Hey guys! New chapter is up. Sorry for the delay, but it took me awhile to figure out exactly how I wanted things to go in this one. Enjoy!
The 2nd Combine Part II
"So what made you do it? What was it that made you break the ice and, as Jun said, make the first move?"
As twilight fell across the Realm, Terence and Clara walked hand in hand with one another, a ways away from the other students and the arena, only feeling inclined to return whenever Tai's name was finally called.
Clara looked at him in amusement as she mulled over the question.
"I'm not exactly sure." She admitted. "It was just, in there, in that battle, when things were looking pretty hopeless, I kept thinking about you and how I wanted us to be together and…" She trailed off and looked away.
"And what?" Terence urged, placing a hand under her chin and gently tilting her gaze back towards him.
"And…well, I've never felt that way about anything before." She looked at him shamefully. "I know it's pretty stupid, with me being twenty one and all, to have never fallen for someone like that."
"No, it's not. I'm the same age as you, older by a little bit, actually, and I can say the same thing."
Clara scoffed. "Please, you've been a star since you were sixteen. Millions of girls would give up just about anything to go out with you. And I know for a fact that you have gone out with many."
Terence nodded. "True. But I never felt the same way about any of them as I do about you."
"Yeah right."
"It's true, Clara. I'm sure you know that I've always had a reputation as a player, or whatever you want to call it."
She nodded with some reluctance.
"Well, you don't get a rep like that acting the way I have over the last five months. Clara, since I first saw you here, I haven't even considered talking to any other girl- which is pretty amazing in itself, considering our prior history."
She smiled a little.
"And I certainly haven't approached you like I would any other girl. In fact, I've been acting like a schoolboy, flirting and arguing with you, finding excuses for us to spend time together, and so on. And for the past few weeks, I've been too scared to take the next step, even though I wanted to with all of my heart. Can you imagine that? Me? Scared of a girl?" Terence shook his head with a smile. "I thought there was a chance you might not share the same feelings for me-"
"Oh Terence." Clara interrupted and impulsively hugged him. "You should've known better. Of course I feel the same way about you."
Terence returned the hug. "I know that now angel. I know that now."
They didn't fully disentangle from the embrace, instead keeping their arms around one another and pulling apart just enough to look into each other's eyes.
"Okay, tell me truth on this one last question." Clara said.
Terence gulped. "Alright, shoot."
"How many other girls have you called angel?"
"None."
Clara looked at him skeptically.
"It's the truth." He said seriously. "You're the only angel I've ever known."
The disbelief in her expression remained.
"Call me crazy, but you have an angel's voice, an angel's eyes, an angel's heart, and when you digivolve, you even have an angel's wings. If you're not an angel, you're the closest I'll ever come to meeting one. You're my angel."
"Smooth, Dumars." She said leaning towards him, her hazel eyes sparkling with a mirthful allure that briefly took his breath away. "I like that."
He leaned down to meet her, gently bringing their foreheads together. "Mmm, do you now?"
"Yeah," Her hands came up and fingers entwined around the back of his neck. "Almost as much as I like this…"
They began with a series of small, quick kisses, gradually becoming longer and more intense until the two were so involved with one another that they were soon completely oblivious to the world around them.
Jun watched Tai as he looked at the battle currently taking place within the arena, his mind obviously elsewhere. She walked over, stood slightly in from of him, and smiled as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder.
"You okay?" She asked.
Tai sighed and waited a while before answering. "I guess."
Jun read volumes in his response. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"Nothing, I-" He sighed again.
Jun twisted around in his embrace so she could face him. "Tai, tell me what's going on."
He looked away, towards the arena for a moment. "I'm just wondering why so much has to ride on this one battle. Why does this prove if I'm worthy of a leadership role here?"
"It doesn't. Don't listen to Jason's rhetoric. This battle means the same for you as it does everyone else here. It prepares you for the combat and dangers you will face as a Knight. That's it."
"Maybe to you, but not in everyone else's eyes."
"So? Does it really matter what everyone else thinks of you?"
Tai nodded gravely. "If I'm to be taken seriously as a leader here, I have to earn their respect as a Knight. Not just as an OD."
Jun took in what he said thoughtfully before turning around again and leaning back into his shoulder. "You're right. I guess I was looking at it from a somewhat selfish perspective."
"It's okay." Tai nuzzled her neck in reassurance. "Nobody sees me in quite the same way you do."
Jun closed her eyes and smiled. "You mean you're not the light of anyone else's life? You're not the last thing anyone else thinks of every night and their reason for getting up every morning?"
"I hope not. Otherwise, I'd have a very serious stalker on my hands."
Jun slapped his arm lightly in mock reprimand before allowing herself to quietly slip into a mode of tranquility as she rested comfortably in Tai's embrace. She languidly allowed her gaze to drift over the arena, where two more teams of students were locked in violent combat, and over to Curtis, Rosa, Kuri, and Davis, who were all seated on the ground, talking quietly amongst themselves. She calmly watched them for a few minutes before turning her attention back to her equally silent mate.
"You're going to win, Tai."
"Hmm?"
"You're going to win this battle. And you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because you have to. You never fail when something has to be done."
"Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I don't think Jason is anyone to be taken lightly."
"I agree. He's not. In fact he's one of the best fighters at this entire academy. He's worked tirelessly to improve his skills over the time we've been here, and it really shows. He also-"
"Okay, Jun, I get the point." The irritation in Tai's voice was almost palpable and it caused Jun to smile a little. She found it cute.
"But you're still going to beat him." She said, reaching back and gently caressing the side of his face.
"I hope so."
They were interrupted by a sudden scream of anguish and several shouts of triumph as the light provided by the cylindrical walls of the arena began to fade away. The fight within was over and there now remained only two people out of the entire academy that had yet to battle.
After walking in and dismissing the combatants, Sensei Enn stood in the middle of the arena importantly and surveyed the suddenly anticipatory sea of faces looking back him.
"Well, it seems we are now only left with the battle for which you've all been waiting." Enn took a dramatic stance, trying to extend the moment as best he could. "Jason Smith! Tai Kamiya! It's time."
Jun turned around to face Tai. "You're up."
"Yeah." He said, stretching. "I guess it's time to finally get this thing over with."
Before he could move forward, however, Jun placed her arms around his neck and forcefully brought his head down. She then enveloped his lips with her own in a very deep kiss, pressing up against him passionately until he responded with equal fervor. Tai seemed a little dazed when she finally pulled back.
"For- uh, good luck." She said, somewhat abashedly.
"Man, I could use some good luck more often."
Jun smiled seductively. "You'll get a lot more tonight if you get in there and beat this guy."
"Ah, a conditional promise. The essence of love."
"Just get in there." She said, stepping aside.
"Go get him Tai." Davis said. "And give him our regards."
Tai noticed that he, Kuri, Rosa, and Cutis had gotten up and walked over to lend their support.
"Yeah," Kuri added. "Time to make it four to zero."
"And make all of us eight and zero overall." Rosa said.
"Nothing beats undefeated," Curtis agreed. "Um, hence the term."
Tai was humbled by their show of support. "I won't let you guys down." He said.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Terence said walking up behind him with Clara at his side.
"Yeah, Tai." She added, "Go take him down!"
With nods of acknowledgement and amid shouts of encouragement from the throng of academy students around them, Tai and Agumon sprinted into the arena, anxious to face Jason once and for all.
Enn sneered at them when they arrived. "Far too eager for my tastes, Kamiya. This won't quite be the walk in the park I'm sure you've grown used to."
Tai ignored the abrasive instructor's comments and instead looked past him at Jason and Frost.
They returned his glance with cold stares.
"I'm sure you feel that you've already enjoyed some measure of success, since your team has managed to defeat mine three successive times." Jason said, his voice carrying no discernible emotion. "Perhaps your friends were simply better prepared than mine. A stroke of serendipity in your favor, no doubt. But make no mistake. Tonight you will face someone who is every bit your equal if not better. Tonight, we'll truly find out who is the best Knight here."
Tai looked at his rival evenly, an understated volatile glint in his eyes. "That, we will." He agreed.
