A/N: Here's the latest chapter. I feel as if this chapter isn't as strong as the others but I hope you all enjoy anyway!
Disclaimer: I don't own digimon.
Spitting in Evil's face
The mountain path stretched on forever. Coiled around Infinity mountain like a snake, the path allowed for travellers to reach the top without having to do any actual climbing. Only an obscene amount of walking. But really what could you expect from a mountain called Infinity? A mountain that dominated the sky-line of File Island, puncturing the cloud layer with a smugness that would unnerve even the hardiest climbers. A mountain that was visible from literally any part of the island in open air.
The only place secluded enough for a dark digimon like Devimon to live there unmolested by the more common digimon that roamed the island beneath him. He stood on the top of the mountain surveying File Island like a watchful God looks over his land.
Devimons leathery bat-like skin crawled at the knowledge of exactly what was lurking beneath the seemingly innocent forests. Humans were here. His nightmarish face pulled back to reveal his insidious grin with vampire-like teeth. The mere thought of such vermin wondering around HIS island made him angry.
Digidestined.
He growled, the idea that they would come and steal HIS kingdom right from under his own nose, made him positively murderous. File Island hadn't been his territory for long. He still needed to mold it into a more...pleasant image for himself after all. The wide green forests would be the first to go of course. Ripped of their leaves and left to die as the soil hardened; a wonderful wasteland would be created.
Maybe then Primary Village would be next. Kill that hotshot Elecmon then steal his children, or maybe kill them in front of him. The possibilities were endless, he thought with malice. His black gears had taken care of all of the more powerful digimon who could oppose him. Andromon, Monzaemon and Unimon had all had a black gear with their name on it just to ensure that the transition process would be as smooth as possible.
At least it should be. His grin turned into a frown. Except that the Digidestined had been meddling. They had driven the black gears out of many powerful digimon. Such an act would mean enforcing his rule would be far more difficult. Devimon was confident in his abilities but held no illusion of them. A fair fight against a digimon such as Andromon would be a one-way ticket to an early deletion.
Which means he had no intention to fight fair.
It also worried him that if some of the other weaker digimon banded together they could take him by surprise and destroy him. His supply of black gears was running out and he didn't have enough for every digimon on File Island.
Ancient relics of a forgotten age, the black gears had been invaluable for ensuring that the inhabitants of the island would not oppose his taking over. Devimon had not created the black gears, but merely found them. When he first came to this island, he had flown to the top of Infinity mountain and plundered the ancient structure that stood proudly upon its peak.
The gears had recognised the taint of darkness within him and apparently decided it was close enough to that of their original master. Things had been so easy after that. Until now.
Now the Digidestined were marching up the mountain ready to usurp his throne from under him. Going into battle with them straight off would be a foolish move. He would need to analyse their fighting ability and tactics in order to learn how to best counter them.
The only question was how to do so without putting himself at risk. An explosion from below grabbed his attention. The great Devimon looked down and could see two champion-level digimon fight pathetically slowly beneath him. A Leomon and an Ogremon wrapped up in whatever pointless feud it was that fuelled their hatred for one another.
The devil-digimon's face curled into a cruel smirk. But perhaps they could be put to more...useful means. He wouldn't waste a black gear but the Touch of Evil would do at a pinch.
He clenched his right arm in anticipation.
It was official, Tai realised as he sat staring out into the ocean,
'Folder's gone.'
Sitting on a ledge high up on Infinity Mountain, he'd ample opportunity to see all of the ocean surrounding File Island. At first Tai had thought he'd simply gotten the wrong beach, back when they fought Shellmon. But now it was abundantly clear that Folder was simply gone. There was no trace whatsoever, no giant hole in the ocean, nothing.
Just an endless expanse of dark blue in every direction. The others had hoped that by climbing Infinity Mountain they'd be able to see some way off of the island. Perhaps a settlement or a harbour. So far they hadn't found anything. At the moment group had decided to take a break. They had made it a good way up the mountain and were beginning to get tired.
Behind him the others were chatting about the events that had occured earlier that morning. Joe had decided to climb the mountain by himself but was attacked by Unimon. That digimon had stood up to both Birdramon and Garurumon before Gomamon managed to digivolve into Ikkakumon and destroy the black gear embedded in the horse's back. Tai had been impressed with Joes bravery. Jumping on Unimons back when he was flying past; that sounded like the sort of stupid stunt Tai himself would have done.
He leaned forward, linking his finger together.
But what about those Black Gears? Where were they coming from? He had never seen anything like it before; not even in his last adventure. Daemon had always preferred to simply kill those he conquered. Not that Tai thought that asshole was incapable of such a feat. It sounded more like something Neo would have done.
Tai sighed. With Folder gone it meant that they had no way to get to Lord MagnaAngemon's castle, if it was still standing. He was the only digimon Tai knew who had a portal back to the human world. Tai had been planning to take the others there and send them back home. Then he would deal with whatever it was that was threatening the Digital World. But now...
Now he didn't know what to do or where to go. They were clearly brought here for a purpose; the digivices made that clear. But who was it that brought them here?
"Tai!" Startled out of his thoughts, Tai turned to see Sora standing behind him.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"You've been sitting over here for awhile. Is there something on your mind?" She asked, clearly expecting a response.
Not for the first time, Tai considered telling everyone about his first adventure. About Zero, Neo, Daemon and everything in betweeen. 'But what would be the point?' Tai thought to himself. The fact he'd been here before didn't help him in the slightest. He still had no idea where to go, what to do or who it was that brought them here. He hadn't seen anyone he knew from his last adventure and that was worrying in itself. It was like he was in a completely different Digital World.
