Chapter III: Flight
Matt, Ken, Gabumon, and Wormmon ran low to the ground, though it was difficult for Wormmon to run any other way. What's that? Ken thought to himself. He looked behind him and saw a Flymon coming. He tackled Matt to the ground as it shot through the trees over their head. They were lucky it didn't see them.
"Whew, thanks Ken. That was close."
"No problem, buddy. Let's keep moving."
Matt and Ken got up and started running again. They didn't know where they were going, exactly, but it was somewhere that all those other Digimon weren't. Hopefully, Matt thought.
They saw a ditch off to their left and slid down into it. A few seconds later, half a dozen Digimon leapt over it. The four got up and started to run along its length, but a shadowy figure fell in with a crash and blocked their path. It was an Elecmon, and its eyes were glowing red. Its face was a mask of surprise, and its momentary hesitation cost it, "Goo Blaster!"
The Elecmon was knocked through the air and landed on its back ten feet away. It was lying in a puddle of blue goo as they ran past it.
They heard a loud snapping sound, and further up the ditch, a light shone out. A pale blue head popped out into the ditch. It called out, "Over here!" Matt and Ken skidded to a stop in front of it. A large door had opened in the ditch, and behind it was standing Centaurumon.
"Centaurumon!" Matt cried out. "It's good to see you again!"
Wormmon said, "It's nice to meet you. Should I know you?"
"He's--"
"There's no time for introductions now. Get in here, Gennai sent me!"
"Gennai!" The four said in unison.
"Well, why didn't you say so?" Matt said.
_______________
Sora and Tai found themselves in the thick of everything. Hundreds of Digimon had already passed them, and they were only able to move now by staying low and going very, very slowly. Had they had Izzy's map program available, they would have seen that they were now approaching the back of the pack, and it might have been easiest for them to just head away from Gennai's place and circle around. But they didn't know that, so they pressed on ahead as best they could. They had been incredibly lucky so far; there were times that they wondered how they could have not been seen, but they knew there was no way that their luck would last.
Sora saw another cluster of Digimon coming their way, and pulled Tai down behind a bush. Agumon and Biyomon dove behind another. A Meramon leapt over the bush that the two Digimon were hiding behind. He cleared the bush with ease, but wasn't expecting something to be behind it. His foot caught Agumon's head and he went sprawling across the ground. The fiery Digimon turned his head back to see what he'd tripped over. What he saw caused a look of shock to come over his face, Humans? In the Digital World? That hasn't happened since...Gennai, it must be Gennai. The master should know this, it thought. "Magma Blast!"
A ball of fire shot out of his hands. Agumon ducked underneath it while Biyomon flew over it. The flame struck a tree, turning into a charred, barren hulk. Meramon cried, "Over here! I've found something!" Within seconds, Sora and Tai were surrounded by two dozen nasty-looking Digimon. Their eyes were glowing an eerie red.
"Alright, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get! Agumon!"
"I'm on it Tai!"
"Agumon warp digivolve to...MetalGreymon!"
Meramon looked up at the hulk that now towered over him and all his other Digimon allies. It was at least thirty feet tall, and had enormous metal wings and a metal arm. Two panels opened up on its chest to reveal a pair of nasty looking missiles. It said in a raspy voice, "Giga Blaster!" Two streaks shot out into the attackers. Oh crap...this is just not my day.
MetalGreymon blasted huge holes in the attacker's ranks, but now more Digimon were coming, and for every one he destroyed, another two took its place. What's more, the Digimon were starting to return fire. Tai ducked a stray shot from a Tankmon's Hyper Cannon. He yelled, "Hey, MetalGreymon, I think we really need to get out of here!"
"Metal Claw!"
MetalGreymon's arm drove into the ground in between Sora and Tai. "Grab on!" Tai said. Tai and Sora held on tightly as MetalGreymon retracted his claw and set the two humans safely on his back. He raised his metal wings to give Sora and Tai some protection from incoming fire. He took a three-step running start, crushing Digimon left and right, and took off into the air.
MetalGreymon soared above the treetops. Vast stretches of terrain opened up before them, and on it, they saw hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Digimon, all running, flying, rolling, or jumping towards the mountain off in the distance. Seeing the enormous bulk of MetalGreymon silhouetted against the sky, several turned to fire at him. There seemed to be no leader in this chaos, indeed, there seemed to be no Digimon more powerful than Champion anywhere, and any incoming shots were uselessly expended against MetalGreymon's thick skin.
