~ Chapter Seven ~
The Death Master's Challenge
By: Lady Ava
Tai felt something warm rush through his chest. A feeling that was very familiar to him but at the same time, very new came to him. Looking down, the faint orange glimmer of Tai's crest shown through his shirt. "My crest is glowing. But why?" He asked as he withdrew the necklace from within the safety of his shirt.
An eerie silence came to Tai's ears as he stood there. The sounds of the area around him just seemed to turn off or as if someone had hit the pause button on the television remote. Looking up, a gasp of fear was all Tai could chock out. All the surrounding people were stopped in their position of the current time. Not one of the people breathed, blinked, or moved an inch as Tai examined the creepy new surroundings. He looked at Sora, who was stopped as she reached out to grab Tai's hand. "Everyone's frozen." He stated to no one.
Suddenly, a deep, cold laughter echoed through the air. Tai became alert as he spun around, surveying the area. Looking off in the distance, Tai saw the other Digidestined running out after him and Sora. He saw the still crowed lobby filled with the guests of the hotel dressed in their best clothes waiting for dinner.
As he continued to glance at the lobby, a figure came up behide him. "Tai Kayima...Bearer of Courage..." The familiar frightening voice stated.
Turning back around, Tai came face to face with the clocked figure from his vision earlier that day. "What are you doing here?" Tai questioned, not feeling the same fear that he did that morning.
Stepping to the side, the figure began to walk around the rest of the still people in the lobby. "I really wanted to see how you live your life, Courage." He ducked in between people until he came back to the angry teen. "And who's this?" He asked in a taunting voice.
Leaning over to Sora, the Death Master ran one of his long figure nails along Sora's throat. Then, he reached up and touched her hair. "Such soft hair and skin. She would make a wonderful sacrifice to the gods of the underworld."
"Harm one hair on Sora's head and I swear to God himself that I will murder you and drown you in your own blood." Tai stated through clenched teeth.
Suddenly, a burst of light shot out from Tai's crest once again. As the light made the lobby glow a beautiful shade of orange, the laughter of the Death Master came once more. "Yes courage. Let your anger flow! Make me stronger with your hatred for me! Let me feed off of you." The creature shouted in sure delight.
"What do you mean? How can you be feeding of my crest when it represents all the good in this world and the digital one?" The teen demanded as the light began to fade.
"You really are stupid, boy." The death master began, rising into the air. The cold smell of death seemed to hang in the air as the monster rose from the floor. "Courage is so easily corrupted into evil ways. Your soul is that crest. So therefore, you are easily corrupted."
Tai lowered his gaze. 'Maybe I am easily corrupted? I mean, I was the one created Skullgreymon that time in the Digital World.'
"If you want to test your true Courage, then meet me on the roof of the hotel...that is if you aren't afraid to die." The Death Master stated, crossing his arms over his metal chest. Shooting a look of shock to the creature, the bearer of Courage nodded in agreement to the challenge. "I know you couldn't resist a fight anyway." He continued in a taunting tone.
"What the hell do you mean, 'I can't resist a fight?'" Tai demanded, stepping forward a bit.
Suddenly, the figure in black began to vanish. "Meet me on the roof in fifteen minutes. Only then, will you know the answer." And with that, vanished into the shadows.
***************
Tai continued to look at the shadows as the movement and sound returned to the people in the hotel's lobby. He became lost in his own thoughts as the enemy that he has only seen vanished. 'He's playing with me. That thing wants me to fight and become one of his...servants.' The teen thought.
"Hey Tai, are you okay?" He heard Sora ask him.
Looking at the girl again, Tai saw that she was no longer frozen. Her eyes were full of concern...for him. "Sora..." Tai whispered, taking her hand in his.
Sora glanced down at her hand in his and then back into his deep brown eyes. 'His eyes...' She thought. 'They look sad and glassy. As if he is about cry. But why?' Reaching up to his face, Sora touched Tai's cheek lightly. Reacting to her touch, the teen placed his hand on top of hers and pressed it harder against his face. Sora suddenly became worried. "Tai, what's wrong?" She asked quietly.
"Listen to me..." Tai started, his eyes now spilling out silent tears. "I have to go. There is something I need to do on my own. Please...no matter what the cause...don't follow me." He stated, smiling a weak grin.
Tai removed her hand from his face and took a step back. "Tai, what do you mean?" She asked.
With a growing smile, Tai stepped up to her again and kissed her lightly on her cheek. "Goodbye." He whispered softly into her ear.
