Digimon Frontier: The Warrior's Return

Chapter 19: What's Mine Is Yours

Chapter 19: What's Mine is Yours

"Okay, guys, now that we've found this spirit, let's make tracks for the factory!"

"Give it a rest, Takuya," Izumi scoffed. "You're always such a sore loser when you're wrong."

"Who says I'm wrong?!" Takuya demanded hotly. "The spirits didn't say there wasn't a spirit at the factory!"

By sheer force of volume, Takuya convinced the others - to not bother arguing with him. They quietly mumbled their agreement, Izumi muttering several insults under her breath additionally.

"Good!" Takuya cheered up immensely once he had gotten his way, still a bit of a spoiled kid at heart. Then he pointed at you with a stern look. "And you're walking in the middle so you don't run off again!"

You sighed and threw your arms up. You were never going to live that down. "Okay, okay!"

The others moved to surround you in a human corral and you walked out of the harbor town in relative silence. The awkwardness was stifling. You felt like you were walking through the middle of a tundra.

As you all made your way out along the wide dirt road to the west, you spared a glance at the others. You didn't know who was behind you since you were in the center lead position, but Takuya was on your right and Kouji was to your left. You felt your curiosity prick at you.

'I wonder... Is Kouji anything like his brother?' you thought. Kouichi had told you that they hadn't met until they had both come to the Digital World the first time, so they couldn't be too alike. 'I should talk to him a bit.'

"Hey Kouji? You're Kouichi's younger twin, right?" you asked innocently.

"Yes," Kouji growled. His voice was as cold as the Antarctic in winter.

You flinched with surprise and subsided. "Oh, okay," you said in a tiny voice.

'Damn, I think I just got frostbite.' You just thanked God that Kouji didn't turn his glare on you - he kept staring at the road ahead.

Silence returned and it was even more awkward than before, if possible.

The walk seemed to last an eternity, the only sign of passing time being the sun slowly dropping down the sky. But suddenly you stopped in mid-stride and stood up straight, taking the alert stance of a hunting dog. The others immediately stopped too and excitement began to spread.

"Is it a spirit?" Takuya demanded.

Izumi gave him a shove. "Shut up, Takuya! Let her listen."

You only took vague notice of them talking. Something was vibrating in the center of your mind. It felt a lot like when the souls spoke to you except you didn't hear a voice. But you could still feel the pull of the spirit's energy.

"It's this-a-way," you said confidently. You took off down a side path at a jog, moving with absolute purpose as if the way was marked with a line of paint.

Then when you emerged from the woods at the end of the path, you stopped before a cliff with surprise. "What's this?" Tomoki asked.

There was a wide cave mouth with piles of dirt heaped on either side and a sign hanging over it. A few broken carts sat near one dirt pile, the wood pitted and the metal rusting to a dirty red. The sign above the cave read 'Digger Digichrome'.

The whole trip you had felt the spirit's presence growing stronger and clearer, though there was still no voice coming through. Instead there were only mumblings like rocks tumbling against each other.