Disclaimer: I don't own digimon. Duh. It was created by Toei, butchered by Fox and screened in Australia by Cheez TV. Ende.
I thought I'd just put in a few words about the aforementioned Cheez TV, who screen about half of the anime shows shown in Australia (Pokemon, Digimon, Dragonball Z & Card Captor Sakura) and are responsible for this fic being slightly stuffed. Cheez TV began showing us series 02 at the start of this year. At the time, I was annoyed at the fact that none of the six older digidestined had much of a part to play. Just as I was forming the idea for this fic (and watching 'Genesis of Evil') they cut us off and start from the first ep of 01 again. Why? I dunno. Never will. but I hope that explains why this fic is a bit buggered. Thank you.
Chapter 6 - Into the Labyrinth
As they emerged from Cronomon's wormhole, the digidestined found themselves standing before a huge stone arch, staring at the sea. At their backs was the entrance to an immense stone maze, with carved walls and incredibly high walls. Biyomon and Tentomon could only just manage to hover high enough to see beyond the walls, and they reported that the maze stretched on and on, until they could just barely see something beyond it. They also informed their friends that they could not see any other lands over the sea, and Gomamon spoke to some fishes to confirm this. Even the fishes had been hard to find, and didn't seem to want to stay long, as though they shouldn't have been there. There was no choice but to enter the enormous stone maze.
"We could be lost for years in this place!" Jyou began, as they rounded the first corner.
"We'd better not." Koushiro replied, immediately. "If we don't get back to the castle within two weeks, Mordremon's plans will come into action and then where will we be?"
"There must be some way to get out of here," Taichi said, as he strode along in the lead, "so do you think you can calculate it on your laptop?"
"Not possible, I'm afraid." Koushiro apologized, falling into step next to Taichi, "Mazes are generally very unpredictable, there's no logic to their layout at all. Without a set pattern that can be worked upon, there's really nothing I can do."
"So we'll just have to take pot luck, huh?" Tai sighed. "I was hoping we could find a quicker way around this."
"I'm sorry. I really wish I could help."
"Hey, don't worry about it." Agumon dismissed Koushiro's worries with a wave of his claw.
"Yeah, you can't expect to come up with the answers to every single problem," Taichi continued, smiling, as Koushiro grinned almost guiltily.
"And besides, there are other, more urgent things to worry about now," Tentomon grumbled, "like food!"
While Taichi and Koushiro were leading the group, Sora was hanging towards the back, running her hands carefully along the stone walls. She'd noticed some seemingly abstract carvings on them here and there, and was thoughtfully trying to deduce them.
"I dunno, Biyomon." she said after a while. "There doesn't seem to be much here. Just this strange digi-code and some weird monsters."
Biyomon stared hard at a carved picture where Sora stopped. "I've seen that thing before." Biyomon pointed at one of the monsters, the apparent ruler, which was surrounded by other, smaller monsters. It had two horns on its head and an angry expression on its face.
"The thing is, in some pictures it's completely different." Sora shook her head, confused. "There are people in them, a man with a sword, and no other monsters at all. See, over here on the other wall."
"Oh, those?" Jyou asked, "I know that monster, it's the Minotaur."
"Minotaur?" said about ten voices at once.
"Yep." Jyou kept on. "An old Greek legend. The Minotaur was a monster that had a human body and a bull's head. It was unnaturally strong but very wild, so it was enclosed in a huge maze, the Labyrinth."
"Guess we've found our labyrinth." Yamato said, dryly, staring up at the huge walls.
"Yes, but what about the Minotaur?" Gabumon wondered.
"That must be Tauromon!" said Koushiro. "He fits the description. And remember how he attacked us on the mountain?"
"It was like he could barely keep his anger under control." Agumon said, thoughtfully.
"So now we're in his Labyrinth." Jyou finished, looking around at them all. "And Tauromon's in here somewhere looking to fight us."
"Humph!" Mimi tossed her hair angrily. "Well I don't like it one bit. Some monster running around in a place we could got lost in so easily, following this old legend from, like, a million years ago, and on top of that," she paused, as this was the worst crime of all, "The decor here is atrocious!"
"HUHHRROOAAARRRRG!!!" came a huge bellow, so close that is made everyone huddle together in fright. "You invade my homeland, irritate my master, invite yourselves along to my Labyrinth AND NOW YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT THE DECORATING!!?!"
