Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon: Apocalypse ❯ Book of Pestilence: Chapter 2 ( Chapter 5 )

Sometimes I curse my life as a Chosen. If that Digi-egg had never come out of my father’s computer, then I would never had been picked by the Digital World, no one would have thought I was crazy when I said I saw monsters, I wouldn’t have had to sacrifice so much of my life to save a world that was always in need of saving, and no one would have had their lives drastically changed because some world-conquering digimon wanted me dead.

Yes, Myotismon. He invaded Earth, almost completely destroyed my home of Odaiba, and killed thousands of people in the destruction, all this, because he wanted me. Taichi tells me that I can’t blame myself, I was too important to the continued survival of both worlds for Myotismon to get me. If I hadn’t of been there with the rest of the Chosen, the Dark Masters might have succeeded in using the Digital World to enter Earth. Of course, if I had never been a Chosen, I would have never met Tailmon, or Miyako, or Ken, or Iori…or Daisuke and Takeru…

My heart still hurts so much when I think of them; the blue-eyed, blond haired careful and cautious Takeru, and wild, passionate, courageous Daisuke; two people so different, and yet so close to my heart. I cared for them as much as I did Taichi, Tailmon, Agumon…they were my friends, and I wished that one of them could have become more. But that was before we grew up, that was before we started our adult lives, that was before the BD-2.

Takeru was d…dead. I watched with horror as the BD-2 continued to eat his body away. He was so strong, so full of life, and as the days and weeks rolled by, he grew so weak. I stood by his side and watched him day after day wither away, I was there when he finally left this world, I held his hand, felt him finally reach peace. I watched as he was lowered into the cold dark ground. I cried so long and hard, days and nights…and now…Yamato says that one of those cloak-wearing people, the one in yellow, the one who called himself Karetu, the Demon Hunter, he said he looked like Takeru! It…it can’t be! He can’t be Takeru! He…he just can’t…he can’t… The Book of Pestilence: Chapter 2

They say the city never sleeps, this is certainly true of major cities such as New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris. While many citizens of the latter city were very much awake, the inhabitants of a certain chateau in the city of Valenciennes in the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France were not sleeping either, having been awoken from their slumber around midnight by a series if intense screams and shrieks coming from one of the rooms.

The live-in servants came running in droves to the room, but they were pushed aside as an older man with a mustache of curly blond hair drove through them. He pushed to the door and forced it open, revealing a bedroom of a young woman. The owner of this bedroom was sitting in her king-sized bed, screaming as loudly as she could. A plant-creature sat at her side, fear overwhelming her face.

The man looked at the plant creature. “Floramon!”

She shook her head. “I…I don’t…she…she just started….”

The man grasped the young woman by the shoulders and began to shake her. “Catherine! Catherine!”

The young woman slowly stopped screaming but her eyes continued to stare blankly. He had to shake her again before she began to blink. She slowly turned to him. “P…Papa?” Before he could answer, she embraced him tightly.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“What happened?”

“I had a dream,” she said.”

“About what?” Floramon asked.

She hesitated for a moment. Her eyes opened wide. “What is it?” her father, Henri, asked.

“P…paper!” she gasped, pulling out of her father’s grip. She ran over to her desk and threw open the drawers until she found a stack of papers and a box of colored pencils. Floramon and Henri glanced at one another, then back at the young woman.

“Catherine?” Floramon asked.

She did answer, only began to draw feverously.

“”””””””R 21;””””””””””&# 8221;

The sun was just beginning to rise in Tokyo at that time, and Hikari was getting ready for another day of work. Plotmon X sat on her bed as the young woman silently buttoned up her pink blouse.

“Hikari?” her partner finally asked.

“What is it?” she responded, stepping into her modest-length white skirt, tucking the ends of the shirt inside before zipping up the back and securing it tightly. She then sat down at her makeup table and reached for her mascara brush.

“Do you want to talk about last night?”

She flinched slightly, almost dropping the brush. “W…what do you mean?”

“Taichi told us about it.”

The young woman finished applying her makeup, then rose to her feet, grabbing the suit jacket from where she had laid it on the bed. “There’s nothing really to talk about,” she replied, “Takeru’s body was there, right where it should be.”

“Taichi said you fainted.”

She flinched again, but only said, “I will see you tonight.” She walked out of her room and into the hall, passing by the kitchen on the way. Taichi was inside, eating a pasty while standing.

“You’re eating that for breakfast?” she asked, “I made you something…”

He shrugged. “That can be for dinner.”

“But…”

“It’s your big date tonight, right?” he asked with a smile, “And I don’t think you’d want me to kill Plotmon with my cooking.”

She sighed and shook her head with a slight smile. She slid on her high heels, threw her large bag over her shoulders, held a stack of papers under her arms in one hand, and opened the door with the other. “I’ll see you later, Oniichan.”

“Bye, Imouto,” he said, watching her close the door. He finished his pastry and walked into the living room where Agumon X was seated on the couch, watching television.

“Don’t you have school?” he asked.

“I’m leaving now, I just need to find my cellphone…”

His partner pointed to the coffee table in the center of the room. “There, and I think you got a message.”

He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the small screen. “I’ll see you later.” Once he exited the apartment, he placed the small phone to his ear to listen to his messages. He was more then slightly surprised to hear one from Sora, since he was not even certain she knew his number. She must have gotten it from Hikari. He felt his heart turn cold as he listened to what she had to say to him. He ran towards her aprtment.

“”””””””” ;””””””””””R 21;

Following the destruction of their church by the X-Chosen, the Digitalatri were camped in the shadow of a towering mountain. Their leader, the prophetess Chihi Miayag, addressed her congregation in the same rhythmic manner as before.

“My fellow Chosen,” she said, moving her hands and arms, “The all-powerful God of the Digital World has spoken to me. He is the all-powerful, he is the lord of all creation, and he has promised us the entire Digital World!”

