D3.3: THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN

"It means we’re in for the fight of our lives."

The words had just left Tai’s lips, when, as if on cue, the sky was filled with a hideous squeaking. From everywhere and nowhere, bats began to swoop down from the sky and swarmed around the Digidestined. Eyes tightly squeezed against them, Tai ducked his head and tried to beat them off with his hands, but there were too many of them. Their wings flapped and slapped against his bare skin, giving him a thousand, stinging blows. Above the noise, he heard Agumon yell "Pepper Breath", then the high, shrill cry of a bat. The smell of burnt fur and charred skin filled the air. If I could just get him to Digivolve to Greymon, we might stand a chance. He groped for his Digivice, but the bats bumped it out his hand the instant it closed around it. It fell to the floor, useless.

Suddenly - as suddenly as it had started - the attack stopped.

Cautiously opening one eye, stooping to retrieve his Digivice, he saw that the animals had converged on a single point. They were swarming around each other, squeaking frantically, wings snapping. He realised with a jolt of horror that they were merging to form a single entity. It had large, black wings and its head was crested. The moonlight glinted off sharp, white fangs. Even though it looked like an oversized bat, Tai would have recognised the creature anywhere . . .

"MYOTISMON!" he heard Sora yell behind him.

"You got it in one, Child of Love," the evil Digimon dropped the darkness that had been surrounding him in the way that a normal person might have dropped a cloak. He was dressed in a black uniform, complete with brass buttons and epaulettes. A full cloak, lined with red silk, billowed out behind him. And, worst of all, he was almost beautiful. If Angemon had fallen from grace, he might have resembled Myotismon. His features were delicate and refined. His long, golden hair shone in the light, while his skin was the clear white of fine porcelain. Only his mouth - a bloody gash in his pale face - gave any clue to his true, vampiric nature.

Looking at him, Tai felt very tired and hopeless all of a sudden. ::He’s back. No matter how many times we defeat him, he always comes back. Why should this time be any different?::

"Gabumon, do it!" Matt yelled, pulling his Digivice from his belt and pointing it at his Digimon. Tai saw that he had moved to stand in front of Sora, evidently to protect her. Tai did not know whether it was a friend or something more. Even though the thought of any relationship between them caused a strange ache in his chest, Matt’s instinctive gesture filled him with a new resolve. ::It doesn’t matter how many times I have to do it. If I don’t stop him, he’ll hurt all of them. He’ll hurt my family and friends. He’ll hurt Sora.:: His fist clenched around his Digivice.

"Go get him, Agumon!"

As their Digivices began to pulsate, the clearing was filled with a blinding light, coming from the two Digimon. It was so bright that Tai had to close his eyes against it. Even then, he could see it, burning red against his eyelids.

"Gabumon digivolve to . . . Garurumon!"

"Agumon digivolve to . . . Greymon!"

Spots danced and dazzled in his field of vision when he reopened his eyes to discover that the two Digimon had been replaced by their champion forms. If Agumon had been a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex, Greymon was the real deal. The orange and blue Digimon stood taller than the trees and wider than a bridge. A metal helmet, complete with horns and spikes, covered his face, and polished fangs jutted out from his gaping mouth. Long of leg and sharp of tooth, Garurumon managed to be equally impressive. Muscles rippled beneath his striped fur with every movement. His head was crested, as were his shoulders. Having Digivolved, the two did not hesitate, but leapt straight into action.

"Nova Blast!"

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon joined a stream of blue energy to Agumon’s fireball.

A bemused expression on his face, Myotismon diverted their attacks with a wave of his long, slender hand. They crashed into the ground, digging deep trenches into the soil. Tai braced himself, expecting a counterattack, but none came.

"I have a surprise for you," Myotismon purred, curling back his red lips in a mockery of a smile. He reached a hand into his cloak and extracted what appeared to be a crest. Where the light of the moon caught it, dull, greasy colours played over its surface in a way that reminded him of a puddle of oil. Feet away from their enemy, Tai could just make out the symbol on it. It was similar to his own, old crest of courage, but the rays that surrounded the concentric circles were pointing inwards.

"It’s corrupted . . .It’s evil . . . The darkness . . ." Kari moaned and his eyes went hastily to his sister. He felt his stomach lurch when he saw her. She was bent over, clutching her head in her hands as if she were in pain. Sweat glistened on her forehead, making her dark hair seem even darker. Beside her, an obviously worried T.K. was crouched down beside her and was saying something to her, while Yolei was fast making her way towards them. He knew they would protect her for him. He had to deal with Myotismon or they would all be finished. Reluctantly, he turned back from his sister to Myotismon, who was applauding mockingly.

"What a clever girl you are, Child of Light. You recognise a shadow crest when you see one," he ran a forefinger over it in a kind of caress, "This one is the Crest of Cowardice."

"The Crest of Cowardice?" Davis sounded furious, stepping forward as if to attack the evil Digimon himself, "It suits you, Myotismon! You’re a coward for hurting Kari with that thing!"

"My dear boy, I have done nothing to your friend," he paused, malevolent smile widening, "Yet."

Pointing the crest in Greymon’s direction, "Greymon, Darkdigivolve!"

He had barely finished speaking when liquid darkness began to pour from the sky onto the Digimon.

