A storm had rolled in during the last hour.

Shizuka openly cursed, not caring when Tadashi turned to her, and growled. It was just their luck that they would be the ones who get hit by a storm while drifting across the ocean. The twins never had been lucky when it came to those kind of things. Maybe it was karma, or something like that, considering how often Tadashi put down people who weren't as smart as he was. And Shizuka, well, she wasn't the nicest person in the world either. Still, Biyomon and Gabumon had never done anything to deserve it.

In fact, she wished Biyomon would just leave. She could fly away to find someplace to stay and keep herself safe.

Jeez, she was doing it again. Shizuka slid a hand down her face. She really needed to stop that.

They would get out of this situation one way or another. They had to! Their friends were out there alone, facing troubles—well, who knew what kind of problems they were going through? The group had already dealt with quite a few bat-shit crazy things during their time in the Digital World. She wouldn't be surprised if they were having to deal with more stupidity. Shizuka knew her brother and their partners definitely were.

She wished that there wasn't a storm at that moment. She wasn't sure if the storms were the same as on Earth, but it was annoying—

Thunder crashed.

Yeah, they were pretty much the same.

"How wonderful," Tadashi muttered.

"Fan-fricking-tastic, isn't it?"

The wind swirled around them, prompting Biyomon to drop down and settle on Shizuka lap.

"I should have guessed that storms such as these were possible," the boy mumbled. "After all, we witnessed a blizzard…"

"Just drop it," Shizuka said. "You're not helping by lamenting your lack of foresight."

"What a surprise to hear you speaking with such fluency."

"Alright, shut up. You're being annoying."

"And thus does your moment of eloquence pass."

"You're being a bit overdramatic there. Besides, you never talk like that."

The twins glanced at each other and smiled. After all the bickering that had been going on between them, it was nice to finally be back in their usual daily routine. They hadn't exactly seen eye-to-eye since starting the journey—not that they ever really did, but it had been worse than it normally was.

Gabumon, sitting closer to the edge, stared into the distance with a disappointed look. "Still no land in sight."

"It would be nice to find land," Biyomon mumbled. "My feathers are wet."

"Don't like having your feathers ruffled?" Shizuka teased.

"You know how frustrating it is to fly when your feathers are wet? Of course not," Biyomon grumbled. She shook her wings, now in a huff because of her partner.

Gabumon blinked. "Wouldn't that dry your feathers out faster?"

"No."

Laughing, Shizuka grinned at the pink bird, earning a pout from Biyomon. Even Tadashi looked somewhat amused, though there was a dissatisfied expression on Gabumon's face, as the reptile was clearly finding no enjoyment in it. After a few moments, Biyomon sighed and smiled at the other Digimon. Shizuka reached over to fix her partner's feathers with a small smirk. The bird mumbled under her breath.

"I'm not saying thank you."

"That's okay. I kinda deserve it."

Thunder boomed once again, followed by the wind picking up. Irritated, Shizuka glared up at the sky. She wished she could make the storm stop. Of all the times for one to happen, this was the worst possible moment. She wouldn't have cared as much had they been on land, but no, they were in the middle of the ocean with no place to go. If it hadn't been for Airdramon and that stupid Seadramon, this wouldn't have even happened in the first place. Her thoughts drifted to the others again. They had all ended up with someone else, but what about Leomon? Was the lion okay?

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the tidal wave until it was too late.

The water smacked against the ice and then swelled underneath it quickly, sending Shizuka, Tadashi, and Gabumon flying off. The three fell in the water as Biyomon panicked, trying to see them. Gabumon surfaced, shortly followed by Shizuka. The girl looked around when she realized she couldn't see her brother. Taking in a deep breath, she dived back into the water, searching. It was dark and hard to see, but as she caught a glimpse of what looked to be white, she swam forward. Her hand tightly gripped his wrist. She pulled him up with her, breaking the surface. Trying her best to hold him, she wrapped her arm around his chest.

"Tadashi?" she said. "Oh, come on, not now! Wake up!"

Gabumon swam over to her. Biyomon hovered over them.

"Is he okay?" Gabumon asked.

"Besides being unconscious," she grumbled.

