Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon: Apocalypse ❯ The Book of Famine: Chapter 3 ( Chapter 14 )

My name is Anna Danika, and I was born at a time of great change. My home country is Russia, and until I was three years of age, it was known as the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, a member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. I do not remember much from that time, after all, I was only three, but my parents constantly tell me how different the world was for them as compared to me. “Anna, you don’t know how different the world is today compared to the world we lived in.” My usual response was to roll my eyes. “Yeah, sure, whatever.”

That was before the Christmas of 2002. That was when I was first introduced to the Digital World, when I first met Penmon. Shortly afterwards, I, along with Lola and Yuri, were called to help Sora and Miyako defend the city from an army of Flymon. We later helped them defeat Malomyotismon, bringing peace to the Digital World. Now, whenever my parents tell me how different the world is, I always respond, “You have no idea.”

Of course, that was before the Second Black Death attack me and Penmon, Lola and Yuri were infected as well, but when the X-Antibody was released, he was modified by it and healed. Lola….Lola never had a chance to be modified, she was dead within a few weeks. As for me, the BD-2 stripped me of my most basic sense, my sense of sight. Overnight, my entire life had changed.

Yui and I become involved with Taichi Yagami’s struggle with Digitalatri and the Demon Lords. The Chosen Council then decided that all Infected Chosen had to be ‘relocated.’ We weren’t fooled, they meant to exterminate all of Chosen with the greatest level of infection, which counted me, Maria and Iduia among them.

Yuri freed me from the camp in Zeradza, but Karetu and Samuel Sterns of the Council chased us to Ylicis. Yamato, Mimi and Michael came to our aid and rescued us. However, Taichi, Jyou and Hikari went back to Zeradza to save Maria. But the Demon Vizer, Shiokuro, used the power of darkness he stole from Noriko to transform Ivan Kragoff of the Council into a digimon of darkness named Reichmon. Taichi and Jyou managed to defeat him, but Shiokuro escaped.

While this was happening, Sora and Catherine, still prisoners of the Demon Lords, were tricked into believe that Taichi had died. ----------------------------- The Book of Famine: Chapter 3 ---------------------------

Chaiti, King of the Demon Lords, raised his eyebrow. “Tell me again what has happened…”

Schmidt narrowed his eyes. “Your Demon Vizer changed Ivan Kragoff into a digimon! And he was so busy admiring his ‘creation’ that he didn’t stop the Infected Chosen in Zeradza from escaping!”

“Interesting…”

“Interesting? !” Schmidt shouted.

“Calm yourself now!” he shouted back. The Chosen Council leader flinched back at the sight of the rage behind his scream.

“Now,” the Demon King said, ”How powerful was the digimon-Kragoff?”

“He…he was able to hold his own against Metalgreymon X and Anomalocarimon X.”

“Maybe we can use this power to our further advantage.” He turned to Schmidt, “Contact the group in Ausata.”

“And do what?”

“Let them know of the power that can be theirs. Perhaps this will be the way to finally defeat the X-Chosen, and claim this world for our own!”

Schmidt crossed his arms. “You keep saying that, and I’m waiting for it to come true…”

“Patience, patience…” he lifted his hand, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must see to my guests…”

“Takenouchi and Rupert?” he asked.

“You’re observational skills are second to none,” he said sarcastically as exited the room. He walked through the corridors until he arrived at the prison section. Inside the only cell in the prison section, sat Sora, Catherine and their digimon partners. The redheaded woman was curled into a ball, while the blond woman and the digimon were consoling her. The Demon King chuckled and stepped inside.

“Hello, my dears, how are you this evening?”

“Get out!” Catherine shouted.

Cahiti chuckled. “Now, now, I have come to see if there is anything I can do to help you in this terrible crises you must be facing.”

“Taichi’s not dead!” Catherine spat, “And neither iz Yamato, or Hikari, or any of ze others!”

“That is what you believe,” he said, “But what about Sora?” He went to gently placed his hand on her back, but Piyomon batted it aside.

He laughed. “Just remember, Sora, my dear, I am here should you need to talk.” He slowly exited the room, closing the door.

“Damn him,” Catherine said. She gently patted Sora’s back, “Don’t listen him, he’s just trying to mess wit’ our minds…”

“But what if he’s right?” Sora asked, “What if Taichi’s dead?”

“I’ve never seen her like this,” Piyomon whispered to Floramon, “She’s really depressed.”

“Taichi…” Sora moaned, “Yamato, Hikari, Mimi…you can’t be gone…you can’t…”

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In the southern city of Ausata, Amikyo, the Demon Princess, stood on the balcony of the main building attached to the newly-built Relocation Camp. She had a clear vision of the beach, where, despite the sudden ceasing of the ocean’s waves, was still packed with tourists. The males were all shirtless with chiseled chests and the females were supermodels in bikinis that barely covered their small bodies.

She growled. “I can’t wait until we start killing them all.” She glanced to the ground, where one of their Chosen Council envoys was sunbathing. Her name was Madelyn Frost, and she was wearing a blue swimsuit that covered her curvy body. “Especially her…I can’t wait to drop this stupid act of pretending to be their allies so that I can tear her apart. I mean, look at her, she can’t weight more then 90 pounds!”

“That’s ridiculous,” Enk muttered from where he was seated on a chair, his legs propped onto a table.

“What?” she asked, twirling to face him.

“You’re overreacting, like usual…”

“Well,” she said, pulling her hand containing the piece of the Soul Catcher, “Since Lord Cahiti told us what Shiokuro did with this….I can’t wait to test it out on Frost. I hope she turns into a hideous monstrosity!”

“Whatever…”

She glared at him, “What have you got to worry about? You’re at least smart!”

He only shrugged.

She gave a nasty sneer. “Let’s just continue with the charade and begin to exterminate the Infected Chosen…” She began to smile again, “At least you can get some satisfaction out of that!”

Once again, he only shrugged.

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Taichi paced the snow-covered grounds of Zeradza, his hands were behind his back and his head was staring at the ground. Jyou, Gomamon X and Agumon X were standing by one of the destroyed cabins, Hikari was leaning against the same wall, while Plotmon X was seated at her feet. Maria and Patamon were seated on a metal I-Beam, which was lying on the ground. They were all staring at Taichi with worried expressions.

Their leader continued to pace the ground muttering to himself until he heard his cellphone began to ring. He flipped it to his ears. “Yamato? Perfect. What’s going on with you? Did you get Anna yet? “

Yamato spoke through Taichi’s cell phone. “Yeah, Karetu was here. We had to fight him, but he let us go…”

“He let you go?” Taichi gasped.

“Yeah, I’m wondering why…”

“Sounds like a lucky break to me….”

