PART 2: TRAITOR!

Matt stared wide-eyed at the shadow that twisted

around Sora's neck. She opened her mouth to scream,

and suddenly went limp. The shadow moved on,

strangling the others one by one, until only Tai,

Matt, and T.K. were left.

Tai hissed, "You are a liar, Yamato Ishida!" just

before he, too, fell under the hand of Gavinmon.

The shadow wound around T.K. next, and Matt could only

watch, horrified, as T.K. panicked and wriggled

helplessly. "Help, Matt!" he choked. Matt leapt to his

feet in terror. He turned and ran from the awful sight

of his friends' dead forms. T.K.'s scream echoed

through the forest as Matt ran, and ran, and ran...

"NO!" Matt yelled as he jumped to his feet. The others

were staring at him very oddly. "You--aren't you

dead?"

"What's wrong?" Gabumon asked.

"I had a horrible dream," Matt whispered. He proceeded

to tell them all that had happened. The other

digidestined children stared in shock.

"Wow," Mimi whispered. "Do you think it could be

true?"

"Dreams aren't true!" Sora scoffed, nodding lightly at

T.K. and Kari. The older kids silently agreed.

"I smell...fish!" Agumon cried, turning the children's

minds from the frightening nightmare.

"Mmmm, breakfast," Palmon said happily.

After using their attacks the digimon had caught

several fish and the dream was forgotten in getting

ready to move on. Suddenly Gatomon froze and pricked

up her ears. "Danger," she whispered.

The kids stared nervously at Spiral Mountain. "D-don't

worry," Tai said. He couldn't explain the ice that

raced along his veins, and the unwelcome feeling of a

strange presence.

Hours later the digidestined found a cave to spend the

night in. Sora insisted on taking the first watch, and

it wasn't long before everyone fell asleep. Sora stood

up and walked to the doorway of the cave. Gentle rain

pelted the ground and a sense of calm filled Sora. She

stood for a long time, watching, waiting. Suddenly a

low moan resounded from the back of the cave. Then a

shriek and then--nothing.

"Tai! What's wrong?" Sora asked, racing over to her

friend, who was now wide awake. The other children

were slowly waking as well.

"I--I--I had the same dream as Matt--only I--I

died--and he ran!" Tai pointed at Matt. "H-he ran and

he didn't try to help us!"

Matt blinked, not understanding what was going on.

"Okay, whatever, dude."

Not long after Joe relieved Sora and watched the rain

himself. Suddenly a small figure darted over to him

and clung, shaking. "Joe, Joe!" the child whimpered.

"Kari, what's wrong?" A shock hit Joe and he asked,

"Did you have the same dream?"

"Y-yes," Kari gulped. She brought her hands to her

neck and whispered, "Joe, I'm scared. It--it was

choking me and Matt--wouldn't help--Tai was--was

dead!" She burst into tears and fell to her knees.

"Th-the worst part was that Gatomon--sh-she was gone,

Joe, she was gone!"

Joe comforted the sobbing girl until she fell back

into a deep sleep. Then he dared to wake Sora and

whisper, "I think we've got a problem."

The digimon were the only ones who left the cave all

day. The rain continued to delicately pour down

outside. Tai shivered. They were all edgy, and jumped

at the slightest sound. Suddenly a downpour started

and the seven digimon who had gone out ran back in.

That night, the tragic nightmare plagued Izzy, Mimi,

and Joe. Each time was the same--no one would help,

and the digimon had disappeared.

Matt couldn't miss the icy glares that Tai shot his

way. Two Dark Masters were left and now he had

unleashed a new evil--Matt knew that. He also knew

that everyone had to be together, and he had brought

them together.

That night when T.K. awoke from the horrendous

nightmare, he looked daggers at Matt. Blue eyes

flashing in sorrow, fury, and pain, T.K. said,

"Gavinmon got everyone except us two. And he got the

digimon, too. And then, just before I died, I saw

him." T.K. glared at Matt before continuing, "He was

watching us, and he smiled. I swear he did, I saw

him!"

It was too beautiful a day for such anger. Tai rose

and advanced on his rival. "You know what I think? I

think Yamato Ishida is a traitor."

Matt backed out of the cave. "Tai, it was a dream!"

"Yeah, a dream all of us happened to have! And who

survived? You. You did, Matt. Every single time. I

call that being a traitor, and I think you're planning

something! You betrayed us to Gavinmon, and I believe

you can do it again! And you probably will!"

Matt crashed into a tree and stood, trembling. Tai had

never been this angry. And T.K. just didn't get mad.

Ever!

The others had followed the two boys and now everyone

stood, watching. The silence seemed to continue

forever. And then T.K. began, "I..."

All the kids turned to stare at him. Eyes brimming

with tears, he hugged Patamon and whispered, "Matt,

forgive me, but I--I agree with Tai."

Matt's eyes widened in terror and he bolted, followed

by Gabumon. The others didn't hear the evil laugh

while they calmed the sobbing young boy. Suddenly Tai

cried out in pain. When the others whirled to look, he

was gone.