Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Shuffle ❯ Mission's End ( Chapter 28 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The Shuffle

Chapter Twenty-eight – Mission's End

By: Lord Archive

Digimon belongs to Toei Animation and Akiyoshi Hongo. They are used without permission or the intent of profit. All rights reserved.

--

Takeru's Journal:

The decision has been made. While my accounts have always clearly been a collaboration, no matter what I wrote of the early adventures, it was viewed from two minds: Takaishi Takeru and Hida Iori. I was indeed born as someone else, yet thanks to Piemon, I have become Takeru.

With the War of Light verses Dark coming to an end, we could start sending Chosen home.

--

Ken groaned awake, and not for the first time having slept at the so-called war room. It had been a bad habit before, but with Taichi and the others in Xuanwumon's dimension, he was now the main leader. He needed to be on duty to make sure everything was under control. He wasn't sure when he'd go home next.

"Finally awake?" Miyako asked.

"Ah, yeah." Ken looked at his assistant and briefly wondered why she wasn't wearing any pants, or panties for that matter. He then wondered if had anything to drink. Last night he had kissed the girl, touched her, had sex with her. He hadn't intended for any of that to happen. He had lost himself in the moment.

Miyako smiled cheerfully at him. "Didn't expect last night."

"Neither did I," Ken admitted somberly.

"Do you... like me?" Miyako wondered.

"I do... but... well..." Ken sighed. "I don't know what to say. Mimi was my girlfriend and well..."

Miyako pouted. "That moment just seemed so perfect to kiss you."

"I felt the same, even if I hadn't planned to kiss you," Ken agreed.

Miyako spun around on the chair. "Ken... I liked last night... I like you."

Ichijouji looked down. "Can you give me a little time? I mean... I do like you. It's just..."

"A bit of a surprise," Miyako offered.

Ken nodded. "I guess you could say that. Any new reports?"

"Nothing on the machine front. However there is a bit of news from us Chosen. Juana from Brazil just announced she's pregnant," Miyako informed.

Ken blinked. "Really? Guess the rumors of her and James were true."

Miyako giggled. "That's putting it mildly. However, because of Juana letting her blessing be known, four other girls announced their pregnant as well. Teressa from London is no big surprise, she just didn't want to tell us in case we needed her team. Nor was their any surprise from a girl who was one of the first Chosen in Cairo, though she's hiding it for now."

"Egypt is a country with poor views of unwed mothers," Ken noted.

"Potentially lethal if the wrong group gets too up tight," Miyako agreed with a shudder. "As for the other two, apparently it wasn't much different from us last night. Having sex wasn't something they planned or intended to do. The Florida girl doesn't regret it as much that she is upset for being 'too soon.' The other girl, well, she was regretting it before the pregnancy test came up positive."

Ken frowned. "How far along are they?"

"Teressa is furthest along at four months, while Juana just found out and is likely six weeks. Rest of the girls fall between that," Miyako replied.

"If they all got pregnant at the same time it would be a rather big coincidence," Ken observed.

Miyako waved it off. "If it wasn't for Juana posting about her blessing, the other girls likely would've held off until Teressa finally came forward."

The computers all began to beep in warning.

"What is it?" Miyako wondered.

Ken frowned deeply at the information running across a monitor. "Chaos Dramon has come out of hiding. He's launching his attack."

"Where?" Miyako moved to stand up, but a loud thud of a thunderous explosion and subsequent rumbling of the ground caused her to fall back into the chair. "Fuck! He's attacking HERE!"

Ken wasted no words, he was already sending a distress signal across the globe. He prayed the evil digimon did not know where the war room was located, else the next attack could be right where they were.

--

Sayuri frowned as Iori walked up to her. Yet he was not the one born as Iori, he was the Iori she had been dating for the past year. She found herself unable to look him in the eye. He could've been cured. He could've been as he was born to be. Yet he had returned to a body he had not been born into for her. She had asked for this, wished for it. But now she felt trapped by her desires. Here was a boy who just sacrificed a life he was meant to live for her. Could she ever have the right to refuse him anything?

