Chapter 35!
Alright, first things first I got to mention. Apparently, Vamdemon has his headquarters in Daiba Park, not No. 6 Battery. I could've sworn he would hide on an island that is off limits to the public, but I guess not. I quickly went back and made those two changes. Miniscule, but I know someone would chew me out for that. Mostly the inner voice in my head (Thanks Chris Tidus, for that one.) 'It's Daiba Park! It's Daiba Park, you unobservant moron!'
Shoutouts to Ultrahero74, FROSTDRAGON4875, and Kelrisathefiredemoness for your favs and follows. Thank you very much.
Reviews are next. Vietnam123, well, here you go, the next chapter.
MadDogLucario96, Times Square is right, that went from a mess to tragic fast though; as Chief Clancy Wiggum would say (with his tie stuck in the hot dog roller at the Kwik-E-Mart) "Oh boy, this is going get worse before it gets better."
Anyways, how's about we check in with the Yagami's?
Chapter 35: The Bonds of Fate! Tailmon!
Yagami Residence, Odaiba District, Minato Ward, Tokyo, Japan. August 2nd, 1999. 1951 Hours.
P.O.V. – Ross McGlathery
After I got back from Jou's, I found that Hikari was sitting on couch as she was watching the news. There apparently was a fight at Tokyo Tower just a few minutes prior and the news were now talking to some witnesses about the incident. The next couple of hours were kinda of a bore, mostly sit around and watch TV, assist Yuuko with anything she needed, and do some summer homework just to knock that out of the way. It was almost close to eight when Taichi finally came back.
"I'm back!" He announced as he snuck Agumon into his room where Hikari and Guilmon were.
"Welcome home. You're late." Yuuko greeted.
"Our dads are enjoying themselves at a restaurant so they'll be really late." I told him.
"I see." We both then heard the phone ring. "I'll get that!" I walked up with him to the phone just in case it was one of the others. "Hey, Yagami residence. Hello?"
"Taichi? It's Jou."
"Oh, Jou, did you find the ninth child?" Maybe he got lucky and found the kid sometime after I left his place.
"No, I didn't get any luck at all." He informed. "No one else besides us moved from Hikarigaoka!"
"That can't be! There should be one!"
"Yeah, they're surely must be someone else from there with how many kids there were in those schools." I insisted.
"But I've called everyone in all of the phone books. The only phone book we haven't touched yet is yours, guys."
"I see… I didn't want to overburden you earlier today, but I'll give you ours first thing tomorrow." Taichi said.
"It's our only lead now, so get it to me as soon as possible!"
"Alright, we got it." I assured him before we heard him hang up.
The two of us walked into his room to see Agumon and Guilmon chatting it up with each other and Hikari at her desk working on some homework with Miko at her feet.
"So, how did your search go, guys? No luck?" Taichi asked. We both shook our heads.
"We got done pretty quick as we didn't have as many areas to search but we couldn't find a single trace of this kid. We went back home and I stopped to check on Jou while Hikari found Miko and went back home. We saw on the news that Tokyo Tower had a fight, was that you?" I inquired.
"Yeah, Mimi-kun and Sora had a run-in with DeathMeramon at the tower and MetalGreymon took care of him."
"MetalGreymon? Did you not devolve into Koromon?" Guilmon questioned.
"Nope, just back into Agumon." The yellow dinosaur said. Hmm, that's new. Maybe our Digimon are starting to get more used to evolving to the Perfect-Level. Who really knows though?
"Sorry we couldn't help find the ninth child." Hikari apologized.
"Not your fault at all." Taichi claimed. "We just have to keep looking."
P.O.V. – Third Person
Across the road on the roof of another building, Tailmon was observing the group through a mini-telescope similar to the one Taichi owned. She had been observing Hikari for a while now. She had suspected her to be the ninth child, but when the opportunity to kill her arose, she hesitated and did not strike and that was greatly bothering her. She remembers back to earlier in the day and replayed the events in her head. It was right there, she just needed to swing her claws and that could've been the end of everything and yet, the girl still lives.