Her followers looked on with awe and wonder. “Yes!” she smiled, “Yes, that is correct! This world was promised to us, promised to our ancestors, promised to the First Chosen! But the kingdom they carved from the chaos was taken from them! They were betrayed, defeated, annihilated by the great and ‘civilized’ northern empire of Cer! Those barbarians marched to Holy Digitalopolis and destroyed it, burnt that colossal, beautiful melody of architectural mastery to the ground! And what they did not destroy, they stole, like common thieves, and brought back with them to Ceria! The First Chosen were destroyed, but, my fellow believers, we will be the ones to reclaim their empire!”

Her followers cheered. Miayag smiled. “The first step on our holy mission my friends, is the acquisition of Ceria! The might of the former Cer Empire has long since fallen, and while their city has fallen to ruins, it may yet hold the greatest treasures stolen from our ancestors! We must take back those treasures, and claim that city! This, my friends, is our first battle for control of that which is rightfully ours, the entire Digital World!”

She turned to a group of young adults with digimon partners of various shapes and sizes. She smiled and addressed each one by name. “James Masters, Metalseadramon, Vicente Lobo, Skull Satanmon, Sam Anderson, Mummymon, Tatum Heany, Archnemon, Takashi Yusake, Mugen Dramon, Keiko Shingu, Pinocchimon, and Hiroshi Shibya, and Piedmon, to you the gifts of the Digital God have been bestowed and it is to you that I now give you this task. You will lead the charge against the city.”

They all nodded in unison. “Whatever you command,” Keiko said.

Miayag grinned and threw her arms into the air. “We will have victory, the God of the Digital World has promised us this! We will be the rulers of this world!”

“”””””””&# 8221;”””””””””” ”””

When Sora opened the door to her apartment, she was surprised to see a messy-haired young man standing in the hall. “Taichi…?”

He hesitated a moment before speaking. “H…hi Sora…”

The red-head blinked for a few moments. “W…what are you doing here?”

Taichi looked surprised. “Y…you called me…”

“I did? I called Hikari…”

“Hikari?” he gasped. He flipped open his cellphone and glanced at the larger screen. “Oh, did you call our home phone?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah…”

He smiled slightly. “We programmed the voice mail on the home phone to send messages to our cellphones. Hikari’s inbox must be full, that’s why it bounced to mine.”

She nodded. “Oh…” She shifted uncomfortably. “So…you…read it…?”

“Well, yeah, I thought it was mine…”

She nodded again. She noticed that Taichi was staring at her. “It’s on my left leg, if that’s what you’re looking for…”

His eyes darted to the bottom of her left leg, where her foot was all but gone, wrapped instead in thick white bandages. Sora waited another moment before sighing deeply. “And my left eye…”

His head darted back to her face. He had not seen it before with her hair hanging over her forehead, but he saw that she had another white bandage wrapped around her head, completely covering her left eye. He suddenly began to blush. “Oh, sorry…”

She did not respond for a moment, but then suddenly began to blush as well. “Oh, I’m sorry, please come in.”

“T…thank you,” he stuttered, walking inside. He turned around in place, viewing her entire apartment. “This is a nice place. I had to ask Hikari for the address…”

She smiled and hobbled over to the wall, where a pair of crutches where resting. Once they were firmly in place under her arm, she limped forward on her remaining foot. Taichi tensed, wanting to help her, but was afraid of insulting her capacities, especially since that may be what was keeping her mental state from collapsing. It also looked as though she had not been awake for long, as her hair was scraggily, and she was wearing a pair of tight black shorts and a tight fitting tank top. He tried not to stare at her while she made her way to the couch. After she sat down, she moaned.

“I’m sorry, do you want anything?”

He shook his head. “No, I…I already ate.” He hesitated a moment before speaking again. “Um…I’m sorry that you’re….”

“Infected with BD-2?” she asked, “Yeah, well, at least you don’t have to worry about that, right?”

He sighed. “You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”

She hesitated. “I…I’m sorry Taichi, I…I don’t know why….”

“No, it’s….” he looked away, “You’re right, I wasn’t there for any of you. After Koushiro and Daisuke died, I…I just couldn’t….You have every right to be angry at me….”

She shook her head. “I….I shouldn’t be angry, I…I just don’t know how to feel….”

“What do you mean?”

She sighed. “Taichi, I…I had gotten so used to you not being here, and….and now you’re suddenly in my life again….is it for good, or are you going to not talk to me for two years like before?”

He felt a pang in his heart, it was guilt. “Sora, I…I promise that I’m not going to leave again. I mean, with Digitalatri, and then that weird things with Takeru…”

“Takeru?” she blinked, “What…?”

He waved his hand. “I’ll tell you later….”

She nodded. “But Taichi, why did you leave in the first place?”

He sighed deeply. “Because of the BD-2,” he said, “Because of Koushiro and Daisuke. After they died…I just couldn’t...how was I going to save the Digital World, when I couldn’t even save my best friends? After that I didn’t even care about college, didn’t even care about the Digital World anymore.” He shook his head feverously, “It was selfish, I know.” He took another deep breath, “But then Hikari moved in with me, and her…”light” helped me over come it…” He grinned, “Like she always did…” He turned back to her. “But I’m not going to run from this anymore.”

Sora smiled warmly. But before she could speak, Taichi’s cellphone began to ring again. He cursed and said he forgot to turn it off, but when he looked at the screen, he gave a curious expression. “What the..?”

“What?” Sora asked.

“It’s a text message forwarded from Jyou’s inbox,” he said, “And it’s written…weird…”

“What do you mean?”

He cleared his throat and began to read the message. “You are looking information for Digitalatri. To come to Zeradza…” for information now right now. From Yuri Rutskoy…Who the hell is that?”

“Yuri?” Sora’s ears perked, “From Russia?”

Taichi thought for a minute. “Zeradza…that’s in the northern part of Server…I guess I’d better go…”

“Wait,” she said, “I’ll come too…”

“What? Sora, are you sure that….”

“That what?” she asked, reaching for her crutches, “Just because I have to use these now, you think I can’t help?”

“No!” he shouted, “No, it’s…it’s not that…I…I’m just….”

“What?”

