Woohoo! Update time! This chapter was originally going to be a lot longer, but since it was taking too long to finish, and the length was getting ridiculous in comparison with my other chapters, I split it into two, just like the First Combine chapters. Enjoy part I.
The 2nd Combine Part I
Odaiba
Cody sat cross-legged on his living room floor, idly munching on a candy bar, immersed in a guest piece TK had recently written for the Odaiba Times. The article was something of a review of sorts, updating the general public on what was going on in the lives of the Original Digidestined. As usual, Matt, Sora, and Kari got the longest and most in depth mentions. They were followed by Mimi, Izzy, Tai (a convoluted section of course, as at the time of the article's writing, no one really knew what was going on with Tai), and Davis. Yolei and Ken received a joint mention since, at this point in their lives, all of their experiences were essentially shared. Joe was next, with basically a review of his status in medical school. And then there was Cody. As usual, the one sentence wonder of the article.
Cody wondered why he even bothered to read these things at all anymore. And to think, TK had once been his DNA digivolving partner. Back when they were good friends, anyway. But now things were different. TK didn't really talk to him much anymore. In fact none of his original group of digidestined did. Cody only really kept in touch with Yolei voluntarily, since the two had always been rather close. As a result, he also kept in touch with Ken, and through Ken, Davis.
Davis. There was another thing that bothered Cody. Where in the world was he? Cody knew that most of the other OD's, ring led by Matt, believed that he had simply taken off with Tai for whatever reason. And not wanting to further alienate himself from that group, Cody hadn't argued with them. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that there was possibly more to this than met the eye. Nothing sinister, as that Atuma guy had suggested a few days ago, but mysterious all the same.
Cody had just finished neatly refolding his newspaper and got up to throw it in the kitchen wastebasket when there was a sudden knock at the door.
"I got it, Mom!" He called out as he walked to the door and opened it.
Standing in the doorway before Cody was a tall sandy-blonde haired boy, and a shorter, dark-haired girl. Cody recognized the girl immediately and it brought a smile to his face.
"Noriko?" He asked.
"Um, hi, Cody." She said shyly.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise. I haven't seen you in quite a while."
"Yeah. I missed you too- um, I mean-" she shuffled her feet as her voice trailed off. "Um, this is my friend, Kin."
Kin bowed slightly and presented a hand, which Cody shook.
"I've heard of you." Cody said, eyeing him curiously. "You're one of the Green room digidestined, right?"
Kin nodded in surprise. "You've heard of the Green Room?"
"Of course I have. It's not really a big secret, you know."
"But, you've never visited us." Noriko said.
"I've never been invited." Cody answered matter-of-factly as he gave her a pointed look.
"Sorry." She sheepishly blushed and cast her gaze downward. "I don't know why I never..."
"It's okay, Noriko." He assured. "So what brings you two here? I get the feeling it's not just a social call."
"You would be right." Kin confirmed. "We came here to discuss your, well, our, missing friends. We believe we can obtain information concerning what may have happened to them, but we need your help in getting it."
Cody seemed rather intrigued at this. He looked back into the apartment and noticed a flickering shadow in the main hallway, likely his mom busily doing something in the back.
"Can we take a walk and discuss this?" He asked. "I'd rather my mom not overhear us. She gets worried rather easily, and something like my friends possibly missing would really set her off."
"Sure. But you should bring a jacket. It's a bit cold out here."
"Okay." Cody plucked his coat from the rack behind the door before stepping outside and closing it quietly behind him. "Lets talk."
Tokyo: Hours later
Ken sat on his bed and smiled as he looked up from the chemistry textbook he was studying and allowed his gaze to fall on Yolei, snoring away at his adjacent desk. They were supposed to be studying together, but the girl had apparently taken this particular session as an opportunity to catch up on some much needed R&R. The dorm phone, which happened to be positioned right next to her head, suddenly began to ring. Ken was forced to stifle a laugh as his girlfriend jumped at the unexpected noise. She glanced at him crossly before yawning and picking it up.
"Hello?…Cody? Hi!…Yes this is Ken's room…No, we were studying for your information…I do not sound like I was sleeping…yeah, whatever. Here he is."
She handed the phone the phone to Ken. "Cody wants to talk to you."
Ken took it bewilderedly. Cody normally called for Yolei, not him. "Hello?"
"Hey Ken. You busy?"
"Not really. I was kinda of studying, alone." He glanced at Yolei, who playfully shook a fist at him. "But otherwise, no. Why?"
"Because I have some information concerning Tai and Davis that you might be interested in."
"Really?" Ken leaned forward. "Other than the 'they ran away' stuff, everyone else has been saying?"
"Yeah." Cody relayed the information Kin and Noriko had given him earlier about the missing persons reports and the lack of police cooperation in trying to find them.
"Sounds like some kind of cover up." Ken said, once he'd finished.
"I agree, which is why we all think it would be best if I contacted Oowikawa tomorrow to see if he knows anything."
"Yeah, we have to get around those roadblocks somehow."
"We? So that means you'll help us?"
Ken paused unsurely. "Honestly Cody, I don't really know why you're telling me all this or why you want my help in particular."
"Because you're a detective, or will be one someday. We could use your knowledge and expertise to help us solve this mystery."
"I don't know. What about the other digidestined?"
"Matt and those guys? We need more evidence first. If we go to them now, they'll just say it's all circumstantial. He's really got everyone whipped into an anti-Tai frenzy."
"Even Kari?"
Cody paused for a moment. "Well, I haven't actually talked to Kari in a while, but I suppose not."
"Eh, it doesn't matter." Ken said, coming to a decision. "I'll help you. I'll catch the next train to Odaiba tomorrow morning, in fact."
"Really? Thanks Ken."
"Sure, anytime."
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Alright, Cody. See you then.
"See ya."
Ken handed the phone back to Yolei, and she placed it back on its receiver.
"So, you're going to Odaiba tomorrow?"
Ken nodded.
"Mind if I ask why?"
Ken relayed everything he and Cody had discussed in their short conversation to her. Yolei took it all in quietly, introspectively looking down as he talked.
"I'm coming too.' She said finally, after he finished.
"But our classes-"
"Forget the classes. Our friends might be in trouble. They need you to help solve this thing, and you'll need me, no doubt, just to keep you sane."
"I have to say, I'm a little surprised." Ken said. "I didn't think you were a big fan of my goals to be a detective."
"I'm not." Yolei said truthfully. "I still think it's crazy. But I also know that it makes you happy and is just as much a part of you as anything else. So, although I'm not a big fan of your Sherlock dreams, I still love them just as much as I love everything else about you." She got up and sat on the bed beside him. "And you know I'll support whatever you do."
"Wow, Yolei." Ken said, somewhat awed. "Sometimes I wonder if I even deserve a girl as good as you."
"Yeah Ken," She sighed. "Sometimes so do I."
At her boyfriend's taken aback look, Yolei giggled, snuggled up to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He laughed too, realizing she was kidding, and turned to face her. He ran a hand lovingly through her lavender locks.
"You always know just the right thing to say to make me feel like I can do anything."
"It's only because I know you can."
They stared deep into each other's eyes before slowly drifting together and enjoying a sensual kiss.
Digital Realm
The late afternoon sun was unbearably bright as it radiated down on the many academy students gathered for the 2nd Combine. A few students, such as Kuri, Terence, and Rosa sought shade under the overhang at the steps leading to the mansion's entrance.
Kuri rested her head in her hands forlornly and sighed as she stared out over the clumps of people that dotted the expanse of sand between them and the giant cylinder of light that was the arena. They were all either practicing or discussing fighting techniques with one another.
"This is taking forever," Kuri complained, breaking the relative silence around her.
"I'm sure you'll be going in soon enough, Kuri." Rosa said in a reassuring, yet well-rehearsed, tone. "You just have to be patient."
"Patient? I was patient all morning, and now most of the afternoon. This combine is past halfway over and Tai, Curtis, Clara and I haven't even had a sniff of action. It's getting ridiculous." She stood up, gesturing to further illustrate her irritation. "I mean, I've already waited over five months for this day, and now we've been here for over half a day- hell, this is the second break from action we've had, counting lunch earlier, and none of us have gone. This is crazy!" She kicked up a stray patch of sand on one of the steps.
"Well, that's it," Terence whispered to Rosa under his breath. "The pressure's finally gotten to her. She's completely lost her mind."
Rosa chided him with a slap on the arm. "You know, Kuri," she began hesitantly. "Jonathan and Nadia fought in their tag team match earlier, and they won pretty easily."
"Yeah, I know." The angered girl answered gruffly. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"They, um, practiced a lot with Tai and Jun until it was their turn. You know, maybe you should, uh, be doing the same." Rosa closed her eyes and braced for the tirade she was sure to come.
"I know." Kuri answered soberly. She looked over the crowd of students on the sands, all practicing or helping others prepare for their upcoming battles. Two groups in particular caught her attention; Clara and Curtis in deep conversation with Xian, and Krista, likely discussing hand-to-hand techniques. And Jun and Davis, going over basic maneuvers and attacks with Tai. "It's just, I've been preparing for this battle over the past three months. I don't think of the last minute stuff is really going to make a difference. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"Well, then you need to just chill." Terence said with a smirk. "You've got the confidence. Just be patient and let that work for you when it's finally time to fight."
Kuri gave in and dropped back into her seated position on the step with a sigh. She looked across the sands once again, this time at nothing in particular, and did her best not to pay attention to the slowly passing time as she waited for Sensei Enn to finally show up and restart the combine.
After a few moments, Kuri heard the sounds of footsteps approaching her. When they stopped, she glanced up to see a girl with evenly tanned skin and flowing white hair looking back at her, a grin crossing her attractive face.
"Hi, Keyan."
"Hello, Kuri." The diminutive guardian-in-training sat upon the steps also. "You seem disturbed."
