Arcs of lightning traipsed across the glistening floor and the chamber began to fill with a thick haze as Manowarmon spun this way and that, trying to get a hold of their bearings. Martin still stood in front of them, a friendlyl (and, let’s face it, overly optimistic) smile on his face.

“So...I know this is a bit rushed, but I wanna get to know you!”

The jellyfish was sadly not particularly open to a bonding session. Beside themselves with confused rage, they thrust one arm out, with Martin ducking just before it connected with his head. The mass of tentacles instead collided with one of the Bambolamon, who knocked into the other two like skittles. They lay in a heap, their eyes rolling in their still-grinning skulls. Martin swallowed, and shimmied backwards, clasping his hands.

“Okay...I still think we can make this work.”

“Wonderful! Astounding!”

Manowarmon turned to see Oninarimon clapping his hands and hopping from foot to foot, letting out uncharacteristic giggles from beneath his mask.

“It worked! It worked! Albeit slightly differently to what I expected, but still...”

“This was your fault!” Manowarmon floated above their companion and glared downwards, their lower half still rocking back and forth. “You were pushing me, and I got confused and...now look...”

A couple of bolts of electricity struck the ground at Oninarimon’s feet, and the fox spirit yelped as lightning coursed over his feet. He stepped backwards, his enthusiasm waning just a smidgen as he raised his hands. “Okay, so...no need to panic-“

“I’m not...panicking!”

Manowarmon’s body reared up all of a sudden, as little balls of purple electricity formed inside their rightmost arm. They brought their palm up, and screeched.

Martin watched all this in fascinated horror, when he felt a tap on his arm. Aardmon pointed over her shoulder. “Come on! While they’re still figuring things out...”

Martin shook his head. “But I-“

“YOU! You did this to me!”

There was a bang as Manowarmon slammed into a wall, before turning on Martin, anger and confusion and terror flashing across their face and most of their body in a brilliant display. They held out their palm, the purple light growing more intense.

“Toxic Shocker!”

A stream of purple orbs flew from their arm, but the force spun Manowarmon around again. Out of control, the pellets flew wide, some striking the ceiling and some the walls. And Oninarimon noticed, slightly too late, that a couple were headed straight towards his face.

“Oh dear...”

The orbs impacted, and burst in an explosion of spidery bolts. Oninarimon was lifted off the ground by the force of the attack, his body spasming in mid-air, before he fell backwards, his clothes severely singed and his mask staring blankly upwards in a goofy fashion.

Manowarmon held their hands to their topmost face. “Oh god...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that...”

Without warning, one of their arms exploded again, sending more orbs flying off to one side and illuminating the hallway with a brilliant red. The excitement was far too much for the structure of the cage, which finally came crashing down with an immense clang, one of the panels breaking off. Martin stared at the chaos around him, when Ursula snapped him out of it.

“This way! The wall’s open!”

The boy turned and saw the others making their move; Ursula was standing by the exit they’d seen before. Just inside he could make out the tiny flickering light of Hinkymon’s head. They had a way out.

Aardmon grabbed his hand. “Quickly, before the others come-“

“Wait!” Martin pulled his hand back and turned, looking up at the panicking jellyfish. “I can’t just leave them!”

“You’ve done enough. They’re dangerous now.”

“But I thought I could only evolve my partner...” Martin shook his head, standing his ground. “They need to come with us!”

Aardmon bit her lip. “They’re a creature from the Dark Area!”

“I don’t know what that means!”

“They’re bad!”

“They didn’t want to hit me in the first place! I made them do it!” Martin reached forwards and grabbed Aardmon by the scruff of the neck. “That was the whole plan, wasn’t it?”

“Yes it was!” Aardmon pushed Martin away. “Why are you yelling at me then?”

“I don’t know! This is all very confusing!”

“WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?”

The loud, booming voice stopped everyone in their tracks, and they turned towards the corridor, where Krampusmon stood, stunned into silence. The old demon looked up at Manowarmon. Then down at Oninarimon, and the three Bambolamon. Then over at the children. His face twisted into a horrendous snarl.

“You bastards!”

Manowarmon yelped, and waved their arms back and forth, their bottom half quivering. “It’s not what it looks like! I promise! Oh god, I’m sorry-“

Their arm burst open again, sending a spray of static orbs at the demon man, which collided with his torso in a shower of sparks. There was a grunt of pain, and the old Digimon stumbled backwards. Manowarmon’s garbled, making a sound like a rusty door.

­“...I didn’t mean to do that either...”

All explanation was over in a second, as the old demon shook away the sparks. With fury in his eyes, he took a couple of strides forwards and raised his cane above his head.

“Slay Bell!”

The stick collided with the floor with an incredible noise like a vast gong, deafening everybody in the chamber and stunning them momentarily. The bell vibrated further, splitting the rock open and causing a web of black wood shot out from the ground, crashing into Manowarmon like a fist from hell.

The impact sent the jellyfish spinning wildly in the air, shedding data all around them like a fleshy Catherine wheel. As Polypmon, they finally came to a stop next to Martin, where they rolled slowly over themselves in mid-air, prone and catatonic. Martin and Aardmon just gawped.

“That was one hit...”

The black wood retracted quickly, vanishing back into Krampusmon’s cane. Fuming, he began to march forwards, his eyes ablaze and his beard letting off sparks.

“You bastards...are going to pay...when I get my hands on yo-“

CRACK

“GEEZ!”

The demon man’s foot skidded sideways all of a sudden, and his spine arched backwards with a horrific noise, sending him crashing to the ground. From his crooked position, he whimpered in pain. “Owwwww....”

