to be floating in a large void.

"Codex is a dimensional space," Tentomon explained. "One located between your world and the Digital World." Micro led him over to a board that had what looked like a map on it, showing a large circle surrounded by seven slightly smaller circles that was connected to the bigger circle by lines. On a section of the bigger circle was an arrow with the words 'you are here' written on it.

"So in Codex, we battle with Digimon?"

"Kinda," Micro explained. "It's a little different here than in the real world."

"The real world..." Flash whispered before he realised something. "Wait," he turned to Micro, "we were in the real world before. But now we're here. What's my sister or parents gonna say when they come up and find we're missing." It was then he noticed Micro smirking at him, the teen raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"We're not missing," Micro explained. "We're still there. Right now, the real me is probably explaining to the real you why your Digivice isn't working?" Flash held up said device and wondered what he was talking about.

Rewind to the point right before Flash entered Codex.

"Alright," Flash nodded before gripping his Digivice in hand, "then let's play!" With that, he pressed the button and when he did...nothing happened. "Huh?" He asked as the screen suddenly went blank, "what the heck."

"Relax," Micro told him. "That always happens the first time. Your avatar is just being processed. Until then, your Digivice is offline."

Flash looked upset that he couldn't start playing. "Well how long will it take to process it?"

"It's different every time," Micro explained. "Just be patient and keep your Digivice on hand." He pointed to the button Flash had just pressed. "When this button lights up, press it and your avatar will be fully processed. Then you can play whenever you want."

"Alright," Flash nodded before putting his Digivice in his pocket, "so what do you wanna do until then?"

Micro thought for a moment before smirking and grabbing Flash's guitar. "Wanna jam at my place?" Flash smirked and nodded before taking his guitar and packing it up.

"Wait," Flash held up his hands, "how can we be here and in the real world at the same time?"

"Well...we're not," Micro explained. "You're not actually Flash Sentry. You look like him and sound like him. But you're not actually him." Now Flash was really confused. "Remember the avatar we made?" Flash nodded, "that's what you are. A perfect digital copy of your real body. When you logged into Codex, your Digivice copied all of your mental data and implanted it into your avatar. Every memory and thing that makes you...you, was uploaded into a digital body. The minute Flash pressed the button, you came into existence. And when you log out of Codex, all the memories you made will be uploaded into your human body."

"Huh," Flash looked down at his hands. His head was starting to fry as he thought that they weren't really his hands. "So you're saying I could spend all day in this place and not be missed in the real world?"

"Yup," Micro nodded. "You'll find a lot of school aged players log into Codex before school, then log out after it. That way they get to spend an entire day adventuring with Digimon, but not miss any school. Heck, people have been known to go days in this place before heading back to the human world."

"Awesome," Flash was starting to get into it now that he had had time to process the information. He then looked back at the dome they were in and noticed a TV on the wall, showing what looked like a battle.

On the TV, a Leomon was fighting against an Ogremon. "So that's a Digimon Battle?" Micro and Tentomon turned to the TV and nodded.

"That's right. And here's the best part. Those aren't real Digimon." Flash turned to him in confusion. "Here in Codex, you don't just command Digimon from behind a computer. You become the Digimon."

"Become the Digimon?"

"You're made out of data," Tentomon explained. "So it's possible for your physical data to be overwritten by that of a Digimon you've scanned."

Micro nodded. "That's how it works in Codex. You scan Digimon, then use those scans to battle."

"Awesome!" Flash cheered as he held up his Digivice. "So who am I facing off against first?"

"Nobody," Micro told him. "You're not ready to battle yet." Flash looked confused...again. "Okay, let me explain the battling system in Codex. You can only battle if your rank is In-Training or higher. And you can only battle Codex players with the same rank as you."

"So what's my rank?" Micro replied by reaching out and pressing the button below the screen on his Digivice. It came to life and there were a bunch of different windows. Those windows were Stats, Decks, Scans, Locations, Items, BG, Friends and Records. Micro then pressed the Stats window and the screen changed to show a bunch of different stats.

Name: Flash Sentry
Partner: None
Rank: Fresh
Reg: 043568240
Money: D1000

"Fresh?"

Micro nodded. "The Ranks work the same as Digimon levels. The new players start at the Fresh Rank, then it goes up to In-Training Rank, then Rookie, Champion, Ultimate and Mega. Like I said before, you can only battle players that are the same Rank as you. Every time you win an Official Digimon Battle, you get Battle Points. And when you hit a certain number of Battle Points, you Rank up."

"And I can't battle anyone until I hit the In-Training Rank?" Micro and Tentomon nodded. "So then how am I supposed to Rank up if I can't battle?" Micro chuckled at this.

"You only Rank up in battle once you're at the In-Training Rank. And you automatically become In-Training by having a Rookie Level Digimon scan."

"Really?" Flash asked, Micro nodding.

"Really really. The minute your Digivice uploads a Rookie Digimon, it automatically Ranks you up."

"Alright!" Flash cheered before pointing his Digivice as Tentomon, "hope you don't mind."

"Wait!" Tentomon cried before Flash hit the trigger, causing a beam of light to shoot out and hit him. It morphed into a line that ran over Tentomon, only to then cut out when the Digivice made a bad sounding beep.

"What?" Flash asked as he looked down at his Digivice and saw words appear on the screen. "Unscannable?"

Micro sighed, "you can't scan Tentomon. You can't scan any Digimon here in Codex. They're all partner Digimon. And Digimon who are partnered up can only be scanned by their Partner."

"Ahhh," Flash groaned, "then where the heck am I supposed to get a Digimon scan?"

"In the Digital World," Micro told him. "Duh." Flash raised an eyebrow as Micro and Tentomon began to head towards the building they were just in, Flash rushing after them as Micro explained. "Check the locations page on your Digivice." Flash did so and when he opened it up, the screen changed to show the image of what looked like a kid's dream. At the top, there was what he assumed was a name.

"Primary Village?" Flash asked.

"It's the place where all Digimon are born," Tentomon explained. "And it's the only Fresh Ranked location."

Before Flash could ask, Micro explained. "The Digital World is divided into different locations and each location is Ranked. A player can only transport to a location if their Rank is equal or greater then the location's Rank."

"Seriously?" Flash asked, "why?"

"The locations are Ranked based on how dangerous they are. The environment, natural obstacles and the level of Digimon that live there. Imagine if someone at your Rank, that had no idea about the Digital World, travelled to a Mega Level location. They'd be surrounded by volcanoes and Mega Level Digimon that don't like intruders in their territories. You'd be completely screwed."

"Yeah," Flash gulped, "that makes sense. So Primary Village is safe?"

"The safest," Tentomon stated as they entered the building. "Digimon that are Champion Level or higher aren't allowed near it, so you won't have to worry about getting attacked by anything you're not ready to deal with."

"Fresh and In-Training Digimon live in the village," Micro explained. "And there are lots of Rookie Level Digimon that live in the forest around it. The perfect place for you to scan something. And even if you can't find anything, the Village's guardian's always happy to let a player scan him."

"Awesome," Flash nodded, "so how do we get there?" Flash got his answer when he found he was back in the area he first arrived in, Micro directing him to one of the gazebos.

"This is the Digi-Port, where you log in and out of Codex as well as head to the Digital World." He pointed at one of the lights, "stand on that." Flash did so. "Now bring up Primary Village on your Digivice and then swipe it upwards." Flash did so, swiping upwards causing the image to vanish off the screen. Then, a light started to emit from the scanner section. "Now you just point your Digivice straight up and pull the trigger."

"Alright," Flash pointed it up, "here goes." He pulled the trigger and when he did, the light below him lit up and unleashed a light that consumed him in a flurry of ones and zeroes. Once it completed enveloped him, it shot into the air and vanished into the top of the gazebo.

"And off he goes," Micro smirked before taking out his Digivice. "Better go after him before he wanders off somewhere he shouldn't."

"You worry too much," Tentomon stated. "Where could he go that could cause him trouble?"

Flash once again found himself flying through the tunnel, this time enjoy his journey as he felt himself getting pulled towards his destination.

"Yee...HAAAAW!" He cried, excitement filling him at the prospect of scanning a Digimon and getting to fight as it. But before he could reach his destination, something happened that put a new spin on his situation. As he flew through the tunnel of data, a part of the tunnel suddenly turned glitchy. "Huh?" Flash turned towards the area it happened and noticed it go staticy, the colours around it misshaping and unleashing bolts of lightning. "WOW!" He cried, as a lightning bolt shot passed him. "I don't think this is supposed to happen!"

It was then the glitches began to spread, wrapping around the rest of the tunnel. And as it did, Flash suddenly felt the pull of his Digivice vanish. "What?" Was all he could say before gravity took hold and he began to fall towards one of the glitched areas. "WHAT'S HAPPENING!" He screamed before he splashed down into the surface of the glitched area and sank below it.

Primary Village, where all Digimon are born after they've been destroyed.

The floor of the place was one giant bouncy castle, with massive toy blocks stacked atop one another and giant balls that looked like they cold crush you but was so light they could be lifted by even Fresh Digimon. And littered along the ground were hundreds, maybe thousands, of eggs.

And it was here that, in a flash of light, Micro appeared. As soon as he finished transforming, his Digivice glowed and unleashed a light that took the shape of Tentomon before fading to reveal the robo-beetle. Micro smirked as he looked around, "Flash?" There was no reply, making him raise an eyebrow. "Flash?" Again, nothing. "Where is he?"

"He couldn't have gotten far," Tentomon told them before they began to run through the village whilst being careful of the eggs. They eventually reached an area of the village full of cradles, which held Fresh Digimon inside. "Hello little ones. Have any of you seen another human walking around here?"

"NO," they all replied in unison.

"Now I'm getting worried," Micro stated before taking out his Digivice. But just as he was about to hit the friends button, he realised something and smacked his head. "Aw, man!" Tentomon turned to him, "I forgot to add Flash to my friends list. Now I can't track him!"

"Can't track who?" They looked around and spotted a red skunk Digimon with multiple tails and blue stripes.

"Elecmon!" Micro rushed over to him, "please tell me you've seen another human around here."

"Orange skin and blue hair," Tentomon described.

"Sorry kid," Elecmon replied. "You're the first Codex player I've seen today."

"But..." Micro took one final look around, "if he's not here then where is he?"

The first thing Flash noticed when he woke up was that he was on some kind of prickly surface.

He let out a moan as he brought his hand up to his head, whilst his other hand waved over the ground and he realised it was grass he was feeling. "What happened?" He asked he saw up, looking around and finding he was in some kind of forest. But it was unlike any forest he had ever seen.

Every tree was different to the one next to it. One was an oak tree, one was a pine tree and one was even a palm tree. He looked up at the sky and saw it looked normal, making him realise he wasn't in Codex any more. "This must be the Digital World." He began to look around, one thing being very clear. "This isn't Primary Village." He then noticed his Digivice on the floor and reached down to pick it up, switching it on and finding it was perfectly fine. "That's good. So then maybe it can get me out of here."

He hit the location button and saw Primary Village was still loaded. He then noticed a return button and pressed it, but nothing happened. He then pointed it upwards and pressed the trigger, but nothing happened. "Come on," he pulled it back down and tried to think of something to do. "I wonder." He left the location section and pointed it in front of him, then pulled the trigger.

The Digivice unleashed a beam which washed over the area, scanning it for several seconds before stopping and letting out a beep. Flash saw the tiny red word 'new' now over the locations and pressed it, the image he had just scanned appearing on screen. "Brave Forest," he read the name. "Wonder why it's called that?" He then noticed the Rank this location had, "Champion!" Now he began to panic. Somehow, he had been thrown into a location a lot more dangerous than he was ready to handle.

"Just stay calm," he told himself as he moved through the woods. "I'm sure you'll run into another player eventually. And when you do, they can help you get back to Codex." As he said that, he noticed another path breaking off from his and looked down it to see a familiar looking machine standing at the end of it. "A vending machine?" He raised an eyebrow before shrugging, "I am kinda thirsty." He moved over to it but before he could figure out how to pay for it, something happened.

From out of the dispenser slot, something climbed out. It was a Digimon he recognised as a Numemon, the green slime monster roaring as it leapt at him.

"WOW!" He cried, jumping back before hearing more sounds and looking over to see more Numemon climb out of the machine. More then it even seemed possible to fit in said machine. He turned and ran as fast as he could, the Numemon chasing after him. "What do you want?" He asked, but the Numemon didn't answer and instead began throwing...something Flash didn't want to think about.

He just kept running and avoiding the projectiles before seeing a turn in the path and sped up, rushing around the turn only to see the path blocked by something very familiar. "Wow!" He cried as he pulled himself to a stop, as he found himself staring at the behind of a Digimon he knew. "Monochromon?"

The rhino-dinosaur hybrid had yet to notice him. But it didn't seem to hear the Numemon's cries as they rushed around the turn and continued throwing their projectiles at Flash, who managed to duck down. "Wow!" They flew over him and hit the Monochromon's behind, making the beast roar as it began to turn around.

The Numemon seemed to figure out what they had done and all turned to run away, leaving Flash as Monochromon looked around and spotted him. Flash glanced behind him and saw he was now alone and quickly realised what the Digimon was thinking.

"Look," he got up, "I know this looks bad. But I assure you, there's a reasonable explanation."

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Digimon roared before charging towards Flash, who turned to run as fast as he could. He decided to ditch the path and head into the trees, hoping that would stop the beast. But all it seemed to do is slow it down, allowing him to get ahead.

Eventually, he came out onto another path with a small mountain to his left. But Monochromon was still charging, destroying any tree that got in its way. "Can't outrun it," he panted. "Have to hide." He looked around, trying to think of a place to disappear until Monochromon calmed down. He couldn't climb a tree since it might knock it down and he couldn't climb the mountain since there was no way to get up it before Monochromon shot a fireball at him. He could see anything that might-

In that moment, Flash heard a staticy sound and turned towards the wall of the mountain. At first, he didn't see anything. But then, the static sound returned as a part of the wall turned to static and disappeared. This revealed some kind of cave behind the wall, which suddenly re-materialised.

"What was that?" He asked, only to hear Monochromon getting closer. The static sound occurred again and Flash saw the cave appear, this time deciding it was better then a rampaging Digimon. So, as he began to static back into reality, he leapt into the cave seconds before the wall reappeared.

He quickly found himself in total darkness, the sound of Monochromon breaking through the last tree. He listened and could hear it continue to growl, appearing to be circling the area.

"Great," Flash sighed, "now I'm stuck in here." He looked into the cave and realised it was a short tunnel, with a light at the end of it.

Hoping it was another way out, Flash headed towards said light and soon found himself inside a dome-like chamber. The light was coming from a hole in the roof, Flash seeing it was impossible to reach and instead followed the light down to where it was shining down upon. And there, he spotted a rock with something sitting atop it.

That something was a metal egg-shaped object with yellow flame patterns, a curved spike coming out the top of it and was appeared to be an orange sun pattern on the front.

Flash moved closer to it and stared it down, trying to figure out what it was. From the way it was sitting there, it appeared to be lodged in some kind of hole in the rock. "What is this thing?" He stared at it some more and then had an idea, taking out his Digivice and pointing it at the object.

He pulled the trigger and the device scanned it, letting out a beep as the scan completed and the 'new' logo appeared over the item window. He pressed it and opened the folder, finding an image of the object with a title over it. "Digimental of Courage?" That told him nothing about whatever the heck this was. "Alright, let's see if I can't get a better idea of what this is."

With that, he moved over and stepped up onto the rock. He then reached down and grabbed the Digimental, gripping it hard as he could before he started pulling. He pulled and pulled and pulled but it didn't seem like the item was going to budge. But then, he felt it begin to give way and kept pulling. And before he could think it was pointless, the Digimental finally gave way.

"WOW!" He fell back and hit his head, moaning in pain as he did so. He then sat up and looked over the item he had just pulled free of the rock. Even upon closer inspection, it didn't appear at all strange. But something bout it gave him a weird feeling.

But before he could figure out what that was, something new caught his attention. A pillar of orange light.

That light was a coming from the hole the Digimental had been blocking, which shot into the air and out of the hole in the chamber's ceiling. The Monochromon noticed this light and growled, believing it had found its would-be attacker.

Back in the cave, Flash could only sit there and stare as something began to appear in the light. All the while he couldn't believe the insanity that the day had brought him. When he woke up that morning, he hadn't been expecting to find himself into a completely new world. Surrounded by monsters and running for his life. Now the only question was, would he make it out of this and actually get to play in Codex, or was his adventure over before it had even started.

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Night time had come in the real world and in her bedroom, Twilight Sparkle was busy working on her homework.

Her Digivice was on the desk next to her, Tawnimon inside taking a nap as she continued to finished the equations she had to complete before school tomorrow. But as she worked, her thoughts were torn between her assignments and what had happened in the Digital World.

When she had logged back into Codex, she had hoped to see Flash there. But he had been nowhere in sight.

