Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon: Apocalypse ❯ The Keyes of the Heavens: Chapter 2 ( Chapter 24 )

My name is Takashi Yuuske, and I was once a soldier of the Seekers of the Digital Light, the Digitalatri. Before that, I was a member of the Odaiba Chosen, I had trained with them, hoping to become a full member at some point. That never happened. I caught BD-2 and got really sick really quick. Me, Hiroshi and Keiko went to the Digital World to live, and that’s when Lady Miayag first appeared to us. She gave us so much hope, she made us believe in the God of the Digital World, healed us, gave us strength….but that was all fake, the God of the Digital World was a demon named GranDracmon that existed since the creation of the Digital World, he had used us since the beginning, all so he could get stronger.

Yuri of the X-Chosen had already been killed during our escape from the Dark Area, and because of a dream that Sora Takenouchi had, we planned an expedition to the three moons, the only thing left of the original Digital World. Sora, Maria, Keeya and Anna landed on one of the moons and had to fight Oiri, the Horseman of Famine. During that fight, Keeya was killed. ---------------------------------------- The Keys of the Heavens: Chapter 2 ----------------------------------------

The X-Chosen, having spent the last few weeks in constant combat within the Digital World, were now forced to return to their normal lives. Hikari stood at the door to her classroom, watching as her students trailed inside. She had missed their smiling faces, their bright eyes, their laughing voices; such innocence and promise. She knew, however, that they would soon turn into moody teenagers, she had seen it happen to her brother and her friends. She was certain she had gone through that stage, although when she asked about it, Taichi only responded that her version of ‘rebelliousness” was to say ‘damn’ and ‘hell,’ and it only lasted from age 16 to 17.

“Excuse me, Miss Yagami?”

She blinked for a moment before looking down. Two of her students were staring up at her, a girl with long hair and a boy with a head of scraggily hair. “Yes, what is it, Juri?”

The girl grinned. “Where were you? You were gone for like, forever!”

Hikari smiled. “I was only gone for a week. And I had some…things to take care of…”

The boy looked to the girl. “She was workin’ with her brother.”

Juri hit the boy in the side of the stomach. “Takato, that’s supposed ta be a secret!”

She eyed the two of them. “What are you two talking about?”

They were silent. She frowned. “Come on, what’s going on?”

“They were spyin’ on the sub’stute when she was talkin’ on the phone!” another boy shouted.

Hikari kneeled down to look at the young children. “You shouldn’t be spying.”

“We’re sorry!” the boy said, “We were jus’ commin’ back from recess!”

“Okay…okay, it’s all right…” Hikari said, “Yes, I was doing something very important with my older brother.”

Another girl frowned. “My older brother is so mean ta’ me! Is your brother mean ta you?”

Hikari smiled. “No, not anymore. When you get older, you’ll get along better.”

“What did you have ta help him with?” Takato asked.

“Some…things,” she said. She did not wish to announce to them that she was a Chosen, they would not stop asking her for details.

“What kinda things?” Juri asked.

“I will tell you later,” she said, hoping that they would forget, “Let’s take our seats right now and we can begin.”

The class moaned and Hikari smiled. It was great to be back.

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

“Hey, Jyou, welcome back.”

He stood before his supervising physician and bowed. “I…apologize for my absenc, Dr. Yazuna…”

The older man stared at him. “Tell me, what was so important that you had to miss a week of your internship?”

He paled. “I…uh…Well, I had something very important…”

“What?”

“I…um…I can’t say, I’m sorry.”

Yazuna nodded slightly. “Then tell me this, were people counting on you?”

He blinked for a moment. “Y…yes.”

The old man’s face quickly smiled. He placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Then don’t worry about it. If you were needed elsewhere, then that is part of the difficulty that we doctors must face, how can we save one person if we must sacrifice another? That is something that we must deal with.”

He placed his arm around his shoulder, “Now, most of your patients have been released, but there’s someone here that I would like you to diagnoses…”

Jyou gave a small sigh of relief, he was happy to be back.

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

Mimi lay on the couch in her parents’ apartment and lazily flicked through the channels. Palmon X and Betamon X were seated in one of the chairs, watching with agitation. With every program that appeared, they waited for the young woman to start watching, however, she continued to pass through channel after channel until Palmon X finall yelled at her. “Would you just keep it on one channel?!”

“Shh!” Betamon X hissed, mentioning to Michael, who was speaking into his cellphone near the window.

“No,” the blond man said, “I want to purchase those shares as quickly as possible…well, if that’s a problem then we’ll need to drop it, yeah, I know…all right, I’ll talk to you soon.” He placed the phone into his pocket and sighed deeply.

“What’s wrong?” Mimi asked.

“One of the shows that we had for our fall lineup isn’t doing well in the testing, we’re gonna have to drop it.” He shook his head, “Those people are going to be out of work…”

Mimi walked over and hugged him. “Why don’t you do a show about us? You know, about our adventures in the Digital World and everything like that. I mean, we wouldn’t use our real names, or anything like that, you know…?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’d be a better idea to keep it quiet…” He frowned.

“What’s wrong now?”

“Someday, I would like to tell this story, about everything that we did, everything that you did before me.” He smiled slightly, “That’s not a bad idea, though, Taichi and Yamato could be the stars…”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like anyone would watch that, it’s really…”

She was not able to finish that thought as a loud moan was heard coming from the guest room. They charged down the hall and entered the room, where they saw their ‘guest’ a young woman with long, messy hair, seated up in the bed.

“Miayag, you’re awake!” Mimi exclaimed.

The Digitalatri Priestess turned to her. “W…where am I?”

“You’re in Tokyo,” Michael explained, “We brought you here after the fight with GranDracmon…”

She flinched at the memory. “Am…am I to assume that he has not been defeated?”

They shook their heads slowly. “I see,” Miayag responded. She stared at them with caution. “Am…am I your prisoner?”

“No…no, nothing like that,” Mimi said, waving her hands.

“Where are Hiroshi, Keiko, Takashi and James?”