Biyomon, meanwhile, had used the confusion caused by MetalGreymon to quietly perch in the trees. When all seemed clear, she shot off for the sky unnoticed, and landed in Sora's arms.
Sora said, "Looks like we've attracted some attention down there."
"Yeah, sure does. I hope that'll make it easier for our friends to get out."
"Biyomon, I think it's time we give our friends a little hand too."
"Right!"
"Biyomon digivolve to...Birdramon!"
Birdramon set out on an impressive display of flying ability. She launched her Meteor Wing attacks down onto the crowd below, raining down destruction on the onrushing foes, and lighting the trees on fire in several places. She was only a Champion and wouldn't survive many hits from the Champions below, but she flew so high that few attacks could reach her, and for those few that could, she avoided them by using MetalGreymon's body as a screen.
Birdramon was flying far above MetalGreymon when she called out, "Sora, look out!"
MetalGreymon was just coming to the lip of a cliff. The cliff face was sheer and fell for seventy or eighty feet to a plain below. It stretched off for miles in both directions, and as far as Tai could see, formed an approximate half-circle around the mountain, which was looming ever closer off in the distance. The meaning of Birdramon's warning quickly became apparent.
Thousands of Digimon were arrayed in battle columns at the foot of the cliff. Nearest to Tai and Sora was a battery of Tankmon that had apparently been advised of their coming. As MetalGreymon's enormous form cleared the cliff, the Tankmon unleashed a barrage of Hyper Cannon shells. Fortunately, MetalGreymon had enough warning and presence of mind to stop and perch himself on the edge of the cliff. The incoming shots cleared his head and exploded uselessly in the forest behind him. He used his powerful legs to spring himself far into the air, well above the enemy Tankmon below. A second round of shells lanced out towards MetalGreymon's massive bulk.
"Birdramon digivolve to...Garudamon!"
"Wing Blade!"
The bird-shaped fireball dove down in front of MetalGreymon and intercepted most of the onrushing shells, exploding them. The attack continued on down to explode among the Tankmon, scattering them. MetalGreymon's momentum had taken him clear of the Tankmon and as few of the other Digimon below had the range to reach him, most attacks that were attempted on him fizzled out or fell back down to explode among the ranks below. MetalGreymon reached the peak of his jump, and extended his metal wings to slow his descent.
"Nightmare shocker!"
A dozen bolts of blue energy rose and blasted MetalGreymon. He yelled in pain and retracted his wings out of instinct, causing him to drop fifty feet before extending them again. A small squad of Vilemon rose from the trees before them, now flying above MetalGreymon. Their field of fire now encompassed the children.
It was Garudamon's turn to be a hero. "Wing Blade!"
The Vilemon were dispersed by Garudamon's attack. Her giant claws batted aside another three before the rest got the idea and turned back. MetalGreymon landed at the base of the mountain, a good two miles from any enemy. Sora and Tai jumped off as he de-digivolved into Koromon. The little guy fell into Tai's arms, exhausted. Garudamon likewise de-digivolved into Biyomon, though she seemed less tired, and flapped happily above Sora's head.
Tai looked down at the tiny pink blob in his arms. "You okay, buddy?"
"You try letting Tankmon shoot at your stomach for a while and see how you feel!"
Tai smiled at his little friend. "Alright guys, let's get moving, Gennai should be somewhere on the south side. Hopefully we'll see our friends there."
They hadn't been jogging for more than five minutes when a familiar voice called out from the mountainside, "Hey, Tai, Sora, up here guys!"
Was that...Billy Crystal? Sora thought.
"Frigimon!" Tai said.
"Hurry up you two, Gennai's waiting!"
_______________
Joe, Mimi, Gomamon, and Palmon raced along, hotly pursued by a pair of Apemon. Joe was still carrying his and Mimi's bag, and as Gomamon was neither terribly fast nor terribly heavy, Mimi was carrying him.
"Energy Cannon!" A crimson beam arced through a tree to Joe's right, bowing it in the middle and blasting shards of wood through the forest.
"Mimi, I think we may have to--"
Joe yelped as he tripped and fell over an outstretched root. He tried to get back to his feet, but in a second one of the Apemon was on top of him, cannon pointed at his face. Mimi stopped and screamed, but Gomamon and Palmon were too far away to do anything. Joe closed his eyes and waited for the end.
