Chapter 9 - In the Depths of the Pit
Matthew Kasuto
Lachesis Fortress
15 Hours
Sparrow and I stood side by side at the entrance of the fortress. It was early in the morning, and the sky was completely clear. Coronamon and Hawkmon stood at our sides, ready to fight alongside us. Eleanora stood close by, tightening the string of my bow after cramming as many arrows as possible into my quiver. Sparrow rested his poleaxe on his shoulder. He seemed enviously relaxed about our mission today.
“Be careful up there, okay?” she asked over and over.
“He’ll be fine, gorgeous,” Sparrow said. “Nobody better than
me to look after Matthew, after all!” Eleanora smiled, and turned to me.
“I’ve got your lucky rock right here, Mattie,” she said. At the center of her dainty hand was a green stone. I reached out to pick it up. The surface was smooth and cool, while the underside was warmed from Eleanora’s touch. This stone was the only keepsake I had of our parents; from what Eleanora told me, it was given to me by our mother. But that had been very long ago. I didn’t remember her face, and I never bothered to ask Eleanora about it.
“…You hold onto it while I’m gone,” I said. “I don’t want to lose it…” I handed her back the stone, and she gripped it tightly and smiled at me. The echoing of footsteps coming from the stone floor of the fortress’s hallway caught my attention.
“Now, remember, you two,” Lucia suddenly said from behind us. I jumped at the sound of her voice, and hid myself behind Sparrow. “The orders from Ulysses are for you to not return until you find Lloyd. Understand?”
“And what are
your orders, Miss Lucia?” Sparrow asked, sounding almost as if he were mocking Lucia.
“…I’m not the one in charge,” she replied. “I don’t make the rules…”
“…And? Your orders, Lucia?”
“…Just come back alive, you four,” Lucia whispered. “Also, Ulysses doesn’t know you’re going with Matthew, Sparrow. He just thinks you’re continuing your search, but please…”
“I know, I know. Keep Mattie safe,” Sparrow said, looking at Eleanora rather than Lucia. “Don’t have to tell me twice, Lucy. I’m happy to keep my pal outta harm’s way.” My bold friend placed a hand on my head and ruffled my hair.
“And make sure Lloyd makes it back in one piece, too,” Lucia added. “I don’t want to tell Heather that something’s happened to her husband.”
“None of us do,” Sparrow agreed. “Which is why we’re both going to make
sure he comes back with us.” Lucia nodded.
“Be careful,” Eleanora repeated one last time.
“Better get going, then.” Sparrow and I looked at each other, and nodded. We both pulled out our Digivices, and aimed their lights at our Digimon. I glanced at Sparrow’s Digivice, a red D-3, as both of our Digimon began to evolve.
“Coronamon Digivolve to, Firamon!”
“Digi-Armor Energize!” Sparrow yelled.
“Hawkmon Armor Digivolve to, Moosemon, the Prongs of Hope!” Both of our Digimon stood tall in their new forms, ready for us to climb on and ride to the Trillium Mountains.
“Be careful,” I heard Lucia whisper as we both took off. I waited a few minutes to make sure we were out of Lucia’s range of hearing.
“Sparrow…how come you’re so brave around girls?” I asked. “Why is it so easy for you to flirt with them?”
“Huh? Oh…I don’t know,” he replied. “It just…sorta comes naturally to me, I suppose. Our group’s full of beautiful ladies, I just can’t control myself when I’m around them, you know? Isn’t that why you’re afraid of them?”
“…Sort of…I think? I don’t know,” I whispered. “They’re all so pretty…that it makes me scared…I don’t know how I’m supposed to…act…”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s normal,” Sparrow said. “Although…in
your case, I suppose it
does seem a bit more phobia-like…Why are you asking me this now, after all the years we’ve known each other? You got an eye on a certain lady in our group?”
“What?! No, I…well…maybe…”
“Well? Who’s the lucky lady?” Sparrow asked. I remained silent, keeping my eyes on Firamon’s mane. “Well, it’s all right if you don’t want to tell me
who…Just thought I’d keep myself from flirtin’ with whoever it is you like…Unless it’s Lucia. You can keep her.” I cracked a smile.
