FROM THE DEPTHS
Part
12: That Sinking Feeling
"Can we please slow
down?" Marisa asked as she continued following her friends.
"We can't stop now," Tai revealed, who was leading Matt, T.K., Kari, Marisa, and their Digimon through the forest. "We need to find the rest of our friends before Armaggedamon does."
"Well, can't we take a quick break?" Marisa asked curiously. "We've been walking ever since we woke up this morning."
Tai looked behind him and noticed that Kari and T.K. were walking a bit sluggishly. "All right, then. Break time, everyone!" Tai announced. Everyone let out a deep exhausted sigh as they plopped down on the ground.
Marisa looked down at her lap, where Chamamon was lying fast asleep. "I'm worried about Chamamon, guys. She's been like this for almost a day now," Marisa reluctantly admitted. "Is this normal?"
"It's no big deal, Marisa," Tai told her. "Your Digimon's just wiped out from digivolving to Ultimate for the first time. Same thing happened to all our Digimon when they first digivolved to that level."
"Tai's right, Marisa," Agumon admitted.
"All Chamamon needs is plenty of rest and food, and she'll be just fine. You'll see," Gabumon added.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Marisa replied. Suddenly, Chamamon let out a loud yawn and slowly opened her eyes.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Marisa greeted as her Digimon let out another loud yawn.
"Good morning, Marisa," Chamamon mumbled sleepily.
"How are you feeling?" Marisa asked.
"Tired...and hungry," Chamamon admitted. "Do we have any food?"
"Hold on a second," Marisa replied as she dug into her pocket. She soon pulled out a small bag of cookies.
"I still have these cookies from the train. Here you go, Chamamon," Marisa announced as she opened the bag and fed the cookies to her Digimon, who quickly scarfed them down.
While the other kids and their Digimon were resting, Tai and Agumon were already on their feet, looking up at the several trees surrounding them.
"Okay, break's over, guys. Let's get going," Tai announced. Matt, T.K., Kari, Marisa, and their Digimon quickly stood up and followed Tai and Agumon until they reached a very steep hill.
"Looks like we got some climbing to do," Matt remarked.
"Come on, everyone!" Agumon exclaimed as he climbed up the hill with no problem. Gabumon and Gatomon soon followed Agumon up the steep hill.
"Hey, wait for me!" Patamon shouted as he flew up the hill after the three Digimon.
"Here, Kari, take my hand. I'll help you up," Tai instructed as he held his hand out to his little sister.
"Thanks, Tai," Kari admitted as she took Tai's hand.
As Tai and Kari slowly hiked up the hill, Matt asked, "You ready, T.K.?"
"Uh-huh," T.K. replied as he nodded his head.
"What about you, Marisa? Do you need any help?" Matt asked Marisa, realizing that she had to climb up the hill while carrying Chamamon.
"I don't think so, Matt," Marisa replied while looking up at the steep hill.
"You sure? I can always come back down and help you out," Matt offered.
"That's okay, Matt. I think I can manage," Marisa replied.
"Suit yourself," Matt muttered out loud as he carefully led T.K. up the hill.
"Yeah, sure, I can definitely do this by myself," Marisa muttered nervously to herself. "What was I thinking? I guess I have no choice now."
Marisa took in a deep breath before she started to climb the steep hill. She used one arm to grab bushes and trees to help pull herself up the hill while carrying Chamamon in the other arm.
"Come on, Marisa!" T.K. shouted to the pig-tailed girl.
"You can do it!" Kari added.
Encouraged by T.K. and Kari cheering her on, Marisa continued making her way up the tall steep hill. When she was only halfway up, Marisa slipped on a patch of wet leaves and fell. She would have slid all the way to the bottom if she didn't grab a sapling with her free hand.
"Marisa!" T.K. and Kari gasped simultaneously.
"Hold on!" Matt shouted as he slid down the hill on his feet. He skidded to a stop when he reached Marisa and Chamamon.
"Take my hand, Marisa. I'll help you up," Matt instructed as he held out his hand to her.
"Okay," Marisa reluctantly agreed as she let go of the sapling. Marisa screamed a bit when she found herself sliding down the hill again.
"I got you!" Matt shouted as he grabbed Marisa's arm, which stopped her from sliding down any further. With Matt's help, Marisa managed to stand up and they hiked up to the top of the hill together, where the others were waiting for them.
"Are you okay, Marisa?" T.K. asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Marisa replied. She looked over at Matt, who was brushing the dirt off of his jeans. "Thanks, Matt."
"It's no big deal, Marisa," Matt admitted as he stood up and joined Tai, Agumon, and Gabumon.
"Matt and Marisa, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Tai muttered just loud enough for Matt to hear with a little smirk on his face.
"Cut it out, Tai! I don't have a crush on Marisa, okay?" Matt muttered through clenched teeth. "I was just helping her out. You would have done the same thing, right?"
"I would have, but you got to her first," Tai pointed out.
"Just leave it alone, okay, Tai?" Matt retorted a bit angrily as he stormed off into the forest, with Gabumon following him.
