//------------------------------// // Belly of the Beast // Story: Digimon Codex // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Twilight moaned, as she began to come around. When she did, she heard seagulls squawking in the sky and the sound of waves crashing against the land. The air was packed with the smell of the ocean and as Twilight moved her body, she felt sand beneath her hands. She opened her eyes and saw a clear blue sky above her. She sat herself up, only to realise she was on a beach. And as she looked up and down it, she saw nothing but sand as far as she could. And behind her, was a large number of trees and other plants. "Where...where am I?" She then heard another moan and looked around, gasping when she saw Tawnimon on the ground beside her. "Tawnimon!" She picked him up, "are you okay? Answer me, please!" He groaned before opening his eyes. "Twilight?" He looked around, "what happened?" That was a good question, Twilight trying to think and suddenly remembering. How they and their friends had been out at sea, trying to find Hookmon in hopes of learning where Datamon was. "We...we were looking at something beneath the waves. Something that exploded out of the water and...and ate us!" Tawnimon looked around. "I don't get it. Why would getting eaten...lead us to waking up on an island?" "Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth," Twilight took out her Digivice and tried to scan the area. But she got a message saying something was blocking the scan from going through. "Weird." She then tried porting out, but nothing happened. "This can't be good." Tawnimon frowned. "If we can't port out, I'll just fly us out." Twilight nodded and held out her Digivice, which unleashed a bunch of light that flew over to her partner. "Tawnimon, Digivolve to..." The cocoon grew larger before exploding, revealing his Champion form. "HooTawnimon!" Twilight smiled and quickly climbed up onto him, the giant owl taking off. As HooTawnimon went higher, Twilight looked back and saw they had been on some kind of desert island. Size wise, it appeared about the same as Codex. A perfect circle of green forest, surrounded by a ring of sand on every side. And in the very centre of it, was a tall mountain-like rock with a flat surface. "Nice looking place," she stated. "Too bad I couldn't scan it for later." HooTawnimon looked around, frowning as he did. "We might have a problem. I can't seem to see land in any direction." Twilight frowned, since flying in one direction without knowing if it was the right way, could be dangerous if HooTawnimon got tired. "Try flying higher," Twilight suggested. "That should help us see further on the horizon." HooTawnimon nodded and they kept flying straight up. However, something was about to happen that they never expected. They slammed into something, the pair's heads hitting what felt like a squishy ceiling. "What the?" HooTawnimon cried, pulling back as they stared up at the blue sky. Twilight tilted her head before reaching out and poking whatever they had hit, the blue sky wobbling like jelly. "Okay, I wasn't expecting that." HooTawnimon flew in another direction, Twilight tracing her hand across the sky to see if the stuff gave way. But it didn't and the sky continued to wobble. Then, something else happened. Suddenly, the entire area started shaking. The ocean was thrown back and forth, whilst the island shook with some of the trees being pulled over. And as the shaking continued, a sound filled the air. One that almost sounded like someone trying to stifle a laugh. "What is that?" HooTawnimon asked, as Twilight pulled her hand away from the sky. And as she did, the shaking and laughing slowly came to a stop. "That was weird." Twilight agreed, but also looked rather worried. "I think...I think I know where we are." "Where are we?" "Inside a stomach. We were eaten and now, we're trapped inside the belly of a giant sea Digimon." Her partner's eyes went wide, clearly horrified by this announcement. And if they really were trapped inside a Digimon, how in the world were they going to escape? Up above the ocean, Flash, Micro, Rarity and their Digimon were flying over the water still looking shocked. "See anything?" Flash asked, but the others shook their heads. Flash could barely believe something so unexpected had happened, the young man replaying the event over and over in his head. "Come on Twilight." He held up his Digivice and tried to get a signal, but Twilight's Digivice refused to give its location. "We need a water Digimon," Nefertimon stated. "One that can dive deep under the water and find that thing." "That's easier said than done," Rarity pointed out. "I don't have any water Digimon. Do any of you?" Micro shook his head, whilst Flash brought up his Betamon and Seadramon scans. "I can Digivolve into a water Digimon and search for that thing." "Hang on," Micro told him. "The Net Ocean is huge. That thing might have been big, but it's still an ant compared to the ocean. Finding it just by searching isn't gonna do us any good. It dove down deep and could have gone off in any direction." "There has to be some way to track it," Kabuterimon stated. "It's a whale Digimon, so maybe we can use information on whales to help us track it." "Great," ExVeemon smirked, "what do we know about whales?" Nobody said anything, not having any info at all. "Okay, do we know anyone who might know about whales?" Rarity smiled and took out her Digivice, bringing someone up who might have an idea. "Fluttershy, are you there?" A few moments later, Fluttershy appeared on the screen. "I'm here, Rarity. What's wrong?" "Don't panic, but Twilight has been eaten by a Whamon." Fluttershy's eyes went wide, "we need your help in coming up with a way to help find it and free her." The girls frowned, clearly trying to think. "Anything you can think that might help would be appreciated, even if it's a small thing. "Well," she said, "I might have one idea. But it's a long shot and I have no idea how you'd pull it off." She explained it and as they did, Micro smiled. "I think I might be able to pull that off," he told her. "But do you think you can get something for me? It'll be key." Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, wondering what it could be. In the belly of the beast, Twilight and HooTawnimon had returned to the island. "So let me get this straight?" HooTawnimon gulped. "We got eaten by a humongous Digimon and somehow, said Digimon has an island and ocean inside his stomach." Twilight nodded. "This is the Digital World. Anything is possible. But the real question is, how on earth are we gonna get out of here?" HooTawnimon nodded, as the pair looked around the beach. "Maybe there's another way out of here. If we search the island, maybe we'll find something that'll help." He nodded and they took to the air again, flying over the island searching for any clue that could help them escape. But just as they were flying over the ocean, a new sound filled the air. A sound that made Twilight's heart almost stop. A gun shot. The loud bang filled the air and several birds were scared out of the trees, HooTawnimon instantly going on alert at the sound. "What?" He looked around, "what happened?" "Someone just shot at us!" Twilight cried, looking down and trying to find where the shot came from. "This isn't good." Another shot filled the air and HooTawnimon pulled to the side, as something whizzed by them. "Hang on!" HooTawnimon suddenly swerved around, flying back towards the beach. They were an open target in the air, but HooTawnimon didn't want to surround himself in trees that would make moving difficult. That meant, the only safe spot was at the beach. But as they flew towards it, something suddenly shot out of the trees. A giant anchor, attached to a chain, shot towards them and slammed into him. "AUGH!" He was sent plummeting to the ground and Twilight screamed, as she barely managed to hold on until they crashed into the trees and knocked several over. Twilight was finally thrown off his back and hit the ground, rolling along as HooTawnimon groaned. She picked herself up and took out her Digivice, getting ready to Digivolve if the need arose. But as she did, someone stepped out from behind the trees and slammed a boot upon one of the fallen ones. "Well I'll be a barnacle on a biscuit barrel. Never expected to see you two here." Twilight finally got a look at the assailant and despite definitely being a Digimon, he was one of the most humanoid Digimon she had ever seen. He stood at around eight feet, with cream coloured skin and silvery gray hair. He was dressed in red and black pirates clothing, including a black hat with a skull and crossbones, a black coat he wore as a cape, black sleeveless vest with a white undershirt, black pants and brown leather boots. In his right hand, he was carrying a revolver pistol with a barrel as long as his arm. His left arm had a silver and gold gauntlet around it, with an anchor connected to the end. His right leg, the one propped up on the log, wasn't a real leg. Instead, it was a mechanical prosthetic that was mostly silver with a brown foot. The entire leg was actually a giant revolver gun, but the handle was on the front just below the knee. The Digimon smirked at them, as he used his overly long pistol to push his hat up. "Long time, no see." "Who are you?" HooTawnimon asked, as he pushed himself up. "We've never met before." "Ah...but we have. You scalawags are the ones that ruined my business venture and destroyed my ship, leaving me standard out at sea." The two's eyes went wide, as they realised who they were talking to." "Hookmon?" Twilight asked. "CaptainHookmon," he corrected. "The scourge of the sea. The demon of the deep. The badass of the bermuda." He pointed his long pistol at the pair. "And the one that's going to put you two out of your misery." They frowned. If Hookmon had Digivolved, he was likely much stronger than them. This could be bad. "But before I send ya'h to Davy Jones' Locker, why don't ya'h bilgerat tell me how you ended up in the stomach of the White Whamon." "White Whamon?" Twilight remembered the story she was told, about how Hookmon was always hunting for the legendary Digimon in question. "What about you? How'd you end up here?" "I'm asking the questions," he stated. "But since I'm in a good mood, I'll answer. After you marooned me out at sea, I was forced to fight and eventually made it back to land on my own. And in doing so, my fear of the murky depths was overcome. So, I managed to acquire a ship and once again went searching for the legendary White Whamon. But...things didn't go exactly as I'd hoped." Hookmon sailed upon the open sea, in his newly christened ship. Alas, said ship wasn't the mighty vessel he had once had. In fact, it was nothing more than a small dinghy. The tiny boat barely held him and a handful of supplies, but Hookmon was not to be deterred. As such, he used his cannon arm as a booster rocket and flew across the open ocean. He laughed, as he bounced across the water in search of the great whale Digimon. And as he did, he looked up at the sky. "Oh merciful Neptunemon. Take pity on this humble marina." But as he said that, he heard a rumble of thunder and looked ahead. Dark clouds were filling the skies ahead and they did not look friendly. "Oh geez." It wasn't long until the waves were fifty feet high and the rain pummelled down upon his poor boat. "Wow!" He cried, holding onto the boat's side as best