"I was just wondering what we're going to do now" Tai stated not untruthfully. "There's no way off this island."
"We could build raft" Sora suggested, looking out into the vast expanse of blue.
"Perhaps," Izzy said joining in the conversation, "But we have no guarantee that there's even any other landmasses out there. Or that we'd even be sailing towards them if there were. I'd rather not die of dehyrdration in the middle of the ocean."
"So what are our options?" Matt asked. It looked as if the whole group was now by the edge joining in on the conversation.
"We keep exploring the island!" Tk said excitedly.
"And keep sleeping on the ground? No thanks!" Mimi made her opinion quite clear.
"Maybe we should try and find the spot where we first came here" Joe suggested, "There might be something there that we missed."
"Not a bad idea Joe" Izzy said appraisingly.
"And just how are we supposed to find it? I don't think many of us were paying much attention to the scenery at the time." Matt asked impatiently, they all remembered Kuwagamon. Izzy turned to him,
"Do you have a better idea?" Looking rather awkward Matt had to admit that he didn't.
"Why don't we first see what's at the top of this mountain." Tai suggested as they all turned to look at him. "Since we're already up here. Then tomorrow we can go with Joe's idea."
"I'm ok with thay" Izzy said happily.
"Ugh, more climbing?" Mimi asked, her expression showing what she thought of that idea.
"I think it's a good idea" Sora stated. "We'd all kick ourselves if there was something up there and we didn't check."
"I like it!" Tk said confidently.
"Fine. We'll keep going." Matt agreed.
"I still think it's dangerous..."
"Joe didn't you jump off a cliff earlier?" Gomamon asked raising an eyebrow.
"Uh...that was...different?" Joe tried to say before giving in. "Alright, alright!"
"Lets get going then" Tai said, standing up.
He continued to lead them up the mountain. For a few minutes all was quiet as the group focused on just walking up the sloped pathway.
"Hey Tai" Sora said beside him, "Why are we really going up the mountain?"
She could tell he was hiding something. Something he wasn't telling the others. Tai frowned. Looking serious, he stared up at the mountain.
"Earlier, just after the fight with Unimon, I thought I saw something with my spy-glass. A dark figure watching us from above. I didn't get a good look at him before he vanished." Sora looked stunned,
"You think he lives at the top of the mountain?" Tai nodded,
"I have a feeling that at the top of this mountain lies something important." He spoke with a grave seriousness.
'Something to do with my last visit here-'
A loud rumble interrupted his thoughts. They glanced back to see that part of the pathway they had been climbing had crumbled down leaving a large gap.
"I have a feeling we're gonna find out why that just collapsed" said Joe nervously, Sora looked on at the gap,
"We won't have to wait long" she said as she eyed the figure who'd just appeared.
On the other side of the gap stood a digimon. It had a mane of golden hair and the overall appearance of a lion. It stood on two legs, was wearing trousers and had a sword on its back. Tai recognised the digimon as a Leomon. Similar to Leo, the Leomon who he'd met in his last adventure, although this one looked odd. It was standing upright and completely still as if listening to something. He was also utterly quiet which was an unusual trait in a Leomon. His eyes were too far away to see properly but Tai suspected that something wasn't quite right. It was like a gut feeling.
"Who's that?" Tk asked curiously. The digimon seemed oddly relaxed. Patamon spoke up,
"Oh that's just Leomon" he said with visible relief, "He's our friend."
Tai's bad feeling intensified, 'This seems familiar...' he thought with trepidation.
"With big teeth" Tk said worried.
"He just uses them for smiling" Patamon said cheerfully.
"He's a just leader and a good role-model for all digimon" Gabumon agreed confidently also smiling. The children couldn't help but stare. A loud growl erupted from Leomon, startling them.
"I want the children" he said in a guttural and menacing voice.
Tai wasted no time,
"RUN!" he yelled as the group legged it away from the psychopathic digimon. Leomon drew his sword and then leapt over the gap after them.
'Clever' Tai thought as he ran, 'So the gap is so that we can't double back if we manage to get past him'. They continued to run but Leomon was a large digimon. His long strides meant that he was gaining; eventually they would have to turn and fight.
Ahead of them another figure leaped out at them.
"Ogremon!" yelled Palmon in fear.
"Where are you kids running?" he asked mockingly. The perpetually grinning green digimon stood in their path as they halted. They glanced back and could see Leomon behind them had stopped running and was now calmly walking towards them.
He knew they were trapped.
"Give up now! Or else!" Leomon threatened angrily at them brandishing his sword.
"Looks like even bad guys can work together" Izzy said.
"But why is Leomon working with Ogremon, they're mortal enemies!" Biyomon cried out in confusion. At which point Leomon and Ogremon apparently got sick of waiting.
They leapt at the children.
"Die!" yelled Ogremon while Leomon just roared.
A bright light overcame the kids digimon.
Ogremon was knocked away by a furious Kabuterimon who had Ikkakumon standing next to him. Leomon was knocked away by a growling Garurumon supported by Togemon and Birdramon.
Both of the digimon landed on their feet and stood ready to fight. The kids looked startled at the sudden Digivolution but quickly got over it as they stood to support their respective partners.
Tai stood in the centre with Agumon, Tk and Patamon. Their digimon had not yet digivolved and would just get in the way. The path was crowded as it was, so it would be best to act as back-up.
Far above them Devimon looked on in shock. 'They all digivolved!' he thought amazed, 'Is this the Digidestined's power?'
