Part 9: Through the Gate
Kari laid her head gently on Salamon and closed her eyes. The kitten had woken up after the battle, and now they were camping out nearby. Salamon kept saying how much she wished she could have fought Arachnamon, and Kari continually responded with, "You can fight next time. And we'll beat 'em all!"
Mimi still hadn't told anyone about Hiromon, since they couldn't see him--except Matt. Only he and Sora even knew about the gem. Mimi smiled and polished it with her fingers. "Come out, Hiromon," she whispered.
The creature took form and stood before her. He smiled. "Guardian, I saw the entire battle. Your little protector plant did well."
"I almost called you out, but the others don't know about you. I didn't want to frighten them," she said wistfully.
Hiromon nodded. "I understand, little guardian. Be careful."
"What were you going to say last time?"
"Do not digivolve during the battle. The one that will soon come. I will be waiting. And, Guardian of Sincerity, be prepared to--"
Once more he was pulled into the stone, and Mimi pocketed it. She pulled out her green pebble instead. "Sincerity...hmm..."
Nearby, Izzy examined the purple stone. He didn't know how to analyze it, which was a rare phenomenon. He took out his tag and looked at it. "My crest means knowledge, and I *still* can't figure this out," he said to Tentomon.
Unseen by anyone, a majestic eagle soared above them. With an evil gleam in its eye, it circled thirteen times and then zoomed back to where it came from.
"Heh, full moon tomorrow!" it laughed.
In the morning, the group headed off, eager to find Gavinmon and defeat him. In high spirits, they sang and laughed as they went on. The girls soon started to sing an American song that Sora taught them.
"Country roads, take me home,
To the place I belong,
West Virginia, Mountain Mama,
Take me home, country roads."
The boys soon caught on and joined in.
"Almost there in West Virginia,
Luige Mountains, Shenandoah River.
Life is old there, older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains,
Flowing like a breeze.
Country roads, take me home,
To the place I belong
West Virginia, Mountain Mama,
Take me home, country roads."
Kari whirled around in a sweet little dance, and everyone laughed when T.K. grabbed her hand and twirled her around. Even Tai had to smile. They *were* a cute couple.
"Tai, look!" Agumon shouted suddenly. Tai glanced up and stopped smiling when he saw a dark tower rising above them. His jaw dropped in shock. How would they ever get up there? It was so tall...at least no one was afraid of heights!
"That must be where Gavinmon hangs out," Gomamon whispered.
Izzy looked up, fear clouding his black eyes. "According to my calculations...it is."
The team continued in silence towards the tower, keeping to the shade of the trees. Joe looked back and saw what was left of Spiral Mountain behind them. Not that much was left. "Oh, great. Look at us! Trapped between two evil guys. My parents sure didn't pay for *this* when they sent me to summer camp!"
"They were helpful, though," Salamon said. She was resting in Kari's arms. "You know, when you came looking for me!"
Patamon nodded. "Especially your dad, T.K."
Patamon meant well, but T.K. wouldn't talk anymore for the rest of the trip. They soon reached the tower. "Matt's not here, the signal points to that building," Biyomon said. She waved a wing at the large building on their right. Tai smiled and raced toward the gate. When the others joined him, he was inspecting the lock. "Our digimon can break it," he said happily. "And then...good-bye, Gavinmon!"
Suddenly sharp talons tore into T.K.'s side, and he screamed. His piercing cry was accompanied by the sound of his digivice clattering to the ground and Patamon's frightened shout. "T.K.!!!!!! T.K., T.K., T.K.!!!!!"
A huge striped paw protruded from the shadows and swiped at the little device. The glass on it shattered. T.K. and Patamon crumpled to the ground in a motionless heap, as if the digivice held all their power and now it was gone.
"Agumon, digivolve to...Greymon! Greymon, digivolve to...MetalGreymon!"
"Gomamon, digivolve to...Ikkakumon! Ikkakumon, digivolve to...Zudomon!"
"Biyomon, digivolve to...Birdramon! Birdramon, digivolve to...Garudamon!"
"Tentomon, digivolve to...Kabuterimon! Kabuterimon, digivolve to...MegaKabuterimon!"
"Palmon, digivolve to...Togemon! Togemon, digivolve to...Lillymon!"
The five ultimate digimon attacked ferociously while the humans bent over the youngest members of the group.
A Giga Blaster, a Vulcan's Hammer, a Wing Blade, a Horn Buster, and a Flower Cannon struck Eaglomon. Tigreromon stood, forgotten for the moment, in the shadows.