"That's an understatement." Terence muttered.
Kuri shot him a glare before turning back to Keyan. "It's nothing really. I'm just ready to get this thing started again so I can finally get my turn to battle."
Keyan nodded in understanding. "You will do just fine when your turn comes. On some of my scheduled rounds as of late, I have observed you and Davis' late night activities in the gym."
Kuri glanced at Terence and Rosa to see their expected raised eyebrows.
"We were practicing my battle techniques." She explained.
"Sure, sure, we understand." Terence said, before turning to Rosa and whispering, "So that's what the kids are calling it nowadays."
The young Mexican digidestined placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Ignore them." Keyan said, though her eyes betrayed a sense of amusement also. "My point is, you seem more than ready for this exercise. You are shaping into a very formidable warrior, in any case."
"Thanks Keyan." Kuri said, humbled by the girl's praise. "I just wish we could get on with this thing."
"You will, soon enough." Keyan rose again. "And then, I fear you will lament that you have no more time for preparation."
"So where are you off to now?" Terence asked, when he noticed her getting up. "Looking for Willis?"
She looked at him in a mixture of suspicion and mild surprise. "How did you-?"
He winked back at her. "Don't worry," he said. "It's our little secret."
Keyan's eyes widened even further at this and she opened her mouth to ask him where he'd gotten such personal information when Rosa suddenly cut her off.
"Um, last time I saw Willis," She said quickly, trying to derail the conversation before it got them all into hot water. "He was over th-" She paused, squinting in the direction she was pointing. "That's weird."
"What?" Kuri asked, looking out over the sands as well.
"The goons have split up. Jason and Tony left. Now it's just Ahmed and Helga standing out there."
"Great," Kuri grumbled. "My most likely opponent is nowhere to be found. As if my battle hasn't been delayed enough."
Keyan gave Terence one last wary glance before turning her attention to Kuri. "If I were you, I would not worry about your next battle so much as what underhanded scheme those two are likely concocting at the moment."
Kuri twisted her face into a look of consternation as she considered Keyan's words.
"And the plot thickens." Terence said ominously, his tone noticeably more serious than before.
Jonathan marveled at the golden bracelet he held in his hand one last time before placing it in a wooden coffer, and sliding it under his bed. It was a keepsake from his recent victory in the combine that he had managed to pilfer when Sensei Enn wasn't looking. The bracelet was much easier to take than it would've been at the last combine, mostly due to the fact that this time around, all the battles had been tag team bouts, thus leaving more of the small, golden rings to keep track of.
Of course, Nadia hadn't quite approved of Jonathan's theft, but she didn't really argue the point. Jonathan allowed himself a wry grin. He could tell he was growing on that girl. Ever since he'd convinced her to accompany him on that eavesdropping mission a few months ago, she'd been steadily falling down a slippery slope into the arena where his somewhat dubious moral standings resided.
With a nod, satisfied that his souvenir was safely tucked away, Jonathan left the room and went downstairs, where his digimon partner was waiting at the door for him.
"How's it look Razor?"
"Coast is clear." The Gizamon answered, as he peeked around the door to the hallway beyond.
"Good. Let's be on our way back to the festivities then."
Jonathan headed for the door when Razor suddenly stuck an arm out, stopping him.
"Wait a second, mate. I think I hear someone."
"Oh no. It's not Sensei Enn is it?"
Jonathan ran to the opposite side of the door and chanced a peek out. He frowned.
"I should say not. I wonder what those fellows are doing in here."
In the hall stood Jason and Tony, conversing with two identical looking hulking figures.
"So it's agreed then?" Said one of them. "We have a deal?"
"Cause we can easily walk away from this thing." Said the other.
Jonathan recognized the voices immediately as belonging the Peterson twins; Two large, military trained digidestined that normally got along well enough with everyone, but whose sheer size and muscular physique was more than a bit intimidating to most academy students.
"Yes, of course we have a deal." Jason answered, obviously a little annoyed. "You participate in the battle alongside Tony here, providing your extensive military planning and expertise to him, and I'll set up a 'ahem' rendezvous between you and Helga."
"That's fine for Flint there, but now, what about me?" Said the first twin. "What will I get out of this?"
Jason shrugged. "I don't know, Shard. Name your price."
Shard mused for a moment. "I don't know. We'll see how the battle goes, and then I'll name my price."
"What?" The normally stoic Tony exclaimed. "What kind of deal is that?"
"One in which I fear you have no real choice." Said Flint, speaking up on behalf of his brother. "Not if you want the services of my brother and I, and our Sharmamon." He pointed to the two small, ogre-like, club-wielding, digimon standing between them.
"Then I do have a choice." Tony said. "Rana and I can win on our own."
Shard snorted. "Ha! While you and your Modokibetamon partner may make a decent team, you'll stand no chance against the Katsura girl. I've seen her in action. She's good, real good." He paused a moment to produce a powerbar from his shirt pocket, unwrap it, and take a bite. "You should count yourself lucky we have to remain at rookie level during the battles, or else she'd really eat you alive in her Prairiemon form."
"And I believe your friend here knows that." Flint added. "Don't you, Jason?"
"Fine," Jason gave in after a moment. "You can name your terms after the battle is finished. But on one condition."
"And what's that?" Shard asked suspiciously.
"You have to win."
""Won't be a problem." The twins said simultaneously, before reaching forward and shaking Jason and Tony's hands.
"Pleasure doing business." Flint said. He gave them a mock two-fingered salute, then turned and retreated down the hall with his brother.
Jason and Tony watched them go quietly.
"Do you really think we have to do this?" Tony asked once they were out of earshot, nervously running a meaty paw though his greasy mane.
"Of course I do. It will mean nothing when I beat Tai, if my team has an overall losing percentage."
"Why are you so sure that I'll lose?"
"Because Flint was right. Ever since their little outing a couple months ago, Kuri has found a new dedication to her training that I'm afraid you, my indolent friend, can't even begin to comprehend. I, too, have seen her practicing with Davis. She'd eat you alive."
If Tony was offended, he didn't show it.
"But," Jason continued. "With the help of the Petersons, who are models of dedication to training in their own right, the balance shifts drastically. Remember, they're the sons of the infamous American General, Derrick "Rock" Peterson himself. With them, I'm sure you'll be able to defeat Katsura and whatever unfortunate chumps Enn teams her up with with relative ease."
Tony nodded as they began walking out of the hall. "But what about the battle itself? You sure you can set it up?"
"Positive. Enn won't be a problem. You know I have certain influences with him…"
Their voices faded away as they rounded a corner.
Jonathan looked down at Razor.
"I don't like the sound of that one bit." He said. "Looks like we need to warn our friends about this before it's too late."
The Gizamon simply nodded in reply.
When the coast was clear, both quickly exited the room.
Outside, most of the academy had gathered around the outskirts of the arena and were once again waiting for Sensei Enn to arrive and announce the next combatants. Kuri paced back and forth impatiently while Davis watched her in amusement. She stopped when she noticed his look.
"What?"
"Nothing." He said innocently.
"Davis. I know you too well for that. What do you find funny about this?'
"You."
"Me?"
"Yep. After all that training and talk about being the best when this combine came around, you're still just as nervous as everyone else battling today."
Kuri gave him a deadly stare. "I am not nervous. I'm just ready to get this over with already."
"Sure. Whatever." Davis shrugged. "If pacing around and wringing your hands is the way you prep for battle, who am I to argue?"
"The only thing I'm going to be wringing around here," Kuri began advancing on him. "Is your neck."
Davis ran away, laughing as he dodged between their friends with Kuri in hot pursuit.
"Hey!" Terence yelled as they brushed past him. "Watch it!"
Curtis, standing beside Terence, watched the two as they entered into a playful fight.
"He did a good job of getting her to lighten up."
Terence looked down at his brother. Curtis no longer had his large untamed afro. Instead, he now had his hair pleated into an elaborate pattern of cornrows that would inhibit him less when it came time to battle.
"Aw bro, are you jealous? If you want, I can call Rosa over-"
"Shut-up."
Terence shrugged. "Oh well, looks like she's coming over anyway."
Curtis looked up and saw that Clara and Rosa were indeed walking over to them.
"What's up guys?" Rosa greeted. "You ready for your battle Curtis?"
"I suppose." He mumbled half-heartedly.
Rosa frowned slightly. "How's he holding up?" She asked Terence.
"Not so great. Curtis has never been the fighting type-" He paused, his attention on Rosa's overly anxious cousin. "Clara, are you okay? Your hands-"
"Oh, you noticed too huh?" She said, attempting to hold one hand with the other and switching them back and forth. "I just can't get them to stop shaking." She smiled unconvincingly. "Guess it's getting so late I'm starting to get pre-fight jitters."
Terence frowned in concern and extended his hands. "Come here angel. Let me see them."
Clara approached him nervously. 'Angel' was the nickname he used for her in private, when they were together in their secret singing lessons, because, he insisted, her voice was divine. She wondered how Rosa and Curtis would react to him using it publicly.
Terence didn't seem to care however, as he took her hands into his and began to hum a soothing tune. He massaged the top of her hands with his thumbs while holding her palms with his forefingers. Clara closed her eyes and allowed the therapeutic massage to take effect on her. She noticed that the song he was humming was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," one of her favorites.
After a while, Terence asked, "Better?"
Clara slowly opened her eyes to look upon his handsome face. "Yes." She said breathlessly. She looked down at her hands and noticed they were no longer shaking. In fact, she was now holding his hands more than he was holding hers.
"Thank you." She said shyly, releasing her grip.
"Anytime," Terence responded, reaching up and stroking her cheek with the back of one of his hands.
