Chapter 14: The hidden truth
The Digidestined ran through the forest without looking back. They stopped as they came to the edge of the desert. Tai caught up to the rest of them and coughed as he spoke, "Why are we stopping?"
Izzy turned around and answered, "We can't go on like this. That desert will dehydrate us and leave us out in the open."
Matt walked out of the crowd and spoke, "We must have lost him by now. I think we should stop and think things over." He looked at Tai, "What should we do with Tai?"
Everyone looked at Matt with confused eyes. Sora walked over between Tai and Matt, "What do you mean, Matt?"
"Isn't it obvious? He has no digimon, and looks like he's about to snap. I think we should do something with him other than take him with us."
Sora shot back with an angry tone, "And why is that?"
"He's a threat!"
TK pushed them apart and looked at his brother, "What's your problem, Matt? What do you have against Tai?"
"I have nothing against Tai, but without a digimon he'd just be in the way."
TK looked at Tai, who was sitting in the shade of the edge of trees. He returned his attention to his brother and gave him a sad look, "Is that what you thought when I had no Digimon?"
Matt fell backwards as the words hit him, "Of course not, TK. You're my brother. I could never do that to you."
Sora stepped back into the conversation, "But you can do it to Tai?"
"I don't see any reason not to!"
Joe put up a finger to try to get their attention and spoke quietly, "Um, might I say something?"
Matt twisted his head to look at Joe and squinted, "Why don't you shut up!"
Joe put his hand down and turned it into a fist, "Geez, what's got the apple up your ass?"
Matt turned his hands into fists to match Joe gesture, "Isn't it obvious to you?" He looked at Tai, who was still ignoring what was going on, "Why do you all always side with Tai? Why not me?" Matt placed one of his hands on his chest.
TK was amazed at his brother's words, "Is that what this is all about? Since Tai's been handicapped you think we should listen to you instead?" TK pointed at Tai, "I think it's obvious why we followed him, and not you." He struggled to contain his anger, but was unable to keep it in, "It's because you're a jerk, Matt! And you care for no one!"
TK leapt at Matt with his fists out and smacked his brother to the ground. Matt pushed TK off and swung at him. The attacks missed, and TK hit Matt in the gut. Matt dropped to the ground holding his stomach.
Izzy got up and ran in to stop the two, "Hey! You two should be the last ones fighting each other!" He suddenly felt both of their fists slamming into his back.
Matt yelled at Izzy as he fell to the ground, "Shut up, Izzy! This has nothing to do with you!" Matt fell as someone hit him on the back of his shoulder. He turned onto his back and saw Joe standing over him.
"You're wrong, Matt. This has everything to do with all of us!" Joe began to swing his fist forward as he shouted his words.
- Crater -
Myn swung at LordDevimon with his sword, but found only smoke where LordDevimon was standing before. He quickly turned around as he heard LordDevimon creeping up behind him. LordDevimon lifted his metal arm and blocked Myn's attack.
LordDevimon threw Myn back and shot flames from his hands, "Devil's fire!"
Myn flew through the flames and they bounced off of his body. "Your flames will do no good against me!" He pulled out his sword and swung as he reached LordDevimon. The blade sliced through LordDevimon's cheek and blood burst out.
LordDevimon stepped back and wiped the blood off of his face. "I'll crush you like the bug you are!" LordDevimon spread his wings and trapped Myn in them, "Wing crusher!"
LordDevimon's wings came in and smashed Myn between them. Myn covered his head as they smashed his sides. He fell to the ground as they released him.
"And now..." LordDevimon put his hands in front of him and charged up his energy. "Now you die! Shadow Flare!" A gigantic ball of black energy shot out of LordDevimon's hands. As the ball passed through some trees they rotted as if they had been dead for centuries. LordDevimon laughed as the void ate up the life of everything it touched.
Myn quickly got up and charged his own energy. He summoned all of the life of the plants before the void could consume it. As the energy entered his body he began to glow a bright white. He stopped collecting the energy and concentrated it into his arms. Angel wings appeared around him as he fired the energy out, towards the void. "Holy Blast!"
The white energy zipped at the void like a snake and coiled around it. It tightened its grip around the void and began to crush it. LordDevimon opened his eyes wide as he saw the energy trapping his own. "You fool! You'll destroy us all!" He shielded his eyes as the energies detonated, "Ah!"
The mass of energy exploded and threw LordDevimon and Myn in opposite directions. LordDevimon was strong enough to stop his wayward flight and watched as Myn's limp body crashed near the desert. The explosion cracked the crater open again and lava started to shoot skyward as the violent explosion ripped the island apart. LordDevimon squinted his eyes and began to fly to where Myn had landed, "He'll pay for this!"
- Forest Edge -
Joe and Matt struggled in a death grip of punches and kicks as TK and Sora shouted at them. Izzy and Mimi also shouted at the two to stop. "You have to stop!" Sora cried as they separated.
