A/N: I know what you're thinking: "Man my calendar must be really off, because the last time I checked a week is seven days." well let me assure that there is nothing wrong with your calendar, a week is seven days, but unfortunately I've been bedridden with the flue for the last five days, which is why this chapter is late. So I apologize, and I'm letting you know that I will never say I'm going to get a chapter out in this many days, again, because it never seems to work out.
Disclaimer: don't own digimon, but if I did I assure you a lot of things would be different.
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Okay so maybe that wasn't the best idea." Tai exclaimed as he watched Greymon hit the ground from the powerful shove he received from SkullMeramon.
"You think!" TK replied with the same amount of sarcasm.
Angemon and Greymon were doing better then the two Digidestined had expected, but Tai's plan for a head on attack had failed horribly, and now both Angemon and Greymon had received painful blows. The ability to heal, which was placed inside of them by the Crest of Friendship, was steadily fading, and the wounds were healing slower with each attack.
"We've got to think of something; they're too tired to keep going like this." TK stated as he watched Angemon prepare to release his Hand of Fate attack.
The powerful beam of yellow light charged SkullMeramon hitting him directly in the chest.
SkullMeramon cried out, as he fell upon his back, hitting the pavement, like a great oak being cut in its trunk and removed from its secure foundation of roots.
The giant ultimate laid there for a moment, he moaned in pain as he struggled to retune to his feet, but found it impossible. Angemon's attack had rendered him helpless, and now all that was left to do was for the two champions to finish him off.
"Quick Greymon help Angemon finish that metal head off!" Tai shouted the order and watched as the two champions lined up, ready to end this fight.
In a matter of moments the two champions shouted in unison their attacks; then a stream of yellow light and a sphere of orange fire flew from the angel and the dinosaur, and hit the ground stricken ultimate head on.
The two powerful attacks broke the pavement, and dust as well as large pieces of rock flew into the air. A blanket of earth and pavement settled over the site, preventing Tai and TK from seeing the effects of their partner's attacks.
"Did we get him?" Tai asked in confusion as he strained his eyes to look past the curtain, and fixed his gaze on the last place he saw the metal ultimate.
Soon the dust began to settle, and tiny fragments of earth sunk back to their place, leaving the air open and as clean as the city's pollution would permit.
The two teen immediately looked to where SkullMeramon had been lying at the time of the attack, their eyes widened for a moment as they looked upon the cracked pavement, then the two boys jumped into the air and shouted with excitement.
In place of where the large metal humanoid once stood was a vacant whole in the ground. A crater as a visual symbol of the giant beast's grave.
"Well that wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be." Tai expressed, though his voice held a hint of suspicion.
The young leader had confidence in his partner's abilities to battle such threats, but he still couldn't understand how the two champions had won so easily. Finally Tai gave up on the problem and set his mind on congratulating his partner, but still the suspicion and the image of the Crest of Friendship, remained in the corner of his mind.
"I wonder how the others' fights went." TK stated, his voice quivering with concern for his absent friends.
Tai sighed, exhausted from the day's events, and then flopped down on the curve. "It got late real fast." He stated thoughtfully as he looked up at the overcast sky, noticing the lack of light piercing through the clouds. "Do you realize we've spent the whole day fighting, and we still don't know who we were fighting against." The brunette sounded defeated, he had grown tired of being a pawn in a war he knew nothing about.
TK could only nod in agreement, knowing what the older boy was getting at by he statement. "I hope the others are all right." The blonde spoke his earlier concerns, before drawing out his Digi-Vice. "Hey look at this!"
Tai jumped at the sudden increase of volume in TK's voice. "What?" he asked suspiciously, as he too pulled out his small digital device. After studying the instrument for some time Tai stood from his seat on the curve and smiled with relief. "The others are heading this way!"
Only moments after the young leader expressed his relief Davis, Ken, Yolie, and Cody rounded a corner and appeared on the street.
"Tai! TM!" the young goggle-wearing boy shouted as he waved to the two boys on the curve.
"It's TK, Davis." The young blonde corrected flatly.
"Whatever." The other boy rippled lazily. "The two of you will never guess what happened to us!" the over exuberant red head exclaimed with far too much enthusiasm then the other two could handle.
"Let me guess." Another voice joined in and the group turned around to find Joe and Izzy trudging down the sidewalk. "Fox digimon came out of nowhere, saved your lives, gave you a rant about their grand Lord, and then vanished mysteriously." The eldest of the Digidestined spoke as though he had recited the events in his head.
"Exactly!" Yolie exclaimed with the same amount of enthusiasm as Davis had. "How'd you guys know?" the violet hair girl asked as she raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Well, you know, that seems to be everybody's story these days." Izzy replied his tone as flat and cold as Joe's.
"Since when did the two of you grow such a negative attitude?" Tai asked, as he crossed his arms with dissatisfaction.
"Since we're carrying our barely alive partner's in our arms!" Joe shouted back, not amused by Tai's scolding. With a fatigue sigh navy hair teen turned his gaze back to the rookie digimon, resting peacefully in his arms. He cringed at the sight of the usually white seal who was now decorated with blotches of purple and brown as large bruises and welts swelled on his body.
Motiomon was doing little better, the tiny pink digimon was wheezing loudly, and he shivered from the pain breathing caused.
Tai's eyes widened when he finally caught a glimpse of all of the rookie and in-training digimon passed out in their partner's arms. All the tiny creature looked batter, like someone had tied them to a pole and beating them mercilessly with rods. Bruises and scraps covered the digimon's body's like graffiti painted onto a wall, only these painting were more then just vandalism, this painting was painful, life threatening, even.
"Joe I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so insensitive, why don't you guys tell us what happened so we can figure this out together."
Tai coaxed gently, as he noticed that not only had the digimon been scared, but their partner's were injured as well. The injuries weren't the same of course, but they were just as painful, emotional bruises took more time to heal then physical, and they general ran deeper. All the other Digidestined were beaten, completely drained, both emotionally and physically. The combination of exhaustion and built up anger, fear, and concern wore all the Chosen to their limit, and Tai knew that his friends could never forgive the one responsible for their partner's pain, as well as their own.
"Maybe we should wait until Sora, Kari and Matt come back, that way we don't have to tell the story twice." Cody suggested, his collective voice displaying ease that was not present in his mind. "Where did the three of them go anyway?"
"Sora and Kari went to fight the SkullMeramon that was furthest from here, but according to my Digi-Vice they're only a block away now." TK explained as he held up his D3 for the others to see. "Matt went to fight the final SkullMeramon alone, he must be too far away, because I'm not picking up his signal." The blonde's voice held a hint of worry at mention of his brother, but he contained himself for the sake of the group.
"Well I don't want to just stand here, let's head in the direction Kari and Sora are coming from, so we can meet them half way." Yolie suggested, earning her agreeing nods from all present, as the group turned in the correct direction and began their walk.
The company of chosen guardians walked in complete silence, each lost in his or her thoughts, but the trek did not last long, as two swaggering figures appeared from behind a corner, struggling to reach their friends.
"Kari! Sora!" Tai shouted upon seeing the injured girls and immediately the group ran to the Digidestined of Light and Love.
