Harry Potter and the Keeper of Friendship
In the Shadow of the Valley of Death
By Starrysapphire
Disclaimer - No. I don't own Digimon, the characters, Harry Potter or anything for that matter. The title is filched from a Marilyn Manson song. Don't panic, I don't listen to him, I just heard it somewhere *coughBlackGoddess'sbedroomcough* Anyway, I thought it would be a neat title.
Black Goddess: Oh, you don't listen to him do you? You liar! You borrowed that album a couple of days ago!
Me: It was for research purposes!
Black Goddess: Yeah right. *coughLiarcough*
Me: Look, just get back to your stories and leave me to do mine, right?
Warnings - yeah, yeah. Look, I know for a fact that I'm probably going to wind up spelling at least one Digimon's name wrong. Oh, throw me a line here people, come on! I'm not exactly an expert on the attacks (what IS Gabumon's attack anyway?) so they may be wrong too. Sorry. Also, the timing doesn't exactly work if you compare it with the other one but the story will take to long if we don't do it this way. So just suspend your disbelief. Please?
Taliesinmon took them to the top of the cliff and led them down a hole that led inside.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.
Taliesinmon didn't answer, just kept leading them down a honeycomb of passages which got steeper and darker as they went down them.
"I don't think I like it down here," TK announced in a small voice.
Taliesinmon still ignored them. They suddenly entered a huge rock chamber. Digimon was walking or flying around it in great numbers. As soon as they saw Taliesinmon, they called out delighted greetings. A small round lump of mustard coloured fur with wings flew up and began to chirrup at him as the group stared around in awe.
"Guys!"
Turning, they saw a group of small Digimon running towards them. Draco knew who they had to be straight away.
"Biyomon!" Sora cried from beside him and ran over the small pink bird. The others rushed over to their own Digimon. Two were left unaccounted for. They were looking around anxiously for their special friends. Draco went over.
"Are you Agumon and Gabumon?" he asked. They nodded.
"Where are Tai and Matt?" Agumon asked.
Draco sighed.
"That's a long story," he said "We'll explain when the others are finished with their Digimon. In the meantime, I'm Draco Malfoy. That's Ron Weasley, that's Hermione Granger and that's Talitha Lions."
"What are you doing in the Digital World?" Gabumon asked.
"We'd better explain all of this now," Sora said, coming over.
"Yes," Taliesinmon said "You must both explain it all to each other."
Draco quietly began the tale, noticing vaguely that everyone seemed to have adopted him as 'leader', even Ron and Hermione. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not but he told the story anyway. The Digimon listened, reacting violently to the news that Myotismon was back and had captured Tai and Matt. The little cat (Gatomon) got very upset when Myotismon was mentioned. Kari soothed her as Draco finished the story. There was a pause.
"Now it's your turn," Sora said gently "What is this place and who are all these Digimon?"
"They're some good Digimon who've hidden away together," Biyomon explained.
"We've been waiting for you to come," Tentamon explained "When things started to go wrong, we knew you'd arrive."
"Thanks," Izzy said "But what exactly's happened?"
"Recently, something came into the Digital World," Taliesinmon explained "No one was sure what it was at first. But then Digimon began to shy away from one certain place, a valley. It used to be a haven for all Digimon but now..."
"No one goes near it!" Biyomon piped up "Everyone says it's like death in there!"
"The Valley of Death!" Ron said "That's what Professor Trelawney said!"
"That's a very good name for it," Taliesinmon said softly "And that's not all. I've just heard news that a great shadow has surrounded the valley. So far, no Digimon that has entered it has come out alive. And it is slowly spreading outwards. If it continues, it will swamp the Digital World."
"It must be Myotismon in the castle," Ron said.
"And that means that Tai and Matt and Harry must be there too!" TK said.
"So we'll have to go in," Draco said.
The Digimon looked a little nervous. Taliesinmon frowned.
"That's very reckless," he warned "We don't know anything about it yet."
"There's not much time," Sora protested "Myotismon may decide to kill the others anytime."
"They may already be dead," Taliesinmon countered.
There was a pause.
"Matt's not dead," TK said "I know he's not. I'd know if Matt were dead. I'd know."
His lip began to quiver and Sora hugged him.
"You can do research if you want to," Draco said to Taliesinmon "But I'm going inside the shadow or whatever it is."
"Me too," Ron said immediately "I'm going to help if I can!"
Hermione and Talitha nodded their agreement.
"We aren't Digidestined," Talitha said "We aren't needed as back-up. Maybe you guys should stay here and we can rescue the others." "No way!" TK said "Matt would come and rescue me and I have to rescue him!"
Kari nodded her agreement.
"You may be right about the danger," Sora said the Taliesinmon "But we can't just sit here while our friends are in trouble. I know they'd try and rescue us so we have to do the same for them."
Taliesinmon frowned and then sighed.
"Very well," he said "I shouldn't have expected the Digidestined to do anything else. I shall take you to the shadow of the Valley of Death. But I dare not enter with you. From there, you shall be on your own."
"Don't worry," Draco said fiercely "We'll get rid of the shadow and rescue Harry and the others. You'll see!"
Taliesinmon nodded.
"I have faith in you all," he said "You have saved our world before. You will do it again."
"Thanks," Joe said.
"I just hope you faith's enough," Draco muttered.
* * * *
Taliesinmon took them and the Digimon to the edge of the shadow. It was quite easy to see, a strange sort of dark bubble.
"You can just walk though it," Taliesinmon said softly "Now if you remove the shadow, we shall come and help you defeat Myotismon and this Voldemort. But until then, you are on your own."
He flew off.
"Thanks for you help," Draco muttered.
"He's not so bad," Palmon said "He found us and took us to his hide-away after you left in case you ever returned and wanted to find us."
"So do we just walk into that?" Talitha asked.
"I suppose so," Sora said.
The group paused. Then, taking a deep breath, Draco walked inside the shadow.
It was very cold inside. It appeared to have once been a jungle but it didn't look very inviting. Everything was lit with a very subdued light and it was very creepy. Shrugging, Draco turned.
"Come on!" he whispered "It's safe enough."
Slowly, the others walked though to join him.
"It's not very pleasant," Hermione whispered nervously.
"Wands out," Draco said "Those who have them anyway."
"Well, we'd better get going," Joe said practically "Standing here's not going to get anything done." Slowly, the group began to walk deeper into the shadow.
"It's very cold," Mimi said "And it's all clammy."
"And it smells like fish," TK said.
They kept walking.
"Well, so far there's been nothing very dangerous," Ron said.
"Well thanks for jinxing the hell out of us," Sora said dryly.
"Sorry," Ron said.
"Does anyone else think that they're being watched?" Joe asked.