"Energy..."
"...Whack!"
Energy Whack? That isn't Apemon's attack... A white bone swept through the air over Joe's head and drove deep into the Apemon's chest, splitting him into bits of data.
"Pummel Whack!"
A lance of black energy struck the other Apemon in his chest, knocking him through the air. It skidded to a stop against a tree, twenty feet away.
"Ogremon!" Mimi dropped Gomamon and wrapped her old friend up in a huge hug. Huge for Mimi, that is, Joe thought to himself. He smiled.
"Ahh, what are you doing?"
"Oh, it's good to see you again Ogremon!"
"Yeah, it really is lucky you come along when you did," Joe said, picking himself up off the ground.
"Thank me later, we've got to get out of here now. Quick, down this hole!"
"Joe, hey Joe!" Gomamon was flat on his back and trying very hard to flip over. "It's hard to do this without hands, you know!"
"Oh, Gomamon, I'm so sorry!" Mimi ran over to him and picked him up. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Mimi." There was a dreamy edge in Gomamon's voice. He's as much in love with Mimi as I am, Joe thought.
Ogremon's head popped up. "Get a move on you guys! There's no time to stick around here!"
_______________
Yolei and Davis had struck upon a quiet path where they met few Digimon. They didn't know it at the time, but they had slipped almost completely outside of the oncoming tide of Digimon. Davis stopped and stretched for a bit. "Well, looks like we've made it out. And you didn't want to come this way."
"I have to admit, Davis, you actually did something right for once."
"Thanks! Wait...hey!"
"Good old Davis...Hawkmon, maybe you'd better go take a look around."
"Indeed," Hawkmon said.
Hawkmon flew off into the trees above them.
Davis looked around. "Hey, Veemon, maybe you'd better go take a look around too."
"Right, Davis!"
"Here, I'll help out. DigiArmor energize!"
"Veemon armor digivolve to...Raidramon!"
Raidramon scampered off into the forest to scout the surrounding area. Yolei and Davis were all alone now.
"You know, you don't always have to insult me, Yolei, especially in front of our friends."
"Oh come on Davis, you know I'm just kidding. Besides, you do it to me, too, and I don't mind. "
"Yeah...well, I'm going to try and stop. There's no point in insulting you like I do, Yolei. It never helped anything."
"Davis, really, you're getting a little weird on me. It never hurt anything either."
Davis just looked off into the forest for a long minute. "I'm sorry Yolei...just sorry."
Yolei sat in quiet amazement. I don't think I've ever heard Davis say that before.
A few minutes later, Raidramon rode in among them and Hawkmon followed close on his heels. Hawkmon especially looked looked a little shocked and worried. "There is another group of Digimon coming this way, about half a mile north. There were coming directly at us, but they've turned back towards where we started from."
"Any idea why?" Yolei said.
"Yes. I saw MetalGreymon and Birdramon in the sky that direction. I believe the other Digimon have gone after them. I also got a good view of the lands around. There are several groups of Digimon converging on the mountain. A few hundred feet south of us is a cliff, which goes on for miles in either direction. It seems to surround the mountain, at least as far as I can see."
Raidramon chimed in. "I good a good, long look over the cliff. Down there is what appears to be a very large army. I think these groups of Digimon out here are a part of that army, on their way to reinforce it. There is one large path that they are all using to get down the cliff, which is the general direction in which we were heading before we split up."
"Alright Hawkmon, why don't you just digivolve into Halsemon and fly us out of here? DigiArmor--"
Davis cut her off. "Wait a second Yolei. We can't fly out of here; we'll be seen once we were out past that cliff. And our Digimon can't digivolve to Ultimate, so we'll just be blasted out of the sky."
"What do you suggest Davis, that we just run off the cliff!?"
"Raidramon can do it. We've done it before. And his colors will let him blend in. While MetalGreymon and Birdramon are distracting those Digimon, we can sneak right past them."
Yolei thought for a second. "Fine Davis, let's do it your way, again."
Davis climbed on the back of his little blue friend. "Climb on, Yolei."
_______________
Cody and Izzy, the other hand, were really in the thick of things. They had originally tried to escape outside the group of Digimon, but quickly scrapped that plan. Instead they found themselves amongst an enormous cluster of running figures. Izzy concluded that they weren't very good searchers; they should have been spotted easily if anyone had tried very hard to look for them.
Cody leaned over to Izzy and whispered, "We can't stay here! Someone is going to fins us eventually."
