A/N: Here we are the latest chapter. It's been quite a busy week for me, I almost didn't get this done. But regardless I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own digimon.
Experience is
DemiDevimon watched the adult humans sleep, his body still buzzing with power. He felt stronger than he'd ever felt before! He'd put them all to sleep with barely a thought! Was this how Lord Myotismon felt all the time? Well it wasn't like his master needed to know that he hadn't used it all up. Who knows? It might come in handy some day. Maybe he could use it to make Gatomon fall asleep on duty? He'd report it to Lord Myotismon and then...
He had to hold in a laugh. The look on that cat's stupid pampered face would make it worthwhile! Then she'd get sent down to the dungeons for once and Lord Myotismon would reward him.
'Be silent DemiDevimon!' The sudden thought jammed into the rookie's head like a corkscrew. He staggered and almost fell off his perch in shock.
"M-master? Are you here?" he asked out loud, looking around for any sign of the vampire.
'As of now, I am in your head. You didn't think I would just grant you my power without there being a price?' his master seemed to say contemptuously. The thoughts were just appearing in his head. They were coming out of nowhere! 'Now we must move quickly, there isn't much time,'
DemiDevimon was beginning to panic. His master could hear his thoughts now?!
'Calm yourself!' Myotismon ordered in his usual commanding tone. DemiDevimon found himself frozen, unable to move, as his master continued giving him instructions. 'You used the power I gave you to put them all to sleep? Good. Then this will work.'
DemiDevimon felt a shiver of fear at his master's tone.
'Now, DemiDevimon, do exactly as I say and you will be rewarded with power beyond your imagination. A power beyond that of even an Ultimate digimon!'
The little rookie began to shake, his devious mind already thinking of numerous ways this could somehow backfire on him. He heard a dark chuckle in his mind as those thoughts were suddenly dispelled.
'You have nothing to fear, none of that will happen. You are the last and most faithful of my servants, accomplish this task and you will be rewarded. You felt that power that I gave you? Didn't it give you shivers when you used it?'
DemiDevimon found himself nodding. It had felt truly incredible to wield what was only a fraction of his masters power. He had been like how an ultimate must feel, walking amongst those puny humans.
'The power I will give you, goes far beyond that paltry amount. Do this one task for me, and I shall give you the power of a god!' His master's voice sounded so compelling, how could he resist such an obvious choice.
DemiDevimon nodded. "Alright! I'll do it!" he said out loud.
He once again heard his master's dark chuckle. 'There is no to speak out loud, for I can hear your every thought. Now my most faithful servant, do exactly as I say...'
The digidestined all sat in a large circle. They were all exhausted after the long battle they had been a part of. All of the digimon were back into their in-training stages, the exceptions being Agumon, Patamon and Gatomon, and were all sitting in their partner's laps.
Patamon moved slightly in Tk's lap and winced.
"Are you ok, Patamon?" Tk asked with concern.
Next to him, Matt and Tsunomon looked over at the little rookie.
"I'm alright, it just... hurts," Patamon said, trying to be both honest as well as easing his partner's concerns.
"I'm sorry, Patamon," Tanemon said from the other end of the circle, looking ashamed.
"It wasn't your fault, it was Myotismon's," Patamon replied.
"Yeah, you couldn't help it," Mimi agreed, cuddling her partner to her chest.
Tanemon was one of the least injured there. Although Angemon had been able to hold his own, he hadn't actually been able to inflict any damage.
Kari sat close to her brother, looking worriedly in Wizardmon's direction. "Is he going to be ok, Tai?" she asked, pulling slightly on his, rather ruined, shirt.
Tai glanced over to where Wizardmon lay in the middle of them, unconscious from Myotismon's last attack. "I don't know Kari," he said honestly. "But he was able to survive to attacks from Myotismon, so he's a tough little guy." He offered an encouraging smile. "I'm sure he'll pull through."
Kari smiled slightly back at him, before looking back worriedly at Wizardmon.
"I-I think he'll be fine," Gatomon spoke up from the other side of Kari. She had been doing her best to keep Wizardmon comfortable while he recovered. He had Tai's cloak draped over him to keep him warm, as well as his hat as a pillow. There wasn't much else around at the moment.
"We digimon are pretty tough," Gatomon continued. "We can't de-digivolve like you guys can when we get injured though. Since he hasn't been deleted yet, I'm sure he'll recover in time."
She was doing her best to not look directly at Tai. She didn't want to mention her part in how he was captured, if he didn't somehow know already. She had already caught a few dirty looks from Agumon, so he probably suspected, but nothing yet from Tai himself. The fact that he was the brother of her partner made her feel even worse than she already did about it. As if sensing her distress, Kari pulled Gatomon onto her lap and hugged her.
"It's alright, Gatomon," Kari said reassuringly.
Gatomon knew that her partner was trying to reassure her about Wizardmon, rather than how she felt awkward around Tai, but nevertheless she relaxed into the girl's grip and relished in the warmth of a loving partner.
"I'm worried about everyone," Tai stated suddenly, as Kari looked over at him. "We're all exhausted, we barely slept last night and had big battle on top of that. Also, I don't think Matt's gotten any sleep since Gennai's."
Sora, who was sitting on the other side of Tai cradling Yokomon, looked over at Matt. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were drooping. Every now and then, he'd sit up straight suddenly, as if trying to stop himself from falling asleep. He certainly didn't look healthy at any rate.
Tk looked up at his brother, worry shining in his eyes. Sora couldn't help but be amused at how similar the two looked now that Tk was wearing clothes similar to his brother's.
"How come the fog's still there?" Joe asked, looking up. "I mean, Myotismon is dead isn't he?" He sounded unsure, as if the vampire might pop up from behind some nearby rubble at any moment.
"I certainly hope so..." Tai muttered tiredly, causing Kari and Sora to look at him.
