Chapter 16
"So," Angela asked cheerfully as she towel dried the dishes, "how did it go?"
"Shiva was a menace-"
"It was so much fun! Harry was so cute and he had a British accent and I got to dress him up and corrupt him and everything!" Shiva gushed.
Griff, who was sitting on a counter watching his girlfriend from behind, gave a low whistle and looked meaningfully at Tai. Tai huffed moodily, lifted himself onto the counter next to him, and joined Griff in watching the backs of the two conspiring, giggling women.
"Was it that bad?" Griff asked quietly when.
"No," Tai answered truthfully, "But it wasn't supposed to take so long either. Shiva turned the whole damn thing into a shopping-for-Harry day."
"You're just jealous because I'm madly in love with him." Shiva called over her shoulder.
"No I just—wait—WHAT?"
Shiva laughed and flicked some bubbles from the sink at him.
"Oh my God, Tai, I was just joking." She paused thoughtfully for a moment, "But he did smell rather nice for a human..."
"Shiva, be normal," Angela grimaced.
Tai pouted and looked helplessly at Griff, "Griffin... she doesn't like how we smell right now."
Griff looked wide eyed back at Tai with a similar pout on his face, "I—I don't think I handle this kind of discrimination."
"It's racism, that's what it is!" Tai declared smashing a fist into his palm, "Its human oppression!"
"How dare she!" Griff gasped, "Let's attack her."
"Let's."
Shiva was able to give one feeble squeak before two young men, almost twice her size, came bounding after her as she ran throughout the house.
Less than five minutes later Angela joined the fun, siding with Shiva, and adding pillows to the mix.
And so another encounter was recorded in the renowned "Battle of the Sexes".
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"Where the hell is she?" Griff growled as he blasted a vademon out of his way. Three more replaced it and Griff worked to delete them as well. Ever since they had acquired the prophecy, Moira had doubled her attacks on innocent villages, hoping to draw out and destroy the new Guardians before they became too powerful. The only strange part was that Moira wasn't present for any of the attacks. In fact, no one had seen her for the past couple of months.
"Look, just forget about her. The sooner we take care of these shit heads the sooner I can take a bath," Angela growled as she summoned a small tidal wave from the river to wipe out about twenty virus digimon.
"It's always about the hygiene isn't it," Shiva muttered to Tai.
Tai laughed, sending a shower of flames from his palm at a group of gazimon advancing on some innocent rookies, "Yeah well, you know how she gets when she's dirty."
Shiva jumped over Tai's head, landed behind him, and began running her fingers up and down his wings. Tai swallowed hard.
"But you like girls dirty, don't you Tai...?"
"Not here Shiva," Tai moaned and extracted himself from her reach. Shiva just bared her fangs at him before jumping into another fray.
What has gotten into her? Tai wondered as he watched her decapitate a flymon a bit more viciously than necessary. He had never seen her take to anyone as quickly as she did to Harry and she seemed more jealous than usual whenever he was around Moira. She never had a problem with any other girl he was with.
A chorus of screams drew his attention to his right where a tuskmon was advancing on a group of botamon. He bent his knees, preparing for a quick launch when a web came out of nowhere, slamming him into the ground. The sticky substance clung to his feathers and firmly anchored him to the soil. Tai glowered at the dokugumon scuttling behind him. He struggled to lift his hand, but was just able to manage a small blast of fire from his finger which only served to knock the digimon back a few feet.
Swearing, Tai looked frantically back at the botamon. The tuskmon had fired an attack at the helpless babies—one that would destroy them in a matter of seconds. No one could save them.
"NO!" Tai cried, his fingers digging into the dirt as he watched the attack near its target. Every fiber of his being was willing the botamon to move as a thousand thoughts rushed through his head. Where were the others? Was he the only one who had noticed this? This couldn't be happening—they were only babies. He would not allow it.
The ground glowed blue just as the attack hit the area where the botamon were a moment before. From Tai's position on the ground he had seen everything. It was as if the Botamon had fallen through the glowing, blue hole underneath them and popped back up not twenty feet away out of another blue hole. This all happened before Tai could blink an eye. But something told him he was responsible for it, and it left him panting on the ground, purely exhausted. Whatever he had done, it saved them.