Yamato sighed. “Same old Taichi…”

“Yeah…yeah…Listen, you won’t believe what just happened. Shiokuro was here, he used Noriko’s power to change a Chosen Council member into a digimon…

“A digimon!” Yamato gasped, “Noriko’s power did that?”

“Oh yeah, I saw it myself. But listen, you’re going to Ausata, right? Watch out for the Demon Lords there. If Shiokuro used that power, then there’s a good chance the others can too…”

Yamato sighed. “Perfect.”

“Yeah, I know. Just wanted to give you the heads up…”

“Great. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Yeah, later.” He clicked his phone shut and placed it in his pocket.

“Taichi…” Agumon X said.

“We’re staying here,” he responded.

“Why?” Hikari asked.

“Shiokuro’s here somewhere.”

“But he left,” Jyou protested.

Taichi pointed to the sky, which was still covered in an unholy shade of night, despite being the middle of the afternoon. “That’s why he’s still here.”

Maria slowly raised her hand. “Um…I…I don’t know if this helps, but it kind of feels like Noriko’s here…”

Jyou blinked. “What do you mean?”

She fidgeted. “I…lately, I mean, ever since we left Nightsun, whenever I’m around the other girls, it’s like…I can feel them. It’s…it’s really hard to explain…”

“Try,” Taichi said. Hikari shot him a glance, but said nothing.

“Well…Sora…Sora feels…sort of hot, like heat, and energy, Catherine feels like…like the way you feel on a warm, sunny day. Lynna’s like the rolling waves of the ocean…Keeya kind of feels like…like spring, like the smell of flowers and the crunching of leaves in the fall, Anna’s like a breezy day, Iduia’s like being in middle of the city, with the buildings surrounding you and Noriko…she feels like…like waking up in the middle of the night and your room is pitch black, and you can hear the crickets and the owls outside.” She glanced around, “That’s what it feels like right now.”

“It probably has something to do with your powers, “Jyou said, “Amazing, you can actually feel the others…that’s just incredible.”

“Can you feel Sora and Catherine?” Taichi asked.

“I...I sometimes get little…bursts of feeling, but…but they don’t last very long.
She hung her head low. “I’m sorry.” She looked back up and smiled, ”I can try harder if you want…”

Taichi returned her smile and placed his hands on her shoulders. “No, that’s okay. We’ll find them and rescue them…” He sighed deeply, “But first we’ve got to deal with the Demon Lords…”

Maria grinned. “You can do it, Taichi, I know you can.”

He frowned. “We should bring you back to Earth, but I don’t want to take the chance of leaving and having Shiokuro go on a rampage or something like that.”

The Latino woman shook her head. “I don’t want to go back to Earth, I want to stay with you.”

He smiled slightly. “I know, but as soon as we take care of Shiokuro, you’re going back to Earth.”

She pouted slightly. “If that’s what you want…”

Taichi glanced around the city. “All right, now we’ve just got to find him….”

“Split up?” Agumon X suggested.

Taichi shook his head, “He’s too strong for that. Stick tight, and let’s go."

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Noriko lazily clicked the remote as she sat on Jyou’s couch, Plotmon asleep in her lap. She changed the channel ten times before Keeya and her Mushmon sat down beside her. “Anything to watch?” the African woman asked.

“No,” she responded, “And Jyou’ve even got a satellite dish. Five hundred channels, and there’s nothing on to watch.”

“You should count your blessings,” Keeya responded, “We do not even have a television…”

The Japanese woman tried not to frown. The African woman had been speaking like that since Noriko had first met her. She knew that Keeya was only trying to show her how lucky she was, but after a few days, she was beginning to sound like her mother.

She pushed Plotmon off of her lap. The Child digimon blinked for a moment before curling up on the cushion and returning back to sleep. Noriko stood up, straightening out her dress. “Where are you going?” Keeya asked.

“I’m gonna go for a walk…”

“You’re gonna leave the remote, right?” Mushmon asked.

The Japanese woman smiled slightly and threw the remote onto the couch. Keeya grabbed it and began to flip through the channels. She peered her head into the kitchen and saw Lynna and Dingo devouring a 12-inch sub. “Where did you get that?” she asked.

Dingo mentioned to the refrigerator. “There was plenty o’ stuff inside…”

“That’s Jyou’s food!”

He shrugged. “He told us ta help ourselves…”

“Yeah, but…” She trailed off when she noticed Lynna shoving a large piece into her mouth. She had watched her eat before, and she was surprised with how much the Australian woman ate, how she remained so thin. “You’re a supermodel, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah, and…?”

“How do you stay so thin?”

Lynna opened her mouth but Noriko shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll be back in a little while.”

As she exited the apartment, she heard Lynna ask her Plotmon, “What’s the matter with her? She in a bad mood or somethin’?”

The brown-hared woman kept her head low as she traversed the streets. She was worried about Yamato, plain and simple. She knew he was in trouble, which he probably was considering he was going after the Demon Lords. She never felt so helpless in her entire life, she wanted nothing more then to stand by his side, give him whatever he needed, to feel his arms around her…

The last thought made her even more depressed. She did not even know if he shared the feelings she had for him. When she gave him the medallion she bought for him, she was sure she felt a connection, but that could have just been her imagination…nothing more then a schoolgirl’s crush on a celebrity…After all, what was she compared to Catherine?

She slowed to a stop and looked up to the sky. “Yamato…”

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Across the Digital World, in the city of Zeradza, Taichi’s group cautiously peered through every abandoned building in their search for the Demon Lord of Greed. “Where the heck did everyone go?” Maria’s Patamon asked.

“Once they found out that Shiokuro wasn’t who he claimed to be, I think they left as fast as they could,” Jyou explained, “After all, that’s what I’d do…”

“Really?” Gomamon X asked.

“Well, maybe the 10-year-old me…”

“You guys have to keep it down,” Taichi said, “Or he’s going to know we’re here.”

“I don’t know,” Jyou said, “Maybe he already left.”

Taichi glanced to Maria, who was being carried on his back, “Can you feel him, I mean, like you did with Noriko?”

“I…I never really tired before, it was always…just kind of there.” She closed her eyes. She felt nothing. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She began to focus solely on the darkness she saw, cut herself off from any sound. Suddenly, she was assaulted and overwhelmed.

“Darkness!” she gasped, “The power of darkness! Noriko’s power, it’s…it’s here! He’s close, real close!”

A blast of energy suddenly struck the ground before them, sending a cloud of white snow into the air. They began scanning the sky for the source of the attack. It was fairly easy to see Barbamon hovering even in the pitch black sky.

“Let’s go, guys!” Agumon X shouted. He, Gomamon X and Tailmon X ran forward, each one evolving to their Fully Evolved forms.