Clara closed her eyes and bit her lip in an attempt to steel herself, so as not to pounce on him right then and there. It was a sort of game they'd begun playing as of late. Both had obviously had a desire to break their pact of friendship for a while now, but neither wanted to be the one to actually initiate it. So instead, they usually flirted this way. One trying to break the other down. Their relationship had become so amiable, with none of the bickering between them that took place months ago, Clara had no idea how she was holding out.
"Um, is there something going on between you guys that we should know about?" Rosa asked, watching them intently.
"No." Clara responded quickly. A little too quickly. "No. Nothing at all."
She looked back at Terence for further confirmation, but he only shied away quietly. There was an expression in his eyes that Clara hadn't seen before. On closer inspection she noticed that he actually seemed to be a little hurt. She could do nothing about it however, as at that moment, Jun and Tai decided to walk over to them.
"Hey guys," Jun greeted. "Ready for your battles?"
Curtis grumbled something intelligible and Clara didn't respond, her mind still on Terence.
"I guess that's a no, then?" Tai said. He looked around. "Where're Kuri and Davis?"
A sudden shout of pain rang out over the crowd and Davis became visible in the sea of students. He walked towards them, Kuri behind him, holding his arm behind his back.
"Say it." She urged him. "Come on Davis."
"Okay, okay, you're not nervous!"
She let go. "Thank you."
Hr rubbed his arm where she'd been holding it. "I think we trained you a little too well."
"Well, you certainly don't seem to be too upset about your upcoming fight." said Jun, looking at Kuri.
"How can I be with friends like Davis that do their best to keep me distracted?"
Davis smiled sheepishly. "You can see through me that easy, huh?'
"Like a window."
Davis rolled his eyes. "Well, what about the rest of you guys? Tai, Clara, Curtis? You all are ready?"
"You know I am." Tai said, a hint of deadly determination in his voice. "I'm always ready for a good fight."
"And you two?" Davis turned his attention to Clara and Curtis.
Curtis shrugged. "I guess. Wish I could be more like those guys though."
He pointed to where all their digimon were assembled, taking part in their usual rituals to pump each other up.
"Yeah, this stuff never seems to get to them." Clara agreed.
At that moment, a sudden hush descended over all the academy students. Sensei Enn had finally reentered the arena and stood poised to call out the next combatants.
Tai narrowed his eyes as he saw Jason standing near the point where Enn had walked in, a supremely smug expression upon his face.
"Something's up." He said. "Jason looks a little too happy over there."
"You got that right, mate." Jonathan said as he walked up behind the group, noticeably short of breath.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"He's set up a battle between Kuri and that big oaf Tony over there."
"I expected that much." Kuri said with a shrug. "We all did."
"But, that's not all. I, erm, listened in, on a conversation he had a few minutes ago. He's recruited the Peterson twins to his cause as well.
"Those two barrel-chested, steroid pumping, freaks of nature?' Terence said. "But how? Only one of them can fight with Tony."
"I fear we're going to see a bit of a rule change coming up, then." Jonathan replied. "And also, I believe he'll pair Kuri with other, particularly younger or weaker partners."
Sensei Enn cleared his throat importantly. "The next combatants will be involved in a more interesting match than those we've had previously. This will be three on three." Excited murmurs began to pass through the crowd.
Kuri looked at Jonathan. "No kidding."
"We can't let him get away with this." Davis exclaimed. "He's setting her up!"
Tai placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's just wait and see who the combatants actually are before we do anything."
Sensei Enn continued. "Anthony Romero! Flint and Shard Peterson! Report to the arena!"
The three did so, resembling very much an offensive line from a football team.
Enn handed them their bracelets and spoke up again. "Kuri Katsura! Your presence is also required in the arena!" He paused as if in deliberation, before a devious smile played across his face. "Clara Sanchez, Curtis Dumars! Join her!"
"What?!" Jason practically screamed. "That's not what I told you!"
Enn glanced over at him casually. "What you told me is of no consequence, Smith. This is my combine and I decide who battles. If you believe that your chosen team stands less of a chance of winning because I didn't match them up against relative weaklings, then they are truly pitiful indeed."
Jason scowled from his position at the edge of the arena but didn't reply. There was essentially no point in arguing. Though Dumars' kid brother and the Sanchez girl were more formidable combatants than he would have liked, he felt his team still had the strength advantage and would likely prevail in the end anyway.
"Jason seems angry." Jun observed. "I don't think Curtis or Clara fit into his plan."
"I don't care!" Davis shouted. "This whole thing is still a sham! We need to tell Gennai and get it stopped!"
Tai stepped in front of the enraged knight. "Hold on there, Davis. Rein it in. I don't think that's your decision to make." He looked at the three chosen to combat. "What do you guys want to do?"
Where Curtis and Clara seemed a bit apprehensive, Kuri was resolute.
"I want to fight." She said. "I don't care who they put me up against. If I don't believe I can win, then I don't deserve to be a Knight."
"But Kuri-"
"I mean what I said Davis. There's no way I'm changing my mind about this and you know that."
"Do you guys feel the same way?" Jun asked Curtis and Clara.
Both nodded slowly. "If Kuri feels so strongly about this, then I'm with her." Clara said.
"Same here." Curtis echoed her sentiments.
"Okay then, I guess you better get your digimon and get going then."
As Curtis and Clara went to collect Taps and Marta, Davis pulled Kuri to the side.
"Are you really sure you want to do this?" he asked.
She nodded. "Of course I am." She paused, noticing Davis' concerned look at her answer. "Don't worry." She said reaching out and touching his arm. "I'll be fine."
"I know. It's just, they're cheating-"
"And so are we, sort of." Kuri smiled. "I know you haven't forgotten about our connection, have you?"
Davis shook his head. "Of course not."
"Then we both know if things get really bad in there, there's no way you'll let me lose, just like I wouldn't let you."
"All right," Davis conceded. "It's just…well, I worry about you."
"I know you do, and I know how you feel. I care about you too, you know."
They looked at one another in silence, unsure of what there was left to say, but not wanting to part just then.
Sensei Enn's impatient bellow for the combatants to hurry up unceremoniously broke the moment.
"That's my cue." Kuri said, though she didn't turn to get Peko just yet.
The evening wind began to pick up, causing her hair to ripple and sway in the cool breeze.
Davis was transfixed and it took him a moment to regain his speech. "I'd say, 'break a leg' or 'knock 'em dead' but-" He shrugged.
She laughed. "I see your point, but I think 'good luck' will suffice in this case."
"Okay then. Good luck, Kuri."
"Thank you." She flashed him one last smile before turning and heading off.
Davis watched her go, a mixture of emotions that had become all too commonplace over the past few months flooding through him once again.
Clara and Curtis were already waiting with Taps and Marta at the edge of the arena when Kuri and Peko joined them. The three of them entered and approached Sensei Enn and their opponents together.
"About time.' Enn remarked when they arrived. "Now, the rules for this match will be different from the others. You will only have to have your bracelets pulled twice to warrant a disqualification."
"Twice? What kind of crap is that?" Clara exclaimed. "Why are we the first ones to fight under these rules?"
"Because you are the first ones to be involved in a three on three match, and I obviously don't want to wait an eternity for it to come to a conclusion." He pulled three bracelets from his robe pockets and handed them out to the combatants. "Please try to live up to the example the previous battles today have set forth for you. This combine has been markedly better than the train wreck that was the first. Keep it that way."
With that, Enn turned and left them to wait for his signal.
"Don't worry sweetheart." Flint, distinguished from his brother by his shield of Discipline, said to Clara. "We won't hurt you.'
"Much." Shard added with a guffaw, his own shield of Determination glinting in the waning sunlight.
Clara watched with barely contained anger as the pair turned and went to take up their positions.
Tony lingered behind, fixedly looking at Kuri.
"What do you want?" she asked, acidly.
"It's a shame what I'm going to have to do to you today. We could've been great together."
Her eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? I wouldn't be with you if you were the last man-er, beast on earth."
Tony seemed indifferent at the insult. "Davis is lucky to have such a fiery girl, then. Unfortunately, he's going to have to watch you lose on this day." He turned and followed the twins.
"Get it right, Romero!" She shouted to his back. "I won't be the one losing today!"
Curtis walked up beside her. "So, to be correct, he's going to lose, but you are Davis' "fiery girl?'"
Kuri looked at him irately. "One correction at a time," she grumbled. "Come on, let's get ready."
The three and their digimon grouped some distance away from their opponents.
"So, do we have a plan or something?" Peko asked.
Kuri kept her eyes on Sensei Enn, taut and anxious. "Curtis?"
"I'm not sure. I'd rather see what their plan is first, then we can maybe develop some countermeasures."
"Plans? Countermeasures?" Marta asked. "Why don't we just go out there and kick some ass?"
"Marta!" Clara exclaimed
"She has a point." Kuri said, not taking her eyes off of Enn. "For now we need to just battle and use our training. We'll come up with something else if it's needed."
Taps seemed surprised. "We can do that?" He asked.
Marta sighed. "You're too used to thinking things through. Sometimes you have to just act."
"Like now.' Kuri said. "There's the signal. Let get on with this."
The group of six moved forward slowly, taking in their surroundings as they did.
The arena environment was markedly different than before. The large stone blocks and boulders were still there, but now everything was covered in sand instead of meadow grass. Where there was once forest, there were now small clusters of decaying stone structures and tiled groundwork that resembled the ruins of ancient civilizations.
It was from one of these clusters that Tony, Shard and Flint finally emerged. With confident smiles they stepped into the open, prepared to enter into a standoff with their enemies.
"What do we do now?' Curtis asked.
Kuri frowned. "I hate this stare down, dramatic type stuff. Get ready to scatter."
"What?"
Kuri didn't explain further, and really didn't have to as, with a violent fling of her arms, she threw a flurry of Boom Bubbles in their adversaries' direction.
The six were barely able to split apart before Tony and Rana began firing retaliatory water gun knifes, strikes of dangerously high pressure water, into their midst.
