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Love or Death Part Two By Lady Eva Sora placed T.K. onto the floor and stood from the ground. Her heart felt as if it had just been ripped into two pieces, one in which was still with her, and one disappeared with Tai. As she stared at the place where she last saw him, her eyes welled with tears. "Tai…" She whispered, lowering her head. Matt stood from the floor as well. He looked over at Sora and softly spoke, "Sora, I had no other choice." He said quietly. Sora spun around so that her tear-stained face was visible to the other Digidestined. "Matt, you had plenty of other choices! You could have just kept him here with us. We could care for him and then he would get better and then everything would be back to normal…" She babbled. Matt reached over and grabbed Sora's shoulders, causing her to gasp. "Look! I had no choice, Sora. If he stayed here, than he would most likely die. But if Aboshi does have an antidote, than I had to take the risk." Sora stared at Matt, her eyes turning red from crying. "But, what happens if she was bluffing?" Izzy stood from the ground and dusted himself off, "Then we save Tai and steal the medicine. Simple. Easy. Basic." He stated clearly. Looking over towards Tai's, now empty bed, Sora noticed Tai's goggles and gloves were still there. Moving away from Matt, she moved over to the end table and picked up the items. As she looked at them, she smiled. "Tai, I will get you back. We will be together again…" Sora whispered. She pulled the gloves and goggles against her chest and smiled even wider. "Well, let's get a move on guys! We only have five hours to find Tai." Matt said, bringing Sora back to the world around her. *************** Meanwhile, Aboshi bowed in front of a large, stone throne. "Master, I brought you the leader of the Digidestined, just like you wished." She said, her voice low. A tall figure shrouded in darkness stood from the throne. As he stood, bats flew out from behide him. "You fool!" He shouted, causing Aboshi to cower. The figure's eyes turned bright red with his anger. "You brought me the leader, but what good is he without his crest?" "Master, He must have his crest with him. He has too." Aboshi said, pleadingly. The dark master's eyes grew even redder with frustration. "You dare to question me, Aboshi?" He shouted. "No master! Of course not!" She said, falling to the ground. "Good. Now, do this for me." He stated, sitting once again. Aboshi sat up, smiling. "Anything, Master." The dark master snapped his fingers and Tai appeared against the wall next to him. He was chained to the wall by his wrists and his face was bloody. "Whip him into shape. Literately." He commanded, throwing Aboshi a strong horse-tail. Aboshi paused as she caught the whip. She didn't know what to do with it. Suddenly, it hit her. "Master, the boy would be a lot more useful if we keep him alive. If you were to kill him, the crest and the power he processes would be completely useless." The shadow figure sighed, "You are correct in saying so. He is a lot more useful to us alive than dead. Fine." With a clap of his hands, the whip vanished from Aboshi's hands. The girl bowed to the figure again; knowing there would be more orders. "I have another idea. This one will really get those Digidoomed." The figure began. With a flick of his wrist, a small needle appeared floating above his palm. "This is the same substance that you injected into the boy before. Give him another shot of this and we'll see how long he can survive. Besides, if he dies, then we can always use the weaker crests." The sharp instrument floated away from the man and to Aboshi. As she grabbed it, the dark master continued. "It is really a pity. He is so young and with such unbelievable power, it's a shame we must destroy him. But we must. Inject him." "As you command, Master." Aboshi stated, an evil smile growing wide on her face. *************** Meanwhile, the Digidestined hiked up a hill close to the castle. "Are we close to where we need to be yet? My feet hurt and I'm tired. Can't we take a break?" Mimi wined in her high-pitched voice. Matt looked back from his position at the front. Looking directly into Mimi's eyes, he gently said, "No, Mimi. We can't stop now. It's just a little bit further. Just hang in there." Sora looked down at her Digivice. She saw where they were located and also where Tai was located. 