Thank you all for sticking with me for such a long time! I am so happy that people are still reading this story and haven't given up on me completely! I will finish this story, hopefully soon. I myself am getting tired of dragging this story on for so long. I just wanted to post a chapter up to let you guys know I'm still alive and well, though the writing is going pretty slow. However, I hope to finish up the story in perhaps two or three more chapters! So hopefully I haven't lost everyone yet, and if you guys are still with me till the end, I have your eternal gratitude!
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Chapter 15. One Mind, One Body.
Tai felt his nervousness returning to him as the minutes slowly ticked down to his friends' arrivals. As he saw a full head of pink hair come into view, he felt his heart drop down to his stomach as he shifted in agitation.
Next to him, Sora whispered small reassurances as she gently grasped his upper arm and pulled it to her chest. Tai nodded briefly and then gulped down his fear as he saw the rest of the group come into view. Piximon flew to the entrance of his home and let the rest of the digidestined in with a warm welcome.
Sora let Tai's arm go as their friends came to greet them, and pushed him forward slightly as their friends surrounded and bombarded them with various questions. Unsure of what to say, the two teenagers remained silent, throwing furtive glances at one another. Tai then saw Piximon in the corner and shot him a look of desperation, as he started panicking again. Piximon took pity on the two teenagers that he had grown quite fond of, and decided to save the group from the awkward silence that was sure to follow when neither Sora nor Tai answered any of their questions or concerns.
"How about if we do this," Piximon offered, as he fluttered over the excited group of young adults. "I will show you all your rooms. You all can unpack and settle down before we have lunch. Once everyone has been satiated, Tai and Sora can explain what has transpired in the digital world over the past couple of months. How does that sound?" Everyone nodded in agreement as Piximon led the way to their rooms.
Sora and Tai followed as well, curious to see where their friends would be accommodated. They were surprised to see that there were only three rooms that were to be occupied by the group of them. They also noticed that their belongings were displaced: Tai's items were placed in the first room- a room which belonged to him only; Sora's items were located in the second room which was noted to be the girl's room. Wondering how all four girls were going to sleep in such a tiny room- assuming their room would be as big as Tai's, which was big enough to fit no more than two people comfortably- he took a peek into their room and was stunned to see four beds adequately spaced around a rectangular room, each bed with its own dresser next to it. The room was fairly big with a door leading to the bathroom at the very end of the room, parallel to the room door. The next room was for the rest of the guys; it was similar in format as the girl's room, except for the fact that it was bigger in size to accommodate seven teenage boys.
When asked why Tai was able to get his own room, Piximon postponed the justification by saying "Tai will explain that himself, after lunch." He was on the receiving end of a few protests, mainly from Davis, but remained silent.
Once settled in their respective rooms, everyone met back downstairs for lunch. They had a hearty meal provided by the Veggiemon in the kitchen and once the table was cleared, all of the digidestined settled down in an adjacent room to hear Tai's story. The room was decorated in mellow colors and showcased various tapestries on the wall. "What is this room, Piximon?" Mimi asked as she walked over the threshold.
"This room was designed as a place of solace for recuperating digimon at first, but it has also been used as a conference room for important digimon- such as the four that watch over our digital world," Piximon explained.
"So does that mean we're important as well?" Davis was immediately rewarded with a smack over the head with Piximon's staff for that errant comment. "Ouch! What was that for?" Davis retorted, glaring at the small beast.
"How come the four digimon protectors cannot fight this evil digimon that has come to take over the digital world?" Joe asked, wondering if the four protectors were indeed what they were idolized to be since it seemed that the digital world kept falling into the hands of darkness time after time.
"You see, a digimon with certain characteristics has to be born in order to take over the job of one of the protectors. Without another digimon created to take the old digimon's place currently, none of the four protectors can fight at this moment in time. If the balance of the four is destroyed, it will have very bad consequences for the digital world," Izzy explained. "Worse than what I assume is happening currently," he added.
"Oh…"
"Alright then, shall we go on to hearing Tai's story?" Piximon urged on as he ushered everyone into the room and around the big oak-wood table located in the center.
Once everyone was seated, Tai took a deep breath and started unweaving his adventurous tale to the rest of his audience around him. Just like he told Gennai, he repeated his story once again, deciding to leave out the information about his and Sora's relationship until the urgent matters at hand were taken care of. "Please do not interrupt until you have heard everything I have to say…" Taichi started.
A while later, the occupants of the room jumped slightly as Izzy's voice took over and saturated the air. "No way!" Izzy screamed as he jumped up from his seat, concomitantly pushing his palms into the table top, making the table shake violently. "That is not even humanly possible!" he concluded. "You did explain what happened to you in the beginning, the last time we came to visit you, but at that time, with the information you gave us, this should not happen. I want proof of this so called 'transformation,'" Izzy demanded, his fingers flexing in the air as he made quotation signs for when he said transformation. The others around him nodded their heads in agreement- this tale sounded too far fetched for them to believe.