"Was that really necessary?!" Curtis shouted to Kuri from his position behind a boulder.
She shrugged, having taken cover behind a stone block across from him. "Had to get this thing started somehow!" She ducked, as blasts of water sent sand and bits of rock flying around her.
"Looks like he really wants to get to you!" Clara shouted. She had worked her way over to the same boulder as Curtis.
"That could work for us." Curtis said, in thought. He looked up. "Hey Kuri, draw his fire!"
"What?!" Kuri shouted, flinching as more bits of rock and water flew past her. "As if I'm not doing that already?!"
"Yeah, well keep doing it, and lead him away from here!"
"Why?!"
"If you get him away from here, Clara and I can take on Shard and Flint! They only have body attacks!"
Kuri nodded to him in understanding and moved to the opposite side of her block. When the time was right, she and Peko took off at top speed, making sure Tony could see them. As predicted, he and Rana pursued them.
"Okay," Curtis said, getting up. "Time to do our part."
He, Clara, Taps and Marta quickly jumped out and began throwing their respective attacks while running towards the rapidly approaching Peterson twins. The twins split up and found objects to take cover behind as soon as they saw the blasts of steam and heard the howling attacks rushing towards them.
"Now what?' Clara asked.
"You and Marta take Flint, Pings and I will get Shard."
"Okay…which one's Shard?"
Curtis paused in thought. "I actually don't know. Tell you what, you take the one on the right, I'll take the one on the left."
"All right."
With that, the two went their separate ways, towards the areas where their assigned targets had taken cover.
Curtis cautiously approached where he thought he'd seen his twin run off to, his hand up and ready to throw a Solid Steam attack at a moment's notice.
"Where is he?" Taps whispered.
"Somewhere over here. He came this way."
Suddenly a form leapt out from behind a rock directly in front of them, somersaulted, and landed behind a pyramid shaped block of sandstone to their right.
"Whoa. He's good." Taps commented, moving forward even more carefully now.
"Tell me about it." Curtis frowned worriedly. There was something about this he was missing. Something obvious-
Their target leapt out again, this time running at full speed for a larger cube-shaped block some distance away. Curtis and Taps fired off four steam attacks but all of them missed wide before he dove behind his new cover.
"He's really fast." The tapirmon said.
Curtis nodded. "It must be a result of the connection between him and his sharmamon. He has a heightened athleticism, which really isn't good, since he was already in top shape to begin with."
Taps looked at his partner in confusion. "Speaking of which, where is his sharmamon?"
Curtis slapped his forehead. "I knew there was something we were forgetting." He quickly turned and took in a comprehensive scan of their surroundings before frowning, perplexed. "But if they were trying to get the drop on us, now would've been the time to do it."
"So what do we do?"
"Well, they've obviously got some kind of plan working. I think we need to get to our twin here before they fully put it into motion."
Curtis and Taps stalked forward quickly, a new sense of urgency in their actions.
Clara moved slowly, cautiously. She really had no idea what she was doing at the moment. She knew that somewhere in the scattered group of rocks and boulders in front of her, one of the twins had taken cover. Beyond that, she was lost. What she would do when she found him, how exactly she was going get his bracelet. These were questions that Clara couldn't give a good answer to. Nevertheless, she continued to move forward with Marta at her side. The Salamon wore a look of pure determination on her face, eager to confront whatever they would face. For the moment, Clara truly envied her.
Clara jumped, as a slight movement in her peripheral caught her attention. She turned towards it, hands raised and at the ready, and was surprised when she saw nothing there but a couple of small, jutting, rocks.
"What's up?' Marta asked.
"I'm…not sure. I thought I saw something, but…never mind."
Clara slowly turned her head away from the scene, focusing her attention back on the task at hand.
"So," she began, addressing her partner. "You have any idea where he went?"
"Somewhere over here. We have to be close." Marta sniffed the air intently. "Really close."
"But I don't see anything."
"Because he's most likely hiding like a coward. Keep your eyes peeled. His scent is very strong and this nose doesn't lie."
Clara entered into a crouch and slowly inched her way forward into the area of boulders and objects where their opponent was most likely taking refuge. She snuck up to a medium sized block and placed her back against it, scooting along until she could see around the corner.
Upon seeing nothing she asked Marta. "Are you sure he's over here? I don't see anything."
Marta sniffed the air again and perked up her ears. "Oh, he's definitely here. He's on the other side of that block."
Clara nodded, taking in the information. "Okay, here's the deal. You go around to the other end of the block, I'll go around this way. Then, when the time comes, we'll get him from both sides."
"Sounds good to me." Marta said, promptly stalking off to her appointed position.
Marta sniffed the air curiously as she made her way to the other side of the stone structure. Every once in a while, when the winds shifted briefly, the scents she smelled would change slightly. There was something familiar about them. Something she'd be able to identify if only they didn't come and go so quickly.
Putting the thought aside, she slunk up to and peeked around her corner of the large block. Nothing. Another quick sniff told her their guy was definitely hiding on the other side though. She glanced back to her partner for confirmation of their next move. After a moment, Clara nodded and disappeared around the corner. Taking the cue, Marta did the same on her end.
She stayed low and stalked forward, intent on keeping the element of surprise on their side. Marta paused, however when she noticed a different smell on the ground than what she'd previously received through the air. Two scents, actually. They were very similar and yet distinct at the same time. As she continued forward, she noticed that the two scents split from one another, with one veering slightly away from the block, and the other continuing around it. Marta scrunched her face up in confusion. Not only was there something infuriatingly familiar about these two scents, but she knew their behavior was telling her something also. If only she could put her finger, or in this case, paw, on it.
Marta went over the scents in her head once more. They didn't smell human. Which meant that they could only be digimon. Digimon whose odors were vague because she had yet to have much contact with them…The Sharmamon. Marta jerked her head up. Her eyes widened in realization. The way they acted… They were leading them here. It was an ambush!
The salamon's discovery came a bit too late, however, as two green forms quickly sprung from seemingly nowhere and descended upon her in attack.
Kuri ran over a rather large, flat expanse of land, Peko flying along at her side, as Tony and Rana continued launching attacks all around her. The sand kicked up violently from their barrage, coalescing into small bits of mud when it combined with the copious amount of water.
"Where are we going?" Peko asked, swooping low as yet another shot went streaming over her head.
Kuri looked around desperately. It was a question she hadn't given much thought to, as at the moment she had most of her attention on dodging. She spied something in the distance, a grouping of deteriorated sculptures and blocks.
"Head for those ruins!" she shouted, pointing in their direction.
Peko nodded without further comment and continued forward at her partner's side.
Curtis crept silently along, his head swaying in different directions as he tried his best to keep a cautious eye out for the digimon partner of the Peterson twin he and Taps were currently pursuing.
"I don't like this." Taps said, glumly.
"I agree." Curtis said in much the same tone of voice. "It's like we're completely at their mercy. I mean, it's pretty obvious they have something planned the way this guy keeps taking off any time we get remotely close to him. He seems to be stalling for some reason."
"Or maybe he's leading us into a trap."
"Possibly," Curtis mused. "But not a very effective one if it's just him and his sharmamon. It's more likely- There he goes!"
He and Taps ran forward firing several attacks at the figure that once again emerged from behind one boulder and dashed behind another
"This is getting ridiculous." Curtis exclaimed in frustration as all their attacks missed once again. "He's only running and hiding! When is this supposed to turn into an actual battle?"
Taps shrugged as best a tapirmon could. "So what do you want to do?" He asked. "Do we keep after him?"
"What other choice do we have?" Curtis said resignedly. "We have to at least keep track of him, don't we?"
Taps sighed. "I guess so."
Clara sprung out from her side of the block confidently, a hand outstretched toward her target, who was waiting there, just as Marta had suspected.
"Freeze!" she shouted. "Don't move, you –whichever one you are."
The well-built young man looked at her with a smug expression. "I'm Shard actually. And what exactly are you planning to do? Arrest me?"
"No, I-" Clara spared a glance around in search of Marta. "I-"
"Are missing a digimon partner, I see." He finished for her. "Which tells me that things have gone as planned for my side."
Clara looked at him in surprise. She swallowed a lump in her throat and did her best to keep her breathing and heart rate even.
"You better tell me where she is." She said with false bravado.
Shard only smiled as suddenly two green ogre-like digimon walked around the opposite side of the block, a limp white form hanging between them.
"Marta!" Clara practically screamed. "What have you done to her?"
"Yes, Stone, Granite, tell her what you did to the little salamon." Shard said mockingly.
"Nothin' just knocked her out cold, like we were supposed to."
The two roughly tossed Marta's limp form to the ground, where she rolled to a stop.
Shard looked supremely pleased. "Well, that takes care of that part of our trap. Now we can move on to Ms. Sanchez."
At the mention of her name, Clara tore her eyes away from the helpless form of her partner. She backed up slowly as the two digimon took up flanking positions beside Shard.
"Now, there's two ways we can do this, Clara. The easy way…or the hard one. Please pick the hard way. I could use a decent fight."
She continued to back away. ."B-but, I can't fight you. Y-you're so big. W-what could I do, one against three?"
Clara's eyes began to water as she looked at Shard with an expression of fear. "Please don't hurt me. I'm not made out for this kind of stuff. I don't want to fight." She sniffed. "I just want to get my partner and leave."
Shard's demeanor softened a bit. "Just surrender then, darlin'. Give me your bracelet and I promise I won't hurt you."
As he walked forward, his hand outstretched, Clara saw her opening. With a quickness that betrayed her appearance, she grabbed him by the wrist, twisting it just the way Krista had taught her, and used her leverage as she bent down to flip him over her back. He landed with a rough thump in the dirt.