"My decision," Iori told her firmly, as if guessing her thoughts.

Sayuri could only cry as she grabbed the boy. "I love you, you selfless jerk."

Asuramon followed the boys. "What is your plans now?"

"Once we return to our base, Taichi and Sora will be taking a group back to our world," Hikari informed.

"What about you?" Asuramon wondered.

"We'll be sticking around for a bit, mostly to back up Mimi if she needs help with her peace talks," Daisuke replied.

Asuramon nodded with a smile. "I was afraid that with the reason you came to this plane finished, you would all leave."

Iori smirked. "No such luck. We would not abandon this world."

Daisuke folded his arms. "Especially not after how much we've screwed it up."

"Even after the peace treaty is complete, I doubt you'd be able to keep Mimi away. She has so much invested into this world. I'm sure she will visit often," Hikari added.

"And what about you Lord Daisuke and Lady Hikari?" Asuramon pressed.

"Please don't call us that," Hikari almost whined. "I'm especially undeserving of such a title."

Asuramon's faces all smirked. "It is the reason you lost the title that you are deserving of it. I would like to see you again, Chosen of Qinglongmon."

"We'll at least stop by before we leave, and we'll try to visit. Don't know how often," Daisuke promised.

The Chosen and their digimon left the hidden temple, with Hikari being the last to leave. She paused at the door and smiled at him. "Thank you, Xuanwumon."

Asuramon let out a laugh. His voice brimming with power as he replied in a double voice, "I should be thanking you. Thanks to you and the others, the days of this seal may finally be numbered."

Hikari nodded.

--

"See you've made your choice," Taichi groused upon seeing Patamon resting on top of Daisuke's head.

"We choose for the girls," Iori informed.

"Can't say I'm not surprised," Piyomon noted. "One cannot deny their heart."

"You can try, but it hurts," Sayuri retorted. "I was ready to start dating him as Daisuke."

Taichi walked up to his little sister. "Don't take too long to come home. Your niece misses you."

Hikari smirked. "And I'll miss you too, big brother."

"And what are your plans when you get back, Motomiya Hikari?" Sora questioned accusingly, sounding very much like her brother.

Hikari shrugged. "We've been playing it by ear so far, why stop now?"

Daisuke put his arm around her. "We won't keep our relationship a secret. As for officially being married back home, you know what needs to happen before we can do that."

Taichi scowled at him. "Something tells me that'll happen sooner than I'd like."

"Any time before I graduate university is sooner than you'd like," Hikari teased with a giggle.

"Try before you're thirty," Taichi sent back. "But if a bunch of us start becoming parents, they'll be more likely to let Sora back into school."

Sora hugged Hikari and told her, "Take care. See you soon."

Hikari nodded. "See you soon, big sis, big bro."

"See ya." Taichi waved and put his arm around Sora as the walked toward Koushiro and a number of other Chosen children.

A pillar of light flashed through the sky and they were gone.

Hikari let out a small laugh as she shook her head.

"What is it?" Daisuke wondered.

"That's the first time anyone called me, 'Motomiya Hikari,'" she observed.

Daisuke pulled her into a hug. "Well, you better get used to it as it won't be the last time."

Sayuri smiled wryly. "Just as I may as well get used to being Hida Sayuri."

Iori pouted at her. "You don't have force yourself."

Sayuri folded her arms. "I may have never been a guy, but because of what you've done for me, I feel as obligated to you as you would if you had gotten me pregnant. Not that I'm complaining, this is what I wanted. I'm just realizing how much of a curse and blessing the saying 'be careful what you wish, it may come true' is."

"Takaishi Yume has a nice ring to it," Bakumon teased.

Yume blushed and giggled. "It does, doesn't it."

Takeru folded his arms. "You just wanted to be the first one to say that, didn't you?"

Bakumon laughed. "Not by a long shot. Yume has said it countless times."

"Big surprise there." V-mon chuckled.

--

Taichi and the others blinked as the pillar of light faded. They instantly recognized the area to be the barren and broken landscape of Digital Alaska yet the central island that had been the epicenter of the seal was far larger and flatter than any of them remembered.