"Hey, Matt! Wait for us!" T.K. shouted as he ran after his older brother and Gabumon, with Patamon riding on top of his head.
"What's going on, Tai? Why did Matt run off like that?" Kari asked curiously as she, Gatomon, Marisa, and Chamamon joined Tai and Agumon.
"I don't know, Kari. It's kinda hard to tell with him," Tai lied.
"Well, we better go after them," Marisa interrupted. "We can't afford to lose anyone now, Tai."
"Marisa's right. Let's go!" Tai shouted as he, Agumon, Kari, Gatomon, Marisa, and Chamamon ran in the direction that Matt, Gabumon, T.K., and Patamon headed. After a minute or so of running, they finally caught up with Matt, T.K., and their Digimon.
"What's going on, Matt? Why did you two stop?" Tai asked curiously.
"Take a look for yourself!" Matt remarked as he pointed at the land in front of him. Tai, Kari, Marisa, and their Digimon looked up and gasped when they saw the huge muddy swamp in front of them, stretched out as far as the eye can see.
"Ugh!" Tai groaned out of disgust as he, Kari, Matt, T.K., Marisa, and their Digimon quickly covered their noses to block out the nasty decaying smells of the swamp.
"P.U.! What's that yucky smell?" T.K. asked curiously.
"Believe me, T.K., you don't wanna know!" Matt remarked.
"We have no choice. The quickest way is to cut through the swamp," Tai revealed.
"Well, if that's our only choice, then I guess we'll have to go through the swamp," Matt reluctantly admitted.
"Then let's get going," Tai announced as he started making his way through the swamp, followed by the other kids and Digimon.
"Uh-oh!" T.K. exclaimed as he pointed at a thick fog that started to roll into the swamp.
"We better hold hands, guys," Tai suggested. "That way, we don't lose each other." The other kids and their Digimon nodded in approval.
Tai reached behind him and grabbed Agumon's paw, who reached behind him and grabbed Gatomon's paw. Gatomon grabbed Kari's hand, Kari took T.K.'s hand, T.K. reached behind him and grabbed Gabumon's paw, and Gabumon took Matt's hand with his free paw.
"Here, Marisa. Take my hand," Matt instructed as he held out his free hand. When he didn't hear any response from Marisa or Chamamon, Matt turned around and gasped when he saw no one behind him.
"Tai, we gotta stop! Marisa and Chamamon are gone!" Matt shouted.
"What?" Tai, Kari, and T.K. gasped simultaneously as they and the Digimon stopped walking.
"Do you think she got lost?" T.K. asked worriedly.
"That's probably what happened," Tai muttered out loud.
"We have to find Marisa, Tai!" Kari pointed out as she looked up at her older brother.
"You're right, Kari. Come on, everyone," Tai announced as they started heading back the way they came to find Marisa and Chamamon...
"Chamamon, I think we're lost," Marisa muttered worriedly as she continued walking through the muddy swamp, with Chamamon in her arms.
"I could have told you that, Marisa," Chamamon remarked.
"Tai! Kari! Matt! T.K.! Can anyone hear me?" Marisa shouted. She soon reached a large clearing with a large patch of sand. The wet sand squished underneath her feet as Marisa stopped in the center of the clearing.
"Tai! Kari! Matt! T.K.!" Marisa shouted again. She was silent for a minute, hoping that she would hear one of her friends calling for her, but she heard absolutely nothing.
"Marisa, it might be my imagination, but either you're shrinking or the swamp's getting bigger!" Chamamon announced.
"What?" Marisa exclaimed as she looked down to see what Chamamon was talking about. She gasped when she noticed that the wet sand was up to her ankles. "Oh, no! It's quicksand!"
"Uh-oh! What are we going to do?" Chamamon asked worriedly.
"I don't know, but we have to get outta here!" Marisa shouted. She tried to move her feet, but that only made her sinker faster into the quicksand.
"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Marisa shouted at the top of her lungs before she and Chamamon sank all the way down into the quicksand pit, with Marisa's tag and crest floating to the top...
"Marisa, wake up!" Chamamon shouted. Marisa slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Chamamon, who was sitting on her stomach.
"Chamamon, are you okay?" Marisa asked as she sat up.
"Uh-huh," Chamamon replied. Marisa looked around her and realized that she was in a dark, dank cave.
"How did we end up here, Chamamon? What happened to all of that quicksand?" Marisa asked curiously.
"It's up there," Chamamon replied as she looked up at the roof. Marisa followed Chamamon's gaze and gasped when she saw a large circle of quicksand suspended within the rock ceiling of the cave.
"That quicksand is plugging up a hole in the roof, kinda like a cork," Marisa muttered thoughtfully as she stood up and picked up her Digimon. "That must mean we're in some underground cave, Chamamon."
"Yeah, but how do we get back to the swamp and our friends?" Chamamon asked.
"I don't know, Chamamon," Marisa muttered worriedly as she looked around. She noticed a pale light coming from one end of the tunnel that she was in. "Hey, Chamamon, there's some light coming from over there. Maybe it's a way out!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Chamamon asked.
