He stood on the balcony outside of Peter's bedroom as the young boy slept. Billy was just a silhouette in the darkness, barely seen, never heard. He took a step closer. 'Could it really be possible that my next recruit is Brian's own brother?' Billy thought. 'It seems too perfect! The boy even hates Brian!'
Billy quietly slid open the sliding glass door and stepped inside. DemiDevimon silently flew off of his should and nested on the nightstand beside the bed. Peter lay there, ocmpletely unaware of the intruders in his room. "Do it." Billy commanded. DemiDevimon moved a bit closer towards Peter and used an Evil Whispers attack. He spun his web of lies into the boy's ear and slowly, he began to believe them in his sleep addled mind.
When that was over, Billy produced three Black Splinters from his pocket and looked at them in his hand. There was no hesitation this time as he threw them at Peter. The three evil devices lodged themselves in his chest and slowly sunk into his soul, twisting his mind and filling his will with evil. Peter opened his eyes and screamed at the pain that he would not remember. It was a pain the peirced every pore of his being and penetrated his very most personal self. He could not help but bend to the power of the Black Splinters.
When he stopped screaming, his eyes glowed red for a moment and he fell back asleep. Billy made his way out of the room just as Brian, Hope, and Duane burst through the door to investigate the screaming.
When they opened the door, the trio noticed two things. One was that, despite his blood curling screams, Peter was fast asleep. The second was that the sliding glass door was wide open and cold air was billowing in.
"What were you screaming about, Pete?" Brian woke up his brother. Duane closed the door.
"What are you talking about?" Peter half grunted from underneath a pillow. "I didn't scream! Now get out of my room. Stop being stupid."
"C'mon, let's go. I want to go back to sleep." Hope said with a yawn. The threee of them left Peter's room without another word.
They didn't see Peter anywhere in the apartment the next day. It seemed as though he had just disappeared. "He's a jerk anyway." Brian said. "He probably went to a friend's house. Don't expect him back for awhile."
"Alright then." Hope said. "I think we should go patrol the city today. It's obivous now that not all of the Fog incidents will be put on the news channels. Not when so many of them appear. For all we know there could be several digimon roaming around the city causing mischief."
"I think that's a great idea!" Brian exclaimed and immediately jumping to his feet.
"But I wanted to have a lazy day today." Duane cried in a whiney voice.
"Too bad!" Brian said, throwing Duane's shoes at him. "Agumon! if you dedigivolve to Koromon then I can take you with me!"
Agumon launched himself into the air in delight and was Koromon again before he hit the ground. "Yay! I'm so excited! Take me to a hotdog stand!"
"Of course I will!" Brian grabbed a backpack from his closet and walked back to Koromon. "You're going to have to be carried in this though. Sorry pal."
Koromon didn't even look like he was sad about that. "No problem! anything to get out of this stuffy old room!" and the little pink ball jumped into the bag. Brian left it unzipped a little so the digimon could breathe.
Hearing all of the delight coming from Koromon, Gatomon opened her eyes, stretched, and walked beside Hope. The little cat tugged at Hope's shirt and said, "Can I come too?"
"Oh I suppose so." She replied. "It would probably be best in case we run into any trouble. Brian got lucky yesterday with that rookie level."
"I did not get lucky!" Brian retorted. "That was all skill!"
"At least you have plenty of space to keep all that skill and that big ego of yours."
"Why I oughtta!"
"Oughtta what?" Hope asked with her hands on her hips.
"I dunno! But I oughtta anyway!"
"You're an idiot. Get up Duane."
"But I don't wanna." Duane told her in a fake whiney voice.
Elecmon jumped on Duane's stomach and said, "Yeah, Duane! Let's go! I want out of this room too!" He continued to happily bounce on top of Duane.
Between bounces, Duane said, "If I get up will you promise to stop bouncing on me?"
Elecmon jumped off of his tamer and said, "Yes indeedy! Now let's skeedaddle!"
Elecmon, Gatomon, and Koromon were all placed in bags and slung over their Tamer's shoulders and the group set out to patrol te city.