"S-sorry," Mimi stuttered. "I was j-just saying -"
"Well, DON'T!"
"Hey, calm down, Tauromon." Tai said. "It is Tauromon, right?"
"Hrr, yes, it is." Tauromon replied, grudgingly. "Well, even if you have no manners, you seem to be pretty smart."
"Guess you don't know Taichi very well then," Yamato said, under his breath.
"Oh, shut up." Tai muttered back.
"Why don't you?"
"Please," Sora said, stepping between the two boys, "Not now. We do have other things to worry about."
"Yeah, you better be worrying!" Tauromon shouted. "There's only a wall separating me from you lot. And I know the Labyrinth like the back of my hand -"
"You don't have hands." Mimi pointed out.
"QUIET! I'll have to have you killed first." Mimi cowered as Tauromon went on. "As I was saying, I know this Labyrinth so well that I could be over where you are in five minutes."
"Gee, that's, um, fast." Gomamon said, helpfully.
"Yes, well, he could also get rid of us in ten minutes, couldn't you?" Koushiro asked.
"Something like that." Tauromon agreed. "However, my master, the great Mordremon, believes in giving people - and digimon - a fair go. She says that it wouldn't be fair on the rest of the team if I was the only one that got to play with you. So I won't be coming out to meet you face to face just yet. But don't forget - I'll be around."
Instantly, a loud screech was heard echoing around the maze. From around the corner came a huge Cockatorimon, running toward the kids as if to knock them all down.
"Oh no!" Koushiro cried. "Not again!"
They all remembered what had happened last time they were attacked by Cockatorimon. It had been on a ship in Etemon's desert, and all the kids had been captured or turned to stone, with the exception of Sora and Mimi. It was not an experience they were keen to repeat.
"Don't worry about this one!" Mimi shouted. "We know how to handle Cockatorimon, don't we, Palmon?"
"Of course! Let me at him!" Palmon replied.
(Dum de dum, digivolve, etcetera. I think we all know what happens in here. Yep, you guessed it.)
"Palmon, digivolve to... Togemon!"
Before Cockatorimon could gather enough energy to attack, Togemon knocked the breath out of him with a well aimed punch.
"How'd you like that, tough guy?" She asked, holding the bedraggled bird in the air by one foot.
Cockatorimon replied by spinning around and biting Togemon very, very hard.
"Owww!"
"Serves you right, ya big pincushion!"
"You want a pincushion, here it comes!" Togemon ran at Cockatorimon and slammed him into the wall; Togemon's spines effectively prevented the bird from moving. Cockatorimon trembled, surrounded by the sharp spikes that could easily have pierced a wing, a foot, or even his body.
"Whaddaya say now, bird brain?"
"Er... ouch?"
Togemon laughed and backed off. Cockatorimon slumped to the ground, trembling from the close encounter (far too close for his liking) with Togemon (and her spines).
"Should I finish him, Mimi?" Togemon asked of her friend.
Mimi hesitated, then shook her head. "Leave him. I don't think he'll want to bother us again."
Togemon would have done just that, if she hadn't noticed one thing. Cockatorimon, sheltered from the rest of the group by Togemon's body, was staring hard at Mimi, who had just saved him. As Togemon turned to send him off, she realizsed that his eyes were beginning to glow...
"OH NO YOU DON'T!!!" the enraged plant roared, pounding Cockatorimon into the wall. The beam that the bird had been about to fire, which would have changed Mimi to stone, shot wildly off target and brushed the top of Togemon's head, turning the orange tuft rock hard.
"I've had just about all I can take from you," Togemon whispered, wrapping one huge, gloved hand around the unfortunate bird's neck. A strangled noise escaped Cockatrimon's beak, and his tongue lolled out.
"No, stop, Togemon!" Mimi cried. "Don't hurt him, please."
"But, Mimi..."
Taichi stepped forward. "Mimi, what are you doing? That Digimon there would sooner kill you than look at you..."
"Can't see why anyone wouldn't want to look at her. Monsters just have no taste." someone muttered, to a chorus of giggles.
Taichi ignored the interruption. "...and you're just going to let him go? What's with you?"
