Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon: Apocalypse ❯ 3rd Prologue ( Chapter 3 )

Author’s note: May not be suitable for young children. There’s no sex, but strong language.

3rd Prologue: The Price of Salvation

The Second Black Death was decimating the entire Digital World; thousands of Chosen were infected, lying in the streets of the cities, simply waiting to die.

In one of the many cities of the Eastern Hemisphere, Hiroshi coughed loudly, sending bits of his lungs into the rag in his hand. He glanced over at Keiko, Takashi and Noriko. The other three former Dark Seed Chosen were not looking any better. Like most of the Chosen infected with the BD-2, they were missing large portions of their bodies. “Is it worse?” Noriko asked.

He nodded. “Yeah,” he said, barely in a whisper, “Who knows…”

“Don’t talk,” Keiko said, “Try to save your strength.”

“Not much strength left,” he whispered coarsely, “It’s in my lungs, it’s not going to be long before I….”

“Don’t say it!” Takashi screamed, putting his hands over his ears, “Don’t say it!”

The others were silent. Takashi’s Patamon, who was missing his ears and back legs, looked up to him. “We don’t want to say it either, but we can’t pretend it’s not happening…”

“You are sick, aren’t you?”

They turned around and found themselves staring up at a young woman with shoulder length brown hair reaching the middle of her back. She was dressed in flowing white robes. The four young adults and their digimon partners tensed at her. She smiled warmly.

“I mean you no harm. My name is Chihi Miayag, and I have a message for you.”

“What message?” Keiko asked.

“A message from the God of the Digital World. If you no longer wish to be sick, then come with me, and be healed.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…” Noriko started, but her friends were already on their feet and following the strange woman.

“””””””””&# 8221;”””””””””” ”””””””””

“& #8230;the times in your life when you’re at your lowest, the times when you’re about to give up on everything you hold dear, the times when you’re about to give in darkness and despair, the times that you eventually overcome and put behind you. But, do those times, those feelings, ever truly disappear, or do they just fester and grow into the nightmares that keep you awake at night?”

Agumon glanced up at his partner. “What?”

Taichi shook his head. “That’s what that…that guy in the robe said…”

“You’re still thinking about that?”

“Of course I’m still thinking about that!” he exclaimed.

Agumon held up his arms. “Hey, I was just asking!”

“We need to know who those guys are,” he said.

“Maybe we should worry more about Miayag and the Digitalatri,” Yamato suggested.

“I am worrying about them,” he replied, “It’s just…what he said…what did he mean….?”

Jyou sighed. “Well, I’m sure we’ll eventually find out…we always do…”

Plotmon X glanced around at the forest landscape. “So, where’s the Digitalatri’s temple, anyway?”

“We should be there soon,” Gomamon X said.

“Wait a second,” Taichi said, “If we had to walk across half the Digital World, why did you have us use the Digital Gate to bring us to City of Ylicis?”

Jyou and Yamato glanced at each other. “Um…”

Taichi sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Jeeze, you guys would’ve been lost without me.”

Yamato gave him an evil glare, but said nothing.

“”””””””” ””””””””””

S ora leaned back against her chair, staring at the drawing on her artists table. The drawing was of a new swimsuit design. She had gotten the inspiration, ironically enough, from the bandages that were now wrapped tightly around her left foot. The suit looked like a regular one-piece suit, but the material looked like over a dozen white bandages wrapped around the female’s figure. She thought it was odd that her illness could inspire her, but as long as she could use it to move forward, as long as she did not think about how she would eventually die from it….

She shook her head forcefully, “No…no, I’m going to survive this….I’m going to survive this….I’m….I’m….” She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall over her office desk, it was six o’clock,”….I’m hungry. I wonder if there’s anything left in the ‘fridge.”

She started walking by using her right foot, but as she put her weight down on her left foot, she wondered momentarily how long before the BD-2 ate away at her entire foot. She forced that thought out of her head as she hobbled into the kitchen. Piyomon was lying on the couch, watching television.

“Sora?” the pink bird asked.