Koushiro immediately opened his laptop and tried to sort through the flood of backlogged messages that rapidly appeared.

"What's the time?" Sora wondered.

"Monday around four in the afternoon," Koushiro replied. "We've been gone for a day."

Taichi and many of the other Chosen nodded, most in relief.

"Oh, shit!" Koushiro cursed. "Chaos Dramon is on the attack right now!"

"Where?" Ayashi asked.

All color was devoid from Koushiro's face. "Odaiba."

Taichi raised his digivice to the sky and yelled with all his might, "DIGIPORT OPEN!"

Reality seemed to crack. The sky and land fell away like broken glass revealing a large field dominated by a giant Ferris Wheel and surrounded by apartment buildings. The Japanese Chosen immediately knew exactly where they were: in the Pallette Town section of Odaiba.

"Oh, thank goodness," Sora breathed out, seeing a nearby apartment complex was fully intact. "Your mother's apartment is safe."

A rumbled of explosions echoed through the air.

"Not for long," Taichi practically cursed.

"Right." Agumon stepped forward.

Piyomon nodded and moved to stand next to the small dinosaur digimon. "Let's go."

They both yelled out to warp evolve. Their evolutions flashed and then merged. With the right arm the head of War Greymon and the left arm the head of Hououmon, Omegamon announced his arrival.

"Any of you feel inadequate?" Bobby of Oklahoma chirped.

Regardless, the other Chosen called for their digimon to evolve and rushed toward the fight.

They soon found Mugen Dramon at the middle of a line of Chosen digimon. The former Dark Master obviously had seen better days as his metal was dented, scorched and broken. The other Chosen digimon did not look much better. They could not flee from their position as numerous machine digimon lead by a red version of Mugen Dramon, Chaos Dramon, was poised to unleash destruction on Odaiba.

"This world needs cleansing! Fire again," Chaos Dramon ordered.

An attack was launched, but it was not by his troops whose voices cried out in pain and death as the newly arrived Chosen cut down the machine digimon.

"It looks like fate is once again on the side of the Children," Mugen Dramon noted.

Chaos Dramon gazed up in shock. "How? You are not supposed to be back yet. I must succeed before both the Digital World and yours plunge into darkness!"

"And how would you do that?" Omegamon demanded.

"With the death of women," Chaos Dramon answered.

Mugen Dramon more coughed in pain than laughed. "That is no solution."

"Houou Cannon," Omegamon intoned.

Chaos Dramon was prepared to dodge, yet had to wonder why the attack seemed to be aimed at his former leader, now hated foe.

The answer to that came as the flames subsided and not even a blemish could be found on Mugen Dramon's body. All of his injuries had vanished.

"Time to finish this. INFINITE CANNON!" Mugen Dramon's cannon began to fire volley after volley into Chaos Dramon, hammering at his body until the red metal dragon was no more.

The surviving machine digimon immediately surrendered. A portal was hastily opened and the machines were escorted to the Digital World.

With the last enemy sent off, Sora called out to the former Dark Master, "Do you know what he was going on about?"

"I do not know the details," Mugen Dramon admitted as he moved to shore before devolving.

All of the Chosen digimon followed suit.

Ken advanced toward Taichi, holding a sleeping Minomon. "I'm afraid we really can't say much at all about why Chaos Dramon wanted to kill all women. When he first appeared less than an hour ago he was spouting about something that will plunge both worlds into darkness."

Miyako folded her arms with Pururumon tiredly leaning against her leg. "If you ask me, he was completely crazy. He could've just been spouting some delusion or he might believe that women _are_ the darkness."

Sora pouted. "Why do I get the feeling Chaos Dramon wasn't insane, rather his solution was stupid?"

"You've been hanging around me too much," Jyou joked as he approached them. "I've got that feeling as well. And it may have something to do with something girls can do but guys cannot."

"From a guy who went through eight hours of leg spread pain, what do you mean by that?" Taichi groused.

