When I came to my senses, I was back in the hallway.
"Tai, what's wrong? Is everything okay? You were standing there aimlessly," the student council president asked, walking over to me with Agumon.
"I apologize for that. Let's keep moving," I replied.
As the three of us continued to walk toward the Announcement Room, I bumped my head against another invisible wall.
"Ouch," I said, holding my head.
"What happened," the student council president asked, confused.
"This is one of those invisible wall things again, right," Agumon asked me.
"Invisible walls," the student council president repeated, confused.
I knocked on the wall and placed my hands against it to prove that an invisible force was blocking my way. Confused, the student council president passed by me without any issues.
"I don't see anything. Let me try something," the student council president said.
The student council president grabbed my arm and tried pulling me out of the hallway like Agumon did earlier.
"Ouch, stop pulling me. You're going to break my arm at this point," I told Labrys.
"Sorry," the student council president said, releasing my arm.
"What do we do now," Agumon asked.
"Well, the fastest way to the Announcement Room is down the hall and up the stairs. With these walls, I guess we have no choice but to take a detour," the student council president explained.
"Sorry about all this," I replied.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. Like you said, this whole event is your friend's fault; rather, the other me impersonating your friend is to blame. It sounds odd to talk about it like that. Even though there should be only one me, the fact that a duplicate is out there bothers me."
"We all have sides of ourselves that we don't want to admit are real, feelings we keep bottled up and rejected. The important thing is accepting that your flaws also make up who you are. Believe me; I've known from experience."
"Have you had to face your other self?"
"Not me personally, but I have witnessed my friends and their struggles confronting their other half. Hearing them talk negatively about my friends hurt me as well. I felt like I let them down for not realizing it sooner and talking about it. I may be a leader in their eyes, but those events shake my confidence every so often."
"I'm sure they understand that you're doing your best. I've only met Izzy and Sora, but I can already tell from your interactions with your friends that you care deeply about them. I'm sure they reciprocate those feelings."
"Thanks for that, Miss President. That means a lot to me."
"Where should we go now," Agumon asked.
"Where these invisible walls lead, we will follow. Lead the way, Tai," the student council president replied.
Episode 4
We maneuvered our way around the school based on my restrictions. Occasionally, I would keep inconveniently bumping into walls. Eventually, I found myself outside of school.
"These walls are taking me farther away from the Announcement Room, almost as if the mastermind doesn't want me to find them," I Informed.
"That only makes our case that my other self is up there somewhere stronger. The perpetrator can deter us all they want, but that won't prevent us from stopping this nonsense," the student council president responded.
Again, I bumped my head against an invisible wall.
"I'm outside the school. How can there be an invisible barrier here, too," I questioned.
I tried to meander my way around the wall, but it felt like I was inside a box.
"What happened, Tai," Agumon asked.
"It looks like I'm inside an invisible circle, which can only mean one thing," I answered.
True to my suspicion, a television appeared from nowhere, and the image of a familiar foe appeared.
"Enjoying your little tour around the school? It would be faster if you found your opponents and beat them to a pulp instead of fooling around and enjoying yourself," Teddie remarked.
"Isn't it time you stop the charade and show us who you are? You're not fooling anyone with that getup anymore," I replied.
"I'll have you know this is 100% genuine Teddie fur. Look at the smooth silk and shine. Unfortunately, your shining moment is about to hit a brick wall. Bring out the next challenger," Teddie shouted.
Once again, white smoke surrounded us. When it cleared, we spotted a familiar friend.
"I was afraid that you would be the next person to appear. It looks like my suspicion was true," I said.
"It's good to know you can create your thoughts. For a moment, I thought you needed permission from Agumon and that thing behind you to talk like that," Matt replied, stepping out of the smoke.
"Well, you made deducting all of this easier. The Matt I know would not talk like that about other people. Let's fight and get this over with. It's not like we haven't had any physical or verbal confrontations before, so this shouldn't be any different."
