//------------------------------// // Taste of the Forbidden Fruit // Story: Digimon Codex // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// It was another beautiful day in the Digital World and all seemed peaceful. But looks can be deceiving. In one corner of the Digital World, there were several mountains covering the area. Some were tall, some were short, some had many peaks and some had no peaks whatsoever. And at the base of one of these mountains, was a large village of champion and Rookie Level Digimon. On most days, this village would be a great place to live. There was plenty of food, lots of fresh water and the sun rose and set at the perfect angles so the light wasn't obstructed by the mountain. But today, something had torn the village's serene grace away. And that something was an earthquake. Earthquakes were a rare things in this area of the Digital World, but they still happened on occasion. And today, the earthquake struck with great power. So great, that the mountain besides the village was shaken up and caused to crack and break apart. "LANDSLIDE!" A Digimon yelled, as large rocks and boulders began to fall down towards the village. Down in the village, one Digimon was trying to lead the others to safety. This Digimon was a green humanoid lizard Digimon, who was covered in metal blades and carrying two large swords whilst dressed in native-looking clothing. "Move!" The Digimon cried, trying to get all his friends someplace safe. But he knew they couldn't escape the village in time. And sure enough, the rocks started crashing down on the village. Some were smashing down on buildings, whilst others simple crashed into the earth. But all the rocks shattered upon impact, sending pieces flying everywhere as they did. Many of the Digimon who weren't crushed under these boulders, found themselves getting pelted by the smaller rocks. The Digimon leader gasped as he saw an extra large boulder falling towards them, so rushed forward and pulled the blades of his back. "Lizard Dance!" He started spinning around and leapt into the air, the blades on his arms and in his hands slashing into the rock. Eventually, the rock shattered into pieces and the Digimon was able to knock them away from anyone. But as he stopped spinning, he was shocked to see three more giant boulders falling towards them. He couldn't stop all those. "Vee-Laser!" Suddenly, an X-shaped energy beam slammed into one of the boulders and destroyed it. The Digimon spun around and saw the cause, a blue dragon Digimon flying towards the village. And he wasn't the only one. A dark blue insect Digimon was also flying besides him and he quickly charged up his electrical energy. "Electro Shocker!" He fired the lightning at the second rock, also destroying it. At the same time, two other Digimon leapt off the dragon's back and flew towards the final giant rock. "Roundhouse Punt/Moon Night Kick!" The pair slammed their feet into the rock and pulverised it, the pair leaping down as four humans jumped off the dragon's back. Flash, Micro, Sandal and Trixie landed on the ground and looked over at the lizard Digimon, who smiled at them. "Thank you," he told them. "No problem," Flash nodded. "Happy to help. Just be thankful we were in the area." He nodded, only for the ground to suddenly start shaking again. "Wow!" "Aftershock!" Micro cried, as the mountain also shook. "That's not good." More of the mountain started breaking apart and falling towards the village, as the uninjured Digimon tried to move those that had been hurt in the first way. "Kabuterimon!" "Right!" The giant beetle flew up, ramming his head into one of the rocks. But as he smashed through it, another rock crashed down on him. "Augh!" There was another and another. Too many for Kabuterimon to handle. "Raaaah!" ExVeemon flew up and punched a rock before it could hit the insect, as Lekismon and Arbormon launched their long distance attacks to break several more. "Thanks," Kabuterimon told him. ExVeemon nodded, but looked up and saw even more rocks falling towards them. "There's just too many. We can't destroy them all." "Oh yes we can!" ExVeemon cried, "we will save these Digimon. Right Flash?" "Yeah!" Flash nodded, as his Digivice started glowing. "We're not gonna stop until every rock is destroyed!" Flash let out a mighty roar and as he did, his Digivice exploded with light that flew up towards ExVeemon. The blue dragonoid was suddenly surrounded by light, which formed a cocoon around him as he began to change. "ExVeemon, Digivolve to..." He grew larger inside the cocoon, his body slowly shape-shifting. His wings merged and changed colour, as a large spear grew out of his back and a mask appeared over his face. Finally, a pair of orbs appeared in his hands and he exploded out of the cocoon. "WINGDRAMON!" Everyone watched in amazement, as the dragon Digimon flew straight up the mountain. "Go Wingdramon!" Flash cried, as his partner's mouth filled with heat. "Blazing Sonic Breath!" He unleashed a heat-ray from his mouth and struck the mountain under the spot where the rocks were falling, causing it to melt. He drew a large line across the mountain and made a large section of it melt into a line of lava. The rocks soon landed in this magma and were slowed down, melting themselves and adding to the pile of lava. Said lava started falling down towards the village and everyone thought Wingdramon had just doomed them in a different way. But then, the Ultimate Digimon flew up and dived down. He picked up incredible speed and created a sonic boom as he did a V-turn and shot up the mountain. This unleashed a powerful gust of wind and as Wingdramon flew passed the lava, the gust struck it and blew all the heat out of it. In seconds, the lava cooled down to a chunk of rock that was spread out across the mountainside. Everyone was shocked at this, but quickly started celebrating as Wingdramon flew