Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon Tamers: The Silver Lining ❯ "Muertemon: Messenger of Shadows" ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Bandai and Toei Animation own Digimon Tamers and its characters. The characters of Sano Shigeru, Sasaki Yoshihiro, Higashi Tomokazu, Muertemon, his boss, the other Soldiers of Death and certain plot concepts contained within this series, on the other hand, are mine.

Warning: This chapter depicts one scene of violence that could be considered rather graphic. Keep this in mind, and don't say I didn't warn ya.

Notes: This chapter is shorter than I have been known to write in the past, and doesn't cover the entire revision of the original Silver Lining Chapter 2. So what the hell am I doing posting it now? Simple. This is part of the new way I'm going to be going about my multi-chaptered stories. (Although I don't know if it will change my collaborations.)

You see, after some time, I've learned that writing really long chapters can get a bit tiring… it can burn you out for a series set to be as long as Silver Lining. By the time I'm finished with one long chapter… the urge to continue on isn't as great as it should be. It gets to become more of a chore than fun. I've been trying to figure out how to fix this for a while, and the answer wound up being pretty simple… Cut the chapter lengths down. And that's what I'm doing.

This doesn't mean the actual overall story itself will be shorter, mind you. The plot that I would normally tell in one chapter will be split into two or three smaller chapters.

So how is this supposed to help me? That's also simple. Doing it like this takes away a lot of the pressure I was feeling. I'll be able to get out more installments of the story with a greater frequency… just with less content in them. But how much I'm hoping it'll increase my production rate should more than make up for that. Doing this should also allow me to be able to focus on other stories, as well. There are a couple other fandoms I've been itching to write for, so this will give me the opportunity to do so, I hope.

Keep in mind that, for now, this is just an experiment. But I'm thinking it'll work out well. It may seem somewhat awkward in these first couple of chapters, but for now I'm just getting used to how I'm going to go about this.

Oh, and this chapter's title has been slightly revised from what it was at the end of the last chapter.

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Digimon Tamers

The Silver Lining

Chapter 02- "Muertemon: Messenger of Shadows"

By Infinity Blade

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Seeming to be little more than a creature of shadow, a figure jumped from rooftop to rooftop across Shinjuku. The black cloak he had wrapped around his body allowed him to blend into the darkness, and keep himself hidden from the naked eye.

Soon, he would begin his master's plan… He alone would set into motion the events that would shape the future… The new age would be upon them.

This shadow just hoped he would be able to find what he needed in the process…

*My answer will soon be upon me,* he thought. *But the only way to begin the search for that answer is finding her… We have to finish what we started. Only then will things be complete…*

The creature of shadow stopped suddenly at the edge of a house's roof. He sensed something nearby…

A dark chuckle escaped his mouth. It was a digimon…

The being sped up his pace. He crossed multiple buildings in only a few jumps, only stopping briefly on each rooftop. Soon, he came to a stop in the middle of one roof. It was here…

Spinning around, the figure's eyes locked onto something that was behind him. Yes, it was definitely a digimon… It was large and muscular, with the face of a lion. Aside from that, he was quite humanoid, and wore nothing more than a pair of tattered jeans. Attached to his belt, also, was a sheath with a sword in it.

"A Leomon," the shadow's demented voice said aloud.

The Leomon's eyes examined this cloaked being. "…what are you?"

The figure gave an unseen grin beneath his hood. "Heh, that is correct… you cannot sense me like a normal digimon, can you?"

The Leomon's only answer was for his hand to move slowly towards his sword's hilt.

"Well, if that's the way you want to do things," the shadow laughed. "But if you want to know something about me before I beat you within an inch of your life…" A large scythe suddenly seemed to appear from the darkness in his hands. "I am a soldier searching for his place in the chaos that is our exsistance… but I am also one that knows that in the end, the only thing that will save us is destruction…"

The lion man said nothing more. Instead, he drew his blade and lunged for his opponent.

***

Takato groaned as he felt something trying to shake him awake from his slumber. Now that he was finally sleeping well again, he wasn't entirely willing to let anything take it away from him again. At last, he relented and allowed his eyes to open slightly…

At the blurry sight that was before him upon doing so, he closed them again. "I don't have any pretty nurses," he mumbled, now fairly certain what he had seen was just apart of his dream.

That was, at least, until he felt cold water splashing across his face. Sputtering, the boy shot up in his hospital bed, wiping the liquid from his face. "What the-?!"

He then turned and found a profusely flushed redhead standing there with an empty glass. "I'm not a nurse!"

"R- Ruki!" Takato exclaimed, now looking even more embarrassed than her. "I- I didn't know that was you!"

