Chapter 25: A Big Misunderstanding

~Junpei POV~

"RAAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHHHH!"

"Watch out, guys!" Having Spirit Evolved into Beetlemon, I interposed myself between my friends and the Tuskmon running amok in the Digger Digichrome Mine. "Golden Thunder!"

The punch sent Tuskmon stumbling back into the mine wall, narrowly missing one of the support beams. It roared in pain and fury and charged at me again. "Horn Driver!"

The tusks on its back lengthened and shone with light as it aimed them squarely at my midsection. "Argh!" I somehow caught the horn trying to skewer me and dug in my feet to hold the Tuskmon back since the others were still behind me.

"Endlich Meteor!" A stream of gold and black energy shot into Tuskmon's side knocking it over.

"Wah!" I cried as the blast toppled me over too. I heard Takuya shout as I nearly landed on top of him. "Watch it, Loweemon!"

"Sorry, Beetlemon! Kouji, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Kouichi. Takuya, Izumi, we should get out of the way." Kouji started pulling the other two farther up the mine and away from where Tuskmon was getting up.

"Gah! If I had Agunimon's spirit I could help!" Takuya spat.

"Well, you don't, so for now you'll just have to sit this one out!" Izumi scolded.

I was relieved as they left: one less thing for me to worry about. This battle and Ally's predicament were taking up enough of my brainpower. I got ready to square off against Tuskmon once it was back on its feet again.

"What's the plan, Beetlemon?" Loweemon asked me. Tuskmon had fixed its piggy little eyes on us and was growling, ready to attack.

"I don't know," I replied testily. "He's got a real thick hide and those horns of his are nothing to mess with."

Suddenly it charged us yet again with a roar. "Horn Driver!"

"Endlich -"

"Thor Hammer!"

Loweemon and I attacked at the same time without realizing it. It probably wouldn't have made a difference except that my technique threw me directly into his line of fire.

I bashed Tuskmon in the head but luckily for me Kouichi redirected his own blast to miss me - instead it struck one of the support posts and it burst into splinters. At the same time Tuskmon fell back into another support and sent it tumbling down.

"Argh, you humans!" Drimongemon raged from a side tunnel. "You're going to bring down my whole mine!"

"Sorry!" Loweemon called.

The shouting distracted me just long enough for Tuskmon to launch a counterattack. "Panzer Knuckle!" it raged, crouching to all fours and slamming its head into me.

I flew backwards, almost to where Takuya, Kouji, and Izumi were and landed flat on my back in a stupor. "Junpei!" I heard Izumi cry.

"Ugh, I feel like I was hit by a bus…" I groaned.

"And now it's aiming for Kouichi!" Kouji shouted. "Get up, Beetlemon!"

I forced myself to my feet and waded back into the fray again. "Lightning Topper!" But Tuskmon saw me coming and it blocked me with one of the tusks on its back. I hit the wall with a grunt and Tuskmon charged after me. I saw Loweemon readying an attack but Tuskmon noticed him too. He smacked him away with his tail and my blood froze as those eyes fixed on me again.

"Horn Driver!"

I don't know if it was on purpose or some twist of luck but the horns didn't hit me directly. Instead they struck the wall and brought down a load of rocks onto me. I was lucky not to be crushed, but I couldn't get out.

"RAAAUUUGGHHH!" Tuskmon seemed to really freak out then: it started to thrash about and stampeded up the mine slope straight towards the others.

"Run everyone!" Loweemon shouted. He jumped between Tuskmon and the others but with the way the monster was running they would probably all be trampled anyway.

"Panzer Knuckle!"

Suddenly the ground beneath Tuskmon crumbled and gave way and with a shriek it fell into a hole up to its neck. "What?!" Loweemon and I yelped.

~Your POV~

"It worked!" Your head was poking out from the side of the hole where Tuskmon was stuck - you were admiring your handiwork.

It was just a relief that you had made it in time. Kouichi, Izumi, Takuya, and Kouji had almost been shish-kabobbed by the time you got the trap hole dug. But it wouldn't be long until Tuskmon got itself out again and you had to get the others to safety before then. You slipped back into the hole you had dug and burrowed between the rocks in the direction of a scent that you recognized as Beetlemon's. You broke up the rocks around him and pushed them up to prop up the ones weighing down on his head.