Marisa quickly ran to the end of the tunnel, praying in her thoughts that she had found a way out. Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed when Marisa and Chamamon found themselves standing on the bank of a massive underground lake.
"I can't believe it! It's huge!" Marisa exclaimed as she stared at the never-ending pool of water.
"There has to be a way out, Marisa. All this water got in here somehow," Chamamon pointed out.
"You're right, Chamamon. If we follow the bank, we're sure to find a way out," Marisa suggested.
"Good idea," Chamamon admitted as Marisa started walking down the bank of the lake...
"I have to take a break, Chamamon," Marisa announced as she took in several small gasps of air. "It's been almost an hour and we haven't found anything."
"Yeah, I know, and this mist isn't helping one bit," Chamamon remarked as she looked out at the lake, where a thick mist had gathered and started to roll in towards them.
Marisa let out an exhausted sigh as she slumped down on the stone floor, with Chamamon sliding into her lap. While Marisa was resting, Chamamon looked at the cloud of mist that had gathered near them.
"Hmm?" Chamamon gasped when she heard a noise that sounded like soft footsteps. "Marisa, did you hear that?"
"Hear what, Chamamon?" Marisa asked curiously.
"Something's coming our way," Chamamon whispered. Marisa looked up and gasped when she saw a small shadow heading towards them.
"Don't worry, Marisa! I'll take care of it!" Chamamon proclaimed as she hopped out of Marisa's lap. "Chamamon digivolve to...Chamelamon."
"Be careful, Chamelamon," Marisa pleaded as Chamelamon stepped toward the creature hidden in the mist.
"Fire Spin!" Chamelamon shouted. The creature gasped loudly when he saw the spiral of fire heading towards him. He quickly jumped into the water, avoiding Chamelamon's attack.
"What was that, Chamelamon?" Marisa asked curiously as she stood up.
"I don't know, but whatever it was, it can't stay underwater for long," Chamelamon announced as she and Marisa carefully watched the surface of the water. "Unless it's part fish, it'll have to come back up for air."
Marisa and Chamelamon gasped when they saw a bunch of bubbles appear at the exact spot where the creature jumped in the water.
"Here it comes!" Chamelamon whispered. The two girls carefully watched as a head popped up at the surface of the water.
"Marisa? Chamelamon? Is that you?" a familiar voice asked. As the creature swam closer to the shore, Marisa and Chamelamon gasped when they recognized the white Digimon with a bright red-orange Mohawk and purple markings.
"Gomamon?" the two girls exclaimed simultaneously as Gomamon climbed onto the shore and shook off the excess water.
"That's me!" Gomamon remarked.
"I'm so sorry I attacked you, Gomamon," Chamelamon apologized. "I didn't know it was you."
"That's okay, Chamelamon. I didn't know who you two were until now," Gomamon admitted. "Joe's gonna be so happy when he finds out that you're down here!"
"Where is Joe?" Marisa asked curiously.
"This way. Follow me," Gomamon instructed as he headed down the shore. Marisa and Chamelamon followed Gomamon for about fifteen minutes until they reached a large boulder. Sitting on top of the boulder was Joe, who was lost in his own thoughts.
"Joe? Hey, Joe! Look who I found!" Gomamon announced as he, Marisa, and Chamelamon approached the boulder.
"Huh? Marisa! Chamelamon!" Joe exclaimed as he jumped off of the boulder.
"Hey, Joe. It's good to see you again," Marisa admitted.
"How did you get down here?" Joe asked curiously.
"Chamelamon and I fell through some quicksand and we ended up in this huge cave," Marisa replied. "How about you?"
"Same thing happened to me and Gomamon," Joe admitted.
"How long have you two been down here?" Chamelamon asked curiously.
"I'm not sure. It's kinda hard to keep track of time down here," Gomamon remarked.
Suddenly, there was a loud grumbling noise. Joe and Gomamon both turned red in the face when they realized that the noise was coming from their own stomachs.
"Sounds like someone's hungry," Chamelamon joked.
"Hold on a second. I got some food right here," Marisa announced as she reached into her pocket and pulled out two small bags of potato chips. "I know it's not much, but you guys need it more than we do."
"Thank you so much, Marisa," Joe confessed as Marisa handed him a bag of chips.
"Yeah, thanks, Marisa," Gomamon added as Marisa gave him the other bag. The two boys ripped open the bags and quickly downed the potato chips as though they hadn't eaten in days.
"That sure hit the spot!" Gomamon admitted with a satisfied sigh.
"Did you guys ever find a way out of here?" Marisa asked.
"No luck so far," Joe reluctantly admitted.
"Don't worry, Joe. Even if we don't find our way out, I know that someone will find us," Marisa revealed.
"How can you be so sure?" Joe asked curiously.
"Well, back up in the swamp, I was with Tai, Kari, Matt, and T.K. before I got separated from them and ended up down here," Marisa explained. "I'm sure they noticed that I'm gone and are looking for me right now."
"That's good to hear," Joe admitted.
"So, what do you think we should do?" Marisa asked.
