Imogen blinked in surprise as she stared into the deep cut in the ground. She had expected a pit so deep the bottom would be beyond sight. What she saw was a beautiful canyon far larger than the outside would convey. The earth was cut from nature itself, and pillars and arches of rock held up the ground, giving way to a bustling city below.
"This is incredible!" Deon exclaimed, leaning down and examining in detail. "An entire subterranean ecosystem! How did this happen?" He glanced over at Gigasmon.
"It's always been like this. A network of tunnels beneath the surface that we all call home."
Indeed, there were bridges crisscrossing the paths and empty spaces below with various Digimon walking around whatever sparse sunlight the gap afforded. Along with other Sunarizamon and Baboongamon, other species both large and small went about their daily lives.
There were small whitish-tan babies, just cute furry balls with big ears. She saw the familiar rocky figure of Gotsumon, alongside what looked to be smaller versions of them with one eye. There were small yellow armadillos along with larger Ankylosaurus type Digimon with a hard shell and spiked ball at the end of its tail.
Along the walls, bipedal armoured insects stood, with large drills on the end of its arms and nose. And finally in the clearing there were large creatures made of yellow stone with smoke pouring out of stacks on its back.
image [https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/immortalfork/97476102/3855/3855_original.png]
"Eeek!" Imogen wailed when Baboongamon suddenly picked her, Edward, and Wormmon up. She felt the wind rush through her hair and her stomach churned as the great ape jumped into the cavern, landing with a thud on the nearest bridge.
"Whoa!" Tavaras exclaimed, Gigasmon letting him and Deon down next to her, the younger of whom dropped to his knees heaving. ROOT followed on her own, landing without spectacle. Stumbling up, Imogen looked closer, seeing a network of dark tunnels bore through the earth, illuminated only by the natural light cascading in through an adjacent gap.
"It's beautiful." She said, gazing in wonder.
"Heh." Baboongamon grinned and picked Sunarizamon up, who had clambered down the walls himself. "It's gonna look even nicer once he's done with it." With that, the furry stone mammal walked off to the left, carrying the whining little reptile with him.
"Follow me." Gigasmon said, turning the opposite direction. As they walked downhill through the tunnels, Imogen took in the sights in more detail. Digimon were drilling and hammering along, creating things like artwork in the stone.
"What's everyone doing?" Deon asked the question going through her mind.
"The rocks make up our entire lives." the giant gnome explained. "We live in it, we use it for nourishment, and we create art with it." As he spoke, they passed a bridge where she could see Gotsumon sitting down and munching on some sandy rock. Her heart pang, remembering the Gotsumon from the village.
"The rock from the mountain, here specifically, is about as good as we can get." He continued. "The Digimon here thrive on the rich minerals, aided by the Spirit of the Earth."
"Oh? What do you mean, aided by the Spirit of the Earth?" ROOT asked. Gigasmon smirked and flexed his muscles.
"AncientVolcamon was the first to make this a home, and his influence and power seeped into the very Earth itself. To this day, we can feel his power through the stone all around us. It's not just me, but our entire community that benefits."
Imogen looked around with a new perspective. There was reverence in how they all looked at their home. Care was being taken in the drilling, the hammering precise.
"Do Digimon ever leave this place? We saw Gotsumon in the village." She asked. A shadow fell over Gigasmon's face.
"We don't take kindly to that Church of Nothing business. If people want to worship some hokey religion, well they can find their home somewhere else."
"Like Sanctuary Village." Tavaras finished, understanding Imogen's question.
"Why Jijimon and Babamon tolerate all that bullshit is beyond me." Gigasmon shook his head and looked at them. "You're not here to try and convert the lot of us are you?"
ROOT barked bitterly, touching her abdomen. "As if." Darkness fell as they walked through another tunnel. On the other end, finally off the bridges the group hit the bottom of the canyon, and Gigasmon led them deeper back. Imogen saw the rock face was a darker shade down here.
An archway stood at the end of the canyon, and stepping through it, they were all greeted by the sight of a large, circular room lit by sunlight peering in from the hole at the top.
A Digimon with a large nose like Gigasmon stood there, though smaller and wearing purple armour.
Grottemon [https://wikimon.net/images/1/1b/Grottomon.jpg]
"Grottemon, why are you here?"
"Oh, I just heard you brought the humans down and haaad to see them with my own eyes." Imogen clutched her jacket close as the smaller gnome's gaze lingered uncomfortably on them.
"Well here we are." Tavaras said.
"Grottemon, don't you have work to get to?"
"Aww come on, lemme in on this!" Gigasmon looked at him weirdly.
"You've never given two shits before." Grottemon laughed nervously, and in a fashion similar to Imogen’s brother, held a hand behind his head.
"I... I'm just curious what humans are like, is all."
Gigasmon growled. "Leave, I'll speak with you later." Stammering, Grottemon tried to linger, but Gigasmon stayed quiet and held his gaze, eventually scaring the smaller Digimon off.
"What was that about?" Tavaras muttered, once the small gnome had left.