Mere metres away, Martin felt his whole body shudder, and he put a hand to his head. “I can’t take much more of this.”

“Oi, cloth-ears!”

The boy turned, only to see that everybody else had in fact carried on without him. Only Eleanor stood at the entrance to the catacombs, beckoning wildly.

“Grab the jelly and leg it!”

Martin shook his head, grasped the rotating ball of gel beside him by the rearmost tentacles, and hurried to the cave entrance. He could hear Krampusmon groaning behind him, but he didn’t dare look back.

“Cowards! Heathens! You...you...damn you and your...energy...and good skin...crap...ow...”

By the time Krampusmon had forced his spine back into position, the children were gone. Only a sea of destruction remained around him.

“It has been far too long since I’ve done that...”

He let out a wheezing breath, and allowed himself to rest on his cane for a couple of seconds. There was a muttering beside him, and he looked down at Oninarimon, who was sat up, swaying visibly.

“That was...a very...unsuccessful experiment...”

Krampusmon sighed. “I could have warned you it would go wrong. We have the worst luck when it comes to humans.” The goat man narrowed his eyes. “But I’m not letting them get away with that. Forcibly evolving a member of the Dark Area, tainting them with their filth; that is just an insult. I won’t allow it!”

He crouched down and pulled the fox spirit to his feet, staring at the dark hole in the wall. His eyes darted back and forth, and very slowly the corners of his mouth twisted upwards in a deliciously devious fashion.

“It’s been too long. I think it’s time we rounded up the others. I think it’s time for a hunt.”

He grinned at Oninarimon beside him, but his smile faded when he saw that he was getting no reaction. The fox spirit laughed in a dazed fashion. “All I can see is bubbles...”

Krampusmon ran his fingers down his face.

“Damned kids...”

The escaping children could hear the ominous rumbles from above as they descended deeper and deeper, losing the light. Pretty soon it was black all around, save for Polypmon’s bioluminescent glow and the flickering flame on Hinkymon’s head, still leading the way. Although before too long even that vanished in the blackness. The imp was gone again.

When it became clear that nobody was coming after them imminently, they slowed to a walking pace, trying to catch their breath from the exhilaration. Callum and Empermon took the opportunity to drop to the back of the group, where Martin was wheezing along, still holding Polypmon by the tentacles like some demented balloon.

“Well done.”

“Thanks.”

“You okay? That looked pretty...intense.”

Martin gave a flat smile, and glanced behind him.

“My hand’s numb.”

Empermon clasped his claws together. “You know...you could always leave them behind. Just saying.”

“Empermon!” Callum nudged his partner on the shoulder, looking offended. “They’re one of us now. That’s Martin’s partner you’re talking about.”

“Would this be the self-proclaimed Dark Area resident who literally just attacked us?”

“Minor setbacks. You just need to believe. Come on; we’ve found two partners already!”

“And look how well it’s going so far...”

“Guys?” Martin sighed, and stopped for a moment. “Hang on, I need to change things around a bit.”

He pulled the unconscious jellyfish forwards, and placed their entire squishy body under his other arm, gently squeezing the gelatinous ball and silently wondering whether this really was his life now. He looked at his other hand, and winced, just able to make out the several red streaks across his palm. He shook his hand, and carried walking. Empermon just stared up at him.

“You do seem to have picked a partner who’s bad for you.”

“Come on. It’s not their fault.” Martin looked down at the serene face of the invertebrate under his arm, and allowed himself a little smile. “Technically, they did help us out there.”

“But they’re-“

“I know. You’ve said. Both you and Aardmon.” The boy’s voice took on a bit of an edge, shutting the penguin up temporarily. “I still don’t know what the deal is with the Dark Area. Yeah, sure, some of those guys look like arseholes. But if this whole messed up situation means that Polypmon’s my partner, then it’s up to me to make that work.”

Callum blinked. “By kidnapping them?”

“I panicked.”

“Uh-oh...”

The head of the group stopped suddenly, and the rest of them barrelled up behind her like a concertina, with Martin very nearly bowling the whole lot over. After a few muffled apologies, they all clustered around Aardmon, who was looking in several directions with a perplexed expression. She turned back, holding a hand to her chest.

“So did anyone see which way Hinkymon went?”

Nobody had. In fairness, it was rather dark, though there was now some light. They appeared to be in a large cavern, seemingly made out of the same crystalline material as the hellish hall above. But with no candles or lanterns dotted around the place, the true extent of the environment finally had a chance to shine. Quite literally. Deep within the flint walls there were arcs of flowing orange, like flames trapped behind glass. They swirled this way and that, occasionally splitting apart, then colliding again with muffled dazzling explosions. The whole cavern shone with deep reds and bright yellows; it was all really rather beautiful to behold.

Although beautiful was less than helpful in the current situation, as Eleanor helpfully pointed out.

“So...where the fuck is the exit?”

Again, nobody really knew. And the eerily beautiful surroundings did little to dissuade the fact that there was a mob of archnemeses lying in wait above them; a group of archnemeses who, they were willing to bet, were going to be pretty pissed off.

They were still very much trapped.

As Echidnamon was busy finding out at the moment, there was nothing quite like having a babbling fox spirit thrown at your (non-existent) feet in order to grab your attention.

Everybody gathered around, intrigued by Krampusmon’s sudden dramatic entrance and his subsequent display of the comatose minion. Previously the smug spirit had carried himself with more grace and dignity than even some of the archdemons themselves, but now he just lay on his back, twitching slightly and muttering something about being the greatest artist in the Digital World, and how he would show that stupid Inarimon, and yet more indecipherable garbage.