"It probably is dispelling," Izzy said. Like the others he sounded tired as well. "There must be a lot of it to cover Odaiba, it will take some time for it to disperse naturally."
"I'm just glad it's over," Mimi stated, looking happy. "Now we can see our parents!" she chirped, a blissful smile on her face.
"Yeah, that'll be good," Joe said, relief in his voice. "Although I don't how we'll explain all of this."
"It's fine Joe," Matt responded, speaking up for the first time. It was odd considering how distant he always seemed but for now his emotional barriers seemed to have fallen. Everyone could see how tired he was. "My dad took it well enough, although we did have a bit of an argument," he admitted sadly.
"But you guys sorted it out," Tsunomon murmured, a serene smile on his face.
Matt's face was unreadable for a moment before he smiled back, looking at nothing in particular. "Yeah, I guess we did."
Kari hugged Gatomon harder. "I want to see mom and dad," she muttered. After all the terror she experienced recently, she wanted nothing more than her parents to hug her and tell her they loved her.
"It'll be fine Kari," Tai said, putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer. "Once we've rested here, we'll go and get them, alright?"
Kari nodded slightly before resting her head against Tai, just drinking in his comforting presence.
Izzy looked as if he wanted to say something, but decided not to. Instead he kept his thoughts to himself, hugging Motimon tightly while staring at the ground. The young genius truly didn't know what to think. He missed his parents dearly that was true, but some part of him couldn't help resenting them just a little bit for keeping such an important truth from him.
"Hey Tai?" Tk asked suddenly, looking towards their leader.
"Yeah Tk?"
"Why did Myotismon call you, 'Victory Tamer'?" he wondered innocently.
The others seemed interested in Tai's answer as well. They all seemed to sit up a little straighter and turned towards the gogglehead. Mimi and Izzy seemed particularly attentive all of a sudden, both coming out of whatever private thought's they'd been in to look at Tai.
"I was wondering about that as well," Joe said, putting his finger to his chin. "I don't think I've ever heard of that term before."
Matt's eyes narrowed. "What I noticed was that Myotismon definitely seemed to know you, Tai," he stated almost accusingly.
"It is true, Tai," Izzy pointed out, trying to play damage control before they started yelling at one another. "When you arrived, Myotismon would always address you instead of all of us. You two seemed to be familiar with one another. Was that because of when he captured you?"
Tai looked stricken, looking from one enquiring face to another, unable to think. He nearly jumped when a hand was placed on his arm. Sora looked pointedly at Tai.
"Are you ready to tell us now?" she asked imploringly, her hazel eyes boring into his own.
Tai froze for a moment, before nodding resolutely. "Yeah," he said, looking more tired than she had ever seen him. "I think it's about time." He turned to address the whole group. All of which, including the digimon, were looking at him with unconcealed interest.
"You see..." he began, before pausing. How was he supposed to word this? How was he supposed to stop them from hating him? They'd regret making him leader and kick him out and he'd never see them or the digital world again and then-
A clawed hand suddenly grasped his own, diverting his attention. He looked at Agumon in surprise. "Calm down. Just remember Tai," his partner said simply, tightening his grip on his hand.
"Through thick and thin!"
Tai stared in shock for a moment at the memory of their solemn promise, before nodding and smiling back. No matter how the others reacted, he wouldn't lose the friends he already had.
"You see guys, that time at summer camp when we were brought into the digital world... well, it wasn't the first time I'd ever been there."
"WHAT?!" Joe yelled. "You mean you've been to the digital world before any of this?!"
Tai nodded while keeping his grip on Agumon's paw, finding comfort in knowing he was there. Looking around he was rather surprised at the lack of reaction from everyone else. Matt was looking at him intently, as if through new eyes. Tk seemed gobsmacked, as did Joe. Sora he had already told, but not the others.
"You don't seem particularly surprised," Tai noted, not sure what to think.
Izzy shrugged, a little embarrassed. "I... kind of already figured it out. Hearing you and Sora talking about it last night only confirmed it."
"Y-you eavesdropped on us?!" Sora screeched, red in the face for some reason.
"You two were talking right in front of us," Mimi pointed out, feeling a little embarrassed as well. "It's not our fault you didn't check whether we were asleep before talking."
Sora's mouth gaped open in astonishment, causing Kari to giggle.
"Wait, you guys knew?!" Joe asked, utterly bamboozled. "I mean, why didn't you say anything?!"
Surprisingly, it was Matt who answered. "I didn't know any of this. Although, some things do make a lot more sense now that I look back on them. You always did seem to know what you were doing."
"I only knew for sure after last night," Izzy said. "Before then all I had was suspicions. Not to mention there was hardly any time to point it out to anyone."
Mimi nodded. "Same as Izzy."
"Who else knew?!" Joe asked, looking at the others.
Sora put up her hand. "I've known since we got back from the digital world," Sora admitted sheepishly. "I promised Tai I wouldn't say anything until he was ready."
"I had no clue," Tk said cheerfully.
"I don't even understand what the problem is," Kari stated, looking at everyone in confusion.
Gatomon nodded as well. "I don't really understand either."
"Well it's just that we were in the digital world for months and Tai never mentioned that he'd been there before," Joe explained.
"I'm sure he had a good reason," Sora said, practically prompting Tai to say something.
Tai opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off.
"We don't doubt that," Izzy interjected. "It's just that things make so much more sense now that we know Tai's done this sort of thing before."
Matt nodded. "How he knew how to fight and was willing to deal with digimon well beyond our level."
"Remember Kuwagamon?" Mimi pointed out, shivering at the memory. "Tai beat him with just Koromon!"
There were mutters of approval as they all remembered the event well. It was difficult to forget the first time you were chased by a giant monster after all.
"So were you part of the original digidestined that Gennai mentioned?" Izzy asked, his eyes alight with intellectual curiosity. "I mean you must know an awful lot about the digital world if you were there before, right?"
