“So what can you tell us about this pirate ship?” Twilight asked. Davis, Veemon, Ken, Wormmon, Pinkie, and Applejack looked across the bedroom towards Petermon, anticipating an answer from the elfen digimon. Floating lazily beside his shoulder was the brightly glowing Tinkermon.
“It belongs to a powerful digimon named CaptainHookmon,” Petermon replied ominously. “He’s the most respected pirate in Port Digital, and has protected our town from evil for as long as anyone can remember. But now him and his crew have fallen under the control of an evil Digimon known as Vespimon.”
“Yes, we know all about her,” said Ken. “What did he do to the town’s population? Every part of Port Digital we’ve seen is completely unscathed, like they all just disappeared into thin air.”
“Like I said, all of the other ships have been used to evacuate. I don’t know where they’ve gone to, but all the inhabitants that aren’t working for CaptainHookmon are somewhere out at sea.”
“With no damage to the town?” Ken questioned. “It seems rather far-fetched that they’d all be able to escape with no sign of a struggle whatsoever. Something about your story isn’t adding up.”
Petermon shrugged. “I guess we were lucky to avoid a real fight. Regardless, once the town was evacuated, Tinkermon and I decided to stay behind and survey the area in case anything new happened. Now that you’re here, we can finally put a stop to CaptainHookmon and hopefully bring the townsfolk back!”
“Hey, don’t worry Petermon,” said Davis. “We’re the Digi-Destined! We’ll take care of him easily!”
“Oooh, does this mean I get to fight a pirate?” Pinkie chimed in. “That’s super cool! I’ll be a ninja, and it’ll be just like in those comic books!”
“Don’t get too excited yet,” Ken chided. “We can’t just go charging out guns blazing looking for this pirate. I want to find out more about how this happened. I can’t help but feel there’s something else we don’t know here.”
“I have to agree with Ken,” said Twilight. “The last thing I want to do is challenge a powerful digimon unprepared. We need to know more about what we’re up against.”
“Ah hate to break it to you, Twi, but Ah think we might not have time for that,” said Applejack. She pointed a hoof at the open window next to Petermon, overlooking the harbor in the distance. In the distant waters was a massive ship, and it was rapidly making its way towards the docks.
“That’s CaptainHookmon’s ship!” Petermon exclaimed. “He’s coming for us!”
“That harbor! Our friends were headed in that direction!” said Davis. “We have to go help them!”
“Well then, let’s not hesitate!” said Petermon. “Come on Tinkermon, let’s help them out!”
With a flourish, Petermon rose into the air and flew out the open window, with Tinkermon following closely behind.
“Hey, wait for us!” cried Veemon.
———————
CaptainHookmon stood proudly on the ship’s forecastle, facing the Digi-Destined with an expression of supreme confidence. His eyes glowed with blood red malice, radiating evil power from the dark spiral on his arm. “Ready the cannons!” he shouted.
On his order, a row of hatches opened in the side of his massive galleon, and from each one emerged a coal-black cannon barrel.
“T.K.! They’re pointed right at us!” exclaimed Patamon.
“Run!” T.K. shouted.
“Fire!”
The cannons launched their ammunition in an explosion of gunpowder. The Digi-Destined and their companions frantically scattered as the cannonballs hailed from above, crashing into the cobblestone streets at the edge of the harbor and the buildings beyond.
“Ha! Missed me!” Rainbow Dash gloated, easily dodging a cannonball by a wide margin. Her smirk quickly vanished when a second cannonball missed her by a much narrower margin, flying mere inches above her own head.
Another cannonball shot forth towards Yolei and Hawkmon, both of whom were scurrying across the street in a panic. The cannonball landed in Yolei’s path, sending her and Hawkmon jumping backward in surprise as it impacted the cobblestone in front of her.
A short distance away, Rarity had taken cover behind a collection of wooden barrels, which reeked of the smell of fish. A cannonball landed perfectly into one of the barrels, causing its contents to be splattered and displaced explosively out the opening, while the barrel miraculously remained intact. Rarity screamed in horror as she was coated in the splattered fish remains, parts of them entangling themselves in her once-pristine mane.
“T.K., look out!” With a yell, Kari performed a running tackle on T.K., narrowly saving him from a stray cannonball by pinning him to the ground, his body facing upward and pressed against Kari as she looked down at him with concern. Patamon and Gatomon simply stared at the position their human partners had found themselves in.
