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.
Still, it pulled at you. "The spirit's down there," you said, pointing at the throat of the tunnel. "Let's go."
You ran for the cave, eager to see something new, but only made it a few feet when the ground suddenly started shaking. A shadow in the depths of the cave shifted and a purple and white mole with a drill on its face stepped out into the sunset.
"RAAAAAAUUUGHHHH!!" it bellowed.
"Holy cheese!" you shrieked. You went pelting back to the others with the huge Digimon pursuing you.
"Ally!" Kouichi and Junpei jumped forward to protect you, D-Tector's out and ready to go.
"No, wait!" Bokomon cried. "Don't attack!"
Kouichi and Junpei stopped, turning to regard the little Digimon with surprise. "What on earth are you talking about?!" Junpei shouted. "We have to save her!"
WHOOSH! You blasted between them like you had been shot from a cannon and promptly slammed on your brakes. After screeching to a halt, you grabbed ahold of the back of Junpei's shirt and buried your face in the cloth.
The roaring Digimon stopped too once you were out of sight and glared down at the humans. "No civilians allowed!" he thundered. "Go away!"
"Everyone settle down!" Bokomon commanded. He was once again buried in the depths of his book, one paw raised to hold everyone's attention. "This is the Digger Digichrome Mine where they mine one of the Digiworld's most valuable metals. Lately business has been on the decline, but it's still an active mine. Therefore, it's restricted to visitors."
"Exactly! I am Drimongemon, the mine foreman!" Drimongemon roared. "And I say, no visitors!"
"Hey, listen Drimongemon!" Takuya argued. "We gotta come in!"
"I said no!"
Takuya looked about ready to blow up when Izumi grabbed his elbow. "Calm down, Takuya." Then to Drimongemon she said, "Pardon me, but we would like to tour your mine. I've always wanted to see a real one."
Drimongemon paused, considering. While he was distracted Junpei sidestepped over to Izumi and leaned in close. "Do you really think that'll work again?"
"Well, I don't see any problem with that," Drimongemon answered. "Follow me," he said, turning to go back into the mine.
There was a loud smack as Junpei face-palmed.
"Told you so," Izumi chuckled giving him the peace sign.
You overheard the exchange while trotting after Drimongemon and it made you giggle loudly enough for most of the group to hear. "Score one for Izumi."
The others followed after you as you bridged the boundary between outside and the mine. It was very shadowy in the tunnel, the darkness only kept at bay by electric lanterns strung along the walls, connected by wires. Despite the darkness though, the air was hot and dusty as it rushed past you, tinted with the strong scent of metal. You rubbed at your nose as the dust itched it and made your eyes water but you didn't feel a satisfying sneeze building up, just irritation.
It was also deafening in the mine. Drilling echoed all around you and the vibrations from it shook the bedrock under your feet. You could even feel it rattling the fillings deep in your mouth. It was rather uncomfortable and you fidgeted in discomfort, partly wishing that Drimongemon had refused the request for a tour. It was so loud you weren't even able to hear the spirit anymore, though you still felt the prickles on your skin meaning that it was close.
As you reached the part of the mine where side tunnels started branching off there were more interesting things to see. Man-sized yellow Digimon with drills on their faces and hands were digging at the walls to dislodge chunks of ore which they then dropped into large carts on metal tracks. Hitched up to each one was a zebra-striped horse wearing a mask. When the cart was full, the horse would haul it out of the mine as another took its place.
You stepped out of the way as one of these horse Digimon trotted past, turning its head to stare at you for a moment. It was wearing a visor with a red glow that matched its red mane.
"We have a large team of Digmon that harvest the ore from the mine walls while the ShimaUnimon carry it outside to be processed at a factory on the other side of the mountains," Drimongemon said once they were past the zone of active working. "Meanwhile a handful of Drimongemon work on expanding the lower levels. We won't be going down there since it's far too dangerous for civilians."
"Drimongemon-san, where do these tracks lead?" Tomoki asked, looking down at the curving lines of metal.
"They lead all the way to the back of the mine," Drimongemon answered. "The first motherload was found there and we're still working on getting it all out of the walls."
As the foreman talked, you looked all around at the lit-up walls, studying the grooves cut into the rock during the mining. They arched like ribs across the curved roof and a particularly big one drew your eyes down the wall almost to the floor. Suddenly you realized that you were looking at another side tunnel cut into the hard rock. But this tunnel was almost totally dark and a wooden horse was blocking off the rusty tracks from the main tunnel.
"Hey, Drimongemon. What's that tunnel over there?" you asked.
"Eh?" The cumbersome Digimon turned clumsily to see where you were pointing. "Ah, that was meant to be another main tunnel leading through another motherload. But the exploratory team had to turn back before they found it; the rock was too unstable and there were too many cave-ins.
"But it's still there and we're definitely going to get to it someday. Just as soon as we figure out how to stabilize the earth."
Curiously you strode over to the barricade to get a closer look. Resting both your palms on the painted wood, you leaned over it bringing your head into the darker tunnel. You weren't using your eyes, however; instead you were listening.
Like rocks rolling together the spirit's voice echoed up at you, mumbling short choppy sentences that vibrated the tiny bones in your inner ear. But you still couldn't tell what it was saying. The words were just too indistinct.
"So," Izumi said, coming up beside you, "is it down there?"
"Of course it is," you quipped. "It's a dark dangerous tunnel. Where else would it be?"
