The Dark Bandit
Part Twelve
Koushiro had the most painful headache he had experienced in a quite some time. Somehow, he managed to open his eyes, and was immediately assaulted by the bright sunlight.
The King's voice could be heard nearby. "Yes, Knowledge of All. I should have known. He should go beside Truth of Friendship."
A grunting sound was the King's response, and Koushiro felt himself being hauled to his feet. Somehow, through the haze of light, he was able to feel himself being dragged and then propped against a post. He blinked in the sun and tried to move his arms, but discovered they were secured behind his back.
A moment later, and his whole body was tied to the post. The King stood in front of him, a menacing look on his face. Koushiro managed to muster his voice. "What's going on, sire?" he questioned politely. Privately, the wizard thought he'd much rather be using one of his spells to cause him as much pain as possible. He could think of several in particular…
The King did not respond to his question. "You're a dirty traitor, Izumi," he stated blankly. "I do not answer your questions any longer." He turned away then before Koushiro could respond.
He looked around then, and noted that the post he was tied to was on the top of a low, grassy, hill some distance from the palace. A group of other posts (a quick count revealed there to be twelve) were arranged in a circle. To Koushiro's left was Yamato, who appeared conscious, alive, and extremely angry. The blond young man was struggling violently against his ropes, and the King must have been extraordinarily annoyed with him, because a cloth had been shoved in his mouth as a gag.
But it was not Yamato who caught the young wizard's attention. It was the figure beyond that.
He was tied to the northernmost pole in the circle, and he was barely conscious. Dried blood covered his face and fresh blood dripped from his lips. His normally wild hair was matted with dirt and blood, and his eyes were drooped. His head fell against his chest, and though he occasionally made the effort to lift it and observe his surroundings, it was obvious he was very weak.
"Prince Taichi!" Koushiro gasped in surprise at the battered boy, who then lifted his weak head and caught the wizard's eyes. Koushiro really had nothing to say or convey. But Taichi didn't seem to mind. Somehow, a strength of will was conveyed in his eyes that Koushiro would have thought impossible at such a time.
The wizard pulled his eyes away from Taichi after a moment and moved around the circle. Sora was tied next to the Prince, and though her eyes kept glancing worriedly towards her friend, she appeared to be fine.
Beside Sora was Mimi. She, too, appeared to be in no physical danger. She looked at Koushiro and shrugged slightly. He shook his head slightly in response. He had hoped that by leaving Mimi in his quarters, she would be kept safe, but he knew that if she had a digivice, she would most definitely not be.
A noise to Koushiro's right caught his attention, and he observed Jyou being tied to the post beside him.
"I really don't understand what's going on. I'm not a traitor!" the doctor was protesting.
The King reached out. For a brief moment, Jyou thought he was going to hit him, but he merely reached into the young man's pocket and removed a small blue box. "Oh, but you are, doctor," the King replied mockingly, flipping it in the air as though it were a coin. "And this proves it."
"That doesn't prove anything!" Takeru snapped from the opposite side of Jyou, surprising both Jyou and the King. "We all received one in the middle of the night. I don't remember ever doing anything traitorous to you!"
The King turned towards the younger boy then, throwing the digivice at Jyou's feet. "Then you have a selective memory, younger Ishida," he replied, spitting the name as though it were an insult.
"Sire?" the guards interrupted. "What about this one?"
Koushiro gasped aloud when he saw who they were referring to. Iori stood calmly, not struggling against his bonds. But the anger in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.
The King peered over a piece of paper for a few moments. "I doubt he is kindness," he muttered. "But then, the only one left is Ichijouji, and it can't be him, can it? Oh! I'm so confused."
"Father, please, what has Iori got to do with this?" Hikari spoke up. She was to the right of Takeru, but there was an empty space between them. "If your anger is towards Taichi, Daisuke, and myself, why must he be here?"
"My anger has nothing to do with this, Hikari," the King replied. "You are all here to fulfill a greater purpose." The Princess opened her mouth to reply. "An explanation is not necessary. You shall remain silent now."