"How did you survive in the digital world without a partner anyway?" Matt questioned. "Did you have a different one?"
"Was there a reason you didn't tell any of us this?" Joe wondered politely.
"So did you know Myotismon from last time?"
"Was he your partner?"
Question after question washed over Tai as he stared out at them, his mind blank with shock. Some part of him could still register Agumon's paw, Kari's head and Sora's hand, but they were promptly forgotten in the wave of emotions he was currently experiencing.
'Th-they're not mad?' he thought, looking out over at the eager faces of his friends and their digimon.
He could see nothing but honest curiosity reflected in their faces. None of them seemed genuinely upset or betrayed. They all thought he had a good explanation for why he hadn't said anything for all those months, they all trusted him that much.
A small, warm feeling began to spread slowly across his chest. It was a pleasant warmth that he instinctively leant in to, like the content feeling you get out of a hug from a parent. As it spread throughout his body it grew stronger and stronger, until it was all he became was aware of. Still looking out at all his comrades, his friends, his team, with whom he'd shared more battles than any others, he smiled.
Tai ducked his head down, letting his hair mask his eyes. "Damn it," he muttered, wiping his eyes with an arm. "Just... just give me a minute," he chuckled.
Taking a couple of shaky breaths and making sure the tears were completely gone, he looked back up at them, a new life in his eyes.
"I'll tell you what," Tai said, his eyes shining with amusement and a little bit of something else. "I'll tell you guys the whole story, then you ask me your questions afterwards, alright?"
"Ok!" everyone chorused, getting comfortable.
They could all see he needed their support right now and Tai was eternally grateful to receive it.
It was with some amusement that Tai noticed Kari sitting up straighter, eagerly awaiting his story. He had often read to her when she was little, but this time the tale would be about her favourite hero.
"It was about this time last year I entered the V-Pet competition, hoping to win it," Tai began.
"You were actually into those things?" Matt chuckled amused. He remembered that fad. "I thought they were for girls."
"Hey! That's tamagotchi's! Don't knock the V-Pets, they were awesome!" Tai yelled back in good humour, before continuing. "Anyway, last year I was entering the summer tournament hoping to win with my V-Pet Zeromaru. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to enter since my V-Pet didn't technically exist. Not long after that the strangest thing happened..."
Tai continued his tale, narrating the events as best as he could remember them. It was a long story and by the time he had finished, many of the digimon seemed more alert and ready to move. Wizardmon was still unconscious however.
"There was a powerful pink flash of light and then Zero had become a Super-Ultimate! He split Daemon in half with one blow and that was it, we'd won. Lord MagnaAngemon thanked us and we celebrated for a couple of days before he sent us back home, Zero turned back into the V-Pet and then it was over. Only about a day had passed, so I didn't get into as much trouble as I thought I would. Then Neo won the competition the next day and after that Zero and I fought him - for fun this time. We won again, but he took it well," Tai finished, looking sad. "And that's really about it."
He shifted a little, feeling uncomfortable under his friend's gazes. They were staring at him with a newfound respect. That he had done everything he had said and come back alive was no small feat.
"So what happened to Zero then?" Matt asked carefully, sensing that this is where things could go wrong. "You said he became your V-Pet again."
Tai swallowed and slowly took the device out of his pocket, showing it to everyone. "About six months ago, the screen went black and hasn't come back to life since. The others said that that's what happens when your digimon... dies."
Sympathetic and horrified looks were exchanged between the children as they all grasped for something to say.
Sora briefly looked at Yokomon in her arms, who had snuggled up to her chest during the story. She had only known the little digimon for less than a year, yet she already felt such a deep connection with her that Sora couldn't imagine losing.
Whereas Tai, she looked over discreetly at her best friend, he had practically raised Zero from birth. He had taken care of him when he was sick, taught him how to swim and how to behave. Tai's bond with Zero had practically crossed over into that of a parent as well as that of a normal partner. After understanding how protective her own mother felt towards her; Sora couldn't even comprehend what losing that bond must have felt like.
No wonder he had been so cold towards Agumon at the start.
Kari hugged a frozen Gatomon harder at her brother's words. She had just met her partner, the thought of her brother losing someone he'd known for so long made her feel worried for him. He had been so distant before the last couple days and now she knew why. She and her parents hadn't had any clues at to what exactly it was that had caused it.
Tai had been very tight-lipped as to what exactly it was that was bothering him. One night, when she was supposed to be fast asleep, she'd heard her parents discussing it. Their thoughts and theories had ranged from bullying at school to simple teenage angst. Despite all their theorising, neither of them had truly realised exactly how serious the problem was. To know that it had been because he was mourning the death of his partner...
Things were far more serious than either her mom or dad had ever suspected. If it hadn't been for her brother being brought back into the digital world again he might never have come out of his depression. A smaller, slightly more childish part of Kari felt sad that Tai hadn't trusted her enough to tell her anything. But she suppressed that part of her. Her brother needed her support right now.
"It's alright Tai," she said to her brother softly, quickly getting his attention. "We're here for you." She smiled at his stunned face. "All of us."
Tai looked around at the others once more. Instead of sad sympathetic faces he saw smiling encouraging ones. He couldn't help but smile back somewhat, reminding himself that he was amongst friends.
"I know Kari," he hugged her. "I know."
He then turned the others. "So that's the whole story. Any questions?"
Matt shook his head. "You've answered every question I might have had. I honestly can't blame you for not saying anything." 'I still haven't told anyone other than Tai about my parents,' he thought to himself. He then looked briefly at Kari. 'And that was just to find out about his sister. He's really been through a lot, we all have.'
"Don't take them for granted," his father's words echoed through Matt's head. How much had the digital world changed them? What had Tai been like before he ever knew the name of Zero? Was Tai similar to how he had been before his parents split up? Matt decided not to pry. He could hardly call out Tai for keeping secrets when he hadn't told anyone else about his own problems.