down. The other Digimon had all reverted back to their Rookie states, Micro rushing over to make sure Tentomon was okay. And as he watched Wingdramon land, he saw Flash rushing over to his side as the Digimon cheered for them both. This made him frown, as he realised how strong Flash had really gotten. Wingdramon began to glow and De-Digivolved, going all the way down to his In-Training Form. "You okay?" Flash asked as he picked DemiVeemon up. "I'm good," he assured him. "But...I'm kinda hungry." Flash nodded as the lizard Digimon stepped forward. "Brave heroes. I give you my thanks, once again. Your actions have turned this situation from a catastrophe to a simple disaster." Flash wasn't sure what the difference was between them. "No problem...um..." "You may call my Dinohyumon," he replied as he bowed. "Leader of this village. Or...what's left of it." They looked around and saw the damage done to the place. There were barely any houses left standing from the combination of the earthquake and rock-slides. But though the houses could be rebuilt, the Digimon were another story as many of them were severely injured. Many Digimon tried to help them, but their injuries were not something you could simple slap a band-aid on. "This isn't good," Flash gulped. "They need medical attention." "If only we had some HP Capsules," Sandalwood frowned. "What do we do?" Trixie asked, as Lunamon helped care for an injured Agumon. "Any ideas?" They all frowned, as Dinohyumon walked around his people looking upset. He leaned down and tried to comfort and injured Gaomon, as Flash stepped up to him. "Don't worry. We'll find a way to help them. We won't allow anyone here to get deleted. Even if we have to climb a mountain for a cure." Hearing this, Micro sighed. Flash really had come a long way since first coming to Codex. He had once been a total newb that had no idea how anything worked. But now, he was not only a seasoned player, but was practically leading them whenever they went out into the Digital World. And, of course, he was able to Digivolve to the Ultimate Level unlike the rest of them. Meanwhile, Dinohyumon thought about what Flash had just said and his eyes went wide. "That's it!" "What's it?" Mangoramon asked. "What's up man?" Sandal asked, "you look like someone just told you you'd won the lottery." "Climb a mountain," he explained before rushing over to a lake that was situated not to far from the village. The others followed and as they reached the lake, Dinohyumon pointed towards a mountain off in the distance. "There!" They all took a closer look and saw that it was a flat topped mountain roughly two miles. "That's where we need to go." "How is a mountain gonna help them?" Trixie asked, Dinohyumon turning to them. "Have any of your ever heard of a fruit called the Sena Fruit?" They all shook their heads. "Stories speak of a forest, hidden within the mouth of a long dead volcano. In this forest, a rare fruit is said to grow. The Sena Fruit. It is said that any Digimon that eats this fruit will be cured of any wound, scar or affliction." "Really?" Flash asked, "that's awesome. If we get some of this fruit, we can help your friends." "Hold on," Micro told him. "He said it's a rare fruit. Even if we can find this thing, there's no way there'll be enough to go around." The others frowned, knowing he was right. They looked around and tried to count the number of Digimon currently injured. But they kept losing count there were so many. "That's alright," Dinohyumon replied. "The fruit doesn't have to be directly eaten to allow a Digimon to heal." This peaked their interest. "It's said that if you squeeze the juice of the fruit into a water source, that water source shall gain the same healing properties as the fruit." "Really?" Tentomon asked, "that's amazing. It's like a miracle fruit." "Yes," Dinohyumon nodded. "Though it is said that doing this lessens the fruit's power. It'll only be able to heal recent damage caused to the Digimon. And the water source will only hold this power for a short amount of time." "How do you know so much about this fruit?" Mangoramon asked, with Dinohyumon thinking back. "When I was just a Kotemon, a disease spread across the town. My carer, Musyamon, searched for a cure until he met a Wisemon that told him about the fruit." "Makes sense," Flash nodded as the others wondered who Wisemon knew about the fruit. "So what are we waiting for? Let's get that fruit and save these Digimon." But before he could run towards it, Dinohyumon raised a hand. "Hold on. You must be careful. That forest is supposed to be filled with vicious Plant Digimon, that don't take kindly to intruders. Musyamon had to drink some of the fruit water himself when he returned, due to how much damage he received getting it." "I see," Micro crossed his arms and thought. "I guess that rules out flying there. If they see us, they won't hesitate to start blasting us out of the sky." "We can still fly to it," Sandal suggested. "We fly there and keep below the mountain's top. Then we sneak in, get the fruit, then port our way back here." "That's not a bad plan," Trixie smiled as they all scanned the area. But as they did, Micro turned to Flash and remembered what had happened before. As he did, something inside him told the teen he had to do this on his own. "I'm gonna head to the forest and get the fruit," he told them. This shocked the group, since they figured they would all be going. "If we need to sneak in, less people going is a good idea." "Then shouldn't Sandal be the one to go," Flash suggested. "Mangoramon's a plant Digimon, so he'd stick out less." "Maybe, but Tentomon can fly in his Rookie form. That'll make scouting a lot easier." He turned to Flash, giving him a serious look. "I'm going. Don't try and stop me." Flash seemed surprised by this, looking like he was ready to argue. But before he could, Sandal rushed up besides