"Why?" She said to herself. "Why wasn't I able to kill her as easily as I should have?" Tailmon looked through the scope again and got a better look at Miko. "A pet cat, huh? She has it so easy. She's given her food and she takes naps all day. Sometimes she'll pay attention to her owners." She looked away. "That's right, I am being cynical. I never had anyone who accepted me for who I was. Her memories soon began to recall times long ago involving a small dog looking Digimon with a strange collar around its neck. "When I was in my Child-Level, Plotmon, I was pushed around by Vamdemon every day." She remembered the abuse she would suffer at the hands of Vamdemon, like being whipped by him. "And whenever something when wrong, he'd always say: 'I'll make you suffer the same pain every time you look at me with those eyes. Understand?' Even as I became more skilled and loyal to him, he'd still knock me to the ground every day. Just because he didn't like my eyes."
She pulled off one of her claw gloves to reveal and 'x' shaped scar on the top of her paws.
"This is a scar that Vamdemon gave me. I was born with these eyes, I can't help it!" She stopped her train of thought when she though back to what she had said. "Born? Where was I born anyway? What was I doing before I met Vamdemon? I can't remember."
"Thinking of old times?" A voice said from behind her. The speaker was a Digimon dressed in a weird outfit with a long cape, a witch's hat, and a sun shaped staff in his gloved hands.
"I've told you to stop reading my mind without my permission!" She turned to the Digimon who was floating a few meters off the roof.
"Sorry." The magician bowed his head in shame. "That's not what I meant to do."
"Hurry and find the ninth child, Wizarmon!" He sighed at the order.
"Yes, I know." He then flew away from her before Tailmon turned her attention back to Hikari who was now playing with Miko on their apartment's patio.
Back on the streets, Wizarmon was standing around observing some of the children who were still out of their homes at this late hour. He then looked to the Crest in his hand.
"No reaction at all." He said before flying yet again. He was flying over the nearby Ariake Forest when the Crest began to glow. "It's glowing! But why here?" He moved the Crest away from his eyes to see a bird cawing at him from its nest. It was nothing more than clothes hangers and some scraps of cloth but what was lying in it was the eye opener. "The Digivice!" He threw out a small ball of energy that struck the bird and forced it to leave its nest so he could obtain the Digivice.
"Hey, Wizarmon! What are you doing over there?" A voice annoying to Wizarmon approached. The wizard quickly hid the Digivice in one of his pockets and turned to see PicoDevimon approaching him.
"Oh, nothing."
"I don't think doing nothing would've led you here. You found something, didn't you?"
"Well, I guess I can't hide it now."
"What?"
"This world is more entertaining than I thought it would be." Wizarmon pulled out a bottle of alcohol. "I ended up getting drunk. Hiccup!" He slurred, putting on the charade of being drunk.
"Not you, too." The bat clearly bought it. "If you keep that up, you'll be wiped out just like Pumpmon and Gotsumon!"
"Please don't tell Vamdemon-sama about this. Okay?" He handed him the bottle.
"Yeah, yeah. Geez, all of Tailmon's friends are useless dolts!" PicoDevimon flew away with the bottle.
"I can't hand this Digivice over to Vamdemon. But if the Digivice is here… where is the ninth child?"
P.O.V. – Taichi Yagami
We were all back in the living room and eating some watermelon as we watching the news. Agumon and Guilmon were hiding under the table and nabbing any slices of the sweet melon they could get.
"In continuation, Tokyo is flooded with eye-witness reports on these mysterious, large animals, with the most recent spotting in Shibuya Center. What's more, a large number of young women with acute anemia have been found collapsed on Shibuya's streets, and investigation on the two cases are related is now in progress. And now for the weather." I turned off the TV after that.
"He's feeding faster." Hikari said, referring to our theory that the anemia was Vamdemon drinking the blood of those women like the vampire he is.
"Last night, it was just two women, now the night has barely started and he's already struck multiple times." Ross observed.
"We've got to find a way to kill Vamdemon before things get really bad." I informed as the phone rang. "I'll get it!" I told Mom as I picked it up.