"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon yelled as he launched a missile from his horn. Ogremon only had time to shield his face with his bone club before being engulfed in the explosion.
"Don't let up!" Tai yelled to the digimon.
"Needle Spray!" Togemon cried out unleashing hundreds of razor sharp needles at Leomon. He shielded his face with his arms but still roared in pain as they embedded into his body.
"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon yelled as blue fire erupted form his mouth nailing Leomon before he could recover from Togemons attack. With a Meteor Wing from Birdramon following it up for good measure. The explosion from the combined attacks shook the ground. Tai turned his head to see Ogremon leap at Ikkakumon.
"Electro shocker!" He was then nailed back into the ground by a ball of electricity from Kabuterimon.
"Thanks Kabuterimon" Ikkakumon rumbled,
"No problem."
Up above Devimon watched in dismay.
'They know how to work together, five champions could be a large threat to my plans.' He looked closer and could see the figures of two rookie digimon. 'Why have neither the Agumon or Patamon digivolved? Maybe they don't know how' Devimon rubbed his head in confusion.
But that didn't fit with his other observations. 'But the boy in goggles is giving orders. Why would they follow him if he isn't the strongest?' he thought puzzled. He continued to watch as Leomon and Ogremon were pummelled into the ground over and over. 'At this rate I'm going to lose them. They could still be useful in the future and I have all the information I need anyway.'
He unfurled his wings menacingly.
An explosion from above caught their attention as large rocks began to fall into where Tk and Tai were standing.
"Avalanche!" Joe cried out. The digimon reacted quickly with Birdramon, Ikkakumon, Garurumon and Kabuterimon all unleaching their respective attacks to destroy the oncoming rocks.
The explosion had Tai pulling Tk to the ground to shield him from the debris.
"Tk!" Matt yelled worried. Soon the dust cleared as Tai sat up revealing an unharmed Tk.
"You alright?" he asked softly. Tk nodded back brightly not in the least bit affected,
"Yeah I'm fine!" Tai smiled. Then Matt ran in and gave Tk a hug.
"How are you feeling, you're not hurt are you?" Matt asked as he looked Tk over.
"Matt! I'm fine!" Whined Tk. As Matt continued to worry over Tk; the digimon, exhausted, returned to their rookie forms. The kids ran over to their partners.
"Poor Biyo-" Sora began then looked up, "Hey what happened to the bad digimon?" she asked confused.
"Did they get blown off the cliff?" asked Mimi concerned.
"It's possible" said Izzy. Joe walked carefully to the cliff-edge,
"Hello!" he called, "Are either of you down there?!"
"If they were I doubt they're in any condition to answer Joe." Gomamon snarked at him.
"They didn't have wings so they couldn't have flown. And there's no where else they could have gone" Sora remarked standing next to Joe also looking down the mountain.
"Nothing is logical here!" Joe said defending his opinion. "They might have been able to fly anyway!" They could see his point.
"He could be right" Izzy said, "The phonebooths, trolley-car, the factory and even ToyTown. None of them really made much sense. It's perfectly possible the two could have just flown down."
"Great" Matt sighed folding his arms, "More enemies" As the others talked Tai was staring up at where the avalanche came from. The whole thing seemed pretty suspicious to him.
They had been herded and cornered magnificently. Only when they had fought back and it looked like they might win; then the avalanche had occurred and provided the perfect distraction for the bad guys to escape...somehow.
Tai was sure he had heard an explosion as the rocks came loose, he was pretty sure that explosions like that don't occur randomly.
'They couldn't have flown' Sora's phrase rang through his head. 'Maybe they couldn't have flown, but something else could have. Something that could have set off the avalanche, was allied to the two digimon and rescued them. Was it that figure I saw earlier?'
It was just speculation but Tais gut feeling told him this was planned. It reminded him of something Neo had done. He had used what he considered an expendable digimon to fight them in order to gather data on how they fought. Was that what this situation was? A test of their defences? It didn't matter, they should be on guard for now.
"Hey Tai is something bothering you?" Agumon asked. Tai realised he had been staring at the mountain for quite some time.
"I'm just suspicious about what set off that avalanche" he said,
"Stress accumulates until a crack develops and with excess weight the terra firma suddenly isn't so firma" Izzy described. Tai looked skeptical.
"I'm not sure. It looked to me like something blasted it loose."
"Are you sure? You're not just being paranoid?" Sora said,
"But think about it." Tai argued, "Leomon was supposed to be a good digimon and would never work with Ogremon right?" he asked Gabumon and Patamon.
"Right" they agreed.
"Every 'good' digimon we've encountered that has attacked us had a black gear stuck in them right?"
"Yeah" said Sora,
"Well what if Leomon had a black gear that was forcing him to attack us." Tai stated to them.
"I didn't see a black gear when we fought" said Palmon, "But I guess it's possible."
"It's also rather convenient that an avalanche happened right when we were about to win and that the avalanche was right above us and that both Ogremon and Leomon vanished after we had dealt with it."
Matt narrowed his eyes.
"Are you saying that might have been planned?" He asked. Tai nodded.
"It's seems rather unlikely" said Izzy skeptically, "Avalanches can just happen; we might have just been unlucky" Everyone could understand that.
Lucky people didn't tend to find themselves in other worlds surrounding by giant monsters after-all.
"Who would have done this?" asked Joe, "Who could have set this up?" Tai looked annoyed,
"I thought I saw a dark figure earlier. But I'm still not sure." he admitted.
"We should just count our lucky breaks while they last" said Joe as they continued up the mountain.
"I think that we should be on our guard though." Tai said, "Just in case".
