12. In the Dark

"Noooooooo!"
Charlie and Kumomon were both covering their ears as the digimon formerly known as Blitzmon was loudly lamenting his downgrade.
"M-Maybe we should just g-go." Kumomon suggested.
"Not yet. I wanna ask him some stuff."
Charlie walked over to the howling digimon and tapped him on his shell.
"Hi. Sorry to interrupt, but I've got some questions for you."
The insectoid digimon lowered his forelegs from his face and looked at Charlie as if he'd forgotten she was there.
He was about a foot shorter than her, not including his horn; and his unblinking eyes and round face made him look much younger than he had been as Blitzmon.
Charlie had intended to take a tough approach to her interrogation, but now she felt like she was standing in front of a child; so she spoke in a more gentle tone.
"Well, first of all, thank you for saving my life; although you and your friend were the reason I almost died in the first place so... va te faire voir too."
The former Blitzmon drew himself up and flipped his scarf over his shoulder before replying. His voice had a more tinny tone than before.
"Our fault? It was your friend Smilomon that brought the canyon wall down on top of you!"
Charlie's eyes widened at this, but she gave her head a quick shake and shot back.
"Well, she was probably trying to stop Birdramon from firebombing us! I don't know if you're aware of this, but humans are very flammable!"
Her opponent pointed at her as if to argue, then seemed to think better of it.
"Yeah, even I thought that was going too far. I mean, our orders were to capture you, not kill you."
"Why are you trying to capture us at all? Why do you guys hate humans so much?"
"I don't hate humans! None of us do!"
"Oh, really? So, back in File City, the dragon jet plane pointing machine guns at me just wanted to say 'Hi'?"
The beetle digimon tapped his claws together awkwardly.
"A lot of our warriors come from the Outside. They still have that 'It's them or me.' mentality. Still, Baalmon only wants to send you guys home."
"Why?"
"I... don't know."
"What?"
"Hey, Baalmon's a pretty secretive guy! Even Birdramon doesn't always know his plans and she's his wings. But he's one of the smartest digimon around. I'm sure he's got a good reason."
Charlie took her hat off and ran a hand through her hair.
"We're not going to get anything useful out of this guy. C'mon, Kumomon. Let's get going."
"Hey, hold on!" The digimon called out as they both began walking down the tunnel. "Where are you going?"
"Same place we were going before." Charlie answered over her shoulder. "The desert; to get MetalTyrannomon. If our friends have been captured, then we're the only ones left who can tell him what's happening. If they got away, then we'll probably meet them there."
"You're not going anywhere." He took some long lumbering steps and put himself in their path. "You're coming back to File City with me."
Charlie and Kumomon looked at each other. Neither seemed particularly threatened.
"Look, er... what's your name now?"
"KoKabuterimon."
"Wow. Well, in case you haven't noticed; you're not exactly an imposing figure right now."
"I may be smaller, but I'm still plenty strong."
KoKabuterimon picked up a large rock and, after some straining, crushed it between his claws.
"Strong enough to handle you two."
Charlie crossed her arms and nodded her head.
"Okay, fair point. Counterargument, though."
She lunged forward and shoved KoKabuterimon in the chest. He stumbled back, tripping over Kumomon who had crouched down behind his feet. He landed on his back with his limbs sticking up in the air.
"Au revoir!"
Charlie and Kumomon took off down the tunnel, while KoKabuterimon tried to right himself; only succeeding in spinning around on his shell.
"Get back here! Once I get up, you'll be sorry!"

