Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, but the children are my creation. Now let us rejoin the group a little bit after DemiFalcomon joined...
Digimon X: Game 7-Mountain Madness
By DigiScanner-Shonen
It's been about three days since we found Erin's partner and were given directions to Digitropolis. The journey there hasn't been so good. We've had to fend off against a couple of Digimon trying to attack us. Bearmon has had few supplies to cook with so we're hungry most of the time. Not to mention all the fights Charlie and I have, the stupid baka...
And don't tell anyone, but I haven't the slightest idea where we are.
Oh no, don't get me wrong, I know where we are. At least in the large sense. We're in, as the Digimon call it, the Digital World. To me and the others I lead, the others being Leah, Jake, Erin and Charlie, it's Digimon X, a video game we have been trapped in after winning a contest to be the first to play it. Upon coming here, we've had to find our partners (our own Digimon we raised back home) and fend off other Digimon seeking to harm us or other Digimon who help us. After finding Erin's partner, we received directions to go to Digitropolis, the big Digimon city, where there, we hope, we'll find some clues on why we were brought here and how we can get home.
At the moment, we're climbing the Hito Mountains, a large area with many high, rocky mountains. We just started climbing twenty minutes ago and I don't think we're even a tenth of the way up. We're all clinging together as we climb slowly upward, with me and Flamon in front, of course. Jake is holding onto my vest, Erin's behind him, encouraging him, Charlie is behind her and Leah is at the back, much to my dismay. If I had the choice, she'd be up here behind me instead of at the back, but she insisted that she and Labramon watch the back and in case she finds anything I missed, informs me immediately.
I grunt as I pull myself up onto another stepping stone, hoping the others will copy my pattern of scaling. I've rock-climbed once or twice after Grandpa signed me up for it and know the basics. It's too bad I just don't have any rope or cables to hold the others or me up. One slip and it's all over as we fall back down, with Leah being the first to suffer.
No! I won't let that happen to her or the others!
"Leah! Do you see anything?" I call to her as I continue my ascent to the top.
"Yes!" she calls back, "There's a large flat rock about one fifth of the way up the mountain!"
"How far?"
"I'd estimate we'd be there in forty minutes if we hurry!" she replies and everyone groans at how much farther we have to go.
"How long and strong is it?"
"Long enough for us to all fit and strong enough to hold all our weight!"
"All right, we'll rest there! Come on, everybody!" I urge them on and we continue to climb.
I started counting how many rocks I passed as we started up the mountain earlier to make the trek seem shorter. I lost track when I asked Leah what she saw. No matter now, I think, it's not like it's important.
"Hey Tucker?" Jake asks me.
"Yeah?"
"Can we play a game?"
"Sure, what do you want to play?" I say as I grab another rock and pull myself up.
"I Spy?"
"Yeah, sure. But I'd rather not play now, Jake. I'm the head of the line, it's my job to find which stones are good to climb on and I can't be distracted. Play with Erin or Betamon or somebody else right now."
"Oh, okay," Jake says, "Erin, you go first."
The game is just one spying a rock after another. At least it makes the time go faster. Sometime after Labramon spied yet another rock, we made it to the large rock Leah saw. We all pull each other up onto the rock and just rest for now. Jake and Betamon are looking across the area. Erin and DemiFalcomon are lying on their backs, eyes closed. Charlie and Bearmon are thinking up recipes for us to eat with what we have. Leah and Labramon are looking at the mountain and thinking about, well whatever really smart people think about. I tell Flamon to look after Jake for a moment as I go over to Leah.
"Hey," I tell her.
"Hey, Tucker," she replies.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm just trying to calculate how far up the mountain is, how long it would take us to reach the top, what might be up there...you know. Those kind of things."
"Labramon any help?"
"I'm helping just fine, thank you!" Labramon says indignantly, "Although my brain does hurt thinking about it..."
"That's okay," Leah places her hand on her partner's shoulder and reassures him, "You can just look like you're helping if it's too much for you."
"All right," he says.
"Never was a smart person," I say to Leah walking so I was beside her looking up at the mountain, "Never could understand figures and numbers and how they match up into data and stuff like that. But I always did kind of admire how others could understand and apply those things."
"Admire?" Leah asks.
"Yeah. I kinda like smart people," I say quietly as I look at her and all the things I like about her. Then I say even quieter, "That's one of the reasons I like you so much."
She looks at me suddenly and says, "What?"
