PART 9: THROUGH THE GATE

Kari laid her head gently on Salamon and closed her

eyes. The kitten had woken up after the battle, and

now they were camping out nearby. Salamon kept saying

how much she wished she could have fought Arachnamon,

and Kari continually responded with, "You can fight

next time. And we'll beat 'em all!"

Mimi still hadn't told anyone about Hiromon, since

they couldn't see him--except Matt. Only he and Sora

even knew about the gem. Mimi smiled and polished it

with her fingers. "Come out, Hiromon," she whispered.

The creature took form and stood before her. He

smiled. "Guardian, I saw the entire battle. Your

little protector plant did well."

"I almost called you out, but the others don't know

about you. I didn't want to frighten them," she said

wistfully.

Hiromon nodded. "I understand, little guardian. Be

careful."

"What were you going to say last time?"

"Do not digivolve during the battle. The one that will

soon come. I will be waiting. And, Guardian of

Sincerity, be prepared to--"

Once more he was pulled into the stone, and Mimi

pocketed it. She pulled out her green pebble instead.

"Sincerity...hmm..."

Nearby, Izzy examined the purple stone. He didn't know

how to analyze it, which was a rare phenomenon. He

took out his tag and looked at it. "My crest means

knowledge, and I *still* can't figure this out," he

said to Tentomon.

Unseen by anyone, a majestic eagle soared above them.

With an evil gleam in its eye, it circled thirteen

times and then zoomed back to where it came from.

"Heh, full moon tomorrow!" it laughed.

In the morning, the group headed off, eager to find

Gavinmon and defeat him. In high spirits, they sang

and laughed as they went on. The girls soon started to

sing an American song that Sora taught them.

"Country roads, take me home,

To the place I belong,

West Virginia, Mountain Mama,

Take me home, country roads."

The boys soon caught on and joined in.

"Almost there in West Virginia,

Luige Mountains, Shenandoah River.

Life is old there, older than the trees,

Younger than the mountains,

Flowing like a breeze.

Country roads, take me home,

To the place I belong

West Virginia, Mountain Mama,

Take me home, country roads."

Kari whirled around in a sweet little dance, and

everyone laughed when T.K. grabbed her hand and

twirled her around. Even Tai had to smile. They *were*

a cute couple.

"Tai, look!" Agumon shouted suddenly. Tai glanced up

and stopped smiling when he saw a dark tower rising

above them. His jaw dropped in shock. How would they

ever get up there? It was so tall...at least no one

was afraid of heights!

"That must be where Gavinmon hangs out," Gomamon

whispered.

Izzy looked up, fear clouding his black eyes.

"According to my calculations...it is."

The team continued in silence towards the tower,

keeping to the shade of the trees. Joe looked back and

saw what was left of Spiral Mountain behind them. Not

that much was left. "Oh, great. Look at us! Trapped

between two evil guys. My parents sure didn't pay for

*this* when they sent me to summer camp!"

"They were helpful, though," Salamon said. She was

resting in Kari's arms. "You know, when you came

looking for me!"

Patamon nodded. "Especially your dad, T.K."

Patamon meant well, but T.K. wouldn't talk anymore for

the rest of the trip. They soon reached the tower.

"Matt's not here, the signal points to that building,"

Biyomon said. She waved a wing at the large building

on their right. Tai smiled and raced toward the gate.

When the others joined him, he was inspecting the

lock. "Our digimon can break it," he said happily.

"And then...good-bye, Gavinmon!"

Suddenly sharp talons tore into T.K.'s side, and he

screamed. His piercing cry was accompanied by the

sound of his digivice clattering to the ground and

Patamon's frightened shout. "T.K.!!!!!! T.K., T.K.,

T.K.!!!!!"

A huge striped paw protruded from the shadows and

swiped at the little device. The glass on it

shattered. T.K. and Patamon crumpled to the ground in

a motionless heap, as if the digivice held all their

power and now it was gone.

"Agumon, digivolve to...Greymon! Greymon, digivolve

to...MetalGreymon!"

"Gomamon, digivolve to...Ikkakumon! Ikkakumon,

digivolve to...Zudomon!"

"Biyomon, digivolve to...Birdramon! Birdramon,

digivolve to...Garudamon!"

"Tentomon, digivolve to...Kabuterimon! Kabuterimon,

digivolve to...MegaKabuterimon!"

"Palmon, digivolve to...Togemon! Togemon, digivolve

to...Lillymon!"

The five ultimate digimon attacked ferociously while

the humans bent over the youngest members of the

group.

A Giga Blaster, a Vulcan's Hammer, a Wing Blade, a

Horn Buster, and a Flower Cannon struck Eaglomon.

Tigreromon stood, forgotten for the moment, in the

shadows.

