I scrambled up the rope, right behind her. In my head I repeated "this is just like gym class" over and over again. I couldn't give in to the terror I felt. Then Kari would see, and she'd be scared. So I was brave, for her. We hurried up the rope, while Angemon fought the big stupid clown. I was worried that Angemon could only hold Piedmon off, not defeat him. I was scared I might lose him again.
I saw Angemon knock Piedmon back as I frantically climbed. I yelled encouragement as he twirled his golden staff into his left hand, and then punched forward with his right hand, yelling "Hand of Faith." I took a hand off the rope, and cheered Angemon on, one handed. Elation replaced fear.
Piedmon smiled from the ground. I heard him yell "Clown Trick!", and then Angemon was blasted backwards. Kari yelled. I couldn't do anything. I was frozen to the rope. Fear slammed back into me, twice as hard as before. My fears were coming true.
Piedmon wasn't finished. He blasted Angemon off the balcony, and then threw his swords at him. Angemon plummeted like a stone. I cried, I couldn't help it. I had lost Angemon again. I yelled at him. This couldn't be true. It couldn't be happening. Tears streamed down my face.
I heard Kari's voice as if from a distance. She was scared. Her fear galvanized me back into action. I couldn't let her be afraid. It was hard, but I wiped the tears away. I turned to her, and I tried to give her strength and reassurance. And I lied to her; "Angemon will be fine, but you've got to keep on climbing!"
But she couldn't. A sword came out of nowhere, and cut the rope right above her hand. Kari screamed and slid down a foot. My stomach plummeted. Piedmon laughed. He was right there, behind me. And he mocked me and my secret terror with his eyes. I felt them look into me, look right into my heart, and see my cowardice. And I saw his mouth curl in contempt.
"It seems you've reached the end of your rope!"
His voice and his laugh were devoid of humour. His voice was cold, cruel and cutting, and his laugh was the laugh of a creature devoid of all compassion. I tried to get away from him, but he grabbed my pants and pulled. I began to slip. His mocking voice rang out clearly.
"Sorry if I gave you a wedgie!"
Kari jumped to my rescue, and grabbed my wrist. She yelled at Piedmon to let go of me, an appeal to the decency that he never possessed.
It wasn't enough. We were both slipping. I couldn't let him get Kari. She was too important to me. I asked her to let me go of me. She wouldn't.
Piedmon smiled. And before I could make her understand, make her save herself, his cruel voice rang out one last time.
"It looks like you two are falling for each other!"
And then his sword cut the rope, and we were falling, tumbling, screaming. I lost Kari's hand, and she fell beside me, past me.
The ice cold realization that I had failed hit me like a phantasm of the upcoming impact. I had failed Kari, failed Tai, failed everyone who was counting on me.
Up ahead, the ground loomed, I was getting closer to it.
Closer.
I gave in to despair. There was nothing I could do. We had lost.
Closer.
I could make out individual rocks.
Closer.
I was about to hit, I braced my self and...
I woke up, covered in sweat, panting like a winded horse. I was trapped, bound in ropes. I lashed out, struggled, tried to free myself from them. They parted beneath my fury, and I jumped up, only to hit my head on the low ceiling. I silently cursed, then looked around the room frantically in an attempt to get my bearings.
And then I relaxed. I was in my room, in my home. I was in no danger. The ropes had been my sheets, twisted around me by the throes of my nightmare. I had hit my head on the ceiling because I was standing on my bed.
My heart abandoned it's frantic pace in favour of a more leisurely one. I lay back down on my bed, and restored the sheets to order. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to sleep. I didn't want to revisit that nightmare.
The shadows in my room seemed sinister, and every noise made me start. I stared into the corners of my room, which were blanketed in darkness. Part of me believed Piedmon was hiding in the shadows, waiting to spring out at me as soon as I closed my eyes.
I lay in my bed for a long time before I drifted off to sleep. It took a long time for exhaustion to overcome fear. I considered waking Patamon, knowing his company would ease my fears, but I decided against it. He had somehow slept through my nightmare and my thrashing, and in sleep he was incredibly peaceful. After all the fighting he had done today, I didn't have the heart to interrupt his sleep.
Patamon wasn't the only thing I considered. My thoughts drifted as I waited for sleep to claim me. I relived the day before. Our near loss, the hopelessness, my vision and our victory. I tried to think about the party, but the nightmare came to the fore. I told myself over and over that Piedmon was defeated, that he was gone for good.
Slowly, the mantra worked. My thoughts drifted, and turned to all those other adventures I had had in the Digital World. I thought first of my adventures with the original group of the Digidestined, those adventures I shared especially with Kari.
We stuck together because we were the youngest. All the others were older, more confidant, more sure of what to do, or at least appeared that way. We were often lost and scared, overwhelmed by the new experiences. And when we grew, it was together. We understood each other better than any of the others could understand us, even our siblings.
The second time 'round, with the new Digidestined, we stuck together because of our shared experiences. We alone knew all the dangers of the Digital World, and we alone understood the actions that sometimes had to be taken to save it. This time, we were the confident ones, who watched the others grow. I guess we grew as well, but I think it was less noticeable. Our growth was slower than theirs was. We had already gone through the same growth spurt that they were just starting.
Eventually, my thoughts returned to the party. I relived it and smiled. And I began to wonder about Kari and I. How would things change? Would we still share adventures in the Digital World? Would our friendship retain it's easy, open quality? What would others think? How would Daisuke react? The questions bounced around in my head.
Eventually, my thoughts took on an ethereal quality, becoming pale and ghostly. I saw them, as if they were at the end of a tunnel, receding from me, or as if they were on the surface of a lake I was sinking into. And then sleep took me in it's sweet embrace. This time I did not dream.
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Notes:
I'm not quite sure how many chapters the finished story will be, but I know that there will be at least two more chapters.
Reviews and constructive criticism are welcomed.
Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed or favourited this story.