"You, Neo, Hideto, Sigma and Mari," Izzy spoke thinking. "Each of you had partners and digivices just like the one in the temple. I guess that makes you guys the first five digidestined that Gennai spoke about."
"Gennai knows about that?!" Tai yelled out in surprise.
Izzy nodded. "I forgot you weren't there for that part. He didn't seem to know the details; not surprising considering how long it's been." Izzy seemed sheepish about that. "But it makes sense. You only knew a little bit more about what was happening than we did."
Mimi nodded agreeing. "It was good of you to help us Tai, even after all you'd been through."
"I personally think you should have said something sooner," Joe said. "But I'm not going to hold it against you. I know what it's like to not want to talk about certain things."
"I think it's awesome!" Tk cried. "You've got temples that have been built for you guys! That's so cool!"
Tai rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed. That was certainly something to consider now. He was literally a living legend.
"You see Tai?" Sora asked. "We're all still behind you. You never had anything to worry about."
Tai smiled. "Thanks everyone. Thanks for showing me how stupid it was not to tell you guys from the start."
He felt rather flustered, but good at the same time. Like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. There was no looming event in the future that he had to dread anymore. They had listened and they had understood. Tai couldn't ask for anymore than that.
"Well then everyone," he said getting onto his feet. "I say we've rested long enough. Lets go get our parents!"
"Yeah!" they all cheered loudly, standing up as well.
"Who'll carry Wizardmon?" Gatomon asked, looking at the still unconscious champion. She had been strangely quiet since Tai had told his tale.
"I'll do it," Joe volunteered, walking towards the middle. "He carried me so it's the least I can do. It's fine to move him right?" he asked Gatomon.
She nodded. "It's fine. Wizardmon's tough, he'll wake up soon enough."
Joe wanted to believe her, but he couldn't help but notice the hopeful tinge in her voice as she said it.
As usual, Tai took the lead with Agumon beside him, and the strolled off back into the city. Their parents were probably confused, having been kept in that building all day. Boy, Tai was not looking forward to explaining all this again.
As they walked, Tai felt Sora's gloved hand rest on his shoulder. She pulled herself alongside him, smirking.
"I knew they wouldn't mind," she said teasingly.
"Yeah, yeah, you were right," Tai responded, folding his arms and pretending to be grumpy.
Sora giggled. "I'm just glad you're acting like your old self again."
Tai uncrossed his arms. "Me too," he said sincerely. Suddenly he laughed. "I feel like playing soccer again!" he cheered, holding his arms out in the air.
"About time!" his best human friend agreed. "It's been far too long. You'll have to work hard to catch up to me!"
"As if! I've always been better!" Tai boasted. "If you're nice I might even teach you a trick or two."
"That's rich!" Sora yelled back indignantly, but he could see that she was smiling. "If I remember correctly..."
At the back of the group, Izzy walked next to Matt, both trying to tone out the argument between the two in front.
"Do they have to be so loud?" Matt complained. "It's like they're trying to out-yell one another."
Izzy had his hand cupping his chin in thought. Matt noticed he was staring at Tai's back through the group. He was staring so intently, lost in thought, it looked like he was trying to burn holes in Tai's shirt.
"You alright?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow at the smaller boy.
"I was just thinking..."
"There's a surprise."
Izzy shot him a dirty look. "I was just thinking," he repeated with strained patience. "Tai's already been through one adventure, yet we were picked instead of the other ones of his group for this one."
"Yeah? I thought it was because they were all evil," Matt said simply.
"It's more complex then that and you know it," Izzy accused, before getting back to his original line of thought. "I was just wondering what it was about Tai that particularly impressed the Sovereign, assuming they know who he is anyway."
"Well he did achieve that what, Super Ultimate level? That seems pretty special."
"Yes, but so did Neo. Gennai said Tai's group was in the digital world before the Sovereign reigned, so it's entirely possible that they don't know who he is."
Matt grunted. "That's even more annoying," he said. "With Tai at least, that meant someone experienced would be able to guide us and help us. But if they don't know..."
"Then the Sovereign just brought in eight children to try and sort out their problems, I know," Izzy said, finishing Matt's sentence. He looked back at Tai again. " 'Experience is the teacher of all things,' as Julius Caesar said. If it weren't for Tai's previous adventure, we'd all have died long ago. But will we end up like him as well?"
Matt furrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Izzy looked a little uncomfortable. "I just wonder, will we all end up like that after this adventure? Each with our own issues?"
Matt suddenly looked anxious. "Well we do fight monsters the size of apartment buildings, of course we're gonna have a few nightmares."
"Yes, but Tai's issues went well beyond just a few nightmares," Izzy said. "He nearly got Agumon and the rest of us killed in Etemon's coliseum because of his trust problems. I was just wondering if we'll all have psychological problems like that after all this is over."
"But he's gotten over those now hasn't he?"
"Psychology isn't that simple," Izzy explained. "He told us everything that's true, but it still took him several months of fighting alongside us in the digital world, along with prompts from his sister and Sora to do so. I'm not a psychologist, but it could be years before he trusts other people again."
There was silence for the moment, as the chattering of the others ahead of them continued.
"Maybe it's over for us now?" Matt gestured around at the abandoned city. "I don't see anymore evil digimon or anywhere else to go. We've beaten Myotismon, who else is there?"
"That 'great evil' Gennai mentioned," Izzy answered quickly. "I highly doubt they'd be beyond sending us back into the digital world after how effective we've already proven ourselves against their enemies."
Matt clenched his fists. "Th-They can't make us go back. Can they?"
"Maybe," Izzy said unsure. "It's just that they brought us there the first time easily enough."
From Izzy's arm, Motimon spoke up for the first time. "Do you regret coming to the digital world?" he asked sadly.
"No, no, Motimon!" Izzy hastily tried to reassure. "It's not like that at all!"
"It sure sounds like it," Tsunomon added from Matt's arms.
