Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon: Apocalypse ❯ Mark: Chapter 1 ( Chapter 10 )

My name is Michael Barton and sometimes I wonder about my place in this world, well, maybe not the world, but certainly the unique…organization I have become involved with. I met Mimi during junior high school and while I’d like to say I was instantly attracted to her, that wasn’t the case. She couldn’t speak English too well at first, but that didn’t stop her from making friends. It was actually at a friend’s party that we started talking, and about a week later I asked her out. Our parents and a lot of our friends said that we wouldn’t last, but we proved them wrong when we actually got married a year ago.

Through her, I met the other Chosen in Japan. I always felt like an outsider around them. They had so much more experience then I did, but with Mimi, I was sort of expected to just…’be’ one of them. And then we made our own team, localized in New York, I was made the leader, but what good was I? Steve and Lou still died from BD-2, and I wasn’t able to keep Tatum and Sam from joining Digitalatri and I couldn’t save Maria, Taichi did.

When Mimi and I went to Nightsun to help Taichi and Yamato, I really didn’t know what to expect. We ended up getting into a battle with more Demon Lords, but at least we were able to evolve our X-digimon to the Fully Evolved stage, thanks to Maria, Noriko and the other girls. Taichi and Yamato even managed to steal a volume of the Machina Codex from Miayag. Unfortunately, she did get a mysterious staff she called, “The Staff of Yuushi,” which she somehow was able to merge with her digivice. And then the Demon Lords captured Sora and Catherine.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------

“There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil” Ayn Rand

------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------------------------- The Mark: Chapter 1 -------------------------------

The massive room was strangely silent, despite the twenty humans of all genders and races seated within the semi-circle shaped room. At their side sat their digimon partners; like their human partners, a mixture of all types, levels and colors. Each Chosen was seated at a wooden desk/table that contained pitchers and glasses of water, paper, pencils and laptops. Each desk also contained the name of the human, their digimon, and the area of the Digital World they represented.

At the front of the room, facing the other seventeen humans and their digimon, were three Chosen and their partners. Unlike the other desks, these were decorated more elegantly and appeared to be composed of metal instead of wood. The young man that sat in the center desk had a crew-cut of sharp blond hair and deep blue eyes. He was dressed in a black, three piece suit with spotless-shinned dress shoes. His partner was a Gaomon, a blue, dog-like digimon that walked on two feet.

The young woman that sat to his left had her waist-length brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail. She was dressed in a tight-fitting black tank top which fully showcased her breasts and a blue skirt flowing over her crossed legs. At her feet were pink heeled, calf-high boots. Her partner was a Lalamon, a puffy-plant like digimon with a round body, green bottom half with her small arms and legs and pink top half with her face.

This young woman rose to her feet and nodded slightly. She spoke in a southern American accent. “Okay, ya’all. I am Raven Osborn, the Special Representative, and I hereby call this meeting’ ta order.” She mentioned to the blond man. “Security General of the Chosen Council, Victor Von Schmidt presiding.”

The blond-man spoke in a thick German accent. “Guten morgen. Now, we have all been called here today to discuss the problem of the Digital World. I, of course, am referring to the Second Black Death, called ‘BD-2.’” He mentioned to a drop-down monitor behind him, which displayed an map of the four major continents of the Digital World. A red color covered a small percentage of the Northern and Southern continents, a fair portion of the Western Continent, and nearly all of the Eastern Continent. Near the bottom right of the Eastern Continent was a black circle which was labeled as, ‘Ylicis.’

“As you can see,” Schmidt continued, “The red represents the areas which contain Chosen infected with BD-2. The city of Ylicis is where the epidemic began. If this continues, within a few years, the entire Digital World, along with every Chosen child, will be infected…”

“What do you suggest?” a black woman dressed in African-style clothes asked. Her partner was a pink Tentomon.

“I believe what must be done is segregation…”

The room was suddenly filled with an uproar of protest. “Concentration Camps?” a young man with a Gizamon shouted.

“Fences and wires?” another girl shouted.

“Neo-Nazis!”

“Dictators!”

It took Osborn a full ten smashes of her gavel before the room was quiet once more. “Keep quiet!” she shouted, “Do not speak out like that again!” She mentioned at Osborn.

“Danke,” he said, “Now. I know this is not a favorable option, but we must think of the Chosen still healthy and those Chosen that are still appearing. We cannot allow them to become Chosens one day and then die from the Second Black Death the next. We must think of the future.”

“What about developing a cure?” a teenage boy in the back row asked. He had shaggy brown hair and an Agumon at his side.

“There is no cure, Representative Makasuda,” he responded, “Our only option is to move the BD-2 infected to segregated areas.”

“How?” a Russian girl asked, “Will they all be taken, or only those with the highest degree?”

“I believe that only the most severe cases should be moved,” he answered.

“How will we know?”

“Those Chosen infected must be given a number to designate the degree of their infection, as well as their origin team….”

“Wait a second,” Makasuda spoke up, “Why isn’t there any representative from the Odabia team?”

Schmidt only stared at him. “We do not need the meddling of the X-Chosen…”

The other members of the council clapped in agreement. The Chosen Council leader raised his hand to stop the applause. “Meine Freunde we must not become corrupt like the X-Chosen. We think of the safety of those Chosen still healthy, and those Chosen that will come after. My fellow Chosen, what will your decision be?”

The council members all began to talk quietly amongst one another. They did so for more then an hour before Schmidt demanded a response. The final vote was 16-4 in favor.

The darkest day in the history of the Digital World was about to begin.

---------------------

The young girl giggled happily to herself as she threw the door to her simple house wide open. She charged up the stairs, her sneakers pounding onto the wooden planks. Once she reached the top floor, she threw her yellow backpack to the floor and shed her green jacket. She had been carrying a piece of paper in her hand, a child’s simple painting of a young girl and her mother. She displayed it proudly as she searched through the rooms on the top floor.