Krampusmon, thankfully, didn’t dwell on his colleague’s condition any further, save for using him as an example.

“They’ve escaped.”

Buermon hissed, and wheeled himself around to everybody in turn. “I told you this would happen. Didn’t I tell you this would happen?”

Echidnamon didn’t answer. She bent over, peering down at the shuddering Oninarimon, who now seemed to have switched to the ‘delirious’ stage of ‘being struck by a manic jellyfish’ syndrome. She frowned. “The humans can do all this?”

Krampusmon grimaced. “Not on their own. They stole Polypmon and forced them to evolve, turning them mad.”

“Polypmon?”

Krampusmon rolled his eyes. “The floating jelly? One of your spawn, I believe?”

Echidnamon frowned even harder for a minute, before planting a fist in her palm. “Oh right. That guy. The spineless one.”

(Ba-dum TSH)

The naga heard a snickering behind her as all four of the demon ponies crowded around, licking their chops.

“So they’re dangerous. They need punishing.”

“And the fox is useless, and also needs punishing.”

“We’ll do it!”

“Yay!”

“I’ll say,” said Fantocciomon, as he cradled the prone and scorched bodies of three Bambolamon in his spindly arms. “They’ve damaged my children. No respect, these creatures. No respect whatsoever. I am beginning to lose my patience.”

His last word was punctuated with a full body spasm, which rattled the Bambolamon in his arms and caused them all to flinch. He immediately withdrew, stroking the nearest shivering doll on the forehead and carefully placing him back on his own body.

Echidnamon rolled her eyes, before settling them on Krampusmon before her. The goat demon stood relatively still, swaying slightly and rocking his cane back and forth. Worryingly, he was smiling. Echidnamon grimaced.

“What are you thinking?”

“Only for my own satisfaction, dearest Echidnamon-“

“Don’t patronise me.”

Krampusmon stroked his beard. “I was just thinking...how long has it been since we’ve been on a proper hunt?”

Echidnamon was about to blow him off, but she stopped herself. Raising a hand, she shushed all of the squabbling behind her, sliding slightly forwards. “I don’t think I know what you mean...”

Krampusmon chuckled. “A hunt. A pursuit. A group of us gathering together to bring down the human scum. Maybe even a little competition with it. Which of us can kill them first.”

Echidnamon raised an eyebrow.

“Sounds...a little mundane...”

Krampusmon stroked his beard. “We could always up the stakes if we are so inclined. Perhaps whoever can collect the most of their bones. Or maybe skin them and use them to decorate the walls here. It might add a little cheer to the old place.”

Fantocciomon raised a hand. “I’m for it!”

“The Battle For Life Is Futile Against The Dark Matter Embrace.”

The puppetmaster twisted his head around ninety degrees, “Annihilamon, do you want to wreck some humans or not?”

“...”

The nihilistic void neglected to answer, although the four hell horses were more than happy to whinny their approval. Only Buermon was hesitant, pawing the ground. “I don’t like it.”

Fantocciomon scuttled forwards and nudged him. “That’s because you have no sense of fun.”

“Rather, I have a sense of survival. The children have gone now; can’t we just let them be? I can think of far more useful targets we could-“

“Oh, go chew on some rocks, you coward.” Krampusmon pushed his birch cane forwards as he stared up at Echidnamon.

“We’ve been stuck here for so long. The children already have a head-start; this would be the perfect challenge. And a chance to get back at them, as well as the traitor Polypmon.”

Echidnamon raised an eyebrow. “Traitor of what? We never had an end-goal, you know. Just...just...” She paused, and stared down at her own palms, the red eyes embedded within staring back at her.

“I guess we haven’t done a single thing since we got out...”

Krampusmon shrugged. “Suit yourselves. I’m going regardless. But you know, it would be far more fun as a troupe.“ He turned, sending a grin back at the other archfiends. “Only if you’re interested though...”

He set back off down the corridor, with Fantocciomon, the ponies and Annihilamon all following after him. Echidnamon held back, staring down at the juddering body of Oninarimon beneath her.

“...perhaps it would do me good?”

Buermon rolled up to her. “Ignore them. We have better things to worry about.”

“Do we?”

The furry demon faltered, spinning on the spot. “...I guess not...”

Echidnamon ran a hand down her neck, sharing a look with her companion. “We’ve been stuck in the same place for so long. Maybe...maybe it is time to let loose. Just a little.” She raised a hand, her nails glinting purple in the dim light.

“It’s been so long since I’ve actually cut loose.”

She slithered off after the others. Buermon stared for a second, before glancing down at Oninarimon.

“You’ve got it easy, buddy. Nobody expected anything from you anyway.”

Grrrrrr

Buermon jumped, and glanced upwards. From his vantage point in the black void above, Cruachmon was watching their every move, and the vast aerial totem was vibrating, increasing the flow of blood from his jaws and splashing the lion demon. Buermon scuttled back, and gave several short curtseys.

“Sorry, so sorry...no offense, your utter tyranny...”

Buermon stepped backwards, keeping both eyes on Cruachmon. The vast being trembled again, shaking the whole chamber. Then the eyes shut tightly again, and the caverns were filled with his rumbles of deep sleep yet again. Buermon watched him for a few minutes, barely daring to breathe.

When he was sure all was okay, he rolled forwards after Echidnamon, tying off the tail end of the hunt, as Krampusmon had put it.

All the while he had the nagging feeling that this was just going to end up as one more big embarrassment.