"You think that I'm making all of this up? How long have you guys known me? And here you are, doubting my sanity!" Tai spat, crossing his arms over his chest as he remained glued to his seat. "Even my own sister!" he pointed out when he saw the dubious look on her face. Sora placed a hand on his thigh and gave a light squeeze, indicating that he should calm down. Looking around the table at Kari, Sora noticed that the brown haired girl's demeanor shifted to one that resembled embarrassment, probably for accusing her brother for his 'lies.'
"Alright, you want proof?" Tai questioned. Joe started worrying when Taichi didn't back down off of his claim of being able to transform into a digimon and admit that this was one big joke. "Then follow me," the brown haired boy said as he strode out of the room and walked into the coliseum arena. Everyone in the room followed him, if not for fear, then for sheer curiosity.
"You all may want to stand around the outer edge of the arena," Tai warned, as everyone else, digimon included, stopped at the edge of the grounds and let Taichi walk to the middle of the field. The brown haired teen stood on the dirt ground, unnaturally still for a good minute or two. "Are you guys sure you want to see this?" he asked once more. Knowing the answer to his question, he closed his eyes, and turned his back on friends.
' Let's do this…' Tai thought as he let the beast inside of him take over. A small rumbling noise came from his chest, which slowly became louder over time. Feral roar ripped through his throat and vibrated off the coliseum walls as the digimon side took over. He felt the power ripple through his veins and danced over his skin. The other digidestined watched in fascination as Taichi grew taller, his height now close to, or over six and a half feet.
Tai felt his limbs stretch and elongate; he gritted his teeth together as a painful sensation enveloped his senses. After a few seconds, the pain turned into a pleasant pulling, as if his arms and legs were made out of elastic. He unconsciously flexed his fingers when an itchy feeling crawled through his hands to his fingertips; the fingernails started to grow longer and sharper, resembling a bird's talons rather than fingers. The veins in his eyes became engorged, pumping more blood through his eyeballs as the irises turned bright red- his vision increased dramatically with the change. Tai pushed his chest out and shoulder blades together, as a numbness took over his upper back. Sharp, white feathers pierced through his skin, clawing their way out of his body. The two identical slits on his upper back became more noticeable as his wings grew larger, encircling his body in a protective cocoon. The numb feeling remained until the wings had reached their full length and the penetration marks on his back had all but disappeared, leaving two faint lines.
The newly transformed Tai slowly opened his eyes to view the awaiting crowd. As he approached his friends, he could see the apprehension and shock in on their faces, his sister included. He gulped, unsure of whether to approach them or not, but he continued forward once he saw Sora's confident smile. Mimi immediately took a step back as Tai took his first step forward, her face disfigured by a look of pure terror as she let out a cry of distress. The others around her turned to look at her and Sora immediately went to comfort her friend.
"Mimi, it's okay," Sora soothed but had no avail. Mimi let out another terrified shriek as she took off in the other direction and ran out of the arena. Yolie, who was standing next to her, took off yelling 'I'll bring her back,' behind her shoulder as she chased after the pink haired girl.
Unfortunately, while the others were preoccupied with Mimi's outburst, they did not see the despair taking over Yamato's mind and body. Matt's face changed shape as he took in Tai's new form. The previous memorie of their confrontation came rushing to the forefront. His pupils dilated until all there was left were small rings of light blue around the edge of the irises. Matt started sweating and his breathing became labored as fear paralyzed his mind.
Matt took a step backwards, tripping over his own feet, landing on his backside. He didn't even notice the pain as his hand hit the ground, landing in an awkward position as his mouth gave a subconscious yelping sound. Tai's sharp ears picked up the sound of distress and focused his blood- red eyes on the blonde haired boy on the floor, his eyes curious and penetrating. He started to walk towards Matt, forgetting he was in his digimon form. Tai's hand went out to help the blonde up as he made his way across the coliseum grounds, but Matt, jumping to the conclusion that Tai was attacking him once again, gave a fearful scream as he jumped to his feet and backed away from Tai.
The digimon part of Taichi growled in annoyance. 'What is wrong with this boy?? And you call him your friend!' he yelled out to the brown haired boy in control of him.
"Matt!" Tai called out, but even to him, his voice did not sound the same. His voice, a little deeper than usual, had sounded much harsher than intended due to the gravely undertones. At the sound of his voice, the blonde turned his fear filled eyes towards Tai and gulped. Deciding it was too much for him, Matt took off, just as Mimi had a few minutes before hand.
"Matt!" Gabumon yelled as he went after Matt a few seconds later.