'It is a good thing that we didn't take Tai's digivice off. Or else we might have never…find him…' As she looked down, she felt her eyes become watery and she knew that she was tearing. "Sora, it's gonna be okay. Don't worry." T.K. said, a huge smile spreading across his small face. "You're right, T.K." She said smiling. Matt suddenly came to an abrupt stop. "Look. There it is." He said happily. As the others continued to walk and look forward, they saw a large, stone, run-down castle before them. It was missing stones from its sides and the walls that were left were covered from top to bottom with leaves and vines. "This place looks like something out of Dickens." Izzy stated as they approached the massive twin wooden doors. "Either that or Hichcock." Joe shot back to Izzy. As they stared up at the doors, Mimi asked, "So, do we knock?" "We already know their home and that they've got Tai. Let push that door opened!" Matt declared, being very leader-like. But before they could even touch the doors, the massive pieces of wood began to creek open. "Enter if you dare, Digidestined. That is, if you wish to save your friend." A deep hoarse voice said from within the dark mists of the castle. "Come on. Let's go." Izzy urged, moving forward. The others agreed and stepped into the large entrance hall. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, the doors slammed behide them and were locked shut. "Well, now there is no turning back." Izzy said, his words followed by a huge gulp. As they stared around the entrance hall, the same deep voice began to echo again. "Well, Well, Well. You managed to reach here under the time my assistant gave you to get here. I must say I am impressed." Matt took a step forward towards the darkness that surrounded him and the others. "Where is Tai?" He demanded. The voice laughed, "You want your friend back?" "Well, duh." Mimi said, her valley girl side showing very clearly. "Alright…I have wanted to meet you for the longest time, anyway. I will send a guide. Keep up if you can. Muhahaha!" The voice shouted and then faded into the darkness. "Well, doesn't he sound cheerful." Joe said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I wonder what he meant by "sending a guide." This place can't be that big." Izzy pondered, looking around the dark surroundings. Suddenly, a small light appeared at the top of the staircase. "Digidestined…" It called in a haunting, cold voice. The Digidestined spun around so that they faced the light. It looked like a large firefly, for it just floated in the air without anyone holding it. Its blue flame glowed brightly, so that it lit the whole upper floor. "Who are you?" Matt asked, his voice sounding like he was getting frustrated. The blue ball said nothing as it just continued to float there. "What's the matter? Gatomon got your tongue?" Sora yelled. Her hands turned to fists, trying to contain her anger. "Follow me." The light suddenly stated. Slowly, the light turned from the teens and began to move along the hallway above them. "Hey! Wait for us!" Izzy shouted. Izzy began to run forward along with Sora, Matt, Mimi, and T.K. "Wait guys!" Joe yelled, causing them to stop in their tracks. "What's wrong, Joe?" Matt asked. Joe walked forward slowly. "What if this is a trap?" He wondered. Sora spun around angrily. "So what? If it is a trap, than it's a trap! We have to save Tai!" She shouted. "But…" Joe begged. "No buts, Joe." Mimi said. She ran over and grabbed his arm, "You're coming." Mimi yanked Joe's arm hard, so that he followed right behide. **************** The Digidestined ran up the grand staircase so that they could catch up with their guide. As they joined the ball of light, they got a chance to gaze at their surroundings. The floor was stone with a long, red woven carpet in the middle of the hallway. The walls were lined with suits of rusted old armor that was left over from the medieval times. Large pieces of artwork hung from the walls, as well as large wall rugs. Each one had a beautiful woven story threaded into its design. Along the left side of the wall, in between each rug or painting, there were large stain glass windows. "This reminds me of the Gekomon's palace." Mimi stated quietly to Joe. "Yea, but the Gekomon's palace was a bit more inviting than this creepy place." Joe stated. Soon, the ball of light led them to