When morning came the Ogre Trio, who had fallen asleep at some point just before the sunrise, woke once more and began readying themselves for their fight. They each checked their various weapons and made sure their underground camp was tidied up. Fumiko and the others woke during the clean-up and helped where they could.
The Digimon trio didn't have a lot of belongings, mostly some boxes and barrels about the room that had food inside them. A portion of which, they handed over to the three Digidestined in a large backpack.
"Can't have you kids starvin' before you get to make good on our promise," Hyogamon had said with a wide grin when he handed the backpack to Nagi.
"Oh, thanks. It's uh… all safe for humans to eat right?" Nagi asked as he peered inside. It seemed to mostly be full of different fruits, nuts and berries.
"No different to what y'all ate with us last night and nobody died, right?" Hyogamon said with another of his booming laughs, which Nagi had grown used to strangely fast.
The group all made their way out of the ruins, gathering at the top of the staircase that led them back out onto the plateau. It wasn't long before DarkTyrannomon, who was still stomping about, noticed the nine figures. It let out a mighty roar and began trudging towards them, not seeming tired at all despite its relentless pursuit of them through the night.
Ogremon rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck to either side, tapping his club against his large hand. Fugamon and Hyogamon stretched in various ways as well and the three moved up in a line in front of the DigiDestined group.
"DarkTyrannomon doesn't stand a chance," FanBeemon said cheerfully, buzzing around Nagi's head a few times.
"I certainly would not like to be in its position right now," Commandramon added in with a nod.
"Are they really that strong?" Hanako asked, looking down at Liollmon whose claws were digging into the dusty ground. The little lion glanced back up at his partner before squinting over at the three ogres.
"Well… I suppose they're pretty strong," he grumbled in reply. Hanako blinked a few times, wondering what exactly Liollmon had against the other Digimon.
DarkTyannomon was coming towards the group faster now and Ogremon turned his head to face the humans and their Digimon partners, that mouth hanging open but curled up into a grin.
"This could start gettin' pretty messy, y'all should get on your way so you don't get caught in the fight. Wouldn't wanna club ya by accident," he said, giving them a thumbs-up with his free hand.
"Where exactly are we meant to go?" Fumiko asked.
"Go that way," Ogremon replied, jerking his thumb over her head. "There's a path down from the plateau not far from here. Once you get to the bottom, if you go through Processor Palms, you'll get to the Dial-Up Ruins. S'posed to be a shrine there or somethin' for the DigiDestined."
Fumiko nodded, feeling her body tense as DarkTyrannomon grew closer. Hyogamon and Fugamon charged out with a roar, their weapons raised high above their heads.
"Thank you for your kindness and generosity, Ogremon. I hope we get to see you all again soon," said Hanako, bowing politely to the Digimon. Ogremon grinned and turned his head away, running after his comrades, shouting obscenities at DarkTyrannomon as he did.
"Let's get the heck out of here before we end up getting dragged in, DarkTyrannomon is definitely still looking at us," said Nagi, adjusting the pack of food on his back before jogging away in the direction Ogremon had told them to go.
Hanako and Fumiko followed along behind him, their Digimon partners easily keeping pace with them thanks to getting a some rest.
Fumiko looked back once, just in time to see Ogremon leap into the air and swing his club upwards, striking DarkTyrannomon's jaw with a sickening crunch that she heard despite growing the distance between them. She winced and turned away, looking out for the path that he'd mentioned.
The sounds of the battle rang out behind them, the three ogres shouting vulgar insults as they attacked DarkTyrannomon over and over again, the dinosaur Digimon letting out roars of both anger and pain while fighting back.
It took the group less than five minutes to reach the edge of the plateau they were on, gazing down at the scenery below. Each of them couldn't help a gasp as their eyes swept from left to right.
The area below stretched out as far as their eyes could see. None of what they saw really made sense, but it was an incredible view, nonetheless. At the bottom of the sheer cliff they stood at the edge of was a forest of palm trees, they assumed that was Processor Palms. Off to the left, quite a distance away, the palm forest flowed seamlessly into what looked like a frozen tundra on the horizon. While to the right, the scenery shifted to a beach and the sea beyond.
Nagi lifted a hand over his eyes, squinting into the distance straight ahead. Beyond the oversized palm trees, he could barely see what appeared to be buildings. It was a long way from where they were, but he figured it was safe to assume those were the ruins they needed to get to.
"The path is down this way, we should go!" FanBeemon said, hovering around a part of the cliff that descended in a steep slope. It wasn't a sheer drop like the rest of the cliff, but it wasn't going to be an easy trek down. Nagi, Hanako and Liollmon ran over to where FanBeemon was buzzing about and began the journey down.
Fumiko however, turned once more to face the fight scene they had left behind. She watched as DarkTyrannomon opened its maw wide and spewed forth a torrent of flames, sweeping in a wide arc to try and stop the ogre trio. The other three Digimon scattered this way and that, however, avoiding the attack with ease before going on the offensive once again without missing a beat.
"You've no need to worry, they'll win this fight. They have a promise to keep, after all," Commandramon said, gazing up at his partner and adjusting his helmet.
"Yeah. They're pretty badass taking on something like that. They're not scared of it at all like we are…," Fumiko murmured. She slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket and gave a brief bow of her head in their direction.
"Are you coming, sis?"
"Yeah, I'm comin'."
The path ahead was rugged and unforgiving. Stones and gravel tumbled away, bouncing off the side of the trail with each step the group took. All the way down, the path was narrow, twisting and turning as it headed down towards the forest below. The group kept themselves close to the stone wall on their left side, none of them daring to stare over the drop on their right for very long. One slip, one misstep and there would be little chance of coming back.