"That's your issue, Tai. You are simply going with the flow of things when figuring out what is best for everyone. Tell me, what exactly are you fighting for now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you even sure you're fighting for the right side? Just look at that thing behind you. It's nothing but a pile of junk. Are you going to drop everything for that trashed scrap metal?"
"Even though I know you're not Matt, that's taking it too far. I don't know what's making you talk like that, but you have no right to treat Miss President like that. It looks like I'll have to knock you back to your senses. I know you can take a beating; therefore, I won't hold back. Hang on, Matt. I'll wake you up from this charade."
"You're still a fool until the bitter end. I've already won this war. Persona!"
Matt shattered the card before him, donning his new attire and summoning his trusted companion.
"I don't like fighting my friends, but I don't have a choice. I'm sorry, Gabumon," Agumon said.
Gabumon quickly digivolved into Garurumon and jumped at me. I shattered the card before me, wearing my new outfit and allowing Agumon to digivolve into Greymon. Greymon slid towards me to prevent Garurumon from crushing me with its claws.
"I'm sorry, Garurumon, but this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you," Greymon said.
Greymon threw Garurumon away, who collided with the invisible wall before charging back at Greymon. Meanwhile, Matt swung his large great sword at me, and I quickly moved away.
"Are you crazy? You could have killed me like that," I retorted.
"That's the idea," Matt informed, pointing his sword at me.
Matt thrusted his great sword at me. When I moved to the side, Matt swung the flat portion of the blade and pushed me to an invisible wall. I crumbled while sliding down the wall.
"Tai, are you hurt," the student council president asked, running towards me.
"I'm okay. I've been through worse," I said, still down.
"What are you doing? Do you think you are capable of comforting others? You're just a piece of junk. You don't have a program that teaches you to care for others, let alone make friends. Stay the senseless entity, and remove yourself from this fight," Matt told the student council president.
The words hurt the student council president like heavy bricks, but she couldn't ascertain why.
"You've done it now. Your disrespect has gone too far. I don't care who you are, but you're going to pay for making my friend spout that nonsense," I said, glaring at Matt.
"What are you going to do about it? Do you think your tiny ball is mightier than my giant great sword? Don't fool yourself," Matt remarked.
Matt charged towards the student council president with the tip of his blade. I quickly pushed the two of us out of the way as Matt's momentum recoiled from the invisible wall. As Matt tried to regain his footing, I put all my strength into kicking the ball at his face. The impact nearly shattered the face cover protecting Matt, and he fell to the ground.
At the same time, Garurumon continued to charge at Greymon, who was busy dodging the onslaught of attacks.
"Ice Wall," Garurumon shouted.
Garurumon surrounded Greymon with a wall of ice, allowing Garurumon to jump around inside the ice circle to attack Greymon faster.
"Fire Wall," Greymon shouted.
As Garurumon continued its hit-and-run tactic, Greymon created a wall of fire alongside the ice, slowly melting the ice wall. Noticing what was happening, Garurumon changed tactics to attack Greymon from above. Greymon used its head to defend itself from the attack and thrust Garurumon to the sky with all its might.
"Nova Blast," Greymon shouted.
Greymon quickly shot a giant ball of fire from its mouth at Garurumon. Unable to prepare for the attack, Garurumon took the brunt of the flames and fell to the ground. Eventually, Garurumon returned to its Rookie state.
Meanwhile, I checked up on the student council president, shaken by Matt's words.
"Hey, are you okay," I asked.
"I'm fine," the student council president said, still shaking.
"Don't listen to what Matt said. I know he's not that kind of person, and you know those aren't his actual words. As Agumon said earlier, no matter what happens, we will remain friends. That will never change," I informed her.
"Thanks, Tai; I feel a little better now," the student council president replied, recomposing herself.
We walked over to Matt, who returned to his original attire.
"I think you broke my nose," Matt said.
"You tried to cut me in half, so we're even," I replied, helping him up to his feet.
"Is she someone you know," Matt asked, referring to the student council president.
"I guess you don't recall berating her throughout our fight," I sighed.
"Did I do that? I apologize. I don't remember what I said, but if I hurt you, I didn't mean to," Matt said to the student council president.