In his experience there was always a new enemy lurking in the shadows. Whoever had planned that encounter may be able to control those infected by the black gears.
'So they're probably quite powerful'. Tai contemplated quietly to himself. Agumon walked beside Tai. He wanted to agree with the others but his gut couldn't help but agree with Tai. Just because they were safe now didn't mean that they should relax their guard.
High above them Devimon was deliberating on what to do. Leomon and Ogremon stood behind him ready to carry out any orders he may issue. The devil-digimon was looking down on the digidestined and judging on how to dispose of them.
'The boy with goggles actually seemed to figure out my strategy. If his digimon can digivolve then he could be a threat. Fortunately the others didn't seem to believe him. Perhaps separating the group and dealing with them individually would be the best strategy. Then I'll destroy them all!' Devimon grinned ferally.
Ogremon behind him was barely able to supress a shudder at the dark look on his masters face. He looked to his side where his former rival/enemy Leomon stood eyes blank.
'I don't like this' he thought to himself. He and Leomon had been fighting for as long as he could remember. They would fight whenever they saw each other, whenever they said something the other didn't like or agree with. They had even fought over who had the stupidest looking hair once! But now...
'Looking at the blank look in Leomon's eyes when they used to be so bright. It gives me the creeps' Ogremon admitted to himself. He wouldn't say anything of course. Ogremon wasn't stupid. Devimon was far stronger than he was and it would be suicide to go against him alone.
'That didn't stop Leomon' said the little voice in his head that he always tried to ignore. 'No!' he thought firmly, 'This is for the best' Ogremon would continue to take orders from those more powerful than him. That's what Ogremon are good for. 'That's all we're good for' he thought sadly as Devimon laughed ahead of him.
The group were at the end of a long day and it showed in their posture. After realising that a stray attack must have caused the mother of all avalanches further up the path, their only way up was blocked. With all the digimon tired from the battle they had no way to move or go around the the group had found another pathway down off of the mountain.
They had been walking down it for a few hours now and the sun was beginning to set in the sky. The strange colours of the Digiworld's sunset were once again dominating the sky. The usual shades of orange, red and pink. The forest they were in hid most of it however.
"I'm amazed the digimon could digivolve twice in one day" Izzy said, referring to both the Unimon incident in which Gomamon digivolved into Ikkakumon and the battle against Leomon and Ogremon.
"Do you think they're gettting stronger?" Sora asked shooting glances at the digimon. "Is that normal for them or is it something that we're doing?"
"Fascinating hypothesis" Izzy looked thoughtful, "If only we could test it"
"Well no chance of that now" Matt interjected, "The digimon look like dead mon walking" He grinned at his own pun.
"Very funny" Izzy deadpanned, "But I can see your point" he then said looking at the digimon. They were putting one foot in front of the other, eyes half shut with their arms hanging from their sides like lead rope. They looked exhausted.
"Digivolving must really take it out of ya" Tk said. He looked at Patamon who although he was tired didn't seem half as bad as the others. Agumon was also walking normally next to Tai at the back of the group.
"Palmon you look tired" Mimi noted, concerned at Palmon walking with her eyes closed.
"It's ok Mimi, I've been tired before" she responded sleepily. Biyomon looked annoyed,
"Admit it Palmon, we need to stop and rest!" She yelled but with too much exhaustion to contain any real anger. The group stopped.
"It would be a good idea" Joe said. "We should probably set up camp." He began to look around for a good place.
"But where?" Sora asked, her eyes half-closed from exhaustion, "I don't want to sleep on the ground again" she said softly. Everyone agreed with that.
A few weeks of roughing it in the woods, desert and fields without even the slightest comforts of civilisation tended to wear at ones nerves. To set up camp they needed somewhere at least somewhat sheltered from any rain or hail, near a source of fresh water, preferably near some fruit trees. Then they had to gather enough leaves to make their beds; unless they wanted to be incredibly sore in the morning.
As well as some material for a cover or a fire, unless they wanted to freeze. When the whole group is tired, aching and hungry, accomplishing these things can take well into the night. Which is why it came as such a relief when Joe's eyes widened and his glasses nearly fell off of his nose in his shock. He pointed,
"Look! A mansion!" He yelled as if he could hardly believe his own eyes.
The others gasped as they saw it too. In the distance almost concealed by the trees a large mansion was visible. They wasted no time and ran towards it at top speed. The rocks and rough terrain soon gave way to a smooth paved path as the trees became less wild. For the first time in this world they could see mowed grass, which was lining the grounds of the mansion along with trees planted along the sides of the paved road leading up to its front doors. The whole look was very professional and full of care.
They stopped in front of the mansion and visibly gaped at its grandeur. It had three floors with a balcony on the second along with massive glass windows. Large turrets stood on each of the front corners of the mansion with a single larger turret at the back. The dark blue roof along with varnished wood panelling however was the most stunning image of the mansion. In a world of browns, greens and blacks it spoke of comfort, warmth and above all else people.
"We may have found other lifeforms, after all someone has to cut the grass" Izzy reasoned with excitement.
"It looks amazing" Mimi gaped. The others couldn't help but agree.
"What a place" Matt stood there with his mouth open.
"I can't believe my eyes" Tk said in a far-off tone. Tai had to quell his own excitement. Something was wrong. He had a horrible feeling about this. How convenient that they were all exhausted and sick of sleeping on the ground then suddenly a mansion shows up.
'It looks like a trap to me. Not to mention that there's still whoever was responsible for ambushing us on the mountain.' He looked up at the mansion. He had to admit it looked amazing, but it gave him an uneasy feeling, like he'd seen it somewhere before. 'I have to convince everyone to stay away' Tai looked over at the others. 'That may be difficult.'