The night before, after Brian and the others left Peter's room, he was unable to sleep. Peter got up out of bed and pacedhis room for a bit. Suddenly, he heard the humming of a fan and some beeping. He turned around to find that his computer was booting up on its own. "What the-" but that was all he could make out before the screen flashed a bright light in his eyes that made him stumble and fall out of surprise. He sheilded his eyes with his hand, but curiousity kept making him take peeks at the computer. The bright light dimmed a little bit, enough for him to see anyway. He stood up, still sheilding his eyes, and walked over to the computer.
A window opened up on the screen. He read it outloud, "'Get dressed. You're about to embark on the journey to your destiny.' What does that mean?"
When he was done reading it, another window opened up. This one showed a strange looking jungle. Sitting down on the ground was a boy with dark hair. The boy looked up and spoke, "Hello, Peter. Hurry up and get dressed now. I haven't got all day. I have something for you first though. Hold out your hands."
Peter did as he was instructed and immediately the computer screen glowed again. This time however, a beam shot out of it and an object landed in his outstretched palms. He looked at it. It was a small white device.
"It's called a digivice." The boy in the computer said. "It will become a very useful tool for somebody like you."
"Somebody like me?"
"Yes. Peter, you're a special type of person. You are Digidestined. Inside of you is power beyond that of normal people. And together we can become stronger. Get dressed and I'll tell you more."
Peter did exaclty that. He put on his favorite sweater, it was black with a face sticking out its tongue. The hood was red and there were zippers on the sides and on the arms. He then walked back over to the computer. "Now what?"
"Now you come here, to the Digital World."
"The Digital... World... How do I there?"
"I had hoped that Brian had told you more about all of this. Oh well. Hold up your digivice to the screen."
Peter did that. The next thin he knew, he was engulfed in a bright light and he felt weightless. Then a feeling like passing through a spider web fell over him. After that, he felt solid again and had weight. The air was warm and he could feel the sun. Peter opened his eyes and found himself inside of the strange jungle on his computer. He turned around and saw the boy standing there.
"My name is Billy." He was taller than Peter. Billy walked closer to him. "We have a common enemy, you and I."
"And he is?"
"Oh I thought you'd know better than I. He is your brother after all." Billy turned around and looked out into the jungle. "You see, i hate Brian. I want him to die. I believe you can help me with that."
A grin made its way across Peter's face. "I'm in."
"Excellent. Now I'd like you to meet your new partner digimon. His name is Dorumon." From behind Billy came a small furry dinosaur. It was purple and had small black wings. On its forehead was a red jewel. "Dorumon, this is your new Tamer. His name is Peter and he will be very useful to us.
"Brian, I think we need to have a private talk for a moment." Hope said to him irritatedly.
"Why?" He said, gawking at Lily.
"I think you know why."
They had been walking the town when out of nowhere Lily appeared carrying a picnic basket full of food.
When Brian and Hope had walked out of earshot of Duane and Lily, she bagan to scold him. "I cannot believe that you invited her on a patrol trip! What if something happens? What then? Are you just going to swoop in and protect her? Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Brian's eyes snapped aways from Lily and found Hope's angry face. He shuddered beneath her gaze. "I just figured that we could use osme company is all. And she brought food too!"
"Are you even listening to me? She could get hurt if we run into any digimon! That's what we're doing, remember? We're out here looking for digimon to fight!"
"Oh come on, Hope. Nothing's going to happen. She will be fine. Now let's go eat before Duane gets it all." Brian walked past her and made his way back to the park bench beneath the tree where the other two sat. Most of the whole time, Duane gawked at the food, Brian gawked at Lily, and Hope sat there irritated. The three Tamers slipped some food into their backpacks for the digimon to eat.
After everybody was fed, the trio began their patrol again, accompanied by Lily, who walked next to Brian. They walked all over town, looking down every alley and up every street. They had to lie to Lily about what they were doing and instead told her that they were looking for Duane's lost dog.