"What? What's with the 'what?'"
"You said something."
"I did? What did I say?" I ask as I can feel my cheeks burn hot as I think she may have heard what I said about her.
"You said something about..."
"About what?"
"Never mind. It's nothing important," she says and we remain silent for a moment as we look to the ground. Did she hear what I said about me liking her? I hope not. Maybe she did. Does she hate me? Or do I think she hates me? Or does she think I think she hates me? Or is it the other way around? I can't take the silence. I turn to ask her, but she then looks up at the mountain and says, "Okay, I think I know how much farther we are to the top. If we want to get there before dark, we need to start climbing again now."
"I'll go rise the others," I say as I begin to leave.
"Tucker?"
"Yeah?" I freeze, turn around and wait for what she has to say. Maybe she's going to say she hates me. I brace myself for what she is about to say.
"Understanding stuff like this is harder than you think," she smiles at me and I blush a little. I turn to get the others and breathe a sigh of relief when I have my back turned to her.
I really could have sworn she heard me then.
It's twenty minutes later and we're again climbing the mountain. Leah tells me that we're about a quarter of the way up. Jeez, how big IS this mountain?
Man, doing this is exhausting. I'm getting tired and my vision begins to swoon. I haven't eaten yet, so it gets worse since as my stomach growling joins to increase my fatigue. I need sleep. I need food. But I have to keep going. To make sure we all get to the top.
I reach for the next rock and grab it. I begin to swoon as well and I don't think I can keep my grip. I make the mistake of looking down and immediately see a long drop from where we are. Fear grips me and my grip loosens a bit. Now with this added, I don't think I can stay awake and hold on.
"Tucker!!" Erin screams.
"What's going on?" Jake asks.
"Come on, Takeyama! Don't let go or we'll all take the plunge!" Charlie yells at me.
"Tucker, please! Stay conscious!" Leah tells me.
"You can do it Tucker!" Flamon assures me, "Don't give up!"
Right. I can't let go. The others are counting on me. I harden my grip and begin climbing again. Soon after, I reach another rock. I pull myself onto it, but I push a little against it. Before I know, it, the rock has moved inward, vanishing from my feel and I'm left hanging by a previous rock.
"Waaahhh!!" I scream as I clutch my rock with my hand. I see the ground again and feel the fear again.
"Tucker!!" the others all scream.
I'm shaking now and my mind's a panic. I never told anyone this, but my greatest fear is heights. It all started back with the rock-climbing lessons at the mall. I was kind of stubborn back then and when they offered the ropes, I didn't take any and thought I was good enough without them. I was almost at the top and I was so proud of myself then. I would be the first kid to reach the top without any ropes. I reached for a hold and my foot must've slipped because the next thing I knew was that I was looking to the ground and how it was so far down. Even though I knew it was an artificial training wall, I was still scared. I tried to grab another hold, but my hand wouldn't move since I was looking down. One of the instructions actually came up and got me down before I hurt myself. After that, I refused to climb anything except stairs again.
Why was I climbing this mountain after that experience, especially since I was at the front? To show Charlie I was brave and I was able to be leader? To impress Leah? To gain the others' approval? No. It was because I wanted to go home and one of the many obstacles I'd face was this mountain.
This would probably be my last obstacle if I didn't snap out of this fear.
"Tucker! Look!" Leah yells and I snap out of it temporarily. I look around and see a kind of entrance above where the rock I held was. It looked large enough to stand up and walk through. I had to reach it. It was my only way out of here.
I begin climbing again, thinking only of reaching that entrance. Closer, closer, I think. I'm almost there. I reach for the ledge and pull myself onto it. I soon help the others up and we're all there. I think of what might've happened had Leah not called me to this entrance. I pant and shake as I breathe in to calm myself.
"Hey guys!" Flamon calls as he looks further into this hole, "This looks like it goes deep into the mountain."
"Well then, who's up for a little spleunking?" Charlie asks the others, "You up for some cave exploration, Takeyama? Or should I take it from here?"
I heard what he said. "No way, Charlie!" I say I get back up immediately, "I'll keep leading, thank you. Come on, let's go."
The cave seems more a tunnel than an actual cave as we go through, following Flamon's fire.
"Tucker, why did you freak out back there?" Flamon asks me. I tell him why I freaked the way I did. He replies, "Oh? It must've really killed you to do something like that."
"Yeah, it did," I admit, "Hey Flamon? What's your biggest fear?"