them. "Hey, let's chill. Micro and I will get the fruit. Flash and Trixie will stay here. Besides, it's not like you could come anyway." He pointed at DemiVeemon on Flash's head, the In-Training appearing to have fallen asleep. Flash sighed, nodding. "Alright. I guess someone has to stick around in case there's another earthquake." He turned to Micro, "just be careful." "I'll try," Micro nodded as he, Tentomon, Sandal and Mangoramon began to walk away. Dinohyumon went with them for a bit, telling them everything he knew about the Sena Fruit. As they did, Trixie stepped over to him. "Alright," she frowned, "what the heck was that?" "I'm not sure," Flash watched Micro leave and looked worried. "For the last week or so, Micro's been acting funny." "Last week?" Trixie tried to think, "you mean ever since you got to the Champion Level." Flash hadn't thought of that, but he realised she was right. After the celebration, Micro had started acting funny around him. "What, you think he's jealous?" "What would he have to be jealous of?" Flash asked. "You know, aside from the obvious good looks and dashing personality that I have." Trixie rolled her eyes and turned to help the other Digimon make their way over to the lake. If the other two got back with the fruit, they would need everyone as close to the water as possible to allow them to quickly drink it up. Dinohyumon lead the four through the forest until the mountain got in closer. "I think that's everything," Dinohyumon had instilled all the knowledge of the Sena Fruit he had into them. "The rest is up to you now. Please, find that fruit. It's the only chance we have." "Don't worry," Micro told him. "We'll find it. We won't come back until we do." The others were a little surprised with Micro saying that, Dinohyumon nodding before he started heading back to the village. Once he was gone, Micro turned to his partner. "Alright, Tentomon. Time to Digivolve!" "Alright," Tentomon nodded. "But since speed if of the essence, might I suggest that scan you traded Thorax for." Micro nodded and typed away at his Digivice, loading the scan in question. Once it was loaded, he held the device up and Tentomon flew into the air before he was surrounded with light. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger and eventually, a humanoid insect Digimon broke out of it. "Stingmon!" The Champion Level Digimon quickly flew down and scooped the group up, flying them into the air and heading towards the mountain. Stingmon might not have had as much power as Kabuterimon, but he more than made up for it with his much higher speed. Because of this, they managed to reach the mountain in absolutely no time at all. Once there, Stingmon flew up the side of it as the others kept a watchful eye out for any other Digimon that might see them. Eventually, they were a few hundred feet from the top and Stingmon stopped. "Thank you for flying Air Stingmon," he put them down as he started glowing. He shrank back down to Tentomon, as Micro, Sandal and Mangoramon started climbing up the side of the cliff. Luckily, it wasn't to much of a steep climb and Tentomon was there when it looked like they were about to slip. Eventually, they reached the very top and pulled themselves up. There they found themselves staring at a giant stone bowl, large enough to fit a large town inside. Looking into the bowl, they found it was just as Dinohyumon had described. A large forest inside of the mountain, with multiple streams running through it that pooled into several lakes. The whole place looked like a paradise. One that they would need to enter in order to get the fruit they needed. "Let's go," Micro stated as they leapt over the rock and started sliding down the side of the mountain. They had to be care, so as to not lose their footing and roll to their death. As such, getting to the bottom of the area took a while. But eventually, they found themselves sliding into the top of a tree. Climbing down said tree, they found themselves in the forest. It was kind of weird, given how isolated the place seemed. There was no way to see over the top of the mountain bowl, so anyone who lived there would have no idea what the outside would could look like. "Okay," Sandal looked around, "any idea where we find this Sana Fruit?" "Dinohyumon it could be found near large bodies of water," Micro explained. "Let's start looking around the lakes." The others nodded as Tentomon took to the air. "I'll do some aerial reconnaissance." "Just be careful," Micro told him as he flew up. "Remember, the Digimon that live here aren't too friendly." Tentomon nodded as he flew above the trees and looked around, seeing the closest lake was to the east. He pointed this out to the ones on the ground and they all headed in that direction. As they did, none of them noticed they were being watched. The one watching was a small pink Digimon, with a flower on its head. It was hanging from a tree, the vine on the top of its flower head wrapped around the branch as she stared at them. A worried look appeared on her face, as she released the tree and fell to the ground. A large leaf acted as a cushion for her, allowing the In-Training Digimon to land safely before bouncing towards another tree. At the base of the tree, a hole could be seen that was hidden beneath the trunk. The Digimon leapt into this hole and slid down a passageway, eventually coming out at a large chamber. In this chamber, water was pooling at the bottom of it being fed by a tunnel higher up and not overflowing due to another tunnel draining it away. Something way laying in the pool. Something large and beastial. The In-Training Digimon looked down at the creature and called out to it. "Toropiamon. Someone is here. Someone is searching for the Sana Fruit." "Is that so," the creature lifted its head out of the water. "They dare steal our home's treasure? Then they shall face my wrath." Back in