“We think that the three moons of the Digital World might have something to do with GranDracmon’s seal, so they and the Daughters went to investigate them.”

She nodded. “Where is my cousin?”

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

Dingo studied Yamato’s expression from across the kitchen table in Jyou’s apartment. The blond man was slowly eating the eggs that were lying on the plate in front of him. “Well?” the Australian asked.

Yamato had to twist his head as he attempted to swallow. He managed to get it to pass through his throat before glaring at Dingo. “It’s…unique…”

The Australian frowned. “That bad, huh?”

“Well, I just…I mean…”

“Nah, it’s fine, I can’t cook at all,” he shrugged, “Keeya and Noriko cooked when we were all stayin’ here…”

Yamato sighed slightly. The other male raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

He shook his head. “No, nothing’s wrong…”

“Yeah, right…”

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“You and Noriko.”

“What?!”

Dingo smirked. “When are ya gonna tell her.”

Yamato narrowed his eyes. “And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“I see how you and Lynna look at each other…”

He smiled slightly. “Hey, she’s pretty easy on the eyes ya know…”

“Well…it’s not like Noriko couldn’t be a supermodel if she really wanted to!”

Dingo held up his hands. “Easy, mate.”

“Sorry,” the blond said, “I’m just a little cranky because I’m so hungry…”

The Australian man chuckled slightly. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I’d offer ta go out for food, but I don’t really know my way around here...Do they do takeout for breakfast?”

The blond shrugged. “Maybe. Get the phone book.”

--------------------’’

Taichi and Agumon X were lying on the couch in his apartment, watching television when he heard the doorbell ring. “I’m coming!” he shouted. He stumbled off of the couch and limped forward, eventually, and with great effort, he grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open. He gasped in surprise. “M…Miayag?”

“Good day, Juukeitei,” she said.

The Priestess was standing with Mimi, Michael, and their disguised digimon partners. She was being supported by Mimi. The brown-haired X-Chosen gave a sheepish shrug. “She insisted!”

Taichi limped out of the way and mentioned with his arm. They entered the apartment, Miayag collapsing onto the couch. Her Plotmon curled up and lay down at her partner’s feet. The bushy-haired young man gave a slight smile. “I guess you’re not feeling any better then me, huh?”

“I am still suffering from exhaustion and sore limbs,” she replied, getting herself comfortable.

Michael looked to Taichi. “We can stay if you want us to…”

“Nah, that’s okay,” he said, eying his cousin, “I don’t think she’s much of a threat…”

Betamon X chuckled. “Yeah, well, no offense, but neither are you…”

Palmon X lightly hit him in the back. Mimi placed her hand on Taichi’s shoulder. “We’ll come back in a little while, okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, okay…”

They slowly exited the apartment, closing the door behind them. He turned to Miayag. “So, what do you want?”

She frowned. “You do not have much like for me, do you?”

“Well, what do you expect? You tried to kill Noriko and Maria, you forced everyone out of Nightsun, you put my mother in the hospital, you forced hundreds of Infected Chosen to join your side-which, by the way, turned out to be powering an ancient vampire demon, and you’ve just generally been a major pain in my ass!”

Agumon X and Plotmon watched with wide eyes. They decided to themselves that it would be best to remain silent. Miayag sighed deeply. “Yes, you are correct; there is much I have done that…that perhaps was not completely necessary.”

“So, what, now you’re here to apologize? I think it’s a little too late for that.”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, I do not think I deserve your forgiveness, only wished it…”

“Why do you talk like that?” Taichi snapped.

“What do you mean?”

“You talk like you’re so…so high and mighty!”

She blinked. “I…I do? I…I was not aware that I spoke in such a way…perhaps it occurred after receiving the power from GranDracmon…”

She trailed off, staring at the floor. Taichi flinched slightly, remembering that she had been used by the great demon. “I…” He sighed, “W…what happened to your mother anyway?”

“Both of my parents are dead,” she said, “My father was killed by someone he called friend, and my mother perished as a result of an overdose caused by narcotic abuse.”

“Drugs?” he gasped, “Your mother was a drug user?”

She once again glanced to the floor. “Yes, she was.”

Taichi noticed that the Priestess was no longer speaking with the same…authority and arrogance she once had; perhaps arrogance was too strong a word. After discovering that they were cousins, he had, unfortunately, noticed that they shared many of the same qualities, both good and bad, including their pride. She had been so strong, so determined before, and now, after discovering that everything she had believed in was a lie, she felt that her entire life was over.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. “What did you want to see me about?”

She too inhaled deeply. “I…I just wanted to give you my apologies for the wrongs that I have committed upon you.”

He crossed his arms. “Yeah, well, just so you know, I don’t think the others will be too ready to forgive you, especially Maria, Noriko and Anna.”

She stared at him. “What about you, Juukeitei?”

He hesitated for a moment. “I…I don’t know…Yeah, okay, so it turns out that you were just being used by GranDracmon, but why did you even have to go along with him in the first place??

“Because I had nothing else,” she sneered, “You and Hikari may live with a complete family, a father and mother that still live and still love, but answer me this, what would you do, if they happened to die tomorrow? Tell me, how would you feel about being alone?”

He blinked. “But…I wouldn’t really be alone, I’d have Sora, and Yamato, and Jyou and the others. Did you really think I wouldn’t turn to my friends if I needed help? Why didn’t you turn to your friends?”

She hesitated for a moment, then turned her head to glace out the window, “I…I do not know…Maybe I had forgotten, maybe…maybe I had become so overcome with grief that I did not think to do so.”

“Which brings up another thing,” he said, “Me and Hikari knew about Aunt Kumiko, but we just got the impression from our Mom that she really didn’t want to come back here, even to visit, but, didn’t your mother ever tell you about my Mom?”

“No, she did not,” Miayag said, “My mother never spoke of a family at all. I do not know the reasons, but I did not know anything of you.” She smiled slightly, “Perhaps had I known, things could have been…different.”