"I think you're right, Cody, but I can't think of a way out of this one."
"I could have Armadillomon digivolve into Digmon and dig us a hole, but the sound of the drill would attract attention."
"I think Tentomon and I can take care of a distraction. Tentomon, are you ready?"
"Ready, Izzy!" Tentomon replied
Armadillomon turned to Cody, "Let's do this before I get stomped on!"
"DigiArmor Energize!"
"Armadillomon armor digivolve to...Digmon!"
"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!"
"Electro Shocker!" The blast of electricity blew a chunk out of the ground, blasting back several smaller Digimon. Kabuterimon darted behind a tree to evade the scattered incoming fire, and then he shot off in another direction, sending out more electric blasts and attacking random Digimon.
Digmon used the confusion to bring all three of his drills to bear on the ground. He was built for this kind of work, and in a couple minutes had gone almost twenty feet into the ground. Meanwhile, Kabuterimon had to duck more and more frequently, as the Digimon began to get the idea that they were under attack. Cody and Digmon were already in the hole as Izzy cried out, "Down here!"
Kabuterimon dropped from the sky, sliding under two incoming energy blasts, while de-digivolving into Tentomon. He dropped into Izzy's outstretched arms. Izzy turned and ran back up the tunnel. "Digmon! We're in!"
Digmon turned towards the entrance. "Gold Rush!" An explosion rocked the mouth of the mon-made cave. Chunks of dirt and rock and clay fell and blocked up the entrance. "Tentomon, a little light, if you please," said Digmon.
"Glad to," Tentomon replied.
With a little of Tentomon's light, Digmon made good progress. About five minutes later, he broke through into an enormous tunnel. It was quite a shock; none of them had any idea that there was a system of tunnels under the Digital World. Even stranger, it seemed to be fairly well lit.
"Izzy! Cody!" A familiar voice called.
"Matt! What are you doing here?"
"Centaurumon's giving us a ride! We're going to meet up with Gennai!"
"Just follow this tunnel straight on! We'll be waiting at the end!" Centaurumon said.
Izzy and Cody sat in silence for a moment. Cody spoke up first. "Is it just me, or does this place keep getting weirder and weirder?"
Matt, Ken, Gabumon, and Wormmon ran low to the ground, though it was difficult for Wormmon to run any other way. What's that? Ken thought to himself. He looked behind him and saw a Flymon coming. He tackled Matt to the ground as it shot through the trees over their head. They were lucky it didn't see them.
"Whew, thanks Ken. That was close."
"No problem, buddy. Let's keep moving."
Matt and Ken got up and started running again. They didn't know where they were going, exactly, but it was somewhere that all those other Digimon weren't. Hopefully, Matt thought.
They saw a ditch off to their left and slid down into it. A few seconds later, half a dozen Digimon leapt over it. The four got up and started to run along its length, but a shadowy figure fell in with a crash and blocked their path. It was an Elecmon, and its eyes were glowing red. Its face was a mask of surprise, and its momentary hesitation cost it, "Goo Blaster!"
The Elecmon was knocked through the air and landed on its back ten feet away. It was lying in a puddle of blue goo as they ran past it.
They heard a loud snapping sound, and further up the ditch, a light shone out. A pale blue head popped out into the ditch. It called out, "Over here!" Matt and Ken skidded to a stop in front of it. A large door had opened in the ditch, and behind it was standing Centaurumon.
"Centaurumon!" Matt cried out. "It's good to see you again!"
Wormmon said, "It's nice to meet you. Should I know you?"
"He's--"
"There's no time for introductions now. Get in here, Gennai sent me!"
"Gennai!" The four said in unison.
"Well, why didn't you say so?" Matt said.
_______________
Sora and Tai found themselves in the thick of everything. Hundreds of Digimon had already passed them, and they were only able to move now by staying low and going very, very slowly. Had they had Izzy's map program available, they would have seen that they were now approaching the back of the pack, and it might have been easiest for them to just head away from Gennai's place and circle around. But they didn't know that, so they pressed on ahead as best they could. They had been incredibly lucky so far; there were times that they wondered how they could have not been seen, but they knew there was no way that their luck would last.