"Baboongamon let slip LadyDevimon decided to make herself known to us, yes?" They all nodded, Imogen getting a lump in her throat remembering the nightmare creature attacking Garudamon back near the village. "Her influence is strong, and Grottemon, well he's not exactly the best model of a citizen to hold in high regard. It's best to keep what we have to say under wraps." He turned to ROOT. "What is the purpose of you bringing the humans here, Keeper?"
ROOT paced around. "I wish to learn more about what happened during the war. I believe it may help us understand how to both save this world from its current peril, and find the humans a way back to their own."
"How will you do that?"
"We follow the path to the Chamber of the Archives. There I should be able to use my powers to unlock certain memories." She looked at Imogen at the last part. What did she specifically have to do with any of this?
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"So the Digital World is attempting to correct itself once more." The large stone gnome mumbled.
"Gigasmon, what did you mean when you said what you call Echo Mountain ?" ROOT asked. Gigasmon looked at her strangely.
"Surely you should know this. The mountain was renamed after Susanoomon locked the Demon Lords away. Prior to that, it was known as Divinity Mountain." ROOT shook her head.
"It seems much has been lost to time, even more than I initially thought. Divinity Mountain, " She mouthed that name under her breath. "The name, there is meaning behind it. Yet one more thing I hope to find the answers to." ROOT looked up at him. "Thank you, Gigasmon. We should be on our way."
"You must stay the night at least." Gigasmon said. "You will not reach your destination before the sun sets, and being out there at night while you are hunted by Demon's troops is not wise."
"I have to agree." Tavaras said, shocking Imogen. He out of all of them was most desperate to get out. "Gigasmon, do you have any healers?"
"Oh no!" Imogen cried, running to Dorumon's side. Through all this, the small dinosaur was sweating and clutching his side. Gigasmon shook his head.
"Not unless you're made of rock."
"Then we don't have a choice." Tavaras looked at Dorumon. "We need to be able to fight if shit hits the fan."
Gigasmon grinned widely and flexed his muscles. "Those Nightmare Soldiers would be fools to attack me ." He laughed, and Tavaras joined him.
—
"Ouch!" Dorumon recoiled as antiseptic was applied to his wounds. Imogen shook her head; despite everything, it was that both him and Veemon were scared of.
"Can you sit still?" She exclaimed. Dorumon looked down.
"It hurts." He whined.
"And whose fault was it for getting into a fight in the first place, hmm?" Dorumon pointed at Tavaras, who stepped back.
"Hey! I'm the one who said we should just go with him in the first place. You're the one who decided to get all glowy!"
"Only because that's what you actually wanted!" Dorumon shot back.
"You could have stopped glowing and just ignored me."
"Well I didn't."
"SIT. STILL." Imogen jabbed the purple Digimon in the shoulder, and took bandages out of Tavaras's pack.
"OW!"
Imogen shook her head again, finishing wrapping his wounds. "Now rest, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Yes ma'am." Dorumon looked down, and Imogen felt a flash of recollection, doing the same things for her siblings when they got a scrape.
"Thanks," Tavaras said. They were all sitting in a small room near the top of the canyon, the only light coming from the entrance.
"Wow, it sucks to be fleshy." Sunarizamon stood upside down on the wall, watching her work with curiosity. "We'd just fill the hole with a rock!" The sandy creature threw a fit laughing.
"Shh!" Imogen put a finger to her lips and stared daggers at the mischievous Digimon. Veemon stirred, having fallen asleep next to her while ROOT and Deon were out exploring the place. She admired how inquisitive the young boy was. Young boy. He was older than her! Although it didn't feel that way, with how mature she had to be. At least all this new stuff kept his mind off Senna.
"You humans are no fun." Sunarizamon pouted. He looked at Tavaras, but at the silent smile of the older boy he clamored off muttering something about the softness of flesh.
Edward and Wormmon both sat on the opposite wall, watching her work while all but ignoring Sunarizamon. Her brother had no desire to go anywhere except home. She felt hypocritical for thinking that was a bad desire; she and Tavaras both felt the same.
"Do you think we'll ever make it home?" She asked quietly after making sure their host was out of earshot. Both men turned to her. "I - I hate to admit it, but I'm terrified. I'm scared of what's coming after us." Tavaras rested his hand on her shoulder.
"We're all strong." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Veemon, Dorumon. Hell, I haven't even seen Hudiemon, but I know Wormmon kicks ass when push comes to shove."
"And you, Iggy." Edward said, surprising her. "You're strong too. Don't forget what you can do." Her mind flashed back to their battle with Devimon. Yes, Chrysalimon was strong, but she was scared of what it was that made it fight like that. Leomon's last words echoed in her mind.
Imogen smiled, reassured at their words. Tiredness washed over her like a heavy wave, and she felt herself drift off in a restful slumber
—
Imogen blinked as she came to. Light peeked in from the entrance, washing out the flames of ROOT's sash as she sat sleeping, back against the wall. The young girl rubbed her eyes and looked around; she was the first one awake, but it had been a better sleep than since they left the safety of the Village. Sitting up, she felt the soft fur of the bed roll beneath her and blushed; someone must have set it up for her and she didn't even notice!