"You're just being paranoid," Izzy told him.
The group continued their walk.
* * * *
Myotismon and Voldemort stared into the mirror Myotismon had set up. It was connected to the web that Matt was hanging it and little glimmers of blue light kept flickering around the frame.
"They must have worked out how to use their Digivices to get here!" Myotismon said "I warned you they were clever."
Voldemort was frowning.
"That's Lucius Malfoy's son," he said, pointing at Draco "What's he doing with them?"
Myotismon shrugged. He didn't know, or especially care why one boy was with the Digidestined. It didn't make a difference to him. He was going to kill them all anyway.
Voldemort however, was more interested.
"So the feelings Potter mentioned seem to go both ways," he said.
Myotismon ignored him. He turned to Matt, still hung in the glittering web. Matt forced his eyes open and stared back at Myotismon, his eyes filled with rage.
"We need to stop them," Myotismon said "Send something....interesting to delay them."
"No!" Matt said "No, I won't do it!"
Myotismon simply stared at him, using his mind to manipulate the web. Pain shot up Matt's body, making him gasp.
"Fuck off!" he snarled, his face twisting with effort.
"Why waste your energy?" Myotismon said "I'll win this little battle as I have won with your other attempts."
Matt could feel angry tears gathering around the corners of his eyes. The other times had been bad enough, watching innocent Digimon die but these were his brother and his friends. He couldn't hurt them, he couldn't...
Voldemort ignored everything happening behind him. He knew that Myotismon was using power and images from Matt's mind to create the shadow around the valley and the dangers inside it. But he didn't really care. He was too busy concentrating on the children. As he watched, something appeared and then began to advance on the children. One of them spotted it and pointed, her eyes wide. Voldemort smiled. This promised to be interesting.
* * * *
Kari stared at the upcoming creature. It was long and shaped vaguely like a train, only it was bendy, like a snake. It was covered in some sort of silvery metallic stuff. It had large legs with big splayed paws, like a very large dog. It's teeth were long and yellowy and it's eyes were small and glowering.
"What is it?" she asked.
The others all shook their heads.
"The Digimon Analyser doesn't recognise it!" Izzy said.
"Well, we can fight it!" Biyomon said.
"Yeah, it doesn't look that bad," Agumon agreed.
The Digimon stepped forward.
"Should we do anything?" Hermione asked.
"Wait until we've seen the Digimon in action first," Draco advised.
"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted.
"Pepper Breath!" Agumon added.
"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon called.
"Boom Bubble!" Patamon cried.
The other Digimon added their attacks. The monster took each one full on. Then it shook it's head and glared at them.
"Uh oh!" Sora said "The attacks haven't had any effect on it!"
"They need to digivolve!" Joe said.
"Agumon and Gabumon can't," Kari pointed out "Not without Tai and Matt."
"Then we'll have to do it!" Palmon yelled.
"Right!" the others agreed.
"Go for it!" Talitha called "Kick Squirmy's ass!"
"I really hope this works," Draco mumbled. He was trying to work out how he'd be able to 'use his magic though his crest'. He watched the Digimon digivolve and try to stop the now steadily advancing 'Squirmy' as Talitha had termed it.
"Celestial Arrow!"
"Electro Shocker!"
"Needle Spray!"
"Harpoon Torpedo!"
"This isn't working!" Izzy yelled.
"Would digivolving further help?" Sora asked.
"What would help is knowing what we're fighting!" Izzy snapped.
"It looks kinda familiar to me," TK said.
"Well, what is it?" Draco asked.
TK shook his head sadly.
"I don't know," he said "But I'm sure I've seen it before somewhere, that's all."
"Well, that's not helping us now!" Joe shouted as Squirmy reached up. Swatting a paw, it sent Angewoman, Angemon and Kaubuterrimon flying though the air. Another swat did the same to Togermon, Ikkakumon and Birdramon. Agumon and Gabumon stood by their human friends helplessly, unable to Digivolve without Tai and Matt's help.
"Quick!" Hermione yelled "We need to try some spells!"
"We have to use them though our crests remember?" Draco snapped "Do you know how?"
"Well, we have to try!" Ron snapped. Raising his wand, he shouted "Impedimenta!"
This had no effect on Squirmy at all, except to make it very angry. With a screaming roar, it began to trample towards them. The Digimon evolved to Ultimate level and began to attack the creature again, trying everything. Reaching out, the creature swatted at the humans, lifting them up and sending them flying.
"Let's get out of here!" Mimi wailed, scrambling to her feet.
Draco had to agree. He couldn't think of anything that could even dent Squirmy. The Digimon quickly gathered up the humans and they fled, the monster chasing them.
* * * *
Tai was banging on the door. Harry was watching him.
"Tai," he said eventually "Not only is that pointless, it's giving me a headache. Please stop."
Tai stopped banging and sat down. The two had been moved into a small room somewhere. Unlike the cells, this room had limited furniture and a window. All they could see from the window was a shadowy landscape which reminded Tai of the pictures of No-Man's Land he'd seen in History class. Glumly, he looked at Harry who stared back.
"What do we do then?" Tai asked "Sit here and wait for Myotismon or Voldemort to come and try to kill us?"
Harry sighed.
"There's nothing we can do," he said bluntly "We're searched every inch of this room and found nothing we can use to defend ourselves, unless you think that throwing a chair at Myotismon's head is going to do anything. There's no way out except for the window which has bars on it and the door which is locked and guarded by those Womblemon's. Banging on the door isn't going to help, except perhaps annoy people which doesn't seem advisable in the circumstances."
Tai sighed. Instinctively, he reached up and rubbed his neck.
"You're sure that you only become a vampire if you drink their blood right?" he said for at least the hundredth time. Harry just nodded. Tai sighed.
"I'm sorry," he said "I just hate feeling useless, that's all. And I feel totally and completely useless at the moment. Our friends could be out there dying, Matt could be in here dying, and we're just locked in some dumb room!"
Harry sighed. He sympathised with Tai but knew that they couldn't do anything at that moment. He was sure that Ron and Draco and the others would be on their way soon, they just had to wait, that was all.
Unfortunately, Tai was quite clearly useless at waiting.
Standing up, Tai began to prowl around the room again, muttering to himself. Harry just lay there, staring at the ceiling. 'Come on you guys' he though 'Where are you?'
* * * *
The other group were hunched under some undergrowth. The monster seemed to have gone for now.
"We couldn't even make a dent on that creature!" Sora was wailing "It just swept our Digimon away like toys!"
"If only we knew what it was!" Izzy said.
Everyone just looked at him and shrugged. No one even had a clue except TK who could not remember where he'd seen it before.