Taichi crossed his arms and studied her. After what she had done to him and the other X-Chosen, he should find no difficulty in hating her, but, whether it was because they were cousins, or maybe something more, he was finding it difficult not to get to know her. “Something’s really been bothering me.”

“What is that?”

“Did you ever have BD-2?”

She nodded. “Yes. Shortly before GranDracmon appeared to me in the guise of the God of the Digital World.”

“What, uh…um…”

She mentioned to her face. “My eyes,” she explained, “They were deteriorating, much like Anna Danika’s condition. When GranDracmon contacted me the first time, I had lost completely vision in my left eye. But, when I accepted his power, I was completely cured.”

He nodded slowly. She narrowed her eyes. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Did you suffer from the effects of the Second Black Death?”

“I…I have the X-Antibody.”

“Yes, but did you have BD-2, and then the X-Antibody purged it from your body?”

He was eager to change the subject. “So, you were born in America, right?”

She nodded, “Yes, I was born in Los Angeles, California. That is also where I came of age.”

“Then you can speak English pretty good, right?” he asked, “I mean, I can speak English because it was required for the profession that I’m studying, and the others all took at least one year of English.”

She nodded. “Yes…”

“Great, we can talk about everyone behind their backs then.” He gave her a slight smile, the noticed that she was still wearing the same dress that she had on when they first met. “Do you want to take a shower and get a change of clothes?”

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

Dingo marched down the sidewalk, carrying a large bag in his hands. Ganimon X was skittering along the ground next to him, some packages on his back as well. “Why did we hafta go all the way ta the other side of the city?” the digimon asked.

“We didn’t go ta the other side of the city,” he sighed, “Look, I didn’t wanna go either, but the restaurant wouldn’t do take out for breakfast, and plus I can’t read Japanese, we’re lucky we even got ta the place ta begin with, so stop compla…”

Ganimon X glanced to his partner, who had stopped walking and was staring out through an alley. They had elected to travel through the back routes to avoid attention, but now the Australian man was walking towards the main street. “Dingo?” Ganimon X asked, following him.

Dingo walked to the edge of the alley and stared out; there was a large group of young adults marching down the sidewalk, almost in synchronous steps. He would have thought that was odd, but when he saw the various digimon partners hiding in disguises near them, coupled with the fact that most of the humans had visible signs of BD-2 infection, he knew something was wrong.

“What’s up?” Ganimon X asked.

“Where are all those Infected Chosen goin’?”

“I don’t know.”

He mentioned with his head. “Come on, let’s go find out.”

They waited until the last of the Infected Chosen had passed before stepping out in the street. They moved a decent distance behind them, fair enough not to be noticed, but close enough to follow. They eventually arrived at the park, where the group had arranged themselves within a large semi-circle. Standing at the center of that circle, was a young woman dressed in a dark black dress.

“Hikari?” Ganimon X gasped.

“No, it’s not!” Dingo hissed, “It’s that…other one…What the hell was her name?...Kirahi!”

“Well what are they doin’ here?”

“I dunno,” Dingo replied. He began to search around until he located two large trees to his left. He grabbed his partner and dove behind them. They cautiously peered around the large trunks to stare at the assembly before them.

Kirahi, the Horseman of Death, although that information was kept secret from the congregation, raised her arms into the air and began to speak. “Hear me, fellow Chosen, the time is almost upon us. The Digital World has been destroyed, annihilated by those despicable Demon Lords, and, though it pains me to say it, my predecessor, Chihi Miayag was in league with them! She chose to relinquish control of the Center Island rather then fight to protect it! And thus, with her aide, the Digital World was destroyed, and so we were forced to walk this world once more.”

She sighed and shook hear head, “But the normal humans will not accept us anymore then the so-called ‘normal’ Chosen, those of the now-destroyed Chosen Council. We will be caged and exterminated.” Her face grew into a smile, “But, do not fear, my fellow Chosen, for we will soon have peace! For the Digital God himself will soon be with us, and we have only to pray and gather our energy, feeding it to him, so that he may have the strength needed to appear in this world, where he will protect us and smite our enemies!”

The crowd began to cheer wildly. Ganimon X turned to his partner. “Aren’t we gonna stop them?”

Dingo stared at him. “What are ya crazy? Look at how many there are compared ta us. We step out inta that, and we’re gonna be the ones meetin’ God…”

“But we know that she’s lyin’ ta them. We gotta do somethin,’ I mean, ya heard what she said, GranDracmon’s commin’ here, and he’s commin’ here soon!”

Dingo hesitated. “Look, as much as I wanna run out there, I don’t think it’s a good idea, let’s go and get Taichi and the others, then come back.”

Ganimon X sighed. “Yeah, all right, let’s go.”

They cautiously turned around, but, to their horror, an Infected Chosen was standing before them: a boy who was missing his left arm and almost all of his right hand. He had an Armadimon as a partner. Dingo and Ganimon X only stared at him for a moment, before the Australian man smiled slightly. “Um…do you know where we can sign up?”

“X-Chosen!” the boy shouted as loud as he could. Dingo and Ganimon X spun around and saw that the entire army of Infected Chosen were now staring at them, including their newly-appointed leader, Kirahi.

The Hikari-doppelganger pointed her finger at them. “Kill them now!”

“Oh shit,” Dingo muttered, “Run!”

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

While the X-Chosen were reestablishing their lives on Earth, the Daughters of the First, along with the members of the Digitalatri, were exploring the three moons of the Digital World. Despite Sora’s originally laid out teams, once the Digital Gate was open, the large group became separated in the void that was once the Digital World. Sora, Maria, Keeya and Anna had landed on one moon, Noriko, Catherine, Iduia and Lynna had arrived on another, with the Digitalatri arriving on the third. These soldiers were wandering across the red landscape. They did not know where they were going, but since they did not have a better plan, they continued to walk forward. Keiko then asked a question they had all been thinking, “If we beat GranDracmon, what’s going to happen to us? Are we going to end up as prisoners, or worse?”