-

"Remember when I said I felt uncomfortable in the tunnels? This is worse."
Kartik tried to keep his tone light, but couldn't stop the tremble in his voice.
He was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Shinyu in a small cage. There wasn't enough room for either of them to stand up or stretch their legs. Their knees were pulled up to their chests and Kartik was trying to keep the images of vices and nutcrackers out of his head.
Shinyu hadn't spoken since their capture. He just sat watching Birdramon digging away at the rock pile. She was no doubt searching for Blitzmon and Charlie. It was slow going, thanks to her injured leg.
Kartik silently prayed that Charlie had somehow made it into the tunnel. He didn't even want to consider the alternative.
Behind Birdramon, Kartik could just make out a tall boulder that Tarumon and Tigremon were tied to. Birdramon had pulled some thick wires out of the ground, which had been part of a trap she and Blitzmon had set up, and lashed it around the two digimon.
It was too dark to see much detail, but the light coming off of Birdramon showed Tigremon's head was down. It seemed she hadn't regained consciousness yet.
"Do you think Tigremon will be able to become Smilomon again?" Kartik asked Shinyu.
The other boy hunched his shoulders, not taking his eyes off of the rock pile.
"I don't think so. Not without the device."
The small machine was missing from his belt. Birdramon had plucked it from him before putting him and Kartik in the cage. It was now in a pack tied to her uninjured leg.
"Besides, I think Smilomon's done enough."
A questioning squeak came from Kartik's bag.
"Shhh. Stay put, Relemon." Kartik whispered. "If Birdramon sees you, you might get tied up with the others."
Tarumon tested the wires binding him to the boulder. They weren't uncomfortably tight, but still restrictive enough that he could only wiggle his shoulders.
He flicked his ears up at a groan coming from the other side of the boulder.
"Tigremon? Are you awake?"
Tigremon raised her head, wincing as pain throbbed through her temple. She looked around in confusion for a moment before stiffening as her situation became apparent.
"Shinyu!"
She started thrashing against her bindings; trying to claw at the wires, but her arms were pinned to her sides. As she strained against the wires, Tarumon let out a choked gasp. Tigremon was pulling the wires tighter around him.
"Tigremon... Tigremon, could you ease up? Air is... becoming an issue!"
Tigremon stopped struggling; although Tarumon didn't know if it was because she'd realised she was strangling him, or because she couldn't break free. He coughed a few times before calling to her.
"Shinyu's fine. He's with Kartik over there."
He nodded towards the cage, despite Tigremon not being able to see him.
She still spotted the two boys thanks to her night vision, but her relief disappeared when she noticed someone was missing.
"What about Charlie?"
Tarumon was silent for a moment, causing a heavy feeling to grow in Tigremon's gut.
"We... don't know yet. Birdramon's trying to dig her and Blitzmon out."
Tigremon felt like she was sitting in cold water. The image of Charlie disappearing under the rubble flashed through her mind, along with the sound of Shinyu telling her to stop.
She let her head hang, staring at her feet. She'd really screwed up this time. Ogremon had trusted her to keep Shinyu safe. The others had relied on her too. And look where it had gotten them.
"Hey, there's still hope." The cheer in Tarumon's voice didn't sound entirely forced. "I'm pretty sure Kumomon got away."
"Oh. Great. The digimon whose sole talent is running and hiding. I feel better already."

