Chapter Thirteen of "Tai's Downfall" by Melinda-chan
First of all, I like to thank all of you that have been reading and enjoying this story. I'm so happy that I have a small core of readers for this fic. I like to thank all that reviewed so far. At least I know what people think of my story! For all of you, I've included not just author notes and review responses, but also a mini-bio, fic recommendations and a feature with Tai and Sora!
So for the last time, let this chapter begin!
'Where am I?'
That thought ran through Tai's mind as he "woke up" in total darkness. He was in the hospital a minute ago, wasn't he? If that's the case, where was he now?
"Hello!" Tai yelled. "Hey!" There was no response back.
'I must be the only one here!' Tai thought. 'Now that I know that, what can I do?' All of a sudden he saw someone standing nearby. "Who's there?"
"I am," the person said. Tai then saw it was his double!
"You're me!" Tai said. "Wait a minute! Are you-"
"You're slow, you know that?" his double said. "I was waiting for you to make your move. A snail could've done it sooner."
"I want Sora," Tai said. "But I know that I'll get in trouble! That's why I waited so long!"
"And then when you finally decided to do it, Ken showed up," his double said. "That's when you really messed up."
"Maybe I didn't want to do it like that!" Tai said. "They would know that I was the last person to go to his room! And how am I supposed to dispose of the needle in the hospital?"
"That's not my job, now, is it?" his double said. "I'm just your dark side, am I not?"
"But how do I make you go away?" Tai asked. At that, his double laughed.
"I can't go away," he said. "At least, not the way you want me to."
"So how do I deal with you then?" Tai asked.
"You deal with me the same way that Matt and Ken dealt with their own," his double said. "But do you really want me to go away? You know that I'll return."
"If you can go away, at least do so until I can get my life back on track again," Tai said.
"You cannot defeat me," his double said. "All you can do is prevent me from taking over. But if you can make a wall that can lessen my control, then you can get your mind back."
"But I want you to go away now!" Tai said. "If you're really my dark side, then I can make you go away!"
"I'll return" his double said. All of a sudden he disappeared.
'Now what do I do?' Tai thought. 'I apparently got knocked out so do I have to stay this way until I wake up?'
A few moments later (how do you count minutes inside your mind?), Tai saw a bright light.
'What is that?' Tai thought. 'Oh I hope it's not what I think it is! I don't want to die yet!'
The light, however, was still there a few moments later.
'Okay, maybe I should face the music,' Tai thought. He then went toward it and heard a voice.
"TAI!"
He woke up and saw that Kari was looking down at him.
"Tai, you're awake!" Kari said.
"Where am I?" Tai questioned. He then looked around. "Am I still in the hospital?"
"Of course you're still in the hospital!" Kari exclaimed. "Didn't you remember what you did?"
"I did what?" Tai said. At that, Kari slapped him.
"Don't act stupid, Tai!" Kari said. "You almost killed Matt, and then you tried to kill Ken!" Tai then wrapped his arms around his legs, which were still inside the blanket.
"I blew it, huh?" Tai said.
"You blew it? Tai, what on earth were you thinking?" Kari said. "Do you know that our parents had to be called about this? Do you know how upset they were?" Tai didn't reply.
"Tai, if there was something wrong with you, why didn't you tell us?" Kari demanded. Tai just looked down.
"I…thought I could handle it on my own," Tai said. "After all, it was from my own mind, but I was too weak to fight it!"
"Of course you were!" Kari said. Tai looked up at her in surprise. "It was your mind that was wrong! Fighting it on your own is like fighting yourself. Why did you at least tell someone what you've been through?"
"I'm in real trouble, am I?" Tai asked.
"If you mean legal trouble, then yes you are," Kari said. "You tried to kill both Matt and Ken, and there are already too many people that knows. And I don't know how you can get away with this without our parents disowning you."
"Where's Agumon?" Tai asked.
"He's with our parents" Kari answered. "And you should be ashamed that you made him go along with your plan."
"So is Sora with Matt now?" Tai asked.