Unaware of the sinister machinations above, the humans caught their breath as they tried to figure out which way to go (not under any scientific scrutiny, but more a combination of pointing in a random direction and exclaiming ‘that seems like a good idea’”

As can be expected, this was a less-than-effective way of getting things moving.

Ursula was slumped on the ground some way away from the main group, trying to adjust herself so that the metal spine she’d been laden with wasn’t constantly digging into her, and failing miserably. She grunted, and muttered to herself in her mother tongue.

“<Why do I always get the worst deal?>”

A pair of feet appeared in front of her, and she looked up, biting her lip as she did so. Lorelie knelt down and typed away at her keypad, pausing occasionally as she tried to find the right words.

“You ok? 0.0”

It wasn’t exactly sophisticated or particularly comforting, but it was something. Ursula raised her eyebrows. “I’ve been better. At least we’ve made it away from one prison. Small victories seem to be the best solution.” She exhaled deeply. “I wish we still had a guide.”

Lorelie flopped down next to her, her own D-Psyche knocking against the rock wall. She let off a bunch of static, and remained still for a little while, before typing again.

“I don’t really know where we are. Did someone else evolve?”

“Martin has persuaded the jellyfish to join us.”

“That’s good.”

Ursula pulled a face. “I lied. The jellyfish is a hostage.”

“:I”

“They haven’t woken up yet.”

“8I”

Ursula gave a small smirk, and clasped her hands. “It will work out. I was hoping that Hinkymon would hang around, but he seems to have his own things to do. And at the very least we have somebody to work with us. Aside from the penguin.” Ursula bowed her head. “We are getting there. I don’t know where there is, but we are getting there.”

Lorelie hung her head, the D-Psyche letting off small beeps. She poked at the keyboard on her PDA, and held it out, not even turning her head.

“No thanks to me.”

Ursula shook her head. “You know it isn’t your fault, don’t you...”

There was a small nod. Ursula smiled reassuringly, although that didn’t last for long. “I have hardly been very helpful either.”

“You helped me.”

“...you’re worth helping.” Ursula pressed her lips together, racking her brain for responses. “I don’t want to be here. I wish it had been anybody else. I am not the right person to be saving the world.”

“You’re doing as well as everyone else. Except me.”

“Hey...” Ursula placed a hand on the smaller girl’s shoulder, looking sideways at her screen.

“You’re a tamer as well. You have it twice as hard and you’re still going. That’s good. That means a lot.” The tall girl smiled. “You’re determined. Find the right partner and you’ll be the one leading us into battle.”

Lorelie’s shoulders shook slightly, as if she was laughing beneath her silent mask. She tapped at the device again.

“What can I offer? We already have a penguin and a jellyfish. That’ll do, won’t it? ¯\_(?)_/¯”

“Correct.”

Ursula squinted in the gloom at the commotion going on ahead of her, and she pursed her lips.

“Speak of the devil...”

“WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE?”

The two girls watched, a bit concerned but mainly amused, as the now-awake Polypmon flitted back and forth, babbling nonsensical threats, before rushing towards Martin and wrapping their tentacles around his head like a fishing net. Martin raised a finger, staring straight ahead with a very tired expression on the visible part of his face.

“You know, I was wondering whether you were going to react like this.”

“What did you do to me?”

The boy spat stray tentacles from his mouth, and looked upwards. “Can I just point out that you are, in fact, back to normal?”

“You forced me to evolve!” Polypmon shuddered, and pulled their tentacles in a little tighter. “Do you have any idea how weird that feels?”

Empermon raised a hand. “Actually, I do. It feels quite nice after a while.”

“I don’t care how it feels! I panicked! You made me evolve and I lost my bearings and I attacked Oninarimon and Krampusmon and-“

The jellyfish froze, their eyes twitching and their tentacles suddenly going as stiff as boards.

“Oh my days, I attacked Krampusmon. He’s going to be pissed.”

Martin raised his hand again. “Can I just point out, again, that I will not be as pissed as he is and actually it would be really nice if you could help us out?” The boy smiled. “Please?”

“Oh no. No, no no no, definitely no. You’re coming back with me to the main chamber. The others will...they will...”

Polypmon trailed off, and they slowly unravelled themselves from the boy, their tentacles trembling as they let off little manic sobs.

“...my life is over...it’s done...there’s nothing I can do anymore..."

As they hovered in a spot, Martin gingerly shuffled forwards, holding out a hand.

“Would you like a hug?”

“Go away!”

“Alright.” Martin ran his hand over the back of his head. “Honestly...I panicked too. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you into our fight.”

Polypmon sniffed, and turned around, their eyes scanning Martin all over. They cocked their head, curiosity overtaking their misery.

“What are you people doing here, anyway?”

There was a scoffing sound from nearby as Eleanor folded her arms. “I thought we’d gone through this?”

“Eleanor, please...”

The girl sniffed, and walked away, leaving Martin alone with the jellyfish. They walked over to one corner, out of earshot of anybody else. Polypmon tangled their front tentacles together, trying their best to look intimidating and failing miserably.

“Well? Is it a good reason?”

“Kind of. Not really.” Martin leant back against a wall, running his hand over the screen on his chest. “Our world’s in trouble, just as yours is. We’re here to try and set things right. The Digital World sent out for humans like normal, but the Funnyman screwed it up.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

Martin looked up at the jellyfish, who wore a curious expression. Not particularly angry, but expectant.

“I don’t know how it works. I think you’re meant to be my partner, but...yeah. It’s confusing at the minute. The D-Psyche seemed to think so.”