He hesitated a moment, then said. “All right…”

She grinned. “Just let me shower and change. I’ll only be a minute.” She used her crutches to march into the bathroom.

“Where’s Piyomon?” he suddenly asked.

“Sleeping,” she said, “I’ll wake her up after I’m done.”

He nodded and watched her enter her bathroom and close the door. Taichi shifted on his feet and scratched the back of his head. He fell down on the couch and ran his hands over his face. “Oh man…”

He glanced at the clock on the wall. Ten o’clock… He grabbed his cellphone and quickly dialed a familiar number.

“””””””””& #8221;””””

Hikari had been sitting at her desk in her classroom when she heard the familiar sound of her cellphone ringing. She dug through her purse before she pulled out her pink phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, Hikari, it’s Taichi.”

“Taichi, hi.”

“Um, do you have a few minutes? It’s your break time, right?”

She smiled slightly. “Free period, Oniichan, and yes, the kids are at P.E. right now. So, what’s up?”

“Um…do you know that you’re voice mail inbox is full?”

“It is?”

“Yeah, I got another message for you. It was from Sora. S…she has BD-2…”

Hikari felt her heart turn cold. “Oh no…not another one….”

Taichi took a deep breath. “Yeah, but…um…Yuri, the Chosen from Russia, said he had information about Digitalatri. I’m going to go there…”

“Don’t you have class?”

“This is more important. I’m going to go there, but Sora wants to go too and I don’t know if I should let her, but I’m afraid that if I don’t….”

“What?”

“I don’t want to tell her she can’t do something, what if that just makes this worse? But I don’t want her to get hurt.”

Hikari was silent for a moment. “How do you feel about her?”

“What?”

“Um…you know, how do you see her?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed deeply, “You know, I had such a big crush on her when we were in junior high school, but after she and Yamato started going out, I felt like the whole world came to an end. It was like my heart was so broken, then it’d never heal. But, when they broke up four years later, I didn’t care. I mean, I was sorry that it happened, but I didn’t have any deeper feelings towards her other then friendship…”

“I think it’s called being a teenager, Taichi,” Hikari responded, “Teenagers thinks the world rises and sets on them, everything is world altering, especially when it comes to relationships. Sora was your first crush, but even if the two of you had been dating, I think by high school, you would have broken up anyway. The only reason you felt the way you did, is because it’s the same way any teenager would have felt. You just got over her, that’s all…”

He snorted. “Yeah, well, I got so over her, that during high school we drifted apart, and I soon as I moved out of Odabia, I didn’t even talk to her. I want to be back in her life….”

“Then take this chance,” she said.

“So, you want me to take her with me?”

“It’s up to you, Taichi.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay, thanks.”

“So about Yuri, do you want me to come?”

“No, you’re at work…”

She giggled slightly. “I meant afterwards.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m just gonna see what he has to tell me. We’ll probably be back right away.” He paused for a moment, “Maybe I’ll bring Maria….”

“Why?”

“Well, Tatum and Sam are with Digitalatri now, maybe she can help somehow. Besides, it’ll be easer to have her there, then having to come back to get her.”

“Is that the real reason?” she asked.

“O…of course. Um…and this way you’ll have the apartment to yourself after your date…”

“Thank you Taichi,” she said, “But it’s your apartment…”

“No, it’s both of ours, and I’ll give you some time.”

“Thank you Taichi,” she said again.

He hesitated for a minute. “Um, do you want to talk about last night?”

She flinched slightly as her mind flashed her memories of what had occurred the night before….

Taichi looked to the gravesite, where the cemetery workers were pulling a brown casket from the ground. “But are you sure this is the right way?”

“I have to know,” Yamato said, “I watched my younger brother die from the Second Black Death, I need to know if that was real.”

Taichi nodded, and looked past him to where his sister was standing, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. He walked past Yamato and placed a hand on her shoulder. She smiled slightly at him. “Are you okay?”

She hesitated. “I…I don’t know. How can Takeru be alive? It…it can’t be!”

The workers pulled the casket over to where the Chosen were standing. Hikari tensed up, and Taichi hugged her. “You don’t have to watch.”

“Yes I do,” she said.

Yamato nodded silently at the cemetery workers. They each grasped a side of the coffin lid and slowly moved it aside, allowing the contents to be seen. Yamto’s body tensed, and Hikari gasped in horror, twisting her head away to burry it in Taichi’s chest. She could not bear the sight of the inside of the coffin. For there lay the body of Takeru Takashi. The process of decomposition had already begun, leaving his skin and muscles a mess of dead tissue.

Hikari stared at the empty vessel laying peacefully before her. Memories of Takeru suddenly assailed her every senses. She felt his presence all around her, overwhelming her. The world began to spin and her head suddenly became very heavy. She called out Takeru’s name before her vision turned to black.

“Hikari?”

She blinked a few times. She was in her classroom, sitting at her desk, speaking to her brother.

“Hikari?”

“I…I’m sorry, Taichi, what?”

“I said are you okay?”

“Yeah…I’m okay. I…I guess seeing Takeru…lying like that in the coffin…” Tears began to form in her eyes, but she pushed them back, “But…at least we know he’s not a zombie or something like that.”

“Yeah,” Taichi said, “But what the hell is Karetu then?”

“I don’t know,” she said, “and I don’t think I want to know.”

“I’d better go,” he said, “Sora’s coming out of the shower.”

Hikari blinked. “What?”

“It’s not what you think. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye Oniichan,” she said, turning her phone off.

“””””””””R 21;””””

Taichi had just put his phone in his pocket when Sora came back into the living room with Piyomon trailing behind her. She was dressed in a spaghetti-strap blue dress that hung to her curves perfectly. He was staring at her, lost in her entire being before Piyomon’s voice broke the spell.

“Taichi, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Oh, you too…”

She looked around. “Is Agumon here?”

“No,” he said, “We have to go get him.”

The pink bird sighed in annoyance. “I guess it’s back to being a backpack again.” She fluttered up to Sora’s shoulders and locked her wings around her neck.