"Mine? Hmm..." he thinks for a minute, "Digimon don't really have fears, I think. But I do have one big fear."
"What's that?"
"Being unable to protect my partner when he is in danger. And not being with him when he needs me. Wait, does that count as two fears?" Flamon asks.
"I guess, but it's okay buddy," I say as I bop him gently on the noggin, "Don't worry, you won't ever be unable to protect me. I promise that I'll stick with you forever."
"And I promise that I'll stick with you forever, Tucker," Flamon smiles. We ram fists as a show of friendship, sealing the promise.
The ceiling seems to get farther away just a couple minutes after we begin walking through. Flamon's light reveals why. There's a kind of track, with carts at where we are. There are a couple of decent sized carts just a few feet away.
"Cool! Mine carts!" Jake exclaims.
"'Mine carts'?" Betamon wonders, "What's a mine cart?"
"It's something you transport supplies in. It follows a kind of railroad track which directs the cart where to go," Leah explains.
"Oh yeah! I remember!" Bearmon says, "The Hito Mountains are famous for not only their splendour and majesty, but for their mines as well! In fact, many things we Digimon need come from these mines!"
"Where do you think the cart goes?" Erin asks.
"There's only one way to find out!" I tell her as I move toward the carts, "Come on!"
"Takeyama, how do you know those things are safe? And what about why they're down here in the first place?" Charlie asks me.
"Look, there's probably no other way up. It probably leads to the top of the mountain and there is no way I'm going back out on the mountainside again! And besides, it's an adventure! You're supposed to take risks like this in a game."
"But it's not a game, Tucker," Leah tells me, "It's reality! What if Charlie's right? What if something bad happens?"
"Look, do you all want to go home or not? This could be a way to the other side of the mountain. The closer we get to the end of this area, the closer we are to Digitropolis and finding a way home. Now are you with me or not?"
The others all look at each other. There's silence for a moment and then they all agree.
"All right! Let's do it!" I cheer. We pile into the carts. Flamon, Leah, Labramon and I are in the first cart. Jake, Betamon, Erin and DemiFalcomon are in the second and Charlie and Bearmon have a cart to themselves. We wait for something to happen, but nothing does.
"How do you start this thing?" Jake asks.
"There's probably a switch somewhere which gets the carts to move up," Bearmon informs us, "Maybe it's outside the carts."
"I'll go check," I say as I hop out of the head cart to look for some kind of switch. I see some kind of button on one of the tunnel walls. "Ah, here it is!"
I push it and the carts start moving. I quickly hop back into my cart with Leah, Labramon and Flamon and can't wait for what's going to happen next. The carts creak forward on the track. They start slowly moving upward, climbing like a snail up a small hill. Then, they start moving faster upwards. Faster and faster they go. We turn left, then right, then right again, then left as we go faster and upwards more. We zigzag like this a couple more times and then we come to a kind of elevator, which lifts us up a few meters and we continue to move up, going left and right. We begin to see Digimon mining with pickaxes, shovels and even their own hands and claws as we pass. Drimogemons, Elecmons, Ogremons, Golemons. We see quite a few more as the carts slowly begin to slow as we come up a big hill. Soon, we reach the top and the carts stop. We get out and start to look around. The room is quite wide, with a high ceiling and a couple of rocky walls. It's big enough so you can hear your echo.
"Wow! This place is huge!" I remark.
"Yeah, it sure is," Flamon agrees.
"Hey! You there!" a voice cries out and all the Digimon who are mining come to surround us.
"Uh oh!"
"What business do you have in the Hito Mines?" the voice asks as its owner comes forward. It's a Tortomon. I pull out my D-Coder and analyse the Digimon. His data comes up on a screen.
"Tortomon, a Vaccine Reptile Champion Digimon. His Spinning Attack and Strong Carapace will make your head spin if you tick him off!" I read from the D-Coder's information. I put it away and put my hands up and walk forward saying, "We mean you no harm. My name's Tucker Takeyama and these are my friends. We're trying to get to the next area, but to do that we have to come over the Hito Mountains."
"Then you should have gone OVER the Mountains, not through them!" Tortomon voice booms, "Anyone who dares come into the mines without permission granted shall suffer the consequences! Prepare to meet your doom, Tucker Takeyama!" Tortomon retracts into his shell and begins to spin rapidly. Flamon gets in front of me, ready to defend the others and me.