The demon grinned. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

The X-digimon stopped their assault, as a wave of darkness erupted from the ground and wrapped around Maria’s chest, yanking her off of Taichi’s back. “Maria!” Hikari shouted.

Taichi leapt forward, but the waves of darkness pulled her higher into the air, and the young man fell into the ground. He leapt back to his feet just in time to watch as the darkness formed into the shape of Shiokuro.

The Demon Lord of Greed chuckled madly as he gripped the Latino woman tightly. “Greetings, X-Chosen.”

“You bastard!” Taichi shouted, “Let her go!”

“Not yet,” he said, “We’re going to have a little fun…first…” He grabbed Maria’s head and began to twist it slowly. Her eyes were wide with fear and horror.

“H…help me….”

Taichi and Jyou were ready to run to her aide, but Shiokuro only shook his head. “One more step, and she’s dead.”

The X-Chosen stood in fear and helplessness. The Demon Lord laughed. “Now, stay still as Barbamon kills you all-!” He was suddenly cut off as a burst of air from Patamon caught him in the face, forcing him to drop Maria. Taichi wasted no time and head-butted the Demon Lord in the chest, throwing him to the balance. He quickly lifted Maria back into his arms.

“Go Taichi!” Metalgreymon X cheered, “Now let’s get his partner!”

The trio of X-digimon spun around to attack the demonic Barbamon, only to find that he shot over their heads and landed behind Shiokuro. The Demon Lord of Greed laughed and held up the dark-glowing crystal shard attached to his wrist. He twisted it around and jabbed it deep into his chest. He flexed his back and roared. A whirlwind of darkness erupted around him and Barbamon, exploding in a storm of black lighting. When the storm and whirlwind dropped, a new figure stood in the place of Shiokuro and Barbamon, with the body and form of the Demon Lord of Greed, but with the robes and staff of his demonic partner.

Maria gasped as Taichi gently placed her on the ground. “Taichi!”

“I see him,” he responded flatly. Before she could respond, he ran back to stand between Jyou and Hikari. Their partners were hesitantly waiting, staring up at the grinning fused digimon.

“You know,” Jyou said, “I didn’t think anything would surprise me anymore, but I think this just proved me wrong.”

“Oniichan!” Hikari gasped, “I…I’m actually s…shaking…”

Shiokuro/Barbamon chuckled and licked his lips in a horrific manner. “As well you should, and have become the darkness!”

“Noriko’s energy did all that to him?” Jyou asked. He glanced over at Maria, who was cowering near a building, “Their energy gave us power too! Is that what’s going to happen to us?”

“It will,” Shiokuro/Barbamon grinned, “I’m sure you will join me soon…”

“Don’t listen to him!” Taichi shouted, “He’s just trying to freak us out, and it’s not working! Attack, now!”

The three X-digimon readied themselves to attack, but Shiokuro/Barbamon suddenly darted forward, spinning his staff in a circle in front of him at an accelerated rate, striking Metalgreymon X in the underside of the chin, throwing his head back. He pointed his staff at his chest and shot forward with great speed, digging it deep into skin. He flipped around in the air, bringing his heels into the dinosaur’s already injured jaw before ripping the staff out of his chest and jumping back into the air.

Nefertimon X fired a pure beam of light from her elaborate head-gear. Shiokuro/Barbamon quickly swung his staff around, reflecting the beam back into the angelic digimon. She was struck in the stomach, sending her into a tailspin. The fused human/digimon began to assail her with repeated swings of his weapon.

“Tail Blade!” Anomalocarimon X placed his pincers in an x in front of him, then swung them apart, sending beams of energy into Shiokuro/Barbamon’s back. The demon ceased his attack on Nefertimon X and turned his attention to the crustacean.

“Crud,” Anomalocarimon X muttered. He attempted to move out of the way, but he was not fast enough, and the human/digimon jabbed the orbed-end of his staff into one of the crustacean’s eyes. He skittered back on his feet, but another swing of the fused demon’s staff into his face sent him onto his side.

“This is too easy!” he laughed, “You’re no match for me at all! I am invincible!”

“Shit!” Taichi swore, “Oh man, shit!” He grabbed the Sword of Hidokoro from the sheath on his belt, “How do I use this damn thing? How?!”

Maria stared up at him from the edge of the battlefield. “Taichi, he needs help…Wait, maybe my power…”

“Your power?” Patamon asked.

“The same power that made Greymon evolve,” she explained, “Maybe if I give him more…”

“Remember what happened before?” her partner asked, “You almost…”

The Latino woman held her hands in front of her and began to generate her special energy. She collected a ball of brown light in her hands, took aim, and fired it into Taichi’s back.

Suddenly, the Sword of Hidokoro in his hand began to glow brightly, showering the battlefield, first in a reddish orange light, then a brown light, then a reddish brown. The light continued in intensity until it eclipsed all.

Taichi blinked a few times, unsure of what he was seeing. The world before him was definitely not snow-covered Zeradza, it was a jungle, a hot, sweaty jungle. “What happened?” he asked, “Jyou? Hikari? Metalgreymon?”

“Jyou? Hikari? Who are you talking to?”

He glanced down and saw a familiar white-furred digimon at his feet. “Plotmon? W…what’s going on?”

“Is something wrong?” another voice asked.

Plotmon glanced over her shoulder. “Yes, he’s going nuts! The pressure must be getting to him.”

Taichi followed her gaze to a thick collection of plants and trees where a group of young adults were standing. There were four men and three women. One of the men was blond and wearing a white business suit. There was a Patamon on his shoulders, Another man was slightly dark skin and a rough beard. He was wearing baggy brown pants, and a white shirt. A Monodramon was at his feet. Another man had shaggy brown hair and was dress in jeans and a gray t-shirt, a Keramon at his side. The last young man had dark skin and had an Armadimon was his partner.

One of the young women had flowing brown hair and was wearing a bright blue dress. Her partner was a Betamon. Another woman had blond hair and was dressed in a black dress and fur jacket. At her feet was a red-colored Penmon, a Muchomon. The last woman had jet black hair and was draped in a tight-fitting red dress, embroidered with flowers. Her partner was a small bear wearing a baseball cap-Beramon.

The woman in the red dress walked over to him. “Are you feeling all right, Hidokoro?”

“H…Hidokoro?” he gasped.

“Just great,” the woman in the blue dress sighed, “He’s lost his mind…”

“Leave him alone, Kendra,” the woman in the red dress said.

“Oh, be quiet, Daiyu,” she responded.

“Don’t fight,” the last woman said, “Please…”

“We’re not fighting, Svetlana,” the one called Kendra said.

“I say let them fight,” the man with the Monodramon said.

“You would, Montenagro,” Svetlana responded.

