In the Digital World, a large group of humans and Digimon were making their way through a forest towards a mountain.
Flash Sentry led the group, Veemon by his side, with Twilight, Thorax, Rainbow, Micro, Applejack, Trixie, Rarity, Sandalwood, Fluttershy, Pinkie and their Digimon following right behind them. As they marched through the trees, Flash pulled some of the foliage back and got a better look at the mountain.
"You sure this is the right place?" He asked, looking back at Twilight.
The girl hummed as she stared at the mountain. "It's in the area my brother told us it would be." The others looked up at the mountain, Thorax chief amongst them. As they did, he remembered what lead them to this moment in the first place.
Earlier that day.
"How did we get to Ultimate?" Shining asked, turning to Thorax as he and Grubmon stood there. "What the sudden interest?"
"Flash got to Ultimate," Thorax stated. "So did Micro, Sandal and Trixie. I've been in this game longer than most of them and they all managed to pass the Ultimate limit before me. So it's not just a matter of time spent in the game. So I'm wondering, how did you and Monodramon manage to reach the Ultimate Level? If I learn how you did it, I'll know more about what you need to get to that Level. Then, the next time I'm up against a powerful opponent, I'll be ready."
Shining and Monodramon shared a look, as Flash and the rest of their friends happened to walk past and see them talking. "Well, I ended up stumbling across an area that forced me to push past my limits."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Thorax asked, as Shining took out his Digivice.
"There's a mountain in this area," he showed him a location scan. "That mountain holds a place known as the Cave of Reflection. I think you'd be better going there yourself and seeing what's waiting for you on your own."
Thorax saw the location and knew he had a copy of it. But what could be waiting for him there?
And now, there they were. Flash and the others had decided to tag along, each wanting to see what it was that had made Shining able to Digivolve to the Ultimate Level.
"What do you think this Cave of Reflections is all about?" Rainbow asked as they continued onwards.
"Maybe it's full of mirrors," Rarity suggested. She clearly liked the sound of that, the girl careful not to let her hair get caught onto a branch that Applejack had pushed up to get past. The others had a feeling she might be right. But as they continued through the woods, a suddenly explosion of pink smoke flew up into the air up ahead and they all had to cover their ears.
"What the heck was that?" Micro asked, as Tentomon flew up to try and see if there was any sign of a battle.
"I'm not sure," he called back down. "Should we go and check it out?" The others nodded and rushed off, as the pink smoke slowly faded into the air.
As they arrived, they saw a small blast mark on the ground and something appeared to be laying in it. A Digimon. "You okay?" Flash rushed over to him, as the Digimon began to sit himself up.
"Ooowee!" He cried, "guess I shouldn't have mixed those two chemicals together." He saw Flash and Veemon offer him a hand and raised his arms, the sleeves he was wearing being too long for his hands to be seen.
As he stood up, everyone got a good look at him. He was roughly the same size of the humans, though most of his height seemed to come from the large hat he was wearing. He was a humanoid wearing a green cloak and green pants. His cloak was covering most of his face, keeping it hidden as only a pair of yellow eyes could be seen between it and the hat. The cloak had red and yellow parts on the shoulders, sleeve ends and at the bottom of the stomach. His chest had a strange Japanese symbol on it and his knees had pads that were round and had mirrors on them.
The Digimon brushed himself off before looking around. "Hello there. Name's Apothemon. What can I do for you all?"
"We were exploring the area when we saw the explosion," Twilight explained. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes. Happens all the time. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs." Suddenly, several vials of liquid appeared from out of his sleeve and he started shaking them up and mixing them together. Everyone stepped back, as he finished the concoction and downed it. As he did, the scruffs and damage to his body disappeared. "So," he put the vials away, "you folks are exploring? Anything specific?"
"We're searching for the Cave of Reflection," Thorax told him. "A friend of ours said it was where he went to get stronger, so we're gonna check it out and do the same."
"Cave of Reflections, huh? Oow, you sure you wanna go there? Dangerous place, I'll tell you that much."
"Really?" Trixie asked, "what makes it so dangerous?"
"There's a Digimon that lives there. Super strong. If he catches you in his territory, you might find yourself never able to get back out." The sound of this super strong Digimon made them all interested, though Fluttershy, Thorax and Micro didn't like the idea of purposefully walking into one's territory and possibly angering it. "But if you lot really wanna go there, it's on the eastern side of that mountain," he pointed in the direction they had been heading and everyone nodded.
They gave their thanks and left, as Apothemon watched them leave.
"So, they wanna get stronger? But what do they want to get stronger for?" He hummed before taking out a vial and throwing it to the ground, a burst of pink smoke filling the air and surrounding him. When it faded away, Apothemon was gone.
It wasn't long before the group made it to the eastern side of the mountain, where they started searching for the mentioned cave entrance.
"See anything?" Micro asked the Digimon in the air, Tentomon and Aurumon shaking their heads before flying back down.
"Nothing," Tentomon stated. "I don't know what that Apothemon was saying. There's no cave entrance here." The others frowned as they wondered if the strange Digimon had been playing a joke on them. But some of them had a feeling Apothemon had been telling the truth, but that had to mean there was something more at work here.
Thorax hummed as he stepped up to the mountain's base and placed a hand on it, Grubmon looking at him. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking there might be more to this mountain than we can see," Thorax started as he started tapping the rock. "If the entrance really is here, there's a chance it might be hidden."