“Mommy!” she cried, “Mommy!”

She eventually glanced into her mother’s room. “Mommy! Look what I made…” she trailed off as she peered into the room and saw a sight that turned her blood to ice. Her mother was indeed in her room, lying on her bed, eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling, a pile of white pills scattered around the room.

The young girl stepped forward, and she suddenly aged ten years, the room instantly aged and decayed. Her mother was no longer lying on the bed, but collapsed on the floor. A white substance was gushing out of her mouth and blood trickled from her nose. The teenager fell to her knees, tears pouring from her eyes. “Mom! MOM!”……

Miayag shouted out as she was jarred awake. She sat up, panting heavily. “Damn it!” she swore, throwing her white sheets onto the floor.

There was a knock on the door. “Lady Miayag?”

“I’m fine!” she snapped.

“Uh…okay, but Lady Miayag…”

She groaned as she climbed out of her bed and tied a orange robe over her near-transparent blue nightgown. She opened the door and found Takashi standing in the hall. “What is it?”

“There’s something on the t.v. that you should see.”

She nodded. “I will be right there.”

----------------

Cahiti, the Demon King, grinned in pleasure as he stared up at the morning sky. The mysterious Soul Catcher was attached to his right arm. His partner, Lucemon, the Demon General, Seiduka, his Demon partner, the Demon Queen, Asro, and her partner, Lilithmon, all stood behind him loyally. The evil double of Taichi began to chuckle. “Amazing, even at only seventy-five percent of its full power, I can feel the energy pulsing within in, energy that I can use to remake this world.”

“Into a paradise where we will rule,” his partner added in the voice of a young boy.

“I still don’t understand,” Demon said.

Lilithmon rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Your head can’t possibly be as thick as your hide…”

Demon glared at her. “What was that?”

She gave a sly smile. “You heard me.”

“Stop that,” Asro said, eyeing her partner, “You should know better then to insult him, he doesn’t understand humor.”

“Or much of anything else…”

Seiduka snarled and turned to face them, but Lucemon forced them to stop. “Quiet!” he snapped, “Cahiti is about to give you a demonstration…”

The Demon King mentioned to the desert landscape stretching out before them. It was a complete wasteland with a bright yellow sun high in the sky. He raised his right arm, and the Soul Catcher began to glow. “With the power stolen from the Daughters, I have control over the basic elements of the Digital World…Wind…”

One of the crystals began to glow and a whirlwind appeared within the desert, throwing up a maelstrom of sand. Cahiti had to shout to be heard over the roar, “Earth…”

The ground shook violently as large pillars of granite stone shot through the surface, effectively blocking the sand and wind.

“Water…”

Large geyser punctured through the ground, covering the sand, transforming it into a mixture of mud and muck.

“ Forest…”

Almost impossibly, plants emerged through the mud, growing into thick, tall trees and lush, bright green ferns and shrubs.

“Metal…”

The trees began to stiffen and transform into pillars of metal and steel.

“Darkness…”

The sky was suddenly covered with shadows as a solar eclipse mysteriously occurred without any warning. The entire desert was plunged into blackness. Cahiti waved his hand once more and the desert returned to the wasteland it had once been.

“Amazing…” Seiduka gasped.

“Yes,” the Demon King answered, “And that was only at three quarters power.”

Asro slowly rubbed her chin. “And how do we get those last two powers?”

“Takenouchi and Rupert aren’t pushovers you know,” Lilithmon added.

“We must break them,” Cahiti answered, “Destroy their spirits of resistance. We are the gods of this world, and they must be made to understand that.”

The door to the mysterious temple that was nestled in the midst of the desert swung open and the Demon Princess Amikyo popped her head outside. “What do you want?” Seiduka snapped.

She flinched back slightly. “I…I’m sorry, but there’s something going on Shirokuru thought you’d want to watch…”

Cahiti rubbed the Soul Catcher. “It better be important.”

-------------------

Hikari pulled on a pink robe over her white pajamas as she exited her room. She was surprised to find a pleasant aroma flowing from the kitchen. She stepped inside and stared in awe and wonder as the kitchen table contained a large plate of eggs, sausage, toast and orange juice. She glanced over to the stove and saw Taichi placing a pan in the sink. He turned around and smiled. “Hikari, shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I took the day off,” she explained, “I was pretty tired after yesterday.” She mentioned to table, “What’s this?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he explained, “So I got bored and thought I’d make breakfast.”

His sister nodded knowingly and hugged him. “I’m worried too, but we’ll get them back. We will.”

Taichi took a deep breath. “I just feel like this is all my fault. If I was just able to….”

“Taichi, you were unconscious.”

He shook his head. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll kick every Demon Lord’s ass, and rescue Sora.”

“Taichi,” Hikari said, “you can’t put everything on yourself all the time. You’re part of a team again, remember? We’re all in this together.”

He slowly nodded. “Yeah…yeah…”

“Wow, what smells so good?”

The siblings turned to the entrance to the kitchen and saw Maria seated within her wheelchair. The digimon were standing behind her. Hikari smiled and walked over to her. “Taichi made us breakfast.”

“Wow,” the younger woman grinned, her mouth watering. “This looks like what my mom used to make all the time!” She griped her wheels and moved herself forward.

“You’re getting use to that chair, huh?” Taichi asked.

She nodded. “Yes. I have to thank Jyou…” She reached for a plate, but stopped herself. “Oh, I…I should wait for you, I’m sorry.”

“How many times do we have to tell you this,” Taichi said, “You’re our guest, please, just enjoy yourself.”

She reluctantly agreed and began to eat. Hikari grabbed her cat-engraved mug and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Now Taichi, you remember that Mom’s coming for a visit today, remember?”

