Author's Note: This is an Alternate Reality Fic, meaning, that this story does not follow the mainstream digimon universe. For the purposes of this fic: The X-Antibody was created by Koushiro Izumi to battle the Second Black Death, but only ten percent of the Chosen population was compatible.
My name is Yamato Ishida, and I am an X-Chosen. I was modified by the X-Antibody shortly after it was released into the Digital World. Unfortunately, it came too late for my brother, and many of our friends. Me, Taichi, Hikari, Jyou, Mimi and Michael were all saved, but…I don't know, I guess I felt kind of guilty that I survived when so many others didn't.
One morning me and Taichi both felt this really strange feeling, like a sharp pain in our heads. We didn't know it at the time, but that was because items from the destroyed Digital World fell to Earth. One landed in Okinawa, the other in Hokkaido and the third fell in Shikoku. This item was picked up by the Japanese Government, while this weird old man watched.
For some reason, that old man thought we knew where that item was, so he attacked Sora and Noriko to find out. His partner, Raptordramon, actually beat them, but before he could finish them, he de-evolved back to a Digitama, and he and the Fallen Chosen ran off.
Digimon Gog
The Fallen Chosen:
Chapter 2
After their encounter with the mysterious Fallen Chosen, Sora and Noriko quickly alerted the X-Chosen. Taichi was in an evening class and Yamato was in a recording studio with his band. Neither one had their cellphones powered on, so neither one received the message. Hikari and Jyou were the only ones to receive the urgent alert, and they quickly ran to Sora's apartment. Hikari had invited her boyfriend, Mitsuo to dinner, but he understood when she was forced to cancel. Jyou had not any plans for that evening, so he was free to join them.
"Thanks for coming," Sora smiled.
Hikari nodded and lightly grasped the older woman's hands, "Please, what happened?"
The redhead nodded quickly. "He called himself a Fallen Chosen and he claimed he fought the First Chosen. He wanted to know where something called the Flail of Chance. He thought we knew for some reason."
"Flail of Chance?" Gomamon X asked, "What's a Flail?"
The room feel silent. Noriko smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right. I guess we should have found that out first, huh?"
"That sounds familiar," Jyou mused, "Kind of like…like…" He began to lightly rub his chin, "Sora, can I use your computer?"
She blinked. "Huh? Oh, yeah, come on." She limped into the room that she used as her artists' room. She led Jyou to her desktop, which was in the corner. When Hikari passed by Sora's artists table, she examined some of the designs that were lying scattered on the easel. They were mostly dresses, with a few kimonos, skirts and pants. She saw one item that caused her heart to beat with anticipation-a bikini that was designed with white and pink flowers. "Sora, I love this!"
The redhead smiled. "Hikari, if your brother saw you wearing that, he'd probably lock you in your room for the entire summer."
The younger woman frowned. "Yeah. I love Taichi to death, but he can be so overprotective sometimes."
Sora frowned. "Yes, I know. We went out the other night, and I was wearing this low-cut shirt, and he completely flipped out!" She turned to Noriko, "Does Yamato ever act that way?"
"Huh?" she blinked. She had been staring at a design for a dress.
"Never mind."
Jyou called out. "Here, I've found something."
They glanced over his shoulder to examine the computer screen. The monitor was displaying an image of a weapon that resembled a spiked ball and chain, with the chain attached to a wooden stick. "What's that?" Plotmon X asked.
"That's a flail," Jyou explained, "It's a medieval weapon, sometimes erroneously called a mace or morning star."
"A weapon?" Sora gasped, "The Flail of Chance…just like the Katana of Fire and Shotguns of Light!"
"Another weapon?" Noriko asked, "But…Chance wasn't one of the First Chosen's powers."
"That's right," Sora said, "My grandfather, Hidokoro of Fire, Noriko's grandmother, Daiyu of Darkness, Lucien of Light, Montenagro of Earth, Abungu of Forest, Zorion of Metal, Kendra of Water, Svetlana of Air, and Yuushi of Fate. But what weapons did they have? I don't remember."
"We'd need the Machina Codex," Jyou said, "Where is it?"
"It's in Taichi's room," Hikari frowned.
"Uh, that's okay," the young man said, "But why wasn't this guy or the Flail of Chance mentioned with the other First Chosen?"
"If he was a Fallen Chosen, then he probably wouldn't be," Plotmon X said, "Devimon and Ladydevimon are Fallen Angels, and they're not mentioned when talking about Angemon or Angewomon."
"That makes sense," Hikari said, "But why did he think we knew where it was?"
Piyomon nodded. "He said someone stole it, and that only we could have led that person to it."
Jyou sighed. "All right, let's try to think this through…a Fallen Chosen shows up and starts demanding to know where his weapon is, but he said that someone stole it, and that we were the only ones that could have led that person there….but if this guy had this weapon the whole time, why didn't he use it sooner?"
"Because he didn't have it?" Noriko's Plotmon suggested.
"That's what I'm guessing…and if he's suddenly looking for it right now, then he must have gotten some clue recently…"
"Wait a second," Noriko said, "This morning, Yamato woke up screaming from a dream..."
Hikari gasped. "Taichi nearly passed out from some kind of pain this morning."
Plotmon X nodded. "And you know if Taichi nearly passed out, it probably would have killed someone else."
Sora thought of her own dream, a terrifying nightmare of a skeleton-Taichi, but said nothing.
"Okay," Jyou said, "Taichi and Yamato both felt something this morning…could that just be a coincidence? Or did it have something to do with the Flail of Chance?"
"What do Taichi and Yamato have in common?" Gomamon X asked.