“I figured that much.” Polypmon twisted, clearly uncomfortable. “I heard things in the Dark Area...a few snippets here and there about old partners of humans. I always wondered how it worked. I guess I don’t have a choice in this, do I...”

“Of course you do.” Martin clenched a fist. “I wanna keep fighting. I...no, we all came here to set things right. But we’re the ones who chose to do it. Even if the Digital World chose you, I don’t wanna force you. I promise.”

Polypmon steeled themselves. “How can I trust you after what just happened?”

“...you can’t. Sorry.”

The boy ran a hand beneath his hat, his eyes off to the side. “I want to be a hero; who doesn’t in some way? But look at me. I’m not exactly cut out for it. Then you came along and you were interested and...I guess I thought that I finally had a chance. If Callum could do it, then so could I. So...I jumped on you.”

He bowed his head. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. If you want, you can...go back to the others. You seemed happy with them.”

Polypmon turned. Then paused. Hovered a few steps, as the lights along their frill blinked and flickered. Then they raised their tentacles to their head, shaking angrily.

“Nyaaaah! I’m so confused! So flipping frazzled! How did my life come to this...”

They paused, looking forwards. “What was my life to begin with? Am I supposed to be a bad guy or the good guy or just...gosh darn you, Yggdrasil, what do you want from me?”

They went limp, descending to just above the floor. Martin gently knelt down (slowly) and placed a hand on their dome.

“If it helps, I feel the same way.” He sighed. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to say yes. But I also want to run away. And I want to punch you all in the face and drag you back. But I don’t know what I want to do more. I just...don’t know...”

They waited for a minute. Then they turned back to Martin, staring into his eyes with their glowing pink ones.

“Can I take you hostage?”

Martin blinked.

“Just while I think about it. It helps if I have something to motivate me. And...well, you did kidnap me first so...” They pressed the tips of their tentacles together, pouting a little. “Please?”

“I don’t really think that’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to ask me...”

“Oh. Hmm. I guess not.” Polypmon reached out and coiled a couple of tentacles around Martin’s right shoulder. “I’m taking you hostage, just for your information.”

A slightly exasperated expression flashed over Martin’s face, just for a second. Then he shrugged. “You know what, that’s fair. I can’t complain.”

“Yay!”

“Can I just ask that you don’t squeeze too tightly?” Martin held up his palm, hearing the jellyfish wince. “You aren’t exactly the safest partner...Digimon to touch.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” Polypmon smiled, before shaking their head and securing themselves around his arm. “Don’t trick me again. And don’t run away.”

“I couldn’t if I tried. Have you seen me run? I look like a spacehopper on rollerskates.”

“What’s a spacehopper?”

“For crying out loud...”

Across the cavern, Callum watched as the boy and his jellyfish squabbled together, and smiled to himself.

“It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? True friendship blossoming between two strangers.”

Aardmon shuffled up next to him and humphed loudly and deliberately. “It’s not what I had in mind.”

“Did you have anything else in mind?”

Aardmon sighed. “I wouldn’t expect you guys to know. The Dark Area is an interesting place full of interesting people. I certainly don’t know of another resident who’s bonded with a partner.”

Callum placed his free hand in his pocket. “Well maybe this is the time when we transcend boundaries in partnerships.”

Aardmon muttered to herself. “Of all the times to be experimental...”

“What was that?”

“I’m just saying, it’s worth being careful. This isn’t like you and Empermon, this is-“

“Completely fucking normal, from what I can see.”

Callum and Aardmon turned and jumped, seeing Eleanor standing behind them. The girl glared down at Aardmon. “You may be our guide but I don’t particularly like the way you’ve been talking.”

“Me?” Aardmon stammered, rubbing her paws together. “I just didn’t...it’s just not what I expected or...what I expected. That’s all. I want Martin to be safe – you all to be safe.”

“Martin’s a big boy. He can deal with it. If he wants his partner to be an eldritch abomination then maybe that’s his choice and you should fucking let him and not judge him every other sentence.”

Aardmon shut her mouth, and brought her arms together.

“...sorry...”

“Yeah, well...” Eleanor scratched behind her head. “I know – alright, I don’t know – but I can make a really good fucking guess what your problem is. We’re already in a messed-up situation, and if Martin’s able to see through it all and see his way through your prejudices, all the better for him.”

She stared down at Aardmon, who didn’t respond, her ears drooping. With no answer, she shuffled away, looking down at the ground. Callum raised his eyebrows.

“That was deftly handled.”

“Bite me.”

“I’m serious!” Callum smiled at the girl next to him. “If we have a chance to get another partner, we should take it. We’re on our way, Eleanor. We’re getting stronger.”

“Callum, we have two of them. I think we’re a teensy bit behind.”

The boy raised his arms. “Can’t I be hopeful? We’ll never get anywhere if we don’t believe we can do it.”

“Look, I’m...” She sighed. “Okay, fine, yeah, Martin’s doing well. Fuck, I hate to admit it but you’re doing well as well.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“Callum-“

“Can’t we just appreciate that?” Callum smiled. “We’re doing alright. We’ve made a couple of mistakes, but we’re getting through them. Trust me, it’s all gonna work out fine.”

Eleanor’s shoulders slumped, and she stared at the boy before her. A few seconds passed, and neither of them spoke. Eleanor looked away.

“You still don’t get anything, do you...”

She sniffed, and walked away before Callum could respond. She stopped just a few metres away, and turned back.

“If you are gonna lead us, be careful. Don’t get cocky.”

She paused.

“Please.”