two large doors. "In here." The light said. As the Digidestined watched, the doors opened to reveal a large throne room. "Whoa…Now that is what I call, 'Livin' large'." Izzy said in awe. "Come in. It is very rude to just stand in the doorway, you know." A deep male voice stated. As the Digidestined stepped into the room, the doors slammed behide them. "That happens a lot around here." Matt confirmed, looked back at the shut doors. The room had nothing in it except a throne that was covered in dark shadows. A large part of the wall was missing, so there was a sorce of light in the room. "Welcome children! It is nice to see you again." A familiar voice spoke. The teens quickly spun around to see the long black hair and dress of Aboshi lounging on the floor. She was smiling her usual evil and twisted smile as her eyes stared at them. "I am quite pleased with your efforts. You managed to make it here before the five hours were up. I must admit, you've got guts." Matt stepped in front of the rest of the group. "We have a lot more than guts, girl. We have a friend who we're here to save. Now, where is Tai?" He demanded, his voice sounding very leader-like. Aboshi stood from the floor. "How dare you come in here and demand something like that? How rude, don't you agree, Master?" She said, brushing her hair from her face. "Master?" Sora questioned. Suddenly, a pair of red eyes glowed next to Aboshi. "Indeed. Very rude, Aboshi." The male voice from before said. Izzy stepped up next to Sora. "Who are you?" He asked. The figure rose from the throne and smiled. "I am the dark master, Lord Myotismon. I am the one who ordered Lady Aboshi to attack your dear friend, Tai." Myotismon stepped onto the floor. He was a tall Digimon, with a long face and nose to match. His fangs were noticeable on his pale face and red lips. He wore an outfit that looked like he just came from the early 1800's and a long torn cape at dragged behide him. "He is very determined, even when he is on the verge of death." He laughed. "Where is Tai?" Sora asked, stepping forward. Her eyes began to fill with salty tears. "Please, give him back to us. You promised." Myotismon laughed as he watched Sora cry. "You humans fascinate me. You beg to give me back your friend, even when he is half-dead. Amazing. Alright." The dark master lifted his hand up and snapped. As the Digidestined watched, the wall next to the throne spun around to reveal Tai. His writs were chained to the wall while his body just hung there. His head was down and his shirt was torn. "Tai!" His friends shouted in unison. They ran over to him as carefully as possible, making sure not to make any false moves. "Do you also wish me to remove his chains?" The master asked. He snapped again and Tai's chains vanished, throwing the limp body to the floor. Sora and Matt reached their friend first, with the others right on their heels. Sora grabbed Tai gently and turned him over. Tai's face had blood from his head dripping down onto him. His complexion was as white as snow and his lips had turned blue from the damp, cold castle. Matt reached down and grabbed Tai's wrist to take his pulse. "He's alive but his pulse is very weak." "Tai…" Sora whispered. She shot her head up at Myotismon and Aboshi. "What did you do to him?" She demanded. Aboshi smiled as she held up an empty needle. "Nothing major. I just hit him in the head a few times and then injected him some more of the virus that he already has." She stated. "Nothing major?" Matt yelled, jumping to his feet. "Giving Tai that much of a drug can kill him!" Myotismon smirked at Matt. "Well, do you want to avenge your friend?" He asked. Matt nodded, "Alright then. We will have a duel. You and your friends crest power verse my full power. And we will see who is stronger." The dark lord stated. "First, give us the antidote for Tai." Izzy demanded. Aboshi smiled as she came forward. "You mean this?" She said as she withdrew a small glass bottle from a pouch on her side. "You can have it." She said with her evil smile. As she walked towards them, she held the bottle out in front of her and let it go. The glass hit the floor with a loud crash. "Opps. It slipped." She stated. "No!" Sora cried, as she watched the medicine seep into the cracks in the floor. The one last hope to save their friend had just been shattered in front of her. "You witch. How could you?" She whispered. Sora came to her feet and walked up next to Matt. "I will revenge Tai for what you have done." Izzy reached into his back pocket and withdrew Tai's crest. 