Taichi blinked. “You pretend she’s your backpack?”

Sora shrugged. “Hey, I’m a girl, remember? It’s not as weird as if you carried Agumon around like that.”

Taichi chuckled. “I guess you’re right.” He opened the door for them, and they exited the apartment. “Oh, by the way, Maria’s gonna come with us too.”

“Maria?” Sora gasped, “Who the hell is Maria?”

“”””””””&# 8221;””””””

Yamato groaned loudly as he rubbed his forehead. “Oh man, my head….” He blinked a few times, staring at his surroundings. “I’m hung over, but at least I’m hung over in my own apartment.”

He threw his sheets off and put his feet on the ground. It took him a few times before he was able to stand, and he limped into the hall, stepping over Gabumon X, who was snoring loudly on the ground. He was half-way to the kitchen before he realized that someone was in the kitchen, clamoring with pots and pans. He thought he had brought someone home with him last night in his drunken stupor. “Oh shit.”

He took a deep breath, hoping the girl would not kill him when he told her he did not even remember her name. He stepped into the kitchen and saw a girl with short black hair making eggs in one of the frying pans. She turned to him and smiled. “Good morning, Yamato.”

Noriko! That was right, he had offered her part of his apartment after they had rescued her and Maria from Digitalatri.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

“Um…I guess so.”

Noriko smiled and handed him a glass filled with a strange concoction of multicolored liquid. “Here, this might help with the hangover.”

“Oh, I guess you saw me then?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but don’t worry about it, my parents liked to hit the sauce a little too hard. I’m used to it. This was my father’s secret recipe.”

“Thank you,” he said, sipping the drink. He glanced into the living room and blinked in awe. “Oh no, you didn’t…clean, did you?”

“Well, I just put the trash in the trash can and the clothes in the hamper…”

“I have a hamper?” he asked, “And a trash can?”

She nodded. “I found them holding up the top of your kitchen table.”

He glanced at the table, which was still hovering a few feet over the floor. “So then how…?”

“The table legs were in your closet, with your vacuum…still in the box…”

He rubbed his eyes. “All right…all right, big surprise, the single, 24-year-old man is a slob.”

Noriko handed him a plate of eggs and rice. “Here.”

“You didn’t have to…”

“You let me stay here, this is the least I can do.”

“Thanks,” he said, sitting down.

Noriko returned the smile and began to clean up the kitchen. As she did, the telephone on the wall began to ring. Yamato rose to get it, but she reached it first. “Hello, Ishida resid….Excuse me? I…I don’t….”

Yamato gave her a questioning expression. She put her hand over the transmitter end of the phone. “I don’t understand what they’re saying?”

“You don’t?”

“It’s not Japanese or Chinese, so no.” She handed him the phone and he put it to his ear.

“Hello…Oh, Bonjour. Bonjour monsieur Rupert. Catherine ? Elle avait des rêves surnaturels ? Oui, je serai là aussitôt que je peux. Au revoir.” As soon as he put the phone back, he ran into his room.

“Who was that?” Noriko asked, running after him.

“Henri Rupert!” he shouted through his closed door.

“Who?”

“Catherine’s father.”

“Who’s Catherine?”

“A Chosen from France. She had some weird dreams last night, and her father thinks I could help.”

“You?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty shaken up about the whole thing. He asks her about it, but she just says it has to do with the Digital World.”

“So why did he call you?”

“During the Christmas invasion, Takeru was in France. He met Catherine and introduced her to me. We’ve been in touch ever since.”

“Really?” she asked as he opened the door.

“Yeah,” he answered, now fully dressed.

“So that’s how you learned French?”

“My mother’s French,” he responded, lightly pushing Gabumon X with his foot.

The short-haired girl hesitated. “Um…can I come too?”

“What?”

“I…I’ve never really been anywhere except for Japan and China. And I’ve always wanted to see Europe and America…”

He shrugged. “Yeah, why not?”

She grinned. “Thanks.”

The blond man sighed in annoyance as he pushed Gabumon X harder. “Gabumon, wake up!”

“”””””””̶ 1;””””””

Taichi kicked open the door and marched inside, carrying Maria on his back. Sora came through a moment later, leaning on her crutches. Piyomon marched in a moment later, and Agumon X was last, with Maria’s Patamon resting on his head. Taichi glanced around at the tavern, which looked similar to a medieval pub, hosting a variety of Chosen and their digimon partners. Many of them had some degree of BD-2, but there were quite a few that appeared to be healthy. “This is a pretty deserted town,” Taichi commented. He mentioned to the bar. “Come on.

The small group walked over to the bartender. “Excuse me…” he began, but the bartender only looked at him strangely. Taichi closed his eyes hard for a moment. “Uh, Zdravstvuite…Yuri Rutskoy..?”

The young bartender nodded and shouted to the back room in Russian. A reply was heard echoing through the halls a moment later. The bartender mentioned to the room. Taichi nodded. “Spasibo”

As they walked through the halls, Sora, Maria and their partners exclaimed at the same time, “You speak Russian?”

“He had to learn,” Agumon X said.

“He did?” Sora asked.

“Yes,” he nodded, “For my college major, I needed to take at least the introductory courses to the major languages of the United Nations.”

“Really?” Piyomon gasped, “How…how many…?”

Taichi glanced to the ceiling and began to count on his fingers, “Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanish.”

“You can speak all those languages?” Maria gasped, her eyes opened wide.

Taichi chuckled. “No, I only have to take the introductory courses. So I can say hello, thank you, goodbye, surrender now or we’ll blow up your country, you know, stuff like that…”

The Latino girl chuckled slightly, then frowned, “T..that’s not funny…”

Sora sighed. “That’s just Taichi’s warped sense of humor.”

“Hey,” Agumon X protested, “I thought it was funny.”

“You would…” Piyomon muttered.

The group continued through the hall until they reached a wooden door. Taichi knocked and immediately the door flew open to reveal a blond-haired young man on the other side. He was dressed in a blue t-shirt and thick jeans. He grinned and threw his arms into the air. “Taichi, welcome my friend! Welcome!”