"Wait, Tortomon!" One of the miner Digimon say, "Maybe they can help us!"
"We need no help from outsiders! We are fine on our own!" Tortomon says.
"All of out attempts so far have failed! Maybe with these new Digimon, we can succeed!"
Tortomon thinks this for a minute as he spins. He stops spinning and comes out of his shell. "Fine, we'll give them a chance to help us. Should they fail, I shall take them all out, starting with Tucker Takeyama!"
"Thank you!" I say, "But who are you?"
The Digimon who defended us comes forth and reveals himself. It looks like a small cat with tiger stripes on it's tail, back, arms, and a bit of the front, brown glove paws and yellow eyes. "I am Mikemon, one of the head miners here in the Hito Mines," the Digimon introduces himself.
Erin pulls out her D-Coder and reads Mikemon's information. "Mikemon, a Champion Data Beast Digimon. You don't want to cross this kitty's path with its Cat Claw and Meatball Punch attacks!"
"Ah!" Mikemon says as kind of does a double take looking at us, "DigiVices, tamed Digimon, creatures who are not Digimon, but are from another world! You must be the DigiDestined!"
"The Digi-who?" I ask.
"The DigiDestined! The prophesied ones who will come to the Digital World to help right its many wrongs!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Leah waves her hands in the air, "We're not the DigiDestined! We came here by accident! We're just trying to get home!"
"But you must be!" Mikemon insists.
"We're not prophesied heroes or hardcore warriors or anything! I doubt any of us, especially Takeyama, has the ability to save a world," Charlie adds.
"Hey! I could save the world!" I reply indignantly.
Charlie snorts. "Sure you could, Takeyama."
"To prove it, we're going to help these Digimon with their problem! Especially me! I'm gonna make you eat those words, Charlie!" I clench my fists and glare at him. How I HATE this guy!
"Please, save your fighting spirit for later, for we have much to do!" Mikemon tells us as he signals for us to follow him. We comply and he leads us further up the tunnel.
"Many days ago, a large and powerful Golemon came to the Hito Mountains," Mikemon explains to us, "He demanded that we mine for him. We at first refused to mine for such a bad Digimon, but he threatens our families and demands that we do so or he'll ruin our business and bring down the Hito Mountains, starting with this one!"
"How can one Digimon bring down a bunch of mountains?" DemiFalcomon asks.
"He is larger and stronger than other Golemon. Some say he is an Ultimate in Champion form!"
"So what you want us to do is bring down Golemon so he won't bring down the mountains and destroy your families," Leah says.
"Yes! That is exactly it."
"Why would he want all of you to mine only for him?" Charlie wonders.
"Did you forget the many minerals that come here that are essential to a Digimon's life? He must be using all of it to power himself up!" Bearmon answers.
"When does he come here?" Erin asks.
"He comes here around lunchtime to check on how we're doing and to bring back some more minerals to his domain," Mikemon says.
"So he comes here around lunchtime to bring back the minerals. I wonder..." Leah begins.
"Wonder what?" I ask, "Do you have a plan?"
"Maybe...yes! But we're going to need everyone's help to pull this off."
"Sweet! So what's the plan?"
The plan is that when Golemon comes in for his daily retrieval, Mikemon will say they have nothing. When Golemon gets angry and tries to crush Mikemon, Mikemon will lead him to the mine carts, where Erin, DemiFalcomon, Charlie and Bearmon will be hiding. They'll launch a small attack in order for Golemon's back to be turned against us. When it looks like they'll be defeated, Jake and Betamon will splash water on him and he'll be weakened temporarily. Then Leah, Seasarmon and the miner Digimon will fight him and Agunimon will deliver the final blow. Ooh, this sounds like fun!
I can hear Golemon yelling at Mikemon now as Flamon and I hide with Leah and Seasarmon in one of the mine carts close to where Golemon will come from. I can hear Leah breathing slowly, trying to calm herself with deep breaths. I can't understand why she'd do that when I'm the one all excited about what we're going to do.
"Leah?" I ask her.
"What, Tucker?"
"Are you having second thoughts about this?"
"No. Of course not...well, maybe."
"Don't worry, it'll work. I trust you on stuff like this. After all, you're a smart person."
"It's one of the things you like about me so much, right?" she asks.
I freeze, awkward on what to say. She heard me back when I was talking to her when we were resting outside the mountain! Oh, man!