"Taichi?" Yamato's voice said on the other end.
"Oh, Yamato. Did you see the TV?" I asked as Ross got close to me to be able to hear the call.
"I didn't have to, I was there in Shibuya!"
"Then… it was you they mentioned on TV!" I decided to take the call from my room and Ross and the Digimon followed along. We closed the door and put the phone on speaker.
"Vamdemon attacked us." Yamato began. "He even killed his own subordinates!"
"What?!" I was shocked. Ross, on the other hand, wasn't.
"So? He's an evil villain, those guys take out their own lackeys all the time." Ross pointed out.
"True, but that was just in the movies or television, not reality!" shouted Yamato, who seemed pretty upset for whatever reason. Ross nodded his head in understanding. "Taichi, Ross, he's really dangerous. We can't tell what he'll do next! We need to find the ninth child quick!"
"The ninth child is dead if we don't find him before Vamdemon does!" I reminded.
"We know, but somehow this kid just keeps alluding us. There's got to be something we're missing." concerned Ross.
"Well, look, I've got to hang up now; this is just a payphone I'm on. But we need to come up with a better plan tomorrow, because we're running out of time!" Yamato informed as he hung up.
"What do you think we should do?" Ross asked.
"I don't know." I sighed. "I really don't know."
P.O.V. – Third Person
Back on the roof, Tailmon's observations were interrupted when she heard a sound.
"Is that you, Wizarmon?" She was correct as the wizard floated down before her. "What's wrong? Have you found the ninth child?"
"No, I haven't, but…"
"But what?" He reached into his cape and pulled out the Digivice. "The Digivice! Why do you have that?"
"I found it in a crow's nest in Ariake Forest."
"Then the ninth child must be near there."
"No. The ninth child is…" He trailed off.
"The ninth child is…?"
"Well… Tailmon."
"What?"
"I think the ninth child… Could be somewhere deep inside your heart."
Tailmon's eyes widened on that suggestion, as almost if something inside her suddenly clicked.
"Inside my heart?" She questioned.
"Your heart is put under tight locks and kept prisoner. I think perhaps the key to finding the ninth child is hidden within that closed heart of yours. Are you scared of retrieving the memories of your younger self? Memories of Nyaromon? Why aren't you trying to remember? Take back the memories you've lost! Remember your past without fear!" Tailmon didn't take those words kindly as she quickly put her claws up.
"You… Did Vamdemon send you here?!" She believed that all his words were some sort of test or trap laid by Vamdemon.
"I fight alongside you." Those words made Tailmon lower her claws slightly. "Vamdemon has nothing to do with this."
"Before I met you, I was always alone… I traveled alone, unable to make any friends." His mind drifted back to those days in the Digital World where he was nothing more than a drifter. "I was starving, tired, and full of loneliness… Even when I collapsed, no one stopped to help me." He remembered the day that he collapsed on the main street of a town in the desert and was just merely left to die right there. "I thought my death would come all too soon… Until you came." Tailmon appeared standing above him and handed him a bowl of water before he passed out.
"Hey, what's wrong? Hey! Hang in there!" The wizard wasn't very sure what happened next. The next memory after that was waking up near a campfire with Tailmon. "You're awake."
"Were you the one who saved me?"
"I didn't do anything that noble. I just couldn't leave you lying there."
"I'll be leaving now." He didn't get too far as his whole body was still exhausted.
"Your body won't be able to withstand it yet."
"I'm grateful for your help, but I have nothing to give you in return."
"I see. You've lived a long time being alone."
"What?"
"When you live too long in solitude, your heart becomes cold. It happens to everyone. Even me."
"I don't remember that." Tailmon claimed.
"I was about to die with a heart of stone due to my loneliness. The one who freed me from that loneliness, Tailmon… Was you. Yes… I remember that this is what you told me back then…
"I've always been waiting; waiting and searching, but I never find her!"
"Waiting? Searching? For who?"
"I don't know. I don't remember anymore. But I was waiting for someone."
"Waiting? Me?" questioned Tailmon.