the forest, Tentomon had lead them to the larger water body and the group were now searching for the fruit. "See anything?" Micro asked, as he checked on of the trees surrounding the shore. Sandalwood was further along, doing the same whilst Mangoramon was even further. The pair saw no sign of a fruit on any of the trees, making them shake their heads. Tentomon then flew in, "no sign of fruit on any of these trees." Micro sighed, "Dinohyumon did say it was rare. It's possible another Digimon picked it already." He turned to the others. "Let's head to the next lake." They nodded and once Tentomon determined where the closest lake was, they headed in that direction. As they did, Sandal turned to Micro. "So, little bud, what's got your aura all out of whack?" "Huh?" Micro looked at him like he was nuts, Sandal smirking. "You practically jumped at the chance to come here and almost begged Flash to stay behind. What happened? Did you guys have a fight or something." "No," Micro shook his head. "I just...if Flash came along I know he would have found the fruit and everything would have turned out alright." Sandal looked confused by this. "So...isn't that what we want?" "Well...yeah. But, do you remember our fight with Therizinomon?" Sandalwood nodded. "The rest of us were completely useless when it showed up and it looked like we were gonna lose. But then, Flash managed to Digivolve to Ultimate and everything turned out great." "I'm still not following." "Don't you get it? I was the one who introduced Flash to Codex. I was the one who taught him so much. I thought that, one day, he'd catch up to me and we'd be equals. But now, Flash hasn't just caught up but zoomed ahead of me." "That's not true." "How isn't it? Flash can Digivolve to Ultimate and he managed to get into the Champion Rank. Even though I have way more experience than him, he's now seen as one of the strongest players in Codex." Sandalwood hadn't thought of it like that. He had to admit, Micro had a point. Flash really had grown since their battle against one another. No doubt if they faced off again, Sandalwood wouldn't be able to beat Flash. "So...that's why you wanted to come here." "Flash got as strong as he is because of all those insane adventures he's been on. All those battles made him way stronger than me. So the only way to catch up, is to go on an adventure like this myself." "Okay, I get that. But Micro, Flash didn't go looking for trouble when he found himself in those situations. And I'm sure getting stronger would be the last thing he was thinking about, if he was trying to get this fruit. Digimon's lives are on the line. Now really isn't the time to try and push yourself." Micro frowned, knowing he was right. But what other choice did he have? He needed a situation where he had to succeed. That was the only way to get stronger. "You're right. Sorry. But now, we don't have a choice. We have to get that fruit." Sandal nodded and they kept walking. "You know, Micro. I don't think you should really compare yourself to Flash." Micro turned to him. "Yeah, Flash got to the Ultimate Level first, but so what? You and he are completely different people. And you both play Digimon two completely different ways. Flash goes all in and fights with his heart. You fight with your mind. Both are great ways to play. They're two different paths to the same destination, that's all." "I guess," Micro nodded. "But maybe that's the problem. Maybe I don't use my heart enough. Maybe to get to the Ultimate Level, I need to stop thinking and start doing." Sandalwood frowned, not liking where Micro was going with this idea. But before he could say anything, they heard a rustling in the bushes ahead of them. They all got into a battle stance, as the rustling got louder. And suddenly, a trio of Digimon that looked like giant pears with mouths, tentacles and petal hair shot out of bushes towards them. "Weedmon!" Mangoramon cried, as the Digimon began to whip their tendrils at them. Mangoramon quickly leapt in front of the three as he glowed. "Mangoramon, Digivolve to..." The whips bounced of the light, as Mangoramon transformed into a more humanoid form. The light then exploded off of him, revealing his Champion Form. "Arbormon!" The Legendary Warrior of Wood quickly swung his foot around, as it detached and struck one of the Weedmon. The first living plant was knocked backwards, whilst the other two continued to charge at him. "Super Shocker!" A blast of lightning flew down and stopped the pair from advancing, Tentomon heading down towards them. "Get 'em, Arbormon!" Arbormon nodded as his leg retracted back to him, the cyborg Digimon pulling his fist back. "Roundhouse Punt!" He launched his fists forward and punched the Weedmon several times, making them cry out with every impact. The three Weedmon were all knocked backwards and once they realised they couldn't win, they all ran...hopped for it. Micro and Sandalwood sighed in relief, turning to their Digimon and giving their thanks. "We should hurry," Arbormon told them. "I don't think they're gonna stay gone for long. Probably went to get reinforcements." "You're right," Micro nodded. "Let's go!" They ran towards the lake, hoping the Sena Fruit would be there. "Hold on guys. We'll be back soon. Just hold out a little longer." Back at the village, Flash, Trixie, DemiVeemon, Lunamon and Dinohyumon were getting worried. The Digimon who had been injured were starting to leak out data from the injuries they had sustained. Like blood spilling from an open gash, the data fell out and flew into the air like embers from a flame. In order to help stop this data lose, Flash, Trixie and Lunamon were doing what they could to block the open wounds. "Are there anymore bandages?" Trixie called out, as Lunamon rushed passed her. "No, we're fresh out!" She reached a Gaomon and saw he was leaking a lot of data. "What do we do?" She tried to