Thank you all for taking the time to read my writing. I appreciate it more than you know. Reviews are always welcome, and hoped for…

Just a reminder: This is an AU fic. The Beelzemon and Lucemon Chaos Mode you will be reading about are NOT the ones you've seen in the anime and/or video game. In fact... the plot in this story acts as it's own, with little relation to previous Digimon seasons. The digital world described here will be alike to the one in Tamers, but you will see likeness to Adventure & 02 as well, along with other things that you've never heard of. But i guess that's the purpose of an AU fic, right?

Please let me know if you spot any typos or inconsistencies, & I shall fix them immediately.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon (but wouldn't it be awesome if I did?)

Enjoy~

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Her legs were like gelatin. The more she ran, the less she could feel them, as if they were becoming disconnected from the rest of her body, moving all on their own. The only thing she could feel was her heart, which was pounding so hard that it hurt, putting stress on her veins. The cold autumn wind smacked against her face as she ripped through it, hardly noticing the crowds of people she was bumping into. They were a blur, replaced by this new and much crueler reality. Her eyes watered from the cold. Why couldn't they see it too?

She wasn't even exactly sure as to what it was. The shadows were following her, quickly accelerating. It wouldn't be long now, until she would fall victim to them. It had been a little over a week since they first appeared. At first they just watched her, lurking a few footsteps away, making her turn her head to look behind her as she walked. They were the nightmares and the bumps in the night you feared when you were a child. But this time, they were real. She ignored them at first, but they had begun to pursue her. The more she stared at them, the more their facial features made themselves visible. They were monsters with glowing eyes and sharp teeth, hungry for flesh.

She did her best to keep moving, never looking back. Yes, looking back and seeing them was the worst thing you could do. This was the longest they had ever chased her. The exhaustion and pain began to catch up with her, causing her once rapidly-moving legs to falter. She stumbled, her cheek meeting the hard pavement. Her hands had failed to stop the impact. Despite the pain in her throat from the cold, and the chill in her bones, she pulled herself upward, only to realize she had ended up in an ally, a dead end. Without thinking, she turned around to find out the consequence for this mistake, to meet her fate.

This fate was the sight of the shadows, or whatever they were, gliding over the dirt and concrete, as if they weren't even a part of this dimension. Maybe they weren't even really there. Maybe that's why no one else saw them. Maybe her eyes, which had always been so special, were finally failing her. But even when she blinked they didn't go away. Their grins only grew wider, their toothy smiles being the last things she saw. Her heavy panting and choked up screams for help, the last things she heard. Their grasping hands, their bony fingers, their painfully sharp nails, being the last things she felt before she disappeared into their darkness.

"So let me get this straight," Beelzemon pondered, a confused expression on what showed on his face, "You want me to what, exactly?"

Lucemon Chaos Mode chuckled at his friend's reaction. "It's a simple task, really… that is, if you're up to it."

"I just don't get why it's necessary." Beelzemon's eyes wandered about the room, darting from object to object. This request made him question his friend's intentions. He gazed across Lucemon's beautifully painted quarters. The floors were glossed flawlessly and shone against the sunlight, which was bursting into the room through a large window, the flowing drapes casting magnificent shadows about the intricate wall decorations. His eyes were full of doubt. Lucemon had never asked anything of him before. This request felt like an order, and part of their deal was that there would be no orders.

"This case is very different than any of the others," Lucemon explained, coming closer to Beelzemon, his expression becoming more serious. "The subject in cell thirteen has been causing trouble since we first brought it here from the other world."

"If you're so worried, then you go guard the goddamn cell!" Beelzemon shouted suddenly, becoming annoyed at Lucemon's request. "I've got other things to do with my time."

"I would if I could… but I think you know that isn't possible." Lucemon frowned. He had thought that Beelzemon would have cooperated immediately. "Don't you know about cell thirteen?"

Beelzemon rolled his eyes. "No shit. I hear your idiot servants going off about it all the time. How many times has it gotten away now? Like ten?"

Lucemon's frown grew. "I believe that last night was the fourth time. This is why you need to stay by its cell during the evening hours. It usually only attempts to run at night." He began to walk toward the window, which overlooked a vast desert in the digital world. "I can't have it getting away from me. I can't have any of them escaping. It would ruin my plans."