“…I thought maybe if I asked you how you’re so brave around all of those pretty girls, then I’d learn to get over my phobia,” I admitted. “And I…wanted to get over it…before I told her…”
“Well, you’re not afraid of Eleanora, right? Because she’s your twin sister? Just…try imagining you’re talking to Ellie when talkin’ to the girl…without it being ‘weird!’” Sparrow added quickly. “Although, Rainy once told me that it was that fear of yours that made you so charming. So, if you’re hot for Rainy — which, if I may add, I totally cannot blame you for — then you’re in luck, pal.”
“Are you two through, yet?” Moosemon interrupted.
“Huh? Why?” Sparrow asked.
“We’ve…reached the foot of the mountains,” Firamon said, sounding out of breath. I looked up, and was surprised by what I saw. Due to my conversation with Sparrow, I hadn’t realized that both of our Digimon had run the entire way.
Lucia Delbray
I spent the last five minutes or so inside the fortress, leaning against a wall in the lounge and thinking. Many of the members of Lachesis regularly admitted to being afraid of me — in fact, Larraine, Heather, Isole, and Mihiramon were the only ones who didn’t seem to fear me in the slightest. Even Ulysses acted as though he feared me.
And yet, it’s not him who gets the blame for sending Matthew to the Trillium Mountains. It’s me. I looked down, and readjusted my eye patch.
Ulysses is the one who wanted to send Matthew all alone; I do everything I can to get Coronamon and Sparrow to go with him, and yet I’m still treated as the villain…I can understand why most of the others are afraid of me, though. I suppose I do
have a rather commanding presence. I laughed quietly to myself. “Oh, well. Ulysses might not seem like he’s doing a good job at being the leader, but I do trust his judgment and reasoning. His heart is always in the right place…I just wish he’d change his planning just a
little bit…”
“Lucy! Hey, Lucy!” I lifted my head, and saw Larraine coming my way. As usual, she had a big smile on her face. “Lucy, everyone’s done with their morning training!” Her smile and infectious high spirits were more than enough to take my mind off Matthew. “Since they’re all done, they all went out to do some jobs!”
“Very good. Did everybody show up?” I asked.
“Well, not
everybody,” Larraine said, speaking slowly and nervously. “Well, the boss is talking to Dominimon, so he’s excused I guess, and you told Heather
not to do the exercises, and you
never let
me do them…”
“…And? Was there anyone else, Rainy?”
“Uh…well…Lilliana still hasn’t woken up from being sick last night, and Alicia’s still with her,” Larraine trailed off. “Also…Isole didn’t show up again…” I rolled my eye.
“Damn it…she’s always skipping out on training!” I left the room and stormed all the way upstairs and barged into Isole’s room. In spite of how loud I was, she did not flinch, as if she were expecting me. She ignored me, however, and continued reading. “Isole, you missed early morning training again today!” I yelled.
“Duly noted,” was all Isole said back to me.
“I can’t remember a single time you’ve ever once joined us!”
“I don’t like getting up early in the morning. Is that a problem?” Finally, she looked up at me. Her eyes were a very pretty shade of brown, but they almost seemed lifeless every time I looked into them.
“...If I were to reschedule some of the training sessions to mid-afternoon, would you join us?” I asked. “…Please?”
“Nope.”
“Isole…c’mon; even that new girl showed up,” I said. “Giselle, wasn’t it?”
“Great. Just another reason
not to show up.”
“…You hate her, don’t you? I don’t know why, but—”
“Because she’s a loudmouth,” Isole interrupted. “I don’t like people who talk a lot…or loudly.”
“Well…since you hate her so much, I thought maybe you’d…I don’t know…show up and try to outdo her?” I asked, hoping she would agree.
“Nope. Don’t care for pointless contests.”
“Isole! Being prepared for battle is a matter of life and death!”
“I'm only a tactician. Why is it important for
me of all people to be tortured by you?”
“Well...okay, maybe you don’t need it for battle...but it will help you out in life!”