Her older brother slapped himself in the forehead. “Damn it. I just hope she doesn’t want to see my school marks again.”

“Why?” Maria’s Patamon asked, “You haven’t been doing good?”

“The opposite,” Taichi responded, “I’m just get tired of her telling me how much I changed since high school…”

It was then that their home phone began to ring. Hikari walked over and lifted it to her ear. “Hello? Oh, hi Yamato, what…” The color began to drain from her face.

“Hikari?” Plotmon X asked.

The young woman ran into her bedroom. Taichi and Maria glanced at one another, then the young man pushed her wheelchair after Hikari. Inside of her room, she was logging onto the internet and entering a web address known only to the Chosen, one of the web addresses connected to the Digital World.

What appeared on the web page was a video monitor of a news conference concerning the Chosen. Taichi, Hikari, Maria and their partners remained silent as the live video feed began to activate.

--------------

The main headquarters of the Chosen Council was an ancient marble building called the Curia Hostilia, which sat in the center of Form Magnum Island, which was close to the western shore of the Western Continent. The building contained offices and rooms for the twenty-two Chosen and digimon partners, the main debate room, three conference rooms, as well as a cafeteria, a lobby, and a few game rooms.

Inside of the main conference room, the entire Chosen Council stood within the room, Schmidt was in the front, leaning forward on a podium. “Good morning, my fellow Chosen and digimon of the Digital World. As you have no doubt realized, the Second Black Death is raging out of control. Countless numbers of Chosen and digimon are being infected, which in turn infects countless others….”

----------------

In the recently conquered city of Nightsun, the leaders of the Digitalatri were crammed into the television room of the main building, each one watching the news conference with heated interest. “What’s he getting at?” Keiko asked.

“Something clearly dark and terrible,” Miayag replied.

--------------

In the Yagami apartment, Maria turned to her two hosts. “Who is that?”

“Victor Von Schmidt,” Taichi sneered with disgust, “The head of the Chosen Council, a bunch of spoiled, self-absorbed Chosen who think that they have the right to tell every other Chosen how to live!” He punched his open palm, ”It makes me sick!”

“I don’t like how he’s talking,” Hikari said, shivering slightly, “It’s making me…frightened.”

-------------

Schmidt continued speaking. “….the threat to this world is tremendous. We can’t ignore this any longer, we must think of the continued safety of the Chosen not infected and the Chosen that will come after us. What world will we leave our children if we do not stop this pandemic now? I swear this to you, we will find a cure for this disease, and the first step is to isolate those cases. And so, will great regret, I must approve Chosen Council Executive Order #0045: the immediate classification of all infected Chosen; everyone will be effectively given a number to designate their location and degree of illness. This will be the first step before relocation. Again, it is with a very heavy heart that I am required to do this. All Chosen currently infected with BD-2, please report to your designated continent of the Digital World. We will begin with the Western Continent within five hours. Thank you.”

---------------------

The main building of Nightsun was filled with the angry shouts and screams of the Digitalatri. Tatum and Sam were screaming in rage, Keiko was shouting out loud possible battle plans, while Hiroshi became so enraged that he destroyed the television set. The only one who had not yet spoken was Miayag herself. She finally spoke when she ordered her church members to silence their outbursts.

“But what are we going to do?” Tatum demanded, “This is a clear violation of basic rights! We can’t let this happen!”

“We won’t,” she finally said, “We will meet them on every continent if need be. We will fight them every step of the way! We will free the Digital World from their corrupt hands!”

-------------------

The Demon Lords were having a decidedly different attitude towards Schmidt’s press conference.

“A most interesting turn of events, isn’t it?” Asro asked.

“Yes, it is,” Cahiti said, lightly rubbing his chin, “I wouldn’t have thought any Chosen would have done something like this. I am actually impressed. Perhaps we can use this to our advantage…”

--------------

Inside the Yagami’s apartment, Hikari was chasing her brother down the hall. “But Taichi…”

“I’m not gonna let them do this!” he shouted back as he ran into his room.

“But Taichi…” Hikari protested.

Her older brother ran out of his room a moment later, still dressed in the blue t-shirt he had worn to bed, but was now wearing jeans instead of sweat pants. He also had his X-modified digivice.

“Taichi…” Hikari said, “Taichi!”

“Agumon!” Taichi shouted, glancing over his shoulder, “Agumon!”

“What?” Agumon X asked, walking out of Hikari’s bedroom.

Hikari was silent as her brother spoke to his partner. “We’re going to the Digital World.”

“Wh…what are you gonna do?” Hikari asked.

“I don’t know,” he answered, “But I have to stop them.”

“Y…you can’t take them all on!” Plotmon X gasped.

“It’s wrong what they’re doing, I can’t just sit back and do nothing…”

“You’ll get yourself killed!”

“I can’t worry about that,” he replied, walking back into Hikari’s room to use her computer to open a Digital Gate. His sister grabbed his left arm from behind and pulled as hard as she could.

“Oniichan!” she screamed, pulling so hard they almost fell backwards. Taichi kept his footing, but Hikari slid onto her knees. “Oniichan, please! Please!”

Taichi stopped, and Maria and the digimon watched with wide eyes. “Please!” Hikari sobbed, “We’ll get everyone together. We’ll think of a plan or something. Please, Taichi, please…”

He sighed deeply. “All right.”

Hikari smiled with relief. Taichi helped her to her feet and she cleaned her eyes. “It’ll be better this way,” she added, “With Yamato, and Jyou…and maybe Mimi and Michael will help…”

“I’m sure they will,” Maria spoke up.

“See?” she sniffled, “See…”

Taichi smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry I made you worry, Imouto.”

Hikari returned the embrace. “I just don’t want to lose you too, Oniichan. Not like that.”

Maria smiled, a slight tear running down her cheek. “It’s so cute. I wish I had an older brother.”