“Hi Yuri,” he said, stepping inside, “I don’t think you’ve met, but the girl on my back is Maria. And I think you know Sora and Piyomon…”

He looked past Taichi and saw the redheaded young woman smiling at him. “Ah, Sora! Piyomon, welcome to Zeradza.” He noticed Sora’s crutches and frowned. “Oh no, you also have BD-2?”

She blinked. “Also?”

He frowned and mentioned inside the room. They entered and saw a young woman with short blond hair, dressed in a sleeveless red turtleneck, a matching skirt, and a thick bandage wrapped around her eyes. She was carrying a long, metal stick, which she used to tap the floor. At her side was a large blue penguin.

Sora felt her heart sink. “Anna?”

The woman smiled. “Sora, good to have you here once again.”

Sora limped over. “Oh my god, you’re...t-the BD-2 took your eyes, didn’t it?”

She nodded. “Yes, that is true.”

“I’m so sorry!”

She smiled. “You need not be. You have it too, right?”

“But…” She placed a hand over her left eye, which was bandaged as well.

Taichi stared at her, worry clearly visible in his eyes. He placed Maria down in one of the chairs. “Uh, Yuri, you said you had information about Digitalatri?”

He frowned and handed him a piece of paper, which he unfolded and read aloud, “Attention representatives of Nightsun, we of the Digitalatri, lay claim to your city. If you do not had over the city and vacate within twelve hours, we will use force. Chihi Miayag.”

“We received that early this morning.”

“Wait,” he said, “What’s Nightsun?”

“It’s a city far to the north,” Anna answered, “Very far.”

“So why is it called Nightsun?” Maria’s Patamon asked.

“Because it is so far to the north that the sun does not set for half of the year,” she answered, “It is a very old city.”

“How old?” Maria asked.

“Ancient,” she responded, “The buildings are made of a very old stone that does not exist anywhere else in the Digital World anymore. It is a dying city in the middle of a wasteland, why does Digitalatri want it?”

Taichi rubbed his chin. “How many people are living there?”

“We have a Chosen population of over 400, not counting their partners.”

“That’s 800,” Taichi said.

Yuri nodded. “That is the reason we have called you. For many of these Chosen, it is their home, we cannot hand it over.”

Taichi was pacing the floor. “How many of those Chosen can actually fight?”

“Many of them are…well enough. I do not know how it is possible, but Jyou believes that because of the cold temperature, the BD-2 virus moves much slower.”

Sora turned to Maria. “We should move up here, huh?”

The younger girl laughed slightly.

“All right,” Taichi said, “Let’s at least see what kind of army you have. I’ll call Yamato and tell him to get up here as soon as he can.”

“What about Hikari?” Sora asked.

“She has a date!” Patamon cheered.

“Really?” Sora asked, “With who?”

“Some other teacher she met…” Agumon X said.

“If we are to go, we had better leave now,” Yuri said, “There is no Digital Gate there, so we must travel north to reach it.” He walked to the table, which contained a dozen thick parkas. “You will need these.”

After they dressed in the thick coats, Taichi turned to Yuri. “How are we going to get there? Agumon is the only one who can evolve….”

He smiled and opened another door in the rear of the room, this one leading to the outside of the building. Standing in the snow was a group of large elephant-like creatures. “Mammon express!”

“””””””” ””””””””””̶ 1;”””

Noriko’s eyes were wide with delight as she surveyed the streets of Valenciennes. “Wow, this is…beautiful!”

Yamato shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”

She gave him an odd expression. “I’ve been here too many times already,” he said.

“So that’s how you knew which Digital Gates to take, huh?” she asked with a slight smile.

He nodded. “Yup. Now…” He started to look around at his immediate surroundings. They had exited from the Digital Gate in front of an electronics store displaying a computer in the window. Yamato looked at the street names. “Okay, Catherine’s house should be…” He pointed down a street, “Down this one. Come on.”

They continued through the streets, much to Noriko’s amusement, before they arrived at a very large house nestled in a grass-covered field. Yamato knocked on the door and it was opened a moment later by a woman wearing a maid’s outfit. “Uh, Bonjour. Mon nom est Yamato Ishida, je dois ici voir monsieur Rupert et Catherine.”

She nodded. “Oui, entrez s'il vous plait.”

Yamato nodded and walked inside, followed by Noriko and their partners. The maid walked over to a phone attached to the wall next to the door. She put it to her head and pressed one of the buttons. “Catherine, Yamato Ishida est ici….Oui…” She turned to them. “Suivez-moi s'il vous plait.”

Yamato nodded and began to follow her. Noriko and the digimon quickly ran to keep up. The maid led them to the top floor, past red carpets, walls filled with elegant paintings, and antiques resting on pedestals. Noriko whispered into Yamato’s ear. “How are they so rich?”

“You don’t need to whisper,” he said, “Only Catherine speaks Japanese.”

“Oh, uh….how are they so rich?”

“Her father is a major figure in France’s politics. I don’t know how, but her mother’s an artist and art dealer, and Catherine was a teen model, before the BD-2.”

“Oh, she has it too?”

Yamato nodded. “Yeah.”

Noriko was silent as the maid led them to a door at the end of the hall. She knocked once, and a female voice replied. “Vous pouvez entrer.”

The maid entered and mentioned to the group of Japanese Chosen. “Yamato Ishida, Mademoiselle.”

A young woman with curly blond hair and wearing a white t-shirt, a green tank top and a light green, ankle-length skirt walked over to them from behind a dark-stained desk. She hugged Yamato tightly and kissed him on the cheek. “Ah, Monsieur Ishida comment allez-vous?”

The blond young man smiled and mentioned to Noriko. “This is Noriko Kawada.”

Catherine looked at her and smile. “Ah, you have the BD-2?”

Noriko sighed. “Yes.”

The French woman smiled slightly. “Then maybe I do not need zis…” She reached at the top of her hair and pulled it completely off, revealing it to be nothing but a wig. She chuckled. “It does become itchy.”

