Chapter 33 Preview

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that I'm actually not gone and that I'm still working on the fic. It's been extremely slow since I've had to deal with some really stressful stuff in real life involving my family, but now that it's been dealt with I should be able to get some of this done more easily. So to keep you up to date in the meantime, here's a small sneak preview of what I'm working on:

“Ready the cannons!” shouted CaptainHookmon. Upon his command, a row of hatches opened in the side of his massive galleon, and from each one emerged a coal-black cannon barrel.

“T.K.! They’re pointed right at us!” exclaimed Patamon.

“Run!” T.K. shouted.

“Fire!”

Upon CaptainHookmon’s command, the cannons launched their ammunition in an explosion of gunpowder. The Digi-destined and their companions frantically scattered as the cannonballs hailed from above, crashing into the cobblestone streets at the edge of the harbor and the buildings beyond.

“Ha! Missed me!” Rainbow Dash gloated, easily dodging a cannonball by a wide margin. Her smirk quickly vanished when a second cannonball missed her by a much narrower margin, flying mere inches above her own head.

Another cannonball shot forth towards Yolei and Hawkmon, both of whom were scurrying across the street in a panic. The cannonball landed in Yolei’s path, sending her and Hawkmon jumping backward in surprise as it impacted the cobblestone in front of her.

A short distance away, Rarity had taken cover behind a collection of wooden barrels, which reeked of the smell of fish. A cannonball landed perfectly into one of the barrels, causing its contents to be splattered and displaced explosively out the opening, while the barrel miraculously remained intact. Rarity screamed in horror as she was coated in the splattered fish remains, parts of them entangling themselves in her once-pristine mane.

“T.K. , look out!” With a yell, Kari performed a running tackle on T.K., narrowly saving him from a stray cannonball by pinning him to the ground, his body facing upward and pressed against Kari as she looked down at him with concern. Patamon and Gatomon simply stared at the position their human partners had found themselves in.

Another cannonball flew straight over Cody’s head, crashing into the outside wall of a building several yards behind him. Cody stopped in his tracks and fell to his knees, sheltering his head with his arms as his entire body shivered in anxiety.

Then, just as quickly as it had happened, the cannonfire stopped. For a moment, all had gone deathly silent. In the temporary lull in the destruction, the Digi-destined and their companions took the time to gather themselves. Hawkmon helped pull Yolei to her feet, a task made all the more difficult by his short stature. Armadillomon offered an encouraging word as poked and prodded at Cody, who gradually came to his feet, still shuddering in fear.

In the meantime, Kari had picked herself off of the ground, and reached down to help T.K. up. T.K. reached out for Kari’s hand and grabbed it, letting Kari pull him to his feet. “Thanks,” he murmured, averting his gaze. A bright red flush appeared on Kari’s face, and she said nothing.

While Rainbow Dash surveyed the scene from above, her eyes were drawn to Rarity, who had crawled out dejectedly from behind the barrels, covered in fish entrails.

“Why meeee?” She sobbed melodramatically. “Why must I always be humiliated like this?”

CaptainHookmon let out a throaty, uproarious laugh. “Argh, what’s the matter? Ye landlubbers can’t even handle a wee bit of cannonfire? Ye’d never last a single day out on the high seas!”