he could. Then, a large wave began to curl up and his boat was pulled up with it. "Curse you, merciful Neptunemon!" With that, the boat was tipped over as the wave smashed down into the water. The ship shattered and Hookmon sank below the seas. And as he did, something appeared in the darkness. His one good eye went wide, as the creature moved through the waters towards him. And as a flash of thunder illuminated the dark waters, he was shocked to discover the object of his endless hunt had suddenly appeared before him. The White Whamon opened its mouth and Hookmon screamed, attempting to swim away. But that was tough to do, when your hands were a hook and a cannon. He then tried firing his cannon, but it did nothing to the creature and he was soon swallowed whole. "The next thing a'h knew, a'h was on this island. Didn't take long to figure where I was and a've bin here ever since." "You've been here for...how long has it been?" Twilight couldn't help but wonder how the heck he could have survived for so long, though another part felt like maybe she didn't want to know. "Honestly, no idea. It's always day in here, so there's no real way to measure time. But it couldn't have been that long. Happened about a week after you two sunk my ship. So what is that...a month?" Twilight and her partner glanced at one another, their eyes going wide. "A little longer than a month," Twilight replied. "A lot longer than a month," HooTawnimon replied. "So you've been living here, for that long? And even managed to Digivolve." CaptainHookmon smiled. "How did you survive? What have you been eating?" "Fruits that grow on the trees," he replied. To prove his point, he fired at one of the trees and a moment later, an apple fell down and landed in his hands. "And I fish." "There are fish in here?" Twilight asked, CaptainHookmon laughing. "That giant white beast will swallow anything that gets in his way. Fish, dolphins, other marine Digimon. And by the looks of things, you two." "There are other Digimon?" Twilight asked, as CaptainHookmon nodded. He looked like he was about to answer, but in that moment something made him stop. "It looks like you're about to get a demonstration." He turned away from them. "You want my advice. Get up high." With that, he leapt away from them. His mechanical leg allowed him to leap a great distance. Twilight and HooTawnimon weren't sure what he was talking about, but a sudden rumbling made them worry. As such, Twilight climbed onto her partner and they took to the air. HooTawnimon flew as high as he could and as they got above the island, Twilight spotted movement on the rock in the middle and saw the metal anchor from before flying up and embed itself into the rock. The chain then retracted and pulled CaptainHookmon up, the Ultimate landing on top of the rock. A bright light then appeared in the distance and Twilight wondered what was happening, only for a wave of water to come barrelling into the area they were in. "What?" The water crashed down on the island and completely submerged it, with only a few feet of the rock's tip remaining above it. CaptainHookmon was kneeling, keeping himself from being pushed over by stray splashes of water. The water was carrying something. A bunch of fish, which were mostly being swept past the ocean and pushed towards the back of...wherever this place was. And there, a dark light appeared that the water flowed into. Eventually, the flow of water ceased with most of the excess being sucked into the dark light. The water level dropped and the island reappeared, looking like nothing had even happened. CaptainHookmon stood back up and quickly leapt down to the ground, where a bunch of fish were flopping around. He stabbed one with his pistol and lifted it up, as HooTawnimon flew over to him. "See. That's what happens when White Whamon opens its mouth. I was lucky to get slammed into that rock when I was swallowed. But most aren't so lucky." "How many Digimon has this thing swallowed?" Twilight asked, fearing to know the answer. "Not really sure. I saw a few Gomamon once, but they were sucked into the dark light before I could get any info out of them." He turned towards the area the dark light had been in. "Can't be sure, but I'm guessing that leads to the stomach. This is probably meant to act as a storage. The fish get stored here for later use, like if the Whamon can't find food in a long while. Not sure why there's an island, but I'm not complaining." He threw the fish away and glared at her. "Now, to deal with you." He pointed his pistol at them. The pair gasped as they flew away, CaptainHookmon running after them. Back in the ocean, Flash and Rarity waited for Micro's plan to go into action. Flash was on Kabuterimon's back, tying a bunch of rope to the insect's horn. As he did, he turned to his friend. "This is either completely brilliant, or absolute madness." Micro smirked. "It's amazing how often those two things can be mistaken for one another." As he said that, Rarity was suddenly reminded of something. "Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form." "What?" Nefertimon asked. "It's a quote from an old story, about a man who was obsessed with hunting down a dangerous whale. He went to great lengths in order to find it." "And what happened to him?" Rarity didn't answer, "I see. Hopefully, this story doesn't end the same way." At that moment, Rarity's Digivice beeped and she smiled when she saw a file being uploaded to it. "Micro, Fluttershy sent the music you asked for." "Alright," Micro nodded, "get ready to send it over." He took out his Digivice and swung it around, unleashing a cube with the image of Tentomon within it. "Biomerge!" He stepped into the cube and transformed into the ladybug