"We need to work out how to use our magic," Draco said "Without that, we're just spare parts and that's not what you guys need."
Removing his crest, he stared at it.
"Think about renewal again and try and do a spell," Joe suggested.
Draco focused hard on renewing himself, becoming somebody that Harry would like and be proud of, then attempted to do the Leg Locker curse on Agumon. Nothing happened.
"Nothing," he said gloomily "Absolutely nothing. This is hopeless!"
"What sort of an attitudes that?" Hermione said "There has to be a way. Dumbledore said that there was. We just have to figure it out, that's all."
There was an unhappy pause. Draco eventually stopped staring at his crest and sat, leaning against a tree.
"Sitting here's no good," he said eventually "We need to get going."
"What's the point of getting going if we can't do anything?" Ron demanded.
"Well, what do you suggest? Sit here and mope?" Draco snapped "We need to rescue the others!"
"Like you care anyway!" Ron answered "You don't even like Harry!"
"Yeah, I'm helping you because of the incredible fun!" Draco shouted "In case you haven't noticed Weasley, I'm part of this group! I have a crest, just like you!"
"Doesn't mean you can be trusted!" Ron yelled back "In fact, I don't trust you! I think you're probably helping You-Know-Who!"
"Ron!" Hermione began but Ron cut her off.
"This is probably some special plan you and your father have cooked up between you isn't it?" he shouted "You're probably doing something to jinx us!"
"Stop it you two!" TK said "This is dumb!"
"You have a problem Weasley, let's settle it now!" Draco said, his eyes burning with rage "I have not been conspiring against any of you! I've been trying to help you rescue your best friend in the world and you accuse me! I've got my crest to glow which is more that you have!" "And what Dark Magic did you use to make that work?" Ron flung back at him.
"I'm not using any Dark Magic!" Draco shouted.
"Yeah, right!" Ron said.
"Stop it! Both of you! NOW!"
Everyone turned to Talitha who had shouted. She was looking furious.
"This is stupid!" she said "Abby and Dumbledore are dead, Matt, Tai and Harry are captured and maybe dead and you two are fighting! If you were using half so much energy trying to work out what to do, we'd probably have solved it by now but you two have to fight like babies in play group! Now grow up!"
There was a pause. Draco and Ron looked at each other.
"All right," Ron said "But I still don't like it."
"I won't fight if he leaves me alone," Draco said.
The two boys uneasily shook hands. Then they looked at the rest of the group.
"We need to get going," Draco said "We have to sort out what we're are going to do, and we might as well make some progress while thinking about it."
Everyone scrambled off and set off walking. The forest was beginning to thin out into fields which were rocky and bare. Suddenly TK gave a terrified whimper.
"TK?" Sora said "TK, what's wrong?"
"Don't leave me!" TK wailed "Please don't leave me!"
"What?" Sora said, looking confused.
"Please don't go," TK said "I'm scared! Please don't leave me! Come back!"
"Don't be silly," Sora said, giving the others a confused glance "We aren't leaving you TK. Now come on."
TK didn't move. He just stood there, shaking all over, begging them not to leave him. Eventually, Sora walked over and pulled him over to her. Abruptly, TK blinked.
"That was weird," he said slowly "I don't know why but I was sure that you were all going to leave me."
Thoughtfully, Sora put him down and walked over to where TK had been standing. They all saw her stiffen and her face crumple. Quickly, Ron pulled her out. She blinked.
"It's just that spot," she said slowly "It made me feel like everyone I'd ever loved had abandoned me. I don't know why."
"Let's move," Draco said. He didn't like this part of the landscape at all "The only thing I feel is exposed."
They continued walking, Sora still carrying TK who was recovering from his fright. Joe rubbed the back of his neck which tingled again, like they were being watched. He reminded himself that he was just being paranoid and they continued walking.
* * * *
"So they escaped," Myotismon said "I am not surprised. You'll just have to send something else, won't you Yamato?"
Matt had his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth gritted tightly against the pain. He was fighting the web with all his might but it was an impossible fight. Slowly, his head drooped and another strange creature began to form from the shadows.
* * * *
"Guys?" Mimi yelled "Here comes another one!"
Turning, the group stared at the creature. It appeared to be a large shapeless blob and they didn't really need Izzy to tell them that the Digimon Analyser didn't recognise it.
"Quick, do something!" Ron said.
Quickly, the Digimon moved forward, furiously attacking the creature. The Blob simply sat there, absorbing the attacks. Then slowly a giant arm began forming out of it's ooze. The arm reached out and swung round slowly, smashing into the Digimon, who tried to dodge backwards. The creature gave a strange moan and then began to advance on the children.
"It's happening again!" Izzy shouted "The Digimon can't make a dent!"
The creature loomed over them. Then it began to shrink.
"What's it doing?" Talitha asked.
As they watched, the creature shrivelled and took on a human form. Then it's face became defined.
"Ron!" Hermione gasped "It's...it's you!"
Everyone stared at the New Ron. It stared blankly back, it's eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Okay, I am completely freaked," Talitha said "That's worse that Squirmy back there!"
The New Ron reached out and grasped at Hermione's arm. She screamed and pulled away. Where the New Ron had touched her were four bright red marks, like burns.
"Attack it now!" Izzy yelled at the Digimon who had digivolved again.
"Hand of Faith!" Angemon shouted.
The attack smacked straight into the New Ron. He just turned and stared at Angemon. Then the orange fire began to gather at his fingers. Slowly, he reached up and pointed at Angemon.
"Look out Angemon!" TK shouted as the fire threw itself back at the Digimon.
Angemon tried to avoid it too late and the fire sent him flying.
"Oh no!" TK wailed.
"Look!" Joe wailed.
Behind them was another creature. It was large and black and looked like a giant seagull with a dog's head. It roared at them. As it did, another creature arrived. Then another. And another. They made a circle round the terrified group.
"What do we do?" Kari cried.
The Digimon gathered round the group, trying to protect the humans even if it was useless. The New Ron stepped forwards. Shimmering, it took Hermione's form.
"I don't like this at all!" Hermione wailed.
Draco glanced at Ron. Both of them knew what was going to happen. The creatures were going to kill them.
"Sorry we couldn't help Harry," he said flatly.
"Yeah," Ron agreed. He paused as one of the Digimon was sent flying by one of the beasts "I'm....I'm sorry I said that I didn't trust you. I guess you weren't working for You-Know-Who after all."
Draco shrugged.
"Thanks," he said "That means more than you might think."
Ron nodded.
"Well, you can die knowing that I trust you," he said "If that makes you feel better."
Draco was about to reply when a silvery white glow began the emanate from around Ron.
"Weasley!" he gasped "Your crest..."
"Ron, it's glowing!" Hermione cried.