A sudden, sharp blow to his side left him gasping for breath a few feet away from where he was a moment ago. He gazed up at the dokugumon he had completely forgotten about. Fortunately the hit freed him of the web and he was able to leap to his feet. Tai drew his sword and quickly swung it in an arc. An inferno of fire consumed both the dokugumon and the tuskmon, leaving nothing but bits of data.
Tai blew air out of his mouth slowly and turned around to see that many of the aggressors had been dealt with. Shiva and Angela were clearing up the rest of them and Griff was standing away from Tai, gaping at him.
"What the hell was that blue flashy thingy?" Griff asked Tai accusingly.
"I don't know," Tai winced and clamped a hand to his side, trying to slow the blood flow from the heavy wound he received.
"Well let's just get back to Gennai so Tai can get that looked at and I can take a shower," Angela stated primly. Shiva rolled her eyes and follwed along with Tai and Griff.
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"So what was it?" Tai asked. He was sitting atop one of the infirmary beds patiently waiting for Professoramon to bandage his side. Aside from being their academics teacher; she was also a skilled nurse.
Gennai leaned heavily on his cane (the guardians insisted he started using one) and smiled joyfully at Tai, bringing many more wrinkles to his weary face.
"You opened a portal," he answered simply.
Tai blinked at him, and then winced as Professoramon poured a burning solution on his wound.
"What do you mean 'opened a portal'? You mean like Ace does?"
"That's exactly what I mean."
"But...Is that...that's not possible…is it?"
"Until now I thought it wouldn't be. You're more in tune with the digital world that I ever dreamed to imagine. This is very good news."
Tai smiled tightly, "Well, I can certainly see how it would be beneficial, but I'm not sure if I can do it again. I mean, it was pretty taxing."
"That's why you must practice, my boy. I believe with enough practice you could do it at will."
"Are you going to train me?" Tai asked. As eager as he was to learn how to open portals effectively, Gennai was not in any condition to be teaching him anything. He did not want to make Gennai's condition worse for his sake.
"I afraid I won't be able to," he sighed, "I have no experience in the matter. Nor does any living thing in the digital world. You may get something out of Ace, but for everything else... just go by trial and error.
"Trial and error?" Tai repeated incredulously, "Gennai! I could blow someone up!"
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Gennai interrupted, "It's a miracle you have this ability in the first place. If you ever do master this technique, try opening portals to and from the real world."
Tai just rolled his eyes.
"Alright," he muttered.
"Good—now call everyone to the meeting room. I've got something that might interest you."
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"You've decoded it?" Angela squealed, almost springing from her seat.
"For the most part yes," Gennai responded. The guardians of the digital world were currently seated at meeting room table on which the prophesy lay.
"So?" Shiva prompted impatiently, "what is it?"
Gennai sighed and leaned over the stone tablet in front of him.
"A solitary year signals the death of one and birth of another—
The third return of the true enemy brings—
The returns of the souls of a millennium's wait—
Should the new hope fail the land will be swept in darkness—
Until comes the sacrifice of a touched heart…"
A deafening silence followed as the occupants of the room thought about the meaning of these words.
"...I don't get it."
"Me either."
"Same here."
"yeah—fuck this."
Angela smacked Shiva up side the head.
"Please, please, take the time to think it over. I guarantee you'll understand more of it," Gennai said knowingly.
"Well," Griff began, "it says 'A solitary year signals the death of one and birth of another' and we've been here for one year exactly."
"Have we really?" Angela asked, amazed that the time had passed so quickly.
"He's right," Tai agreed, "Which means this prophecy will come into effect soon. 'The third return of the true enemy brings'—who is the true enemy? I mean, is it implying that Moira isn't our real enemy?"
"She can't be, can she?" Shiva asked, suddenly coming to a realization, "someone had to resurrect her for us to be born...there's someone working as the puppet master."
"And what enemy has come to power twice so far?" Griff added. Gennai watched his successors proudly as they discussed the contents of the prophecy; a knowing, but sad twinkle in his eye.
"Well the third line is clear enough," Angela put in, "'the returns of the souls of a millennium's wait'—that's referring to our reincarnated souls. And the next line, 'Should the new hope fail the land will be swept in darkness'...HA!"
"What? Do you get it?" Tai asked eagerly. Griff and Shiva looked on just as eager.
"I was right," Angela stated smugly to Shiva, "It was darkness."