Another cannonball flew straight over Cody’s head, crashing into the outside wall of a building several yards behind him. Cody stopped in his tracks and fell to his knees, sheltering his head with his arms as his entire body shivered in anxiety.
Then, just as quickly as it had happened, the cannonfire stopped. For a moment, all had gone deathly silent. In the temporary lull in the destruction, the Digi-Destined and their companions took the time to gather themselves. Hawkmon helped pull Yolei to her feet, a task made all the more difficult by his short stature. Armadillomon offered an encouraging word as he poked and prodded at Cody, who gradually came to his feet, still shuddering in fear.
In the meantime, Kari had picked herself off of the ground, and reached down to help T.K. up. T.K. reached out for Kari’s hand and grabbed it, letting Kari pull him to his feet. “Thanks,” he murmured, averting his gaze. A bright red flush appeared on Kari’s face, and she said nothing.
While Rainbow Dash surveyed the scene from above, her eyes were drawn to Rarity, who had crawled out dejectedly from behind the barrels, covered in fish entrails.
“Why meeee?” She sobbed melodramatically. “Why must I always be humiliated like this?”
CaptainHookmon let out a throaty, uproarious laugh. “Argh, what’s the matter? Ye landlubbers can’t even handle a wee bit of cannonfire? Ye’d never last a single day out on the high seas!”
“Oh yeah?” shouted Rainbow. “We’re still here, aren’t we?”
“Not for long,” CaptainHookmon retorted. “Let’s see how ye deal with me trusty crew! All crew members, prepare for landing!”
At his command, the ship suddenly turned inward, with the bow pointed straight towards the town. Pony, human, and digimon alike were sent scrambling backwards towards the cobblestone street as the ship crashed headfirst into the docks, sending large fragments of wood splintering in all directions.
The group tensed as the ship came to a halt, its front end now embedded in the wooden docks. CaptainHookmon climbed atop the forecastle deck and faced his adversaries, grinning wickedly. Then, with a single gesture, he pointed at the Digi-Destined and their companions.
“Attack!” he commanded.
Seemingly out of nowhere, more than a dozen digimon leapt off of the ship, each of their two webbed feet touching down on the fragmented docks. As they landed, they closed in on the Digi-Destined, their short stature and bizzare tuba-like instruments wrapped around their necks clashing with the threatening appearance of their menacing red eyes and the dark rings on their arms.
“What the heck are these things?” said Rainbow, sounding more confused than anything.
“Don’t underestimate them!” said T.K. “Gekomon may look silly, but they’re as dangerous as any champion-level digimon!”
The Gekomon advanced forward, malice in their eyes. The one closest to T.K. was the first to attack, unleashing it with an echoing cry.
“Tongue Attack!”
With whiplike speed, the Gekomon’s tongue lashed out towards T.K., with a force powerful enough to shatter solid rock. He barely had enough time to flinch as the long and powerful tongue flew towards him. He closed his eyes, able to do nothing but anticipate the deadly impact.
To his surprise, however, the impact never came. There was no surge of pain, nothing to indicate that he had been struck at all. He briefly contemplated if he had been killed too quickly for the pain to register, only to realize that he was still alive to contemplate the fact.
He opened his eyes, and before him was a strange sight: the Gekomon’s tongue was frozen in place right in front of him, encased in a purple aura. The frog-like digimon could only stare in shock as its tongue was seemingly frozen in place.
The aura then vanished, and the Gekomon’s tongue snapped backwards, causing its owner to stagger and fall over as it was struck in the forehead by the slimy appendage.
The other Gekomon glanced around in confusion, eventually turning in the direction of the town’s center, away from the harbor. The Digi-Destined followed their gaze and saw Twilight Sparkle standing several yards away, breathing heavily from fatigue. Davis, Veemon, Ken, Wormmon, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were standing some distance behind her, running to catch up with her.
“Twilight,” said Applejack as she approached, “you can’t just go running off like that without us!”
“No choice”, Twilight panted, “our friends... in danger.”
The prone Gekomon picked itself off the ground, eyes blazing with malice, and the others faced the purple alicorn in turn.
“I think we might be in danger, too!” said Ken.
“Well then, let’s take them out! Digi-Armor Energize!”
Davis held out his shining digivice, and a fiery red object emerged from it, fusing with Veemon’s body in a bright glow.