Before either Shard or the sharmamon could properly react to her sudden attack, Clara ran over to where Marta lay and scooped her up, firing several howling attacks back over her shoulder as she did so. She glanced back to see that one of her attacks had hit one of the green digimon, causing him to fall and trip up the other.
She didn't take time to revel in the small victory, however, and continued to run as fast as she could away from the scene, desperately clutching her unconscious partner.
After a while, Clara came to a stop, confident she'd built up a good amount of distance from her adversaries.
"I hope you're okay, my little nina." She said, stroking Marta's unmoving form. A lone tear ran down her cheek. "I'm so sorry I let them do this to you."
Clara looked down at her shield. "I don't even deserve this," She mumbled, before sighing and bowing her head. "Just be all right Marta. Please, just be okay."
Kuri stopped her flight upon reaching the ruins and ducked behind one of the elaborate sculptures at their entrance. Peko stopped also and hovered over her partner's head.
"What in the world are you doing, hiding here?"
"I'm not hiding. I'm waiting."
"We're getting the jump on Tony, then?"
Kuri nodded.
Peko hovered a little higher, to peek out over the sands. "Well, get ready, then, 'cause here he comes."
No sooner did Peko finish her warning than Tony's burly form suddenly appeared at the ruins entranceway, Rana beside him. Both were panting heavily. They cautiously entered, looking around uncertainly.
"Now!" Kuri shouted.
Peko shot forth like a bullet, ramming into Rana with extreme force, and sending them both tumbling well away from their partners.
Tony ignored them and turned to fire an attack at where he'd heard Kuri's voice, but yelped in pain as an expertly timed roundhouse knocked his hand away. He drew back, rubbing the hurt wrist with an angry scowl on his face.
"Why don't we do this without the fancy water effects." Kuri said, entering a fighting stance.
"Fine with me." Tony grumbled. "Your funeral."
He threw a crushing overhand right, which Kuri easily dodged.
"We'll see about that." She said, back flipping out of the way as he threw a second punch and delivering a glancing blow to his jaw with her foot on the follow through.
Tony gave his jaw a cursory rub. "You're quick." He said. "But, that means nothing against me."
He threw another punch, this time missing by an even wider margin than before as Kuri dodged, spun around it, and gave him a perfectly aimed elbow to the ribs.
"And you're slow," she said, as she leapt back out of his reach before he could grab her. "Which means I'm probably going to kick your ass."
Tony, angered by this statement, lunged forward with deceptive quickness and managed to grab Kuri's arm. Before she could react, he flung her as hard as he could across the ruins and into a stone wall. She hit it with a loud yell before crumpling into an injured, kneeling position on the ground, dirt and gravel from the decaying wall falling all around her.
Tony laughed gruffly. "Not so cocky now, are you?' he said, strolling towards her confidently. He was taken aback when she slowly lifted her head and looked at him, a blazing anger in her eyes.
"You're going to pay for that." She said lowly, both a threat and a promise in her tone, as she rose from her kneeling position.
"And just what are you going to do to me, squirt?" Tony asked mockingly.
"This."
Kuri quickly launched forward from where she stood, running toward her adversary at great speed.
Tony entered into a defensive stance, expecting more fisticuffs action. He smiled, believing Kuri to be enraged past the point of reason. He could easily crush her now.
Just before the moment of impact, the moment when he could deliver that one punch that would put her down for the count, Kuri leapt high into the air. Higher than Tony reasonably expected she could. He therefore wasn't prepared when she suddenly delivered the first part of her jump kick, a sharp blow to his temple. He also wasn't prepared for the second component of her attack, as she used his body a vertices, enabling her to turn in mid air and give him one more kick, this time to the back of his skull, before landing and somersaulting to a stop.
Kuri watched with satisfaction as Tony stumbled forward and fell to his knees. She got up a ran towards him again, this time leaping into the air and leading with both feet as she delivered a drop kick to his side, fully sprawling him out on the ground.
Kuri gathered herself almost as soon as she landed the blow and leaned over Tony, reaching out and tugging his bracelet. Before she could pull it twice, however, he reached out and grabbed one of her legs, bringing her to the ground also. Wasting no time, she quickly rolled to her feet, reentered a fighting stance and waited as her portly opponent laboriously pulled himself up.
Tony looked at her with a fatigued wariness, his head obviously swimming from the successive blows.
"I told you, you would pay." She said, flatly.
Tony gave Kuri a glare, anger oozing throughout his otherwise unbalanced features.
"You got lucky." He said, as the two began to circle one another. "It won't happen again."
"We'll see."
Outside the arena, Tai seemed genuinely impressed with Kuri's fighting style.
"I had no idea she was that good." He said to the rest of the group.
"Her biggest strength is her quickness." Davis said beaming with pride. "And as you saw, she can take a hit and keeps on coming. In fact, if you're ever sparring with Kuri, you almost don't want to hit her, because that's when she really gets serious."
"While that's all good and well for Kuri." Jun said, stepping forward to get a better view. "Things aren't going as well for the rest of her team, especially Clara and Marta."
She glanced at Terence and, as she suspected, the concerned expression on his face told her that he wasn't listening to a word they were saying.
"No they're not." Rosa said gravely, echoing much of Terence's concern but apparently still being capable of participating in conversation. "I just hope that Marta's okay right now."
Clara continued her vigil, watching over her unconscious partner in extreme worry.
"Come on Marta, wake up!" She pleaded, stroking the digimon's docile face.
Marta responded by stirring slightly, mumbling incoherently under her breath. After a moment she opened her eyes and squinted as they were assaulted by the evening sunlight.
Clara breathed a sigh of relief. "You're okay."
"I…I wouldn't say that." Marta grumbled. She grimaced and let out an involuntary whimper of pain. "My head is killing me."
A gruff voice interrupted their conversation. "It should be. I whacked it pretty good."
Clara looked up to see that the two sharmamon and Shard had already caught up with her and were approaching her confidently with murderous stares.
"You!" Marta tried to shout, but it came off as a hoarse whisper. "You're dead meat!"
She leapt from Clara's arms, but upon hitting the ground, quickly lost her balance and fell to the side with an injured howl.
"Marta!" Clara shouted, scooping her partner back up. "You can't fight in your condition."
"Tell me about it." The salamon croaked.
"Aw, that's too bad." Shard said. "And maybe, if you hadn't pulled that little stunt back there, I might've taken mercy on you and wouldn't' have done this."
"Done what?" Clara asked, glaring at him as she clutched Marta.
She had hardly finished the brief question before Shard had crossed the distance between them with lightning fast speed.
"This." He said, picking Clara up by her uniform collar, carrying her to the nearest boulder, and violently slamming her back up against it.
Clara let out a scream as sharp pain shot up her spine with the blow and involuntarily dropped Marta to the ground. Shard continued to press up against her, only showing signs of satisfaction when her eyes began to well up with hurt tears. He reached out with the arm that wasn't holding the girl and casually pulled her bracelet.
"Son of a bitch!"
Davis and Tai struggled to hold Terence back as he tried to run to Clara's aid, not by futilely trying to enter the arena, but by going after Sensei Enn and Jason, whom he blamed for her current mismatch.
"Terence, I know it's hard, but you have to stay out of this." Tai attempted to reason. "It's Clara's fight to win or lose."
Terence didn't seem to listen to Tai as he continued to struggle against he and Davis' grips on his arms.
"At the very least," Davis said, "you should know that we're not going to let you do this, so there's no use in fighting."
Terence let up a bit at this, but it was still apparent that he would take off as soon as they released him.
Rosa, by comparison, seemed to be the picture of calm.
"Are you okay?" Jun asked, noticing her demeanor and fearing the girl may have gone into some kind of shock.
"I'm fine."
"You're not concerned about Clara?"
"No. She'll get out of this. She just has to quit acting like a little girl in there and start fighting back."
Everyone stopped and looked at the girl. Even Terence quit fighting against his holders.
"Are you serious?" he asked.
Rosa nodded. "Sure am. I just wish there was some way I could tell her myself."
Davis bit his lip in thought as he stared back towards the arena. He spared his golden shield a quick glance, his mind whirring.
Jun noticed her brother's behavior and walked over to him discreetly.
"Davis, that would be cheating." She whispered.
"What would?" He asked, feigning ignorance.
"You know what. However you're planning to use your shield-"
He shushed her, looking around anxiously. "Look Jun, if I use this I promise it won't be cheating. Besides, I owe Kuri anyway. And I don't think you would say that we won our match by cheating, would you?""
Jun seemed conflicted. "Well, just hold off on it, then. Let's see if it's really necessary first."
Shard leaned in close to Clara's distressed face, smiling confidently.
"One more pull, and this is all over for you darlin'. Amazing how easily a bit of military planning beat you and your friends, isn't it?"
When it was obvious Clara didn't know what he was talking about, Shard continued. "Divide and conquer. A strategy dad taught us since me and Flint were four. Right now, while my brother leads Dumars on a merry little chase and that fatass keeps Katsura busy, I'm picking off the weakest member of your team, with the added help of my brother's sharmamon, of course."
He reached forward and Clara closed her eyes in defeat, apologizing mentally to the teammates and friends she had let down as she accepted her fate. Suddenly Shard screamed out in pain.
"My leg!" he shouted, releasing her as he began to dance around. "What the hell is on my leg?!"
Clara looked down to see her partner doggedly biting into Shard's ankle and hanging on for dear life.
"Dammit!" he said, giving his leg a particularly hard shake and finally knocking Marta off, sending her flying through the air.
Clara took the momentary distraction as an opportunity to take off at a run towards where the little white digimon had landed and scooped her up, hardly taking time to slow down. She heard the footfalls of Shard and the Sharmamon as they already began to give chase.
Clara struggled to keep herself from panicking. Her digimon was unconscious once again, and she had no idea what to do next. A sudden thought occurred to her. Clara pulled out her digivice and pressed the first symbol she recognized could help her. She wasn't sure that this was allowed, since, as far as she could recall, she had yet to see anyone else at the combine do it, but as of now, that really didn't matter to her. She needed help, and she needed it now.