"I hope they have a hot tub!" Joe yelled,
"and food!" said Agumon,
"and a bed!" Sora cried out happily. Tai heard the happiness and hope in their voices. Suddenly Joe and Matt ran towards the front door. Tai nearly had a heart attack.
"Wait! It could be a trap! You guys!" He called out after them. They ignored him and once they reached the door started discussing whether or not they should knock.
"They're not very careful are they?" Agumon observed. Tai nodded then turned to everyone else.
"Guys I really don't think we should stay here" He closed his eyes as he was hit by a train of protests.
"But Tai!" Moaned Tk, "We're tired and it's right there!"
"We're all exhausted and this place is as good as any." Sora chided actually looking annoyed with him. "It most likely has beds, food and shelter! Even if it was a trap how would we defend ourselves without the digimon having any food? Look at them Tai!"
Sora was almost yelling by this point, "They're practically dead on their feet! We'll be defenceless!" Sora seemed to realise how loud she was as everyone was staring at her. She blushed, "Maybe a bit of relaxation would do us some good" she added softly. Tai was both impressed and annoyed, it was quite an intriguing feeling. Mimi nodded after what Sora said,
"Tai if it isn't a trap and we passed up a chance to actually relax and have a bath and rest my feet I would never forgive you!" Mimi said quite angrily. "We're going in and you can't stop us!"
Tai felt helpless as both Sora and Mimi walked past him and in through the front door where Joe and Matt had gone. He looked at Tk and Izzy. Tk seemed torn between loyalty to Tai and the desire to relax. He seemed confused by indecision for a minute,
"Tk where are you?" Matt called from inside the house.
"Coming!" he yelled back. Tk shot an apologetic glance at Tai then ran around him and into the mansion with Patamon following behind him. Tai looked sadly at Izzy who only looked sheepish.
"Sorry Tai, but..." He struggled with words for a minute, "I think the decision has been made. After-all, tactically it would be easier to defend ourselves in a building then out in the open woods." Then he walked around Tai into the mansion with Tentomon following him after a quick apology.
Only Tai and Agumon stood in front of the mansion. Tai looked sad as he stared at the half-open door. 'They didn't even give me a chance to explain' he thought stunned. Agumon could see Tai was down,
"Don't worry Tai I'm still with ya." He said with as much cheerfulness as he could muster.
Tai stared straight on for a few seconds and Agumon thought that he had said something wrong when,
"Thanks buddy" Tai suddenly stated looking at him with an honest smile. Agumon immediately brightened up at that. Tai started walking towards the mansion, Agumon followed him.
"Why are we going in? I thought it was a trap"
"Yes but I have to convince them that it's a trap. I can't give up!" Tai said with an incredible conviction. Agumon thought he saw a flash of light for a second but it was gone before he could blink. 'Weird' he thought. As they entered the house a wonderful smell wafted in from one of the side rooms. Agumon immediately began to drool and Tai was barely any better. They walked past a large portrait of an angel and into a large dining room.
It was immaculate. A large chandilier hung from the ceiling lighting the room with a warm glow, which worked well with the almost golden walls. Large royal red curtains hung from the sides of the huge windows framing them perfectly. There was an extravagant fireplace on one end of the room with two comfy looking chairs sitting near them.
All this was lost on Tai and Agumon who could only see the massive table in the middle absolutely heaving with all different kinds of food and at which everyone else was sitting and stuffing their faces.
There were meats of all kinds in as many sauces as Tai could imagine. There was lobster, several different kinds of beef, chicken, pork, lamb, turkey and other dishes he didn't even recognise but smelt so good. There were potatoes, roasted, mashed and baked in all different kinds of sauces. There were gorgeous looking salads with countless varieties of fruit and vegetables. Hundreds of kinds of fish and rice dishes all over the table. Tai could identify his favourite foods right off the bat and there were two empty chairs...
"Well look who decided to join us" Matt said glancing up briefly from his plate; before stuffing his mouth full of food.
No-one else even moved.
Tai grimaced. He hoped the food wasn't poisoned; they'd all be taken out except for him and Agumo... Tai looked around.
There was only one empty chair now. 'Great' Tai thought annoyed as the dinosaur stuffed his face. He couldn't help but feel nervous. Tai sat down in the empty chair but pushed his plate away and folded his arms. It didn't seem to be poisoned but if it was he would be the only one able to respond to a threat.
'I might as well let them eat for now. I'll try and convince them again after they've eaten.'
"Oh come on Tai!" Matt said rather annoyed. "You had no problem with the fridge full of eggs, what's the big deal?" Tai gritted his teeth, something about Matt really grated his nerves.
"Because then there was no possibility of someone coming after us." Tai shot back equally annoyed. "And how would you poison an egg anyway?!" he added. Matt just got angrier,
"Look. What exactly do you think you're gonna do if it is a trap huh?!" he said now fully giving into his rage. "You and Agumon can't digivolve like the rest of us, you'd be sitting ducks!" Tai opened his mouth to argue but no words came out.
The burden of fatigue and exhaustion weighed down on Taichi.
'He's right' he thought despondently. 'Agumon and Patamon are the only digimon that haven't digivolved, we're really just excess weight'.
Matt seemed to realise he had spoke wrong and quietly returned to his food. Tai closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair to try and think. The noise of the eating, the clashing of forks on plates, slurping of drinks and the munching on food was slowly getting to him however. His stomach growled loudly.