think of some of her Champion forms, hoping one of the ones Trixie had might be able to heal them. But none of them had a healing power like that. Dinohyumon eventually returned, having ventured into the forest stating he was getting something that might be able to help. That something were a bunch of large leaves and a bucket of mud. "Here!" He put them down, "we smear the leaves in a thin layer of mud and stick it to the wound. That should allow it to act as a bandage?" "Um," Flash didn't look so sure, "isn't mud in an open wound a bad thing?" "Maybe on you planet. But here, this particular type of mud can work as an anti-inflammatory. Excellent for dealing with battlefield injuries, but not so great if it's kept on for too long." "I get it," Flash poured some mud on a leaf. "Hopefully, it'll work to help the Digimon until Sandal and Micro return." "If they return," Trixie gulped. "Those two have been gone way too long." She took a makeshift bandage and moved over to a Digimon. "Are you sure they're gonna make it in time?" "Just have faith," Flash told her. "Finding a rare flower isn't gonna be easy." "And that's assuming they even find it at all," Dinohyumon stated. "Musyamon might have got one, but who knows if the tree is still there. Musyamon almost died getting it. If your friends run into the same issue..." "They'll make it," Flash assured him. "You don't know much about Micro, but that guy never stops once he's decided to do something. Whether it's figuring out an insanely complex equation, finding a rare Digimon scan, or getting something to help those in need. Micro will use every tool in his arsenal to figure out how to do it. And with that big brain of his, he'll discover the secret to doing anything that seems impossible." Dinohyumon sighed. "I hope you're right." They continued to apply the leaf bandages to the Digimon, which slowed the data loss but didn't stop it completely. If Micro and Sandal didn't get back soon, thing were gonna end badly. Back at the mountain bowl, Micro, Sandal and their Digimon had arrived at the lake. Tentomon flew up and looked around, seeing no sign of fruit on any of the surrounding trees. But then, he looked towards the lake and was surprised to see a small island in the middle of it. And on this island was a tree, with several pieces of fruit growing out of it. "Can it be?" He flew towards it, believing their hard work was about to be rewarded. However, as he was getting closer to the island, something shot out of the water too fast for Tentomon to react. The next thing he knew, he was getting slammed by it and sent flying. "Tentomon!" Micro gasped, seeing his partner be knocked away by something. Taking a closer look, he saw it was a long green vine-like tendril, that had pink leaves around the end of it and a long yellow sting weapon. As Tentomon crashed into the lake, another tendril appeared besides the first. Then, something slowly rose out of the water and revealed itself to be a huge Digimon of around AeroVeedramon's height. It was a fusion of both dinosaur and plant. It stood on two feet, though it looked like it could walk on all fours if it wanted to. Its body was mostly white and green, its arms and legs covered in wood whilst its back had a quartet of leaf wings. Its head was like that of a T-rex, with wood on the top, two purple whiskers on the front and and a bunch of red petals at the back of its head. Around its neck, acting like a jacket collar, were two more large petals that were green on the outside and pink on the inside. They all gasped seeing it. "Toropiamon," Arbormon gulped as Tentomon picked himself up out of the water. "What's the big idea?" The ladybug Digimon asked, "don't you know it's rude to knock somebody out of the air?" Toropiamon glared down at him, Tentomon suddenly feeling very small in comparison. Toropiamon growled before turning to the humans. "You will leave." "Fine," Micro told him. "But we need a Sena Fruit for the Digimon in a town that are hurt." "NOOOOOO!" He roared, which shook the ground around them and made the lake turn into a massive wave pool. "The Sena Fruit are our treasure. Those that attempt to steal them will feel my wrath!" Micro frowned, seeing he wasn't going to be reasoned with. "I'm getting that fruit. You can't stop me." The beast roared, as Tentomon stepped up next to him. "Are you ready?" "I am. But are you sure this is a good idea. Toropiamon is an Ultimate Level Digimon." Micro knew that and knew their chances of winning were slim to none. And those chances got even worse when they heard noises coming from the bushes behind them, the four glancing back and seeing a bunch of Weedmon appearing from behind them. It seems the three from before had returned with friends, the group finding themselves staring down opponents on both sides. "This isn't good," Sandal stood back to back with Micro. "You sure you wanna do this? We might still be able to fight our way out." "No," Micro shook his head, "I have to do this. Not just for me, but for those Digimon too." He took out his Digivice. "Let's do this, Tentomon!" "I'm with you!" The insect Digimon leapt into the air, as light exploded out of Micro's Digivice and surrounded his partner. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger before exploding, revealing the giant blue beetle Digimon. "Kabuterimon!" Micro nodded, as Sandal and Arbormon rushed towards the Weedmon. "We'll hold these guys off! You guys do whatever you need to get that flower!" Micro nodded, as the pair leapt through the bushes. "Go, Arbormon!" "Roundhouse Punt!" Arbormon swung his arms and legs around, the four launching off his body and connecting with the Weedmon. But each time he knocked one down, another appeared to take its place. "This ain't gonna be easy." "Yeah," Sandal nodded. "But we gotta do this if we want Micro to have a chance of getting that fruit." The glared at the Weedmon, "you guys are going down!" "Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon launched a blast of electrical energy towards Toropiamon, aiming for the lake intending to zap him by surprise. But Toropiamon quickly leapt into the air and spread his leaf wings, allowing him to take flight and avoid the attack completely. As he did, the petals around his neck started giving off a strange orange powder. "Petal Carnage!" With a beat of his wings, a gust of air blew the pollen towards Kabuterimon. The giant bug covered his mouth, expecting this to be some kind of poison cloud. But then the pollen made contact with him and when it did, a massive explosion filled the air and he roared at the intense heat. He was blown backwards, Micro gasping at this, whilst Toropiamon flew forward and slashed at Kabuterimon with his claws. Kabuterimon barely had time to react, grabbing Toropiamon's claws and attempting to hold them back. But Toropiamon was just too strong and and swung the claws around, sending Kabuterimon flying down towards the lake. "Kabuterimon!" Micro cried, as his partner crashed into the ground. "NO!" Kabuterimon laid on the ground, moaning as he tried to push himself back up. "Come on, you gotta get up!" As he said this, Toropiamon flew down and smashed his tails down atop the insect. Kabuterimon roared in pain, at the twin tail crushed him underneath him. Toropiamon then spun around and kicked Kabuterimon flying over the lake. Micro gasped, now seeing just how powerful Toropiamon really was. "This was a mistake." He watched as Toropiamon made his way towards Kabuterimon. "No, I can't let myself succumb to fear." He pushed his glasses up, "Flash was probably terrified by Therizinomon and he still kept fighting. I have to do the same. Come on, Kabuterimon. FIGHT!" But Kabuterimon didn't appear to be in much position to fight back against his opponent. "Blockade Seed!" Arbormon unleashed a barrage of seeds, which slammed into the Weedmon and started tying them up. Arbormon then continued to fight against the large horde of Digimon attempting to destroy them, the Legendary Warrior of Wood showing why he was such a famous Digimon. "Go Arbormon!" Sandal cheered, "those Weedmon don't stand a chance against you!" "Deadly Ivy!" Many Weedmon roared, as they spun their vine arms towards Arbormon. But before they could hit, Arbormon leapt into the air and the vines ended up hitting each other. The Weedmon flinched at this, as Arbormon started spinning in the air. "Roundhouse Punt!" His arms and legs shot at the plant Digimon and knocked them all flying backwards, Arbormon falling back to the ground and retracting the limbs back to them. "Yeah, how'd you like that?" Sandal smirked, but then felt something. Another presence, which was slowly approaching them from within the forest. "Arbormon, something's coming!" The Champion Digimon noticed it as well, quickly putting his fists up ready to fight whatever was coming. They watched, as a large figure appeared that seemed to be a giant mass of tentacles. It pushed several trees over, as it revealed itself to be a giant flower Digimon with a yellow face, purple leaves and a giant mouth. Its body was made out of thorny tendrils and its arms had black and red versions of its head that had no eyes. "A Blossomon," Arbormon realised. "Not good." As he said that, Blossomon raised its arms before swinging them around. "Sandal, get someplace safe!" Sandal didn't argue, as Blossomon yelled out. "Spiral Flower!" The small heads on its vines detached and flew through the air, the petals on them turning it into some kind of shuriken that sliced through anything it touched. The Weedmon had run away, not wanting to get in Blossomon's way whilst Arbormon did his best to avoid some of the attacks. But one of them managed to hit his shoulder and he cried out as he staggered backwards. "Arbormon!" Sandalwood cried, as the heads grew back on Blossomon's vines. The Ultimate Level Digimon then thrust its tendrils forward, the mouths on the head snapping open and shut. Arbormon started jumping around, avoiding the attacks as best he could. But one managed to get right in front of him and he could only grab it by the mouth. He grunted, as he was pushed backwards whilst struggling to keep the beast's jaw's open. Eventually, he found himself pinned to the tree as the other tendril heads coiled around him and prepared to swallow him whole. "Raaah!" Arbormon forced the head down into the ground and leapt onto it, the other heads missing him as he ran up and pulled his fist back. "Roundhouse Punt!" He leapt forward and threw the punch into Blossomon's face, but the attack did absolutely nothing. "No way!" Sandalwood cried, as Blossomon swung a vine around and knocked Arbormon flying. The Cyborg Digimon crashed into the ground, crying out in pain as he did so. He rolled onto his front and picked himself up, as Blossomon approached. "Can't...give up. Gotta...keep fighting." Back with Micro, he could only watch as Kabuterimon was constantly wailed on again and again. Toropiamon slashed at him with his claws, then swung his tail around to knock him back before unleashing the explosive pollen. Micro flinched as his partner took more and more damage, all the while unsure what to do. "Come on. What would Flash do?" But all he could think was that Flash would just keep fighting and somehow win. That wasn't working here. In that moment, Toropiamon leapt backwards and took a deep breath. "Tropical Venom!" A purple gas exploded out of his mouth, completely covering Kabuterimon. Micro gasped at this, fearing the worst as Kabuterimon started screaming in pain. The insect Digimon felt himself being deleted from the inside, with Toropiamon continuing to stop on him. "I have to do something. But what? What would Flash do?" It was then that he remembered what Sandal had said earlier. "And you both play Digimon two