Reaching into her pack, Imogen reached for her water skin to quench her dry mouth - as beautiful as this canyon was, it was not meant for humans. "Well rested?" Imogen almost yelped at the Keeper's question. "I don't know what we're going to find there, but you especially need to be ready for anything." She said, pointing at her jacket.
Imogen nodded, eyes downcast. She had tried not to think what it had meant, that her mothers jacket was tied to seemingly everything . ROOT, Devimon, Wisemon. Hell, even Grottemon. Every time she had been looked at by the latter three, she squirmed uncomfortably. It wasn't her they were staring at though. What part did it play? What did it have to do with Imogen herself, if anything? She sighed, peeling a mango. With any luck they would all find out later in the day.
Tavaras yawned and stretched, bringing Imogen out of her thoughts. He opened his eyes, and seeing her eating breakfast smiled. She returned it warmly, his steadiness and reliability had been crucial in her not breaking down completely. The group silently took breakfast, each of them waking up shortly after the other. Dorumon flexed his arms and grinned. It may not be Jijimon's magic, but the medicine they did have worked wonders.
Right on cue, they heard the ground shake and Baboongamon rounded the entrance to their little cave. "Sweet, you're up." He grinned, booming voice echoing through the cavernous halls. "Whenever you're ready to go, Gigasmon told me to lead you guys outta here." ROOT nodded and stood, followed by the rest of them. Packing up, Imogen said a silent farewell to their safe haven and followed the rest of the team, Chrysalimon close behind.
"So, um, are we jumping out?" Edward asked, clutching his stomach. Baboongamon laughed.
"Do you want to?" Edward and Imogen both shook their heads frantically. "Aww, too bad. No, we do have stairs. Conveniently enough, they're in the same direction you're going."
As they walked through a number of dusty tunnels, Imogen felt her legs burn as the ground sloped up at an even higher degree than the last bits of the forest. About an hour later, much to her relief, they came across a set of stairs with daylight peering at them from the exit.
"And here we take our leave." Baboongamon turned to Dorumon as they stepped outside, Imogen shielding her eyes from the sudden onslaught of sunlight. "Thanks for the fight! Come visit again." Dorumon grinned and held his fist out to his new friend. Bumping it with his own, the furry baboon laughed loudly and sauntered back down the mountain, this time above ground.
"That was indeed convenient." ROOT said after the larger than life Digimon left. She gazed up the path, and the small door they had seen the previous day looked a lot closer now. "Come, we still have a few more hours to go."
Imogen's shoulder dropped, and took another swig of water before continuing the climb.
—
"Finally." Edward panted as they reached the top of the path, and Imogen found herself on the same wavelength as her brother. She was sweating profusely and her legs burned with the effort of the climb. Not helping matters was the bare sun beating down upon them the entire time, now setting in front of them with the glare causing her to squint. The door, really a hole in the mountain, was large. Large enough to fit two MetalGreymon's side by side.
Wiping her own brow, ROOT took a deep breath and stepped through the precipice. Following through, Imogen's jaw dropped. From the darkness of the entrance, she had expected a pitch black tunnel leading further into the mountain. Instead, they were in a great circular hall. Light blue orbs cascaded down the walls like a roaring waterfall, the brilliant glow washing over them. The floor was ornate itself, made of dark brown wood with carvings of which had no meaning to her.
As the Keeper of the Chronicles walked further in, the orbs shone brighter. She turned to Imogen and held out her hands. "May I borrow your jacket?" Imogen hesitated, feeling apprehensive. This was it. What were they about to find out? She could run away, and not have to face her mother's memories. But what would that accomplish? If she didn't do this, they may never find a way home.
Taking a deep breath, Imogen took it off and handed it gently to ROOT. She crossed her arms, feeling Tavaras stare at her marks, and she suddenly felt naked despite the warm glow around them.
ROOT lay the jacket on the ground between them, and holding out her hand a blue orb shook from the wall and darted into it. Red eyes stared into her own as the Keeper held the orb above the jacket and the light engulfed the brown apparel.
The orb shot back into the wall, and to Imogen's surprise the jacket itself darted up and hovered in the center of the room as if possessed. They all covered their eyes as a bright light erupted from it and engulfed the entire room.
When she opened her eyes, it looked as though they were standing on a glass pane hovering close to ground made of dirt and grass. In front of them stood a taller woman with bright blond hair in a tight ponytail. Her eyes were a striking hazel, and she wore pleat trousers. What really drew Imogen's attention was the jacket she wore. Brown, but not nearly as weathered as what she wore. She looked in awe; there was a familiarity and warmth clawing in the back of her mind.
Imogen heard soft footsteps next to her and turned to see Edward, tears falling freely down his face. His hand was outstretched as if trying to touch the woman, and his voice was almost a whisper.
"Mum?"