Ruki sighed, set the glass down on the tray she had picked it up from, and then took a breath as she attempted to regain her composure. "Here," she said, chucking a silver & red device in his direction.

Takato barely caught the object and gave her a confused look. "My… Digivice?"

"Jen and I agreed that it would be best for one of us to watch over it while you were conked out," Ruki stated matter-of-factly. Her calm expression then turned somewhat quizzical. "Though, I guess it kind of bailed our hides out last night…"

Takato stared at her blankly before realization worked its way into his tired mind. "…so that's how Guilmon evolved against MetalTyrannomon…"

The girl's expression became downright confused at that statement. "Wait? How did you know that? Have you talked to Jen yet?"

He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped and shook his head.

"Then how…"

He looked at her for a moment before averting his eyes. "Oh… right, um… yeah. Lee-kun called me last night… sorry. I'm just so tired that I… forgot…"

Ruki's violet eyes narrowed, obviously very unconvinced and likely thinking he was lying through his teeth. And he was, too.

"…whatever," Ruki sighed again. "I have to get to school." She turned to exit the hospital room, waving her hand briefly at him. "Later."

As the girl closed the door, Takato frowned and looked down at his Digivice. The threat of his vision was now over… but there was still one last thing remaining…

*How did I know all of that was going to happen…?*

***

Yamaki was a cautious man, believe it or not. Despite the types of risks he was willing to take to get what he needed accomplished, he knew when something was dangerous or not right. And he was getting the distinct feeling that, indeed, something was not right here.

He presently stood in a parking garage beneath a building. He had received a phone call from Sano earlier this morning, telling the younger man to meet him here. Yamaki was suspicious about this… and with good reason, considering he had just been booted out of his position as head of Hypnos the day prior.

Yamaki began to involuntarily flip his lighter open & shut repeatedly in his agitation. He needed to speak with Sano again, he knew this… after thinking on it, certain suspicions were rising in the man's mind… He needed to make sure whether or not he was correct. But something about this was making him nervous…

"You are Yamaki Mitsuo-san, I presume?"

Yamaki spun around and saw five men standing in front of an elevator door as it closed. He had been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't even heard the elevator opening…

The former head of Hypnos eyed the men before him. He focused on the center one in particular, as he seemed to be in the lead as they approached him. "My name is Higashi Tomokazu. Sano asked me to meet with you."

Yamaki's eyes narrowed as he shoved the lighter back into his pocket. "I was told I would be meeting Sano himself."

Higashi smiled. It wasn't a warm or friendly one, though; it was quite cold. "I must apologize, but I don't believe that will be possible for you, Yamaki-san."

"Fine," Yamaki said, "then I have no business here."

As the other man began to turn away, Higashi spoke again. "I cannot allow you to do that…"

Yamaki paused in mid-stride. "You can't, huh…?"

Higashi shook his head, making a motion to the other four men around him. "I'm afraid not. If I allow you to go, things could get quiet… chaotic."

"Chaotic, you say?" Yamaki questioned, moving his hand up slowly to his jacket.

"Indeed," Higashi replied. "You're not here to fight for you job. We're here to figure out how to deal with the classified information you know of."

"And how do you propose to do this?" Yamaki asked, looking back at them.

Higashi's cold smile returned. "I think you know, Yamaki-san."

Yamaki slowly nodded before breaking into a sprint. The men surrounding Higashi suddenly pulled out guns armed with silencers and opened fire. Yamaki himself pulled out a handgun from under his jacket and fired blindly behind him. The shots went wide and he didn't hit anything, but it did cause his attackers to scatter. Despite this distraction, however, as Yamaki dove behind a car, he felt something strike his side.

The man landed on the hard pavement with a grunt, but quickly pulled himself into a sitting position. As he did so, he felt an intense pain shooting from his side, and reached to feel it. After the pain increased from him touching it, he pulled his hand away to find blood on his fingertips. "Dammit…"

"You're only making this harder on yourself!" Higashi shouted. Yamaki heard the footsteps of his men moving around the parking garage. There was no chance in hell of him hiding here…

The grip around his gun tightening, Yamaki took a deep breath, preparing for what he knew he had to do now…

Yamaki's thoughts were shattered, though, as a horrifying scream pierced the air. The other men screamed as well, in fear… Eyes wide, Yamaki looked out from behind the car…

What he saw left him speechless.

Sticking through Higashi's back coming out of his chest was a blade. This blade belonged to a large scythe, wielded by a human-sized being draped in a long, black cloak. Higashi's men stared on in shock, unmoving. After a few moments had passed, the shadow creature yanked his weapon out of Higashi's body, allowing the man to fall to the ground, dead.