“Could they really do that?” Keiko’s Kunemon asked, “Can they really put us in prison?”

They looked to Hiroshi, who thought for a moment. “Yagami might have authority with the Chosen and the Digital World, but not on Earth. He doesn’t have any authority to hold us anywhere.”

His Penmon glanced to him. “But, isn’t he a government student or something like that?”

“Yeah, a student. If this was happening ten or twenty years from now, maybe, but not now.”

Takashi grumbled. “So they kill us, just like they did with Tatum, Sam and Vicente.”

The others stopped walking and turned to him. “What do you mean?”

He crossed his arms. “Well, think about it, we’re enemies, and they send us here, to a place no one’s really ever explored before. We could be stuck here for the rest of our lives.”

“Wait,” James said, “That doesn’t make much sense, Takenouchi came with us…”

“Yeah, and remember that she split us up too? And now we’re together and the others aren’t anywhere to be seen.”

Keiko gasped. “W…what if he’s right?”

James shook his head. “But, I saw them, they entered the gate with us…”

“But they aren’t here now, right?” he said, “They could be on Earth right now, with the Gate closed!”

“Stop that!” Hiroshi shouted, “Taichi Yagami’s not the type to manipulate others, if he wanted to kill us, he would have shot us dead in Kido’s apartment.”

The others reluctantly agreed and continued to walk forward. They moved in silence, too ashamed over their manipulation by GranDracmon to speak. Eventually, they arrived at a group of metallic buildings. They blinked in surprise. “I thought there weren’t any settlements here?” James asked.

“There shouldn’t be,” his Betamon answered.

“Hiroshi?” Keiko asked.

Her boyfriend only nodded. They entered the small village and were promptly greeted by a group of digimon who had a body in the shape of a star. “Starmon?” Hiroshi’s Penmon asked.

“That’s right!” one shouted. The Digitalatri jumped back slightly at the force of his answer.

“We are the Starmon Brigade!” another one shouted as loud as he could, “Ten hunt!”

All of the Starmon instantly stood at attention, moving their arms and bodies in one carefully orchestrated motion. The Digitalatri were impressed.

“What brings you humans here?” the first Starmon asked.

Hiroshi nodded slightly. “We’re here on an expedition…”

He nodded. “Come with me,” he said. The Starmon led them through the metallic city, passing by an army of Starmon, each one practicing a series of movements, raising their arms, raising their legs, switching to the other foot, moving their other arm, all moving in complete unison. There was a Starmon standing at the front of the group. He was gold color as opposed to silver and wore a set of dark sunglasses.

“Amazing,” Hiroshi said, admiring the perfect movement and choreography.

The group of Starmon finished their practice with a slamming of their feet and a loud shout. The gold Starmon nodded. “Dismissed!”

The army of Starmon began to disperse. The gold Starmon turned and noticed the Digitalatri. “Humans! I haven’t seen humans in a long time!” He noticed the Digimon at their side. “And Chosen too! Well I’ll be! I’m SuperStarmon, what can I do to help you?”

Hiroshi quickly told him about GranDracmon and the three angels, including Sora’s prophetic dream. SuperStarmon gently rubbed his chin. “I don’t know if there’s anything here that can really help you with that.”

“Are you sure?” James asked.

“Fairly certain,” he responded, “And we’ve been here for a long time, studying this planet.”

Keiko snorted and crossed her arms. “I knew Takenouchi was just out of her mind.”

SuperStarmon thought for a moment. “Maybe there’s something we can do. Follow me, and we’ll check out our surveillance.”

“Thank you,” James said. The group followed him as he led them through the army base. They past by more Starmons, who were all training in a variety of ways. “Can I ask you something?” Hiroshi asked.

“Yes?”

“What are you training for?”

“We’re always training,” he said, “For the time when we’re needed.”

“All you do is train?” Keiko asked.

“That’s right, missy,” he answered, “Don’t you understand? You’re heroes, aren’t you?”

“Maybe at one time,” Hiroshi sighed, regretfully.

SuperStarmon eventually led them to a large, circular-shaped building. Inside was another group of Starmon, these ones seated in front of computer terminals. In the center of the room was a raised platform with another computer terminal. This platform was where SuperStarmon walked to and began to activate the electrical equipment.

He began to move his fingers across the keys. He was silent as he studied the information on the screen. “I may have found something to help you.”

“Yes?” Hiroshi asked.

“During one of our excavations of this moon, we found a canyon a few miles from here.”

“So?” Takashi asked.

“There was a cave at the bottom of that canyon, there was nothing inside of it, but maybe we missed something.”

“That’s it?” Takashi’s Tsukaimon asked.

“That’s the best I can do,” he replied.

He quickly gave them the directions to the canyon, and the group began their trek across the red landscape. SuperStarmon’s directions had not been very clear, but the canyon ran along most of the moon, so by simply walking direct right they would arrive at the chasm. They remained silent as they traveled. Only a few days ago, they would have chatted the entire journey, but that was before GranDracmon. They were still feeling the sting of the revelation that their entire mission had so far been nothing but a lie. In fact, the only thing that was fueling their desire to work with the X-Chosen was to halt GranDracmon’s plans. They may have foolishly allowed themselves to be controlled by their grief and pain, but their rage was still theirs.

After traveling for fifteen minutes, they found themselves standing on the cliff of a giant canyon. The opposing side was clearly visible half a mile before them, but the edges stretched for miles in both directions.

Takashi frowned. “Great, that cave could be anywhere down there!”

Hiroshi shrugged. “We’ll just have to keep looking until we find it, that’s all.”

“Maybe it would be better if we split up?” James asked.

“I don’t know, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. If we were attacked, we’d be outnumbered.”

“You already are!”

They twisted their heads and saw a figure dressed in a light orange cloak standing a few feet behind them, with a centaur-like creature with standing beside her. “One of the Four Horsemen!” James shouted.

Keiko stared. “One that stole the face of Tatum!”