Neither took their eyes off the other as Enn fitted them with their bracelets.
"Start the battle, sensei." Jason said as soon as he finished.
"See here, Smith. Don't presume to tell me-"
"Start the battle." Tai reiterated.
Enn grew indignant and was prepared to further protest their impudence when he noticed the explosive amount of tension passing between the two.
"Okay," he said, a wry smile forming on his face as something occurred to him. "As you wish. The battle will start as soon as I exit the arena."
With that, he left them at a brisk pace. All four combatants watched him depart and turned towards one another when Enn's form finally shimmered and disappeared as he passed through the outer walls of the arena.
"As they say," Jason said, beckoning Tai with a gesture. "Let's get it on."
Tai accepted the challenge for hand-to-hand combat by approaching Jason in a martial arts stance.
"Frost, keep him out of this." Jason said, nodding towards Agumon as he and Tai began to circle.
"Agumon, do the same." Tai commanded.
The two digimon began to size each other up in the same manner as their partners.
Tai returned his attention to Jason, making sure to pay close attention to his torso and body movements so that he could better predict what his calculating opponent was about to do.
Jason quickly feinted left, then threw a right-handed jab. Tai blocked the sly maneuver expertly and spun off of it into a quick leg sweep. Jason jumped to dodge the attack easily, countering with a stationary jump kick that Tai was able to lean back and avoid before rolling to the side as Jason immediately followed up the attack with a more elaborate three-kick combo.
Tai somersaulted to his feet after successfully dodging the blows.
"That all you got?" He antagonized. "Come on. You can do better than that."
"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to play with fire, Kamiya?" Jason said, a deadly inflection in his speech. "You might get burned."
He launched himself at Tai in a flurry of vicious punches and lethal kicks. It was all Tai could do to block and dodge the expertly thrown blows, each one coming quicker than the last. He jumped a sweep, ducked two jabs, blocked a third, leaned back to avoid a roundhouse, then caught Jason's leg as he spun around and threw a second. Jason reacted swiftly and jumped, throwing a flying roundhouse with his free leg. Tai let go of the one he was holding and quickly cartwheeled out of the way as the kick came within inches of his head.
Tai went from the cartwheel into two back flips and a jumping backwards somersault in a confident display of acrobatics that served to put distance between him and his opponent. He landed in a kneeling pose before bringing his gaze up from the ground slowly and resting it determinedly on Jason.
"Come on Smith," He said calmly. "Quit trying to hit me and hit me."
Jason took the barb in stride. "I could say the same to you, Kamiya, except you aren't even trying to hit me. Pot, meet kettle."
This time, Tai charged at Jason, throwing a series of attacks that would have felled a lesser fighter easily. Jason, however, managed to avoid and parry them all with a series of impressive blocks and dodges. After Tai's initial volley, Jason found the opening to throw some attacks of his own. Soon enough the two were embroiled in an elaborate dance of punches, kicks, leaps, blocks, dodges, and flips that went by so fast and furiously that they seemed almost a blur.
"Man, this is intense.' Kuri commented absently, absorbed by the action inside the arena. "Tai and Jason seem really evenly matched."
"Tell me about it." Davis agreed with a grumble. "I didn't think Jason was so good."
"Tai will be fine," Jun assured. "He just has to work a little harder."
Terence cocked an eyebrow at her. "You sure have a lot of confidence in him."
"Of course I do. If I, of all people, don't, then who will?"
"Now, where have I heard that before?" Kuri muttered to herself with a smirk, before turning her attention back to the battle.
Tai and Jason separated and stared each other down once again, both breathing heavily from their efforts. Random orbs of fire and ice flew around them; the work of their battling partners.
"It would seem we are evenly matched." Jason said as he wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow. "Not as invincible as you thought, eh Kamiya?"
"Things are not always what they seem." Tai said understatedly, launching himself towards his aggravating opponent once again. This time, instead of throwing an impressive array of martial arts moves he'd learned from Xian, Tai simply dove forward and grabbed Jason at his torso, bringing them both crashing to the ground.
For his effort, Tai was rewarded with a numbing knee to the gut as Jason struggled to gain the upper hand in what was now a crude wrestling match between the two highly skilled knights in training. They rolled on the ground kicking up sand and clouds of dust as each struggled to alternately free themselves yet maintain a solid grip on the other. Gradually, Tai began to gain leverage, thanks to his slight weight advantage over Jason. Once on top, Tai reared back to deliver a crushing punch, but was stymied when his opponent was unexpectedly able to bring both his knees forward into his torso and flip him overhead.
Tai hit the ground roughly and didn't have much time to recover before Jason quickly pounced on him, flailing and pulling at his uniform as he struggled to gain purchase on his bracelet. Tai was just able to plant a forearm in his zealous opponent's chest before he could accomplish his goal. The struggle continued, now degraded into a tug of war with Jason reaching for Tai's bracelet, just inches out of his grasp, and the latter doing his best to hold him off.
"You can not…stop the…inevitable." Jason said, grunting as his hand inched forward, getting tantalizingly close to his target.
Thinking fast, Tai took advantage of Jason's extreme concentration on his bracelet and quickly swung forward and clubbed him with the very arm he was trying so hard to reach.
Jason crashed into the sand beside Tai and quickly rolled to his feet. Tai did the same.
Jason chuckled quietly. "Always so damn predictable Kamiya."
"What are you talking about Smith?"
"Dismissed it, did you?" He casually brushed some sand away from his uniform. "Maybe a trick of your mind? No, Kamiya. I did pull your bracelet."
Tai glanced down at the golden band on his arm in alarm. He had felt something as he knocked Jason clear of it. But could his adversary really have those kind of quick reflexes and presence of mind?
"Don't look so surprised. I couldn't reach the blasted thing, so I waited for you to bring it to me, as you predictably did." Jason smiled fiendishly. "One down. Two to-."
Tai didn't let him finish, launching forward with a flurry of punches that caught his opponent completely off guard. Jason took the first two fully on the chin before he was able to block or dodge the rest. He staggered backwards a bit when Tai's assault ended and tried to regain his bearings.
"It would seem that someone is becoming very angry." Jason said mockingly. "Not that it will help you-"
He was interrupted as Tai once again came at him, this time feigning another punch combo, countering when Jason made to block it, and dropping into a low leg sweep. Jason's form met with the ground roughly and Tai leapt upon him again.
The unprepared digidestined turned to guard his bracelet a second too late as Tai deftly tugged it before being thrown aside. Both combatants rose from the ground slowly, Tai wearing a sly grin to match his adversary's scowl.
"Guess we're even now." He said.
"Time to change things up, then." Jason responded without missing a beat. He deftly tossed a ball of blue energy through the air, directly at his opponent.
Tai was barely able to dive out of the way as the ice attack streaked past him. He shivered, noting that the temperature had dropped several degrees in the attack's wake.
"So you want to play that way, huh?" Tai grumbled, hands bursting into flame and his eyes blazing as he got up from the ground. "Let's play."
The air between them suddenly lit up with blasts of orange and blue as both combatants took turns alternately throwing and dodging fire and ice attacks. Several times, the attacks would hit each other, creating large blasts of steam where they impacted.
"I have to admit, this is starting to get really entertaining." Terence whispered to Clara outside the arena. "But I don't know how Jun's keeping so calm."
Clara turned and glanced at the girl in question. She noticed that, though Jun's body language gave off an aura of peace and confidence, her eyes, darting back and forth as they concentrated keenly on the ongoing battle, told a different story.
"She's not."
"What do you mean? Look at her. She's just standing there-"
"It's a girl thing sweetie. Trust me."
Terence gave in to her intuition with a nod. "If you say so." He suddenly smiled. "Sweetie, huh? I like that. That's hot."
She playfully rolled her eyes. "Shut-up."
Tai dove behind a boulder as a stray blizzard attack blasted into it, covering the hulking rock in a thin layer of ice. He rose and fired a couple of pepper breaths at a similarly hiding Jason before taking cover again. With his back to the boulder, Tai ignored the several other blizzard attacks that flew overhead and briefly searched the landscape for his partner, but unfortunately could find no sign of him or his struggle with Frost. Wherever Agumon was, Tai hoped he was faring okay. Forcing the concern aside, he turned and blasted a few more attacks towards his opponent's approximate position.