"I just don't like seeing digimon get hurt, and knowing I could have helped them." Mimi explained, as several others shook their heads in amazement. "Don't think I'll be letting him off lightly, though." Mimi turned back to her digimon. "Togemon? Let's teach this feathered freak how to fly."
"You're on, Mimi," Togemon agreed, smiling at last. She grabbed the overgrown chook by his legs this time, and began to whirl him around above her head. When Cockatorimon had become nothing but a blur, Togemon released him, sending the unfortunate bird soaring over the confines of the Labyrinth.
"Thaaank yoooouuuuuuuu!" Cockatorimon shouted, as he shot through the air. That's what it sounded like to Mimi, anyway.
"Well, that's that taken care of," Mimi said, brightly, as Togemon shrunk back to Palmon once more. "Where to next?"
******
Dinner that night was a challenge, as there was practically nothing edible in the whole of the Labyrinth. Nothing that the digidestined found edible, anyway. They searched thoroughly while it was still daylight, but it turned out to be pretty hopeless. The sparse vegetation that grew up between cracks in the rock were mostly tough, chewy, tasteless stuff that was all that could survive in the harsh conditions.
"Grass, grass, weed, grass, thistle, grass, grass, grass." Sora commented, pulling a few pitiful strands from the ground. "How can anything survive in this place?"
"Well, Sora, Tauromon probably has no trouble eating this stuff." Koushiro reminded her. "He might be dangerous, mad and bloodthirsty, but he's also part cow, and they live on grass alone. This is probably a feast to him."
"Lucky Tauromon." Tentomon sniffed. "I'm afraid I can't quite be satisfied with a few mere bunches of grass. I'm partial to something more substantial. Chocolate pudding springs to mind... or anything cooked by your mother for that matter. Why couldn't you bring some of her cooking here with us?"
"I don't think he expected us to be stuck in a maze with no food, Tentomon." Biyomon replied, and she wandered off down another path in search of tastier morsels.
"Yeah, well, my Mum's cooking would probably make a nice break right now." he admitted, "Do you know how long it's been since breakfast?"
"We only had one teeny tiny snack stop all day," Tentomon continued. "Even then we only got fruit. And we were interrupted as well."
"By Tauromon, I know." Sora's mood darkened. "We'll have to fight him eventually, if we want to escape this place. I think he's the sort of digimon that would rather die than let us get away."
"You know, normally I'd say an attitude like that is because a digimon is afraid of being punished by its master." Koushiro said, "But Mordremon doesn't really seem the sort of digimon to do that. She told us all her plans and is making Tauromon to give us, 'a fair go'. What sort of digimon does that?"
"You're right, Mordremon is rather unusual," Sora admitted. "but her kindness might mean that we don't have to fight her the way we normally would an evil digimon."
"Mimi would probably be pleased about that." Tentomon said, sarcastically.
"Yes, that's another thing I don't understand." Koushiro nodded. "Why did Mimi let Cockatorimon go, after he tried to destroy her?"
Sora shrugged as she wrenched another blade of greenery from its home between the bricks. "Mimi's just a peaceful person, and she doesn't like the fact that digimon have to be destroyed. She'll never kill a digimon if there's a chance that it can be saved."
"That makes no sense at all." Tentomon replied, decisively. "Evil digimon have to be destroyed, whether we like it or not. Mimi's being silly."
"I don't think so." Sora argued, sitting back and staring right in front of her. "Sometimes I wish I could be more like her. Not the way she's all girly and a shopper and stuff, but how she just refuses to fight. The way she can't bear to see a digimon hurt. That's one thing I envy Mimi."
"But Sora, you're a great fighter." Koushiro protested. "Why would you want to give that up?"
Sora sighed and shook her head. "No, that's just it. Mimi sees all doesn't like fighting because she doesn't want to hurt anyone. She doesn't just care about her friends, but her enemies as well. She doesn't want anyone or anything to be hurt. Me, I just worry about whether I'm going to survive or not."
"But there's nothing wrong with that," he said, with a perplexed look.
"When we're fighting and we hurt digimon, sometimes I don't even feel guilty about the fact that I'm hurting a real, living creature." Sora explained. "I just feel like I'm doing my job, you know?"
"So?" Tentomon asked. "You are doing your job. So am I. We all are."