“Just looking for dinner,” she explained, peering into the refrigerator, “There’s nothing here.”

“We haven’t gone shopping in a while,” her partner reminded her.

“I knew it’d be rough after moving out of Mom’s house, but I never realized how much she actually did.”

“Like buying food?”

“Hey, I never really had to worry about it before….what are you watching anyway?”

“Some romance movie,” she said, “It’s really not that good.”

Sora smiled and limped over to the phone. “All right, I’ve got a coupon for…ramen or pizza.”

“I’ll take the ramen,” Piyomon said, “It’ll be easier to eat since I can’t really hold pizza…” She held up her wing, which was missing large sections.

Sora chuckled. “Well, as long as I don’t have to walk there…”

The Chosen and her partner digimon laughed. They forced their laughter to hide their fear and depression. Piyomon frowned. “D…did you call Jyou yet?”

“I keep getting the machine,” she replied, lifting up the phone, “Just…let’s try not to think about it, okay?”

Her partner nodded. “Yeah…okay…”

“”””” ””””””””””̶ 1;”””””””””” 221;

Maria was jarred awake when her Centarumon tripped over a stone that was lying in the road. The Latino girl yawned as she pushed herself into a sitting position on her partner’s back. “D…Did I fall asleep? I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Centarumon chuckled.

She gave a return smile even though he could not see her on his back. “I’m sorry, I just don’t seem to have any energy lately…”

“Your body is fighting as hard as it can against the virus,” he explained.

She frowned and looked down to her missing calves and frowned. “Well, I don’t think it’s doing a very good job.”

Her partner smiled and would have reached around to pat her head reassuringly if his arm had not been eaten away by the BD-2. “Where are we, anyway?” the girl asked.

“Somewhere in the Western Hemisphere, possibly near File Island.”

“What?” she gasped, “Y…you walked all this way from the shore line?”

“You wanted to follow Tatum and Sam, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Yes, but that means you’ve been walking since that Whamon dropped us off, and that was this morning! You must be so tired!”

“I’m fine, really,” he said, “Besides I believe time is of the essence…”

“But…if you over-exert yourself, then the virus might…”

Centarumon glanced to his right and saw more then a dozen buildings reaching to the sky. “Maybe we should stop for a moment.”

She nodded. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”

The centaur digimon trotted over the boundaries of the city. This town was like countless others, sick and dying, the buildings themselves were crumbling. “Where do you want to go?” Centarumon asked.

Maria glanced around and mentioned to a spot beneath one of the few remaining trees in the city. “Over there.”

Her partner obeyed and brought her to the shady spot. She climbed off of her partner’s back and landed gently on her rear. “I’m going to get some information,” he explained, “Don’t move, I will be right back.”

She sighed and watched as he trotted off. Despite being in the shade, the sun was still baking down on the city. She removed her jacket, revealing her blue t-shirt. She leaned back against the tree and stared out into the city street. Unlike Ylicis, this city actually appeared to still be functioning; merchants still had shops set up in the street, Chosen and digimon were walking, continuing their lives. Nearly all of them had some degree of BD-2, but not anywhere near the extent of Ylicis.

She suddenly noticed that a large group of Chosen were marching down the street in one direction. She got the attention of a blond man with a Guardromon. “Excuse me, where is everyone going?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “Something about a priestess healing people. Do you want to come?”

She froze. “Um, I’m just waiting for my partner.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I hope to see you there,” he smiled, and continued walking.

The Hispanic girl continued to watch more and more Chosen walk by, and Centarumon was not anywhere in sight. She should wait for him, but this could be her chance to find out more about Digitalatri. She thought for a moment, then began crawling after the crowd.

“Maria, is that you?”

She turned her head and saw a slightly older girl standing behind her. This girl was dressed in a simple yellow sundress and at her feet was a Plotmon, who was missing a large portion of his fur and tail. The girl had BD-2, but not as bad as some of the others: she was missing large portions of her skin, as there were red splotches over her arms and legs, and only a few bursts of black hair were on her head. The Latino girl strained her eyes and smiled. “Oh, Noriko, hi.”

