Chapter 10
Swinging along a row of spires hand-over-hand, Tai glanced over his shoulder, and flinched at the sight of the virus pouring toward him.
"I could use a little help right about now!" he yelled, hoping against hope that someone would hear him. The virus was waaay too close for comfort, and he was getting tired. *I don't know how much longer I can run,* he thought frantically. *If you can even call this running...* "Somebody? Anybody? Uh...open sesame!"
A window suddenly opened above and ahead of him...or at least, to his point of view. Izzy's worried face appeared in it, with Sora behind him.
"Hey, shweet," Tai gasped.
"Tai! Are you okay?"
"Does it *look* like I'm okay?" Tai snapped breathlessly at the techie. Izzy shook his head.
"Not in the least. Can you hold out for a few more minutes?"
"Izzy, I'm about to pass out!" Tai yelled. Izzy looked injured, and Tai groaned, trying to keep going and talk at the same time without running into anything. "Look, I don't want to sound angry or anything, but this is not the best situation!"
"Yeah, I copy that," Izzy said, beginning to type away. "The virus can have the 'Net for now. I'm getting you all back here, pronto-"
His face drained of color. Tai's heart sank.
"What? What is it?"
Izzy's voice shook.
"My program... It's...gone..."
"Aaaah!"
"Hold on, Ken!" Yolei gritted, feeling her feet scraping slowly across the ground with the inexorable pull of the virus. "Don't let go!" A loud crunching noise came from the ground beneath them, and the cliff shuddered...but this time it didn't stop shuddering.
"Yolei..." His eyes were crystal-clear, and desperate. "You have to go...you have to run... *Now*..."
"I-I can't," Yolei stammered, her own eyes filling with tears. "I won't leave you..."
"You've got to!" Ken struggled for breath to put into words. "Please...go!"
"No!" Yolei wailed. The rumbling grew louder, and the pebbles lying around her feet began to dance, as if an earthquake were beginning. "You can't make me leave you, Ken! I'm with you to the end, no matter what, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind, so just stop trying!"
Ken gazed at her, stunned. *Stupid, stubborn Yolei...why do I care about you so much? Why can't I bring myself to just let go?*
"Yolei...I..."
"Ken?" Yolei said, uncertainly, as the cliff quaked beneath them and the rumbling became like thunder. Ken felt the virus suddenly loosen its hold on him, as the sound of falling rocks within the cliff intensified. Yolei's tear-streaked face looked up at him, and as he looked back at her, he knew the answer to his question.
"Yolei, I l-"
Without any warning, the cliff dropped out from under them with a sound like an explosion, sending chunks of rock flying. At the edge of the forest, Cody let out a cry of horror.
"Ken! Yolei! No!!" With a sob, he dropped to his knees, Armadillomon beside him. "Oh, no..."
"What?!" Sora and Tai both yelled at the same time. "What do you mean, gone?" Tai added.
"It's gone!" Izzy repeated, sounding as though he were bridging on panic. "As in ruined! Destroyed! Vanquished, dead, kaput, history!"
"Will you stop talking like that!" Tai bellowed. "Those are not the most comforting words to hear right now!"
Izzy didn't seem to hear him. "The virus must have gotten into my file system through the Internet connection and eaten it, or...whatever it does! I can't believe this!"
"*You* can't believe it?" Tai cried, shooting another glance at the virus, which was only a few dozen feet behind him and gaining fast. It was like being chased by a deadly tidal wave... "I'm the one who's about to be meat for the grinder here!"
"Tai, hold on!" Sora wailed, gripping the back of Izzy's chair so that her knuckles turned white. "Izzy, you can duplicate it, right?"
"In five minutes, yes," Izzy said, already typing, "but I think we're down to a few seconds here! And Mimi and Matt are in trouble, too..."
Tai, still struggling along, his entire body burning with exhaustion, looked up at the window. Fear was beginning to glimmer in his chocolate-brown eyes.
"Izzy...can we hurry it up, please?" he gritted between clenched teeth, kicking off of a spire. It shot back and pierced the oncoming virus like a spear, but disappeared harmlessly into the darkness...
"Tai," Sora whispered, her bad feeling from earlier swelling into a mountain of dread that choked her throat and sent icy roots of fear into the depths of her stomach. "Please, just a few more minutes...please..." she begged whoever might be Up There.
"Not enough time," Tai said tensely, looking over his shoulder. "Not enough time..." An arm of virus shot toward him, and he gulped. "Izzy! Hurry up!"
"I'm typing, I'm typing," Izzy muttered distractedly, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Sora bit her lip, not noticing as the metallic taste of blood trickled into her mouth.
