You and your friends talk for a while, and you quickly come to the agreement that, while adventure is fun and all, you'd really rather not go trekking across the entire island without some form of supplies. Of course, getting supplies requires money, but that's not as big of a problem as most would think, for one reason alone.
The Drimogemon. Large mole-like Champions with drills for horns, they are proficient diggers, preferring to live their lives mostly underground. And Machinedramon's Black Gear stash is mostly underground, though the largest clusters are on Infinity Mountain, hence why nobody digs there.
According to the Digimon, they don't actively
search for the Gears, they just
show up. And Drimogemon are close-contact fighters, which really doesn't mesh well with an insidious object that implants mind control through direct contact.
No, they are not suited for destroying those Gears at all, which is where you come in. Every now and again, someone has to go down the tunnels and clear out the deposits before they activate, and with your Digivices, it may as well be you.
You're all in agreement on that part. It's just that the general definition of 'you' is
significantly more difficult to decide on.
"But you're letting
TK go with you!" Kari complains. Her brother sighs.
"TK has Angemon, and besides, he's Matt's responsibility, not mine. If you find your Digimon, or we leave the island, you can come around, but you can't do anything right now."
Kari waves her Digivice in front of her brother. Tai doesn't budge.
"It's probably not going to be that much fun, anyway," Biyomon points out. "I mean, we're going to be in a dark cave for most of it. Where's the fun in that?"
"I can think of a few things," Gabumon volunteers. "Of course, most of them would likely get one of us lost..."
"Yeah, let's not do that," Matt tells his partner. Meanwhile, Kari sighs, having given up on getting to explore the tunnels.
"Don't worry, Kari! I'm not going, either!" Bukamon points out. "So you aren't the only useless one!" You sigh. Once Joe meets his partner, he's going to have to teach the little thing the meaning of the word 'tact'. You don't envy him.
Still, you sort of feel bad for her. She has just as much stake in this world as the rest of you, yet doesn't have any say in it due to her lack of a Digimon.
Your hand slips into your pocket, and suddenly, you have an idea. The object you found at camp feels a bit like Kari's Digivice, and giving her something to look after would probably make her feel better.
"Hey, Kari," You start, and she turns to you, still pouting a little. It'd be more effective if you didn't know just how smart she is for her age. "I found something earlier, and I only just got it clean. Taking it into the tunnels would just make it dirty again, so..." You slip the object out of your pocket and hand it to her.
It's glowing faintly.
She takes it, staring at it with wide eyes. "It's so pretty!"
You smile. "It is, isn't it? So take good care of it, okay?"
She nods fiercely. "I will!" And that's the end of that. Tai shoots the two of you a betrayed look. You just grin at him and try to look innocent.
All things considered, you probably fail.
The first two hours or so in the tunnels pass mostly without incident. The Gears closest to the surface on this part of the island have all been destroyed, as far as anyone could tell, but as the things seem to have minds of their own, there's no way to know for sure.
Of course, telling exact time in these tunnels is difficult. You are in almost complete darkness the whole way through due to Drimogemon having sensitive eyes, the only tunnels that are lit up being the ones that Digimon use to travel to Gear Savanna. And you aren't exactly planning on heading there at the moment.
(Safe tunnel navigation DC: 50. Tai, Matt, TK: Pass. Sora, Izzy, Mimi: Fail)
Of course, it doesn't last that way for long. Mimi pauses to talk to Izzy for something, you turn to tell them to keep up, and suddenly the other three have disappeared.
"We should keep going down the tunnel," Tentomon suggests. "They can't have gone far!" But maybe you take a wrong turn somewhere, because at some point the ground gives out from underneath you and you fall to the next level down.
Still unlit, of course. Which doesn't make things better. Not that there's a way for them to be
good, what with the pain you're feeling from your arm right now. Still, you're not the worst off. That one probably goes to Mimi, who you're pretty sure is trying to stand up and failing.
Tentomon and Biyomon fly down to meet you. "Sora! Are you okay!?" Your partner asks, panicked. And for good reason. You've never fallen from a great height before without Birdramon to catch you, and there's just no room for her in these tunnels.
"I'm fine," You lie, and you doubt she's able to tell, what with the total darkness and all. "But we need to get out of here."
How, though?
Sora's HP: 28/35
Izzy's HP: 23/28
Mimi's HP: 20/28
[ ] Wait around. Somebody's probably going to come this way eventually, right? (Doesn't strain Mimi's leg. Decent chances of rescue. Loses a good amount of time.)
[ ] Suddenly, room constraints don't matter to you so much. Is Birdramon available? (Results depend entirely on your Trigger check. Izzy and Mimi may also make Trigger checks, but there is very little that Togemon would be able to add to this situation.)
[ ] Try and find your own way out. (Just as likely to get you even more lost. Strains Mimi's leg. Good chance of finding or doing something cool either way.)