“Do you have any siblings?” Plotmon X asked.

The Latino woman shook her head. “No, I’m an only child.”

Hikari sniffled for a final time. “Okay, let me just get dressed, then we’ll call a meeting with Yamato and Jyou, and decide what to do.”

Taichi nodded. “All right.” He wandered into the living room with Agumon X and turned on the television.

“Are you gonna bring that book?” Agumon X asked.

“The Machina Codex?” he asked, “Thanks for reminding me. That’s a good idea.”

The two young women appeared a short time later, Hikari pushing Maria in her wheelchair. Hikari had changed into a short-sleeved pink t-shirt and a pair of white jeans. Maria was wearing a long-sleeve brown shirt and a blue skirt. “So what’s the plan?” Plotmon X asked.

“We’re going to see Yamato,” Taichi said. He glanced at his watch, “We’ve got six hours, we’d better come up with something…”

----------------

Catherine sighed heavily as she leaned back against the cold, gritty, sand blocks that comprised the wall of her jail cell. She sighed deeply and brought her knees up to her chest. “Damnez-le…”

“What?” one of her cell-mates asked.

She smiled at the red-headed woman. “Nothing, Sora, just swearing out my frustrations…”

The other woman nodded in agreement as she stared at the thick metal door in front of them. “I think that’s the only thing that’s getting out in here.”

“Oh, good one,” Floramon said, from where she was seated next to her partner.

“She’s pretty funny,” Piyomon said, “You should hear her during her stand-up comedy routine.”

Catherine and Sora chuckled. The French woman finally asked, “What do you zink zey even want wit’ us?”

“It’s got to do something with that weird light/energy thing that the other girls and us have. When we tried to power them up, I saw that the Demon King guy…”

“Cahiti,” Floramon said.

The redhead nodded. “Right, Cahiti. He had that weird energy object on his arm and he took some of the energy when the others went into Taichi and the others. That’s why I stopped you from using it.” She sighed deeply, “I wonder if Taichi and the others were even able to survive after the energy they gave them.”

“Of course they’re alive!” Piyomon gasped, “They wouldn’t die like that! There’s no way!”

“I just hope you’re right,” the redhead said.

The prisoners turned their attention to the stone door as it slowly slid open to allow Cahiti, Asro to enter. “What do you want?” Sora asked.

“We just thought you were getting bored,” Asro answered slyly, “All here in your lonely cell. Not like me with so many strong men around here…” She seductively ran her fingers across Cahiti’s face.

“How disgusting,” Catherine said, “Why don’t you two get a room?”

Asro opened her arms. “Hey, don’t get jealous. I’m more then willing to give you a run with this…” She mentioned to her breasts and crotch, “If you’re interested.”

The French woman began to vomit in her mouth.

The Demon King chuckled and crossed his arms as he addressed his prisoners. “We’ll be getting to you soon, something else has come up that we’re pretty interested in watching. It won’t be too much longer.”

“What are you talking about?” Catherine asked.

Cahiti only chuckled as he turned to leave. Asro gave them a playful wave and exited as well, shutting the door behind her.

Sora shivered. “Man, that’s so creepy seeing myself talking to me! Especially like that!”

“Why does she look like you anyway?” Piyomon said.

“I have no idea,” she said, running a hand through her red hair, “Why can’t life ever be easy for us?”

“I zink zat was just the dice we were cast,” Catherine smiled slightly.

“Reading American poetry?” she asked.

“She can speak Anglais pretty well,” Floramon added.

“So can I,” Sora added, “Mimi taught me a lot.”

“Ah,” Catherine said, “But I can also speak Japonais, you can’t speak my language.”

She frowned. “No…”

“I don’t know how long we will be here,” she said, “Why don’t I teach you some French, yes?”

The redheaded woman smiled. “Sure, why not?”

-------------

On Earth, the X-Chosen had wanted to assemble at Yamato’s apartment, but he and Noriko, as well as their partners, were quick to disagree. They did not want to explain why, but Noriko’s Plotmon did explain under her breath that the apartment was a pig sty, as well as it being nothing more then a large studio apartment. The Yagami apartment was still not large enough, so they journeyed over to Jyou’s apartment.

Yamato used his spare keys to open the door and they stepped inside in a large, multi-roomed apartment. Hikari, Maria, Noriko and their partners were in awe at the elegantly designed living room stretching before them. “I don’t believe this,” Hikari gasped, “How can Jyou afford a place like this?”

“I think his school pays for most of it,” Yamato explained.

Taichi wandered deeper into the apartment when he noticed dark shadows around him. He glanced up and saw blackness. “Hey, the lights are off.”

“Lights,” Yamato said. He started glancing at the walls until he found a panel with a series of switches. He began to flip them until every room was lit brightly. “There.”

“Where is Jyou anyway?” Maria asked.

“He had to go into school today,” the blond man answered, “But he’s gonna get off as soon as he can.”

“I don’t know if I feel right about using his place when he’s not here,” Maria said.

The phone began to ring. Yamato walked over and pressed the speaker button. “Jyou?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said over the speaker.

“Don’t forget me!” another voice said.

“Gomamon!” Jyou shouted, “Get off of there! You’re gonna…!” He was cut off when a loud crashing sound was heard.

“All right,” Taichi said, “We’ve got to get to business. We can’t let the Chosen Council do this.”

“I really don’t see what the big deal is,” Yamato said, “If all they’re doing is classifying them to help cure them…”

“I think he might be right,” Jyou said over the speaker phone, “The more people a virus infects, the more chances it has to mutate. What would be the point of finding a cure for the base BD-2, when it mutates into BD-2, variant-A?”

“I can’t believe it!” Taichi gasped, “You’re just let them burn numbers into everyone’s arms! Don’t any of you remember the Holocaust? Because that’s where this is headed!”