"Please..."
Suddenly, with a mighty lurch, the virus threw itself forward, enveloping Tai in a eruption of black ooze. He disappeared from sight, his hand stretched out toward them. Sora's hands flew to her mouth.
"TAI!!"
The swelling flood of virus spilled over a Ferris wheel, waterfalling down the side of it in great gobs of ooze that tumbled 'down' to meet more virus coming from below as the colorful wheel disappeared into the mess. Within it, Tai struggled and flailed, trying to get out. It was like swimming through icy cold molasses. He broke the surface, throwing his head back, gagging on the bitter virus.
"SORA!" he choked, and was pulled under again. Sora stared in horror at the screen, her face white.
"Come on, Tai...come on..."
Izzy's fingers were frozen on the keys, his face shocked. *But...but Tai always gets away...* he thought dazedly. He couldn't count the number of times Tai had escaped with a close shave...he would get free of that stuff, any minute now...
Mimi and Matt huddled in the shelter of a nearby carousel, holding tightly to each other, terrified.
"The virus..." Mimi whispered, staring at it. "What's it doing?" It had stopped chasing them, and was moving steadily toward the area where they had last seen Tai heading.
"Izzy, what's going on?" Matt yelled. 'On...on...on...' the echoes rang through the cavernous, suddenly quiet Internet, bouncing back to him from the silently floating debris all about. There was no response. Mimi began to shake.
"There's only one thing that could be happening," she said softly, shivering. "It must have gotten Tai..."
The virus rolled together, sucking its long tentacle-like clouds together into one great mass of black...and then, suddenly, seemed to expand, bursting outward, inflating into an enormous, perfect sphere. As it reached that shape, it froze. The only movement from it was the slight rippling of the outer surface.
The three Digimon alighted on the edge of the carousel platform next to the humans, in their Rookie forms again.
"Mimi...what's happening to Tai?" Agumon said timidly. Mimi's eyes filled with tears; unable to answer, she buried her face in Matt's shirt and began to cry.
Matt just held her, feeling so helpless that it *hurt*. His best friend was in there, maybe hurt, maybe even dying, and there was nothing he could do about it!
"Tai..." he murmured, wanting to howl with anger and frustration and fear. But the Digimon looked up at him with such hopeful gazes...and he held his tears in, and stroked Mimi's hair, as he watched his best friend die...
Swinging along a row of spires hand-over-hand, Tai glanced over his shoulder, and flinched at the sight of the virus pouring toward him.
"I could use a little help right about now!" he yelled, hoping against hope that someone would hear him. The virus was waaay too close for comfort, and he was getting tired. *I don't know how much longer I can run,* he thought frantically. *If you can even call this running...* "Somebody? Anybody? Uh...open sesame!"
A window suddenly opened above and ahead of him...or at least, to his point of view. Izzy's worried face appeared in it, with Sora behind him.
"Hey, shweet," Tai gasped.
"Tai! Are you okay?"
"Does it *look* like I'm okay?" Tai snapped breathlessly at the techie. Izzy shook his head.
"Not in the least. Can you hold out for a few more minutes?"
"Izzy, I'm about to pass out!" Tai yelled. Izzy looked injured, and Tai groaned, trying to keep going and talk at the same time without running into anything. "Look, I don't want to sound angry or anything, but this is not the best situation!"
"Yeah, I copy that," Izzy said, beginning to type away. "The virus can have the 'Net for now. I'm getting you all back here, pronto-"
His face drained of color. Tai's heart sank.
"What? What is it?"
Izzy's voice shook.
"My program... It's...gone..."
"Aaaah!"
"Hold on, Ken!" Yolei gritted, feeling her feet scraping slowly across the ground with the inexorable pull of the virus. "Don't let go!" A loud crunching noise came from the ground beneath them, and the cliff shuddered...but this time it didn't stop shuddering.
"Yolei..." His eyes were crystal-clear, and desperate. "You have to go...you have to run... *Now*..."
"I-I can't," Yolei stammered, her own eyes filling with tears. "I won't leave you..."
"You've got to!" Ken struggled for breath to put into words. "Please...go!"
"No!" Yolei wailed. The rumbling grew louder, and the pebbles lying around her feet began to dance, as if an earthquake were beginning. "You can't make me leave you, Ken! I'm with you to the end, no matter what, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind, so just stop trying!"
Ken gazed at her, stunned. *Stupid, stubborn Yolei...why do I care about you so much? Why can't I bring myself to just let go?*
"Yolei...I..."