Mimi ran to Joe and grabbed his arm, "This isn't like you at all! You better stop this instant!"
Joe threw Mimi's hand off of his arm, "Go watch the flowers bloom!" He charged at Matt again.
TK pulled his brother's arm to try to drag him away from Joe, "Matt! Stop it!"
Matt pushed TK into a tree, "Shut up, TK! You're just a kid! How could you understand!?" Matt blacked Joe's punch and thrusted his knee into Joe's hip. Joe dropped to one knee, but quickly sprang back up with a blow to Matt's face.
TK got up and noticed he had been cut by the tree's branch. He mumbled as he wiped some blood from the cut, "That tears it!" He dashed at the two teenagers with his fists flying, "I'm going to kick both of your worthless asses!"
Sora stepped into TK's path and tripped him. TK fell to the ground face forward and kicked up a cloud of dust as he struggled to get up. Sora pushed him back down, "Stop it, TK! You're only making thing's worse!"
TK grabbed Sora's arm, "You want to fight me too?" He twisted Sora's arm and dropped her to the ground as he got up.
The digimon screamed for their masters to stop. Each called for their master, but received no reply. Gomamon turned to Gabumon, "This is terrible. They won't stop fighting." He squinted, "This all your stupid master's fault!" Gomamon slashed at Gabumon with his claws.
Kari turned around as Gomamon began his attack, "Hey! Stop it Gomamon!"
Gabumon dodged the attack, but tripped over a stone. "What are you doing? We have to stop them! Not continue the fight! Besides, we all know it's Joe's fault!"
Gomamon jumped into the air and dropped towards Gabumon, "Liar!"
A tremor shot through the ground and tripped everyone. Trees fell over as something crashed through them and at the Digidestined. They covered their heads as it passed over them and crashed into the ground. Izzy got up and looked through the cloud of dust that had been made by the chaos, "Whoa, what was that?"
Matt got up, "Who cares? We have more important things to attend to!"
Sora shouted, "Shut up, Matt!"
Something laughed from beyond the cloud. "Fools! That was more fun than I thought it would be!"
"What? Who the Hell are you?" Matt spoke with an angry tone.
A small digimon leapt out of the dust and presented itself. It's body was made of wood, and he had a face that reminded the Digidestined of Puppetmon. The body had no gears though, and the digimon wore cloths like that of a clown. "I am Mastermon, master of all." He spread his arms to try to impress the Digidestined, "As well as the truth."
Matt gave the digimon an unimpressed look, "Yeah, right!" He pulled out his digivice, "Gabumon, take him out!" He waited for the digivice to activate, but nothing happened, "huh?"
Gabumon gave a confused look, "Something's wrong. I can't digivolve!"
Mastermon laughed, "What's wrong? Held back by the truth you hold?" He walked forward a few steps, "Or is it that you're just too amazed to fight me?"
Joe took a step forward and pulled out his digivice, "Impressed by a loser like you? Gomamon, digivolve!" Joe looked at his digivice, but saw nothing happening. "Gomamon?"
Gomamon looked at Joe, "Sorry. I can't seem to digivolve either."
The digimon laughed again, "Oh, did my little show suck you in too? Sometimes I even impress myself!"
Matt shouted in frustration as the digimon continued to laugh, "What have you done to us you corny pile of wood!?"
"I've done nothing to you. All I did was make you speak the truth, Matt." Mastermon pointed a finger at Tai, "Look at that pathetic soul! He's lost everything of value. You wanted to rub him out of the picture, deep down inside. But you never would do such a thing, so I made you do it!"
Izzy snapped his fingers, "That explains the sudden change of attitude!"
Joe and Matt fell to the ground in shock. Matt looked at his fists and dirty cloths, "So all this time... We've been fighting because you made us?"
"That's correct!" Mastermon lifted his arms over his head, "And now I'll take you out! Ah!" A sword shot threw Mastermon's body and stuck out of his wooden chest. It would have hit a heart in any other life form, but only struck wood within Mastermon.
From behind Mastermon, Myn sat on his knees, holding his left shoulder. Mastermon dropped to the ground and disintegrated. "Rookie's shouldn't play with bigger digimon." Myn fell forward and slumped as if he had died, but continued to breath.
Tai, who was sitting beside him, crawled over to him. He poked Myn's body and talked, "What happened to you?"
Myn didn't answer. He continued to lie there and breath heavily.
Joe kneeled beside Myn and looked over him, "He's in pretty bad shape. I'm no expert at treating digimon, but by human standards it doesn't look like he's going to make it."
A deep voice came from beyond the trees, "You got that right, human!" LordDevimon appeared from beyond the trees and laughed at the Digidestined and their Digimon. "Look's like that little digimon's prank has got you in a jam!" LordDevimon stopped moving towards them and summoned flames to his hands, "Don't worry! Your misfortunes will last only a few moments longer!" He threw the flames at the Digidestined. They called for their digimon to digivolve, but nothing happened. There was nothing they could do to defend themselves.