'The symbol is very light now, just like Tai's pulse.' Izzy thought. He placed the crest around his friend's neck, then stood. "Let's do it!" He yelled. "You talk pretty big. Bring it on." Myotismon said, smiling. As the Digidestined watched, Myotismon slowly began to grow. "Myotismon digivolve to…VenomMyotismon!" As VenomMyotismon stood like a giant over them, Joe stated weakly, "You don't see that everyday." "Come on guys! Activate your crests!" Matt shouted. He reached into his shirt and withdrew his crest. "Crest of Friendship…Energize!" "Crest of Love…Energize!" Sora shouted as her crest glowed. "Crest of Knowledge…Energize!" Izzy yelled, standing along side Sora. "Crest of Hope…Energize!" T.K. screamed, running up next to his brother. "Crest of Sincerity…Energize!" Mimi shouted, standing next to T.K. "Crest of Reliability…Energize!" Joe yelled, standing next to Izzy. "Digicrests…Energize!" They shouted in unison. Six different colored lights shout from the crests at Myotismon, hitting him right on. A loud explosion came from where the dark lord stood, causing the Digidestined and Aboshi to fly backwards. The explosion made the roof cave in, destroying the room completely. The Digidestined flew onto the ground behide Tai's body. "We got him!" Sora shouted, happily sitting up. As the dust cleared, the happiness among the Digidestined quickly vanished. For as the smoke parted, VenomMyotismon stood there laughing. "Was that your most intense blast? Well, if it was, than I afraid you're going to have to do a lot better than that to beat me." Izzy sat up and gazed in horror at the site before him and the others. "How can that be? Why didn't he even get a scratch on him?" He questioned. "Maybe…maybe because we didn't have all the crests attacking together. We need all the crests combine power." Joe stated while dusted his shirt off. Matt looked up at the evil Digimon that towered over them. "But there has to be another way. Tai is out of service at the moment, if you haven't already notice. We can't have him doing anything like that in his condition." He stated, looking over at his friends. While they continued to argue over what to do, Tai could hear them yelling. 'Guys…Stop fighting…You can beat VenomMyotismon…I know you can…' Tai thought. Suddenly, he heard the Digimon speak. "If you are done fighting now, I will move on to killing you. Deadly Venom Strike!" The monster shouted. Tai felt a massive gust of wind blow and heard the screams of pain from his friends. 'No…Matt…Joe…Izzy…T.K…. Mimi…Sora…They need my help. I will not let them die because of me. I will die first before they die.' Tai proclaimed. ************** "Give up…You can't win." The dark master said, hovering over the teens. "It is useless to continue your attempt at stopping me." Sora sat up. Her arms and legs were scratched to bits along with the others. They all sat there watching as the Dark Master loomed over them. "It's no use. We can't stop him." She said. "It's over…" Matt whispered. "Please…Are you going to give up that easily? Those aren't the Digidestined that I know." Tai's voice said. Everyone looked up. "Oh god. Now I am hearing things. Now I know I am going to die." Joe said, sinking even lower to the ground. "Joe…look." Sora said smiling. As the Digidestined looked at Tai's body, they saw him begin to move. First his hand, then his arm helped push him up to a sitting position. Then carefully, Tai pushed himself up, so that he was on his two feet. Tai stood tall in front of his friends. Then he did something completely unexpected; he rose his arms out to the sides of his body and spoke, "No more, VenomMyotismon. You and your henchman have done enough to them. Leave them alone." Matt got to his feet as quickly as possible. "Tai, don't. He's too powerful." VenomMyotismon looked down at Tai and smiled. "Well, do you really think you are going to stop me with a weakened mind, body, and crest? Hahaha!" Tai placed his hands down at his sides again. "You're right." Tai started, lowering his head. His friends, Aboshi, and the Dark Master were all in shock. But before anyone could say anything, Tai's crest began to glow a brilliant orange. "I might not be able to beat you on my own. My crest's power