Tai gritted his teeth 'I've never ignored my instincts before' he thought, 'and I'm not going to start now! I know I'm right!' He clenched his fists. 'This is gonna be a long dinner' he thought with dismay.
Tai stared up at the ceiling trying to think of something else anything else, other than food. 'Why does this place creep me out so much?' The ceiling was a dark colour almost black, yet it was as immaculate and free of cobwebs and dust as the rest of the mansion.
The noises around him became part of the background as his eyes slowly drooped. He remembered the castle appearing. Being torn apart from his partner. Chains holding him up by his aching arms. Being beaten into near unconsciousness. The dark crackle of lightning as a vampiric-face loomed over him grinning...
"Tai!"
"Argh!" Tai screamed as he leapt up from his seat. He breathed heavily, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he regained his bearings.
"Tai?" asked Sora. He looked around. They were the only ones left in the dining room. Everyone else had left.
'I must have fallen asleep' he thought shocked. "Are you ok?" Sora asked. He looked at her still breathing heavily and held his head,
"Yeah...I'm fine" Sora looked skeptical. "I still think we should leave the house though" he said to her after a moment. Sora looked annoyed and put her hands on her hips,
"You're clearly exhausted!" she started in what Tai quickly recognised as 'mother-hen mode'. "You fell asleep right in your chair and you're trying to tell us to leave? Have a wash, go to bed and get some sleep."
Sora then quickly left the room. 'I guess she's still stressed' Tai thought to himself.
He slowly got out of the chair and followed her out of the room into the main hall. He sat on the stairs and began to think. 'If Sora was that against me it's gonna be impossible to convince the others to leave. Why are they all so against the idea?' he thought frustrated.
He looked around and spotted a portrait of a praying angel. It was beautifully painted; almost like a photo. 'What if they're right? What if I'm just being paranoid?' Tai depressingly thought to himself. Then an even more disturbing thought came along, 'But what if I am right? What would happen then? Everyone would drop their guards and who knows what could happen. I have to come up with a plan. If I can't convince them then I'll need to make sure that we can't get taken by surprise.'
Tai's head was beginning to hurt. He rubbed it annoyed, he was just so tired it hurt to think. Even now he could just about hear the echoes of the others laughing about and splashing in the baths without him. He eagerly longed to join them; but that would be admitting defeat.
Tai looked down at himself. He was grimy and covered in sweat. Two weeks in the digital world hadn't been good to him. His clothes were filthy but were holding up alright. His hair was covered in grease, sweat, dust and who knows what else. A bath would be really good, or at least someplace to wash his clothes. He sighed.
He just didn't know what to do. The others were in love with the place. The temptation of a warm bed, good food and a hot bath was too much for everyone. Tai had to admit that even he was sorely tempted, but if it is a trap then a lot of effort surely must have gone in to it. Tai continued to stare at the angel painting while he thought until everyone else came out of the baths.
They were wearing bath robes and their hair was wet. They ignored Tai as they walked up the stairs towards the bedrooms shooting him derisive glances or outright ignoring him. Agumon waddled up apologetically next to Tai and sat down next to him as the others disappeared behind one of the doors upstairs. He nervously twiddled his claws and remained silent as Tai continued to stare forward.
"I'm sorry Tai" he finally said to break the silence. "It's just that I was hungry and it smelt good and I just couldn't help myself" Agumon looked miserable with himself. Tai still didn't say anything. Agumon winced.
'He's really mad at me.' The dinosaur thought. He looked at Tai whose expression was unreadable.
"Don't worry Tai. I'll stay here with you. I mean it this time!" His own words sounded hollow even to him. Taichi stood up and walked towards the door. Agumon quickly moved to follow him.
"Stay here" Tai said firmly. Agumon stopped in his tracks. "I need to clear my head. I'll be back in a bit" With that he left the mansion leaving Agumon standing in the hall alone.
Tai stood outside in the dark on his own. He needed to sort out what he was feelings and what to do. He leant against the wall and tried sorting everything out. Tai felt a mix of confusing emotions making him feel angry and upset at everything. He felt frustrated that no-one was listening to him, hurt that they didn't seem to trust, even his best friend.
He also felt hurt, something that surprised him, over the fact that Agumon had ignored him as well. Was it possible that they were beginning to bond...
'No!' Tai thought furiously, 'It can't be! Zero is my partner and no-one else!'
His heart ached at the thought of Zero. So much it brought tears to his eyes and a physical sickness to his stomach. Tai was trying to be strong but the idea of his greatest friend being replaced by a stranger made Tai just want to scream at the unfairness of it all. That Zero would be ripped away from him so suddenly without even saying goodbye, and a new partner given to him as if he could just forget about his best friend!
Pain brought Tai back to reality. Suddenly he aware of the cold dark night in front of him and the solid feeling of the wall at his back. He had bitten his lip subconsciously in anger and warm blood was dribbling down his face. His hands ached from where he had been clenching them too hard. The red hot rage disappeared to be quickly replaced by exhaustion.
He tiredly slid down the wall to sit on the ground. He couldn't even hate Agumon. Agumon was too good a digimon to hate. The fact that he didn't, couldn't hate that little digimon really confused him. He felt hurt, anger, frustration and something else he only realised now. Now that he had taken the time to sort his feelings out.
Fear.
Tai was afraid.
He was afraid of failing everyone, of them getting hurt because he hadn't been good enough, clever enough, to prevent it. They knew nothing about this world. They were children who had no idea of the responsibility that they had been entrusted with. It was his job to get them home safe and sound. How was he supposed to do that when they wouldn't even listen to him?