Sora felt a tear roll down her face. "Goodbye? Tai, why are you saying goodbye?" The girl asked as Tai pulled away.
Turing away from her and towards the stairs, Tai could only say a few words to her to make sense of what was happening. "Because...I love you and I will miss you."
With those as his final words to her, the teen sprinted up the stairs and away from Sora and towards his room.
****************
Sora stood there in shock. She didn't know what to say. Her hand was still stretched out to him, as if she expected him to come running back down the stairs and say that he was just kidding. That it was all a big joke. But he didn't.
Withdrawing her hand, the auburn haired teen touched the place were Tai had kissed her. Her cheek seemed to tingle a bit as if his kiss had some special healing powers like in the fairy tales. "Sora!" She heard Ava call as she and the others approached her.
Turning to meet them, Sora felt tears fall down her face. "Guys," She started as the others joined her in the center of the hotel lobby. "Tai's gone." She explained.
"We saw him run up the stairs." Matt told her.
Izzy stepped up so that he was right in front of Sora. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Glancing back at the stairs, she felt herself blush. "He...told me that he...loved me..." She murmured.
The other Digidestined looked at each other in shock. They couldn't believe what they had just heard. Kari was the first one to say anything after the long and uneasy silence. "Sora, that's great. It's about time my brother told you how he felt about you." She stated, smiling.
"But why did he run off?" Joe questioned.
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out." T.K. stated as he and the others headed towards the stairs.
*************
Tai stood in his room uneasily. His suit and his other formal clothes had been thrown into a messy pile on his bed and he was now in his normal clothes, including his goggles. He stood in front of the mirror once more like earlier this morning. But this time, he felt different. He wasn't angry and bitter like before. Instead, Tai felt as if nothing could stop him and he knew that he was going to win this battle.
Smiling widely, Tai picked up his digivice and headed out of his room and towards the balcony doors. Opening the doors, Tai rushed out onto the small patio. Looking about, he saw a spiral staircase that lead up to the roof. As he walked up the series of steps, each one creaked as if they were about to give out under his feet. While he ascended to the roof, a light fog began to roll in.
'This isn't right.' He thought, continuing his climb.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Tai reached the garden on the roof. But something was wrong with the surroundings, for they were not normal. Instead of a lush garden that he expected to see, Tai saw nothing but a giant fighting ring. The floor was made of sharp rocks and stones that seemed to have been needlelike on purpose. "Well, that ring looks reassuring." He said sarcastically to himself...or so he thought.
"Do you like it? I sharpened the rocks myself." The Death Master's voice stated through the fog.
Looking across the ring, Tai saw the figure standing as if he was not scared of Tai at all. Smiling a bit. "It's alright. I've seen better."
Laughing at the comment, the creature stepped into the ring. "Well, shall we begin? Or are you waiting for your little friends to arrive?" He asked.
"No. This is between you and me." Tai stated, as he too, stepped into the ring.
"Well then...let the battle begin." The master declared.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound of a gong, signaling the start of the fight. Tai lunged forward at the creature, his fist brought back. As he closed in, the Death Master vanished. Swinging his arm at nothing, Tai fell back in wonder. That's when the monster appeared before him and gave him a harsh blow across his face with his iron fist.
Tai went flying across the ring and hit the fence that was surrounding the ring. But when Tai hit it, a rush of electricity rushed through his body, causing him to cry out in pain. His shout seemed to echo for miles, but he knew it was only a few feet.
But before her could get back to his feet, the teen felt another blow cross him and sent him flying once again. As he was in the air, the Death Master grabbed Tai in mid flight. Gripping harshly onto his victim, the creature began to squeeze Tai's throat tightly. "So courage?" He asked as he heard Tai gasp for air, "How does this pain feel?"
Tai tried to speak, but all that came out was a gasp. "Ha! You're tough, but are you tough enough to handle this?" The Death Master asked.
Letting go of Tai, the teen fell onto the sharp rocks. Screaming, Tai felt his vigilance slipping and he began to drift in and out of consciousness. Suddenly, the Death Master's foot slammed down onto his ribs, probably breaking at least two of them. 'Damnit!' Tai thought as he lay there on the sharp stones. 'I knew I should have told the others...and now...I'm gonna...die' With that final thought, Tai fell into a state of unconsciousness.
"This teen is weak. I thought he was suppost to have the most power of them all." The Death Master stated aloud as he saw that Tai was out cold. Grabbing the teen by the neck once again, the creature walked over to the edge of the building and hung the limp body over the fence. "I might as well get rid of him now." He stated. Looking once more at the bloody face of his weak foe, the creature loosened his grip and Tai fell from his hand.
