Digimon Empire

Chapter 6

Michael and Cairomon ran through the lightly wooded forest looking for signs of FlaWizarmon. They didn't have a terribly hard time tracking him because the spell caster was tired from the strain of the spells he'd cast and was walking clumsily. They were surprised by the amount of trail he was leaving them to follow that they hadn't already caught up to him. He was heading deeper into the Talthos Forest rather than away from it as Michael had suspected. They came to a large clearing and it was unclear as to which direction FlaWizarmon went when leaving the area. They spent quite some time searching all around the clearing but failed to find any place where the trail continued besides where they'd already come from. There was a large mossy rock near the center of the clearing and Michael walked over to it and sat down. The smooth texture of the rock made him think of Amanda and the amount of time and work she'd spent doing the design for it. He thought of how the moss growing on part of it had been coded in by Tori and Calvin and he could almost hear Tori yelling about how many people did it take to code a rock. He closed his eyes and listened as the breeze whistled softly through the clearing. A small rustling from the leaves and branches moving in the wind and gentle chirping of birds made him feel serene. Despite whatever political conflicts were ahead, despite any challenges they'd face, despite whatever evolutions or glitching in the programming transpired he wanted this. Michael wanted to remember to appreciate the work they'd done creating this world.

Cairomon suddenly stopped abruptly and inhaled sharply while by the rock Michael was stretched out on. The look on his face was confused and he inhaled more deeply before sharply exhaling.

"The scent ends here. I do not understand." Michael slid off the rock and they looked around but saw no traces of anything around the location. They tried lifting the rock but it was far too large and heavy to budge. Michael tried getting a log and using it to pry the rock up with another rock but it still wouldn't budge. They suspected that magic was involved but they were unable to determine what and there were no real traces in the large clearing. Michael ran his hands over the rock some more while Cairomon began pacing. He ran his hands over to the moss to see how it felt, it looked damp and he wondered if it would feel slick or abrasive but as his hand reached it he was surprised as it passed through the rock. Nervously he felt around the inside of the hole and felt wood, smooth, wrapped in cloth, and strong. He pulled on it and there was a loud grinding sound. The rock slid suddenly to the side knocking both Michael and Cairomon roughly to the ground. Michael painfully rose to his feet, his arm throbbing with the pain of the rock jerking him sideways while he was elbow deep in the illusioned hole.

The pair walked over and looked at the spot that opened up and saw there was a roughly round hole with a very narrow spiral staircase leading into the dark. As they both started forward to go down into the hole the rock started to move back. Cairomon hurried to get low enough to avoid getting his head crunched but Michael was too slow and had to pull the lever again and wait for the rock to move. His arm was safely pulled away before the rock jerked open to prevent additional needless injury. As soon as the rock was cleared he followed Cairomon to the narrow staircase. The steps were all uneven, it was clear they'd been crudely cut from the rock that was the wall. They were also slick from unknown liquid, it looked like water. They made slow progress at first and then the rock slid shut above them. What light there was instantly disappeared and it was blindly dark. Michael heard Cairomon's claws softly tapping the rock wall and he began slowly feeling his way down the staircase as well. It seemed they were barely making progress, the slick stairs got more narrow and Michael was stepping by placing one foot directly in front of the other. His mind wandered while they made their way down the seemingly endless staircase, what waited for them, what would they do if they had to confront FlaWizarmon, what would happen after they left, how would they leave, where do they go after they do leave? These questions haunted his thoughts and he tried unfruitfully to dismiss them because he was unable to answer them. Yet they lingered, as though the answer was just at the tip if his tongue waiting to spring out. Time seemed to go on as endless as the staircase was turning into. Michael was tired, he felt achy, his mind dull, and he wanted to lay down to rest. Cairomon broke the silence not long from these feelings settling in for the first time since they were above ground.

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"I need to rest, If we are not close to the bottom we will need to rest on these stairs." Michael felt around on his armor and found a small hard pebble wedged between two pieces, he handed it to Cairomon in the dark. As they let it fall they counted,

"1... 2...-" CLANG-G-G-G-G. They were near the bottom, the entire chamber shook from the mighty noise of the tiny pebble but they felt renewed energy tear through them. While still making slow progress neither were tired any longer. They continued going and they moved faster than they had before. Michael steadily carried out his pattern of one foot in front of the other, brace on the wall, move forward, rinse and repeat. His foot went down, he shifted his weight, and his foot slid to the left right off the step. Right into nothingness he felt himself go, Cold air rushed around him as he began his fall. Within moments he realized that the fall was much further than the pebble hand indicated, it must have hit something to make any noise at all. He free fell. He screamed. Cairomon shouted. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Then all at once he was submerged, it wasn't water, it was thick, cold, and surprising. He swam slowly to the surface and carefully cleaned his nose and mouth before breathing.

"Cairomon," His voice reverberated in a deafening thrum, "Jump." There was a subtle sound of clanking as Cairomon's claws touched the rocks. Michael moved over and after what seemed like several minutes Cairomon's mass made a very quiet gulp sound as the thick slime absorbed his landing. A moment later he was at the surface, together they blindly found where they could climb out. At the base of the stairs, next to the pit of slime, the two slept. Their rest wasn't solid as both moved uneasily. When Michael did wake up he felt he'd overslept but he knew it was his uneasiness sleeping in the pitch dark he was truly uncomfortable with. He woke Cairomon and they felt their way through the dark tunnel. After a short time they found the tunnel turned and as it did small crystals growing from the walls were luminescent. Michael felt stupid for sleeping in the dark when they could have found light just a little farther. Cairomon seemed very happy on the contrary and grinned broadly showing his sharp teeth. They started making their way down the glowing tunnel until they found themselves inside a large room. The glowing crystals lining the walls and floors all over. On a raised rock near the center of the room FlaWizarmon stood his back to them, he was mid-casting what appeared to be a complicated spell, he was taking his time. They moved as quiet as they could into the chamber. FlaWizarmon backed up as he finished the last part of the spell within circles he'd created. The circles started glowing and the glyphs shone brightly. The crystals in the entire chamber dimmed as though there was power being drained from them. A shadow grew within the circles and then suddenly a Digimon was there, an entity. It was clear that this was a Digimon of intense power. It's body was solid in the upper half and fading as it went down towards it legs in the shadow that it spawned from. The Digimon was a greenish blue color and had a soft glow to his being. It was clear he was a Djinn Digimon though it was none Michael was familiar with. The luminescent crystals waned in power just due to its presence, and the air grew cold and thick making the Michael's skin goosebump. He found himself awestruck until the Djinn spoke in a voice so mighty that the chamber tremored and the sound of hundreds of small crystals shattering made Michael gasp.

"Did you get the device FlaWizamon?" The booming voice crackled as though with electricity and thunder, FlaWizamon produced the Digivice. "Good, we are one step closer to releasing my kind into your plane of the Digital Universe." Then turning to look directly at Michael and Cairomon and pointing at them the Djinn commanded,

"Now bring me the human."