Wrenched From Calm, Thrown To Battle: Part 2

Wrenched From Calm, Thrown To Battle: Part 2

[A/N: So, anyone like so far? I finally thought up jobs for Shinji's parents! But I warn you now. This part is pretty violent for the second part of a series. Enter a certain someone… ^_^]

[Disclaimer: Don't own.]

"Man, this fog is thicker than the fuzz on the cheese in the fridge." Matt muttered, staring at the sky from the balcony of his apartment. "So, you think it's him?" Tsunomon inquired from the ground. "You had better believe it." Matt agreed, turning and leaning on the ledge.

TK stared sadly at the barrier of fog. He couldn't make up his mind. It was too big of a risk to have Patamon digivolve just to get him in, and his mother probably wouldn't go. She was too busy with her paper article. But there had to be a way to convince her. If there was a way to beat the Digi-destined's enemy, there was definitely a way to convince his mom!

Kari had gone a walk, even though the fog made it close to impossible to see. She kind of liked the fog, and really liked walking around in the park when it was foggy. Kari knew the way, and didn't get lost at all. The trees could hardly be seen, but Kari knew she was in the park.

The cool moisture of the fog licked Kari's cheek, and she giggled and kept walking. Suddenly, there was a clopping of sneaker-rubber against the concrete, and someone yanked Kari backwards. The eight-year-old stumbled, but someone held her up before she fell. Kari was about to yell for help, but the familiar sound of a car going by at high speeds reached her ears.

"Hey, little girl, you shouldn't be walking around in the street." someone said kindly, "Are you all right?" Kari bent her head backwards and looked up into the darkest blue eyes she had ever seen. "Yeah, thanks!" she replied with a warm smile, "You saved my life!" "Ah, don't say that." the person laughed, "I don't want to call in any favors."

Kari giggled and turned around. "Well, thanks anyway…" she dropped off, not knowing what to say. "Shinji Shazaki." the person held out a hand, "You?" "I'm Kari!" the eight-year-old replied, "Kari Kamiya!" The two shook, and Shinji stood. "See you around." she murmured, walking away. A few seconds later, she disappeared, and Kari let out a sigh. She was officially freaked out, and wanted to get back home.

Shinji, unlike Kari, disliked fog for some reason, and also desired to return home.

As soon as the sun began to set, the sound of wooden wheels rolling across the gravelly pavement was heard in the darkest places. The Digi-destined dared not to leave their homes, especially not the girls. Tai would not let Kari even think about getting near the door, because he was worried.

"Hey, Shin-chan?" Shinji's father, Kagato, asked, "Sorry to ask so late at night, but I'm sure you'll say yes…" "What do you need at the store?" Shinji asked with a knowing smirk. "Rice." her mother, Rei, said from the desk, "We used the last of it tonight." Her daughter smirked, upside-down, and rolled backwards. Her feet fell from the air and landed with a dull thud on the floor, and her head finally came up from the ground.

"So, one bag of rice then?" she repeated. Kagato nodded and added, "You had better take a flashlight. The fog's pretty thick." His daughter did as he advised, slid on her sneakers, and headed out into the foggy night.

A young woman of nineteen slumped easily to the ground, twin, throbbing red marks on her neck. A pale figure dressed in blue and a black flowing cloak grinned coldly and licked the last trace of blood from his glimmering fangs. His heavy black boots hardly made a thud as he stepped into the carriage that was driven by nothing. The wooden wheels made no sound except for the crunched noise of gravel. The creature that fed upon the blood of young women grinned once more and hoped for one last meal that night.

"I hate fog…I hate fog…I hate fog…" Shinji repeated over and over, walking through the thick fog, one hand in her pocket, the other holding a bag of rice. Her free hand was inside her pocket, holding the flashlight tightly. But very suddenly, she froze. Dull footsteps a bit behind her froze as well. "Great." the fourteen-year-old thought, "First I have to walk around at night in fog, and now some weirdo is stalking me." She took a few steps, then froze again. The footsteps stopped as well, but this time, they sounded much closer.

The teenager remained still, daring the person behind her to come closer. Many people knew her father, and they knew her as well. They also knew that she was a better fighter than her father. But somehow, there was a tinge of fear burrowing deeper and deeper into her. There was something extremely different about the person following her. Shinji's heart pounded uncomfortably, and her hand covered the strange necklace she had found that morning through her silver tee-shirt.