The other girl knelt down. “Here, let me help you.”

Maria was about to protest, but the Japanese girl lifted her onto her back. “All right, where are you going?”

She mentioned after the crowd. “Where they’re going.”

Noriko tensed. “You’re…you’re going to…to see them…?”

“The cult took Tatum and Sam, I want to know what happened.”

“Well, they took Hiroshi, Keiko and Takashi,” the black-haired girl replied, “Say, where’s Centarumon?”

“He said he was going to ask around,” she said.

Noriko turned to her own partner. “Plotmon, go and find him.”

He nodded. “I’ll be back soon.”

The Japanese girl began to walk after the other Chosen. “How long has it been since you lost….you know…”

Maria sighed, “It’s been two months, but the virus has slowed down since it’s eaten most of the uninfected cells already.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I wish I could help somehow…”

“You’re infected too,” she said.

“I’m still okay, though,” she said, “It’s not like I….you know….”

“Know?”

“I…I haven’t lost any limbs. I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Maria answered, “It’s not your fault.” She glanced around when she noticed that they had left the boundaries of the city. “Where are we going anyway?”

“I think we’re going to their temple or church,” Noriko explained.

Maria smiled. “Maybe Tatum and Sam will be there!”

“And I hope Hiroshi, Keiko, and Takashi are there too,” the black-haired girl said, “But I’m afraid about what happened to them.”

“Me too,” Maria said, “There’s something very dark about the Digitalatri, something very….wrong….”

Noriko glanced to the girl on her back and saw that she was staring at something off to the side. She turned as well to see two people she did not expect to see. “Tatum, Sam?” She twisted her head as best she could to see Maria, who was still staring forward.

“Tatum…Sam…” the Hispanic girl said, “What…are you…?”

Her two fellow American Chosen grinned as they pointed over their shoulders. Maria and Noriko turned around and gasped loudly. They could see their partners, Centarumon and Plotmon being held by Archnemon and Mummymon.

Maria spun back. “Where did Archnemon and Mummymon come from?”

“They’re our partners,” Tatum responded, codly.

“What?” the Hispanic girl gasped, “Tatum? Sam? W…what are you talking about?”

“The priestess Miayag wants you to see the power of the Lone God of the Digital World,” Sam said, “And you don’t have a choice.”

“”””””””& #8221;”””””””””” ;

Catherine sighed to herself as she stared at her reflection. She was dressed in a black evening dress that flowed past her ankles. It was a low-cut dress, showing her shoulders and a fair amount of cleavage, which unfortunately, revealed more then a fair amount of the missing skin as a result of the BD-2. She handled that problem by covering her upper torso with a deep black scarf to match her dress, and make-up covered the splotches on her face, and the elbow-length gloves covered her missing fingers, but the major problem was her hair.

She stared in the mirror and adjusted the blond wig on her head. To Floramon it looked like her original hair had grown back, but the French girl could only stare at the wig, which to her, looked ridiculously fake. She growled and threw it to the ground,

“What’s wrong?” Floramon asked.

“I can’t do zis!” she gasped, “I can’t! I’m…I’m so ugly!”

Her partner walked over and placed a hand around her shoulder. “Come on, you’re not ugly.”

The French girl began to cry softly. “But….”

Her partner interrupted her. “There’s more to someone then just their looks,” she responded, “You never really had to worry about that before…”

“What do you mean by that?” she exclaimed.

Her partner flinched. “Um..I…w…what I mean is that…”

“I waz only concerned wit’ my looks before?” she shouted.

“No! No, I…I….”

The former blond girl sighed deeply. “Well, you’re right. I was.”

Floramon did not say anything as Catherine continued to speak.

“I just feel as though I am being punished…”

“It’s not your fault,” Floramon protested, “Don’t blame yourself because you were infected, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

The French girl fell onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. “I just wish I could turn back time.”

Her partner smiled and climbed onto the bed with her. She did not speak, only comforted her friend.