“Veemon, Armor Digivolve to: Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!”
The Gekomon stood frozen in their tracks at the sight of Veemon’s new form, a much tall, slender, and more intimidating figure clad in fiery red armor. Flamedramon’s fists burned with bright red fire, and with a mighty swing of his arms, launched several fireballs at the nearest Gekomon.
“Fist of Flame!”
Three of the Gekomon were struck by the projectiles, toppling over as their dark rings shattered, leaving them unconscious. The rest quickly reacted, stepping back from their fallen allies before regrouping, glowering at their attacker.
“Let’s help out!” said Twilight, turning towards the group she’d arrived with.
“Execute! Harmonic Evolution! Espermon!”
“Execute! Harmonic Evolution! Shinobimon!”
“Execute! Harmonic Evolution! TimberGarurumon!”
The newly-evolved Digimon stepped forward, joining by Flamedramon's side. The remaining Gekomon responded swiftly, charging forward in an attempt to overwhelm their opponents.
As the Gekomon closed in, Espermon deftly avoided the assault, taking flight straight up into the air. Several of her amphibious attackers collapsed into a pile as they tackled the empty space that she had previously occupied.
“Raven’s Shadow!”
As she cried out, a black aura surrounded Espermon’s left hand, and she thrust her arm forward in an arcane gesture. The shadows surrounding her hand coalesced into the shape of a massive bird, as though it were a creature made of solid darkness. The shadow bird flew towards the sprawled Gekomon in a dive bomb, exploding on impact and sending them scattering, leaving their dark rings destroyed and their bodies unconscious.
“Confetti Kunai!”
“Tempest Leaf!”
Shinobimon and TimberGarurumon unleashed their attacks at the remaining Gekomon, and in a flurry of leaves and confetti, all but one of them were knocked to the ground, dark rings destroyed in the impact. The lone Gekomon that had evaded the attack glanced at its fallen comrades, then towards the hostile Digimon responsible. Its face frozen in fear, it took a single step backwards, then ran at full speed back towards the galleon. With a mighty leap, it jumped onto the ship’s deck and crawled between CaptainHookmon’s legs, hiding its head beneath its arms.
“What in the Seven Seas do you think you’re doing?” CaptainHookmon snarled. “You’re supposed to be a fearsome pirate, not some lily-livered chump!” He swiftly punted the Gekomon, sending it flying off the side of the ship and into the surrounding water.
“Hey, Captain Crunch! Pick on someone your own size!”
“What!?” CaptainHookmon exclaimed. He looked up in surprise to see a bright pink ninja leaping high up in the air, brandishing her sword. She swiftly descended with her blade, landing before CaptainHookmon and slashing at him in a diagonal motion. Reacting quickly, CaptainHookmon jumped to the side, the sword’s edge slicing off a tiny sliver of his jacket. Shinobimon followed up with a roundhouse kick, sending CaptainHookmon staggering backwards. He quickly regained his balance, his face twisting into a scowl.
“You’re going to regret that, ninja! Prepare to be keelhauled!” He drew his weapon, a large pistol with an elongated, slender barrel, long enough that the weapon resembled a cross between a gun and a sword. Lunging forward at Shinobimon, he swung the gun’s barrel in a downward diagonal swipe. Shinobimon parried with her own weapon and retaliated, leading to a dance of clashing weapons as the two digimon nimbly fenced with one another.
———————
Yolei looked upon the scene of the two digimon fighting atop the ship in shock. “We have to help her! There’s no way Shinobimon can beat him on her own!”
“Don’t worry, I can take care of it!” Rainbow Dash boasted. “I’ll have that pirate out of the way in no time!”
“Not so fast,” T.K. chimed in. “We need a plan of action. We still need to take care of the control spire, remember?”
“We’ll worry about that later!” Rainbow replied indignantly. “We have to help out our friend!”
“Don’t worry, you can still help her out”, said T.K. “Kari and I will head out by air with our partners towards the control spire. Cody, you have Armadillomon digivolve to Submarimon and follow us by sea.”
“Got it,” Cody responded.
“I think I’ll come too, if you don’t mind,” Rarity chimed in, still covered in fish entrails. “A dip in the ocean sounds like it would do me well right now.”