"Like the cave I found the Digimental of Courage in," Flash realised. "I get it." He also started tapping the rock, expecting his hand to phase through it or something. He continued to do this for several moments, until he came to a branch sticking out of the wall. "Maybe it's higher up." He grabbed the branch and tried to us it to pull himself up and touch a higher part of the wall.
But as soon as he tried, he found the branch suddenly shifted downwards. It didn't break, but was soon pointing down as a clicking sound caught their attention.
Part of the wall then slid backwards, creating a square opening before it slide to the left into the mountain's side.
They stared into the newly made tunnel and found the retracting part of wall was a good ten feet deep, explaining why it hadn't sounded hollow when Thorax had knocked on it. They stared down the corridor with Flash using his Digivice to summon a flashlight, allowing him to illuminate the tunnel.
"I think we found it," Sandal stated. The others nodded as Flash and Thorax began to lead their way in with their Digimon.
As they travelled down into the passageway, Fluttershy began to look worried. "Are we sure this is such a good idea? I mean, you heard what Apothemon said. This place is supposed to be home to a really powerful Digimon. What if we run into it?"
"Relax," Pinkie told her. "We'll be fine. We've got Flash, Micro, Trixie and Sandalwood here. They can all go Ultimate if we really need it."
"Maybe," Thorax frowned, "but I'd rather not go up against a Digimon that strong if I can help it. I wanna get stronger, not trounced."
"Don't be such a baby," Rainbow told her. "Beating an opponent stronger than you is bound to help you level up." Thorax frowned, about to tell her that beating an opponent stronger than you is almost impossible.
But before he could say that, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. "What's happening?" Twilight asked, only for part of the ground to suddenly shatter beneath their feet.
They all screamed and as they did, something appeared below them. Some kind of large sphere, hidden in the darkness and getting closer.
Everyone called for their Digimon but before they could Digivolve, the sphere unleash a bright light that fired a beam towards them. First it struck Twilight and Aurumon, then moved sideways and hit everyone else.
As this was happening, Flash and Thorax's Digivices finally unleashed a blast of light. "Veemon/Grubmon, DIgivolve to..." The light swirled around them and soon enough, their Champions exploded out of them. "ExVeemon/Stingmon!" They cried, grabbing their partners.
But at this point, everyone except them had been captured by the light and the four barely managed to avoid it. The sphere then fired several more beams, but they dodged every one. This was when it finally gave up and suddenly disappeared into the darkness.
"After it!" Flash cried, wanting to make sure his friends were safe. ExVeemon dived and Stingmon followed, all the while wondering what the heck had happened to everyone.
Twilight moaned as she opened her eyes, the girl sitting up only to find she was in some kind of lush forest.
Aurumon was beside her and as they picked themselves up, they found they were alone with the rest of their friends missing. "Where is everyone?" She asked, taking out her Digivice and trying to get in contact with them. But as she did, the screen started glitching whenever she opened anything except her deck page.
She tries scanning the environment, but nothing came up. "This is getting worrisome."
"I'll see if I can spot anything from the sky." Aurumon flew up, but suddenly found himself getting struck by something fast. "AUGH!" Twilight gasped as he fell to the ground, rushing over to him as what attacked him appeared in the air.
"Flybeemon!?" The yellow armor Digimon stared down at her, as several more of them appeared around here. "This isn't good." Aurumon picked himself up and spread his wings, ready to fight in order to protect Twilight. "I hope the others aren't in any danger."
Unfortunately, the others were in danger.
Each of them were in their own location, getting attacked by Digimon that had come out of nowhere. Trixie found herself in a frozen snowscape, being attacked by a Digimon that looked like the cross between a teddy bear and a snowman.
"Subzero Ice Punch!" It launched the attack, but Lekismon leapt up to avoid it.
"Ice Shot!" She launched the ice arrow at the creature and stabbed it in the chest, causing it to explode. But as soon as it was gone, several more appeared around them.
"Great," Trixie frowned as she held up her Digivice. But as she tried to transform herself, she found she couldn't. "What's going on?" It was like something was blocking her ability to become a Digimon. And she wasn't the only one.
In a volcanic area, Rainbow and Gwappamon were fighting a horde of Digimon that looked like Meramon in lizard form, with MetalGreymon's head.
"DJ Shooter!" He launched the disks at the Digimon and destroyed it, only for more to appear.
"Pteryxmon should be able to take these things down!" Rainbow tried to Biomerge, but had the same problem as Trixie. "What gives?"
"Gargo Pellets!" Fluttershy and Gargomon were in a rocky location, the rabbit dog Digimon defending his partner against their opponents. Said opponents were a bunch of Gotsumon, which numbered in the dozens.
As soon as Gargomon destroyed one, two more appeared to take their place. As they did, Fluttershy was trying to contact the others or port out of there. But neither worked.
"Please," she whispered, "someone help us!"
"Hydro Pump!" Gatormon launched a water blast towards a large Seadramon.
Pinkie and Gatormon were currently in another forest area, only this one was full of large lakes. And in one of these lakes, the Seadramon had appeared and attacked them. "Go, go, Gatormon!" Pinkie cheered, as her partner rushed forward and used Ice Fang on it.
"Drill Tornado!" Dorulumon unleashed the vortex from this tail, which struck a bunch of Digimon that looked like living tanks and blew them away.
Lightning exploded above her head, making Applejack jump a bit as she watched more of these Tank Digimon appear and prepared to attack. "Drill Bit Blitz!"