The men looked at Higashi's body, and then at the cloaked man. They all quickly raised their firearms again and fired at him. However, the being didn't even move as each bullet hit him. He merely stood there and took it.

It was quite clear that this was no mere man.

As they continued to fire their silenced weapons, the being raised his scythe into the air. Almost faster than Yamaki could follow, he then dashed past each of them, cleaving into each their bodies with his blade. As the corpses dropped to the ground, the shadow became still.

"Yamaki Mitsuo," the voice of the shadow spoke, "I hope that you are well. However, do not think that this favor is just for your benefit, or out of the kindness of my own heart… I fully intend to collect the debt you now owe me. However, for the moment… I think I shall leave you to think things over…" With that, he released a twisted cackle, and his body became nothing more than a black mist.

As the mist floated away, Yamaki gulped. He then looked at the dead bodies lying across the parking garage. Holstering his gun, he sighed. He didn't have much of a choice now…

He had to run.

***

"Just where do you think you're going, young man?" Takato's mother, Mie, said as he stopped dead in his tracks in the Matsuda household's hallway. "You're supposed to be in bed!"

Takato laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. After Ruki left the hospital earlier, his mother had come and taken him home. "Um… well, school's almost out, and um… I figured I'd go see what work I'd have to make up for?"

"And you honestly expect me to believe that?"

"Well, it was worth a shot…"

Mie pointed to the stairs with a spoon she had been cooking with. "Bed. Go. Now."

"But Mom!" Takato protested. "I'm fine! The doctor even said so! And I'm going nuts being cooped up inside all day… Please!"

Mie just crossed her arms, continuing to give her boy a stern look.

"But I'll be with my friends… if anything happens, they can get help…"

"Takato…"

"Please…?"

"…you're not going to let up on me with this, are you?"

Takato shook his head.

Mie gave an exasperated sigh. "Alright, alright… but only if you actually do check with your teacher about the work you missed."

*D'oh!* Takato thought to himself, suddenly having the urge to slap himself across the head. "Okay, no problem."

The woman sighed again. "Stubborn. Just like your father…"

"I thought that Dad said you were the stubb-" Takato stopped his sentence with his mouth hanging open as he saw his mother's expression start to turn cross.

*Open mouth, insert foot…* Takato thought, just as the door opened and his father stepped in.

"Oh, hey there Takato-" the man began, but his son interrupted him.

"Hi Dad!" Takato exclaimed, dashing past him and out the door. "Bye Dad!"

Takehiro looked back behind him as Takato rushed off. "Wonder what that was about…"

Before his parents were out of earshot, Takato knew that his father had discovered the expression on his mother's face. The last words he heard were, "Okay, what did I do now?"

***

The elevator doors to the parking garage opened and two men came running out. One was Sano Shigeru. The other was nearly half his age, a young man by the name of Sasaki Yoshihiro. He was an assistant to Sano, and a person looking to move up in the world, by whatever means that could get him there. They had been watching what was happening by way of a video camera up on a higher floor. However, the signal to that camera had gone out, just as they saw a cloaked figure appear and impale Higashi with his scythe.

As they saw the sigh before them, they came to an immediate halt.

"Oh… crap…" Sasaki groaned and covered his mouth as he stared at the bloodied, dead bodies before them. "I think I'm going to be sick…"

They had all been quite brutally killed. By the deep cuts in them, it was also quite obvious that the same person had done this. The first thought that came to Sano's mind, however, had nothing to do with these dead men. "Yamaki's gone…"

Sasaki waved his hand at what was in front of them. "And this?"

Sano frowned. "…get this cleaned up. We can't let this kind of thing leak out to the press." Sano looked at the bodies for a moment longer, and a small smile formed on his lips. "Wait, wait… on second thought…"

Elsewhere in the parking garage, crouched beneath a car was small, purple furred demon. He wore a red scarf & gloves, and had a smiley face on his chest. He also looked like he had been through hell, as he was quite injured. He was Impmon, and he had been resting in a sewer just below this garage. Upon hearing a commotion, he decided to come up and see what was happening… What he wound up seeing was quite shocking.

*That thing that killed those guys… that was some kind of digimon,* Impmon thought, *but… there was somethin' definitely not right with that bastard…*

Impmon then winced as his stomach grumbled. *Ah well. Nothin' to do with me… now I just gotta find me somethin' to eat before I starve to death…*

***

Juri's expression was that of a frown as she strolled home through Shinjuku. Perched atop her head was the white furred little creature called Culumon, who had decided for whatever reason to follow the girl home from school today. He had been obviously curious about why she looked so sad, but she chose to just not talk about it. She was thankful for his companionship, but… it couldn't get her mind off of her present problem…

*Leomon…* she thought, releasing a small sigh. *Why was I so foolish to think that I could be a Tamer? I'm… not like Takato-kun, Ruki-chan, or Lee-kun… I'm not special… And why should I have expected him to want me as his Tamer? With the way I acted… I was such an…*

"Juri?"