"I assume that she is," Kari answered. "Do you want to talk to her? You know that I can't make her go here."
"I know," Tai said. He then looked at her. "Can you get her for me?" Kari sighed.
"Fine" Kari said. She then left the room with Gatomon. Tai looked down at his hands.
'I have to tell her how I feel' Tai thought. 'Even if she still hates me. Even if she doesn't want to see me again. Even if she-' Tai then clenched his right hand. 'I'll at least let her know the truth!' He then heard the door open.
"You want me, Tai?" Sora's voice sounded cold. Tai gulped.
'Okay, maybe this wouldn't be as I hoped,' Tai thought. 'Still I have to ask her it.'
"Sora, do you still like me?" Tai asked. He then put his hand over his mouth.
'I didn't mean to ask her that!' Tai thought. 'I meant to tell her how I like her! What do I do now?'
"Do I still like you?" Sora said. "You tried to kill Matt and Ken, and you dare ask me if I still like you?"
"Yeah, bad question" Tai said. He then saw that she was going to cry. "Sora?"
"What's wrong with you?" Sora asked. "If something was wrong, why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I didn't want anyone to know," Tai said.
"Were you afraid that we would leave you?" Sora asked. "You know that we would get help if you wanted it!"
"I-I just hate myself now," Tai said. "Is Matt, Ken-"
"Matt's still in a coma," Sora replied. "You didn't hurt him at least." It then dawned on Tai that Sora didn't know that he was responsible for the accident. He decided not to say anything about it lest Sora would really want to kill him.
"And Ken?" Tai asked.
"Ken's still in critical condition," Sora answered. "I don't know what you put in that needle, but it must have been bad."
"It was supposed to be for Matt," Tai said, not sure what to say next.
"For Matt? Tai, what are you- no, I know that it wasn't your fault," Sora said. "Just get help. You are really freaking me out."
"I suppose that you know that Matt is planning to go to America?" Tai asked.
"What does that have to do with our conversation?" Sora asked.
"I just remember it" Tai answered.
"Never mind," Sora said. "Just get some rest." Tai put his head down. "You know that we're just dating. It's not like we're getting married. A lot of things has to happen before that."
"Like what?" Tai questioned.
"Well, I'm planning to go to fashion design, and Matt of course wants to go to America," Sora replied. "We're not planning anything until Matt gets his license anyway."
"How long will that take?" Tai asked.
"I'm guessing a few years," Sora replied. "But since he's now in a coma, it'll take longer."
"I know that you have every reason to hate me-" Tai started to say when Sora gently held him in her arms.
"I'll hate you even more if you don't get help," Sora said. "Do you understand?"
"Yeah" Tai answered. She then kissed him on the cheek. Tai turned red.
"I'll be going now," Sora said. Tai could now see the tears in her eyes. She then left the room with Biyomon. Tai put down his head again. He then heard the door open again.
"Tai?" Agumon's voice made Tai look at him. He could see the Reptile Digimon go onto the hospital bed. Tai didn't move a muscle.
"Tai, is that you?" Agumon said. Tai simply looked away.
"Who do you think I am?" Tai replied.
"It's not like I don't believe what I see. It's just that you've been acting strangely," Agumon said.
"Agumon…" Tai started to say. He then put his hands on his face. "I'm such an idiot! I don't know what I want to do!"
"Just get well," Agumon said. "At least it's over, right?"
"What is over?" Tai asked.
"Whatever you had" Agumon replied. "I mean, I know that you never would hurt or kill anyone to get what you want, right?"
Tai was about to answer when he stopped. True, he may have had a psychotic spell, or whatever they called it. But did that justify what he had done? He imagined that most people with psychotic disorders wouldn't be so murderous. He did wanted Sora and was willing to do anything to get her. Even if it meant falling to the lowest depths.
"I don't know Agumon," Tai answered without any emotion. "I really don't know."