“Tactics are my life. Fat or muscle has nothing to do with tactics and how good one is at them.”
“But...you'll live longer if you train your body. You’ll be a lot healthier, too.”
“I'll be...healthier? And live longer?” she asked. I nodded. “I’ll live longer...so I can spend a longer time with annoying loudmouths like
you?!” I stared sadly at Isole. “In that case, I’m going to go stuff myself with all the chocolate cake I can and eat myself into an early grave. See ya, Lucia.” Isole calmly left her room and closed the door behind her, leaving me alone. I looked down at the floor and sighed.
They grow up so fast…
Matthew Kasuto
Trillium Mountains
“…We’ve been here for almost an hour…and we haven’t seen any sign of him yet,” I sighed.
“Don’t look so down, buddy. I’m expecting this to take all day, to be honest,” Sparrow said from atop Moosemon’s back. “Don’t even be surprised if it takes us a few days.”
“…Okay…”
“Don’t worry, Matthew; I’ll make sure none of us freeze to death,” Firamon said. “And I’ll make sure none of the IceGolemon get either of you.”
“…IceGolemon?” Sparrow looked at me. “You mean there are IceGolemon? Here? On this mountain?”
“Yeah…? I thought you knew…” Sparrow looked me dead in the eye.
“Matthew. IceGolemon…are some of the most dangerous species of Digimon there is,” he said very sternly. “They are
very intelligent, and they work well in groups of Digimon — even those of differing species — to craft traps to capture prey and enemies.”
“Don’t a lot of Digimon behave that way?” I asked.
“It is highly unlikely that a Digimon like
that would consider eating a Human, so that can only mean one thing.” Sparrow paused. “If the IceGolemon captured Lloyd…then it would be because they see him as an enemy. If they see him as an enemy, then they will likely think of us in the same manner.”
“Sparrow…? What are you trying to say?” I asked nervously.
“…If we don’t act fast…we’ll likely be killed,” he whispered. “And it is likely that Lloyd as well has been killed before Heather even came back home. The IceGolemon are a perfect fit for their element; cold and unforgiving.” Sparrow looked back to me. “…Are you certain that you saw IceGolemon here?” I nodded. “
…We may…have to leave here…”
“What are you saying, Sparrow? We can’t abandon Lloyd!” I exclaimed.
“I know, and we won’t, but I don’t think that the two of us can handle a large number of IceGolemon!” Sparrow said. “We have to get out of here before we find any—” At once, large piles of snow flew up into the air. Firamon and Moosemon were tossed into the air; Sparrow and I fell off their backs and into the snow, where more and more piled high on top of us.
“Firamon, help—” I looked over to my Digimon, and saw that both he and Moosemon had turned back into their Rookie levels. The snow continued to pile higher and higher until it was all I could see.
Isole Frost
Lachesis Fortress
30 Minutes
Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around. My vision was still blurred, so I lifted my head to look around when I was overcome by nausea and a heavy feeling in my stomach that made me feel quite dizzy. “Urrrrp…ooh…where am I…?” Immediately, Lucia was at my side.
“Are you okay, Isole? You’ve been out cold for about half an hour...” She placed a soft and cool hand over my forehead, and brushed my hair away.
“Oh...Lucia...Damn it all...Guess I’m still alive...”
“Well, I’M glad you are.” Lucia helped me lay down, much to my spinning head’s relief. “I found you in the kitchen. “You were out cold, so I carried you up to your room.”
“…You were just so...loud...I was trying to concentrate....I just needed to get away from you…and do something to piss you off, I guess…”
“If you told me that you were busy, I would have left you alone, you know,” Lucia looked down sadly at me.
“...Yeah, I guess...”
“So, what happened?” she asked.
“...I was on my third slice of cake when I passed out. Just ate too much. No big deal, Lucy.”
“...You shouldn’t have done something like that. You have such a little tummy...”
“I—I do not!”
“Well, I guess not at the moment.” Lucia laughed, and placed her hand over my rounded stomach.
“DAMN IT, LUCY!”