Juri blinked and rolled her eyes up to look at Culumon.

"Please don't look so sad, culu…"

Juri knew the more she thought about things, the worse she was feeling… and her expression probably reflected that.

Culumon leapt off her head and floated in front of her. "Be happy, culu! Think about happy things!"

Juri, unfortunately, couldn't think about much in regards to that aside from Takato and Guilmon being well again… She had been happy to see the boy greeting all of his friends in the school yard that afternoon, though she hadn't stuck around long herself…

But, aside from that…

"I'm sorry, Culumon," she murmured. "I just don't think you can understand, fully…"

Culumon's ears drooped. "But… Juri…"

"Awww, isn't this just so sweet?"

The sudden new voice sent a chill up the girl's spine, while Culumon's eyes widened in horror. He went screaming into her arms, burying his face in her chest. Gulping, Juri slowly turned around and found a cloaked being carrying a scythe.

Juri wanted to scream, but her fear at the sight of this… thing was so overwhelming that she couldn't even find her voice. Instinctively, she started to back away.

The shadow creature seemed to look at Culumon for a moment. "It appears that my presence disturbs him…"

"What… what do you want…?"

"You," said the creature simply, his voice quite joyful at saying that.

"I ha- haven't done anything to you…"

"It is not what you have done," he chuckled, "it is what you will do…"

Juri ran back against the wall of a building and gulped. She couldn't get away from him now… "Culumon," she mumbled, "go."

Culumon looked up at her. "But…"

"GO!" she cried, throwing him into the air. Culumon blinked and looked down at her, but after seeing the determined expression on her face, he nodded and flew off.

However, that determination soon faded as she looked back at the creature. "Who are you…?" she asked, fear filling every fiber of her being as he got closer.

He laughed, reaching out and putting a hand to her cheek. "I am death."

A pulse of black energy was then suddenly released from his palm, causing everything in Juri's world to go black…

***

"I'm glad to… see you… too… Guilmon!" Takato gasped as he stood in Guilmon's hut. "But can you let me… breathe?!"

The crimson reptile blinked and released his Tamer from his hug. "Sorry…"

As he was released, Takato accidentally dropped some work from his teacher that he had picked up from the school. Takato then laughed and rubbed his head. "Don't worry about it… I'm just happy you're alright too."

"Although he was out of it for a good while too," Hirokazu said from where he and Kenta stood behind them. "Guess that connection works both ways, eh?"

"Unfortunately…" Takato muttered under his breath, looking back at his partner.

Guilmon looked around his home at the remains of the food Terriermon and Culumon had gone through. "…Takato, did you bring any bread…?"

Takato gulped hard. "Eh-heh… um, well… uh… you see…" The boy bowed his head and sighed. "No. Sorry. I was in a bit of a rush getting out of the house…"

Guilmon pouted in the direction of his Tamer. The boy frowned back at him. "…sorry Guilmon. I guess you're pretty hungry by now?"

The lizard nodded rapidly in response.

Takato shoved his hand into his pockets, retrieving a small amount of yen from them. He winced visibly at his low amount of money, but then smiled back at his partner. "Well, I guess I could go get you something."

Hirokazu grinned and stepped in front of the goggle boy. "Hey, let me go get it."

Takato stared at him for a moment. "…huh?"

"Let me go get the food for Guilmon. You should have some time to spend with your partner, right?"

"I don't know…"

"C'mon!" Hirokazu replied. "What do you think I'm gonna do with the money? Blow it on cards?"

"…do you want me to answer that?"

Hirokazu smacked his forehead. "Is it that hard to believe I'd want to do something nice for you?"

Takato sighed and forked over the money. "Just hurry back, okay?"

"Yeah, hurry back!" Guilmon exclaimed.

The visor-wearing boy just smiled and dashed off.

"…he's being awfully nice," Takato stated once he was out of range.

Kenta shrugged. "Well, he's been in a pretty good mood since you guys beat Indaramon…"

"Well, I guess I can understand that," Takato smiled, "we probably wouldn't have beat that Deva when we did without him…"

***

As Juri became conscious again, she found her vision blurred. The first thing she realized is that she was tied to something… She blinked repeatedly in an attempt to regain her sight…

But once she did, she wished that she had remained knocked out.