She could only hope he had taken her words into consideration and was trying to find a way to get Veemon back. But she was also worried he might never want to enter the digital realm again.

She eventually managed to get her homework finished and as she did, there was a knock at her door. "Come in." The door opened and a young boy walked in. He was a purple skinned boy like Twilight, only he had short spiky green hair with a light green shirt under a purple jacket and green shorts.

"Hey," he walked over, "I just came to return that Digimon Card I borrowed. You were right about it being just what I needed to beat that guy."

Twilight smiled, "thanks Spike." She took the card as Spike picked up her Digivice, frowning as he did so.

"Man, why can't I go to Codex? I've gotten way better in my online battles." Twilight couldn't help but laugh at this, her brother being obsessed with going to Codex ever since he heard about it from his older siblings. But no matter how many times Twilight and Shining recommended him, the Codex Commanders stated he didn't have the skill level yet to be given a Digivice.

"Don't worry," Twilight ruffled his hair. "Just keep practising and eventually, you'll get your own Digivice." Spike sighed and as he did, someone else stepped into the room. Shining Armor.

"Hey," he told the pair, "you two should start getting ready for bed."

"I guess," Twilight nodded as Spike put her Digivice down.

"You okay?" Shining asked, raising an eyebrow as Twilight got up. "This doesn't have something to do with Flash, does it?" Twilight nodded as Spike looked confused. "I know you're upset about what happened, but there's nothing you can do. Flash needs to fix what happened himself."

"Flash?" Spike asked, then remembered something. "Isn't he that guy that gave you a lift home one time?"

"Yeah," Twilight nodded, "he's a new Codex player and got tricked into an Ante-Battle." Spike frowned, clearly knowing what that was. "He didn't know that losing could mean losing his partner, Veemon. And ever since, he's been really depressed. He hasn't even entered Codex because of what happened."

"Ouch," Spike frowned, "that's gotta be harsh. So you're worried about him?"

"I'm more worried about Veemon," she explained. "The guy who won him is a total jerk. He keeps Veemon locked up in his Digivice and only uses him to makes scans to trade to other people."

"What?" Spike cried, "that's horrible. Why doesn't anybody do anything? Kick him out of Codex."

Shining sighed, "nothing he's doing is against the rules. You'd have to ask the Codex Commanders why they'd let such a thing happen. But like I said, this is Flash's issue to fix. If he wants Veemon back, he needs to do it himself." As he said that, they heard footsteps and Shining motioned them to all stop talking about it.

Moments later, Shining's wife Cadance stepped into the room. She was a beautiful woman with pink skin and multicoloured hair. She looked around, raising an eyebrow as he saw them. "What are you three talking about?"

"Just a friend of Twilight's who's having a hard time," Shining explained. As much as he wanted to, he had chosen to keep the whole Codex thing a secret from his wife. She had never really been into Digimon back when it was believed they were just a game, so him telling her they were real would likely make her think he was crazy.

"Alright," Cadance nodded. "Anyway, you two have school tomorrow. You need to get to bed." They nodded with her, Shining and Spike leaving Twilight's room. Twilight frowned as she began to get changed, hoping Shining was right about Flash.

At the same time, Shining took out his own dark blue Digivice and was wondering why his avatar hadn't decided to log out yet. It had been a while since he had pulled an all nighter. Either his digital self had found a Digimon he really wanted to scan, or something big was happening.

All he could hope was that whatever it was, he was showing why he was the number one Codex player.

Flash Sentry had been in a lot of battles since coming to Codex. He hadn't won them all, but every time he fought he knew he had a chance to win. But this time, he wasn't sure he could.

Looking up at the giant crystal, Leomon stared at Cyberdramon and gulped as he felt the power coming off the Ultimate. And so far, the power of the Digimon hadn't been the most important factor in this fight. That factor was the skill of the one controlling the Digimon and his opponent, Shining Armor, had skill for days.

Cyberdramon stood atop one of the crystals they were surrounded by, the ultimate looking ready for a major brawl. "Now, then, Flash Sentry. Let's see how well you face off against this challenge." With that, Cyberdramon leapt off the crystal and spread his wing. He shot down at high speed, as Leomon raised his sword.

As Cyberdramon got close, Leomon slashed at him with his sword. But Cyberdramon spun around and used one of the blades on his arms to block. He pushed Leomon back and attempted to slash at him with his claws, but Leomon leant out of the way before leaping back.

"Fist of the Beast King!" He punched the air and launched the fireball towards Cyberdramon, but the Ultimate level didn't even attempt to block it and the attack slammed into his rubber suited body.

Leomon: 3-55%
Cyberdramon: 4-60%

The explosion did nothing against him, not making him flinch or even stagger back.

Leomon landed and was shocked by how little his attack hurt Cyberdramon. But the Ultimate Level Didn't give him time to think, as he shot forward claws primed to attack. "Cyber Nails!" He slashed at Leomon, who did his very best to protect himself, by blocking the glowing claws with his sword or evading them entirely. But it was hopeless, as Cyberdramon was just too fast.

"Augh!" He cried, when Cyberdramon slashed him across the chest and knocked him back.

Leomon: 3-35%
Cyberdramon: 4-60%

He clutched his chest, as Cyberdramon leapt up before trying to stomp on him with his clawed feet. But Leomon managed to grab the foot and stop it before it could really hit him. "Remember," Cyberdramon told him, "you have to think like a human. Use the knowledge Leomon has and filter it through your mind." He pushed and Leomon was sent staggering, almost falling off his feet as Cyberdramon flew up. "What do you have at your disposal, that Leomon would never think of using?"

Leomon looked around, but nothing around him would give him the edge against Cyberdramon. But then, he remembered something.

As Cyberdramon dived down towards him, he raised his swordless arm as it glowed. "Battle Gear, BOOST!" The light exploded off his arm and formed a shield, which was white with gold around the edges and the Data emblem in the middle. "Data Shield!" Cyberdramon slashed at him, Leomon blocking with the shield. And as it did, Cyberdramon flinched as he felt his data being drained away.

Leomon: 3-35%
Cyberdramon: 4-55%

He flinched and pulled back, flying to a safe distance as he looked his claws over. "Data Shield. That's a new one."

Leomon panted. "I got it not long before...that. It's a shield that not only blocks attacks, but also absorbs Vaccine Digimon Data. So every time a Vaccine Digimon attacks, they take damage if they touch this shield."

"I see. And how did you know I was gonna use a Vaccine Digimon?"

"I didn't. I guessed." Cyberdramon sighed at this.

"Bad idea. What if I had used Sealsdramon and its evolution line? You would have been facing a Virus Digimon and that shield would have been useless."

"Well if you were a Virus, Leomon would have been able to handle it."

"And what if I used a Data Digimon?" Cyberdramon asked, "if I had chosen to pick that, you would have been at a disadvantage and have a useless Battle Gear."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Leomon inquired, "it's not like I know what my opponent's gonna use before I pick my Digimon. I mean, sometimes they use their partners but I don't know what they might Digivolve into."

"True," Cyberdramon nodded. "But the most important part of a battle is the preparation. If you can get into your opponent's head, to figure out what they're thinking, you'll know how to best counter their strategy. It's no different from playing Digimon Battle Online. It's not what you do in the battle that only matters. It's also everything you do before it."

Leomon panted. "I understand. I can't rely on luck to win my battles for me."

"You can't rely on anything but yourself," Cyberdramon corrected. "You and your Digimon are the only things that you know can defeat your opponent. You might, might, find something that'll help you achieve victory. But if you go into a fight expecting that something to appear and turn the tables, then you'll have already lost before you hit the start button."

"Got it," Flash realised he was right. In his battle against Jet, he had flown off searching for a Digivolution Coin and it had allowed Jet to get the upper hand on him. If he wanted to beat Jet, he was gonna need to come up with a strategy that would allow him to get the leg up on the jerk. "Thanks."

Cyberdramon smirked, "don't thank me yet. We've still got a battle to finish." He shot forward and Leomon did the same, the pair colliding with Leomon raising his shield to guard against Cyberdramon's slash.

Leomon: 3-35%
Cyberdramon: 4-50%

Leomon then used the shield to push Cyberdramon's arm away before slashing at his chest, pushing Cyberdramon back.

Leomon: 3-35%
Cyberdramon: 4-40%

The Ultimate Level landed and pushed off once again, getting ready to slash at Leomon again. But the Champion Level raised his shield in defence, only for Cyberdramon to suddenly leap over him and land on the ground behind him. "Remember, I don't fall for the same trick twice! Cyber Nails!" He slashed at Leomon, hitting him in the chest and knocking him backwards.

"Augh!"

Leomon: 3-20%
Cyberdramon: 4-40%

He fell to the ground and slid along it until he slowed to a stop, as Cyberdramon leapt up and dived to attack again. But before he could reach him, Leomon raised the shield and Cyberdramon slashed it instead. As his data was drained, Leomon clenched his fist and knocked Cyberdramon's claws away.

"Fist of the Beast King!" He launched the fireball and knocked Cyberdramon staggering back.

Leomon: 3-20%
Cyberdramon: 4-25%

Cyberdramon regained his footing, Leomon got up and raised his sword. The two glared at one another and charged, beginning to do battle against one another at short range.

The two appeared even at this point, Leomon using his shield to block most of Cyberdramon's attacks and draining away his data. But on two occasions, Cyberdramon managed to get passed the shield and hit him. By the time they both stopped their close range fight, the two's securities were low.

Leomon: 3-5%
Cyberdramon: 4-10%

"Raaah!" Cyberdramon threw a bunch, Leomon raising his shield. But at the last moment, Cyberdramon pulled his fist back and spun on the spot. This allowed him to hook his elbow blade behind the shield and pull it away from Leomon, who gasped seeing his Battle Gear be pull away. "Nice try!"

As the shield was sent flying off, Cyberdramon leapt up and smashed his foot into Leomon's chest. "AUGH!"

Leomon: 3-0%
Cyberdramon: 4-10%

Leomon was thrown backwards. But as he was, he launched his own attack. "Fist of the Beast King!" The fireball flew at Cyberdramon and hit him before he could plant his feet on the ground, the explosion knocking him backwards.

Leomon: 2-100%
Cyberdramon: 4-0%

Cyberdramon was knocked flying and spun a little as Leomon fell to the ground, but both of them managed to recover. Cyberdramon spread his wings and looked down at Leomon, but found he was gone.

Leomon had escaped and managed to hide behind one of the crystals, thankful the light inside of them was keeping Cyberdramon from seeing. He panted and tried to look around, hoping maybe his Battle Gear had fallen some place. But it hadn't and he had to find another way to get the edge on him.

Remembering was Shining had told him, Flash knew he couldn't just randomly search for a Digivolution Coin. He had to find a way to overpower the Ultimate in his current form. If he found a coin, then great. But he knew he couldn't rely on it.

He closed his eyes and tried to think. He had studied Cyberdramon, ever since first seeing it, and knew it was a powerful Digimon. If he wanted to beat it, he had to be smart.

It was then that he noticed an opening in the wall a short distance away, Leomon looking around and seeing Cyberdramon wasn't looking in his direction. So he made a break for it, rushing towards the opening and getting to it as Cyberdramon turned to see him.

The Ultimate watched him disappear into the opening and frowned, knowing where that passageway led. "You just entered an area of the castle that will either help or hamper you, depending on how you use it. I look forward to seeing how you pull this off."

Leomon looked around and was amazed by what he was seeing.

The room was also full of crystals, but these ones weren't glowing like the ones outside. Instead, the room was illuminated by dimly lit lights up above. The crystals weren't see through either, as Leomon realised when he stepped up to one and found himself looking at his own reflection.

He realised these crystals were designed to form a mirror maze, Leomon making his way through it and occasionally walking head first into a mirror thinking it was a passageway. "Ow." He frowned, wondering if he had made a mistake coming here. And then he saw someone appear in the mirror and spun around.

"Not a bad idea," Cyberdramon smirked. "Disorientating your opponent is a clever way to get the upper hand. But that's only if you're able to not get disoriented yourself. So, are these mirrors something you can use to your advantage. Or are they just going to confuse you?"

Leomon frowned and rushed forward, throwing a punch right into his face. But all he did was crack the crystal that had been reflecting Cyberdramon, who now really was behind him.

"Raaah!" Cyberdramon tried to kick him, but Leomon was able to pull back as the attack shattered the crystal. He staggered into a mirror, as Cyberdramon got in front of him and threw a punch. Luckily, Leomon was able to block with his sword.

In the confined space Cyberdramon couldn't fly and the pair were forced to block more than dodge or risk running into a mirror. The two fought hand to hand, Leomon took advantage of the smaller space since Leomon was more of a brawler than an agile fighter.

He eventually managed to land a hit into Cyberdramon's chest, knocking him back, but it did little to really damage him.

Leomon: 2-100%
Cyberdramon: 3-95%

Cyberdramon smirked at this, but quickly frowned before opening both hands. "Desolation Claw!" Two orbs forms in his claws that he brought together, forming a larger orb that grew more powerful. He then thrust it forward, the orb exploding into a beam that flew right at Leomon.

The champion gasped and leapt to the side, the attack hitting the mirror instead. But Leomon wasn't safe, as the crystal refracted the attack into three separate beams. One of these beams shot towards Leomon, hitting him and making him cry out.

Leomon: 2-75%
Cyberdramon: 3-95%

The other beams bounced around, hitting more crystals and splitting into more beams.

Cyberdramon had flown up and out of the beam's paths, watching as Leomon lay on the ground recovering and protecting himself from injury. The lasers bounced around and as they did, they damaged the mirrors around them. And if a laser hit an already damaged mirror, it completely broke it. As such, the maze of mirrors was eventually completely destroyed by the lasers.

When the laser destroyed a mirror, Leomon picked himself up and found the place had been completely decimated. Crystal shards were scattered all over the place, Leomon knowing he would have to be careful not to step on one. But as he looked ahead, his eyes went wide seeing a Digivolution Coin had been revealed by the crystals.

Cyberdramon had also seen this and was diving down to grab it. But Leomon punched his fist into the ground, "Fist of the Beast King!" The attack launched straight into the ground and sent out a shockwave, which threw the crystals into the air.

Cyberdramon's eyes went wide at this, as he was forced to stop and brace himself. The crystals slammed into him, making him flinch with every hit.

Leomon: 2-75%
Cyberdramon: 3-60%

Leomon rushed forward, glad his attack had cleared a path for him to run ahead and grab the coin. He smirked as the power flowed into him, whilst Cyberdramon finally got through the crystal bombardment. "Not bad. See. You're starting to think on your feet."

Leomon smirked as he stood tall. "And now I'm gonna even the score." He began to glow. "Leomon, Digivolve to..." The light bulked out, as Leomon's body became covered in something. When the light faded, Leomon was revealed to now be wearing a large suit of armor. His arms and legs were covered in spinning parts that moved so fast, wind spiralled around them. "GrapLeomon!"

Cyberdramon smirked, as GrapLeomon ran forward. He then leapt up, showing incredible jumping speed as he flew towards his fellow Ultimate. "Vortex Kick!" He spun his leg around, as the turbine around his leg spun. Lightning surged through it as he slammed the turbine into Cyberdramon, making the Dragon Man roar as he was grounded on by the electrically charged attack.

GrapLeomon: 2-75%
Cyberdramon: 3-40%

Cyberdramon was thrown to the ground, as GrapLeomon fell with him. The pair landed and GrapLeomon shot off against, showing incredible speed as he reached Cyberdramon. "Cryber Nail!" Cyberdramon slashed at GrapLeomon, making him flinch as he got in close.

GrapLeomon: 2-65%
Cyberdramon: 3-40%

GrapLeomon didn't let this attack stop him, forcing through it instead before dealing a punch right to Cyberdramon's face.

GrapLeomon: 2-65%
Cyberdramon: 3-35%

He didn't stop and punched him two more times, then slammed his turbine arms into Cyberdramon's shoulders and grinding against him at high speed. "AUGH!" Cyberdramon roared, feeling the pain as his data was whittled away.

Eventually, he knocked GrapLeomon's arms away before reaching up and kicking him away. With his armor, the Beast Man didn't take any damaged and staggered back as Cyberdramon panted.

GrapLeomon: 2-65%
Cyberdramon: 3-5%

As he did, GrapLeomon clenched his fist and pulled them back. "The King of Fists!" His turbine arm span fast and generated a bunch of electrical energy, which exploded off his arm as he punched the air and it headed straight towards Cyberdramon.

The electric lion head slammed into the Ultimate and created an explosion, knocking him backwards.

GrapLeomon: 2-65%
Cyberdramon: 3-0%

He crashed into the ground and slid along it, as GrapLeomon raced forward. But before he could get close enough, Cyberdramon exploded into the air and shot straight up. GrapLeomon tried to leap up after him, but Cyberdramon flew to the side and GrapLeomon's punch missed.

As the armored lion fell, Cyberdramon swung his arms around as the energy spheres formed. "Desolation Claw!" The spheres came together and as GrapLeomon landed, Cyberdramon thrust the attack forward and the beam exploded down towards him.