"Oh, no," Biyomon moaned.

A strange sound caught their attention, but the waves were getting worse, so it didn't hold their focus for long.

"We're gonna be underwater if this keeps up," Shizuka said.

When the noise returned it was much closer to them. At the same time a massive wave formed in front of them. Her eyes on the wave about to crash into them, Shizuka was caught off guard when a massive Digimon surfaced right beside them. With no time to think, the girl could only gape as it closed its mouth down on the four of them. She found herself hitting its large tongue and bouncing, still holding onto her brother. Gabumon landed beside her, and Biyomon flitted down to sit by the reptile.

"Hey!" Shizuka snapped. "What's the big idea, you overgrown fish?"

"I'm sorry," a voice boomed.

She winced at the loud voice and put her hands over her ears. "Take it down a notch!"

"Sorry," the Digimon repeated more quietly. "Unfortunately, this was the only way to get you out of the storm."

"Yeah, well, a bit of warning next time you put us in your mouth. So, who are you?"

"Whamon."

"Thanks for the assist, I guess," the girl muttered. She turned her attention to Tadashi and smacked his chest. "Come on, you wimp! Wake up already!"

When that didn't work, she leaned over him and used her entire weight to push her hands down on his chest as quickly as she could. The action resulted in a cough she barely avoided. She watched as he flipped over onto his side to hack up water. Once he was done, he wiped his mouth off and turned over to look at her with a grimace. Smiling, she helped him to sit up, only for him to be knocked down by Gabumon. The reptile wrapped his arms around his partner in a hug. It took several moments to pry Gabumon off the aching boy.

"Careful," Tadashi groaned. "My chest hurts."

"That's what happens when you black out in water," Shizuka stated matter-of-factly.

"Whatever. Where are we?"

"Inside Whamon's mouth," Biyomon said before going back to cleaning her feathers.

"We're in a giant Digimon's mouth?" Tadashi face turned to an expression of disgust. "Fabulous. Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to Web City," Whamon rumbled.

The humans blinked, glancing at each other before looking at their respective partners. The two Digimon merely shrugged, unable to offer any information. Rolling her eyes, Shizuka laid down, figuring it would be better to simply wait until they were there. Tadashi, thinking the same, flopped onto his back and closed his eyes. He probably needed it. He had hit the water pretty hard, after all. Gabumon curled up beside him, laying as close as possible. Turning her head, Shizuka looked at Biyomon, who returned her glance for a moment before she looked at the two boys.

No point in wasting a good opportunity to rest.

~0~

"We're here."

Whamon's voice woke her up immediately. Hopping to her feet, Shizuka tapped Tadashi in the side with her foot. Mumbling, Tadashi blinked open his eyes and slowly got his feet, goading Gabumon up in the process. The whale stopped moving, opening his mouth. Biyomon flew out while the others climbed their way out. After they were out, Whamon closed his mouth. Shizuka examined their immediate surroundings. The docks they were at led to a massive city. She placed one hand on her hip, squinting her eyes against the sun.

This place was bigger than File City, made of circular layers that were progressively smaller. At the top was a large building.

"Ikkakumon, the leader of the city, lives at the top of the city," Whamon rumbled. "You may wish to speak with him. Should you need my assistance, I will be in the underwater portion of the city."

Shizuka looked at him, nodding. "Thanks."

The whale submerged, disappearing under the waves. Folding her arms, Shizuka looked at her brother. "I guess we should go talk with Ikkakumon?"

"It would be the best course of action," he said. "Leaving without making sure that there's nothing that must been done would be a terrible idea."

"Alright, then."

Taking the lead, she walked up to the massive stairs that led upwards through the city and began heading up. She sighed. It was going to be a long walk. At least Tadashi would be getting more of the exercise he needed. Speaking of him, he was eyeing every building they passed with mild fascination. She had to admit, the architecture was…interesting, to say the last. Most of the buildings were either domes shaped or overall rounded—nothing they saw had edges. Now that she looked more closely, even the steps were rounded enough to lack an edge.

What is up with this city?

They passed by dozens of Digimon just walking up the steps. The amount of citizens was amazing.

