Two paths, one destination | Chapter 37

                                    

                                          
Everyone groaned, sitting up from the rock hard ground in pain...Looking at the rubble covered entrance, leaving everyone buried and trapped inside.
"Wha...Why...Why did Silphymon do that?" Cora asks, staring in shock.
"Silphymon was trying to help us.." Blaine says. "Since we weren't listening to him...He had to force us in here." Everyone stands up, Taeka quickly running to the rubble, kicking at it.
"...Taeka, I don't think that's going to work." Blaine says, unamused.
"...Wait a minute. Terriermon? Where's Terriermon?!" Lily looks around frantically, not seeing any sign of Terriermon.
"He must've gotten stuck on the other side with Silphymon." Ryudamon says.
"Aw, great. Now both of our friends are stuck out there with three mega Digimon! What are we going to do?!" Taeka grumbles, plopping down on the pile of rubble with a loud sigh.
"...We might as well just look for Hellscape." Cora says.
"What?! We can't just let Silphymon fight Belphemon on his own!" Lily worriedly whimpers.
"I mean, she's got a point." Blaine says, everyone quickly turning their attention to him. "Silphymon did that for a reason. If we just sit here worrying about him then his sacrifice will be for nothing. So we might as well just hurry up and find Hellscape...And hope that Silphymon will be able to manage for now." Everyone takes in Blaine's words, looking back and forth between each other and nodding.
"Yeah, you're right. The sooner we find Hellscape, the sooner we can prevent Lucemon from waking up." Axel says.
"Uhhh, guys? We might have a bit of a problem with that!" Labramon calls to them from further down the path, everyone walking over to what Labramon was talking about...And see a split path.
"Aw man! Which path are are we supposed to go on?!" Taeka grunts, her eyes darting back and forth between each path.
"...Only way we'll know is if we split up, and go both ways." Axel says.
"...I'll go on this path. By myself." Blaine sternly says, pointing to the right path.
"What?! Why?" Taeka asks.
"Well...It's pretty much the same weird feeling I had with Leviamon. This feels like something I have to do...On my own at least." Blaine pauses, looking down the path. "I think it's also a way for me to train myself one last time. To make sure I'm really ready for this fight."
"Aww, but I don't want you to split from the group again!" Lily whines.
"Hey, don't worry Lily, Blaine will be fine." Erik says, as he walks over to Blaine, standing closely to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Blaine, just...Promise me you'll be fine, alright?" Erik asks, with a pleading, serious expression.
"...Of course, man. I always will be." Blaine gives a reassuring smile, as the two hug for a short moment.
"If the path I go on ends up being a dead end, I'll just meet back up with you guys." Blaine says. "Either way, I just want to let you all know you can rely on me." Blaine and Ryudamon turn away, walking down the path...As everyone notices the katana attached to Blaine's back glowing a soft light gray color.
"...Blaine's a bit of a loner, isn't he?" Axel says.
"Yeah, he's kind've always been that way." Cora responds. "I think he's just more comfortable being on his own."
"Yeah, but Blaine's pretty much the toughest one in this group. He'll be fine." Erik says. Everyone turns towards the left path, starting to walk down the humid tunnel, which felt like steam was blowing out through cracks in the walls. Taeka slips her jacket off, tying it around her waist, as everyone walks silently for a few minutes.
"So, uh...How's everyone doing?" Taeka says, trying to break the awkward silence.
"I'm doing fine. I'm pretty ready to finally defeat the demon lords once and for all." Erik says.
"Yeah, me too!" Labramon chimes in.
"I'm fine, I just worry a bit about Terriermon and Silphymon. I hope they're ok." Lily says, looking at Conomon who was sitting on her shoulder, the baby Digimon smiling at her.
"I'm fine too, just a bit worried about how the fights gonna go down." Axel says.
"Well, I'm ready to kick the demon lord's butts!" ExTyrannomon excitedly says. "Especially Belphemon's!"
"I'm doing pretty well!" BlackGabumon says. BlackGabumon looks up at Cora, awaiting a responses, but she says nothing.