“””””””””& #8221;”””””””””” ;””””

When Taichi and the others finally arrived at the Digitalatri’s church, they cautiously peered through the missing stain-glass windows. The leader of the Digitalatri was standing before the assembled mess of infected Chosen and Digimon seated within the pews. “Is that her?” Taichi asked.

“Yeah,” Jyou said, “That’s Miayag.”

Hikari squinted her eyes as she focused on the strange prophetess. She was dressed in a light pink cape, and a white dress that showed more then a hint of rather large breasts. She had an attractive body for a young woman, while at the same time she had a touch of masculinity in her figure. She had messy brown hair that flowed around her shoulders, her eyes were light brown, and her face was pretty, but there was a tomboyish tint to it.

Hikari turned to her brother. “Taichi…?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

“What?” Yamato asked.

“There’s something familiar about her,” Taichi responded.

The blond man turned back to the prophetess and stared at her face. Something sparked in his mind. “Hey, you’re right, she does look familiar, but who?”

Jyou strained his eyes as he stared at her. “I don’t see anything…”

“Me either,” Gomamon X said.

Plotmon nodded. “No, there’s something….something….” Her voice trailed off. Hikari looked down to her and saw that she was staring directly at Miayag. The Digitalatri leader was moving her arms in the same manner as before. The younger Yagami sibling stared at the prophetess and felt a strange feeling overcome her as she watched the rhythmic movements of her arms.

“Hikari?” Taichi asked, “Hikari?”

She did not respond, so he pushed her in the shoulder lightly. She blinked a moment and shook her head. “W…what?”

“You zoned out,” he explained.

“I…I did?” she asked, placing a hand on her head.

Jyou’s eyes shot open. “What?” Gomamon X asked.

“It’s her!” he said, mentioning to Miayag, “Her dancing, it’s…mesmerizing…”

“What’s she doing now?” Gabumon X asked.

They turned their attention back to the Digialatri’s church. Miayag was in the midst of addressing the congregation. “If you wish to be saved, then you must embrace the God of the Digital World, The Being above all Beings, the Creator of All! You have bowed before the Sovereigns, and where are they now? They are false! Renounce your pagan beliefs and embrace the lone god, and be saved!”

She tilted her head down to stare at three Japanese children and their digimon partners kneeling before her. “Keiko, Takashi, Hiroshi, do you wish to be saved?”

Takashi agreed, while Hiroshi nodded slightly at Keiko. The slightly overweight girl stared at Miayag. “I speak for myself and Hiroshi, since he can’t, and we wish to be saved.”

She nodded. “Yes, and so you will, but to you the God of the Digital World shall give you the greatest power he has bestowed upon his followers. However, you must first prove your worth…” She mentioned to the altar behind her, where the congregation and the X-Chosen watching through the window, could now see that Noriko, Maria were tied and bound in the center; their digimon had been regressed to their Child forms, and all were being guarded by Tatum, Sam, and their new partners, Archnemon and Mummymon.

“Noriko?” Takashi gasped.

“That’s right,” Miayag grinned, “If you want to prove yourselves to receive the Digital God’s greatest gift, then you must kill them!”

Outside, Hikari gasped, and placed a hand over her mouth. Yamato growled and clenched his fists. “Gabumon, get ready to…”

“No, wait!” Taichi ordered.

The blond man stared at him. “What?”

“Taichi…” Agumon X said.

“We don’t know what they’re gonna do,” he said, “If you interfere without just cause then all you’re gonna do is make more trouble later on.”

Yamato stared at him. “Wow, you don’t sound like the Taichi I remember.”

“It’s all those political science classes,” Agumon X responded, “All they taught him was how to keep his own ass safe.”

Taichi slapped the back of the small dinosaur’s head.

Back inside of the church, Takashi, Noriko and Hiroshi stared in horror at Maria and especially Noriko, who was staring back at them in equal horror. “Takashi…” she gasped, staring at her young friend. She turned to the other girl. “Keiko…” They only turned away. When she turned to Hiroshi, the young man stared at her with unemotional eyes. He nodded at Keiko and Takashi, who nodded slowly as well.

Keiko struggled to speak. “W…we choose their deaths.”