Jyou gave a sad smirk. "I don't think that it's a coincidence that Chaos Dramon wanting to kill off women comes right after five girls who have been Chosen for more than three years announced they were pregnant this morning."

Koushiro frowned deeply. "With the way things were going in Xaunwumon's dimension... we certainly risk increasing that number."

Taichi clenched his fists. "If this new enemy exists, he may not want women, he wants our children." He growled when he noted Piyomon had devolved to Pyocomon after being part of Omegamon. "I need to make sure my daughter is safe."

--

A quick check of the apartment proved that it was empty. Sora went to pick up the phone to call Taichi's mother's cellphone when the door opened.

Mrs. Yagami was holding her granddaughter and stared blankly at the girl. "You're back already?"

Taichi was immediately at the door. "_I_ am home," he told his mother before taking his daughter and held her tenderly.

Mrs. Yagami blinked tears out of her eyes. "You're cured?"

"Yep." Sora nodded. "Though we may still confuse you a bit from bleed over."

Mrs. Yagami glance around her home. "Where's Hikari?"

Taichi frowned. "Still in the other dimension. While the cure was available, the war isn't exactly over. They're sticking around to help in case the peace treaty talks fall apart. She should be back before the end of the week."

"And how is she? Is she okay? Is she safe?" Mrs. Yagami fretted.

"She's perfectly safe and is better than okay," Sora answered sheepishly.

Mrs. Yagami pouted. "There's something you're not saying about her."

Taichi shared his mother's frown. "Hikari... married Daisuke in the other dimension. There were issues in their mission and they went through a ceremony to help deal with them. And because of their marriage and issues with the other girls, the boys decided to not be cured."

"Are they truly married?" Mrs. Yagami wondered.

Sora looked away. "They have been lovers since Hikari returned to being a girl."

Mrs. Yagami nodded slowly. "I see." She sighed. "At least she's safe and happy. Though I may have to get used to having both of my children being parents."

Taichi looked at his mother with serious eyes. "Don't be surprised if she comes home pregnant. We Chosen may be at the start of a baby boom."

Mrs. Yagami clutched her hands over her chest. "That doesn't sound good."

"We've just learned that a new threat may soon be coming. That five experienced Chosen girls announced they were pregnant today. With other events, I wonder if our actions have been influenced to create the situations needed for us to become parents," Sora explained.

--

The never ending football game came to an abrupt halt as a digimon approached the field, they all began to mutter the same word, "Asuramon."

Barbamon glanced up from the chess game he was playing with his archenemy. "What brings the priest of a failed god out of the safety of his temple?"

Asuramon gave a respectful bow to Barbamon and Cherubimon. "I have come to let it be known that Xuanwumon's seal has begun to fade. It may take years still, but the time we return to the Digital World is coming."

"This is our world, and no other," Cherubimon protested.

"This is but a small world created by Xuanwumon at a time of great discord. As this world is finding it's own sense of unity, so too is the Digital World becoming united. When that day comes, we will once again be part of a greater world as we were always meant to be," Asuramon intoned.

"Do you still deny the Digital World with all the evidence of our true home world walking around you," Barbamon shot at his nemesis.

Cherubimon glared. "I do not discount their world. What I find disagreeable is saying this world was the result of a false god. Xuanwumon could not have the power needed to make an entire world."

Barbamon laughed. "You're a young fool. You have no idea how small this place is when one can fly to one edge of the world to the other in a matter of a couple days. The Digital World is hundreds of times larger with ocean waters that stretch beyond the horizon. Xuanwumon may have failed as a god, but he is still a god."

"Should we make that one of the tenets of the peace treaty? Whether to declare Xuanwumon false or not?" Cherubimon questioned harshly.

Barbamon laughed. "Discount Xuanwumon if you wish. It matters not to me. I do not follow him any more than you do."

"I don't follow one so weak," Cherubimon countered.

"Exactly," Barbamon agreed.

Asuramon smirked. "I will take any agreement between the two of you."

Barbamon gazed at the digimon. "Do you have any other business, Priest?"