“It might not be as simple as that…” Yamato started.

“No, it is!” Taichi shouted.

Hikari was afraid that an argument was about to break out, so she stepped between the two young men. “Um, none of us have BD-2, why don’t we see what...they…think.” She glanced over her shoulder at Noriko, Maria and their partners. “What do you think?”

Maria hesitated. “I…I…”

Hikari walked over and placed her hands on the younger woman’s shoulders. “It’s okay, you can say whatever’s on your mind.”

The Latino woman nodded. “I’m…I’m scared about this. I don’t want to end up with a number on my arm and…and then sent away from my friends and family….”

“Yeah, me too,” Noriko said, “I mean, I want to be cured and everything, but I’ve got to give up MY rights because of it? No thanks…”

Taichi glanced at Yamato and crossed his arms. The blond man stared back. “Yamato…” Gabumon X said.

He shook his head. “Okay, maybe you’re right.”

“Wait a second,” Jyou said over the speaker phone, “Is everyone voting to go against this?”

“That’s right,” Taichi said.

Jyou sighed deeply. “All right, then I guess Gomamon and I are in on this too.”

Taichi grinned. “Perfect. Now…” He turned to Yamato, “There’s something you need to tell us.”

He blinked. “What?”

“When we saw those Demon Lords yesterday, two of them looked like me and Sora. When I asked them about how every other Demon Lord was a Chosen that died, he said to ask you…”

Yamato hesitated. “I…um…” He glanced down at his partner. “Gabumon?”

Gabumon X nodded. “I think we need to tell him.”

“Tell him what?” Agumon X asked, “What’s going on?”

“All right,” Yamato sighed, “All right. Taichi, both you and Sora were…dead, I mean, kinda, for a little while anyway…”

Hikari gasped, and Taichi stared directly at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“It was during Myotismon’s attack on the city,” Yamato explained, “You left me to take care of Hikari. Sora found us but she didn’t know that Phantomon had followed her. He had a Snimon and Tuskmon with him and they started attacking us. Phantomon had his chain around my neck, and Sora came up from behind to attack him with a log. He spun around and attacked with his scythe. It cut through the log and also right through her chest. There was so much blood, and…and I could see it in her eyes, she was gone.”

He took a deep breath and continued, “That was when Hikari came out of the warehouse, screaming as loud as she could. Light was just pouring off of her body, and that strange light healed Sora and…brought her back to life.”

“Weird light?” Hikari asked.

“Your special power,” Yamato explained, “Your Crest of Light. Takeru told me that just by holding your crest, Wizardmon was healed.”

Taichi nodded slowly. “O…okay. W…what about me?”

He stared at him. “Piedmon.”

“What?”

He nodded. “Yeah. You and Wargreymon tried to fight him by yourselves. By the time I got there, you were just hanging on by a thread, but…but I was too late. You died Taichi, but somehow my crest brought you and Wargreymon back.”

He shook his head. “No, I remember that. I was still conscious when you got there…”

“No you weren’t. Taichi, you were dead, you weren’t breathing and you had no pulse.”

“I don’t remember any of this,” Hikari protested, “I don’t remember Sora and I don’t remember Oniichan…I mean, I was there for both of them…”

“You didn’t know about Taichi because I was the only one close enough to tell,” Yamato clarified, “But with Sora…I don’t know why you didn’t remember, maybe you just didn’t see Sora close enough or maybe you blocked the memory, but I remember it clearly. And since you, Sora, Taichi or anyone else ever said anything about it, I just kind of kept it to myself.” He shrugged, “It seemed like a good idea at the time…”

“I…I need to sit down,” Taichi said, collapsing onto the couch.

The room was silent for a moment before Agumon X walked over to his partner. “Hey Taichi. What about that book?”

“The book?” Yamato asked, raising his eyebrow.

“The Machina Codex,” Taichi explained, “We did bring it, right?”

“I put it in Maria’s bag.”

Maria blinked and looked over her shoulder to the book-bag hanging around the wheelchair’s handlebars. Noriko walked over and fished through it until she pulled out a thick book. “This?”

“Yeah,” Taichi said, taking it from her.

“That’s the book you stole from that place beneath Nightsun?” Maria asked.

Taichi nodded. “Yeah. I read through it last night…well, most of it. Anyway, it talks about the creation of the Digital World and stuff like that.”

“Really?” Plotmon X asked, “Like what?”

“Well, it said that after the Digital World was created, there was a race of holy digimon that ruled and watched over the other digimon that were being born. But a lot of them started to become evil and they became the first evil virus digimon. There was some kind of war and the digimon called the first Chosen into their world and…” He began to read from the book. “And these children were as follows: Hidokoro of Fire, Kendra of Water, Svetlana of Wind, Montenagro of Earth, Lucien of Light, Daiyu of Darkness, Glaucio of Metal, and Abungu of Forest. The last and youngest of these warriors, being the bravest and the most noble, was named as their leader. He was thereafter known as Yuushi.”

“Yuushi?” Gabumon X asked, “Isn’t that what Miayag called that staff that she found?”

Taichi nodded. “Yeah. And remember what Mina said about Nightsun? It was Cer, the capital city of Ceria?”

The others nodded.

“Well, according to this book, the first Chosen set up some kind of empire and their capital city was the Holy Island, which is in the center of the Digital World. They ruled for a long time until the Empire of Ceria attack and destroyed the First Chosen. They brought a lot of treasures and stuff like that back to Cer with them. That staff must have been one of them.”

“What happened to Cer?” Jyou asked over the speaker phone.

“I don’t know,” Taichi said, “But considering how…how…um…um…”

“Decrepit?” Agumon X suggested.

“Yeah, how decrepit Nightsun was, they were either attacked, or they just kind of…passed…”

Maria turned to Noriko. “Um, did you, uh, recognize…”

The older woman nodded. “Yeah, I did.”