"Quick!" Draco yelled "Use some magic! Quickly!"
Slowly, Ron turned to face the New Hermione. Raising his wand, he shouted "Impedimenta!" The New Hermione froze in place.
"YEAH!" everyone yelled.
"Try now!" Izzy shouted to the Digimon.
"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon shouted.
The New Hermione was hit hard. Slowly, she swayed and then vanished. Ron was busy throwing spells at the other monsters. Some of them ran away, others kept coming.
"There's too many!" he yelled finally "I can't get all...."
His voice trailed off as he stared over Draco's shoulder. Turning, Draco saw something he could have lived without.
An absolutely humungus spider was slowly moving towards them. Draco had never seen anything like it. It was almost as tall as a small house.
"I have an idea," Izzy said, his voice barely above a whisper "Run."
"I like that plan," Draco agreed.
Ron was already running away, his face green with terror. The others followed. None of them had ever run so fast in their entire lives. They could hear the spider following them.
"Run faster, run faster!" Draco kept panting.
"I can't keep going!" TK wailed "I'm tired!"
Reaching out, Draco grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and kept running, dragging the boy along with him. He could see that Sora had Kari on her shoulders and Talitha and Izzy were helping each other. Hermione and Joe were keeping a fairly steady pace, as was Mimi. Ron was in the lead of the group. Obviously the giant spider was enough to keep him running for days. The Digimon were still trying to defeat the monsters that were after them, using every attack and ounce of strength that they had trying to stop them.
"Ron!" he yelling. "Stop being such a coward and help! You're the only one who can use your magic! RON!"
Ron kept running. Draco took a deep breath. He could only think of one thing that might get Ron angry enough to fight.
"RON WEASLEY, STOP BEING SUCH A WUSS AND HELP SAVE ALL OUR LIVES!" he bellowed "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE A PURE-BLOOD WIZARD, NOT A FILTHY LITTLE COWARDLY MUD-BLOOD! NOW GET FIGHTING!"
This worked. Ron whirled round, his face loosing the green colour and turning white with rage. Pointing his wand, he yelled some curse. Draco ducked and it slammed into the spider which was steadily gaining on them. Ron kept shouting curses and the spider stumbled. The Digimon found some last reverses of strength and hit it. The spider dropped to the floor and lay still. Then it vanished. The other monsters turned and fled, leaving the exhausted Digimon and confused children alone in the shadows.
* * * *
"Blast!" Myotismon snarled "Those wretched children have escaped again!"
Voldemort looked at the children, who were standing in a huddle, talking animatedly about what had just happened. He frowned.
"The Weasley boy made his crest glow," he said "The Mudbloods haven't managed that yet. Neither has Malfoy's son, or at least, not enough to have been any use back there."
Myotismon frowned.
"Maybe," he said "But I grow tired of games. I want to finished them off!"
"They can't get here," Voldemort said soothingly "Not now we've set up the Hall of Nightmares."
Myotismon sighed.
"Maybe," he said again.
Voldemort smiled.
"Patience," he said "The children will perish soon enough. In the meantime, let's discuss more important matters."
Myotismon nodded. Turning, he lazily pointed at Matt. The image on the screen faded. Matt stared at Myotismon who simply stared back. Matt's head dropped and he closed his eyes.
"Please don't make me destroy my brother," he whispered "Please."
Myotismon ignored him. Turning, he walked away with Voldemort, leaving Matt in the web, only half-conscious, clinging to the thought that his brother had to live.
* * * *
"Well, we can destroy them if we work hard enough," Draco said "It's just half impossible that's all."
"I want to know what these creatures are," Izzy said "They aren't Digimon."
"Are they something Voldemort brought with him from our world?" Hermione suggested "I've never actually read about them but..."
"It's odd," Talitha said "Maybe it's just the place with all the shadow's but..."
"But what?" Joe asked.
Talitha shrugged.
"They just feel almost unreal," she said "They're like creatures from nightmares."
"THAT'S IT!"
Everyone turned to TK. His eyes were wide.
"You remember I told you guys that Matt went to a psychologist after Mum and Dad split up?" he said (Draco poked Ron before he could say 'No,' The remark was obviously aimed at the other Digidestined) "Well, Matt had been having these really bad dreams according to Dad and the psychologist guy said that Matt should draw the things in them."
"So what?" Draco asked.
"Oh Draco, don't be so dense!" Hermione said "I think I know what's coming next."
"I saw some of the pictures!" TK said "These were some of the things in Matt's nightmares! Squirmy....I remember Matt telling about him and getting nightmares of my own! The thing which took Ron and Hermione's shapes...." "Invasion of Body Snatchers!" Sora said "I remember watching that with Tai! Nearly the whole school year watched it when it was on telly that time and nearly everyone was talking about the nightmares they had!"
TK nodded.
"And who hasn't dreamt about a giant spider coming to kill them and their friends?" Draco asked dryly.
"So that's what this is," Hermione said slowly "A place inhabited with all of Matt's worst nightmares..."
"And fears!" Izzy said "That spot where we all felt abandoned! Matt's parents split up when he was little! Naturally he's going to fear being abandoned..."
"So Matt's creating this shadow," Izzy said slowly.
"But how?" Draco asked "And why?"
"This is something of Myotismon's," Gatomon said "I can feel it."
She flexed her claws angrily.
"I'll get him," she vowed grimly.
The group looked at each other.
"So what do we do now?" Ron asked.
"I have no idea," Draco answered.
"Guys!" Biyomon called "Come look!"
They walked over to the pink bird, then froze.
They were standing at a cliff edge. Below them was a deep valley.
And in the centre of it was a large black castle.
"Myotismon's new home," Gatomon said softly.
For a while they stood there, watching it.
"Well, standing here won't get us there," Draco said eventually "Let's get going."
Slowly and carefully, they began their descent.
* * * *
"So they have reached the valley," Myotismon said softly.
He and Voldemort had returned to the mirror and were watching the Digidestined slowly making their way down the cliffsides, aided by the Digimon.
"Well," Voldemort said "We'd better prepare for them, hadn't we?"
Myotismon nodded. He turned to Matt.
"No," Matt whispered pleadingly "Please don't. Please don't make me....aaaahhh!"
A spasm of pain went though him. Myotismon's icy blue eyes stared into Matt's. Then he turned his back and walked back to the mirror.
"They may be pleased now," he said "But see how happy they are when they reach the Hall of Nightmares!"
Matt strained against the power filling his body, fighting it with every particle of strength he could find. Eventually, it all became too much. All his muscles went limp and he allowed the web to drain his mind of the images to turn the Hall of Nightmares into a death trap.
A death trap which would soon be springing around his brother and his friends!