"Birdramon! Catch him!" Sora's voice echoed through the ring.
Spinning around, the figure saw the eight other Digidestined standing there with each of their Digimon in their Champion form along side them. "Well, isn't this a nice surprise." The Death Master stated as Birdramon flew over his head and into a dive.
"So, that's the Death Master?" Izzy questioned, as he watched the creature before them move back into the center of the ring.
Matt and Garurumon stepped forward and turned back to the red head. "Yup. That must be him." The blond haired teen concluded a stern look upon his face.
Suddenly, a huge gust of wind flowed across the ring as Birdramon reappeared. "Sora, I got him." Birdramon exclaimed.
"Damn you!" The Death Master shouted, rising into the air.
T.K. and Angemon ran forward as he rose into the air. "What? Leaving so soon?" The teen asked in a taunting tone.
Laughing, the master grinned. "You are too weak for me to battle you now. So, until we meet again...I will be preparing your graves." He stated and in a gust of black smoke, vanished.
"Well, so much for our battle." Ava stated, petting Tigermon's soft fur.
Birdramon bent down so that Matt and Joe could grab their friend off of her back. "Be careful with him. He looks like he's really hurt." Agumon directed as he watched his friend be pulled off of the Champion's back.
As soon as Tai was safely off the Digimon, Sora ran to his side as Matt and Joe held him. As the others gathered around, they saw the existent of his wounds. Tai has a huge black eye from were he had been hit the first time. His forehead was bleeding from the fence and his clothes had been charred. "Let's get him inside. I'll call the doctor." Ava told.
As Matt and Joe bent down to pick him up, Tai shouted out in pain as his was touched on the side. "Oh boy. I believe he has a few broken ribs. Ava!" Joe called to the girls before she could head downstairs.
"Yea?" She asked, turning around quickly.
Standing, Joe took charge. "Don't call the hotel doctor. Call an ambulance. He needs serious medical attention."
Nodding, Ava took off down the stairs like a shot. "Come on, Let's get him inside." Matt said, grabbing his friend under his arms. Then, carefully, the remaining Digidestined and their, now rookie forms Digimon, headed down towards their room to await the medics arrival.
The Death Master's Challenge
By: Lady Ava
Tai felt something warm rush through his chest. A feeling that was very familiar to him but at the same time, very new came to him. Looking down, the faint orange glimmer of Tai's crest shown through his shirt. "My crest is glowing. But why?" He asked as he withdrew the necklace from within the safety of his shirt.
An eerie silence came to Tai's ears as he stood there. The sounds of the area around him just seemed to turn off or as if someone had hit the pause button on the television remote. Looking up, a gasp of fear was all Tai could chock out. All the surrounding people were stopped in their position of the current time. Not one of the people breathed, blinked, or moved an inch as Tai examined the creepy new surroundings. He looked at Sora, who was stopped as she reached out to grab Tai's hand. "Everyone's frozen." He stated to no one.
Suddenly, a deep, cold laughter echoed through the air. Tai became alert as he spun around, surveying the area. Looking off in the distance, Tai saw the other Digidestined running out after him and Sora. He saw the still crowed lobby filled with the guests of the hotel dressed in their best clothes waiting for dinner.
As he continued to glance at the lobby, a figure came up behide him. "Tai Kayima...Bearer of Courage..." The familiar frightening voice stated.
Turning back around, Tai came face to face with the clocked figure from his vision earlier that day. "What are you doing here?" Tai questioned, not feeling the same fear that he did that morning.
Stepping to the side, the figure began to walk around the rest of the still people in the lobby. "I really wanted to see how you live your life, Courage." He ducked in between people until he came back to the angry teen. "And who's this?" He asked in a taunting voice.
Leaning over to Sora, the Death Master ran one of his long figure nails along Sora's throat. Then, he reached up and touched her hair. "Such soft hair and skin. She would make a wonderful sacrifice to the gods of the underworld."
"Harm one hair on Sora's head and I swear to God himself that I will murder you and drown you in your own blood." Tai stated through clenched teeth.
Suddenly, a burst of light shot out from Tai's crest once again. As the light made the lobby glow a beautiful shade of orange, the laughter of the Death Master came once more. "Yes courage. Let your anger flow! Make me stronger with your hatred for me! Let me feed off of you." The creature shouted in sure delight.
"What do you mean? How can you be feeding of my crest when it represents all the good in this world and the digital one?" The teen demanded as the light began to fade.
