Strength to Protect What Matters [Alice/Justice]

After delivering the barrages of kicks, Vee did a backflip to gain some distance just in case Dorothy was planning a counterattack. Although he was successful of knocking her off her broom a second time, it still wasn't enough to bring her down for the count. Typical. Hearing her brush off the attack like it was nothing, he looked back between her and Gummy, who still on the ground covering his eyes.

He should have been the one to take that attack. Just hearing him scream in anguish like that reminded him of the time when they fought Commandramon, where he unleashed a barrage of bullets when he accidentally crashed into a tree. It made him go absolutely livid seeing that happen to him. Since then, he vowed to never let something like that happen again; to show that he was capable of being a strong big brother to Gummy, and a good partner to Justice.

Planting his feet on the ground, he started tosprint at the vulnerable Dorothy, not wanting his advantage to slip Unfortunately, the Witchmon had plan another spell just for the blue dragon and sent out a gust of wind in return. Like before, the wind was so strong it blew him away from the ground and send him into a nearby tree. Bouncing off from branch after branch, with leaves ruffling by the inertia of the force, he came to a sudden stop when his foot got caught in between one of them. He attempted a few times to release his foot to no avail.

"I'm so pathetic." Vee murmured to himself, his hands hanging free upside down, a sign that he was close to giving up. "She's too much. If only we were stronger, then maybe..."

Gummy on the other hand, wasn't about to give up despite being temporarily blinded.  If one of your senses were out, then you'll to rely on your other senses to compensate. Slowly getting up, he started to sniff for any traces of her. Sure enough, he managed to pin point her exact location. Usually he would get all balls blazing and usher an attack as quick as possible, but not this time. This time he has to play it smart if he has any change of winning. 

"Gah! Where the hell is she?" he said, turning his head at all directions. But in truth, he was playing coy to get her attention, trying to trick her so she can drop her guard. If she does, and if some miracle his vision returns, he'll know then if he hit the jackpot or not.
 
Meanwhile, Justice looked at Alice with a worried expression after she explained her Digimon's fighting style. On one hand, every fiber in his mind wanted to agree with her so Dorothy can dial it down. But at the same time, it wouldn't be fair to his Digimon if Dorothy fights with a handicap. So...

"Hold up! Time out for a minute!" he yelled, taking a few steps towards the arena, while being careful to avoid the purple mist that was launched earlier.

---

Vee is hit by Baluluna Gale, sending him crashing to a nearby tree.

Gummy is blinded for one more turn.

Hoping Kick: One cooldown remaining 

Walking up to Dorothy, hands in his pockets, he decided that since the sparring match was slowly turning into a all-out battle, it was best to suspend the match before it got out of hand. " You're being a bit too harsh on them." Justice said. "They're still Rookies after all--and you're a Champion. So can I just have a moment with them real fast?"Judging by Vee's low confidence and Gummy's temporary blindness, it was for the best.  

In response to that, Dorothy promptly shoved it back in anger. Justice kept his expression impassive; though what she did was rude, he didn't let it get under his skin., not yet anyway. Truthfully, a lot of things have been bugging him as of late, and it was taking a lot of will power for him not to straight up fight with a Digimon. "No I'm not being stupid right now. I'm asking you to give them a little time to recover. Because looking at what's happening right now, you're coming off as more of a bully, and you don't even realize it." If worst comes to show, he wasn't going to let his Digimon get seriously hurt, especially Gummy. Not again.

While Alice attempted to call her off, Justice only stood between them and only watched as the witch Digimon threw a temper tantrum in response. It seems that her and Alice have a long history together; a history that was not at all sparkles and rainbows that he'd assumed. He jumped up in shock as Dorothy aimed her attack at her own partner, only to then aim in at Gummy.

Meanwhile, Vee, who was till up in the tree, hopeless, only watching at all three of them bickered while Gummy was slowly trying to find the witch Digimon with his nose. Seeing her aim at his brother while he was still blind made him jumped to life. He wasn't about to let history repeat itself again and watch his little brother get hurt again. He grabbed one of the branches his foot was stuck on and karate chopped it with ease. With his foot now free, he land on the ground and sprinted to where the others were, extending his arms out in front of his brother and acted like a shield.

Gummy on the other hand, finally made out Dorothy's scent. Even better, his eyes suddenly stopped stinging, a sign that his vision was coming back. Slowly opening his eyes, he decided that it was time to initial counterattack, to show her who's boss. But instead of seeing her, he saw Vee right in front of him.

"Bro? What are you doing?!" Gummy yelled. "I had the situation under control!"