"Oh, how could I forget your precious plans," Beelzemon said sarcastically. He was only somewhat aiding his fellow Demon Lord to get his promised portion of the Digital World, which he would have all to himself, to exist in however he desired, under no one's rule but his own. During the process of Lucemon Chaos Mode rising to power, he was supposed to sit by and idly wait in his designated chambers, perhaps fighting a battle or two if he pleased. Once Lucemon got what he wanted, Beelzemon would get what he wanted, and he would live his life in solitude, without being bothered by anyone or anything. That day couldn't come soon enough.

Lucemon smirked as he gazed out the window of his castle, beholding the seemingly everlasting desert, an ongoing path of bright orange sand and cheery blue sky. The heat was so strong that it caused the space above the ground in the distance to waver. The castle they resided in stood strangely in the middle of the desert, a towering black silhouette emerging from the nothingness. It would soon be the home of the Digital World's new ruler. "Ever since Digimon discovered that biomerging with a human would result in evolution to the Ultimate level, many Digimon have been crossing through to the other world, forcing themselves to join bodies with humans, most of the time against the human's will." He paused, his eyes narrowing. There was a wickedness in his voice. "These creatures, or 'The Infected', are what I've sent my soldiers after in the human world. I keep them in captivity, I study them, and turn them into my servants. They are the key to me ceasing this world, don't you see? An army of Digimon at the Ultimate level…" He shook his head. "If they all manage to run away from me, I can't give you your end of the deal."

"Pfft, whatever you say," Beelzemon scoffed, only half-listening to Lucemon's rambling. "I still don't get why it's gotta be me who sits down there all night."

"I am of the Perfect level," Lucemon replied, finally turning away from the window, as if realizing his own mortality, "It has managed to take hold of other Digimon who are at the Perfect level. I admit that I fear for my own safety." Lucemon grinned again, knowing exactly what to say to get Beelzemon to finally give into his requests. "But you are a formidably strong Digimon, Beelzemon. There is no way that it could play any mind games with you. Your power is simply far too great. It wouldn't have any effect."

"But didn't you just build walls around its cell?" Beelzemon's eyes narrowed as well. His nature had always caused him to have difficulty trusting others, even other Demon Lords like himself. "There are huge steel walls surrounding the bars. It can't even see out to the corridor anymore. If it can't catch your gaze, it can't take any control over your mind." Beelzemon was still highly opposed to sitting in front of the prison cells. It was beneath him. "And you are always going off about how you're as strong as any Ultimate anyway. You shouldn't have a problem!"

"Yes, that is true." Lucemon closed his eyes, feeling somewhat annoyed with Beelzemon's whining. He could feel his anger again, beckoning him to snap, but he held it back, like he usually managed to. It was irritating to have to explain so much. "We just had to cover up its window as well. The last time it escaped, it caught the glance of a passerby outside, can you believe it? Most of The Infected develop strong attack power, but the subject in cell thirteen can only brainwash others… which has proven to be even more annoying." He shook his head again, once more pushing back his rage. This wasn't the right time. "My point here is, I am still of the Perfect level, I don't want to risk it." With each sentence he spoke, his voice became noticeably louder. "Not only that, but I am far too busy keeping control of all the rest of the prisoners to try to restrain just one. If I spend all my time focused on one nuisance of a prisoner, it will take a lot longer to give you what you want."

Beelzemon simply glared at him, his piercing red eyes reminding Lucemon to swallow his anger. The best way to convince Beelzemon of something was to stroke his ego. He was always foolish enough to fall for that.

"Beelzemon," Lucemon said, doing his best to make himself sound just the smallest bit vulnerable, as much as it sickened him, "I'm not asking you to do this as a meaningless task performed by one of my soldiers, but as a friend. From comrade to comrade. I don't think that anyone else here would be able to do this without falling prey to its games. You alone have the ability. It's only a temporary thing until I can have a separate cell prepared, and-"

"Fine, fine, fine!" Beelzemon shouted, becoming vexed with the situation. A few hours each night with some insane and disturbed prisoner was worth his own part of the Digital World, he supposed. "I'll do your dirty work, alright? Jeeze. But you owe me big-time."

Lucemon smiled. "Of course. Thank you for your cooperation." He knew that flattery would indeed get him anywhere and everywhere with his foolish friend.

"Yeah, yeah. Just take me to the stupid cell before I come back to my senses."