The armored lion spun around, just in time to see the attack coming. He raised his arms and spun the turbines, the laser smashing into him. He screamed at the impact, the turbines not doing anything to stop him. The next thing he knew, a massive explosion occurred and he was sent flying backwards until he smashed through a wall.

GrapLeomon: 2-30%
Cyberdramon: 2-100%

GrapLeomon flinched as he fell through the hole and found himself in midair, the Ultimate seeing he was now outside the building.

Said building had a series of discus shapes connected by a thin tube running through the entire building. He was in the second highest section and falling towards the edge of it. He slid along the saucer until he reached the edge, where he slammed his claws into the rock that made it up to slow himself down.

He managed to stop right as his lower body reached the edge, hanging over it with his legs kicking.

Panting, he did his best to pull himself up. But as he did, Cyberdramon broke out of the castle and started down at him. GrapLeomon hurried to get up and as he finally planted his feet, Cyberdramon charged at him.

GrapLeomon took up and stance and as Cyberdramon got close, her leapt forward and tackled Cyberdramon. But Cyberdramon had more momentum and the two were knocked over the edge, Cyberdramon intending to fly away as GrapLeomon fell. But the Beast Man had no intention of falling alone and grabbed Cyberdramon's wings.

This kept him from flying, the pair struggling against one another as they rolled through the air.

They eventually reached the next level and when they did, Cyberdramon was at the bottom of the pair. He slammed into the roof of the building and GrapLeomon fell upon him, making him flinch.

GrapLeomon: 2-30%
Cyberdramon: 2-80%

The two continued to struggle as they rolled down the side of the building again and like before, both fell over the edge. The plummeted again, as Cyberdramon finally freed his wings. But GrapLeomon managed to wrap his arms around his opponent's body and continued to drag them down.

The next lowest level was smaller then the one above, so they ended up missing it. Cyberdramon managed to slow them down with his wings, but still couldn't stop them.

It was at this point that Cyberdramon managed to kick GrapLeomon off of him, knocking the Beast Man away. But before he could properly spread his wings and fly, the two of them ended up crashing into the ground below the castle.

GrapLeomon: 2-20%
Cyberdramon: 2-70%

The two groaned as they pushed one another back up, GrapLeomon looking around and finding they were now in a section below the castle. This area was a round colosseum-like area made of pink rocks, with the walls of it having large pink spikes.

He pushed himself to his feet and as he did, he saw that Cyberdramon was also standing.

The Dragon Man checked his wing and when he did, he found that the crash had left it injured. He was unable to fly, leaving him unable to escape as GrapLeomon charged. "Vortex Kick!" He swung his leg around, the turbine on it spinning ready to slam his opponent.

But Cyberdramon was able to leap to the side, avoiding the kick as his claws glowed. "Cyber Nails!" He quickly slashed at GrapLeomon, knocking him backwards.

GrapLeomon: 2-5%
Cyberdramon: 2-70%

GrapLeomon staggered back, clutching his armored chest. But he wouldn't be so easily beaten, as he rushed forward at high speed. He reached Cyberdramon dealt a fast and powerful punch right to his chest, followed by four more. Cyberdramon flinched, but managed to grab GrapLeomon's arm before the sixth hit before spinning.

He let out a roar and pulled GrapLeomon forward over his shoulder, smashing him into the ground. "AUGH!"

GrapLeomon: 2-0%
Cyberdramon: 2-45%

GrapLeomon groaned as Cyberdramon walked away from him, the Ultimate having noticed something during their fight. "You're starting to get it. Using your Digimon's fighting instincts but not being overwhelmed by them. You learn fast."

GrapLeomon rolled onto his front, "thanks." He tried to push himself up, looking up at Cyberdramon. "I get I. I can't just power through. Most of my victories came from outsmarting my opponent and taking them by surprise."

"Exactly," Cyberdramon used his Cyber Nails on a rock sticking out of the ground. "Strength is worthless without a plan behind it. But sometimes, you won't have time to think. If an opponent is faster and stronger, all you can hope to do is stay alive long enough to try and make a plan. So now, I'm coming at you with everything."

"You mean you weren't already?" GrapLeomon asked, as Cyberdramon reached into the remains of the rock.

"No," he replied before holding up a Digivolution Coin. GrapLeomon's eyes widened, as the coin exploded and was absorbed into Cyberdramon. As it was, his entire body began to glow. "Cyberdramon, Mega Digivolve to..." His entire body began to change, appearing least dragonoid and more human. HIs right arm became extra long and bulky and as the light faded, it revealed a man wearing a blue and white suit. He had a red scarf around his neck and instead of a normal right arm, he had a large mechanical one that looked like it could do a lot of damage. "Justimon!"

Within GrapLeomon, Flash could hardly believe what he was seeing. As Justimon jumped up and land atop a large rock, he let out a blast of power that made Flash want to curl up with terror. This was the might of the most powerful Digimon form. This...was a Mega Level.

"Is this the first time you've ever seen a Mega?" Justimon asked, Flash nodding. "Well get used to it. As you grow stronger, you'll find yourself facing stronger and stronger opponents. If you can't handle it, then you might as well quit Codex all together." Justimon didn't give GrapLeomon time to reply, as he leapt into the air.

He was suddenly flying towards him and GrapLeomon was forced to leap back, as Justimon smashed his metal arm into the ground.

The force of the impact caused the entire area to break apart, cracks spreading throughout the battlefield. "No way!" GrapLeomon gasped, unable to believe Justimon's power could be so great.

"Impressed?" Justimon asked, raising his metal arm. "You haven't seen anything yet. Trinity Arm, Accel!" Suddenly, his arm glowed and transformed. Soon, it was twice as long as had three large metal fingers on the end of it.

GrapLeomon knew something big was happening and sure enough, the metal arm began to spark. "Thunder Clap!" He slammed the ground again, creating a powerful shockwave that exploded out in all directions.

GrapLeomon gasped and attempted to escape, but the blast slammed into him. He cried out as he was blasted backwards, the electrical energy flowing through him and causing his body to start overloading. He hit the ground, sliding along it as his body kept sparking.

GrapLeomon: 1-80%
Justimon: 2-45%

Justimon chuckled as he pulled his large arm back up and charged, GrapLeomon forcing himself back up whilst his armor kept sparking. And as Justimon got close enough, he swung his Accel Arm around to try and slam into him with an electrified slap.

GrapLeomon barely managed to dodge this and rolled to the side, Justimon swinging his arm around again. This time, GrapLeomon raised his arm and block the attack before spinning his turbine and grinding at the mechanical arm.

GrapLeomon: 1-80%
Justimon: 2-40%

Justimon pulled the arm back after a second and as he did, it glowed. "Trinity Arm, Critical!" The arm transformed again, this time becoming a large metal case-like object. Instead of a hand, the end had an opening where a pink energy blade shot out.

GrapLeomon knew this weapon was likely as strong as the last one, so he had to stop him before he could do anything. "The King of Fists!" He spun his turbine arm, generating as much power as he could, then punched the air and sent a bunch of energy blasts flying towards Justimon.

"Voltage Blade!" The energy sword extended and he swung it around, slicing the energy blasts in half as he rushed towards GrapLeomon. He then swung it at the Beast Man, GrapLeomon raising his arms to try and defend. But the blade cut into the turbines and made him cry out.

GrapLeomon: 1-55%
Justimon: 2-40%

Justimon pulled his blade back and tried to slash again, but GrapLeomon managed to leap back. As he did, he looked down at his arms and saw the turbines were completely destroyed. "Not good."

"Trinity Arm!" Justimon cried, his blade transforming again. "Blitz!" The arm reverted back to its original form and he leapt up, "Justice Burst!" He thrust his arm forward and a sphere of electrical energy exploded out of his hand, flying straight towards GrapLeomon.

He gasped and attempted to escape, dodging the first one but the second and third both made contact. "AUGH!"

GrapLeomon: 1-15%
Justimon: 2-40%

Justimon landed with the superhero landing, whilst GrapLemon fell to the ground. The Ultimate Level groaned as the electrical energy surged through him. "Now do you get it? When you're up against a stronger opponent, their power can overwhelm you."

"Yeah," GrapLeomon nodded, "I get it. I can't think straight whilst trying to keep myself from being blasted. It's too much." He pushed himself up, "what do I do?"

"Parallel processing," Justimon explained. "It's not easy and requires lots of experience. You need to learn to split your focus between battle and your plan. It's just like driving a car." Flash was confused by this. "People aren't born knowing how to drive. They have to learn it step by step. Then they have to learn how to do all those steps at once. They have to focus on where they're driving to, what's around them that they need to avoid and how fast they're going, all the while controlling the machine. That is parallel processing."

"I get it," GrapLeomon nodded. "Alright," he began to rush forward, "then that's what I'll learn."

Justimon chuckled. "Like I said, it's not something you can just do." He charged, "it takes time and careful training!" The pair charged at one another and their metal fists pulled back as they got in close.

They both let out a mighty roar, as they threw their fists forward and collided. The force of the impact sent out a shockwave, causing the damaged ground around them to break apart even more. And as they pushed against one another, Justimon suddenly pulled back and swung around.

"Augh!" GrapLeomon found his face getting smashed in by Justimon's foot, which knocked him backwards.

GrapLeomon: 1-0%
Justimon: 2-40%

GrapLeomon fell to the ground and as he did, Justimon prepared to end the fight. "You have a lot of potential and you clearly want to get better." GrapLeomon pushed himself up to his feet, as Justimon charged. "I look forward to facing you again when you've grown!"

"Raaah!" GrapLeomon smashed his arms into the ground and caused several rocks to fly into the air, Justimon smashing right through them.

GrapLeomon: 1-0%
Justimon: 2-25%

But this didn't even slow him down as he approached GrapLeomon, who wasn't willing to let this end. "But that's not gonna be for a very long time!" Justimon leapt up as GrapLeomon prepared to charge, surprising him as Justimon spun through the air. "Don't keep me waiting long!" With that, he thrust his foot forward as it glowed and he shot down towards him like a bullet. "Justice Kick!"

GrapLeomon's eyes went wide, Justimon moving too fast for him to dodge or avoid. It felt like he was frozen, as the attack smashed into his chest. "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared as the impact knocked him backwards, his entire body exploding into nothing.

Flash hit the ground and groaned as Justimon leapt back, looking like he was floating as he slowly fell back towards the ground. As he did, the battlefield around them began to change back to the dome. The castle above them vanished and as soon as his feet touched the ground, Justimon reverted back to human.

Shining Armor smirked as he removed his Digivice from the podium, Monodramon appearing next to him. The Rookie smirked, "don't you think you overdid it a little at the end?"

Shining smiled, "he can handle it." He looked back towards Flash, "right kid?"

Flash groaned as he pushed himself back to his feet. "Yeah," he nodded, "it'll take more than...a very painful defeat to beat me." He rubbed his chest, feeling a little sore despite his armor taking most of the damage. "Thanks. I think I learned a lot during that fight."

"We'll have to see," Shining nodded. "Learning this stuff is only half the battle. It's easy to remember it all when you're just standing there, with time to think. It's another to remember it when fireballs are being thrown at you and you have to avoid falling into pits of lava."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not just a random thing you pointed out?" Flash asked, picking up his Digivice. "Out of curiosity, you've lost battles before, right?"

"More than you could believe," Shining nodded. "I might be one of the strongest players in this game, but I started out the same as you. Worse, in fact. I didn't have others helping me learn this stuff. I had to figure it out the hard way."

Monodramon nodded. "I've lost count of how many times we almost got deleted in the Digital World. It's kind of a miracle we're still standing here right now. But we kept fighting and stuck together, no matter what."

Shining smiled, "you've come a long way since coming to the Digital World. Losing Veemon is an obstacle that'll make or break you. If you can get him back, you'll have new strength you never thought you could. Because now, you'll have learned more that the two of you can use together. But if you can't get him back, this may be as far as you go."

Flash frowned, "I'll get him back. No matter what. I won't let Jet keep using him like that."

Shining nodded, a smirk appearing on his face. "Then maybe this might help." He tapped his Digivice several times and as he did, Flash got a message on his Digivice.

He opened it up and found a trio of scans, his eyes going wide seeing them. He looked up at Shining, shocked by this sight. "You...you can't..."

Shining smirked, "I bet those will get Jet's attention." He turned to leave, "don't you go losing them. I expect to get them back when you help Veemon." With that, he headed out of the room. Monodramon waved at Flash before following Shining out, Flash staring at the three scans in absolute shock.

He could hardly believe what he was seeing, but smirked either way.

However, he knew just having these wouldn't guarantee victory. Jet was sneaky and Flash had to be ready. He would need to learn everything there was about being these forms, along with trying to learn to use everything Shining had taught him. As such, he placed his Digivice into the podium and the Beta-Stadium brought up a bunch of different options Flash could do.

He could battle a deck in the system's database, or fight against one of his own decks. Or he could simply be on his own and explore the location he picked.

Eventually, he selected the final option. He would learn everything there was to know about his Digimon form before using it in a fight, then switch to fighting one of the system's decks. As such, he quickly started making a new deck with his borrowed scans and after determining which Battle Gear was best to face off against Jet, he opened his location scans.

He knew there was a chance he wouldn't be able to pick the location. But if there was a chance he would be given that option, he knew he had to know the battlefield inside and out. And he knew which location he wanted to use. "Let's get digital!"

Gennai was watching as Flash began his training.

The Codex Commander was in a small dark room, sitting in a large comfy chair and watching as the teen appeared in the battlefield. He then switched the screen to show Jet, who was once again offering a scan of Veemon in exchange for a rare scan of his own.

He sighed before an alert popped up, the Codex Commander accepting it and finding it was a summons.

He got up and moved towards the back of the room, where a single door was waiting. Opening it up, he found the door frame was full of light. And when he stepped through it, he found himself appearing in a rather different room. This one was a large blue void, where five other individuals were waiting. In the middle of that void was a sphere of blue light, which had a bunch of data flowing into the top and out the bottom.

The five other individuals were all wearing the same hooded robes he was, the lot pulling down their hoods to reveal that they all looked identical to Gennai.

"Good," one of them stated in an American accent, "you're here." Gennai nodded as the six of them all floated up to the orb, each one standing atop a small clear platform. "Now that we've all assembled, it's time we discussed the situation that has occurred in Codex and shaken every player to the core."

"You're talking about the recent Ante-Battle?" Another replied sounding Chinese, the American one nodding.

"We should have never allowed Ante-Battles to be possible," another stated with a Russian accent. "It's bad enough having the players gamble with one another. But this has allowed a Digimon Partner to be taken away. The partner system is the most important part of Codex. Allowing them to be taken has undermined everything Codex was created to build."

"Agreed," one of the Gennai with a Mexican accident nodded. "The one who took this partner is treating him like a pet, locking him away and just scanning him to trade with other players. It's sickening."

"What do we do?" One asked, sounding like they had a mix of French and Spanish in their accent. "We can't take the partner away from him."

"It's clear what has to be done," Gennai announced. "We have to allow Flash to take Veemon back from Jet."

"How?" The American asked. "You sound like you want us to give him an unfair advantage."

Gennai shook his head. "No, but Flash is training hard to take his partner back. I'm sure the next time he and Jet face off against one another, he'll take Veemon back. And after that, we're going to make sure something like this never happens again."

"How?" The Mexican one asked.

"By making sure Partner Digimon can't be taken in an Ante-Battle. It should never have been possible from the start. And we're going to make sure it never happens again, after Flash gets his partner back. Let's get to work on updating the system." They all nodded and as they did, holographic screens appeared in front of them and they started tying away at them.

As they did, Gennai was thinking about Flash's upcoming battle against Jet. One of the reasons the fight had gone so bad for him was because Jet had known the area so well. And watching Flash's training, he knew Flash was hoping to use the same technique against Jet. Maybe Gennai could help with that.

The next day.

Twilight and all her friends were back in Codex, Twilight frowning as she looked around and saw no sign of Flash. She had hoped her little speech to him the previous day might have sparked his drive to recover his friend. But, it appeared Flash had no intention of saving Veemon.

As she and the others made their way into the foyer, they spotted Jet laughing as he watched someone get their butt handed to them in the arena.

They hated that he was having such a great time, whilst Flash and Veemon were both suffering. They were all tempted to rush over there and beat the living snot out of him, consequences be damned. But before they could, a voice called out to him.

"JET SET!" Every head there turned towards the voice, amazed when they saw Flash Sentry marching towards the cafe.

Jet slowly turned to him and smiled. "Well, well, well." He stood up, "I was wondering when you'd show your face again. What can I do for you? Come to beg for your partner back?"

"No," Flash shook his head, "I've come to win him back." He pointed at Jet, "I challenge you to an Ante-Battle!" Everyone smiled, turning to Jet hoping he would accept. But the teen smirked.

"I don't see why I should. You have nothing worth betting my Veemon against." Everyone who heard this booed and called him a coward, as Flash stepped forward and took out his Digivice.