Digimon. "Tentomon, Digivolve to..." He grew larger and Kabuterimon seemed to be struggling with the weight, until the light exploded off of him. "Ballistamon!" The robotic Digimon moved towards the edge of Kabuterimon's head, as Flash rushed over and started tying the rope around him. At the same time, Rarity began to upload the file to his system. "Okay. Time to sing to some whales!" With that, Ballistamon rushed forward and leapt off his partner's head. He then splashed down into the water, the rope connecting him to Kabuterimon going taught. The Champion was pulled down for a second, but managed to keep himself above the water. Flash leapt back onto ExVeemon's head, looking down at the area Micro had sunk into. He then took out his Digivice and connected it to Ballistamon's robotic server. "Micro, you hear me?" "Loud and clear," Ballistamon replied. "Preparing to unleash the whale noises." Down below, Ballistamon's speaker stomach switched on. The sounds of whale calls started vibrating out of it, echoing into the water as Ballistamon made himself spin around. The sound went off in all directions, pulsing through the ocean as far as it would go. "Fluttershy said that whales have incredible senses of hearing. So Whamon must have the same kind of hearing." "Maybe," Rarity agreed, "but do you really think that thing is close enough to hear your sonic blasts?" "I'm Ballistamon," he replied. "The greatest sound maker in the Digital World. If anyone can draw that oversized tuna to them, it's me." He kept unleashing the sonic blasts. "We've just got to be patient." "No offence," Flash told him. "But I'm pretty sure Twilight would rather we hurry this up. There's no telling what she could be going through inside of that thing." Ballistamon frowned, but knew he was right. He had to draw that Digimon to them, fast. If they didn't, Twilight might not last much longer. So, he kept working. Blasting the whale noises into the ocean as loud as he could make them. And after a few minutes, something replied. His highly sensitive ears then picked up a noise, making him look around but there was nothing there. But he blasted the whale noises in that direction and a minute later, a similar noise returned. This made him up the noises, remaining in that one single spot. And as he kept it up, something suddenly appeared from out of the water's darkness. His robotic eyes went wide, as a round blob appeared and grew larger and larger. So large, that Ballistamon started panicking. "Pull me up," he tugged on the rope. And Whamon grew larger and started opening its mouth. "PULL ME UP!" The rope suddenly tugged on him and he was pulled upwards, barely managing to avoid the giant mouth that was coming at him. He finally broke through the water and everyone was staring at him, but he told them all to fly as high as they could. They did so and as they did, the water exploded with the White Whamon flying out of it. It opened its mouth and tried to swallow Ballistamon, looking like it was about to suck him down its gullet. "Vee-Laser!" ExVeemon quickly fired his chest blast, hitting the Whamon in the side and knocking him away from his friend. And as Whamon smashed down into the ocean, ExVeemon saw its tail flying up towards them. "Oh geez. Hang on!" He braced himself and caught the tail, but the force of the impact knocked Flash flying off his head. "FLASH!" Flash quickly took out his Digivice and pointed it forward, the cube of light flying out of it and appearing below him. He fell into it and transformed into a copy of his partner, which quickly started glowing. "Veemon, Warp Digivolve to..." He grew a hundred times larger and exploded out of the light, a pair of wings spreading as he came to a stop just above the ocean. "AEROVEEDRAMON!" The giant dragon flew up and once he was at the tail, he grabbed it alongside ExVeemon. "Pull!" ExVeemon cried, the pair tugging on the giant sea beast's tail. But the creature started thrashing about in the water, his tail waving back and forth with great strength. "Too...heavy." "Kabuterimon!" Ballistamon cried, "time to power up." Kabuterimon nodded and dove down, glowing as he did so. "Kabuterimon, Digivolve too..." He grew larger and his body shape charged, the light eventually flying off him to reveal his Ultimate stage. "MEGAKABUTERIMON!" The large red insect grabbed the tail before the rocket on his butt exploded, allowing them to lift the creature higher. "It's still not enough," AeroVeedramon groaned. "We need more lift!" Rarity chose this moment to take out her Digivice and Biomerge, leaping off Nefertimon as she transformed into her normal Digimon of choice. "Darcmon!" She cried, as she and Nefertimon flew forward. The pair grabbed the tail and pulled, with half of the white whale being lifted from the surface of the ocean. "ExVeemon," AeroVeedramon groaned, "you need to Digivolve." "Can't! Too heavy!" "Let go. We can hold it long enough." ExVeemon looked around, the others nodding before he released the tail. The loss of his grip made them almost drop the Whamon, but they managed to keep him up as ExVeemon flew up. As he did, the data of Stingmon appeared in front of him. "ExVeemon," the image flew into him, "DNA Digivolve to..." He began to glow and transform, Stingmon's armor appearing around him before the light exploded off of him. "PAILDRAMON!" The Ultimate Digimon looked down and thrust his hands forward. "Cable Catcher!" His fingers shot off of him and began to wrap around Whamon's tail, Paildramon quickly pulling him upwards as hard as he could. This, combined with the lift of the others, finally pulled the giant whale out of the ocean. The beast roared and continued to thrash around, as Ballistamon turned to AeroVeedramon. "Well, we've got him out