"Matt! Gabumon! Wait up!" Joe yelled as he grabbed Gomamon and his shoulder bag. He turned towards the rest of the digidestined in the room and said, "I'll go after Matt. Perhaps I can find Mimi and Yolie as well." He took off after his two companions, screaming their names as he ran down the hall.
The four wayward teenagers found themselves going towards the outskirts of Piximon's home, through the barrier, and to the vast dessert that followed. From a distance, Joe spotted Yolie comforting a croutched and distraught Mimi, as Palamon and Hawkmon hovered over the two teens. From his peripheral vision, Joe saw Matt running straight ahead to where Mimi and Yolie were, so the blue haired boy decided to follow as well. He glanced back to Piximon's home, making sure he would be able to remember where the barrier was located, and then took off after Matt once again.
Joe came to a panting halt in front of the group of 3 teenagers: two of them wrapped up in their own fears, the other one trying to console them. "You guys, it's not safe out here right now; we should head back immediately," Joe pleaded as Gabumon went around to his friend's side. Just as Joe finished commenting on their situation, a shadow was cast upon them, enshrouding the four teens and their digimon in the darkness.
"Well, well, well… Look what we have here," a deep voice commented, its origin located right behind the teenagers. Yolie lifted her head up to see where the voice's origin was and gave a choked scream as her legs crumbled beneath her.
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The four teens returned to Piximon's home a couple hours later, seeming more confident of their hold over their emotions than they did when they left. Flashing an apologetic glance towards Tai and the others, Joe mumbled an apology for the four of them.
"That's okay," Tai started, his hands held out in front of his body. "Don't worry about it too much. I wasn't too insulted when you guys ran away from me as if you had seen a monster," he chuckled.
Sora rolled her eyes in response and nudged him out of the way. "While you guys were gone, Piximon decided that the best course of action was to start training you all, as well as the digimon," she added.
"Training? Like what are we talking about?" Izzy questioned; not particularly fond of physical exertion, he was more than eager to remain in front of his computer.
"Probably basic exercises to help us get in shape. I believe the real training is for the digimon, rather than us," Sora replied. "After all, in order for our digimon to stand a chance against the dark ones, and to last as long as they can, they have to be able to defeat them at a fairly low level."
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"Dinner is ready," Piximon announced, as he flew into the upstairs hallway. (Once the digidestined went over a few basic exercises, they headed up to their respective rooms to relax before dinner.) He ushered the digidestined into the same room they were served lunch, and they sat down in their respective seats. Dinner went smoothly and the teenagers' stomachs were filled with hot bread rolls, warm pizza, and their favorite desserts. Once Davis finished licking his dessert plate clean, he leaned back in his chair and patted his full stomach, releasing a sigh of ecstasy. "Now that was a meal! I should get the recipe for that apple tart!" he muttered to himself as he licked his lips.
"Davis! Don't fall asleep at the table!" Kari chastised as she nudged him with her foot from across the table. He grumbled but acquiesced anyways, sitting up straight when Veemon jumped into his lap.
"Now you don't fall asleep too, Veemon!" Davis complained as he poked at the snoring digimon on his lap a while later.
"I think we're all tired after all the commotion today," Sora started, as a few digimon came from the kitchen and cleaned up the debris off the table.
Piximon took that opportunity to fly over and happened to land on the tabletop right in front of Mimi. She cooed over him for a few seconds and then scooped him up into her cupped hands as he started to speak. "Hey! Put me down!" he commanded to no avail. Sighing, he added onto Sora's previous comment, "You guys can retire for the night, and tomorrow morning we shall start the training regime." Davis and a few other digidestined nodded, only half awake after such a filling meal and attempted to rise up from their seats.
"Then I bid you all a good night, and will wake you up in the morning," Piximon addressed and then tried to fly out of Mimi's clutches. Finding himself trapped between the palms of a very energetic teenager, Piximon quickly deciding that he must make a hasty escape before he got into a mucky situation, swished his staff around in the air creating a bubble around himself. The bubble slowly expanded, pushing the pink-haired teenager's hands away from his body, and he took that rare opportunity to slip between her fingers and out of the room as fast as he could. Before she knew it, Mimi was clutching air, wondering where the pink, furry digimon disappeared to.
Stillness took over the air as the digidestined fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in his or her own thoughts, either about the events that transpired over the day, or that will transpire in the near future. A loud bang knocked the teenagers out of their respective reveries as they looked over to the source of the noise. Tai's hand was placed flat on the table surface as he pushed his chair back, stood up erect, and stretched. "Let's get to bed; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. And trust me, you'll need as much rest as you can get before Piximon wakes you guys up tomorrow morning," he mentioned as he rolled out the cricks in his neck.