"We should keep looking for a way out," Joe replied. "I felt a light breeze earlier coming from the lake, so the exit must be on the other side."
"It'll take forever to get to the other side of the lake!" Marisa exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know," Joe admitted. "What we need is a boat."
"I got an even better idea!" Gomamon announced as he jumped into the water. "Gomamon digivolve to...Ikkakumon!"
"That's a great idea!" Joe admitted as he climbed onto Ikkakumon's back. "Ikkakumon can carry us to the other side of the lake, and we'll be out of here in no time!"
"Are you sure Ikkakumon's up to it?" Marisa asked curiously.
"Of course he is! Aren't you, Ikkakumon?" Joe asked his Digimon.
"You bet I am, Joe," Ikkakumon replied.
"Well, okay," Marisa replied as she climbed onto Ikkakumon's back and sat down behind Joe, followed by Chamelamon.
"Hang on, everyone! Here we go!" Ikkakumon announced as he started swimming across the seemingly endless lake...
"MARISA! CHAMAMON!" Tai shouted at the top of his lungs as he walked through the swamp alongside Agumon. In the background, Matt, T.K., Kari, Gabumon, Patamon, and Gatomon were also calling out for the pigtailed girl and her Digimon.
"Marisa! Chamamon! Where are you?" Agumon shouted as he looked around. When Agumon looked down, he spotted some familiar tracks in the mud.
"Hey, Tai! I think I found Marisa's tracks!" Agumon announced. The other kids and their Digimon immediately stopped what they were doing and ran over to where Tai and Agumon were standing.
"These are definitely her tracks," Gabumon admitted.
"So she has to be nearby! MARISA!" T.K. shouted as he broke away from the group and ran further into the swamp, with Patamon flying behind him.
"T.K., wait!" Matt shouted as he ran after his little brother, followed by Gabumon. T.K. was so eager to find Marisa that he didn't notice the tree root sticking out of the ground.
"Look out, T.K.!" Patamon shouted when he saw the tree root in front of T.K. Unfortunately, Patamon's warning came too late.
T.K. let out a startled cry as his foot got caught in the tree root, causing him to fall towards a giant patch of wet sand. Suddenly, T.K. stopped falling just inches away from the wet sand when Matt grabbed T.K. by his backpack.
"You gotta be more careful, T.K.," Matt told his little brother as he pulled him back on the bank.
As Tai and Kari caught up with Matt, T.K., Gabumon, and Patamon, Tai noticed an old wood sign covered with vines a few feet away from the two brothers. Tai pulled the vines off of the sign and gasped slightly when he saw what was written on it.
"It's a good thing Matt caught you when he did, T.K.," Tai muttered out loud as he shook his head.
"Why is that, Tai?" Matt asked curiously.
"Because this sign says 'DANGER: QUICKSAND,' " Tai replied as he reluctantly showed Matt and T.K. the weatherworn sign.
T.K. started to cry when he realized what had happened to Marisa and Chamamon. "Are they...gone?" T.K. reluctantly asked.
"I don't know, T.K. I don't know," Matt whispered with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Just because Marisa's tracks lead to this quicksand doesn't mean that she's gone forever," Kari pointed out.
"It doesn't?" T.K. asked as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
"Marisa could have made it to the other side, couldn't she, Tai?" Kari asked.
"I don't know, Kari. Maybe she did make it across," Tai muttered thoughtfully. Suddenly, the four kids and their Digimon heard some voices coming from the other side of the quicksand pit.
"That could be them! Come on, everyone!" Tai shouted as he ran along the bank of the quicksand pit. Agumon, Kari, Gatomon, Matt, Gabumon, T.K., and Patamon quickly ran after Tai as he followed the sound of the voices.
"Hold it, guys!" Tai whispered loudly as he skidded to a stop.
"Why did you stop?" Matt asked as he, T.K., Kari, and the Digimon caught up with Tai.
"Those voices I heard, they're nearby, but I don't think it's Marisa and Chamamon," Tai reluctantly revealed.
"Maybe it's someone who can help us, Tai," Kari suggested.
"They're coming from behind those bushes," Tai whispered as he, Kari, Matt, T.K., and their Digimon slowly crept up to the bushes.
"Gimme that!" a voice shouted.
"No way! It's mine!" a second voice shouted. Tai silently warned everyone to keep quiet as he slowly parted the bushes with his hands.
When Tai parted the bushes, the four kids and their Digimon could see two familiar Digimon fighting over something. One was a tall, thin green frog-like Digimon with webbed fingers and toes, bugged out eyes, and a yellow musical horn wrapped around his neck. The other was a small purple tadpole-like Digimon with four short legs and a large flat lavender tail.
"It's Gekomon and Otamamon!" Agumon whispered.
"Why are they fighting, Tai?" Kari asked.
"I don't know, Kari. I thought those Digimon were supposed to be friends. Hey!" Tai shouted loudly to the two Digimon.
Gekomon and Otamamon stopped fighting when they heard the familiar voice and turned around. They gasped out of surprise when they saw Tai, Kari, Matt, T.K., and their Digimon.