Hunched over from his position, high atop one of the largest boulders in the arena, Agumon sniffed the air intently. His ears perked up and his senses piqued as he concentrated on trying to ascertain exactly what had become of his foe and what he was up to. In short order, he received his answer. There was a tell tale muttering below, the source being an obviously irritated Frost. Agumon concentrated as the snowagumon's words gradually wafted up to him.
"Stupid orange digimon. 'Keep him out of this, Frost.' What the hell kind of orders are those? Is that all the enjoyment I get? Missing a real battle because I have to keep this coward occupied?" As he walked, his head continually swept back and forth as he tried to figure out where Agumon had gone. "And, of course, he just runs off. My only source of entertainment was fighting this joke, and now I don't even get to do that."
Frost suddenly stopped almost directly under Agumon's position and pointed his nose upwards, concentrating as his took in the surrounding scents. "Wait a second..."
Agumon, seeing his element of surprise beginning to slip away, leapt from the boulder with a shout and landed roughly on top of his adversary. The two became a ball of fury, growling and snarling as they clawed and bit at one another and rolled across the sand.
Agumon was finally able to create some separation between them by planting a large foot on Frost's snout and forcefully pushing him away. He then fired a few pepper breaths, but grunted in frustration as Frost quickly got to his feet and dodged them all.
"Gotta do better than that to best me, Orange."
The snow-white digimon fired some retaliatory blizzard attacks and smiled as Agumon scrambled to get out of their path and took cover behind a small, pyramid shaped block.
"Hey buddy," He chided. "If you can't take it, I'd advise you not to dish it out!"
Agumon peeked around the corner to see Frost smiling gleefully as he confidently approached his position. Agumon's eyes narrowed in anger at his opponent's cocky behavior and he quickly leapt from behind his cover, this time concentrating and firing a pepper breath that was five times the attack's normal size. He followed it up with two more regular ones, which spun around the original behemoth and left a helix trail of smoke as the collection of attacks sped toward Frost.
The snowagumon was just able to get out of the path of the large middle fireball but was unable to move fast enough to avoid the peripheral attacks and, as a result, was nailed full on by one of the normal sized pepper breaths.
Agumon pumped a fist in celebration. "Hey pal, if you can't take the heat, I'd advise you to get out of the kitchen!" He shouted.
Frost slowly got up from the ground, smoldering from the hit. The smoke rising from his figure combined with his narrowed eyes and seething breaths to give him a very convincing visage of anger.
"So that's how you want to do this, huh? Altered attacks?" He shouted. "Fine then. My turn!"
Agumon prepared to fire another volley of pepper breaths but paused suddenly as he saw Frost concentrate a rather large blizzard attack before him and release it into the air. Agumon watched, perplexed, as the massive blue sphere slowed down, high in the air, and began to spin rapidly before descending in his direction.
Instinctively, the orange digimon turned around and began to run just as the giant orb started to fire hundreds of small frozen stalagmites into the ground around him. Agumon leapt, dodged, and ran as fast as he could as the icicles continued to barely miss his fleeing form. After a few seconds of this, Agumon chanced a glance back and saw that the sphere of ice was gradually becoming smaller while it fired the frozen daggers at him in rapid succession. Though encouraging, the orb's diminishment was still progressing bit too slowly for his tastes. Just as he was trying to formulate a plan to remedy this, one of the projectiles suddenly grazed Agumon's shoulder, knocking him to the ground. He looked up at the frozen orb bearing down on him in dismay, sure that one of the frosty spears would rip into him at any second.
Agumon quickly acted, doing the first thing that came to mind. He fired a large pepper breath directly at the hovering object and watched in satisfaction as the fireball sped along, destroying any falling icicles in its path, before finally impacting with the sphere. Both disappeared with a loud crash and a terrific blast of water and steam. Agumon let out a heavy sigh and pulled himself up from the ground. He looked towards Frost, now some distance away following his flight from the attack.
"Is that the best you got?" He shouted. "You'll have to do better than-"
Agumon stopped short, noticing something in the distance that looked very much like the attack Frost had just thrown at him. The orb ascended into the air, just like before, but this time exploded in a flash of icy particles, made brighter by the light of the arena walls glinting off of them as they slowly drifted back to the ground.
Agumon tore his attention away from the wondrous spectacle to see that Frost had turned around and was running towards whatever its source was.
"Crap! It was some kind of signal!" Agumon said in realization as he began to give chase. He grimly noted the large amount of distance now between him and his foe. "I just hope I can get back in time to help Tai."
Tai ducked as yet another blast splashed over his cover, showering bits of ice around him.
"Damn it." He muttered. "I am not getting anywhere this way."
He stood up quickly, fired off a few blasts of fire, and ducked again before Jason retaliated.
"This long-distance shooting stuff is getting old quick. And it seems like Jason's in it for the long haul." He sighed. "Well I'm not going to be the one to get overanxious and screw up. If he wants to draw this thing out, then so be it."
For a few more minutes, Tai continued in the game of cat and mouse, alternately firing at Jason and taking cover from his blizzard attacks. It was just when the monotony of the battle's proceedings became so overbearing that he began to entertain thoughts of wildly charging across the expanse between he and Jason that Tai heard a strange noise to his right. He turned his head in the direction and looked around keenly. Seeing nothing, Tai shrugged and chalked the noise up to his mind becoming stressed due to battle and starting to play tricks on him. He turned and peered across the sands, towards the boulder he was pretty sure Jason was hiding behind.
"If I could just get over there to him somehow-"
Tai paused, hearing a noise again. This time he didn't think it was a product of his psyche.
"Agumon?" He said cautiously. "Is that you?"
"Guess again," came the curt reply.
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a large, white, clawed foot bore down on Tai and struck him directly in the chest. The startled digidestined had no time to react as Frost leapt upon him and frantically began gnarling and clawing at him. Tai tried to use his arms to push the frenzied digimon away but found it too hard to gain any kind of hold on him. Instead, his actions only seemed to help Frost in his attempt to pull his bracelet, as the snowagumon bit down upon the golden band as soon as Tai raised his arms. With some effort, Tai was able to jerk his arm away, but not before his attacker had gotten a good pull.
Apparently unsatisfied with his accomplishment, Frost quickly leapt back upon Tai and attempted to bring the battle to a swift end. It was all Tai could do to keep him at bay with one arm, while keeping the bracelet just out of the digimon's reach. With no other recourse for getting rid of the relentless digimon, Tai fired a close range pepper breath, doing about as much damage to himself as he did his opponent. Still, the attack served its purpose of knocking Frost away and, when the spots finally faded from Tai's vision, he discovered that the digimon had made a full retreat, his dinosaur like footprints leading across the sands toward Jason.
Now having time to realize what had just happened, Tai punched the boulder beside him forcefully in anger and ignored the subsequent pain that shot through his fist and up his arm.
"Damn it, Agumon, where the hell are you?" He grumbled.
Jason watched Frost approach him with a smile.
"You fared well, I trust?"
"Yeah," Frost replied. "I did all right I guess." He rubbed the spot on his side where Tai's attack had hit him. "I pulled his bracelet in any case."
"Good, that means one more pull and we can take our rightful places as top Knights at the academy."
"Yeah, well it looks like your plan worked out pretty well. When you sent up the signal, he was so busy fighting you that he didn't see me coming until it was too late."
"Of course. Compared to me, Tai is essentially an idiot savant. Though he may be quite adept at physical warfare, he is rendered essentially useless when he enters into a combat situation that requires planning and mental acumen. I knew he would be caught unprepared by our plan." Jason took a cautious look around. "Really, the only variable I was unsure about was whether you would be able to get away from his equally inept partner."
Frost shrugged. "That was easy. I kept him busy with a well-timed icicle blast. No problem."
"Good. Now we just-"
Jason was cut off as the sudden weight of a certain orange digimon came down upon his back. Agumon acted quickly, jumping onto Jason's arm and tugging at his bracelet before he could even figure out what was happening.
