Part 10: Untimely Betrayal
Shadows lined the huge arena, and Tai felt a sense of fear ripple through him. Holding his head high, he walked swiftly to the center of the stadium. He heard the others stop, and secretly he wanted to run back to them. He shook his head and called, "Yo, Matt! We're here to beat you!"
"Tai, is that really very wise?" asked Izzy.
"Izzy, I can handle this myself. Lay off, okay?" Tai responded with a slight edge to his voice. "HELLO, ANYBODY HOME?!"
Palmon smiled. "Now we can go, right?"
"I'm hungry," Mimi complained.
"Ooh, ooh, let's go to a restaurant!" Gomamon shouted.
"I feel ill..." Joe said.
"No offense," Sora whispered to Mimi, "but he *always* feels ill!" Mimi giggled. Joe stared at them, very confused.
Agumon, Tentomon, Biyomon, and Patamon turned back to the kids. "No. We can't go anywhere," Agumon said. "Something's holding it from the outside! Watch, Pepper Breath!"
"Spiral Twister!"
"Boom Bubble!"
"Super Shocker!"
Palmon and Gomamon hurried over to the door. "Marching Fishes!"
"Poison Ivy!"
Nothing worked. The gate wouldn't open. They were trapped.
"Hello, *friends*. I see you've come to my...humble abode," a very cold voice said. Tai whirled around. Nothing.
"So," the voice continued. "you're finally here. We've all been waiting. So glad you decided to come..."
T.K. gasped. "That sounds like someone I know!"
"So, you recognize me, do you? Ah, where are my manners? Welcome to the arena of Lord Gavinmon, King of Shadows!"
"I know that voice too!" Kari cried, trembling.
Mimi shivered. "Digivolve! Now! That's--no, wait...don't digivolve during..." Her voice faded off as she tried to remember what Hiromon said. Palmon gave her a very strange look.
"WHO?!" Joe asked anxiously.
"You don't KNOW?" Tai asked. "Come on, Joe, GET a CLUE here!"
The voice laughed. "The arena's been waiting."
The digidestined and their digimon turned around and started to bang on the door. "LET US OUT!!! PLEASE!!!" T.K. and Kari screamed.
Tai turned around at the sound of another evil laugh. He gasped and stepped forward when he saw Matt. But this did *not* look like Matt. His eyes, normally a bright aquamarine, were now black. Pure black. And Gabumon's friendly brown eyes were black, too. Not to mention that Matt had a dagger in hand.
Tai looked down. ~This is not fair. He's armed, and I'm not, and I REALLY hate this...but I'm the leader...I HATE being the leader...~
Tai dove forward and struck the knife. It clattered to the ground, and he flung it into the stands. "I don't know about you, but I, for one, play *fair*!"
Matt looked shocked, but managed an evil grin. "Oh, I'm sooooooo scared. Gabumon?"
"Blue Blaster!"
"TAI! TAI, NOOOOOOOO!" Kari screamed as her brother fell to the ground. His eyes watering, Tai looked up at his rival. He lashed out with his foot and knocked Matt backwards.
"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted. The fireball crashed into Gabumon.
"Ooh, this reminds me of a video game I used to play!" Mimi cried. "Let's see, Water douses Fire, but Fire melts Ice...and if Gabumon..."
"Mimi, could you just be quiet for ONE crucial moment in your life?!" Joe asked.
"Relax, Joe, I'm just saying Agumon has the advantage!"
That was true, but only in the digimon's fight. Tai wasn't doing so hot, especially since his arm was aching. He did knock Matt back several feet, but Matt delivered a harsh blow to Tai's stomach. Tai crashed to the ground. In seconds he was back up, with an angry smack.
"No, Tai! Not my brother! Please, Tai, stop!" T.K. screamed through his tears. He couldn't stand watching them hurt each other anymore.
Time after time, they knocked one another down, but they always bounced back up. Then, after a particularly vicious attack, Tai fell and didn't get up.
Somewhere, Tai heard someone shout his name over and over, but his vision was clouded. He dimly heard Matt say, "Perhaps we'll leave it at that..." He clapped his hands and someone screamed.
Tai looked up. "Izzy, NO!"
"Help meeeeeeee!" Izzy shrieked. He was dangling over a black pit which had appeared beneath him, held up by Tentomon, Biyomon, Patamon, Joe, and Salamon's tail. She was being pulled in after him...
Tai accidentally swore out loud. Then something hit his head--*hard*. He had the sensation of floating away...
Tai was drifting into a misty rainbow of colors. Something silvery flew past him in a blur. He tried to see what it was, but it was gone, and he was being drawn after it by invisible threads. He heard faint shouts behind him, and tried to twist around to see what they were, but he couldn't. Every time he managed to almost see, his head snapped back to the front.
Eventually, he was able watch the others. They were all staring at him, frightened and depedent. Izzy was still suspended over the hole. "Tai, help me! What's the matter, care more about the *mission* and killing Matt than you care about the rest of us?"