“What did you want to see me about?” Yamato asked.

Catherine’s smile faded. “Oui.” She brought them over to the desk, where a series of drawings were resting. “Zis iz what I dreamed of last night. Ze images were burning so deeply into my mind zat I could not rest until zey were on paper.”

The two Japanese Chosen stared at the drawings. “What do they mean?” Noriko asked.

Catherine shrugged. “I do not know.”

There was a multitude of different images: one displayed a woman holding a strange staff, a group of seven beings of multiple colors with strange symbols floating above their heads, two figures, one male and one female, standing back to back with words coming out of their mouths, and another image of a supreme dark shadow battling a supreme white mist. Every picture gave off an, evil, foreboding feel.

Noriko stared at Yamato with wide eyes, while Yamato swallowed hard. “Oh man…”

“””””””̶ 1;”””””””””” 221;”””

Taichi’s group was gripping the back of their Mammon riders as they charged across the snow-covered ground. Taichi, Yuri, and their partners were on one, while the girls and their partners rode another. Sora and Anna were chattering like two old friends, while Maria added her own comments every few minutes. Taichi and Yuri tried to listen to the conversations, but tried not to make it appear that they were listening.

“How are you holding up?” Sora asked.

Anna smiled. “Well.”

“You don’t have to lie you know,” the redhead said.

“It is tough,” Anna said.

She sighed. “I’m…I’m just so sorry….”

“For what?” she asked.

“Um..y…you know….”

“Because I’m now blind, you believe that I’m helpless?”

“No!” she gasped, “I…I mean…”

Anna smiled. “I may not have my sight, but that does not mean that I can no longer help save this world.”

“I’m sorry,” Sora said, “I didn’t mean to…”

Her smiled grew. “I believe that Yuri and Taichi are listening.”

The redhead shot her head to the other Mammon and saw the two young males blush and turn away. “How did you know that?”

“I could no longer here them talking,” she responded.

Maria stared at the Russian woman for a moment before speaking. “You like him, don’t you?”

“Yeah, she does,” her Penmon added.

The blond girl began to shout at him in Russian, and he replied in kind. They continued like this for five minutes before Maria coughed. “Excuse me…”

The two suddenly remembered that they were not alone, and both began to blush. “Um,” Sora said, “About Yuri…”

She sighed. “Our relationship is…complicated. Ever since Lola passed on, he has become…protective.”

“Yeah,” Sora said, glancing away, “I know what that’s like…”

Anna was about to question her, but she gasped loudly. She shouted to Yuri in Russian, and he ordered his Kokuwamon X to evolve to Kuwagamon X, who managed to use his wings to create a massive wind storm that deflected an energy blast.

“What the hell?” Taichi gasped.

“Someone is attacking!” Anna shouted, “I could hear and feel the energy coming this way!”

“Who?” Agumon X shouted.

He was answered when a beam of purple light shot from the heavens and exploded into the ground before them, sending up a wave of snow into the air. Two figure were standing in the crater of snow; one was dressed in a purple cloak while the other had the appearance of an older man wearing a multicolored robe, a long beard, and carrying a staff. The figure in the purple cloak’s face was hidden by the shadows of his hood.

The Chosen Children stood in awe. “Who...who is that?” Sora asked, Maria poking around from behind her back.

“I’ve seen him before,” Taichi responded, “With six others.”

“You remember, huh?” he laughed, “Glad to hear it.”

“What do you want?” the messy-haired young man demanded.

“I have come for one among you,” he said, “And she is coming with me.”

“Who?” Taichi demanded.

“You’re just gonna have to figure that out for yourself.”

“Taichi,” Yuri said, “We don’t have time for this…”

“He’s right,” Agumon X said, “We’ve got to organize Nightsun’s armies before Digitalatri attacks.”

Taichi glanced over at the females riding on the other Mammon and frowned. An unfortunate symptom of BD-2 was the lost of the ability to evolve. If Maria had not returned to Earth, then her Patamon would still be in his Adult form of Centarumon, now neither he, Piyomon or Anna’s Penmon could evolve. It would be Greymon X, Yuri’s Kuwagamon X and the two Mammons against the purple-wearer. It would have to be enough.

He looked back at stared at the enemy. “We don’t have time. Get out of the way, or we’re going to go through you!”

He chuckled. “Then do it.”

Taichi knelt down to whisper in to the ear of the Mammon that he was riding atop. “Can you help us?”

“Of course,” he responded, “Just tell me what you want me to do.”

“Greymon X and Kuwagamon X are going to lead the attack, just act as backup.”

He nodded. “Understood.”

Taichi reached for his digivice and mentioned to Agumon. “Ready?”

He nodded. “Yup! Agumon X evolve to Greymon X!”

Taichi watched his partner lumber in front of the Mammon and stood beside Kuwagamon X. “Then let’s go!” he said, staring at the digimon behind the cloak-wearer.

The digimon crackled with laughter. “I’m afraid I’m not fighting.”

Kuwagamon X blinked. “You’re not?”

The purple-wearer laughed. “We have orders from higher up.”

Taichi raised an eyebrow. “That guy in the orange cloak, he’s in charge, right?”

He did not answer.

“Get on with it already!” Yuri shouted, “We don’t have time for this!”

“Too true,” he responded. “Barbamon!”

The digimon waved his hands and another burst of purple light exploded before them, revealing another towering figure, this one a large black dinosaur. “Dark Tyrannomon?” The Chosen and their partners gasped in awe. The summoned-monster slammed his head into Greymon X’s stomach, then swung him into Kuwagamon X, knocking them to the side.

“Get him, Mammon!” Taichi ordered.

The Mammon pointed his snout at the dark dinosaur and fired a breath of cold steam. “Tundra Breath!”

Dark Tyrannomon jumped out of the way and expunged a blast of fire at the second Mammon, which was carrying the BD-2 infected girls and their partners. Kuwagamon X leapt in front of the attack and batted it aside with his arm. He shot forward to head-butt the Dark Tyrannomon, which sent him tumbling backwards. Greymon X swung his tail around, smacking the other dinosaur in the face. Dark Tyrannomon pushed them aside and fired another fire blast at the young women, this one halted by the Mammom they were riding.