-

"Atchoo!"
Kumomon almost dropped her chopstick as a sudden sneeze shook her body
"Gesundheit."
Charlie held her own chopstick over the small fire she'd made. Three lightshrooms were skewered on the end. She was glad she'd kept the chopsticks from Meramon's noodle stand. They were useful for roasting food.
Still, it wasn't the same without the others. Kumomon wasn't one for talking during meals and Charlie missed playing games with Relemon or browsing through Kartik's guidebook while the food cooked.
Now it was just her and Kumomon; and this tunnel seemed a lot darker and colder than the previous one.
"Do you think the others are okay?" She asked.
Kumomon stared into the fire for a moment before answering.
"A-Assuming they survived Birdramon's attack; a-and assuming Smilomon was able to b-beat her; and assuming the fight didn't dr-draw the attention of other hostile d-digimon who would strike while they were w-weakened... maybe?"
Charlie looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You kinda suck at being reassuring; you know that?"
"Y-You asked me a question. I a-answered it. If you didn't want me to b-be honest; you should have s-said so." Kumomon replied. "B-Besides, we should be more c-concerned about ourselves. Did you f-forget about Gomamon's warning?"
Charlie looked around at the thick shadows and strained her ears to pick up any sounds beyond the crackling of the fire.
"Do you really think there's something dangerous in here?"
Kumomon wiggled her legs as if trying to shake off her own unease.
"G-Gomamon have been known to enjoy p-playing pranks. He may just have b-been having fun with us. A-Although, given our luck so far..."
"There you are!"
They both jumped at the sudden shout from the dark. From the shadows, KoKabuterimon came staggering towards them. He looked exhausted with all four of his arms hanging limply.
"Oh, hey. It's... that guy."
"K-KoKabuterimon." Kumomon reminded Charlie, then turned to their pursuer. "A-Are you seriously still chasing us? Y-You're not exactly a threat a-anymore."
KoKabuterimon raised a claw towards Kumomon.
"I'm still... perfectly capable... of carrying out my mission." He panted. "And once I regain my strength... and digivolve back to Blitzmon... you two won't be so cocky."
He slumped down onto his knees with his head lowered.
Kumomon rolled her eyes and started munching on her lightshrooms.
"D-Do you want to push him o-onto his shell again or sh-should I?"
Charlie looked at the worn out digimon before her and got to her feet. She knelt down before KoKabuterimon and offered him her lightshrooms.
"You look like you could do with a snack. There's room for one more around the fire."
KoKabuterimon stared at the food like it was a chest full of gold. With great effort he turned his head away, giving a proud snort.
"I don't need you to feed me. I'm not even that -"
He was interrupted by a rumbling growl from his stomach.
Charlie grinned at him.
"Hungry? Is that what you were gonna say?"
KoKabuterimon just glared at her for a moment before snatching the chopstick out of her hand and moving over to the fire.
"The more the merrier." Charlie murmured to herself as she sat down next to him.
The three of them ate in silence for a while before KoKabuterimon spoke up.
"Why do you want to stay in the Digital World so badly?"
Charlie swallowed her food and made a sweeping gesture around them.
"To fix it. Kumomon told me about how your world is overloading and starting to leak into ours. While I personally think it would be cool to have monsters living with humans; I know a lot of people would disagree. So I want to put things right."
"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" KoKabuterimon asked.
"Th-This'll be good." Kumomon watched Charlie as she nibbled her lightshrooms.
The girl's eyes darted around as she struggled to think of something.
"The... the device! Shinyu said he used it to close a gate in the Physical World. If we can close all the extra gates that have been popping up, it'll stop your world from coming into ours. Boom! Problem solved."
Charlie pointed at KoKabuterimon with a triumphant smile on her face.
The beetle digimon's eyes dimmed slightly as he looked at Charlie.
"Okay, but what about the data pouring into our world from yours? How are you planning to stop that?"
Kumomon looked expectedly at Charlie.
"Well, er... maybe if we talk to people; they'll - I don't know - use the Internet less?"
KoKabuterimon shook his head and flicked his chopstick away.
"For a second there, I thought you might actually have something of use. You really are just a child who has no idea what's going on."
"Oh, like you know any better?" Charlie shot back at him. "You don't even know why Baalmon wants us gone. At least I believe in what I'm doing. You're just following orders like a mindless drone!"
"I trust Baalmon! I don't always understand him, but I know he wants what's best for the Digital World. Are you humans so arrogant that you think you can just waltz in and make everything better?"
Before Charlie could reply, Kumomon stood up and raised her legs in a halting motion.
"A-As entertaining as this has been; w-we really should get some sleep. K-KoKabuterimon, you can stay with us if you w-want. Maybe you'll serve as a d-distraction for the monster."
"What monster?" KoKabuterimon looked around at the surrounding darkness.
"We'll explain later." Charlie lay down, resting her head on her arm. "In the meantime, you can make yourself useful and stand as lookout."
"I don't take orders from you!" KoKabuterimon crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders.
A cold breeze whistled through the tunnel. He could've sworn he heard the soft sound of laughter being carried through the air.
"Well... I should make sure you don't run away in the night."
He edged closer to the fire and scanned the thick shadows, really wishing he was Blitzmon again.