"You really are stupid, boy." The death master began, rising into the air. The cold smell of death seemed to hang in the air as the monster rose from the floor. "Courage is so easily corrupted into evil ways. Your soul is that crest. So therefore, you are easily corrupted."
Tai lowered his gaze. 'Maybe I am easily corrupted? I mean, I was the one created Skullgreymon that time in the Digital World.'
"If you want to test your true Courage, then meet me on the roof of the hotel...that is if you aren't afraid to die." The Death Master stated, crossing his arms over his metal chest. Shooting a look of shock to the creature, the bearer of Courage nodded in agreement to the challenge. "I know you couldn't resist a fight anyway." He continued in a taunting tone.
"What the hell do you mean, 'I can't resist a fight?'" Tai demanded, stepping forward a bit.
Suddenly, the figure in black began to vanish. "Meet me on the roof in fifteen minutes. Only then, will you know the answer." And with that, vanished into the shadows.
***************
Tai continued to look at the shadows as the movement and sound returned to the people in the hotel's lobby. He became lost in his own thoughts as the enemy that he has only seen vanished. 'He's playing with me. That thing wants me to fight and become one of his...servants.' The teen thought.
"Hey Tai, are you okay?" He heard Sora ask him.
Looking at the girl again, Tai saw that she was no longer frozen. Her eyes were full of concern...for him. "Sora..." Tai whispered, taking her hand in his.
Sora glanced down at her hand in his and then back into his deep brown eyes. 'His eyes...' She thought. 'They look sad and glassy. As if he is about cry. But why?' Reaching up to his face, Sora touched Tai's cheek lightly. Reacting to her touch, the teen placed his hand on top of hers and pressed it harder against his face. Sora suddenly became worried. "Tai, what's wrong?" She asked quietly.
"Listen to me..." Tai started, his eyes now spilling out silent tears. "I have to go. There is something I need to do on my own. Please...no matter what the cause...don't follow me." He stated, smiling a weak grin.
Tai removed her hand from his face and took a step back. "Tai, what do you mean?" She asked.
With a growing smile, Tai stepped up to her again and kissed her lightly on her cheek. "Goodbye." He whispered softly into her ear.
Sora felt a tear roll down her face. "Goodbye? Tai, why are you saying goodbye?" The girl asked as Tai pulled away.
Turing away from her and towards the stairs, Tai could only say a few words to her to make sense of what was happening. "Because...I love you and I will miss you."
With those as his final words to her, the teen sprinted up the stairs and away from Sora and towards his room.
****************
Sora stood there in shock. She didn't know what to say. Her hand was still stretched out to him, as if she expected him to come running back down the stairs and say that he was just kidding. That it was all a big joke. But he didn't.
Withdrawing her hand, the auburn haired teen touched the place were Tai had kissed her. Her cheek seemed to tingle a bit as if his kiss had some special healing powers like in the fairy tales. "Sora!" She heard Ava call as she and the others approached her.
Turning to meet them, Sora felt tears fall down her face. "Guys," She started as the others joined her in the center of the hotel lobby. "Tai's gone." She explained.
"We saw him run up the stairs." Matt told her.
Izzy stepped up so that he was right in front of Sora. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Glancing back at the stairs, she felt herself blush. "He...told me that he...loved me..." She murmured.
The other Digidestined looked at each other in shock. They couldn't believe what they had just heard. Kari was the first one to say anything after the long and uneasy silence. "Sora, that's great. It's about time my brother told you how he felt about you." She stated, smiling.
"But why did he run off?" Joe questioned.
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out." T.K. stated as he and the others headed towards the stairs.
*************
Tai stood in his room uneasily. His suit and his other formal clothes had been thrown into a messy pile on his bed and he was now in his normal clothes, including his goggles. He stood in front of the mirror once more like earlier this morning. But this time, he felt different. He wasn't angry and bitter like before. Instead, Tai felt as if nothing could stop him and he knew that he was going to win this battle.
Smiling widely, Tai picked up his digivice and headed out of his room and towards the balcony doors. Opening the doors, Tai rushed out onto the small patio. Looking about, he saw a spiral staircase that lead up to the roof. As he walked up the series of steps, each one creaked as if they were about to give out under his feet. While he ascended to the roof, a light fog began to roll in.
'This isn't right.' He thought, continuing his climb.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Tai reached the garden on the roof. But something was wrong with the surroundings, for they were not normal. Instead of a lush garden that he expected to see, Tai saw nothing but a giant fighting ring. The floor was made of sharp rocks and stones that seemed to have been needlelike on purpose. "Well, that ring looks reassuring." He said sarcastically to himself...or so he thought.