"Uh, yeah," I quietly admit.
"Well, Tucker, you're stubborn, initiative, a bit dense and somewhat bold," she tells me. Am I supposed to take that as an insult? Then she adds, "That's a couple of the things I like about you."
My heart beats faster. She likes me back? As a friend, a leader or something more? I'm about to ask her when Mikemon and Golemon come charging in.
"I'll teach you to not give me what I want!" Golemon's voice screams as he raises his fist. Leah gives a swift motion to Charlie, Erin and their partners as they come out from behind the cart.
"There's no way we're going to let you do this to this poor Digimon!" Erin defends as DemiFalcomon hops off her shoulder and gets ready to fight.
"Prepare yourself for a world of hurt, buddy!" Charlie taunts as Bearmon strikes a kind of battle pose. Both Charlie and Erin take out their D- Coders and hold them in front of them.
"DIGIVOLVE!!" they yell and the D-Coders glow.
"Bearmon Digivolve to..." A mountain of rocks surround Bearmon as he glows.
"DemiFalcomon Digivolve to..." A small typhoon engulfs a glowing DemiFalcomon.
There's an bright light coming from within the rock pile and the tornado which holds still for a few seconds before the rocks and wind burst outward and two Champion Digimon now stand before Golemon.
"Grizzmon!!"
"Falcomon!!"
"Humph! You'll be the first to suffer! Rock Punch!!" Golemon thrusts his fist forward into Grizzmon, but he manages to evade.
"Grizzly Slash!!" Grizzmon slashes at Golemon, but it does no effect.
"Falcon Striker!!" Falcomon zooms into Golemon, but it equally does no damage.
"Ha ha ha! You thought that could work? My armour is as thick as a rock! It brings up my defensive power! Do you honestly think attacking me like that could stop me?" Golemon taunts.
"No, but this will!" Jake yells as he and Betamon run behind the attacking Digimon, "Go Betamon!"
"Water Tower!!" Betamon shoots a stream of water at Golemon's back.
"AAARRRGGGHHH!!!" Golemon shouts as he falls to his knees and grips his back in pain.
"NOW!!" Leah yells as the rest of us charge in to fight Golemon. There are claws flying and beams firing as all the Digimon dish out payback against Golemon. It seems like we're going to win, but Golemon manages to repel some of the attacks.
"Sulphur Fume!!" Golemon jets out a purple mist out of the holes in his back and it strikes all who are near him. I still haven't moved from my spot, so Flamon and I are shielded by the cart's size. The others inhale the fumes and become paralysed.
"Can't...move..." Mikemon mutters as he is stuck on his back on the floor.
"Forgot that...Sulphur Fume...paralyses as well as damages..." Leah notes, "Why didn't I...remember before we...did this?"
"HA HA HA HA!! Who else dares stand against the mighty Golemon?" Golemon roars defiantly, "Who dare rise up against me now?"
"We do!" I yell as Flamon and I jump out from behind the cart, "You're not going to get away with hurting our friends!"
"Oh really? And you are supposed to stop me?"
"No...but he is!" I point at Flamon, who gets into a fighting stance, "Get 'im, Flamon!"
Flamon charges into action. First he tries a Flame Fist, but its no use. Then he tries a couple of kicks, it still doesn't do anything.
"Come on, Flamon!" I cheer my partner on. I then feel something grab my leg. I turn around and see the others, all struggling to move. Charlie is holding onto my leg.
"Tucker...get out of here..." Leah pants.
"We failed...you have to escape..." Erin agrees.
"We were foolish to try...and stop this guy..." Jake adds.
"Why do this...Takeyama?" Charlie asks.
"We all agreed to help these Digimon become free and stop Golemon from destroying the mountain," I tell them.
"It's impossible to stop...Golemon..." Mikemon tells me, "We should never have...tried..."
"Maybe we were...meant to serve him..." Tortomon agrees.
I look at all the Digimon and the others, all paralysed and weak. "No! It's not impossible to stop a Digimon, just difficult. We have to find his weak point, so we can defeat him! You tried to stop him many times and failed. You recruited us to help you stop him once and for all and now you're just giving up? A Digimon never gives up! I know this from personal experience and training with Flamon back home. I've lost a lot of battles, but I didn't give up and neither did Flamon! He and I will stop Golemon in his tracks permanently or we'll die trying! I will not give up!!" I explain as I reach for my D-Coder, which glows fiercely, "Flamon!!"