End of Part 6.
In the Shadow of the Valley of Death
By Starrysapphire
Disclaimer - No. I don't own Digimon, the characters, Harry Potter or anything for that matter. The title is filched from a Marilyn Manson song. Don't panic, I don't listen to him, I just heard it somewhere *coughBlackGoddess'sbedroomcough* Anyway, I thought it would be a neat title.
Black Goddess: Oh, you don't listen to him do you? You liar! You borrowed that album a couple of days ago!
Me: It was for research purposes!
Black Goddess: Yeah right. *coughLiarcough*
Me: Look, just get back to your stories and leave me to do mine, right?
Warnings - yeah, yeah. Look, I know for a fact that I'm probably going to wind up spelling at least one Digimon's name wrong. Oh, throw me a line here people, come on! I'm not exactly an expert on the attacks (what IS Gabumon's attack anyway?) so they may be wrong too. Sorry. Also, the timing doesn't exactly work if you compare it with the other one but the story will take to long if we don't do it this way. So just suspend your disbelief. Please?
Taliesinmon took them to the top of the cliff and led them down a hole that led inside.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.
Taliesinmon didn't answer, just kept leading them down a honeycomb of passages which got steeper and darker as they went down them.
"I don't think I like it down here," TK announced in a small voice.
Taliesinmon still ignored them. They suddenly entered a huge rock chamber. Digimon was walking or flying around it in great numbers. As soon as they saw Taliesinmon, they called out delighted greetings. A small round lump of mustard coloured fur with wings flew up and began to chirrup at him as the group stared around in awe.
"Guys!"
Turning, they saw a group of small Digimon running towards them. Draco knew who they had to be straight away.
"Biyomon!" Sora cried from beside him and ran over the small pink bird. The others rushed over to their own Digimon. Two were left unaccounted for. They were looking around anxiously for their special friends. Draco went over.
"Are you Agumon and Gabumon?" he asked. They nodded.
"Where are Tai and Matt?" Agumon asked.
Draco sighed.
"That's a long story," he said "We'll explain when the others are finished with their Digimon. In the meantime, I'm Draco Malfoy. That's Ron Weasley, that's Hermione Granger and that's Talitha Lions."
"What are you doing in the Digital World?" Gabumon asked.
"We'd better explain all of this now," Sora said, coming over.
"Yes," Taliesinmon said "You must both explain it all to each other."
Draco quietly began the tale, noticing vaguely that everyone seemed to have adopted him as 'leader', even Ron and Hermione. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not but he told the story anyway. The Digimon listened, reacting violently to the news that Myotismon was back and had captured Tai and Matt. The little cat (Gatomon) got very upset when Myotismon was mentioned. Kari soothed her as Draco finished the story. There was a pause.
"Now it's your turn," Sora said gently "What is this place and who are all these Digimon?"
"They're some good Digimon who've hidden away together," Biyomon explained.
"We've been waiting for you to come," Tentamon explained "When things started to go wrong, we knew you'd arrive."
"Thanks," Izzy said "But what exactly's happened?"
"Recently, something came into the Digital World," Taliesinmon explained "No one was sure what it was at first. But then Digimon began to shy away from one certain place, a valley. It used to be a haven for all Digimon but now..."
"No one goes near it!" Biyomon piped up "Everyone says it's like death in there!"
"The Valley of Death!" Ron said "That's what Professor Trelawney said!"
"That's a very good name for it," Taliesinmon said softly "And that's not all. I've just heard news that a great shadow has surrounded the valley. So far, no Digimon that has entered it has come out alive. And it is slowly spreading outwards. If it continues, it will swamp the Digital World."
"It must be Myotismon in the castle," Ron said.
"And that means that Tai and Matt and Harry must be there too!" TK said.
"So we'll have to go in," Draco said.
The Digimon looked a little nervous. Taliesinmon frowned.
"That's very reckless," he warned "We don't know anything about it yet."
"There's not much time," Sora protested "Myotismon may decide to kill the others anytime."
"They may already be dead," Taliesinmon countered.
There was a pause.
"Matt's not dead," TK said "I know he's not. I'd know if Matt were dead. I'd know."
His lip began to quiver and Sora hugged him.
"You can do research if you want to," Draco said to Taliesinmon "But I'm going inside the shadow or whatever it is."
"Me too," Ron said immediately "I'm going to help if I can!"
Hermione and Talitha nodded their agreement.
"We aren't Digidestined," Talitha said "We aren't needed as back-up. Maybe you guys should stay here and we can rescue the others." "No way!" TK said "Matt would come and rescue me and I have to rescue him!"
Kari nodded her agreement.
"You may be right about the danger," Sora said the Taliesinmon "But we can't just sit here while our friends are in trouble. I know they'd try and rescue us so we have to do the same for them."
Taliesinmon frowned and then sighed.
"Very well," he said "I shouldn't have expected the Digidestined to do anything else. I shall take you to the shadow of the Valley of Death. But I dare not enter with you. From there, you shall be on your own."
"Don't worry," Draco said fiercely "We'll get rid of the shadow and rescue Harry and the others. You'll see!"
Taliesinmon nodded.
"I have faith in you all," he said "You have saved our world before. You will do it again."
"Thanks," Joe said.
"I just hope you faith's enough," Draco muttered.
* * * *
Taliesinmon took them and the Digimon to the edge of the shadow. It was quite easy to see, a strange sort of dark bubble.
"You can just walk though it," Taliesinmon said softly "Now if you remove the shadow, we shall come and help you defeat Myotismon and this Voldemort. But until then, you are on your own."
He flew off.
"Thanks for you help," Draco muttered.
"He's not so bad," Palmon said "He found us and took us to his hide-away after you left in case you ever returned and wanted to find us."
"So do we just walk into that?" Talitha asked.
"I suppose so," Sora said.
The group paused. Then, taking a deep breath, Draco walked inside the shadow.
It was very cold inside. It appeared to have once been a jungle but it didn't look very inviting. Everything was lit with a very subdued light and it was very creepy. Shrugging, Draco turned.
"Come on!" he whispered "It's safe enough."
Slowly, the others walked though to join him.
"It's not very pleasant," Hermione whispered nervously.
"Wands out," Draco said "Those who have them anyway."
"Well, we'd better get going," Joe said practically "Standing here's not going to get anything done." Slowly, the group began to walk deeper into the shadow.
"It's very cold," Mimi said "And it's all clammy."
"And it smells like fish," TK said.
They kept walking.
"Well, so far there's been nothing very dangerous," Ron said.
"Well thanks for jinxing the hell out of us," Sora said dryly.
"Sorry," Ron said.
"Does anyone else think that they're being watched?" Joe asked.