"Ken?" Yolei said, uncertainly, as the cliff quaked beneath them and the rumbling became like thunder. Ken felt the virus suddenly loosen its hold on him, as the sound of falling rocks within the cliff intensified. Yolei's tear-streaked face looked up at him, and as he looked back at her, he knew the answer to his question.
"Yolei, I l-"
Without any warning, the cliff dropped out from under them with a sound like an explosion, sending chunks of rock flying. At the edge of the forest, Cody let out a cry of horror.
"Ken! Yolei! No!!" With a sob, he dropped to his knees, Armadillomon beside him. "Oh, no..."
"What?!" Sora and Tai both yelled at the same time. "What do you mean, gone?" Tai added.
"It's gone!" Izzy repeated, sounding as though he were bridging on panic. "As in ruined! Destroyed! Vanquished, dead, kaput, history!"
"Will you stop talking like that!" Tai bellowed. "Those are not the most comforting words to hear right now!"
Izzy didn't seem to hear him. "The virus must have gotten into my file system through the Internet connection and eaten it, or...whatever it does! I can't believe this!"
"*You* can't believe it?" Tai cried, shooting another glance at the virus, which was only a few dozen feet behind him and gaining fast. It was like being chased by a deadly tidal wave... "I'm the one who's about to be meat for the grinder here!"
"Tai, hold on!" Sora wailed, gripping the back of Izzy's chair so that her knuckles turned white. "Izzy, you can duplicate it, right?"
"In five minutes, yes," Izzy said, already typing, "but I think we're down to a few seconds here! And Mimi and Matt are in trouble, too..."
Tai, still struggling along, his entire body burning with exhaustion, looked up at the window. Fear was beginning to glimmer in his chocolate-brown eyes.
"Izzy...can we hurry it up, please?" he gritted between clenched teeth, kicking off of a spire. It shot back and pierced the oncoming virus like a spear, but disappeared harmlessly into the darkness...
"Tai," Sora whispered, her bad feeling from earlier swelling into a mountain of dread that choked her throat and sent icy roots of fear into the depths of her stomach. "Please, just a few more minutes...please..." she begged whoever might be Up There.
"Not enough time," Tai said tensely, looking over his shoulder. "Not enough time..." An arm of virus shot toward him, and he gulped. "Izzy! Hurry up!"
"I'm typing, I'm typing," Izzy muttered distractedly, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Sora bit her lip, not noticing as the metallic taste of blood trickled into her mouth.
"Please..."
Suddenly, with a mighty lurch, the virus threw itself forward, enveloping Tai in a eruption of black ooze. He disappeared from sight, his hand stretched out toward them. Sora's hands flew to her mouth.
"TAI!!"
The swelling flood of virus spilled over a Ferris wheel, waterfalling down the side of it in great gobs of ooze that tumbled 'down' to meet more virus coming from below as the colorful wheel disappeared into the mess. Within it, Tai struggled and flailed, trying to get out. It was like swimming through icy cold molasses. He broke the surface, throwing his head back, gagging on the bitter virus.
"SORA!" he choked, and was pulled under again. Sora stared in horror at the screen, her face white.
"Come on, Tai...come on..."
Izzy's fingers were frozen on the keys, his face shocked. *But...but Tai always gets away...* he thought dazedly. He couldn't count the number of times Tai had escaped with a close shave...he would get free of that stuff, any minute now...
Mimi and Matt huddled in the shelter of a nearby carousel, holding tightly to each other, terrified.
"The virus..." Mimi whispered, staring at it. "What's it doing?" It had stopped chasing them, and was moving steadily toward the area where they had last seen Tai heading.
"Izzy, what's going on?" Matt yelled. 'On...on...on...' the echoes rang through the cavernous, suddenly quiet Internet, bouncing back to him from the silently floating debris all about. There was no response. Mimi began to shake.
"There's only one thing that could be happening," she said softly, shivering. "It must have gotten Tai..."
The virus rolled together, sucking its long tentacle-like clouds together into one great mass of black...and then, suddenly, seemed to expand, bursting outward, inflating into an enormous, perfect sphere. As it reached that shape, it froze. The only movement from it was the slight rippling of the outer surface.
The three Digimon alighted on the edge of the carousel platform next to the humans, in their Rookie forms again.
"Mimi...what's happening to Tai?" Agumon said timidly. Mimi's eyes filled with tears; unable to answer, she buried her face in Matt's shirt and began to cry.
Matt just held her, feeling so helpless that it *hurt*. His best friend was in there, maybe hurt, maybe even dying, and there was nothing he could do about it!
"Tai..." he murmured, wanting to howl with anger and frustration and fear. But the Digimon looked up at him with such hopeful gazes...and he held his tears in, and stroked Mimi's hair, as he watched his best friend die...