“Shouldn’t we be going?” the man with the Keramon responded.

“Yes, Glaucio,” Daiyu said, “If that is okay with Hidokoro?”

Taichi knew that she meant him and nodded slightly. The group began to walk further into the jungle, but he slowly followed in the rear. He had never seen these young adults before, but he knew them, they were the First Chosen, but, he thought they were ancient, but judging by the style of their clothes, this could not be taking place more then fifty or sixty years ago. And somehow he was experiencing the memories of Hidokoro, it had to be because of the sword, but why? And how?

He reached for the sword, which was still hanging in a sheath on his waist. He lifted it to the sky and examined the hilt. As he did, another blast of brown light erupted from the weapon, enveloping him. When the light faded, he was no longer in the jungle, but was standing in a magnificent city, in the midst of thousands of digimon.

“Hidokoro!” he heard someone shout. He spun his head around and saw the man in the blue suit running to him. He judged by the shotgun in his hand that he was Lucien. “Hidokoro! We’ve got to attack! Yuushi is calling the attack!”

“Yuushi?” he asked. He looked up to the top of one of the buildings and saw a figure standing on the roof. He was dressed similar to Taichi, but had a cape flowing behind him. He held the staff that bore his name in his hands out before him.

“Come on!” Lucien shouted, “Order her to attack! Cer is surrounding us!”

He looked over his shoulder and saw a massive dragon with two long horns hovering in the sky. He had never seen this digimon before, but a name shot through his mind. “Holydramon?”

He turned back and saw an array of other dragons in the sky, and mysteriously, he knew each of them: the golden Goddramon was the partner of Lucien, Gigaseadramon was the partner of Kendra, Alforce V-dramon was the partner of Svetlana, Cannon Dramon was the partner of Montenegro, Darkdramon was the partner of Daiyu, Choasdramon was the partner of Glaucio, Megidramon was the partner of Abungu, and Yuushi, the leader of the First Chosen, had the mighty and invincible Imperialdramon.

“Hidokoro!” Lucien shouted, “Murmixmon!”

Taichi looked up to the sky and saw a demonic man hovering in the sky. He used an array of attacks to batter and bruise the dragon digimon before Imperialdramon and Yuushi confronted him.

“The hero king!” he heard someone cry out, “Lord Yuushi will bring us victory!”

There was a loud explosion from behind, and his field of vision was covered with bright red flames. When the fire diminished, he was standing inside of a hospital hallway, specifically, standing in front of a closed wooden door. He blinked for a moment when he heard footsteps from behind. He turned around and saw an elderly woman walking towards him. Despite the wrinkled face and white hair, he recognized this woman, it was the First Chosen known as Daiyu.

“How are you, Hidokoro?” she asked in a lowered voice. She waved her hand. “Yes, I know, sometimes I forget. It is hard to keep everything we went through a secret, oath or not.” She sighed, “I know I shouldn’t be talking like this, but that oath we made on Yuushi’s deathbed, was it the right thing to do?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I know this isn’t the right time to speak of such things.” She smiled, “So, Jiro, my friend, how is everything?” She mentioned to the door.

“I…I don’t know,” he said.

“Yes, it is nerve-racking, isn’t it? I don’t have any grandchildren yet, but I can only imagine…”

The door began to open and the elderly Daiyu smiled. “I will see you later, and congratulations.” He did not watch her leave as a man with dark hair exited the room. When he saw Taichi, he smiled. “You can come in now.”

He nodded slowly and entered the room. Sitting in the hospital bed was a young woman cradling a baby in her arms. “Hi Dad,” she smiled. She mentioned to the child, “Do you want to hold her?”

Taichi was not sure why, but he nodded. He gently took the baby from the woman’s arms and he held her in his own. “Isn’t she beautiful?” the young woman asked.

Again, Taichi was not sure why, but he asked, “W…what’s her name?”

The woman smiled. “Her name will be Sora.”

Sora! That name caused Taichi’s vision to be covered by fire once more. When it faded, he was hovering in darkness.

“W…what the hell just happened?” he asked himself, “T…those were Hidokoro’s memories, but…h….he was Sora’s grandfather?!”

The dark void was suddenly covered by brown light. An image of Maria and her Centarumon appeared before him. Before he could even speak her name, her image was replaced by one of the First Chosen Montenegro, and his dragon partner, Cannondramon. The brown light began to intensify in brightness and completely merging with Taichi. He shouted out in pain as the light began to smother him…

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Back in Zeradza, the X-Chosen, as well as the fused Shiokuro and Barbamon watched in wonder and horror as Taichi’s body began to glow with a reddish brown light. It soon exploded into a cyclone effect, twisting and spinning. The other X-Chosen jumped back to a safe distance, all except for Metalgreymon X, who ran to his partner’s side. The strange cyclone of energy pulled the dinosaur inside and began to explode with bolts of white lightning.

“What’s going on?” Hikari shouted, “What’s happening in there?”

“They’re combining together!” Jyou shouted.

Shiokuro/Barbamon stared with interest at the geyser of light. He glanced over to where Maria was cowering by one of the buildings. “Her energy did this to him, but that sword belonged to Hidokoro, it is the sword of fire. And yet that girl’s power is earth…I wonder how this will turn out…”

The cyclone of energy continued to intensify as the bolts of lightning grew stronger and more erratic. Soon the energy exploded, but who was revealed on the other side was nothing anyone suspected. Instead of a dinosaur-type digimon, or at the very least, a digimon-looking human, there was a massive two-legged creature that was a hunched-over skeleton, with the head of an elephant and complete with a gold trunk and a set of gold tusks. Sharp bones protruded from his back, and he stared into space with vacant eye sockets.

“T…t….Taichi?” Hikari questioned.

“Oh no!” Maria gasped, “I…I did that, didn’t I?”

“Very interesting,” Shiokuro/Barbamon chuckled as he floated closer, “It appears as though the earth energy from Miss Silvano down there was incompatible with the Sword of Hidokoro. What an interesting combination. He appears to still have the X-Antibody, but looks like Skull Mammon X. Hmm, Skull Mammon X sounds good enough…”

The undead digimon slowly turned his head to stare at his enemy. He opened his mouth and let out a terror dripped scream. He swung his mighty bone fists at the demon, who shot further into the sky with seconds to spare. Skull Mammon X screamed once more and swung at the fused human/digimon again. He continued with another swung from his other hand, followed by another, and another, and another. The demon/digimon had to move faster then he ever had before in order to dodge the wild jabs of the undead digimon.

“Jyou…” Hikari’s voice quivered, “T…this is a good thing, right?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he replied, “L…let’s just hope Taichi can pull himself together after this is done.”