is stronger than the others, but it needs the others in order to defeat you." Tai said, raising his head up. Closing his eyes, Tai began to whisper something that only he could hear. Suddenly, each one of the crests began to light their color. "Come to my crest: Friendship, Knowledge, Sincerity, Hope, Reliability, and Love. These are the powers of the Digidestined. I ask you…please come to me!" Suddenly, the six other powers flew out of the six other Digidestined and shot into Tai's back, causing him to jolt forward. "Tai!" Sora shouted, jumping to her feet. She began to run forward but was grabbed from behide by Izzy. "No, Sora. Let him do this on his own. He knows we are with him." He said. Sora looked back at him and then at Tai. She was crying heavily and her sobs were getting the best of her. "Please…don't Tai." She whispered. Tai concentrated his energy along the others into his crest. 'So this is it.' He thought. 'This is how I am going to die. Well, I guess I can say I lived a good life. But my life doesn't matter anymore. The only lives that matter are the ones of my friends.' Tai looked up at the dark master. "Crest…Of…Courage…FULL ENERGIZE!" He shouted. A brilliant flash of white light flew from Tai's crest and made a direct hit to VenomMyotismon. The evil Digimon let out a horrible bellow of pain. As the other's watched, VenomMyotismon began to vanish into the system. Finally with one loud explosion, VenomMyotismon vanished forever into the Digital afterworld forever. ******************** As the light faded, the rest of the Digidestined sat up and unshielded their eyes. "He…did…it. He did it! Tai defeated VenomMyotismon!" Mimi shouted happily, jumping to her feet. "Where's Aboshi?" Joe asked. "She must have been destroyed in the blast." Izzy confirmed, looking around his surrounding. The area around them had been completely flattened. The castle was no more and the landscape was nothing but dirt and rock. As the Digidestined looked around, they saw the sun setting over the horizon. "Beautiful…" Sora whispered. But as she looked at the down at the sunset, she saw Tai standing there. He was as stiff as a board and he was scratched up pretty badly. "Guys, There's Tai." She said. Suddenly, a bright flash of light flew from in front of Tai. The others watched as the light broke down into the separate crest colors. Each one came back to its rightful owner, until there was one left. And that one was Tai's. "Hey, why isn't Tai's crest energy going back to him?" T.K. asked. "I don't know, T.K." Matt answered. All the others could do was watch as Tai's crest energy just floated there in the air, until at last, it reentered his crest. Tai's body jolted a bit as it came back to his body. Then, he turned to face his friends and smiled a weak grin, "It's over…It's finally over." He said as he fell to the ground. "Tai!" Sora yelled, running over to him as he fell. Before he could touch the ground, Sora caught him in her opened arms. She fell to her knees, holding Tai's body close to her own. Sora looked down at Tai's scratched face and sobbed, "Tai…Tai, can you hear me? Please Tai open your eyes…Please…" She begged. One of her tears rolled off her face and hit Tai's cheek, causing his eyes to open slightly, "Sora…I'm sorry." "Sorry? Sorry for what? You saved us and the Digital World, why are you saying sorry?" She cried, trying to put a smile on her face. "I am sorry because I had to wait until before I die to tell you…" He started. Tai rose one of his hands up to Sora's face and touched her cheek. "I…love…you, Sora. Good…bye." And with those as his final words, Tai's hand fell from Sora's face and he died in her arms. Sora became overwhelmed with grief. Gripping Tai's body closer, she reached down and took Tai's pulse. There was nothing coming from his wrist. Hugging him even tighter, Sora let out a loud cry of loss. Her shout echoed through the destroyed castle and sunk into the surrounding area. Regaining her composure, she laid Tai's lifeless body onto the dusty earth and stood from him. "I love you, too, Tai…" Sora whispered. As she turned to walk away, she fell to her knees and began to cry. "Sora…" Matt shouted as he and the others ran to their grief stricken friend. As they came up to her, Matt helped Sora to her feet and let her cry onto his shoulder. "It's okay…It's okay." He said, patting her on the back. One by one, each