"How's that for inept?" The enraged digimon shouted just before Jason was able to elbow him off and into the sand.
Agumon quickly got up and leapt at him again, but this time his opponent was ready and on his knees in a defensive stance. Their hands clasped in a vice like grip as the two began to grapple with one another.
"Where in the world did he come from?" Jason grunted as he began to gain the upper hand in their struggle.
"I don't know. He has a knack for jumping off of stuff." Frost answered, giving Agumon a furious glare. "But don't worry. I'll get rid of him." He began to charge a substantial blizzard attack.
"No-" Jason began to protest, though a bit too late. He and Agumon dove in opposite directions just as Frost fired his attack and covered the ground where they had been wrestling in an icy film.
Agumon got up first and set off at a run away from the scene, taking the moment of confusion as an opportunity to escape.
Jason got up in time to see the fleeing digimon's form. "Frost," he began, trying in vain to quell his anger. "This is how it's done."
He stretched a hand forth and began to form an attack.
Tai was still seething over what had just taken place when he suddenly heard a familiar voice scream out in pain.
"Agumon!" He shouted, getting up and running towards where the sound had emanated from.
Taking heed of nothing else, Tai immediately ran to his fallen partner as soon as he spotted him lying in the expanse of sand between he and Jason's defensive positions.
"Agumon, are you okay?" Tai asked, dropping to his knees when he reached him.
Agumon let out a labored breath. "Jason…hit me in the back…"
"What? Are you hurt badly?" Tai began to gently prod his partner, checking to see if anything was broken. Agumon suddenly reached out and tugged at the sleeve of his concerned partner's uniform.
"Tai…he's still behind me..."
"What?" Tai looked up in the direction Agumon had been coming from just in time to see two blue spheres of frozen energy hurtling towards him. "Oh."
Tai leaned back, his knees bending as far as possible, and lay almost horizontal to the ground as the two attacks sailed over, just inches above his body. As soon as they passed, he scooped Agumon up and began to run back toward his boulder. Blizzard attacks flew all around them as he sprinted across the sands, sometimes hitting the ground in front of him and forcing him to leap over their frozen wakes. Once he reached the other side of the boulder, Tai gently placed Agumon down and took a moment to catch his breath.
"What happened?" Tai asked after the moment passed.
Agumon propped himself up against the large rock. "Well, when I saw Jason throw up that signal to Frost, I did my best to follow him back here. I saw his footprints heading towards where your attacks were coming from, but I was so far behind I figured there was no way I'd reach you in time to help. So, I decided to sneak up on Jason, maybe get his bracelet first. I half succeeded. I pulled it once."
"So did Frost." Tai said with a grimace.
"Sorry about that."
"Don't be. You did well to go after Jason. I was the one who should've been on my toes-"
"KAMIYA!" The shout rang out over the arena clear and evenly.
Tai stood up and peeked over the boulder. Jason was standing in the middle of the clearing with Frost flanking him. In his hand was a charging blizzard attack, gradually growing larger in size with each passing moment.
"Come out and fight, Kamiya! I know your digimon's out of the battle. That attack I hit him with was dead on."
Agumon grunted. "I've had worse, much worse. That guy really overrates himself."
"Yeah, that he does." Tai agreed, a thought occurring to him.
"Frost won't interfere." Jason continued. "It'll just be you and me, mano a mano."
"Yeah right." Tai said skeptically before turning to his partner. "Agumon, do you think you can still fire an attack?"
"Well, I suppose. Not a very strong one-"
"It doesn't have to be. I've got an idea."
"Uh oh."
"Trust me. This is going to work."
Agumon nodded. "Okay, what do I have to do?"
"Position yourself on the other side of this boulder. When I go out there to talk to Jason, look for my signal. That's when I want you to fire at him."
"But Tai," Agumon protested. "I told you my attack won't be a very strong one in my condition. It won't have much of an effect on him."
"I know. But you won't be hitting him exactly. I want you to aim for that blizzard attack he's charging up."
"Oh," Agumon nodded in understanding. "I get it."
"Good, now get ready."
Agumon shifted to the other end of the boulder and peeked around the edge. "Okay Tai," He whispered. "I've got a straight shot."
"Okay then, here I go."
Tai slowly walked from behind the boulder and into the open. Jason appraised him with a smile.
"Come to face your destiny, have you Kamiya?"
"You could say that."
"But you're unprepared." Jason said, indicating with a nod the lack of an attack forming in Tai's hands. "Just as I expected."
Tai ignored the verbal jab. "What kind of guy shoots a digimon in the back, Smith? Is that the 'honorable' way you fight?"
"Please, this is combat. There is no honor in battle. Only victory and defeat. That is something I know, Kamiya, and you apparently don't. Another reason I'm more suited to lead the Knights into our upcoming war."
Tai scoffed. "In your dreams."
Jason raised the hand bearing his blizzard attack high over his head. The sphere had grown to enormous size and even he seemed to have some difficulty controlling it.
"We shall see my dreams become a reality, then!" He screamed, chest heaving and arms trembling as the power of his attack threatened to overwhelm him. "What do you say to that?!"
Tai remained calm and unconcerned with the fact that Jason seemed to be on the verge of blowing him away. "Two words, Smith." He said, not breaking a sweat. "Fire away."
As soon as the words left Tai's mouth, a small orange ball of fire streaked out from the other side of the boulder he was standing in front of and headed directly for his opponent. Jason barely had time to acknowledge this unexpected variable before it smashed into the large attack he was forming and caused him to disappear under a terrific explosion of steam and water.
Seeing the moment he'd been waiting for come to fruition, Tai charged forward, sprinting right into the rather thick cloud of vapor.
"I can't see what's going on." Davis complained. He squinted futilely. "The steam's too thick."
"I think that's what Tai was going for." Kuri observed. "It certainly caught Jason off guard."
Rosa stepped up beside them, also trying to peer into the opaque mist. "But Jason's pretty tough. Even in that mess, he's not going down easy."
"Tell me about it." Curtis agreed. "That guy's a lot better than I thought."
Jun took in what they were all saying quietly. She stared at the large cloud of steam in the middle of the arena anxiously, hoping for Tai to emerge from it at any moment. After a few more nerve-wracking moments had passed, he finally did, stumbling and coughing as he exited the sauna and fell to his knees in exhaustion.
"Oh no." Jun exclaimed to herself. "He's been hurt."
With a groan, Tai collapsed completely to the ground, slowly turned over onto his back, and closed his eyes. Just when it seemed Jun would completely lose her wits, he found the strength to raise an arm. At its end, dangling from his index finger, was Jason's bracelet.
The entire academy absolutely exploded with wild cheers. Raucous shouts and praise filled the air as they all immediately began to celebrate Tai's apparent victory.
Amid the rampant rejoicing, Jun bowed her head and allowed herself a relieved sigh. "Thank God." She whispered.
An elated Davis suddenly picked her up and twirled her around, laughing. "You weren't worried, were you sis? Didn't you know that we can't be stopped? 4 and 0 against Jason and his lackeys!"
Jun smiled at her brother. "Okay, okay, you can put me down now, Davis."
He sheepishly did, still grinning from ear to ear. Curtis approached the two, his expression noticeably more sober than everyone else's.
"What's going on over there?" He asked, pointing to where Professor Nai and Willis sat outside the arena. They were working on the latter's laptop and seemed to be confused and very frantic about something.
"I'm not sure," Davis answered, his mood growing serious as well. "But it doesn't look good."
Tai recovered gradually from his fight inside the cloud of steam. It hadn't been too hard, since, as he expected, Jason was caught completely unprepared and confused by the maneuver. The conditions inside were what sapped most of his energy. Struggling to remove Jason's bracelet in such a hot and suffocating atmosphere had left him completely fatigued. Tai raised his head slightly as he heard footsteps approaching. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Agumon gingerly running over to him.
"Way to go, Tai!" the digimon exclaimed. "You did it!"
"Not just me, Agumon." Tai said, grunting as he forced himself into a seated position. "You played a big part, too."