Kari swayed slightly and rested her hand upon a bench to steady her shaking form. Just as he felt she could stand no longer she heard what seemed to be a distant voice calling out her name. Fighting against the hand of darkness stretched out to her, she forced herself to focus her gaze upon the source of the voice.
Tai's mind went numb, his big brother instincts took over, and his only thoughts were of getting to his sister's side. With energy he didn't know he had left, he dashed to Kari, and immediately put his arms under her, supporting her weight as he led her to the bus bench she had been leaning on.
The others arrived shortly after Kari was settled on the bench with Gatomon resting in her lap. Davis immediately placed Veemon next to Kari, then went to help Sora, while TK tended to Biyomon. Once both girls were sitting comfortable on the bench, Tai dared to bring their attention out of whatever nightmare they were still reliving.
"Kari?" his gentle voice asked receiving no reply from the traumatized girl. "Kari please speak to me." the brunette pleaded.
Kari gave no sign that she heard her brother, her head hung low, her skin was pale with fright, and her ruby eyes did not shine with light but glistened with unshed tears.
"Kari, please…" Tai tried again, not expecting a response but hoping for one just the same.
Silence again, silence that brought defeat to the young leader, until at last he heard words, words so soft that not even a whisper could define them.
"I almost lost her…."
The simply statement turned the Digidestined's faces from worry to remorse.
Tai was confused for a moment, his concern clouding his reasoning, until he looked at Kari's lap, and saw the beaten Gatomon.
"Kari, Gatomon's fine, she's going to be just fine, and so are you."
"No." Came the hoarse reply. "I won't be fine, none of us will be fine!" Kari almost shouted. "They're destroying everything, nothing will ever be the same again."
Kari ended her outburst and fell into shaky sobs.
Tai wanted to cry so badly, but he knew this wasn't the time, instead he wrapped his arms around his sister, and remained her strength.
"Kari, it's going to be okay, I promise." Tai reassured calmly as he gently stroked his sister's back.
"Oh but the little one is right, nothing will ever be the same again."
The Digidestined looked up, as the sound of the deep fiendlike voice filled their ears. There was no one there, but the voice still seemed to echo through their minds like a haunting curse etched upon their souls.
Tai slowly pulled away from his sister and stood, his dark brown eyes still glisten with tears of sympathy for his younger sibling, and his body shook from the spell of the voice still circling around his head.
The young leader hadn't noticed until that moment how cold the air had become. It was like something out of a horror film, chilled air that ran its icy hands down you spin, creeping into your throat, like a cloud of sharp crystals, slicing down your windpipes and pushing to escape through your lungs. The howling wind tossed crinkled pieces of newspaper down the barren street, blanketed in a light layer of silver fog, which shone in an eerie gray glow from the dim street lamps. The tone was set for fear, a child's nightmare, but in the waking. And even Tai, the Digidestined of Courage, felt the spell of iniquity like a thick cloth wrapped around his head, suffocating him with fright and blinding him with despair.
"Who… who said that?" the young leader choked out, struggling to breath from the suffocating weight of fear.
"In the arms of blissful shadows,
Creep closer to me, my dear child;
I shall lead you there with bloodstained hands.
Where sorrow is a mark of beauty,
Where they turn to ashes what was once purity
Where despair is painted on a canvass of flesh,
A nightmare is a land where none may rest.
Creep closer to me, my dear child,
Crawl closer to the arms of blissful shadows."
The poem was chanted with a deranged joy, but still no source of sound could be found.
The clouds still hung low, but the sun had set, and no light fell through the obsidian ceiling. It was dark, cold, and the Digidestineds' only company was the voice perfectly formed from nightmares of hell and death.
"Who are you!" Tai shouted this time, the stress becoming too much for his mind to handle.
No real answer came, but laughter, deep and demonic, echoed in the children's minds. The laughter seemed to come from every direction at once, it pounded upon the Digidestined from every angle. Tai shuddered at the sound of the laughter, the mocking voice tore out all other thoughts from his mind and filled him with the insanity the voice held.
"Stop it!" the brunette shouted in fury as he raised shaky palms to his ears trying to block out the sounds causing him so much agony.
"The evening-breeze went moaning by,
like mourner for the dead,
and stirred, with shrill complaining sigh,
the tree-tops over head:"
the voice began reciting once more, however this time the poem was common known, unlike the spell he had chanted earlier.
"You have entered the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and alone it would seem." The voice continued to hiss, taunting the children like a ghoul, finding glee in the teen's fear.
"My Guardian-Angel seemed to stand
and mutely wave a warning a hand-
with sudden terror all unmanned,
I turned myself a fled!"
Another voice finished the stanza, reciting the missing piece to the poem.
Immediately the children's attention turned from the bodiless voice to the new source of words.
Golden locks waved softly in the chilled breeze, the loose strains danced lightly around an impassive face. Pale flesh accented the golden locks, making the teen look more like an angel then a mere mortal.
Matt stood perfectly still, his black shirt causing his fair skin to seem lighter. His blonde hair seemed to catch the few beams of light coming from the dim street lamps, reflecting off the locks like a halo. The young Lord seemed to fit in the eerie scene with his cold blue eyes shining in an icy stare, as they fixed themselves on a barren street.
"So the guest of honor has at last arrived." The voice continued, "And now that all are present, the fun may at last begin."
At the summon of sickening laughter, the silver fog began to swirl like a small funnel. The swirling cloud continued on a merry-go-round run, and as it spun the gray fog began to slowly adapt an inky blackness. Soon the thick fog had turned into a black mist, and the Digidestineds' bodies stiffened as the dark cloud caressed their flesh. The mist was like a gaseous poison, and as it ran across the children's exposed skin, it burned them with an icy touch.
Tears started to run down Kari's face, as she desperately tried to ease the pain of the poison by rubbing her bare arms with her palms. But this was futile, and soon all the children had locked their jaws as the pain from the mist seeped deeper into their flesh.
Matt looked down at the rising poison, completely unimpressed by the spell. The mist hurt him just as it hurt the other Chosen, but to him it was simply a childish attack brought on by a coward.
"Enough!" Matt shouted in anger. "Either come out and fight us, or leave us alone!" he cried, the rage and annoyance building up inside.
"As you wish, Child of Friendship." The first reply was stated curtly, but the title was spit out with disgust.
Suddenly the mist stopped rising, it stayed at the same level for a moment, allowing the children to suffer just a little longer, before the dark cloud began to sink back down to the earth.
Matt smiled, satisfied that the spell was retreating, but he could not dwell on this small victory for long as a high shrill turned his attention to where he friends all stood.
Matt's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the ground near his friends. his sight remained on the group for a little longer before he began to scanned over the area until his eyes fell upon the ground in front of him.
The mist was falling, and most of it had vanished, but as the mist lowered to earth and met with the barrier of pavement it began to collect together, turning from a gas to a liquid. The dark stinging poison reversed the process of evaporation and began condensation in puddles on the gray road and sidewalk.
The blonde frowned as he looked upon the final layer of mist hit the earth and collect into a liquid. He then watched as that liquid spread until it met small craters and formed a puddle on the road.
The sticky fluid on his black shoes caused Yamato to frown in disgust before he walked towards one of the standing puddles.