"It's okay. I understand those weren't your words, but words spoken by the true aggressor," the student council president replied.
"That's the third time something like this happened. I can't believe I was caught up in this mess again. Am I that easily manipulated," Matt questioned.
"Who else have you met," I asked.
"Well, I first confronted TK. I understand siblings fight, but how he talked to me bothered me. Then, I was with Mimi, who fought Joe first. We often argue and tease each other, but something about how Mimi spoke to me felt off. Finally, you kept taunting me, telling me I had no leadership qualities, and informing me I had to prove myself by fighting you. I assumed everything was for spectacle, but I didn't anticipate something sinister was lurking in the shadows," Matt explained.
"Chin up, Matt. You may not know it, but we all look up to you. You are our guidance," Agumon said, walking towards us while carrying Gabumon on its shoulder.
"Thank you for the vote of confidence," Matt said, picking Gabumon up.
"Hang on. If you fought everyone else, that means that this was the final match of the tournament. That means this whole thing should be over now. Hey, Fake Teddie, I know you're out there listening to us. Why don't you show yourself, declare me the winner, and reveal to us your true identity," I shouted.
One of the televisions nearby turned on, revealing a familiar figure.
"Don't get too cocky just yet, Tai. Just because everyone you know fought at least once does not mean this is over. In fact, it is only the beginning. I'd be careful if I were you. You don't want to get caught up with your surroundings," Teddie informed me.
Suddenly, something grabbed the student council president and took her away.
"Hey, let me go. Put me down this instant," the student council president said, trying to break free.
"Miss President," I cried out.
I tried to run after her, but the students watching our fight blocked our path.
"What are you guys doing? Isn't she the student council president you voted for? Shouldn't you be helping her," I asked the mob.
"Do you truly believe they have any intention of listening to you? They serve under my rule, and if you want to keep advancing, you'll have to go through all of them whether you like it or not," Teddie replied.
The students dragged themselves closer to me as I debated how to go through them without harming them. Matt reverted to his new attire and pushed everyone away with the side of his sword.
"Why are you still standing here? Go and help the student council president. She's your friend, isn't she," Matt questioned.
"What about you," I asked.
"I can't escape, so all I can do is clear a path for you to continue forward. Besides, I'll need something to do while I wait for you to get us out of this mess," Matt explained.
"Tai, let's leave this to Matt. We need to save Miss President," Agumon said, tugging my sleeve.
"Be careful," I told Matt.
"That's my line," Matt replied.
I continued forward as walls of students blocked my way. Gabumon digivolved into Garurumon to create ice walls and form a clear path for us. Expressing my thanks, I rushed towards the student council president, who struggled to free herself from her adversary. The perpetrator dashed towards one of the nearby buildings and closed it. Agumon and I quickly opened the door to pursue the runner.
Agumon and I found ourselves inside the school gymnasium. Chairs piled up to the ceiling, creating a dangerous barrier around the room. One misstep could make the entire structure fall. The chairs also formed a pseudo-circle, forming another makeshift arena. Camera extensions jarred and mangled their way around the chair's legs until they freely focused on the stage. As Agumon and I looked around the room, we spotted the president in the corner of the gym.
"Miss President," I said, running towards her.
"Tai, be careful; it's a trap," the student council president said.
A large shadow suddenly fell on me when I approached her. Agumon and I jumped out of the way as a bulky spherical robot crashed to the ground. Something about that robot looked familiar.
"I was sure that was going to work. No mortal man could resist the sweet temptation of a damsel in distress," a voice said behind the robot.
A familiar figure jumped in on top of the robot. It looked proud at its handiwork.
"Teddie, I thought that Persona belonged to you. Stop this nonsense this instant. This tournament is over. Let go of the president, and we can all return home as if this whole game was one big misunderstanding," I informed Teddie.
"Tai, you may be the leader of your group, but you are still as dense as ever. When are you ever going to find out that this entire tournament was for your sake," Teddie claimed, shaking his head.
"What are you talking about? I never asked for this."