Tai sat on the ground in silent contemplation, emotionally exhausted. Words from the past floated to his consciousness,
'Never give up!' Tai froze and lifted his head as if to better hear the imaginary voice. 'It doesn't matter how hopeless things get. The future can only belong to those who never give up!'
Tai felt himself smile, his exhaustion vanishing as a warm breeze seemed to rush over him. 'I'm giving up too easily' he thought. 'My younger self would be ashamed'. Tai picked himself up, dusted himself off and headed back inside. Tai had no idea how much time had passed since he left, but Agumon was lying on the stairs fast asleep waiting for him. Tai walked over and smiled. 'He has Zero's loyalty after all' Tai bent over and shook Agumon awake.
"Hey Agumon" he said softly as the digimon slowly opened his eyes. Agumon yawned and blinked a bit before recognition hit him.
"Tai? You came back!" he yelled hugging him. Tai was rather confused.
"Huh? I only went for a walk to calm down" he clarified, "I wasn't leaving" Agumon sniffed and said,
"I'm glad."
"C'mon lets go find the others" Tai said as they walked up the stairs.
As they went up Tai looked around and froze for a second, before he kept walking.
Tai leaned over to Agumon as casually as he could.
"Agumon, don't panic but there is no doubt now that this is a trap. Act normal!" Tai hissed the last bit at Agumon who had nearly yelled.
"We might be being watched right now. On three you will Pepper Breath the painting and we run for the others to wake them up alright?" he whispered as they kept walking. Agumon could see nervous sweat dripping down Tai's forehead.
He risked a glance towards the angel painting.
It was black.
Terror shot through Agumon. He quickly looked back at Taichi then nodded I agreement. They had just finished climbing the stairs.
"One" The whisper was so quiet Agumon could barely hear it. But he readied himself. Silently judging the distance between them and the painting. They were walking calmly across the landing.
"Two,"
Agumon breathed in deeply, stoking the fire in his belly. Ready to unleash it.
"THREE!" Tai sprinted for the bedroom door whilst Agumon wheeled towards the painting,
"Pepper Breath!" A large fireball erupted from his mouth and rocketed towards the painting. It exploded and lit up the whole room. The whoosh of flames almost drowned out the shriek of surprise that Agumon heard coming from the portrait.
He turned to run after Tai. A door behind them burst out revealing Ogremon in all his malicious glory.
"You won't escape!" he yelled.
Suddenly the door in front of them burst from his hinges revealing Leomon. Tai skidded to a halt. Agumon quickly moved ahead of Tai to protect him from Leomon. Like a demon from hell, a dark burning shape suddenly leapt up from below.
'Three of them!?' Tai thought as the black shape landed on the railing on the other side of the room. It unfurled it ripped wings violently extinguishing the flames on its body and grinned at them.
"That's Devimon!" Agumon yelled as he tried to put himself between Tai and the evil digimon. "We're in real trouble now. He's the guy who invented the nightmare!" Devimon chuckled darkly.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed!" he said in a deep voice. "You alone saw through my illusion and actually managed to attack me. The other Digidestined all fell for it like the children you pretend to be." He then gestured towards Leomon and Ogremon on either side. "Unfortunately for you there is now no escape." he finished with sadistic glee. "We'll kill you first, then the others."
"Wait!" Tai yelled, "Why do you want to kill us? We haven't done anything to you!" Devimon snorted.
"You are the Digidestined. You are all my sworn enemies who hope to bring light back to this world. Acting dumb will not stop me from killing you. Leomon!"
"As you command my master" Leomons deep growling voice replied. They turned as Leomon drew his sword and advanced.
"Jump!" yelled Tai as he pulled Agumon over the railing and down onto the floor. Devimon did nothing but watch curiously.
He knew there was no hope of the child winning. Tai landed hard but luckily unharmed. Agumon landed on his feet more gracefully, being a digimon. They looked to the door but Ogremon, in an uncharacteristic show of intelligence, was already there blocking it. He laughed at them,
"You'll have to do better then that" he mocked as he advanced towards them. Tai grinned,
"Agumon! Up!" He ordered. A ball of fire flew upwards towards the ceiling. Ogremon laughed.
"Nice aim idiot. Pummel Wh-"
Crash! The large burning chandelier fell on him, crushing him.
"Yes!" Tai yelled triumphantly. Devimon laughed cruelly from above,
"Impressive digidestined, but aren't you forgetting someone?" Tai and Agumon screamed and ran as Leomon dived into the spot where they just were; driving his sword deep into the ground. Agumon and Tai whirled around to face him. Leomon leisurely pulled his sword out of the ground and advanced on them.
"Pepper Breath!" Leomon simply raised his sword and let that take the hit from the fireball leaving him unharmed. He kept on walking.
"Errr...there aren't anymore chandeliers are there Tai?" Agumon asked hopefully. Tai shook his head.
"The floor!" Tai yelled.
A Pepper Breath to the floor and a large fire was soon started between Leomon and them. "Keep going! Everywhere there's something flammable! Pepper Breath it!" Agumon complied firing ball of fire after ball of fire all around the house. Soon the fire was raging everywhere causing Leomon to halt his advance lest he get burnt. Devimon frowned.
"Clever. Setting the building alight would buy you time. However..." He raised his arms, "That only works if there is a building!"
The entire mansion dissolved before their very eyes. Tai and Agumon watched stunned as the burning building vanished completely, taking the fire along with it. Leaving only ruins of some long destroyed structure, upon which Devimon was standing. The carpeted floor had vanished revealing rock-hard ground. Even the chandelier was gone, revealing a bruised and burned Ogremon.