Shiokuro/Barbamon whipped out his staff and used it to block Skull Mammon X’s feverous punches. The undead digimon whipped his left hand around and the demon shot his staff over to block it, but the force of the jab was too strong and the weapon was flung out of his hand. The fused human/digimon momentarily took his eyes off of the undead digimon to watch the staff fly into the sky. Skull Mammon X swung around with his other bone fist with such incredible force that even the fused human/digimon was sent soaring into the sky.

“You bastard!” he shouted, “Now you’re gonna pay!” He dove at the undead digimon, screaming loudly. He failed to notice that Skull Mammon had caught the staff in his other hand. Shiokuro/Barbamon raised his hand back and was about to attack when the undead digimon shoved the staff so deep into the demon that it protruded out his back.

The fused human/digimon could only cough as his body twitched. Skull Mammon raised his gold trunk and struck Shiokuro.Barbamon’s head with all of his might. He then threw the fused human/digimon into the ground before lifted his foot and smashed it down on top of him with such force that the entire city shook.

“H…he beat him!” Nefertimon X gasped.

Skull Mammon X shot his head to the sky and roared once more. He began to smash and destroy the nearby buildings.

“Taichi!” Hikari shouted, “Taichi, stop it!”

Nefterimon X took to the air and flew to Skull Mammon X’s side. “Stop it!” she shouted, “Stop!”

The undead digimon turned to face her. He raised his fists to strike her, but before he could make contact, his body began to glow in the same reddish brown light as before. “”Oh man!” Jyou gasped, “What now?”

Skull Mammon X’s body continued to glow until it finally exploded. When the light faded, only Taichi and Agumon X remained, both unconscious and lying in the snow.

“Oniichan!” Hikari shouted, running to his side. Jyou soon followed.

“They’re okay,” the older man said, “They’re just unconscious.”

The young woman smiled in relief, but her smile faded when she heard a shrill laughter from behind. She walked over to the source of that laughter, the fused Shiokuro/Barbamon, who was lying on the ground, the staff jutting out of his chest. Even if the staff was not attaching his abdomen to the ground, it appeared as though he was paralyzed.

“You…actually did it…” he chuckled, “You….you actually beat me….”

She frowned. “Yeah, and we’ll do the same to the rest of your friends.”

“They’re not friends, actually,” he chuckled, “Just partners in crime…”

“Where are Sora and Catherine?” Hikari asked.

Shiokuro/Barbamon laughed again. “Weren’t you paying attention? I’m greed, I don’t give anything away…but…one of the other might tell you….if you can persuade them!” He stared roaring with laughter. His insane chuckling lasted only a moment before his body suddenly became rigid seconds before his data exploded into the sky.

“One down,” she muttered.

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

Yamato Ishida, along with Michael and Mimi Barton, Yuri Rutskoy, Anna Danika and their digimon partners had traveled through the Eastern Continent before arriving at the city at it’s southern-most shore, Ausata. Mimi breathed deeply and closed her eyes as she felt the wind blow through her hair. “Michael!”

“Yeah, I know,” he smiled.

“What?” Yuri asked.

“The ocean!” she exclaimed, “Oh, I wish I brought my swimsuit…”

The Russian man scratched the back of his head, unsure if he heard her correctly. He stared at her in shock until she dropped her arms and sighed. “Yeah, I know, this isn’t time for that.”

Michael grabbed her tightly. “Hey, after this is over, I’ll take you to Aruba, I promise.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ll rent a house and everything…”

She gave him a glance. “We already own a house in Aruba.”

“You own a house in Aruba?” Anna’s Penmon asked.

“They have homes in California, Florida and Mexico too,” Palmon X responded.

“H…how do you afford…?” Anna asked.

Betamon X chuckled. “Michael’s a television producer and Mimi’s a television star.”

“I’m not a star,” she said, “I just have a cooking show…”

“The number one show on the network,” Palmon X added.

Michael chuckled. “Tell you what, you’re all invited. We’ll have a party. When this is over…”

Yamato frowned. “When this is over…I admire your optimism…”

Gabumon X gave him an odd glance. “Are you okay? You haven’t been yourself lately…”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, glancing at the Airguns in the holster on his waist.

“You’re still worried about that, huh?”

“Yeah,” he confessed, “You got it.”

“Don’t worry about it so much,” he said, “When the time comes, you figure it out.”

The blond man did not respond as they entered the city. All of the citizens of Ausata were assembled in the center of the city. Yamato’s X-Chosen silently made their way to the rear of the crowd. They were all staring up at a very tall building that Yamato was certain was not there the last time he had visited this city. Near the top of this building was a balcony, where four figure were standing, One was a young woman dressed in a purple mini skirt, and a sleeveless blue shirt adorned with waves of a darker blue. Her hair was pulled into a tight strand behind her head. There was 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 two figures were draped in capes of green and black.

“Demon Lords!” Yuri gasped.

“Quiet!” Yamato ordered, “And keep your head down, don’t let them see us.”

The woman spoke first. “Citizens of Ausata, I have news from the Goddess of Water and the God of Forest!” She nodded to the two caped figures. The one in green stepped forward, “Thank you Miss Frost, Mr. Pierce. I and the God of Forest…” She mentioned to the one in black, who gave a stiffened yawn, “Know what’s going on here, the waters have stopped because of the virus you call the Second Black Death, it has permeated into the Digital World itself. In order to save this world, we must exterminate the Infected Chosen we have imprisoned here. If you wish for the waters to wave once again, we must exterminate the Infected Chosen, we must at once!”

The crowd was silent for a moment before they began to cheer. Anna had to cover her ears at the sound, and she collapsed to her knees. Yuri knelt down and hugged her tightly. Mimi walked over and knelt down as well. “Don’t blame them,” she said, “They’re just doing what they think is right, I mean, if your source of income was suddenly stopped, and a god came out of nowhere and said if you want your money back, just kill a group of people that isn’t well liked, what would you do?”

“She’s right,” Michael said, “Ausata’s economy is completely based on fishing and tourism. If there’s no water current, then the fish can swim, and if there’s no waves, there goes the surfing and swimming. They’re just worried about their livelihood.”

Yamato’s eyes followed the top of the building down to the base, where it was connected to a large metal fence, encircling an equally as large area. He could see rows of cabin-like bunkers, as well as one long, metal building.

“We’ve got to find a way to sneak inside of there.”

“How?” Yuri asked.

The blond man rubbed his chin as he surveyed the outer perimeter of the concentration camp. There were guards positioned every few feet around the inside of the fence. Even if they were able to sneak inside, they would not make it very far. “Well, here’s our choices, we can either burst our way inside and hope for the best…”

“With all those guards?” Mimi asked.