Miayag smiled. “Excellent.” She walked forward and handed Hiroshi a sharp dagger. “Began…”

The Japanese young man stepped forward the dagger glistening in the evening light. He approached Noriko, who continued to plead with her eyes. Behind her, Centarumon’s child form, Patamon, and Noriko’s partner, Plotmon, stood defensively in front of Maria. Hiroshi’s eyes were cold as he moved the knife into position at Noriko’s neck.

Suddenly, a large section of the wall was blown apart as four Adult X-Digimon charged inside; Greymon X, Tailmon X, Tylomon X, and Garurumon X. “What is the meaning of this?” Miayag demanded.

Tatum and Sam ordered their digimon partners into battle. The members of the church scrambled to escape the crossfire between the X-Chosen and the Digitaltri warriors. While Fully Evolved digimon like Archnemon and Mummymon were stronger then an Adult digimon, four Adult digimon modified by the X-Antibody were more then a match for them, and they were quickly defeated.

Miayag stared at Hiroshi, Takashi and Keiko, then screamed at her partner. “Witchmon! Give them the orbs!”

“But,” Keiko said, “We didn’t…”

“No, but you have proven your worth, and that power is needed now.”

Socerymon marched over to them and handed the three Chosen glowing orbs. “Place these over your digivices,” he explained.

The three former Dark Seed Chosen did not question as they did as they were told. Their bodies began to quake in agony, while their digimon partners began to glow with bright light.

“Taichi!” Jyou warned, “They’ve accepted the power! Stop them before their partners evolve!”

Taichi nodded at the others. “Let’s go!”

They charged through the church, heading towards the three Chosen. Taichi and Greymon X were in the lead, and their focus was Hiroshi and his Penmon was glowing.

“Take Penmon out!” Taichi order.

The large dinosaur nodded and swung his claws at the small digimon; Penmon held up his flippers and Greymon X’s attack simply stopped. The dinosaur watched in horror as the blue penguin grew taller and lankier, turning into a human form. Black and white makeup appeared on his face and a sword appeared in his hands. With a swing of this sword, Greymon X was sent flying backwards, smashing into the other digimon.

“Piedmon!” Hikari shouted, “It’s…it’s Piedmon!”

Yamato swung his attention to Keiko and Takashi’s partners, who had evolved to Mugen Dramon and Pinocchimon respectively. “Oh crap…” he muttered.

Miayag laughed as she stood on the altar. “As you can see, you are quite outnumbered. Now, prepare for your execu…” She trailed off when she noticed the dagger that she had given Hiroshi was now pressed firmly against the front of her neck. She slowly glanced over her shoulder and saw Taichi standing behind her, holding the knife tightly. “Yagami!”

“Now listen, you little bitch,” he said, “You let us walk out of here with Noriko and Maria, and you keep your neck.”

“Don’t be a fool!” she laughed, “With three Final Level digimon and two Fully Evolved digimon, you’ll be dead before you can slice my skin.”

Taichi laughed. “I’m pretty fast. You’ll be dead before me. Wanna take that chance?”

Miayag swallowed hard. “Hiroshi, Keiko, Takashi, Tatum, Sam, stand down and let them pass.”

Her servants followed their orders. Taichi mentioned to his Chosen. “Jyou, Yamato, get Noriko and Maria.”

“Now that’s the Taichi I remember,” Yamato smiled as he untied Maria and her Patamon. He hoisted her onto his back, but she glanced at Tatum and Sam.

“Please, come with us.”

Tatum shook her head. “No. Now get out of here before Lady Miayag changes her mind.”

The young Hispanic girl held back her tears as Yamato carried her from the building. Taichi waited until the others had safely evacuated before he slowly forced Miayag to the front door. Once he was in position, he kicked the Digitalatri leader to the ground before charging out of the building.

Keiko and Takashi helped her to her feet, while Hiroshi was about to run after Taichi, but Miayag held him back. “Stop!”

He turned and gave her a questioning stare. “Let them go for now,” she said, rising to her feet, “They will be destroyed, when the wrath of the Digital God rains down upon them!”

To be continued…..