"Look! It's Tai and Agumon!" Gekomon exclaimed with his slobbering lisp.
"Hi, guys! We haven't seen you in a long time!" Otamamon added.
"Good to see you, too," Tai admitted as he and his friends joined Gekomon and Otamamon.
"What are you two fighting about?" Agumon asked curiously. "I thought you were friends."
"Well, we were taking a shortcut through the swamp when I found this pretty necklace!" Otamamon announced as he showed the four kids the necklace dangling from his neck. Tai, Kari, Matt, and T.K. gasped when they recognized Marisa's tag and crest.
"Where did you find this?" Tai asked curiously.
"It was floating on top of the quicksand, and since I found it, I get to keep it!" Otamamon announced.
"No way, Otamamon! I had to get it, so I should keep it!" Gekomon argued.
"That's not fair! You were the only one who could get it anyway because you have webbed toes!" Otamamon disagreed. "If I tried to get the necklace, I would have sunk like a rock!"
Gekomon and Otamamon looked up at the four kids and their Digimon and were surprised to see them all with sad faces.
"What's wrong?" Otamamon asked curiously.
"Why are you so sad?" Gekomon asked.
"That's not a necklace. It's a tag and crest that belonged to a friend of ours," Tai explained. "She got lost in the swamp and we were looking for her."
"Well, if it belongs to your friend, then we have no right to keep it," Otamamon admitted as he stepped forward and bowed his head down, allowing the tag to slide off his neck and drop to the ground. "You can give this back to your friend when you find her."
"Thanks, guys, but I don't think we'll ever be able to find her," T.K. confessed sadly as tears ran down his face.
"What are you talking about? Your friend is probably wandering around in the underground cave somewhere," Gekomon admitted.
"What underground cave?" Tai asked.
"That quicksand leads to a huge underground cave with an enormous lake," Otamamon explained.
"Then that means Marisa's alive?" T.K. asked with a hint of excitement as he wiped away his tears.
"Yeah...hopefully," Gekomon reluctantly admitted.
"What do you mean, hopefully?" Matt asked a bit suspiciously.
"There's a very dangerous Digimon called Pukumon that lives in the lake. He'll attack anyone who ends up down there," Gekomon explained.
"How powerful is this Pukumon?" Tai asked curiously.
"Very powerful, Tai. He's a Mega Digimon!" Otamamon revealed. The four Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon gasped loudly when they heard this news.
"We gotta help her, Tai!" Kari announced. Tai nodded his head in approval.
"Is the quicksand the only way to get into that cave?" Matt asked curiously.
"Uh-uh. There's a hidden entrance over there," Gekomon replied as he pointed to his left.
"Just follow us!" Otamamon instructed as he and Gekomon ran off into the swamp.
"Come on, guys! Let's go!" Tai shouted as he, Agumon, Kari, Gatomon, Matt, Gabumon, T.K., and Patamon followed Gekomon and Otamamon further into the swamp...
"Can you see anything yet, Joe?" Marisa asked Joe, who was looking over Ikkakumon's head at the water spread out all around them.
"Yeah, Marisa. In fact, I can see the other side now. We're almost there," Joe revealed. Suddenly, Ikkakumon jerked around violently, sending the two kids and Chamelamon to their knees.
"Did you hit something?" Chamelamon asked curiously.
"It's the other way around, Chamelamon! Something hit me!" Ikkakumon remarked.
"What if there's some bad Digimon in the lake?" Joe asked nervously.
As soon as Joe said that, a large round blue fish jumped into the air. The Digimon wore red gloves, complete with steel knuckles covered with sharp spikes, and a steel helmet that was also covered with spikes.
"Why did I have to open my big mouth?" Joe asked with a groan as the Digimon landed back in the water.
"That's Pukumon, a Mega mutant Digimon. He's very dangerous," Chamelamon explained. Just then, Pukumon jumped out of the water again and punched Ikkakumon in the face.
"Are you okay, Ikkakumon?" Joe asked out of concern.
"I'm okay, Joe," Ikkakumon replied as he quickly shook it off.
"Come on, Ikkakumon! Just try and hit me!" Pukumon taunted.
"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon shouted, firing one of his torpedoes at Pukumon. The torpedo struck the Digimon right in the head, but it hardly fazed him.
"Uh-oh!" Ikkakumon gasped as he started to swim as fast as he could to get away from Pukumon. Unfortunately, Pukumon caught up with him and punched him in the face again, leaving a huge red mark on his face.
"What's the matter, blubber boy? Afraid to fight me?" Pukumon asked sarcastically.
"Joe, why isn't Ikkakumon fighting back?" Marisa asked.
"Because Ikkakumon doesn't want to risk getting us hurt," Joe reluctantly admitted.
"Don't worry, I'll take you two to the shore. That way, Ikkakumon and I can fight Pukumon," Chamelamon announced. "Chamelamon digivolve to...Dragomon!"
As soon as she finished digivolving, Dragomon hovered above Ikkakumon and scooped up Joe and Marisa in her arms.
"Hang on, you two!" Dragomon instructed the two children. Marisa and Joe both nodded in agreement as Dragomon headed towards the shore as fast as she could.