"Striking Swipe!" Eaglomon cried. He flew into the air and came down at Garudamon, the digimon who appeared to be easiest to hurt--all the others were covered in metal. His sharp beak dug into Garudamon's fiery flesh, and his talons tore at the digimon's head. They were powered by the force of the dive.
"Wing Blade!" Garudamon shrieked. The agile eagle swung out of the way and hit Garudamon with another Striking Swipe.
The other digimon flew forward, but each was knocked away and forced to dedigivolve. Only Garudamon and Zudomon remained.
Finally, Eaglomon was hit by a Vulcan's Hammer and fell to the ground. Sora's crest, the Crest of Love, began to glow for T.K. and Patamon. It engulfed Eaglomon, and when it repealed, the digimon no longer existed.
"Guardian of Reliability, I think we need some bandages," Mimi said sharply, quite forgetting that her friends had no clue what a guardian was. "I'll need the Guardian of Light to find some water, the Guardian of Courage to find some herbs--take Palmon--and you, Guardian of Knowledge, to get on the Net and find something that can help!"
"Uhhhh..." every single one of them said.
Mimi blushed. "Sorry!" She rephrased what she had said, and Joe, Kari, Tai, and Izzy set to work. The other digimon dedigivolved to rookies and returned to their friends happily. It seemed that they had won. Tigreromon chose that moment to let out a low growl. He sent out a stream of Tiger Flare at the exhausted digidestined.
Mimi screamed and covered her head as fire swept closer. Fishing in her pocket, she yelled, "COME OUT, HIROMON!!!"
Everyone gasped as they finally saw the smoky blue digimon take shape and bound toward their enemy. "Ice Crusher!" he shouted. Tigreromon accepted the challenge with a snarl and a Fire Blaze, not to mention a swipe with claws extended Hiromon took the battle to the sky by lifting Tigreromon high and then throwing him toward the ground. The tiger turned at the last second and unleashed a hidden power--flight. He faced Hiromon, and they exchanged blows angrily, Tigreromon held up by an unseen force, Hiromon by his cerulean wings. A Tiger Flare washed over Hiromon, and he fell. He landed on hoofed feet and shot back up with an Ice Crusher.
"Pummel Whack!" a voice suddenly called. A bone whacked Tigreromon, and he spiraled to the ground. Wherever Ogremon was, he never came out; but neither did any of the others. Many of their friends' attacks--including Frigimon, Meramon, and Andromon-- hit Tigreromon, and yet not one showed himself. Hiromon dealt the final blow with the light of triumph in his eye and victory written on his features--"Giga Beam!"
Tigreromon vanished, but as Izzy so simply put it--"In case you didn't understand that, he's not dead yet."
No one understood that, actually, but Izzy was usually right, so they didn't question him.
T.K. opened his eyes slowly. "What--"
Patamon yawned and sat up. "Hey, I'm glowing!"
And he was. The glow on his body and a beam from the Crest of Hope engulfed the broken digivice, and when the light faded it was as good as new. T.K. picked it up, wincing in pain from the scratches on his side. "What happened?"
The others proceeded to tell him what had happened and fix him up. Then Mimi explained guardians, Hiromon, and her entire story. Eventually, Tai turned to the gate. "Now, shall we enter the whatever-it-is and find Matt and Gavinmon?" The digimon nodded and stepped promptly forward.
"Pepper Breath!"
"Poison Ivy!"
"Boom Bubble!"
"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Marching Fishes!"
"Spiral Twister!"
"Super Shocker!"
Salamon watched sadly. She was too tired to do *anything*. Soon, the gate gave way and the kids stepped through it, finally facing their greatest challenge yet. Tai smiled. "Time for a little of what I call revenge! Let's go, Team Digimon! There's no 'I' in team!" Driven by his encouragement, the other kids quickly followed.
Tigreromon laughed from his hiding place and turned to the wall to read the prophecy: "It will happen tonight.. The unknown evil will send his servant to bring his victims. Then they will be made to sacrifice what is important to their survival and their greatest test will begin. The c***ts p**e* will...
The rest was smudged off, and no one could read it. Tigreromon fervently prayed that it was good news--for his side. He laughed. "Their greatest test...this is history in the making!" He turned to watch the digidestined--in his mind, the digi-doomed--file into the arena. "Heh heh...their greatest test!"
The second the last child, Joe, had entered, he shut the door behind them. With a single Fire Blaze he welded the lock into place. With an evil cackle, he soared up, over the wall, planning to watch the fun. "It's all up to you, Servant Child!"