"We're just tired of having to fight," Matt explained to his partner. "We were forcibly sucked into your world and had to fight just to survive until the next day! You can imagine that we're not so eager to go back."
"But what if we're needed?" Motimon asked. "What if we don't fight this evil the digital world gets destroyed?"
"The digital world is our home," Tsunomon said. "We have to defend it!"
Both boys looked uncomfortable.
"It's true we've had good times in the digital world," Matt admitted. "But... it's just not right."
Izzy was smart enough to recognise emotional blackmail. Motimon and Tsunomon weren't to blame for wanting to save their home, it was those who put them in that position in the first place. Gennai, or more importantly, the Sovereign.
"If the opportunity to go back comes up, we'll discuss it with the others," Izzy said diplomatically. "Gennai said it would take all of us to defeat this evil; so we're going to have to decide this as a group."
The digimon seemed sad at this news, but they agreed nonetheless. In silence the four continued their walk towards the centre, trying not to think too much about the previous conversation.
"It appears our time is up, DemiDevimon," his master's voice commanded from inside his skull. "The children are here, and we're not yet ready to face them."
'What should I do master?' the rookie asked, trying to put as much respect into his thoughts as he could. It was almost a relief in a way, not having to really think for himself about what to do.
"Our preparations here are complete anyway. Now we just have one more thing to do, in order to ensure my return." Was it just DemiDevimon or did his master's voice sound far more bloodthirsty than usual?
Well since he was the only one who could hear it.
'Yes master!' he thought loudly.
'Make sure you aren't spotted by the digidestined. They might decide to just kill you for the sport of it,' Lord Myotismon warned his remaining servant.
It wouldn't do to have the idiot give away that he was still alive. The rat-with-wings was prone to running his mouth, particularly when Gatomon was involved. Something about her always seemed to set the rookie off.
If Myotismon could sigh, he would have. Why did all his competent minions have to betray him? Leaving him with this. It truly disgusted him to think that even he had once been a lowly DemiDevimon, such an utterly useless and pitiless creature. But then again that was why he'd kept the idiot, despite everything he'd had to endure.
Oh well, it didn't matter. He'd come back from this little set-back. When his plan works he'll return far more powerful than before. It was inevitable. He would come back. He always came back...
"What the hell?" Matt breathed, looking out into vast room that held the adults of Odaiba.
The chosen all stood there in horror. Arranged neatly into rows upon rows upon rows were the adults of Odaiba. They appeared to be sleeping, with calm serene expressions on their faces. They were arranged with their hands down by their sides, facing upwards towards the ceiling. It was clear this was no natural sleep, no-one could sleep as unnaturally still as they all were.
Quickly, the chosen scattered, walking along the rows, dreading the sight of familiar faces even though some part of them knew it was inevitable. Matt and Tk were the only ones who didn't move. They knew their parents were fine and they had no other relatives in Odaiba. Despite this it was still disconcerting to see their friends go from so carefree to so panicked in an instant.
It wasn't until they saw Mimi crumple into tears before what was undoubtedly the slumbering forms of her parents, that the two brothers truly felt how lucky they were. One by one each of their friends would stand stock still, feet anchored to the ground, staring down blankly at what was presumably their parents with muted dread.
Joe seemed to have forgotten he was even carrying Wizardmon. The thirteen year old was looking down, eyes wide, at an unconscious tall man whom he greatly resembled.
Sora was a few rows back, her hands covering her mouth as she looked over her mother.
Izzy was closer to Matt and Tk. They could see him staring down, his face utterly unreadable.
Tai and Kari stood in the same row as Sora, with only about twenty people between them. Kari had her face in Tai's leg and she seemed to be shaking. Tai had an arm around her shoulders and was looking down, his face a mask of cold fury, at their parents.
Matt couldn't even begin to guess what sort of situations and possibilities were running through his mind. Tai's experience with loss truly showed at times. How he managed to keep going despite it all, Matt didn't know. But looking at Tai's expression right now... Matt could easily see why Myotismon feared him.
"Matt?" Tk asked quietly. "Are they going to be alright?"
It was clear Tk felt sad for his friends, but he was still too young to fully understand what they must be feeling right now. Matt wasn't sure he could understand it himself.
"I'm sure they'll be fine, Tk," he answered after a pause. "Just give it some time."
It took a few minutes but soon the rest of the chosen began to congregate back towards Matt and Tk. The group reassembled and looked at one another, the misery clear on many of their faces.
"W-what's wrong with them?" Mimi asked. "Th-they won't wake up!"
"Myotismon must have done something," Tai said. "If it hasn't been undone than that means this probably isn't over yet."
Gatomon's hackles rose at the thought of Myotismon still being alive.
"How do you know that though?!" Sora yelled. She seemed upset at everything that was happening, her unconscious mother was presumably the last straw.
"When I first fought Myotismon his castle vanished after I killed him," Tai explained, his tone unnervingly steady. "Since they're all still asleep, it probably means he's still around somewhere, waiting."
"I can't smell anything," Agumon pointed out, sniffing loudly.
"I doubt he'd be anywhere near here," Izzy said. "It's only logical that he'd bide his time and wait for the best moment to strike."
"Then it's important that for now we should rest," Tai said pointedly. "Get something to eat, and be back at full strength as quickly as possible. Stay together, don't wander off. We don't want to give Myotismon any openings if we can avoid it."
"But what about our parents?" Joe demanded. "Surely there must be something we can do for them?"
"What about Angewomon?" Kari wondered. "She managed to help... Lilymon."
"Yes!" Mimi cried out clapping her hands together. "That might work!"
Tai smiled at Kari. "It's certainly worth a shot. Gatomon, can you do it?"
The cat shook her head sadly. "Err, sorry, but I can't," she said, feeling embarrassed and ashamed at her weakness. "I'm still tired from the last fight. I can't digivolve right now," she trailed off, looking down at the ground.