"Yes, that's what you said."
"Who was it I was waiting for? Who was I looking for?"
"Miko! Where are you going, Miko? You can't come out here this late." They heard Hikari say on the apartment balcony. "Stay inside." She put the cat back into the apartment before turning around and looking back into the city. Tailmon's mind was wracked with questions about what Wizarmon was saying. She didn't get much time to think as Wizarmon flew off right towards Hikari.
"Let's set things straight.
"Wait!" She cried before jumping right after him.
P.O.V. – Hikari Yagami
After I put Miko back inside the apartment, I was just minding my own business and leaning against the balcony wall when suddenly I saw something from the nearby roof floating down my way. The larger creature that was floating down looked like some sort of magician. Was this a Digimon?
"You…"
"I am Wizarmon." He interrupted. Yep, he was definitely a Digimon.
"Y-You're flying!" I observed. After I said that, a familiar white cat bounced of the railing and preformed a front flip that landed right in front of me. "You're the one I saw this afternoon! You came back! You really are one of Agumon and Guilmon's friends, right?" Wizarmon, who had landed right next to her, placed one of those Digivices the guys had in her paw before pushing her right towards me.
"What's this? Why do you…?" I touched it and suddenly it began to shine a bright yellow light. The cat looked more surprised than me about this.
"Wizarmon? Is this girl the ninth Chosen Child?"
"Yes, Tailmon." He said as he took the device from her. Wait, what? I'm a Chosen Child? I'm the one the others have been looking for?
"Then who's her Digimon?"
"Think back. Who were you waiting for?"
"Yes… I do remember waiting for someone. Ever since I was in my Baby-Level, Nyaromon, I was waiting for someone. Day in and day out… I waited, and waited, and waited… But no one ever came. When I became Plotmon, I went on a journey to find her instead of passively waiting. But the one who appeared in my path… was not who I was waiting for. It was Vamdemon. Then the days of despair began, and before I knew it, I'd forgotten… I forgot that I was waiting for someone… Searching for someone…"
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "This ninth Chosen Child you're talking about, you mean me, right?"
"Who's there?" I heard Taichi open the door. I turned to see both Ross and Taichi's eyes widened.
"Hikari! Get away from her!" Ross shouted.
"Onii-chan! Ross-chan!"
"What are you doing to Hikari?" Taichi demanded.
"Wait. Listen to us first!" Wizarmon tried to explain.
"Hikari! I said to get away!" Ross said again.
"Those guys are evil!" informed Taichi. I ran up between Wizarmon and Tailmon.
"No, you're wrong! Tailmon was looking for the ninth child and…" I didn't get to finish as Agumon launched a fireball at our direction. "Stop!"
"Look out!" I felt Tailmon push me out of the way before she took that fireball in her face.
"Tailmon!"
"Tailmon!" I cried as I ran up to her. She quickly got back up, not looking worse for wear.
"Hikari. I'm okay. This is nothing."
"Hold your fire, you idiot! You nearly hit Hikari!" Ross scolded Agumon.
"Tailmon protected Hikari..." Taichi muttered in shock.
"Now do you remember the memories that you've locked away?" Wizarmon asked the small cat.
"Yes. I was waiting for the ninth Chosen Child. Hikari. I was waiting for you!"
"Waiting… for me?"
"I was looking for you everywhere. Hikari!" She ran up and hugged me.
"Tailmon…" I reciprocated the hug. "Onii-chan, Ross-chan, Tailmon is my Digimon!"
"Tailmon is Hikari's Digimon?" Taichi questioned.
"Hikari in the ninth child?" inquired Ross.
"Yes." Wizarmon answered the both of them. "Hikari is the ninth Chosen Child."
"And I'm her Digimon." Tailmon walked forward. "I swear I'll protect her!"
"Well, sorry for the cold reception, but you have to understand with what you did…" Agumon remembered.
"My snout still feels sore after you kicked it in." Guilmon rubbed his nose. I guess they had a fight with her sometime before, which would explain why they were so hostile to her.
