Love Has No Boundaries
~Part Three: A Test of Friendship~
Mud sucked loudly at her ankles as she struggled through the deep pools of bracken mire. Mosquitoes whined in her ears, and she absentmindedly swatted at them with a free hand. The water was rank, as were the plants that sank their roots into the muck. This swamp wasn't to Gatomon's liking at all, but she somehow knew she would find the next Wisdom in this foul-smelling place.
The Wisdoms were still a thing of mystery to Gatomon; she understood she needed all nine of them in order to bring back to life the one her heart burned for. But how she would use them was the baffling puzzle? She had captured one already, the Wisdom of Courage, now etched in her staff.
"But where are the other eight?" she muttered to herself, rubbing the first marking.
The swamp was deathly silent, except for the constant drone of mosquitoes humming their bloodthirsty tune. Gatomon half expected some long-dead villain to rise from the quagmire and pull her down into their soggy world.
But that could never happen, not with Wizardmon protecting me. Wherever you are, if you can hear me, send me a sign love of mine.
A slight breeze caused her fur to ripple slightly, and it sang in her ears, overpowering the nagging shrill voices of the countless insects vying for her blood.
"Gatomon, please be careful," it whispered, murmuring in Wizardmon's voice.
"I will, I promise," she replied, her voice strained over the lump in her throat.
As the echo of his voice died, a burst of brilliant light shot through the cloudy water, illuminating the swamp with an unearthly glow. From out of the morass came another stone pedestal, huge and heavy like the first, yet the symbol engraved upon it was different, and it was emblazoned in silver.
"The Crest of Friendship!"
As it had before, the world began to spin violently, with a stomach-wrenching motion that made Gatomon suddenly gag. But this time, she was unafraid. Maybe it was the encouragement of hearing her lover speak to her, or the power from the Wisdom of Courage, or just that she half expected the next test. But whatever the reason, when Gatomon passed out again, she entered the darkness emboldened.
~*~
"Help me! Please somebody help me!" a cry sprang from the dark. Gatomon was on her feet in an instant, ready to aid the caller. Holding her staff, unafraid of the blackness that smothered everything around her, threatening to squeeze her tiny body to death, she wandered through the dark, searching for the owner of the cries. When she found him, the courage drained from her heart and she was unsure of what to say or do.
He seemed just as conniving as ever, even in his decrepit state of disarray. The snappish look in his eyes was still present, as it had been when she first laid eyes on him. This creature, this wicked, hateful monster, was the beast that drove poor Matt to despise Tai with a passion. It was his treacherous lackey that beguiled the young man into attempting to murder his friends and his own brother. And it was this horrible creature that had created a rift between Matt and T.K. that, only after separation and guilt, was mended.
Gatomon glared at this intolerable digimon, if she could even bear to call him that, with an utter loathing. Puppetmon was the vilest and wickedest creature she could think of next to Myotismon. But Myotismon was different; he haunted her every thought and nightmare, plaguing her with the unending guilt that it was her weakness and not Wizardmon's sheer courage and love that compelled him to throw himself into the line of fire. Puppetmon was merely a despicable digimon that one remembers for the rest of their life as "the demon that hurt Matt."
"So, it is you I have to overcome. I have no fear of you, only loathing. You engorged the enmity between two people I care about until it drove them to shed blood for honor. I don't know how you can justify yourself, and I hope you have all eternity to question your sense of morals and ethics."
"Well, that's a lovely little speech, but it's not going to earn you the next Wisdom. Face it, kiddo, you're only kidding yourself. That ragtag bundle of worthless ectoplasm you fawn over is staying on our side and there ain't nothing you can do about it."
"I know perfectly well why you're here and what it is I have to do to obtain the Wisdom of Friendship. You are a hated demon with no friends, and it gave you the satisfaction to torment the child with the Crest of Friendship because you envied him and the bonds he shared between those he cared about. Well guess what? You still don't have friends and he does. Matt has grown into a compassionate, loving young man with immeasurable strength of character. He fully relies on his friends, which is something you will never experience. He and I aren't that different. We both share bonds that can never be undone. Wizardmon and I share a bond like that and we continue to care for each other despite circumstances so you have no authority to tell me what I can and can't do!"
Puppetmon smirked at Gatomon, his eyes narrowed with a touch of fury smoldering within them. Gatomon stared back at him in satisfaction, feeling a second mark etching itself into the staff below the first. However, this time the room didn't explode into light like it had before.
"You may have won the Wisdom of Friendship, but you are not ready to leave this place, feline fool. The first two Wisdoms were gifts, easily obtained. The other seven you will not receive so easily. And if you fail to pass the next tests, not only will your pitiable wizard boyfriend stay trapped in the Dark Eternity for all times, but you will too."
"The Dark Eternity? What's that?"
"This is what. This place is where the wicked hearts of the Digital World are trapped. Your weak little Wizardmon is here too. Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to trust him, if he's living his afterlife with a rogue crowd of vile and despicable criminals."
"You're lying! You…you imprisoned him here! You and Piedmon and all your cronies didn't want to be stuck here without someone to torment forever, so you decided to pick on the digimon I love so you could make the both of us miserable! Well I'll show all of you! I'll find the other Wisdoms and bring him back and then I'll be laughing at you in the Mortal Realm sitting pretty in Wizardmon's arms and you can't stop me!"
"Oh I can't, can I? You'll see, pussy cat, you'll see how cocky you are when you realize that if you look upon Wizardmon's face he will die twice over."
"What?!"
"Oh yeah, there are rules down here, ya know. If you look upon your lover's face while on the test of Wisdoms, not only do you fail the test and you're both trapped, but your lover has to die all over again. And down here, we make death a slow and arduous process."
Gatomon stared at him in shock. "So I'm not allowed to see Wizardmon until I pass the other seven tests?"
"No, you're not allowed to see him until you pass the other two tests. The next test you get your Wisdoms, and the test after that you have to…hey wait, you're trying to milk me for all the answers! What do I look like, some kind of cow digimon? You're not getting anything else out of me! I'm getting out of here, good luck on finding your way back."
Gatomon stood there, alone in the dark void, listening for any sort of sound, not just the steady throb of her heartbeat and the slow rhythm of her breathing. Her paws were curled tightly around the staff, which she cherished so much. The bitter sting of unhappiness bit at the back of her throat, rising in a hard lump that choked her.
I'm not allowed to see Wizardmon at all until this is over. It's just so unfair!
"Are you ready for the third test?" the mysterious voice that usually spoke in couplets asked.
"What, no rhyme today?"
"I'm getting to it. To earn the Wisdoms, pass you must. The following test is a test of Trust."
"But there's no Crest of Trust. I'm figuring the Nine Wisdoms are the Crest symbols, and I don't remember any Crest of Trust."
"We can't call it anything else because you're receiving multiple Wisdoms. Now come on, you're already behind schedule."
"Just who are you, anyway?"
The voice said nothing, or perhaps it did, and Gatomon didn't notice for once again the fog of unconsciousness drifted around her and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
~*~
What is Gatomon's next test? Will she be able to pass it and gain the other seven Wisdoms? Was Puppetmon lying about Wizardmon? Will I get any reviews? (That answer had better be yes.) Find out in Part Four of Love Has No Boundaries.