Takuya, Bokomon and Neemon follow Junpei to a narrow path deviating from the road leading to the structure's main entrance. The path Junpei followed is a path not even Bokomon or Neemon know of, and they ended up at the back of the large structure. There, a long flight of stairs rise up to a door.
"Junpei-han, you seem to know your way around here," Bokomon comments as they start walking up the stairs. Takuya's about to say the same had Bokomon not spoken first.
Junpei nods, "Quite. That shopkeeper I was talking to a while back was kind enough to show Izumi-chan and I around when we arrived here."
Ah... so Junpei was thanking that shop owner then, Takuya figures. "So when and how did you get here?"
"We took a trailmon from that same place in Shibuya. It seems it's what Kouji told Izumi-chan," Junpei paused as he catch his breath. "Seraphimon navigated us from there on via our digivice. He said you are currently locating some amber colored shards and that one of those could be in this village. So we had Trailmon drop us here... probably the afternoon of yesterday," he continued.
"I see..." Takuya doesn't say more as they near that door. He thinks he'll run out of breath the more he talks.
"But man, this place has changed so much huh," says Junpei. "Izumi-chan and I even got nearly lost..."
Takuya smiles at that. Without Bokomon and Neemon, surely they would've gotten lost too. When they reached the top stair, Takuya then catches his breath feeling like he's gone on some hard workout. Junpei too is breathing heavily, and as he reached for that metal doorknob he said, "But Kouichi isn't with us..."
Huh? What? Takuya can't help but be puzzled. He exchange glances with their digimon friends.
"He wasn't in his house you see. And he wasn't answering our calls either..." he turns on the knob opening the door. "But don't worry! Izumi left him with a bunch of messages. He should be fine coming here on his own."
"Seraphimon... erm, he didn't mention anything else but the amber shards?" Takuya asks, entering the building. Junpei closes the door once the digimon's are also inside.
"Well... he mentioned about Creepymon and his 'creepers' but all others, you guys will have to tell us," Junpei replies. "This way..." he gestures for his friends to follow him.
What? At the corner of his eyes, Takuya notices Bokomon and Neemon looking at each other. It's quite the story so far afterall, but he doesn't really feel comfortable making Bokomon or Neemon talk about what happened in the past if they don't really feel like talking. Even Kouji doesn't force them to talk... well except that one time at the Moonbase. Thinking about Kouji, he and Tomoki still aren't making any contact.
Junpei leads the group inside a narrow corridor dimly lighted by torches. Takuya wonders how far the corridor goes because all the while that they've been walking he only sees torches at a distance. But before he gets his answer, Junpei finally stops in front of another metal door, opens it and they enter.
"Takuya!" an ecstatic Izumi runs to him and gives a hug. Her blond hair now extends to her lower back, and she's a bit taller, prettier too. Takuya blushes at the gesture, "Y-yo, Izumi."
Izumi hugs Bokomon and Neemon too while saying something in Italian and rubbing her cheeks on theirs. The digimon's hug Izumi back, happy to see her again. Shamanmon is also there, not the Shamanmon they've met long ago but Takuya feels a sense of nostalgia from the digimon. Izumi starts looking for the other two, and Takuya starts explaining the situation. Not only that Kouji and Tomoki hadn't showed up at the place where they agreed to meet but all others too that he knows so far. About that time they met Bokomon in the haunted house, that battle of years past, and about Kouichi, Anna and Mihn. All the while he talked, Bokomon and Neemon had not said a word.
The shocked expression on Junpei and Izumi's faces were just like Tomoki's when Takuya had told him. Eyes wide open and speechless. Silence surrounds the room for a moment until Izumi speaks again.
"Anna Brockwood..."
Neemon looks up at Izumi, "Izumi, you know Anna?"
"No. But her name sounds familiar," Izumi replies. "Oh yes!" she suddenly exclaims like she'd forgotten something. The small box on her hands, she shows the crimson stone that's inside to everyone astonishing them, specially Takuya and the two digimons.
She gives a weak smile, "... it's the wrong one huh..."
Takuya grabs the box, "Just where did you get this?"
"I won it," Izumi answered. She tells them about how she and Junpei heard of the combat games that same day they arrived in the village. They heard of the reward from that shopkeeper who led them to Shamanmon, and Shamanmon who said that the reward is the item that warded evil digimons off the village. She and Junpei thought it's the shard Seraphimon told them about and so they decided to join in the tournament. But then Shamanmon sensed danger lurking close to the village, so they agreed that Junpei will take care of whatever enemy is outside the village while Izumi participates in the combat games.
"I'm surprised you managed to deal with them by yourself," Takuya tells Junpei.