Garurumon too cringed in disgust from the fluid, his knee sense of smell, and his natural hunting instincts told him immediately what the poison liquid was, and the sight of it sickened him. His crimson eyes flashed as the bitter, almost copper like smell of blood filled his nostrils.
The Digidestined were freaked by the poison then by the collecting of blood, but Matt only frowned, obviously not amused by the prank.
"You're sick." He stated flatly, "But you can't shake me with this, I've seen worse." He explained, hoping the show of disinterest would draw out the one responsible for the wicked spell.
Laughter rang out once more, and as the insane fit continued the puddles of blood began to flow like river. The standing, deep-red fluid boiled over the craters and began to stream towards a standing point some yards away from where Matt stood. The blood from all over the area pulled together into one puddle a few inches deep, the puddle stood collective and high, keeping the Digidestined in suspense as they waited to see what the blood could mean.
Garurumon tensed and his eyes focused in, as he prepared himself for a possible attack. Greymon and Angemon had come to stand behind him, and they too readied for an attack. Throughout all of this Matt remained calm, knowing that no battle would begin until the enemy showed himself.
The suspension began to build up, and the group of Digidestined huddles by the bench, held their breaths as they waited to see what horror would happen next.
Just as it seemed that noting would come to the puddle of blood, the dark liquid began to even out a bit, flowing from standing level, to an even circular layer over a small area of cement. Then an even more astonishing thing occurred as four different spaces of pavement around the blood began to change. The small areas began to darken, and then, even from a distance, it seemed that the cement itself turned into a liquid. The four small puddles of what was once rock began to wave and swirl, as the crimson too began to stir like a whirlpool.
The Digidestined stared in disbelief as the now liquid rock continued to swirl with the large layer of blood in the center.
The swirling puddles had a mesmerizing effect, and the children fell into a daze as they stared at the puddles.
The pools continued to swirl, when suddenly a hand, gloved in digi-cromoziod, reached out of one of the cement puddles.
The Digidestined jumped in surprise when the hand reached from the pool. The dark gray, almost black liquid rock dripped and ran down the exposed-gloved hand, and soon the lone limb was joined by another object. The top end of a corrupted wizard's staff appeared, from another cement pool, the dark fluid ran drown the center orb and streamed down the spilt wooden handle. Soon the staff lifted higher and another hand clothed in digi-cromoziod appeared.
For a moment the top of the staff and the two gloved hands were all that appeared, then the five pools, four of pavement and one of blood, began to wave as though something were disturbing the flat liquid. The waves began to increase, like the ground shook from below. And the blood splattered in tiny drops on the soiled areas of road.
Soon the source of the disturbed fluid was revealed as the top of two large black wings appeared. The wings were darker then coal, as solid as bone, and as twisted and corrupted as the voice that taunted the children earlier.
The waving stopped, and the pools began to settle a bit, but that did not last long as the two hands, one empty and the other still clutching a staff, found the solid ground and laid upon them, as though the owner of the hands was going to pull himself out of the pool of blood.
The hand found a steady grip, and more of the twisted black wings were exposed, as red, fleshless arms appeared, and the demon pulled himself out of the pools, with his head bowed, and his eyes closed.
It was ironic, the only way the onlookers could possible explain the appearance of the devil was by saying; that it seemed like a demon cast away, forever sentenced to burn in hell, broke past the barrier of earth, fighting its way from the underworld so that it could once more be free to torment the dreams of slumbering babes, because as this monster appeared it looked like the dead rising from a forgotten grave.
Blood and cement ran down red and black bone, streaking down black leather straps, and metal patches. The skeleton body now floated a foot off the ground, looking like a lifeless body hung by an invisible noose. The blood and cement continued to flood down the creature's body, dripping into the puddles with tiny splashes, until at last the creature was dry. The last of the blood and rock had vanished from the demon's bones, and as the last drop went to join the pools of liquid, the cement puddles began to harden until they were solid rock once more. Once the road was returned to normal, the pool of blood began to seep into the cracks of the pavement, returning to the earth, in replace of bones, blood shall rest in the vacant grave.
The Digidestined looked at the creature with more fear and disgust then they had shone any other living being.
Matt looked at the beast, fascinated by his appearance, but also in raged; knowing that this was the beast responsible for separating the SkullMeramon.
The children and digimon watched, waiting for the creature to make some kind of move, but the beast simply floated in the air, motionless and wordless. They continued to stare, anticipating some sort of an attack when suddenly the yellow orb, resting in the red clawed handle, on top f the twisted wooden staff, began to glow in a dim eerie light. Like the color of a werewolf's eyes, the dim yellow glow gave of the image of a hunter, now in sight of its prey.
The orb began to glow even brighter, and in a flash quicker then any could comprehend, a small spark of dim yellow light shot off of the orb and headed straight for Matt.
The spark flew so quickly, that Matt barely had time to dodge it. He dove to the left, causing the spark to miss its appointed target, his heart, and to slash through his right arm.
Matt hit the ground with a loud groan, but quickly pulled himself up to his knees, as his left hand found its way to his lower right arm. His black shirt had been ripped, and blood was oozing out of the deep cut at an alarming rate. Another small pool of blood soon began to form, only this one was from Matt.
"Matt!" TK cried upon seeing his brother fall to the ground.
A few seconds later the younger boy, along with Tai and Joe, where at the fallen blonde's side.
"Are you all right?" Tai asked as he knelt down beside the taller boy.
"I'm fine." Came the confident reply. "Really."
TK didn't seem convinced, his soft baby-blue eyes shone with concern as he removed his white hat and placed it on the cut. He then gently applied pressure, wanting to stop the blood flow without causing his brother anymore pain.
"Thank you." The soft words of gratitude were spoken with pride, as the older boy looked upon his younger brother with a kind smile.
TK smiled too, please with his own courage, and knowing that he was receiving a smile reserved only for him.
"Let's get you off the ground." Joe expressed as he stole a nervous glance at the demon floating near by.
With the help of Tai and Joe, Matt was standing once more. The white hat placed over his wound was now red from the blood seeping through the cloth.
Tai was enraged, he looked upon the blood stained hat, then turned his attention towards the creature floating near by.
"Are you going to fight us, or just hang there like a corpse!" the Child of Courage screamed.
At the summon of this threat SkullSatanmon jerked up his head and looked the brave child in the eyes.
Black hallow eyes stared at blazing brown orbs for a brief moment, then a quick hand swung the split wooden staff and a bright yellow ball of energy came flying from the dim sphere.
Tai's body stiffened upon seeing the coming attack, and he froze in complete fear as he watched the yellow sphere, a human skull engulfed in yellow energy, come flying towards him.
"Tai move!" Matt shouted knowing that the brunette had run too far a head for any of the watching children to help.
Matt watched as the skull came closer to its mark, he was about to shrug off Joe and TK's firm grips and rush to his best friend's rescue, when a blur of blue ribbons and white feathers flew past him and headed straight for Tai.
Angemon reached Tai just in time to act as a shield and take the full force of the blast. The skull shattered against his back, and pieces of bone pierced his flesh, digging deep into white angelic wings.
The force form the yellow energy sent Angemon to the ground, but Tai remained unharmed. The brunette knelt beside the injured angel, knowing that the attack could have quite easily destroyed him.