Noriko chuckled, "Besides being engaged to the Daughters of the First that are the strongest? Not to mention the sexiest too."
The others rolled their eyes.
"Wait a second," Sora said, "They both have Holy Weapons!"
"And if the Flail of Chance somehow sent out a signal, they could have all felt it!" Jyou gasped.
Hikari lowered her head slightly. "Megumi has a weapon, I wonder if she felt it too?"
"Why don't you call and ask?" Jyou suggested.
The young woman sighed slightly. "I don't know where she is. After we beat GranDracmon, she just disappeared. I wonder if she's okay."
Noriko crossed her arms. "Probably trying to get more people to fill her god-complex…"
Hikari glanced in her direction, but said nothing.
"What else happened today?" Jyou asked, "This is connected somehow…"
"What about those earthquakes?" Hikari suggested, "Where were they…?"
Jyou quickly entered the address for a newspaper website. An article had already been posted concerning the strange occurrences. "There was an earthquake in Shikoku, early signs of a possible volcanic eruption in Hokkaido, and a tidal wave in Kyushu…the government was quick to respond to the situation in Shikoku, and insist that an earthquake occurred, even though many witnesses claim to have seen what looked like a meteorite falling to Earth…"
"A shooting star?" Piyomon asked.
"Yeah," Jyou said, "Sounds like the government is covering something up…"
"Are we sure?" Hikari asked, "How many earthquakes or volcanic eruptions does Japan have in one day? And plus, why would the government try to cover up a shooting star?"
"What if it's not a shooting star?" Plotmon X suggested.
"The Flail of Chance?" Sora asked.
"Well," Jyou sighed, "It's the best we've got."
Hikari nodded. "If Nefertimon flew us, we could be there in a few hours…"
Jyou stared at her. "Aren't you worried about work tomorrow?"
The younger woman stared back. "Jyou, tomorrow's Saturday."
He nodded. "Right…forgot that teachers get weekends off…"
She smiled slightly, "Well, not really 'off," but…"
Sora cleared her throat. "Um, Birdramon can fly faster then Nefertimon…"
"But she's still weak from the fight," Plotmon X said, "No, it's better if I flew…"
"But how are we all going to get there?" Piyomon asked.
Hikari shook her head. "It's just going to be me and Jyou…"
"What?" Noriko protested, "Come on…"
"She's right," Jyou said, "You're still weak from the fight."
"We're not going to tell Taichi or Yamato?" Noriko's Plotmon asked.
"I sent them a message on their phones," Sora said, "They probably didn't get it."
"Taichi's got a few classes at night," Hikari explained, "I don't want him to have to miss them, if he keeps missing classes, he's going to fail out…"
Noriko nodded. "And I remember Yamato said he and his band was going to be recording a song tonight…" She turned to Hikari and Jyou, "So that's why you two can't go alone."
Hikari hesitated. "All right…"
111
Hikari had not even gone back to her apartment before leaving for Shikoku. When Taichi returned from his late class, he was slightly surprised to find the apartment empty…empty except for Agumon X.
"Hey," Taichi said, "Where's Hikari?"
The dinosaur shrugged. "I don't know, she hasn't been home all night."
Taichi walked into his room to grab a set of clothes for after his shower, but his eyes glanced into his sister's room, excepting to see her partner curled up on her bed, but found nothing. "Hey, where's Plotmon?"
"She left a little while ago," Agumon X replied, "I just figure she was going for a walk…but that was at least two hours ago!"
Taichi thought for a moment. "I wonder if she went to Mitsuo's?"
"But why would she bring Plotmon?" Agumon X asked.
"Maybe she didn't," Taichi said.
Agumon X raised his eyebrow. "Should we go look for her?"
Taichi nodded. "You know where she usually hangs out, right?"
"I think so."
"Grab your disguise and let's move."
111
More then a few hours later, Birdramon landed in the forests outside of Kochi under the safety of night. After she devolved to Piyomon and took her usual disguise as Sora's backpack, with Plotmon and Plotmon X pretending to be Hikari and Noriko's pet puppies, and Gomamon X a stuffed animal, the four Chosen entered the city.
They walked through the streets, every now and then catching a glance from a passing citizen, but no one even noticed that they were from Tokyo, much less their digimon partners. They seemed more interested in Sora's crutches and missing leg then even Noriko's splotches of missing skin. "Do we even know where to start looking?" Noriko asked.
"Why don't we just ask?" Sora suggested.
Jyou nodded and glanced around. A group of teenage girls, still dressed in their school uniforms, walked past. "Excuse me…"
They did not hear him, so he began to walk after them. As he stepped forward, he tripped over a raised section of the sidewalk and fell forward. His hand instinctively reached out for something, and he touched the rear of one of the girls as he continued forward. He smashed into the pavement and blood began to trickle from his nose. He jumped to his feet just as the girls were turning around. The girl in the back, the one that Jyou had accidentally grouped, stared at his discombobulated expression, the blood trickling down his face, and the sheepish grin. She screamed and hit him in the side of the head with her school bag.
"Pervert!" she screamed, and the group ran away as fast as they could.
"Oh man," he muttered, "Just great, now I'm a sex offender…"
Hikari chuckled slightly as she pulled out a small handkerchief from her purse. A middle-aged man walked past and Noriko stopped him. "Excuse me, was there an earthquake here earlier?"
"Earthquake?" he gasped, "You don't know?"
"Um, we just came in from Tokyo, and were wondering if you knew anything about that earthquake that was supposed to happen earlier today."
He narrowed his eyes. "Are you reporters?"
"Uh…sure. We're, ah…Inquiring News. Can you tell me anything?"
"Sure," he said, "That was no earthquake, it was something from outer space!"
