Chapter 13
Pipermon groaned, and her eyelids fluttered open. She ached all over, feeling rather like she had been thrown down a large flight of wooden stairs. She coughed, and sat up, grimacing. With a soft moan, she ran the back of her hand across her mouth, frowning at the blood that streaked her skin. She poked her tongue about the inside of her mouth, making sure she still had all of her teeth. Glancing around, she found herself in rather familiar surroundings. The room was dark...a dungeon, perhaps... Pipermon knew just about every nook and cranny of Kurarimon's castle, but it was too dark to really see for certain where she was. There were two hallways that connected to the room, one forking off to the left, the other to the right. The cobblestone floor was cold and damp, suggesting that the room was below ground, but in Kurarimon's castle, it was near about impossible to know for sure. There were no windows, the only light coming from a single candlelit chandelier dangling from the low ceiling. As she slowly gazed around the room, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned quickly.
The children!
She had almost forgotten!
She looked to see if everyone was okay, but stopped just short of standing when she saw Yamato slowly, deliberately, step between her and the other children. An intense feeling of deja-vu swept over her, for he had done that exact same action four days ago, when they had first met. The only difference was, when they had first met, four days ago, she truly HAD been their enemy. She did not speak, but there was a look of such plaintive guilt in her eyes that they spoke louder than any words.
"Please, let me explain," she said slowly, finally finding the energy to get to her feet. Yamato didn't let her continue her sentence.
"There's nothing to explain," he shouted, an angry growl in his voice. "There is nothing to explain, Pipermon. You've been working for Kurarimon all along, that's all that needs to be said."
"Now, wait a second--"
He silenced her with a sharp wave of his hand.
"We've heard enough of your lies, Pipermon," he yelled.
She fisted her hands.
"I NEVER lied to you!" she cried. "Never once did a false statement escape my lips! It's true, I may have only given you PART of the information, but don't you DARE accuse me of lying to you!"
"What about all that nonsense about wanting to atone for sins of the past?" Jyou challenged, a hint of dejection in his voice.
"It wasn't nonsense," she replied softly, "I really did..."
"Sure have a funny way of going about it," Mimi muttered. "Betraying everyone who ever put their trust in you, yeah, that's a real good way to show it..."
Pipermon's eyes narrowed unpleasantly.
"I said I DID," she hissed snappishly. "That would be PAST tense."
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yamato shouted.
She refused to look at him.
"One can only stand being hated and feared wherever they go for so long before they just stop trying," she said almost inaudibly.
"It would seem you are feared for a good reason," Yamato growled. "Your reputation appears to serve you well."
She snapped her head up, her eyes widened.
"A sharp tongue can be a double-edged sword, Yamato-san," she snarled.
"So, too, can deception!" he seethed back.
"You don't know what you're talking about!"
"You BETRAYED us!"
"I did nothing of the sort!" she wailed, throwing her arms out at her sides. "Did I ever once do anything but help all of you? Did I ever do anything but UNdo what Kurarimon had done? You humans are such hypocrites! You're such a paradoxical race--you ask to be handed the world on a golden platter before you'll put your trust in anyone, but all it takes is a single accusation from a total stranger to betray that trust!? Where's the logic in that, I ask you? Kurarimon has tried to kill all of you half a dozen times, and you would first take HER word over MINE? When did I ever lay a belligerent hand on ANY of you??" She paused, and her tone softened. "I risked my life to SAVE you, Yamato-san," she went on, her voice quiet and wistful, "and all you have in return for me...are accusations?"
There was a moment of silence, and then Pipermon slowly shook her head with a bitter laugh.
"Fine, if that's the way you feel..."
She lifted into the air and wrapped her arms about herself, as though she were suddenly chilled to the bone.
"If you don't want my help, then I'll leave you to yourselves," she said. "You're on your own, just like you wanted." She floated slowly backward, unhurriedly, fading gradually into the deep shadows of the old catacombs. "After all," she went on before her form vanished into the shifting shadows, "every creature in THIS world hates and fears me...there isn't a digimon around who would give me the time of day..." She paused for just a moment, her body now only a silhouette in the blackness. "Somehow, however..." she added slowly, "somehow, I expected a little more of the Digidestined humans from the real world." She shook her head again. "Very well, then, I wish you luck, Digidestined," she concluded, "you're going to need it."
With that, she snapped one arm up over her head, as though reaching for the sky, and then brought it down quickly, and a small silvery object flew from her hand and slammed into the ground.
There was an explosive crack! and a puff of white smoke, and when the smoke cleared, Pipermon was gone.
"Pipermon--wait!"
Yamato snapped his arm out as Kari rushed forward with a plaintive yelp.
"Let her go, Kar," he said, blocking her path with one slender arm.
Kari's face hardened, and she shoved his arm down.
"Let ME go, Yamato," she growled.
He blinked, startled. Kari was usually so mild-mannered, it wasn't like her at all to snap at anyone.
"Kari?"
She stepped out in front of him, a cold glare in her mahogany eyes.
"Yamato, don't you see what you've done?" she cried. "You've thrown away our only lifeline! Without Pipermon, we have no hope of finding out Kurarimon's weakness! We're up a creek with no paddle, Yama, we may never find our way out of here!"
Yamato's jaw slackened a little.
"But...but I only--"
"Why are you so closed-minded, Yama?" TK cut in. Yama was taken aback.