Asuramon nodded. "Indeed I do, with the Chosen known as Yume."

"Me?" Yume squeaked a little but still walked up to the multi-faced digimon.

Asuramon knelt down to look at her closer. "As I thought, there has been a disruption in your code."

Yume blinked. "Disruption?"

"There's a break in your code." Asuramon gently tapped her lower back. "Right there."

Yume pouted. "Yeah... I know. I was hurt there."

"Would you like me to correct the error?" Asuramon asked.

Yume stared at him. "You can fix that?"

Asuramon nodded. "I should be able to."

Yume grabbed his thumb with both hands. "Please! Fix it!"

Asuramon's hand was engulfed in flames. He carefully rubbed his pointer finger up and down her spine.

Yume tried not to squirm, but couldn't help herself as her nerves were exploding. Pain, pleasure, hot, cold, tightness, looseness and every other sort of feeling flooded her mind. She could not think. She couldn't even tell if she was screaming or moaning. Then she collapsed.

Takeru was by her side immediately. "What happened?"

Asuramon frowned. "It seems that was more intense than I had expected. She should be fine once she awakes. The disruption has been corrected."

Takeru nodded, hoping what the priest said was true. "Thank you."

"As I've told you before, you deserve all the thanks I can give you. If you have need of me, just let me know and I shall do what I can." Asuramon turned and walked off. "It is time I stopped hiding and joined this world."

--

Mrs. Yagami was home alone doing the dishes when her children's bedroom door slammed open. "Hikari?"

The girl in question did not reply as she dashed for the bathroom and began to heave her last meal away. Daisuke was hot on her heels looking at the girl with concern.

Mrs. Yagami frowned at the sight. "Taichi did warn me."

Hikari coughed. "Ah... Hi, Mom. I'm home."

Daisuke smiled sheepishly. "Hello."

Mrs. Yagami folded her arms. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

"Not the greeting I hoped to have." Hikari slumped to the side of the toilet. "No point hiding it... Yes, I am."

"I am willing to marry her," Daisuke announced.

Mrs. Yagami smirked sadly. "I know you've already went through the ceremony in the other dimension."

Hikari pouted. "But we haven't done it with family or friends. Not even Mimi got to see it there."

Mrs. Yagami leaned down and tenderly held her daughter's hands. "We'll arrange a double wedding with your brother."

"Sounds fine to me, but we'll have to see if it's just a double wedding," Daisuke intoned.

A shiver ran down Mrs. Yagami's spine. "There's more of you pregnant?"

Hikari nodded, but did not offer any names.

Mrs. Yagami sighed. "You will have to be careful. There are already warnings of a new threat... One that may have helped pushed you two and others together."

Hikari blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know the details, but a number of other children like you are also pregnant, even ones without boyfriends and had no intention of being with a guy," Mrs. Yagami informed with a sense of dread. "It's too much of a coincidence that so many of you are pregnant at the same time. Whoever is behind this wants the babies of strong Chosen."

Hikari's eyes went wide. "Wants... strong... babies?"

Mrs. Yagami leveled her gaze at her daughter. "You know about this threat?"

Hikari didn't want to say it, but knew very well once Takeru heard about it, he would announce it to everyone. "A few years ago... I was abducted by digimon from another world... they wanted me to bare strong children for them."

Mrs. Yagami gasped. "Did... did they hurt you?"

Hikari shook her head. "No. I was saved. But the threat of the Dark Ocean and it's lord, Dagomon, remains."

Daisuke reluctantly nodded. "We're going to have to tell everyone about it."

Hikari failed to look up. "I know. Can we wait until after the War of Machines is over?"

Mrs. Yagami glared at her daughter. "We won that war already. Mugen Dramon killed Chaos Dramon when your brother came home."

--

"There are twenty-three points of contention with the peace treaty," Mimi began. "These issues are ones where compromise seems unattainable. No side will concede their positions. How does one find a solution when all sides of conflict refuse to find common ground?"

The large gathering of digimon looked at her with confused expressions, many wondering if she was asking them that question.