It felt like hours had passed when they finally reached the top. Tadashi let himself fall onto the ground, sitting while trying to catch his breath. Gabumon hovered over him, but Shizuka wasn't too concerned.

"Gonna be okay?" she asked, just to be nice.

"Give me a moment," he mumbled, waving his hand at her.

"That was a long walk. I'll give you that." She looked at the massive domed building. "We gonna just ask if everything is okay?"

"We may want to stay for at least a while, that way we can be sure."

"We can't waste too much time, though. There's still the whole 'needing to find our friends' thing."

"I know."

"Though, it's hard telling where they are." She huffed. "Why can't we ever stay together?"

"The world doesn't like us, apparently," Biyomon said.

Gabumon smiled to himself. "Maybe we should just tie all of us together with a rope."

That comment earned a grin from Shizuka, and Biyomon laughed. Tadashi's reaction was a mixture of annoyed and amused. Holding out her hand, Shizuka helped her brother to his feet. Once he found his balance, she walked up to the building. There was a suspicious lack of guards here for it being the home of the city leader. Unless, of course, Whamon had lied to them and this was some sort of elaborate trap…

Wow, she was being really pessimistic.

Stopping in front of the door, she knocked.

When it opened, a small white Digimon was standing there. He looked up at her.

"Yes?"

"We want to talk to Ikkakumon," Tadashi told the Gomamon, interrupting Shizuka.

She elbowed him in the side.

"Oh. Okay. Come right in."

They were mildly surprised.

"Really?" Gabumon asked.

"Uh-huh. Ikkakumon never turns down anyone, as long as they're not attacking us. 'Cause, well, you know."

Tadashi glanced at Shizuka, but she shrugged, not knowing what to say. So far things were looking pretty good, and she didn't want to jinx them. Biyomon, still sitting on her partner's shoulders, glanced at the girl curiously. Shizuka said nothing and focused on following Gomamon through the massive rooms. She had a feeling this would go rather quickly, because they hadn't seen anything even remotely dangerous.

Gomamon led them to a large room with a massive circular table. At the far end of the room sat a massive white-furred Digimon who seemed to be a large version of their small guide. As they entered, he turned around to look at them.

"These four wanted to talk to you, Ikkakumon," Gomamon said.

"Alright. Now run along, you have work to do."

Nodding, the Digimon hurried out, leaving them standing there. Ikkakumon motioned them forward with his paw. Shizuka strode forward and took a seat in one of the chairs at the table, nonchalantly putting her feet up on the metal. The Digimon didn't seem to mind, so she didn't plan on moving. While Tadashi and Gabumon took a seat, Biyomon landed by Shizuka's feet.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Shizuka. He's Tadashi. These are our partners, Biyomon and Gabumon." She pointed to each of them.

"A pleasure. You are the DigiDestined I have heard about, are you not?"

Gabumon looked somewhat surprised. "Oh, you've heard of us?"

"Indeed. I do try to stay updated when it comes to events happening on the continents." Setting down a stack of papers on the table, he glanced at the small group. "Though, I had heard there were more of you that simply two humans."

"There's four others humans that travel with us," Biyomon said. "We got separated when part of the Ice Zone was destroyed by Seadramon after we destroyed the Dark Crystal there."

"Yes, one of my messengers mentioned that when he returned earlier today. That begs the question as to how you arrived here in the city."

"For a while we just drifted on the piece of ice we were stuck on, then it got flipped over," Shizuka explained. "Whamon stumbled upon us and helped us out."

"Hmm…I wonder if he had another reason…," Ikkakumon said under his breath. "Now, what is it you wanted to speak with me about?"

With a glance to Tadashi, Shizuka nodded. "You haven't had any problems with the Master's army, have you?"

"The occasional attack, but we have managed to fight them off." Ikkakumon made his way around the table. "Though our defenses are weaker now than they have been in some time."

"That doesn't sound good."

Turning to her brother, Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Why? They've held out fine."

"Leave it to you not to understand. We've seen what our enemies are capable of. I wouldn't be surprised if those attacks weren't just mindless attacks. Remember the file we found in the Ice Zone base with the papers? They've most likely been collecting information. After all, they sent Darcmon and her soldiers after us. They had to have gathered information on us beforehand, even if it was scarce."