The figure shook her head. “How soon we forget.” She bowed, “I am Matut, the Horseman of War, and this is my partner, Zanbamon.”

The centaur-creature grabbed a sword from its sheath and swung it forward in a practiced move before sliding it back into its holster.

Takashi raised an eyebrow. “I guess you’re here to kill us?”

Matut chuckled. “I guess you’re not as stupid as I thought you were. I mean, those times when Miayag was giving orders, you always looked like you were somewhere out in space…”

“You are not Tatum,” he interrupted, “We all know that, so don’t bullshit us, all right?”

She glared at him for a moment, then shrugged. “Fair enough. So let’s just get started then, okay?”

Hiroshi nodded to the others. They each grabbed their digivices and gripped them tightly. Their partners ran forward and quickly evolved: James’s Betamon into Megaseadramon, Takashi’s Tsukaimon into Metaltyrannomon, Keiko’s Kunemon into Garbamon, and Hiroshi’s Penmon into Bluemeramon.

The Digitalatri gasped in surprise. “W…what’s going on?” Keiko asked, “Why aren’t they Megas?”

“GranDracmon took back our powers!” James gritted his teeth, “Damn it!”

“It doesn’t matter,” BlueMeramon answered, “Even if we’re not as strong as we were, we’ll still win!”

Zanbamon chuckled slightly. “While you’re wrong, I won’t be able to prove it, because I won’t be fighting.”

The soldiers were in silent awe. “What?” Takashi finally asked.

Matut chuckled as she raised her hand. “I could summon someone that you guys already defeated, but you never did defeat anyone, did you? You weren’t good enough to be part of Yagami’s or Motomiya’s Chosen, and when they trained you, you had just enough time to betray them. So, I guess the best I’m going to be able to do is…him!”

As she held her hand to the air, and explosion of orange erupted before them, summoning a creature that they had never seen personally, but the tales they had heard from the other Chosen allowed them to recognize him on sight.

“Phantomon!”

As with most of the digimon that were summoned by the demons, Phantomon did not speak, only swung his large scythe around before him, attempting to intimidate his foes. He hovered in the air, staring down at the four digimon below him. His eyes past to each one before settling on Keiko’s Garbamon. He raised his scythe and shot towards him. The Mutant digimon was about to raise his bazooka, when Megaseadramon shot up from behind, his horn already crackling with energy.

“Thunder Javelin!” he shouted, throwing a mighty bolt of pure electricity into the ghost’s body. Phantomon struggled, but was able to disrupt the attack by swinging his scythe at the serpent, sending out a wave of energy.

“Soul Chopper!”

Megaseadramon was able to dart out of the way in time, but Metal Tyranomon, who had been standing behind him, was struck in the chest. Due to his metal body, he was not as injured as the ghost had hoped. Instead, the metal dinosaur stomped forward and reached out to grab Phantomon, but the ghost swung his scythe around again, slashing the blade into the dinosaur’s palm. Metal Tyranomon continued with his motion and smacked him instead, sending him into a tail spin, where Blue Meramon was waiting.

The flame digimon created balls of blue flames within his hands and flung them forward. “Take this, Ice Fireball!”

Phantomon easily twisted and hovered to safety. He raised his scythe, ready to attack, but he stopped when he heard Metal Tyranomon charging up behind him. The metallic dinosaur opened his mouth and expunged a mighty blast of fire that completely enveloped the ghost digimon. “Fire Blast II!” he shouted with glee.

Takashi grinned. “I think we got him.”

Phantomon shot out of the ball of flame and slashed his scythe across Metal Tyranomon’s snout. The large dinosaur lumbered backwards, but still managed to slam his fist into the ghost’s side, sending him towards the ground. Megaseadramon slithered around on the ground, coiling, and then striking like a snake, his jaws open wide. The ghost twisted around at the lat moment, swinging his staff forward, sending out a blade of evil energy. “Soul Chopper!”

“Megaseadramon!” James shouted, “Watch out!”

But it was too late, Phantomon’s energy slashed the serpent across the face, and he fell to the ground. The ghost gripped his weapon tightly and flew to continue to attack the serpent, but was suddenly struck in the face by the most disgusting and surprising thing he could think of, shit.

He stared at the glob falling down his body, then over to the digimon that had fired it, Keiko’s Garbamon. The young woman stood behind him with her arms crossed. “Never saw that coming, did ya?” she laughed.

Phantomon roared with anger and shot towards them, but BlueMeramon appeared at the last moment. He hovered in the air for a moment before his entire body suddenly exploded with bright, blue light. “Vision Binder!” he screamed.

Phantomon roared in pain, dropping his scythe. He floated backwards, clutching his injured eyes.

“You’ve got him now!” Hiroshi shouted, “Now finish him off!”

BlueMeramon held his hands into fists and clenched them tightly. His body began to quake slightly as the flames on his body grew even larger, wrapping around his limbs and torso. Soon, his entire body was wrapped in flame, which then quickly transformed into ice. “Ice Phantom!” he shouted, flying forward at full speed. He brought his right fist back, then swung it forward, slamming into his chest and emerging out his back. The ghost digimon shook for a moment before his data was ripped into nothingness.

Matut raised an eyebrow in surprise. “They beat him,” Zanbamon answered.

“I can see that,” she replied.

“You better believe we won!” Keiko shouted.

Matut crossed her arms and smirked. “So, the weaklings won, huh?”

Hiroshi pointed his finger at her. “You’re not going to intimidate us like that! Go back to your boss and tell that demonic bastard that he’s not going to beat us! We might not have been Chosen like Yagami or Motomiya, but that doesn’t mean we’re not any less Chosen! And just remember, I’m going to enjoy killing you myself!”

The Horseman of War laughed. “Yeah, right, I’d like to see you try.” She sighed slightly, “But Lord GranDracmon is calling, so I will see you later, and mark my words, I will see you dead before I pass into the next life!” She gave a slight bow before she and Zanbamon vanished with a burst of orange light.

