Author's Note: Okay…you'll notice I use a strange language. I created this language, not for the sake of this story, but just because…I felt like it. I have added translations, except for what the Gekomon said. If you can decipher it…good for you! But the point of this is that you understand this is my language, and it is copyrighted by me.

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Chapter Twelve

Spirit of Freedom

            "Krie Lorl'!" Jessie gasped in some foreign language. Then, reverting back to English, added, "What is this place?"

            "Eh, what did you say?" Daiki asked her.

            "I said, 'My Lord'."

            "Oh. Why?"

            Jessie didn't answer for a moment. She stared sadly at what looked like an abandoned, run-down mine. It was dug into a hill with a wooden gateway. Hanging over this gateway was a board that said: "Slave Mine. Do not enter!" in the same foreign language Jessie had uttered (Slau' Men'. Do novt 'nvt'r!). Outside the mine, thin and ragged-looking Digimon slaved away with pick, hoe, and shovel. These Digimon—three Gekomon, an Elecmon, and two Lopmon—were thin, tired, and hungry.

            "This place…it looks like a Nazi concentration camp," Compass said quietly, a frightened look plastered on her face.

            "I won't even ask what a Nazi is," Jessie muttered bitterly. She hugged Terriermon. "This is inhumane! Who would enslave living creatures? Who would enslave Digimon?"

            Riki made a rude noise at Jessie's ignorance. "Who else? The taskmaster—the slave master."

            Vipomon walked to one of the Gekomon and said, "Hi, I'm Vipomon. Who imprisoned you?"

            "Yeah!" Petalmon chimed in. "We wanna speak with the master of this mine!"

            The Gekomon did not stop shoveling dirt. He picked up a shiny, metal object in the dirt and threw it into a basket. After a few moments, he said, "Do you really want to know?"

            "Yeah, duh!" Jessie exclaimed.

            "Fine, fine. Uh, lessee…LadyDevimon. Yah, that's what she was called, I think."

            Compass looked skeptically at him. "You mean you don't know?"

            "Yah. I cannot remember."

            "…Why?"

            "Coz…coz I cannot remember. You wanna trade us or something?"

            Riki interrupted. "Trade? LadyDevimon trades slaves? With who?"

            "Ah…started with an 'S'."

            "Would it be…Satanmon, by any chance?"

            The Gekomon's eyes widened. "Ieov spoch' t'' nakr' oh' t'avt s'en'ie basvtarl'!" And so the Gekomon continued to rant in the foreign language, which fell dead upon the ears of all except Jessie's and Terriermon's.

            Terriermon's ears stiffened. "All right, all right, we got the point! We won't utter his name anymore, or speak of him! So…nothing about Mr. S or about…uhn…what's-his-face? Oh, yeah, VileDe—sorry. Er, of Mr. V. Right?"

            The Gekomon calmed down. "Ja, si, ja."

            Compass intervened. "Now that I understood. He said, 'Yes, yes, yes.' First he said it in German, then Spanish, then Ger—"

            Petalmon stopped the conversation. "We understand. No more foreign languages, okay?"

            Everyone nodded.

            Tetramon spoke up. "Where's LadyDevimon, then?"

            "Oh…closer than you think, children."

            The Tamers and their Digimon whirled around. The Gekomon, meanwhile, squeaked in fear and continued his work. Now, the Tamers faced a tall female Digimon. She was demonic-looking, her eyes glowing a fierce red.

            Vipomon and the other Digimon started growling.

            LadyDevimon smirked. "My, my, what an interesting cache of slaves you brought me. Good humans…good…"

            Jessie's look hardened. "What are you talking about…?" she growled harshly.

            LadyDevimon laughed shrilly, her high, devilish voice echoing through the mine exterior. "You fools! How I laugh at your incompetence! How I laugh at legend! How could legend state that ten children and their Digimon would create the downfall of Satanmon and VileDevimon? Ahah…hahahah…hahahahah!!! But instead, you'll all be my slaves, working in my mine! Goodbye, Tamers of legend!"

            Riki stepped forward defiantly. "You slutty bitch, I want to kick your ass to the moon! No one's enslaving us! Period!" He emphasized this last statement by making an sideways cleaving gesture with his arm.

            Again, LadyDevimon smirked. "You…are so…foolish! I pity your Digimon and your parents. What a mess they have to put up with!" She laughed harshly. "Look at you—a rag-tag bunch of lowlife misfits."

            LadyDevimon held up her hand, and black wires erupted from the ground and grasped the arms and legs of the humans and their Digimon.

            "No…can't…move!" Riku murmured softly. She was still weak from her illness, and she was first to collapse.

            "Riku!" Petalmon screamed. She squirmed in the wires' grasp. "No!"

            Jessie yanked on the wires. It was no use. "Ugh! Geez, this is worse than that goo!" Suddenly, she had an idea. She turned to face her Digimon. "Terriermon, attack!"