"You're just being paranoid," Izzy told him.
The group continued their walk.
* * * *
Myotismon and Voldemort stared into the mirror Myotismon had set up. It was connected to the web that Matt was hanging it and little glimmers of blue light kept flickering around the frame.
"They must have worked out how to use their Digivices to get here!" Myotismon said "I warned you they were clever."
Voldemort was frowning.
"That's Lucius Malfoy's son," he said, pointing at Draco "What's he doing with them?"
Myotismon shrugged. He didn't know, or especially care why one boy was with the Digidestined. It didn't make a difference to him. He was going to kill them all anyway.
Voldemort however, was more interested.
"So the feelings Potter mentioned seem to go both ways," he said.
Myotismon ignored him. He turned to Matt, still hung in the glittering web. Matt forced his eyes open and stared back at Myotismon, his eyes filled with rage.
"We need to stop them," Myotismon said "Send something....interesting to delay them."
"No!" Matt said "No, I won't do it!"
Myotismon simply stared at him, using his mind to manipulate the web. Pain shot up Matt's body, making him gasp.
"Fuck off!" he snarled, his face twisting with effort.
"Why waste your energy?" Myotismon said "I'll win this little battle as I have won with your other attempts."
Matt could feel angry tears gathering around the corners of his eyes. The other times had been bad enough, watching innocent Digimon die but these were his brother and his friends. He couldn't hurt them, he couldn't...
Voldemort ignored everything happening behind him. He knew that Myotismon was using power and images from Matt's mind to create the shadow around the valley and the dangers inside it. But he didn't really care. He was too busy concentrating on the children. As he watched, something appeared and then began to advance on the children. One of them spotted it and pointed, her eyes wide. Voldemort smiled. This promised to be interesting.
* * * *
Kari stared at the upcoming creature. It was long and shaped vaguely like a train, only it was bendy, like a snake. It was covered in some sort of silvery metallic stuff. It had large legs with big splayed paws, like a very large dog. It's teeth were long and yellowy and it's eyes were small and glowering.
"What is it?" she asked.
The others all shook their heads.
"The Digimon Analyser doesn't recognise it!" Izzy said.
"Well, we can fight it!" Biyomon said.
"Yeah, it doesn't look that bad," Agumon agreed.
The Digimon stepped forward.
"Should we do anything?" Hermione asked.
"Wait until we've seen the Digimon in action first," Draco advised.
"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted.
"Pepper Breath!" Agumon added.
"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon called.
"Boom Bubble!" Patamon cried.
The other Digimon added their attacks. The monster took each one full on. Then it shook it's head and glared at them.
"Uh oh!" Sora said "The attacks haven't had any effect on it!"
"They need to digivolve!" Joe said.
"Agumon and Gabumon can't," Kari pointed out "Not without Tai and Matt."
"Then we'll have to do it!" Palmon yelled.
"Right!" the others agreed.
"Go for it!" Talitha called "Kick Squirmy's ass!"
"I really hope this works," Draco mumbled. He was trying to work out how he'd be able to 'use his magic though his crest'. He watched the Digimon digivolve and try to stop the now steadily advancing 'Squirmy' as Talitha had termed it.
"Celestial Arrow!"
"Electro Shocker!"
"Needle Spray!"
"Harpoon Torpedo!"
"This isn't working!" Izzy yelled.
"Would digivolving further help?" Sora asked.
"What would help is knowing what we're fighting!" Izzy snapped.
"It looks kinda familiar to me," TK said.
"Well, what is it?" Draco asked.
TK shook his head sadly.
"I don't know," he said "But I'm sure I've seen it before somewhere, that's all."
"Well, that's not helping us now!" Joe shouted as Squirmy reached up. Swatting a paw, it sent Angewoman, Angemon and Kaubuterrimon flying though the air. Another swat did the same to Togermon, Ikkakumon and Birdramon. Agumon and Gabumon stood by their human friends helplessly, unable to Digivolve without Tai and Matt's help.
"Quick!" Hermione yelled "We need to try some spells!"
"We have to use them though our crests remember?" Draco snapped "Do you know how?"
"Well, we have to try!" Ron snapped. Raising his wand, he shouted "Impedimenta!"
This had no effect on Squirmy at all, except to make it very angry. With a screaming roar, it began to trample towards them. The Digimon evolved to Ultimate level and began to attack the creature again, trying everything. Reaching out, the creature swatted at the humans, lifting them up and sending them flying.
"Let's get out of here!" Mimi wailed, scrambling to her feet.
Draco had to agree. He couldn't think of anything that could even dent Squirmy. The Digimon quickly gathered up the humans and they fled, the monster chasing them.
* * * *
Tai was banging on the door. Harry was watching him.
"Tai," he said eventually "Not only is that pointless, it's giving me a headache. Please stop."
Tai stopped banging and sat down. The two had been moved into a small room somewhere. Unlike the cells, this room had limited furniture and a window. All they could see from the window was a shadowy landscape which reminded Tai of the pictures of No-Man's Land he'd seen in History class. Glumly, he looked at Harry who stared back.
"What do we do then?" Tai asked "Sit here and wait for Myotismon or Voldemort to come and try to kill us?"
Harry sighed.
"There's nothing we can do," he said bluntly "We're searched every inch of this room and found nothing we can use to defend ourselves, unless you think that throwing a chair at Myotismon's head is going to do anything. There's no way out except for the window which has bars on it and the door which is locked and guarded by those Womblemon's. Banging on the door isn't going to help, except perhaps annoy people which doesn't seem advisable in the circumstances."
Tai sighed. Instinctively, he reached up and rubbed his neck.
"You're sure that you only become a vampire if you drink their blood right?" he said for at least the hundredth time. Harry just nodded. Tai sighed.
"I'm sorry," he said "I just hate feeling useless, that's all. And I feel totally and completely useless at the moment. Our friends could be out there dying, Matt could be in here dying, and we're just locked in some dumb room!"
Harry sighed. He sympathised with Tai but knew that they couldn't do anything at that moment. He was sure that Ron and Draco and the others would be on their way soon, they just had to wait, that was all.
Unfortunately, Tai was quite clearly useless at waiting.
Standing up, Tai began to prowl around the room again, muttering to himself. Harry just lay there, staring at the ceiling. 'Come on you guys' he though 'Where are you?'
* * * *
The other group were hunched under some undergrowth. The monster seemed to have gone for now.
"We couldn't even make a dent on that creature!" Sora was wailing "It just swept our Digimon away like toys!"
"If only we knew what it was!" Izzy said.
Everyone just looked at him and shrugged. No one even had a clue except TK who could not remember where he'd seen it before.
"We need to work out how to use our magic," Draco said "Without that, we're just spare parts and that's not what you guys need."