Vee didn't waste a second responding, looking at his brother. "And by situation, you mean waddling around like a Penguinmon? Some brilliant plan that turned out to be"

"Hmph! And you called being blown away apart of your plan? No thanks."

Seeing Vee's compassion for Gummy put a smile on Justice's face for a brief moment, only then to turn to Dorothy as she was charging her attack. Taking a page from his blue friend, he took a step in front of him, ushering his hand in front of him. "Hey, just cool off for a minute, okay." he asked in a sympathetic tone. "Nobody's trying to make you feel weak. It's all about going too far. You're angry; I get that, but there's no need to physically lash out against your partner and my Digimon. Yeah her tone may be a bit harsh to you, but deep down, I know she really cares about you, just like how I care for these two trouble makers here. 

He took a few steps to her, ushering his hands in a somewhat defensive, yet caring manner. "So please...discharge your attack." He couldn't help but feel bad for Dorothy. All that pent up rage wasn't good for her.

---

Gummy is now able to see.

Hoping Kick has finished cooling down.

“Ah, come on” Gummy groaned, his tone whiny in annoyance. He shrunk the hammer on his tail to regular size and force his legs to strut to his Tamer; he did not appreciate the fight being interrupted for the second time in a row. “If you found a weakness in her attack patterns, I already figured it out. It takes her a bit of time to charge up her spells, leaving her wide open to attacks, right?” Vee on the other hand walked slowly as his brother past him, not saying a word.

“Na it’s not about that, little dude,” Justice said, “although it’s good that you’re paying attention. Usually you would just go swinging crazy.” He turned his attention to the blue dragon, lowering himself to him, who looked away as soon as he made eye contact with him. It was clear that something was up and he wanted to hide it.

“Vee what’s wrong?” His voice was calm and sincere, full of worry. Vee glanced back at him and quickly gave a wry smile.

“I-I’m fine, I’m fine!” Vee spoke, darting his eyes to Gummy, then Alice who were all looking at him in concern. “I just had too much spicy food last night. You left those spicy chicken wings out for us and I tried them out and just...kind of at them all at once. Ugh...that’s why I’m acting not at the top of my game today, so no worries.” He let out a nervous laugh to quickly mitigate the situation as possible, this however made Justice and Gummy worry even more. His laughter stopped  when Gummy lay a paw on his shoulder.

“No bro, you haven’t been in the top of the game like, at all lately,” Gummy explained. “Every time when you see me in the slightest bit of danger, you always come rushing to my aid as if I’m gonna die or something. I mean yeah that’s what an older brother should do, but it’s like you’ve been overprotective of me as of late, thinking I can’t fend for myself.”

Vee opened and closed his mouth several times before he closed it fully, unable to find a response that would be suitable. He darted his eyes away from him in a nervous manner, fidgeting both his fingers like a shy child.

"Well come on, out with it!" Gummy said in an aggressive tone, his patience running thin.

Sensing his hesitation, Justice chimed in. “Is it about what happened to Gummy when you two fought that Xros General’s Commandramon?”

The question caught Vee by surprise. He looked up to Justice with his frowned eyes, sweat visible on his face, before looking away, covering his mouth with his scarf. This right there confirmed to Justice that was the problem. 

“Yeah...I feel the same way about what happened to him—seeing him badly injured like that, knowing that I could have stop the fight when things were getting out of control, was honestly the second most scariest moment of my life.” He turned towards Gummy. “I was too blind, and almost payed for it dearly...But I bet for you it was even harder, since you're the oldest and it’s a big brother’s responsibility to protect the little brother, and I bet you’re thinking you're a shit-ass brother for letting that happen, right?

Vee nodded, lowering his scarf, then took a long, deep breath before starting. There was no way out of this now. Any more silence would make it even worse. “It’s just...before then I thought if two of us stuck together when fighting, there would be no way we’d lose. But... seeing all those bullet wounds all over him made me such an idiot for believing in that. I mean sure, right now is just a sparring match, but so was the one with Commandramon, and look where that ended up. Now it’s just every time we fight, wether as a team or alone...I’m terrified. Always, looming on my mind is the thought of one of us might not make it, or you getting injured...it holds me back, doesn’t allow me to fight as well as I wish I could… and consequently... I feel weak.” He looked up to Justice, then to Gummy, tears visible in his eyes. “I don’t know what I would if one of you guys gets killed because of that.”

---

Jacked Hammer: One post cooldown.

It was the first time in his short life so far that Vee carried so much pain and resentment that it was too much to take in after letting it all out. He collapsed on to his knees, his small body shaking as he sobbed. Justice quickly got on his knees and brought the blue dragon to him, comforting him, while Gummy rushed to his brother as well to console him.