“What?” Hikari asked.

“Cahiti…the…the uh, Demon King, called Sora, ‘Fire,’ and Catherine, ‘Light.”

“Fire and Light?” Hikari asked.

Taichi glanced down at the open book in front of him. “Fire and Light, along with Water, Wind, Earth, Darkness, Metal and Forest…”

Yamato began to pace the floor, “When Lynna showed that light, it was blue…and Noriko’s light was black…”

“Water and Darkness!” Hikari gasped.

“And Maria’s light was brown,” Taichi said, looking at the Latino woman, “Earth.”

“Iduia’s light was gray,” Noriko added, “And Keeya’s was green…”

“Metal and Forest,” her Plotmon gasped.

“Wait a second!” Jyou said over the speak phone, “What does this mean?”

Taichi jumped to his feet. “It means we’ve got to get them here as soon as possible. The Demon Lords were after them, and now with the Chosen Council marking Chosen with BD-2, we can’t let them know about what’s going on with them.”

He turned to Maria. “Can you call Mimi and Michael and tell them to get Iduia here as fast as possible?”

She nodded. “S…sure…”

“We’ve got to call Yuri, Mina and Dingo too,” he said, “But Schmidt said they were starting in the Western Continent…All right, Yamato, can you and Jyou help Anna, Lynna and Keeya get here? Hikari and I will give Mimi and Michael a hand.”

Maria’s face lit up. “Can I go too?”

“I think it would be safer if you stayed here,” he said.

“Don’t worry,” Noriko smiled, “I’ll be here to watch you.”

“But, they’re after you too,” Maria’s Patamon said.

“Hey, I’m trying to act like the hero here, don’t spoil it.”

--------------------

The High Priestess Miayag, leader of the Digiataltri church, stared at her priestess. “The forces of the Chosen Council is moving to the Western Hemisphere?”

Tatum nodded. “That is correct. New Havenwood is going to be the starting point for their ‘classification…”

She nodded. “Very well. Ready the army, we march within the hour.”

----------------------

The city of New Havenwood, located near the eastern coast of the Western Continent of the Digital World, was normally a city filled with chaos and disorder, and yet, it was the sounds of life and hope. Now, it was filled with silence, silence and fear. The BD-2 infected Chosen of that coast were forced into the city by the armies of the Chosen Council, including Iduia.

The young woman stood in the midst of a sea of infected Chosen. Her Kokuwamon stood closely at her side. “What’s going to happen to us?”

“I…don’t…know…” she answered. She glanced around at the other infected Chosen standing around her. They were young adults and teenagers of both genders, all races, tall and short, large and thin. Their digimon were mostly at the Child level, but there were a few Adults. Not enough to counter the Adult digimon that comprised the Chosen Council’s partners, not including the four Fully Evolved partners of the four leaders of the Council present.

Specifically, the four Perfect digimon that were standing before the crowd of infected Chosen. One was a hunched over digimon with green hind legs, long blue, three-clawed arms and long insect wings on his back. The human partner of this digimon was Sebastian Pierce, a muscular young man with a buzz-cut of curly brown hair and dressed in a pair of brown sweat pants, a short-sleeve green shirt and a white button-down shirt.

The other Fully Evolved digimon was a Meramon burring with icy blue flame instead of orange. Her partner was Madelyn Frost, a young woman dressed in a purple mini skirt, a sleeveless blue shirt adorned with waves of a darker blue. Her hair was pulled into a tight strand behind her head, flowing in the wind.

Another was Lilamon, a human-looking digimon with a yellow torso, pink arms and legs, flower petals for hands and feet and a large open petal on her back. She was the partner of Raven Osborn.

Mach Gaogamon, was a large wolf that slightly resembled Weregarurumon, expect with metal gauntlets on his forearms. His partner was the leader of the Chosen Council, Victor Von Schmidt himself.

The Chosen Council leader began to speak. “Good afternoon. As Security General of the Chosen Council, it is with great reluctance that I must do this. Please give us your full cooperation, and this will go as pleasantly as possible.” He nodded at Osborn.

“All right, listen up!” the young woman said, “All of ya girls go with Miss Frost here, while ya guys go with Mister Pierce. Move out!”

The group of Chosen reluctantly began to file into classifications by gender. Iduia and Kokuwamon stood behind a woman with a blue Agumon as a partner. She looked to the tops of the buildings. “Mimi…Michael…where…are…you…?”

------------------------------

Mimi and Michael had wanted to immediately run to New Havenwood to help Iduia, but after hearing that Taichi and Hikari were coming to help them, they decided to wait. Once the Yagami siblings arrived, they quickly journeyed to the city in the Western Continent of the Digital World. Had they been regular Chosen, they could have entered the city without any trouble, even with it being occupied by the Chosen Council. However, they were X-Chosen, modified by the X-Antibody, and as such seen by many as the enemies of the Chosen with BD-2. If they wandered into the city in plain view, there would no doubt have been a riot. They would have to silently enter without being seen.

They silently approached the center of the city, where the infected Chosen were gathered. The X-Chosen took to the rooftops and peered over the ledge. The infected Chosen were filed into lines and being led to large tents where the Council members were waiting. They asked them a series of questions before stamping a permanent tattoo on their arms, a tattoo of a number.

“What’s going on down there?” Palmon X asked.

Mimi placed a finger to her lips. “Shh!”

The group remained in silence as they strained to hear the conversations occurring below. One of the infected Chosen, a teenage boy with a red Gabumon as a partner, approached the desk. Sebastian Pierce of the Chosen Council was seated behind, glancing down at a series of thick notebooks. “ Chosen team?”

The Chosen with the Gabumon nervously answered. “Cario.”

