Chapter Forty-Nine

"GATOMON!" I spat, backing away as she stepped out of the shadows, grinning evilly as her coat shined in the light.

Koromon growled, as Viximon struggled in my arms. "Let me at her! Let me at her!"

"Save it runt…" She licked a paw casually. "You're not even worth my time…"

"WHY I OUTTA-"Not now, girl…" Tai muttered out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes narrowed down to furious slits as he stood in front of me. "What do YOU want?"

Gatomon scoffed. "I'd have thought that'd be obvious…even for a stupid human like you."

I snorted mockingly. "Myotismon's desperate enough to send you out?…Please-I can kick your butt and you and I both know it."

"Oh…really?" She crouched menacingly, her claws starting to unsheathe. "Why don't you prove it?"

"Gladly…" I stepped forward, my fists clenched, ready to drop-kick her back to the Digital World….before I got grabbed from behind.

'Hello there…." Phantomon smirked triumphantly as he held me by the neck-"Miss me?"

"Get…OFF!" I gasped, choking as I struggled and kicked. His grip just tightened. "Ohh…the master's going to be happy to see you…"

"Lily!"

Tai clenched his fists in anger, rage obvious. "Koromon-DIGIVOLVE! Help her!"

The bright light shone from his Digivice and engulfed the little In-Training. "Koromon digivolve to…Agumon!"

"Pepper Breath!" The fireball simply bounced off Phantomon, and he snickered. "That tickled."

"LET ME AT EM LET ME AT EM!"

Gatomon just rolled her eyes and swatted at Viximon, who yelped as she hit the nearby lamppost and collapsed, motionless…

NO!

"You coward! You'd attack an In-Training?"

"T-Tai…." I managed to choke out as I struggled to break free of Phantomon and get to Viximon, my eyes locked on my injured Digimon, "help her…please…"

With a smirk, Gatomon turned back to Phantomon. "Well, we got what the master wanted to…huh?"

She froze as she sniffed the air, her ears turning back and forth. I took a sniff at the air as well…and froze. No way…no way…it's not possible!

Tai's eyes flickered upwards and he gaped. "W-who are you?"

Craning my neck backwards, I was just able to make out a cloaked figure gracefully jump down from the patio above us…and walk over menacingly.

"Who are you?" Gatomon spat menacingly, crouching as she unsheathed her claws.

I was too busy staring…frozen at the figure…No way…it can't be…this doesn't even make any sense! It was like someone had pressed the pause button on all our lives-no one spoke, no one attacked…they all seemed waiting for someone to make the first move.

The figure raised her head; crimson red eyes narrowed down to slits before she moved her right hand upward.

"Ga-ahh…." I could feel Phantomon's muscles tighten, like he had frozen solid or something. His eyes were wide with fear, and close to him as I was pressed, I could almost feel his heart start to slow down…like it was being squeezed, or something like that.

The girl waved her hand again, and his right hand snapped open without her even touching him-I tumbled to the ground-Gatomon, who had a look of absolute terror on her face-was thrown into Phantomon, and the two of them crashed into the ground.

"How is she?…" Tai whispered. "Doing that?…"

She smirked, and Gatomon growled menacingly. "All right twerp…you're gonna get-Huh?"

The ground started making strange noise…I could feel coldness drift up from the ground through my legs…ice slowly crawled upwards from beneath the surface, circling around Gatomon and Phantomon…

My eyes widened. Holy crap….is she actually…HELPING ME?"

Whimpering, the two creeps whirled around. "R-run for it!" Gatomon screamed as the ice formed around her hind legs and up her chest, drifted up Phantomon's cape towards his torso…

Five seconds later, there were two ice sculptures standing in front of us, their faces full of pure terror.

"W-…what?" Tai's eyes were huge, as if he couldn't believe what he'd just seen. The girl turned to me and smiled-that smile sparked a familiar pain…and anger.

"What are you doing back here?" I spat, glaring at her, my fists clench so hard my nails dug into my palm. "After what happened last year…and what YOU did…you think you can just?"

She lowered her head slightly…before turning around and walking back into the shadows.

I glared after her a few more minutes before running over to Viximon. She was lying on her side with her eyes closed…

"Hey…" I shook her lightly. "You okay? Viximon?"

Viximon groaned as she slowly got back up. "What…happened?" Her eyes widened as she saw the two sculptures. "Whoah…what happened to them?"

I twitched. "It's…nothing, Viximon." She sniffed the air and, jaw dropping, "Do I smell what I THINK I smell? What is SHE doing here?"

"…I…don't know."

"Lily?"

I didn't turn around to look at Tai. I knew he was confused…and I know he was going to ask questions I didn't feel like answering just yet.

"Do you know…whoever that was?" Agumon piped up curiously.

…Did I? "I'm….not sure…" I'm not sure of anything anymore….

Tai opened his mouth to say something, but, seeing the look in my eyes, thought better of it and put his hand on my shoulder. "Come on. Let's get out of…huh?"

"What is it?"

He was staring down at his Digivice in disbelief, the light on the screen flashing. "The…the eighth child!"
"WHAT?"

Tai glanced anxiously from side to side, then gritted his teeth in frustration as he looked back down at the quickly-disappearing signal. "If we don't move now…we're gonna lose him!"