completely different ways. Flash goes all in and fights with his heart. You fight with your mind. Both are great ways to play. They're two different paths to the same destination, that's all." "Sandal was right. I can't just keep fighting and hope everything turns out alright. I've gotta use my brain and make things turn out alright." He looked around, trying to think of a way to help Kabuterimon. Then, he looked over at the Sena Fruit tree and realised something. "That's it!" He dove into the water, swimming towards the island. Arbormon leapt into the air to avoid Blossomon's attack, as his mouth opened up. "Seed Blockade!" He fired a bunch of seeds out of his mouth, hitting Blossomon before they opened up and started sprouting vines around him. Arbormon hoped this would be enough to lock the Ultimate in place, but Blossomon quickly raised its other heads and started chomping through the vines. "Not good." Sandalwood watched as Blossomon freed itself and once again charged, slamming Arbormon with its vines. "No!" He yelled, as the sound of Kabuterimon's cries also filled the air. "We can't let this thing pass. Micro needs more time." Arbormon groaned as he picked himself up. "We won't quite." "Not now, not ever!" Arbormon stood tall and took a deep breath, as Sandal's Digivice started glowing. Micro finally reached the island and with Toropiamon focused on Kabuterimon, it didn't notice him climb out the water and run for the tree. He leapt up and grabbed one of the fruit, rushing back to the water and crushing it in his hands. "I hope this works." The juice dripped out of his hands and into the water, a glow coming out of it. "Yes!" He watched, as the lake turned bright red like the fruit. "Kabuterimon, drink up!" As soon as the water around Kabuterimon turned red, he started drinking it. And when he did, he suddenly found himself healing along with the pain in his body vanishing. Toropiamon saw this and was shocked, as Kabuterimon's body sparked. "Electro Shocker!" The lightning exploded out of him and filled the lake, Micro getting far away from the water, with Toropiamon getting the zapping of a lifetime. It roared and staggered back, as Kabuterimon began to pick itself up. Micro smiled as he realised Sandal had been right. "Flash has his way of playing this game, and I have mine." His Digivice started glowing. "And as long as I keep following my path to get stronger, I know I'll catch up with Flash." He looked up at Toropiamon. "I'm not gonna let you beat me!" Sandal glared at Blossomon, "I'm not gonna let you beat me!" The two humans didn't notice their Digivices glowing brighter, as their Digimon felt a rush of strength flowing through them. And then, the pair spoke in perfect unison. "We're gonna take that fruit and help our friends! No matter what!" With that, the two Digivices exploded with light that the pair finally noticed. Micro and Sandal stared down at their Digivices in amazement, as the light flew out and towards their partners. Kabuterimon and Arbormon were quickly surrounded in a cocoon of light, the pair undergoing an amazing transformation within it. "Arbormon/Kabuterimon, Digivolve to..." Arbormon's wooden body began to crack apart, as something inside of it started expanding within it. Eventually, the whole thing exploded and revealed the large plant lizard Digimon. He continued to grow larger and larger, growing flower parts as he did so. Eventually, he was even larger than Blossomon and roared as he flicked his twin tails around. "Petaldramon!" Kabuterimon's body started charging colour, turning from blue to a crimson red. The only things that stayed blue were his hands and feet, which his horn grew longer and gained an axe-like protrusion on the end. Then, his wings glowed and merged together on his back to form a large red shell with a blue orb on the back of it. The new Digimon broke out of the cocoon and was now as large as Toropiamon. "MegaKabuterimon!" The two new Ultimates landed and glared down their opponents, as their partners watched in amazement. "No way," Micro gasped. "Wicked," Sandal smirked. Their opponents were shocked by this turn of events, but quickly got over it and attacked. But Petaldramon and MegaKabuterimon were ready. "Thorn Jab!" Petaldramon stabbed his tail into the ground and from out of it, a bunch of thorny roots exploded around Blossomon and started slamming into the Ultimate. Blossomon roared at this and tried to fire its shurikens, cutting through the vines. But as it did, Petaldramon leapt onto its back legs as its flower collar started spinning. "Leaf Cyclone!" A blast of air exploded out of his nostril and a giant tornado of leaves began flying towards Blossomon. It slammed into the mass of viney tentacles and pushed him backwards, slamming him through several trees until he finally left the range of the wind. He crashed into the ground and the trees started falling towards it, crushing it beneath the mass of wood. Petaldramon roared as he started glowing, then began to shrink down. Sandalwood saw this and rushed over to his partner, expecting to see Mangoramon. But instead, he saw something else instead. It looked like Mangoramon's head, only he was just a head with a smaller version of his head leaf. Coming out the back was a small root that looked like Mangoramon's tail. "Mangoramon?" He picked him up, as the Digimon opened his eyes and smiled. "I'm Sproutmon." Sandal smirked, "nice to meet you, Sproutmon. You were great back there." He then heard a roar and turned back to the lake, rushing out of the trees to see Toropiamon and MegaKabuterimon wrestling against one another. "No way, Kabuterimon Digivolved too?" MegaKabuterimon pushed Toropiamon back, as the bottom of his shell suddenly exploded and unleashed a blast of fire. This allowed him to rocket into the air, Toropiamon following after him. But as it did, MegaKabuterimon flew around and charged down