Love Has No Boundaries
~Part
Four: Trust and Love~
Gatomon sighed, waiting patiently for the
next test to begin. She knew this one would be the most difficult of all, but
she was determined to pass it. The seven Wisdoms that remained, signifying the
other seven Crests, needed to be earned in order for her to bring Wizardmon
back to life, and this was the test that would earn her those Wisdoms.
"I still don't
know if these things are even going to do much for me. I mean, they're just
cute accessories right now. What if I'm doing all this and I could have gotten
Wizardmon back in one easy step? I'm just so confused," she thought aloud. She
wished she could pour her heart out to someone who truly understood her, but
that someone was Wizardmon and he was still trapped in Death's cold clutches.
The other digimon were probably
worried about her. Gatomon had been sensing for quite some time that Veemon and
Patamon were trying hard to get her attention, but she completely ignored the
both of them. She liked them, but just not the way they wanted her to like
them.
Won't they be
shocked when I come home with Wizardmon? I can't wait to see the looks on their
faces. Oh Wizardmon, will these ridiculous tests ever end? I just want to get
you back and go home, back to Kari and the people I care about.
But now she sat
on the cold ground, the staff of her lover engraved with two Wisdoms sitting on
her lap, waiting for some signal to begin the next test, the test that would
ensure the return of Wizardmon…or be his second death. And Gatomon did not have
to wait long.
~*~
Gatomon had begun to doze off, her
eyelids drooping more and more frequently. She tried pinching herself, but
finding it impossible without fingers. She resorted to clawing at herself, but
ended up drawing blood so she quickly stopped that as well. Just as she was
about to lose the battle with sleep, blood started oozing from the walls where
they met the ceiling, running down in thick scarlet cascades. The blood started
pooling on the floor where Gatomon sat, and she jumped to her feet in surprise.
The floor sank downwards, creating a sea of blood, which was now lapping around
her slender ankles.
"I have to do
something!" she cried over the gushing crimson torrents as they continued their
furious splatter into the ever-deepening pool. Holding the precious staff high
over her head, she screamed out, "Gatomon, digivolve to…" but nothing happened.
She could not digivolve on her own; she needed the power of Kari's digivice to
supply the energy. She would not be able to hover over the ocean of blood on
the wings of Angewomon.
"Wizardmon, help
me!"
The flooding of the room
intensified, and before long Gatomon was submerged in blood. While
"underwater," she began having wild visions, visions full of agony and terror.
Her lungs burned, craving air desperately, her heartbeat racing wildly. And all
the while, her head filled with visions as a chorus of voices echoed in her
ringing ears.
(The following
italicized stuff is part of Gatomon's visions, k?)
Blood. Gatomon could clearly smell blood, even though the small room in which she sat was darker than night. And there was another stench in the air, the smell of sweat and sickness, and of festering wounds. The foul odor clung to Gatomon, the reek of oncoming death. This was a memory of her youth she did not want to remember. This was a time when she was evil, ruthless, and corrupt to a fault. She was in the dungeons of Myotismon's castle, with the dead and dying prisoners. She looked from one face to another, most blank, deceased stares. Her heart ached, realizing she had let her former master do this to these helpless captives, she had done nothing to save them and Gatomon had never before in her life felt so helpless. She walked along the rows of chained prisoners, watching as they struggled to live, and she cried aloud when she came upon the end of a row and found Wizardmon shackled along with them.
"Wizardmon, you have to help me!"
"Why should I? You've neglected those who need you most."
"You know I would never…"
"Then what are you standing there for when innocent digimon are dying?"
"I don't know what to do!"
"Really?"
"Please, Wizardmon, I'm drowning in a pool of blood."
"Of course you are, that is the blood of those you have caused torment. My blood was shed into that river as well."
"But I never hurt you! Wizardmon, I love you, with all my heart and soul. I cannot do anything about those I have wronged before, but I am paying now and I am trying with every day that passes to right those wrongs I could not undo."
"Can you trust what you cannot see?"
"What?"
"Answer the question, Gatomon."
"Yes, Wizardmon. I can, and I will, and I am sorry."
"Why?"
"Because I could not save these digimon."
Someone grabbed Gatomon's paw and
pulled her out of the sea of blood just before her soul took the final
departure. She was gently laid down on a cold stone floor, the staff beside
her. She coughed, gagged, and spat up blood she had swallowed while trying to
scream. Her fur was now matted and stained with crimson. She looked up in time
to catch a shadow whisk off into the dark.
"Wizardmon?
If that was you, thank you," she whispered, coughing again.
~*~
She was sitting up now, in a spotless room of
white. No doors, or windows, much like the other room minus the blood. Suddenly
the walls of the room started moving, and Gatomon was afraid they would start
gushing blood again. Mirrors lined the walls instead, many of them beautiful
and all at Gatomon's height. She stood now, clutching the staff, and approached
a mirror. Around the wooden frame written in gilt letters was the inscription
"Only One Can be True."