"Striking Swipe!" Eaglomon cried. He flew into the air

and came down at Garudamon, the digimon who appeared

to be easiest to hurt--all the others were covered in

metal. His sharp beak dug into Garudamon's fiery

flesh, and his talons tore at the digimon's head. They

were powered by the force of the dive.

"Wing Blade!" Garudamon shrieked. The agile eagle

swung out of the way and hit Garudamon with another

Striking Swipe.

The other digimon flew forward, but each was knocked

away and forced to dedigivolve. Only Garudamon and

Zudomon remained.

Finally, Eaglomon was hit by a Vulcan's Hammer and

fell to the ground. Sora's crest, the Crest of Love,

began to glow for T.K. and Patamon. It engulfed

Eaglomon, and when it repealed, the digimon no longer

existed.

"Guardian of Reliability, I think we need some

bandages," Mimi said sharply, quite forgetting that

her friends had no clue what a guardian was. "I'll

need the Guardian of Light to find some water, the

Guardian of Courage to find some herbs--take

Palmon--and you, Guardian of Knowledge, to get on the

Net and find something that can help!"

"Uhhhh..." every single one of them said.

Mimi blushed. "Sorry!" She rephrased what she had

said, and Joe, Kari, Tai, and Izzy set to work. The

other digimon dedigivolved to rookies and returned to

their friends happily. It seemed that they had won.

Tigreromon chose that moment to let out a low growl.

He sent out a stream of Tiger Flare at the exhausted

digidestined.

Mimi screamed and covered her head as fire swept

closer. Fishing in her pocket, she yelled, "COME OUT,

HIROMON!!!"

Everyone gasped as they finally saw the smoky blue

digimon take shape and bound toward their enemy. "Ice

Crusher!" he shouted. Tigreromon accepted the

challenge with a snarl and a Fire Blaze, not to

mention a swipe with claws extended

Hiromon took the battle to the sky by lifting

Tigreromon high and then throwing him toward the

ground. The tiger turned at the last second and

unleashed a hidden power--flight. He faced Hiromon,

and they exchanged blows angrily, Tigreromon held up

by an unseen force, Hiromon by his cerulean wings. A

Tiger Flare washed over Hiromon, and he fell. He

landed on hoofed feet and shot back up with an Ice

Crusher.

"Pummel Whack!" a voice suddenly called. A bone

whacked Tigreromon, and he spiraled to the ground.

Wherever Ogremon was, he never came out; but neither

did any of the others. Many of their friends'

attacks--including Frigimon, Meramon, and Andromon--

hit Tigreromon, and yet not one showed himself.

Hiromon dealt the final blow with the light of triumph

in his eye and victory written on his features--"Giga

Beam!"

Tigreromon vanished, but as Izzy so simply put it--"In

case you didn't understand that, he's not dead yet."

No one understood that, actually, but Izzy was usually

right, so they didn't question him.

T.K. opened his eyes slowly. "What--"

Patamon yawned and sat up. "Hey, I'm glowing!"

And he was. The glow on his body and a beam from the

Crest of Hope engulfed the broken digivice, and when

the light faded it was as good as new. T.K. picked it

up, wincing in pain from the scratches on his side.

"What happened?"

The others proceeded to tell him what had happened and

fix him up. Then Mimi explained guardians, Hiromon,

and her entire story. Eventually, Tai turned to the

gate. "Now, shall we enter the whatever-it-is and find

Matt and Gavinmon?" The digimon nodded and stepped

promptly forward.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Poison Ivy!"

"Boom Bubble!"

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Marching

Fishes!"

"Spiral Twister!"

"Super Shocker!"

Salamon watched sadly. She was too tired to do

*anything*. Soon, the gate gave way and the kids

stepped through it, finally facing their greatest

challenge yet. Tai smiled. "Time for a little of what

I call revenge! Let's go, Team Digimon! There's no 'I'

in team!" Driven by his encouragement, the other kids

quickly followed.

Tigreromon laughed from his hiding place and turned to

the wall to read the prophecy: "It will happen

tonight.. The unknown evil will send his servant to

bring his victims. Then they will be made to

sacrifice what is important to their survival and

their greatest test will begin. The c***ts p**e*

will...

The rest was smudged off, and no one could read it.

Tigreromon fervently prayed that it was good news--for

his side. He laughed. "Their greatest test...this is

history in the making!" He turned to watch the

digidestined--in his mind, the digi-doomed--file into

the arena. "Heh heh...their greatest test!"

The second the last child, Joe, had entered, he shut

the door behind them. With a single Fire Blaze he

welded the lock into place. With an evil cackle, he

soared up, over the wall, planning to watch the fun.

"It's all up to you, Servant Child!"