“It’s the girls!” Taichi shouted, “He wants one of….” He trailed off as he thought of what Yamato said the mysterious Karetu was after, Lynna Jeffry.

Kuwagamon X shot in from the sky, heading towards Dark Tyrannomon’s back. Unfortunately, the evil dinosaur spun around at the last second, shooting his fire attack, striking the large beetle in the eyes. He began to flutter around, unknowingly hitting Greymon X. Dark Tyrannomon ran towards the young women once more. The Mammon they were riding on and the Mammon Taichi and Yuri were riding on both attacked, firing glowing blades from their tusks, “Tusk Strikes!”

Dark Tyrannomon fell to his side and the two glowing tusk flew over top of him where they continued on and smashed into each other. Taichi and Yuri’s Mammon managed to stay on his feet, but the two male Chosen were flung from his back and slammed into the snow. The women’s Mammon was thrown to the ground, throwing them onto the ground as well. The Dark Tyrannomon charged over to them. Maria stared with horror as she leaned forward on her arms, frozen in fear. With her crutches lost somewhere in the snow, Sora had to crawl over to where Maria was and threw herself in front of her.

Despite her brave front before, Anna was now completely disoriented. She tried to calm herself, and take in her surroundings by using her sense of hearing to place where her enemy was located. That did not tell her where the Dark Tyrannomon was, it was Sora and Maria screaming to her to roll out of the way. She was soon able to determine exactly from what direction the dinosaur was coming due to the ground shaking. Her heart was gripped with fear, but this fear was replaced with another feeling, a feeling that grew and grew, eventually exploded from her body.

The others stared in awe as Anna’s body was lifted into the air, her body radiating with dark blue light. This same light struck her Penmon, and he too, began to glow with light. “Penmon evolve to Unimon!”

Anna was aware that her partner had evolved through their connection, but she still gasped in confusion. “U…Unimon?”

“Da!” he grinned, trotting over to where she was so she could climb onto his back.

The others were still in awe. “He evolved,” Patamon said.

“It was that weird light from Anna,” Piyomon responded.

Taichi and Yuri managed to climb back to their feet. “Greymon!” he shouted.

“Kuwagamon!” Yuri screamed.

The two X-digimon leapt to attention as they stared at Dark Tyrannomon. Anna and Unimon joined them a moment later. The black dinosaur roared and charged forward. Unimon shot forward and began to encircle him. His eyes focused on the unicorn, leaving him open for Greymon X’s own fire attack, which struck the other dinosaur in the chest with such force that it sent him tumbling backwards. Kuwagamon X used his razor sharp mandibles to grip the sides of Dark Tyrannomon, squeezing as tight as he could, tearing the dinosaur in half. He vanished a moment later.

The figure in the purple cloak began to clap. “Excellent work. Just as I suspected.”

Taichi turned to him. “What are you talking about? Is this still part of you damn experiment?”

He shrugged. “Yes, I suppose it is.” He stared at each of the Chosen and their partners. “You’re wondering who I am, aren’t you?”

“The thought crossed our minds,” Sora spat.

The figure chuckled and reached for the hoods of his cloak and pulled it down, revealing his face. The Chosen were stunned into silence. The hair was bluish black, and he was slightly taller, but the face was that of the deceased Chosen Koushiro Izumi.

“What the f…?” Taichi managed to say.

“Just like Takeru!” Greymon X said.

The figure bowed slightly. “I am Shiokuro, the Demon Scientist and this is my partner, Barbamon. Chosen, we shall meet again…”

“No!” Taichi shouted, “I want answers!”

“Answers?” he asked, “You think I’m giving you answers? Ha! What I know is for me and me alone. It’s mine, all mine, and you’re not getting it!”

Taichi was seething with anger. “You son of a bitch!”

Shiokuro only grinned as he and his partner vanished in a burst of purple light.

“””””””””&# 8221;”””””””””” ””””””””””

N oriko had wanted to sightsee, and Catherine agreed to be her tour guide. Yamato decided to trail along, as did their digimon partners. The French girl had donned her blond wig to travel outside, even though Yamato figure that people would be staring more at their digimon partners then at the fact that she was bald. Yet he figured that her confidence was teetering, so he said nothing. She did not even seem worried about her strange dreams anymore. Was it because he was there, or just because someone was there? He knew that she had some feelings for Taichi and Takeru, but was that the only reason she like him?

He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. “Mom was right, I do think about girls too much.”

Gabumon X glanced up at him. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Noriko and Catherine were chattering loudly with their partners. Yamato hung in the back, staring carefully at them. “Which one are you looking at?”

He twisted to his partner. “What?”

He shifted. “I…I was just wondering which one you were looking at, because…then I might be able to…ask one of their partners out…”

The young man chuckled. “Really?”

He blushed and turned away. “Yeah well…”

Yamato reached over to place his hand on his partner’s back when he heard Noriko call out to him. He turned towards her and gasped. Standing a few feet in front of Catherine and Noriko was a familiar young man draped in a yellow cloak. His hood was removed this time, and his partner, Beelzebubmon, stood behind, arms crossed. Behind them, a large crowd of people were staring, a safe distance behind. “Karetu!” Yamato and Gabumon X shouted.

Catherine and Noriko both were staring with wide eyes at the man’s face. “T…Takeru?” Catherine gasped, “Mon Dieu! Takeru, Vous êtes morts! Comment pouvez-vous être ici?”

Yamato ran in front of her. “It’s not Takeru,” he said, narrowing his eyes at his enemy, “It’s….something else…”

Karetu only smirked. “Glad to see that you remember me.”

“What do you want?”

“I’ve got orders to destroy you, nothing personal…”

Yamato nodded at Gabumon X. The Child digimon trotted forward, evolving to Garurumon X. The large canine glared at Beelzebubmon. “All right, let’s go.”