"Didn't you think it was odd from the beginning that you never experienced a turmoil that caused you to face your other self to unlock your inner powers? You had everything conveniently handed to you as one of the chosen ones. It tore you up inside that you couldn't truly understand what your friends had to go through to face their other selves. So, I made this whole tournament for you to create a simulation of what fighting against your shadow would look like. All those thoughts and feelings your friends were spouting at you were your thoughts. You wanted to hear them talk bad about you because you wanted to feel that despair and anguish like everyone else. Face it, Tai, everything I've done was all for you. That means all the fighting between you and your friends is all your fault."
Was it possible that Teddie was telling the truth? I searched through my feelings and pondered on Teddie's words.
"Tai, don't listen to that weird mascot thing. They're false words meant to deceive you from the truth, remember," the student council president asked.
"Be quiet, little girl. Robots like you need to stay in the corner and do as they are told," Teddie shot back.
Teddie's words brought me to my senses. There was no way a flirt like Teddie would ever talk that to a pretty girl like the student council president. Agumon tugged on my pants.
"Don't worry, Tai. No matter what anyone says, I'll always believe in you because you are my best friend in the whole world," Agumon replied.
"Thanks, Agumon. I needed that," I informed him.
I took a deep breath and focused my attention on Teddie.
"Hey, Teddie, what is the one thing you love most in the world," I asked.
"What kind of silly question is that? I enjoy a heart-curling battle where two former friends fight to the death," Teddie exclaimed.
I felt relieved. Even if those were my feelings projected onto Teddie, there was no way I would make Teddie say something like that, let alone what he would reply to the question.
"I believe there is only one way to settle this," I told Teddie.
"I knew you would want to participate in this glorious battle. It is what you want to do, after all," Teddie said.
Teddie leaped from his Persona as it rose to tower over me. I brushed all negative thoughts to the side and regained my senses.
"Agumon, do you trust me," I asked him.
"I'll always be by your side, Tai," Agumon replied.
"Then, let's wake Teddie up and get to the bottom of this," I replied.
I shattered the card before me, donning my new attire and granting Agumon the power to Digivolve into Greymon. The giant robot and Greymon clashed with each other. Each clashing blow reverberated around the room, rattling the chairs as they eerily swayed back and forth. Each shockwave concerned the student council president, as she was unaware of where to secure herself for safety given the lack of potential shelter. Meanwhile, Teddie bounced around the room, occasionally jumping at me with his large bear claws.
"What's wrong, Tai? Are you afraid to make the first move, or are you afraid to hurt another friend? That it so like you, but it can be so beary annoying," Teddie stated.
Teddie created a stack of televisions behind me. He jumped inside another nearby TV to warp in front of me for a surprise attack, but I dodged just in time, feeling Teddie's sharp claws crazing my body. Meanwhile, the robot continued to throw its weight all around Greymon. No matter how often Greymon struck the robot, it always returned for more, almost unaffected by Greymon's strikes. One of the robot's attacks pushed Greymon against a wall of chairs. The chairs tumbled down on Greymon but bounced off from the robot.
"Greymon, are you okay," I shouted.
"I can still keep going, Tai," Greymon replied.
"Do you always get distracted that easily, Tai," Teddie asked.
Teddie spun towards me with his sharp claws, but I ducked again.
"This is getting beary bothersome. It's not fair that I'm the only one attacking. Why won't you strike me already," Teddie complained.
Teddie had a point. Weaving back and forth could only help me for so long. As far as stamina was concerned, Teddie had it in spades. However, I couldn't kick the soccer ball around haphazardly with Teddie's unpredictable movements. There was a higher chance the ball would miss and hit the stack of chairs, making them fall and trap my main arsenal. That thought gave me an idea.
"Miss President, on my signal, we run towards the center of the room, okay," I informed her.
"Understood, but don't do anything too crazy," the student council president replied.
I ran towards the student council president to shield her from Teddie.
"It's so good to see you play the hero role until the end, Tai. However, I have you both where I want you. With this next big move, I'll silence you and that useless hunk of junk once and all," Teddie declared.