Wherever she was seemed quite unnatural. There was red and black energy flowing around them, and there was this… feeling about the place that unnerved her. To make matters worse, the shadow creature that she had met now stood before her.

The only reaction Juri could find to this was something she couldn't bring herself to do before. She screamed.

The creature chuckled at the sound. "You might not want to waste too much time doing that… you'll make yourself hoarse for no reason. Besides, no one can hear you… except for me. So if you must continue, I won't complain… I find the sound to be quite beautiful…"

Juri stopped abruptly and began to look around wildly. She quickly discovered what was binding her; rope tied around a black pole. There were two other poles to either side of her, also, but nobody else on them…

"You see," the creature spoke, "we are not quite on a level of reality that most people in the Real World can recognize. But we're not in the Digital World, either. Since I still have a need to remain in this world, a… barrier has been set up so that no one can see us here. Even if they walk right past it… they can't see or hear us, unless they have a certain… sense about things, or if I allow them…"

The brown haired girl swallowed hard… as hard as it was to do so, she knew that she needed to try and keep a cool head here…

*Takato-kun and the others wouldn't just sniffle and cry in front of this… thing…*Juri thought to herself, and then spoke aloud. "What are you going to do with me?"

The monster chuckled. "You'd like to know that, wouldn't you…?"

Juri shuddered as multiple possibilities entered her mind, but she attempted not to pay much attention to them. "I… don't understand what you could want with me… I couldn't do anything against you, or for you!"

Another laugh erupted from his mouth. "Really… is that so?" With a snap of his fingers, something appeared behind the creature…

Juri gasped. "LEOMON!"

Floating behind the shadow was the lion man, unconscious. Strands of black energy bound his arms and legs, and he had various cuts all along his body…

"You see, I met this fellow last night," the shadow creature explained gleefully, "but sadly, I'm not allowed to kill the poor bastard yet. A shame… he's quite strong, so I can't wait to finish him off and load his data."

"What have you done to him?!" Juri exclaimed. "He doesn't deserve-"

"Now, now, my dear!" the cloaked one interjected. "He went on the offensive when I found him… he wanted a fight… so I brought it to him. Leomon is nothing more than the same kinds of digimon your friends have vaporized… all he wants is to fight and fight… to load more data and become stronger. Do you have any idea how many digimon your precious 'Leomon-sama' has killed just to satisfy his own desire for strength?"

"H-how…"

"Oh, I know everything about you, and all of your friends, Katou Juri…"

The girl stared at Leomon for a moment longer, and then turned a harsh expression towards the shadow. "Leave him out of this! He has nothing to do with any-"

The shadow creature suddenly crossed the distance between them and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Please stop talking. It makes you sound stupid."

As fear returned to her eyes, he snickered. "Good girl…" His free hand glowed as he extended it, and a circle of skulls appeared in the air. "Day of The Dead!"

The skulls suddenly separated and surrounded Leomon. The eyes then lit up, releasing purple beams of energy. These beams barely touched the Adult digimon… But it was enough to jolt him awake and make him scream in pain.

The shadow removed his hand from Juri's face. "Now you can scream."

However, all the girl did was stare at her would-be partner with wide-eyed fear. Sighing, the creature waved his hand and the skulls moved their energy beams just a little bit closer, resulting in an even louder scream from the lion.

"LEOMON!! NO!"

The shadow cackled in response. "Yes, that's more like it… like I said, a most beautiful sound…"

And as the girl was focused on the welfare of Leomon, she didn't even notice the darkness flowing up from the ground and surrounding her…

***

"…come again?" Reika asked, staring across the purple tinted Hypnos chamber at Sano and his assistant, Sasaki.

"Reika!" Megumi whispered sharply to her friend, whom she was next to. "He's not exactly the kind of guy we should be rude towards right now."

"You heard me, Ootori," Sano responded. "For the time being, I will be acting as Yamaki's replacement."

Reika's eyes narrowed and she began to step over in his direction. "Excuse me, sir, but why exactly are you-"

"Ootori," Sano cut her off, "I do hope you know not to overstep your boundaries."

"And I hope you understand that the reason Yamaki was in charge here," Reika stated, "was because of his technical knowledge. He practically programmed most of this equipment himself. If you'll pardon me for saying so, sir-"

Sano interrupted her again. "I cannot hope to compare to whatever skill Yamaki may have had with these systems. Which is why I have Sasaki here," he said, patting the younger man on the shoulder, "because he too has good skill with technical equipment. Now, he may not be up to Yamaki's level…" Sano paused, smiling at Reika and Megumi, "but I'm sure we have plenty of people here who will help us figure everything out… correct?"