"It's alright Gatomon," Kari said kindly, as Gatomon stared at her in shock. "No one blames you."
"Then I guess we should all find something to eat," Matt suggested. "The sooner the better."
"Ok then," Tai said, some old cheer back in his voice now that they had a clear goal in mind. "Let's go find a restaurant. I hope someone knows how to cook!"
"What about Wizardmon?" Joe asked, the champion still unconscious on his back. "I don't think I can carry him for much longer."
"Just leave him here for now," Matt said. "Like Gatomon said - he's tough." At the other's rather angry looks he then added, "We'll bring him back some food for when he wakes up."
Gatomon seemed torn, but they couldn't exactly drag him around everywhere when what he needed best was rest. "We'll leave him here then, but make sure he's comfortable!"
They ate lunch in one of the restaurants at the sports centre. That way they wouldn't be too far in case Wizardmon, or their parents, woke up from their slumber. Once they had arrived Mimi had sprinted into the restaurant's kitchen, determined to experience a bit of normalcy after everything that had happened lately. Surprisingly, it was Matt who helped her prepare the food in the kitchen. He explained that he had a lot of practice.
After they had eaten and were content, a ping from Izzy's laptop alerted him to a new email he had received.
"It's from Gennai!" he exclaimed, opening it up.
Everyone gathered round with a mixture of excitement and dread, as he read the message out loud.
Dear Izzy,
It appears that there is more to the prophecy than I previously thought. There is in fact a second verse that I didn't know about until recently. After it mentions that only the wielder of light can defeat Myotismon, it then goes on to say:
"The sky will be darkened by the wings of many bats. The fallen people will invoke the name of the undead digimon king and when the clock strikes the hour of the beast, the undead king will reveal himself in his true form as evil itself. Then angels will shoot arrows of hope and light at the loved ones of those they've been sent to protect, and a miracle will happen. Please always recycle."
All of you, please be careful. I can only imagine what Myotismon has planned.
Gennai
They stared at the email with apprehension.
"Well that pretty much proves it then," Matt said, folding his arms. "Myotismon is still alive and he's definitely planning something."
"But how did he survive my attack?" Gatomon asked, anger clear in her tone. "He was deleted, I'm sure of it."
"It's never stopped him before," Tai remembered. "I've deleted him twice and he came back from both of them."
"So how the hell are we supposed to kill him then?" Matt asked, his temper flaring. "If he'll keep coming back until he accomplishes his goal how are we supposed to stop him?!"
"I'll think of something!" Tai yelled back, his own temper flaring.
"Guys, guys!" Izzy cried out. "We have to figure out what the prophecy means first! We're only helping Myotismon if we fight amongst ourselves."
"Izzy's right," Joe agreed resolutely. "We have to fight him together and the prophecy seems to be the best bet."
"Exactly," Sora said, putting in her own two cents. "So let's have a think and try and figure it out for now, ok?"
Both of the boy's calmed down, muttering their apologies to one another.
"Alright then," Izzy said, seeing that they had stopped arguing for now. "The first sentence is pretty straightforward. There will be lots of bats in the sky. But it's the second: 'The fallen people will invoke the name of the undead king'? That's the part I'm not sure of."
"Fallen people... could that mean the digimon who were killed?" Sora suggested.
"Hmm, I doubt it. If we see any digital ghosts floating around then maybe..."
"The second part involves saying Myotismon's name," Tai reasoned. "I can't imagine anyone else who better fits the 'undead king' thing."
"Could it mean our parents?" Mimi put forward, surprising everyone. "Well, it reminded me of this movie I saw. The vampire would make people into his servants and they'd do his bidding."
She sounded rather unsure.
Izzy's face lit up nevertheless. "Mimi, that might actually be it! Thralls! That was one ability that's attributed to vampires! Our parents are technically 'fallen'. They're under his spell!"
"Wait, so our parents are gonna say Myotismon's name?" Joe asked sceptically.
"It fits!" Izzy argued back.
" 'Hour of the beast'?" Kari read, confusion in her tone. She turned towards Tk.
"No idea," Tk shrugged from his position next to her. "I know that the number 666 is evil, but that's not a time..."
"Unless..." Izzy pointed out. "It's a bit of a stretch but it could mean 06:06:06. Which if that's true, means that that is when Myotismon will strike!"
"Are you sure?" Sora questioned.
"It's the only thing I can think of that fits the 'hour of the beast'."
"What about his 'true form as evil itself'," Joe asked.
Suddenly Tai's eyes lit up. "I know!" he yelled out excitedly. "It means his mega form: VenomMyotismon! Myotismon is planning on digivolving at that time then he'll fight us again!"
"Wait, you said mega was a level above ultimate," Matt clarified. "So how are we supposed to beat him without a mega level digimon?"
Tai just smirked. "I've beaten mega levels before without another mega. We easily have enough firepower to take on VenomMyotismon AND I know his weak point," Tai proclaimed proudly. "I've fought him before; the trick is to hit him in the groin."
There was a moment.
"You're kidding..." Izzy said deadpan.
"Not really, that's where his true form is hiding. His head's just a decoy."
There was silence for a moment as they took this in. Tk actually snickered at the thought of killing Myotismon by hitting him in the groin. Matt had to agree; it was a funny thought. The digimon seemed confused as to what was funny; though none of the children were willing to explain it to them.
"Well then what does the last part refer to?" Joe asked, trying to get back on track. "Something about angels?"
Izzy repeated the verse. "Hmm, what could 'angels shooting arrows of hope and light' refer to?"
Gatomon snorted. "Well that's rather obvious."
At a few questioning glances, she balked a little. "Well, Kari's crest is that of light. So the angel shooting light must be me as Angewomon."
"And the angel shooting hope must be Angemon!" Tk realised, looking happily at a blinking Patamon.