"And they're waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack Web City," Shizuka grumbled, finally understanding. "They probably know that the defenses are down. That's why they've been attacking."

A look of realization flitted across Ikkakumon's face.

"They purposefully weakened my forces," he whispered.

"No doubt that they'll attack when least expected," Tadashi stated.

"What am I to do? Even the underside of the city does not have enough of the guards left to hold back another attack. Should they choose to attack soon…"

He began to pace restlessly, walking around the perimeter of the room. Shizuka couldn't help but feel sorry for the Digimon. There was a chance that his city could be attacked and subsequently fall because he had failed to notice what they were aiming for in the first place. The question was whether the four of them could help to defend the city. Tadashi was brilliant, but could he come up with a plan that would work? Well, even if they couldn't protect the city, they had to try. They were the DigiDestined after all.

"Battle plan, now," Shizuka said, tapping her heel on the table in front of Tadashi.

The boy jumped at first before glaring at her. "How can I come up with a plan when I have no idea what I'm working with or against?"

"I can give you an approximate number of Web City guards who are still capable of fighting," Ikkakumon muttered. "As for the enemy, I am not sure. The size of their forces seem to measure near a hundred."

"How many do you have?" Tadashi asked.

"Close to half of that."

Massaging his temples, Tadashi let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, I think I can work with that. I'll need information about everyone you have left, and as much information as you have concerning the enemy forces. I'll figure out something."

"Consider it done. As for the portion of the Master's army that has been attacking us, they are led by a Digimon named Ranamon."

"Tell me what you know about her."

Tuning out the conversation going on, Shizuka focused her gaze out the round window. In the distance she could see the ocean. Who would have thought that a city this big had been out in the middle of the ocean, so far out that no one could see it? It was amazing, if not a little mindboggling. And so many Digimon lived there. If this place fell to the Master, it would be a complete loss. They could never let that happen.

"Shizuka."

Blinking, she turned her head to look at her brother. "Huh?"

"You haven't heard a word of this, have you?" he asked, annoyed.

"You lost me when you started talking about Ranamon," she stated. "Besides, since when did I ever go by the plan?"

"That's the problem. This isn't one of those moments when you can run off and do what you want. The entire city is resting on our shoulders. If we screw this up, there's no fixing it. You realize that, don't you?"

Staring, Shizuka couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been lectured by him before, but never about something so serious. Letting out a heavy breath, she ran her hand through her hair.

"Fine, you're right. Jeez."

"Good. Now, listen closely…"

~0~

"Hit them hard, and hit them fast. Focus on the stronger enemies to take out their muscle. The quicker we defeat them, the better off we are. Everyone clear on the plan?"

They were standing at the docks now. Every available Digimon the city had was there, and even some who had been injured had come to help. Once everyone nodded, Tadashi looked up. The shapes in the distance were closer in more quickly now. Only a few minutes before they reached the city.

"Get to your places!" Ikkakumon shouted.

Shizuka jumped onto Birdramon back, staring forward.

"Are you going to be okay?" Shizuka asked without looking at her brother.

"I have Garurumon here with me. As for you, be careful."

Grinning, the girl waved the comment off. "Don't worry about me."

Tadashi huffed, though he didn't say anything. Instead, he watched their enemies come closer. Once they reached a certain point, he motioned to Ikkakumon. He lunged into the water, moving to the front of the group. With a war cry he charged, leading the Digimon forward. A handful of others stayed behind. Seeing the signal, Birdramon took flight, shooting through the air past those below her. Shizuka briefly glanced down to look at them, and then glared at the two Digimon in the front.

Riding on a large turtle-like Digimon was a blue and sea-green humanoid. Judging from the description Ikkakumon had given them, she guessed that the smug Digimon was Ranamon. It was time to get to work.

"Ready, Birdramon?"

"When you are," the bird replied.

"Then let's do this."

With a squawk, Birdramon swooped down, streaking downwards. Her talons dug into a Manbomon, dragging him upwards with her. As she circled around, she crushed the fish. After he shattered, she let loose a Meteor Wing attack that hit several Coelamon and Octomon. They were stunned long enough for a group of Tylomon to attack them. Birdramon dropped down again, only for a Seahomon to jump out at her. Spinning around, she snapped her beak down onto the seahorse's neck.