"But I don't have a- OW!" Duane started before Hope stomped on his foot. "I mean, yeah, yeah. Poor ol' Spots, all lost out here in this big city! I miss him so! I remember when we brought little Rex home for the first time. He was so small! And now my best friend is missing! Where are you Rover?"
"Right... well let's keep looking for... what was his name again?" Hope asked.
"Roy."
"Let's just, shall we?" Brian said.
They saw no digimon that day and eventually said goodbye to Lily and went home.
Billy took Peter and Dorumon back to his fortress where the two were introduced to Tyler and DemiMeramon. When they all arrived, a feast was prepared and they ate well that night. At the end of the feast, Billy rose and spoke to them. "The time is finally here! We now have the other two Tamers and their partners and have distributed the DigiBlades to both of them! Tyler recieved the katana DigiBlade, and Peter, the spear! Tomorrow, we will begin assaulting the Human Realm with digimon!"
"Haven't you already been sending digimon into the Real World?" Peter asked. He was sitting in his chair slumped down, looking bored.
Tyler sat across from him, with a thoughtful face on his features. He tightened his tie and said, "We haven't sent any digimon through the portal."
"Daemon..." Billy said quietly to himself, looked down. He liftedhis head back up and spoke louder this time, "We have another enemy it seems. In the week or so that has passed in the Real World, Years have passed here in the Digital World. It would seem that in that time, Daemon has managed to prepare himself and army to scout the Human World. Soon, we will be forced to make open war with him. It may be time to go public in the eyes of the humans."
"Thass wha' I'ma talkin' 'bout, boss!" DemiDevimon sang. "When to we begins the publicity stunts?"
"Within a few human days. In the meantime, we will begin sending our troops in small squads tomorrow to assess how many of our enemies forces have invaded the humans. The three of us will soon confront Brian, Hope, and Duane as well. I do not believe that they will be able to stand against us when we go ultimate to ultimate."
"DemiMeramon and I can't wait!" Tyler said. "We're very excited for this!"
"Shut up." Billy told him.
Gabbie sat up in her makeshift bed and let out a monstrous yawn. She stretched out her arms and attempted to get the stiffness out of her neck. She didn't feel very good at the moment because her allergies were acting up again. She had a stuffy nose and a soar throat. Sensing her newfound awakefullness, Dobermon lifted his head from his sleep. "Good morning, Dobermon." She told him. The large dog digimon stood up on all fours and shook his head to get the drowsiness out.
"Good morning, Gabbie. How did you sleep?"
"Poorly." She chuckled and pet Dobermon's head. "We should go out and look for some food today, don't you think?"
"Yes," Dobermon agreed. "I think that's a great idea. I could really go for some donuts at the moment. Just thinking of those glazed morsels of awesome is making my mouth water." Dobermon could feel his mouth salivating and quickly closed his mouth before he began to drool.
Gabbie laughed, "Yes, that sounds perfect. Let's go buy us some donuts." She smiled and stood up. The two of them exited the dusty and forgotten club house in the alley. Once out in the streets, they picked a direction and began to look for a grocery store. They passed large buildings, mostly apartments, although there were several houses and a few knick knack shops too.
They eventually came back to the park where they had first entered the city through the portal at. "Maybe we should go in a different direction." Dobermon suggested. "I don't remember seeing any shops around here the when we first entered the Human World."
"Nonsense. We're next to the pier. There is always food at the pier in the movies. I say let's go check it out."
"Well, alright." Dobermon agreed reluctantly. "But I don't have a good feeling about this."
The two of them began to walk to the beach. There were several piers across the area here many filled with people, boats, animals, and especially seagulls. The birds seemed to be largely unafraid of humans. Even so, they decided to steer clear of Dobermon who would nip at the annoying creatures when they got near. They wandered through the crowds, looking at all of the vendors and their wares. Gabbie bought the two of them chili dogs and fries and bought a milkshake to share as well. They sat down at the end of the pier and watched the ocean's waves as they ate.
With her feet dangling over the edge, Gabbie laid down on her back and let her food settle in her stomach. She closed her eyes and relaxed as the sun's rays were soaked into her skin. The wood of the pier was warm and it felt good to her. She couldn't think of a time when she felt more calm and at peace since she fled the digimon attacking her at her house all those days ago. It seemed so long to her. She couldn't remember how long she had been gone.