"Tailmon. Even if what you say is true, who is this guy?" Taichi pointed at the wizard Digimon.
"Wizarmon is… He's my friend." She told them.
"At your service." He bowed to the both of them.
"He's also the one who found the Digivice."
"Where?" Ross asked.
"In Ariake Forest, a crow had gotten its claws on it." He explained.
"You think we can just believe that?" Taichi still held some doubts.
"I don't care if you believe it or not. I only follow after Tailmon."
"Did you guys hear that? I'm one of you guys!" I cheered.
"Yeah…" The both looked more disappointed and worried.
"Looks like we were right from the start." Taichi whispered to Ross.
"Yeah, that's why we couldn't find the kid, because she was under our nose the entire time. I said that everything was already too close to home."
"Now it is home."
"What's wrong, guys? Why do you look so-?" I suddenly remembered their stories and why they were like that. "Oh, right. Vamdemon is after the ninth child… so that means… he's after… me." Great, I felt excited a minute ago, now I just feel worried.
"Here." Wizarmon handed Taichi my Digivice. "You should hold onto the Digivice."
"Why give Taichi the Digivice?" Agumon asked.
"If Vamdemon finds out that Hikari is the ninth Chosen Child and Tailmon is her Digimon, both of them will be in danger. As long as you have it, both of them are safe."
"Okay." Taichi conceded. "I'll hold onto this. So, what are you going to do now?"
"Hikari needs her Crest. The real one."
"The real one?" Ross questioned. Tailmon pulled out a small necklace similar to the ones Taichi and Ross have around their necks, except the little emblem was pink.
"This is a copy we used to find Hikari's Digivice. Vamdemon has Hikari's real Crest. We have to take it back."
"You guys will wait here." Wizarmon told us as he and Tailmon walked to the balcony railing.
"Wait!" Taichi tried to stop them. "Where is Vamdemon located?"
"Over there." He pointed to a familiar island not too far from the park.
"Daiba Park? God, he was practically next door to us." muttered Ross.
"We'll come with you!" Taichi insisted on joining them.
"It's too dangerous for you two to come. We'll handle this ourselves." Wizarmon picked up Tailmon and flew off towards the Battery.
"Tailmon!" I shouted.
"They left." observed Agumon.
"In a hurry too." added Guilmon.
"Will those guys be okay on their own?" Taichi worried.
P.O.V. – Third Person
The two Digimon flew quietly through the large fog bank and soon came within sight of the Park.
"Hikari's real Crest is within Vamdemon's secret base." Wizarmon reminded. "He should be hiding it in his room." The two of them landed in the clearing where a Bakemon approached them.
"Wait!" The guard stopped them. "Vamdemon-sama is out for dinner. No one is allowed to enter until he comes back at dawn."
"We came here to switch shifts." He then threw an energy ball that hit the ghost and gave him a confused look.
"Huh? What was I doing here again?"
"You were going to switch with us and go home to sleep, remember?"
"Oh yeah. See you." He took off and floated away.
"Wait! Don't forget to leave us the key."
"Oh yeah, the key. Here." He threw it to them before floating away again.
"Thank you."
"Take care of the rest!"
"Good night." Both Digimon said as they ran into the base's chambers.
Deep in the catacombs of the pocket dimension, Wizarmon used the key that opened up the gate that led to Vamdemon's coffin where they assumed the Crest was.
"Where's the Crest?" Tailmon asked. "Wizarmon, we have to hurry!"
"No need to rush. There's still time left before dawn." He used his staff to try and track down the Crest. "Could it be… inside here?" They opened it up and looked under the pillow to find the Crest lying there. "Here it is!"
"It's the real Crest!" However, the celebration would be tragically cut short as they heard the sounds of bats indicating one thing: Vamdemon was back early. The fight with WereGarurumon and Angemon force him to cut short on his feeding and he was returning to his coffin to rest up. Wizarmon hurried and closed the coffin, but no matter what, they were dead to rights.
"What are you doing in here?" Vamdemon asked, in a tone that sounded like he already knew the answer.
"Nothing!" Wizarmon tried to lie.
