//------------------------------// // A Rematch To Remember // Story: Digimon Codex // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// 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.