"But I do." He swung his Digivice around and as he did, three transparent boxes appeared. "If I win, I get Veemon. But if you win, you can have all three of these Digimon." Jet turned towards the boxes and his eyes went wide, along with everyone else in the foyer.

Instead these boxes, were scans of three Digimon everyone knew were incredibly rare. Monodramon, Strikedramon and Cyberdramon. The ace Digimon of Codex's best player.

"Where did you get those?" Jet asked, staring at the three scans with amazement and desire.

"Doesn't matter," Flash smirked. "All that matters is, they're yours if you agree to an Ante-Battle." Everyone glanced back at Jet, seeing the mental debate he was likely having on his face. But after a minute or so, he let out a greedy cry.

"Fine!" He cried, "my Veemon for your three scans. You're on." Flash smirked as the others cheered, excited to see the rematch from the two's previous battle. And hopefully, this time the result would be one they would all be happy with.

Author's Note

Flash may have lost, but he's learned everything he needs in order to get Veemon back. Will he succeed? Only time will tell.

Dark Waves Rising

To say Flash and his friends were worried would be an understatement.

Things had seemed so great before. They had been enjoying a day at the beach with their friends, unwinding after all the insane situations they had found themselves in recently. But then, their friends had started disappearing one after another. And eventually, they discovered the beach they were one was actually connected to another world entirely.

And now, after almost drowning, they had found themselves in that world.

The place was lacking any form of light or colour, with even the lighthouse giving off a dark blue beam that spun around.

The Digidestined and their partners had escaped from the ocean portal that had brought them there, thanks in no small part to a crystal necklace Flash had gotten from a Digimon named Jijimon. And now, they were inside this world of darkness, attempting to find the rest of their friends.

"This place is kind of scary." Lunamon was walking close to Trixie, as they made their way along a beach. "Any idea where we are?"

"Another world," Flash told them. "One that's full of nothing but darkness. At least, that's what Jijimon told us." Micro and their Digimon nodded.

"This place is almost the opposite of the Digital World," Tentomon stated. "And it's dangerous to be in here. We have to get out."

"How?" Sandal asked. "If you're saying we have to go back into that water, you're crazy." Flash had to admit, going back into the ocean wasn't something he wanted to try either.

The ocean had sapped all their strength and even forced Veemon and Lunamon to De-Digivolve. If it hadn't been for Jijimon's crystal, they might have never escaped.

Flash then sensed something and reached down to grab the crystal around his neck. He held it up and could feel a strong warmth coming from it. As he did, the crystal unleashed a bright light that flew forwards. That light suddenly stopped and spread out, forming a tear of some kind that seemed to split the dimension apart.

Everyone staggered back and was shocked to see that through this tear, they could see the Digital World in all its glory. It was the beach this had all started on.

They stared at the tear and were amazed by what they saw. "Is that home?" Lunamon asked, stepping forward. The others smiled, realising they had a way to escape from this terrible place.

Trixie, Lunamon and Mangoramon stepped forward, about to leap through it. But then they stopped and looked back at the others. "What's wrong?" Trixie asked, "let's get out of here."

"We can't," Flash told her. He held the crystal and it was as if some kind of understanding dawned on him. "This gem can get us out of here, but it won't be able to get us back in. If we leave, the only way back will be through the water again."

"We need to find Shining and the others," Micro nodded. "They're here somewhere and we need to find them." They all nodded and stepped away from the portal, which closed up as they did. Hopefully, that wasn't the only time it could do that.

"So what do we do?" Sandal asked, "how do we find them?"

"That's a good question," Flash sighed. He looked around but the place was so dark and fog filled, it was almost impossible to see anything and figure out how big the place was. "I guess the only thing we can do is...look around." They marched up the beach towards the mainland and as they did, they thought about everything that had happened to them.

"Any idea what those creatures that attacked us were?" Trixie's question made them all frown, as they remembered the Digimon that had been swimming through the water when they fell in. If the crystal hadn't saved them, there was no telling what they might have done to them.

"It was too dark in the water to really get a good look at them," Tentomon stated. "And I'd rather live with the mystery instead of running into them again." They couldn't agree more and simply focused on finding their friends. But they quickly found themselves running into a roadblock, that being a giant wall right in front of them.

The area of the beach they were on, had a twenty meter cliff overlooking it. They weren't sure what could be at the top and their Digimon were all still drained from being pulled into the water, so Digivolving just to get up a cliff would be a waste of energy.

As such, they decided to keep walking along the beach in search of their friends.

As they did, Trixie shuddered. "Anyone else still freezing cold?" They all nodded, the group looking themselves over. They were all still wearing their beachwear and were still soaked from their dip in the water.

"There's no wind to dry us off," Micro held up his finger to feel the air was absolutely still. "And there's no sun to warm us up. I wonder if digital beings can catch hypothermia?"

"I'd rather not stick around long enough to find out," Flash told him as they kept walking.

They then found the cliff began to curve around towards the water, making them fear that it went out into the ocean. But as they followed it, they found the cliff came to a stop a few feet away from the water's edge and was like a giant arrow head.

They looked around the tip of the cliff and found more beach as far as the eye could see, which wasn't very far due to the fog, the eight quickly making their way around it whilst keeping an eye on the water. And as they did, they found themselves coming across a large tunnel entrance.

Said tunnel appeared like the ones trains would use, which went deep into the side of the cliff and had no lights to show them what was in there.

Everyone got a sinking feeling as they looked inside the tunnel, wishing they had a flashlight or something that could illuminate it. They felt like any moment, something would leap out of the cave and attack them.

"I'm not going in there," Trixie told them. The others agreed and all backed away, though they were a little worried their friends might have been dragged inside there.

It was in that moment that the water beside them began to shift and move.

Mangoramon was the first to hear it, the plant Digimon turning to it and seeing a bunch of red eyes in the water. "Look!" They all turned to see them and quickly jumped away from the water, the Digimon standing protectively in front of their partners.

"Who are you?" Flash called out. "Show yourselves!" Slowly, the creatures began to step out of the water. As they did, they were finally able to take a better look at them. And as they did, they couldn't help but feel like they had seen these Digimon before.

"Divermon?" Micro asked, seeing the almost ambitious form they had.

But there were several differences between these Divermon and the ones they had seen before. These ones were without any colour, with only their red glowing eyes looking at all vibrant. Plus, they weren't carrying the scuba gear Divermon where known for having. Their bodies also appeared to have stitches running through them.

The Divermon stepped up onto land and as they did, something started happening. Their bodies started turning to more shadowy forms, as they grew taller with lankier arms and legs.

"What's going on?" Trixie asked the others, as one of the Divermon walked towards them.

"You will come with us!" He wasn't asking. He was demanding.

"Yeah, no thanks!" Flash took out his Digivice. "The only place we're going is home, once we find our friends."

"Your friends are with us," a Divermon told them. "We'll take you to them." Those words put everyone one edge, but they refused to let it scare them.

"Then bring them to us," Trixie cried. "And they better be unharmed." The Divermon drew closer, the eight all feeling like they had no intention of bringing their friends to them.

Flash was about to make Veemon Digivolve, but something happened first. The crystal around his neck started glowing, making them all look down as the light it gave off spread out. And when it touched the Divermon, they all cried out in pain and backed off.

"They hate the light?" Micro asked.

"No surprise," Tentomon stated. "If this is their home, they're probably not used to bright light. They're basically vampires." The Divermon staggered back to the water and as they did, they let out cries and noise of some kind.

"What is that?" Sandal covered his ears, the noise being quite loud and sounding almost like a dial up modem mixed with a fog horn and TV static. They were all getting headaches listening to it. When the noise finally ended, they stared at the Divermon like they were nuts. But then, they felt something.

A presence. An aura that was coming from beneath the waves of the ocean. Something was coming. Something big.

"Master!" Divermon cried out, "help us! Squash this light!" And sure enough, something exploded out from the water and began to tower above them all.

It was a massive Digimon, halfway between a Therizinomon and Nidhoggmon in size.

Its form was a giant octopus-shaped head with a large mass of tentacles below it, twisted around one another to form a body, arms and legs. Chains, belts and gold bands were used to keep them together, whilst a necklace of beads around its neck. It had two dragonic wings that looked too small to allow flight, whilst its head had red markings on it along with having a massive lower jaw. On its back, between its wings, was a massive trident.

Everyone stared at the monstrous creature and could barely believe it. They had seen larger and stronger Digimon before, but something about this one trumped them all in terror.

"What is that thing?" Lunamon asked, as the creature slowly began to move close through the water.

"Whatever it is," Flash held up his Digivice. "We can't let it get us! Veemon, time to Digivolve!" Veemon nodded and the device unleashed a bright light. But as it cocooned around Veemon, the giant squid-like monster unleashed a roar and a wave of cold energy swept over the beach.

"Veemon, Digivolve to..." The wave struck the cocoon and suddenly, it shattered and Veemon fell back to the ground. "Ow...Veemon?" He looked himself over, shocked his Digivolution had stopped. "What the heck?"

"Huh?" Flash asked, as Sandal held up his Digivice.

"Go, bro!" The light exploded out of the device and around his partner.

"Mangoramon, Digivolve to..." But then the cocoon exploded off of him and he was still his Rookie form. "Mangoramon?" He also fell to the ground, horrified to not be his Champion form.

"My turn!" Tentomon yelled, as Micro help up his Digivice and unleashed the light. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon exploded off of him and he hadn't changed a bit. "Kabu...never mind."

"What's going on?" Micro asked, as the Divermon all laughed.

"You fools," one stated. "Our lord Dagomon rules this world. So long as he commands something, it will be so. And he commands no Digivolving to your next Level."

Everyone was horrified by this, as Dagomon and the Divermon all drew closer to them. "Um..." Trixie looked at the others, "what do we do?"

"The only thing we can do," Flash realised. "RUN!" They turned and began to leg it, the Divermon roaring at them to come back. But they didn't and ran up the beach, towards the mainland. Dagomon let out another bizarre sound and thrust its hands towards them, the tentacles that made them up shooting forwards in an attempt to grab them.

The Digimon considered firing at them, but knew their attacks wouldn't even scratch the beast. All they could do, was continue to run and pray the tendrils didn't catch up. And to their relief, they managed to reach the edge of the beach and found the tentacles no longer following them.

They then found themselves coming across a large fence, which seemed to run the entire length of the ground before the beach. Luckily, there was an opening in the fence and they rushed into it. But as they did, they found themselves in a large fenced maze.

They came to a stop to catch their breath, all panting in exhaustion as they tried to figure out what to do next. As it turned out, Dagomon and the Divermon had chosen not to follow them. Why was a mystery, but they weren't ones to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Okay," Flash sighed, "let's review. We're in another dimension, our friends are being held prisoner and a giant sea demon has somehow blocked our Digimon from Digivolving to Champion and probably Armor. Did I miss anything?"

"Only that we're totally screwed!" Trixie cried, the others feeling just as worried.

"How are we supposed to fight like this?" Veemon asked, nobody having any idea. Flash could tell they were all starting to worry and knew he had to do something.

"We're not screwed yet," Flash told them. "We just have to find the others and get them out of here before those things show up again."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Micro asked, Flash thinking as he took out his Digivice. Then, an idea popped into his head.

"We know our friends are in this world, so we just have to track them down." He brought up his friends list and hoped it would work. And sure enough, "yes!" He showed them his Digivice and they all saw a dot on it. "Twilight's Digivice. She had it when she was pulled in here. Which means we can follow it." His friends smiled and they all began to make their way through the maze, following the dot as it lead them towards the location of Twilight's Digivice.

Whether or not Twilight's Digivice was with Twilight, they wanted to hope was yes.

"I wonder what those things even want with our friends?" Sandal asked, with everyone frowning at the many possible thoughts that might be happening to them right now.

"You think they wanna eat them?" Trixie asked.

"The Divermon maybe," Micro gulped. "But that giant Digimon would barely make a snack out of them. Besides, I don't think Digimon eat humans."

"Are we even sure those things are Digimon?" Flash asked. "We're not in the Digital World anymore, so would those things still be classed as Digital Monsters?"

"Good question," Tentomon nodded. "If this dimension is Digital, I guess it's still possible. But if we've somehow appeared in a non Digital dimension, I'm not sure."

"It felt like a Digimon," Veemon told them. "But it didn't feel exactly like one. It was weird." They all gulped, fearing what might happen if they stayed too long in this nightmare realm.

"Humanoid fish creatures," Micro hummed. "Capturing humans and worshipping some kind of demonic sea god. I think I saw a movie about that once."

"Really?" Flash was surprised by this.

"Yeah. It was a mashup of two old horror novels, written by that really messed up author. I can't remember his name, but this is giving me serious deja vu."

"How's the movie end?" Sandal asked. "What did they want to captured humans for?" Micro thought about it and suddenly went very pale, making his friends realize it probably wasn't something pleasant.

"You don't wanna know." That just spurred them on to find their friends faster, the group continuing to follow the signal as it got closer.

"Looks like they're on the beach somewhere," Flash told them. This didn't sit comfortably with them, since it could mean running into those Digimon again. But they had to risk it.

Finding an exit to the maze along the beach, they carefully looked out and saw no sign of the Divermon or the giant eltrich beast. Flash gestured for them to hurry and they rushed out across the beach, making their way along it towards the spot on the Digivice.

"They're not too far now." Flash looked worried, fearing they might just find a pile of Digivices and nothing else.

It was then that they spotted something further up. A bunch of rocks, sticking out of the sand, all looking like half-buried eggs made out of a black substance.

Flash checked his Digivice and sure enough, the signal was coming from those rocks. "Oh, I don't like the look of this!" He rushed forward, the others following his lead. And as he got closer, he saw that whatever the eggs were made out of was some kind of see through material.

And then, Flash saw the closest one had a humanoid form inside of it.

"No," he whispered at the sight of who it was. "Applejack!" It was the cowgirl, wearing the swimsuit and hat she had had on when she went missing. She was sealed inside the rock and it was acting like some kind of cocoon, the girl being completely unconscious within the rock. And she wasn't the only one.

Labramon was inside another rock beside her, with Rarity, Salamon, Thorax and Grubmon around her.

The rest of their friends were there too, all encased in black rocks and also unconscious. And it wasn't just them. There were other Digimon there as well, mostly aquatic Digimon, who were all trapped and unconscious just like their friends.

Flash soon found Twilight and Shining, the two side by side, their Digimon near them in the same state. When he placed his hand on the rocks, he noticed something about them. The bottom part of the eggs weren't as transparent as the rest of it, their legs and feet clouded from view.

When Flash looked down at their legs, he realised it wasn't the rock clouding his vision. There was some kind of dark shadowy cloud, filling the egg. Shining's egg had more of it inside, but Twilight's wasn't far behind. When Flash checked the others, he found they were all had the same dark cloud inside of them.

"What's it doing to them?" Trixie asked.

"I don't know," Flash stepped back. "But I'm not just gonna stand here and let whatever it is happen. Veemon," he pointed at the rock, "break it open!" Veemon nodded and took several steps back, then charged at Shining's cocoon.

"VEE-HEADBUTT!" He smashed into the rock, but bounced off it without doing a scratch. He fell to his feet and staggered around, his eyes becoming swirls. "Too much V, not enough headbutt." He fell to the ground, Flash rushing to his side as the other Digimon tried their hands at it.

"Super Shocker!"

"Bloom-Arang!"

"Luna Claw!" They attacked different cocoons, but nothing happened. "Whatever these things are, they're tough." Lunamon rubbed her aching claws, as splashing sounds filled the air and they looked around to see the creatures from before appear again.

"Get back!" Flash held up his crystal and the beasts hissed at the light, staggering back into the surf. "Now I want some answers. What are you doing to our friends!?"

"They are to join us," one of the Divermon stated. "They will become like us."

"What are you talking about?" Micro asked. "What the heck even are you?"

"We were once like you," the Divermon replied. "We lived in the Digital World and swam in the ocean. We lived carefree lives. But then, we fell through a portal and found ourselves in these dark waters. We tried to find our way out, but the portal closed before we could escape. We were trapped here."

"So you guys were victims of this place too?" Sandal asked, the Divermon nodding.

"We were trapped here for so long, the dark power that makes it up altered us into what we are now. And one day, another portal opened up and we could return to the Digital World. But when we did, it was like acid to us."

Micro frowned. "I get it. They were altered by this world and became creatures of this world. So if they leave it, they can't survive."

"What does that have to do with our friends?" Trixie asked, Divermon hissing.

"We hate this world. We wish to leave it forever, but we can't! Our only hope is to make our old world more like this one. And our master promised to make that happen. Once we have more soldiers, we will invade the Digital World and make it a place where even we can live."

Their eyes went wide as they realised what the Divermon were doing. "You're gonna make Twilight and the others like you?" Flash glared at them, "that's evil!"

"We're only doing what we must. When they are like us, they will be willing to help us take over the Digital World. We can make it like this world and finally leave this hellish place."