Then, one more footstep sounded, and that immediately frightened the girl into an adrenaline rush. She whirled around, whipped the flashlight from her pocket, and turned it on. The bright light cut through the fog and a male voice nearly screamed in agony. The man disappeared faster than she could tell, and she was left, stunned and frozen. No person ever cried out that loud, even if a flashlight was staring them in the eye…

Then, a cold hissing sound resonated in her ear, and she started to turn around. The flashlight was knocked from her hand, and the light vanished. The hand that had been holding the flashlight was held in a harsh grasp, and her other hand let go of the rice. Her fist went up instinctively, but the man caught her punch and squeezed her hand tightly. Now, only the fear was present, the adrenaline gone, and the teen was frozen.

"You are a bothersome little human." the man's voice said in a soft tone, "But, impertinent humans make the best meals." Shinji's blue eyes widened at those words. The sun-hiding fog…the scream at the bright light… Why couldn't she see it before? The man chuckled as the girl tried to pull away weakly. "My, you are the first person other than those children that know what I am." he laughed. "Y-you're something other than a vampire?" the teen questioned, trying to get away.

With a heavy step, the vampire glided up to the human so he was nearly pressing against her. He was a head taller, and had blue eyes. Eyes that matched her own… The human was breathing hard, tears nearly coming to her eyes. Suddenly, the necklace beneath her shirt began to glow with a bright, yet dark light. The vampire's eyes widened and he leapt back, letting go of the girl.

"You?!" he shouted, "You are one of those children?!" The vampire growled and stepped heavily towards Shinji. But suddenly, his sneer became a smirk. "I understand." he chuckled, "The team is now nine, but if I make it eight, then seven once more, this world will be mine!" He stepped forwards, and she stepped backwards.

"Wha-what does that mean?" she inquired, "What children?" The vampire continued to step forwards, forcing her backwards. "Seven children that have hindered my plans throughout both worlds!" the creature snarled, "And now that I have found one that they have never heard of, there will only be the Eighth Child left to find." His gloved hand shot out and wrapped around her neck. But as his grip began to tighten, something in the back of his mind snapped and the necklace beneath the human's shirt shimmered brighter.

A different understanding crawled into his mind, and he slowly let the human go. She gasped for breath and rubbed the area he had been crushing. The vampire stared over her head, thinking slowly about something. The necklaces those children wore always burned his eyes when they glowed, so why didn't this one burn him?

The digital device clipped to Shinji's belt started to beep as if it were screaming. The vampire stared at the light flowing from the digital device, but still it didn't burn as normal light did. "What the heck is this thing?!" the human seemed to forget about the vampire, yanking the device from her belt clip, "I don't know what to do with it!"

"Digivice." the vampire said. The human jumped and looked at him slowly. "It's called a digivice." he repeated patiently. The human blinked and slid off the necklace and held it to the vampire. It swung slightly, the dark blue-black shimmering. "As long as you aren't trying to bite me, do you know what this is?" she tried.

"The brass part of it is called a tag." the vampire explained, the necklace covering his eyes at moments, "But everyone that knows about it calls it a Crest, because of the stone inside the tag." He glanced at the stone and then back at the girl.

"Where did you get this?" he questioned, "Only the children I spoke of have these. Unless you stole it from one of them." The human sweatdropped and jumped. "Shoot!" she moaned, "I forgot! I have to get home!" She grabbed the bag of rice from the ground and started to run off, when the vampire grabbed her shoulder. "Tell me where you found it." he ordered, "And don't try to run away again."

Shinji cast her eyes at the foggy sky and groaned inside her head. Her plan didn't work.

"I just found it this morning." she finally admitted, "And the digivice too. They just were there. Now if you would let go, I really need to get home so my parents don't kill me for being out this late." He slowly let go and turned from the human. The girl nearly sighed in relief. "I'm Shinji Shazaki." her manners overtook her sense. The vampire didn't pay any mind, but walked into the fog again. Shinji nearly asked him his name, but stopped.

She too turned towards her home and started off. But as she started to walk off, a breath of wind carried a word to her ears, "…Myotismon…"

Shinji jogged up the stone stairs and to her house. The door was still unlocked and she walked inside.

"Sorry I'm so late." she called, "I got lost in the fog." There was no reply. Shinji reasoned that perhaps she was later than she surmised, and her parents had gone to sleep. But still, the silence was eerie. She was about to slide off her black sneakers, when, with no warning obviously, two ropes slithered up from either side of her, and tied themselves around her torso and ankles.