The End
Sorry for the ending, but I want people to reach their own conclusions as to what happened to Tai and whether he'll make up with Sora or not. If anyone wants to have a better explanation or a sequel, please let me know. I would like to thank everybody who read and reviewed. I especially would like to thank Frodo007, Loke Groundrunner, Sweet Cari, kouji-wolf, sara haruko takenouchi kamiya and a few others that have been so loyally reading this. Digimon is the copyright of Toei Animation. Review responses, mini-bio, author notes and fic recommendations are below. Don't forget to review!
Since nobody asked me any questions to Tai and Sora, I'll omit that section. I'll instead answer the questions that reviewers had for me:
Kouji-wolf: I'll let you know that I'm writing Chapters 11 & 12 of "Millenniumon's Revenge" so if you're still waiting, it shouldn't be too long now. As for Matt and Ken, I didn't intend Tai to kill them, so be assured that they'll recover. I left the ending wide open so readers can reach their own conclusions. If you want, I can make a short sequel.
As for Tai and his dark side, like Matt and Ken, he'll have to deal with it. The reason why I included a part in which Ken was talking with his dark side is to show that it never leaves you. You can just control it. I think that's one of the main messages I want to send to people.
Sweet Cari- I don't know everything about the Japanese legal system, but I'm sure that Tai will either be sent to a mental institution or a psychiatric hospital until he is fit to go to prison. Tai may have a form of psychosis, so that has to be treated first. However, I think Tai would accept any punishment that he would be given. I've heard that Japanese judges tend to give lighter sentences if the accused expressed remorse, so Tai shouldn't be in prison too long. I don't think it should affect his future role as the diplomat between the Digital World and the real world.
I also like to thank sara haruko takenouchi kamiya for the e-mail she sent me. I hope you like this chapter!
If there's anybody else reading for the last few chapters, thank you so much! I hope you do review this time!
Since I've answered all of the questions, I would like to introduce myself:
Name: Melinda-chan (if I sent you an e-mail, then you already know my real name- the sender's name is my real name)
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Birthdate: April 1980
Occupation: On-and-off volunteer with the Canadian Mental Health Association doing cataloguing and document processing, hoping to work at the local museum this fall
Hobbies: Reading, writing, watching TV, computers, cooking, food, and of course anime and manga
Favourite Food: Pizza! I also can't live without root beer
Favourite Animes (beside Digimon series): Inu-Yasha, Zatch Bell, Spiral, Oh My Goddess, .hack series, Samurai 7, D N Angel, Peacemaker, Ranma 1/2, Evangelion, Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto and probably a few others I can't think of now
Favourite Mangas: Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ranma 1/2, Oh My Goddess, One Piece, Inu-Yasha, Kimagure Orange Road, Naruto, Rurouni Kenshin, Buso Renkin, D N Angel, Zatch Bell and probably a few others I can't think of now
Favourite Characters: Matt, Ken, Koji, Koichi, Gatomon, Wormmon and Impmon (Digimon), Rin, Shippo, Inu-Yasha and Kohaku (Inu-Yasha), Kyo, Momiji, Hatsuharu, Ayame and Manabe (Fruits Basket), Alphonse, Ling and Ed (Fullmetal Alchemist), Sakura (Naruto), Roronoa Zoro (One Piece), Daisuke and With (D N Angel), Skuld (Oh My Goddess), Hiyono and Kosuke (Spiral)
That's all for my mini-bio. If you want to know more about me, check my journal under "CurlerGirl" or my TOKYOPOP blog under "Melinda-chan" at my bio link. You can find all about my semi-boring life and see what I do besides writing fanfiction!
You may also want to know about my work habits as well as a few other things. So here it goes:
My work habits aren't organized. I write first on paper, and depending on the number of fics that I'm doing, a chapter can take from a few weeks to a few months to do. Most of the chapters took a month to do though editing and typing of course took longer. I take great pride in my work and after I'm through with a chapter, I staple it, put it in a paper protector and then put it in a binder (I already got three!) This makes it easier to edit, and I can see how long each chapter is. I highly recommend that if you don't write on paper, to either print it out or save it in a disk for backup reasons.