Teddie charged towards us in a spinning motion. Giving the signal, the student council president and I ran toward Teddie. As I moved out of the way, the student council president grabbed one of Teddie's arms and threw him to the ground. Teddie and I were surprised that she was able to do that. Although it was not part of my plan, I used the opening the student council president created to kick the soccer ball at Teddie. Teddie recoiled to the corner of the room where the president once stood. He crashed onto the wall of chairs, which fell to the ground, burying Teddie.
"That was for turning my school into one royal mess," the student council president said.
Meanwhile, the robot released its weight from Greymon to perform one final lunge at it.
"Fire Horn," Greymon shouted.
Setting its horn ablaze, Greymon skewered the giant robot with its burning horn as it pounced on him. The robot shattered into a million pieces, returning its power to its owner. As Greymon returned to its Rookie state, the student council president and I pulled away multiple chairs until we found Teddie. We pulled Teddie out from the pile of chairs and waited for him to recover.
"Owie, you ruined my beautiful bear skin," Teddie complained.
"What are you talking about? Your fur looks fine," I told him.
"Clearly, you know nothing about bear fur management. It will take weeks to recover to my beautiful silky sheen," Teddie cried.
"Is he okay," the student council president asked.
"This is how he normally acts, so I'd say he's fine. So, Teddie, what's the one thing you love most in the world," I said.
"Scoring a hot date with a beautiful girl, but that's all in the past," Teddie sobbed.
"Yeah, he's back," I told the student council president.
"It's funny. One moment, this bear wants you to fight against your friends. The next moment, he's crying about his skin," the student council president pondered.
"Hey, I'm a lovable bear. Why would I do anything as mean as to make my friends fight each other? Did you think that imposter and I are the same person? That's ridiculous," Teddie barked.
"Well, there's no way two different people would wear the same weird outfit, right," the student council president responded.
"Talk about stabbing me in the heart and twisting the knife. I'll let you know that meanie and I are completely different people. Look at this genuine Teddie fur. That fake wished it had such fabulous skin as mine," Teddie remarked.
Teddie did his best to show off his body to us. It was so comical that I almost forgot we were in the TV World fighting for our lives against someone pretending to be Teddie.
"By the way, Teddie, I heard from Yu and the others that you were missing when we arrived in Inaba yesterday. How did you get inside the TV World," I asked.
"Well, I remember working at Junes the other day when I smelled something coming from the big TV we usually jump into," Teddie explained.
"Was it food," Agumon asked.
"No, it smelled like a person," Teddie answered.
"The mastermind sent someone into the TV before our arrival," I questioned, surprised.
"Is that person possibly me," the student council president replied, concerned.
"What are you talking about," Teddie asked, confused.
"We think Miss President might be the person you sensed. Can you pick up anything from her," I asked.
"It's hard to say. My nose has been all over the place even since I came here. It's like something is trying to interfere with my sense of smell. But do not worry. I am a berrific knight in shining armor. If anything were to happen to you, I would give them a taste of my Teddie paws of fury," Teddie declared.
"It looks like we still can't get any proper clarification," I said.
"What should we do now," Agumon asked.
As I pondered our next move, I started to get dizzy. It felt like something was buzzing straight into my mind.
"Hello? Can anyone hear me," a familiar voice asked.
"What's going on? Where is that voice coming from? It's ringing in my head," I said.
"It's Rise! She's talking to us telepathically using her Persona. Hi, Rise," Teddie exclaimed.
"Teddie, is that you? Thank goodness you're safe. Is that Tai with you," Rise asked.
"It is," I answered.
"I'm here, too," Agumon shouted.
"Oh, that's right. I thought I sensed something different next to you. You're Tai's digital companion, Agumon. Is that right," Rise questioned.
"Yay, she remembered me," Agumon cheered.
"Rise, are you okay? Where are you right now," I asked.
"I'm in the Announcement Room. That fake General Teddie captured me and kept a watchful eye on me all this time. He just left not too long ago, so I'm using this opportunity to contact you," Rise explained.
"See, I told you the one on the TV was an imposter, but you didn't listen," Teddie complained.