"Then come on!" I grabbed Viximon and bolted a few steps ahead. "We'll get back home later-this matters more!"

"Right!"

None of us noticed the crow flying overhead…a flashing Digivice in its talons….

Back on the sidewalk's corner, the ice encasing Phantomon slowly started to form small cracks in it…

The cracks grew larger and larger…before there was a flash of metal and the whole thing explouded! Phantomon breathed raggedly, clutching his scythe which was still partly covered in ice. "Stupid…human…"

Next to him, Gatomon's sculpture shattered as well…she collapsed to the ground, shivering all over. Her fur was wet from the ice, and her tail and ear tips were still frozen.

"What…." She gasped for breath. "Is SHE doing here?"

"Must have been looking for her…" Phantomon muttered in response. "We knew she'd come back someday…"
"But now? Of all times!" Gatomon cringed as another thought came to her. "…The master's not gonna like this…"

"Do we have to-"Yes, of COURSE we have to tell!" She cringed again. "Oh…he's gonna be pissed…"

"My lord…" one of the Bakemon bowed down uneasily. "My lord…Raremon has been…destroyed…"

"What?" Myotismon snarled, whirling around to glare at the little Champion, who quivered. "Another member of my army? Destroyed by these…kids?"

"They…" the Bakemon gulped. "They…are stronger than…the average…Digimon, sir."

"Stronger than me?…" the vampire's voice had gone a deadly quiet; other Digimon watching the scene cringed and slowly backed away. "Is that what you're trying to say?…"

"N-no sir!" The Bakemon's eyes were wide with terror. "I was just…I…that's not what!"

But Myotismon's eyes had already flickered back up to the ceiling, where red eyes watched hungrily. "Yes…" he murmured, a slow evil grin. "It has been a long time since you've eaten…hasn't it my precious ones?"

Like a massive dark cloud, the bats swooped around the unfortunate messenger…his screams echoed before finally being cut off.

Myotismon glared at the Digimon around him, who were all still shaking. "Well? What are you still standing around for?"

There was a mad rush of the exit-Digimon pushing and shoving each other, desperate to get out of his way.

Smirking, he seized a goblet that slowly formed from the dark mist around him…and sipped the red liquid.

No matter. Once Gatomon and Phantomon got back from their special…mission, he'd have his pet back. And the Digidestined would be doomed without the little traitor's help.

The image of Lily bleeding on the ground screaming for forgiveness…for mercy made him chuckle.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in." Myotismon said coolly, raising an eyebrow as Gatomon and Phantomon walked in. They were both shivering…Gatomon litearrly looked frozen. But only one thing concerned him at that moment, and that was the fact there was no star in chains with them.

"Welll?…"

Gatomon cringed before bowing. "I'm…afraid we were unable to retrieve her…my lord."

"Dissapointing…" His eyes narrowed. "May I ask WHY exactly the two of you are dripping wet?"

"Er…" The two of them exchanged sideways looks. Something was clearly up…

"She…had someone…protecting her…"

Myotismon rolled his eyes before taking another sip. "Her little boyfriend? Or some random Digimon wanting to play the hero?" He sneered.

"Er…" Gatomon took a deep breath. "Master…the…the creepy twerp's back."

The glass shattered as he tightened his grip and his eyes widened with horror. "WHATTTT?"

The whole room seemed to shake from the roar, and Gatomon and Phantomon both cringed backwards.

Myotismon clenched his teeth, his eyes wild. For a minute, he didn't speak at all. And then when he finally did, it was in a rasp. "Are you…certain?"

"Completely…" Gatomon shifted her paws. "I…recognized her scent…"

"The power she used on us…" Phantomon's voice shook slightly. "It was like she was controlling our bodies…neither of us could move…"

He froze-blue eyes widening slightly. "Wait…" before whirling around to face them again.

"Wait…this sensation…was it like your blood was frozen in your veins?" he questioned them urgently.

"Er…" The two looked at each other. "…Yes?"

"Flaming swords…." Myotismon cursed under his breath. "She's a blood bender…"

"She's a WHAT?"?

"One of the darker arts…" He stared off into the distance and frowned thoughtfully. "I'm surprised she's learned it…I would've thought she'd see herself as above such things."

"Um…" Gatomon shifted from paw to paw. "You're not suggesting…WE deal with her are you?" The terror in her voice clearly suggested she hoped not.

Myotismon waved a hand dismissively in her direction, still staring off into space. "Of course not…but keep an eye on her. You say she ran off right after attacking you?"

"Yes sir."

A slight smirk appeared. "Excellent…then that clearly shows she is still too weak to fight in a major battle…" Finally, his gaze flickered back over to them. "I will deal with them. You just concentrate on getting my pet back here…"

Phantomon nodded. "Yes sir." Gatomon, on the other hand hesitated.

"Master…if you don't mind me asking…what happens if Lily runs into her…and the creepy twerp tells her…the truth?"

She'd had to deal with the two of them at once before…she'd hoped never again.

Myotismon just raised an eyebrow. "You honestly think she'd actually believe her?" he asked scornfully.

"….I…guess not…but-"Gatomon, that is the least of my worries right now…" the smirk formed on his face again as he sipped blood. "Lily'll never trust her again…I've made sure of that."