As for tools and supplies, I take advantage of the annual back-to-school sale in August and buy lots of paper, pencils, erasers and other things I need for the year. I use mechanical pencils because they're easier to use than regular pencils and they don't break either unless I press on the lead too hard. I use vinyl erasers because they're cleaner than the normal pink erasers.
"Tai's Downfall" was published in 2003. When I was attending community college, I used the computers there but afterward I used my home Dell computer with Word '97, which still works very well today. My first fanfiction work was "The Dark Ocean of My Mind," a Digimon-based poem that was published in 2001, when still had original fiction and lemons. I got lots of other Digimon and other anime/manga works as well, so I encouraged people to check my profile. I also got a Season Two/Three crossover called "Millenniumon's Revenge." As I said before, if anyone wants me to do a sequel, please tell me!
Now that you know something about my fanfiction career, I can go to my author's notes:
Chapter One
I originally intended this to be a poemfic, but somewhere along the way, I dropped it. This was my first time that I did a Digimon fic with mostly the original characters, so I had a few problems with characterization. Tai's dark side was what I felt Tai would be like if he turned to evil. Everyone has one, and I like such stories where the conflict is between oneself, and I hope I did a good job at it.
Chapter Two
Sending flowers and a disturbing message is typical of what stalkers and psychopaths give to their victims (which are usually young women). I decided to keep my fic as close to the Digimon canon as possible, even if I don't agree with it. Since Matt is destined to be an astronaut, I had to put some reference to it in this chapter (by the way, Japan does have its own space agency, but nothing like NASA). The end of Season Two didn't say how Matt became an astronaut, so I chose not to elaborate on it. However, I imagined that he would need a high knowledge of math and science and also some engineering and/or piloting skills. Tai's visit to Matt was of course to kill Matt, but I also wanted everyone to know what Matt has been doing (his father actually paid for the house). I should mention that Matt and Sora weren't sleeping together- she sleeps on a futon in one room while Matt sleeps in another room.
Chapter Three
In this chapter, I wanted to show how bad Tai started to treat other people, like Kari and Agumon. I also included a bit of fan service for female Tai fans, but nobody seemed to notice or care. Agumon talking to Gatomon was to use the rest of the chapter, but I did wanted to explore Agumon's own dilemma. Even if he couldn't tell Gatomon (who as a cat would suspect a thing or two already), at least she would know something's wrong. I also wanted an in-depth look at Tai's mind as it gets even more split over his good and bad sides. "Hello darkness, my old friend/ I have come to talk to you again" is from an old Simon & Garfunkel song "The Sound of Darkness." It came into my head when I was writing about Agumon. It's more suited for Tai in this case, but oh well…
Chapter Four Parts One & Two
Of all the chapters in this story, these two were the most difficult for me. I had to handle a large group of characters and I don't think I did it well. I had to separate this chapter into two, because I had too much for one chapter (I generally prefer to keep my chapters to 20 pages, and this went beyond that). I had to decide on who would do what, and decide what they would all be doing at that present. I probably did a little too much at once. I should mention that this was a condensed chapter- I couldn't put everything they did in one or two chapters, unless you want three or more chapters instead of two. Just to keep track, Kari was going out with T.K. (she was planning to dump him after they left which explained her nervousness), Sora is going out with Matt, Ken is going out with Yolei (though he doesn't consider himself her boyfriend), Davis is going out with a girl called Megumi, Izzy "hangs out" with Mei, the Po sister (a fictitious character- the Po Brothers never mentioned having a sister), Joe is very busy and has no time for a girl (not yet at least), and Cody isn't interested yet. (I omitted Joe completely in the chapters because I didn't think he would've done anything useful in this story). It was after they left that Kari would split up with T.K., who would spiral into a depression of his own. As I wrote this story, I thought about what it would be like if some people did have their own Digimon and a few would use them for evil, like Ken did. I know that there would've to be at least a few detectives dealing with Digimon-related crime around by then. Mikio (Mick) and Michiro (Mitch) Oda would set up a detective agency and Ken would assist them until he's old enough to join them. I did a little research and found out that detectives are usually trained on the job so Ken could be considered an apprentice. I wondered why Ken would want to be a detective in the first place, perhaps a bit of guilt? In case you would've wondered about the crimes, they would be solved but only later on.