"It seems you're searching for something. Mind if I help you?" He pulled out a Crest. "What are you planning to do after stealing the real Crest? Betray me, is that it?" He growled as he crushed the fake Crest in his hands. Wizarmon charged right at the vampire but he merely floated aside and Wizarmon crashed onto the stone floor.
"Wizarmon!" Tailmon ran up to him.
"I'm okay."
"Those eyes." Vamdemon referred to the glare that Tailmon was giving him. "It's those eyes again. They're like a sword pointed in my direction. But did you think a small thing like you could do something against me? Did you think I would forgive traitors?"
"I haven't betrayed you. I've never sided with anyone but Tailmon from the start!" Wizarmon informed as he stood in front of Tailmon to protect her.
"Fools. Night Raid!" The two of them tried to hold off the horde of bats, but there were too many and the two of them were expelled back outside into the park.
"Pull yourself together, Wizarmon!" Tailmon tried to help him up.
"Yeah…"
"Playing a game of beautiful friendship, are we?" The vampire Digimon taunted.
"Say that again?!" Tailmon shouted in anger.
"Since you get along so well, I'll allow you to die together." He summoned another group of bats but Wizarmon was more prepared for this.
"Thunder Cloud!" A powerful bolt of lightning fired out of his staff and fried the bats and even surprised Vamdemon who had to deflect the attack with his cape and began to cause a great thunder storm above them.
P.O.V. – Taichi Yagami
Hikari and I were staring out at the balcony while Ross had gone back inside and was on the phone. He said something about wanting to know about how that Digivice got into a crow's nest.
"Alright, I got it. Thanks. Night, Takeo." He hung up the phone and walked over to us. "No doubt about it now, that Digivice was sitting on the table when Takeo came over with our stuff. Apparently, he thought the Digivice was in fact a Tamagotchi like we kinda said to Fujiyama-sensei on the bus and he placed it on your bed, which must have fell on the floor and then Miko must have knocked it off into the streets or something. That would explain why she was gone so long yesterday." Both of us nodded at that theory before we all sighed.
"So, what exactly do we do now?" I asked.
"Well, we wait for Tailmon, right?" Hikari said which made Ross chuckle.
"Hikari, I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're sometimes way too kind. I mean, you were willing to believe her and shield her, even after everything she did."
"Well, you guys never mentioned her, so I didn't know, especially when I invited her in while you were at Jou-senpai's earlier, Ross-chan." We looked at her when she said that.
"When we told you what was going on, I thought it was a given to stay away from any Digimon that wasn't any of the partner Digimon because every other one was serving Vamdemon." I explained.
"You and Tailmon… Just like Mom." Ross muttered. "Being the first to defend Tailmon and all that, that's something she would've done as well."
"Yeah, you've mentioned before that Hikari reminds you of her." I pointed out.
"The personalities are almost uncanny."
"I wish I could've met her." admitted Hikari.
"Yeah, me too. We actually all met each other because of her… when we flew to Corpus to attend the funeral…" I remembered.
"Yes, we did. I wish I could've had more time with her. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if she was still alive. Would Dad ever moved to Japan? Would I ever met you guys? Would I… well, there's a lot of 'What ifs?'." Ross trailed off.
"Ross-chan? What exactly did you mean by 'something she would've done'?" Hikari asked.
"Well, one of the few memories I had with her was after I got into a fight with a kid on the playground. Three-year old me was a scrapper even back then!" He laughed. "Anyways, after Mom was cleaning me up and scolding me for fighting, which wasn't my fault, it was self-defense; she told me this piece of advice 'Always look for the good in others.' Pretty good advice if you think about it."
"That really does sound a lot like Hikari." I roughed up her hair.
"Quit it!" She giggled.
Our little trip down memory lane was interrupted when we heard storm clouds by the bridge.
"What's that?" I questioned.
"Tailmon and the others are fighting!" Agumon guessed.
"Vamdemon must have come back sooner than they thought." added Ross.
"Will they be okay?" Hikari worried. The storm got worst, and I made up my mind.