"So all these mirrors will show
images, but only one of them is a true image and I have to figure out which one
it is," she thought aloud, staring at the reflection in the mirror. A stunning
reflection of herself being cuddled by Wizardmon while Patamon and Veemon
stared on jealously came into focus. Gatomon frowned and progressed to the next
mirror. Kari sat in her room here, stroking Miko the cat. She seemed contented,
not worried about where Gatomon was. Gatomon backed away from this mirror
quickly. She walked around the group of mirrors, seeing images that pleased her
and images that frightened her. Finally she came upon a mirror that seemed
older, homelier, less beautiful. She blew back a thin film of dust and cobwebs
and gazed into the reflection. Gatomon saw standing before her a bloodstained
cat, once white now crimson, with purple-tipped ears and tail, saturated
formerly yellow gloves, and paws that held a tarnished staff. This seemed
normal enough, but Gatomon saw that behind her reflection stood another one.
This one was translucent, hazy, but well enough defined that she could make out
the figure. A spirit like form stood behind her, a gloved hand resting on her
shoulder, though she felt nothing.
"You
are always there to guide me, aren't you? Though I am not allowed to see you, I
suppose the reflection in a mirror doesn't count. No matter if I fail this
quest or not, I know you will always love me, and I you. This mirror is the
truth, Wizardmon; and may it bring us together again."
One
by one the mirrors shattered, breaking into thousands of fragments that blew
through the room in a whirlwind. The truthful mirror showed the spirit
Wizardmon holding onto Gatomon tightly, and this time she could feel his arms
around her.
"I'll
protect you, I promise," he murmured.
~*~
Gatomon opened her eyes to find
Wizardmon, or his spirit, had vanished once again. But now she was surprised to
find that she was no longer coated in blood from head to toe, but was once
again pure white, like the room. The floor started trembling, and a pedestal
rose from it, a wooden box sitting on it. Gatomon's eyes lit up.
"The
Wisdoms!" she cried, racing over to the box. She went to put her paws on it to
open it, but she stopped just before lifting the lid.
"Wait
a second, this smells fishy. I mean, who puts the prize out for the taking
anyway?"
"Gatomon,"
came Wizardmon's voice.
"Wizardmon!"
"Open
the box, my love. You have passed the tests, open it."
"Yes,
Gatomon," his voice echoed itself. "Open the box and set me free."
"Open
the box, Gatomon. We can finally end this long separation."
Gatomon
was about to lift the lid when Wizardmon's voice called out again.
"Gatomon."
"I'm
opening, I'm opening!"
"NO!
Don't open that box, Gatomon, it's a trick!"
"He's lying to you. He's one of the
demons of the Dark Eternity, sent here to make you fail. Open the box, precious
one."
"Yes,
Gatomon, do open it. Let me hold you in my arms again."
"Oh
Gatomon, open the box and we can be together."
"Gatomon,
please, I beg you, don't open that box! We'll both die if you do! Please, you
have to believe me!"
Gatomon
stood there, utterly confused. There were far too many people telling her what
to do.
"Open
it!"
"Open
it, if you truly love me!"
"Open
it, my angel, and I shall never leave your side."
Gatomon shut her eyes tightly,
clasped her paws over her ears. That didn't stop the shouts. The cries all
sounded like Wizardmon, yet they didn't. Should she open the box and appease
the first three, or heed the fourth's warning. She heard someone kneel beside
her, and through all the hollers of "Open it!" she heard a small voice say,
"I
trust you, Gatomon, and I know that you will make the right decision. And
whatever you choose, I will accept it as fate. Let me prove the validity of my
words." Someone tipped her head back and kissed her, truly kissed her. She
could feel ardent fire singeing her very being.
"I trust you as well, Wizardmon.
What do I do?" she murmured.
"Run.
Run from here."
She
opened her eyes and saw that the entire back wall was ablaze, as though the
passionate flames of her heart had leapt from her body and set the wall on
fire. There was no other escape, and the voices howled for her to open the box.
Realizing there was no other choice, she leapt into the heart of the fire, the
heat searing her body.
~*~
Gatomon looked up at the stars. They
shone brighter than ever tonight. She realized she was standing on a balcony of
sorts, still clutching the staff. Suddenly, that familiar rhyming voice began
to speak, and Gatomon feared he would speak in his usual verses.
"My
congratulations and felicitations, Gatomon. You have passed the Test of Trust
and Love, and you have earned all nine Wisdoms: Courage, Friendship, Sincerity,
Knowledge, Reliability, Light, Kindness, Hope, and most importantly, Love. And
what's greater than that is that you now have the power to revive your lost
love, if you are willing to do so."
"More
than ever, Sir. If it pleases you, I would like to do this as soon as
possible."
"It
shall be done…now, if you wish."
The
voice did not continue, for Gatomon had fallen asleep, curled up into a little
ball of fur, her tail resting over her nose, her paws curled tight around the
staff, which now possessed all nine Wisdoms, the key to bringing Wizardmon back
to life.
~*~
I'm so sorry this took so
long! I got really distracted. The next part will be the last part of this
series, and I want to thank in advance all those loyal readers who followed
this series. Semper fidelis, Lia.