Tai turned his attention to Joe, who stared straight at him. "Yeah, don't you care? Get up and help us, leader!"
Shaking his head and actually hoping he could get away from their mean comments, he moved to Sora. She blushed and looked away.
T.K. called out next. "Tai, please! The prophecy, Tai, use the prophecy!"
~WHAT prophecy?~ Tai wondered. His sister seemed to read his mind; her words were, "Fulfill the prophecy, Tai! The one that will help us beat this monster!"
Then Agumon was in front of him, reaching out to pull him closer to reality. But try as he might, Tai drifted farther away. Matt appeared on one side, with a laugh. "The prophecy, Tai, ha ha! You don't know it!"
Tai looked to Mimi. "Help!" he pleaded.
Amazingly, she smiled. In a misty voice quite unlike her own, she said, "Knowing the prophecy cannot help us. Not unless you know how to *use* it. Here, look." She opened her hands, and eight things flew straight at Tai and hung in front of his face. No, make that nine somethings. At the very center was Mimi's white jewel, where Hiromon came from. Around it were the eight colored stones that Matt had found. One by one, they lit up and glowed. Lines of power traced their way to the spherical gem in the middle. Tai gasped.
Mimi answered his unspoken question. "No. No, Hiromon is not the digimon that helps us through the stones. His refuge serves as the white globe at the center of our power. I knew he was near, and to our luck, I found him. Tai, remember these things: One, we can't let the digimon digivolve. Two, once we help our stones to glow, we're home free--almost. Three, you have to get up. Now. Don't let yourself float away from us!"
Then she and the rest vanished, leaving Tai in a swirling rainbow of colors. He glanced around fearfully. ~How exactly do I *get* back?~ he wondered.
Suddenly the silver thing was there, and somehow Tai was sitting on its back. "A--a *unicorn*?" he gasped.
Then he was back in reality.
Tai shook his head. "I'm up, sooooo...wait...if the *stones* have to glow...that means...that means we have to make our *crests* glow!!!!"
Matt's eyes glinted with malice. "Ah, so *you* aren't quite finished yet!" With another clap, the pit vanished, leaving Izzy on the sand in disbelief.
"Uhhhh...prodigious? What just happened here?"
Tai darted away from Matt, only to trip over a very conveniently placed Gabumon, who snarled and threatened to send an icy stream at Tai.
Without a thought, Tai jumped up and aimed a kick at Gabumon which hit its mark. Then he turned around to face Matt.
Agumon managed to sneak up behind their comrade and send a warning fireball over his head. Tai quickly stepped in with a karate chop when Matt whirled around. Then Tai raced over to Agumon's side and kicked out at Matt.
Matt fell to the ground, groaning. Gabumon raced up and sent a Blue Blaster at Agumon. Instinctively, Tai leapt in front of his friend. The Crest of Courage began to glow and reversed the attack.
~One down, seven to go.~
Matt tackled Tai and for a moment there was so much dust that the others couldn't see a thing. Mimi shrieked. "Come on, let's go! Come out, Hiromon!"
At these words the Crest of Hope began to glow. ~Hiromon will make my brother good again!~ T.K. thought happily.
~Two down, six to go.~
Izzy opened his laptop and immediately found that Gennai had given him an e-mail titled, "Prophecy 2." Shaking with excitement, Izzy opened it.
"The importance of this prophecy is unknown to me, but I thought you should have it. I only found this line in my book about prophecies and such: The crests' power will combine. Not very helpful! But, such is what I found. More later, hopefully."
"TAI! The crests, the crests, we have to make them glow!" Izzy shouted. Then he saw something else:
"BTW, your friend Matt is under the influence of hypnosis ^_^ And listen to your friend Hiromon!"
The Crest of Knowledge glowed violet.
~Three down, five to go.~
Tai finally darted away, wiping blood off his face. He ran to Izzy. "You called?"
"Mm-hmm! Look!" Izzy showed Tai the e-mail. Tai grinned.
"All righty then! Three crests are glowing--mine, yours, and T.K.'s. That leaves all the girls, Joe, and Matt. Now, Matt could present a problem..."
"Make him snap outta the hypnosis!" Izzy cried.
"HOW DO I DO *THAT*?! I am *not* a psychologist here!"
"Relax, I never said you were."
"Mind over matter, you dopes! Sora, I would think you, of all people, would remember!" Joe shouted.
Sora blushed. "Uh, I forgot? Besides, Matt's not a Bakemon!"
"Bakemon? Hmm? Oh, the mind over matter thingy? That didn't work!" Mimi cried. "Well, maybe it did, but still."
"That won't work!" Tai said.
"T.K.!!!" Kari screamed. T.K. had thrown his arms over his head, and therefore didn't see the missile shooting right at him.
Joe grabbed T.K. and dragged him away just in time. His crest gleamed.
~Half down, half to go.~
Suddenly another missile hit right next to Tai. He was flung backwards and landed with a crash against the gate. Quite aware that by now he was bleeding profusely, Tai struggled to his feet.