"A meteor?"
"Yeah, it landed on the coastline, and the government came and surrounded the place. They kept saying it was just an earthquake, but no, it was a flying saucer or something. The United States keeps covering up all of their UFO crashes, so I'm sure the same thing happened here."
"Uh…okay," Noriko said, "D…do you know where…?"
He nodded. After quickly giving her directions, the Chosen began to travel to the coastline. They were only two miles from the location before they could see government agents standing guard. "There's no way we're going to get past that," Sora whispered.
Gomamon X glanced up to the right and grinned. "Hey, I've got an idea…"
A few moments later, Gomamon X, having evolved to his Adult form of Tylomon X, was now swimming beneath the ocean surface, with Jyou hanging on, holding his breath. They swam from a safe point further up the coast until they arrived at the section of beach being guarded by the government agents. Tylomon X floated up so that Jyou's head broke the surface, allowing him the chance to breathe once again. As he hid within the rolling waves and the dark night, he was able to spy on the beach with safety. He could not hear, but he was able to clearly see a massive crater embedded in the sand. There were more then a dozen agents scouring the beach, wearing hazmat suits, but without their helmets. There was a black truck sitting next to the path to the beach. He lightly tapped his partner's head, held his breath and dove into the water once more.
The females were waiting for them when they surfaced further up the shoreline. Once they knew he was arriving, they all covered their eyes, as Jyou had gone in naked so his clothes were not be soaked. After air-drying himself for a few moments, he pulled on his garments. While this had occurred, he had been speaking.
"Something definitely landed there," he said.
"You don't really think it's a UFO, do you?" Hikari asked.
He shrugged. "Well, not that I don't believe in aliens or anything, my guess is that it's the Flail of Chance."
Sora nodded. "Which brings up another set of problems. Like, if that was a Holy Weapon, does that mean those other two are Holy Weapons too?"
Plotmon X nodded. "And why is your government trying to cover it up?"
"Maybe because they think it is a UFO?" Noriko's Plotmon suggested.
Jyou shook his head. "Anyway, I got a pretty good look at one of the trucks that was there, it was almost completely black. If there's another truck like that in the city…"
"Then that's where the Flail could be?" Sora asked.
Jyou nodded. "Yup, but I could be wrong too, so, I think that Hikari and me should go looking for the truck in the city, but just in case something else happens here, Sora and Noriko should stay."
"What?" Noriko gasped, "Oh come on…!"
Jyou sighed. "Just please…."
She crossed her arms and glanced to the side. "Fine."
Jyou mentioned over his shoulder. "All right, come on Hikari, Plotmon, let's go."
111
By the time Taichi and Agumon X returned to the apartment, they had worried themselves sick. "Jeez," Agumon X said, "I sure hope she's okay…"
"Man," Taichi sighed, "What am I gonna tell Hikari?"
The small dinosaur blinked. "Wait, did you even call Hikari to see if Plotmon's with her?"
"She wasn't answering her cellphone," Taichi said.
Suddenly, their home phone began to ring. Chosen and digimon glanced at each other, before Taichi dove for the device. "Hello?"
"Taichi? It's Yamato."
"Hey…"
"Um…did Sora say anything to you about Noriko going anywhere?"
"Um…no…"
Yamato sighed deeply. "Well, Noriko's not here, and neither is her Plotmon. I called Sora's apartment to see if she was there, but she wasn't."
Taichi narrowed his eyes. "Hikari and her Plotmon aren't here either…"
"Wait, you think they…went somewhere? Having to do with a digital….thing?"
The bushy-haired young man growled. "Yeah, I do. I'm gonna kill Hikari! Making me worry! Damn it!"
Yamato began to chuckle. "I bet that how she felt every time you and Agumon ran off to fight some evil digimon by yourselves."
Taichi was silent for a moment. "Shut up," he muttered, "Still, when they get home, they're really gonna get it…"
111
Hikari sneezed.
"Bless you," Jyou said.
"Thanks," she sniffled, "I hope I'm not catching a cold or anything…"
They continued to walk through Kochi, glancing at the vehicles, trying to locate another truck that resembled the black one that Jyou saw on the beach. They had not found anything so far.
Jyou sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn, this is getting us no where."
Hikari was about to respond, when Plotmon X called to her. "Hey, it that what we're looking for?"
Jyou glanced in the direction in which the small mammal was pointing. They had arrived in a section of the city that was comprised of mostly industrial buildings and factories and one warehouse…a warehouse in which a black truck was parked.
"Cool," Gomamon X grinned.
"Okay," Hikari nodded, "Now what?"
Jyou paused. "I…I hadn't really thought that far ahead…"
"Why don't we just go inside and get it?" Gomamon X asked.
His partner frowned. "Because I don't feel like spending the rest of my life inside a government prison."
"Maybe we should just warn them?" Hikari suggested.
"How would they believe us? Besides, then we'd have to tell them how we know about it…"
Hikari suddenly shivered. "Are you cold?" Plotmon X asked, "Maybe you are getting sick…"
The young woman shook her head. "No, it's not that, it's…like when the Demon Lords appeared, or we entered GranDracmon's Dark Area…"
"Her clairvoyance?" Jyou asked, "Something's here?"
"Evil," she answered.
They cautiously glanced around until they observed a figure darting in and out of the shadows on the street. Once it stepped into the street lights, they were able to see that it was an elderly man draped in a thick trench coat…an elderly man that they were able to recognize from Noriko and Sora's description.
"The Fallen Chosen?" Jyou asked.