of the water. Now what do we do with him?" Flash frowned, unsure how to answer that. He looked down at the giant white Digimon, knowing Twilight was somewhere inside of him. The only question was, how the heck did they save her? On the island, Twilight clung to HooTawnimon as he flew through the air. "What's the plan?" He asked, as a gunshot flew past them. "We have to get out of here!" Twilight yelled. "Maybe...maybe if we fly to where that light came from, we can escape. He's gotta open his mouth again at some point. And when he does, we leave." "I guess we can try," HooTawnimon nodded. But just as he was reaching the beach, the anchor shot out of the trees and wrapped around his leg. "WOW!" He was suddenly pulled down and slammed into the ground, Twilight being thrown off and sent flying further down the beach. "This guy is really starting to annoy me." CaptainHookmon leapt out of the trees and into the air, grabbing the gun handle on his prosthetic leg as he did so. "Leg Revolver!" He pulled the trigger and fired several laser shots towards HooTawnimon, the owl gasping as he leapt away. Several of the lasers hit him, making him squawk in pain as the pirate landed. As he did, he pulled out his extra long pistol and laughed. "If anyone deserves to get out of here, it's me!" He pointed his weapons at HooTawnimon. "But only after I destroy you." As he said that, Twilight picked herself up and glared at him. She took out her Digivice and quickly activated it. "Time to even things up!" The cube of light appeared in front of her. "Biomerge!" She rushed into it, transforming and Digivolving as she broke out the other side. "Unimon!" The winged horse took to the air and built up power. "Aerial Shot!" She fired the sphere of light towards the pirate. CaptainHookmon saw it coming and leapt back, the sphere exploding against the sand. "Ha!" He laughed, "nice try!" He pointed his pistol at her and shot several bullets, but Unimon managed to avoid them all as HooTawnimon picked himself up. "Defence Gale!" He beat his wings, creating a wall of wind between them and CaptainHookmon. But the Ultimate just pointed his anchor arm at them. "Raging Giga Anchor!" The metal object exploded out of the gauntlet and shot towards the wind wall, slamming into it and pushing through it without slowing down. He then slammed into HooTawnimon, knocking him backwards. "Augh!" He fell to the ground, CaptainHookmon laughing as he retracted the chain and anchor back towards him. Unimon growled, then opened her mouth. "Spread Nails!" She let out a high pitched sonic blast, which sounded like nails on a chalkboard. The sound struck CaptainHookmon and made him scream, covering his ears and he staggered back. Unimon smiled, HooTawnimon using the Ultimate's distraction to pick himself up and take to the air. CaptainHookmon fell to the ground and grabbed his prosthetic, firing his Leg revolver at Unimon and finally forcing her to stop the sonic blast. "Aaaah," he shook his head, "that was unpleasant." He raised his other gun and fired at her, Unimon avoiding the bullets as best she could. As she did, HooTawnimon charged. "Sky Strike!" He glowed and attempted to ram into CaptainHookmon, but the pirate leapt into the air above him. And as HooTawnimon flew underneath him, CaptainHookmon slammed his metal leg into his back. "GYAH!" He was smashed into the ground and slid along it, eventually stopping whilst CaptainHookmon did several flips through the air. But as he landed, Unimon charged. "Aerial Gallop!" She points her horn at him, attempting to stab him in the chest. But at the last moment, CaptainHookmon sidestepped the attack and Unimon went sailing past him. "Nice try!" He reached out and grabbed her tail, which caused her to stop dead in her tracks. "But you can't hope to defeat me!" He swung her around and smashed her into the sand, making her scream as HooTawnimon picked himself up. But before he could rush to his partner's rescue, CaptainHookmon fired his anchor chain towards him. "Gaaah!" The owl suddenly found himself getting wrapped up, the chain holding him in place whilst the pirate swung Unimon around again. He slammed his metal leg into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. He then let go of her tail and pulled the trigger on his Leg Revolver, the laser striking at her point blank. She screamed at this, as she was blasted backwards and started glowing. HooTawnimon watched, as Twilight fell to the ground looking in bad shape. "NO!" He tried to break free, but CaptainHookmon pulled on the anchor and he was dragged towards him at high speed. And as he was pulled forward, the pirate spun around and smashed his metal foot up into HooTawnimon's chin. "GYAH!" He was thrown upwards, the anchor retracting from around him as CaptainHookmon leapt upwards. When the pair were at the same height, the Ultimate swung his anchor around and smashed it right into the Owl Digimon's head. "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as the world around him started to fade, the darkness swirling around him as he was smashed down into the beach. He laid there, his body going limp, as CaptainHookmon landed beside him. "You put up a good fight," he stated. "But this battle is over." He began to move towards Twilight, who was starting to pick herself up. But before she could get her bearings, the Ultimate reached down and grabbed her around the neck. "Aaah!" She choked, as CaptainHookmon lifted her into the air. She tried to kick at him, but it did nothing. The pirate just smirked. "You first. Then your feathery friend will join you in sleeping with the fishes" She kept choking, feeling like she was gonna pass out at any moment. She couldn't believe that her Digital adventure was going to end like this. Trapped, in the stomach of a Whamon, being choked by someone who would rather get revenge than try and escape. Then, she looked over at her partner. HooTawnimon was completely out of it, unable to help himself or her. "Hoo...HooTawnimon!" She choked out, "wake up!" That was all the air she had to give. 