"Yeah, but it was your plan that worked perfectly."
"His plan?" a voice moaned.
Tai and Agumon looked up as Jason's haggard form became visible through the rapidly dissipating haze. "I lost to a plan made by him?"
Frost walked beside him, looking equally tired.
"Yes. You lost to a plan made by me, Jason." Tai answered angrily. "I hope this puts some things in perspective for you."
Jason and Frost flopped to the ground opposite Tai and Agumon.
"It does." Jason admitted dejectedly. He sat in silence and stared down at the sand between them.
After a few moments passed, Tai started to actually feel some level of pity for his once proud adversary
"Look Jason," He began. "It's not like this is the end of the world-" Tai stopped suddenly in realization and looked around. "Hey, why is the arena still closed? Isn't the battle over?"
Jason looked up sharply. "Curious." He said, before adding ruefully, "This likely has something to do with Enn. Probably punishing me by making me spend more time in here with you."
Tai was about to respond indignantly when Frost suddenly sat up straight, his senses piqued.
"You guys hear that?" The white digimon asked in alarm.
"Yeah. I do." Agumon responded after a moment of listening. "And it's getting louder."
Tai and Jason looked at the two digimon in confusion.
"I don't hear anything." Tai said.
"Then just wait." Frost responded, placing an ear to the ground. "Because whatever it is, it's coming this way."
After a moment, the digimon's assertions were confirmed as a low level rumbling began to fill the arena. The sand surrounding the quartet began to vibrate and shift violently. Something sounding like a mix between an anguished roar and a scream emanated from the ground under them and gradually got louder.
Tai was the first to get to his feet. "Guys, I think we should move. NOW!"
No one argued with him as the group stood as one and backed away from where they discerned was the epicenter of the disturbance.
"What do you think it could be?" Agumon asked nervously.
Jason shook his head. "I'm not sure, but something tells me we're going to find out very soon."
Almost as if on cue, the ground before them burst forth in a mighty explosion of dirt, sand and dust. An ear splitting roar rang out over the arena as a humongous serpentine body gradually emerged from the gaping hole. As the dust settled, it's teal body and gold plated face made the giant digimon easily identifiable to even the least knowledgeable of digidestined.
"A seadramon." Tai said in a half awed, half dismayed voice. "How in the hell did it get here-?"
"Save the irrelevant questions for later Kamiya." Jason said, backing away from the snake-like beast slowly. "Right now, I think that thing wants to eat us."
Tai looked up at the seadramon, then back at his apprehensive companion. "Nonsense, Jason. We can't just assume the worst of every digimon that finds its way into the realm. For all we know, this seadramon might be agreeable-"
Another loud, screeching roar assaulted their ears. The giant serpent bent low and glared at Tai, opening its mouth to reveal rows of gleaming, razor sharp teeth.
"On the other hand, you may have a point. Scatter!"
Everyone ran in different directions, splitting just before the seadramon fired an ice blast attack into their midst.
"Argh! Why won't this damn thing work?!"
Willis pounded his laptop's keyboard in frustration, before turning to Nai. "The arena is in some kind of lock down mode and this computer doesn't have the power to override it. The only way I can take it down is with the main system back in the mansion."
Nai helped Willis up. "Well then, let's not just sit here talking, come on. Tai and Jason can't run from that thing forever." Together they sped off towards the mansion, leaving the laptop where it was.
"Where are they going?!" Jun screamed frantically, watching the two depart across the sands. "They're just leaving them in there?!"
Curtis walked up beside her. "I doubt it." He said. "They probably just need a more powerful system than Willis' laptop to get the walls to come down for some reason."
"I wonder what that 'reason' could be…" Kuri said, squinting as she looked at Sensei Enn across the arena. He seemed to be positively enjoying himself, doing everything but licking his chops as he watched the boys' predicament inside.
Davis walked up beside her. "I know what you're thinking, but that's something to worry about later. Right now we have to focus on helping get Tai out of there."
"That's a nice thought, but how?" Terence asked, running a hand over the forcefield that was the arena. "That wall's pretty damn strong."
Rosa agreed. "Yeah. We can't just knock it down…can we?"
The hope in her voice was infectious.
"Hmm…" Davis mused, walking up to the semi-transparent wall of light. "I wonder."
He felt around its surface a bit before rearing his fist back and delivering a powerful vee-punch. The wall rippled and wavered outwardly from his point of attack. Davis studied the affect, noting that it took a few seconds for the barrier to return to normal.
"I think that might have hurt it a little." He observed.
As soon as he uttered the words, a second set of ripples appeared in the wall. Davis looked down to see that Veemon had joined him.
"Then let's take this thing down!" The blue digimon said enthusiastically.
Davis spared his partner a proud smile. "Right." The two began to punch the barrier repeatedly in rapid succession.
Soon, they were joined by the attacks of hundreds of other academy students and digimon following their example. After a couple minutes the wall began to undulate and waver greatly under their massive assault. As Jun began throwing slamming attacks at the barrier, she lamented the fact that Willis and Nai had neglected to restore their ability to digivolve before running off to the mansion. She expressed her displeasure at that decision with a few choice, four-letter words. Clara paused in her barrage of petty punch attacks to consider Jun's complaints. An idea occurred to her. Without a word, she took off and left the group. Everyone, their attention focused solely on attacking the arena wall, was too busy to notice her departure.
Tai leapfrogged a rock and quickly changed direction just before the beast chasing him lunged for him, crashed into the sand, and became even more enraged. Tai continued to run, not looking back for fear that the sight of the angry seadramon bearing down on him might cause him to falter. He leapt another boulder, this one substantially larger than the last, and surprised himself by accidentally crashing into a hiding Jason.
Jason grunted loudly. "Kamiya, will you watch where you're going?" He complained.
"Easy for you to say, Smith. That thing's not chasing after you!"
Jason turned to look over the boulder and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Get down!" he yelled, pushing Tai down as he dove himself.
A split second later, the giant stone exploded in a rain of rock and gravel as the seadramon speared through it, barely slowing down as it screamed over them.
"Whoa." Tai exclaimed, eyes on the serpent as it wound its way into the distance. "Thanks Jason."
"Um, yeah, well…" Tai's savior was obviously uncomfortable with receiving his gratitude. "What do we do now?"
Tai pulled out his digivice. "Well, we can't call anyone through the arena walls." He looked at the screen. "But maybe we can digivolve now."
Jason shrugged. "Worth a try." He muttered, obviously not really enthused that the plan would work.
Tai pressed his screen and was slightly crestfallen when he felt no change.
"Any luck?" He asked Jason.
The dark haired digidestined shook his head. "Nope."
"Okay then, since that won't work, I think we need to regroup with our digimon. This is definitely a case where strength in numbers is needed."
"Fine. But whatever we do, we need to do it fast, before that thing returns."
Tai nodded in agreement. "Okay. Let's go."
Together, the two set off as quietly as they could in search of their digimon partners.
Willis and Professor Nai arrived on the third floor of the mansion out of breath. They raced to the main operations room and burst the door open to find counselor Gen already seated in front of the massive mainframe system inside.
"Gen!" Nai exclaimed. "What are you doing up here?"
The perpetually cheerful counselor turned to face them, his expression uncharacteristically sour. "What do you think? I'm trying to get that darn arena down."
"Yeah, but why aren't you outside?" Nai continued as Willis ran up to the system and forced Gen aside as respectfully as possible.
Gen moved back and let the young computer whiz take over. "I couldn't stay outside and watch any more of that bloodbath Enn calls 'training.' Those kids were seriously hurting each other out there. I came in here to get away from it all, but when the alarms went off…" He walked over to a window that faced out towards the arena and looked out grimly. "Just look at what happened. I told everyone this was a bad idea. I knew something like this would happen. I just knew it. If we don't hurry, two of our best knights won't make it out alive." Gen paused and wiped a hand over his face to calm himself. "How's it coming along, Willis?"
"Well enough," He answered. "You were doing a pretty good job Counselor. You got through most of the firewalls, but there's also a few backdoors in here to reach the main security systems." Willis sighed as his fingers flew over the keyboard. "I can't help but think that most of this is my fault, though…"
"How so?" Nai asked.