The second part of Chapter Four dealt with Tai's attempt to kill Matt by throwing him down the stairs, which can easily be concealed as accidental. I had to admit that I had no idea how I would write this, as I never wrote a story like this before. Making Tai go evil was a delight, as I could get him all bad (though we all know that wasn't the real Tai, do we?) Ken and Wormmon now knew that something isn't right. I was taking so long that someone e-mailed me wondering why I was taking so long. By the time it was finished, I had written 38 pages and typed 22 pages in the computer. Despite all the problems, I was glad that I was able to write the ending like I wanted to.
Chapter Five (Chapter Six according to and Matt decided to talk about the incident the day before. I did research on psychopathy before I wrote this chapter, and one good website was called Cassiopeia. I assumed that Ken would know some English. I'm not saying that Tai had become a psychopath, but his behaviour was similar to one. Japan, like most developed countries, has laws against threats, but they need evidence first, which is why Ken was taking notes. Of course, it wasn't known whether Tai was the one that sent that creepy note with the flowers. There'll be more evidence however before too long.
Chapter Six (Chapter Seven according to gets a call about Tai from Ken. Since Tai had already left, Kari could talk about him. She didn't mention T.K., though she was still upset. Of course, Kari didn't know what Tai tried to do to Matt and I wasn't sure whether Ken should tell Kari or not but she did deserve to know something. Tai went to Matt's place with a bouquet of flowers and acted all weird, kissing Sora in the end. I felt I should show how unbalanced Tai had become. By the way, the powder that was in the bouquet was simply rice flour. Matt and Sora had their first real fight too.
Chapter Seven (Chapter Eight according to and Agumon finally had a talk about Tai. I don't think that Kari is convinced that Tai was just moody. A sign of a mental disorder is usually a drastic change in moods. Agumon gets even more concerned about Tai when Tai walks about Sora like she's a game piece. Agumon decides to get physical, but is defeated by Tai. I want people to see how far Tai has fallen by then. Tai doesn't even acknowledge him when Agumon went back to the bed. Matt talked to Ken in his cell phone about the powder. It only lasted a minute, as he didn't want Sora to found out. The information on flower preservation was from a lady that I knew that had to quit working because the chemicals that was used there was making her sick (she ended up going back again). I had no idea that flowers have to be preserved like that- mine just lasted for a week before dying off. As many of you have already guessed, Tai did tinker with the door handle to get inside and screw with the braking system. By that time, many cars would be computerized, so Tai could just disconnect a few wires manually so the computer wouldn't respond. Matt was so occupied with the powder that he overlooked the loose door handle. It was only a coincidence that his first stop was in an intersection!
Chapter Eight (Chapter Nine according to accident scene- I got a comment about the ambulance coming so soon after the accident. I didn't say exactly how long the accident has been or whether the ambulance has already been called. Since this happened in the city, it would take a shorter time for the ambulance to come than in the countryside, which would take longer (I know this because my grandfather had a heart attack when I was visiting them. The ambulance only took 30 minutes to arrive despite it being away from any towns. Grampy died in the hospital the same day). My own experiences with hospitals helped me to familiarize with them. I should like to inform my readers that Matt suffered a severe concussion, a bruised right arm, a broken right hip, a few broken ribs and countless cuts and bruises. Even when he awakes, he would still need to be in the hospital for a very long time. While I was writing the final chapter, the live-in boyfriend of a granddaughter of someone that my mother knows was in a serious accident, and has to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. I don't expect Matt to suffer a similar fate, but it could explain why it took so long for Matt and Sora to get married and for Matt to go to America for his astronaut training (I assume that the Japanese space agency wouldn't go through any major changes). Tai blowing up at the hospital was another sign of his mental instability. Ken finally told Sora his suspicions about Tai, and Sora told him about what Tai did the day before. I think that Ken believes that Tai caused the accident but he's not sure what to do next. Tai's "voice" is plotting again. When Tai allows it to take over him, it is only fulfilling his dark desires, though I'm not sure that he knows that yet. I should mention that this is a psychological story, not a romance story- any romance is a bonus. I'm very proud of how far my story has gone so far.