“Why did you think something like that would ‘piss me off’?” Lucia asked. Slowly and gently, she began rubbing my belly, and in spite of my inner reluctance, it did feel good.
“Well…you were blathering on about how important it was to be healthy…or some ridiculous bullcrap like that,” I said. I avoided looking Lucia directly in the eye. “I just wanted to get away from you, like I said…”
“Isole…you know I could never hate you,” Lucia whispered. “I’ve only known you all your life, after all…”
“…I know.” I looked up at her, into her sole crimson eye.
“Even though you aren’t actually my daughter, Isole, I’ve raised you as though you were ever since I found you when you were only an infant...You
are my daughter,” Lucia giggled. “You were so adorable back then; I just couldn’t leave you behind. And now, you’ve grown up into such an intelligent and beautiful young woman…” Blushing, I looked away from Lucia. “Although, your personality does your last name justice, Isole
Frost.”
“Damn it, Lucia; why can’t you just say something nice?” I asked. I sounded angry, but I couldn’t keep myself from smiling. “You go and compliment me, and follow it up with something like
that…”
“I can’t help it; you’re just so damned cute when you’re flustered,” Lucia laughed. I rolled my eyes, and she placed a cool and comforting hand on my cheek. “I don’t want anything to happen to my baby girl…So I’ll always be here for you, Isole. You know that, right?”
“…I do. I’ll never forget, either.”
Matthew Kasuto
Trillium Mountains
…Well…this is the second time in a week that I’ve woken up after being buried in an avalanche…I should probably work on that. I opened my eyes and quietly sat up. My entire body ached, and I almost fell back down while getting up.
“…Glad you’re awake,” I heard Sparrow saw. I looked up, and saw him standing above me. His back was to me, and his axe was held tightly in both hands.
“Are you okay, Matthew?” Coronamon asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. He had a nervous look in his eyes that was unfamiliar to me.
“…Sparrow? What’s going on?” I asked.
“…Just look around,” he whispered back. Finally, I worked up the strength to stand up, but when I did, my jaw dropped. We were completely surrounded by IceGolemon.
“When we were buried in all of that snow, I think the ground may have opened up,” Hawkmon said. “We seem to have landed in an underground cavern as part of the IceGolemon’s trap…
“I’m going to get you out of here, Matthew,” Sparrow said. “Don’t worry…wouldn’t want to worry Ellie…”
“Well, you’re coming with me!” I retorted. “Because I’m not leaving this place without you and Hawkmon!”
“…Right. Yeah…” Sparrow looked down and smiled at me. “Yeah…we’ll both get out of here together!”
“Just one problem,” Coronamon said. “I…don’t have the strength to fight them, or even to Digivolve…”
“I do, but I don’t think Moosemon is strong enough to win against even one,” Hawkmon added. Sparrow looked at the IceGolemon for a moment. He sighed and looked up. As Hawkmon said, we were in a cave; at the roof of the cave was a large opening where we must have fallen through. Even now, snow was still falling down into the icy cavern. One such clump of snow fell directly in the middle of Sparrow’s face.
“…That…fucking…HURT!” Sparrow shouted. I could hear a few of the IceGolemon laugh.
“It’s just snow,” Hawkmon said. Sparrow wiped the snow off his face; as he did, a spherical object fell to the cavern floor.
“…What is…that?” I asked. Sparrow’s face immediately brightened, in spite of the large bruise on his forehead and his bloody nose.
“…That’s it!” he exclaimed. “That’s what I’ve been looking for!”
“What is it?” Coronamon asked. Sparrow picked up the object, and gazed at it with a look of bewildered elation.
“It’s…a Digi-Egg,” Sparrow said. “I heard there might be a Digi-Egg here on the Trillium Mountains…”
“It’s awfully small for a Digi-Egg,” I commented.
“No, it’s not the kind of egg that Digimon hatch out of,” Sparrow said. “It’s an Armor Digi-Egg; they’re what I use to Digivolve Hawkmon.”
“Care to give it a try to see what I become?” Hawkmon asked.
“Always!” Sparrow held the egg high up above his head. “Digi-Armor Energize!”