Hikari frowned, but didn't answer. She turned to her right, where Daisuke was slumped weakly in his bonds. Almost directly ahead of her was her brother, and to her right, one of her closest friends. Both of them had been injured badly, and Hikari vowed to herself then and there that if she ever lived long enough to be Queen, she would make sure that no one was ever treated like this again.
Daisuke was only dimly aware of what was going on around him. He could hear Hikari shouting beside him, he knew he was tied in a field somewhere, but everything else was a blur. "Daisuke?" he heard a voice question, and he turned in its direction.
"You all right?" Miyako wondered. Daisuke blinked his eyes and was able to see that she was tied to a post on his right side. "You don't look so good."
"I'll be all right," he replied, trying to persuade his legs not to give out on him. They were so weak, he just wanted to sleep…
"Try and stay with us, Daisuke," Miyako pleaded. "We need you."
He blinked. "Need me?"
He didn't hear Miyako's response however, because she was cut off by the King's yelling. He turned to see what he was yelling about.
"Well, Ichijouji can't be kindness in the dark, can he?" the King grumbled under his breath. He rambled for a few moments about the difference between kindness and faith and other things like that, and Daisuke was only vaguely aware of what he was saying. He wondered if the King was even making sense. He didn't seem to be.
One word stuck out in Daisuke's mind. Ichijouji. 'Ken?' he wondered. 'Ken's here? But why? Surely they didn't find him out – did they?' But he was so tired. He didn't want to stay awake any longer…
"If only there were more clues!" the King shouted in frustration. He turned to Iori. "You. Answer me a few questions." Iori didn't respond, but the King didn't appear to have noticed. "Do you have faith in yourself?"
Iori blinked. "Um…," he stammered, stalling for time. He had absolutely no idea what to answer. It seemed like a rather meaningless question.
"Do you?" the King demanded.
Iori thought back on his life. He considered himself to be dependable. Reliable. He could count on himself, couldn't he? Still, he wasn't sure of the question. "I'm not sure what you're asking," he stated.
"I don't have time for this, Hida!" the King bellowed. "Do you have faith in yourself or not?"
"I – guess so."
"YES or NO!?"
"Um - Yes?" It was more of a question than an answer, but it seemed to be enough to satisfy the King. A moment later, Iori found himself thrown against the post between Hikari and Takeru and tied securely.
A few minutes later, there was silence. The King had stormed off back to the castle to enjoy his breakfast, and only a few guards remained.
"Well, that was officially the weirdest thing I've ever had happen to me, and that includes last night," Jyou announced.
"I don't know, last night comes pretty close," Mimi stated. She looked around the circle. "Does anyone have any idea why we're here?"
"I guess it has something to do with the King's plan to give Leomon strength," Sora spoke up. "I didn't know you were here yet, Mimi," she added.
"I got in last night. Well, this morning actually," Mimi explained. Quickly, for everyone that hadn't heard, she went over what had occurred the previous evening.
"So you released those – digivices," Miyako realized.
Mimi nodded. "Yes, that was me," she replied. "Have we been introduced?"
Miyako shook her head. "Miyako Inoue," she explained. "I'd shake hands, but -," she shrugged.
"Perfectly understandable. Mimi Tachikawa. Nice to meet you."
There was a muffled grumble from somewhere in the northeast corner of the circle. Yamato spit out the cloth that had been shoved in his mouth. "Can we bypass the pleasantries?" he snapped. "We've got kind of a problem here!"
Mimi snapped back. "Well excuse me for being polite!"
Yamato sighed. "I just meant that perhaps we should try to figure out what's going on," he half-apologized.
"Most likely the King is going to attempt to drain our strength," Miyako stated. "Or at least our digimons'. But why here?"
"Tonight would be the best night," Koushiro explained. "It's going to be a full moon."
"What's that got to do with it?" Takeru wondered.
"Enchantments have more strength when the moon is full," Hikari recalled.
"Yes, and this hill is known for its concentration of magic," Koushiro elaborated. "A long history of mysterious occurrences happened right here." He would have continued, but he was interrupted.
"Spare us the history lesson, Koushiro," Taichi spoke up weakly, surprising them all. "Is there any way to get out of here?"