Rarity and Gatomon were running through another mountainous area, only this one was full of power winds that would normally blow anyone out of the sky. As such, the Digimon attacking them weren't flying. It was a large ostrich Digimon wearing purple overalls and a cap on its head.
One of them were about to catch up, but Gatomon skidded to a stop before leaping at it. "Lightning Paw!" She socked the Digimon right in the face, knocking it backwards and over the edge of a nearby cliff.
Rarity sighed, only for another gust of wind to blow past her. "OOW!" She cried, "if we weren't digital this place would be ruining my hair!"
"I think we've got bigger issues than your hair," Gatomon pointed ahead and several more Digimon appeared.
In another location, Sandalwood and Arbormon found themselves somewhere completely dark.
There was barely any light and the only light that appeared were lanterns, being held by the Digimon attacking them. These Digimon looked like Bakemon, only they were wearing large black hats on the head.
These Digimon kept phasing in and out of existence, the lanterns vanishing with them. "Blockade Seed!" Arbormon launched the seeds at one of the Digimon, grabbing it in the vines and keeping it from disappearing. "Roundhouse Punt!" He launched his fists and feet at the ghost and destroyed it, the lantern falling to the ground.
But no sooner was one destroyed, another two appeared in its place.
"Electro Shocker!" Micro watched as Kabuterimon unleashed a blast of lightning, which struck the Digimon attacking them.
The two had found themselves in an odd location, which appeared to be a chamber full of metal shards sticking out of the ground. They were so reflective, they worked pretty much like mirrors. And whilst this was interesting, it made it difficult to tell how many opponents they had to face.
Said opponents were a strange machine Digimon, the best was to describe it being a flying sword that shot out lightning as it attacked.
The Electro Shocker struck the Digimon and caused it to spark before exploding. But as it did, three more appeared with the reflections making it impossible to tell where the real ones were. "What the heck is happening?" He asked, "what is this place and where's everyone else?" He ducked under an electrical attack, "I hope Flash and the others are doing better than us."
Flash and Thorax had chased the Digimon into the darkness, but could find no sign of it.
They eventually reached the bottom of the cavern and when they did, they found themselves in a long tunnel with many different paths leading in several directions.
"Great," Thorax frowned, "which way did it go?"
"I'm not sure," Flash hummed as he looked down all of the corridors. "I guess we just pick a tunnel and hope it's the same one that ball went down."
"Maybe we should get out of here?" Thorax asked, shocking Flash as he turned to him. "That thing captured all of our friends without us able to put up a fight. You really think the two of us can save them on our own? We should head back to Codex and get Shining Armor or another high level player."
"We can't just leave and abandon our friends," ExVeemon stated. "Who knows what's happening to them right now?"
"I'm with these two," Stingmon nodded. "Time is a luxury we can't afford. We have to track this thing down now, before it's too late."
"Let's go!" Flash rushed down a corridor and the other Digimon followed suit, Thorax frowning before following them. Luckily, the tunnels were large enough for the Digimon to walk through with plenty of head room. But if they were attacked, the two wouldn't be able to move much and fight.
"Please tell me you at least have a plan," Thorax called out form the back.
"I wouldn't so much say it's a plan," Flash replied. "I'm more of a...figure it out on the fly kind of guy. I mean...I have no idea what we're facing or what kind of environment we'll be fighting in. So I'll wait until we know that before thinking of something."
"You're gonna try and come up with a plan whilst in the middle of a battle?" Thorax looked surprised, "how the heck do you plan on doing something like that? You really think you can come up with a battle strategy whilst fireballs are flying down on you?" Flash just shrugged, making Thorax sigh. "How do you keep yourself from getting so scared, whilst facing something so much more powerful?"
"What did you say?" Flash asked, Thorax having said that quite quietly.
"Nothing," Thorax sighed as they continued down the tunnel. As they did, Thorax hoped their friends were alright and whatever enemy was waiting for them wouldn't be too strong.
"Infrared Ray!" Aurumon cried, as he unleashed a beam from his eyes that destroyed a Flybeemon.
Twilight watched the insect be destroyed, only for several more to show up and continue their attack. Aurumon wasn't getting a moment's rest and a few times, the attacks managed to get through. "Look out!" She cried, as the Flybeemon launched an electric needle from its stinger and almost hit him. "If that attacks hits you, you'll be paralysed."
"I know," Aurumon nodded. "But there's just too many of them!" He launched out another Infrared Ray, which destroyed another Flybeemon.
Twilight sighed, knowing he was right. She had tried to port away, but something was blocking her. They had tried running, but everywhere they went the Flybeemon showed up. There was no end to them. "Why are we here?" She asked, "what's the point of bringing us here only to attack us?" She noticed the Flybeemon weren't attacking together, but waiting turns. "If they wanted to destroy us, why not just attack at once? There has to be a reason."
Twilight had no idea, that hidden from sight was a giant red eyeball. Said eyeball was watching the battle intensely, mostly focusing on Aurumon as it launched its attacks.
In all the other locations, everyone continued to fight as hard as they could. But there was no end to them and the Digimon were getting more and more tired. And like with Twilight and Auramon, none of them realised a giant eyeball was watching them battle.
Back with Flash and Thorax, they and their Digimon continued to search the labyrinth hoping to find a way out of there or where their friends were.
"Still nothing," Flash stated after turning a corner. "Maybe we should have taken a left when we went right or something." Thorax frowned, really wishing Flash would think these things through.
"We're trapped, lost and our friends are in trouble. Can you please just stop so we can think of a plan!?" Flash turned to him, about to speak up. But ExVeemon spotted something first.