Tai suddenly felt a cold breeze chill his body in contrast to the searing hot flames that were cooking him not a few moments ago.
"How?"
Devimon laughed again cruelly,
"The food, the bath, the building none of it was real. I created it with the powers of darkness and now I have taken it away."
It suddenly struck Tai like a hammer on an anvil, 'It's just like Myotismon's castle of illusions. That disappeared as well!' Tai remembered.
"Wake up everybody something's wrong!" Matt yelled from afar. Their dressing gowns had vanished leaving them all in their underwear, but still in their beds. Devimon lifted his hands and the beds suddenly took off flying around the ruins of the mansion with the kids clutching on desperately.
"Stop it!" Tai yelled desperately, "Stop it Devimon!" But the being only laughed.
"Because together you are strong I will scatter you!" He yelled as the beds continued to fly around eratically.
"Bring them back Devimon! Bring them back now!" Devimon seemed amused.
"How amusing. My concerns are much more important than them"
"Well they're my only concern. Bring them back!" Tai yelled. Devimons amusement vanished to be replaced by anger,
"You dare order me you impudent brat?! Allow me to show you who truly has power here!" He raised his arms and the entire island shook.
Sections of the island collapsed revealing inside thousands of rotating interlocked black gears. "I have discovered the secrets of the black gears, they come forth to do my bidding!"
An ungodly cracking noise swept through the sky. Entire sections of File Island floated away. Tai and the others could see the forest with the lake, the desert with the Yokomon, the strange factory and even ToyTown.
Hundreds of sections of File Island split apart from one another and begun moving out to sea as if driven by an unholy force.
"You and your friends happened upon this tiny island, which is just a fragment of the old-world scattered across the enormous Net Ocean. You pretend you are strangers who know nothing of this, but I am aware that you are the digidestined who were sent to rescue this world from my domination."
Tai bared his teeth in anger.
"They're just kids!" He argued, "They were accidentally sucked through here at Summer Camp! They don't want to be a part of this!"
"Your little act no longer amuses me! It's time to bring an end to the digidestined!"
"Listen Devimon." Tai's voice took on a strange tone, "You won't win. Many others have tried to conquer the Digital World and they all failed".
Images of Neo, Myotismon and Daemon ran through Tai's mind.
"So just make this easy on yourself. Release Leomon and all the others controlled by the black gears and let my friends go." He looked Devimon straight in the eye,
"Or be destroyed." Tai finished; staring intently, fearlessly at the monster.
Devimon felt strange. This child was unlike the others. He saw through the illusion, defeated Ogremon as well as helped defeat many of the other Digimon infected by his black gears. This child who he noticed, reffered to himself as separate from the rest of the group.
He said that they were innocent and that he had fought stronger. What was different about this one? Devimon could see it in his eyes. There was no fear, no hesitation. How many Digimon had this one destroyed? Devimon wondered.
What sort of evil had the boy faced that he could stare at Devimon with no fear in his eyes whatsoever? He absentmindedly rubbed the slight burns he had gotten from the Agumon's attack. He bared his vampiric teeth.
"You think I'm a fool?! Leomon slaughter them!" He yelled angrily.
"I will destroy them. All of them." Leomon said unemotionally. As he got closer Tai digivice lit up. He roared and shielded his eyes from the sudden light.
Tai, always willingly to exploit a potential weakness, held it up at Leomon's face. His screams intensified as a shadow seemed to appear around the warriors body. It was suddenly shredded by the light and vanished. Leomon blinked and stood up straight as intelligence returned to his eyes.
"Leomon how are you feeling?" Agumon asked worriedly.
The warrior grinned,
"I'm free of Devimon's powers!" Leomon then seemed to notice Tai. "You, you're one of the Digidestined! The digivice you hold is proof of that to me!" Behind them Devimon snarled. He lifted his hand and the flying beds holding the other children began to fall.
"I won't let you harm them. Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon yelled as red energy in the shape of a lions head emerged from his fist.
Devimon was forced to dodge as the attack destroyed the platform he was standing on. He flew into the air as the beds righted themselves and began to scatter flying out towards separate islands.
"You are strong Leomon but you cannot best me!" Devimon roared triumphantly. Leomon bared his teeth and growled.
"Leomon! Now that you're on our side we can win!" Tai said to him. Leomon shook his head sadly,
"Devimon is too powerful. You need to gather your friends and fight him together! Don't worry about me." He grinned confidently, "I'll be fine!" He then scooped up Tai and Agumon and leapt as an attack from Devimon destroyed the ground on which they were standing.
"Thanks Leomon"
"No worries!" He replied kindly. "Now go! I'll hold him off!" Tai bowed his head then grabbed Agumons paw,
"Let's go Agumon!" Agumon looked shocked,
"But aren't we gonna help Leomon?"
"You're too exhausted to fight and Leomon's right we need to gather the others if we want the best chance to beat this guy!" Tai said, "Leomon is willing to sacrifice himself to buy us time, we have to honour that sacrifice!"
Agumon reluctantly nodded. They leapt onto one of the smaller pieces of land that was heading out to sea. Tai and Agumon turned to see bright flashes of orange and black as Leomon and Devimon fought. Until there was an almighty flash of dark light and a roar of pain.
"No!" Agumon whispered in horror. Tai had tears in his eyes too. He clenched his fists,
'I swear Leomon, we will avenge you. Thank you for buying us some time!' Tai swore as he and Agumon floated away from Infinity Mountain and towards the unknown.
Hope you've all enjoyed this weeks chapter! Please feel free to review and tell me what you think or have any questions you want answered.
Updates every Monday!