Flamon looks over from the fight with Golemon to look at me. Golemon also stops for a moment to look at me.
"Kick his butt! DIGIVOLVE!!" I thrust my DigiVice in front of me and it sends its light to Flamon, who absorbs it and glows brightly.
"Flamon Digivolve to..." A giant whirlpool of fire envelops my partner as a light shines from within, forcing me to shield my eyes. It holds for a few seconds before it fades and the fire bursts outwards and reveals, "Agunimon!!"
"So you Digivolved, huh? No big deal. I'll still destroy you! Rock Punch!!" Golemon launches a fist at Agunimon.
"Pyro Punch!!" Agunimon launches his own fist at Golemon. The fists clash and it causes both Digimon to fly back. Agunimon and Golemon both land on their feet.
"Rock Ball!!" Golemon reaches into the very earth itself and pulls out a gigantic rock and tosses it at Agunimon, "Can you escape that, Agunimon? HA HA HA!!"
"Pyro Darts!!" Agunimon launches flaming darts at the rock ball which do no damage to it and it keeps coming. It lands on Agunimon and he's forced into the ground. He can't move and it looks like he's out of the fight.
"What a pathetic attempt! I'm going to squash you just like a Bugmon before I move onto your friend and those other ones that defied me!" Golemon taunts as he moves closer towards me and I inch away.
I gotta get him away from the others, but how? I ask myself. I look around frantically. There! A tunnel which shines light!
"Hey, Rock Head!" I call him, "Follow me if you wanna destroy me!" I immediately run for the tunnel with Golemon not far behind me. I run like there's no tomorrow. About a minute of running later, I'm met with the end of the tunnel, which drops out to the outside. I look out, judging from the height, I'm pretty close to the top.
"No one calls me a 'Rock Head'!" I hear Golemon coming from the tunnel.
I quickly grab the edge and start climbing again. I just hope I don't look down. Don't look down, don't look down, I tell myself. You have to do this to save the others. I continue to climb for a couple minutes. I pause for a moment and look down below to see if Golemon's behind me. Although I'm scared by the tremendous height I'm at, he's not there. I'm still ahead of him.
"Phew!" I breathe a sigh of relief, but I sigh too soon as Golemon's hands reach out from the mountain, one on each side of me. They clamp me and hold me down to the mountain. I see Golemon's head emerge.
"You honestly think you could escape me? I, who can bend the soil to my will? Ha! To me, you're nothing but a pathetic little Bugmon that I can squish easily," he taunts as he pulls me closer into the mountain. I feel immense pain from both the pressing of the mountain and Golemon's hands. I feel the rock cut into my skin. I scream and he just laughs, "After I'm done with you, I'm going to finish off your little friends! HA HA HA HA!!"
At that moment, Agunimon bursts from the left side of me as rock falls to the ground. He's holding onto a strong rock as he leans outwards. Both Golemon and I gasp.
"No one hurts Tucker! Pyro Darts!!" Agunimon launches more flaming darts and they hit Golemon's arms. He screams in pain and has to pull himself back into the mountain, but in doing so he releases me and I begin to fall.
"TUCKER!!" Agunimon screams as I fall downwards. He leaps off the cliff and grabs my leg. I pull him into a big hug.
"Agunimon! I thought you were out of the fight," I say as we fall.
"You conquered your fear of heights, so I had to conquer my fear of not being able to protect my partner," Agunimon tells me.
"Agunimon..." I feel something warm fly from my eyes, "I guess we're going down together." I smile faintly.
"Yeah," he agrees, "But there's no one I'd rather go down with."
I grip him tightly, close my eyes and wait for the ground to meet us. I feel a quick bump and decide that this must be death. I open my eyes and see Erin's back facing me.
"Erin?! What are you..." I begin to ask.
"Saving you, of course," she smiles and pats what carries us, "Good job, Falcomon. Let's get them back to the others."
We're flying on Falcomon? I look out and see the large wings flap as Erin, Agunimon and I head back towards the entrance where I came from. I get off and thank both of them.
"Let's go finish Golemon off!" I crack my knuckles and we head off to meet the others. Golemon is back there and Leah and the others are fending him off.
"Tucker!" she exclaims as her eyes light up and her mouth opens in a wide smile, "I thought you were..."
"Me too, but we'll talk later," I assure her, "Agunimon, get back in there!"
"Right!" Agunimon and Falcomon head off and join in the attack to bring Golemon down.