"What's that?" They all spun back around, "over there!" He pointed at the end of the hallway, which had a corner, where they saw what appeared to be a Digimon poking its head around the corner before pulling it back.
Thorax had a feeling he knew that Digimon, but he hadn't gotten a good enough look to determine what it was. "Come on!" Flash ran ahead, ExVeemon and Stingmon following with Thorax on their tail. They ran around the corner, only to see what appeared to be a green cloak running around another corner.
They kept following whatever it was around several turns, Thorax quirking his eyebrows at how they were able to catch just enough of a glimpse to know where they had to go. They eventually arrived around another corner and saw the Digimon was gone, but a bright light at the end of the corridor made them know where they had to go.
They rushed in and despite Thorax being worried this was a trap, they entered through the doorway and found themselves in a massive circular chamber.
It was large enough to fit a twelve story skyscraper inside of it. The whole thing was made out of some kind of reflective substance, which looked like neither ice, metal or crystal. Several large pillars could be seen throughout the room and at the very back, was what appeared to be a five meter tower with a staircase leading up it and a throne made of the same material.
They all stepped into the room, amazed by what they were seeing. But as they did, the entrance suddenly found itself being sealed up. "HEY!" Thorax cried, rushing over to the door and trying to push it open.
Stingmon did the same, but it wouldn't budge. "Great. Now what?"
"Now, you tell me what you're doing here?" That voice echoed throughout the room, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.
"Who's there?" Flash cried, the Digimon getting into a fighting stance. Then, a giant figure appeared in every single mirror that filled the room.
It was as if someone had draped a large green cloak over a giant floating mirror. The mirror appeared to make up the main body, having a golden frame around its reflective centre. The cloak hid the top part and a white scarf of some kind was wrapped around the top of the cloak where the head would be.
A black face of some kind was hidden within the head spot, with a pair of yellow eyes peeking out between the scarf and a large green hat on top of it. The sleeves of the cloak were moving and appeared to have some kind of purple fan sticking out the end, which appeared to act as the Digimon's hands.
"Who are you?" Thorax asked, as the Digimon reflections glared down at them.
"I am the one asking the questions here. Why have you come to my sacred sanctum? Are you with those other trespassers?"
"Other trespassers?" Flash's eyes went wide, "Twilight and the others." He glared at the Digimon, "where are they? What did you do to them?"
"They are trapped and will never see the light of day again. Thus is the fate of all those that trespass upon the domain of AncientWisemon." The four glared at the reflections, only for them to begin to merge with one another. One by one, they combined with the Digimon next to them until only one remained.
That one then shrank down before exiting the mirror above the throne, which he floated down into.
"Now, why are you here?"
"We came because we were told this is where we can get stronger," Thorax told him. "We want to get strong enough, so nobody can beat us!"
"Is that so?" AncientWisemon stated. "So, you simply want power for power's sake? That makes you the least worthy individuals to have said power."
"That's not true," Flash yelled back. "Yeah, we wanna get stronger. But we have a reason. We want to get strong enough to protect the Digital World. So that when evil tries to hurt it, we can fight against it and win."
"Like I haven't heard that one before," AncientWisemon countered. "You say you wish to grow stronger, but how can I be so sure you won't choose to use your new power to hurt the Digital World and others? Many have searched for power, claiming to use it for others. But many times chose their own gain instead."
"Well we're not like that!" Flash cried, Thorax and the Digimon nodding.
"You wish for me to believe that, but how can I be so sure?" He sat there and waved his fan, slowly coming up with a plan. "Very well. I will test you. If you pass this test, you and the other trespassers will be allowed to leave. Fail and you'll be trapped here...forever."
Flash frowned, whilst Thorax looked worried. "Test?" He asked, "what kind of test?" Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to break apart.
Flash and Thorax almost fell into the hole that occurred, only for their partners to grab them and fly away from the hole. As they did, something began to rise up from out of the hole. A large green orb, which was followed by another one connected to the first by a yellow tube. More of these orbs followed, each one the size of an elephant.
By the time the last orb appeared, there were a total of ten spheres. They all bunched up together and slowly pulled themselves apart, now interconnected by the yellow tubes to create a bazaar shape.
The top orb had a strange symbol on it, whilst the central one had a flower pattern. The four wondered what the heck is was, but then saw the top orb part like a mouth. And to their surprise, giant red lips appeared on that mouth with teeth filling the open gap. At the same time, a bunch of eyes appeared on the remaining orbs. The flower orb was the only one without it, but the thirty or so other eyes more than made up for it.
The four could barely believe what they were seeing, as AncientWisemon sat in his throne. "Let me introduce you to my guard. Sakkakumon. If you truly wish to grow stronger, you must defeat him."
"Ha!" ExVeemon smirked, "shouldn't be too hard!"
"Hold on!" Stingmon told him. "We have no idea what-" ExVeemon shot forward, roaring as he prepared for battle. "...he's capable of." Suddenly, Sakkakumon's body folded in on itself. Its whole form morphing into a mass of orbs with the tubes appearing to completely vanish as they rolled around.
"What's going on?" Flash asked, as Sakkakumon finally stopped spinning and pointed one of ts orbs directly at ExVeemon.
"Electro Shocker!" Suddenly, a blast of lightning exploded out of one of the eyes. It shot down and slammed into ExVeemon, making him scream as he was thrown down towards the ground.