The others followed suit and followed him up the stairs, each whispering good night to the others before heading off to their respective rooms. Tai walked into his room and closed the door softly behind him. Changing quickly, he slipped into bed and pulled the covers up to his bare chest and closed his eyes. Letting his mind drift, he stumbled upon the grey area between his two personas, a thin line separating the two minds in one body. He tentatively stuck his mind's foot over the line and was met with a thin membranous screen, preventing him from entering any further. Pushing a little harder, he finally got his foot though the threshold and felt a rush of energy emanating from the digimon's mind. Gulping, he placed his foot down into the uncharted territories of his other mind and stepped over the thin, membrane-like boundary, immersing himself into his digimon side. Breathing deeply, he opened his eyes and glanced around, his digimon mind appearing the same as his to the untrained eye. But he could feel the minute differences; the air was filled with a sort of uneasy tension, the floor he stood on was a little colder and harder than a pampered humans, and Tai started to realize the kind of harsh reality a digimon had to exist in.
'It's like Darwin said, the survival of the fittest,' he thought as a glimpse of a shadow went by his peripheral vision. Turning his head sharply to the right, he could make out a silhouette in the dark recesses of the digimon's mind and urged his other half to come out and present himself. He now faced his counterpart- the beast the occupied his body, and would probably do so until the day he died. Tai sighed, uncertainty filling his stance, unsure if he could handle the ruthless nature of this digimon.
He glanced around at his surroundings, finally taking notice of the pictures surrounding the two of them, realizing some of them were his old memories, which were intertwined with his new memories, both as a digimon and a human. One in particular caught his eye as he was reminded of the not so pleasant emotions- jealousy, rage, anger, betrayal, frustration- that overtook him the day he found out Sora and Matt were dating. He suddenly realized that the digimon and him were not so different after all, just that the digimon side of him experienced, expressed, and understood each one of these emotions to a fuller degree than did the human psyche. 'Perhaps that is what is called the animal instinct, and unfortunately, humans have become too complex with their emotions and experiences that everything becomes a soap opera to them,' Tai thought as he glanced back to his digimon form in front of him.
Tai took his time, perusing through the images floating past, and he spotted a picture of Sora with the light shining off her hair in the perfect angle. He realized it was a memory made in Piximon's home as they were coming down either for training or dinner; the sun was starting to set, filling the coliseum with the softer shades of the spectrum, and this created a sort of halo around his girlfriend's form. How come he didn't seem to remember this memory? It was breath-taking, that's for sure. And since it was, he was sure to remember it, wouldn't he? Tai finally faced the digimon in front of him, Tai's mind now buzzing about with a million questions.
The red eyes staring back at him grinned as if they were mocking him and his stupidity. 'You're wondering about that picture, aren't you?' the beast asked, his lips curling back in laughter. The long canines that were revealed sunk into his lower lip as he tried to compose himself once again. Tai nodded in response, remaining quiet.
'We are two different entities after all. Up until I took shape, I was a part of you- mind, body, and soul- the more animalistic part. As we have two different minds, we also have two different perspectives. As such, I pay more attention to my mate, as well as proximate events, and basically live life day- to- day. I also have very basic needs, desires, and emotions- not too complex- and that's what keeps my mind simple and uncomplicated. I see what I want and need, and obtain it; it's that simple.' The beast nodded his head to emphasize the point. 'We are the same, except when our minds are merged, we- you- can experience the same thing from two different perspectives, be able to pay attention to multiple things at once, more than even an exemplary human can, and have the instincts of an animal/ digimon, while in your human form. And of course, be able to change into your digimon form whenever the circumstance deems it necessary.'
"But you are still looking through one pair of eyes; it's not like I have another pair of eyes on the back of my head. So why did I not commit that image to my memory?"
"The human mind is a filter and only focuses on what it wants to focus on. Perhaps you were preoccupied at that time, or in a sleepy haze. However, anything and everything the human mind does not think is a threat, I scrutinize, taking in every detail that you perhaps missed."
Tai nodded, absorbing all of this information. "Basically, your saying once we are merged as one, I will still be me, but with extra abilities in my human or digimon forms." His counterpart nodded. "But I think I'll kind of miss your voice in my head, chastising me over stupid stuff," the brown haired boy admitted sheepishly. The beast let out a throaty laugh as he said, 'that's what your mate is for! Of course I'll still be here, I'm a part of your mind; you just have to accept me just like you would any other situation or event in your life, whether it may be good or bad, and that takes time.'
Tai could feel the digimon's voice in his head slowly fading and he wondered what was going on. Attempting to take a step towards the beast, he found himself thrust back into his mind and an unnatural calm took over. All thoughts seemed to be forgotten as soon as he came back to the forefront of his mind, and a caressing hand of darkness enveloped him, allowing for a restful sleep until morning.