Disclaimer: I not own Digimon.
"Piedmon?" said Davis, confused, "But, Tai, wasn't Piedmon one of the Dark Masters?"
The clown digimon smirked and took a low bow. "Indeed, young one. I, Piedmon, was one of the Dark Masters, the strongest in fact. I am therefore not surprised to hear that my reputation has made it even to your ears."
The boy frowned. "But that doesn't make sense! The Dark Masters were defeated years ago! Why are you here now? And for that matter, where is here!?"
From a few steps behind him, Tai looked up, not believing that this was possible. The day that Piedmon was defeated had been burned into his mind. After all, it wasn't every day you almost died, got saved at the last second by your best friend, got turned into a keychain, and saved the entire Digital World, not to mention the real world as well. He tried to think of what could have possibly gone wrong. How could they have missed the fact that Piedmon was still alive? He closed his eyes tightly as he remembered the battle. They were all surrounded by Vilemon, but with the help of their digimon friends they were winning. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon aimed their combined attack at Piedmon and... Tai gasped and opened his eyes wide as realisation suddenly hit him.
"The Gate of Destiny..." he whispered.
Agumon looked up at his partner. "What did you say?"
The older boy's eyes narrowed as he stared at his old foe. "It was MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny attack, wasn't it?" he spat at the smirking clown, "That attack doesn't delete an enemy, it merely sends it to another world, a prison of sorts. You and a bunch of Vilemon were pushed into it. That's why there are all these digimon flying around; they got sucked in with you. Am I right?"
"Well, it seems you have grown up in the years I have been here," Piedmon answered calmly, "I remember you being much more hot-headed. I am surprised you have not yet set your pet on me. Perhaps you are remembering how overpowered he was before your precious friends showed up."
Tai's fists were shaking at his sides. He remembered. 'If he's as strong as he was before, Agumon doesn't have much of a chance, and that's only if he can even digivolve to mega. There was only enough power from Azulongmon for him to warp-digivolve, but who knows how long that power lasts. If he can't...' The boy shook his head, not wanting to think of what would happen to them.
"Oh yeah!?" Davis shouted, taking a step towards the former Master, "We'll see how tough you are when the others find us! I'll bet that any minute now they'll come busting in here ready to tell you the real ending to your story!"
"I have been awaiting their arrival since I was informed that you had entered my gates in the Digital World," said the clown with a laugh, "Ever since I found the secret to opening my own gates from the inside, I knew it was only a matter of time until the digidestined discovered them."
"What?" questioned Tai, "But why? With all of us here, you'd be sure to lose."
"Oh no!" cried Davis suddenly, causing Tai and Agumon to jump. He pointed at the clown as he said, "You said no one can leave this place! You want everyone to get trapped here just like you! You want us all to stay here forever and ever, never leaving, having to live the same fate you were given! We'll all be trapped here until we are old and wrinkly and smell like dirty socks! Our teeth will have fallen out and -"
"Davis! We get the point!" exclaimed Tai, not in the mood to listen to the boy's endless chatter.
"Well, you may have grown, but it seems you have passed on your stupidity to another," Piedmon mocked, watching in amusement as Tai had to grab Davis before the younger boy could attack the mega with his fists. "You even passed your goggles on to him. How touching."
"If that's not what you want, you overgrown, creepy, poor excuse for a storyteller, what else could you possibly want!? Do you want us to kill you for good!? Because I'll gladly put you out of your misery right now!" yelled Davis as he struggled to get free of the older boy's grip.
"He wants to get out," said Agumon. Davis stopped struggling, and both boys stared up at Piedmon whose lips were twisted into a cruel smile.
The younger boy blinked. "Uh oh."
Tai shook his head. "No! I won't let you get free! If they find a way for us to leave, there's no way you're coming with us!"
Agumon stepped forward. "You opened all of those gates knowing that one of us would be sure to come across one. There probably isn't a way to get out of here from inside, is there? You knew that the others would try to find out how to get us out from the outside, and that's when you'd escape!"
Piedmon bowed his head. "Bravo, Agumon. I must say that you have grown as well, and I shall indeed enjoy our rematch. For now that I know the rest of the Digidestined have been informed of your whereabouts, I am afraid I am only in need of one." He eyed Tai. "To be used as bait, of course."
With that, the clown threw off the tattered cloak to reveal the four swords attached to his back. His eyes moved to Davis as he grabbed them, two swords in each hand, and jumped into the air.
"Trump Sword!"
"Davis! Look out!" cried Tai as he pushed the younger boy to the ground, his digivice screaching wildly.
"Agumon warp-digivolve to... WarGreymon!"
The swords flew over the boys' heads and circled around, heading back to Piedmon. He grabbed them and smirked as he gazed at the mega before him. "You were mere child's play to me. What makes you think you stand a chance against me now, fool?"
With an angered cry, WarGreymon flew at his opponant. "I will not let you hurt these children or anyone else ever again!" He lashed his steel claws out at the clown, but only to have him jump gracefully out of the way. Turning around, he heard "Clown Trick!" and immidiately ran out of the way of the oncoming attack.
"Yeah! You get him WarGreymon!" shouted Davis, fists in the air.
Tai merely watched silently, gritting his teeth every time a new attack was unleashed. He believed in his partner's strength, but he couldn't help but remember the result of their last battle. Images of WarGreymon's bruised body and cracked armor kept flashing through his mind. 'It was my fault,' he thought to himself, 'I got in the way and he was hurt so badly trying to protect me.' "Davis, we have to get to a safer place. Ok? Davis?"
The older boy turned around, his eyes frantically searching for his friend. He gasped as he saw a Vilemon holding one hand over the struggling boy's mouth. The other was inches from his throat, sharp claws extended.
to be continued...