"I'll be back soon, Ikkakumon! Until then, hang in there!" Dragomon shouted back to Joe's Digimon, who was doing his best to fight off Pukumon.
"I'll try, Dragomon!" Ikkakumon admitted as he watched Dragomon fly towards the shore in the distance with her two passengers...
"It's gotta be around here somewhere," Gekomon muttered thoughtfully as he and Otamamon looked around the area. The two Digimon had led Tai, Kari, Matt, T.K., and their Digimon to a small clearing in the swamp.
"Don't tell me we're lost!" Matt retorted.
"Okay, we won't tell you that we're lost!" Otamamon replied nonchalantly. The four kids and their Digimon groaned loudly out of disappointment.
"Look! There it is!" Gekomon exclaimed as he pointed at a large tree stump a few yards away from them.
"But that's just an old tree stump," Kari pointed out as Gekomon ran to the tree stump.
"Don't forget: not everything's what it seems in the Digiworld," Otamamon announced as Gekomon pulled on a small twig on the side of the tree stump. The four kids and their Digimon gasped when a small section on the top of the tree stump sprung up like a trap door.
"This is the hidden entrance we told you guys about!" Gekomon admitted. Tai and Agumon approached the tree stump and looked down into the opening.
"It's a long way down," Agumon admitted as they looked at a dark gaping hole leading underground.
"Come on, guys! Let's go!" Gekomon shouted as he jumped into the hole, followed by Otamamon.
"I'll go first, okay?" Tai announced. Matt, T.K., and Kari silently nodded in approval. Tai took in a deep breath as he swung his legs into the gaping hole, while holding on to the edge of the tree stump.
"Okay, here I go!" Tai shouted as he let go of the tree stump and disappeared into the hole.
"Tai, wait for me!" Agumon shouted as he jumped in after his friend. Tai and Agumon found themselves sliding swiftly down a narrow spiraling rock tunnel.
"AHHHH!" Tai and Agumon screamed simultaneously as they sped down the slide. A few seconds later, the tunnel straightened out, and Tai and Agumon found themselves slowing down as they reached an even wider tunnel, where Gekomon and Otamamon were waiting for them.
"You guys okay?" Gekomon asked curiously when he noticed that Tai and Agumon were walking around a bit strangely.
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," Agumon confessed as he held his head.
"Yeah, me, too," Tai admitted as he also held his head.
"Hey, Tai!" Kari shouted, whose voice echoed throughout the tunnel.
"What's going on down there?" Gatomon asked.
"We're fine, Kari!" Tai shouted. "Come on down here!"
"Is it safe?" Kari asked curiously.
"Don't worry, Kari! It's like going down a slide!" Tai shouted.
"Okay, Tai," Kari replied hesitantly. A few moments later, Tai, Agumon, Gekomon, and Otamamon could hear Kari and Gatomon's screams echoing off of the stone walls as they went down the spiraling slide.
"You all right, Kari?" Tai asked as he helped his sister stand up.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Kari replied.
"Gatomon, you don't look so good," Agumon pointed out when he noticed that Gatomon's face was a little green.
"Excuse me, but I think I'm gonna be sick!" Gatomon mumbled weakly as she quickly ran down the tunnel out of everyone's sight with her paw over her mouth.
"Don't hack up a furball, Gatomon!" Tai joked.
"Very funny, Tai," Gatomon retorted.
"WHOOOA!" Matt and Gabumon shouted as they took their turn down the slide.
"WHEE!" T.K. and Patamon shouted as they went down the slide after Matt and Gabumon.
"Wowee! That was fun!" Patamon exclaimed as he flew off of T.K.'s lap after they reached the bottom of the slide.
"Can we go again, Matt?" T.K. asked as Matt helped him stand up.
"Maybe later, T.K.," Matt replied. "Right now, we have to go find Marisa." T.K. nodded his head in approval as the four kids and the six Digimon headed down the tunnel.
"Hey, I just thought of something. How are we going to get out of here after we find Marisa?" Tai asked.
"There's another tunnel that leads back up to the surface," Otamamon explained.
"So why didn't we go that way instead of going down that crazy slide?" Matt asked.
"Well, first of all, the entrance to that tunnel is all the way on the other side of the swamp," Gekomon explained.
"And second, going down the slide is much more fun!" Otamamon added.
"It sure was!" T.K. agreed as he and Patamon both nodded their heads in agreement.
As the group of ten walked down the tunnel, Tai took out his digivice to see if he could pick up Marisa's signal. "That's weird," Tai muttered out loud.
"What's weird, Tai?" Matt asked curiously.
"Either my digivice is broken, or Marisa's not alone," Tai revealed. "I'm picking up two signals."
"Let's hurry up and find out who else is down here," Matt suggested.
The other kids and the Digimon nodded their heads in approval as they all ran down the tunnel. A few minutes later, the group of ten reached a huge underground lake blanketed in mist.
"Which way, Tai?" Matt asked Tai, who was studying his digivice.
"That way!" Tai announced, pointing to his left.