Koushiro frowned for a moment. "Not that I can see, sire," he admitted. "I can't do any spells if my arms are restrained. Unless someone was able to untie themselves…"
"Sorry for the interruption, but I don't think we're going to have a chance to continue," Sora spoke up. She nodded ahead of her, and Taichi squinted in the morning sun to see that a group of imposing figures was headed that way.
"Everybody, stay quiet!" Yamato half-shouted before anyone else could ask who was coming.
The figures came closer, and soon they became clear. Thirteen soldiers entered the circle. Each of them was carrying a box.
The boxes began to make noise, and it became evident that they were not boxes, in fact, but small cages. Shouts came from inside them.
"Sora! Yamato! Takeru! Koushiro!" the voices shouted.
"All right, keep silent," the one guard shouted. Immediately, the digimon were silenced. "I need to figure out who belongs to who. And I want you all noiseless unless I ask you a question. Understand?"
There was complete silence as the humans and digimon nodded in response. The soldiers began to file into the circle, one by one. They paused in front of the lead soldier.
Agumon was first. He was only partially conscious, in a similar state as his partner, and he made no attempt to shout or try to escape as the cage was opened. The lead soldier lifted him from the box and placed a chain and collar around his neck which he had retrieved from his own box. Then Agumon was carried to his partner and the other end of the chain was secured to the post which Taichi was tied to.
"Agumon?" Taichi whispered after the soldier had moved on to someone else. Agumon hugged him around the knees. "I'm so glad you're all right."
"And you, Taichi?" the yellow dinosaur asked. "You don't look that great yourself. I guess you needed me to take care of you, huh?"
"Yeah, I did," Taichi replied with a soft smile. Both were quiet after that, because the lead soldier shot them a very dirty look.
After a few moments, everyone's digimon had been released, and the soldiers departed again. As soon as they were out of sight, the silence was broken.
"Oh, Piyomon!" Sora gasped as the pink bird hugged her similar to how Agumon had hugged his partner.
"Gabumon! Good to see you again!" Yamato grinned, looking something other than annoyed for the first time in hours.
"Palmon!" Mimi had not been separated for long, but she had been concerned nonetheless.
"Koushiro!" Tentomon managed to fly a few feet and level with his partner's eyes. "I was worried about you."
"Jyou. Good to see you're in one piece," Gomamon joked. "Oh! I think you dropped this!" He picked up the digivice from the ground at his partner's feet. "You might need this."
"Thanks," Jyou grinned as his partner managed to put the device back into his pocket.
"Patamon! I was worried about you," Takeru told his partner, who, like Tentomon, had managed to fly a few feet.
"I'm all right, Takeru," Patamon replied. "I was more concerned about you."
"So you're all right then, Armadimon?" Iori assured himself, although his partner looked fine.
"Yup, just fine," Armadimon replied complacently.
"Hikari! You look terrible," Tailmon noted. Hikari just smiled.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Thanks for being tactful about it, though." She laughed.
"Miyako, I knew that some sort of trouble like this would arise," Hawkmon couldn't resist lecturing his partner.
Miyako wasn't phased by her digimon's advice. "And we came out all right, didn't we?"
"Well…so far…"
"Wormmon, it's all right. Really. I'm fine."
"Are you sure, Ken?"
"Positive." He smiled at his digimon, who was at that moment squeezing his leg so tightly he was beginning to lose feeling in it.
"Daisuke?" V-mon looked up at his partner, but Daisuke didn't respond. "Daisuke?"
"Is he all right?" Hawkmon looked to the blue digimon with concern.
"I don't know," V-mon replied. Tears were beginning to well in his eyes. "Daisuke, please answer me."
"He's very weak, V-mon," Miyako tried to reassure him. "It's possible that he just passed out for a bit."
"Well, then he should wake up!" V-mon declared. He grabbed Daisuke's leg and shook it. "Daisuke!"
"Daisuke, are you in there?" Miyako tried. "Daisuke? Wake up."
"What's the matter with him?" Ken asked, alerted to the commotion next to him.