"Jake! Get Betamon to spill all the water he can!" I order Jake.
"Got it! Betamon, think you can do it?" Jake asks his partner.
"Let me answer that for you! Water Tower!!" Betamon's Water Tower attack is not just a power stream now, no, it's like a giant wave that splashes over Golemon, weakening him quite nicely.
"ARGH!!" he screams in agony.
"Now, let's try this again. Agunimon, finish him off!" I command my partner.
"Can do! Everyone step back!" Agunimon demands and everyone does. Golemon tries to get up, but he falls back down.
"You can't do this to me! You wouldn't!" Golemon pleads desperately.
"Oh, but I would! This is for harming my partner! PYRO TORNADO!!" Agunimon begins to whirl around, faster and faster, until a giant tornado of fire emanates from his body and it heads for Golemon.
"No! NO! NNNOOOO!!!" Golemon cries as the attack consumes him and he is deleted. Golemon's data flies around where he once was and everyone cheers.
"Yeah-hah!! Boom, bab-ee!" I cheer and my DigiVice activates and a voice comes from it. I hold it up to hear it better.
"Possible Data Capture for new Data. Do you wish to absorb the data?" it asks me in an electronic female voice.
"Sure! How do I do it?" I ask.
"'Data Capture, Activate'," it responds.
"All right!" I hold out my D-Coder and command, "Data Capture, Activate!" Golemon's data flies into the corner of my DigiVice where it looks like a hole where something fits. I then realise it's a scanner! Soon, all of Golemon's data is collected.
"Data Capture is complete," the Digivice informs me and I see Golemon's data on the screen, "Data Captured Digimon can also be used for additional power."
"Awesome!" I cheer again as Agunimon comes towards me and I look up to face him. I smile, saying, "Great job, partner."
"You didn't so bad yourself, partner," Agunimon smiles back and De- Digivolves back to Flamon.
"I'm keeping my promise forever, Flamon."
"Same here, Tucker."
We both smile and the others all come and gather around us.
"Tucker, that was incredible!" Erin says.
"Too cool!" Jake adds.
"I'm so happy you're okay," Leah says and hugs me. I blush as I hug her back, "I thought we'd lost you."
"You can't lose me that easily," I assure her. I turn to Charlie, "Hey Charlie! What do you think of that?"
He looks away quickly and then looks back with, what I think is, a very slight smile. "You did okay back there, Takeyama."
I grin big and all the Digimon congratulate me.
"Nice job, kid," Tortomon says simply and raises his foot to give me a kind of pat on the shoulder, but since he's so big, I fall over a bit, "You're okay."
"How can we, the miner Digimon of the Hito Mountains, every repay you for what you've done for us?" Mikemon asks.
"Well, you could show us the way to the next area," I suggest.
"Of course! Anything for the heroes of the Hito Mines!" he indicates us to follow him. A few minutes walk later and we're at another mine cart. He says, "This cart is the fastest way out of the mines and to the next area. Thank you for all you've done for us, DigiDestined."
"Hey wait, just 'cause we helped you defeat Golemon doesn't make us the DigiDestined," I say as I climb into the cart, "We just helped out is all."
"Thank you once more for helping us, then. I pray that we'll meet again," Mikemon says as he reaches for the switch to start the cart on its way, "Good luck in your travels!"
"Bye bye!" All the Digimon wave goodbye as we do the same as the cart moves forward.
"Oh, wait, one more thing!" Mikemon tells us.
"What is it? And hurry!" Jake says.
"Keep your arms and legs inside the cart at all times, 'cause it's a bumpy ride! Goodbye, heroes!"
"Bye!" we all say as the cart moves even further forward.
"Hey, what did he mean by 'a bumpy ride'?" Charlie wonders and we all look at each other. I look at where we're going and gasp with my mouth wide open.
"What's wrong?" Flamon asks me. I point and he gasps too. All the others look and gasp as well. What we see is a long vertical drop, followed by tight turns, zigzag bridges, loop-de-loops, track jumps and anything else you could think of on a giant roller coaster ride. We all look at each other again and hold onto the cart and/or each other as best we can.
"Here we go..." I say silently as we begin the vertical drop and we scream, holding onto the cart as the ride only begins.
I just hope we survive this to make it to the next area.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Ah, that was a good chapter, don't you think? Please review, it lets me know that you like what I'm doing and where I'm going with this.