"Shhhh. Hey, hey, it's ok, man. It's ok." Justice said, speaking in a soft and comforting tone. His face was contorted; sadness starting to grip him a bit. He didn’t think it was this bad.

While he understood how he felt,  Justice found it kind of hard to relate to it. Like Gummy, he’s the youngest out of three siblings, so when growing up, both his older brother and sister were extremely protective of him, much to his dismay. They treated him like he couldn’t do anything so much that eventually, he became distant towards them. He still hasn’t talk to them since coming to Japan.

“I just want to stop feeling helpless…” Vee said slowly, sobbing on his Tamer’s jacket. “I want to protect the both of you. If I can’t, I’m just worthless.”

The Witchmon came up to the three of them and explained to Vee that hiding your problem won’t resolve them, only just eating you up further and further on the inside until it controls every action you take. For a few moments, Justice considered his words. She wasn't wrong. In the past, Justice had felt worthless too, like no matter what he did, he could never meet up to the high expectations of his mother, or the other experience Tamers he'd met so far since discovering Digimon. That even his best efforts would never be enough. He had felt helpless and useless, like there was nothing he could do that was special, or made him a suitable partner.

"So, you're just gonna give up and keep feeling that way," Justice questioned honestly. "Vee, you're young, and  understand what you're feeling, but you shouldn't let a failure like this defeat you. Look at me, life has knocked me down by my knees more times than I can count. But I never let each mistake and failure I've made be the end of me; I didn't let them define me."

"How?"

"By picking myself back up," Justice explained. "It's not about how hard you get knocked down, its how much you can get hit and keep moving forward." He paused, breathing in deeply. "Really it's just learning and from it. And I want you to know that you're not alone in this, all three of us can learn from this."

"Yeah," Gummy chimmed in. "We're all in this together. You don't have to hide your pain. Let us take it when you can't. You might not feel strong by yourself -  but we are strong. I know we are. I can just feel it. And like you said the day we met Specs decided to be his partners: 'We're half pints by ourselves, but the three of us together make a whole pint.'"

"Still pint and a half, actually." Justice mumbled under his breath.

Vee silent, his lead lifting and turning to his brother. "But..."

"Always with the buts, you just have to believe in yourself, Veemon," Gummy told him. "You have to believe that you can defend yourself. Not just for me, or Specs but for you. And you can do it, I know you can. And if Specs knows you can.  Besides..." his face turned a bit red with what he was about to say next. "You're like the coolest big bro I could ever ask for.

Vee's ears stood straight up on his head and he opened his eyes to Gummy's comment. He lifted himself from Justice's chest and looked at the Gumdramon for a few moments before hugging him in a warm embrace, tears still rolling down his face, but not from sadness, but from happiness. "Thank you..." He reached for Justice's shoulder, bringing him in. "You guys are the best I could ask for."

Dorothy then asked the two if they were still up for their match, in which Vee responsed with jumping out, wiping his tears away. "Yep! You bet! I feel like now, we're better than we were before. I won't let my failures hold me back. You're right Justice, failure and mistakes are what makes me... normal. It's what brought all me - us - here today. I have faith in all three of us!"

Suddenly, Justice's D-Watch began to glow a vibrant orange, as well as the bracelets on Vee's arm and Gummy's tail.

"What's this light?" Justice said, standing up in surprise.

 "I've heard about it. It's the light of Digivolution." Gummy said in awe.

"Digivolution? Oh! You mean that thing in which you guys transform, right?"

"Yeah, With this, the both of us can become stronger from the power in your heart!" Vee said happily.

"Seriously?!" Justice exclaimed, a wide grin started to appear his face. "This suddenly just tool a turn to awesome!" He turned to Alice. "Uhh how do I initiate the Digivolving-thing?"

Justice's fingers clenched around the D-Watch, the device still glowing like a bright sunrise. Hearing from Alice that they were not going to hold back for the next round, he grinned widely. He wasn't gonna let an opportunity like this slip. For the longest time he'd wanted to see what his two Digimon could turn in to when it was that time; that time was now. He turned to both Vee and Gummy, whom in turn nodded at him.

"Alright then, let's get this party started!" he said, clencthing his hand where his D-Watch was on into a fist.  

The light on Vee and Gummy's bracelets began to quickly engulf the two dragons in a blinding light, making Justice put his arms over his eyes in response.

"Veemon, Digivolve to..." The light around him were all absorbed in a tornado of digital flames that surrounded Vee's form. The small blue dragon's body shifted to become even bigger, much larger and muscular form. The horn on his noise became larger and longer, almost in the appearance of a large dagger.  Large, white wings expanding outwards, a single flap were strong enough to dispense the flame tornado around him. His colors stayed intact, with the yellow markings on his face staying the same, but only much larger. An additional marking materialized on his chest, taking the form of a "V",  with two lines coming out of the bottom of the V to make it look like an X. He now had three fingers on each hand, with small horns on his knuckles. His eyes showed a more seriousness and more confidence than before, and with that he shouted with pride, "ExVeemon!"