"Agumon, we're joining them!" I tried to run but I was grabbed by the arm. "Ross? Let me go!"
"No. You and Agumon have already done your fighting today. Who knows how long MetalGreymon can fight." Ross reasoned. He actually made a good point. Agumon must be somewhat exhausted and we've never truly had our Digimon evolve to Perfect-Level twice in one day. "Listen, let me and Guilmon do this."
"Yeah, ever since I've gotten here, I haven't done any fighting yet! Allow me to have my fair share." Guilmon claimed, itching for a fight. I quickly chuckled.
"Now I can see why you two are partners, your fighting spirits are unquenchable." Both of them smiled at that compliment. I stepped back and allowed the two of them to go fight.
"Wish us luck. Let's go, Guilmon!" Ross and Guilmon soon sprinted fast out the door while Hikari and I turned our attention back towards the storm.
"Onii-chan… Do you think he can help them?" Hikari wondered.
"We can only hope, Hikari."
P.O.V. – Third Person
Vamdemon used his cape to deflect a very powerful lightning strike that Wizarmon sent his way before opening it once again.
"You should know the consequences of angering me!" Tailmon charged the vampire once more but she was merely swatted away.
"Thunder Cloud!" Wizarmon launched another strike as he jumped in front of his friend. Vamdemon held out his hands and the lightning reflected off them and returned back to the sender, knocking him down.
"Bloody Stream!" His red whip tangled around the wizard and he begun to swing him around. "I'll finish you off first, Wizarmon!"
"Stop!" Tailmon shouted. "If you're going to kill someone, Vamdemon, kill me instead!"
"Those eyes again. They're not merely reflecting your hostility. They shine with the light of hope. The light that holds belief in your dreams."
"That's right! I've managed to live this long because of my belief!"
"Because of mutual trust? Devoted friendship? Such fleeting dreams only show what a fool you really are. There is no place for dreams in this world!"
"As long as I keep believing, my dreams and hopes will continue to exist! In order to make my dreams a reality… I will defeat you!"
"What?"
"If I don't beat you, I won't be able to regain my true self!"
"Regain your true self?" Vamdemon was confused by those words. What exactly did Tailmon mean by that? "You can't be…" Suddenly, everything clicked for him. "The ninth Digimon?!" Tailmon jumped again, but like before she was swatted away. "If that's true, then that changes everything! I'll send your beloved friend to hell first! Night Raid!" The bats swarmed Wizarmon before he was picked up by them and they flew away.
"Wizarmon!" cried Tailmon. The bats then dropped him into the bay "Wizarmon!" Tailmon had tears in her eyes.
"Tailmon…!" He called out before he slowly disappeared under the waves.
"Wizarmon…" Tailmon muttered. She was utterly devastated by the sudden turn of events. The quiet sounds of the ocean were interrupted by the sound of a roar coming from the fog bank.
"Cavalry has arrived, Tailmon!" They heard Ross shout as he and Growmon approached the park.
P.O.V. – Ross McGlathery
"Ross!" Tailmon yelled out as we approached the cat and the vampire. There was no sign of Wizarmon and there were tears in Tailmon's eyes. Not good, Vamdemon must have killed the wizard. Nothing to do about that now but to avenge him by killing that bloodsucker once and for all! I jumped off Growmon's shoulder and let him go to work.
"Exhaust Flame!" The vampire held his hands up and reflected the fireball that crashed right in front of Tailmon and I who were taking cover.
"It's an honor to see you appear before me voluntarily." Vamdemon addressed me. "Though, I was expecting to be greeted by the boy with the goggles."
"Eh, too bad. We'll be your executioners tonight." I boasted. The vampire gave a cruel laugh.
"So you think. Bloody Stream!" The red whips that Vamdemon sent out clashed against Growmon and put him on his knees.
"Make this an even fight! Evolve, Growmon!"
"Growmon, super-evolve! MEGALOGROWMON!"