She fell head-over-heels once the ropes had finished tying themselves and slammed hard onto the floor. "Mom!" she yelled fearfully, "Dad! What's going on?!" Suddenly, there was a disorientating feeling of floating, and somehow, something drew her to the largest room in the house.

Her blue eyes widened in shock as her sight viewed her parents, tied up as well. "Mom! Dad!" she cried once more. "So glad you could finally make it to the play." an unfamiliar voice cackled. Shinji looked to her right and saw what appeared to be a demonic clown sitting in one of the chairs.

"Who are you?!" Kagato shouted, "What do you want here?!" The clown chuckled. "I am Piedmon, ruler of the Digital World." he answered, "I have come here to see with my own eyes how my minion, Myotismon, has been doing with his plans." "But why are you here?" Shinji questioned. Her parents stared at her, and Piedmon laughed aloud. Shinji slowly pulled a small pocketknife from her back pocket and began cutting through the ropes that held her.

The vampire stared through the fog. He could see through it, and had watched that Shinji girl walk back home. But there was something dreadfully wrong. He knew when tears in the dimensions appeared, and one had when he and the human had been talking. Someone was here. One of his race. A stronger one of his type. They were after her…

"I heard that there were actually nine Digi-destined!" the clown laughed, "So I come to the Real World, and guess what I find. I appear by this house, and I sense the power that only a Crest and Digivice give off! So I decide to wait for the Digi-destined to return. You come here, and so I can get rid of the Ninth Digi-destined child!" He paused and looked at her. He could not see the small pocketknife, and smiled quite coldly.

"But no, I see you, and I decide against it." Piedmon continued, "Such exquisite beauty should be cherished, not obliterated." "What do you intend to do to my daughter?!" Kagato shouted. The evil clown grinned at Shinji's father. "Why, I intend to take her with me to the Digiworld, and keep her." he said.

Destiny was calling him… No. It wasn't just destiny that drew him towards her home. It was her…

"But, I'm sure that you'll purposefully try to find the Digi-destined brats to have them come back to the Digital World and find your daughter." Piedmon stared at Rei and Kagato coldly, "Those children must not learn of my plans! I will find this girl's partner, and turn them against the Digi-destined! I will not fail!" He grinned evilly and then murmured, "And so you must be eliminated."

Piedmon stood from the chair and held up a gloved hand. His red-velvet-clad form seemed to shimmer with deadly power, and Shinji's parents stared at him. "CLOWN TRICK!" the evil digimon shouted. A ball of black energy formed before his hand, and it flew forwards. It consumed Shinji's parents, and then vanished.

"And now they are gone." Piedmon grinned. Shinji was frozen. But then, the weakened ropes were no match for her rage-induced strength, and she snapped them and flipped to her feet. "And what are you trying to do, my dear?" Piedmon smiled, "Run away? Wail and sob?" "I'M GOING TO FREAKIN' KILL YOU!" Shinji screamed. She leapt forwards and slammed her fist into the side of Piedmon's face. The digimon's head was turned to the side, and then Shinji slammed her foot into his stomach.

Piedmon was doubled over with pain, and Shinji slammed her knee into his forehead. The blow nearly cracked his face-helmet, and he fell back onto the floor. Shinji breathed slow and hard, and turned away, ready to go and find the rest of those kids Piedmon mentioned.

But a hand grabbed her shoulder. Shinji turned around with a stunned expression, and then Piedmon pressed two fingers against her forehead. Shinji fell unconscious, and Piedmon caught her. "Ah, ah, ah, my dear." he chuckled, "That's no way to start this off."

Suddenly, a blue-green hole appeared behind him and he whirled around. "A dimensional vortex-" he started in shock. Suddenly, from the shadows of a corner, what appeared like a bat flew out of the shadows and smacked Piedmon in the head. He stumbled backwards, let Shinji go, and fell backwards into the vortex. Shinji fell into the shadows, and vanished into the blackness.

In the inky blackness of the Shadow Realm, Shinji sank down from Light Realm and fell into the vampire's arms. He smiled lightly at the now-unconscious girl and then jumped backwards, fading into a different place.

Tai stared woefully out into the fog. How would they ever find him if he was hiding in the fog? The leader of the Digi-destined sighed and turned back to his room, letting the blue drape fall back over the window. As the large-haired boy flopped into bed, the fog behind the drape started to slowly dissipate…