-

"Blitzmon! Blitzmon, can you hear me?"
The pile in front of Birdramon was much smaller. She was taking a rest from digging, perching on her good leg while holding the injured one close to her body.
There was no sound of reply to her calls, and the ringing in Shinyu's head was getting louder.
"We have to do something." He barely heard Kartik's hissed whisper. "Once Birdramon finds Charlie, we'll all be on our way back to File City."
"Finds her body, you mean." Shinyu's eyes were still focused on the rock pile.
"Don't say that!" Kartik"s voice rose.
He flinched and looked over at Birdramon, but she either hadn't heard him or was too tired to care.
He lowered his tone again.
"We don't know that Charlie's..." He trailed off then shook his head. "Anyway, we need an escape plan."
"No we don't. We need to stop fooling ourselves. Maybe Baalmon's right. We've caused nothing but trouble since we got here."
"Hey, Baalmon's the one who attacked File City, not us"
"But we're the ones drawing the conflict out! If we just went home, it would be over. Instead we went looking for an army to attack Baalmon back!"
"We can't just leave! Who will help the Digital World?"
"The digimon! This is their world, not ours! We barely understand how it works!" Shinyu wrapped his arms around his legs and lowered his head to his knees. "I just want to go home."
Kartik leaned back as far as he could and looked at the solid back sky above him. He'd always thought going to a new place would help him change himself. That he'd somehow be able to become the kind of person he'd always wanted to be; smart, confident, not constantly worried about messing up and letting people down. Yet here he was; scared, unsure and a total failure.
He rested his head against the cage's crisscrossed bars and closed his eyes. Had he really been so stupid as to think he could actually save the world?
Relemon poked her face out of the bag. Kartik and Shinyu were sad.
She looked over to Tarumon and Tigremon. She couldn't see them too well, but their slumped postures told her they were sad too.
She searched around for Charlie. Charlie was good at making people happy. Where was she?
Her gaze went to the big mean bird. Was Charlie hiding from her?
Relemon slipped out of the bag and crawled over the cage's bars. With a little effort, she was able to squeeze through the gaps and began making her way towards Birdramon.
Shinyu needed the white and orange thingy. She'd seen it glow whenever Tigremon got big and strong. She'd get it; Tigremon would get big and chase the mean bird away.
Then Charlie would come back and everyone would be happy again.
Tigremon wasn't looking at anything in particular. She was staring into space, lost in her thoughts, when something caught her eye.
She turned her head towards Birdramon and her eyes widened at what she saw.
"Uh, Tarumon?"
"Mm?" Tarumon had been dozing, but lifted his head at her call. "What is it?"
"Don't freak out; but Relemon is going up to Birdramon."
"What?!" Tarumon started pulling on the wires, trying to twist his body to see what was happening.
Tigremon let out a choking sound as her bindings tightened around her.
"Ack! I said don't freak out!"
"But Relemon's in danger! What if Birdramon spots her?"
"You don't think she'd hurt a Baby, do you?"
"She almost fried our humans with that attack of hers! I don't know what she might do?"
"Well, keep your voice down. We don't want to give Relemon away. Besides, if she's doing what I think she's doing; this could be good for us."
"Oh, no."
Kartik shook Shinyu's shoulder and pointed towards Birdramon.
"Am I seeing things, or does that rock have a tail?"
Birdramon had started digging again. A few feet away from her was a small rock indistinguishable from the others around it, except for the fact that it was moving and a yellow bushy tail was trailing behind it.
"What is she doing?"
Shinyu gripped the bars of their cage. It looked like Relemon was heading straight for Birdramon or rather, the pouch on her right leg.
"She's trying to get the device!" He felt cold with dread, seeing Relemon inch closer to danger.
"She's showing impressive problem solving skills for an infant." Kartik remarked.
Shinyu turned his head and stared at the other boy. Kartik gave a small shrug.
"I'm just saying."
Birdramon was crouched on the ground, using her wings and muzzle to clear the rubble. She was breathing heavily and struggling to keep her eyes open. Shinyu couldn't help but admire her determination to save her comrade.
Relemon inched closer to Birdramon's foot. The pouch was high above her head and she didn't know how to get up there.
Suddenly, Birdramon let out a loud shriek. The rock pile collapsed and spilled debris along the ground. Relemon hopped up and landed on her tail, hiding it from view.
Birdramon limped over to the rubble and swept aside the last few boulders. There was no sign of Blitzmon or the human. She leaned down and inspected the canyon wall. Just behind the outcrop there was a narrow opening, through which she could see a faint green glow.
"Hey, check it out! Charlie's not there!" Tigremon's voice was thick with relief. "She made it into the tunnel!"
A shadow fell over her and Tarumon as Birdramon hobbled up to them.
"Where does this tunnel go?" She demanded.
"To your boss's mon cave." Tigremon replied with a sneer.
Birdramon stretched out a wing and held it just above the feline digimon's head. Tigremon tried not to flinch at the heat.
"Y'know, you should take a bath and douse yourself off. You smell like a bunch of burning pillows."
Birdramon lowered her wing so that the flames were lightly touching the fur on Tigremon's head. Tigremon instinctively tried to get away from them, but the wires held her in place. Her fur started to smoke but she stubbornly kept her jaws clamped shut.
"It leads to the end of the canyon!" Tarumon called out to Birdramon.
She lifted her wing and turned her attention to him.
"Go on."
"The tunnel runs all the way to Layer Desert. I don't know exactly where it ends, but it's about a two-day walk."
Birdramon gazed at him with suspicion for a moment, before flapping her wings and rising into the sky.
"What did you have to go and tell her that for?!" Tigremon snapped while rubbing her head against the boulder to put out any burning hairs.
"You were going to be cooked alive! What good would that have done?" Tarumon took a breath. "Look, Charlie and Kumomon have had a good headstart and Birdramon's exhausted. She'll have to rest before going after them. Which will give Relemon a chance to get the device back."
"And then it's Round Two." Tigremon grinned in anticipation.
Birdramon flapped her wings, keeping her steady in the air. Even with her keen eyesight, she could barely make out the end of Sunshine Canyon and the pale line on the horizon that was Layer Desert. It would take a few hours to fly there and she could barely stay awake as it was. Not to mention her leg was still hurting.
She swooped back down to the ground and looked to Tarumon.
"You had better not be lying to me."
Letting out a yawn, she lay down on her stomach and spread her wings and legs in a stretch before closing her eyes.
Relemon had been staying still as the big mean bird was moving around. Now that she was sleeping, the Baby dropped her disguise and crawled over to her leg.
The pouch was lying on the ground now, and Relemon was able to hop up to the top flap. She squeezed underneath and disappeared into the bag.
"Yes! She's in!" Tarumon knew he shouldn't be excited at Relemon taking such a risk, but he couldn't help but feel proud of her for pulling it off. She was growing up so fast.
A sleepy grumble came from Birdramon. Without opening her eyes, she tucked her wings in and drew her legs under her body.
Tarumon's mouth dropped open as the pouch disappeared under Birdramon's fiery feathers. Tigremon's voice sounded from behind him.
"I really hope that pouch is heat resistant."