"Angemon… are you okay?" Tai asked softly, the only reply he received was shaky uneven pants.
"Even angels fall." SkullSatanmon's deep voice spoke casually, as his hallow black eyes stared at the human and angel.
Without word or warning, the red and black demon dove for the fallen angel, his staff was ready to beat the already injured creature.
In another flash of white and blue Garurumon was in front of Angemon and Tai, creating a barrier between victim and attacker.
SkullSatanmon was not phased by the new digimon and with a loud cry he prepared to us his knell hammer attack.
The yellow orb encased by a red claw, slammed into Garurumon's back, sending him to his stomach. The white wolf growled, suppressing the erg to cry out in pain, and then struggled to his feet once more.
SkullSatanmon did not allow the wolf to remain on his feet for long, as he pulled back his hand, causing the staff to glow in a dim red light then flung his arm forward once more. The red light engulfing the staff was sent flying in a ray of power. The blood colored energy hit the tiered Garurumon in the side, tossing him to the ground once more.
Shortly after Garurumon hit the ground, Greymon joined the battle by catching the demon of guard with a Nova Blast. The large ball of fire hit the floating fiend directly in his exposed rib cage, but the powerful ball of fire fizzled out upon contact with the bones.
"I was born from fire and ash, no such attack shall defeat me." the creature hissed as he flew straight towards Greymon.
Greymon was completely defenseless, and his attacks were futile, SkullSatanmon knew this, and found that defeating the weakest digimon would be a small pleasure on his way to destroying the true prize.
"Knell Hammer!" the demon shouted as he drew back his staff and sent it flying towards Greymon's skull.
"Howling Blaster!" the stream of blue flame hit the staff before it could be used against Greymon.
The twisted wooden rod went flying from its owner's hand and hit the ground, being scratched in many places, but still remaining intact.
"You'll pay for that!" the demon hissed as it charged Garurumon, having completely forgotten the weakened Greymon.
Battle between demon and wolf went on for some time. Garurumon managed to dodge all attacks directed towards him, but SkullSatanmon was equally as capable of dodging the wolf's attacks.
As the two beasts fought Matt found himself completely intrigued by the forsaken staff lying only a few feet away.
While Tai, Joe, and TK tended to the injured Angemon, Matt went to retrieve the staff, felling its call like a siren's song.
With uncertain steps Matt found himself standing beside the wooden staff. The yellow orb had stopped glowing, and without its master to hold it, the rod seemed to be almost innocent. Just another forgotten toy of the enemy.
The blonde slowly bent down by the staff, he rested his folded arms on his knees, as he looked the rod over. The longer he looked at the twisted staff the more entranced he became. A simply wooden rod with red iron and a yellow orb, completely harmless.
Slowly Matt freed one of his hands from its resting-place and lowered it towards the staff. The road painted in tiny blotches of blood and trash began to merge together until it were nothing but a forgotten shadow. The sounds of the battle behind him along with the cries of his friends become nothing but a soft buzzing noise in the back of his mind. Images and sounds faded leaving only the young Lord and the forsaken staff.
The blonde's once cool palms began to sweat as something deep within told him to pull back, to leave the object at its falling place, but he ignored this voice as the call of the rod filled his being, and with a new resolution Matt laid his hand upon the wooden rod then tightened his grip around it.
Angemon was in the air once more using his bronze staff to try and fend off the attacker.
SkullSatanmon bent over and then flew towards the fighting angel; with his coal black wings ready to collided with the vaccine digimon and send him in a bruised pulp to the ground.
Angemon was unable to brace himself for the hit, and when the bone-like wings rammed into him he was sent flying only to crash near the bench where the rest of the Digidestined and digimon remained huddled together.
Davis and Yolie rushed over to where Angemon had landed, leaving their weakened partner's in the care of the exhausted children by the bench.
"Angemon… you okay man?" Davis asked as he bent down beside the champion.
White feathers drenched in crimson lined a path, marking the rout in the sky where Angemon soared then crashed. Blue ribbons were torn and stained with dirt and blood, and one angelic wing fell limp, broken from the force of the impact.
TK immediately rushed to his fallen partner, leaving Tai and Joe to watch in amazement as Garurumon and Greymon battled SkullSatanmon.
Angemon panted heavily; occasionally a soft whimper would escape his light pink lips as he felt his body going out on him.
Soon the crimson pool forming around his broken body began to glow a light yellow. The glow then engulfed the champion completely, dimly illuminating him amongst the shadows of night. The light surrounding him grew more intense forcing the three pre-teens to shield their eyes for a moment before the glow faded leaving in the angel's place a panting Patamon with disheveled fur, absent of all gloss as a symbol of how unhealthy the tiny rookie now was.
"Patamon…" TK whispered quietly as he gently lifted the orange and off-white digimon off the filthy sidewalk and cradled him gently in his shaky arms.
"TK… I'm sorry… he was too strong." The little creature panted out before his bright blue eyes rolled into the back of his head and the little rookie passed out, leaving the gruesome battle behind and embracing the blissful peace of unconscious.
"We have to do something drastic or this guy's going to crush us." Yolie stated her voice quivering with despair.
"But what can we do?" Davis asked softly, showing calm collective courage despite the fact that he was screaming inside.
"I don't know." TK's gentle almost childlike voice replied as all hope vanished from his being leaving only a frightened child and his beaten friend.
Matt wanted to scream, but his voice caught in his throat. The staff, once in his hand, began to glow a deep red, far darker then the light crimson staining Angemon's feathers only moments ago. The red glow seemed to turn from light to liquid as it touched his flesh. The inky substance collected around his scared hand and settled there, not bothering to work its way to his arm. Then the liquid went from a chilling grasp around his hand to a stinging poison, far more painful then the gaseous poisons that polluted the air before SkullSatanmon's arrival.
The scarlet fluid scratched across his skin until at last the many scars that he had acquired upon the pale flesh were opened and ready to ooze out tiny drops of blood. The poison prevented the blood from leaving the opened wounds, and as more of the tiny cuts were reopened Matt found himself in more pain. Having the small scars cut again was more like a jagged and dull razor ripping at his skin. The scars were opened by this brutal force and before the blood could escape the poison fluid pushed its way into the sores.
Infection began to grow at a rapid rate, and the disease polluting the blonde quickly traveled to all corners of his body until it at last reached his brain. Contaminated blood carried the infection to his mind and soon his very vision was shoot with the effects of the poison. Clear images began to fade and all color began to merge together into an out of focused picture, and finally red crept over his vision allowing him to only see in a scarlet tent.
Matt felt dizzy and the pain of the diseases caused his body to ache. The fluid on his hands had vanished, all of it seeping deep into his body, and once the liquid was gone Mat dropped the cursed staff and fell to one knee supporting his weakening body with his left hand.
The blood throbbed in his ears making him deaf to everything around him, allowing him to only dwell on the sounds of his own body spreading the poison inside of him. The twisted staff had been freed from its master hand, but its master's essences still remained within the rod, ready to take prisoner the first being to unrightfully touch the forsaken object.
Matt was that unfortunate soul, and a spell designed to destroy rendered him helpless to its attack upon his body.