"I know, but it seems wrong that we don't seem to care about the fact that we're killing digimon, that... hey, look, Biyomon's back!"
"Sora, come quick!" Biyomon cried, running towards her friends. "I found some food! An apple tree and some blackberry bushes, just a few minutes away."
"Yes!" Koushiro shouted. "Come on, Tentomon, let's go and... Tentomon?"
But Tentomon was already rounding the next bend, determined to reach the food as soon as possible, as he was never happy with an empty stomach.
"Hey, Tentomon, wait!" Koushy cried, helplessly.
"Don't worry about it. You go follow him." Sora said, stifling a laugh. "Biyomon and I will go back and tell the others."
"Okay. Good. Thanks." He turned and belted off in the same direction that Tentomon disappeared.
"Come on, Bee." Sora said, with a laugh. "Let's go and get some help with the fruit picking. Dinner is served."
******
"Don't we have enough food already?"
Yamato glared at Mimi and pointed at the pile of fruit that had been collected. "Mimi, we might not find food like this anywhere else in the whole Labyrinth. We have to collect as much as we can right now."
"But I've already carried tons of food!"
Sora raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "Mimi, a handful of blackberries and three apples is not tons of food. It's barely enough to feed Gomamon."
"That's another thing!" Mimi cried. "How come Jyou isn't carrying any fruit.?"
Yamato and Sora both looked toward the wall of the space they had decided to use as camp. Joe was slumped on the ground with his eyes closed. He had eaten a few not-quite-ripe blackberries on the way back from the first trip, and despite drinking almost a liter of water his face was slowly turning green.
"That's different, Mimi." Yamato told her. "Jyou has indigestion. He's sick. You are not. So you can help the rest of us to get food. Now."
Palmon rounded the corner, happily juggling apples. She was still extremely pleased with her victory over Cockatorimon earlier in the day. But her happiness began to fade when she saw Mimi sitting on the ground, arms crossed with a stubborn expression on her face.
"Aw, Mimi," Palmon sighed, tossing the apples onto the growing pile. "What's wrong now? You don't really think we've got too much food here, do ya?"
Mimi, glared at Palmon with an indignant expression, but her face softened when she saw Palmon's disappointment. "Oh... I didn't mean... you don't think I really..."
"I'm just going back to get some more apples." Palmon smiled. "Ya wanna come, Mimi?"
"Yes, of course I'll come with you, Palmon." Mimi leapt up and quickly ran down the path with her digimon friend.
Yamato shook his head in amazement. "Now, how come she doesn't do what I asked? I mean, Palmon's not as commanding as I am, can she? And there's no way she could be as cool as I am."
"That's a matter of opinion," Sora muttered under her breath. Then she called out aloud. "Look, Biyomon and Agumon are back now. Tai and Izzy are coming too, with Agumon."
The kids and the digimon both carried huge loads of fruit, and even Gomamon managed to gather in a few berries. They dumped the lot on the pile before Taichi turned to look at Yamato and Sora.
"Mimi and Palmon ripped past us a minute ago." He said, with some amazement in his voice. "How'd you convince Mimi to go and get even more fruit?"
"You can thank Palmon for that." Sora grinned. Then she frowned at Biyomon. "Biyo, you've got blackberry prickles stuck in your feathers, silly!" she moved to pick the thorns out of the bird's plumage, but Biyomon jumped out of the way and dumped her fruit with the rest before taking to the air.
"Just a minute, Sora!" she called. "I'll be back in a sec."
Biyomon flew up until she reached the top of the wall, hovered there for a moment, then disappeared on the other side. The others heard her cry of discovery, the sound of a quick scuffle, a few raised voices and then silence. Then Biyomon reappeared carrying a guilty looking Tentomon in her claws.
"I was just having a quick snack." Tentomon whined.
"Hey, we're hungry too, you know." Biyomon frowned as she dropped Tentomon on the ground, away from the pile of fruit. Then she turned and started to preen her feathers, getting rid of the blackberry thorns.
"It was just a few scraps." Tentomon muttered to himself, amid gales of laughter.
"Um, if I may interrupt," Gomamon interrupted, "don't you think we should do something about Jyou?"
It was true, Jyou wasn't looking to good. His eyes were closed, his glasses were slipping down and he was definitely looking green.