"Good thinking Gatomon, Tk!" Izzy complimented. "That just leaves a couple more lines. They'll 'shoot arrows of hope and light at the loved ones of those they've been sent to protect, then a miracle will happen'. That actually is rather straightforward, provided Gatomon's logic is correct."
"Please tell me it doesn't mean what I think it does," Tai pleaded.
Izzy grimaced. "I think it does. Angemon and Angewomon will have to shoot you and Matt with their attacks, then a miracle will happen." He shrugged. "I can't think of what else it could mean."
"But what if you're wrong?" Matt asked, his face pale. "What will happen to us?"
"Err... you'll probably... die," Izzy croaked out.
"Then I won't do it," Matt said. "Tai said we can beat Myotismon as we are now, we don't need a 'miracle'. I don't want to get shot just because of a hunch."
Tai couldn't help but agree with him. "We don't need a miracle to deal with VenomMyotismon. With all of us there, he'll be easy pickings."
There were mutters of agreement and some cheering amongst the digimon at his words.
"Please always recycle?" Izzy read the last line with some confusion. "What could that mean?"
"It sounds like one of those environmental messages you get in some TV programmes," Joe said. "I can't imagine it having any deeper meaning."
"I think we all agree with you there," Izzy said as the others nodded.
Tai smirked. "We'll get some sleep, finish resting and then we'll prepare for Myotismon. This time, we'll crush him no problem!"
As the others yelled out their agreements, Joe leant back, his brow furrowed. "I doubt it'll be that easy," he muttered. "It's never that easy for us..."
The van drove along the empty streets, swerving to avoid the abandoned cars just laid about in the road. Jeremiah was at the wheel, Hiroaki sitting next to him with Charlie and Yuki in the back. They were driving roughly in the direction of all the explosions they had seen earlier. Not long afterwards a huge beam of light had shot into the sky. Fearing the worst, they had packed up their stuff and began driving in the direction of the bright light.
It had taken some very deft persuasion on Hiroaki's part to get Charlie and Yuki to come along however. He didn't want to just leave them there in case there were any more of those... digimon creatures around. Not to mention he wanted a glimpse of this 'Myotismon'; the creature that was responsible for all of this.
"I'm sure Yamato's fine," Jeremiah said, trying to reassure him. "He seems like a tough kid."
Hiroaki grunted. "I feel like a terrible parent," he admitted. "Encouraging him to go off and get himself killed..." He buried his face into his arms. "Natsuko will kill me; as she should. I should let her take Yamato as well..."
"Hey!" Jeremiah said, raising his voice. "Don't go regretting the past. We both know where that leads."
Hiroaki shook his head. "Yeah, I know. But still, if he's hurt I'll never forgive myself."
"Then don't. You made your decision, and I deserve more than a small part of that blame for influencing you. It's just another choice we'll have to live with."
"I guess." Hiroaki suddenly chuckled darkly. "God, I never thought being a father would be this hard."
"Yeah," Jeremiah agreed, recognising his friends need to vent.
"Hey guys, are we there yet?" Charlie asked, poking his head into the front.
"Almost," Jeremiah piped up. "And sit down, you're acting like a child."
"You can't blame me, things are a little tense right now!"
"You have no idea..." Hiroaki muttered.
"Then just sit down and stew in it in silence!"
They drove on, their progress hampered mainly by the cars piled up along the road. It wasn't long before they came to a road that was too full of abandoned cars to continue down.
Jeremiah cursed. "Looks like we're continuing on foot."
They quickly exited the van, looking around at the silent city all around them. It truly was unsettling the lack of life in this once populous district. How Yamato walked through this, avoiding the digimon who wanted to tear him limb from limb, in the dark and still managed to save his ass, Hiroaki didn't know. Clearly his kid was smarter than he often gave him credit for.
They continued walking for quite some while, stopping only for occasional snacks and refreshments from whatever they could scrounge from the nearby buildings. ("It's not stealing! This is an emergency!" Yuki had rationalised to herself.) They had gotten lost a couple of times since they weren't exactly sure where they were heading, not to mention they had no map or guide.
It wasn't until they were near the harbour and the sun had already set in the sky, that they realised they were at the point of where it happened. What was once an entire warehouse district was utterly flattened into concrete. Rubble and bits of crushed building were everywhere. There were even large craters on the ground where presumably something had impacted it or exploded.
It was moments like these that made Hiroaki truly realise how powerful these 'digimon' truly were.
"Wow," Jeremiah muttered, looking around. "Looks like dropped a bomb on this place."
"More like several," Charlie said, fearfully eyeing a house-sized hole in a nearby apartment block. "Lets get out of here. I don't want to meet whatever the hell it was that could do that!"
"I agree with Charlie," Yuki said. "Your son and his friends must have moved on from here ages ago."
"But where would they go?" Hiroaki asked confused. "I mean where did everybody go?! An entire district of people doesn't just disappear!"
"Maybe those monsters ate them?" Jeremiah suggested.
"Don't say that!" Charlie whimpered.
"I think it would be more obvious if they had just killed everyone," Yuki reasoned. "I mean, why take them away at all? We saw those... err... digimon creatures taking people away, not eating them. Maybe they're all being held prisoner somewhere?"
"Where would they hold that many people?" Jeremiah asked.
"The sports centre's probably the largest building in Odaiba," Hiroaki said. "They might be there."
"We should go check it out, just in case." Yuki crossed then crossed her arms. "What are you whimpering about?"
"B-b-bats," Charlie said, pointing upwards, his face paler than they'd ever seen it.
"What?"
"Bats!" He yelled and they followed his gaze.
Their mouths dropped open.
The fog was falling down, twisting and turning into a spiral towards the ground. But as it came closer and closer it grew darker and darker, twisting and forming the shapes of bats all gathering into one spot further up the harbour. It was horrifying as more and more bats were formed out of the fog. They began to climb the large revolving pillar of fog, spreading out until the entire sky was covered by black leathery wings. The noise grew and grew to an abominable crescendo. The incessant screeching of the countless bats and the tiny flapping of their wings melded together into a hurricane of sound, all coming into one spot.