"Daisuke won't wake up!" V-mon wailed helplessly. Tears were falling freely now.
"Won't wake up?" Wormmon repeated. He cast a worried glance at his partner.
"He's – probably just resting," Ken stated.
"I tried that," Miyako whispered softly. "Didn't help."
"Wake up, Daisuke!" V-mon shouted again, this time pounding on his partner's knee in frustration.
"Ouch!" Daisuke woke up and winced in pain.
"Daisuke!" V-mon squeezed his legs. "You're awake!"
Daisuke only blinked in surprise.
***
"I'm so hungry," Mimi moaned.
"I'm tired of standing," Miyako agreed, standing on her left leg and shaking her right and then switching them again.
"I'm cold," Jyou grumbled, shivering slightly despite the warm weather.
"It's almost dark," Takeru observed. "Whatever's going to happen
will happen soon, right?"
"Well, not until midnight, probably," Koushiro corrected. "That's most likely
at least five hours away now."
"Gee, Koushiro, you know how to put a bright light on the situation, don't you?" Jyou noted, looking sidelong at his friend.
The young wizard shrugged slightly. "I'm just trying to think sensibly," he defended himself.
"Koushiro, now is not the time to give anyone an excuse to complain," Yamato advised from his opposite side.
"There's got to be something we can do," Taichi frowned. He was deep in thought, as he had been all day, but he had not come to any conclusions as of yet.
"Well, if we could get the digimon to evolve, that would solve all of our problems," Mimi noted. "Unfortunately, I don't know how to do that."
"Evolve?" Miyako repeated. She stared at Hawkmon. "I think they're too weak to evolve." Her digimon was at that moment leaning weakly against her legs, barely able to stand.
"If we had eaten something today they might have been able," Sora thought aloud. "But we didn't get anything. If we're really weak, they're really weak."
"If there's enough danger, the theory is that the digimon will evolve to help the partner," Koushiro stated, as though reciting from a book. "I think that having a digivice is essential, however, even with one, we're simply not at risk at the moment."
"Sure we are!" Takeru interrupted. "Just not a danger they can fight."
"Yeah, we're in danger of freezing to death and dying of starvation," Jyou mumbled pessimistically.
"Now who's putting a damper on the situation?" Koushiro asked.
"We'll probably be in more serious danger at midnight," Ken spoke up for the first time, interrupting the argument before it could begin.
"Yeah, if they're not too weak to fight at midnight," Daisuke grumbled. He was still weak, but was managing to remain awake and conscious.
***
It was too dark to see now, and everyone was so tired they could barely stand. Hunger growled at the inside of their stomachs, begging for food of some kind, but there was nothing anyone could give in response.
Gabumon was the first to spot the dark figures coming from the castle. "I see them, Yamato," he alerted his half-asleep partner. Yamato peered into the night and was able to make out five dark shapes in the light of the castle's candles, peering from the window.
"I see them, too," he replied. "Hey," he whispered to his left. "Taichi?"
"I see them," the Prince replied. "Sora?"
"Huh?"
"See them? Out there?"
"I see them. Mimi, they're coming."
"About time," Mimi grumbled. She turned to the boy on her left. "They're coming."
"So I heard."
"All right, just letting you know!"
"Miyako? They're coming."
"Oh, boy. Daisuke?"
"I hear. Hikari?"
"Coming already?" A sigh. "Iori?"
"I'm ready as I'll ever be. Takeru?"
"I hear it, Iori. Doctor?"
"All right, is everyone ready to die? Or at least feel pain?"
"Jyou!"
"Sorry, I just had to be pessimistic one last time, Koushiro. They're coming."
"Right. Yamato?"
"I know already, Koushiro. I see them!"
"Oh. Sorry."
By this time, the figures were almost at the circle. The leader of the figures carried lamp, and he held it in the air in the center.
A short figure that Koushiro was able to identify as one of the King's wizards carried a large book of spells. Leomon, following, placed a large table in the center of the circle, which the wizard then placed the book of spells on. The King then set the lamp beside it. The Queen and her Elecmon remained outside the circle, watching.