"I don't know if there's really anything we can do," Taichi said, with a helpless shrug. "I mean, he's supposed to be the doctor. What can we do?"
"I have an idea." Gabumon volunteered. "Once, when I was sick, Frigimon had some herbs that he used to cure me. Maybe if we found some of that stuff, we could help Frigimon."
"It's a good idea, Gabumon," Yamato said, cautiously, "but how are we supposed to know which herbs are the right ones? Or if they even grow around here? We never know what we're going to find in the Labyrinth."
"Palmon would know." said Agumon.
"Yeah, well, Palmon isn't here right now, she went off to find fruit with Mimi." Taichi replied. "Maybe if someone went to tell her-"
"I'll go!" Tentomon shouted. "Back in a jiffy! you can count on me!"
"Why on earth would he do that?" Biyomon wondered, as Tentomon buzzed away at top speed.
"Maybe he wants to make up for nicking that food." Sora suggested.
"Maybe he just likes Palmon," Gomamon snickered.
"Nope." Koushiro shook his head. "He just wants more to eat."
"Yeah, that'd be right," Yamato said, dryly. "Tentomon's just a stomach with wings."
For the next few minutes, the various digidestined pottered about their makeshift campsite. There were always things that had to be done, like setting up a fire, checking supplies, making sure Jyou didn't throw up, and just general tidying up. Koushiro was trying to analyze their position and the digimon they'd seen. (Although once, when strolling past, Gabumon glanced at the screen and thought that he'd never seen a digimon that looked so much like Donkey Kong.) Generally, though, they were very busy and took a while to notice Mimi, Palmon and Tentomon running full pelt towards them.
"I got a few things for Jyou." Palmon dropped a few twisted plants on the ground in front of the sickening boy. "They're not exactly the right ones, but they should do the trick, anyway."
"But there's more important things to tell you," Mimi announced, breathlessly. "While Palmon and I were getting the fruit, we heard Tauromon behind a wall, and he was talking to someone!"
"Really?" Taichi asked, staring at her. "What did he say? Who was he talking to?"
"I think it was some other digimon." Mimi replied. "He was telling them to attack us, basically. It sounded like there were quite a few of them. I can't be sure exactly how many, though."
"Doesn't really matter." Tai said, looking around. "The point is that we're going to be having some visitors very soon. And they're not just going to be looking for a free meal."
As he spoke, several of the digimon, whose hearing was far sharper than that of the humans, noticed a high pitched buzzing sound far in the distance.
"Um, Tai?" Agumon tugged on the leader's jacket. "I think there's someone coming..."
"Yeah, I know that, Agumon." Tai replied, patiently. "That's why we have to figure out what to do. Now why don't you just go off while I try to think of a plan."
"No, that's not what he meant." Gabumon insisted. "We can hear them."
"Yes, Mimi heard them too, talking to Tauromon." Yamato nodded, in the same tone as Taichi.
Biyomon shook her head. "They just don't get it." she muttered to Agumon and Gabumon.
"If only they'd listen." Tentomon sighed. "They're insect digimon, a whole swarm of them. We have to be ready to meet them now."
"Well, if the humans aren't ready, then at least we can be." Agumon said. He looked back for a moment. Palmon wouldn't be a help, she couldn't hear as well as the rest of the digimon could, being a plant. And Gomamon was too busy worrying about Joe to worry about the insects as well.
"Looks like it's up to us this time, gang." Agumon nodded at his pals. "We'll just have to be ready to digivolve as soon as these insect digimon arrive.
"You got it." Biyomon nodded.
"We'll be ready." Gabumon had a determined look on his face.
"No digimon is going to take us by surprise." Tentomon agreed.
Just then, a swarm of twenty or thirty Roachmon crawled over the walls and began attacking the digidestined.
The humans never figured out why Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon and Tentomon were so embarrassed by the sudden ambush. Really, how were the four of them to know that the Roachmon were going to attack at that precise moment?
Fortunately, the digimon recovered from the sudden shock and digivolved, although they were rather flustered when they finally got around to attacking. The surprise attack, the digimon's delay and size of the swarm had already given the Roachmon a distinct advantage. They had spread out through the campsite and were openly attacking humans as well as their digimon companions. Gomamon digivolved belatedly and fought fiercely to protect Jyou, who, despite the herbs, still wasn't feeling too well. Mimi, horrified and disgusted by the invasion of insects, was unable to speak and was slowly backing away. Three Roachmon, not to be cheated of a victim, landed in front of her with ugly leers on their faces.