Reika's grit her teeth in frustration. She was getting tired of beating around the bush… "Why was Yamaki discharged from his position?"

Sano's smile widened. "Blunt, aren't we? Well, I'm sorry to tell you this… but that is classified information."

It was all Reika could do to restrain herself from stepping any further, or to press the issue to move. Spinning around on her heel, she began to walk back towards Megumi, muttering under her breath, "it's times like this I think I should have stayed in medical school…"

"However," Sano said, causing Reika to stop in her tracks, "that doesn't really matter anymore. We can't have a murderer running this operation, after all, can we?"

Reika's face went pale, and Megumi looked aghast. "Murderer?!"

Sano nodded, his face now deadly serious… but then just turned around, walking towards the chamber's exit. "If you want details, I suggest you take a look at the news," Sasaki said, addressing the two women, and then followed his superior.

Megumi walked over to her partner. "How can Yamaki have…" She paused, noticing the expression on Reika's face. "Hey," she said, placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder, "are you alright…?"

Reika gently shoved Megumi's hand away and began to walk away. "I… I think I need to go sit down…"

***

"Terriermon!" Shuichon called out as she wandered into Jenrya's room. The little girl knew that her big brother would be getting home any minute now… but she also knew he had forgotten to take his stuffed Terriermon to school today! He had to do some errands for their parents after school, too. Now would be the perfect opportunity for her to play with him before Jenrya got home… only Terriermon wasn't where she had last seen him that morning. "Mama must've moved him…" Shuichon frowned.

*Oh well!* she thought, *I'll just have to go looking for him! Like hide and go seek!*

She grinned to herself at the idea… but then found herself shivering. It suddenly felt like the temperature had dropped…

As Shuichon turned around, she saw a figure with a black cloaked wrapped around himself standing over her. Before she could scream, however, black mist rose up around her body and she found herself drifting off to sleep…

The black mist continued traveling throughout the apartment, seeking out the only other two within it. It crept up on Lee Jaarin as she sat in the living room, watching the television… While the teenage girl fell over as the mist put her to sleep, it slipped through the open doorway of the eldest Lee child, Rinchei…

The shadow creature exited Jenrya's room, carrying Shuichon over his shoulder. "My, my," he murmured, eyeing the girl's older siblings, "this is turning out much easier than I thought it would be." He began to move once more, his free hand crackling with energy. "I wonder if the master would mind if I was to have a little bit of fun before finishing my task here…"

"BLAZING FIRE!"

The shadow growled as multiple small fireballs struck him. "Spoke too soon…"

Terriermon suddenly leapt into his view with a look of great anger upon his face. "Let her go!!"

The shadow creature scoffed and waved a hand, commanding the mist to surround the Child digimon. "Just go to sleep."

"PETIT TWISTER!" Terriermon exclaimed, spinning around and using his ears to create a whirlwind, which blew the mist away. As he came out of the twister, Terriermon lunged at the shadow.

His enemy merely slapped him across the face with his free hand, sending the little bunny-dog into the wall. As Terriermon slumped down to the floor, the shadow growled. "Guess I have to be quicker than I-"

The apartment's front door chose that moment to swing open, and Lee Jenrya entered carrying groceries. "Hey, I-" the boy started, but stopped abruptly as he saw the sight. "SHUICHON!"

The shadow turned to face Jenrya as he dropped the grocery bags and rushed for the creature. However, as soon as the boy reached his sister's abductor… he vanished.

Jenrya just stood there for a long moment, staring blankly at the spot his little sister and that thing had been in. "Shuichon…"

"Jen!"

Jenrya broke out of his brief trance to look down at his partner. He had left his partner here to rest while he went to school, since he had been through a tough battle the day before. "Terriermon… wh-what…"

Terriermon stared down at the floor. "I was… hiding from Shuichon and waiting for you to get back home. Then I saw all of that black mist, and it knocked out Rinchei and Jaarin… then that… thing came out with Shuichon…" Terriermon balled up his little hands. "Jen… I'm sorry… I wasn't able to stop him…"

Jenrya shook his head. "No… it's okay…" He looked at his older sister lying on the couch. "Are they…"

"They just seem to be knocked out… and neither your mom or dad are back home yet."

Jenrya released a long breath, obviously trying to collect his thoughts. He then dashed off into another room, and came running out carrying a cell phone. "C'mon!" he shouted, and Terriermon leapt onto his shoulders as he passed by.