Sora saw another cluster of Digimon coming their way, and pulled Tai down behind a bush. Agumon and Biyomon dove behind another. A Meramon leapt over the bush that the two Digimon were hiding behind. He cleared the bush with ease, but wasn't expecting something to be behind it. His foot caught Agumon's head and he went sprawling across the ground. The fiery Digimon turned his head back to see what he'd tripped over. What he saw caused a look of shock to come over his face, Humans? In the Digital World? That hasn't happened since...Gennai, it must be Gennai. The master should know this, it thought. "Magma Blast!"
A ball of fire shot out of his hands. Agumon ducked underneath it while Biyomon flew over it. The flame struck a tree, turning into a charred, barren hulk. Meramon cried, "Over here! I've found something!" Within seconds, Sora and Tai were surrounded by two dozen nasty-looking Digimon. Their eyes were glowing an eerie red.
"Alright, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get! Agumon!"
"I'm on it Tai!"
"Agumon warp digivolve to...MetalGreymon!"
Meramon looked up at the hulk that now towered over him and all his other Digimon allies. It was at least thirty feet tall, and had enormous metal wings and a metal arm. Two panels opened up on its chest to reveal a pair of nasty looking missiles. It said in a raspy voice, "Giga Blaster!" Two streaks shot out into the attackers. Oh crap...this is just not my day.
MetalGreymon blasted huge holes in the attacker's ranks, but now more Digimon were coming, and for every one he destroyed, another two took its place. What's more, the Digimon were starting to return fire. Tai ducked a stray shot from a Tankmon's Hyper Cannon. He yelled, "Hey, MetalGreymon, I think we really need to get out of here!"
"Metal Claw!"
MetalGreymon's arm drove into the ground in between Sora and Tai. "Grab on!" Tai said. Tai and Sora held on tightly as MetalGreymon retracted his claw and set the two humans safely on his back. He raised his metal wings to give Sora and Tai some protection from incoming fire. He took a three-step running start, crushing Digimon left and right, and took off into the air.
MetalGreymon soared above the treetops. Vast stretches of terrain opened up before them, and on it, they saw hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Digimon, all running, flying, rolling, or jumping towards the mountain off in the distance. Seeing the enormous bulk of MetalGreymon silhouetted against the sky, several turned to fire at him. There seemed to be no leader in this chaos, indeed, there seemed to be no Digimon more powerful than Champion anywhere, and any incoming shots were uselessly expended against MetalGreymon's thick skin.
Biyomon, meanwhile, had used the confusion caused by MetalGreymon to quietly perch in the trees. When all seemed clear, she shot off for the sky unnoticed, and landed in Sora's arms.
Sora said, "Looks like we've attracted some attention down there."
"Yeah, sure does. I hope that'll make it easier for our friends to get out."
"Biyomon, I think it's time we give our friends a little hand too."
"Right!"
"Biyomon digivolve to...Birdramon!"
Birdramon set out on an impressive display of flying ability. She launched her Meteor Wing attacks down onto the crowd below, raining down destruction on the onrushing foes, and lighting the trees on fire in several places. She was only a Champion and wouldn't survive many hits from the Champions below, but she flew so high that few attacks could reach her, and for those few that could, she avoided them by using MetalGreymon's body as a screen.
Birdramon was flying far above MetalGreymon when she called out, "Sora, look out!"
MetalGreymon was just coming to the lip of a cliff. The cliff face was sheer and fell for seventy or eighty feet to a plain below. It stretched off for miles in both directions, and as far as Tai could see, formed an approximate half-circle around the mountain, which was looming ever closer off in the distance. The meaning of Birdramon's warning quickly became apparent.
Thousands of Digimon were arrayed in battle columns at the foot of the cliff. Nearest to Tai and Sora was a battery of Tankmon that had apparently been advised of their coming. As MetalGreymon's enormous form cleared the cliff, the Tankmon unleashed a barrage of Hyper Cannon shells. Fortunately, MetalGreymon had enough warning and presence of mind to stop and perch himself on the edge of the cliff. The incoming shots cleared his head and exploded uselessly in the forest behind him. He used his powerful legs to spring himself far into the air, well above the enemy Tankmon below. A second round of shells lanced out towards MetalGreymon's massive bulk.
"Birdramon digivolve to...Garudamon!"
"Wing Blade!"
The bird-shaped fireball dove down in front of MetalGreymon and intercepted most of the onrushing shells, exploding them. The attack continued on down to explode among the Tankmon, scattering them. MetalGreymon's momentum had taken him clear of the Tankmon and as few of the other Digimon below had the range to reach him, most attacks that were attempted on him fizzled out or fell back down to explode among the ranks below. MetalGreymon reached the peak of his jump, and extended his metal wings to slow his descent.