"TK?"
"You never trust anyone, because you're too afraid," the younger child accused, his eyes wide.
Yama paled. Sora took a small step forward, a look of desperation in her green eyes.
"TK's right, Yamato," she said slwoly. "You're so terrified that they'll turn right around and stab you in the back that you won't give anyone the chance to prove their true colors to you!" she said, a tone of pity in her voice. "You look so hard for the reasons NOT to trust someone that you look right past the reasons why you SHOULD!"
"But she--"
"She didn't do anything but HELP us, Yamato!" Kari wailed. "She nearly got herself killed trying to save your life, but all you could see was the fact that she was affiliated with Kurarimon!" She paused and looked into his azure blue eyes, slowly shaking her head. "For once, Yamato," she said, "try thinking with your heart instead of your head. Try closing your mouth...and opening your eyes..."
He yelped when Kari brushed past him and darted off into the darkened hallways.
"Kar? Kari!!" he shouted, and Gatomon started after her.
"Kari, come back!" the feline digimon cried, but stopped short of the hallway. There was no way to know which way she had gone...the corridors branched off into a dozen adjoining hallways, creating quite the convoluted honeycomb of passageways beneath the mountain.
"Kari!" Tai cried, rushing forward. Yamato cross-blocked him, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Tai, stop it," he said firmly, and staggered back with a yelp when Tai’s fist connected with his jawbone. Yamato regained his composure and stared hard at Tai. "What the hell was that for, Tai??" he cried. "What do you think you're doing??"
"Somebody has to go after her!" he shouted. "Someone has to find her!" He lunged forward again, and Yamato grabbed the collar of his shirt.
"Stop it, Tai," he growled menacingly, "you can't go after her in the shape you’re in. You can't even see where YOU'RE going, Tai, much less where SHE went!"
Tai reeled back. Those words...he felt like he'd been slapped across the face by the cold hand of truth. He let out a cry like an enraged animal, and lunged forward again, shoving Yamato backward, hard against the cold stone wall of the dungeon like room. He drew back his arm and tried to punch at him again, but Yamato quickly leaned to the side and caught Tai's fist in his palm.
"Tai--" he shouted, and shoved him back. "Tai, stop this--"
"This won't help anything!" Agumon cried as the others just watched in horror.
"Tai, come on, knock it off," Sora pleaded.
But Tai wasn't listening. His anger, fear, and the stinging pain in his heart from Pipermon's betrayal had left him raw and burning inside. It didn't matter to him now that Yamato was his friend, he needed to punch something. Something had snapped in the back of his mind, and he just couldn't take it anymore...something had to give, or else all the pain and pressure from these past four days would surely crush his soul.
He tried again to punch Yamato, but the taller boy dodged quickly, spinning away, but he almost didn't move in time. He could feel the wind from Tai's balled fist brush his cheek as he jerked away. Tai let out a pained yelp as his fist hit the granite wall. He clutched his throbbing fist in his hand, and lowered his head, his eyes narrowed.
"What's wrong, Yamato," he growled, "too proud to fight back against someone with an impairment?" He swung his arm again, crazy with rage and fear, and Yamato grabbed him firmly by the wrist. "What's the matter, Yama," he challenged, baring his teeth, "you won't fight a man with a handicap??"
"I won't fight a friend at a disadvantage!" Yamato cried back, almost to the point of desperation himself. "Tai, you're walking right into Kurarimon's hands, this is what she WANTS! She wants us to turn on one another, we'll be easy pickings for her that way! Don't do this, Tai, we need to work TOGETHER, now more than ever!" He squeezed his fingers around Tai's writs until his knuckles turned white. "Tai, wasn't it YOU who said we needed to stick together on this one?"
Tai recoiled as though he had been burned, and ripped his wrist from Yamato's grasp. What am I doing? he fumed. Why am I fighting with him? He slowly sank to his knees, his hands still fisted at his sides.
"Yama...I'm...I'm sorry," he said softly, closing his useless eyes. "I just...I dunno what came over me." He shook his head. "It's just that...well...Kari's..." He didn't finish his sentence, just buried his face in his hands.
Yamato dropped to one knee and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. Tai flinched.
"Tai, have a little faith," he said quietly. "She'll come back. She'd never break up the team, not like this."
"I'm sure she'll be back," TK said hopefully.
Sora nodded.
"Wherever she went, I'm certain she must have had a good reason," she said.
"And she'll find her way back after she's done what she needs to take care of," Jyou added.
"Kari's a smart kid, Tai," Gatomon said softly, "I think she can handle herself."
Tai pulled away from Yamato and got to his feet. He sighed, a slump in his usually confident posture.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said, and walked over to the wall. He placed his open palm on the cool stone wall, and rested his forehead against the back of his hand. "I guess you're right..."
But that wasn't the issue. He knew Kari could take care of herself...but what was killing him was the not knowing. Where had she gone? And why? What did she hope to accomplish by running off into the depths of Kurarimon's catacombs? He winced silently as the questions burned through his consciousness like hot needles.
God, if anything happens to her...
He didn't finish his thought.
He turned around and leaned his back against the wall, sliding down it until he was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest.
"I guess you're right," he said one last time, his voice almost too soft to be heard. He dropped his head onto his knees.
At least, he thought, I HOPE you're right...