"Takato-kun and the others went to the park," Jenrya said, closing the apartment's door behind him, "I just hope Ruki's at home…"

***

Hirokazu grinned as he walked along a sidewalk, carrying a small bag with him. "Heh, this should be enough to keep Guilmon happy for a little bit, at least…"

The visor-wearing boy had definitely been in a good mood since the defeat of Indaramon. It was with his help that Takato & MegaloGrowmon had been able to defeat the giant horse Deva. At the rate they had been going, Growmon, Kyuubimon, and Galgomon wouldn't have been able to hold up against that Perfect for very long, considering none of their attacks could faze him… those attacks that weren't thrown right back at them, at least.

Not that Hirokazu was letting his fifteen minutes of fame go to his head. Too much, anyway. Whether or not he was able to help them, he still wasn't a Tamer…

However, Hirokazu's good mood was shattered seconds later. Dark mist shot up from the ground before him, and a humanoid, black-cloaked creature rose up, carrying a small girl over his shoulder.

"Sorry," the shadow creature growled, "but I can't waste too much time right now."

Before the brown haired boy could open his mouth to say a word, the shadow creature grabbed his face and lifted him into the air. Shortly afterwards, Hirokazu had gone out like a light.

***

Impmon stumbled out of an alley, clutching his side in pain. His emerald eyes darted around, searching for anything at all that could help him right now. To be exact, he was looking for food. He may have been injured, but he had no intention of starving himself to death.

Even if it seemed like his injuries would succeed in accomplishing that task. Impmon knew he couldn't worry about that now, though… he had to take it one step at a time. It wasn't like he could do much about his injuries now, anyway. No, what he needed now was to fill his stomach…

Soon, Impmon came across a construction site. There didn't seem to be a soul around it, however… Of course, it was starting to get late, so Impmon just figured the workers had gone home by now. However, the area itself wasn't what caught his attention… it was the vending machine sitting near it.

Mouth watering, the little demon digimon ran to it and immediately sent his fist flying through the machine's glass. He snatched a number of the snacks from their holders and tore them open before shoving them greedily down his throat. After a few minutes of this, Impmon sat back and held his stomach, looking at the mess around him. This made him frown. He didn't really care about making a mess, but the thought of what he'd look like to someone if they came along hit him right then…

*Damn,* he cursed mentally, *am I pathetic or what…?*

Now only being bothered by pain, rather than hunger, Impmon's head jerked up as he sensed something. "A digimon…"

In his present state, checking out a sense such as this would seem suicidal. But something inside made him get up to follow what he was feeling. He wandered away from the vending machine, and further into the construction site… and there he saw it.

Within what had been constructed thus far of a building was an area bathed completely in darkness… To his surprise, within it he saw three people bound to poles, a couple of which he knew were friends of the Tamers… also in there was a Leomon, and…

Impmon gasped, recognizing the cloaked figure from earlier. Upon seeing that frightening creature, he no longer had a desire to clean out the rest of the vending machine and quickly made his escape.

***

"…well, Hirokazu's sure taking his sweet time," Takato muttered, staring out of Guilmon's hut.

"Fooood," Guilmon groaned.

Takato chuckled slightly before squatting down next to his digimon. "Don't worry, if Hirokazu's not back in a few minutes, I'll go find a way to get you something to eat myself."

Guilmon's ears perked up and his face brightened. "Really??"

Takato smiled. "Yeah, I-"

"CULUUUU!!"

Takato turned just in time for Culumon to come slamming into his chest, nearly knocking him over. "What the?!" he shouted. "Culumon?!"

"Cululululu," the little digimon whimpered, "Juri… Juri's…"

"Culumon, calm down!" Takato replied, pulling the digimon off of him. He set him on the ground. "What about Katou-san?"

"He came, culu… he… he… CULU!"

Takato frowned, now becoming very worried… He opened his mouth to speak again, but suddenly felt strange… weak… he felt like he was going to fall over…

Everything around him was going dark…

"I've been waiting for you…"

Takato turned his head to find a cloaked figure standing behind him like a shadow. "Who…"

"I am of what you are… heh. But I don't really expect you to understand that… for now, just call me Muertemon."

"Muerte… mon…?" Takato asked. "You're a digimon?"

"Indeed."

"But how are you talking to me like this?"

Muertemon laughed. "You'd like to know that, wouldn't you, kid? You really have no true understanding of your actualpowers, or how we are all connected, do you?"

"Connected? How could I be connected to you…?"

Muertemon gave another chuckle. "Tell me, Takato… do you ever feel angry? Do you ever feel like releasing that anger? Channeling it?"

"What are you talking about…?"

"Don't you ever feel that great, powerful kind of anger coming over you? Yes, you do… you have such a great power when you bring out that destructive side… that angry, vengeful, powerful side that you keep in check far too often…"

"What are you talking about?!" Takato screamed.