“Right then!” said Yolei. “Hawkmon, you can help out Rainbow Dash against CaptainHookmon! Everyone ready?” she called to the rest of the group, who each nodded in affirmation. Each human and pony held out their digivices, and called upon their power.
“Execute! Harmonic evolution!”
“Digi-Armor Energize!”
———————
CaptainHookmon let out another swipe of his weapon, causing Shinobimon to parry with her own blade. Before she could deflect the weapon, CaptainHookmon pressed forward, causing their weapons to lock against one another. Shinobimon was quickly overwhelmed by her opponent’s superior strength, however, and with another swift motion, CaptainHookmon slashed to the side, knocking Shinobimon’s weapon out of her hands and sending her tumbling backwards, crash-landing on the wooden boards near the edge of the deck. Shinobimon’s sword sailed through the air from the attack towards the center of the ship, eventually embedding itself halfway up the ship’s mast.
CaptainHookmon grinned maniacally, pointing the barrel of his weapon at Shinobimon’s prone body. “Say your prayers, ninja scum!”
“Starlight Swirl!”
“Gah!” CaptainHookmon let out a cry of pain as a swirling disk of energy impacted against his back, exploding in a burst of light. He turned around to see Espermon hovering above the deck, glaring down at him intensely. “How dare ye...” CaptainHookmon snarled.
Before he could retaliate, Flamedramon suddenly leapt high into the air, jumping straight above and over Espermon. His body became wreathed in flames as he turned his body downward, diving headfirst towards CaptainHookmon.
“Fire Rocket!”
CaptainHookmon reacted quickly, shifting his weight to leverage against the heavy anchor on his left wrist. As Flamedramon descended upon him, he gave the anchor a mighty swing, instantly knocking Flamedramon backwards. The force of impact carried Flamedramon in an upward trajectory, sending him crashing into Espermon in midair. The two digimon plummeted from the impact, landing in a heap on the docks just beyond the edge of the ship.
Suddenly, TimberGarurumon jumped into the air from the docks outside the ship, landing gracefully onto the deck between CaptainHookmon and the bodies of Espermon and Flamedramon. She charged forward, forcefully tackling CaptainHookmon and pinning him to the ground, knocking his gun out of his hand. TimberGarurumon snarled, holding CaptainHookmon down with her massive paws placed on his chest.
With a grunt, CaptainHookmon delivered a devastating kick straight to TimberGarurumon’s underside, sending her flying straight upward dozens of feet into the air. As she reached the apex of her flight, CaptainHookmon performed a small backflip from the ground, landing on his feet. He raised his right arm upward and caught TimberGarurumon as she finally fell back to earth, effortlessly propping the enormous wolf up in the palm of his hand.
With another swift motion, he turned around and threw TimberGarurumon overboard, on the side of the deck facing the sea. The wolf desperately grabbed onto the edge of the deck as she fell, slowly crawling her way back onto the ship's surface. She panted in exhaustion, her legs struggling to hold her own weight.
"I'd say I be winning this little skirmish pretty handily so far,” CaptainHookmon declared triumphantly. He walked over to his fallen weapon and picked it up, placing it in its holster. “Does anyone else volunteer to walk the plank?”
“Parley!” Shinobimon cried out.
“What?” Captainhookmon turned in surprise, seeing the pink ninja picking herself upright.
“I said parley!”
“What in Neptunemon’s name are you talking about?” CaptainHookmon demanded.
“When I say ‘parley’, it means we have to stop fighting!” said Shinobimon. “It’s in the Pirate’s Code, remember?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” CaptainHookmon scoffed. “There be no such thing as a Pirate’s Code!”
“I know!” replied Shinobimon. “I was just stalling because I saw my friends about to attack you and wanted to keep you distracted!”
“Er... come again?” said CaptainHookmon.
“Zephyr Knuckle!”
“Double Star!”
CaptainHookmon suddenly cried out in pain as he was simultaneously struck by a powerful gust of wind and a massive shuriken, each attack hitting him from a different angle. As the two attacks collided, it produced a massive cloud of dust, causing him to cough loudly as he recovered from the impact.
When the dust cleared, he saw Irismon and Shurimon standing on either side of him. As he stared, TimberGarurumon crawled up the side of the ship and onto the deck, and Flamedramon and Espermon jumped onto the ship from the dock, leaving him surrounded from multiple sides by his opponents.
CaptainHookmon grinned. “Very clever! Looks like this is going to get interesting!”