'Please. Wake up. We can't let it end like this. Not to him.' Her eyes began to flicker closed. A long time ago. Having saved all of Hookmon's captured victims, Twilight and her friends helped each of them get back to their respective homes. And the last group they helped were the Berry Town Digimon, who were overjoyed to see them all safely returned. "Thank you," Cherrymon told them. "You have no idea what this means to me." "We're happy ta help," Applejack tipped her hat. "And if that Hookmon ever shows up again, we promise we'll be there to make sure he doesn't get away with anythin'." "You got that right," Rainbow smirked. "But it wasn't just us." "She's right," Twilight turned to HooTawnimon. "You help us too." "Maybe," HooTawnimon nodded, "but you're the one who found Hookmon. I'd be flying around with no idea what I was looking for, if you hadn't come to help. Thank you, for helping my flock again." Twilight smiled back, the others noticing how the two seemed really close. "Twilight," Rarity stepped forward. "You were saying earlier, how you wanted to find the perfect Digimon partner." Twilight turned to her. "Well it looks like, you've found your perfect partner." Twilight was shocked by this, turning to HooTawnimon as she did. "Oh, yeah!" Pinkie nodding. "You two being partners, would be AMAZING!" The others all nodded, with even the Digimon seeming to agree. "Me and...HooTawnimon." She turned to him, the owl looking just as surprised. Then, she smiled. "They're right. We do make a pretty great team." HooTawnimon seemed to agree. "Maybe. But what about my parliament?" He turned to the Tawnimon, each of them smiling at the Champion. "It's okay," one stated. "You've protected us long enough. If you want to be with her, then you should." "We'll work together and grow stronger," another stated. "And when you come back, we might even be the same Level as you." HooTawnimon smiled at them all, but still didn't look sure. "You should do what makes you happy," one final one stated. "And I bet, working with this girl will make you even stronger. So one day, if we ever need you again, you'll be strong enough to fight whatever comes and attack." The other Tawnimon nodded, agreeing as the Champion nodded. "You're right." He looked back at Twilight. "Let's work together. And grow stronger." Twilight smiled back, nodding as she took out her Digivice. "Together, we'll face any challenge. With brains and the strength of our bond, nothing will be able to beat us." With that, she used her Digivice and scanned him over. Doing so made him her partner and HooTawnimon began to glow, his body shrinking as he De-Digivolved. In the blink of an eye, another Tawnimon was standing with many others all around him. And despite the drop in power, he had never felt stronger. Twilight knelt down and held out her arms, Tawnimon rushing forward and hugging her as everyone cheered. A new beginning had just happened, for both of them. HooTawnimon opened his eyes and looked over at Twilight, who was still being held by the neck. "No," he groaned, "I won't...I won't let you hurt her!" He began to pick himself up, CaptainHookmon turning to him and raising an eyebrow. "She's my partner. And more than that. She's my friend. So you won't hurt her!" "I do what I like," the pirate Digimon announced. "And if I want to delete this annoying human, then that's what I'll do." "No," HooTawnimon growled, "you won't." As he said that, his body began to glow along with Twilight's Digivice. The girl noticed him and could feel the power coming off of him. "You won't hurt her, or anybody else. This time...I'll make sure of it!" He suddenly spread his wings and in the blink of an eye, he shot forward before CaptainHookmon could react. "What?" He tried to point his pistol at him, but HooTawnimon unleashed his Defence Gale and the powerful wind smashed into him. "Augh!" He was thrown backwards, Twilight falling from his grasp with HooTawnimon catching her on his back before taking to the air. "HooTawnimon!" Twilight cried, as the light around him glowed brighter. "He's not going to cause any more harm. Are you with me?" Twilight smiled. "You know it, partner." The glow once again brightened. "Let's show him why you don't mess with one of the Digital World's best teams." HooTawnimon arched around and dived towards the pirate, he and Twilight letting out a mighty cry as HooTawnimon's entire body was consumed by the light. CaptainHookmon was blinded, the pirate roaring as he pointed his weapon at them and fired. But the bullets simply bounced off the light now shielding the two. "HooTawnimon, Digivolve to..." He began to grow larger and as he did, his body began to change. His head crest changed shape, morphing into more of a V-shape with the middle upwards spike remaining whilst more of the feathers grew out the back of the chest up and around his head before going down the back and joining at the back of his neck to then circle around said neck to form a collar. Some of the crest grew downwards, splitting around the beak and stopping just below her chin to resemble a moustache. His wings grew longer and as they did, the outer feathers changed to a more whitish colour with black stars appearing on them. The same black stars replaced the triangles on his puffier chest, then also appeared on the back of his tail feathers whilst his feet-feathers grew down to cover everything except his talons. Transformation