The demon smirked and shook his head. “It ain’t gonna be me.”

Yamato blinked. “What?”

Karetu sighed in annoyance. “The boss wants us to back off this time.” He held up his digivice, sending a beam of yellow light into the air that arced and smashed into the ground, sending up a geyser of light. When it faded, a familiar digimon was standing before them, a green creature with long tusks attached from his shoulders. “I’m sure you remember Tuskmon?” he asked.

Neither Yamato nor his partner answered. “All right,” Karetu said, “Go ahead, Tuskmon, tear them apart.”

The shoulder-horned digimon roared, sending the people in the area screaming from the battlefield. Tuskmon charged forward. “Slamming Tusks!”

Garurumon X attempted to leap out of the way, but the green-skinned digimon jabbed him in the side. Yamato called out his partner’s name as the large canine roared in pain. He pointed his mouth at the direction of his opponent and sent out a blast of blue energy. “Fox Fire!”

The energy blast struck the digimon, freeing him from Garurumon X’s shoulders. The large canine pushed forward on his powerful hind legs, tackling Tuskmon onto the ground. He began to jab at him with his powerful teeth, attempting to tear away at the green digimon’s chest. The tusk-shoulder digimon battled him aside with a swipe of his tail. Once Garurumon X was on his side, Tuskmon once again jabbed his shoulder-based horns into the wolf’s side, causing him to scream.

“Garurumon!” Yamato shouted.

“Allergy Shower!”

“Puppy Howling!”

Tuskmon glanced to the side as Floramon and Plotmon’s combined attack struck him in the side. He was completely unharmed.

He snarled as he glared at the two Child digimon. He raised one of his legs and slammed it down with such force that it caused the ground to shake, sending the Child digimon and their partners to the ground. Catherine climbed to her feet ran to Floramon, who was struggling to stand. She hugged her partner tightly and continued to watch in horror as Tuskmon lifted Garurumon X with his shoulder-horns and began to punch him with his fists. She turned to Karetu. He looked like Takeru, except for his bowl-cut brown hair, but his smile was Takeru’s, a sinister, evil smile. Yamato said it was not him, but his face…it looked so much like him…

Catherine began to feel a strange feeling welling up inside her. Her body began to exploded with bright white light, enveloping the battlefield. Yamato twisted to her. “That’s what happened to that Lynna girl…”

Floramon felt a sudden impulse of energy. “Floramon evolve to Kiwimon!”

“She…evolved…” Plotmon gasped, “But how? The BD-2…she shouldn’t be able to!”

“Kiwimon…” Catherine gasped, “I am zo happy you’re back...”

Karetu cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, I think you’ve forgotten about this battle! Tuskmon!”

The green-skinned digimon grinned as Garurumon X was hanging from his shoulder horns. “Kiwimon!” Catherine shouted, “Free Garurumon X!”

She opened her mouth and fired a stream of bird-shaped daggers from at Tuskmon’s face. “Pummel Peck!”

The green-skinned creature batted the attack away with his muscular arm.

“Puppy Howling!”

He turned his head in the other direction and watched as Plotmon screamed a long howl. Tuskmon remained unharmed, but it distracted him enough for Kiwimon to fire her attack again. When he spun around at the last second, two of her bird-shaped dagger struck the green creature in the eyes. He swung his body around in pain, jarring Garurumon X free.

“Garurumon, are you okay?” Yamato shouted as his canine partner fell onto his side, “Garurumon!”

Tuskmon was still seething with pain as he ripped the daggers from his eyes. He glared at Kiwimon, who stood defensively in front of Catherine, but his eyes drifted to Garurumon X, who was still lying on the ground, moaning in pain. He chuckled evilly and charged at the fallen canine, his fists clenched and ready. Garurumon X suddenly twisted his head fired a massive stream of blue flame. “Fox Fire!” At such a close range, the canine’s attack easily tore through the green digimon stomach, ripping him apart from within. Once his enemy was gone, Garurumon X’s head fell to the ground.

Yamato ran to his side while the others turned to Karetu. They waited to see what the self-proclaimed Demon Hunter would do next. They were fearful that Beelzebubmon would leap into attack, and they were not even sure what level the demon digimon was currently at. He smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Noriko asked.

“The boss needed some more data.”

“Data?” Yamato asked, “This is part of your damn experiment!”

Karetu only waved as he and Beelzebubmon vanished in a burst of yellow light.

“””””””””&# 8221;”””””

Following their encounter with Karetu, Yamato, Gabumon X and the girls returned to Catherine’s house, where she ordered a meal for them. Noriko was speechless as she surveyed the massive dinning room. The table was long in length, so they sat at the end nearest to the door. The short-haired girl’s eyes widened and her mouth began to water as the maids brought the food to them, a cornucopia of meat, cheese, vegetables, and bread. She eagerly delved into the feast while Yamato tapped his finger on the table. Catherine was lightly rubbing her hands. She finally turned to the older blond man. “Who waz zat?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

“He…he looked just like Takeru!”

“I know,” he said, “But…what happened to you back there? You got Floramon to evolve, with the BD-2 virus, she shouldn’t be able to.”

“I don’t know,” she said, “It waz…zo unreal…almost…like I was dreaming….”

“Well, something like that happen to another girl, named Lynna Jeffry, from Australia,” he explained, “Karetu attacked just like he did before, and somehow some kind of energy came out of her and her partner evolved.”

“And she haz ze BD-2?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“You know what I think?” Noriko asked, her mouth full of food, “We need to take those drawings of Catherine’s dreams to someone who can tell us what they mean.”

“Yeah,” Yamato said, “I really wish Koushiro was here…”

“Wait,” Catherine said, “I have an idea. Zere is someone who might be able to help us. She lives in the Southern Continent of ze Digital World.”

“Who?” Gabumon X asked.

“She’s sort of like a Chosen wise man,” Floramon said.

“Let’s go,” Yamato said.

Catherine grinned. “I will let her know we are coming.”

“Hey, wait,” Noriko said, holding up her plate of food, “Can I at least finish this?”

To be continued………