"Huh?" you heard him say as your head popped out of the hardpacked dirt by his feet. "Ally! You're okay!"

"I'm fine, Junpei," you said. "And I got the spirit! Now come on, we need to get the others out of here before Tuskmon gets loose again."

"Right!" He pushed his way out of the rock pile and turned to watch the hole where Tuskmon was struggling. "I've got your back, Ally! Get the rest of them out of the mine!"

"No problem!" You started for the others but skidded to a stop when Kouichi as Loweemon ran past you. "Huh?!"

"Let's go, Beetlemon!"

"Get the right, Loweemon!"

With a roar Tuskmon launched himself out of the hole and snapped at the two of them.

"Golden Thunder!"

You gasped as Junpei punched Tuskmon hard, driving his jaw into the dirt. "What are you doing?! Stop it, both of you!"

You galloped back to them, rushing between the two Legendary Warriors and pivoting so that you were facing off against them. You straightened up as much as your three-foot frame would allow and held your arms out to block them. "Don't hurt him anymore!"

"What do you mean, Ally?" Kouichi asked, relaxing his fighting stance.

"But we have to purify his data!" Junpei insisted. "He's a bad Digimon!"

"No, he's not! He's just confused!" You gestured to them to stay where they were. "Watch, I'll show you!"

"Wait, Ally!" Kouichi cried, reaching after you. "Don't!"

You ignored him and approached the poor Tuskmon with your hands outstretched in an offer of peace. It was just getting back onto its feet and it snarled at you defensively. "It's okay, Tuskmon. I'm sorry about what happened to you but it's all right now."

Your gentle tone broke through its rage and it made a faint noise of confusion, blinking repeatedly. You held up one of your spade-fingered hands and it stretched its neck out to touch its nose to your gauntlet. Slowly you scratched between its reptilian nostrils and this also seemed to ease its fear and anger: it settled onto its stomach with a grumble and a suspicious glance at Loweemon and Beetlemon.

"There now," you soothed. "As long as you're calm they won't hurt you anymore. Now, how would you like to get out of this big ol' mine?"

"Yes, I would," it rumbled in a guttural voice. "Which way is out?"

"Follow us," you replied. "We'll show you out."

"Okay." It rose and plodded along after you as you waddled up the slope towards your fellow warriors.

You smiled at them triumphantly and in response the ghostly souls of your friends appeared overlapping their Digimon forms. They looked completely amazed.

"I told you so!"

"I guess you did," Kouichi chuckled. "I suppose we shouldn't doubt you so much."

"Nuts to that!" Junpei exclaimed. He broke the spell hanging over you and the souls of the two boys vanished again as they fell into line with you. "I'll doubt your sanity no matter how often you're right!"

Somehow you managed to blow a raspberry at him from between your strange new Digimon jaws. "Oh, stuff a chocolate bar in it!"

That started you all laughing, except for Tuskmon who didn't understand the humor of people. Before long the four of you made it back to the entrance of the mine where all the workers and your friends were waiting.

Their faces all changed as your group came into view. "Watch out!" Takuya shouted, pointing at you.

For a moment you were stumped and then you grasped why he was so worked up. "No, it's okay!" you answered. "Tuskmon was just disoriented down there! He's fine now!"

"Are you sure?" Tomoki asked nervously.

"It's true," Tuskmon reported. "I was confused and frightened. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I apologize to you, humans."

You, Junpei, and Kouichi all de-digivolved at this point since the fighting was over. "It's all right," Kouichi said to Tuskmon. "I don't think there was any permanent harm done."

"Speak for yourself, human!" Drimongemon cried in despair. "My mine has been torn apart by all this terrible fighting!"

"Crying about it won't fix it, you know," Kouji muttered.

Drimongemon overheard him, however, and pushed his big drill into Kouji's face. "Maybe I should have you humans clean it up, eh?!"

"Now, now, Drimongemon. It was an accident!" Izumi wheedled.

Meanwhile the rest of you were saying goodbye to Tuskmon. "Bye, Tuskmon!" you called to its retreating back.

"See you around!" Tomoki added.

"Don't go wandering into anymore mines, big guy!" Junpei shouted jovially.