"Will this take long?" the Queen questioned. "I'd like to get some sleep before dawn."
"Of course not," her husband replied. "It won't take long at all."
"Mind filling us in on what's going to happen?" Taichi asked.
His parents ignored him. The tall, thin, and scared looking wizard squeaked. "It's just a quick spell," he answered. "You probably won't feel any pain – just a draining sensation."
Taichi gave him such a look of anger that the he squeaked again in surprise and turned back to his book. "I should get started then," he mumbled.
The King peered at an hourglass the Queen was carrying. "Just a few moments," he decided. Leomon positioned himself beside the table and waited, looking as terrifying as ever.
"Everyone must have the devices on them if this is going to work," the squeaky wizard explained.
"Well, make sure that they do, then," the King replied.
The wizard looked quite afraid, but he knew better than to disobey. He went around the circle, braving the digimon, and found that everyone had the little blue boxes in their pockets somewhere – except Taichi.
Agumon growled softly under his breath in the little wizard's direction. He leapt back a few feet in fear, and shivered slightly at the sight of the yellow dinosaur. After a few seconds, he tried to step forward again, but Agumon growled again.
The King turned towards his son. "Is there a problem?"
The wizard pointed fearfully at the Prince's digimon. "I don't trust it."
The King, unafraid of Agumon, stepped forward. "You will allow him to search you. Call off the digimon unless you wish to face the consequences."
There were a few moments of silence as a staring contest resumed. The King stepped away. Taichi sighed, but reluctantly agreed.
"Agumon, it's all right," he said then in a soft voice. Agumon looked doubtful. "He's not going to hurt me, I promise."
"You sure?" Agumon questioned, disbelieving. Taichi nodded. Reluctantly, the digimon backed off and settled for watching the wizard with a very angry expression, as the other digimon had done.
"We seem to be ready, sire," the little wizard reported as soon as he had braved the dinosaur.
"Good." The King had returned to peering over the magic book. "Begin."
Miyako stared in shock as the wizard began to read the words to the spell.
Let the energy from the Chosen
flow through the air again…
At that moment, she felt a strange tingling in her spine. "What?" she gasped, and she looked around her. The others must also be feeling it, because of the surprised expressions on their faces.
Let the energy from these ancient objects
that once was formed to protect
These children that have been Chosen,
their energy flows again…
at my command…
Miyako felt a strange pull from somewhere inside of her. Suddenly, the digivice that she kept in her pocket began to glow and emit high-pitched noises.
"What's going on?" she heard Daisuke wonder from somewhere beside her. She turned her head to see his expression, but found herself being blinded by the light bursting from his digivice. Suddenly, the lights were coming from all over the circle – blinding white lights that enveloped the King and his wizard and the book and Leomon in the center of the circle.
Somewhere to the left Miyako could hear Mimi, screaming something, but she couldn't tell what. Maybe it wasn't words. Maybe it was just Mimi screaming. Miyako couldn't tell, because the digivices were emitting squealing noises now. In her pocket, she could feel her own little blue box bouncing around as though it were demanding to be released.
She became aware then that the wizard was reading from the book, and strained her ears to listen, although she wasn't sure she wanted to hear what he was saying.
Energy transferred from them unto the power that requests
Energy flow now from these unworthy Chosen
flow now to the one they shall soon call master,
to the one who stands before me now.
Miyako could see Leomon move to stand before the wizard and the book, preparing to receive the energy.
Energy! Flow now to the one who is worthy of it!
Flow to he who stands before me - now!
Miyako felt a sharp pain in her head, and cried out from it. Suddenly, she felt as though she had been drugged. She felt so weak she could barely stand.
Around her, Miyako could hear the others, crying out in pain and then silencing as the weakness overtook them as well. Then, she heard Hawkmon cry out.
Abruptly, Miyako felt as though she had a bit more energy. "Hawkmon!" she cried. The world was composed of only herself and her digimon. The blinding white lights around her, the wailing noises of the digivices. She saw only the form of Hawkmon before her, a dark silhouette against the bright lights.