Junpei smirks, "Of course! It was a piece of cake!"
"Uh-huh," Takuya wish he hadn't said that. He looks at the crimson shard and wonders if this is the shard Superstarmon located on his map. If that's the case, this is bad isn't it? and his thoughts quickly shifts to that experience he's had with the amber shard. He wants to try and touch the crimson but before he could, a loud explosion coming from the upper floors got his and everyone's attention.
"What's happening?" Izumi nervously asks as the ground shakes.
"They... they're here." Shamanmon says nervously. The look on his face foreshadowing danger.
"She isn't coming at all..." Kumamon frowns seeing the number of digimon's exiting the arena have gotten less. The sun had already set too, Takuya and the digimon's must already be waiting for them at the meeting place.
"Let's just wait for a bit," Lobomon says.
Kumamon agrees with a nod. It should be easier now to spot Zephyrmon when she comes anyway.
"Hey..." Kumamon speaks in a soft tone still looking at the digimons exiting the place, "I wasn't sure if I should ask but... I've been wondering for a while now. Why do you think Kouichi-san didn't say anything to us...? to you?"
Whoa! Where's this coming all of a sudden? Lobomon thinks of what to say. Though, that is something he wants to know himself! And the answer is not something he can find by simply figuring it out.
"We would've helped him if he asked..."
"Maybe he thought he didn't need it," says Lobomon. "Besides, he just do whatever he wants." Right. That's what Kouichi does. Just the thought of it, Lobomon finds has suddenly become irritating. Kumamon looks at Lobomon and asks again, "Are you mad at him?"
"Of course I am," Lobomon answers dryly. Kumamon shifts his eyes back to the passing digimon's, realizing he shouldn't have asked.
"Why don't we split up and look for her?" Lobomon proposes. "It'll be faster, then we can just meet up back here."
Kumamon hesitates a bit but agrees. Going solo isn't his favorite idea after all. As they move to split up, a digimon suddenly strikes at them from above. Lobomon and Kumamon evades in time, and the attack that hit the floor creates a mist of dust. The other digimon's still in the premises leave in panic as the mist quickly clears out revealing the attacker. It's ShadowWereGarurumon. Without missing a beat, ShadowWereGarurumon jumps to the air directing his attack at Kumamon. Startled, Kumamon fires his launcher. ShadowWereGarurumon blocks the counter with his arms and gets pushed back. He quickly lowers his defense for another attack but to his surprise, a burst of light hits him sending him out, creating a hole on the ceiling.
Lobomon and Kumamon gather at the middle looking up for the dark digimon. "Where'd he go?" asks Kumamon.
"I don't know..." Lobomon answers looking at the edges of the destroyed ceiling. The dark digimon is nowhere in sight but instead, glowing objects seemingly very slowly falling out of the darkening skies catches their attention. "What's that?" Kumamon asks again. One of the glowing objects makes it past through the ceiling hole. It turns out the light comes from what looks like a tail, connected to something black and round with three eyes. A digimon? Lobomon intently stares at it as it slowly falls between him and Kumamon who's about to reach for it.
Lobomon, alarmed with the realization that the light and the tail is a fuse, he yells, "Kumamon, move away!"
Kumamon yanks his hand back, but before the two of them could distance themselves, the 'digimon' exploded the second it touched the floor. The rest of the ceiling and the floor collapsed, while Lobomon and Kumamon are sent flying to opposite directions and crash violently to the walls, cancelling their digimon forms.
Thinking his bones have been crushed and only hearing loud ringing in his ears, Kouji groans and opens his eyes. He coughs inhaling the smoke that's escaping to the sky, and those falling lights look like stars. Turning his head sideways, he sees a massive hole on the floor, and finds that he's lying down on what little is left of it. He press his hand on the wall then pulls himself up, but loses his balance when he coughs again. He takes his hand off his mouth and stares at something red on his palm. Blood? he coughs harder, but ignores how much red he let out. Just a few feet below them are piles of burning rubble and with more of that 'digimon' closing in, they have to get out and fast! But how?
He scans the area for Tomoki, quickly locating him near the western wall; unconscious and his fractal code showing. Tomoki... Kouji tries moving again, exerting much effort standing up. Struggling to keep his balance, he holds on to his digivice.
"Spirit evolu-" Kouji stops in horror. A second of that 'digimon' descending a little faster than the last, falls down the hole on the floor. Kouji hadn't noticed it; the smoke must've covered it, and he can only look down horrified as it makes contact with the rubble.
BOOOMM!
I wanted to add other digimon's here and so the Bomb is actually a digimon called "Bommon" that digivolve before it's fuse run out. And it got me thinking what actually would happen if the fuse runs out first. :)