The old man chuckled. "So you know of me, eh?" He glanced at Jyou, narrowing his eyes. "So, you have the power of Kendra of Water." He glanced over at Hikari, "And you have the power of Svetlana of Wind…." His eyes opened in shock, "And the power of Yuushi? But…how can that be? The one that holds the power of Fate is the one you call Priestess, so how…" A smile crossed his face, "Of course, she is your sister?"
Hikari did not respond.
"Cousin?" he asked. The young woman tried to hide her emotion, but the glint in her eyes betrayed her.
"Ah, I see, she is your cousin, interesting. She is the Daughter of Fate, yet, you posses a severely limited version as well…"
"Hey!" Plotmon X shouted, "Hikari's anything but weak! You should have seen her facing down Myotismon!"
He chuckled. "Ah, so it was you he was searching for? Very interesting, he no doubt feared your limited powers, he had no idea that even greater power lay dormant in nine girls…and that Takenouchi brat was even right under his nose…"
"Who are you?" Jyou asked.
He continued to stare at him.
"You heard him!" Hikari snapped, "Who are you?"
He chuckled. "Yes, Granddaughter of Yuushi, Tatsuo Juro, at your service."
"Sorry," Gomamon X chirped, "Never heard of ya."
The Fallen Chosen frowned. "Yes, I supposed you haven't. For my name was erased from the history of the Digital World, only because my ideals were different then those of Dragon Warriors…those you call the First Chosen."
"You fought the First Chosen, didn't you?" Jyou asked.
"Yes, that was how it was remembered, but it was they who first used open hostilities against me."
"What?"
Juro closed his eyes slightly. "Ah, yes…for you see, the First Chosen believed that a group of powerful beings created the Digital World, gave it form, substance and life. These elder gods brought the First Chosen to the Digital World. Yet, years later, I was brought to the Digital World, my destiny was similar to that of you, Lady Hikari, the one that should have been with them at the start, but was found later. When I had arrived they had already accomplished so much, and I felt like an outsider, a loner, why did they need me? I was nothing compared to them, and it seemed that they cared only for causing me humiliation." He stared at Hikari," Surely you must know of what I speak.."
Jyou glanced over at Hikari, who sighed slightly, "Yes, maybe I do…"
"Would it have not been better to surrender to Myotismon? Why live in the shadow of the others? Especially your brother?"
The young woman sighed for a moment, then shook her head. "I would never have done that! No matter how I felt, I wouldn't have given it to him!"
Juro chuckled, "Then you have greater strength then I, for I gave in to the darkness. I gave in, and was subsequently exiled from the First Chosen, my weapon hidden, and my name erased from history…"
"Somehow I doubt that's the entire story," Jyou said.
"Believe what you want," Juro replied, "But I knew that if I followed you Chosen long enough, you would lead me to my weapon."
"We didn't have anything to do with it getting taken!" Hikari protested.
"It does not matter now," Juro answered, "Move aside, and I will reclaim what was stolen from me long ago and then my vengeance shall begin!"
Gomamon X snorted. "Yeah right, that place is probably packed full of guards, what are you gonna do, walk in through the front door and ask please?"
Juro chuckled and reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a dark-colored Digitama. "Time to wake up!" he shouted, throwing the egg into the air. The egg began to glow brightly, evolving into the mechanical dinosaur.
"Raptordramon?" Plotmon X gasped.
"You heard of him?" Hikari asked.
"Yeah, Myotismon talked about him, a extinct digimon, but Piyomon and Plotmon were wrong, this Raptordramon is only an Adult."
"Only an Adult?" Jyou gasped, "And he beat Ladydevimon and Garudamon?"
"It doesn't matter," Gomamon X chuckled, "He hasn't seen us yet…"
Jyou turned to Hikari, and they both nodded. They clutched their X-digivices as they began to glow.
"Gomamon X evolve to Tylomon X!"
"Plotmon X evolve to Tailmon X!"
Juro grinned. "Raptordramon…"
The cyborg digimon roared. "Ambush Crunch!"
111
Inside the warehouse, the mysterious Flail of Chance was resting atop a wooden table, with a dozen agents standing guard. There was also another black truck within the large floor, and the lieutenant had been examining a thick folder of papers when she noticed an explosion of bright light through the window. She ran over as fast as she could and peered through the glass. Her eyes grew wide as she observed Tylomon X and Raptordramon battle.
She twirled around and pointed to the Flail. "Digimon outside! We've got to get out of here at once!"
111
Raptordramon lunged forward, intending to use his teeth to rip off Tylomon X's head, but the Deep Saver twisted out of the way, and Raptordramon shot right over his head. Tylomon whipped his tail around and managed to whack the cyborg in the rear. Raptordramon twisted his head around and managed to slam his powerful jaws into Tylomon X's fin.
"Hang on!" Tailmon X exclaimed, charging forward on all fours. She jumped into the air by executing a series of black flips. Once she was high enough, she landed atop Raptrodramon's back. She raised both of her fists and swung them into the cyborg's back, forcing him to release Tylomon X. Once the Deep Saver was free, he twisted in a tight circle, his tail knocking into Raptordramon's neck. Tailmon X leapt from his back and gracefully landed on the ground.
The Holy Beast gently licked her paw. "I think you've underestimated us."
Raptordramon growled, "I'll show you!"
The cyborg digimon roared and began to flap his wings in raged furor. He narrowed his eyes at Tylomon X and charged forward. The Deep Saver used his feet to leap into the air. Once he was high enough he called out, "Torpedo Attack!"
He shot forward and rammed his pointed nose into the dragon's side with even more power then Raptrodramon's Ambush Crunch. Tylomon X wiggled free, then twisted around, smacking his tail into the dragon's already injured side.