"The most important thing is that you're safe and unharmed," I told Rise.
"Yes, I may be safe, but everyone else is fighting against each other. I can't stand Yu-senpai and the others fighting against each other," Rise replied.
"That's right. I saw everyone in that sparkly commercial during my time here. Is Sensei and the others beating each other up," Teddie questioned.
"It's the same thing with us as well. Rise, you said the fake Teddie left the Announcement Room not too long ago, right? Are you able to track where he is? The sooner we find the false general, the faster this event will be over, and we can all go home in one piece," I explained.
"I'll try my best. Give me a moment," Rise said.
Like a television switch, Rise turned off all communication to focus on finding General Teddie. Moments later, she returned to us.
"This is bad, really bad. That General Teddie isn't just an impostor. It's a giant shadow, and its power level is off the scale," Rise reported.
"What," Teddie exclaimed, scared.
"It looks like our suspicions were correct, but it might be worse than we feared," I replied.
"Given the size of this shadow, I'd say it belongs to someone who recently fell into the TV World. Given all this power, why would it pretend to be Teddie," Rise pondered.
"Hey, I'll let you know I can be fearsome when I want to," Teddie noted.
"Wait a minute, Tai, Teddie, is there something else near you besides Agumon that's giving off an unusual reading," Rise asked.
"Are you talking about the student council president," I asked.
"There's someone else here in the TV World besides the usual people," Rise questioned, surprised.
"Yeah, I wish you could see her. She's a real cutie," Teddie said.
"You say that to almost everybody, so it's not a concrete description. Anyway, I'm getting an odd reading out of her, one that I've never felt before," Rise continued.
"Is it because she's not a Digidestined or a Persona user," I asked.
"She's certainly not a Digimon," Agumon added.
"I'm not entirely sure. It's pretty hard to describe. Wait, someone's coming this way. I need to cut off the feed," Rise said hurriedly.
"Don't do anything reckless, Rise. We'll get you out of the Announcement Room as soon as possible. Just hang in there," I informed.
"I'll be waiting for you," Rise replied.
Rise quickly cut off the feed, and the buzzing in my ears stopped.
"Who were you guys talking to," the student council president asked us.
"Wait, you never heard the entire conversation," I asked Miss President.
"Since Rise doesn't know who she was, she made the safe bet on not connecting with her," Teddie explained.
"It's probably for the best. Miss President, it looks like one of my friends is inside the Announcement Room, and she's not alone. There's a good chance that - no, I'm almost certain that General Teddie is indeed a dangerous Shadow entity that needs to be taken care of immediately," I explained.
"Then, our goal remains the same since the beginning of our partnership. Let's head over to the Announcement Room," the student council president said.
"No, now that we know how powerful this enemy is, I cannot have you risk your life over something like this. Teddie, I want you to stay here and guard Miss President," I said.
"You can count on me. I'll make sure no bad meanies step one foot into this fortress of love," Teddie replied.
"I'm not just going to stay here and let you tackle this alone. As student council president, I must protect this school from felons like General Teddie. It may not be an actual school, and the people I encountered may not be real, but this is still my school, and I will do whatever it takes to protect it," the student council president said.
I recalled my time with the elevator attendant and the words of wisdom she passed on to me during my time in the Velvet Room.
"I understand. It looks like I can't stop you. In that case, let's continue our journey together," I told Miss President.
"Wait, you're just going to leave me here all by my bearsome self," Teddie moped.
"Well, if the rules still apply, you couldn't escape this gym even if you wanted to. Don't worry; we'll try and clean up this mess as fast as possible," I replied.
"I wanted to help out, too," Teddie pouted.
"Well, I'm glad a nice guy like you is not the culprit. Be a good boy and stay put, okay," the student council president asked Teddie.
"She just called me nice. Alright, I'll make sure I won't step one inch away from this spot," Teddie declared.
"You're going to numb your feet if you don't move after extended hours," I told Teddie.
"We'll be back soon," Agumon replied.
Agumon, the student council president, and I left the gym to continue to our next destination.
*To be continued*