"ExVeemon!" Flash cried, as ExVeemon crashed into the floor. "What the heck? That's Kabuterimon's attack!" Sakkakumon then spun around again, pointing another sphere at them.
"DJ Shooter!" CDs flew out of the eye and shot towards Flash and Thorax, Stingmon leaping into action and grabbing the pair.
"Gwappamon's attack too?" Thorax asked, as Sakkakumon once again started spinning his orbs.
"Hydro Pump!" Water blasted out of the eye, almost hitting ExVeemon as he picked himself up.
"WOW!" He leapt into the air. "What gives? How's it using all these different attacks?"
"Impressive, is it not?" They looked over at AncientWisemon. "At this very moment, your friends are trapped inside Sakkakumon's real body. What you're currently facing is an avatar, made up of all the data Sakkakumon acquired from those fighting within him."
"No way," Thorax couldn't believe it. "So we're fighting against a Digimon that has all our friend's attacks?"
"Precisely," AncientWisemon nodded as Sakkakumon fired a Drill Tornado that slammed ExVeemon. "Tell me, do you believe you have what it takes to defeat such a Digimon?"
Thorax frowned, unsure how to answer that question. But Flash spoke up. "Yes, we can." He turned towards Flash, as ExVeemon picked himself up. "You might have our friend's abilities, but that doesn't mean you're unstoppable."
"Yeah," ExVeemon nodded. "Our friends are way stronger than this thing. Let me show you!" He leapt into the air and crossed his arms. "Vee Laser!" The X shaped blast of energy exploded out of his chest and shot towards Sakkakumon.
But once again, the Digimon's body swirled around and pointed an eye at the incoming attack. "Infrared Ray!" The eye fired a beam of red light out and struck the Vee Laser, making it explode as Stingmon put Flash and Thorax down.
He then leapt into the air and his gauntlet unleashed a purple blade. "Spiking Strike!" Sakkakumon rolled around again and another eye pointed at him.
"Lightning Paw!" An energy construct of Gatomon flew out of the eye and countered the Spiking Strike, as Sakkakumon rolled around again and pointed another eye at him. "Gargo Pellets!" Several bullets flew out of the eye and struck Stingmon, knocking him backwards as he cried out.
"Stingmon!" Thorax cried, as his partner fell to the ground.
Flash growled as ExVeemon flew up towards Sakkakumon, preparing to punch his lights out. But Sakkakumon spun around again and unleashed a construct of Arbormon, that used his Roundhouse Pummel attack to counter. "Alright then!" Flash held up his Digivice, "time to Digivolve!" The Digivice glowed, but AncientWisemon shook his head.
"I don't think so." He waved his fan hand and unleashed a wave of energy, which flew across the chamber and struck Flash's Digivice. When it did, it made the device spark before shutting down.
"What?" Flash tried to activate it, but it didn't work. "What did you do?"
"This is my test, so I make the rules. And I say, no Digivolving without my express permission." The pair glared at him, as Sakkakumon unleashed another Drill Tornado and blasted both ExVeemon and Stingmon back.
The two Digimon slammed down on the ground, as Sakkakumon unfurled to its normal shape. "This isn't good," Thorax whispered. "How the heck are we supposed to beat this thing? It's got all our friend's attacks."
AncientWisemon hummed. "For someone claiming to wish to get stronger, you seem awfully afraid."
"What?" Thorax asked, as ExVeemon charged at Sakkakumon.
"You said you came to get stronger," AncientWisemon replied. "Yet when faced with an adversary that defeating can do that, you grow frightened."
"Of course I'm frightened!" Thorax cried, as ExVeemon was blasted by some Gargo Pellets. "Sakkakumon is so much stronger than us. There's no way we can win." His hands shook, "that's why I wanted to get stronger. So that when I face something like this, I don't have to be afraid."
"Don't be a fool," AncientWisemon stated. "You think being stronger will stop you from being afraid? If the only reason you're not afraid of something is because you're stronger than it, then the moment it gets stronger that fear will return."
"So?" Thorax asked. "That's normal. Of course I'm afraid of something stronger than me."
"If you allow yourself to fall to fear, simply because something has the potential to defeat you, you'll never grow stronger. Because fear is what blocks one from growing stronger." Thorax looked confused at this, as Stingmon flew up and started jabbing his legs at Sakkakumon. "Fear can be a great ally. It helps you determine danger and keep yourself from doing something reckless."
"But you said-"
"However," Stingmon was blasted backwards by an Electro Shocker, "fear left uncontrolled will become your greatest enemy." Stingmon slammed into the ground, as ExVeemon found himself getting a Lightning Paw right to the chest. "If you allow fear to overwhelm you, then you have no hope of growing stronger. Because only by facing and overcoming obstacles that you struggle against, will one be able to gain strength."
"I don't understand?" Thorax asked. He looked over and saw ExVeemon and Stingmon, laid out on the ground, both appearing badly beaten whilst Sakkakumon didn't even have a scratch on it.
He then turned to Flash, seeing the teen glaring down at Sakkakumon. At first, it appeared Flash wasn't scared at all. But then Thorax noticed his hands were shaking. He was scared, but he wasn't letting it overwhelm him. "Come on guys!" He told the Digimon, "we can't stop! Not if we wanna save our friends!"
"Flash," Thorax whispered. He then remembered how Flash had first Digivolved to Ultimate. They had faced an opponent so powerful, it had defeated Thorax and the rest of their friends. But despite seeing this, he and his partner had charged in anyway and refused to give up.