"Nightmare shocker!"
A dozen bolts of blue energy rose and blasted MetalGreymon. He yelled in pain and retracted his wings out of instinct, causing him to drop fifty feet before extending them again. A small squad of Vilemon rose from the trees before them, now flying above MetalGreymon. Their field of fire now encompassed the children.
It was Garudamon's turn to be a hero. "Wing Blade!"
The Vilemon were dispersed by Garudamon's attack. Her giant claws batted aside another three before the rest got the idea and turned back. MetalGreymon landed at the base of the mountain, a good two miles from any enemy. Sora and Tai jumped off as he de-digivolved into Koromon. The little guy fell into Tai's arms, exhausted. Garudamon likewise de-digivolved into Biyomon, though she seemed less tired, and flapped happily above Sora's head.
Tai looked down at the tiny pink blob in his arms. "You okay, buddy?"
"You try letting Tankmon shoot at your stomach for a while and see how you feel!"
Tai smiled at his little friend. "Alright guys, let's get moving, Gennai should be somewhere on the south side. Hopefully we'll see our friends there."
They hadn't been jogging for more than five minutes when a familiar voice called out from the mountainside, "Hey, Tai, Sora, up here guys!"
Was that...Billy Crystal? Sora thought.
"Frigimon!" Tai said.
"Hurry up you two, Gennai's waiting!"
_______________
Joe, Mimi, Gomamon, and Palmon raced along, hotly pursued by a pair of Apemon. Joe was still carrying his and Mimi's bag, and as Gomamon was neither terribly fast nor terribly heavy, Mimi was carrying him.
"Energy Cannon!" A crimson beam arced through a tree to Joe's right, bowing it in the middle and blasting shards of wood through the forest.
"Mimi, I think we may have to--"
Joe yelped as he tripped and fell over an outstretched root. He tried to get back to his feet, but in a second one of the Apemon was on top of him, cannon pointed at his face. Mimi stopped and screamed, but Gomamon and Palmon were too far away to do anything. Joe closed his eyes and waited for the end.
"Energy..."
"...Whack!"
Energy Whack? That isn't Apemon's attack... A white bone swept through the air over Joe's head and drove deep into the Apemon's chest, splitting him into bits of data.
"Pummel Whack!"
A lance of black energy struck the other Apemon in his chest, knocking him through the air. It skidded to a stop against a tree, twenty feet away.
"Ogremon!" Mimi dropped Gomamon and wrapped her old friend up in a huge hug. Huge for Mimi, that is, Joe thought to himself. He smiled.
"Ahh, what are you doing?"
"Oh, it's good to see you again Ogremon!"
"Yeah, it really is lucky you come along when you did," Joe said, picking himself up off the ground.
"Thank me later, we've got to get out of here now. Quick, down this hole!"
"Joe, hey Joe!" Gomamon was flat on his back and trying very hard to flip over. "It's hard to do this without hands, you know!"
"Oh, Gomamon, I'm so sorry!" Mimi ran over to him and picked him up. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Mimi." There was a dreamy edge in Gomamon's voice. He's as much in love with Mimi as I am, Joe thought.
Ogremon's head popped up. "Get a move on you guys! There's no time to stick around here!"
_______________
Yolei and Davis had struck upon a quiet path where they met few Digimon. They didn't know it at the time, but they had slipped almost completely outside of the oncoming tide of Digimon. Davis stopped and stretched for a bit. "Well, looks like we've made it out. And you didn't want to come this way."
"I have to admit, Davis, you actually did something right for once."
"Thanks! Wait...hey!"
"Good old Davis...Hawkmon, maybe you'd better go take a look around."
"Indeed," Hawkmon said.
Hawkmon flew off into the trees above them.
Davis looked around. "Hey, Veemon, maybe you'd better go take a look around too."
"Right, Davis!"
"Here, I'll help out. DigiArmor energize!"
"Veemon armor digivolve to...Raidramon!"
Raidramon scampered off into the forest to scout the surrounding area. Yolei and Davis were all alone now.
"You know, you don't always have to insult me, Yolei, especially in front of our friends."
"Oh come on Davis, you know I'm just kidding. Besides, you do it to me, too, and I don't mind. "
"Yeah...well, I'm going to try and stop. There's no point in insulting you like I do, Yolei. It never helped anything."