"I don't think you've thought this plan of yours through," Micro told him. "If you make the Digital World like this world, you'll still be miserable there. The only difference is everyone else will be miserable as well."

The Divermon all roared as they ran out the water. "A partly corrupted world is better than this one. We will return to our home and make it fit for us to live!" As he said that, the water behind them exploded.

Everyone staggered back, as Dagomon appeared out of the water. The giant beast rose from the surf and roared, the Divermon appearing to understand this and charging at them.

Flash held up the crystal, but Dagomon roared and unleashed a wave of darkness. When it washed over them, the crystal's light began to vanish. "No way!" Flash gasped, as the Divermon leapt towards them.

The Digimon charged forward as well, whilst their partners tried to Digivolve them. But it was no use, as Dagomon once again unleashed a wave of darkness that prevented them from Digivolving.

"This is bad!" Sandal gulped, as Mangoramon was grabbed by the chest and slammed into the ground. Tentomon tried to zap the Divermon, but they dodged before taking out some harpoons and throwing them at him.

"Augh!" He was hit in the chest and knocked to the ground, several Divermon dog-piling on top of him whilst Lunamon ran around tried to hit the Divermon with water. But the Divermon deflected the attack with one kicking her in the chest.

"Vee-Shot!" Veemon threw the energy sphere at a Divermon and the explosion knocked it back, but another quickly took its place and tackled him to the ground.

Digimon incapacitated, the other Divermon moved towards the humans and looked ready to take them down. The four all realised that any moment, they were gonna be trapped inside the same cocoons as their friends. "Stay back!" Flash cried, but the Divermon weren't scared.

Things didn't look good for them. They were in a dire situation and nothing appeared to be coming to save them. Or so it seemed.

It was in that moment that the crystal around Flash's neck, suddenly started glowing.

"Huh?" He looked down at the gem, as the light shot off it and hit the air. This created a tear made of light, making Dagomon hiss due to the light filling his eyes. And from that tear, something fell out of it and floated down to the ground. "Jijimon?" The Mega Level Digimon stood there, using its staff as a cane as he landed on the beach.

"Howdy," he waved, "I see you kids managed to get yourself in quite the pickle."

The Divermon stared at him, whilst Dagomon didn't look happy. The next thing they all knew, Jijimon turned into a blur that shot past them all. When he did, the Divermon were thrown away from their victims and splashed back into the water.

"What are you doing here?" Micro asked.

"Saving you, obviously." He then spotted the cocoons and frowned, "looks like Dagomon's up to his old tricks. My fault. If I hadn't fallen down and hurt my back, I would have been able to seal the breach before he could do anything." He looked up at Dagomon and sighed. "You never learn, do you?" The beast let out a bunch of noises and sounds, that the others still couldn't understand. "I don't care what you believe."

"He can understand all that?" Trixie asked.

"He is a caveman," Sandal pointed out. "Maybe he speaks beast."

Micro suddenly remembered reading something and based on Dagomon's apparent design, that could be it. "Or maybe Dagomon's language is so advanced, our limited minds can only comprehend them as growls and roars."

"Dagomon!" Jijimon announced, "you will release these poor souls and allow us to return to our world. I will not allow you to do more harm than you already have. Balance must be kept." The Digimon replied, with only Jijimon able to understand it. "If you don't, then you leave me no choice." He looked back at the others, "I'd step back if I were you." They all moved backwards, wondering what was gonna happen.

"Jijimon!" Flash cried, "you really think you can take that guy? You might be a Mega, but he's more than ten times your size!"

Jijimon laughed, "let me show you why I've been able to keep the Dark Ocean from invading until now." With that, he stamped his staff into the ground as he started glowing. "Time to get...supersized!" Suddenly, his body and staff began to grow larger and larger.

"WOW!" Everyone cried out, as they watched Jijimon eventually match Dagomon in size. "Did you guys know he could do that?" Veemon asked, everyone else shaking their heads.

"OH YEAH!" The massive Jijimon announced. "NOW WE'RE PLAYING HARD BALL!" He started running forward, jumping into the water that barely covered his feet. He and Dagomon began their fight, Jijimon swinging his staff around

Dagomon staggered backwards, avoiding the pawed fist on the end of the stick before swinging his tentacle arm around. But Jijimon was about to avoid the attack before his fist glowed. "Gentle Punch!" He threw it into Dagomon's face and it was anything but gentle.

Dagomon was knocked backwards and as it was, it reached back and grabbed the trident off its back.

"Oh, you wanna duel with weapons now?" Dagomon thrust his fork at the Mega Level, but Jijimon simple blocked it with his staff. Dagomon kept thrusting at him, but again and again Jijimon blocked. Dagomon then tries to swing it at Jijimon, but the caveman ducked under the attack and thrust the end of his staff into his chest.

Dagomon staggered back again and Jijimon laughed, the squid-like creature quickly diving into the water as Jijimon kept his guard up.

"Marco," he stated, "polo. Marco...polo. Marco..." Tentacles suddenly shot out of the water to his left and grabbed him around the arms and leg, making him grunt as they tried to pull him deeper into the water. "Gyah!" He struggled against them, the tentacles proving quite the formidable foe.

It was then that the trident flew out and attempted to stab him again. But he was able to dodge it and as the trident was pulled back into the water, Jijimon raised his staff as the paw spots began to glow.

"Last chance!" He cried, as the light grew larger. "Let us leave or I end this!" But the tentacles continued to hold him tightly. "Very well. Hung on Death!" The paw unleashed a blast of light from each spot, which flew down into the water and caused it to boil upon contact.

The tentacles pulled away, Jijimon attempting to blast them with the heat of the lasers. But at the last moment, the trident shot out and hit him in the side.

"Augh!" He staggered back, clutching his side as data began to leak out of the gash in it. This stopped his attack and Dagomon exploded out of the water, attempt to constrict him by wrapping his tentacles around Jijimon's neck.

But Jijimon wasn't letting Dagomon beat him, quickly grabbing the tentacles before they could get a good enough grasp on him. He started spinning around and pulling Dagomon around, the movement causing waves to fly towards the beach.

"Move!" Flash told his friends, who rushed up the beach so that the large wave would crash down upon them and pull them under the water. They didn't want a repeat of what had almost happened when they first arrived in this accursed land. And with the crystal powered down, they weren't sure it could save them again.

Jijimon glanced back at this and nodded before using his staff to punch Degomon in the chest, knocking it backwards. He then raised his staff and prepared to fire another blast towards him, one that would hopefully destroy him. But Dagomon had also noticed the eight on the beach and seemed to realise something, the Ultimate Level Digimon raising one of its tentacles before swinging it around and slamming it into the water.

This sent a powerful force into the water and pushed it towards the beach, creating a tsunami that threatened to flatten everything on it. The Divermon saw this and rushed back into the water, diving under it to avoid getting crushed. Flash and his friends all gasped and were about to run, but then they realised the cocoons would also be hit by the wave.

None of them had any idea what that would do to their friends and they soon found themselves in a catch twenty-two. Save themselves and possible lose their friends, or stay there and hope the crystal's power would be enough to protect them all.

"Hang on!" Jijimon rushed over and threw his staff towards the beach. It shot over the wave and crashed into the beach in front of the humans and their Digimon, morphing into a giant wave shield that the water crashed into.

The water slammed into the beach and around the staff's fist top, Flash and his friends hiding behind it and praying the impact wouldn't knock it over. But the staff managed to protect them and the cocoons from the wave, the water pooling around their feet but quickly pulling back into the ocean.

They all smiled, but then they heard something that made their heart's sink. "GYAAAAAH!" They rushed around the staff's hand and saw Jijimon, with Dagomon's trident sticking out of his chest.

Dagomon roared something as he pulled his staff out of Jijimon's chest before spinning around and smacking his tentacles into the wounds. Jijimon was knocked flying backwards and as he was, he began to shrink back down. "JIJIMON!"

The Mega Level slammed into the beach, its body now back to its normal size whilst the holes in his chest began to grow larger.

They all rushed over and gathered around him, seeing the growing injury whilst the Divermon laughed as they rose out of the ocean. "Hang on!" Micro cried, the lot trying to see if they had a HP Capsule or some other way to save him.

"No," Jijimon told them, "it's too late. Don't waste your efforts on me."

"But we can't just let you die!" Flash cried, "you saved us. You're the only one who can stop Dagomon. You can't let it end like this."

"I'm not the only one who can stop Dagomon," Jijimon stated. "You eight can defeat him, so long as you believe you can." As he said that, Dagomon stared down at them and looked ready to attack again. But before he could, Jijimon reached up and grabbed the crystal around Flash's neck.

The necklace unleashed a powerful blast of light, which flew up and struck Dagomon.

The beast roared as the light formed some kind of barrier around him, preventing him from attacking. "That won't hold him for long. You need to defeat him, so the crystal's full power can be unleashed and save your friends." He coughed, as more of his body began to dissolve.

"But how?" Veemon asked, "we can't even Digivolve. How are we supposed to win when we're stuck as Rookies?"

"The Dark Ocean's power is fuelled by doubt. The more you doubt you can win, the more power it has over you. You must believe you can win, even if things look impossible." Most of his body had disappeared. "Believe in yourselves, like how I believe in you." His arms and legs were now beginning to fade away. "Save your friends. You can do it. You just have to believe."

With that, his entire body disappeared into digital dust. As it did, the crystal began to glow and a small light appeared above them. A light that the dust flew into.

They all watched this happen and couldn't help but start crying. But as they did, the light around Dagomon started breaking and the eltrich Digimon was pulling itself free.

Flash heard this and knew Jijimon was right. They had to fight and save their friends. "Guys," he stood up, "you all ready?" They nodded, wanting to get payback for their fallen friend and save the ones they could still help.

In the water, the Divermon creatures watched and laughed. "How can you hope to fight against our lord? He is the most powerful Digimon in this world and you can't Digivolve. What makes you think you can win?"

"Because we believe we can," Flash told them as the others stepped up besides him.

"We believe in Jijimon's words," Micro continued.

"We believe in our Digimon partners," Sandal stated.

"And we believe in ourselves!" Trixie finished. Their Digimon stepped forward, as Flash held up his Digivice.

"So what if we can't Digivolve to Champion or Armor? We'll find a way!" As he said that, Dagomon shattered the barrier containing him. He roared something they couldn't understand, Flash smirking. "Yeah, yeah! Whatever. You don't scare us!" With that, their Digimon rushed forward, as their Digivices began to glow. "You guys ready to do this?"

"YEAH!" The other three yelled, as their Digivices unleashed a blistering light. That light had the same effect as the crystal, burning the Divermon and irritating Dagomon. And as their partners reached the water, the four yelled out in unison. "DIGIVOLVE!"

The light flew off their Digivices and shot towards their partners, hitting them and encasing the four in cocoons of brilliant light.

"Veemon, Warp Digivolve to..." The cocoon flew high into the air, as it began to grow larger. Not as large as Dagomon, but still large. It then exploded to reveal a large blue and white Dragon Digimon, who took to the air and flew up high. "AEROVEEDRAMON!"

"Tentomon, Warp Digivolve to..." The cocoon also shot into the air and grew larger, eventually breaking apart to reveal a giant red hercules beetle with what seemed to be a rocket thruster in its rear end. The thruster ignited, sending to the Digimon upwards. "MEGAKABUTERIMON!"

"Mangoramon, Warp Digivolve to..." The cocoon remained on the beach as it grew larger, eventually breaking apart to reveal a giant plant lizard with two tails. "PETALDRAMON!"

"Lunamon, Warp Digivolve to..." The cocoon flew out over the water and as it broke apart, it revealed a tall humanoid rabbit wearing armor and carrying a larger shield and double-edge scythe. She fell down to the water and started running across it, spinning her weapons around like she was performing an elaborate dance. "CRESCEMON!"

Dagomon stared down at the four Ultimate Digimon, who all prepared to do battle against him and save their friends.

The Divermon was all shocked by this. "How?" One asked, "master stopped you from Digivolving." But the Codex players simply smirked, although they were just as surprised.

"He might have stopped us from Digivolving to Champion or Armor," Flash stated. "But if we go all the way to Ultimate, he can't stop us." The Divermon were shocked, unable to believe they could skip one evolution and go straight into the next. "Go get'em, guys!" The Digimon charged into action.

AeroVeedramon was the first to attack, flying at high speed around the Digimon as the blades on his arms glowed. "Twister Sabre!" He slashed at the air and unleashed a barrage of wind blades, which flew down and slammed into Dagomon.

The Sea Animal Digimon roared in pain, as it staggered back in the ocean. This gave MegaKabuterimon the opening he needed to attack. "Horn Buster!" Electrical energy flew around his body and formed a sphere on the tip of his horn, which flew off and exploded against Dagomon.

The beast roared again and tried to reach out and grab MegaKabuterimon. "Lunatic Dance!" Crescemon leapt into the air and spun around, swinging her blade to form a razor sharp tornado that cut into the tentacle and sliced off to ends.

Dagomon staggered back, then reached back and grabbed the trident. But before it could attack, Petaldramon stabbed his two tails into the beach. "Thorn Jab!" Multiple vines exploded out of the sandy beach and extended over to Dagomon, grabbing the trident and locking it in place.

Dagomon tried to pull the weapon free, but AeroVeedramon flew down and bit his arm with his large mouth.

Once again, it roared in agony and dropped its trident. Petaldramon quickly used his vines to throw it as fast as possible, whilst AeroVeedramon let go of Dagomon's arms and started slashing at it.

As they two fought against each other, Crescemon and MegaKabuterimon prepared for another attack. "Super Charge!" His body sparked before he charged forward, whilst Crescemon brought her shield and scythe together to form a rudimentary crossbow.

"Ice Archery!" A large ice arrow forward before firing, shooting passed MegaKabuterimon and slamming into Dagomon's back. The impact created a large gash in the beast's back and the ice began to form around it. And as MegaKabuterimon got in closer, the heat from his electrical charge melted the ice.

This meant when the attack landed, it struck the water and allowed the lightning to fly into the beast's body.

Dagomon roared at this attack, AeroVeedramon leaping backwards as he began to flail around in a wild way. MegaKabuterimon grabbed Crescemon and flew her to safety, whilst AeroVeedramon dived down and rammed his body into Dagomon.

The demonic Digimon fell backwards and crashed into the ocean, AeroVeedramon flying back as he tried to determine whether or not Dagomon had been defeated. But he had a feeling this wasn't the end.

And sure enough, a bunch of tentacles shot out and attacked him before he could respond. "GYAH!" He cried, as his arms, legs and wings were wrapped up. They squeezed him tightly, making him roar in pain as he was slowly dragged towards the water.

"AeroVeedramon!" Flash cried, as MegaKabuterimon flew in to help him. He threw Crescemon so she could try and cut him free, but more tentacles flew out of the water and grabbed them both.

They cried out, getting squeezed just as tightly as AeroVeedramon. Crescemon couldn't move an inch, so she couldn't cut herself free. And MegaKabuterimon could having trouble breathing, which meant he could channel electricity. They were all being pulled down towards the water.

"Petaldramon!" Sandal cried, his partner nodding before thrusting his tails into the beach again.

"Thorn Jab!" The vines exploded out of the sand and shot towards his friends, more tentacles flying out of the water to stop them. But there were so many roots, the tentacles couldn't grab them all and the free ones were able to grab the tendrils. They squeezed them tightly and forced them to lose their hold on the others, AeroVeedramon being the first to pull himself free.

Crescemon was next and managed to slash MegaKabuterimon free, the insect letting her land on his back as they all flew up. And once they were safe, Petaldramon had his vines lift the tendrils up and slowly pull Dagomon back out of the water. The beast roared as it was pull from the Dark Ocean, the Digimon glaring him down.

"It's time to end this!" AeroVeedramon stated as the others nodded. "Petaldramon, send him up!"

Petaldramon nodded and with all his strength he threw the eldritch Digimon up into the air before leaping up onto his back legs. At the same time, the other three prepared their attacks. "Leaf Cyclone!" He unleashed a leaf filled tornado and sent it flying towards Dagomon, slamming into it and spinning it in the air as the leaves slashed into its skin.

"Horn Buster/Dark Archery!" The pair launched their attacks and as the tornado ended, Dagomon was slammed by both attacks and sent flying higher into the air. And as it did, AeroVeedramon's body became surrounded by energy.

"Here comes the big finish!" He roared as Dagomon began to fall back towards the water. He flew forward, as the energy formed a V-shaped slipstream around. him. "V-WING BLADE!" Dagomon saw this attack coming and roared as it tried to unleash it tentacles to knock him away.

But AeroVeedramon was able to avoid the attacks and finally smash into Dagomon's chest, causing it to scream in agony as it was burned.

The impact was so great, it ripped into Dagomon's chest and allowed AeroVeedramon to blast his way through it. He shot out the other side of the Digimon and left a massive hole in its chest, Dagomon falling back towards the water as the hole grew larger and larger.