TK lifted his gaze from the shaking form of Patamon and scanned over the battle cite hoping to get a better idea of where the fight was going.
Tai and Joe stood at the front of the battle; both completely secure in their position, having full faith in Garurumon and Greymon's abilities to protect them.
Greymon stood some yards in front of the teens, acting as a shield, while trying to get in as many attacks as he could. Garurumon had taken over the responsibility of the actual battle, relying on Greymon only to act as a decoy, should he need a small rest.
The white wolf executed his tactics perfectly. Moving with great agility and speed, while managing to throw in an attack whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Seeing how equally fit the wolf and the demon were for battle, caused some rays of hope to fill TK's tired spirit.
Garurumon was fighting with skill no other champion had ever shone in known history. His Howling Blaster attacks had three times its usual effect, and his defenses were flawless. It seemed that no power could overcome the great wolf, and that the battle would truly go in his favor, that was until the white beast stopped moving.
In one moment Garurumon dashed from curve to curve, keeping the battle running, and his opponent agitated, but in one single event the champion simply stopped, standing perfectly still in the place he last landed from a prier jump.
TK watched in horror as the once winning Garurumon began to sway on his four large legs until he at last fell to his side with a loud grunt.
"Garurumon…" TK whispered upon seeing the wolf hit the ground.
"What happened? He was winning." Yolie exclaimed in worry.
SkullSatanmon laughed loudly, his deep fit sounding like thunder, and beating upon the building like the crash if nature it imitated.
The demon did not wait to see if this was some sort of trick played by the champion, instead he held up his fist in front of the hideous skull that was his face and chanted a spell. At his beckoning a skull appeared in his palm and he griped the bone like a baseball before preparing to release it just as a pitcher would.
The skull soon lit up in a yellow halo and was then sent flying from the demons hands.
The attack crashed with a loud bang upon Garurumon's stomach causing the wolf to groan in pain.
"Garurumon get up!" TK shouted, feeling the pain that his brother's partner now endured.
"I don't understand. What caused him to fall?" Yolie questioned, hoping for some kind of answer from the two boys she stood with.
"Hey look!" Davis shouted frantically as his soft brown eyes landed upon Matt.
Immediately his companions turned their attention to where the teen laid on the pavement by the forgotten staff.
"Matt!" TK cried then rushed over to his brother.
Tai and Joe turned around upon hearing TK's cry. It only took a second for them to join the younger blonde in rushing to their friend's aid.
Yolie returned to the group by the bench, taking Patamon with her, while Davis dashed after TK arriving at Matt's side only moments after Tai and Joe.
Matt coughed and wheezed, as it became more difficult to breathe. His vision had been invaded by red right before everything went black, and now he laid barley conscious on the cold pavement, forcing himself to breathe. He couldn't hear TK's fearful calls, nor could he hear Joe state that he didn't know what was wrong with him, all he could hear was his own blood throbbing through his veins along with his own rattled breaths.
"Do you think he was hit by a defected blast?" Tai asked as he helped TK push Matt off his chest and lay him flat on his back.
Davis looked Matt over closely, the blonde teen had his eyes shut almost lazily, and you could have mistaken him for sleeping if it weren't for his raspy breaths.
"Matt can you hear me?" TK asked as he tried shaking his brother a bit.
The teen groaned his voice sounding groggy, but he made no attempt to open his eyes.
It was upon hearing the battle cries in the background where Greymon still tried to defend the children from SkullSatanmon, that Davis realized that Matt had passed out the same time Garurumon had.
"Hey guys," the bearer of courage and friendship exclaimed, drawing the other boys' attention away from Matt's pale form for a moment. "I think whatever is wrong with Matt is also effecting Garurumon."
"That would definitely explain why Garurumon stopped fighting, but what do you think is wrong with Matt?" Joe asked as he turned his gaze back to the blonde being cradled in his brother's arms.
"You're friend there was a little too curious."
Everyone's sights were set back to the fight at the summoning of the eerie voice. SkullSatanmon was floating a few yards away from the group of boys on the road, with Greymon and Garurumon lying injured behind him.
"It's such a shame too, I was hoping he would be awake, so that he might whiteness all the suffering he has subjected you to." The demon taunted as a grin, reviling sharp canine teeth, spread across his fleshless face.
"What are you talking about?" Tai demanded getting angry by the fallen angel's jeering.
TK jumped to his feet, leaving Tai to support his brother as he approached the skeleton, stopping only a few feet away from the hovering figure. "What did you do to my brother!" the Child of Hope shouted, his fury in his voice rising high but not nearly reaching the fury in his heart.
High pitch laughing, verging on a screech radiated from the demon's throat escaping through his mouth, not having to pass over any lips to emerge from body, to open air. The laughter was that of a crazed murder, an insane fiend revealing in the glory of his secrets.
"Do not raise you voice to me child." The creature hissed deeply after his screeching had ceased. "It is not wise to have such a scene before the one who has taken away your protector."
"What are you talking about?" the pre-teen questioned as tears began to streak down his reddening checks.
More laughter flooded his ears before a wicked voice responded. "I have taken away the one being standing between you children and the Valley of the Shadow of the Dead, though it was not originally a part of my plan, it will fit in quiet nicely." With a wave of his hand the forgotten staff appeared back in the spell casting demon palm.
"I have taken away your protection, but my true mission is not to destroy the one that watches over all of you, how foolish would such an action be. My purpose is send a message to the protector, a message I am certain will serve its purpose perfectly." He continued in an almost candy-coated voice.
"Stop it with all of your stupid riddles and tell me what you mean!" TK exploded as he tightened his hands into fists of anger.
"If you truly wish to destroy an enemy then you do not simply kill him, but you destroy him both body and soul... and I will destroy my Master's enemy by killing his Hope!"
Before more could be said SkullSatanmon dove for TK.
All of the digimon were either injured or had returned to their lower forms, leaving no one to protect the defenseless boy. The demon grabbed him, taking no care to be gentle as he gripped the lanky blonde's thin arms tightly causing bruises to form.
"TK!" Tai shouted as he and the rest of the Digidestined looked on in fear while SkullSatanmon ran a black tongue over the young boy's check, which was still raw and sore from the poison gas.
"Let him go you sick sadistic freak!" Davis shouted as he tried to run to his friend's rescue but was stopped by Joe.
"Davis no! We don't need to loose two of you!" the doctor to be, instructed as he held on to the red head's wrist.
"But he's not after any of us, he was after TK all along!"
Tai watched as Joe calmed Davis down. Unshed tears began to glisten in his deep brown eyes as he watched the boy who had become a brother to all of them, being tormented by the twisted demon. The creature dug his thick, sharp metallic claws through fabric and into thin arms, casing four small trails of blood to run down both arms.
TK squirmed in his captor's grasp, but his futile attempts to free himself only amused the fiend. The creature giggled like a giddy child and lowered its long neck down to TK's wounds, laughing as his body twisted in extraordinary ways. His long dry tongue lapped at the streams of blood, and TK squirmed even more as his cuts were invaded by the demon's saliva.