            "Ooh…how can I!?" the bunnylike Digimon snapped.

            "Use your Terrier Tornado!"

            Terriermon stared dumbly at his Tamer. "Well, duh," he said finally. "I'm so stupid." Then, spinning wildly, Terriermon called forth his attack. "Terrier Tornado!"

            The wires trapping Terriermon broke, and the Digimon was free. Then, without any thought to his situation, charged at LadyDevimon. "Terrier Tornado!"

            LadyDevimon held up both of her hands. "Darkness Wave!"

            A black mist quickly enveloped Terriermon, and the bunnylike Digimon screamed in pain.

            "No! Terriermon!!!" Jessie cried out. She turned to the others. "You gotta help me!"

            Daiki yanked his arm free of a wire's grasp. However, it quickly returned to his arm, pulling him back. "We'd love to help, Jessie," the boy retorted. "But, uh, we have a little problem…"

            "We gotta get outta here…" Riku said softly.

            "Save your strength, Riku," Petalmon advised her friend.

            Terriermon issued another scream of agony. His little white body was thrown to the ground. Badly bruised, Terriermon struggled to stand up. He promptly fell back down.

            LadyDevimon laughed. "You're a bigger fool than I thought, sending a Rookie against an Ultimate!" She continued to laugh.

            Jessie had collapsed due to the wires, but she struggled to her feet. Using all of her strength, she grabbed one of the ensnaring wires with her hand and pulled sharply. The wire snapped at its base. Jessie did the same with her other hand until her arms were free. She tripped and fell, though, but pulled her legs free just as another two wires came crashing towards her. The girl scurried out of the way.

            "You're a fool too!" LadyDevimon roared at Jessie. Wires erupted from the ground, forcing the girl to run. "Anywhere you step, you'll be caught."

            Jessie ran towards her Digimon. She grabbed Terriermon, and, using her momentum, head butted LadyDevimon. The demonic lady staggered backwards, but she grabbed Jessie by the back of her shirt collar.

            "You insolent little brat!" LadyDevimon spat. "You and your Digimon ought to be punished for this!"

            Though in midair, Jessie launched a kick at LadyDevimon's stomach. She dropped the girl and her Digimon, reeling in pain.

            "YOU FOOL—"

            "Terriermon, can you fight?" Jessie interrupted the enraged Digimon.

            Terriermon staggered to his feet, groaning. But his expression hardened, and he faced LadyDevimon. "Let me digivolve, Jessie!"

            Jessie held up her glowing D-Force. "Yeah! Digi Armor energize!"

            Terriermon glowed. "Terriermon Armor digivolve to…Calibermon, soldier of Freedom!"

            Calibermon looked like an armored Gargomon. He had long ears with armor at the ends, a chest plate with the Crest of Freedom emblazoned on it, and shoulder guards. His hands were semiautomatic guns. At Calibermon's back was an ammunition pack (like Rapidmon's). And he wore pants.

            It was Jessie's turn to smirk. "Now we've evened the odds! Calibermon, sick 'er!"
            Calibermon aimed at LadyDevimon and fired. "Caliber Strike!"

            Bullets tore through the air and flew at the devil lady. She spread her wings and flew out of the way.

            "Foolish little rabbit…" LadyDevimon smirked. "Darkness Wave!"

            The black mist appeared again, but Calibermon was quick. He launched himself into the air by firing at the ground. He rose above the mist, startling LadyDevimon, and he attacked. "Caliber Strike!"

            This time, the bullets found their mark—the large demonic wings. Screaming madly, LadyDevimon tumbled from the air. Seconds later, when the mist disappeared, Calibermon landed squarely on the ground and aimed at his opponent.

            He didn't wait.

            "Rabbit Shock!"

            As electricity surged through Calibermon's "hands" and ammunition pack, electrically charged bullets pelted the ground and the fallen enemy. Screams of agony gurgled from LadyDevimon's throat as the bullets erupted and set flame to grass and skin. After a heavy barrage of bullets, Calibermon stepped back and watched a miniature explosion fill the atmosphere. A small mushroom cloud hung over the battlefield as dirt, stones, and charred grasses flew in all directions. LadyDevimon's unmoving carcass was thrown into a nearby river, which washed the remains away…

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            A Gekomon smiled with gratitude as he presented a small box to the Tamers. "Here," he said in his froggish voice. "These will come in handy some day."

            Jessie took the box and opened it. Inside were five colored pendants.

            "What are those?" Riki wondered.

            "We're not sure, but LadyDevimon kept them secret," an Elecmon replied. "Please—take them away. We do not wish to be disturbed by nightmares while we live here."

            Compass nodded, helping Riku stay on her feet. "Thanks, guys. We'll find a good use for them."

            As so, with their newly acquired pendants hanging from their necks, the Tamers walked away from the former slave mine. In their minds and hearts, they were happy to free those Digimon. They were not meant to be slaves.