Removing his crest, he stared at it.
"Think about renewal again and try and do a spell," Joe suggested.
Draco focused hard on renewing himself, becoming somebody that Harry would like and be proud of, then attempted to do the Leg Locker curse on Agumon. Nothing happened.
"Nothing," he said gloomily "Absolutely nothing. This is hopeless!"
"What sort of an attitudes that?" Hermione said "There has to be a way. Dumbledore said that there was. We just have to figure it out, that's all."
There was an unhappy pause. Draco eventually stopped staring at his crest and sat, leaning against a tree.
"Sitting here's no good," he said eventually "We need to get going."
"What's the point of getting going if we can't do anything?" Ron demanded.
"Well, what do you suggest? Sit here and mope?" Draco snapped "We need to rescue the others!"
"Like you care anyway!" Ron answered "You don't even like Harry!"
"Yeah, I'm helping you because of the incredible fun!" Draco shouted "In case you haven't noticed Weasley, I'm part of this group! I have a crest, just like you!"
"Doesn't mean you can be trusted!" Ron yelled back "In fact, I don't trust you! I think you're probably helping You-Know-Who!"
"Ron!" Hermione began but Ron cut her off.
"This is probably some special plan you and your father have cooked up between you isn't it?" he shouted "You're probably doing something to jinx us!"
"Stop it you two!" TK said "This is dumb!"
"You have a problem Weasley, let's settle it now!" Draco said, his eyes burning with rage "I have not been conspiring against any of you! I've been trying to help you rescue your best friend in the world and you accuse me! I've got my crest to glow which is more that you have!" "And what Dark Magic did you use to make that work?" Ron flung back at him.
"I'm not using any Dark Magic!" Draco shouted.
"Yeah, right!" Ron said.
"Stop it! Both of you! NOW!"
Everyone turned to Talitha who had shouted. She was looking furious.
"This is stupid!" she said "Abby and Dumbledore are dead, Matt, Tai and Harry are captured and maybe dead and you two are fighting! If you were using half so much energy trying to work out what to do, we'd probably have solved it by now but you two have to fight like babies in play group! Now grow up!"
There was a pause. Draco and Ron looked at each other.
"All right," Ron said "But I still don't like it."
"I won't fight if he leaves me alone," Draco said.
The two boys uneasily shook hands. Then they looked at the rest of the group.
"We need to get going," Draco said "We have to sort out what we're are going to do, and we might as well make some progress while thinking about it."
Everyone scrambled off and set off walking. The forest was beginning to thin out into fields which were rocky and bare. Suddenly TK gave a terrified whimper.
"TK?" Sora said "TK, what's wrong?"
"Don't leave me!" TK wailed "Please don't leave me!"
"What?" Sora said, looking confused.
"Please don't go," TK said "I'm scared! Please don't leave me! Come back!"
"Don't be silly," Sora said, giving the others a confused glance "We aren't leaving you TK. Now come on."
TK didn't move. He just stood there, shaking all over, begging them not to leave him. Eventually, Sora walked over and pulled him over to her. Abruptly, TK blinked.
"That was weird," he said slowly "I don't know why but I was sure that you were all going to leave me."
Thoughtfully, Sora put him down and walked over to where TK had been standing. They all saw her stiffen and her face crumple. Quickly, Ron pulled her out. She blinked.
"It's just that spot," she said slowly "It made me feel like everyone I'd ever loved had abandoned me. I don't know why."
"Let's move," Draco said. He didn't like this part of the landscape at all "The only thing I feel is exposed."
They continued walking, Sora still carrying TK who was recovering from his fright. Joe rubbed the back of his neck which tingled again, like they were being watched. He reminded himself that he was just being paranoid and they continued walking.
* * * *
"So they escaped," Myotismon said "I am not surprised. You'll just have to send something else, won't you Yamato?"
Matt had his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth gritted tightly against the pain. He was fighting the web with all his might but it was an impossible fight. Slowly, his head drooped and another strange creature began to form from the shadows.
* * * *
"Guys?" Mimi yelled "Here comes another one!"
Turning, the group stared at the creature. It appeared to be a large shapeless blob and they didn't really need Izzy to tell them that the Digimon Analyser didn't recognise it.
"Quick, do something!" Ron said.
Quickly, the Digimon moved forward, furiously attacking the creature. The Blob simply sat there, absorbing the attacks. Then slowly a giant arm began forming out of it's ooze. The arm reached out and swung round slowly, smashing into the Digimon, who tried to dodge backwards. The creature gave a strange moan and then began to advance on the children.
"It's happening again!" Izzy shouted "The Digimon can't make a dent!"
The creature loomed over them. Then it began to shrink.
"What's it doing?" Talitha asked.
As they watched, the creature shrivelled and took on a human form. Then it's face became defined.
"Ron!" Hermione gasped "It's...it's you!"
Everyone stared at the New Ron. It stared blankly back, it's eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Okay, I am completely freaked," Talitha said "That's worse that Squirmy back there!"
The New Ron reached out and grasped at Hermione's arm. She screamed and pulled away. Where the New Ron had touched her were four bright red marks, like burns.
"Attack it now!" Izzy yelled at the Digimon who had digivolved again.
"Hand of Faith!" Angemon shouted.
The attack smacked straight into the New Ron. He just turned and stared at Angemon. Then the orange fire began to gather at his fingers. Slowly, he reached up and pointed at Angemon.
"Look out Angemon!" TK shouted as the fire threw itself back at the Digimon.
Angemon tried to avoid it too late and the fire sent him flying.
"Oh no!" TK wailed.
"Look!" Joe wailed.
Behind them was another creature. It was large and black and looked like a giant seagull with a dog's head. It roared at them. As it did, another creature arrived. Then another. And another. They made a circle round the terrified group.
"What do we do?" Kari cried.
The Digimon gathered round the group, trying to protect the humans even if it was useless. The New Ron stepped forwards. Shimmering, it took Hermione's form.
"I don't like this at all!" Hermione wailed.
Draco glanced at Ron. Both of them knew what was going to happen. The creatures were going to kill them.
"Sorry we couldn't help Harry," he said flatly.
"Yeah," Ron agreed. He paused as one of the Digimon was sent flying by one of the beasts "I'm....I'm sorry I said that I didn't trust you. I guess you weren't working for You-Know-Who after all."
Draco shrugged.
"Thanks," he said "That means more than you might think."
Ron nodded.
"Well, you can die knowing that I trust you," he said "If that makes you feel better."
Draco was about to reply when a silvery white glow began the emanate from around Ron.
"Weasley!" he gasped "Your crest..."
"Ron, it's glowing!" Hermione cried.