“Look at their digimon partners,” he said, “They’re all Octomons, regular Octomons, Adult regular Octomons, our X-Antibody-Modified-Fully Evolved partners are gonna kick their assess. But, we can either burst in, or we can sneak in undercover…”

“How?” Gabumon X asked.

He sighed. “I’m still working on that.”

“Um, I have an idea,” Anna spoke up.

The others turned to her and waited, but after they realized that she could not see them waiting, Yamato cleared his throat. “Um, go ahead…”

She nodded. “Why don’t we steal some uniforms or something…?”

“That might not be a bad idea,” Michael said, “If we can hide our faces and digimon partners, because, unfortunately, they’re gonna spot us right away.”

Yamato nodded, then shrugged his shoulders. “I guess we’re going through the front door…” He turned to Gabumon X with a smile, “Let’s just hope it’s not electrified.”

“Okay,” Yuri said, “Let’s get started…”

Yamato shook his head. “Not you.”

“What?” he gasped.

“You need to take Anna somewhere safe.”

“But…”

“Listen,” he said, “We’re hoping to free Iduia, along with hundreds of others, but it’s not going to do us any good if we lose Anna too. Just keep her somewhere safe, okay?”

The Russian man hesitated, but eventually nodded. “If that is what you wish…”

“I think that would be best.”

“Please,” Anna said, “I..if you think you need him…”

“We need you,” Yamato said, “If everything the Machina Codex and Mina told us, we need you, and the others, more then anything. So, Yuri, you need to protect her, more then anything.”

He nodded again. “Yes, I understand.”

Anna smiled. “Good luck to you all.”

“Thanks,” Betamon X muttered, “I think we’re gonna need it.”

“We’ll catch up with you later, with Iduia,” Yamato said, as he and the rest of his team ran towards the fences of the concentration camp. When they were out of ear-shot, Gabumon X turned to his partner.

“You didn’t want him along because he doesn’t have a Fully Evolved partner, right?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “We need to move in fast and quick, I’m just afraid that Kuwagamon X won’t be able to handle the number of Octomons we’ll be fighting. We’ve got to knock them out right away.”

“Hey, I’m not questioning you,” he said.

The blond man smiled. “Thanks.”

They approached the fence, but were stopped by a guard and his Octomon standing outside of the entrance. He held up his hand, and the X-Chosen slowed to a halt. “This is a classified area,” he said, “Please leave at once.”

The X-Chosen did not respond.

The Chosen Council guard reached for his digivice; his partner was standing behind him. “I’m going to tell you again, leave now!”

Again, Yamato’s group did not respond.

“This is your last warning!” he shouted.

This time, Yamato nodded at the others. The three humans grabbed their X-digivices and their partners began to glow brightly. They each evolved to their Fully Evolved levels and bashed through the fence. As Yamato suspected, it had been electrified, and the sparks shot harmlessly into the sand-caked ground.

“It’s the X-Chosen!” the guard’s Octomon shouted.

The guard began to shout into his communicator. “Code Red! Code Red! We have intruders! Code-!”

A quick flick of Megaseadramon X’s tail sent the Octomon tumbling into his partner, but there were plenty of octopus digimon to take his place. More then two dozen Octomons and their partners came running at the sound of the alert. Lillymon X led the attack, blasting her Flower Cannon into the center of the group, spreading them apart. Megaseadramon X executed his King Javelin attack, using his horn to slash through three Octomons, reverting them to their Shakomon forms. Weregarurumon X leapt through a pair of Ocotomons, using his claws to slash them back to their child forms.

One of the female guards ordered her Octomon to wrap one of his tentacles around Weregarurumon X’s head, but the wolf grabbed the tail with his muscular arms and used it to swing the octopus around, smacking him into more Octomons before throwing him into the ground. Another Octomon flung up behind the wolf, but a quick blast from Lillymon X’s cannon saved him. Another slash from Megaseadramon X’s King Javelin attack took care of the remaining guards.

There was no one in the camp yard, so the X-Chosen began to throw open the cabin doors as fast as they good. The Level 1 Infected Chosen began to spill out of the bunkers and run to safety as best they could.

Every cabin that Mimi open, she scanned the fleeing Chosen for any sign of her missing friend. “Iduia!” she shouted, “Iduia!”

She received her reply when Iduia’s Kokuwamon fluttered in front of her eyes. She twisted her head around and saw the Brazilin Chosen running towards her. “Iduia!” she shouted.

“Mimi…” she said. The two young women embraced one another tightly.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Mimi said, “But we’ve got to get out of here before…” She trailed off as she stared over the Brazilin’s shoulders and saw Madelyn Frost and her Blue Meramon walking towards them. The ice digimon was forming a ball of ice flame in his hand and was about to launch it at Iduia’s back, but he was suddenly struck in the side by a blast of energy. All eyes turned to the side. Yamato and Weregarurumon X were charging to the them from the right, while Megaseadramon X was heading from the left.

“You might want to stop,” Frost said, “Or Miss Tachikawa and Infected Chosen Number BB145 are going to have their lives ended…”

Mimi and Iduia looked over their shoulders and saw Sebastian Pierce and his Dino Beemon partner standing a few feet behind them. The inset/dinosaur digimon held his three pointed claws at their backs.

“It’s three against two, you know,” Weregarurumon X said, “You’re outnumbered…”

A familiar female voice sounded through the camp. “Maybe we can help in that aspect…”

The Chosen Council members bowed slightly as Amikyo and Enk exited the large building and entered the camp itself. Mimi stared at the Demon Princess as she stood beside Frost. Enk took up position at Pierce’s side.

“So,” Yamato said, “You two are here? Where’s Sora and Catherine?”

“They’re enjoying the hospitality of Lord Cahiti at our base,” Enk said.

“Don’t tell them that!” Amikyo shouted.

Yamato chuckled. “How’d you two make it as Demon Lords, huh? You’re pathetic!”

The Demon Princess began to show signs of anger, but calmed herself. “We are Demon Lords because of the corrupted crests we carry, I have the Crest of Envy…” She eyed Mimi, “Created when you were in the Gekomons castle.”

“M…me?” she asked.

“That’s right,” she said, “You were envious of the life of a princess, and let your jealousy take over.” She turned to her partner, “Enk!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, “I have the Crest of Sloth, which came from Jyou.”

“Jyou?” Michael asked.

“Yeah, from the time he was at Digitamimon’s diner. He was forced to work there, and then dragged Yamato into it. They could have easily left, but Jyou was too cowardly to do so…”

“He was honest!” Yamato shouted, “He didn’t want to leave until he worked off his dept.”

Enk shrugged. “Hey, I’m just telling you what happened.”

“What are you even doing here?” Mimi asked, “Why do you care about what the Chosen Council’s doing?”