"Incorrect." The sudden burst of Mercurymon's voice beside you nearly startled you out of your skin. "Tuskmon didn't wander in. Someone teleported it into that mine."

You opened your mouth to ask how he knew that but Dramon spoke before you. "That bodes very ill, Mercurymon. Though I'm glad that you noticed what was going on."

'Bodes ill?' you thought worriedly. 'And Tuskmon was… teleported?'

Whether fortunately or unfortunately the others didn't notice your preoccupation after hearing Mercurymon's announcement. You were left to stew over your thoughts as the others talked brightly all around you. It was true that the angels had said something unusual was threatening the Digital World. Could that something be the reason Tuskmon had been teleported into the mine and left to go berserk?

"YOU'VE DESTROYED YEARS OF WORK, HUMANS! OUR PRODUCTION WILL GO TO ZERO FOR MONTHS WHILE WE REPAIR WHAT YOU'VE DESTROYED!"

"Oh boy, he is really mad!" Junpei commented.

"I hope he's not going to start anything," Tomoki worried.

"He won't as long as we're over there too," Kouichi declared. "Let's go."

They all rushed over but you trailed behind as something else took possession of your attention.

"Hey you, human!"

"Grumblemon! Is something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong! But me figure since you get me out of cave, me give you help with Drimongemon."

You had knelt down to be closer to his level and at this you glanced at the giant angry mole over your shoulder. "Not to sound ungrateful, but what can you do to calm him down? He's livid."

"Huh? You talk funny, human."

"Sorry, it meant 'angry'," you explained. "And we're teammates now. You can call me Ally."

"That good simple name. Me remember."

"Thanks. I think. So what'd you have in mind for Drimongemon?"

He gave you a mischievous sharp-toothed grin in return. "Come close, me tell."

You leaned in towards the little Digimon.

~Izumi POV~

Secretly I was a little relieved when Kouichi and Junpei joined us while Drimongemon was shouting at us. It felt better having a couple of the warriors nearby in case the mole Digimon totally lost it and started attacking. And with Takuya's big mouth directly facing off against him, that was a distinct possibility.

Suddenly it occurred to me that Ally wasn't with us. Where had she gotten to?

I spotted her not far away; she was kneeling with her body angled to the side but her face pointed towards us. She didn't seem to be paying any attention to us though, since her face was distracted and her eyes unfocused. Then I saw surprise flash across her face before it was covered by a big smile. Her eyes focused on me then and I could've sworn that I saw them sparkle.

"SPIRIT EVOLUTION - Dramon! ELEMENTAL SHIFT - Grumbledramon!"

"What are you doing?!" I cried as she ran towards Drimongemon.

"What's this?! Attacking me in front of my own mine?!" he roared when he saw her. "I won't stand for it!"

I think we were all a little confused when she charged past us - she might be tiny, but she sure was fast! - and I was even more confused when she pulled two hammers out of the ground and aimed them at the cliff face beside the mine entrance.

"Snake Eye Break!" she roared, slamming both hammers into the rock face. An incredible crater was blasted out and we were all covered in dust yet again.

"Hu-u-u-u-uma-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-an!" Drimongemon snapped at last and rumbled after her with amazing speed. I saw her burrow into the ground just before he thrust his drill in after her and I hoped she hadn't gotten caught on it.

"Wait, sir!" some of the Digmon shouted. "Look!"

The other smaller Drimongemon realized it next. "Wow! The other motherload!" they cheered.

"What?" That broke through his fury and he looked around, blinking with confusion. "Motherload?"

By then we and the rest of the mine workers had gathered around and we could see the gleam of the ore in the depths of the crack Ally had opened up. So that was what she had been doing!

"This is fantastic!" Drimongemon could sure change his tone in a flash. "Thank you, humans!"

"Ally! Are you okay?" I called at the ground, worry clear in my voice.

"Fine, thanks," she replied immediately as she popped up right where I was looking, scaring me half to death in the process. "Though at the moment I'm Grumbledramon."

"So, I guess it was Grumblemon's spirit you heard…" Takuya reasoned glumly.

"Afraid so," she replied. "But on the bright side, it's one more ally for our team."

"Yeah, sure…"