He searched through the stack of books until he reached one that contained the label, “Egyptian Team” He opened it to the last writing page. “Name, Family name first…”

“Kayser, Mohen.”

He wrote the name down. “Partner…Gabumon?”

Kayser nodded. “Yes.”

The Chosen behind the desk glanced over the Arabic young man. “Degree of infection…?” The infected Chosen was missing sections of his skin and his fingers were beginning to disappear. “Level 2….Okay, please pull down your shirt collar.”
Kayser did as he was told. Pierce took a rectangular box and pressed it firmly onto the back of Kayser’s neck. When he removed it, there was a number burned into his skin. “All right,” Pierce said, “You are now Infected Chosen Designate: EC234. You might be contacted to be relocated. Now please move aside.”

On the rooftops, Hikari had to turn away. “Hikari?” Plotmon X asked.

“I…I can’t believe it!” she gasped, “They’re….they’re treating them like cattle!”

“There’s Iduia!” Mimi gasped.

The X-Chosen turned their attention to where Mimi was pointing, a long line of female Chosen, and standing at the head of that line was Iduia and Kokuwamon. They stepped to the desk, where Madelyn Frost of the Chosen Council was operating. “What’s your Chosen team?”

“Brasillia…”

“Where?”

& #8220;Brasillia…capital…of… Brazil…”

Frost sighed in annoyance and reached for her Brazil notebook. “Name, family name first…”

“Ramiro…Iduia…”

“Pa rtner?”

“Kokwuamon…”

She wrote the names in the book as she stifled a yawn. She gave Iduia a quick overlook. “Metal voice box? Oxygen tank?”

Iduia nodded.

“All right, stand still.” Frost walked around from behind the desk and burned a number into Iduia’s neck. “You are now Infect Chosen Designate: BB145. Because you have an Infection Number of 1 you are in the highest infection category. You will be relocated to an appropriate camp at the end of the day…yada…yada…yada…” She waved her hand and shouted over her shoulder, “Hey Raven, we’ve got another Level 1!”

Osborn walked over and stared at Iduia. “Wow, ya’ve got ta be the sickest Chosen I’ve seen!” She shrugged. “Well, come on.”

On the roof top, Michael had to grab Mimi from leaping off of the roof and slamming into the pavement below. “Mimi…Mimi, stop!”

“Michael!” she screamed, “They’re gonna send her to some kind of…of….”

“Concentration camp,” Taichi sneered.

Mimi twirled around and stared at him. “We’re gonna do something, right? We’re not gonna let this continue, right?”

Taichi sighed deeply as he examined the digimon below. “There’s a lot more of the Chosen Council here then I thought…”

“What?” the young woman shouted, “We’re not gonna help them?!”

“Mimi, calm down,” Michael said, “That’s not what…”

They were cut off as a violent roar echoed through the city. Everyone present instantly began to twist their heads in surprise and fear. Another roar blasted through the streets. Schmidt, who had been seated within the largest tent erected in the center of the town square, ran out to join the other Council members. “What is going on here?”

“A group of powerful digimon are coming this way,” his partner, Mach Gaogamon replied, exiting the tent as well, “They have scents I’ve never smelled before.”

The ground suddenly began to shake as tremors blasted through the pavement. The source of the mild earthquakes was revealed as a massive, metallic digimon appeared from behind one of the tall buildings. “Mugen Dramon?” Taichi gasped.

“Digitalatri?” Agumon X asked.

Plotmon X mentioned to a teenage male on the massive digimon’s back. “Well, since that’s Takashi, I’d say, yeah.”

Betamon X glanced to the sky and shouted. “Look up!”

The others stretched their necks and saw a large serpent spiraling above them. “Metalseadramon,” Michael said, “But who’s that on his back?”

“That’s one of Digitalatri,” Taichi said, “Jyou said his name was James.”

Agumon X peered over the ledge. “And there’s the other one…Vicente. He’s got a Skull Satanmon for a partner.”

“What about Tatum and Sam?” Mimi asked.

The orange dinosaur shook his head.

Mimi nodded sadly. Michael placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned and hugged him tightly. “It’s not our fault, no matter what she said.”

“I know, but…”

“Is Miayag here?” Hikari asked, glancing over the roof’s edge. She saw the Digitalatri’s High Priestess walking behind Mugen Dramon, holding the Staff of Yuushi regally in her hand. Witchmon hovered behind her. “I guess that answers my question…”

The infected Chosen and the council members stood nervously as the Digitalatri marched into the city. Schmidt stepped forward. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“I am Chihi Miayag, the High Priestess of the Seekers of the Digital Light, the Digitalatri. You wish to treat these Chosen infected with the Second Black Death as nothing more then cattle is the most humiliating and evil act I have seen committed thus far. You will be punished for these transgressions!”

Schmidt crossed his arms. “So, you are Miayag. I’ve heard about your church, and while I support the right to believe and worship however you wish, I’m afraid that you are interfering in official Chosen Council business. Leave now and I will not need to use extreme force.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You stand in the way of divine will? The God of the Digital World commands me, and He will not tolerate this!”

“If you don’t surrender now, I will use force! And I don’t think either of us wants the Infected Chosen to get caught in the middle.”

Miayag began to address the infected Chosen. “Hear me now! Is this how you want to live, being nothing more then a number?” She threw her arms open, “If you wished to be saved, then join with us!”

“Nobody move!” Osborn shouted, “That’s an order!”

“They’re ordering you around!” Miayag shouted, “They care nothing for you! Join with us, and be saved. Do this now!”

The infected Chosen glanced at one another, then began to move towards the Digitalatri. “Stop them!” Osborn shouted. The Council’s army began to close in around the defecting Chosen.

Miayag threw her arms into the air. “Takashi, James!”