As the crew stood there, they could just about hear a screaming voice, only barely audible beyond the roar.
"NO MASTER! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! I CAN'T TAKE IT PLEASE MAS-"
As if things couldn't get more terrifying a darker, louder voice then bellowed over the maelstrom of noise.
"YES, YES! MORE POWER! MORE POWER!"
The news crew took one look at one another and ran for it. They ran towards the sports centre as fast as their legs would carry them, their arms pumping, their hearts pounding, doing everything they could to get away from that dreadful voice.
"Everyone wake up!" Matt yelled out as loud as he could, startling the digidestined out of their little huddle.
Tai was the first to jerk awake, followed closely by Sora and Izzy.
"Matt, what's wrong?!" Tai yelled. "Who's that?"
Matt was supporting the panting form of a tall man wearing what looked like the remains of a dirty suit. "He's my dad, he and his friends were hiding out in the TV station."
"You... all..." Hiroaki panted. "There's a... thing... a horrible... evil, bat thing..."
Tai paled. "Myotismon? What's the time? Anyone!?"
Another man, who Tai hadn't seen until now suddenly piped up. "It's... just turned six... why?"
Tai cursed loudly. "Everyone get up! We have to digivolve now!"
The kids quickly scrambled to their feet, trying to sort themselves out.
"We were so drained from the fight we overslept!" Tai had never seen Izzy so pale. "We need to get ready now everyone!"
The children, accompanied by the adults, rushed out of the building with unparalleled haste. For a brief moment the children stared at the receding sky, utterly covered by the flapping wings of numerous was a flash of light as soon seven champions stood there ready to fight the oncoming darkness.
"Where's Gatomon?!" Kari cried out worried. "Gatomon?! Gatomon where are you?!"
"It's alright Kari, I'm over here! Wizardmon's up!" Gatomon yelled happily, coming out of the building behind them, accompanied by the enigmatic digimon himself.
"Gatomon told me there's still some work to be done?" he asked Tai unflinchingly.
Tai nodded. "It's gonna be a big battle."
"Then I'll lend you my staff," Wizardmon said honourably. "Lets take Myotismon down for good this time!"
Tai smirked and nodded. He raised his arm up high. "Alright then everyone! Let's digivolve again!"
Hiroaki and the other adults watched with both shock and amazement as a rainbow of colours shone brightly, scattering the bats in the sky above. Within seconds a new, bigger breed of monsters stood there in a row, ready to bring down Myotismon for good.
The digidestined hopped onto their partners, or were carried by them.
"Dad, please stay here," Matt said, as he clambered onto his partner's back. "We can't waste time protecting you."
For a moment his father looked like he would argue, before he sighed. "I know, I can't stop you. Just... be careful."
"I will!" Matt promised.
Tai gave the order and the seven ultimates and two champions shot forwards towards the dark column of bats in the sky, quickly disappearing out of sight of the adults.
As they hurried onward, Tai saw far above them the edge of the layer of bats shoot past their position and into the tornado ahead. The sky was now clear, for the first time in a long time they could all see the sun.
'I guess he's not weak against the sun anymore.' Tai's eyes narrow. 'Did Myotismon really think that far ahead?' he wondered.
They were moving so fast now they had already come up to where yesterday they had first vanquished the vampire. 'Did he really set up this fog as a spare power bank in case he lost?'
Soon they stood net to the epicentre of this whole ordeal. The tornado of bats was shrinking down into a shape several stories tall. Tai recognised the outline immediately.
'First we'll attack his head as a distraction, as well as pin his arms with our largest digimon, then Angewomon can strike his groin with a celestial arrow to open it up. Then we'll finish him off with-'
But then it began to shrink as a large groaning sound, as if someone was straining heavily against something. The figure shrunk and shrunk as all the bats had vanished into it's dark form.
Tai watched, only now the words of the prophecy coming into his head as the black became a bleached white and two large mouths appeared on the creature's shoulders.
"...as evil itself..."
Two large, dark blue wings that seemed to be made of flesh and metal appeared on it's shoulders.
'VenomMyotismon was just a mindless beast,' Tai thought. 'He was easy to outsmart, but this...'
Myotismon's red mask formed over it's face, only it was large and more angular than before. Each of his arms ended in three strange tentacle-like appendages, as it's pointed armour covered tail thrashed about wildly in excitement.
There was a dark chuckle from the creature as it stared at Taichi, it's yellow eyes alight with bloodlust.
The chosen stared back, their mouths open in fear. Tai stared as well, his fists clenching.
"Well then," MaloMyotismon spoke, grinning widely and spreading his arms. "Who wants to die first?"
A/N: Well there it is! The end of another chapter!
Another notice, I'll be going off to Poland in a week or so, so I might not be able to update this chapter next Monday. I'll do my best of course, but it's entirely possible there might not be another chapter for a few weeks if I'm too busy to write it. Sorry about that, but it can't really be helped. I'll update more on my profile page as I get the details sorted out.
To answer a few questions:
Crofty666: There will be an explanation as to why Myotismon looked sad, don't worry.
DalekDavros:Yes, both Warg and Melga died of old age as well as Zero. Whether they'll return or not though...
Zikarn Krais:Tai will be doing some defeating and they won't be small fries, don't worry. He did pretty much force Myotismon to run away or die though.
Anon:Don't worry about fight with the dark masters being too easy, they'll have plenty of trouble with them. And IMO: Angewomon and MagnaAngemon are roughly equal in terms of raw power only MagnaAngemon has his one-hit kill Gate of Destiny thing.
I think that's all of them. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! We've nearly reached 350 reviews now, (o.O) and over 200 favourited and followers.
Huge thanks to everyone for their support so far! Please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think worked or didn't!
Hope you all enjoyed!
Update next Monday, hopefully.