ExVeemon picked himself up and Stingmon was right behind him, the two charging forward once again with ExVeemon launching another Vee-Laser. "That's the way!" Flash cried, "don't give up!"
"What keeps pushing you?" Thorax asked, making Flash turn to him in confusion.
"What?"
"What keeps pushing you on against something like this?" To prove his point, Sakkakumon fired an Electro Shocker to counter the Vee-Laser, then swirled around before unleashing a Drill Tornado. "How do you keep facing off against something you can't possibly beat, then end up winning? Therizinomon, Dagomon and who knows what else. How are you able to keep your fear from stopping you?"
Flash smirked. "Sure, I'm scared. Who wouldn't be? But I'm more scared of what will happen to our friends if we don't fight, then what might happen if I do."
"He's right," ExVeemon picked himself up. "Who cares if he's stronger than us? There's more to winning than just strength."
Stingmon also picked himself up. "He's right. We might not be able to beat him directly, but I bet there are other ways of winning this fight. We just have to focus on finding them."
"Other ways?" Thorax asked, as Sakkakumon fired an Infrared Ray at them. The Digimon leapt up and the attack hit the ground, only to then bounce off and hit a pillar.
Seeing this, Thorax suddenly realised something and looked around. The mirror like room could be used to their advantage.
"ExVeemon, shoot your attack right below Sakkakumon!" ExVeemon gave him an odd look, but Flash nodded and ExVeemon did so.
"Vee-Laser!" He launched the attack and Sakkakumon prepared to counter it, only to be surprised when the attack flew past him and hit the ground. The light of it then bounced back up and struck the bottom of Sakkakumon, making it roar in pain as Stingmon flew in.
"Spiking Strike!" He stabbed one of the eyes and made the beast roar as well, then pulled back before it could recover.
ExVeemon launched another laser, using the mirrors to bounce it around and hit the Mutant Digimon again. It hit another eyes, blinding that one as well as Stingmon flew around to attack once more. As they did, Thorax could hardly believe it. They were turning the fight around.
"See!" Flash told him, "this is what happens when you don't quit. If something isn't working the first time, you don't just give up." ExVeemon launched another reflected blast into Sakkakumon's side, then flew forward and punched it in the eye. "You look at the problem from another angle. See how it looks from another point of view."
"You're right," Thorax nodded. "I let myself get to focused on the Digimon's Level. I forgot that this isn't the first time I've faced an Ultimate Digimon and come out on top." He had been in countless Codex Battles that had the opponent go Ultimate before him. And in those battles, he had managed to pull out a win. "So what if it's an Ultimate? I won't let that stop me!"
"I see," AncientWisemon nodded at this. "But will you be able to hold onto that new confidence?" As he said that, Sakkakumon rolled itself into a ball before it started spinning around. As it did, it unleashed every single attack is had left from its remaining eyes.
Electro Shocker, Tear Shot, DJ Shooter, Drill Bit Blitz and many other attacks were exploding out of the eyes, flying every which way they could and causing the place to turn into a minefield.
Flash and Thorax ran towards some pillars, hoping to hide behind one, but a Hydro Pump smashed one and they were forced to run from the falling shards. "Flash/Thorax!" Their partners cried, as they flew down to defend them.
But this allowed Sakkakumon to get a clear shot and unleashed a barrage of Gargo Pellets. Both Digimon were hit and roared in pain, as they fell to the ground and looked close to De-Digivolving.
"ExVeemon/Stingmon!" They both cried, rushing over to their side only for AncientWisemon to laugh.
"Where's all that bravo you had before? Don't tell me them getting knocked down has shaken you?" The pair glared at him, as Sakkakumon prepared for another spinning barrage.
Thorax felt his fear growing stronger, but quickly shook his head. "No, I'm not gonna let you make me doubt myself." He clenched his fist and stopped it from shaking. "I came here because I wanted to get stronger. And you're right, the only way to do that is to push my limits."
"And what if you hit your limit and break?" AncientWisemon asked, only for Flash to speak up.
"Then his friends will be there, to help put him back together and push his limits again." Flash and Thorax smirked, as AncientWisemon laughed.
"Indeed. Long ago, myself and nine others fought against a great evil. One that threatened to destroy the Digital World. It wasn't easy and there were many times we believed we were done for. But we kept pushing and eventually, we overcame that evil." He stood up, "do you have what it takes to protect our world from evil?"
Thorax frowned. "I don't know if I can stop every bad guy that shows up." He then gave the Digimon a serious look, "but I'm gonna give it my all and protect those I care about." Flash nodded, thinking the same thing.
AncientWisemon took to the air and as he did, ExVeemon and Stingmon were reflected in his mirror body. "If you truly wish to become strong enough to protect all you care about, then take this next step and awaken the power hidden within you." The reflections suddenly started glowing before flying off his mirror, shooting into the air and flying towards them.
But strangely, they weren't flying towards the one they were reflections off. Instead, the Exveemon reflection flew over to Stingmon and the Stingmon reflection flew over to ExVeemon.
The two groaned as they saw the reflection appear in front of them, each holding out a hand for them to take. Flash and Thorax saw this and were surprised by this, both glancing over at each other before both nodding. "Do it!" Flash told ExVeemon.
"Take his hand!" Thorax called out to Stingmon.
Their partners nodded and as soon as they grabbed their hands, the reflection exploded into light and flew into the Digimon's body. Doing so caused their partner's Digivices to beep, as they held them up and saw the Digimon's data appearing on the screen.
"Huh?" Was both their reactions, only for their Digivices to suddenly unleash a blinding light that flew over to both their partners.