"Hey, what's up, kid?" the first one smirked.
"I don't think she likes roaches." another sniggered.
"Maybe we'll just have to teach her how friendly we are," the third suggested, with an ugly smile. "I'm sure she can learn to like us."
All three leapt to grab Mimi, and one managed to get a handful of her hair. Mimi spun around and threw the bug to the ground, screaming. And without a backwards glance at her friends, Mimi turned and ran, deeper and deeper into the Labyrinth, as fast as she could.
"Mimi! Wait!" Palmon left off fighting, and tried to follow her friend down the twisting paths, but there was no way she could keep up with Mimi. Palmon hesitated. She wanted to help the others fight the Roachmon, but there was nothing she couldn't digivolve without Mimi. She caught sight of the Roachmon that had scared Mimi away, and suddenly knew what to do. She walked up to the three digimon, who were still laughing, and cut their sniggers short by slapping each one of them. Very hard.
Leaving the three bugs rubbing their heads, Palmon set off into the labyrinth. If she couldn't keep up with Mimi, she could at least search for her. She had to stick up for her friend.
******
Mimi ran through the Labyrinth, taking no notice of her surroundings at all. She followed the twists and turns of the maze as best she could, and only stopped when she found she could run no farther. The dejected girl slumped against a wall, feeling exhausted, scared and ashamed. She thought she'd grown wiser in the years since the first digimon adventure, but it seemed that she was wrong. The Mimi that had run from those Roachmon was the same fearful, tentative, bug-fearing girl who had run from Centaurumon in the temple, who had complained every day of the journey, the Mimi who refused to fight. Mimi clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, but she couldn't stop the tears. Time hadn't changed her at all. Mimi was still girly, still afraid, still complaining. And she was still running away.
Mimi's thoughts were interrupted by a high, shrill chirping, and Mimi finally looked up to take note of her surroundings. She seemed to be in a very old part of the Labyrinth, or at least a very neglected part. The walls were covered in a thick coat of ivy, and the ground was littered with pieces of rock that had broken off the walls. Mimi sniffed, wiped her eyes and began digging through the tangled vines to find the source of the sound. And, ripping a thick clump of ivy away, she found herself staring at a tiny bird, no bigger than her own two hands, with beautiful, shimmering blue-green feathers. Mimi quickly pulled away the last few vines that had trapped the tiny creature. She gently picked the remaining leaves and twigs out of the bird's feathers, then slowly and carefully lifted it from its prison in the ivy.
"Thank you for helping me." the little one said, in a voice so quiet Mimi could barely hear it. "I'm Quetzalmon."
"Oh, you poor thing." Mimi's face melted into an expression of pity as she stared at Quetzalmon. "How long have you been trapped in there?"
"Oh, I don't know." Quetzalmon shook its small head sadly. "Quite a while, I think."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"It's not a whole lot of fun," Quetzalmon admitted, "but it's better than being caught by Tauromon."
Mimi's heart sank at the mention of Tauromon. There was no-where she could run that he wouldn't be able to find her. She hated fighting, but there didn't seem to be any other way out with Tauromon on the loose. And now she didn't even know where her friends were. Mimi collapsed back into the ivy, resting against the wall hidden deep beneath it. What was she going to do?
Quetzalmon could sense his new friend's discomfort. He hopped down next to where she was sitting and looked out at the sky above them. "It's getting really dark out there," the bird commented, breaking the silence. "Why don't we both get to sleep, and I can help you find your way tomorrow?"
Mimi smiled at Quetzalmon and picked him up again. "Yes, that does sound like a good idea." Mimi agreed. So the girl and the bird nestled into the ivy, together in the harsh cold of a night in the Labyrinth.
~~~~~~
The Mimi I've shown in this chapter is, without a doubt, the Mimi of series 01 and not of 02. However, I've always thought that in 02, Mimi's old ways were only held at bay because Meems knew she didn't have to fight anymore. I also thought that if Mimi ever had to go on an all-out mission again, those old fears would resurface. So that's what I've tried to portray in this chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and stay tuned for the next. Later!