"Do you like it? I sharpened the rocks myself." The Death Master's voice stated through the fog.
Looking across the ring, Tai saw the figure standing as if he was not scared of Tai at all. Smiling a bit. "It's alright. I've seen better."
Laughing at the comment, the creature stepped into the ring. "Well, shall we begin? Or are you waiting for your little friends to arrive?" He asked.
"No. This is between you and me." Tai stated, as he too, stepped into the ring.
"Well then...let the battle begin." The master declared.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound of a gong, signaling the start of the fight. Tai lunged forward at the creature, his fist brought back. As he closed in, the Death Master vanished. Swinging his arm at nothing, Tai fell back in wonder. That's when the monster appeared before him and gave him a harsh blow across his face with his iron fist.
Tai went flying across the ring and hit the fence that was surrounding the ring. But when Tai hit it, a rush of electricity rushed through his body, causing him to cry out in pain. His shout seemed to echo for miles, but he knew it was only a few feet.
But before her could get back to his feet, the teen felt another blow cross him and sent him flying once again. As he was in the air, the Death Master grabbed Tai in mid flight. Gripping harshly onto his victim, the creature began to squeeze Tai's throat tightly. "So courage?" He asked as he heard Tai gasp for air, "How does this pain feel?"
Tai tried to speak, but all that came out was a gasp. "Ha! You're tough, but are you tough enough to handle this?" The Death Master asked.
Letting go of Tai, the teen fell onto the sharp rocks. Screaming, Tai felt his vigilance slipping and he began to drift in and out of consciousness. Suddenly, the Death Master's foot slammed down onto his ribs, probably breaking at least two of them. 'Damnit!' Tai thought as he lay there on the sharp stones. 'I knew I should have told the others...and now...I'm gonna...die' With that final thought, Tai fell into a state of unconsciousness.
"This teen is weak. I thought he was suppost to have the most power of them all." The Death Master stated aloud as he saw that Tai was out cold. Grabbing the teen by the neck once again, the creature walked over to the edge of the building and hung the limp body over the fence. "I might as well get rid of him now." He stated. Looking once more at the bloody face of his weak foe, the creature loosened his grip and Tai fell from his hand.
"Birdramon! Catch him!" Sora's voice echoed through the ring.
Spinning around, the figure saw the eight other Digidestined standing there with each of their Digimon in their Champion form along side them. "Well, isn't this a nice surprise." The Death Master stated as Birdramon flew over his head and into a dive.
"So, that's the Death Master?" Izzy questioned, as he watched the creature before them move back into the center of the ring.
Matt and Garurumon stepped forward and turned back to the red head. "Yup. That must be him." The blond haired teen concluded a stern look upon his face.
Suddenly, a huge gust of wind flowed across the ring as Birdramon reappeared. "Sora, I got him." Birdramon exclaimed.
"Damn you!" The Death Master shouted, rising into the air.
T.K. and Angemon ran forward as he rose into the air. "What? Leaving so soon?" The teen asked in a taunting tone.
Laughing, the master grinned. "You are too weak for me to battle you now. So, until we meet again...I will be preparing your graves." He stated and in a gust of black smoke, vanished.
"Well, so much for our battle." Ava stated, petting Tigermon's soft fur.
Birdramon bent down so that Matt and Joe could grab their friend off of her back. "Be careful with him. He looks like he's really hurt." Agumon directed as he watched his friend be pulled off of the Champion's back.
As soon as Tai was safely off the Digimon, Sora ran to his side as Matt and Joe held him. As the others gathered around, they saw the existent of his wounds. Tai has a huge black eye from were he had been hit the first time. His forehead was bleeding from the fence and his clothes had been charred. "Let's get him inside. I'll call the doctor." Ava told.
As Matt and Joe bent down to pick him up, Tai shouted out in pain as his was touched on the side. "Oh boy. I believe he has a few broken ribs. Ava!" Joe called to the girls before she could head downstairs.
"Yea?" She asked, turning around quickly.
Standing, Joe took charge. "Don't call the hotel doctor. Call an ambulance. He needs serious medical attention."
Nodding, Ava took off down the stairs like a shot. "Come on, Let's get him inside." Matt said, grabbing his friend under his arms. Then, carefully, the remaining Digidestined and their, now rookie forms Digimon, headed down towards their room to await the medics arrival.