Scarlet and shadow painted across the abyss of formless dreams. Red and black serving as a curtain between the waking world and the calm sea of colors. Matt was in this sea, drifting comfortably in the colors, his mind not traveling past the velvet curtain of red and black. It was serene, and almost beautiful to simply allowing your mind to go numb and let the waves of color take you away. Nothing beyond the curtain matters, the voices had faded, the cold was no more, and the pain had been over-powered by the sweet dizziness from the staff's spell. It was a paradise to Matt, far more relaxing and inviting then the dark, cold, blood stained street he had just left, now even the street had faded from his mind. The battle never existed, and he was drifting away, following the enchanting call of the spell.
"Matt, please you've got to wake up…." Tai begged, hoping that his voice would reach the blonde in whatever daydream had taken him
'Wake up? Why would I won't to wake up? Why would I want to leave? It's so much nicer here, so calm, you feel nothing… so why would I want to wake up?'
"Matt, TK needs you… we need you, please don't leave us..." Tai pleaded, but still Matt would not stir.
'TK needs me? That's not true… why would he or anyone need me when I'm the reason all of this is happening. All the digimon's pain, all of my fellow Digidestined's pain… it's all because of me. they're suffering because of me.'
"Please Matt! TK's going to die if you don't wake up!" Tai was shouting now, he didn't know if Matt waking would save TK, but something told him that a protector could not protect unless he is awake.
"Give it up!" SkullSatanmon hissed, "all hope is lost."
The demon finalized his intentions then raised his wooden staff. He chanted a deep spell with the staff in one had and TK's blood streaked body in the other.
"TK!" Tai shouted his sweaty hands gripped onto Matt's black shirt tightly in anticipation as he and the other Chosen Children awaited the inevitable.
Matt coughed a couple of times, trying to clear his throat so that it would be less painful for him to breathe. His mind had been fighting, Tai's pleas, calling him back from the sea meant to carry him off to an eternal darkness, had been successful, and the intuition that his dear brother was in trouble forced Matt to risk the pain and open his eyes.
Dim light flooded his once scarlet vision, causing him to almost regret opening his eyes at all, as the cold, pain, and exhaustion crept on to his body once more.
His arms still hurt from where the spark of energy had hit him, and his head still pounded from the poison floating around in his system, but he could feel his body and his abilities fighting against the spell, and he knew that the effects would soon wear off.
After Matt had fought past the physical barriers preventing him from awareness, he noticed first that he was on the ground being supported from behind, and second that fear had flooded over the area like someone had opened the Gates of Hell and let every nightmare out into the earth.
"Let him go!" Tai tried shouting once more, the staff now glowing a very dark red.
Matt looked up upon hearing Tai's voice and saw to his horror SkullSatanmon cradling his weakened brother in one arms while holding a looming red staff above the child's head.
"TK…" Matt whispered, finding his voice still weak from the spell.
"Huh?" Tai looked down in shock, leaving the horror of the image before him in order to gaze into the eyes of the power of Friendship. "Matt, you're awake." The brunette whispered back just as softly.
At first Matt was confused, it seemed that he was still asleep because he had opened his eyes only to find himself in a nightmare. A beast gripped his brother in his decrepit embrace with the instrument that sentenced him to the sea of scarlet and shadow, now ready to use it to put the younger boy to sleep forever.
It seemed like a nightmare, but Tai's grip on his shoulders informed him that the scene was in fact real. Once this reality was accept another wave of confusion washed over the blonde as he wondered why the Renamon had not taken action and saved his brother, then the revelation hit him. The fox digimon had no loyalty to the children; they were simply nameless subjects he had ordered them to protect nothing more. If the rookie digimon had known the children personally then perhaps they would have rushed to the Digidestined's aid, but they only protected the children because their Lord had ordered them to.
Matt had thought his plan to protect his friends was perfect, but he now encountered a great flaw in his design, and that flaw was him. He had ordered the foxes to protect the children in his absences, but now he was present, despite his weaken condition. The fox digimon, even if they had known the children, would not go against their Lord's wishes, and he had asked that they stay away when his was present, unless ordered otherwise.
The staff was now illuminated by the darkest of red light. The glow was a haunting halo, the color of blood, matching the streaks down TK's arms perfectly.
Matt coughed some more, trying desperately to speak, but finding it more difficult then it had been to awaken. All he had to do was make one simple order, but the spell still clog his throat choking him like hands tightening around his neck.
SkullSatanmon smiled, pleased with his spell as he began to slowly lower the staff towards TK. The young boy tried to struggle free, as tears of fear began to streak down his checks, but SkullSatanmon's grip was that of iron, and the boy only exhausted himself more with the effort.
"Matt!" the Child of Hope shouted as he saw his doom approaching.
Matt pushed himself up some, setting himself a little higher as Tai helped support him. Fear clutched his heart, his blood began to run cold, and he screamed inside begging his voice, the tool once used to enchant thousands, to grant him this one last gift. He would gladly give up all the praise, fans, and reputation if the words would simply come out.
"Renamon…" he choked out so softly that only Tai could hear him. "Renamon… please save… my brother…" the final plea was spoken and Matt fell back upon his support, knowing that he could do no more.
Tai looked at Matt with confusion; he was about to ride the blonde's words off as a sick man's ramblings when all of the sudden a cry called him back to the waking nightmare.
There were no lights, no show, and absolutely no sound as ten majestic foxes, each unique and beautiful appeared out of thin air, with faces looked ready for battle.
Nine of the foxes appeared close to the ground and remained on the road not moving, looking more like statues or stuff animal rather than leaving warriors.
The final fox materialized high in the air, some feet above SkullSatanmon. Without a sound this yellow fox fell on the demon, kicking him in the skull.
The skeleton was caught completely off guard by the attack, and as a result of his blindness TK was freed from his arms, and caught by a fox with multi-colored fur, who moved like a living flame.
Tai's protector caught TK long before he came near the ground then quickly carried the shaking boy to where the group waited in the middle of the road.
"TK, are you all right?" Davis asked as he went to steady the swaggering boy much like Tai was doing for his brother.
"I don't understand…" the young blonde's voice trembled a bit as he spoke. "Where did those fox digimon come from?"
"Good question." Tai responded with a hint of blame that seemed to be directed at no one, despite the fact that both he and the boy he was supporting knew what was meant by the brunette's tone.
Tai looked at the younger boy with sympathy, his arms were not bleeding any longer, but he was certain that they still hurt. TK was still shaking, but Davis supported him, keeping the boy from falling to the ground from the overwhelming fear still lingering in his heart.
But TK was going to be find, the wounds would heal, and the fear would join the rest of the child's memories of pain, merging with them into a blur of nightmares set to return and haunt the boy once the lights were out.
Knowing this, Tai left Davis to tend to TK as he turned his attention back to Matt.
Matt knew his friend's eyes were upon him, he also knew that he could no longer avoid the truth, nothing would ever be the same for him.
SkullSatanmon charged at the triplet foxes knocking all of them to the ground, but his victory did not last long as Kari's protector tackled him from behind, causing both of them to end up in a tangled mess on the sidewalk.
The General used this opportunity to attack with Diamond Storm. The tiny rocks beat upon SkullSatanmon's frame, but still the demon was able to rise from the ground once more and continue with the battle.
"They won't be strong enough." Matt choked out between deep breaths.
"Who are they?" Tai asked, his voice firm so that his friend would not take the question lightly.