As you pushed back from the wooden barricade, the rest of the group crowded around on either side of you to peer into the darkness.
"Who is it?" Izumi asked.
"Can you tell what it's saying?" Tomoki added.
You shook your head. "No. I can hear it but it seems to be mumbling or something. I can't make anything out."
"I wonder if it's Kumamon..." Tomoki murmured.
"I bet it's Lobomon," Takuya commented. "He would mumble just so we wouldn't be able to tell it's him."
"Shut up, Takuya!" Kouji snapped. "I'm sure it's one of the others, like Arbormon!"
"What on earth are you humans talking about?" Drimongemon asked.
"We're traveling around looking for the spirits," Izumi explained.
"Spirits?"
"Okay, see it's like this..."
The others all gathered around Drimongemon and started explaining about the spirits to him, including Bokomon who had his giant book out again. They were a nice distraction for you as you hopped over the barricade and snuck down the darkened tunnel. The second the darkness covered you fully you could clearly feel all of the other spirits walking with you chattering quietly between themselves.
"Hey, Mercurymon?" you asked. "Whose spirit is down here?"
"You'll see when we get there, human."
His tone made you sigh. "Doi. Why on earth did I ask you? Dramon, whose spirit is down here?"
"It's -"
Suddenly footsteps pounded down the tunnel towards you. 'Damn! Caught already!' Since it was pretty shadowy in the throat of the tunnel you were a little freaked out by the approaching feet up until you heard Neemon squeal for the others to wait for him. Then your eyes were able to pick out the other forms approaching and you recognized them.
"What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be distracting Drimongemon?" You could still hear the sounds of arguing echoing down the tunnel so at least some of the others had stayed behind.
"I think Takuya, Kouji, and Izumi can handle it," the biggest shadow said in Junpei's voice.
"Indeed. Let the hotheads argue," said the smallest shadow in Bokomon's voice. "We have a spirit to find!"
You kept walking, feeling your way along the rough-hewn walls, with the others shuffling carefully behind you. The spirits stayed beside you though you couldn't hear them now that living people were so close by. But the glow cast by their souls was enough to light your path and keep you from tripping. Suddenly a glow appeared in front of you - a weakly lit lantern was still hanging on one wall. There was another farther on and a third beyond that which illuminated a pile of rubble blocking off the rest of the tunnel. The sight made you remember what Drimongemon had said about earthquakes and cave-ins.
"I guess this is as far as we go," Kouichi said doubtfully. Your group stopped by the base of the pile and you all stared at the rock and dirt helplessly.
But you weren't giving up that easily. You could hear the spirit much more clearly now, though it was still muffled as if behind a closed door. It was probably right on the other side of this wall.
"Get me out of here! Me sick of sitting in hole by myself!"
"I hear you," you said, putting your hand on the rock. "Just hang tight."
"Hurry up!"
"Sheesh. Another pushy one," you grumbled. You took a step back to examine the obstacle you were up against as a whole. It was pretty solid and intimidating but at the very top you thought you saw either a shadow or a small hole. "Hup!"
You scurried up the slope, absently noting the outraged cries as dirt showered down onto the heads of the others. You were too intent on the hole to really care though - now that you were closer you could see it was an actual hole, albeit very tiny, but it was a way through. You told the boys about it and advised them to back up before you started clawing at the rocks and dirt, sending it showering down to the floor. You cleared what you could but there were still big rocks mixed into the pile that you couldn't move. It didn't matter though; there was enough room for you to get your head and shoulders through at least.
"I'm gonna take a look, guys," you called to the others. "If I get stuck I'm gonna need you all to get me loose, okay?"
"Okay," they answered. They gathered around, watching closely as you started to push through the hole.
Wriggle, wriggle. You got your head and shoulders wedged into the gap. Stopping before you were permanently stuck (you hoped) you looked around at your surroundings. All you saw was a tiny empty space and a blank wall on the other side.
"Awww..." you groaned.
Suddenly there was a flash of light like a lightbulb burning out and a little figure appeared in the little space. It looked like an ugly garden gnome with its big hat, big feet, and big nose. It stared at you with clear suspicion. "Who you?!"
"I'm Ally. Who are you?"
"Me Grumblemon. Warrior of Earth."
"Hot dog! I knew you'd be back here!" You pulled yourself the rest of the way through the pile of rubble but suddenly the softer dirt under your hands gave way and you tumbled down the other side and landed on your head at the bottom. "OW!"
You rubbed your head in the dark - Grumblemon had vanished for a moment when you hit the ground - muttering about how damaged your brain was getting. Then a soft light reappeared and you looked up straight into Grumblemon's eyes.
"So where's your spirit, Grumblemon?" you asked.
"Why me should trust you, human?"
The light increased as Dramon appeared behind you. "Hello, Grumblemon. You don't need to worry, this is my human."
"Dramon, that you?"
"Yes, and some of the others." More light appeared as the rest of the found spirits made their presence known. "The Digital World is in trouble again."
"Must be bad trouble if you here."
"Yes, very bad. And getting worse as we speak."
"Okay." He turned and pointed at the back wall. "My spirit in there."
You wondered if you weren't seeing something or if he was screwing with you. "Um, where?"
"In there!"
"... In the wall?! How'd it get in there?!"
"Not in wall! Spirit in hidden cave behind wall!"
"Then how do I get to it?!"
"Tunnel under rock pile lead to cave, human! But it blocked so through wall shorter!"
"Listen I can't pass through solid rock. How am I supposed to go through the wall?"