over, he had grown by about half his original height and let out a mighty hoot as he spread his wings. "CRESTAWNIMON!" CaptainHookmon was shocked by this sudden Digivolution, Twilight equally as amazed but quickly smiling as she turned to their opponent. "Let's take him down!" CresTawnimon needed no more encouragement than that and quickly pointed his star covered chest at him. "Gale Star!" The stars glowed before the light flew off him, CresTawnimon beating his wings which caused the lights to shoot forwards. "WOW!" CaptainHookmon braced himself, as the stars slammed into the ground and exploded. "Gyah!" He was thrown about, sand flying everywhere as he hit the ground. "Annoying pigeon." He spun onto his back and pointed his anchor towards them. "Rage Giga Anchor!" The anchor fired off and flew towards the owl, but the new Ultimate simply smiled. "Crested Guardian!" His head crest glowed before the light exploded off and formed a protective barrier, which the shield simply bounced off without doing any damage. And as CaptainHookmon retracted the anchor, the bird dived as his wings glowed. "Wing Burst!" CaptainHookmon fired his pistol, but CresTawnimon easily dodged it before flying past him. And as he did that, the wing slammed into the pirate and unleashed the energy directly into him. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" He was thrown backwards, his pistol flying from his hand as he crashed into the ground. CresTawnimon flew up, panting as he did. His first time as an Ultimate wasn't an easy thing and he knew, if he didn't end this, he would run out of energy. "But even if we beat him, we're still stuck in here. What do we do?" Back outside, Twilight's friends had come up with a plan. "Are you sure this will work?" Darcmon asked, clearly thinking this was absolute madness. "What if he's stronger than you think he is?" AeroVeedramon frowned, but shook his head. This had to work. "We can do it! Now, you all ready?" They nodded, but were all clearly concerned. "Then let's do this thing. Three, two, one...NOW!" With all their strength, they swung Whamon around and let go of the tail. This made Whamon fly through the air and straighten out, Paildramon flying up above him and using his Cable Catcher wrap around the Digimon's middle. At the same time, MegaKabuterimon flew beneath him and charged upwards. "Sorry about this!" His horn smashed into the Digimon's stomach, causing him to let out a mighty roar as his mouth flew open. And before it could close it, AeroVeedramon flew into the mouth. There, he forced his feet into the lower jaw and slammed his hands into the upper one. This caused the mouth to be wedged open, Whamon unable to close it. It tried, and used all its strength, but AeroVeedramon was stronger and managed to keep his mouth open. "Aaaaah," he groaned. The smell of fish wafted out the creature's throat. "Twilight! If you can hear me, please get out of there. Hurry!" As he kept the mouth open, a glow appeared at the end of the Digimon's long throat. "What is that?" A glow caught their attention, making Twilight look back and see the same light from before off in the distance. "CresTawnimon, you have to fly up!" He nodded and did so, as CaptainHookmon sat himself up. He then glared at the pair before raising his prosthetic, grabbing the trigger handle as he did. "Leg Revolver!" He fired the weapon and unleashed a laser, but CresTawnimon managed to avoid it once again. And as he did, Twilight noticed the water wasn't coming in. "This is our chance!" Twilight cried, "we have to go...now!" But as she said that, CaptainHookmon kept firing his leg gun and CresTawnimon did everything to avoid the. "Time to end this!" He cried, as his crest glowed and formed a protective veil around him. He then dived, as CaptainHookmon fired until his weapon was out of ammo. "CRESTED WING BURST!" The light then flew into his wings and made them glow, as he then beat his wings and unleashed a powerful wave of light. It flew towards the pirate Digimon, who screamed as it slammed into him and exploded. "GYAAAAAH!" He cried, being consumed by the light. And as he rived in pain, CresTawnimon flew towards the light. Back outside, everyone was having trouble keeping Whamon up. With AeroVeedramon no longer carrying the weight, the dragon in fact adding to it, the others barely managed to keep the beast lifted up. Paildramon pulled, as MegaKabuterimon, Ballistamon, Darcmon and Nefertimon all pushed. They groaned, as the water was getting dangerously close. "Can't...hold out...much...longer!" Darcmon panted, her feet starting to touch the water. "This is bad." "Keep pushing," Ballistamon cried. "They'll escape." But MegaKabuterimon's feet were already in the water and up to his knees. "They have to." "Gaaah," AeroVeedramon was starting to buckle and lose strength. "Twilight, hurry!" CresTawnimon flew as fast as he could, but the light seemed to be getting dimmer. "He's closing his mouth!" "HURRY!" Twilight screamed, as the owl Digimon flapped his wings as hard as he could. The light grew darker and darker, looking ready to disappear at any moment. And CresTawnimon refused to miss it. "RAAAAAH!" He screamed, flying into it seconds before the light vanished. They flew through a tunnel of light and as they got closer to the other side, they noticed something blocking the exit. "Coming through!" AeroVeedramon heard this and gasped, as he looked down into the mouth and saw something appearing out of the darkness. "Raaaaah!" He used all his strength to throw the mouth open wider, then leapt backwards and away from the giant's teeth. Moments later, CresTawnimon came shooting out after him. He rocketed away from the mouth, which slammed shut seconds later. "Twilight!" AeroVeedramon