towards him. "Body Blow!" He roared, accelerating down and slamming his horn into the dragon. The impact knocked the beast backwards, allowing MegaKabuterimon to pull back and began building power within him. As he did, Toropiamon regained control and started shaking his head. "Petal Carnage!" The pollen flew off his body and with a beat of his wings, were sent towards MegaKabuterimon. But when the cloud hit he beetle and exploded, MegaKabuterimon wasn't even scratched. Instead, the insect sparked with electrical energy which flew out of the orb on his back and into his horn. This resulted in the horn's axe head to be surrounded in an electric sphere. "HORN BUSTER!" The lightning exploded off of it and shot towards Toropiamon, slamming into it and causing a massive explosion. Toropiamon roared as it fell out of the sky and crashed into the lake, making Micro and Sandalwood cheer as MegaKabuterimon flew down. But as he did, he started glowing before his body shrank down. When the light faded, it revealed a small pink blob with arms. He fell a good ten feet until Micro caught him, the In-Training Digimon looking exhausted. "Motimon. You did it." "We did it," Motimon smiled. "Because you believed in your own abilities, you were able to help me Digivolve to Ultimate." Micro smiled at this, only to hear movement coming from the lake. He looked down and realised the lake was still red, meaning it could heal any Digimon that drank from it. And since Toropiamon fell into the water... "Uh oh." He rushed up to the tree and grabbed another Sena Fruit, as the water exploded with Toropiamon raising from it. Micro quickly hid behind the tree and glanced around it, spotting Sandalwood at the shore. The teen quickly held up the fruit and Sandal nodded, the pair taking out their Digivices. As Toropiamon swam around the island and glared at where they were, Micro and Sandal ported out of the place. Toropiamon tried to grab Micro, but they vanished at the last second. The beast let out a mighty roar, furious that it had allowed the thieves to escape. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Back at the village, Dinohyumon was beginning to grow terrified. The attempts they had made to keep the Digimon from losing data were no longer working. With every passing second, the Digimon grew weaker and weaker. It wouldn't be long before they were all deleted and when that happened, Micro and the others getting back would be too late. "Please hold on," Lunamon cried. "The others are gonna be here soon." Gaomon coughed as more data leaked out. "I'm...I'm not sure I can last much longer." Lunamon looked ready to start crying, fearing all their efforts would be in vain. But then, a flash of light appeared next to everyone. They looked around and gasped when they saw the four appear, Flash and Trixie noting the Digimon were in their In-Training form. "Micro!" Flash rushed over to him, "did you get it?" Micro smirked as he held up a particular red fruit. "You sure that's the Sena Fruit?" Trixie asked, as Micro stepped over to the lake. "Oh, we're sure. I just watched one of these turn an entire lake into the fountain of healing." He knelt down and squeezed the fruit, crushing it and causing the juice to drip into the water. Doing so caused it to slowly turn red, allowing Dinohyumon and the other village Digimon to start filling cups and buckets. Soon enough, all the injured Digimon were being fed this healing water. "Hurry," Lunamon gave Gaomon a sip of the red liquid. As he drank it, he started glowing with the wound in his side slowly healing up. "It's working." The other Digimon began to heal as well, whilst Micro and Sandalwood told Flash and Trixie everything that had happened. "Seriously?" Flash was amazed, "you Digivolved to Ultimate?" They nodded, as Sandalwood scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, though mine wasn't really that stable. Petaldramon De-Digivolved in less than a minute. Micro was the one that managed to keep his Evolution going longer." The other two smiled at Micro, who seemed a little sheepish. "It was nothing," he told them. "Really." He turned to Flash, "I'm sorry." Flash looked confused by this. "Ever since you got the the Champion rank, I felt like you somehow got ahead of me. I wanted to catch up and I thought being more like you would help me do that. That's why I was so keen on going on this adventure." "Micro," Flash sighed. "You don't need to be more like me to be awesome. You're awesome in your own special way." "Yeah," Micro nodded, "I get that now. It wasn't until I stopped trying to be you and acted more like me, that I managed to turn the tables and help Kabuterimon Digivolve. You have your way of battling and I have mine." Flash smirked and held up a fist, "that's what makes us such an awesome team. Together, we have a way of fighting that can take anyone down." Micro smiled and bumped his fist, DemiVeemon and Motimon leaping onto their arms and doing the same. Everyone laughed, as Dinohyumon moved over to them. "I want to once again thank you all," he told him. "You saved my village and saved my friends. We are indebted to you." "You don't owe us anything," Flash assured him. "We only did what anyone would do when they saw other in need." The others nodded. Dinohyumon smiled at this. "You are all heroes worthy of respect," he told them. "I hope the next time you come here, my village will be rebuilt and we can properly celebrate everything you've done for us." They smiled at this, liking the sound of that. They had all been through a lot and they had all come out stronger for it. Now Micro and Sandal had accessed the Ultimate Level, but only time would tell if it was a one off or if they had truly levelled up. There were many challenges awaiting them in the future and to overcome them, they would all need to grow stronger. As they continued their adventures in the Digital World.