"Damn you!" Raptordramon roared, "I'll kill you all!"
The cyborg shot forward once more, his teeth gleaming. Tailmon X leapt up from the ground. She pulled her fist back and began to pound his head. "Cat Punch!"
Raptordramon suddenly stopped short, and the Holy Beast was flung from his back. She twisted in the air and used a lamp post to rebound, slamming her fist in to the cyborg's head with all of her might. He began to wobble in flight before crashing into the ground.
"Take that!" Tailmon X chuckled, "Really think you're so tough now!"
"Tailmon!" Hikari scolded.
Juro growled. "If taunting is your way of winning you're sadly mistaken! Raptor…"
He was abruptly cut off as the metal door of the warehouse quickly shot open. The small group watched as another black truck shot out of the opening and quickly disappeared down the road.
Juro turned to Hikari and Jyou and grinned. "Well, it looks like I'll have to be going. Raptordramon!"
The cyborg digimon hovered down low enough so that Juro could leap onto his back before flying into the distance.
"Hey!" Tylomon X shouted, "Come back here!"
Hikari twirled to face her partner. "Tailmon, we've got to…"
She nodded. "You got it. Tailmon X evolve to Nefertimon X!"
Hikari leapt onto her newly-evolved partner. She looked at Jyou and Tylomon X. "Hurry!"
Tylomon X regressed to Gomamon X and they leapt onto the Holy Beast. They flew after Juro and Raptordramon as quickly as they could, but the time it had taken for Tylomon X to devolve proved to be too long, for despite an hour of searching, they could not find their prey.
111
By the time Hikari and Jyou had returned to Sora and Noriko it had already been two hours, and after Birdramon flew them back to Tokyo, it was another two hours. It was well into the morning hours by the time they stood before the door to Sora's apartment. "Man, I'm beat," Gomamon X yawned.
"You're tired?" Piyomon asked, "You're not the one that flew all the way here!"
"Easy, easy," Sora said, "We're all cranky right now, let's just go inside and rest."
"Are you sure you don't mind us sleeping here?" Hikari asked.
The redhead nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I don't think you'd want to face your brother right now anyway, right?"
"Or Yamato," Noriko muttered.
Sora chuckled as she inserted her key into the lock. Her face suddenly became pale. "What's wrong?" Piyomon asked.
"Did I lock this before we left?"
"I'm pretty sure you did, why?"
"It's not locked."
A small hush fell over the group. "Well, what have we got to worry about?" Jyou asked, "Our digimon can handle anything…"
They nodded slowly. "I probably just left it unlocked," Sora said.
Jyou slowly turned the knob and opened the door. He was greeted by a hand grabbing his shirt collar and yanking him inside. The girls quickly followed, with Piyomon leaping up to switch on the lights. They were now able to see that the mysterious intruder, the one that had grabbed Jyou, was Taichi. Yamato, Agumon X and Gabumon X were standing in Sora's living room.
"Taichi!" Sora and Hikari gasped.
He released Jyou, who was none the worse for wear. The bushy-haired young man stared at the young women. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted.
They all had confused expressions on their faces. "What?" Noriko asked.
"You had us worried half the night!" he screamed, "We didn't know what the hell happened to you! You all just disappeared!"
"Taichi," Sora said, "We went to look for…"
"Some kind of digital threat?" he asked, "Why the hell did you go by yourselves? What if you were all hurt or worse? We wouldn't have had any idea!" He turned to his sister, "And you especially, me and Agumon looked across half the city to find Plotmon!"
"What?" she asked.
"We thought you were at your boyfriends, so when I came home and Plotmon wasn't there, I thought something happened to her!"
His sister twisted her head away in shame. "I…I'm sorry I made you worry…"
"What were you thinking?"
"Taichi, ease up," Jyou said, "They were worried about you missing your class. They want you to succeed, and they didn't want anything to come between that."
"Me too," Noriko said, eying Yamato standing behind Taichi, "I…I didn't want you to risk losing your first album deal…"
The blond man continued to stare with anger.
Taichi took a deep breath. "My…graduating from the university won't mean anything to me if I loose you."
"That goes for me too," Yamato said, "What's the point of being famous if there's no one to share it with?"
"All right," Taichi said, finally calming down, "Now, what's going on?"
111
The young woman known as Megumi Seisou opened the door to the hotel room and gently dropped her bag onto the bed. A moment later, her Plotmon poked her head out of the top. She yawned as she crawled onto the bed. "We're here?"
Megumi nodded. "Yes, we have arrived."
"Why did we have to come all the way back to Japan for anyway?" she asked again.
Megumi reached inside her bag and removed a gold staff with a star-shaped medallion attached to the end. "The Staff of Yuushi has called to me, a mystic, yet digital, force is at work in this world. The emerging energies proved to be too sudden for me to handle, and my spirit was overwhelmed. I can only surmise that Lord Taichi and Lord Yamato felt it as well."
"But…what is it?"
She shook her head. "I do not know, but I feel the source to be here, in Japan."
She continued to pull items out of her bag, a sleeveless pink and white dress, a light orange cape, a pair of light pink boots. "I had strived to bury this persona, to atone for past deeds, but I can no more do that then cease the sun from rising…for she is part of me…"
She removed her pants, pulled her sweater over her head, and unclasped her bra. She slowly pulled on the dress, her breasts resting within the front. She slipped into her boots, before swirling her cape around her. She held up her staff, "It is time for Chihi Miayag, Priestess of the Chosen, to walk this world once more!"
111
Jyou stared at the lines of text on his computer monitor. He blinked for a moment, then rubbed his eyes. "This is ridiculous, we have no idea where the hell that thing could be…"
"No luck then?" Hikari asked, walking inside with a coffee mug.