Before they could get moving, T.K. shouted, "Wait!"
"What's the matter, T.K.?" Matt asked.
"I heard something, out there," T.K. revealed as he pointed out at the lake.
Matt, Tai, Kari, and the Digimon looked out at the lake and could see two dark figures fighting each other. Tai took out his mini-telescope and focused it on the two figures in the distance.
"Who is it, Tai?" Kari asked curiously.
"I can't tell...Wait a minute! That looks like Ikkakumon out there!" Tai announced.
"Ikkakumon?" Gabumon repeated.
"Then that means Joe is down here, too," Matt realized.
"Who's Ikkakumon fighting, Tai?" Agumon asked.
"I'm not sure, Agumon," Tai replied as he continued to watch the fight through his mini-telescope. "I've never seen this Digimon before."
"What does he look like, Tai?" Otamamon asked.
"It's this big blue fish with spikes on his head," Tai replied.
"It's Pukumon!" Gekomon and Otamamon gasped simultaneously.
"Lookit! There's Dragomon!" T.K. announced as he pointed at the dragon-type Digimon flying towards the battle.
"If what you guys said about Pukumon is true, then Ikkakumon and Dragomon are gonna need our help!" Tai muttered out loud.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Matt asked. "Let's go!"
"Right!" Tai agreed as he, Kari, Matt, T.K., and the six Digimon ran down the bank...
"Please hurry, Dragomon! Ikkakumon needs your help!" Marisa shouted as she stood on the bank with Joe. Dragomon nodded her head as she made her way back towards Ikkakumon and Pukumon.
"Inferno Blast!" Dragomon shouted. Pukumon became engulfed in the blast of fire from Dragomon's attack.
"Thanks for the help, Dragomon," Ikkakumon admitted.
"You'll have to do better than that to take out Pukumon!" Pukumon shouted as he jumped out of the ball of fire unscathed. "Needle Squall!"
Pukumon inflated himself like a blowfish until he was well over triple his size, with several long blue needles poking out of his skin. In an instant, Pukumon quickly deflated himself, releasing all of the needles at Dragomon and Ikkakumon, striking them all over their bodies.
"This is not good!" Joe reluctantly admitted. "Ikkakumon and Dragomon can't stop Pukumon on their own! He's too powerful!"
"Maybe they can. Dragomon, digivolve!" Marisa shouted. Joe gave Marisa a surprised look.
"What? Dragomon can digivolve to Ultimate?" Joe asked out of shock.
"Yes, she can, Joe. Dragomon digivolved to Metal Dragomon just yesterday," Marisa admitted.
"Something's wrong, Marisa! I can't digivolve!" Dragomon revealed as she tried to digivolve with no luck.
I don't get it, Joe. Dragomon should be able to digivolve," Marisa muttered to herself with a frown. She looked down for a moment and gasped when she saw that she was missing something.
"Oh, no! My tag and crest are gone! I must have lost them in the quicksand!" Marisa gasped loudly.
"This is bad, this is really bad," Joe muttered nervously as he shook his head. Suddenly, Pukumon jumped up high in the air and slugged Dragomon hard in the face.
"Dragomon, no!" Marisa cried out as she watched her Digimon fall towards the water.
Before hitting the water, Dragomon became bathed in a white light and de-digivolved back to Chamelamon. The little lizard-type Digimon hit the water with a loud splash. Chamelamon came back up to the surface of the water, flailing her legs about as she struggled to stay afloat.
"Hang on, Chamelamon!" Marisa shouted. "We gotta do something, Joe! Chamelamon's so weak that she can't even swim back to shore."
"Ikkakumon, you have to help Chamelamon!" Joe shouted to his Digimon.
"I'm a little busy, Joe!" Ikkakumon shouted as he barely dodged one of Pukumon's punches. Suddenly, to Marisa and Joe's surprise, a flying figure skimmed over the surface of the water and scooped up Chamelamon in his arms.
"What was that?" Joe asked.
"I don't know, but it looked kinda familiar," Marisa muttered thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I think I've seen that Digimon before, too," Joe admitted.
Marisa and Joe carefully took a couple of steps back when they saw the Digimon that saved Chamelamon flying towards them. As the Digimon landed on the bank, Joe and Marisa gasped slightly when they recognized the angel-type Digimon.
"Angemon!" the two children exclaimed.
"I believe this belongs to you, Marisa," Angemon announced as he gently handed a soaked Chamelamon to Marisa.
"Thanks, Angemon," Marisa replied.
"If Angemon is here, then that means..." Joe muttered thoughtfully.
Joe was suddenly interrupted by Tai shouting, "Marisa! Joe! Over here!"
Marisa and Joe looked up and smiled a bit when they saw their friends and their Digimon running towards them, along with Gekomon and Otamamon.
"Hey, guys!" Joe greeted happily.
"Hey, Joe. Hey, Marisa," Tai greeted as he, Kari, Matt, T.K., and the six Digimon reached Joe and Marisa.
"Thanks so much, T.K. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would have happened to Chamelamon," Marisa admitted as she bent down and gave T.K. a hug.