She walked away, leaving Callum in the gloom. There was a paddling beside him as Empermon waddled up, tapping his shoulder with his instrument.

“You don’t half get into spats with that girl, do you...”

Callum looked down at his partner. “I don’t get that cocky, do I...?”

Empermon pursed his beak shut, and made a noise somewhat resembling a why-would-you-bring-that-up-now-don’t-pick-on-me-like-this noise.

“Eeeeeeaaaaa......sure. Not at all. A bit. Nothing horrible.”

Callum furrowed his brow.

“Thanks a bunch.”

The boy stuck his hand in his pocket and looked around. “Hey...is it just me or...is it getting a bit lighter in here?”

Indeed it was; the shimmering flares within the crystal walls seemed to be growing in brightness, forming a dazzling display on the ceiling. Then they were no longer within the walls, but dotted around the edges of the cavern; blues and whites and reds and oranges, all dancing in the darkness. The children gathered a little further together. Had they been discovered? Had the creatures from the Dark Area found them already?

Hinkymon sniggered, and wiggled his toes. “They’re not good at hiding, are they?”

The group jumped as one, and several of them swung around throwing wild defensive stances at the imp. Ursula was nearest, and having no wild defensive stance to adopt she satisfied herself with cursing and falling flat on her backside.

“Will you please stop doing that?”

“Doing what, Miss?”

“Sneaking up on us!”

Hinkymon smirked, his broad nose creasing as he did so. “Not my fault. I have a light on my head.”

“Well you’re incredibly good at it regardless.” Ursula grumbled, leaning on Callum as she pulled herself to her feet. “What are you doing here? Are you just trying to annoy everyone?”

“Yep.”

“Oh.” Ursula’s face fell. “Is that it?”

“You all annoy well.” Hinkymon pointed at Polypmon, and whistled through his teeth. “’Specially them. They’re good. They get all jittery.”

Polypmon swelled, and momentarily ignored their grip on Martin’s shoulder. “I do not get jittery!”

Ursula raised a hand. “I will deal with this, Polypmon. You stick to holding Martin hostage.”

The jellyfish huffed, and reattached themselves to Martin, all the while squinting at Hinkymon and curling their dome up like a vulture. A very flat, squishy vulture.

Ursula sighed, and looked down at the imp. “Are you actually here to help us?”

“Maybe.”

Beat.

“Do you believe that if you said yes it would make you a lesser Digimon?”

“Maybe.”

“Will you allow me to assume that you are here to help?”

Hinkymon grinned a toothy grin.

“Fine. Okay. We’re getting somewhere.” Ursula turned around, looked at the Digimon standing all around the cavern; big and small, tall and squat, goblins and porcupines and moles and dragons and all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures, subterranean or otherwise. “Are these all your family or something?”

Callum squatted as he stared at a Bukamon at his feet, pulling a face. “Is it me or do some of them look familiar?”

The Bukamon scrunched his face up.

“MUUUUUUUM!”

Callum squeezed his eyes shut as he became very aware of a large, moustachioed yeti stomping up behind him, cracking her knuckles one by one.

“What did I tell you about leaving my kids alone?”

Callum squeaked and hopped away on one leg, as Aardmon and Empermon stepped between him and the big fluffy angry parent.

“Look, we’re sorry, we’re just passing through, nothing to see here.”

Mojyamon narrowed her eyes. “You said that last time.”

“We did, didn’t we...” Callum’s puzzlement overcame his survival instincts, and he pointed at the angry sphere of white fur. “Weren’t you in the flying city? I did kinda save it by the way so...are we even?”

Grrrr

The boy suddenly found himself being pushed away as Mojyamon scooped up her toddler and stomped very quickly away from the humans. Aardmon scratched the back of her head. “That is a good point; either you have very bad luck when it comes to parents, or something’s amiss.”

Ursula turned to Hinkymon. “You didn’t happen to see a big floating city anywhere around here, did you?”

Hinkymon drew a blank. He turned to Lorelie, who was prodding away thoughtfully at her PDA.

“Maybe these are the guys who fell off?”

Ursula folded her arms. “How did they end up underground then?”

“The same way we did, probably.”

“And yet we are the ones who get tied up by demons and angry jellyfish? Seems like bias to me.”

“¬_¬”

Lorelie ran a finger around the rim of her screen, and was about to type again, when said screen lit up and her whole head began to vibrate with utmost urgency.

B-ding!

“You’ve got mail!”

Lorelie sighed, and sat down on the floor in an exasperated manner. “Guys, you have a message.”

She crossed her legs and straightened up, as the humans gathered round, kneeling next to her. Hinkymon tilted his head, blinking, before staring at Aardmon and Empermon, who both shrugged in unison. Polypmon was slightly more vocal.

“Oh my Yggdrasil what is that?”

Martin pursed his lips, listening to the mess of static that came through from the girl’s head.

“That, dear captor, would be the marvel that is subterranean phone reception.”

Lorelie turned slightly towards him, and whacked her D-Psyche on the side, muting half the interference. Polypmon sucked air in through their gums.

“Humans have the weirdest anatomy.”

“...anything...hello? Are you there?”

Callum smiled. “Keble? That you?”

“Oh thank god. Are you all okay in there? Did you manage to get out okay?”

The kids looked amongst one another, then up at Polypmon. The jellyfish merely looked puzzled.

“Am I supposed to do something?”

Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Well, you are supposed to be threatening us.”

“Erm...”

“Who is that? You kids in trouble?”

Callum exhaled loudly, and leaned into the speaker. “If I said that we’re fine and nothing’s wrong at all, would you believe us?”