"None," he sighed, leaning back in his chair, "I mean, if the government…even though we really don't know if it is the government, took the Flail of Chance…even though we don't know if it is the Flail of Chance, which they think it's a UFO…even though that's only our opinion…"
The young woman sighed slightly. "Jyou…you're rambling…"
He shook his head. "Um…if the government took this, I'm sure they're going to keep it somewhere secret. Nothing in any news reports say anything about it. I'm not going to find anything like this."
Hikari placed the mug down on the table. "Come on, Jyou, don't give up, we just need to keep going."
He sighed deeply. "You're right, thanks." He smiled slightly, "But it's your turn now."
He stood up and mentioned to the computer screen. A list of text citations was being displayed. "The blue ones are ones I've read already."
The younger Yagami sat down in the office chair. She used the mouse to click on the citation, and the full text of an article written in a local newspaper appeared on screen. She began to read aloud; it had become a habit since she often read aloud to her students.
"The seismic activity that registered on Shikoku earlier yesterday is being called an earthquake by the government. There is evidence to suggest, however, that a mysterious object fell from the sky and crashed to Earth. Government agents quickly responded and many fear that the object was taken back to Tokyo. Black trucks and vans seen on the island have been reported to be seen in the Tokyo area as well, most notably around the Shinjuku Area…"
Jyou frowned. "Figures."
Hikari reached for her cell phone. "I'm calling Taichi."
111
Deep within the maze of city street, Taichi was walking down sidewalk after sidewalk; Agumon X was at his side, disguised in his trench coat. Taichi was wearing a trench coat as well, because the Katana of Hidokoro was resting against his leg, hidden from view. Sora was there as well, using her crutches, and Piyomon was in her usual disguise as the redhead's backpack. Across the city, Yamato and Gabumon X were scouring the streets as well, the Shotgun of Lucien was hidden beneath his clothes. Noriko and Plotmon were with them as well. It was their hope that since they had apparently felt the Flail of Chance enter the Earth, if they were close enough to it, they would somehow feel its presences. So far, however, they were not experiencing any luck.
Taichi sighed. "This is hopeless."
"What are you talking about?" Agumon X asked.
"This is a fucking wild goose chase! We've been all over this damn city, and we've got nothing to show for it except for fucking exhaustion!"
Sora sighed. "Well, what are we going to do? We need to find that weapon before that Fallen Chosen guy does."
"But it could be anywhere! And how the fuck do we even know its in Tokyo? I could be anywhere in Japan!"
Agumon X was about to respond, when Taichi's phone began to ring. He grabbed the device from his pocket and placed it against his ear. "Hello? Hikari, what's…oh cool. Yeah. Thanks."
The others stared at him questioningly. "Well?" Agumon X asked.
"Hikari said she found something in the newspapers. Those black vans and trucks were seen in Shinjuku."
"Really?"
"Well, it's the best we've got. Come on."
The duo trekked to the area of Tokyo known as Shinjuku. They began at one end and traveled across, using every street and sidewalk to arrive at the other side. Taichi was excepting nothing to come of this, but he was genuinely surprised when, as they approached a simple storage facility, his head began to radiate with an odd sensation.
He held his forehead, "I…I think maybe we've got something…"
The small dinosaur stared at the building. It was a tall structure, with a metal garage-door like device, and opaque windows. "It looks like a regular warehouse to me."
He shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "No, there's something about it. Let's get Yamato over here, and see if the same thing happens to him."
After Hikari had called Taichi, she had alerted Yamato, so he was already on his way when Taichi called him. He arrived with Noriko and Plotmon, and when the blond-haired young man approached the building in question, he, too, felt a sharp pain in the base of his head that quickly spread to his eyes. He was forced to drop to his knees.
"Yamato!" Gabumon X exclaimed.
Noriko placed a hand on his back as Taichi stared at him. "Same thing, huh?"
The blond man nodded as he stood again. "Wow, that was fucking weird…" He took a deep breath, "It's in there all right…"
Agumon X crossed his arms. "All right, now what?"
"Should we call the others?" Noriko asked.
"What for?" Taichi asked, "If that's a government building, we can't just go walking inside."
"What are we going to do, then?" Sora asked.
Taichi frowned. "We need to think this through."
"Maybe we should just tell them who we are," Piyomon suggested.
"That's not a good idea," Noriko said, "I don't want to end up in a freaking government, and I don't want you to end up being dissected."
"Damn it!" Taichi shouted, "This is getting us nowhere!"
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance…"
The four females felt their spines turn to ice. The quickly spun around, followed by the four males. An elderly man was standing a few feet away. Taichi whispered. "Is that…?"
Sora nodded. "Yeah, that's him."
He nodded. "You guys stay here, we'll deal with this."
"Are you sure?"
He grinned his trademark grin. "Don't worry, we'll take care of it."
Taichi and Yamato stepped forward, and the Fallen Chosen stared at them. He glanced at Yamato, "The Heir of Lucien, the holder of the Shotguns of Light, you hold his power…as well as the power of Daiyu of Darkness."
He turned to Taichi and grinned. "The grandson of Yuushi, all the prestige and legacy, yet none of the power. Instead, you hold the Katana of Fire, Hidokoro's power, as well as Monteneg of Earth. Quite an impressive set of might. I must thank you for leading me to the location of my weapon, I knew that you would feel your own weapons resonating with the Flail of Chance."
"All right," Taichi said, "I want to know who the fuck you think you are, not only screwing around with my girlfriend and Yamato's girlfriend, but fucking up my sister!"