More of its body began to dissolve and when it hit the water, all that was left was a giant head. It crashed into the ocean and sank below the waves, let out one final roar before it disappeared and was deleted.

The four Digimon stared at the spot he had disappeared, not letting themselves be taken by surprise again. But nothing happened and the water became clear. And then, a bright light made them look towards the beach.

Flash was glowing. More specifically, the necklace he was wearing was glowing.

With Dagomon gone, the crystal's power could finally be unleashed and it was spreading out across the beach. And when it hit the others, the cocoons around them started melting away. The darkness that had already enveloped them was also disappearing, as they all fell to the ground.

The Ultimates flew back to them as their partners raced over to their friends, Flash rushing next to Shining as he let out a moan. "Shining!" He knelt down besides him, then heard Twilight and Tawnimon let out a groan. "Are you guys okay? Say something." Their eyes began to flicker open as they came around, the others following suit as they rolled them onto their backs.

Shining finally sat himself up and held his head, Twilight doing the same as she tried to remember what had happened. "Flash?" He looked over at the teen, "what's going on?"

"It's a long story," Flash told him. But as he said that, he noticed the waters beginning to move. "And I'll have to tell you later. AeroVeedramon!" His partner flew over and glared at the water, as the Divermon shadows picked themselves up. "Back off! You're master's gone!"

"You think you could defeat him so easily?" One of the creatures asked, everyone feeling a chill run down their spine as they spoke. "You are not the first to come here. You are not the first to fight our master. He has fallen before, but alway he rises again."

"Guess that makes sense," Micro frowned. "He is a Digimon. Guess his Digi-Egg doesn't go to Primary Village."

"So we went through all that for nothing?" Trixie asked, as a Divermon tried to rush up and grabbed Fluttershy. The girl screamed, but Terriermon had recovered enough to fire a Bunny Blast at it and push it back.

Flash stepped forward and held up the necklace, making them all scream as they staggered back. "Yeah, that's right. You don't like this, do you? Well back off if you know what's good for you."

"You cannot defeat us," a Divermon hissed. "No matter what, darkness shall always be a part of your world. And so long as it is, we will always exist and will continue to search for our way into your world."

"So what?" Flash told them. "So long as there are those willing to fight against you, there'll never be a chance for you to invade our world. Your evil ways will never be allowed into the Digital World. Because we and all those that fight against evil won't let you!" The others nodded as the crystal unleashed a brilliant light, which made the Divermon scream as they were forced to return to the sea.

Flash then swung the crystal around and when it did, it created a tear of light in the fabric of space.

Micro got everyone to go through the tear, the four and their Ultimates being the last to go through. The four Digimon soon glowed and reverted back into their In-Training Forms, their partners picking them up and carrying them through the portal.

Flash took one final look at the dark place and nodded, knowing he would need to keep a watchful eye out in case these creatures ever tried to invade again. He stepped through the portal and it quickly closed up, the light of the crystal working to reinforce the dimensional barrier. Once again, the Dark Ocean was sealed off from the Digital World. But one day, another tear would occur. And the evils of that realm would attempt to escape once again.

As soon as they were back in their world, the heroes all returned to Codex and contacted the Commanders.

"The Dark Ocean," Gennai frowned as he scanned them. "I thought we had sealed up all the breaches leading to that world. Guess there was one that we missed." He finished his scans and nodded. "On the plus side, it looks like none of you were permanently affected by your time there. But a lot of you were close to becoming creatures of that realm."

"Good thing you got us out of there," Thorax sighed. "I like living in this world a whole lot more than that depressing place." They all agreed, though Flash didn't look so happy.

"Thank Jijimon." He held up the crystal the Mega Digimon had given him. "If he hadn't given us this crystal, we would have been in the exact same situation you guys were in." He remembered Jijimon's sacrifice and sighed. "Gennai, what happens to a Digimon that's destroyed in that realm?"

Gennai smiled. "Don't worry, Flash. Based on what you told me, Jijimon's data returned to Primary Village. He might not remember the heroic deeds he performed, but he'll be reborn and hopefully remain the hero he was." They all smiled at this, glad Jijimon would one day return. However, they couldn't get the memory of that horrible place out of their heads.

"To think that such an evil place could exist," Twilight sighed. "And have a connection to the Digital World like that."

"The Dark Ocean is a dark reflection of the Digital World," Gennai explained. "They're both two sides of the same coin. A light side and a dark side. Though the Digital World has its own darkness, you've all seen that it's far outshined by the light. The Dark Ocean might be similar, with the darkness shrouding the little light that exists there. So long as the Digital World exist, the Dark Ocean will counter it and maintain the balance."

"I guess that makes sense," Shining nodded.

"Doesn't mean we have to like it," Monodramon frowned. "If we never see or hear about that place again, it'll be too soon." They all nodded, unable to deny that. The Dark Ocean was truly a place of doom and none of them had any intention of going back there, if they could help it.

Pinkie sighed. "I'm sorry guys. I wanted us to all have a relaxing fun filled day in the sun. But it turned into a total nightmare."

"Hey now," Applejack patted her on the shoulder. "Remember what I told ya'h before. It ain't ya'h fault. Ya'h didn't know that beach was connected to the Dark Ocean. And who knows what might have happened if we didn't go there."

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "Jijimon would have stayed stuck in that pit and the crystal would be stuck down there with him. Who knows how long the breach would have stayed open." They all agreed, knowing that Pinkie taking them to that beach might have actually prevented an even greater disaster.

Pinkie smiled and Dilemon hugged her leg, making Pinkie feel a heck of a lot better. "Still, I wish our day of fun didn't get ruined."

"No problem," Rainbow smirked. "This just gives us all an excuse to have another fun filled day." The others nodded, as Fluttershy spoke up.

"And if that gets ruined, we'll have another until we get it right." They all laughed at this, but knew Fluttershy was right. They deserved a day to relax and have fun. And until they got that day, they would keep trying. Their experiences in the Dark Ocean were ones that would likely haunt them for the rest of their lives, but they wouldn't let themselves give into its despair.

It was as Flash had said. As long as they had the light to look towards, they would never give in to the darkness. And the evil of that realm would not get its greedy claws on their world. No matter what, they would fight to overcome it. Humans and Digimon, together, could overcome anything.

Back in the Dark Ocean, within the tunnel Flash and his friends had chosen not to go into, a light was emanating from within it.

That light was coming from the very back of the tunnel, where something was sitting atop a section of the ground surrounded by rubble and random pieces of rock. That something was an odd-looking device, that appeared to be a bunch of blue tendrils cupped together to form a goblet design. And on the very top of that goblet, with the tendril ends grasping around, was a blue orb.

Author's Note

Flash and his friends have overcome the darkness and saved their friends from a fate worse than death. But this isn't the last we've seen of the Dark Ocean. Time will tell when it arises again.

Hope you enjoyed the Warp Digivolutions I did. Hope to see you next time.

In a Land Before Time

In an unknown part of the Digital World, there existed a large city that was a collection of buildings coloured either black or white.

The buildings were all made of stone bricks, that were painted to be one of those two colours. The city was built surrounding a large castle, with a mix of black and white bricks. Areas of the castle that were black, would have white towers sticking out of it, whilst the opposite was true for the white sections of the castle.

Down in the city, the roads were built like a checkers board, having square sections of stone being made of black bricks, whilst another square section was painted white. The place looked rather nice, so why wasn't there anybody living there?

The answer came, when one of the large buildings exploded and something came staggering out of it.

That something was a Digimon, almost as large as the building itself. It was some kind of giant robot, which was black in colour with green sections on the arms, legs and waist. Its body was tube-like, whilst its feet were flat and its hands were a pair of silver spheres with three tube-like fingers that mimicked sniper barrels. The same tubes could be seen on its head.

The Digimon staggered back and crashed into another building, flinching as it tried to pick itself up. As it did, another Digimon leapt out of the smoke of the destroyed building.

This one had several similarities to the first, appearing to be made of a white version of a metal that made up its body. It looked like it was wearing some kind of priest's clothes, with a purple cape and sash running down the front. In its hand was a white club-like staff, whilst its head had a large white hat with a point atop it.

The Digimon landed on a building next to the one that had fallen, looking down at it before speaking with a women's voice. "Are you okay?"

"Ahh," The Digimon pushed itself up, "they're strong." They turned towards the destroyed building, as two Digimon leapt out of it.

BurningGreymon and KendoGarurumon flew out, BurningGreymon spreading his wings to stay airborne. KendoGarurumon glided down and landed on the road, his wing blades ready to cut anything it flew through. "Ready to call it a day?" KendoGarurumon asked, as the other two stood firm.

"No way!" The black Digimon yelled, "we won't give up!"

"Have it your way!" BurningGreymon's blasters spun around. "Pyro Barrage!" The flames slammed into the black Digimon and exploded, knocking him forward.

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 2-25%
KendoGarurumon+BurningGreymon: 3-15%

As RookChessmon crashed into the ground, KendoGarurumon leapt into the air and locked onto his opponent. "Lupine Laser!" A beam of light exploded from his mouth and struck BishopChessmon, knocking it off the roof.

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 2-5%
KendoGarurumon+BurningGreymon: 3-15%

As the two Digimon fell to the ground, KendoGarurumon landed on the roof and used the wheels on his feet to fly forward. He watched as RookChessmon picked itself up, then leapt off the roof and landed on the ground in front of the Digimon. He then shot forward and high speed, but RookChessmon was ready.

"Castle Wall!" He crossed his arms and a wall of light appeared in front of him, KendoGarurumon slamming into it but doing nothing against it. This allowed BishopChessmon to pick itself up, as BurningGreymon dived down towards them.

"Crimson Fanger!" As the wall of light disappeared, he prepared to slam into RookChessmon. But before he could, BishopChessmon jumped in front of him.

"Bishop Laser!" He fired a beam of light from his club, which slammed into BurningGreymon and blasted him back with a cry of pain.

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 2-5%
KendoGarurumon+BurningGreymon: 3-0%

BurningGreymon slammed into the ground, KendoGarurumon running over to him. And as he picked himself up, RookChessmon pointed his finger guns towards them. "Rook Gatling!" Lasers fired out of the fingers and the pair leapt back to avoid getting hit. But several of the bullets slammed into them and they cried out.

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 2-5%
KendoGarurumon+BurningGreymon: 2-75%

Once the onslaught ended, the pair staggered back with a moan. They looked over at the Digimon, who were both preparing to end this fight. However, they then saw something that made them smile.

Glancing at one another, the two nodded before running forward. RookChessmon prepared another attack, but they both leapt into the air before he could fire. And as they did, the Digimon either began to glow or burst into flames.

"BurningGreymon, Mega Digivolve to..." His body grew larger and bulkier, as the flames began to dispel and reveal his new form. Doing so revealed a knight in dragon-themed armor, with different dragon heads on his shoulders, the ends of his arms, knees and feet.

Said armor was a combo of red, yellow and silver. His head was orange with a long horn on its front and Greymon-style horns on the side. And on his back was a large green, silver and yellow sword.

The Digimon drew his weapon and swung it around, unleashing blades of fire as he did so before thrusting it forward. "EMPERORGREYMON!"

"KendoGarurumon, Mega Digivolve to..." His body suddenly transformed into a more humanoid form, as the armor reshaped itself. His leg armor became slimmer, whilst the armor around his chest and arms became thicker. And when the light faded, it revealed a humanoid wolf covered in guns.

His chest had two laser barrels sticking out the front, along with a pair of jet wings on his back. Meanwhile, his right arm had a rectangular cannon covering the whole thing. His left arm had six barrelled gatling cannon around it, whilst a bunch of yellow ribbons flowed from his back. His legs were thin and looked like they could move at incredible speeds, if the armor wasn't weighing him down.

He spun around and fired several missiles from his weapons. "MAGNAGARURUMON!"

The Chessmon gulped, as the two new Megas stared down at them. And before they could think of a way to save themselves, EmperorGreymon rushed forward with his sword ablaze. "Flame Edge!" He swung the blade around slashed at RookChessmon, the force of the impact knocking him backwards.

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 2-0%
MagnaGarurumon+EmperorGreymon: 2-75%

As RookChessmon fell to the ground, MagnaGarurumon flew into the air. "Magna Cannon!" He pointed his weapon at BishopChessmon and fired, the energy shot flying down towards it and exploding upon contact with the ground.

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 1-80%
MagnaGarurumon+EmperorGreymon: 2-75%

As BishopChessmon fell to the ground, EmperorGreymon pointed his sword at RookChessmon. As he did, the sword's crossguard reshaped and the blade split apart. He grabbed the crossguard, which was now like a crossbow handle, as fire filled the space between the blades. "Dragon Fire Crossbow!" The flames exploded forward and morphed into an arrow, which shot towards RookChessmon as he picked himself up.

He quickly crossed his arms, "Castle Wall!" The light barrier appeared and the arrow slammed into it, but didn't stop as it pushed into the light. Eventually, the wall began to crack before shattering and the arrow exploded against him. "GYAH!"

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 1-65%
MagnaGarurumon+EmperorGreymon: 2-75%

BishopChessmon picked herself up and looked around, as MagnaGarurumon landed on a roof. The White Digimon pointed her staff towards him. "Bishop Laser!" The beam shot out of it, but KendoGarurumon leapt into the air as the attack blew up the roof.

"Magna Rocket!" He pointed his gatling arm towards BishopChessmon and fired, a missile flying out of it and shooting towards the Ultimate. She tried to knock it away with her club, but the missile exploded upon impact and she was knocked flying back.

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 1-45%
MagnaGarurumon+EmperorGreymon: 2-75%

The two Digimon crashed into the ground together, as EmperorGreymon stabbed his sword into the street. "Pyro Dragons!" Nine lines of fire then exploded out of the ground, forming a flaming nine-pointed star around EmperorGreymon.

The flames then curled upwards and the ends transformed into the heads of dragons, which slithered towards the pair. When they reached them, the chess themed Digimon found the flaming bodies coiling around them.

They were lifted into the air and the flames formed a sphere around them, then exploded and sent both Digimon flying as they screamed in pain. They crashed into the buildings, taking even more damage as they hit the ground.

BishopChessmon+RookChessmon: 1-0%
MagnaGarurumon+EmperorGreymon: 2-75%

MagnaGarurumon flew after them, charging up his weapons as he prepared to end this battle. And as Rook and BishopChessmon picked themselves up, MagnaGarurumon dived down towards them. "FERAL FIRE!" He launched every missile and blast he had from his arm cannons, then shot twin beams of light from the cannons on his chest.

As the attacks collided with the ground and exploded, Rook and BishopChessmon screamed as they were consumed. And eventually, the twin blasts slammed into them and their Digital forms exploded. One became a girl with black and white hair, whilst her partner was a small black metal knight carrying a sword and a shield.

As they fell to the ground, the robotic voice spoke up. "Battle, over. Winner. Flash Sentry." In that moment, MagnaGarurumon and EmperorGreymon transformed back into Flash and Veemon.

The pair smiled at each other, with Veemon jumping up and high-fiving Flash before they turned back to their opponents. "Hey, that was a good battle."

"Yeah," the girl stood up, "but don't think I'll let it end this way the next time we battle." She and her partner headed out, Flash and Veemon leaving the dome as well. As they did so, the pair smirked at their victory.

"Finally got to use those Mega forms for BurningGreymon and KendoGarurumon." Flash looked over his decks, which had those two scans. "MagnaGarurumon had some serious speed to him."

"And EmperorGreymon was super strong," Veemon cheered. "I bet a bomb could go off right next to me and I wouldn't feel it." Flash smirked at this, as he wondered what he should do for the rest of the day.

But just as he was thinking that, he accidentally crashed into someone. "WOW!" The pair fell over one another, toppling to the ground. "Ow," Flash groaned. He also heard another groan and looked down to see the girl he had mistakenly slammed into, making him quickly get up. "Sorry."

"It's fine," the girl replied as she rolled onto her back. "Not the first time someone didn't see me." It was then that Flash saw who it actually was.

"Hey, I know you." He held his hand out, the girl taking it. "Wallflower, right?" The green skinned, green haired girl appeared shocked.

"You remember me?"

"Why wouldn't I? That battle we had was awesome."

"It's just...most of the people I battle don't remember me afterwards."

"Well I'm not like most people," Flash told her. "You were one tough opponent. Plus, that's the battle that got me to the Champion Rank. Why wouldn't I remember you?" Wallflower smiled at this, as Flash heard two other people calling out to him.

He looked around and saw Micro and Sandalwood, running up to him with their Digimon. "Hey man," Micro smirked. "Awesome battle just now. Those new Megas are incredible." Flash nodded, as the two of them noticed Wallflower. "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" Wallflower frowned. "Wait, I remember. You're the girl Flash battled once. Um...Wallflower Bloom."

"Blush," she replied before smiling.

"Oh yeah," Sandalwood nodded. "You were great then." He then turned to Flash. "So, you guys planning anything today?"