Curtis and Taps inched through the obstacle course of boulders, backs to one another as they both kept a cautious eye out for any possible ambush.
"He's somewhere in here," Curtis said quietly. "I know I saw him run this way."
"Me too." Taps said. "Keep sharp."
Suddenly, Curtis felt his digivice begin to vibrate in its clip on his belt. He reached down and plucked it off, careful to keep vigilant in his search for Flint. Saving his surprise at the incoming communication for later, he pushed the button to receive it.
"Help me!" A voice hollered on the other end.
"Clara?"
"Curtis please, they set a trap for me! Shard's catching up! Hurry!"
The communication cut off there. Curtis frowned and looked at Taps.
"That's it." He said. "We're outta here. We have to go help Clara."
Taps nodded in agreement and together they both took off towards the direction Clara had gone when they'd split up earlier. As they were running, however, Curtis tripped and fell to the ground as something caught his leg. He turned back to see Flint on the ground behind him, a hand desperately clutched around his foot.
"You're not going anywhere."
Curtis kicked him roughly in the face and he let go.
"Taps, go on ahead and help Clara if you can." Curtis said, getting up from the ground. "I'll handle this guy."
"But-"
"No buts! Go!"
Taps reluctantly turned and continued on his way.
"How valiant." Flint said as he rose from the ground also, wiping a forearm across his mouth. "But you're going to pay for that kick."
Curtis ran towards him without a retort and attempted to throw a punch. Flint blocked it, and the two more that followed, easily. He even found time to smile.
Curtis momentarily let his guard down as her looked at the twin incredulously.
It was all the opening Flint needed. He delivered a forceful punch to Curtis gut, before following it up with an uppercut to the chin that actually lifted the young digidestined into the air and deposited him in the sand some distance away.
Curtis groggily tried to get back up from the ground, but fell down again. Upon attempting a second time, he was finally able to stand up, though somewhat wobbly. He forced himself to look at Flint while raising two shaky fists in timid fashion.
Flint laughed heartily. "Shaman Hammer attack, kid. You didn't stand a chance." He turned serious again. "But there will be time for review later. Let's end this."
He walked towards Curtis menacingly as the latter began to back away.
Things weren't going well for Tony. His opponent was just too damn fast.
Seconds ago, he had finally managed to grab the girl around her waist, but was stymied when she countered with a kick to his groin, a four jab combination to his face, and when he released her as a result of the assault, a vicious jumping roundhouse to his head. As of now, it was all Tony could do to stumble out of her reach, keeping the relentless girl away from his bracelet.
After succeeding at creating a bit of separation, Tony looked at Kuri, such a beautiful girl and yet such a deadly one at the same time. Her body, both lithe and lethal. Her face, that of an angel on the surface, but with a demon like thirst for his defeat underneath. A thought occurred to him.
"They were right." He said quietly.
"What?" She asked, appraising him acutely with her eyes.
"None of your business. Come on."
She continued to come after him, landing hits where she could, missing some, and sometimes even taking a few. None of Tony's hits really amounted to much, however, and, in truth, it didn't seem that he really wanted them to. He persisted in a pattern of alternately throwing punches and backing away when Kuri countered, not making any earnest attempt to truly go on the offensive.
"He's stalling now." Tai said, still keeping a cautious hand on Terence's shoulder as he watched the two fighters oppose one another. "He's not fighting as hard and he seems to be just trying to keep her busy."
"It's almost as if he knows what's happening to Clara and Curtis." Jun observed. "And that if he just stalls for time, the battle will be theirs."
Davis made a decision at this point. He held his shield within his hands, closed his eyes and began to concentrate, ignoring commotion around him. He thought about Kuri, about their connection, about compassion…
Kuri began to tire of this exercise in futility. Every time she got near Tony, he would only back away, blocking and dodging whatever blows she threw at him, never really making any attempt to strike back.
After the last round of uneventful attacks, Kuri withdrew a bit, catching her breath and bending over slightly.
"Getting tired?" Tony riled.
"Yeah, of you acting like a coward."
"Oh, I'm the coward? Who's the one stopping for a rest?"
Kuri flashed him a furious stare before recovering her stance and preparing to attack once more. She was just about to make her charge when her vision suddenly became slightly spotty and her head a bit dizzy. Kuri backed up and looked around, wondering if perhaps this was the result of some unseen attack, and was genuinely startled at what she actually did see.
Standing before her was Davis. Well, not actually Davis, but some kind of transparent golden equivalent. Kuri squinted and had to blink a couple of times before she could actually believe her eyes.
"Davis?"
"I'd say in the flesh but…" He appraised himself, raising a hand in front of his face and marveling at its sparkling golden translucency. "Man, this shield can do some weird stuff, huh?"
Kuri quickly recovered from her shock. "If everyone sees you-"
"Relax, I don't think your tubby friend over there can even see me."
Kuri looked at Tony and noticed that Davis seemed to be right. Her stout adversary was looking at her in bewilderment, likely wondering why she chose this moment to have such an in depth conversation with herself.
"I, uh, will beat you like a rag doll!" She shouted to him, trying to maintain her credibility. "Just let me prepare my deadliest move."
"Let me prepare my deadliest move?" Davis guffawed. "You've got to be kidding me."
Kuri rolled her eyes and talked to him out of the corner of her mouth. "Just what the hell are you doing here, anyway?"
"I came to help. Just like you helped me before."
"What? Why? I'm handling things just fine in case you haven't noticed."
"Yes, you are. But that means nothing in the big picture."
"What does that mean?"
"I can't say. It would be cheating if I told."
Kuri glanced at him briefly before returning to faking a standoff with Tony. "So, then how are you supposed to help me?"
Davis walked around Kuri, so that he was now between she and her opponent. "By telling you that you have to be a leader right now."
"What?"
"You have to take charge and lead your team. Kuri I know you're more of a loner, used to a lot of doing things by yourself. You mostly prefer it that way. But right now, you have to be a part of the team. You have to lead them because they need you to."
"But-"
Davis shook his head to stop her. "I'm right on this one K." He said as his image began to fade away in a shimmering display, specks of golden glitter floating throughout his image. "Just lead them. Lead them like I know you can…"
And then he was gone.
Davis reopened his eyes outside the arena and saw Jun looking back at him, hands on her hips while she tapped a foot in annoyance.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"You did it, didn't you?"
"Maybe-"
"Davis."
"Okay, I did, but I didn't help her cheat. I promise."
Jun looked at her brother with extreme skepticism.
"Honest, Jun. Come on, would I lie to you?"
She crossed her arms.
"Okay, dumb question. Just trust me on this one then, sis."
"As if I have a choice." Jun said with a sigh. "Fine. I believe you. Let's just see what happens from here."
Kuri looked at Tony with disinterest, still reflecting on Davis' words. "Be a leader." What did that mean? The more Kuri thought about it, the more she knew she wouldn't find out by staying here. Coming to a decision, she put two fingers to her lips and whistled loudly.
Seconds later a multicolored, flying ball came soaring in from the other end of the ruins, distant streaks of water being shot at it from the ground. One of the shots clipped Peko, sending her tumbling to the ground in front of her partner. She turned towards where the shot had originated from, grumbling.
"Forget, it Peko." Kuri said forcefully. "We have other things to do at the moment."
"Like what?" The patamon asked indignantly as she righted herself.
"Helping our friends. I get the feeling they might need us right now."
"Well what are we waiting for, then?"
Peko took to the air quickly and headed for the opening where they'd entered the ruins. Kuri turned on her heels and began to run after her.
"Cowards!" She heard Tony shout as they ran. "Come back and fight!"
The distressed, desperate tenor of his voice told Kuri she must've been doing something right. Worriedly she began to wonder just how much trouble Clara and Curtis had gotten themselves into.
She reached for her belt and unclipped her digivice.
"You're not thinking of using that, are you?" Peko said, swooping beside her as they crossed the expanse of open sand between the ruins and the area where they'd left their partners. "Won't that get us disqualified?"
Kuri stared at the device. "I'm not sure. But if Curtis and Clara are in as much trouble as I think they might be, it doesn't really matter."
Clara continued to run, her legs aching, her lungs burning, her eyes tearing from a mixture of the desert wind's assault and her own despair. She couldn't think about anything but how much she wanted to be anywhere but here, clutching onto her partner for dear life as two ogres and a madman chased her. She wanted to go back to normalcy, as much normalcy as there was in being trained to be a part of an elite fighting force of digidestined, anyway. She wanted to be with her friends again. She wanted to be with Terence. God, how she wanted to be with him. If she could just get out of this, the games would be over. Clara no longer cared how famous he was or how many girls wanted to be with him as well. He was hers, and she would damn sure make sure of that as soon as she got out of this mess.
Clara pulled a sharp turn around a boulder and stopped in sudden surprise when she saw a Sharmamon already there, waiting for her.
"Nice job Stone." A voice behind her said. Clara turned to see Shard and the other sharmamon, apparently Granite, approaching from the other direction. "Now we can end this."
The three began to close in around Clara when, seemingly out of nowhere, a stream of steam engulfed them all, stunning and knocking them backwards momentarily.
A small, gray and brown digimon suddenly appeared on the scene.
"Taps!" Clara exclaimed in relief. "But where's Curtis?"
"He got held up." The tapirmon said before firing another attack. This one missed as his three targets quickly leapt out of the way.
"Held up?"
"Yes. He's fighting Flint. Alone." Taps made the mistake of glancing back towards where he'd left his partner in worry. It was all the opening the sharmamon needed to pounce on him and restrain him from throwing any more attacks.