"...Cora? You alright?" Erik asks. Cora stares with her head down, suddenly stopping walking.
"I don't know, I just...I'm really worried about the fight." Cora says, her voice weak. "I still have no idea how to get BlackGabumon to the mega level. What if I can't get BlackGabumon to warp digivolve, and we end up losing the fight because of it?" Her voice cracks, sounding clearly upset. Erik slowly walks over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder."
"Hey, Cora, try not to worry too much about it. These things happen on their own when the time comes, so try not to stress yourself out over it, alright?" Erik says.
"Yeah, and you'll be able to figure it out when the time comes!" Taeka chimes in.
"And even if you don't..." BlackGabumon softly adds. "I'll still do my best as Mummymon to help fight, alright?" BlackGabumon gives a reassuring smile to Cora, who couldn't help but smile back a bit, lifting her head up.
"Yeah, I guess so...Thanks, you guys." Cora says, as everyone continues walking. Taeka then looks down at Dracomon, who had a confident stride to him.
"Dracomon, how are you doing?" Taeka asks.
"I'm doing great! I'm pretty ready and confident to finally defeat the demon lords!" Dracomon says, excitedly hopping into the air. "When I'm Slayerdramon, I feel like I can really do anything."
"Yeah, me too! After seeing what Slayerdramon did with Laylamon and Leviamon, I know you'll be able to-"
"Hey, I think there's someone over there!" Taeka is cut off by Lily, who points further down the path.
"Wait a minute, is that..." BlackGabumon suddenly runs ahead of everyone, as Conomon hops off of Lily's shoulder, also running ahead. The two keep running, until they stop in front of a beaten up Digimon, a face that looked familiar to the two...
"Crescemon?! What are you doing here?" BlackGabumon asks.
"Wait, BlackGabumon, you know this Digimon?" Cora questions.
"Yeah, she was a part of Laylamon's army!" BlackGabumon responds.
"...Ugh..." Crescemon slowly squints her eyes open, grunting in pain, glaring at the group. "...Oh, it's you...Digidestined." Crescemon huffs, turning her head away from everyone who stared at her. "What are you...Staring at? You might as well just...Take me out now. It's not like I have...Anything else to live for anymore...Now that Laylamon's gone."
"What?! No, we'd never do that! We're your friends!" BlackGabumon says.
"Cono! Cono! Mon! Mon!" Conomon squeaks.
"What...I have no idea who you two are..." Crescemon huffs. "Or what that little one...Is saying."
"Aw man...Conomon, she doesn't recognize us in these forms!" BlackGabumon says. Conomon suddenly then squeezes her eyes shut tightly, almost looking like she was holding her breath for a moment...Before her body starts to glow, digivolving into Kokomon.
"Crescemon, it's us, Antylamon and Mummymon! Remember?" Kokomon squeaks.
"What, you two?! Ugh..." Crescemon tries to stand up, but groans in pain, falling back down, and grabbing one arm that looked pretty scratched up. "Dangit...What, did you come over here just to mock me or something, while I'm down?" She huffs.
"What?! No! We came over to help you, your our friend, and you look pretty hurt!" BlackGabumon says, pointing to the scratches covering her body.
"Hey Lily, you still have that medicine from Silphymon?" Kokomon asks.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I think so..." Lily slips her backpack off, rummaging through it, and quickly pulling out the bottle of medicine. "Here Crescemon, this will make you feel better!" Lily hands the bottle to Crescemon, who looks at her cautiously, but eventually grabs it, chugging down most of the liquid.
"Crescemon, what happened to you? How'd you get so beat up?" Erik asks.
"Ugh...Well, I started marching down this tunnel, cause I wanted to find Barbamon and get revenge on him for what he did to Laylamon, but...These powerful Digimon attacked me, and, well..."
"Woah...What kind of Digimon was it?" Axel asks. Crescemon doesn't respond, as everyone suddenly hears what sounded like...Heavy breathing, above them. Everyone looks up, to see a high ceiling...