"Yes, yes!" Muertemon said happily. "That's it, Takato… you know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"No I don't!"

"That's a shame… such a shame…" Muertemon said, and then snapped his fingers. "Hey! How about I try and jump-start it for you? Here, I'll show ya something I'm sure you'll get a kick out of…"

"What…" Takato began as Muertemon waved a hand. What Takato saw next made his eyes widen with surprise and fear…

"KATOU-SAN!" Takato screamed as he shot up from the ground, now suddenly back in Guilmon's hut. "And Hirokazu! Shuichon!!"

"Takato…?" Kenta asked. Takato looked down to see he had apparently knocked the other boy to the ground. "What was that about? You just spaced out for a minute… and what are you screaming about?"

"Katou-san… Hirokazu… and Lee-kun's little sister…" Takato huffed, his breathing having become much heavier all of a sudden, "Muertemon has them…"

"Muertemon?" Guilmon blinked. "Takato, what are you talking about…?"

"He's got them… he's captured them…"

"TAKATO-KUN!"

Takato spun around and found Ruki, Jenrya, and Terriermon, riding on his partner's shoulder, running up to them. Renamon, though, was absent for some reason. The boy clenched his fists tightly… there was no need to wonder what they were here for.

***

"Damn them…" Yamaki snarled as he leaned against a building's wall deep within an alley. He touched the wound beneath his blood-soiled clothes briefly and winced. The pain was getting worse… He had been moving carefully through the city for more hours than he cared to count… He couldn't let any of Sano's men find him again, so he couldn't go to a hospital or anything like that. Especially after hearing what he did on a radio he had passed by an hour ago. "Wanted for murder… how dare they… after everything I've done…"

"It really is a shame what they've done to you," a voice said suddenly. Startled, Yamaki turned to see something that hadn't been there a few seconds ago… the creature that had killed Higashi and his men.

"You lousy son of a bitch!" Yamaki roared, drawing his gun from beneath his jacket and aiming it at the thing's head. He knew very well that bullets wouldn't hurt the creature, and he only had a few shots left, but his anger was clouding his judgment for the moment.

"My, my… how ungrateful you are…"

"Ungrateful?" Yamaki replied. "You murdered five men. I am now wanted for those murders. And you call me ungrateful?!"

"Can you honestly tell me, Yamaki, that you wouldn't have killed those men so you would have survived? They were about to kill you. I saved your life. You owe me. Plus, what do you think you're going to do with that weapon… besides attract the attention of the local authorities?"

Yamaki's brow furrowed, but he lowered his gun. At his point, he had nothing to lose by just listening to this monster… "What do you want from me?"

"Glad you asked," the cloaked figure said. "First of all, my name is Muertemon. Now… you are no longer in command of your organization."

"Tell me something I don't know. My patience is wearing thin enough, just get to the point."

"Fine, fine," Muertemon said, raising his hands. "Now… there are those with a desire to gain control of your organization… You see, what you have constructed with Hypnos is, really, nothing short of the ultimate weapon… to my kind, at least. You have no true understanding of how deep your meddling with my world could reach… The real consequences of your Shaggai system's effects are very far reaching… or they could be. So, I have a question for you … Have you by chance been approached by anyone… or anything… before you got the boot?"

"What are you…" Yamaki started, but stopped as he realized what Muertemon was talking about.

At his surprised expression, Muertemon laughed. "You catch on quick. You see, in the end, we're quite similar Yamaki… we both want the survival of our worlds. But there are those that want nothing but complete destruction… Chaos. We could help each other, Yamaki… we have common enemies. There is no need for us to make foes of each other…"

"You don't say…?" Yamaki asked. "What do you want, then?"

"Simple. All I want is information…"

"About Hypnos?"

"All for defensive purposes, you understand…"

Yamaki chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, I understand…"

The man's arm suddenly shot up and he was aiming his firearm at Muertemon's head again.

"I understand that I'll see you in hell."

-End Chapter 2

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Revision Notes: I notice the more and more I work on these revisions, the more they become almost unrecognizable from the original story. This chapter was overhauled WAY more than the first one was… and I'm not even finished yet! All that was kept except for the basic premise of Muertemon nabbing people (and even THAT was changed somewhat) was a couple of lines I rather liked.

But overall, I hope that once I get into the swing of things with using this new format, it'll work out well. ^^ The only negative effect it has on this chapter, I think, is it's now Renamon-less… oh well. I'll make up for that in the next one. ;P

Next: Chapter 03- "The Soldier of Death"