Gabbie opened her eyes and noticed something behind her and Dobermon. Gabbie rolled over onto her stomach and held her head up with her hands, her elbows were resting on the warm wood of the pier. The air had changed its density it seemed. She noticed that it was foggier and she couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction.
Dobermon turned his head towards her. "Digimon, Gabbie. I can smell them." Just then, Gabbie noticed a man walk out from behind a large crate. He was wearing a blue, pin-striped business suit with a grey cloak over it. The cloak was trimmed in red and he was also wearing a large red scarf around his neck that draped down his front. The man had long white hair flowing beneath a black helmet shaped like the head of a dog. He was leaning on a large gun.
Dobermon squared his shoulders, lowered his head, and snarled at the man. Gabbie sat upright and said, "Dobermon, what's going on?"
"That is Astamon." Dobermon informed her. "He has come for me."
"Dobermon," Astamon said. "I'm so happy you remember me. I've been looking for you, you know. You owe me a large sum. I have come to collect on your debt."
"I don't have any money." Dobermon growled.
"Our deal was not for money. I'm sure you remember that. The deal was for your soul. It's a shame that you got the girl involved in this. I don't like taking the lives of the innocent."
Astamon straightened himself up and hefted up his heavy tommy gun. Dobermon instantly retaliated and yelled, "Black Beam!" A shot of dark energy was released from the dog's mouth and hit the gun, knocking it out of Astamon's hands.
"You will pay for that!"
"Gabbie!" Dobermon cried. "Get away from here!"
"No!" She cried, standing up now. "I won't leave!" She pulled out her digivice from her pocket.
Her digimon rammed her with his head and knocked Gabbie off the side of the pier and into the ocean below. "I'm sorry, Gabbie, but he's just too powerful."
"Hell Fire!" Astamon yelled, firing the tommy gun he had retrieved form the ground. He sprayed bullets all in front of him in great sweeping motions.
"Gray Noise!" Dobermon yelled, releasing a grey beam of energy and the wave of ammo rushing towards him. The bullets froze in midair as their data became glitched.
"Smart dog!" Astamon congratulated. Then, with lightning speed, Astamon ran at Dobermon, who had no time to react to his opponents Maverick attack. Astamon pulled back his leg as it was engulfed in dark energy and struck Dobermon in the chest. Dobermon was knocked flying back and was only just able to hang on to the edge of the pier. Dobermon glanced down over his shoulder at the crashing waves.
"Dobermon!" Gabbie yelled. She had swam to the shore underneath the pier and turned around to see her partner hanging off of the edge. "Dobermon! Hang on!" She pulled her digivice back out, trying to give Dobermon a little bit more strength.
Dobermon managed to climb back up onto the pier. Astamon was nowhere to be found. The digimon took a few steps forward. Then a few more. Then he ran over to the crate where Astamon had appeared from. "Where are you?" Dobermon demanded. "Show yourself! Coward!"
"Now, now, Dobermon." Said a voice. "Let's play nicely. There's no need for name calling!" Dobermon looked up and saw the silhouette of a pair of boots above him just before Astamon landed on the dog's back, hard. Dobermon fell to the ground underneath the weight of the demon. Astamon grabbed Dobermon by the ears and jerked upward, lifting the dog's head. The demon digimon took a knife off of his belt and placed the blade against Dobermon's throat. Dobermon struggled against Astamon's grip, but to no avail. "This is the end, Dobermon. You are about to pay what is owed to me. Your blood will fulfill the contract. Good bye."
Just then, a rock struck Astamon in the shoulder, making him stumble off of Dobermon. The pinned digimon recognized his opportunity and bit at Astamon's arm and struggling free from the grasp. Dobermon quickly jumped to the side and got back into a battle stance.
"Who dares to strike the great Astamon?" the demon demanded. He turned around to see a soaking wet Gabbie standing several yards to his left. "You! The girl!"