Pause.

“No.”

“Okay, but it would be more helpful if you did believe it for the moment and we could actually get something done”

Another pause. Also no answer this time, so Callum tried again. “Ignore all that. Do you know where we are?”

“You’re right next to the...Dark Area, is it? I’d get out of there; it doesn’t sound like a nice place.”

Lorelie let off an angry little burst of static, and Ursula leaned in. “That is in progress. We’d appreciate any help though.

“That we can actually do!”

“Awesome! Where do we go?”

There was a muffled muttering on the other end of the line, which went on for a little bit longer than was particularly helpful. Callum winced as he heard Keble raise his voice a couple of times, before coming back on the line.

“That’s also in progress...”

“Great.”

“If we’ve got it right, we know where you are; all around you there’s a bunch of tunnels that lead to other areas of the world. It’s a bit like Swiss cheese in there at the moment. So you need to be careful where you step or you might end up somewhere completely different.”

Martin looked up. “That does explain how we got here. And how everyone else ended up here as well. The void beneath the city must have been one of these wormholes.”

“Exactly. And we think there’s one of these holes which will take you almost straight to the core of the Digital World. Not...completely, but far closer than you are at the moment.”

“That’s something.” Ursula narrowed her eyes. “Let me guess; you don’t know where it is.”

“As I said; it’s in progress.” Keble sighed.“Even when we find it, there’s a good chance you’re gonna have to dig for it. And right now I’ve been told it’s a case of checking the pointer of every glitch in the Digital World close to you till we find the right wormhole.”

Eleanor sniffed. “Wonderful. More waiting around.”

“You’re not in a massive hurry, are you?”

The girl didn’t answer. She slowly looked up at Polypmon again, who was hovering meekly above Martin’s shoulder. The jellyfish twisted the ends of their front tentacles together, looking left and right.

“We...might be...”

“I forgot they were quite that small.”

Fantocciomon hummed in a curious manner as he ran a spiky finger around the edge of the hole, chipping the rock as he did so. In truth, it was a bit of a squeeze getting all of them inside this bit of the hallway, with Buermon and Fantocciomon taking up most of the room.

(Annihilamon had rescinded to shrinking himself to about human size, enabling him to spout blasphemes against life with plenty of room to go around.)

Echidnamon heaved herself forwards and peered through the crack, her eyes darting back and forth. Buermon hovered just behind her, a look of worry on his face.

“My lady?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Echidnamon. How far away do you think they’re going to be by now?”

There was an excited whinnying nearby as Podargosmon, Deinosmon, Lamponmon and Xanthosmon bounced around on their pointed hooves, singing terrible songs amongst themselves. “We’re go-nna get them, we’re go-nna chew them, we’re go-nna swallow them, we’re gon-“

“God, shut up!” yelled Krampusmon, and he swung his birch staff in a futile effort as the ponies leapt away, hissing and sticking their tongues out.

Fantocciomon smirked, stroking his back as more and more of Bambolamon wriggled out of the woodwork of his spine, lining up in an adorable little formation in front of him. “Honestly, some people just take things way too far, don’t they?”

Buermon rolled his eyes and leaned a little further towards Echidnamon, whispering in her ear. “We could just leave them. They’ll listen to you...well, a couple of them will listen to you. It’s your call.”

Echidnamon’s head fell forwards, and Buermon heard her sigh loudly. When she looked up, her expression was different. Not enthused, or even particularly determined, but resolved. Like she had something to prove to herself.

“What are we doing here, Buermon?”

The great lion-spider-demon shrugged (which was an odd sight).

“Surviving? Living free from the Dark Area? Isn’t that enough for the time being?”

“Maybe for you. But surviving is a complete waste of time. And the world up above is already in ruins.” Echidnamon pulled herself back, and ran her bejewelled fingers over the bracelets on her arms. “I know enough about humans to know that they’re dangerous. We don’t have to do anything with them. But look at me; I’m a titan of dread. A scourge of worlds. I spawned a thousand monsters and laughed as my children purged life from great swathes of the world, countless years ago. And if I can’t get a kick out of hunting some humans, then there’s really no hope left for me.”

Buermon stepped back, clenching three fists. “You’re gonna be disappointed.”

“Well, we can but try.” Echidnamon pointed downwards. “Are you sure you’re not coming with us?”

Buermon shivered. “I have resolve as well. I want nothing to do with them.”

“Well at the very least could you open the door?”

Buermon puffed out his cheeks, but he complied. The walls began to shiver as the great demon lay backwards, clasping the solid rock of the ground beneath him with each of his five claws. He closed his eyes, and his muscles flexed. Krampusmon held onto one of the ponies, and they clamped onto each other. The Bambolamon locked arms. Echidnamon just steeled herself.

“Chthonic Vortex!”

There was a deep rumbling, the sound of a thousand splinters, and then with a deep, crimson glow as the energy within began to break free, the very earth began to fracture...

The rumbling earth penetrated the depths of the catacombs in seconds, and the rock wrenched sideways. All the lights vanished at once as refugees from all over the world scurried away, holding their dear ones tight in an attempt to ride out the storm.

Some weren’t so lucky; pulled apart from the others and lost in the raging rock, or falling even further into the bowels of the earth

(Which must have been a shitty day for some of them, for whom this was the second time they’d plummeted to their doom).

A tear broke through the centre of the cavern, and vents of orange flame burst out, followed by spikes of rock and a series of screams. The tamers clung onto whoever they could as the world twisted around them, sucked towards the epicentre of the already labyrinthine tunnels.