Both Digitalatri Chosen ordered their digimon partners to attack. Mugen Dramon unleashed his Infinity Cannon, which easily decimated half of the Council’s Adult-digimon army. James and his Metalseadramon destroyed the other half with near-ease. The infected Chosen screamed and scattered into the depths of the city. The four members of the Chosen Council with Fully Evolved digimon remained, and they rallied around Schmidt. The Council leader was boiling with anger.

“My threats are not empty,” Miayag said, “I hope now you understand that.”

“Stop! Stop!”

Both the Digitalatri and Council turned their attention to X-Chosen, who had left the safety of the building roof to run between the opposing forces. Hikari was in the lead. “Stop! No more killing!”

Miayag looked on with a mixture of horror and awe. “Yagami, don’t tell me you are actually siding with…them!” She mentioned to Schmidt.

“Yagami?” Schmidt asked. He turned his attention to the gathered group of X-Chosen and indeed saw the messy-haired young man standing in the rear, but it was the blond man standing next to Mimi that caught his attention. “Michael, it’s good to see you again, but why are you X-Chosen here?”

“Again?” Taichi asked, “You know him?”

Michael shook his head. “I don’t think now’s the best time…..”

Taichi nodded and turned to Mimi and whispered as low as he could. “Go and find Iduia, we’ll keep them busy.”

The young woman nodded and she and Palmon X secretly slunk away. Taichi stared at Miayag. “I am not siding with anyone!” He glared over at the Chosen Council, “Especially, a Neo-Nazi!”

She wrapped her arms around her torso. “Then, I have to repeat Security General Schmidt’s question, what are you doing here?”

“We’re here to stop both of you,” he replied.

She placed her Staff of Yuushi firmly on the ground. “So, you oppose the Chosen Council, yet, you also oppose me, who speaks the will of the Supreme One?”

“We won’t stand by and let you kill hundreds of people!” Hikari shouted.

“But you’ll let them treat sick, dying Chosen like cattle being led to the slaughter?” James asked.

“That’s not what she meant!” Plotmon X shouted in protest.

“Then what did she mean?” Takashi asked.

While the X-Chosen and the Digitalatri argued, Osborn walked over to Schmidt. “What are we gonna do? Fight?”

The Council leader crossed his arms. “That Miayag is far too dangerous to be left alive. She could start riots on every continent. And if the infect Chosen rebel, there goes our control over the Digital World.”

“What are ya gonna do?” Osborn asked.

Schmidt glanced over his shoulder to where his Fully Evolved partner was standing. “We are going to rid this world of a noted terrorist. And it is with great reluctance that I must personally remove her from this world, for the good of the peace.” He reached for an oddly-shaped gun resting on his hip.” This electro-magnetic gun will destroy any digital information, even a human that’s been digitized.”

The Digitalatri and the X-Chosen were still arguing. “How much longer are we going to listen to this?” Vicente asked, “Why don’t we just destroy them right now?”

Miayag smiled broadly. “I am beginning to think that is not a bad suggestion. And after we destroy you, I will reclaim the first part of the Machina Codex that you stole from me.”

“Hey,” Agumon X shouted, “That book was still in that chest, it was fair game!”

“But you are not worthy to touch it,” she replied. She made a mention with her staff, “Vicente, Takashi, James, be prepared to….”

She was never able to finish her sentence as a blast of glowing energy struck her in the side of the head. The X-Chosen and the Digitalatri watched almost in slow motion as the High Priestess fell to her side, her head slamming into the pavement.

“Chihi!” Witchmon shouted, shooting over to her, “Chihi!”

“Lady Miayag!” Vicente exclaimed, running over to her. He knelt down beside her. “She…she’s still alive, but I don’t know for how much longer.”

The X-Chosen turned their heads to the Chosen Council, where Schmidt was lowering his EM-gun. “Another terrorist had been eliminated for the safety of the world.”

“You just killed her!” Hikari gasped, “You…killed…her…”

Schmidt mentioned to Osborn, who began to walk forward. “In the name of the Chosen Council, I am placing you all under arrest…”

The Digitalatri ignored her. “We’ve got to get out of here,” Vicente said, “Get her to a hospital or something…”

“I can handle that,” Takashi said. His turned to his partner, “Mugen Dramon, get us out of here.”

“As you wish,” he responded. He pointed his massive cannons at the buildings surrounding the city square. He began to fire like an automatic weapon, blasting and destroying as many buildings as he could, sending waves of debris to the ground.

“Let’s get out of here!” Taichi shouted.

“I hope Mimi’s safe…” Michael muttered as he and Betamon X began to flee. Taichi and Agumon X were ready to follow, but Hikari was still standing in place.

“Hikari!” Taichi shouted.

“What about the Chosen Council?” she asked over the roar of the collapsing building. She strained her eyes to see through the cloud of smoke and dust, “They’re still…”

Her older brother pulled on her arm, forcing her to move, “We can’t worry about them now! Come on!”

The younger Yagami reluctantly agreed and followed her brother out of the city.

-----------------------------

Schmidt, Osborn, and the other Council members had successfully escaped the destruction of the town square and were now recuperating only a few blocks away. “Damn it,” Osborn coughed, “What now?”

“We’ve got to finish the marking of the infected Chosen,” Schmidt replied, “Regardless of rebellious X-Chosen or religious fanatics, we still have to exterminate them before the plague spreads any further!”

“And perhaps I can help you in that endeavor…”

Schmidt spun around and watched as a figure draped in an orange hood and cloak approached him. “Who are you?”

“My name is Cahiti,” he answered, bowing slightly, “and I am a…deity of the Digital World…”

“You mean a god?” Schmidt asked, “Why would a human be a Digital God?”

“That is a question for another time,” he answered.

“All right, fine,” Osborn said, “But what are ya doin’ here?”

“I’ve come to help you cleanse the Digital World of the Second Black Death. With my help, the infected Chosen can be effectively eliminated.”