cheered, as the others laughed. MegaKabuterimon pushed his rockets to the limit and managed to push Whamon off of him, the giant sea beast rolling through the air as Paildramon and the others released him. He splashed down onto his back, the impact creating a circular tsunami that flew out in all directions. Luckily, everyone flew straight up and managed to avoid getting hit by the wave. They flew higher and higher and higher, until they were at least three times higher than Whamon was long. And they were glad they were, since moments later the giant whale exploded out of the ocean with his mouth open again. But it didn't get close to them and was forced back into the ocean, sinking below the waves and diving down as fast as it could. "Twilight!" AeroVeedramon turned to her, "you're okay!" "And you got to Ultimate!" Darcmon stated, the others noticing Tawnimon was in his Ultimate Stage. "How on earth did you Digivolve to Ultimate, whilst inside the belly of a giant Whamon?" Twilight sighed, "it's a long story." She turned to Ballistamon, as he and the other humans reverted back. "I'm sorry to say, Hookmon doesn't know anything about Datamon. He's been...busy, for a while." The others looked confused, Twilight promising to explain as she took out her Digivice. "Let's get out of here. I've had more than my fair share of the ocean, to be honest." The others couldn't help but agree and all took out their Digivices, porting themselves away before the White Whamon could try again. Back inside the whale's stomach, CaptainHookmon laid on the beach. The Ultimate was still recovering from the attack he had taken, anger flowing through him. "Just you wait. I'll make you pay for this. I'll get out of this creature and when I do, you will suffer the consequences." But before he could start planning his revenge, the area began to rumble. "What?" He slowly picked himself up and as he did, he noticed the light appear in the distance. "Oh no." He turned to run, but suddenly found his prosthetic leg buckling under his weight. It had been damaged during the last attack and now, the thing had fallen apart. "No," he tried to crawl along the ground. As he did, the rumbling continued as the wave of water washed towards the island. "NOOOOOOO!" The water slammed into him and he was swept away, cutting through the forest and slamming into several trees. He tried to point himself towards the rock, but the current tugged him around it. And to his horror, he completely missed it and was pushed out towards the black light. "Please, this can't be the end." He fired his anchor at the mountain, hoping to ride out the wave. But he was pulled out of range seconds before it hit. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Were his last words before he was pulled under the water and disappeared into the dark light. Back at Codex, Fluttershy was leading Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie and Trixie towards the foyer. There, they saw Twilight and the others sitting around a table. "Twilight!" They all cried, rushing over to them and seeing Flash and Micro had DemiVeemon and Motimon in their laps. Twilight had her own Digimon in her laps. He looked similar to a Poromon, only he was greyish-brown in colour with dark brown wings and eyebrows. He also had an orange beak. "Twilight?" Rainbow pointed at the Digimon, "is that..." "Call me Tweetmon," the In-Training Digimon announced. "Why's Tawnimon in his In-Trainin' form?" Applejack asked, "Fluttershy told us ya'll were trapped inside a giant whale." "We were," Twilight smiled. "I was just telling everyone what happened after I got swallowed. And they were telling me how they managed to free me from Whamon's stomach." Rarity nodded. "I can't believe Hookmon spent so long inside that creature." That statement caught the others by surprise, with only Trixie looking confused. "And that he was willing to sacrifice his freedom just to get even with you." Twilight nodded. "If he had just asked, we would have tried to help him. Nobody deserves to be trapped like that. But he gave us no choice. If he had been trying to fight us, there was no way we could have carried him out of Whamon's mouth. Now he's trapped there. Probably forever." "That's not your fault," Flash told her. "He made his choice and now, he's gonna have to live with it." "Well," Fluttershy hugged Twilight, "at least you're safe." Twilight smiled and thanked Fluttershy, for that and for helping the others free her. As Fluttershy pulled away, she looked down at Tweetmon as he smiled up at her. "I'm glad we met when we did," Twilight brushed her hand through his feathers. "When I first came to Codex, I told myself I wouldn't accept anyone except the perfect partner for me. And when we came together, I knew that was exactly what you were. And now, I'm even more sure of it." "Thanks," Tweetmon smiled. "I feel the same way too. No matter what challenges we face, we'll always be able to overcome them together." Twilight smiled and pulled him in, hugging him tightly as Tweetmon pretended to gasp. "Okay, okay! Need air!" They all laughed at this. All except Micro. He continued to rub the top of Motimon's head, as he thought about their little adventure today. Whilst he was glad Twilight was alright and even got to the Ultimate level with her partner, that didn't change the fact their search had been a total waste. Datamon was still missing and they still had no clue where to find him. They would have to keep looking, but Micro feared the worst. Every day that past, was another day who knows what was happening to the mechanical Digimon. And if enough time past, people might start ending their search for him. "Datamon," he sighed whilst looking up at the Digital sky. "Where are you?"