“Our reasons are our own,” Amikyo said, “And quite frankly, you’re getting in the way. We all had a good laugh watching you run around like clueless little kids, but it’s not funny any more, it pathetic.”

“What the hell is that suppose to mean?” Mimi gasped.

The Demon Princess chuckled. “You’re just like little puppets, but I think it’s time we cut your strings…” She nodded at Enk.

“Hey,” Pierce said, “Does that mean you’re gonna fight?”

Amiyko and Enk suddenly attacked, the Demon Princess shoved her blue colored crystal into Frost’s chest and Enk shoved his green colored crystal into Pierce’s chest. Both Chosen Council members began to glow brightly as a maelstrom of light whirled around them. Blue Meramon was pulled into Frost’s glowing circle while Dino Beemon was yanked into Pierce’s light.

Both lights intensified until they exploded with wind and sound. Standing in Pierce’s place was a giant horse made out of wood while Frost and Blue Meramon had been transformed into a mermaid with metal armor and carrying a large golden anchor.

“I don’t believe it!” Amikyo shouted, staring at the transformed-Frost, “You’re suppose to be ugly, how can you be pretty! How?!”

“You really need to calm down,” Enk said. He examined the transformed-Pierce. “I think I’ll call you Trojamon…”

Amikyo grumbled as she surveyed the transformed-Frost, “I guess Mermaimon will have to do…”

The X-Chosen stared in awe, their jaws hanging open. “I…I can’t believe it…” Mimi gasped, “I…How….?”

“It’s just like Taichi said,” Yamato exclaimed, “They used the powers they stole from the girls…”

“That’s right,” Amikyo chuckled, “I have the power of Water, taken from Lynna Jeffry of Australia, while Enk has the power of Forest, taken from Keeya Genet of the Sudan.”

“You stopped the ocean’s waves, didn’t you?” Megaseadramon X shouted, “You’re fooling everyone into believe that you’re a god!”

Amikyo chuckled.

“It’s not funny!” Lillymon X gasped, “You’re tricking everyone!”

“Why?” Mimi asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Yamato asked, “They’re not divine, they just want to feel like they are.” He eyed Amikyo, “Isn’t that right? You’re nothing but a jealous pretender, huh?”

The Demon Princess began to shake with rage. “Mermaimon, kill them!”

Enk sighed and crossed his arms. “I guess that’s our cue. Go ahead, Trojamon, kill them, or whatever…”

Mimi turned to Iduia. “Run and hide.”

“But…” she began.

“Go, now!”

She hesitated, but nodded. She and Kokuwamon ran from the battlefield and stood behind one of the cabin/bunkers. Mimi watched her flee, and turned back just in time to see Mermaimon use her large tail fins to swim through the air over to Lillymon X. Before the flower child could attack, Mermaimon swung her gold anchor around with surprising speed and smacked her in the chest.

Megaseadramon X shot to her aide, but Mermaimon maneuvered through the air like she was swimming in water. She easily maneuvered around the serpent’s attack and smacked his back with her anchor as well. By this time, Lillymon X had recovered and shot to attack the mermaid’s back. Mermaimon used her anchor like a wielding battering ram. She twisted around using her anchor to slash across the flower woman’s face before spinning back around to knock into Megaseadramon X’s chin. Both X-digimon fell to the ground, but managed to straighten themselves out and hovered in the air. They paused for only a moment before shooting back at their enemy.

“You never learn, do you?” Mermaimon chuckled. She brought her anchor behind her back, “Take this, Northern Cross Bomber!” She flung her anchor at Lillymon X and Megaseadramon X with all of her might. The weapon acted like a boomerang, pounding into the serpent before striking the flower woman and twisting back to the mermaid’s hands.

Weregarurumon X had his hands full with Trojamon. The wooden horse resembled was a walking tank, with a giant cannon attached to his chest and smaller cannons on his back. Every time the wolf attempted to get close, Trojamon fired a blast from his cannon, throwing him to the ground. He was forced to attack from a safe distance, unfortunately, his attacks were not long-ranged based. Even his Kaiser Nail attack was more effective at close distance.

The wolf stared at the wooden horse as he danced slightly on his feet. He darted to the right, but Trojamon’s cannon fired. He darted back to the left, but another blast from the horse’s cannon sent him leaping into the air. He managed to execute a series of flips and land on Trojamon’s snout with all of his weight. If the hose was harmed, he did not show it.

Weregarurumon X balanced for as long as he could, but unfortunately, gravity soon attacked him and pulled him back to the ground. Once he was in front of Trojamon’s chest cannon, the hose fired with all of his might, blasting the wolf at point-blank range.

“Weregarurumon!” Yamato shouted.

“Oh stop it!” Trojamon said, “Just accept that you’re finished, take it like a man!”

Yamato blinked a few times. “You’re still…you?”

“You betcha!” he laughed, “I’ve got the power, and I’m gonna be known as the one who took down Yamato Ishida!”

Weregarurumon X roared and leapt back to his feet. He ran forward, his claws primed to attack. However, Tojamon suddenly leapt into the air and fired from all of his cannons. “Surprise Cannon!”

Blasts of projectiles slashed across Weregarurumon X’s body, causing him to roar out in pain. Tojamon’s attack also blasted into Lillymon X and Megaseadramon X, sending them crashing into the ground.

“Yes!” Amikyo laughed, “This is great! We’re gonna win! All right!”

“This isn’t good,” Yamato gasped, “This isn’t good!” He grabbed the Airgun of Lucien from its holster. He pointed it at Mermaimon and Trojamon. He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He pulled it again and again, but still nothing.

“Why won’t this damn thing work!” he screamed, “Why?!”

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

“Yamato?”

Keeya blinked as she turned her head to her fellow Daughter of the First. “Noriko?”

The Japanese woman rose from the couch in Jyou’s apartment. “Yamato, I…I heard Yamato…”

“What?” Keeya’s Mushmon asked.

“I heard Yamato’s voice,” she said.

“You heard Yamato’s voice?” her Plotmon asked.

She placed her hands on her chest, “He’s in trouble…”

The African woman studied her strangely. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m feeling fine!” she snapped, “Yamato’s in trouble, and I’m going to help him!” She ran down the hall and into Jyou’s computer room. She was soon followed by Keeya and their digimon partners. They found her standing at his desktop computer, reaching for her digivice.

“Don’t!” the African woman shouted, grabbing her tightly, “You can’t!”

“Yamato needs me!” she shouted, struggling to point the digivice at the screen, “He needs me!”

“You can’t!” Keeya shouted, “You don’t know what’s he’s doing! You could be brought right into the middle of a battle! You could be killed!”

The Japanese woman took a deep breath and calmed herself. “But…”

“We’ll figure something out together…” Keeya began.

