"By any chance, are you Demidevimon?..."
"Yeah, and you must be that kid Sora... The Crest of Love... Heh heh heh..."
"What're you laughing at?"
"You'll never get that Crest to glow, kid. Never! Wah ha ha ha ha!!!"
Sora sighed to herself as she remembered what Demidevimon had told her. "Was he right?..." Sora asked herself. "What if I never get my Crest to glow?..."
"I'm sure you will someday," Biyomon said as she plopped down next to Sora. "Well, Tai, Joe and Mimi just left to go back across the lake. We should get moving."
"Yeah..." Sora said. "...But we have to keep out of sight. Come on, I saw a narrow pathway across the lake over that way."
Sora and her Digimon started to hike across the sandy stretch of land. It got dark, and it began to rain. "This path is a lot longer than I thought," Sora said aloud.
"I thought you liked rain," Biyomon said.
"I do, Biyomon, but this is a different kind of rain..." Sora said. "It seems to be raining straight into my very spirit..."
"You're THAT bummed?" Biyomon asked. "I'm guessing you can't just dry your spirit out like a towel?"
Sora looked down at the rain-splashed Crest in her hand. She shook her head and clamped her hand shut. "Why won't it glow?... Why?..." she asked herself quietly.
"I'll tell you why..." a voice ahead said. "It's because you don't love anyone. That's why it won't glow."
"Huh?" Sora asked, looking up. A man stood in front of her. He was big, with long, blonde hair protruding from beneath a horned helmet. His black cape whipped around in the rain.
"Who are you?" Biyomon asked, protectively standing in front of Sora.
"I have no need of you," the man said. "Be gone!" He fired a black ball of negative energy that sent Biyomon flying over the horizon.
"Biyomon!" Sora gasped. She turned back to the man, half angry and half amazed. Though this person was clearly a bad one, she seemed to be drawn to him...
"I'll show you why your Crest won't glow," the man said. "Just take my hand, and I'll show you."
Sora reluctantly took the man's hand, and they were suddenly in a dark hallway. Giant capsules lined the halls, and they held people inside them. "Where have you taken me?!" Sora demanded.
Katan laughed. "I haven't taken you anywhere," he said. "This is all your imagination. We're still on the beach. Now, gaze into those capsules, and you'll know why your Crest refuses to glow."
Sora looked into each capsule. What she saw made her sick to her heart and her stomach. Each capsule contained someone she was familiar with...
Her mother...
Tai...
An older version of Tai...
An older version of Matt...
Biyomon...
And a sixth capsule, that contained someone she hadn't seen in a long, long time...
"...Shiggy?..." Sora asked the silent, submerged figure.
"Yes," Katan said. "These are the six reasons your Crest refuses to glow and you'll never reach your full potential as a Digidestined. It's obvious that you despise your mother for making you quit the soccer team. You push Tai away as he tries to be a good friend, and you'll eventually break his heart in his older shell. You don't fully appreciate the abilities of your Digimon... And the last one..." Katan sounded like he was getting angrier. "You smashed his heart into smithereens a long time ago."
"What?!" Sora asked. "I broke Shiggy's heart? How?..."
"Simple," Katan said, turning his back to the girl. "He figured that when you started to hang out with Kamiya and Ishida, you'd betrayed him. He didn't handle it well, I might add."
"Oh, dear..." Sora said, sinking to her knees. "I've... hurt them all?... So much that my Crest won't glow?..."
"...And if you never remedy the situations, you will never truly accomplish your task of making your Crest shine," Katan said. "You must mend things with your mother and your Digimon quickly... As for Kamiya, Ishida and Arakawa, you must make a choice. It is true that you are wise in the ways of romance, and you are fortunate that one of these men is your true soul mate, but you must find which one is that one..."
"Soul mate?..." Sora asked. "You mean either Tai, Matt or Shiggy are bonded with me for eternity?... But why Matt? I don't even like him (just what you Taiora fans want to hear, yes?)."
"You'll find in time that you'll develop feelings for that blonde twit..." Katan said. "The fool Kamiya will also be present in your mind and heart..."
"Sounds like you're a bit biased," Sora said. "Are you trying to hint at something?..."
"(Perfect, she's falling for it...)" Katan thought to himself. "(Once I convince her that I am her soul mate, all I must do is take her to the Dark Ocean and make her undergo the same procedure that I went through... Then she will be at my side for all eternity... My Queen of Darkness...)"
"How can I make a choice?" Sora asked. "As far as I'm concerned, my mind's made up right now. If it isn't the right choice, then I'll just have to live with it."
"Really?" Katan asked, trying hard to keep his enthusiasm masked. "...So, make your decision. Who is your soul mate, Sora Takenouchi?"
"I... I..." Sora stammered. Her face turned red with embarrassment, and then she sighed heavily, as if a great weight was lifted from her chest. "I choose Tai! He's my best friend, and he's always there for me. He makes me feel like nobody else, not even Biyomon or my mom, can. He's GOT to be my soul mate! He just HAS to be! I love him more than anything!"
"WHAT?!" Katan roared in a murderous rage. Sora stepped back, surprised by this outburst. Katan stopped moving for a second. His pupils disappeared, and his eyes glowed red with pure hatred. "You little fool. That's anything but the RIGHT choice. Fine. If you don't care for me, I'll just have to remove you from the playing field."
"Care about YOU?..." Sora asked. "...I don't even know you."
"It's better that you don't," Katan said, with almost a hint of despair in his voice. "If you did, you would just make things even worse for me. You may not care for me anymore, but... I won't kill you... THIS time. I'll just block out your memories of this event, and send you on your way. Make no mistake, though... We SHALL cross swords again one day, Sora Takenouchi!"
Sora felt herself being lifted up and ascending through a pillar of light. As her memories started to fade, she heard Katan's voice one last time. These words would not be erased with the others, though...
"And when that time comes, you WILL be mine. And I'll make sure that Kamiya never again interferes with me..."
Sora opened her eyes to see Biyomon sitting next to her. "Are you OK?" Biyomon asked.
"What just happened?" Sora asked.
"You tripped and knocked yourself out," Biyomon said, motioning to the large bruise that had appeared on Sora's forehead. "You've been out for hours."
"Hey, where are we?" Sora asked. "This isn't the path we were on."
"Path?..." Biyomon asked. "What're you talking about, Sora? We used a boat to cross the lake from the Geckomon's palace before Tai and Joe left. You must have had a dream or something."
"Yeah..." Sora said, standing up and brushing herself off. "...Just a bad dream..."
Suddenly, Sora saw a Flymon whizz by, and could hear her friends shouting in the distance. "We'd better go help!" she exclaimed as she got up and charged off towards the shouts.
"?..." Biyomon asked as she flew after her human partner. They didn't know that someone had been watching them from the forest.
"The little fool," Katan growled. "She'll soon see that she cannot live without me... Because if she doesn't choose me, I'll just end her existence for her."
Not exactly the most interesting Taiora ever, right? Well, it's just something I cooked up while I was jamming to my Final Fantasy 9 sountrack to thicken the plot. R and R. No flames, PLEASE. If you don't like Katan, you're just a Barbarian. I know, I know... Bad joke.