"If I'd only had the foresight to extend the perimeter protection shells underground, that seadramon never would've gotten in. Furthermore-" Willis paused a moment to work on something that needed his complete attention before returning to his multitasking. "I shouldn't have based the arena design on the innermost shell. Both have a built in system that locks them down when any of the breach alarms go off. That's fine for the inner shell, since it means only authorized people and digimon are allowed to enter or exit the mansion, but the arena locks everybody in or out. I should've seen this coming and taken that particular security measure out of its code."
Nai nodded. "You still shouldn't blame yourself for this Willis. Let's just call it a 'live and learn' experience."
Willis grunted and began to reply, but started suddenly as the large screen before him changed colors.
"I'm in!" He shouted. "I got into the arena's operation program."
"Good." Gen said. "Now, take it down."
Willis progressed through a series of keystrokes before cursing loudly.
"What's wrong?"
"It's too strong. The only way I can take the arena down at this point is to degrade its signal and power amplification. Right now, it's simply too strong for those measures to have much of an effect." With a few clicks, he brought up a different screen, which featured a thermometer like graph. "Right now, its power level is here." Willis pointed to the top of the graph, where the red section, representing mercury, almost reached. "I need it to be about half of that before I can take the arena walls down."
Nai leaned in over his shoulder and frowned. "This presents us with a dire problem then-" He stopped suddenly. "Wait-I think it just moved."
"What?"
"The power level. I think it just moved down."
They both watched the screen intently, and sure enough, after a few seconds, the red bar dropped another fraction.
Willis looked up at his mentor in surprise. "What do you think could be making it do that?"
"I think I have a pretty good idea." Gen said, still staring out the window and watching as hundreds of determined academy students kept up their barrage against the arena's seemingly impenetrable walls.
Clara looked at the gibberish on Willis' laptop screen in frustration.
"What was I thinking?" She muttered to herself. "I don't know how to work this thing. I might as well be the seadramon for all the good I'm doing."
She slapped at the keyboard in exasperation and gasped as a small point of bright light appeared in front of her. Transfixed, Clara watched as the light split into the different colors of the rainbow and began to swirl around itself. Another small point, resembling more of a shadow than a color, split off from the rest and began to absorb each one, one by one, until they all coalesced into one large shadow and gradually dissolved away.
"Man, what is it with you and starlets, huh?"
Clara took her attention away from the spectacle and looked up to see that Curtis had run over and joined her.
"Came to help," He explained. "Um, whenever you tell me exactly what it is you're trying to do."
"Well, I was trying to find a way to let us digivolve, but I can't understand anything on this damn machine."
Curtis frowned and nodded "Mind if I have a crack at it?" He asked, seating himself next to her.
"Sure," Clara waved a hand at the computer. "It's all yours. I don't see why I tried to use it without you, anyway."
Curtis smiled. "It was a good idea to try out. No one else thought of it." His hands went to work on the laptop's keyboard and mouse. "Now, let's see if we can get something done in time to help Tai."
Tai and Jason crept along silently, weaving in and out of the various boulders and blocks as they searched for their partners. Jason suddenly stopped and cocked his head, having apparently heard something that caught his attention.
"What is it?" Tai asked.
"I thought I heard Frost-wait…there. I hear him again."
"I hear him too." Tai glanced around in confusion, looking for a spot of white anywhere. By a stroke of luck, when Tai turned to scratch his head, he looked directly up at the snowagumon, who was perched atop a pyramid, hissing down at them.
Tai elbowed Jason and quickly pointed upwards before his former adversary could respond in kind. Jason looked up in Tai's indicated direction and was surprised when he discovered his partner's position. Together both he and Tai ascended the pyramid to join him.
"Frost," Jason whispered loudly. "What are you doing up here? You're not planning something foolish are you?"
Frost seemed indignant at the suggestion. "Of course not. That seadramon's flying low, looking for us, so I decided to go high. And as far as doing something foolish goes, I'm not planning anything half as dumb as his partner." He nodded at Tai.
"What do you mean?" Tai asked. "What's Agumon doing?"
"Look for yourself." Frost pointed into the distance. "He's over there."
Tai looked in the direction and saw Agumon's silhouette perched atop another pyramid some distance away. "What's so dumb about that? He's doing the same thing as you."
"Yeah, but just wait. Last I saw, the seadramon was headed in his direction."
Concerned for his partner, Tai started to climb down the pyramid. A clawed hand reached out and stopped him.
"You don't understand." Frost said. "He wants it to come in his direction."
"What? Why?"
"Just watch."
Tai turned again and watched Agumon. After a few seconds passed, an elongated snake-like form emerged from the shadows and headed towards his position. The seadramon didn't see Agumon, as it continued to search along at ground level and began to slither past him. Abruptly, Agumon entered into a readying stance, resembling a sprinter waiting for the starting gun.
"He wouldn't." Tai gasped.
"He couldn't." Jason added.
With a dramatic flourish, Agumon leapt off like an Olympic diver, landing on the seadramon's back and holding on tight as the large serpent went into a fit of bucking, swaying, and thrashing about wildly.
"He did." Frost said with a smirk.
"What is he thinking?!" Tai exclaimed.
"I don't know, but they're coming this way!" Jason yelled.
He and Frost began to slide down the pyramid as fast as they could.
Tai stayed put and watched intensely as the seadramon approached him with a screaming and flopping Agumon on his back. No way was he going to let his partner face that monster alone.
"Kamiya, what are you doing?!" Jason shouted from the ground. When Tai didn't answer him he added to Frost, "He's just as daft as his partner."
Tai waited patiently for the right moment, flinching a couple times as the seadramon whipped its body back and forth and began to pass him. Seeing his opportunity, Tai jumped with a supreme effort and landed on the creature's back, just behind Agumon. He held on tight, as the seadramon's bucking and thrashing threatened to send him flying across the arena.
"What were you thinking, Agumon?!" He yelled after gaining some semblance of control. "Jumping on 'oof' a seadramon's 'ouch' back? That's stupid!"
The smaller digimon looked back at him angrily. "Well 'ugh' then what does that make you for following me?"
Tai considered the question and looked around. The seadramon had started climbing hundreds of feet into the air. When its ascension stopped, both Tai and Agumon held on as tightly as they could, anticipating what was coming next.
"I must be insaaaaaaaaaaaaaane!" Tai screamed out just as they rolled into a swooping dive.
"He's insane!" Jun shouted, unable to watch Tai's plight and continue her attacks on the arena at the same time. "What in the world is he thinking?"
"I don't know," Davis answered. "But we need to keep working at this wall. It's the only way we'll get in there before Tai and Agumon get themselves seriously injured, or worse."
Beside him, Terence threw another ice-covered punch, but looked at Davis skeptically. "I don't know if this is working, Davis. This wall doesn't seem like it'll be coming down anytime soon."
"It has to." Davis answered, unfaltering in his attacks. "It's the only hope we have."
At that moment, his digivice began to vibrate. With the hand that wasn't busy throwing vee-punches, Davis reached down to answer it.
Willis' tinny voice came through. "Davis, keep up the attack on the arena! It's comprimising the walls! In a couple more minutes, it'll be weak enough for me to completely take down!"
The message ended as abruptly as it began.
"Well, I'll be damned." Terence remarked, more amazed at the timing of the call than the actual message. "Let's get to work, then."
Davis nodded and continued his assault as Jun rejoined them.
Curtis continued to work with Willis' computer, whizzing through folders, windows, and programs like a proverbial hot knife through butter.
"Wow, you're doing a lot better than I ever would have." Clara said in awe as she watched him work.
"The credit goes to Willis. This operating system is a breeze to work through. He really did a good job in creating it." He gestured at the screen. "See, look. I'm already in the digivolutions program. Now I just have to figure out where to change the permitted levels…"
After a few more seconds, a window came up with two familiar characters on it.
"Tai and Jason's shield symbols." Clara commented. "What are they doing there?"
"Hmm." Curtis peered closely at the screen. "It says 'pending evolutions.' Maybe they already tried to evolve their digimon, but the process won't take place until I make the necessary changes to the system."