"Nothing now that I've won my battle," Flash told him. "Any idea where the others are?"

Micro thought for a moment. "I think Twilight, Trixie and Fluttershy went with that Sunset girl somewhere. Not sure where exactly." Flash was curious where Sunset had taken them. But before he could think to look for them, he suddenly got a message on his Digivice.

"Huh?" He brought it up and opened the file, shocked when he saw who it was from. "UlforceVeedramon?"

"What?" The others asked, as they crowded around Flash. "What's he messaging you for?" Veemon asked. Flash scrolled down and read the message, everyone waiting to see what it said.

"He wants me to meet him somewhere. Says there's something he needs a human's help with."

"Why would he ask you?" Wallflower asked, as Flash smirked.

"Oh, we go way back. I'm the one who helped him and his brother Digivolve into Royal Knights. Plus, he and Veemon are basically family since they're part of the same Digivolution Line." He turned to Veemon, "you up for a field trip?"

"Sure." Veemon smiled, as Tentomon flew up to him.

"Don't think you're leaving us behind."

"Yeah," Mangoramon nodded. "This must be important if a Royal Knight is asking us for help." Micro and Sandal nodded, Flash smirking and agreeing to let them come.

Flash then turned to Wallflower, "you wanna come too?"

Wallflower looked shocked. "You really want my help?"

"If you wanna come. Ulforce wouldn't ask us to help if it wasn't important. So what do you say? You might get yourself a cool scan in the process." Wallflower smiled and nodded, as they headed off towards the Digi-Port. Once there, Flash sent a transport request to them and they all accepted, Flash keying up the location scan before they ported away.

Flying through the tunnel of light, they found themselves reaching the other side and arriving at the location in a flash of light. And as the light disappeared, they blinked the spots away and looked around to see where they were.

They quickly found that they were standing at the base of two large mountains. The mountains were several miles high and the space between them was barely a few hundred meters. Behind these mountains were more mountains, going backwards to form a winding path that they could barely see into.

"Where are we?" Wallflower asked, as Micro scanned the area.

Once the location came up, he raised an eyebrow at the name. "It seems this is the entrance to a place called the Great Valley."

"Great Valley?" Flash hummed, "why would UlforceVeedramon want us to come here?" Before the others could hazard a guess, a powerful whoosh of wind swept over them. They cried out, as they barely managed to keep from being blown away.

Flash looked up and saw the cause of the wind. UlforceVeedramon had just flown over them, the Royal Knight doing several flips in the air before spreading his wings to slow himself to a stop. He then looked down and saw them, the knight carefully gliding down towards them.

"Flash," he cheered as he landed, "and friends. It's good to see you all." He turned to Wallflower and tilted his head, "you look different. And where's your partner?" Wallflower raised an eyebrow, as Micro caught on.

"This isn't Trixie," he told him. "Her name's Wallflower. She was there when Flash got your message and we invited her along."

"Oh," UlforceVeedramon nodded. "I understand. Sorry about that. I have a hard time telling some humans apart." Wallflower clearly didn't know how to feel about that. "Anyway. I'm glad you're here."

"Why are we here?" Flash asked with a scratch of the head. "Your message was low on details. What are we doing here that's so important?"

"Yes, right." UlforceVeedramon knelt down and began to explain. "The Royal Knights have been searching for something we hope might aid when the Dragon Soul Stone next appears. With everything that's happened the last two times it showed up, we've been feeling a little useless."

"It's not your fault," Micro told him. "The stone prevents Megas from getting close to it."

"Exactly," UlforceVeedramon nodded. "Megas. That's why we're searching for this object. Because there's one Royal Knight that isn't a Mega, even though it has the power of one."

"Really?" Flash asked.

"You've seen it before," UlforceVeedramon told him. "Apparently, you saw it when you were told the story of the Royal Knights. One of the first two knights to ever be created."

All except Wallflower caught on. "Magnamon." Flash thought back to when he saw the holographic version of that Digimon, which had allowed Magnamon to become visible in Veemon's Digivolution Tree. The only problem was, Flash needed something to allow Veemon to Digivolve. "You're looking for the Digimental."

"That's right," he nodded. "The Digimental of Miracles. The most powerful Digimental in existence. If we can get it, we may be able to find someone who can use it to become Magnamon."

"I get it," Micro nodded. "Since Magnamon's considered an Armor Digimon, it might not be stopped by the stone's barrier."

"Exactly." UlforceVeedramon stood up and turned to the mountains. "We've been searching tirelessly for the Digimental and I believe it is located here. If we can find it, the Royal Knights will be stronger than ever."

"That still doesn't explain why you wanted me to come." Flash looked up at him, as the Royal Knight glanced back.

"Isn't it obvious? Every Digimental that's been discovered so far, was discovered and activated by humans. Even if I find it, the Digimental might not allow me to take it. That's why I asked you here."

"Makes sense," Sandalwood nodded. "So we head in there and search for the Digimental?"

"Exactly," UlforceVeedramon nodded. "And if one of you can lift it, I can take it back to the Royal Knights. You can all get a scan of it, of course, so what do you say?"

"I say let's do this thing!" Flash took out his Digivice and keyed up a deck. "Ready Veemon?" His partner nodded and he unleashed its power. "Alright, Digi Armor Energize!" The Digimental of Friendship appeared before exploding into a burst of lightning, which surrounded Veemon.

"Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." His body began to grow and morph into his four legged form, the lightning fading once the change was complete. "Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!" Flash leapt up onto Raidramon's back, Micro taking out his Digivice.

"Tentomon, Digivolve to...Kabuterimon!" The giant beetle reached its hand down and Micro, Sandal and Mangoramon climbed onto it. Wallflower didn't seem sure what to do.

"Hope on," Flash told her. Wallflower did so, getting on behind him as Raidramon began to charge forward into the valley. Kabuterimon and UlforceVeedramon took to the air and followed after him, the three Digimon entering the entrance between the two lines of mountains.

The inside of the valley was just like the outside, being a rocky yet lush area that was covered in trees coming out the sides of the dirt covering the mountains. Several streams were running down the mountains, forming a river that flowed further into the valley.

"This place is kind of pretty," Mangoramon pointed out. "Wonder what kind of Digimon live here?"

Flash, Wallflower and Raidramon got to see the answer to that before the others. From out of a bush, a blue Digimon came running out towards the river. It looked like someone had taken a T-rex's head and stuck legs and a tail onto it.

"Gaossmon," Wallflower named it. "That's a rare find." Raidramon stopped as the Digimon started drinking from the river, clearly not giving them a second thought. Once it had finished drinking its fill, it turned to run off further into the valley at an incredible speed.

UlforceVeedramon turned to the others. "Just a heads up. This place is known for being the home of many Dinosaur Digimon."

"Which kind?" Micro asked. "Are we likely to run into carnivorous dinos, or the plant munching kind?"

"Well that Gaossmon seemed pretty calm," Sandalwood pointed out. "And that one's probably supposed to be a meat eater."

"Don't worry," UlforceVeedramon told them. "You guys don't need to fear anything whilst I'm here. I doubt there's a Digimon here that can stand up to me. If anything attacks, I'll deal with it." They nodded and continued into the valley, which continued to remain lush and beautiful.

It wasn't long before they found another group of Digimon, this group appearing to resemble the famous parasaurolophus dinosaur. They were a mixture of green and orange in colour, with brown fur around its neck and legs.

Flash quickly counted twelve of them, grazing on the plants by the riverside. Some were drinking and others were actually laying in the river, letting the water wash over them whilst their heads remained on the riverbank.

When the closest one finally noticed them, it looked up and the others followed suit.

"It's okay," UlforceVeedramon stated. "We're not here to hurt you." The Parasaurmon watched them, as the two flying Digimon flew up higher and carefully flew past them. Raidramon walked around the edge of the area, being sure not to make any movements that would be considered aggressive.

Once they were on the other side of the group, Flash decided to speak up. "Excuse me?" The closest Parasaurmon turned to him. "We're looking for something. By any chance, have you seen something made out of gold?" The Digimon tilted its head, clearly not sure what he meant.

"It might look like a shiny rock," Wallflower tried to explain. "If the sun hits it, it would glow and be painful to look at. Do you know if there's anything like that here?" Parasaurmon shook its head, the group nodding.

"It must be somewhere further in," UlforceVeedramon stated. "The Digimon I talked to said they saw something made of gold in this valley, but they never said where they saw it."

"So we have to keep looking," Flash stated. The Royal Knight nodded and they continued to head deeper into the valley. As they did, Flash suddenly heard what sounded like a jet engine and looked up.

Doing so allowed him to see a bunch of Digimon, high up on the sides of the mountain. They were a mix between a flying dinosaur and a jet plane, being purple in colour with jet wings that had missiles on them.

He watched as the Digimon flew around, two appearing to be getting in a dog fight in the air. He couldn't tell if they were just playing around, or actually trying to hurt each other. But none of the other Digimon were doing anything, so he guessed it wasn't anything to worry about.

It wasn't long before they found themselves entering a larger area of the valley.

Moving through a gap between two large rocks, they arrived at an area that had the mountains moving further away from one another. The two lines headed off in opposite directions before curving around and forming a ring before continuing close together.

In this circle of mountains, a massive forest could be seen. The water from the river flowed into this forest and formed a large lake in the centre of it, with many large trees surrounding said lake. And upon closer inspection, they spotted something inside the lake.

It was a long necked dinosaur Digimon, whose neck and part of its body was sticking out of the lake. The Digimon's skin was yellow, with blue stripes running down its neck and a large horn on its head. If they had to guess, the Digimon was over twenty meters tall.

They headed down into the valley, UlforceVeedramon and Kabuterimon flying over the trees whilst Raidramon raced through the woods. "Keep an eye out for anything made of gold," Flash told her. "Or something that looks out of place. Digimentals have a tendency to be hidden in places one wouldn't normally go into."

"Okay." Wallflower kept her eyes open, but they were moving so fast it was almost impossible to tell what they were rushing past.

After a few minutes of searching, Raidramon suddenly came to a complete stop. "WOW!" He skidded along the ground and Wallflower soon saw why, as a tree suddenly came toppling down and crashed into the ground. Had Raidramon not stopped when he did, the tree would have crashed on top of them.

They turned towards the spot where the tree had once stood and saw a Digimon, who had clearly knocked the tree down. Said Digimon was a large green beast with metal spikes on its back and a black metal helmet on its head that had a long horn pointing forwards.

"Watch it!" Raidramon growled, as the Digimon moved towards the downed tree and started eating the leaves off of it. The Digimon didn't say anything back, too focused on its meal. "Do any of these Digimon speak?"

"They're Dinosaur Digimon," Wallflower pointed out. "Which means they're primitive. Most Dinosaur Digimon that talk, are those that are Ultimate Level or higher."

"Really?" Flash asked, "How'd you know that?"

"I've observed many different Digimon," she told him with a slightly upset look. "I'm good at blending in with my surroundings. I can just disappear into the background and never be noticed. It has its perks." Flash frowned, remembering Wallflower's previous statements about never being noticed and easily forgotten about. He couldn't help but feel bad for her.

He was about to say something, but suddenly heard a loud roar and looked around. "What was that?"

"It's coming from the path opposite the one we came from," Raidramon stated before he ran in its direction. Flash and Wallflower prepared themselves, as Kabuterimon and UlforceVeedramon flew that way as well.

As they got closer to that section, they noticed the Digimon around them were looking worried and some were heading in the opposite direction. Clearly, something they didn't want to deal with was coming.

They arrived at the rocky path leading up to the exit, Raidramon standing at the bottom of it whilst the other two flew above it. And as they got there, something appeared from out of the gap.

It was a Dinosaur Digimon, being a blue Digimon with a body similar to a Greymon. Except it was only half the size and lacked the helmet, instead having a necklace around its neck along with a feathered headdress.

The Digimon looked down at them and snarled before its mouth filled with fire. "Dino Burst!" It launched a blast of fire down towards them, Raidramon leaping back to avoid it.

The Digimon roared as it prepared another shot, but UlforceVeedramon suddenly flew down in front of it. "Excuse me. Do you mind not attacking my friend?" The Digimon, who Wallflower called Allomon, growled as it prepared another attack. But before it could, UlforceVeedramon did something none of them had been expecting.

Suddenly, a powerful force exploded out of him.

Flash and the humans felt it and were suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of just how powerful he was. And the Digimon all started shaking, as if fear was flowing through their very cores. Raidramon staggered back, a whimper escaping his lips, whilst Kabuterimon appeared to be having trouble staying airborne. And Mangoramon suddenly tried to leap out of Kabuterimon's hand and run away, Sandalwood grabbing him before he could.

Allomon was clearly trying to face the storm, but started moving backwards before turning to run off back into the passageway.

Once it was gone, the force stopped and the Digimon were able to breathe again. "What was that?" Micro asked, as UlforceVeedramon turned to them.

"Sorry. Guess I let a little too much power through."

Kabuterimon shook his head. "If I was in my Rookie form, I would have flown for the hills." Sandalwood continued to hold Mangoramon close, as UlforceVeedramon turned to the passageway.

"It has to be this way. Come on." He flew into the passage, the others following behind him. As they returned to the winding canyon, they quickly realised this area of the Great Valley wasn't going to be as hospitable as the other parts.

Shattered rocks littered the ground, whilst others were covered in scratches and claw marks.

There was no water running through this section and barely any plant-life. The place didn't look very hospitable. And they quickly saw why when they noticed something coming up from above a section at the far end of the cavern.

"Smoke?" Wallflower asked, seeing the smoke flowing upwards from behind the wall of mountains.

UlforceVeedramon nodded. "There's a volcano on the far end of the valley. An active volcano, known to erupt from time to time." They gulped hearing this, since there was a chance they could end up facing down a lava flow if they weren't careful.

As they continued to head down through the passageway, they suddenly started hearing roars and the sounds of smashing rocks and other battle sounds. "That can't be good," Micro stated

Flash gestured for them to stay back, as he, Wallflower and Raidramon carefully made their way around a corner and found themselves staring at a bunch of Allomon.

There were about twenty in total and they were all surrounding a large purple and yellow Digimon that was covered in spikes and had a long tail that ended in a mace. Wallflower gasped, "Ankylomon."

As an Allomon charged, the four legged Digimon spun his tail around and smashed it into its face. This knocked Allomon back, but several more unleashed a blast of fire that Ankylomon flinched against. "Not good." Flash took out his Digivice. "He needs our help!" Raidramon nodded, as Flash turned to Wallflower. "You don't have to do this."

Wallflower shook her head, "I wanna help." She took out her Digivice and the trio rushed into the battle, Flash and Wallflower leaping off Raidramon's back. "BIOMERGE!" They both yelled, as the cubes of light appeared and flew over them.

"Flamemon, Digivolve to...AGUNIMON!"

"Floramon, Digivolve to...Kiwimon!" The two Digimon landed, Wallflower having transformed into the bird fruit combo Digimon with a mask on its face.

The Allomon turned towards them, as Raidramon charged up his power. "Blue Thunder!" The sphere of lightning exploded off his body, slamming into an Allomon and knocking it back. Another Allomon shot a blast of fire towards Raidramon, but Agunimon leapt in front of it.

"Pyro Punch!" He slammed his fist into the fire and dispelled it, as Kiwimon flew forward at an incredible speed.

She leapt up and her bird foot came flying forward. "High Jumping Kick!" She slammed into Allomon and knocked the Digimon back, as another prepared to burn her alive.

"Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon swung his mace tail around and smashed the Allomon in the face, knocking it down as Kiwimon landed. She then rushed over to a rock and as several more Allomon unleashed their flames, she leapt onto and off it.

"Pummel Peck!" She fired a bunch of tiny Kiwimon towards them, the sharp beaked Digimon slamming into their heads and making them cry out as they staggered back.

It was at this moment, UlforceVeedramon flew around the rock and saw what was happening. He quickly flew forward and before the Allomon could attack, swung his leg around to unleash a powerful wave that knocked them all flying. "Back off!"

The Allomon crashed into the walls of the canyon and fell to the ground, growling as they started picking themselves up. But one glare from UlforceVeedramon, caused them to become scared and run off. The Royal Knight sighed as he turned to the ones that had just been fighting. "You alright?" They nodded, as Ankylomon spoke up.

"Thanks, partners. You got me out of a real pickle there."

"No problem," Agunimon told him. "What are you doing out here, anyway? I'm guessing this isn't your territory."

"Nope," Ankylomon shook his head, "but I have to make sure the valley is safe." They all raised an eyebrow at this. "You guys haven't been here long, have you?" They nodded. "Well the volcano's gonna erupt." He pointed towards the smoke. "It's been shaking and sending out smoke for a while."

"That can't be good," Agunimon frowned. "So that means it's gonna erupt?"

"Eventually," Ankylomon stated. "And I need to make sure the lava doesn't destroy our home."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"By blocking off this passage." Ankylomon started walking in the direction the Allomon had gone. "If I don't block it off, the lava will flow right through this path and straight into the valley. I can't let that happen."