Spotting a Dolphmon struggling in the grip of an Octomon, Birdramon dropped down, grabbing one tentacle in her claws. She ripped the tentacle off, causing the Octomon to drop the Dolphmon. Before she could try to finish him off, a Depthmon deleted him and ushered the injured Dolphmon away.

Birdramon kept bombarding the enemies for what seemed like an eternity. The plan was working, but it wouldn't be much help if they couldn't get to Ranamon. Her forces were determined to keep everyone away from her, leaving her to shout orders. They would be lost without her, but there were no openings to attack. Not only that, but the fight was steadily drawing closer to the docks. More than once already the defensive line in front of the city had almost been broken. A few had even slipped past, though they were taken care of by Garurumon. Still, they needed to get rid of Ranamon if they wanted to really get anywhere.

That was it, Shizuka decided.

"We're breaking formation," she said.

"Is that a wise idea?" Birdramon asked.

"Ranamon needs to be our focus right now. They're following her commands."

"Yes, but Tadashi—"

"Tadashi can get over it. Let's go."

"Whatever you say."

Wheeling around, Birdramon dived straight towards Ranamon. Pausing, she spread her wings.

"Meteor Wing!"

Meteors rained down, but they never hit their intended target. Ranamon leaped into the air, letting the attack hit the Archelomon instead. Raising a hand, the humanoid formed a massive water whip that lashed out towards the bird. Birdramon dodged several strikes before the water wrapped around her leg. With a swing of her arm, Ranamon sent her and Shizuka sailing through the air. Birdramon barely righted herself in time to avoid hitting the water, now only a few feet away from the docks.

"Shizuka, what are you doing?"

Glancing behind her, the girl glowered. "Shut up and focus!"

"Look out!" Garurumon barked.

Appearing out of nowhere, Ranamon dropped down suddenly and slammed the heel of her foot into Birdramon's head. The bird hit one of the docks and Shizuka found herself shooting off her partner's back, landing beside Garurumon. Groaning, she pushed herself up before Tadashi could reach her. By then Ranamon was poised to attack her downed partner. Eyes wide, Shizuka took off down the dock more quickly than she had ever run in her life.

"Leave my partner alone!" she shouted.

Ranamon, surprised, didn't act in time to stop Shizuka from slamming into her. The force was enough to send both of them straight into the water. Shizuka immediately spun around, swimming upwards. When she broke the surface she reached up and pulled herself back onto the dock, staring at Birdramon. Luckily the bird didn't appear to be too injured, as she was slowly but surely getting back onto her feet. Before Shizuka herself could fully stand, though, she felt water around her ankle. She was briefly aware of shouting, and then found herself flung into the air. Of course the humanoid Digimon had gotten back up onto the far side of the dock when she wasn't looking!

"I'll teach you to lay your hand on me, you land rat!" Ranamon snapped.

The water wound its way around her body, trapping her. Gritting her teeth, Shizuka struggled against it. As she moved her arm around, Ranamon swung Shizuka back and forth while laughing.

"Let's see how you like having the life squeezed out of you bit by bit!"

The coil of water tightened, causing the girl to cry out against her will. She glowered down at Ranamon with a grimace and a quiet snarl. The noise earned a glare from Ranamon, who slammed her against the stone of the dock. With the wind knocked out of her, she could barely make a sound. Then she was back in the air and being crushed.

This isn't how I imagined going out, she though bitterly. Was everyone too tied up to help or what?

"Shizuka!"

Her sight moved downwards in time to see Garurumon ram his side into Ranamon. She was sent skidding across the dock. The water around Shizuka dispersed, leaving her in a temporary free fall. For a moment she was sure she was going to land in the water. However, she landed face-first on something much warmer and definitely softer. Pushing herself up to a sitting position, she smiled when Birdramon glanced at her.

"Thank goodness," the bird sighed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm gonna be sore, but I'll be fine," Shizuka answered. "What took you guys so long?"

"Sorry, but we were tied up with a few other Digimon that broke through the line."