Matt sighed, "They're friends of mine," he began to explain, not certain of where to go after that. His voice was coming back, but he was still very weak.
"Friends… or servants?"
The question was spoken with so much certainty that Matt knew his secret was out.
Joe, Davis, and TK looked at the two best friends, their conversation confusing them.
Matt saw the confusion in his brother's eyes and he felt the hurt in his best friend's word, it was at this time that he knew he had made a mistake. Somewhere between keeping them safe, and keeping the enemy off guard Matt had hurt his friends. Their pain was his fault, and the guilt he felt from this affirmation was like daggers ripping through his heart.
"Both." He stated as he sat up a little higher wrapping his arm around Tai's shoulder in a silent request to be lifted off the ground.
Tai granted his friend's request and Matt decided to continue. "They are both my servants and my friends." he stated, as he looked his brother in the eyes. "And right now they need help."
With a shaky hand, sweaty, pale, and scared, Matt reached for his Digi-Vice, then he snatched the white device from its place on the front of his jeans and held it tightly in his palm.
"What are you going to do?" the brunette asked in bewilderment upon seeing the device.
"I'm going to server the link between myself and Garurumon, the foxes won't be enough to fight this evil." The blonde explained.
He knew that Garurumon hadn't been infected by any hex, but the link they shared was forcing the wolf to experience his pain. Matt was hoping that cutting the link between the two would call back the effects of the spell and the champion, but still we has skeptical that Garurumon and the fox digimon would beat this villain without the assistance of his power.
A dark blue glow, which quickly faded into a soft lapis, illuminated the tiny device for a moment before the white instrument went dormant in its owner's hands once more.
Matt fell back on his friend's support, closing his eyes in order to rest.
SkullSatanmon pulled back in surprise, he knew something had just gone wrong, but he wasn't certain what it was.
Suddenly a long white tail began to twitch; broad shoulders began swaying as four large muscular limbs stretched. Garurumon was waking up, the effects of the spell no longer upon him, leaving him with the strength he had earlier.
The white wolf groaned tiredly as he raised his body off the street, but his yawning and groaning quickly turned into deep growls as memories began to return to him.
He remembered Angemon falling, the children's tears, and he remembered catching a glimpse of his Lord hitting the ground right before the hex over took him.
Now the effects of the spell were gone, but the anger at his friend's losses still remained, and this anger filled the wolf until it began to boil over in a brilliant blue light.
Matt opened his eyes just in time to see blue light engulf his partner from an unknown source, he then witnessed the light begin to change shape until it went from long to tall. When the light finally faded Garurumon was no more, instead in his place stood the second in command of the Nightmare Soldiers, WereGarurumon.
WereGarurumon wasted no time with introductions; instead he charged the demon at full speed knocking him to the ground before the monster could register that there was an ultimate level digimon now in the battle against him.
SkullSatanmon hit the ground with an angered cry. The impact was so hard that two of his ribs cracked and dissolved into pieces of data.
The demon growled upon seeing his injuries, but he ignored them and was in the air once more ready to take on this threat.
"Knell Crusher!" the battle cry rang out as the attack was sent flying.
WereGarurumon waited patiently for the attack to reach him then brought forth his large clawed paws and slashed through the attack with Wolf Claw.
SkullSatanmon fluttered back a bit, surprised by how easily the werewolf had stopped his attack. His surprise was soon over run by anger as he saw the smug smirk on his opponent's faces.
The fight between the two had barely begun, but WereGarurumon knew he had won, and so did his opponent.
SkullSatanmon's hallow eyes held a trace of fear and reverence for the werewolf, but he did not plan to end his attack where it was.
With a quick chant another flaming skull appeared in the demon's hand. The skull's mouth was opened, and it almost looked like it was laughing at the onlookers, mocking them, as none of them knew what the demon was planing to do next.
The Renamon all took their place in front of the children they were ordered to protect. WereGarurumon stood on the opposite side of the Digidestined and their digimon, but he had full faith that the foxes would protect the children as they have sworn to do.
Knowing that the Renamon were there allowed the werewolf to relax a bit, as he waited to see what his opponent would do next, that was until a thought struck him, there were ten foxes but there were eleven Digidestined present.
'Matt is unprotected, I don't think the Renamon are concern with protecting him, they probably believe that he is more then capable of watching over himself, but they don't know how powerful that spell was.'
WereGarurumon's mind went into a blur as he began to run out of ideas. Charging the demon now that he had another spell ready could prove to be fatal, not only to him, but to whoever else was caught in the cross fire, but his partner was unprotected, and if he made a move in that direction then the demon would realize this as well.
SkullSatanmon flew higher into the air, and then he quickly turned around setting his sights on his target before sending the flaming skull flying.
Matt's body tensed up, the attack was coming, and it was heading straight for him. Without another thought the blonde summoned all of his strength and pushed Tai to the side before falling to the ground and covering his own head in an attempt to protect himself from the blast.
The attack came so quickly that only the Nightmare Soldiers and their Lord were able to register what was happening.
Matt was down and unable to protect himself leaving him vulnerable to the attack, which hit its mark head on.
Rocks cracked and a cloud of dust filled the air, making it impossible to see where the attack hit.
Soon the dust began to settle, but once the cloud was gone it only revealed another frightening sight, Matt was gone, and a large crater stood in his place. There were no signs that the blonde had ever been there, and a spell as powerful as that one could have quiet easily destroyed him so completely that nothing would remain to remind the world he once existed.
"And so ends the rein of another great Lord." The demon mock.
The Digidestined were silent, tears began to streak down some of their faces as their mind went numb with grief.
"Think again."
The confident reply caused all eyes to look beyond the demon where they met with a joyous sight, Matt stood arms crossed and face impassive, as he looked the demon over.
"How is this possible!" the monster shrieked when he turned around to look at both Matt and the werewolf standing some feet behind him.
A small smirk spread across Matt's face as he locked a threatening gaze upon the floating fiend.
"I learned a new trick." He mocked, his voice sounding stern and dangerous.
SkullSatanmon threw his head back and screamed in rage, his powerful voice caused the other children to cower away, but Matt remained calm, obviously not amused by the demon's insane scream.
"It doesn't matter if your strength is returning! I will still destroy you and your beloved friends!"
Matt only laughed lightly at this threat, treating it as though it was as hollow as the demon's eyes. Then without a word he raised his right arm and snapped his fingers almost lazily.
At this command both WereGarurumon and the Renamon charged SkullSatanmon.
The demon tried to fly away, but the General and BlackRenamon leaped high into the air a brought the demon back down with them.
Four Renamon released their Diamond Storm attack causing the demon to double over and fall to the ground with a loud grunt.
The Renamon continued their assault relentlessly; their kicks and punches doing no mortal damage but still causing the beast pain as fragments of bone began to chip away from their blows.
Matt had crossed his arms once more, and an almost malicious smile had appeared on his face. Destroying this monster would have been too easy, and too merciful, watching him suffer pleased him more then he had expected. He wanted the demon to feel the pain that his friends had suffered, and satisfaction came with each screech of pain coming from the tormented devil.
Matt almost wanted to join in the fun of beating the beast to oblivion, that as until his eyes wandered to his brother.