Neither Miyako, Hawkmon, nor any of the others in the circle saw Leomon step forward and absorb the energy of the white lights as they shined into him. They didn't see the King's ferocious smile of triumph as he absorbed the scene.
Daisuke, too, saw only V-mon. He knew only that he and his digimon were weak. 'What's causing this?' he found a voice in the back of his mind wondering. 'Why are we so weak? It's not right.'
Somehow, his awareness returned with that voiceless question. They were being drained. "No!" he shouted as loud as possible. "I won't give in!" His digivice ceased glowing. The light stopped shining. Leomon staggered in pain.
Daisuke's shout was enough to break the others out of the dazed world they had entered. Miyako became aware of what was happening. "No!" she agreed. "I can't let the King hurt my friends – my family. I won't Leomon give my energy." The light stopped shining, and the digivice's squealing halted. Leomon gasped again as less light was given.
"What's going on?!" the King demanded.
"I-I don't know, sire," the wizard replied, fumbling through the pages of his book. He was sweating profusely.
"Well, find out!"
"Working on it, sire."
Miyako saw Daisuke through the dimmer but still quite bright light. "We've got to stop them," she realized.
"We do," Daisuke nodded. "Everyone! Don't help them! Snap out of it!" He turned to the boy on his left. "Iori! Hikari!"
"I'm – so weak," Iori managed to mumble.
"You can do it, Iori," Daisuke shouted over the noise from the digivices. "I know you can."
"I can't..."
"You can, Iori, I know you can! Just try! Come on! We can't let them win! Think of what Leomon and the King will do!"
Miyako was having similar trouble with the boy on her left. "Ken, please, snap out of it!" she begged, but he wasn't responding. "You're being drained, Ken, all right? But you don't have to be. You don't have to give the King your energy. You don't want to, do you? Think of what will happen if you do? People will get hurt. You don't want that, do you?"
The light coming from Ken's digivice abruptly stopped. His eyes opened and he looked at her. "What's happening?"
"We don't have to let this happen, Iori," Daisuke was still trying to give his friend support. "Just fight. Please fight."
The light from Iori's digivice stopped as well. The small boy peered up at Daisuke. "I won't let this happen."
Leomon gasped in pain as two more lights stopped feeding into him. "What's – happening?" he growled. "They're not supposed to be able to fight this!"
"I don't know!" the wizard replied, sweat pouring in buckets from his face now. "I'm trying to figure it out." He fumbled through his spell book at a fast speed, frantically searching.
"Hikari!" Iori and Daisuke were both shouting. "You can do it!"
"Mimi!" Miyako and Ken were both crying. "We don't have to do this! Don't let them take your energy!"
Two more lights stopped flowing.
"Fix this now!" the King shouted to the wizard. He jumped away from the table and ran to his son. "Taichi! Whatever you are trying, you'd better stop it!"
"I – won't – let this happen," Taichi managed to whisper. His voice was so low that the King could barely hear him.
He grabbed his son by the shoulders and shook him, hard. "You will give Leomon all your energy. You will give it to him, do you understand!"
"I won't."
"You will give it to him! He needs it!"
"I won't." His voice was a little louder now.
"I need him stronger and this is the only way to do it!"
"Sora!" Mimi shouted. "Don't give in!"
"Takeru!" Iori, and Hikari were shouting. "Don't give up hope!"
Two more lights went dark. Leomon's scream pierced the night.
"I won't give in," Taichi's voice was louder now.
"Jyou! We're counting on you!" Takeru shouted to the doctor. "Don't give up!"
"I'm not giving in!" Taichi shouted. His light and the light from Jyou went dark. "Yamato!" he shouted to the boy on his right.
"Koushiro! We need you!" Jyou shouted.
The last two lights went dark. Leomon roared with pain as the light subsided. A bright light surrounded him.
"No!" the King shouted. "This isn't over! You will all pay!"
"Agumon," Taichi whispered. "Do you think you can – ?"
The bright light surrounding Leomon dulled slightly, and a lowly little gray digimon with two long ears and angry, deceitful eyes appeared.
"What's that?" Takeru wondered.
"He's a Gazimon!" Mimi shouted.
"He – de-evolved?" Yamato gasped.