Matt's laugh rang in Tai's ears. "You don't know enough to surrender?"
"WE WON'T GIVE UP!" Tai yelled. This caused two more missiles to hit, one on either side.
"TAI!" someone shrieked. Sora. Tai glanced her way and saw the Crest of Love start to shine. He smiled.
~Five down, only three to go!~
Matt advanced on his rival. Tai backed away, limping. Then the sixth crest began to glimmer.
"Stop it! Stop fighting! Please, please, just quit it!" Mimi leaned forward, sobbing. One tear fell on her glowing crest.
~Yes! Six down, two to go!~
Tai ducked to the side and darted halfway across the arena. He didn't deserve the Crest of Courage; he was shaking hard.
"Tai, no! No!" Kari whimpered. She dropped to her knees and began to glow with a bright light. It shimmered over her and formed a wall to stop Matt. However, he simply waved his hand and blew it away.
~Uh-oh. One to go...the hardest one!~
Tai backed up, but crashed into Gabumon. Agumon was lying motionless a few yards away. Gabumon growled and refused to let Tai move.
"Having fun yet?" Matt asked. Tai forced himself to stare straight into Matt's eyes. Then Matt grabbed Tai's arm and gave it a sharp jerk.
"OW!" Tai yelped. Matt twisted Tai's arm--*hard*. Tai screamed in pain. Then everyone saw Matt's malicious smirk and the pain that flickered across Tai's face, and heard a frightened cry and the distinct snap of breaking bone.
Tai fell to his knees, vision clouded with pain. He heard Kari scream his name and vaguely saw Sora holding her back, fear written on her features. Matt laughed. "How nice, the first to go will be brother and sister!"
Somehow, some way, Tai managed to stand up. It was his turn now. He swung out his foot and knocked Matt down. In seconds he was pinning Matt to the ground.
"Now you listen, and you listen *good*," Tai said angrily. "This is *not* you. This is Gavinmon controlling you. I know Yamato Ishida, and I know he usually lives up to his crest. So please, Matt, snap out of it and come back. I forgive you, just--please."
Tai stood up and walked back to his friends. Matt sat up. He glared at Tai and turned away. The others watched, almost scared. But when Matt turned back, his eyes were once more a bright cerulean.
"YES!!!" everyone shouted. T.K. raced over to his brother, who swung him around with a soft laugh. Then he turned to the others.
"I'm sorry, Tai. I didn't mean to hurt you--well, maybe I did, but--"
"It's okay. I know what you mean. We're all glad you're back."
The Crest of Hope was glittering brighter than ever. Matt smiled at his little brother. "Nice to see you have some hope left!"
Tai stepped forward, ignoring the pain in his arm. Trying to sound serious, he said, "As the leader of our little team, I officially welcome you back to the group!"
"NOT SO FAST!!!" a booming voice shouted. The digidestined looked up in shock at the shadow that had appeared.
"So, my dear little queen, we meet again...for the last time!"
Mimi screamed in horror. "Gavinmon!" she hissed. It was only then that they realized that Hiromon had never come out.
Izzy blinked and surveyed the scene. The shadow stood before them, close enough to kill Tai, Matt, and T.K. in the blink of an eye. Mimi was now at the back of the group against the locked door, trembling. Sora was with her. Joe and Kari were gaping in terror, along with most of the digimon. Agumon was still just lying there, and Gabumon was at Matt's side.
Izzy looked down at his computer screen and heard Gomamon mutter something about "untimely betrayal."
~No e-mail. This can't be good. Come on, Gennai, come on...~
"I wouldn't call this prodigious..."
"NO, DUH!!!" Tai shouted as he, Matt, and T.K. ran back to the others. Suddenly Tai stopped.
"Hmm...if he wants us to run, why exactly are we doing it?" Tai asked. He turned back to the monster.
"ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" everyone screamed. Tai paid no attention to them and walked forward.
"Foolish child! Beam of Destruction!" A black beam shot at Tai. Just in time, someone knocked him out of the way.
"You're crazy!" Matt hissed.
"No, Servant Child. *You* are!" Gavinmon cackled. He reached out and knocked Matt away so that he could grab Tai.
"NO!" Matt shouted. "Don't hurt my friends!"
Tai smiled as he saw a blue glow start to emanate from under Matt's shirt.
~It's showtime!~
At that moment, Gavinmon hesitated. Then, with a laugh of pure evil, he said:
"Today, only one shall die: the Servant Child!"
With that, he shot out a beam of black light, which grasped Matt. The digidestined knew they were now powerless, unless somehow Matt could reach his stone.
"And now, the main event! Tigreromon?"
The tiger whipped up from wherever he had been hiding. Hatred and loathing showing quite plainly on his face, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Farewell, little Servant Child! Presenting the downfall of the digi-doomed!" The children watched with bated breath. Maybe, just maybe...
"Tiger Flare!"