Clara shrugged. "'I guess."
After a few more seconds of work, Curtis muttered, "Figures. There's always a catch."
"What's wrong?"
"Well, I found the program for allowing evolutions, but unfortunately, due to the stress the system's going under right now, the changes won't take effect for another couple of minutes or so."
Clara frowned and glanced back at the arena. "They might not have that long. You think you could speed it up?"
"I suppose I can try."
Tai and Agumon clung to their host like experienced rodeo cowboys as it flung them around like rag dolls.
"Did you have a plan?" Tai yelled to Agumon over the seadramon's roars of protest.
"Of course not, did you?"
Tai shook his head and grimaced as his bones were jarred by the seadramon's constant bucking. "No, but I couldn't just watch you fight this thing by yourself."
The seadramon's wild movements suddenly stopped. He calmly floated in midair, high above the sands below.
"I think he's getting tired." Tai suggested.
Agumon smirked. "If that's the case, then I'm going to say that that was my plan all along."
Tai smiled a little. "Well, now we just have to convince this big guy to take us back down to the grou-."
Tai words were cut off when the giant digimon suddenly took off at high speed, literally taking his breath away.
"What's he doing?!" Agumon screamed over the roar of the wind whipping around them.
"I don't know!" Tai looked ahead to see where the seadramon was heading. In the distance, he spied the arena wall, which they were quickly approaching. The wall was pulsing, randomly changing colors, wavering, and seemed to be weakening, though it still looked alarmingly solid. "He's heading straight for the wall!"
"What? That's crazy!" Agumon protested. "He wouldn't just run into a solid wall head on!"
"I don't think it'll exactly be head on!"
"What do you mean?"
Tai didn't answer as he tried to formulate a plan in the few seconds he and Agumon had before the seadramon would attempt to smash them into the arena wall. After a moment of thought, Tai reached out and grabbed his partner with one arm.
"Hey!" Agumon protested. "What are you doing?"
Tai ignored him and concentrated on the seadramon's path, watching as the gigantic wall continued to approach. The serpent began to turn slowly, positioning itself so that its back, and its interloping passengers, were facing the barrier.
"Hang on!" Tai yelled, grasping his partner tightly with one arm, and letting go of the seadramon with the other. The two slid down the creature's back quickly and managed to move far enough to be out of harm's way when it finally slammed into the wall. The jolt from the hit, however, knocked them completely free. Tai was just able to reach out and grasp a fin from the seadramon's tail before he and Agumon plummeted completely to the ground. The force of the sudden stop caused Agumon to fall from the solid clutch of Tai's arm. At the last second he had to reach up and grab his partner by the hand.
For a moment of silence, the two simply hung there, suspended high up in the air, their lives tenuously depending on the strength of Tai's grip. Tai grunted as he struggled to hold on and sweat beaded on his brow. Feeling the unexpected weight on its tail, the seadramon contorted itself so that its golden armored head could face them. It growled deeply and started towards them, opening its crushing jaws wide.
Suddenly a splash of blue collided with the serpentine digimon's head, followed by another. The seadramon turned indignantly to see who dared attack it. Tai looked also, and was gratified to see Jason and Frost diligently launching blizzard attacks from the top of a pyramid.
The seadramon began to head toward them, pulling in a sharp intake of breath as it did so. Tai noticed that the large digimon seemed to be forming a formidable ice blast attack and grimaced. He was unable to launch a pepper breath with both his hands being full… but his partner could.
"Agumon-"
"Already on it." The digimon answered, breathing deeply and forming a large, concentrated ball of fire. He released the blast with a yell and nailed the seadramon directly in the jaw with it. The attack was enough to throw off the mammoth digimon's aim and send its ice blast hurtling harmlessly through the air.
The seadramon looked back and gave the dangling Tai and Agumon a furious glare. With an angry roar it contorted its body in a whip like fashion, flicking the two off of its tail and sending them hurtling directly at Jason and Frost. They barely had time to scream before the group crashed together with terrific force and tumbled roughly down the sides of the pyramid until they violently collided with the ground. The seadramon dove low over them, screaming out its fury as it passed.
Jason was the first to stir of the quartet lying in the sand. He groaned and rubbed his head.
"Kamiya, what the hell were you thinking with that move? You accomplished nothing but anger him more."
Tai tried to answer, but only let out an anguished moan as pain oozed from every part of his body.
"About the response I expected." Jason said, getting up from the ground with some difficulty. "Come on. We all have to find some cover."
With a lot of effort, Tai managed to roll from his back onto his hands and knees before recovering his ability to talk. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up."
"What? Are you mental? That thing'll be coming back soon enough."
"They're both busted up pretty bad, Jason." Frost said, looking over Tai and Agumon. "I don't think they can go anywhere at the moment."
Jason jerked his head up as another tell-tale seadramon roar sounded across the arena. He squinted and obviously saw something he didn't like in the distance.
"Well they're going to have to, since our friend's headed back this way." He placed his hands under Tai shoulders and tried to heft him up.
Tai groaned. "Smith, what are you doing? Go on without me. Find cover for yourself."
"Kamiya, do you think I got this shield of Valor for nothing? I'm not leaving you lying out here. Now, come on."
Frost began to help Agumon up in similar fashion when he looked up and saw that the seadramon was bearing down on them at breakneck speed. "Jason, we're not going to make it in time! Look!"
Tai looked up from his position on his knees, one arm being supported by a stooping Jason. Squinting with one eye closed, he saw the giant airborne serpent coming at them with a volatile intensity in its eyes.
"This is going to be rough guys." He mumbled. "Get ready."
Willis leaned in closer to the giant mainframe screen. The meter it displayed was getting tantalizingly close to the point where he would be able to take the arena down. He reached down to his belt and unclipped his digivice.
"I think it's about time for me to tell Davis."
"Tell him what?" Nai asked.
"It's about to come down. He needs to get ready."
Davis re-clipped his digivice after talking to Willis and raised his voice to address the entire crowd.
"Okay guys, they just told me that we're getting really close! Don't give up! Keep attacking! We'll get them out of there soon enough!"
He turned back to his own efforts but paused, feeling that he was being watched. Davis glanced to his left and saw Kuri giving him a look of pure admiration.
"What?"
"You're a natural at this, you know."
Davis smiled slightly. "Thanks," he said, allowing himself a bashful moment before turning serious again. "Now this thing is really close to coming down, so get ready."
Curtis sat back from Willis' laptop with a sigh.
"I've done all I can," He said. "Shaved a little bit off the load time for the changes."
Clara looked over his shoulder, but didn't really understand much of the DOS-like language that now took up the computer screen.
"So, when will we all be able to digivolve?" She asked.
"Any second now, I suppose." Curtis shrugged. "Just get ready."
Too weak to run, Tai watched the demonic image descending upon him with a raised head and clinched jaw. If this was how his end was to come about, he would face it like a warrior, just like Xian had always taught them. Jason, Frost and Agumon were still flanking him as he knelt on the ground. For any of them to come out of this confrontation alive, Tai knew it would require nothing short of a miracle.
Suddenly Tai felt a lurch in the pit of his stomach that ran throughout his body like a surge of power. His senses returned to him in full and the pain in his body quickly ebbed away.
"Greymon evolution activated." The voice in his digivice stated.
"Hyogamon evolution activated." Jason's echoed.
Two familiar flashes of light flared behind him- the light of digivolutions. Jason glanced at Frost's form, which resembled something like an ice-covered ogremon.
"We digivolved," he said. "But how?"
Tai never took his eyes off the seadramon, still heading for them at a high velocity with that dangerous glint in its eyes.
"We'll ask those questions later. Right now, everybody hit him with all you've got!"
As soon as he uttered the words, two nova blasts streaked through the air, immediately followed by two giant, boulder-shaped, chunks of ice. All four attacks hit the seadramon head-on simultaneously with massive explosions of ice, flame, and steam. With a roar of pain, the giant digimon began to tumble from the air.
Tai noticed that although the seadramon had been knocked down, it hadn't lost any of its momentum, and was still headed directly toward them in its descent.