Then the spinning stopped, and the earth ground to a halt. One by one the children unfurled themselves, looking up at the fractured stone above. Polypmon, wrapped tightly around Martin’s arm, let out a whimper.

“They’ve started...”

Martin looked down at the jellyfish, who was quivering even more than before. “They’re hunting you. And that means they’re hunting me. Oh no...”

Hinkymon bit his lip, looking around. “The rock’s all changed now. S’gonna be fun trying to find the exit.”

“We didn’t even know where we were going in the first place!” yelled Eleanor, steadying herself against one wall. “What are we supposed to do now?”

There was a savage roar that permeated the catacombs, followed by the sounds of hundreds of tiny footsteps. Far away. Muffled. But definitely getting louder.

Polypmon squeaked. “You should definitely run.”

Callum stepped backwards, his fingers clutching against the fractured wall. “Aardmon, I know this isn’t your thing but we could really use your sense of direction right about now.”

Silence.

“...Aardmon?”

Callum turned. So did everyone else. But it didn’t change anything. Aardmon was missing.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Ursula held her teeth together, looking back and forth, nearly falling over as she did so.

“Where the hell is Lorelie?”

Martin reached out, running a finger over the break in the rock, jutting outwards. He turned to the tall girl, noting the fear in her eyes.

“The ground seems to have been twisted all one way. If they’re...wherever they are, they should be somewhere in that direction.”

He pointed directly at a wall which really didn’t help with any direction. He slowly turned, picking one direction through the tunnels, but as if by magic it seemed to roar back at him, the bloodlust of the demons above already reaching this deep.

Eleanor clenched her fists. “We don’t have a choice either way.”

“I’m going.”

A hand came out and stopped Eleanor in her tracks, and she looked up at Ursula. “Think about this-“

Ursula did for about a split second. Then she marched forwards again, heading into the darkness.

“I’m going to find her.”

Martin stepped forwards, holding out his free hand. “Wait, what about us?”

“We’ll find you. You need to try and find the portal; if we all go and look for Lorelie they’ll corner us and catch us.” Ursula turned back, her face steeled. “I should have kept an eye on her.”

Callum clenched his fists. “We’re all in this together, Ursula.”

“And we’ll all come out of this together.” Ursula nodded. “Find the way out. Then we’ll find you.”

She ran off before anybody could stop her. Eleanor swore under her breath, then looked down at Hinkymon at her feet.

“You know the tunnels, don’t you?”

“I do. Well I did.” Hinkymon nodded. “I can find my way. It’s easy. I think.”

“Go after her. Please...bring them back.”

Hinkymon gave a quick salute. “Me and the two Misses will be back in no time.”

The lights flickered as the goblin scampered off on four legs after the girl, leaving the three children and two Digimon with only the faint glow of the jellyfish and each of their screens. Callum glared at Eleanor. “That was stupid.”

“Welcome to the Digital World.” The girl sighed. “Anything we do is stupid. I just wanna have a little trust in people.”

She walked off in the opposite direction, her D-Psyche clumping on the ground as she beckoned. “Come on. We’d better do as she said and find a way out.”

Another rumble from above, strong enough to make even the fearless girl shiver.

“Before someone finds us...”

Echidnamon whistled as hordes of Bambolamon whizzed past her, scampering with glee into the catacomb’s entrance, now vastly opened up. Granted, it had ruined the aesthetic of the hallway just a tiny bit, but she had to admit it did air the place out a little.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side, Buermon.”

The circular demon shook the fragments of rock from his mane as he pushed himself to his feet, only looking slightly dizzy from the whole ordeal. “You don’t need to worry. I am neither vengeful nor a sadist.”

“How on earth did you end up in the Dark Area then?”

“The follies of youth. And a bit of bad luck involving a fault line and a visiting sovereign. And about three hundred years of denial followed by blind panic. And then mother-fucking humans, because my day wasn’t bad enough.”

Echidnamon blinked, but her response was quelled as Xanthosmon galloped past her, whinnying with glee as she dived into the catacombs, with her sisters not far behind. Krampusmon smirked as he waddled forwards, cracking every joint in his body.

“Amateurs. Utter children. You don’t sprint straight away; you pace yourself. I’ll find them first; don’t you forget it.”

Annihilamon, in a rare display of enthusiasm, was already scouring the catacomb walls with far-reaching shadowy tendrils, his inner helix pulsing and letting off delighted little fragments of nihilism. Even he had disappeared soon, leaving only Buermon, Echidnamon, and a rather focused looking Fantocciomon who was moving his arms at a frightening speed. He looked up at the other two, and smiled.

“Don’t mind me; I’ve got dozens of excitable little boys to worry about. I need to focus.”

Echidnamon shrugged, and slithered lazily up to the entrance, staring down into the darkness. Buermon tilted to one side. “You know this isn’t going to help, right? We could just talk through your issues.”

“I’ve done nothing but talk, Buermon. I can’t keep complaining if I don’t do something to try and fix my...my...whatever the hell this funk I’ve ended up in is coming from.”

She turned round, her mouth twisting into a vicious smile.

“Better place your bets on me. You know I’m going to catch them first.” She chuckled. “And when I do, those foolish humans will forever regret the day they attempted to outrun Lady Echidnamon!”

Buermon blew a kiss. “Have a good trip then.”

“I will, sweetheart.”

There was a blinding flash, and the sound of a vast rattling echoing into the darkness. When Buermon looked up, he just caught the very end of her tail whipping away into the blackness.

The hunt was on.

TO BE CONTINUED...