Mimi smiled brightly. "We create a new common ground! If words cannot find peace, yet action must still be taken to ensure it, then action is what is needed! To decide which solution to the points of contention will be adopted will be decided in competitions. With these twenty-three issues there shall be twenty-three games. With each victory, the winning side will get to pick a solution to be used."

The digimon began to talk between each other not sure what to make of the announcement.

"These games will be held every two years," Mimi continued. "And each time the competition is set forth, all sides may put forth changes they wish to see to the laws that unify this land."

Cherubimon stepped forward. "The time of war has passed. Let us all set aside powers of death and violence and use our skills to shape the future of our world."

Barbamon moved to stand next to Cherubimon. "Let's us not just rise up as Darkness or Light, but as individuals striving to be the best one can be for themselves and their clan. Let the best of us lead the way to a new future."

"For seventeen of the competitions Nature will serve as the referees," Mimi announced. "In three issues Nature has with Light, Dark will ensure fair play, and in the contest between Nature and Darkness, Light shall be the judge. For the remaining two competitions, the contest will be straight forward so that there is no need for a judge as all three sides have different solutions."

"We have a say?!" a Blossomon cried out.

"This treaty is not just for the Light and the Dark, but all digimon of this land," Mimi announced. "Everyone get ready for the first games shall begin in two weeks!"

There was no shouts of joy, but excitement was still evident amongst the gathered digimon. They could yet serve their land without fighting to the death.

Mimi walked away from the stage, and almost fell as she stepped down. Before Palmon could move to catch her, she was already in Micheal's arms. She smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Any time, Princess. What are teammates for?" Micheal replied.

--

"This is no good at all," Ken muttered.

Miyako walked up to him as he sat in the war room they had used for the War of Machines. "So, is this going to be our new headquarters?"

Ken turned to frown at her. "Considering another war may soon be upon us, yes."

Miyako pouted. "Whose to say that the next threat has an army already?"

"Hikari," Ken replied simply.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Miyako wondered.

"Remember the Dark Ocean?" Ken asked.

"How could I forget? That's where he jogressed for the first time," Miyako replied, patting her digimon's head, much to his annoyance.

"You know it had tried to take Hikari before that happened," Ken reminded.

Miyako nodded. "Yeah, but she never mentioned what happened."

"She was pulled there by a group of false Hangyomon. They wanted her power... in her offspring... with them," Ken explained bitterly.

Miyako clenched her fists. "At least they didn't succeed. But how does that relate to this?"

"It seems highly unlikely there's more than one threat out there interested in the offspring of Chosen," Ken pointed out. "And a world of darkness pushing lust and loneliness to get us to mate would be exceedingly clever, but with the numbers of pregnancies..."

"It's too much of a possibility to ignore." Miyako turned away. "Is that why..."

Ken did not reply.

Wormmon sighed. "Ken has been lonely for a long time... even before losing his brother."

"Don't think it would've been just anyone," Miyako shot at the boy.

"I understand that." Ken failed to look up at her. "If that was the case... I wouldn't have been your first."

Miyako nodded firmly. "Kissing you was certainly something I had wanted to do... everything else..."

"Was likely the Dark Ocean fanning the darker sides of our emotions," Ken finished for her.

Miyako kicked a chair. "So you're saying it wasn't our decision."

Ken shook his head. "Our desires may have been increased but the choice was still ours."

Miyako gazed at him intently. "Do you regret it?"

"What I regret wasn't opening myself to you." Ken sighed. "It's... that you might be..."

"Pregnant?" Miyako shrugged hopelessly. "Maybe... probably given the current number of us that are known to be pregnant. We've got weeks before I can find out for sure."

"I will not abandon you," Ken promised.

Miyako folded her arms. "What about Mimi?"

"I don't know. I will need to sort out my feelings for her. This situation... is not easy," Ken admitted.

"And we have a new understatement of the year," Miyako groused.

--

To be concluded:
Chapter 29 - The Final Deal
The story of switching souls comes to an end even as life continues on with a potential new threat on the horizon.