"Nobody hurts my friends!" Gabbie called, hefting another large rock in her hand. "Take this!" Gabbie threw the rock at Astamon, who lifted up his hand and caught the rock before crushing it into dust.
"You will pay for your insolence, girlie." Astamon raised his tommy gun and yelled, "Hell Fire!" The digimon began spraying the bullets in huge arcs in Gabbie's direction. She was able to dodge behind another large crate though before any hit her.
Dobermon positioned himself behind the distracted Astamon and then pounced on the demon's back, knocking him over. The tommy gun hit the ground a slid several feet before coming to a rest. "You will not hurt Gabbie!" Dobermon cried as he tore at Astamon's neck from behind.
Astamon quickly elbowed Dobermon and sent him flying to the side. "Get off of me you mangy mutt. Now where's my gun?"
"Looking for this?" Gabbie asked, holding the huge tommy gun. It was a little bit too big for her and she struggled to keep it up, but she continued to point it at the demon. "Leave. Now."
"You ain't got the heart, girlie." Astamon told her, obviously unsure of himself. "Why don't you hand over that there gun before you hurt somebody, eh?"
"No."
"Why you little," he replied to her, making a reach for the gun. Gabbie closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. The bullets pierced the demon's flesh and tore him apart. Chunks of his skin and muscle tissue flew everywhere. Blood sprayed across the ground and nearby crates. Gabbie emptied the clip and then let the smoking gun fall to the ground. She was breathing heavily and wasn't quite sure what it was she had just done. Astamon fell to his knees and looked upward at the sky. He began to laugh at the Digital Fog. A horrible, insane laugh that made no sense to Gabbie.
When Astamon had finished his insane spurt of laughs, he manage to pull himslef back to his feet. Blood ran down his face and dripped off of his fingers. He looked very sternly at Gabbie. "Merverick!" He yelled, and rushed at Gabbie, getting ready to kick her with the dark energy that he had built up into the end of his boot.
Gabbie screamed and sheilded herself with her arms. Dobermon stood back up and made a lunge at Astamon, biting his leg and taking all of the dark energy into himself. Astamon fell down to the ground again, laughing and looking up into the Digital Fog. The insane digimon was laying down on his back, his leg mangled and bent at a weird angle. Dobermon walked over and place a paw on Astamon's throat.
"It seems, Dobermon, that you won't have to pay any debt to me after this day." Astamon told him. "My days are numbered. I had hoped it would be in a fight. But never did I suspect that it would be in a fight against a champion level and a human girl!" He began to laugh again.
"My debt has been paid with blood, as was our agreement. Black Beam!" Dobermon yelled and opened his mouth, releasing the dark energy into the face of Astamon. The demon digimon screamed in pain and was dissolved into data.
"Dobermon," Gabbie said quietly. Her partner turned around to face her. "What just happened?"
"That was a demon lord named Astamon. He is very business like and ran a very bad gang of digimon back in the Digital World. He was a part of Daemon's army. I used to be a virus type digimon, Gabbie. I'm sorry I've never told you that. I wasn't always a good guy." He stepped a bit closer to her. "It seems as though my past caught up to me. We struck a deal once. I had an enemy who I could not defeat. I hated this enemy of mine. I wanted him gone. I asked Astamon to dispose of my enemy. The price for blood is blood however, and I wasn't willing to pay it. I ran away. I no longer wanted any part of that life. I decided to make myself into a vaccine. I began hunting down all of the virus type digimon I could find and destroying them. I became a very successfull Virus Buster- a digimon who destroys virus types for a living. But that then I met you. I had then realized that my destiny was to protect you. Given my past, I wouldn't be surprised if you now want protection from me." Dobermon bowed his head in shame.
"Dobermon..." Gabbie said quietly. Dobermon turned around and began to walk away. "Dobermon!" Gabbie stood up and ran over to him. She went around to the front of him and gave Dobermon a hug. "Dobermon. You are my best friend. I don't want you to go. A person is who he is. Not who he was."
"Gabbie..." Dobermon rested his head on her shoulder.
"Don't leave me."
"I won't."