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.