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

On the middle moon, Noriko, Catherine, Lynna and Iduia had discovered a structure over the horizon when they landed on the small celestial sphere. Without anywhere else to travel, they began to move towards it. When they arrived, they were slightly surprised to discover that a collection of houses was littering the yellow landscape.

“Settlements…on…the…moon?” Iduia asked.

“Why not?” her Kokuwamon asked, “Anything’s possible in this universe.”

The Brazilian agreed and the group cautiously entered the settlement. After determining that there was no sign of a threat, they began to search the buildings. In the first, odd-shaped house they entered, they found a typical kitchen: an oven, a sink with a few dirty dishes, a white refrigerator, and a round table in the center. Surprisingly, there were a few hamburgers lying on the table’s surface.

“Looks like someone was here,” Noriko said, “Why do I feel like the Three Little Bears?”

Lynna grinned, her mouth watering. “Hungry Little Bears is more like it.” She walked forward, “Man, I am starvin!”

Before any of the others could stop her, the hamburgers suddenly leapt into the air. The Australian woman stopped short, staring in disbelief as the hamburgers turned into small, rodent-like creatures with hamburger buns on their heads.

“Don’t eat us!” one of them shouted.

“We’re not food, please!” another one cried.

The Daughter of Water was stunned into silence, but the Daughter of Light blinked in surprise. “Hamburger digimon?” Catherine asked.

She turned to Floramon, who only shrugged. “Maybe some data from a fast-food restaurant’s cash register, like Burger King.”

The Daughter of Darkness gave an amused laugh. “Nothing surprises me about this place anymore.”

The door on the far wall opened and two digimon who appeared to be larger versions of the burger digimon, one had a mustache and the other was wearing an apron. “What is all the commotion in here?” the mustached-one asked. When he saw the Daughters and their partners, he gave a slight chuckle, but the other one screamed slightly.

“H…humans?” the one in the apron asked, “You are humans, correct?”

“Yes,” Noriko said, “I’m sorry if I’m rude, but…you’re digimon, right?”

“That is right,” the mustached-one responded, “I am PapaBurgermon, this is my wife, MamaBurgermon, and these are our children.”

The younger Burgermon ran to hide behind MamaBurgermon’s back. “I apologize,” she said, “But we have never seen humans before.”

“Wait,” PapaBurgermon said, “Tell me, you have been to the Digital World, correct? We have heard stories from traveling Digimon.”

Catherine nodded. “Oui, we are from ze Digital World.”

“Then, tell me, how was it destroyed?” he asked, “We saw it happen right before our eyes.”

Noriko answered him. “Well, it was destroyed because an evil demon named GranDracmon was sealed in the center, the Dark Area. Now he wants to get free, and destroying the Digital World was just the first step. But, he said something about angels sealing him away, and the moons were named after the angels, so we’re wondering if there’s a connection.”

PapaBurgermon thought for a moment. “Well, this is the Ophanimoon, but I do not know if there is anything special about it.”

“Wait, Daddy,” one of the smaller Burgermon children asked, “What about the Rock?”

The adult Burgermon smiled slightly. “Ah, yes, how could I forget? The Rock might hold the answers you’re looking for.”

“Rock?” Iduia asked.

“Yes, it’s a strange rock formation not even half a mile from here. We could even show you the way.”

“That would be great,” Noriko grinned, “Thanks.”

“Not at all. We rarely get visitors anymore.”

“Now, now,” MamaBurgermon said, “Why don’t we let them eat first?”

“Eat?” Lynna asked.

The female Burgermon nodded and smiled warmly. “We have enough hamburgers for everyone. We can eat, then we can show you the way to the Rock.”

Catherine smiled apologetically. “Merci, but we should really get moving…”

MamaBurgermon smiled. “Oh, it’s no trouble, I know that you’re hungry…” She mentioned to the table, “Please sit.”

Lynna and her Gizamon ran past the others and leapt into the seats. Noriko shrugged. “I guess we’re staying.”

They all sat and waited only a few moments before PapaBurgermon exited the kitchen carrying a large tray of hamburgers and placed them onto the table. Despite their earlier manners, the hunger of the others had gotten the better of them and they too devoured the food before them. While Lynna, Noriko and their partners shoved food into their mouths, Catherine and Floramon ate with slightly more dignity. While Kokuwamon ate, Iduia stared at the hamburger seated on the plate. Catherine noticed this.

“Aren’t you going to eat zat?”

She turned to her. “Oh…yes…” She reached up and unclasped the bottom of portion of her oxygen mask, freeing her mouth but leaving her nose covered. She began to eat, slowly, and she shivered slightly.

“Are you still feeling sick?” Noriko asked.

“Just…a…little…” the Daughter of Metal answered, “But…I…will…be…fine.”

MamaBurgermon smiled warmly and she handed the Brazilian a cup full of a warm liquid. “Here, this might help.”

Iduia thanked her and sipped on the medicine. “It…is..good…I…feel…better…already.R 21;

After they had finished eating, the Burgermon were eager to lead them to the mysterious Rock. By now, the young food digimon had become comfortable around the humans and were laughing and playing as they walked across the yellow landscape.

“How long have you guys been here?” Noriko’s Plotmon asked.

PapaBurgermon thought for a moment. “A very long time. Our ancestors might have come from the Digital World, but we’re not sure.”

“Then how did you know about the Digital World at all?”

“We have had some travelers that come here occasionally.”

“Travelers?” Gizamon asked, surprised, “Who travels here?”

“Space digimon!” one of the Burgermon children laughed.

MamaBurgermon laughed slightly. “Digimon that are able to survive in space have come here to explore. They have settled on the Cherubimoon…” She mentioned to the red orb hovering in the black sky.

“Alright,” Lynna said, “Let me get this straight, we’re on the Ophanimoon, and that blue one over there is the Seraphimoon?”

“That’s right, my dear,” MamaBurgermon nodded.

Iduia stared at the blue moon, then glanced over to the red moon. “I…hope…our…friends…are…there… 221;

“I’m sure they are,” PapaBurgermon replied.