ExVeemon and Stingmon were suddenly bursting with energy and shot into the air, as the light wrapped around them. As they did, they both yelled out in unison. "EXVEEMON/STINGMON, DNA DIGIVOLVE TO..." The cocoons formed above their partner's heads, growing larger as they did. And soon enough, they shattered to reveal a pair of similar but very different Digimon.
Both of them looked like an odd fusion of ExVeemon and Stingmon, but with very different appearances.
The Digimon that was once ExVeemon, looked as if the dragon was now wearing Stingmon's armor. His body had become slimmer and more humanoid, with Stingmon's chest, shoulder, hip and upper leg armor covering his. HIs chest armor was opened to be more like a vest, allowing his white chest and the XV markings on it to be revealed.
His arms also hard Stingmon's gauntlets on them, whilst his white wings had moved down to his lower back whilst a pair of blue wings appeared just below his shoulders. Finally, his head was completely different. It now appeared more humanoid, being blue with a white mouth piece. But the most noticeable thing about his head was the red mask wrapped around the upper part of his head.
His hip armor also had a pair of rectangular tubes pointing backwards, which ended in a grey gun barrel and was connected to the armor by a hinge. The Digimon grabbed these blasters and spun them forward, unleashing several blasts as he finished his transformation. "PAILDRAMON!"
The fusion Digimon that was once Stingmon looked more insectoid, with four arms and Stingmon's insectoid wings. His body had reshaped to be hunched over, similar to a gorilla, whilst his head looked like Stingmon's only it had orange hair sticking out the back and ExVeemon's ears.
The spiked shoulder pads Stingmon had were now connected around his neck, forming a kind of collar, whilst his front arms were entirely ExVeemon's. A pair of back arms were that of Stingmon's, whilst his legs were entirely armored with two red lines on each upper leg. The Digimon's stomach was unarmored and showed it to be ExVeemon's, whilst the dragon's tail were sticking out of his rear and his white wings were sticking out of his hip.
This Digimon started flying around in rapid zigzags, acting almost like a bug as he finish his transformation. "DINOBEEMON!"
Flash and Thorax were both amazed by this, as the two Ultimates hovered side by side whilst staring Sakkakumon down. "No way," Flash whispered.
"They DNA Digivolved...together?" Thorax could barely believe it, as Sakkakumon finally decided to attack by charging forward. But the two quickly leapt to the side, avoiding it as it flew between them.
As they did, Paildramon pointed his blasters at the Digimon. "Desperado Blaster!" They fired a barrage of energy bullets, which struck the Digimon in the back and hit with enough force to push it down to the ground.
"Irritant Buzz!" Dinobeemon cried, as he started beating his wings and unleashing powerful soundwaves that began to annoy Sakkakumon.
The Digimon roared as he started spinning his orb around. "Gargo Pellets!" One of the eyes started unleashing a barrage of bullets, but Dinobeemon easily avoided them as it flew in closer. The Digimon then spun around and pointed an eye at Paildramon. "Drill Tornado!" The vortex of wind exploded out of the eye and Paildramon flew into it, completely undisturbed.
"Sting Strike!" The spikes on Paildramon's gauntlets extended and he slashed at the giant Digimon, whilst Dinobeemon flew up close.
"Hell Masquerade!" He started flying in random directions around Sakkakumon, moving so fast he left afterimages of himself behind. And every time he passed by the Digimon, which was every other second with his speed, he slashed at the beast with the claws on his feet or four arms.
Sakkakumon roared as it fell to the ground, causing the entire chamber to shake with Flash and Thorax falling over.
Paildramon and Dinobeemon flew up above him, wondering it the battle was over. But then, all Sakkakumon's eyes shot open and it once again started spinning them around. "DJ Shooter!" He fired disks from one eye, "Infrared Ray!" A laser shot out of another eyes, "Hydro Pump!" A blast of water shot up and the two barely managed to avoid all the attacks, which hit the ceiling and caused it to start breaking apart.
Flash and Thorax saw the rubble falling towards them and gasped, only for their partners to fly down and grab them before they were crushed. "Thanks," Thorax sighed. He was still amazed by his partner's new form. But it was clearly no match for a Digimon with so many different attacks.
He looked down at Sakkakumon, who lifted itself up whilst continued to spin its many orbs around. "Electro Shocker!" The sphere of lightning exploded out of it, as it spun around again "Tear Arrow!" An ice arrow shot out, the many sphere spinning around again. "Blockade Seed!" Seeds shot out of another eye, but this caused Thorax to notice something.
"Wait..." He continued to watch, as the many orbs rotated around. And as he did, he realised one orb was staying completely still in the very centre of the cluster. The orb with the flower pattern on it. "That orb's not moving. Could...could that be where he's holding all the data he's using?"
"Infrared Ray!" Another laser flew out of an eye and Dinobeemon barely managed to avoid it.
"You okay?" Flash asked, as he and Paildramon flew up to them.
"Yeah," Thorax nodded. "And I think I know how to beat this thing. But we've gotta get it to stop moving!"
"Leave it to me!" Paildramon shot down towards Sakkakumon, dodging the many different attacks. As he did, AncientWisemon looked interested. Paildramon then managed to get behind Sakkakumon and slid against the ground, as he held up his hands. "Cable Catcher!" Each of his claws suddenly shot off his hands, remaining connected by a metal wire, as it shot towards the Mutant Digimon.