Chapter Nine (Chapter Ten according to finds out next, thanks to Ken and his notebook. Now she knows what's going on too. "D.E." is, of course, short for the Digimon Emperor. I wanted to show how Ken was handling his own dark side, though it still wishes to control him. That led Ken to thinking about Tai, which made him realize what he has to do next. Tai's kiss was the clincher for Sora to finally realize what was going on. I know that I've been told that Sora was acting way too dumb, but I thought it would be more realistic. Now of course she's starting to wonder about Tai and decides to call Ken. Tai's own mind is falling apart as he kissed Sora and then returned to his normal self.
Chapter Ten (Chapter Eleven according to getting drunk- I was inspired by a comment from another story I did about a possible alcohol problem for T.K., so I've created this version, with a flashback of the breakup, so readers would know how it exactly happened. The "Let's be friends line" is always a killer. By the way, you have to be 20 to legally drink alcohol in Japan. This is when Sora finally realizes that something's wrong with Tai- as if all the previous stuff wasn't an indicator. Tai was dealing with conflicting emotions as he gets more and more unstable. This chapter also contained review replies. I like to thank all who have reviewed so far.
Chapter Eleven (Chapter Twelve according to knew that I was getting close to the end so I had to pick up the pace. I originally planned on Tai getting a gun, but I realized that Tai would've no money to get one, and the bullet would be too easy to see anyway. Tai used a more insidious method: a fatal injection. I don't think that hospitals are much different in Japan than in most other places- Tai just went in as a guest and was able to get access to Matt's room without anyone else being there. Ken of course was thinking got there in time. Ken knows martial arts, and Tai has athletic skills, so both I feel would be an even match for each other. I never really wrote a fighting scene like this before, but I was pleased that it went so well. At least, Ken saved Matt but now they're both in the hospital too. Of course, everyone will know soon enough.
Chapter Twelve (Chapter Thirteen according to chapter focuses on everyone else that was involved, especially Kari. Of course, all of their families would've been notified. The emergency room was based on my own local hospital- you just walk in, wait your turn and state your business. You then wait until a nurse comes in and takes you to the patient. I knew that I had to put Ken and Tai's families but I wasn't sure when to put Sora in. I finally figured that putting her at the latter part of the chapter would've the most impact. By now, Sora would've known the truth. Mitch and Mick Oda came in, which provided them with an excuse to get Davis to do Ken's jobs while he's out (I personally don't think that Davis is suited for an office job). With everyone's questions now answered, it's time for Tai to wake up.
Chapter Thirteen (Chapter Fourteen according to don't know how anyone else imagined how this would end, but Tai didn't exactly fight his other self- this isn't Kingdom Hearts' Riku and Ansem here. Despite a few changes in my plan, I was very pleased on how things worked out. I don't know how other people would view the ending, but I'm just glad that it's all over now. I hoped that everyone enjoyed it. Remember, if you want a sequel, just ask.
Well, that's all that I can think of, but if you want me to clear on something that I haven't touched on, or ask a question, feel free to do so.
I would like to thank Akiyoshi Hongo and Toei Animation for creating Digimon, and Jeff Nimoy who played a large part in producing the English version here. Just remember that if you do get Toon Disney, be sure to watch the new Digimon series this fall. You don't know how much I envy you!
I do encourage you to read my other Digimon stories and poems, or you can go read my other anime/manga stories and poems. You can also check my Favorite Stories too. I'll also like to recommend Millenniumon's story "Corrupted Courage, Shattered Goggles," which has a similar theme to my own story.
For the last time, thank you all who have read and reviewed my story, and for supporting Digimon. Just remember, keep on reading and writing!
Melinda-chan (July 12, 2007, 9:52 P.M.)