"Quick!" Draco yelled "Use some magic! Quickly!"
Slowly, Ron turned to face the New Hermione. Raising his wand, he shouted "Impedimenta!" The New Hermione froze in place.
"YEAH!" everyone yelled.
"Try now!" Izzy shouted to the Digimon.
"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon shouted.
The New Hermione was hit hard. Slowly, she swayed and then vanished. Ron was busy throwing spells at the other monsters. Some of them ran away, others kept coming.
"There's too many!" he yelled finally "I can't get all...."
His voice trailed off as he stared over Draco's shoulder. Turning, Draco saw something he could have lived without.
An absolutely humungus spider was slowly moving towards them. Draco had never seen anything like it. It was almost as tall as a small house.
"I have an idea," Izzy said, his voice barely above a whisper "Run."
"I like that plan," Draco agreed.
Ron was already running away, his face green with terror. The others followed. None of them had ever run so fast in their entire lives. They could hear the spider following them.
"Run faster, run faster!" Draco kept panting.
"I can't keep going!" TK wailed "I'm tired!"
Reaching out, Draco grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and kept running, dragging the boy along with him. He could see that Sora had Kari on her shoulders and Talitha and Izzy were helping each other. Hermione and Joe were keeping a fairly steady pace, as was Mimi. Ron was in the lead of the group. Obviously the giant spider was enough to keep him running for days. The Digimon were still trying to defeat the monsters that were after them, using every attack and ounce of strength that they had trying to stop them.
"Ron!" he yelling. "Stop being such a coward and help! You're the only one who can use your magic! RON!"
Ron kept running. Draco took a deep breath. He could only think of one thing that might get Ron angry enough to fight.
"RON WEASLEY, STOP BEING SUCH A WUSS AND HELP SAVE ALL OUR LIVES!" he bellowed "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE A PURE-BLOOD WIZARD, NOT A FILTHY LITTLE COWARDLY MUD-BLOOD! NOW GET FIGHTING!"
This worked. Ron whirled round, his face loosing the green colour and turning white with rage. Pointing his wand, he yelled some curse. Draco ducked and it slammed into the spider which was steadily gaining on them. Ron kept shouting curses and the spider stumbled. The Digimon found some last reverses of strength and hit it. The spider dropped to the floor and lay still. Then it vanished. The other monsters turned and fled, leaving the exhausted Digimon and confused children alone in the shadows.
* * * *
"Blast!" Myotismon snarled "Those wretched children have escaped again!"
Voldemort looked at the children, who were standing in a huddle, talking animatedly about what had just happened. He frowned.
"The Weasley boy made his crest glow," he said "The Mudbloods haven't managed that yet. Neither has Malfoy's son, or at least, not enough to have been any use back there."
Myotismon frowned.
"Maybe," he said "But I grow tired of games. I want to finished them off!"
"They can't get here," Voldemort said soothingly "Not now we've set up the Hall of Nightmares."
Myotismon sighed.
"Maybe," he said again.
Voldemort smiled.
"Patience," he said "The children will perish soon enough. In the meantime, let's discuss more important matters."
Myotismon nodded. Turning, he lazily pointed at Matt. The image on the screen faded. Matt stared at Myotismon who simply stared back. Matt's head dropped and he closed his eyes.
"Please don't make me destroy my brother," he whispered "Please."
Myotismon ignored him. Turning, he walked away with Voldemort, leaving Matt in the web, only half-conscious, clinging to the thought that his brother had to live.
* * * *
"Well, we can destroy them if we work hard enough," Draco said "It's just half impossible that's all."
"I want to know what these creatures are," Izzy said "They aren't Digimon."
"Are they something Voldemort brought with him from our world?" Hermione suggested "I've never actually read about them but..."
"It's odd," Talitha said "Maybe it's just the place with all the shadow's but..."
"But what?" Joe asked.
Talitha shrugged.
"They just feel almost unreal," she said "They're like creatures from nightmares."
"THAT'S IT!"
Everyone turned to TK. His eyes were wide.
"You remember I told you guys that Matt went to a psychologist after Mum and Dad split up?" he said (Draco poked Ron before he could say 'No,' The remark was obviously aimed at the other Digidestined) "Well, Matt had been having these really bad dreams according to Dad and the psychologist guy said that Matt should draw the things in them."
"So what?" Draco asked.
"Oh Draco, don't be so dense!" Hermione said "I think I know what's coming next."
"I saw some of the pictures!" TK said "These were some of the things in Matt's nightmares! Squirmy....I remember Matt telling about him and getting nightmares of my own! The thing which took Ron and Hermione's shapes...." "Invasion of Body Snatchers!" Sora said "I remember watching that with Tai! Nearly the whole school year watched it when it was on telly that time and nearly everyone was talking about the nightmares they had!"
TK nodded.
"And who hasn't dreamt about a giant spider coming to kill them and their friends?" Draco asked dryly.
"So that's what this is," Hermione said slowly "A place inhabited with all of Matt's worst nightmares..."
"And fears!" Izzy said "That spot where we all felt abandoned! Matt's parents split up when he was little! Naturally he's going to fear being abandoned..."
"So Matt's creating this shadow," Izzy said slowly.
"But how?" Draco asked "And why?"
"This is something of Myotismon's," Gatomon said "I can feel it."
She flexed her claws angrily.
"I'll get him," she vowed grimly.
The group looked at each other.
"So what do we do now?" Ron asked.
"I have no idea," Draco answered.
"Guys!" Biyomon called "Come look!"
They walked over to the pink bird, then froze.
They were standing at a cliff edge. Below them was a deep valley.
And in the centre of it was a large black castle.
"Myotismon's new home," Gatomon said softly.
For a while they stood there, watching it.
"Well, standing here won't get us there," Draco said eventually "Let's get going."
Slowly and carefully, they began their descent.
* * * *
"So they have reached the valley," Myotismon said softly.
He and Voldemort had returned to the mirror and were watching the Digidestined slowly making their way down the cliffsides, aided by the Digimon.
"Well," Voldemort said "We'd better prepare for them, hadn't we?"
Myotismon nodded. He turned to Matt.
"No," Matt whispered pleadingly "Please don't. Please don't make me....aaaahhh!"
A spasm of pain went though him. Myotismon's icy blue eyes stared into Matt's. Then he turned his back and walked back to the mirror.
"They may be pleased now," he said "But see how happy they are when they reach the Hall of Nightmares!"
Matt strained against the power filling his body, fighting it with every particle of strength he could find. Eventually, it all became too much. All his muscles went limp and he allowed the web to drain his mind of the images to turn the Hall of Nightmares into a death trap.
A death trap which would soon be springing around his brother and his friends!
End of Part 6.