They chatted for a few more minutes before arriving at a large mountain seated within the barren landscape. It was shaped oddly and stretched to the sky. There was a gapping hole at the bottom. PapaBurgermon smiled as he held out his arm. “This is the Rock.”

“How long has it been here?” Lynna asked.

“It’s always been here, as far as we know,” he answered.

Noriko shrugged. “Well, might as well see what’s in there.”

They began to walk towards the cave, but stopped when they saw another figure exiting the cavern, a figure with a face that they recognized, but knew that it was not who they thought. It was Noriko who first spoke. “I know you’re not Sam.”

The figure chuckled and gave a slight bow. “Well, not like I was trying to trick you or anything, since I figured by now you were used to seeing us demons…Anyway, I am Asm, the Horseman of Pestilence, and I think you all know my partner…” He pointed to the top of the mountain as the entire ground began to shake. A towering giant lumbered from around the back of the mountain, another familiar figure.

“Venom Myotismon!” they shouted in unison.

Noriko turned to the Burgermon. “Run! Hurry!”

They nodded and quickly retreated back to their small village. The partners of the Daughters quickly evolved: Plotmon to Black Tailmon, Floramon to Kiwimon, Gizamon to Ebidramon, and Kokuwamon to Guardramon. They knew that they were no match for the towering mega, but they would not give up without a fight.

Asm started to chuckle. “Eager, aren’t we? Sorry, we won’t be fighting.”

“You won’t?” Lynna asked.

“Afraid not,” he said. He raised his hand and an explosion of dull gold light erupted before them. A dark figure appeared; a towering devil with two long white tentacles. “Marine Devimon!”

The Aquatic Beast digimon chuckled with evil laughter and raised one of his white tentacles, throwing it into the ground with great force. The X-Chosen dove for safety while their digimon partners leapt into action. Ebidramon raised his claws, which grew in size and swung them into the white tentacle. “Twin Neptune!”

Marine Devimon did not appear to even flinch as, with a flick of the same tentacle, sent the Aquatic digimon tumbling backwards. He began to raise the white appendage, but Black Tailmon was able to jump on and charge up the side, eventually reaching the shoulder. She pulled her fists back and executed her Neko Punch attack, striking him multiple times on the side of his face. The demonic sea beast only chuckled and threw her into the ground.

“Damn it,” the black cat swore.

Kiwimon and Guardromon positioned themselves on either side of the aquatic goliath. Guardromon raised his fists while Kiwimon opened her beak.

“Pummel Peck!”

“Destruction Grenade!”

The barrage of projectiles was able to hit their mark with deadly accuracy, but the Aquatic Beast remained uninjured. He quickly swung his large hands around, knocking both of them back with a single motion.

Ebidramon skirted forward, his claw raised above his head. “Twin Neptune!” His attack slashed the devil’s leg.

“All right!” Lynna cheered, “Yeah!”

Unfortunately, Ebidramon’s attack did nothing but irritate the beast. He kicked the Aquatic digimon to the side and lifted his leg, intending to flatten the creature. However, Guardromon fired red beams from his eyes that pierced the devil’s shin. He stumbled back and was forced to place his foot on the ground once more. Ebidramon leapt to his feet and fled. Kiwimon fired more Chibi Kiwimons from her mouth to cover the escape of Lynna’s partner, but they caused no injury to Marine Devimon.

“Damn it!” Noriko shouted, “This isn’t working!”

“We need ta get up ta his head,” Lynna growled, “But none of our digimon can fly!”

Iduia looked to her partner. “And…Guardromon…can…only…hover…and

n ot…that…high…either…”

Catherine stared at the battle a moment longer before she gasped slightly. “Wait, I have an idea. Why don’t we use our powers to make our digimon evolve?”

“What?” Lynna asked.

The French woman nodded again. “Oui, just like we did with Yamato and ze others.”

Iduia asked, “What…about…our…infections?”

“She 217;s right,” Noriko said, “Jyou said if we used our powers too much, our infections would just get worse.”

“Yeah, but what else are we gonna do?” Lynna asked.

Everyone then agreed then they would have to do whatever was necessary. Each one called upon the power they knew was lying within their bodies, Noriko’s power of darkness merged with Black Tailmon, Lynna’s power of water merged with Ebidramon, Catherine’s power of light merged with Kiwimon and Iduia’s power of metal merged with Guardromon. Each one began to glow with bright light as they evolved once more.

“Black Tailmon evolve to Ladydevimon!”

“Ebidramon evolve to Waru Seadramon!”

“Kiwimon evolve to Blossomon!”

“Guardromon evolve to Andromon!”

The Daughters were amazed at the sight of their evolved partners, except for Noriko, who was staring with a mixture of wonder and horror. “L…ladydevimon?” She stared at the hovering devil woman, “P…Plotmon, please tell me that’s still you in there…”

She glared down at the young woman, then smiled. “Yup, it’s me.”

She gave a small sigh of relief, then gave her partner another cautious glance. “Do you…I don’t know, have any kind of…bad feelings?”

She shrugged. “Not really, why?”

“Oh, no reason!” She looked back to the other digimon, where were just beginning to assault Marine Devimon. “You’d better go.”

Ladydevimon nodded and flew to aid her fellow digimon. Waru Seadramon led the assault by firing a large, sharply-pointed icicle from his horn, which was actually able to pierce the aquatic demon’s shoulder. He stifled a roar and lurched forward. Blossomon began to whip her vines and send them spiraling at Marine Devimon, the tiny faces attached to the end sliced and tore across his skin. Andromon was next to attack. He charged his right hand until it began to glow, then swung it across his body, sending a blade of energy aimed at Marine Devimon’s neck.

“Spiral Sword!”

The attack did not strike the Aquatic digimon’s neck, but did slice off one on his tentacles, causing it to drop to the ground. As the group cheered at their slight victory, Iduia, unseen by all, fell to her knees, clutching her chest. Jyou had warned her, but she had disregarded it. When she used her power to cause Guardromon to evolve, it left her weak, and the Second Black Death crept further into her body. It was in her heart, and she knew it would not be long now.