TK, along with the other Digidestined looked on the scene with horror. The demon's cries of pain, the gleeful smiles on the digimon that tormented him, it made all black and white vanish, and the children couldn't decided who the true monster was, the demon or his oppressors.
Matt lowered his gaze from the terrified children then lowered his arms to his side. With a defeated sigh the blonde began to tread in the direction of the Nightmare Soldiers.
WereGarurumon stood off to the side, trying to suppress the laughter he wanted to pure upon the now beaten fiend, but finding it very difficult to do.
Matt and WereGarurumon stood silently side by side both lost in their own thoughts as they continued to watch the scene. Finally Matt could no longer take the thought of his brother watching this punishment, so he looked up to his General, who had stopped her assault on the demon the moment Matt had arrived and awaited her orders.
"Finish him off." The blonde ordered his voice even and calm.
With a bow of reverence all ten of the fox digimon leaped into the air and in one loud cry they sent the stream of diamonds flying.
The prisms completed the job that the rookies had began and beat away at the skeleton body, chipping off pieces of bone until at last there was nothing left.
SkullSatanmon was gone, the nightmare was over, but for Matt the true test was just beginning.
The Renamon fell inline waiting their new orders silently.
Matt looked each of them in the eyes, smiling to show that he was pleased with their work then waved his hand dismissing them from his presence.
Nine Renamon bowed then vanished, while the General remained behind and took her place at Matt's left side.
The Digidestined had left their former places and now stood across from Matt in a straight line with Tai and TK standing a few feet in front of them.
Matt took a few steps forwards; he saw the line drawn between himself and his companions. The wall of broken trust stood far too high for him to scale, he had betrayed his friend's trust, there was no way to get it back, unless he miraculously grew wings so that he could fly above the wall of betrayal.
"I don't know what to say." The blonde began softly, his intense blue eyes scanning over his companion's faces, faces that read betrayal and pain.
"I guess there's nothing to say, really." Tai began his voice cold and shaky with built up stress. "All this time we thought we we're looking for some illusive enemy, when the true enemy was right in front of our faces."
Matt lowered his gaze, unable to look his friend in the eyes. "I'm not your enemy, this doesn't change anything."
"What are you talking about! Everything has changed." Sora shouted as tears began to streak down her face.
"Please try to understand," Matt began once again but was cut off by his younger brother.
"Try to understand what?" baby-blue eyes began to shine with unshed tears, the youth's voice was quivering, but still he continued. "You're the Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers, you stand for everything that we've grown to hate!"
Matt shook his head then looked back at his friends. His face was soft with compassion, and he hid the hurt in his heart with a true Lord's mask. "I'm still your brother TK," he began but again the younger boy interrupted.
"No, you're not…" he stated sadly, "Because my brother would never have kept this from us, my brother would have never allowed our digimon to be beaten so badly, when he had the power to stop it!" the blonde was shouting now, all the stress of the battle and his injured partner being thrown at this victim. "And my brother would have never lied to me…" tears now fell from light blue orbs.
Matt's heart broke upon seeing his brother's tears. He tried to lay a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder but TK just pulled away then turned around.
Matt pulled back, no longer trying to hide the pain he was feeling. "TK don't walk away from me." the elder brother pleaded, but TK simply kept on walking. "Please just listen to me!" Matt begged this time earning a harsh response from the source of his pain.
"Listen to what? More lies?" he asked as he turned to face the pleading teen.
"No listen to the truth."
"Forget it, if you wouldn't tell me the truth before, then how can I possibly know that you're telling the truth now." the younger boy replied coldly as he turned around once more and continued to walk in the opposite direction.
"TK!" Matt tried calling after him one last time.
This time the younger blonde snapped. "Just go back to your precious kingdom! We don't want you here King of Nightmares!"
"Brother, I'm sorry." Matt responded as he lowered his head in shame.
TK stopped walking for a moment, considering his brother's pleas for forgiveness, but the anger was still fresh, and the stress had reached its boiling point. Without another word the blonde took off at full speed in the opposite direction of his brother, cradling Patamon in his arms as he ran.
Matt didn't look up, he knew TK had ran, so there was no reason for his eyes to confirm what his mind already knew.
Tai bit the side of his lip, there was a time when he too would explode with emotional outburst, but years of battle and leadership had instilled some patients in his reasoning, and he thought very carefully before he spoke.
"They brain washed you didn't they?" he asked softly as he looked at his best friend.
Matt smiled slightly at the brunette's assumption but shock his head almost sadly. "No, no they didn't." he began almost remorsefully. "In fact they gave me many opportunities to refuse, but..."
"You didn't." Tai finished the statement as he locked eyes with the blonde.
"This is my destiny Tai, I couldn't refuse."
"No it's not Matt!" Tai argued back. "Your destiny isn't with them, your place isn't with them." as he spoke this he pointed a finger at Renamon to indicate his point. "It's with us, your place is with us."
Matt sighed deeply. "My heart will always be with you Tai, all of you, but this is the path that fate has chosen for me. I know it is, and… this is where I won't to be."
Tai took a step back; his eyes portrayed the shock and betrayal in his heart. He shook his head almost madly, he was loosing his best friend to his enemies, and it was simply too great a pain for him to dwell on.
With almost cold eyes he gazed back at the waiting blonde, then he nodded his head saying that he understood, despite the fact that he couldn't accept it.
"Well, they're waiting for you, then." He stated, as he looked hard at the teen across him before lowering his gaze to the pavement.
"Tai…" Matt began but was cut off much like TK had done earlier.
"Just go! Please."
Matt nodded sadly before turning around and going to rejoin WereGarurumon and Renamon. Once he was lined up with them he pulled out his Digi-Vice then turned around and looked at his friends one last time.
"You may hate me forever, but I will never abandon you." He stated then tightened his grip upon his Digi-Vice.
The small white device began to glow dark blue then the light spread and in one quick flash Matt, WereGarurumon and Renamon were gone.
Silence was all that was left on the dark street, that was until a timid voice broke through the stillness.
"This isn't over."
The group immediately turned around and looked at Kari, all of them happy to hear her speak again
"He'll be back."
The looming promise was all that was said before the group of Guardians silently turned around and headed in the direction TK had ran.
~*~*~
When I first started this fic I had absolutely no idea what it was truly going to be about, all I had was this idea that Matt could call on digimon for help, but that it was this big secret. And then somehow this idea developed into TK getting hurt and Matt having to call upon digimon, and reveal his secret in order to save his brother. Of course the story has come a long way since this one scene, but I thought I'd just let you know that this was the first idea I had for this entire fic.
So what did you think? I hope the "Moment of Truth" wasn't a let down for you. Also if your wondering why the Digidestined turned on Matt, it because first off, Matt lied to them, second, they've been fighting all day and their partner's were hurt so a lot of stress had built up and they just took it out on poor lil Matt.
Oh and the first poem thing spoken by SkullSatanmon belongs to me, I only used it do to lack of something more fitting, but the second poem spoken by both SkullSatanmon and Matt is a stanza from The Valley of the Shadow of Death by Lewis Carroll, and I've used another stanza of this poem in another chapter, but I can't remember which one.
Well this has been one long author note, so now its time to review. What did you think of the "Moment of Truth" and be very honest.