"He's only a child now," Koushiro realized.
The light around the Gazimon did not subside, however, and he continued to shrink.
"He's de-evolving even more?" Miyako gasped.
"He must have lost a lot of energy," Ken noted. "Too much to stay even at a child stage."
"Pagumon!" The King rushed forward and grabbed the little digimon, who was slumped weakly and looking as though he might de-evolve again.
"Boy, what a backfire that spell was," Yamato commented wryly.
The Queen now stepped into the circle, Elecmon with her. Sparks flashed between his tail blades. "Nobody move."
"You're only a Child - like us," V-mon noted boldly. "Why should we be afraid of you?"
The sparks danced. "Sparkling Thunder!" A bolt of electricity hit the small blue digimon in the head, sending him flying back into Daisuke's feet.
"V-mon?" Daisuke asked. "You all right?"
V-mon gripped his head. "I'll be fine," he mumbled, but certainly did not look as though he was up for any further sort of fighting.
"Any one else want to try?" Elecmon demanded. No one replied.
The King was still sobbing over his Pagumon. He stood up now. "Don't think this is the end!" he warned them.
"Oh, but it is, Father."
Agumon had somehow managed to release his partner, and Taichi now stood rather formidably in front of the post he had once been tied to. He held his digivice loosely in his right hand.
The King laughed. At first it was forced, but then it was genuine. "Do you really think that little thing can defeat me, Taichi?"
"Your digimon is almost useless to you now, Father," Taichi replied. His voice was cold now, all sympathy and respect for his father having been removed in the days he'd spent in the dungeon. "Defeating you will not be a problem."
The King didn't reply.
"Taichi," the Queen spoke up. Elecmon stood beside her, the sparks still flashing around his tail.
"I'm sorry, Mother," Taichi replied. "But I can't let this happen. If you were willing to hurt your own children, imagine what would have happened to the innocents of this land."
"If we wanted to succeed, certain sacrifices had to be made," the King answered.
"Like innocent people being hurt?" Daisuke demanded. "I've seen what sacrifices you've made. Like ignoring your own people?"
"I ignored no one in need!" the King snapped.
"You ignored plenty of people in need!"
"What about those people that lost their homes in the war? That lost loved ones?" Ken questioned in a voice that was only slightly calmer than his friend.
"Those were sacrifices that had to be made!"
"To them! There was no sacrifice to you!" Daisuke spat the word out the ground.
"Daisuke, calm down, please," Hikari pleaded softly. In a louder voice, she said: "Father, I don't understand what your reasoning behind all this was. Why was it necessary to try to evolve Leomon?"
"Isn't that apparent, Hikari?" the Queen asked.
"No, not to me, Mother. Leomon is already the strongest digimon for many miles around. Why do you need him to be stronger?"
"I have made my name in this time, Hikari," the King replied, his voice a bit more subdued now. "I need to be known for all time."
"Well, now you might be," Jyou mumbled under his breath. "You might be known as the stupid king that tried to kill his own children in order to gain power he didn't need."
"Jyou!" Koushiro gasped.
"It's true," Takeru agreed, from the opposite side. "There's no reason to gain more power. You only wanted it so you could scare people off from other sides. But you forgot about your own children, and your own kingdom."
"And there are no other kingdoms in the area that would be a serious threat," Mimi noted. "The only neighboring lands are peaceful neighbors. The war many years ago left that enemy with a very small army and almost no money. There's no need to have that sort of power."
The King did not reply to these statements. "So what do you plan to do now, Taichi?"
Yamato spoke up. "He's going to do what he should have done a long time ago! He's going to take his place where he should!"
Sora shook her head. "Are you sure that's wise, Taichi? You're still young."
"He's old enough to be King! He'd probably do a better job than the current ruler," Yamato replied.
"Old enough, yes," Sora agreed. "But is he ready for that kind of responsibility?"
"He'd be an improvement if he were a rock!"
"It takes brains to rule."
"I know that. I'm just saying that Taichi can make decisions that are a lot more beneficial to the ruling of the kingdom than our current leader. Even if he isn't ready or mature enough or whatever, he can still do a better job."