Due to the lost of his tentacle, Marine Devimon was howling in pain. He was thrashing his arms and legs. His mouth began to fill with something, and the Daughters thought he was about to vomit. “Guilty Black!” he shouted, spraying a sea of black film in every direction. The Daughters leapt to safety, but the digimon were soon covered with a sea of blackness that penetrated through their skin. They began to moan and writhe in pain, all except for Ladydevimon, who had escaped the attack by flying into the air.

“Hold on guys!” she shouted. She flew closer to her fellow digimon and threw open her hands. “Darkness Wave!”

A stream of bats shot out of her hands and flowed over the other digimon, effectively wiping away enough of the black ink to allow them to once again rise to their feet. They stared at the evil devil digimon with anger in their stare. Ladydevimon floated down to hover before them. “We attack as one,” she said, “All at once, and aim for his face.”

They all nodded and charged forward. Marine Devimon chuckled and opened his palms, ready to attack. LadyDevimon was leading the group, and was hovering closest to the Aquatic digimon. Marine Devimon swung his arm around to strike the floating devil, but she immediately fired her Darkness Wave attack, blinding the Aquatic devil. While he stumbled about, Waruseadramon snaked between his feet, so that the large devil stumbled backwards and fell onto his back. Blossomon slid over on her vine-feet and executed her Spiral Flower technique, once again causing large lacerations across his body. However, he was easily able to whip his hand around and grab hold of her. She struggled to break free, but he only squeezed harder.

“Blossomon, oh no!” Catherine shirked.

“Andromon!” Iduia shouted as best she could. Her mechanical partner nodded and charged forward, his arm in position for another Spiral Sword, but to his horror, energy did not gather into his hand like before. Marine Devimon used his foot to kick him aside.

Iduia ran to her partner. When she was at his side, she fell to the ground, panting heavily. The cybernetic digimon stared at her. “Iduia…?”

The Brazilian nodded. “Yes…this…is…” She trailed off, not able to say anymore.

Marine Devimon seemed unable to get back onto his feet. His large body made it too difficult to maneuver quickly, but he still held Blossomon in his clawed hands. He moved his other hand around in an attempted to get back onto his feet, but Ladydevimon was ready to strike with her Darkness Spear, but Marine Devimon’s remaining tentacle whipped around and held her tightly. Waruseadramon hesitantly crouched, waiting for an opportunity to attack. He waited until the Aquatic Beast had one knee to the ground and the other ready to bend to push himself back to a standing position. The serpent waited, then shot forward, but, Marine Devimon grabbed him with his free hand. With the three digimon trapped, he laughed as he rose to a standing position. He began to twist his head to search for the fourth one…

“Spiral Sword!”

He twisted his head back just in time to see Andromon fire his bladed energy attack, this time successfully striking the Aquatic Beast’s neck, slicing his head off. Marine Devimon stumbled for a moment before his data exploded into the sky. The three digimon crashed to the ground, regressing to their Child forms. Noriko, Catherine and Lynna ran to their partners, but stopped when they heard a deep amused laughter.

They turned their heads to the sky and saw Venommyotismon still standing in the same spot as before, with Asm on his back. “Oh shit,” Lynna muttered, “I forgot about him…”

The Horseman of Pestilence only gave a slight bow. “My mission has been completed, if only partially. I will return to kill you all.” He snapped his fingers and he and Venommyotismon vanished in a burst of gold light.

“What the hell was he talking about?” Noriko asked, “His mission?”

Catherine suddenly gasped and twisted her head. Iduia was lying on her back, and her Kokuwamon was slowly dissolving. They charged to her side just as her partner finally vanished in a burst of data. The digimon began to weep at their fallen comrade, but Noriko fell to her knees at Iduia’s side.

“Iduia…Iduia…!” she shouted.

The Brazilin Chosen nodded slightly at the Daughter of Darkness. “I…am…sorry. I…will…not…be…able…to…help…you 230;any…longer.”

Noriko was only able to shake her head, but before she could speak, Iduia continued. “I…should…have…listened…to…Jyou…B D-2…is…eating…my…heart…”

“Idui a…” Catherine cried, kneeling beside her.

The Brazilian reached her hand up, and Noriko grabbed it. “Give…my…best…to…Sora and…Taichi…and…to…you…and…Yamato… Farewell…my…friends…”

Her hand slowly slipped from Noriko’s and fell to the ground. The Daughter of Darkness and the Daughter of Light were too overcome by their emotions and simply cried. Lynna, who had been standing at Iduia’s feet, clenched her fists together. “Ya idiot!” she screamed, tears flowing down her face, “Why did’cha have to get yourself killed? What was the point? Huh? What the hell was the freakin’ point!” She fell to her knees and began to cry as well.

Noriko did not how long it was before she was able to look at the fallen Daughter’s face, but when she did, she noticed the oxygen mask on her face. She reached over and ripped it off, revealing to them the face of quite possibly the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. They said nothing as they began to dig her grave. They remained silent as they laid her body to rest, but as they stared at the mound of dirt before them, Noriko was finally able to speak.

“She was the worst, you know,” she said, “The worst among us. She had so many artificial organs, hell, everything but her heart was gone, who knows how much pain she must have been in day after day, but did she ever complain? No, she never once felt sorry for herself, she remained strong and determined.”

“I remember when I first saw her,” Catherine said, “During ze battle at Nighstun. I felt so sorry for her, but, she was so much stronger zen I realized.”

Lynna chuckled slightly. “When I first saw her, all I could think of was that voice, that horrible, computer voice, but…I guess that’s what made her what she was, right? I mean, she never tried to hide it, she always said what was on her mind, even if that stupid computer was talking for her. Just once, I would have like ta hear her real voice, I bet it was beautiful.”

They gave one final moment of silence for their friend, then slowly walked to the cavern entrance.

To be continued…