He smirked. "Sorry you feel so angry, Lord Taichi, but the First Chosen sealed my power away for so long, and any compassion I have is long gone." His smirk faded and was replaced by a snarl of rage, "I want my power, I want my weapon!"
"And then what?" Yamato asked.
"I will finish what I began so long ago…"
"And what's that?" Taichi asked.
"Sorry, Lord Taichi, but not even Yuushi's grandson will force that from me…but, I suppose if you and Lord Yamato want to find out…you'll just have to stop me…" He reached inside his pocket and emerged with his Digitama.
Agumon X snorted. "That's your partner? You're joking, right? You think a freaking egg is gonna scare us?"
Juro grinned. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry, I am at a slight disadvantage, aren't I? Allow me to rectify that mistake." He raised his hand into the air and stared forward at the warehouse. "Flail of Chance, hear the voice of your master, come to my hand!"
The Chosen blinked in surprise, but they quickly realized what was occurring. They glanced over their shoulders at the warehouse and held their breath. Fascinatingly, the opaque windows suddenly exploded as the mysterious Flail of Chance erupted forth, flying over their heads before landing in Tatsuo Juro's hand.
"Yes!" he cheered, "The Flail of Chance is mine again! I am whole once more!"
Taichi and Yamato stared with wide-eyes and horrified expressions. Juro appeared confused, then smiled slightly. "I see...you didn't know about that simple ability, did you?"
Taichi and Yamato quickly whipped out their weapons and Juro only laughed. "If you have no idea about the powers of your weapons, then you have already lost."
Yamato blinked and he stared down at the Shotguns of Lucien. "What…powers?"
"Don't listen to anything he says," Taichi growled, "He's just trying to psyche us out."
"Believe what you want," he responded, "But with my weapon returned to me, I will have my vengeance!"
He threw the Digitama into the air with his left hand, and used his right hand to swing the ball and chain once around his head. The Digitama glowed in a silver light, then exploded to reveal the newly-evolved digimon, but this digimon was not the previously seen Raptordramon, but a green-scaled crocodile-like creature with a metal jaw and what appeared to be a metal plunger attached to its tail by a metal chain.
"That's not Raptordramon!" Noriko's Plotmon exclaimed.
"You're right," Piyomon gasped, "That's…."
"Metal Piranhmon!" Agumon X and Gabumon X shouted in horrified unison.
"I take it that's bad, huh?" Yamato questioned.
Juro was about to speak, but stopped when he noticed a small group of agents rush from the warehouse, led by the purple-haired lieutenant. She froze when she saw Metal Piranhmon. "Shit, digimon! Back inside, now!"
"Cowards," Juro chuckled as they charged back into the warehouse, "Without their fancy weapons, they can't stand up to our might. Now, where were we…"
Taichi and Yamato both nodded at their partners. Agumon X was then drawn to Taichi and Gabumon X was drawn to Yamato. Human and digimon became lost in the maelstrom of light and energy.
"Agumon X warp evolve to Wargreymon X!"
"Gabumon X warp evolve to Metalgarurumon X!"
Juro raised his eyebrow. "A human/digimon hybrid?...No…I can still sense Yagami and Ishida, as well as their partners. They have merged together, not even all-powerful Yuushi was able to accomplish such a feet…"
Wargreymon X smirked. "So, we're not as pathetic as you thought, huh?"
The Fallen Chosen chuckled. "That has yet to be determined. Metal Piranhmon, attack!"
The Deep Saver charged forward, his metal jaw snapping in the air. "3D Laser!" he shouted, firing a massive laser blast from deep inside his throat. Wargreymon X flung his shield around and blocked the attack, distracting Metal Piranhmon so that Metalgarurumon X could whip around and fire from the wrist-based Shotgun of Lucien. A barrage of bullets tore across his back. The Deep Saver flung his tail around, and the drain-plug smashed into his head. Wargreymon X shot forward and slashed at Metal Piranhmon's underside. He flipped in the air and shot to safety.
"Are you injured?" Juro asked.
"Only slightly," his partner responded, "They're tougher then we thought…"
"Looks like someone's ready to admit defeat?" Wargreymon X asked.
On the sidelines, Sora sighed and shook her head. "He's getting so full of himself again! He was like this when we were kids!"
"Don't worry," Piyomon said, "He's still Taichi, but he's changed a lot, he's not gonna do anything stupid…I hope…"
Above them, Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X flexed their muscles as Metal Piranhmon snapped his jaws. The Deep Saver shot forward, swimming through the air. Metalgarurumon X fired from his missile chambers, heading for the Deep Saver. "Garuru Burst!"
Juro chuckled and swung the chained-ball over his head in one circle. All of Metalgarurumon X's missiles spun out of control and smashed into Wargreymon X's back. "What the fuck?" the metal wolf gasped. He shot to his friend's aid, catching him before he would have crashed into the ground.
"I don't understand!" he gasped, helping Wargreymon X to hover in the air once more, "It was like they all just went out of control."
"Yes, exactly," Juro responded, "For such is the nature of chance."
"You can control chance?" Noriko shouted.
"Yes, through my weapon, I am able to alter probability. Had your two warriors known the true extent of their weapons, they might have been able to counter it, but novices as they are, they will fail."
"You're delusional!" she shouted back, "No one's stronger then Metalgarurumon X or Wargreymon X! They beat GranDracmon, they tore him apart!"
"We shall see," he chuckled.
Wargreymon X clenched his fists as he shot forward, his bladed-gauntlets poised for attack. Metal Piranhmon flipped his body around, and the chain-bound plunger bashed into Wargreymon X's side. The dinosaur twisted around, avoiding the attack. He grabbed the chain and smashed the piranha into the pavement. He shot after him, and used the Katana of Hidokoro on his right gauntlet to pierce the Deep Saver's left side.