Each of the fingers then grabbed one of the orbs and wrapped around them, stopping it from moving. And when Paildramon pulled the cables back, the Digimon unfurled into its original form and the central orb was revealed. "Thorax, NOW!"
"DINOBEEMON!" His Digimon started glowing as he flew around, cupping Thorax in his dragons claws as the energy flowed around him.
The energy then moved down and started forming around his right foot, as he dived down towards Sakkakumon. "Nightmare Stinger!" He picked up speed and moved like a blur, everyone else barely able to comprehend what was happening. And then, seconds before he reached Sakkakumon, he spun around and thrust the tip of his glowing foot forward.
This transformed him into a glowing arrow that struck the sphere and caused it to explode, unleashing a barrage of light as the data flowed free.
Sakkakumon roared in pain, as the data left its body and the hole in its chest began to expand. Slowly, the rest of its body disappeared and Paildramon's finger wires retracted. AncientWisemon saw this and nodded, as Dinobeemon landed next to Paildramon.
The pair and their partners turned to AncientWisemon, as he once again rose from his throne. "Well done." Paildramon and Dinobeemon both got into a battle stance, but AncientWisemon raised a hand. "Hold on, I have no intention of fighting you. It's clear from your actions that you are warriors I can trust."
"Really?" Thorax asked.
"Indeed," he nodded. "I had a feeling about you, but I had to make sure. That's why I sent you here."
"You sent us here?" Flash asked, only for AncientWisemon to start glowing. He suddenly shrank down and changed shape, the light coming off him to reveal a Digimon they had met before. "Apothemon?"
"That's right," he nodded. "Sorry to deceive you. But I had to make sure you were worthy of the new power you've received." The Digimon looked themselves over, now feeling stronger than ever.
"You knew ExVeemon and Stingmon were able to DNA Digivolve?" Thorax asked, Apothemon nodding as he reverted back to AncientWisemon.
"I have lived for many millennia and have seen many things. I was there when the Digital World had many now rare Digimon, like Veemon and Stingmon. And I have seen the many ways they can unleash their hidden potential."
"I never would have guessed my Ultimate needed Stingmon," Paildramon looked himself over. Dinobeemon was also amazed.
"And you will eventually discover an even greater power is hidden within you," AncientWisemon announced. "But for now, I think it's time you left. Your friends will be waiting for you outside. Take what you have learned here and remember. True strength comes from being able to determine when a battle is one you can and should fight in, or one it is best to escape from. Wisdom, born from one's own experiences, is the greatest weapon you can wield." With that, the mirror on his body glowed.
Flash, Thorax and their Digimon were suddenly consumed by that light, which exploded out and engulfed them.
They screamed as the light blinded them. When it slowly died down, they opened their eyes and found they were back outside the mountain.
The four looked around and then up, only to be shocked by the sight of a massive version of Sakkakumon. It was floating above the mountain and at least five times bigger than the one they had fought.
All the eyes focused on them and before any of them could suggest attack, lights exploded out of the eyes and shot down.
From out of these eyes, Twilight and all their friends appeared. Many looked exhausted, clearly having been battling many opponents. Some were even in the middle of an attack, but stopped when they realised they were free.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked, only to look up and see Paildramon and Dinobeemon with their partners in their hands. They then noticed the even larger Digimon and were shocked by it, as the flower symbol on its chest glowed and it disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.
"What just happened?" Rainbow asked, everyone turning to Flash and Thorax.
The boys shared a look and smirked, Thorax turning back to them. "It's a long story."
The group were soon back at Codex, meeting up with Shining where they told them all about what had happened. Veemon and Grubmon had fallen into their In-Training forms.
Grubmon's was a smaller version of it, though only its head was visible whilst the rest appeared wrapped up in some kind of silk blanket. Its antenna were shorter and its beak was smaller. This Digimon was known as Mitemon and was currently drinking milk through a straw as they finished the tale.
"Leave it to AncientWisemon to take things to the extreme like that," Shining sighed. "My friends were in danger like that as well. It wasn't until I managed to Digivolve to Ultimate that I was able to beat Sakkakumon."
"A little warning would have been nice," Twilight told him.
"If I warned you, you guys might not have gotten the full effect of the training. Besides, things worked out well. Not only did Thorax get to the Ultimate Level, but he and Flash now have their DNA Digivolutions." The pair smiled at this, as they took out their Digivices and saw Paildramon and Dinobeemon in their scan listings. They also had a copy of the other's Champion, though they were unsure how that had happened.
"I still can't believe you both had the key to each other's DNA Digivolution all along," Twilight stated.
"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I'm still having a hard time believing it."
"There's one thing I don't get," Rainbow spoke up. "How did your Digimon become totally different Ultimates, when they were both using the exact same components?" That also confused the others, but Shining had an idea.
"Well its probably because of the Digimon that were Digivolving." The others raised an eyebrow at this. "Since ExVeemon was the one in control, his DNA evolution reconfigured his data to be a mostly Dragon Digimon with a few Insect elements. And since Stingmon was the one in control, his Insect Data took in a few dragonic elements. If they had actually DNA Digivolved together, the result would probably depend on which of them was stronger."
"Huh," Flash smirked, "guess that makes sense." He then brought up Paildramon's data and wondered what it would Digivolve into. AncientWisemon seemed to think it was something amazing, but only time would tell.
Their adventure in the Cave of Reflections had been an interesting one, that was for sure, and Thorax had grown greatly from it. And they would need that strength for the battles that were to come, as the Digital World continued to face many threats.