"Slaughter him, MegaloGrowmon!" I ordered. I know I was sounding a bit more violent tonight, but Fang-Face has really pushed me, especially now that I know that he has Hikari in his crosshairs. I've just begun to get my life back in order, and I'm not letting him ruin it now! MegaloGrowmon made a quick slice with his arm blades that forced Vamdemon to take off and float away just to stay out of close quarters range as he flew over to the water.
"Atomic Blaster!" Vamdemon eyes widened and he quickly dodged it, but his eyes did show some panic. We've got some advantage on him. Vamdemon knew that if he took a hit from that attack, it might not kill him, but would leave him wounded and opened to be finished off. He flew right back towards the dinosaur and the two Digimon began have a long, drawn out fight. Attack and counterattack, the two traded blows for blows until MegaloGrowmon actually got him with a swipe and nailed him into the ground.
"You got him! Finish it!" I called out.
"Atomic Blas-"
"Bloody Stream!"
"AHHHHHHH!"
My eyes widened in horror. Somehow, Vamdemon threw out a quick Bloody Stream right into MegaloGrowmon's chest while he was charging his attack. There was a powerful explosion around his chest and the dust kicked up. When it finally cleared, Vamdemon had vanished and Guilmon was on the ground clutching his chest.
"GUILMON!" I shouted as both Tailmon and I ran up to him, oblivious of any danger I could be in. I ran up right next to him and grabbed his claws. "Guilmon! Look at me! Stay with me, buddy!"
"Save that for the dying. I'm okay. Ugh, cheap shot!" Okay, well, that's a relief. Then my ears rang out with the sound of that evil laughter from that vampire. I turned around and Vamdemon was floating right behind us.
"If a Chosen Child purposefully came all this way here then that must mean that Tailmon really is the ninth Digimon." Crap, please God Almighty don't let him know who Hikari is.
"Wh-What are you talking about? I'm not the ninth Digimon!" She tried to feign innocence, but the writing was on the wall for us.
"I'll know that for certain soon enough"
"What do you mean, bloodsucker!?" I questioned. We were suddenly swarmed with the bats before they all gathered on Tailmon and picked her up.
"I'll use Tailmon as bait to lure out the ninth child. After I gather all of the children, she'll pick out the child for me. Even without the Crest, I'll find that ninth child easily!"
"{You son of a bitch!}" I cursed out in English. He clearly didn't know what I said as he turned around.
"See you again." He laughed as he flew away.
"Wait! Tailmon!"
"Ross!" She screamed as they vanished into the fog, leaving behind the sound of Vamdemon laughing once more.
P.O.V. – Hikari Yagami
After seeing and hearing a large explosion at the park, both Taichi and I were getting worried.
"Onii-chan? Tailmon, she'll come back, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure. I'm sure they're all okay and Ross and Guilmon are bringing her back as we speak." Taichi tried to assure, but I get a feeling that he was being pretty worried too.
"Tailmon… please be okay…"
P.O.V. – Ross McGlathery
I walked back over to Guilmon who was still lying on the ground, taking some deep breaths as the fight and cruel shot left him exhausted.
"You okay?" I asked again. All the fire in me had been extinguished.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just give me a few hours and I'll be back on my feet."
"Come on." I helped him up and carried him over my shoulder, or well, let him hang on to me as he tried to walk on his own two feet. "It's almost ten and we're gonna need our rest for tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, Ross, I almost-"
"Almost had him, no, you didn't. You had him completely and he pulls a dirty trick, not your fault at all."
"So, what now?"
"Who knows, I'm afraid we're just going to have to wait and see." The two of us slowly walked back home feeling utterly awful. Why, oh why, can't I ever do it? Why must I always fail? So many were depending on me and I failed in spectacular fashion. And to make matters worse, there was only one thing on my mind now.
How the hell am I even supposed to look Hikari in the eye now…
And that was Chapter 35.
I hope you've all been enjoying this story because I'm afraid this is where the uploads are going to be a bit more stretched out now that classes are starting again.
Now that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop all together, but it's just meaning I'll have less free time. I'll still keep it going, but don't be surprised if there are week long hiatus or longer.
'til then, take care.
"Push the button, Frank."