Noriko shoved her digivice at the monitor. “Yamato!” she shouted. A blast of dark energy erupted from her body, flowed down her arm and into her digivice, where it shot into the monitor and vanished.

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

In the Digital World, Yamato’s X-digivice began to beep and activate. “Oh what now?” He lifted it to his face just as a beam of black light emerged from the screen and struck the Airgun of Lucien. The weapon glowed a bright white light before changing to a dark black light, then a grayish shade of both. The light exploded, bathing him in the gray light. It grew in intensity, soon grabbing Weregarurumon X and pulling him inside. The light began to spin in a whirlwind of energy and power.

“Yamato?” Mimi gasped, “Yamato?”

“Oh crap!” Michael shouted, “Now what?”

The gray light continued in intensity before exploding, revealing a new figure standing inside, that of a large blue wolf with jagged claws and a sharp, two-pronged tail. “Yamato?” Mimi asked again.

“He and Weregarurumon X fused together,” Lillymon X gasped. Her eyes darted to Mermaimon and Trojamon. “Just like them…”

“He looks kind of like Cerberumon,” Megaseadramon X said, “But different.”

“Probably still has the X-Antibody,” Lillymon added, “Cerberumon X…”

“It…was…Noriko…” Iduia shouted as best she could.

“Noriko?” Michael asked.

“It…was…her…energy…I…could 230;feel…it…”

“Weird-o,” Amiyko said, “He fused too. What does that mean?”

“Who cares,” Enk yawned, “Just let our servants kill him.”

She frowned. “All right, Mermaimon, Trojamon, tear him apart.”

The two merged digimon moved forward. Cerberumon X roared and launched into battle. Trojamon armed his weapons. “Surprise Cannon!” he shouted, firing all of his cannons at once. This time, however, Cerberumon X was able to easily navigate through the projectiles before jabbing his sharp claws into the horse’s snout.

The wolf man heard a female voice shout out behind him. He dislodged his claws from Trojamon and executed a back-flip, landing gracefully on the ground. Mermaimon began to wag her fin and shot through the air. She twisted her body around then threw her anchor at the wolf. “Northern Cross Bomber!”

Cerberumon X waited until the spinning weapon was closer before he leapt into the air and managed to grab the anchor at the end and redirected it to smash into Trojamon’s head, sending him crashing onto his side. He released the anchor and leapt on top of the fallen horse.

Trojamon struggled to rise to his feet, but Cerberumon X began to repeatedly jab his claws into the horses side. After five minutes of this, he opened his mouth and dug his sharp teeth into Trojamon’s neck. The horse’s legs twisted and flailed before slowly coming to a stop. His data vanished a moment later.

Mermaimon stared in horror. “Y…you’re a barbarian!”

Cerberumon X glared at her. She had caught her anchor when it had swung back to her. She gripped it tightly and shot forward. Cerberumon X roared, “Hellfire!” He spit out of his mouth a flame of hot green. She attempted to roll out of the way, but the fireball smashed into her chest and instantly enveloped her body. Moments later, her data could be seen floating to the sky.

“No!” Amikyo shouted, “That’s it, I’m going in!”

“Why?” Enk yawned, “They beat our warriors, let’s just call it a day.”

She glared at him. “You’re so lazily!” she shouted.

He shrugged. “That’s my crest. I’m leaving, have fun.” He vanished in a burst of blue light. Amikyo stared at the X-Chosen, then vanished in her own green light.

Cerberumon X turned to the X-Chosen and began to walk forward. “Uh oh,” Michael said.

“Y…amato…” Mimi stuttered, “I…It’s us, remember? Your friends…?”

The wolf digimon roared and shot forward. He raised his claw but seconds before it would have struck the brown-haired woman, his body suddenly became like a statue. He twitched for a moment before he exploded in a burst of the mysterious gray light. When it faded, Yamato and Gabumon X were lying unconscious on the sandy-ground.

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

They all woke up a few hours later with splitting headaches so bad they were not even able to stand. As Taichi lay on one of the couches in one of the buildings in Zeradza, his head covered by a wet cloth. Agumon X was laid out similarly in the lounge chair next to the couch.

His cellphone began to ring. He reluctantly placed the device near his ear. “Hello?”

“Taichi, it’s Yamato, s’up man?”

“I just got turned into an uncontrollable digimon that destroyed Shiokuro.”

“Really?” his friend asked, “Same here. How did you change?”

“Maria’s energy,” he said, “She gave it to me, but I guess it wasn’t compatible with the Sword of Hidokoro. I had a…short circuit, but I think I’m all right now…”

“Yeah, I know,” he responded, “Iduia said it was Noriko. She sent me her energy through the Digital Gate and my Airguns of Lucien went nuts.”

Taichi smiled. “Um, speaking of which, did you have a weird…dream before you changed?”

“Yeah, I did…” he said, “I saw Lucien’s memories…”

“I saw Hidokoro’s. But, Hidokoro wasn’t his real name, it was Jiro.”

“Yeah, Lucien’s real name was Duval….”

“And let me guess, Duval is Catherine’s grandfather.”

“That’s right! How did you…?”

“Because Hidokoro is Sora’s grandfather! The First Chosen aren’t as old as we thought! But why didn’t Sora say anything about her grandfather…?”

“Maybe she doesn’t know,” Yamato suggested, “I mean, it seems really weird that she wouldn’t say anything…”

“Yeah, but listen, you took care of Ausata?”

“Yup, we’re all good down here.”

“Well, then you’re gonna like this, I need you guys to just hang out down there for a little while.”

“Hey, sun and sand, no problem, but why?”

“We’re going to sneak in the Chosen Council’s main base, and hopefully we’ll get the location of Sora and Catherine, but first I want to take Maria back to Earth.”

“Yeah, Mimi’s gonna bring Iduia, Anna and Yuri to Tokyo too, but we’ll stay here as long as you need us too. Vacation time!”

Taichi grinned. “Yeah, you’re welcome. See ya soon. Later.”

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

On the Island of the Center, situated in the middle of the four main continents of the Digital World, the Digitalatri priestess, Chihi Miayag stood on the shoreline of the island, staring up at the evening sky. Behind her was the assembled masses of the Digitalatri congregation.

“Our mission is almost completed,” she said, turning to face them,” and when the Digital God himself appears in this world, all non-believes were be cast into eternal fire, and only the just will walk this world!”

The crowd began to cheer. She threw the Staff of Yuushi into the sky. “This world will be ours!”

Preview: Chihi Miayag, the priestess of the Digitalatri, a mystery even to those closest to her. Questions surround her entire being, how did she become the Priestess of the Digital God? What is her connection to the Yagami family? Who is she? The answers begin as the Book of Famie ends and the Book of Revelations now begins.