Shizuka simply winked at her. "That's alright. Let's teach her that you don't mess with the DigiDestined!"

Birdramon flew down, hovering a few feet above the dock. Tadashi was squinting again, watching Ranamon force herself to her feet.

"She may be able to use water to deal heavy damage, but she's physically weak. A few more hard hits should finish her off if we can avoid her water attacks," Tadashi stated, looking at Shizuka from the corner of his eye. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Bait and switch?"

"Exactly."

A grin spread across Shizuka. "On it."

Birdramon shot straight towards Ranamon. The humanoid swung her arm, but Birdramon dodged to the left and circled around, causing Ranamon to turn around. Her back was to Garurumon long enough for him to tackle her. He jumped away quickly, avoiding a water whip that Ranamon lashed out with. The wolf dropped to his stomach, watching the water scarcely miss his head by a few centimeters. As she prepared another attack, Birdramon let out a stream of fire that forced Ranamon to focus on blocking the flames with her water.

Back up, Garurumon lunged, biting down on her arm. Crying out, she attempted to blast him off, but he flung her farther down the dock. She landed on her back with a grunt. Birdramon swooped down, aiming to crush the humanoid under her talons, but Ranamon rolled out of the way and shot a torrent of water at the fiery bird.

"Up!" Shizuka yelled.

Birdramon shot upwards, barely avoiding being hit. Garurumon ran forward and jumped up into the air, preparing to land on Ranamon. Instead, she brought the water around and smacked him back.

Birdramon spread her wings, hovering right above the downed Digimon.

"Meteor Wing!"

Scrambling to her feet, Ranamon attempted to run out of the way, only to be hit. Wincing, she stumbled slightly. Now standing, Garurumon let flames build up in his mouth.

"Howling Blaster!"

The flames raced forward, leaving little time for her to defend herself. The water she brought forward did little good, evaporating within moments. Soon blue fire engulfed her, temporarily hiding her from view. When the smoke cleared, Ranamon fell to the ground to her knees with a gasp.

"This…isn't over…," she growled.

She shattered soon after falling onto her stomach.

After Birdramon and Garurumon both absorbed half of their data, Tadashi let out the breath he had been secretly holding. Shizuka couldn't help but let out a loud cry of victory, raising both hands.

"Haha! Take that, ass!"

"Shizuka," Tadashi groaned, slamming his palm against his forehead.

"Hope all of you saw that!" Shizuka shouted at the opposing Digimon. "You're precious Ranamon is down and out!"

The shock that ran through their enemies left Ikkakumon enough time to regroup his forces. Shizuka and Birdramon joined them, staring down the invaders. They were more or less even now, so she had no doubt that they could handle all of the Digimon.

"Retreat!" Archelomon yelled.

As she watched them run away, Shizuka punched her fist into her other hand. They had won, and they hadn't lost many Digimon doing it either. Birdramon turned back around and landed on the dock. Almost as soon as Shizuka jumped down, she reverted back into Biyomon with an exhausted sigh.

"Tired?" Shizuka asked, scooping her up.

"More like stressed," the pink bird grumbled. "I think I nearly fainted when Ranamon caught you."

"Aww, you're adorable."

Garurumon reverted as well, landing on the ground with a quiet 'oof'. Tadashi helped him up, and Shizuka strode up to her brother with a grin wide enough to seemingly split her face. Rolling his eyes once again, Tadashi did his best to ignore her reaction to winning the battle.

"So, what now?" she wondered.

"I would assume we're going to look for our friends."

"Duh. But where are we gonna look?"

They paused as Ikkakumon swam up to them with a small nod.

"I would suggest you go to the Toy Zone next. From what I have heard, there may be a Dark Crystal there. No doubt your friends are seeking to destroy the rest of them as well?"

The twins looked at each other.

"Then that's where we're going," Shizuka said.

"Very well. I will have Whamon take you there. And thank you, DigiDestined, for your help today."

"Part of the job description," Tadashi replied. He turned back to Shizuka. "Are you going to be fit enough to travel?"

There was that grin again. "I hurt like shit but that shouldn't stop us from hurrying the hell up, should it?"