"Move!" he shouted. "His body's still gonna hit us!"
No one had to be told twice. Jason, Frost, and Greymon quickly leapt to the sides and out of harm's way. Tai however, was still on his knees and by the time he got up, only had the option of simply turning around and running. He did so, not even faltering when he heard and felt the mighty crash of the seadramon's body hitting the ground, or slowing down when he heard the following loud thumps that told him the body was still rolling and bounding along at great speed behind him. Tai pressed on, directly towards the arena wall only a few yards in front of him that was undulating and changing hues with a surprising and almost hypnotic intensity. Tai knew that the wall was somehow weakening, and as he fled the giant serpentine body rolling and bouncing along behind him, he repeated a desperate mantra of, "Come down, come down, come down…"
Abruptly, when he was only feet away, the wall gave in to Tai's wishes and disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. When the barrier vanished, Tai could see many academy students lined along what had once been its perimeter.
"Move!" he shouted. "Get out of the way!"
They all did so, madly scrambling to get out of the seadramon's trajectory as the courageous digidestined sprinted through their ranks. Once Tai was sure he'd cleared them all, he chanced a glance back and saw that, although the seadramon's body was quickly losing momentum, it was still managing to gain on him. Coming to a decision, Tai suddenly slid to a stop and ducked low to the ground, covering his neck and closing his eyes as the massive body bounced just inches over him. Once it had passed, Tai stood up again and watched as the creature finally slowed to a stop some distance away. He threw his head back and sighed in relief.
Jun was the first to reach Tai once the action had finally come to an end. She hugged him fiercely, allowing tears to stream down her cheeks.
"I almost lost you." She whispered, as if scared to even say the words.
Tai returned her gesture and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm all right, sweetheart." He assured. "I'm all right."
Davis passed the two of them with a glance and continued down to the seadramon's unconscious body.
"Geez Tai," He shouted upon reaching it. "You couldn't have saved any for the rest of us?"
The creature suddenly stirred and gave a low groan. Davis instinctively nailed it with a vee-punch to the head that put it back down for the count.
"Spoke too soon!" he shouted sheepishly.
Tai rolled his eyes good naturedly as he continued to embrace Jun.
"It's just as well you won that battle, Kamiya."
Tai looked up to see Jason approaching him through the crowd of onlooking students, Greymon and Frost stomping along behind him.
He nodded towards Davis. "I fear I would've had to compete with him for the mantle of leadership as well." Jason stuck out a hand at Tai upon reaching him. "And I suppose you've proven to me today that you're actually up to the task."
Keeping one arm around Jun, Tai reached out and took Jason's hand with a smile.
"Now, this doesn't make us friends, Kamiya." Jason warned. "More like…allies."
"Even my allies call me Tai, Jason."
Tai's former adversary smirked. "I'll have to work on that one."
"Oh this was remarkable!" shouted an excited Gennai as he walked into the crowd, followed by a typically dour looking Sensei Enn. "A splendid display of your abilities as Knights."
"Hey, what happened to you guys?" Terence asked as they approached. "We could've used your help."
Gennai smiled. "You didn't need our help. None of the instructors, not even Nai, aided you in this predicament, and you all came through with flying colors." He began strolling through the crowd. "From Willis' work in finding a way to bring down the arena, to Davis leading an academy-wide charge to attack the structure, which proved absolutely vital in Willis's effort. From Clara and Curtis having the foresight to re-activate Tai and Jason's ability to digivolve, to those two and their digimon being able to defeat a rampaging seadramon. You all showed your mettle today, and proved through teamwork and persistence, that you're definitely capable of becoming a formidable fighting force. Wouldn't you agree Enn?"
Sensei Enn reluctantly nodded and grumbled something under his breath.
Gennai clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "So, as soon we get this digimon moved out beyond the second protection shell, and extend our shielding underground this time, I deem you all worthy of enjoying a much deserved weekend."
"I was already planning on enjoying this weekend." Terence muttered to Clara, who had rejoined the group along with Curtis. "All he just did was add hauling around a big ass, unconscious snake to it."
She giggled and sidled up to him. "Trust me Terence, this'll still be the best weekend you've ever had here."
"Ooo, I like the sound of that." He responded, momentarily biting his lip to hold back a goofy grin. "Let's get this hauling over with, then."
As everyone set to work transporting the seadramon by the moonlight, Tai led Jun to the side and continued to hold her reassuringly.
"I'm okay Jun." He repeated. "I made it out fine."
"I know." She admitted. "It's just that, you came so close."
"But I'm still here."
"Yes…"Jun didn't seem convinced that the fact that Tai currently stood before could assuage her fears that he was almost taken from her forever. Seeing his love's trepidation, Tai simply held her tightly for a while.
"I promise I'll never leave you, Jun." He said, after a few minutes passed. "I love you too much. You know that, right?"
Jun nodded and after a moment finally cracked a faint smile. "And I love you too much to let you go, Tai."
"So, where does that leave us, then? How do you feel?"
"Better. At least I know that, as Knights, we'll still face all obstacles together." She sighed. "And, I guess, that's the best I could hope for."
With a kiss, Tai agreed, and together they walked back into the group, to aid in putting the last of the day's events behind them.
The Digital World
Cody sat perfectly still on the cobbled stone floor of the old temple, his legs crossed and eyes closed in meditation. Ken and Yolei stood behind him, accompanied by Hawkmon and Wormmon for protection. The Green Room kids had chosen to remain outside, respecting what had to be a very personal moment for the youngest OD.
Cody continued to concentrate. He thought about his father, about the events of seven years ago. How he stayed at Oikawa's side as the man's body pixilated into the spiritual being he was now…
"Cody…" The voice seemed to come from everywhere, but Cody knew he was the only one who could hear it.
"Hello Oikawa."
"My, it has been a while since our last chat, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it has."
"So, how are things with you? How is your grandfather?"
"He's doing well. And I'm doing all right, considering."
"Considering what?"
"Well, I must be honest, this isn't exactly a social call Oikawa."
"I feared as much. You seek answers regarding your missing friends, do you not?"
"Yes." Cody answered hopefully. "What can you tell me about them?"
"Nothing."
"What?"
"I can tell you nothing."
"You can't tell me because you don't know, or because you're keeping it secret?"
"I cannot answer that question Cody."
The young digidestined's brow furrowed with confusion. "Oikawa-"
"Listen, Cody. I understand your concern for your friends, but right now you must look out for yourself. Dark times lie ahead and soon your world will fall under great peril. You will need to be strong, and smart. Watch out for yourself and have faith that the situation with your friends will take care of itself."
"But I need to know-"
"What you seek, I cannot reveal. I am sorry Cody. Remember what I have told you and gird yourself. I must go."
"Wait, don't go-" Cody stopped himself. He could feel the mental link between himself and the Digital World's guardian sever and knew there was no point in continuing.
Cody hung his head for a moment before finally rising from the ground.
"So?" Yolei asked hopefully. "What did he say?"
"Nothing that could help us find Tai or Davis. It sounded as if he knew something about them, though, and just couldn't tell me."
Ken frowned. "Well, that does strike a blow to our plans. I guess we'll just have to do a little sleuthing ourselves to uncover the evidence we need."
Cody nodded absently. "But he told me something else. He said that there were dark times on the horizon for our world. Something's coming that's going to threaten us all…"
"That doesn't sound good." Yolei observed. "But we've been there before."
"True, but something about this feels different. More serious, if that makes any sense. And to think, someone else tried to warn me about this."
Ken turned to him. "Really?"
"Yeah," As he walked past them, Cody reached into his back pocket and pulled out a slightly worn business card. "And I think I misjudged him," He muttered to himself. "Perhaps I should take Mr. Atuma up on his offer after all."
To be continued…
There ya go guys. Next Up: Holidays and Harbingers. The Knights take a much needed break from their constant training, while their friends in the real world attempt to unravel the mystery of what happened to them and uncover much more than they bargained for. I think I'm going to have the most fun writing this chapter, so keep an eye out for it.
As always, Please Review! Thanks.