"Yamato, Sora," Taichi spoke up then, and they broke off their argument. "Thanks for the advice, but I can speak for myself."
"Uh - right."
"Sorry, Taichi."
"So what will you do?"
"Exactly what I planned to do before," he replied.
"Taichi, think this over," the Queen spoke up. "Are you certain you want to take on this task?"
"I do, Mother," Taichi replied. "You can decide now. If you wish to stay with Father, you will not be harmed."
The Queen merely stared in shock at her eldest child. "Taichi –."
"I'm sorry Mother, now is not the time for sentimentality. I cannot allow things to continue this way." Taichi's voice was again cold.
She nodded and stepped out of the circle. Elecmon's sparks flashed one last time and dissipated. The still-sweating, nervous wizard darted after her to safety.
The King stared in surprise as his wife and her digimon left the circle. The rest of the observers in the circle were silent.
"Do you want to give up now, Father, or will you make it difficult?"
The King rose to his feet, lifting his Pagumon with him. "This is my Kingdom, Taichi. It has been for many years. I will not give it up without a fight."
"And what do you expect fight with?" Yamato spoke up.
In response, the King reached into his pocket and removed a small whistle. He lifted it to his lips and blew. A high-pitched wail came from the instrument, and almost before he had run out of breath, a dozen soldiers had appeared at the edge of the circle, a digimon beside each of them. Dokunemon, Mushmon, Lopmon, and a few Agumon lined the edges.
Yamato's eyes grew wide.
Taichi didn't appear phased. "Still so confident, son?" the King mocked. "I won't hesitate to do damage to you if you wish to fight."
The Prince remained silent for a long period of time. He glanced to Agumon. "Ready?"
"Whenever you are, Taichi," Agumon replied. He smiled, but all could see he was serious at the same time.
"I'm not giving in, Father."
With these words, pandemonium broke out. The soldiers, yelling, rushed the scene, their digimon beside them. Agumon, seeing the danger, lobbed a few "Baby Flames" at the other attackers, but they served little purpose other than to knock a few humans down.
The Queen decided to become useful and began to untie Yamato. Elecmon tried to help, but his paws were useless for untying ropes. Instead, he tried to help by knocking out a few of the soldiers. The Queen instead ordered the scared little wizard to help out, and he did, after hesitating a moment, beginning to untie Koushiro.
A second later, Yamato was untied and Gabumon was attempting to knock out a few soldiers themselves while his partner moved to untie Sora. He was unable to remove the chain from his digimon's neck, who was assisting nonetheless, shooting a "Petit Fire" at anyone who tried to get near his partner.
Another second, and a soldier was behind Taichi, holding out a knife to his throat. The immediate danger great, his digivice began to wail and glow. The soldier, blinded by the light, dropped the knife, and the others near him pulled back in fear of the unknown, but Taichi knew what would happen.
"Agumon!" he shouted in the direction of his digimon, still chained by the neck to the post he had once been tied to.
"Agumon evolve!" Agumon shouted over the noise and confusion and light.
Through the blinding white light, Taichi could see the shape of Agumon growing larger. The chain expanded, cracked, and fell off uselessly. Most of the soldiers backed off.
"Greymon!"
***
Yeah! Another cliffhanger!
Okay, this was really long and really sappy. I know I said the whole fight was going to be one part, but it was really long so I had to break it up. Expect the next part to be out in a couple of days, and then the epilogue.
In case anyone was wondering, yes, Gazimon can evolve to Leomon. And the De-evolution from Gazimon is Pagumon. Got that information from www.megchan.com, in case you might be wondering. I thought that, of Leomon's de-evolutions, Gazimon was the best idea. Besides, I always liked Gazimon.
More fight coming soon, so stick around just a bit longer! Thanks for reading this far and thanks for reviewing! I had so much fun writing this – still am! – and I hope everyone enjoys it.
Oh yeah, in case you forgot, I don't own Digimon or any of the characters or digimon in it. The few meager and minor characters that I created in this story are MINE! And so is the plot, so don't steal and don't sue. Thanks! ^_^