Shiva stared at her for a moment, confused, before looking down at the engraved runes. She remembered their argument in Bastion Hall.
"Damn," Shiva moaned as she realized what Angela was saying.
"Can we please get back to the issue here?" Tai glowered at them, "I think the last part means something like: if we fail darkness will take over and only a sacrifice can fix things."
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I got," Griff conceded, "What do you think Gennai?"
Gennai smiled sadly at them, preparing to leave, "I believe that you all handled interpreting the prophecy and that you now are all mature and powerful enough of officially take my place."
"Shut it old man—you're not going anywhere. We still can't cook our own dinner," Shiva responded. Gennai closed his eyes tiredly; his body seemed to sag raggedly under the weight of his age.
"'...the death of one and birth of another'," Tai mumbled to himself softly. The death of one...that couldn't mean—
Tai raised his eyes to watch as Gennai stood and slowly made his way across the room, his cane clunking heavily on the floor with the added pressure. Before he reached the door he let out a loud, hoarse cough...followed by another and another. The cane fell to the floor, a loud, hollow sound causing the guardians to rise to their feet in alarm. Gennai's body soon followed, the coughs becoming too much for his weak frame to handle.
"Gennai!" they cried as one, each racing to his side. The old man moaned and let out another throaty cough.
"Griff, go get Professoramon and tell her about Gennai. Tell her to go to his bedroom," Tai instructed, gently lifting the smaller man in his arms. He walked past Shiva, who was shaking, and a tearful Angela. Griff had already taken off.
Professoramon spent a good hour in Gennai's room while the others waited somberly in the hallway.
"He knew this was going to happen," Tai broke the silence. He had an arm around Shiva, who was still shaking silently.
"What do you mean?" Griff asked.
"'A solitary year signals the death of one…''; he knew he was going to die in a year after we came here."
Angela let out a sob and buried her face into Griff's chest. He was looking on in shock, as though just realizing the implication of the statement.
"He can't die!" Shiva exclaimed desperately, "We still need him! The war isn't even over!"
"I really don't think we have a say in this," Tai quietly said, staring ahead.
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Later that night, Tai knocked softly on Gennai's door, entering at the muffled response to enter. He slipped inside to see Gennai lying weakly on his comfortable king-sized bed. The old man looked pale and his breathing was labored.
"Gennai?" Tai asked gently, closing the door behind him, "How are you feeling?"
Gennai gave his young charge a weak smile, "I've been better, my boy. Come...have a seat."
Tai crawled on top of the covers and leaned against the headboard of the bed.
"My time is almost up," Gennai began. Tai swallowed, knowing where the conversation was going, "You will have to take my place as guardian over the digital world along with the others. I know you can handle this responsibility. You've grown well and your powers are great—"
Gennai broke off in a series of coughs.
"I don't think I do this without you," Tai said as he slid down the headboard so that he was lying next to Gennai. Gennai looked into Tai's chocolate eyes to find uncertainty along with unshed tears. He laid a cold, wrinkled hand on Tai's warm cheek and smiled tiredly.
"It's ok to be afraid, Tai. Having fear does not make you a coward. Facing it the way you have been is what truly marks you as the bearer of courage. I could not be more proud. There are no one's hands I would rather place the safety of the digital world in than yours."
Tai let out a chocked sob—one he had been holding in for so long—and hugged the man he had come to regard as a father and mentor. Gennai raised a hand and weakly patted Tai's back. The door creaked open to reveal Angela. She spotted Gennai in his bed and Tai cuddled next to him with his head tucked under Gennai's chin.
"Mind if I join?" she asked shyly. At the two smiles she received, she climbed onto the other side of the bed and snuggled into Gennai's free side. Soon after, Griff and Shiva appeared. Shiva climbed in next to Tai and Griff next to Angela. That was where they spent the rest of the night; talking about all the good times and eventually falling into a peaceful sleep.
As the clock struck midnight, Gennai—warm in his bed and surrounded by the children who he had come to love as his own—breathed his last breath before passing away.
...Hundreds of miles away, the silence of the night was broken with fresh screams.
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I'm sorry for taking so long. I have been keeping busy with my other fic. This one was sad though wasn't it? I apologize for the stupidity of the prophecy...I'm just no good at stuff like that. Ah-well… thanx for the reviews!