"Gumdramon, digivolve to.." Like Vee, Gummy grew to a large size as well, having a bit leaner build than his older brother. The spikes around his face grew much larger and more angular, The "X" mark on his face still remained on his forehead. He was clothed in armor made of a specialized rubber, thanks to his elastic nature. He was dorn with black leather pants, a belt with a buckle that sported an "X" mark as a decal, gloves around his three-fingered hands, and foot bracers. His hammer tail transformed into a long, sharp tail anchor donning the tip. On his back, his wings grew larger, but not nearly big as his brother's. Wiping the flame data out with his tail, he stood tall and proud. "Arresterdramon!"



"Holy shit..." Justice was opened mouth in shock, struggling to find anything to say. So this was the power of Digivolution. He always knew that his two Digimon would take such a difference if they ever digvolved, but this was something else, something amazing. Stepping over the grass that had burning embers still trying to manifest into flames, he approached his two Digimon with a bit of caution, still wary if they were still the same.  "How...how do you guys feel?"

Vee and Gummy started to take in their new look, looking around themselves. They'd never imagine they had this kind of power in them; it was a bit alluring at first. 

"We feel..." Gummy let out, his tone a bit sinisterly.

"...Like we just got finished training  for 10 years!" Vee finished, really amused. He then turned to Dorothy, giving her a smirk, then to Gummy. "Two brothers against one, right?" Gummy agreed. 

"It's fair." The two gave each other fist bumps and stepped away from the two Tamers and approached the witch Digimon, getting into their ready stance. This fight won't be like the first round.

The two brothers took Dorothy's comment as a challenge. Sure it was two against one, but they had a feeling that the witch Digimon was only now about to show her true strength since she couldn't before. They watched as she flew above them, preparing what appears like balls of fire to rain down on Vee. In response, the two quickly split off, with Vee using his newly acquired wings to fly out of the way while Gummy sprinted out of her target range. The raining tard left burned marks around the field in the process. 

Seeing as how they could been burned to a crisp if they were still in their Rookie forms, Gummy was  bit taken by surprise when Dorothy decided to come after him, preparing the same attack that utilized condense air pressure that blew his brother away earlier. Instead of moving out of the way however, the Arresterdramon decided to boast up his chest, plant his feet firmly onto the ground to take the attack head-on. "Bring it!" he said. With this power, he didn't feel like he was gonna lose. The gust of wind hit him head, tiny blades of wind beginning to scratch and cut his armor, making him wince a bit, his feet starting to skid off where he stood with dirt coming out. When the attack ended, he was still standing, his eyes gleaming a bright green as this was the chance to attack since the witch had to prepare her spells before she attacks.

Seeing this as well, Vee used his wings and flew at Dorothy, preparing his attack. An orange light starting to radiate from the X symbol on his chest.

"EX Laser!" The symbol on his chest shone brightly, releasing an energy wave at Dorothy in the form of an X.

Regardless if the attack landed or not, It allowed Gummy a good shot to land his first attack in this new form.

"Mach Flicker!" Gummy shouted, unleashing a barrage of consecutive punches at Dorothy.

Watching the fight, Justice too became engrossed at the action, not taking his eyes off for even a second. He found it pretty hard to contain his excitement seeing his two Digimon in action. A hudge grin was on his face and his eyes were wide in attention. He was like a kid who had just received a cool and expensive toy for his birthday. He was so into it that he didn't even notice Alice coming to his side, so when she started to talk, he jumped a bit in surprise. "I know right? All of this action is just too crazy to miss!"

She then showed Justice sketches of both Vee and Gummy in their newly evolved forms, which raised an eyebrow on him. "Wow, you draw very fast. You sure you're not magician like your Digimon and just conjured up a spell on your notebook?" he asked in a humor manner. After that, he started to cheer for his Digimon, unable to contain his excitement anymore.

---

Vee flies out of the way of Dorothy's Armagus Flare.

Gummy decides to take Baluluna Gale head-on, suffering a few minor cuts all around him.

Vee uses Ex-Laser on Dorothy.
  Ex-Laser: Chagres an intense laser beam in the shape of an X from its X patterned-chest and fires it towards the enemy. Strong enough to destroy large boulders. Two-post cooldown. 

Gummy uses Mach Flicker on Dorothy after Vee's attack.
 Mach Flicker: Unleashes barrage of punches . One-post cool down
.