"Will that really work?" Micro asked. "Lava is just rock that's been made so hot, it melts. If lava runs into a wall of rock, won't it just melt the rock?"

"It's worked before," Ankylomon replied. "The last time the volcano erupted, we blocked the passageway and the lava didn't get close to the valley. We went to check it later and the lava melted through the wall, but doing so caused it to slow down enough for the flow to stop."

"That sounds like it was just a small eruption," UlforceVeedramon stated. "Blocking the passageway might not work again."

"I've still got to try," Ankylomon announced. He continued to march forward and the others followed after him, as they made their way through the rocky terrain. And eventually, they came across an area with different rocks to the ones they had seen before.

These ones were black in colour, with swirling textures as if they had once been liquid and spiralled into different shapes.

Ankylomon stepped onto the rock and and began to walk up it, the others following with Kiwimon suddenly crying out. "Hot!" She leapt up onto Raidramon's back, as Agunimon reached down and touched the ground.

"She's right. The rock is hot."

"It's basalt," UlforceVeedramon explained. "When lava cools, it becomes basalt. And basalt is an extremely good holder of heat. I'm willing to bet those Allomon let a few flames blasts loose around here and the rocks absorbed the heat."

"The area we blocked off before is close by." Ankylomon kept going and they eventually reached an area that was rather narrow, as the two mountains were relatively close to one another. "Here it is. The place we need to block off."

UlforceVeedramon looked ahead and saw the mountain was still smoking. "If that volcano is going to erupt, the Digimental could be lost forever." He turned to the others. "We have to keep going." They nodded and as Ankylomon got to work, they carried on.

"Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon smashed his tail into the side of the mountain, causing it to shake and making parts of it begin to fall off. The shaking made them nervous and they rushed forward, not wanting to risk being buried alive.

The rocks started crashing down and filling the passageway, as Ankylomon created another rock slide.

As more rocks fell, another sound filled the air. A mighty roar, louder than the roars that they had heard earlier. One that made them all go on edge, as the ground began to shake beneath their feet. Every few seconds, a stray rock bounced off the ground.

"Something's coming," Mangoramon cried. And sure enough, the heavy footsteps grew closer and closer.

UlforceVeedramon flew in front of them, protectively shielding them as a Digimon finally came around a corner and revealed itself to be a giant beast that was standing on two legs. It was a mixture of orange and yellow, appearing to be mostly yellow but having a bunch of orange scales covering its body. Its head was entirely orange and it had large claws on its hands, whilst its back was covered in spikes and razor blades.

"It's Spinomon!" Kiwimon cried, as the Digimon let out a roar that shook the battlefield. "This is bad. That Digimon's a Mega."

"Let me deal with it," UlforceVeedramon cried. "You all run ahead and find the Digimental!" Before Spinomon could do anything, he flew forward and tackled the Digimon into the back wall.

Spinomon roared, as it fought to push the Royal Knight off of it. But UlforceVeedramon kept it pinned down, allowing the others to run ahead and get past. Once they were a safe distance away, the dragon pulled back before Spinomon thought to bite at him.

"Alright, big boy. Let's dance."

The others kept running and as they did, the ground beneath them was getting even hotter.

And sure enough, they soon found out why as they turned another corner and found themselves face to face with a bunch of different dino Digimon. Allomon, Tyrannomon, a few Greymon. All of them were blasting flames everywhere, causing the ground to get super-heated.

"Talk about your hotheads," Agunimon joked before noticing something. A Greymon that stepped into the area and looked very different from the others.

At first, he thought it was just a virus variant that he had once seen online. But it was more than that. It was blue with orange stripes on its back, its head having metal on its helmet whilst its tail had a blade on the end of it. Even its body was differently shaped, looking thinner and more like a traditional T-rex.

The Digimon roared, as fire flew out of its mouth too. The other Digimon saw it and stepped away, letting the blue creature walk around without issue.

"What do we do?" Micro asked. They hadn't seen them yet, with Kabuterimon hiding behind a corner, but they knew they had to get past them. And just as Agunimon was about to make a suggestion, Kiwimon spoke up.

"What's that?"

"What's what?" Agunimon asked, as Kiwimon pointed her nose at one of the Allomon.

"Behind him. There's some kind of cave." The others followed her gaze and sure enough, they saw an opening in the side of the mountain. It didn't look too deep and definitely wasn't big enough for the Digimon to go into.

As the sun came out from behind the tip of a mountain, the light of it shined into the cave at just the right angle. And in doing so, it reflected off of something and shined right into their eyes. "Augh!" Raidramon cried, "what is that?"

"There must be something reflective in the cave," Mangoramon replied. "Something...metal." They all shared a look and realised this was their chance. The Digimental had to be in there.

"What's the plan?" Sandal asked, his gaze turning between Agunimon and Micro.

They thought for a moment and Agunimon snapped his fingers. "Kiwimon." She glanced at him, "you're probably the fastest one here. We'll distract the Digimon and you can sneak around them and into the cave."

"But what if I can't move the Digimental?" Kiwimon asked.

"You actually getting into that cave will probably take a miracle," Micro explained. "If you can do it, the Digimental will probably consider you worthy. And even if you can't, at least we'll know where the Digimental is." The others nodded, as Micro and Sandalwood took out their Digivices.

"Sorry, bud." Sandalwood sucked Mangoramon into his Digivice. "But in this situation, none of your Champion forms will be able to last long. Just wait inside my Digivice."

"Okay," Mangoramon replied from inside the device. "Just be careful."

Sandal nodded as he and Micro held up their Digivices. "Biomerge!" The cubes of light surrounded them, as they transformed and Digivolved.

"Shamanmon, Digivolve to...Apemon!"

"Tentomon, Armor Digivolve to...FlameWizardmon, Burning Magical Courage!"

"Alright guys!" Agunimon charged forward, "let's draw their attention away from that cave!" He ran forward at top speed, as the dinos turned towards them. "Try this. Pyro Darts!" He launched a bunch of fire needles towards them, the flames bouncing off their bodies but doing little to no damage.

It did get their attention, though, and the Digimon roared as they charged forward.

Apemon, FlameWizardmon and Raidramon ran out after him, Kabuterimon about to do the same. But before he could. "Hold on." He turned to Kiwimon, "can you give me a lift. Try and fly me over to the cave and I'll do the rest." Kabuterimon nodded.

"Flame Ignition!" FlameWizardmon launched a blast of fire towards the Tyrannomon.

"Blue Thunder!" Raidramon sent a sphere of energy towards the Greymon.

"Angry Spike!" Apemon sent his razor sharp needle hair flying towards the Allomon. The attacks slammed into the Digimon and made them all roar, whilst Agunimon found himself being attacked by the blue Greymon.

"Mega Flame!" It unleashed a blast of fire, Agunimon crossing his arms and bracing himself as it struck.

"Augh!" Agunimon flinched, feeling a bit of heat from the fire. "I can do this. Just gotta hold out for Wallflower." The flames stopped and he panted, "Ulforce. We could really use some mega help right now."

"Sonic Slash Rain!" The blades on Spinomon's back glowed before flying off it, shooting towards the Royal Knight.

UlforceVeedramon extended his sword, using it to slash away the blades before they could hurt him. And as the blades returned to Spinomon and reattached to its back, he flew forward. "Victory Sword!" He swung the blade down and slashed down the centre of the Digimon, making it roar in pain as it staggered back.

Spinomon slammed into a rock and crashed through it, as UlforceVeedramon flew back. As he did, he heard several explosions coming from the area his friends had headed. He had to end this and go make sure they were okay.

"Blue Prominence!" Suddenly, Spinomon pushed itself up and unleashed a blast of super hot blue beam from its mouth. The burning light shooting straight towards him.

But UlforceVeedramon wasn't a Royal Knight for nothing. "Tensegrity Shield!" His left brace glowed and created a barrier or holy aura, which blocked the attack before it could get close to him. And as the heat ray faded, the V on his chest glowed. "Ray of Victory!" He thrust his chest forward and a beam of light exploded out of it, shooting towards Spinomon and slamming into it.

The dino Digimon roared as the beam pushed it backwards, causing it to smash into the side of a mountain.

The beam then struck part of the mountain, causing it to break apart and fall down onto Spinomon. Before the beast could do anything, it was buried under a couple tons of rock and debris.

UlforceVeedramon panted before turning towards the explosions, flying to his friends' aid.

"Pyro Tornado!" Agunimon spun on the spot and created a flaming twister.

The blazing vortex spun towards Greymon, who roared as it charged forward and slammed its head into the tornado. The flames slammed into its helmet and caused it to heat up, but the Digimon roared as it kept pushing forward. Eventually, it managed to force the tornado to expel as Agunimon was slammed with the head.

"Gyah!" He cried, getting headbutted backwards and crashing into the ground.

The others saw this and looked worried, but were too busy dealing with their own opponents. And as Agunimon picked himself up, he barely managed to dodge the tail blade that came crashing down towards him.

Kabuterimon chose this moment to fly straight up and over the Digimon, hoping to avoid their attention as he flew Kiwimon towards the cave. But a Tyrannomon noticed them and let out a roar, as it launched a blast of fire up towards him.

He saw it coming at the last moment and dodged, through one of his arms was singed. "Ahhh!" He shook his head, as Kiwimon looked up.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." But as he said that, more Digimon started shooting at him. "Hold on. This is gonna get bumpy!" He flew around, Kiwimon holding on tight as he dodged all the attacks. But one managed to hit him in the back and he roared, falling towards the ground. "Sorry about this!" He pulled Kiwimon back before throwing her forward, the fruit bird crying out as she shot towards the cave.

She flew through the air and barely managed to avoid getting blasted by the dinosaurs. One Allomon looked like its attack would be on target, but a slam by Apemon's bone club knocked it away.

This allowed Kiwimon to spin around and landed on the ground, her strong legs taking the impact as she slid along the ground and entered the cave. She came to a stop and was glad to feel the ground wasn't so hot, Kiwimon looking towards the back of the cave.

She had to narrow her eyes as she approached the back, where something was reflecting the light from the sun and the flames outside.

As she got closer, her body blocked the light and stopped whatever it was from glowing. This allowed her to see what it was. And it was in fact gold. But it wasn't the Digimental.

it was a rock. A large rock made of gold, along with several other pieces of rock, which was sticking out of the ground and glowed whenever the light touched it. Kiwimon stared at the rock and frowned, as she realised this had to be what UlforceVeedramon's contact had seen.

"The Digimental isn't here." Another explosion caught her attention and she realised they were fighting for no reason. She had to stop them.

"Raaah!" Agunimon leapt up and used all his strength to kick Greymon right in the chin, knocking the Digimon backwards as he spun around. As he landed, Greymon managed to regain its footing and glare down at him.

"Mega Flame!" It unleashed a burst of fire, but Agunimon managed to leap up in order to avoid it. But before he could attack, Greymon spun around and slammed its tail into him.

"GYAH!" Luckily, the bit that hit him wasn't bladed. But he was thrown towards the wall of a mountain and smashed into it, falling to the ground as he let out a groan.

"Flash!" Raidramon cried, rushing over to his partner. But several Greymon got between them, forcing him to stop. "Out of my way!" His horn sparked and covered itself in electricity. "Plasma Blade!" He swung it around and the arc of lightning slammed into them, knocking them away. But more Greymon appeared to halt him from going any further.

Apemon and FlameWizardmon were also outnumbered, whilst Kabuterimon was at the other side of the canyon.

As Greymon approached, Agunimon groaned as he pushed himself up. The Digimon raised its tail to strike again, but a sudden whoosh of wind slammed into it. It roared as it was thrown away, UlforceVeedramon appearing above Agunimon.

"Are you okay?"

"Peachy," Agunimon pushed himself to his feet. "We think we've found the Digimental. Wallflower's gone to get it and-" He stopped when he saw Kiwimon rush out of the cave, jumping around on the hot ground as she ran across the battlefield. "What's she doing?"

Several Allomon turned to her, the bird plant looking up and seeing them glare at her.

UlforceVeedramon quickly acted, unleashing his Ray of Victory to strike the ground near the Allomon. The explosion knocked them away from her, Kiwimon managing to make herself small enough that she wasn't blown away. And once UlforceVeedramon grabbed Agunimon, he flew over and picked her up as well.

"Where's the Digimental?" Agunimon asked her, as they flew over to where the others were regrouping.

"It's not here," Kiwimon told him. "It was just a golden rock." Hearing this caused them all to frown, as they realised their mission had been for nothing. "We should get out of here before these Digimon start attacking again." Sure enough, Greymon and the Allomon were starting to recover and pick themselves up.

"Alright." UlforceVeedramon grabbed Raidramon, as both Apemon and FlameWizardmon climbed up onto Kabuterimon. "You go first and I'll cover you." Kabuterimon nodded, as Micro and Sandal returned to their human forms to reduce weight.

Flash, Wallflower and Veemon also De-Digivolved, Kabuterimon flew straight up towards the top of the mountain.

Suddenly, as he did, the ground began to shake and everyone turned to the volcano. Just as Ankylomon had said, the volcano was starting to smoke even more. "That can't be good," Flash gulped. They looked down and saw the Digimon were running off, up the side of a mountain that was likely out of the lava's path.

UlforceVeedramon flew up after Kabuterimon, as the shaking caused parts of the mountain to break apart.

The two Digimon had to fly away from the mountains, to keep from being hit by falling debris. But then, the volcano exploded with a terrifying boom. Everyone had to cover their eyes, as lava flew into the air.

Seeing the molten rock be thrown up, UlforceVeedramon clearly feared Kabuterimon wouldn't be able to escape in time.

As such, he grabbed Micro and Sandalwood from him. "De-Digivolve. HURRY!" The insect didn't argue and quickly reverted back to Tentomon, UlforceVeedramon grabbing him the second he was small enough and flying towards the forested area at high speed.

Doing so created a wave of air, which caused rocks on the mountains they passed to come look and fall into the valley.

They eventually reached the central area and he came to a stop, those he was carrying all looking queasy from the sudden acceleration. As they let their stomachs settle, they looked down to see the place was in a panic. All the leaf-eating Digimon were gone, UlforceVeedramon flying into the river valley and finding them all huddled up there.

He also flew down and landed, letting the others down as they looked around.

Ankylomon was there, having escaped before the volcano blew. And when he saw them, he walked forward. "Did the volcano blow? What happened?"

"It blew alright," Flash told him. "We barely got out of there in time."

"You might wanna be careful," Micro told him. "This eruption seemed pretty powerful. I'm not sure if your rock wall will be enough to stop it." UlforceVeedramon sighed, as he moved over to a large rock to sit down on. "So, the Digimental wasn't actually there. I brought you here for no reason."

"Not no reason," Wallflower told him. "The Digimental might not have been here, but now we know that for sure."

"She's right," Flash nodded. "Besides, we did good here." UlforceVeedramon raised an eyebrow at this. "I don't know if Ankylomon's wall will stop the lava, but it might. And he might not have been able to make it if we hadn't scared those Allomon away."

"He's right," Ankylomon smiled. "If the wall does stop the lava, I have you to thank for helping me save my home. You've done us a great service." They all smiled at this, with UlforceVeedramon smiling as well.

"You're right. We might not have found the Digimental, but we've helped these Digimon." Another explosion made everyone flinch. "I just hope they'll have a home to go back to." They all nodded, as the volcano continued to roar.

The next day.

Instead of returning home, UlforceVeedramon and his group chose to stay the night. They hadn't gotten much sleep, with the volcano sending out explosions and blasts every couple of minutes. But eventually, the volcano settled down and the eruption came to an end.

By the time the sun was up the next day, UlforceVeedramon carried them all back towards the area they had fought in.

By some miracle, the forest actually seemed untouched. They then flew into the rocky valley and found the place was covered in lava. But only up to Ankylomon's wall, which had been melted but had caused the lava to build up and harden. This caused the rest of the passage to be filled with lava, which was still liquid.

"How long until it cools down?"

"I'd say about eight months to a year," Micro explained. "But I'm pretty sure it won't end up near the valley. And if it does, they can just splash some water onto it to make it rock hard."

The others nodded, as UlforceVeedramon flew away. "Well, my friends, our mission might have been a failure. But at least we were able to help protect the Digimon's home." The others nodded, as Flash turned to Wallflower.

"So...glad you decided to come?"

Wallflower smiled. "Yes. Despite everything, this was fun. I hope we get to go on another adventure one day."

"Sure," the boys all nodded. "If UlforceVeedramon actually manages to find the Digimental, I promise you can come along." Wallflower smiled at this and nodded, as they left the Great Valley. They might not have found what they had been searching for, but they still had an adventure they would never forget.

And hopefully, the Digimental of Miracles would one day be found. With WarGrowlmon still on the loose, they needed all the help they could get.

Author's Note

Okay. This chapter was one hundred percent filler. But I hope you still enjoyed it and enjoyed seeing Wallflower again. Hopefully, we'll get to see more of her in the future. Until next time.