"Davis, really, you're getting a little weird on me. It never hurt anything either."
Davis just looked off into the forest for a long minute. "I'm sorry Yolei...just sorry."
Yolei sat in quiet amazement. I don't think I've ever heard Davis say that before.
A few minutes later, Raidramon rode in among them and Hawkmon followed close on his heels. Hawkmon especially looked looked a little shocked and worried. "There is another group of Digimon coming this way, about half a mile north. There were coming directly at us, but they've turned back towards where we started from."
"Any idea why?" Yolei said.
"Yes. I saw MetalGreymon and Birdramon in the sky that direction. I believe the other Digimon have gone after them. I also got a good view of the lands around. There are several groups of Digimon converging on the mountain. A few hundred feet south of us is a cliff, which goes on for miles in either direction. It seems to surround the mountain, at least as far as I can see."
Raidramon chimed in. "I good a good, long look over the cliff. Down there is what appears to be a very large army. I think these groups of Digimon out here are a part of that army, on their way to reinforce it. There is one large path that they are all using to get down the cliff, which is the general direction in which we were heading before we split up."
"Alright Hawkmon, why don't you just digivolve into Halsemon and fly us out of here? DigiArmor--"
Davis cut her off. "Wait a second Yolei. We can't fly out of here; we'll be seen once we were out past that cliff. And our Digimon can't digivolve to Ultimate, so we'll just be blasted out of the sky."
"What do you suggest Davis, that we just run off the cliff!?"
"Raidramon can do it. We've done it before. And his colors will let him blend in. While MetalGreymon and Birdramon are distracting those Digimon, we can sneak right past them."
Yolei thought for a second. "Fine Davis, let's do it your way, again."
Davis climbed on the back of his little blue friend. "Climb on, Yolei."
_______________
Cody and Izzy, the other hand, were really in the thick of things. They had originally tried to escape outside the group of Digimon, but quickly scrapped that plan. Instead they found themselves amongst an enormous cluster of running figures. Izzy concluded that they weren't very good searchers; they should have been spotted easily if anyone had tried very hard to look for them.
Cody leaned over to Izzy and whispered, "We can't stay here! Someone is going to fins us eventually."
"I think you're right, Cody, but I can't think of a way out of this one."
"I could have Armadillomon digivolve into Digmon and dig us a hole, but the sound of the drill would attract attention."
"I think Tentomon and I can take care of a distraction. Tentomon, are you ready?"
"Ready, Izzy!" Tentomon replied
Armadillomon turned to Cody, "Let's do this before I get stomped on!"
"DigiArmor Energize!"
"Armadillomon armor digivolve to...Digmon!"
"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!"
"Electro Shocker!" The blast of electricity blew a chunk out of the ground, blasting back several smaller Digimon. Kabuterimon darted behind a tree to evade the scattered incoming fire, and then he shot off in another direction, sending out more electric blasts and attacking random Digimon.
Digmon used the confusion to bring all three of his drills to bear on the ground. He was built for this kind of work, and in a couple minutes had gone almost twenty feet into the ground. Meanwhile, Kabuterimon had to duck more and more frequently, as the Digimon began to get the idea that they were under attack. Cody and Digmon were already in the hole as Izzy cried out, "Down here!"
Kabuterimon dropped from the sky, sliding under two incoming energy blasts, while de-digivolving into Tentomon. He dropped into Izzy's outstretched arms. Izzy turned and ran back up the tunnel. "Digmon! We're in!"
Digmon turned towards the entrance. "Gold Rush!" An explosion rocked the mouth of the mon-made cave. Chunks of dirt and rock and clay fell and blocked up the entrance. "Tentomon, a little light, if you please," said Digmon.
"Glad to," Tentomon replied.
With a little of Tentomon's light, Digmon made good progress. About five minutes later, he broke through into an enormous tunnel. It was quite a shock; none of them had any idea that there was a system of tunnels under the Digital World. Even stranger, it seemed to be fairly well lit.
"Izzy! Cody!" A familiar voice called.
"Matt! What are you doing here?"
"Centaurumon's giving us a ride! We're going to meet up with Gennai!"
"Just follow this tunnel straight on! We'll be waiting at the end!" Centaurumon said.
Izzy and Cody sat in silence for a moment. Cody spoke up first. "Is it just me, or does this place keep getting weirder and weirder?"