"Yes!" Sora and Piyomon cheered.
Hovering above Wargreymon X, Metalgarurumon X pointed the Shotgun of Lucien, which was attached to his own forearm. He began to fire a round of bullets, aiming for Metal Piranhmon's injured side. Juro smirked slightly and swung his weapon again. The metal wolf's attack suddenly twisted, passing around the injured Deep Saver and impacted into a power pole behind them. The base was destroyed and it began to fall forward, heading straight for the Fallen Chosen. Juro leapt out of the way and the pole smashed into the ground. "Damn it."
Noriko took note of this, but said nothing.
The three Mega digimon leapt back into the air, ready to continue their battle. Metal Piranhmon panted heavily, due to his injured side, but Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X were not injured in the slightest.
"This was a lot easier then I thought," the metallic wolf said.
"Yeah, I know," the dinosaur warrior responded, "I guess after fifty years, even digimon get old." He cracked his neck, "Let's finish this…"
Down below, Juro gripped his Flail of Chance tightly. "This will end badly, I must do something." He stared up at the sky and watched as Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X flew forward to finish this battle. The Fallen Chosen took a deep breath, summed up all the power he could muster, and swung the chained ball once more. He put all his hope and power into this swung, and he hoped it would be enough.
Wargreymon X noticed Juro swinging his Flail of Chance, and he knew that something would soon happen, but even he could not imagine the horror that would occur. As soon as the Fallen Chosen flung his flail, the dinosaur warrior felt a sharp pain in his chest. He twisted his head and saw that the same thing had occurred to Metalgarurumon X. Both Mega digimon slowed their momentum as the feeling completely overtook them in a burst of white light. When this glow faded, Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X had reverted to their pervious forms: Taichi and Agumon X and Yamato and Gabumon X.
"He changed them back!" Noriko's Plotmon shouted.
"No…" Noriko said, "No!"
The two X-Chosen and the two X-digimon began to fall towards the ground, but Metal Piranhmon operated his chain-attached drain plug with conscious effort and wrapped the four tightly within his chain. They struggled to free themselves.
"Let us out right now!" Taichi demanded, "Or you'll be sorry!"
"I think not," Juro replied. He turned slightly to Sora and Noriko, "And don't even think of evolving your partners, there's no way they could win, first of all, and they might accidentally hit your lovers here."
Plotmon and Piyomon growled as they stared in useless horror.
"Now," the Fallen Chosen said, turning back to his four prisoners, "We have defeated not only the two strongest X-Chosen, but also the leaders of the Chosen as the grandson of Yuushi as well."
Taichi only stared as he struggled to free himself.
"Do you now understand the futility of your efforts? You may have defeated GranDracmon, yes, but his power was not the same as ours and without any mastery of your weapons, you were doomed before you ever began. You have failed, you have been defeated. There will be no capture, there will be no prisoners, there will be no mercy." He grinned slightly, "Farewell…"
The Chosen and their partners held their breaths as Metal Piranhmon opened his mouth, and a hideous glow began to form. "3D Laser!" The light suddenly exploded, completely enveloping Taichi, Yamato, Agumon X and Gabumon X; once the light faded, there was not a trace of them.
The Daughter of Fire and the Daughter of Darkness could not speak…but only for the shortest of moments, before their shock overtook them, and they each screamed out.
Sora began to pound her fists into the concrete of the sidewalk. "Taichi….Taichi!" She turned her head to the sky and screamed as loud as she could, "Come back, Taichi! Come back….Taichi!"
Noriko stared at Juro, her eyes full of such rage that even the Fallen Chosen was momentarily stunned. "You fucking bastard! I'll make you pay for this! I'll tear you limb from limb!"
Juro chuckled. "There is nothing you can do, Lord Taichi and Lord Yamato were truly the strongest among you, and they failed before my might." He glanced to the sky as Metal Piranhmon reverted to his Digitama. Juro held out his hand and the egg fell into his arms.
"But for now, I shall leave you with your grief, but now this, I shall return to finish what I have started, farewell for now."
The two Daughters and their partners did not even care that he simply vanished into the afternoon. They could only think of those that had perished…those they cared for so strongly and with their entire being. Despite their grief, they knew they had to flee before the government agents gained enough courage to leave the safety of the warehouse, and when they did emerge from the building, Sora, Noriko, and their partners had long since vacated.
111
Since Jyou and Hikari had not yet heard back from anyone, they continued to search through the day's newspaper articles, hoping to discover any information they could, when the brown-haired young woman suddenly gasped loudly. She clutched her heart and stared out the window at the setting sun. "What is it?" Plotmon X asked.
She did not respond, only continued to stare forward. Her voice began to quiver. "O…Oniichan, h…have you left me too?"
Jyou blinked. "Hikari?"
The younger woman fell into his arms, sobbing loudly.
The battle site where Taichi, Yamato and their partners had meet their deaths had quickly become quarantined, an entire city block sealed off from the world. Following that battle, the government agents stationed within the warehouse only had time to seal the section off with standard yellow tape. They did not even examine any physical evidence for fear of contaminating the site, and to avoid the risk, they simply stayed outside the barrier, defending it from any prying eyes. Had they been inside the tape, however, they would have seen a group of eggs suddenly form in the alley between the warehouse, and the abandoned apartment building adjacent to it. These eggs had formed when mysterious particles began to collect together, and they remained un-touched.
Now, as the sun began to set, one egg, an egg covered with a dull, tainted gold, slowly began to crack, and a very human hand began to reach towards the sky…
…..Not the end….