"That's okay, Marisa. I was glad to help," T.K. replied as Marisa let go of him.
"Speaking of help, I better get back out there and help Ikkakumon!" Angemon announced as he flew back over the lake towards the ongoing battle.
"I'll help out, too, Angemon!" Gatomon shouted.
"Count me in, too!" Gabumon added. "Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!"
"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!"
"We're coming, Ikkakumon!" Garurumon shouted as he jumped into the water and swam towards Ikkakumon and Pukumon, followed by Angewomon flying overhead.
"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.
"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted.
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted.
The three attacks struck Pukumon simultaneously, causing a massive column of water to shoot up in the air. When the column of water came crashing back down, Pukumon was nowhere in sight.
"Thanks for the help," Ikkakumon admitted as he looked up at Garurumon, Angemon, and Angewomon.
"Don't thank us just yet, Ikkakumon," Angewomon announced as she pointed at a patch of bubbles coming up to the surface. The four Digimon gasped when Pukumon jumped out of the water.
"You fools will never defeat me! Globefish Poison!" Pukumon shouted. He spat out several dark violet-gray bubbles at Ikkakumon, Garurumon, Angemon, and Angewomon.
"Ahh! My eyes!" Ikkakumon shouted out of pain as two of the bubbles struck him in the eyes.
"Those bubbles have poison in them! Watch out!" Angemon shouted as he and Angewomon flew out of the way of the poisonous bubbles, while Garurumon dove underwater to avoid the toxic bubbles.
"Look out, Ikkakumon!" Angewomon shouted when she saw Pukumon sneaking up on the blinded Digimon.
"Where is he? I can't see him!" Ikkakumon shouted as he turned his head back and forth.
All of a sudden, Ikkakumon was punched hard in the face by Pukumon's fist, causing him to fall backwards into the water, hitting it with a huge splash.
"No! Ikkakumon!" Joe shouted. Suddenly, at that moment, Joe's Digimon became engulfed in a brilliant white light.
"Ikkakumon digivolve to...Zudomon!"
"Whoa!" Marisa gasped slightly as she stared out at the enormous gray walrus-type Digimon standing in the water where Ikkakumon once was. He had bright red-orange fur covering his paws, long white claws, a jagged white horn on top of his head, and a huge dark green turtle shell with spikes on his back. Zudomon also carried a massive metal hammer in his paw.
"Let's get him, guys! Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon shouted. He took his massive hammer and slammed it hard in the water, creating a beam of yellow energy.
"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted.
"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted. All four attacks struck Pukumon simultaneously, creating a huge explosion in the water.
"That did it!" Zudomon admitted.
"Then again, maybe not!" Garurumon announced as Pukumon came back up to the surface.
"You may have won this battle, but I'll be back!" Pukumon proclaimed as he dove back underwater and disappeared.
"Oh, no! He escaped!" Zudomon complained.
"I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of him!" Garurumon growled...
"Are we there yet?" Tai asked a bit impatiently as he and his friends continued to follow Gekomon and Otamamon down a dark tunnel.
"Just a little bit further, Tai," Gekomon replied. As the five kids and the seven Digimon walked down the tunnel, they noticed that the tunnel was getting lighter.
"There's the way out!" Otamamon announced as they soon reached an opening leading into a forest.
"It's good to be back on solid ground!" Joe admitted as he left the tunnel with the other kids and Digimon. Following closely behind Joe was a small gray Digimon that looked like a small seal with a white belly, blue eyes, and a spurt of bright red-orange hair sticking up on top of his head.
"What do you think, Bukamon?" Joe asked the small gray Digimon.
"Couldn't agree with you more, Joe?" Bukamon agreed as he took in a deep breath of air.
"Excuse me, Gekomon, Otamamon, but do you know the way back to that quicksand pit?" Marisa asked curiously. "I lost something back there."
"You talking about this, Marisa?" Matt asked as he pulled Marisa's tag and crest out of his pocket. Marisa gasped slightly when she saw that Matt had the tag and crest that she lost back in the swamp.
"Thank you so much, Matt!" Marisa replied as she took her tag and crest back from Matt and put it around her neck.
"You should be thanking Gekomon and Otamamon, Marisa. They're the ones who found it," Matt admitted.
"Thanks, Gekomon and Otamamon," Marisa told the two Digimon.
"You two helped us out a lot today," Tai added. "We couldn't have found Marisa and Joe without you."
"Thanks, Tai!" Gekomon admitted as his cheeks turned red with embarrassment, along with Otamamon.
"We were just glad that we could help you guys out," Otamamon announced.
"We better get going, Otamamon," Gekomon revealed. "It's getting late. This swamp can be spooky at night."
"We should get going, too," Joe suggested a bit nervously. "I don't want to stay here for another minute!" The other kids and Digimon laughed a bit.
"I guess we can't blame you for that, Joe," Marisa agreed.
"Well, we better go now. Goodbye, Gekomon! Goodbye, Otamamon!" Tai shouted as he and his friends waved to the two Digimon before they left...TO BE CONTINUED