"No!" Clara shouted, beginning to back away as her situation once again turned bleak. Surprised, she suddenly felt something shaking on her waist and reached down to pick up her digivice. She pressed a button and immediately heard Kuri's voice.
"Clara! What's going on? Are you all right?"
"No!" The girl answered quickly, still backing away as Shard began moving towards her. "Marta's unconscious, Taps has been captured, Curtis is fighting Flint by himself, and Shard's about to take my bracelet! We need your help Kuri! Now!"
"I'm not sure if I can reach you in time." Kuri said honestly before pausing for a moment. "Look Clara, I want you to protect Marta and Taps."
"But I can't. They're-"
"Yes you can. Look at your shield."
Clara did so, glancing down at the small silver object as the late day sunlight danced off of it.
"Now protect them. Do you understand me?"
After a moment, Clara answered with a resolute, "Yes."
"Good, I'll be there to help as soon as I can."
The communication cut off. Clara glanced at her unconscious partner in her arms, at Taps, being violently restrained by Stone and Granite, and finally at Shard. Her eyes grew hard, cold. Her face firm and determined.
"You will harm them no longer." She said, her voice markedly different than before. A faint, yellow glow began to issue forth from her shield. She bent down and gently placed Marta on the ground behind her. "I won't allow it."
Shard looked at Clara unbelievingly and stopped a couple feet away from her. "You're in no position to tell me to do anything, darli-"
He was stopped by a sudden, sharp punch to the mouth.
"And don't call me darlin'."
"You'll pay for that." He threatened, raising a fist.
Clara answered Shard's threat with a hard kick to his shins, a knee to his abdomen, and a solid push to create space between them. She didn't give her stunned opponent any time to respond before throwing a howling attack so concentrated that its soundwaves literally picked Shard up and slammed him against a nearby boulder. As he slumped to the ground, Clara turned her attention to the two Sharmamon holding Taps.
"Let him go." She said forcefully, the glow from her shield becoming more brilliant by the second.
"M-make us." One of them said, his heart obviously not in it.
"Have it your way." Clara began to walk towards them when a voice interrupted her.
"No, allow me!"
Marta suddenly ran from behind her partner and furiously leapt onto Taps' captors, a dervish of growling, biting, punching and kicking that had the two running away in no time.
"Marta?" Clara asked. "How-?"
"Your shield." The salamon responded. "I don't even have so much as a headache anymore." She turned to where Shard dizzily lay on the ground. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
Marta sauntered over to him and pulled his bracelet. Before she could pull it again, however, he flung him arm, tossing her off. Marta landed neatly on her feet and prepared to throw a howling attack, but before she got the chance, Shard groggily rose to his feet with a shout of, "Retreat! Regoup!" and stumbled away as fast as he could, unaware that the sharmamon had already left.
Marta was about to give chase when Clara stopped her. "No. We have to go help Curtis." She said. "Let's move. Taps, show us the way."
The tapirmon eagerly took the lead and led them away, back the way he had come.
Curtis slowly got up from the ground once again, every joint in his body aching maddeningly.
"Why don't you just take my bracelet Flint?' He asked angrily, his voice muffled by a swollen lip. "You've had plenty of chances to."
Flint laughed. "And ruin this fun? I think not. Come on kid. Come at me again. I swear each time is better than the last."
Curtis approached the overconfident Flint once again, trying desperately to remember everything his brother had taught him about boxing, though it had yet to actually help him. He moved in cautiously weaving and moving so as to avoid being hit before throwing a quick jab. Just as before, Flint blocked the punch easily and countered with one of his own that sent Curtis sprawling into the sand. Curtis began to slowly get up as Flint patiently waited for him, smiling devilishly. He groaned, wishing more and more that he could just stay down. His digivice suddenly began to vibrate once again. Curtis reached down to answer it.
"Probably Clara, wondering where I am." He mumbled to himself before pressing the screen.
"Curtis, what's going on? Are you okay?" Kuri's voice came through.
Surprised, Curtis took a moment to answer. "I, uh, not really."
"What's wrong?"
"I'm fighting Flint, and well, I'm just not as good a fighter as he is, plus he's like twice my size."
"So you're getting beat like you stole something?"
Curtis' glanced at his opponent, who looked to be growing suspicious of why he was facing away and apparently talking to himself. "You could say that." He whispered.
"Then why are you fighting him? Think about it, Curtis. Is there anything smart about what you're doing?"
"Well, I guess not."
"Then do the smart thing."
"Which is?"
"Think about it."
With that the communication was severed. Curtis reclipped the digivice and turned to look at Flint as he got up from the ground. The smart thing? What in the world was that? He slipped into thought. Nothing he had thus far tried against Flint could qualify as the smart thing. He'd tried several different types of boxing, some innovative moves of his own-none had worked. A thought occurred to him. Why in the world was he fighting this way anyway? The goal of this battle was to win, not prove who was superior at hand-to-hand combat. Curtis' shield began to glow an even, dark blue. He knew what he had to do.
"Don't tell me you're backing off now." Flint chided. "And we were having so much fun."
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Curtis said, standing as tall as he could.
"Then lets continue, shall we?" Flint began to walk towards him menacingly.
Curtis shrugged. "Okay, but you asked for it."
He stretched forth his hands and a bright, white light shot forth from them, speeding across the distance to Flint and surrounding him.
"What the-" Flint exclaimed, unable to move. "Awakening Light attack? This is cheating!"
"No," Curtis said simply, throwing his opponent aside with a gesture. "It's winning."
Flint hit the ground rather hard, but took no time in getting back up angrily. "I'll kill you, little punk!" He shouted, running at Curtis.
Curtis calmly formed another attack, solid steam this time, and hit Flint head-on as he irrationally ran towards him. The impact knocked his burly adversary head over heels. Flint hit the ground with a loud thump and groaned as he writhed in pain.
Curtis gave a slight, sympathetic wince before walking over to his fallen opponent and tugging at his bracelet.
"Stop right there!"
Curtis turned towards the source of the shout and saw Shard walking towards him, the two sharmamon flanking his sides. "Get away from my brother!"
Curtis began to back up as they approached him. Shard gave his fallen sibling a once over as Flint gradually began to get up from the ground.
"What did you do to him?" He demanded.
"This is a battle." Curtis answered. "Stuff happens."
"Oh really, huh?" said Shard. "Then how would you like it if we made 'stuff happen' to you?"
The quartet started to move in on Curtis, Flint gingerly bringing up the rear. The meditative digidestined had serious doubts that his new fighting strategy could successfully take on all four of the brawlers at once.
"I wouldn't like it." A female voice carried to them. "And I'd make certain you paid for it."
Curtis turned around to see Clara, Taps, and Marta entering from the other end of their clearing. He smiled gratefully.
Shard suddenly seemed a little less sure of himself than a few seconds ago. He turned to his teammate. "Brother, we should retreat so you can recover."
"Don't tell me you guys are backing off now." Curtis said with a smirk as Taps ran to his side. "And we were having so much fun."
Flint looked at him irately. "You wish." He said. "We can still beat you." Try as he might, Flint just couldn't make the statement sound as convincing as it should have been.
At that moment, an object zoomed in over all of their heads, circled around, and let out a loud whistle before coming to a landing between Curtis and Clara.
"Peko!" Clara said, recognizing the patamon. "Where's Kuri?"
"Right here," a voice said.
The group looked up to see the girl in question vault a medium sized boulder to their right and land in front of them.
She gave them a once over. "I see you guys are doing fine now."
"Yeah, thanks to you." Both Clara and Curtis answered at the same time.
Kuri dismissed them. "Nah, you did all the work." She looked over at Shard, Flint, and their sharmamon, all of whom now seemed very apprehensive. "Looks like I was missing the party."
Just then, a large figure lumbered up behind the twins, followed by what appeared to be a pissed off giant frog.
"But, I guess I'm not the only one crashing." She added with a frown.
"You coward!" Tony shouted after sighting her. "You ran away!"
"Oh, I'm sorry." Kuri responded with a sweet smile. "Didja miss me?"
He ignored her teasing. "No more of this! We fight here and now!"
"Fine with me!" She shouted back, before turning to Curtis quietly. "Got a plan now?" she asked.
"Sure do," he responded. "These guys like structure. It's how they almost beat us, with military planning and strategies."
"So how do we beat that?" Clara asked.
"With pure, absolute chaos. Don't concentrate on any one person. Hit whoever's close. Just do crazy, unpredictable stuff. They won't know what hit them."
"Heh, sounds fun." Peko said, rubbing her hands together.
"I agree." Kuri said. "You digimon just make sure Shrek, Quasi Modo, and Kermit don't interfere. We're gonna get those bracelets."
"Will do." Marta said. "Besides, I still owe those sucker punching little bastards."
For once, Clara didn't chide her partner for her language and simply nodded. "Let's do it."
As one, the group turned to face their opponents, who also seemed to be in the midst of trying to formulate a plan.
"Looks like they're not ready," Taps observed.
"Too bad for them. Chaos waits for no one." Kuri said, beginning to inch forward. "Attack!"
At her command, the entire group surged forward with a loud yell.
As Davis watched the proceedings a small smile crept onto his face. "This battle's pretty much over." He said.
"What makes you think that?" Terence asked, only now starting to come down from his emotional high of a few minutes ago.
"Look at the way they're fighting now; unpredictable, free." Tai said. "It's the one thing those guys can't handle."
Jun nodded thoughtfully. "Tai's right. And by the way things look like they're going in there, this should be done with pretty quick."
Shard took a swing at a passing Kuri, but missed as she ducked, continued running, and leveled his brother with a boom bubble. He tried to run to go after her, but was stymied when something white tripped him up by running between his legs shouting, "Heads up!"
As he stumbled forward, another something smacked him over the head, as it flew by, laughing. Shard barely had time to look in the direction it had gone before he was hit full force by an unseen solid steam attack, which sent him completely to the ground. When he unsteadily tried to regain his feet, Shard was finally nailed with a puppy howling attack that put him down for good.