of the teens began to cry. They didn't care if they looked dumb or if it lowered their pride, they all wept openly at the loss of their leader, friend, and for Sora, a lover. "He was my best friend…" Matt stated, trying to sound tough as he held back his tears. "I never wanted to admit it, but he was pretty smart." Izzy said, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "He was always there for us." Joe said, while he held a crying Mimi in arms. "Tai was always ready to help one of us out." Mimi cried into Joe's shoulder. "Tai was our last hope…" T.K. cried, grabbing onto Matt's leg. "I loved him." Sora cried out. As they continued to cry, one by one, each one of their crests began to glow softly. The glow from the crests began to become brighter until the light covered them and Tai's body. "What's going on?" Sora asked. ******************* 'The crests weep over the loss of one. The bearers cry for the death of a bearer.' A voice quietly whispered. The digidestined glanced around the area of white, very confused about what they were hearing. 'Courage is strong. All the crests and bearers need Courage to live on in life. We give you Courage so that you may continue to live.' ********************* Suddenly, the light broke and they stood in the light of the full digital moon. "What was that?" Matt asked. "I don't know. But I can't stay here any longer. Let's go…" Joe stated. As they began to walk away, they heard a muffled grunt from behide them. "Wait…Are you guys really going to leave without your fearless leader?" A familiar voice stated. "It can't be…" Sora whispered. All of the Digidestined quickly spun around to see Tai. He stood weakly on his feet and had a huge smile on his face. "Tai!" Sora shouted running to him. She ran into Tai's opened arms and hugged him as if she would never let go. As she looked up into Tai's eyes with her tear stained ones she smiled, "Oh Tai. I thought you were…" "Dead? Yea, so did I." Tai said smiling. Looking up from Sora, the teen saw his friends looking at him in amazement, "What? You thought you got rid of me? Yea right." Tai shouted. Izzy looked Tai up and down. "That…is scientifically impossible." "Izzy. For once, try to believe that everything doesn't have to envolve Science." Matt stated. ********************* Sora gazed up at Tai. She was still sobbing a bit, but more from happiness than sadness. She was happy that she didn't lose someone so close to her and that she was being held in his loving arms at last. The others stood there talking off to the side, but it sounded muffled to her. Everything around both Tai and her seemed to just blur out and the only clear sight was Tai. Resting her head on Tai's chest, she sighed. "I so happy that you came back, Tai." She stated softly. The young teen placed his hand on top of Sora's head and ran his figures through her soft brown hair. "Me too. I wasn't ready to die. But there was one thing that made me even sadder to die than before." "What was that?" Sora asked. Placing his hands on Sora's waist, Tai lifted her off the ground and spun her around. "You. I wasn't ready to go yet because I wanted to be with you!" He stated, swinging her around and then placing her gracefully onto the dusty ground. Sora blushed madly at Tai's words. 'He wanted to be with…me? He felt sad to die because he wanted to be with me?' She thought as she was pulled closer to Tai than before. "Tai…I love you so much." She started, looking up at his smiling face. "Please, don't ever leave me again." She said through sobs and fresh tears. Tai smiled softly and nodded. "I promise." Reaching up to her face, Tai touched her face lightly. Quickly reaching up, Sora held his hand against her cheek. As they stood there, nothing else mattered. They didn't care if they others stared at them or if Myotismon were still alive, all they cared about right then and there was each other. Suddenly, the clouds in the sky parted to reveal the beautiful glow of the full moon. The light seemed to make the darkness of the digital world vanish. Glancing up at the sky, the two teens saw small shooting stars flying gracefully across the sky. Gazing back at each other, Tai drew closer to Sora. Closing their eyes, Sora and Tai locked into each other's loving kiss and embrace. As they stood there, two small shooting stars joined together in the sky, creating one everlasting bond. The End. |