-

Images flashed through Baromon's mind.
A roaring giant shrouded in shadow. Baalmon falling into a dark abyss. Cracks appearing in the flickering sky of the Digital World.
And overlapping all of it was the smiling face of Gaomon.
Baromon's eyes snapped open and he vaulted upright.
A small hand touched his arm and he turned to see a Kudamon floating next to him.
"It's alright. You're alright. Just relax." The small white digimon spoke soothingly to him.
Baromon looked around. He was sitting on a bed in what looked like a hospital ward. Several other digimon occupied other beds in the room. He recognised Reppamon on the opposite side of the room; his tail complaining about something to the Hyokomon by their bed.
Looking out a nearby window, Baromon saw that the sky had turned white.
"How long was I out?" He asked Kudamon.
"About ten hours. Fortunately, your injuries were minimal. The rest you got was enough to heal you."
Baromon didn't feel very rested. His vision was still there, at the back of his mind.
"Do you know where Baalmon is? I need to speak to him."
"I believe he's still in the laboratory." Kudamon answered calmly. "He came by briefly to check on you, then said he had important work to do and wasn't to be disturbed."
Baromon swung his legs over the side of the bed and got to his feet.
"I've got something important too."
He grabbed his cape off of a nearby chair and flung it over his shoulders, ignoring Kudamon's protests as he walked out the door.
Upon arriving at the laboratory, Baromon took a moment to compose himself.
No doubt Baalmon would not be happy with the news of Blucomon's escape, but Baromon hoped his vision would convince his leader to focus his attention on Gaomon.
Baromon himself would offer to find the troublesome Rookie and, in doing so, discover where he had taken Blucomon; solving two problems at once.
Smoothing down his green robe, Baromon entered the laboratory - only to stop dead at the sight before him.
Baalmon was stood before a wide screen displaying the image of an oval-shaped device with an orange band around the edge. He was copying the information displayed around the image into his book.
Standing right next to him was Gaomon.