"Greymon Darkdigivolve to . . ."

To Tai’s horror, his Digimon began to change shape. It was a transformation he had seen only twice in the past - once, when he had forced his Greymon to digivolve by putting himself in danger, and, again, when the Digimon Emperor had used the dark spirals to do the same. Both times in the past, it had caused everything within him freeze and this instance was no exception. Greymon’s flesh seemed to fall away in silver gobbets, leaving his bones to shine whitely. Only his heart remained, pulsating and throbbing within his ribcage, while a strangely cunning, green light shone within his eyesockets.

". . . Skullgreymon!"

"Matt," Tai turned to his best friend, a wordless appeal in his eyes. There were some things that he could not bring himself to ask, that he could barely bring himself to think. Agumon was more than his partner and his friend. He was a part of Tai himself - a living embodiment of his best qualities, of his courage and his strength. Matt knew as well as he did what he was asking him to do. Slowly, the blond boy nodded, then turned to his Digimon.

"Garurumon, you know what you have to do," Matt said in an agonised voice.

"Matt, I don’t know if I can," his Digimon howled, "Skullgreymon is a ultimate, and I can’t digivolve into Weregarurumon without your crest. . . ."

". . . And you probably can’t Digivolve into Metalgarurumon while Agumon is like this," Joe added, a worried expression on his face, "Because of how they came into being, the two are connected."

Some small part of Tai that was still capable of rational thought remembered the old prophecy. ::And angels will shoot arrows of hope and light into the loved ones of those whom they are sworn to protect and a miracle will happen.:: He did not pretend to understand or to be able to explain what had happened on that day all those years ago. He had been gripping onto Matt’s hand - to make sure that he did not chicken out on him, naturally - when Angewomon’s arrow had pierced him. It had felt as if he had been thrust into the middle of the sun. He had burnt in the terrible brilliance of the light. Every cell of his body had been on fire, and it had felt as if molten steel had been running through his veins. Then, the miracle had happened. Agumon had warp-digivolved to Wargreymon, just as Garurumon had become Metalgarurumon. They were connected. The angels had connected them with their gifts. And he was now asking Garurumon to fight him. His fists balled at his side, as tears pricked his eyes. He had no choice. ::I have no choice. I’m sorry, Garurumon.::

"Try, my friend," Matt was saying to Garurumon, as he patted him encouragingly, "I have faith in you."

With a nod of his shaggy head, the Digimon loped forward to face his opponent. For a wonder, Skullgreymon had not spotted them. It was only a matter of time, however. His head moved from side to side. His beady, green eyes searched the landscape endlessly. Beside him, Myotismon hovered like a curse.

"He’s right, though," Izzy said to them, "One champion won’t hold out for long against an ultimate. Someone needs to go back to the Digital World to fetch the other Digimon. Even then, it will be touch-and-go. Back at Etemon’s stadium, he crushed all of our Digimon without any difficulty."

"But we didn’t have Angemon or Angewomon then," T.K. insisted, "Angel-types are especially strong against dark-types."

Feeling the same, odd heaviness as before, Tai looked at the younger boy. He had a determined expression on his face. His blue eyes were very bright, and his mouth was set in a straight and angry line. A pale Kari had her head buried in his chest and she was moaning, as if she were in pain. He wanted to comfort her, but did not know what to say or do. He could not find strength for himself, let alone his sister. All of his courage seemed to have disappeared when Greymon had Darkdigivolved.

"And you didn’t have DNA-digivolving," Cody added quietly, "That should be enough to give us an edge."

"Enough talk," Davis said, punching the palm of his hand, "We gotta go get the other Digimon before Skullgreymon rips this place to pieces."

"Agreed," Joe nodded his head, evidently seeing that Tai was in no position to take charge of the situation, "Sora, Izzy and I will go to the Digital World to search for them. We’ll need Izzy’s computer skills to find our partners, while Sora and I can search land and sea respectively. Izzy, can you open a port for us?"

"You’re nuts if you think you’re going without me," Davis declared, "You need me."

"We’re coming too," Yolei said, flanked by Cody and Ken, "The Digital World is huge and many hands make light work. What about you, T.K?"

The blond boy shook his head, "I’m going to stay here and make sure that Kari’s okay. Besides, my brother might need me."

"Look after Tai too, while you’re at it. And don’t worry. We’ll find Patamon and Gatomon. They might be our trump-card," Sora said with a slightly stiff smile, "Izzy, how is that portal coming?"

Tai could not share in the other’s confidence. His eyes went back to Skullgreymon. The evil Digimon had spotted Garurumon and was lumbering towards him, his bony grin almost malicious. Blue energy streaming from his mouth, Garurumon was hitting him with one unsuccessful attack after another. Skullgreymon did not even flinch as the Howling Blasters connected, but kept striding forwards towards the other Digimon. Howling with frustration, Garurumon leapt at him, only to be swatted away like an insect. Again and again, Matt’s Digimon attacked. Again and again, Skullgreymon absorbed them and kept coming. . . .

And, for almost the first time in his life, Tai Kamiya was afraid.

*

Obnoxious Announcer’s Voice: Will Garurumon be able to hold off Skullgreymon for long enough for the Digidestined to gather reinforcements? Or is Myotismon finally going to succeed in conquering both worlds? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!