The dazed twin's vision was swimming by the time he saw three floating Claras walk up to him, calmly bend over, and take his bracelet. He allowed his head to fall to the ground unceremoniously, and closed his eyes in defeat.
Flint could only have been so lucky as to receive Shard's defeat. Ever since an initial boom bubble had struck him in the back and sent him to the ground, he'd been unable to get up. Different digimon and attacks kept hitting him so randomly that he had no time to focus on any one, or come up with any kind of course of action. At one point, he could've sworn that one of his own sharmamon had even run over him in its haste to escape whomever he was battling at the time. Flint curled up with his hands over his head in an attempt to buffer against the various blows.
Suddenly, the attacks stopped. Flint looked up to see Curtis standing over him, likely preparing to take his bracelet.
"Not so fast, Dumars." He said, his speech a little slurred as he got up, swaying. "You're not getting my-"
Flint was unable to finish the sentence as Curtis hit him with a vicious right cross that put him right back into the sand. He groaned as he felt his bracelet being plucked from his arm and sighed when he came to the realization that his part in the battle was over and that he had lost.
Tony just watched the carnage before him in horror as he continued to back away from the chaotic scene. How things had gone so horribly wrong, he didn't know. One moment, they were executing a well thought out, precise plan, and now, everything had pretty much gone to pieces. He watched Shard go down and shortly after be disqualified. Not long after him, Flint went down too. Now, Tony realized, it was just he and Rana left. He continued to back away until he suddenly came into contact with something solid behind him. Tony turned to see a large boulder there, standing tall and still, almost mocking the hopelessness of his situation. Turning back around, Tony was alarmed to see that all of his adversaries had turned their attention to his plight and were now closing in around him. He knew there was only one thing he could do.
Kuri smiled indulgently as she watched her portly opponent squirm before her, the rather large rock behind him preventing him from running away.
"Seems your team has been pretty much beaten, Tony." She said darkly. "Want to settle this thing one on one now and find out how much of a 'coward' I really am?"
Tony stepped forward, as if about to accept her challenge, but then unexpectedly reached up and removed his own bracelet from his arm. He dropped it into the sand in front of him.
"I know when I'm beaten," he said. "You win."
The luminous walls of the arena faded away and the sound of applause from hundreds of academy students wafted in over the thin desert air.
"I should have never gone along with this dumb plan in the first place." He continued, ignoring the spectacle. "Jason can take his 'superiority' and shove it."
Having said his piece, Tony turned and began to walk out of the arena.
The three victors watched him go with looks of amusement.
"We won!" Clara shouted after the moment had passed. She shared a high five with Curtis. "We beat those big brutish-"
Clara suddenly stopped short, noticing the Peterson twins approaching them. Both looked a bit worse for wear, but were standing under their own power nonetheless.
"Good battle." Shard said, extending a hand towards Clara. She took it warily and shook.
"Likewise," She said, eyeing her former opponent circumspectly.
Shard laughed. "Don't worry, I don't bite. I'm much different out of combat than in."
"Same here." Flint said as he reached out and shook Curtis' hand. "You took your hits like a man and kept on coming. I'm sure you'll make a damn good Knight when we're finished here."
"Thanks." Curtis said sheepishly. "Um, you too."
"Stone, Granite, let's go." Shard said. "I need an aspirin, bad. Someone left me with quite a headache." He gave Clara a parting wink as the twins departed with their sharmamon.
"They didn't seem so bad." Kuri remarked as she watched them leave.
"Yeah, well you didn't have to fight them like we did." Curtis said, wearily rubbing his sore jaw. "It wasn't fun."
"Tell me about it." Clara said in agreement. "Let's get out of here."
The three and their digimon turned and began to head for their anxiously awaiting circle of friends when Sensei Enn suddenly stepped in front of them. He gave them a cold, emotionless stare.
"You were the first to use your digivices in battle." He said.
Kuri, Clara, and Curtis exchanged apprehensive glances.
"Yeah, so?' Kuri finally said. "Is that a problem?"
"No. I just feel it necessary to tell you that you won't be commended for the act, as it reeked of desperation rather than ingenuity."
"Sensei, you really must stop with the compliments." Kuri deadpanned. "I'm blushing. Now, can we go?"
Enn seemed somewhat infuriated at her sarcasm but nevertheless stepped aside after collecting their bracelets and allowed them to leave. When the three met up with their friends, they were greeted with the usual enthusiastic accolades and pats on the back.
"Great job!" Tai said, clapping as he walked up to Kuri. "You're a much better fighter than I could've imagined."
Kuri ducked her head at the praise. "Well, it's all thanks to Davis really."
Davis walked up behind Kuri and draped an arm over her shoulders. "Oh no you don't." He said. "For once in your life K, you're taking credit for doing something good."
She smiled at him before turning back to Tai. "Well, in that case, thanks Tai."
Davis nodded in approval. "And your teammates weren't so bad either."
"I'll say." Jun concurred as she helped Clara brush some stray sand off of her uniform. "You guys were great."
"Well, if Kuri hadn't called when she did-" Clara began.
"You would've kept acting like a little girl." Rosa finished for her as she approached her cousin and gave her a hug. "Glad somebody brought you back to your senses."
"That she did." Clara agreed with a slow nod.
Terence put an arm around his little brother and beamed. "And don't forget this guy." He said. "That punch he delivered at the end was perfect."
Curtis tried to shrug it off, but couldn't help but smile a bit. "You know, the digimon were pretty good too." He said in an attempt to deflect the praise.
Jun nodded. "They sure were. They played as big a role as their partners in this particular battle." A sudden thought occurred to her and she turned to Clara. "And Marta's doing just fine now, I take it?"
"I think so." Clara said, looking down at her partner. "Aren't you?"
"Yeah." The salamon responded. "But if it weren't for your shield, I still wouldn't be able to see straight. Those sharmamon hit pretty hard."
Clara nodded with a grimace as she rubbed her neck. "So did Shard."
Terence's expression turned grim when she said this and he rushed to her side to look her over. "He didn't hurt you did he?"
"No, I think the suit did its job protecting me, but some things just take longer to heal y'know."
Terence turned in the direction of where the twins had retreated to, post battle. "Someone should put a hurting on him," he said menacingly as he began to walk in their direction.
Clara discreetly waved off the approaching Tai and Davis and stepped in front of Terence, putting two hands on his chest to stop him. "We already 'put a hurting on him,' if you recall. Plus, we won the battle."
"Yeah but..." He tried to go around her but she nimbly stayed in front of him.
"But what, Terence? We've been through this before. You're going too far again. This isn't the time for revenge."
"But he hurt you. He has to pay." Terence began to move forward again, actually forcing her backwards now.
"Terence look at me." Clara reached up and held the sides of his face when he didn't respond. "Look at me." She said again, forcing his head down so that he had no choice but to gaze directly into her eyes. "I know you're doing this because you feel like you have to defend me. I know you only want to rip Shard apart over there because you care about me so much…and you know what I have to say about that?"
"What?"
"This." She abruptly rose on her toes and captured his lips with her own, bringing Terence into a kiss so thoroughly disarming that in mere seconds his aggressive posture disappeared, his fists unclenched, and his arms instinctively wrapped themselves around her waist. Clara then broke the kiss almost as suddenly as she'd initiated it and she pulled back, searching his eyes nervously, wondering if she'd done the right thing and fearing the repercussions if she hadn't. If Terence was surprised at her actions, he did a damn good job of not showing it. Instead, he simply pulled Clara tighter to him and moved in for a second kiss. With a relieved smile, she obliged him, this time allowing him to take the lead and effortlessly melting into his embrace as if she'd done it a thousand times before. They remained that way for a while.
While Tai and Jun laughed and gave the two a celebratory round of applause, Curtis and Rosa looked on, their mouths hanging wide open.
Rosa tried to speak first. "Well I-I…um-"
"Dayum." Curtis finished for her. "Way to go Terence."
"Well, it's about time." Jun said when the couple parted and turned to gaze back towards the group. "You've been playing games with each other for what seems like forever now. Finally, one of you made a move. Nice job, Clara."
Embarrassed, Clara turned and buried her face in Terence's chest to hide her blush. He smiled and affectionately ran a hand through her walnut hair.
"I guess that ends my teasing you about her." Tai said. "And it was such good material too."
Jun elbowed him in the side.
"But seriously though." He said, furtively rubbing the spot. "Congrats guys. I know you'll find the same happiness with each other as I have with Jun."
He clasped hands with her and pulled her close to him.
"So you guys are really together now?" Rosa asked her cousin.
"We better be." Clara said, looking at Terence pointedly. "I don't just give out freebies."
Terence laughed. "You've been my angel for some time now, Clara." He said, taking her hands into his. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Kuri shook her head with a smirk and turned to Davis, whose arm was still around her shoulders. "Man, add them to Tai and Jun and the gag factor just doubled around here."
"Well, I think it's awesome." Davis said, grinning as he took in the new couple, "Normally I'd say this would be cause for celebration, but-"
"You'd say that about just about anything." Kuri interrupted.
"But," He continued, giving Kuri a reprimanding look, "we can't celebrate just yet. There's still one of us left who has to battle today."
Everyone's gazes turned to Tai.
"That's right." Terence said, his hand still clasped with Clara's as they walked back into the midst of the group. "Do you think you're ready for it, Tai?"
The former OD leader nodded. "It's getting late." He said, looking up as twilight descended upon the Realm. "And as Jason is likely saying, pretty soon, I guess I'm going to have to face my nemesis and my destiny."
To be continued…
Next up: The 2nd Combine Part II: Tai finally has his climatic battle with Jason and Cody participates in a revealing conversation with the spirit of Oowikawa.
As usual, please review.
