Daichi: ...You know, I think I could fit the rest of the Etemon arc into two chapters, if I do it right.

Verity: But do you have the patience?

Daichi: ...I hate it when you're right.

BlackGatomon: And one of the many reasons we don't own these things, demonstrated spectacularly.

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"Are we there yet?" Gazimon complained, his tail drooping and leaving a little line in the sand. Ib considered pointing out that he was the one who lived on this continent, but Lalamon was there, so she couldn't without making herself look insane.

Ignoring the Rookie, she checked her Digivice, to see if maybe it would be helpful for once and give her some kind of information.

It was currently four in the afternoon. Nice to know, but not particularly useful. "Are there a lot of Digimon that live in the desert?" She asked her partner, because between her and the tagalong they'd picked up, she trusted Lalamon a lot more.

"I don't know. Before you showed up, I never left the forest," She reminded her. Gazimon, meanwhile, started counting on his fingers.

"Monochromon, Tyrannomon, Starmon, Scorpiomon… I never managed to follow one long enough to see where they get their food." Right. Food. That was important.

If Ib ever found the others again, she'd ensure that Tai was kept as far away from the food supplies as possible, assuming everyone else hadn't already handled it. They probably had, if only to prevent… whatever had happened, she hadn't gotten around to asking Lalamon or Gazimon about it yet.

"Well, we'll need to find something," She sighed, slipping the still-unhelpful Digivice back in her pocket. "Food, water… And a way to avoid Etemon." The desert was covered in cables, their occasional appearance one of the few things that broke the monotony of the constant stretches of sand.

"I'll fly ahead and look!" Lalamon volunteered, taking off without waiting for a second opinion. Ib and Gazimon exchanged glances for a moment, before running after her.

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Nobody was talking to Tai anymore. They weren't about to leave him behind- weren't about to go from eight members to six, or sixteen to twelve if they looked at it another way- but they also weren't inclined to be kinder to him than they had to be.

For all they knew, Ib and Lalamon could be gone. Because of him.

T.K. kept looking at his Digivice at times, holding onto the hope that, eventually, another dot could appear, just at the edge of the screen. Joe wasn't sure how he could be so optimistic.

And it probably didn't really matter. Unless they could find more food, odds were that all of them would die in that desert.

"It's so hot…" Palmon complained, staring up at the horizon. "Somebody turn off the sun…"

"If I could do that, I already would have." Gabumon's feet were dragging in the sand now. The fine grains were now visible in his fur- and Gomamon's, as well as Biyomon's feathers. Joe was pretty sure Tokomon was only an exception because T.K. was carrying him. "Matt, are we there yet?"

Joe had no idea what he meant by that. It wasn't like they'd had any sort of destination in mind.

But eventually a cruise ship appeared on the horizon, and that was probably the best sign they were ever going to get.

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A few hours later, Ib, Lalamon, and Gazimon happened upon what looked, from a distance, like some kind of small town with buildings made of sandstone.

"There should be water there, at least," Ib sighed, checking her Digivice yet again, and once again getting no useful information whatsoever. "Stay close."

"Why?" Lalamon hovered closer. "Do you think they'll attack us?"
"I don't want to take the risk."

Gazimon sighed and shook his head. "Are you like this whenever you find a new town?" She couldn't answer him. Lalamon couldn't register his existence, it'd just bring up questions.

There'd probably be questions asked either way, like why Ib could never bring herself to be surrounded by people of unknown alignment, and of course she didn't want to bring up the fact that, for a bit, she'd been wary of even the partner Digimon, but she still wished she could have said something. Even if it was just to admit that she wasn't sure why she trusted Gazimon.

He had no partner. Nobody else had any idea he was there, letting him do whatever he wanted without consequences. The second he decided to turn on her, there was nothing anyone would be able to do. They wouldn't even realize they had to do anything.

And yet… "I'm sure it'll be fine," Her partner tried to reassure her, moving to a position hovering just above her shoulder. "But I'll stay right here in case you need me, okay?"

Pushing her darker thoughts out of her head, Ib stared at the town within their line of sight. Still no signs of life, but maybe she just hadn't been looking hard enough.

"...Okay."

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The town was completely deserted. "You'd think someone would be living here," Gazimon commented, glancing into yet another abandoned house.

Ib looked down. "I guess not being in the sun isn't as great a draw as you'd think." But they'd raided a few pantries, came out with canned food and bottled water. She wasn't sure if any of it was particularly safe for human consumption, but now was not the time to start being picky. As long as everything tasted the way it should have, it would probably be fine.

"Why wouldn't they want to be in the sun?" Lalamon asked, twirling around. "Sure, it's really hot, but as long as you get enough water…"

"Not everyone uses photosynthesis." She really shouldn't have needed to remind anyone of that, but this was clearly just one of those days.

"Oh, right…" She trailed off, before flying over to another window. "Hey, it looks like this one has a basement!"

Joy. More dark, abandoned places that could easily end with them running for their lives. But at the same time…

Ib stepped into the house, and her Tag lit up. She couldn't tell what color it was by looking at it. Sometimes it was a vibrant red, others a deep blue. Most of the time, it seemed to be some shade of purple, though the exact tint shifted with every instant.

"I guess this means we have to go into the basement…" She sighed, wondering if it would be a good idea to ask the others what color they saw the light as. But either they wouldn't be able to give a good answer, or they'd have reason to start questioning her sanity.

Not that she wasn't questioning her sanity, a lot of the time, but if she really was crazy, there were probably better ways to reveal it.

The slope of the stairs was steep, and there were no railings. There was also no light, aside from what the glow of the Tag provided. Ib reached out to touch the wall, leaning against it as she descended, Lalamon floating over her shoulder and Gazimon following at her heels. Even if she'd known the building materials of this world, she wouldn't have been able to identify any of it, when it was only shown by a light of ever-changing color.

Eventually, the stairway stopped, leaving them in a corridor. Turning around, Ib could no longer see the exit.

"We're a long way from the sun now…" Lalamon shivered, dropping into her partner's arms. The little plant seemed like she was freezing. Gazimon didn't seem all that bothered, but then again, he had a thick fur coat.

"We should keep going," He reminded her, arms crossed as he glanced into the tunnel. "You need to find those Crest things, right?"

She nodded, taking another step forward. "Let's keep moving." The air was cold, and still as dry as the rest of the desert. Doing so much as talking was uncomfortable.

Eventually, the end of the corridor came into sight. Something was etched into the wall, but Ib couldn't see it very clearly. It seemed almost to be moving, somehow.

Once she stood in front of it, and could therefore get an actual view, the Crest shrunk into a tablet shape and placed itself on her Tag, leaving her in darkness once again.

This time, however, there was a light at the edge of her vision. "At least we have a way out that doesn't mean going back," She sighed. It would be a fairly long walk, but…

Eventually, she would step out into the sunlight once again.

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Daichi: And, depending where she comes out, I could still end this arc in just one more chapter.

Verity: You won't.

Daichi: But I could. That's the point.