Liollmon walked at the head of the group, watching every one of his own steps made with his paws, looking for any signs of weakness in the ground. His tail swished back and forth, raised high in the air, and despite the care he was taking, he moved quickly and with ease. The terrain was no issue for him.
FanBeemon had landed atop Nagi's pack for now, resting her wings as she chatted away with her partner quietly, trying to keep him distracted from the danger of their current situation.
Commandramon kept a lookout to the right of the group, watching out over the palm forest below. If any sort of flying Digimon were to attack the group while they were on this path, he would need to act quickly to shoot them down or deter them. They could not fight in such a confined space.
Nagi walked ahead of Hanako and Fumiko, both hands holding the straps of the pack on his back, holding it up along with FanBeemon. Luckily his Digimon partner wasn't too heavy, or else he'd likely be tipping backwards from the added weight. He looked down the path and gulped. It was going to be a long hike.
Hanako paused. Fumiko behind her came to a stop, frowning.
"Hanako, don't just stop like that, I could've run into you."
"Sorry," the older twin said. By now, Nagi had stopped too, looking back up the path at the sisters. "I just… this view is so incredible. You'd never see anything like this in Tokyo, right? I just wanted to really take it in. Even though this world has scary things like DarkTyrannomon, it has really beautiful views like this too."
"Y'know, she's not wrong, Fumiko. This really is kind of incredible," said Nagi, leaning his shoulder against the cliff face beside him for a moment as he looked out over the view.
"However you look at it, this world is weird as hell. But… I guess I can see what you mean. If it wasn't for the monsters trying to eat us, it'd be pretty cool to explore this place," Fumiko said, gazing out with her hands still in her pockets.
"The Digital World has heaps of cool places to see! Once we're done with whatever it is we've gotta do, I'll show you around!" Liollmon said, that feline face lighting up with a grin as he looked at Hanako. His partner nodded.
"That sounds lovely. But I guess we should keep moving. Sorry for holding us up," Hanako said with a sheepish smile. Fumiko moved beside her sister and ruffled her hair.
"Let's go. I'm sure we'll get plenty of other good views to stop and stare at."
The group continued their trek down the mountain, thankfully in peace. The walk took over an hour, but eventually the path flattened out, leading into the edge of Processor Palms. The scenery took an immediate shift. Stone and gravel underfoot gave way to soft dirt. The space opened up, with no more danger of tumbling off the cliffside.
Ferns and flowers that could only be described as prehistoric, sprouted from the ground in all directions, some of them taller than Fumiko herself. The palm trees were far bigger than anything the three humans had seen back in their own world, towering above them but still swaying gently in the breeze. The temperature had lowered once they had entered the shade of the trees as well, with only thin rays of sunlight pouring through the leaves here and there.
"Man, I gotta sit for a bit, my feet and back are killing me," Nagi grumbled. He wandered over to the nearest tree, letting the pack slide from his back before dropping down onto his backside with a groan. FanBeemon took to the skies when her partner sat down, hovering high above the tops of the palm trees.
Hanako took a moment to gaze back up to the top of the cliff. She was looking at where they had come from.
"Do you think Fugamon and the others are doing okay up there?" she asked. Liollmon sat down by her feet, his tail idly sweeping back and forth along the dirt.
"It's gonna take more than one big dinosaur to take those three down. Besides, they better not lose until they're fighting me," he said, puffing his chest out as he spoke. Hanako laughed and reached down, scratching gently behind one of his ears. Liollmon let out a small purr, leaning into the gesture.
"Aye, even if they were outmatched in strength, there are few Digimon more tenacious in a tough fight than Ogremon and his brethren. DarkTyrannomon would have a tough time of it against one ogre, let alone three," Commandramon added in.
The dinosaur Digimon kept his rifle held in both hands as he wandered about the spot they'd chosen to rest, keeping an ever-vigilant eye out for any enemies that might be approaching.
Taking a deep breath of the forest air, Fumiko took a few moments to centre herself. Their experience in this world had been hectic since arriving and their only rest so far had been brief, all things considered. She turned her gaze upwards, taking note of the sun's position. She didn't have the skills to judge the time of day exactly based off that information, but at the very least it hadn't hit its peak yet, so it was still before midday.
"Let's keep going until the middle of the day. Then we can set up a campsite and try to get a proper rest."
Both Hanako and Nagi looked her way, the former giving a nod in agreement, while the latter groaned and pulled himself to his feet. FanBeemon floated back down from her place among the treetops when Nagi got to his feet, landing down beside him.
"I couldn't see any other Digimon around. I think we're safe to move around," she said, looking rather pleased with herself for gathering the information.
"Good job, reckon we can count on you to keep us going the right way? If you can see the ruins well enough from above the trees," Nagi said, looking down at his partner. FanBeemon raised one of its front legs. A bee thumbs up? She gave a nod as well.
"You can count on me, Nagi!" she declared, vibrating her wings and lifting back into the air.
"If you can provide our heading, FanBeemon, I shall lead our squad," said Commandramon. FanBeemon lifted one claw to her forehead this time. A bee salute? She then quickly ascended above the trees once more, looking about before coming back down.
"The ruins are that way!" the insectoid Digimon said, pointing one of her front legs in the direction almost directly opposite the path they had come down. Commandramon gave a salute to his comrade and began to walk, taking point for the group.
"Away we go," Fumiko said, following her partner with hands in her pockets.
The three DigiDestined and their partners began their journey into Processor Palms. The palm tree forest was not particularly dense when it came to the spacing of the trees, each one having plenty of room around it for foliage to grow. The terrain was much easier than the mountain path at least and for the moment, there was no sign of any danger for the group.
Still, they remained vigilant while travelling towards the heart of the forest and the Dial-Up Ruins beyond, where hopefully, some answers and information about their situation would await them.