Author's Note: Yay! Lookee, I finally updated this story! My mind's been going into overdrive with this, since it is the month of Halloween and all. Hehe. Anywho, R+R, mmkay?
Rating: R, the whole fic is R.
Disclaimer: *waves hands in air and shouts loudly* No own Digimon!! lol. *sorry just thinking about what some ppl do when they are trying to communicate w/ someone who doesn't speak their language. I'm assuming the owners of Digimon speak Japanese. Needless to say, no matter how loud you shout or flail your arms, ppl will not understand you any better. They speak a diff. language, they're not deaf! lol. Okay, now that that's off my chest, on to the fic…
Izzy leisurely scanned the rows of names engraved on one wall of the mausoleum, as Mr. Ishida inspected the other side. The red-haired boy noticed a door located in the far corner of the complex and curiously made his way towards it.
"What have you got there Izzy?" Malcolm asked, craning his head around to view the boy.
"Let's see what's behind this door." Izzy suggested, pulling open the large door.
The two crept inside, for some reason, expecting something to jump out at them. In the center of the room were four caskets made of some kind of stone or marble.
"You think…?" Malcolm asked as Izzy shrugged.
"I guess we'll find out soon," he said strolling over to one of the sarcophagi, "Help me with this." he instructed the older man.
Malcolm and Izzy tried relentlessly to remove the lid from the coffin, but it seemed utterly impossible. It was just far too heavy.
"Maybe too heavy for mortals?" Izzy hypothesized.
"But not for a vampire?" Malcolm proffered.
"Possibly." He said scratching his chin, "On the other hand, these tombs look like they have been undisturbed for quite some time."
Malcolm reached into his shirt pocket for a cigarette. In the last few minutes he had become rather nervous. Izzy cleared his throat, as if to politely request that he not smoke. Malcolm understood the subtle suggestion and placed the cigarette back into his pocket.
"Well, now what?" he asked, folding his arms.
"We could go help the others search the rest of the graveyard." Izzy stated. "I doubt we'll find much today. After all, this isn't the only place the vampire could be. Please excuse my pessimism." He apologized.
"No Izzy, I figured as much. I just hope Tai won't be too disappointed that we didn't find anything. That boy doesn't look good." Malcolm observed.
"I know. I've never seen him like this. He must really be upset about losing Sora. I mean I'm pretty distressed by it myself, but Tai…he looks heartbroken." Izzy commented.
"How else should he feel?" Malcolm added rhetorically. Izzy only nodded.
Kari shifted uncomfortably in her present position.
"W-who's there?" she asked timidly. Unseen goose bumps began to spread up and down her arms.
Tai slowly began to wake. His eyes groggily opened to see nothing but darkness all around.
"K-Kari?" he asked, his hands searching the ground for her.
"I'm right here Tai." She replied. "But…we aren't alone." She said in a hushed whisper.
"What happened? Where are we? What do you mean not alone?" a dozen questions escaped his lips before his sister placed her hand over his mouth.
"Shhhhh…" she whispered, her eyes, which had now adjusted to the dark, scanned the small room. "Where is it?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
The creature stood in front of Kari, close enough for it's nose to touch hers, but she was unable to see it. It smiled at her and leapt back with lightning speed. Kari felt a rush of cold air on her skin and quickly rubbed her bare shoulders and arms.
Tai maneuvered into a sitting position and massaged the tender spot on his elbow where he had fallen.
"What's wrong Kari?" he whispered.
Before she had a chance to answer, the entire room lit up with a brilliant radiance, blinding the two teenagers. Both siblings shielded their eyes from the brightness until it slowly died down, revealing hundreds of candles scattered about the room.
"How did they all light up at once?" Tai asked in complete shock.
"I don't know." Kari answered.
Suddenly, the dark creature inhabiting the room swooped down in front of the two. Tai grabbed his sister and held her protectively.
"Who are you!?" he demanded.
The figure merely smiled at the two horrified children. His hair was jet-black and pulled back in a tight ponytail. A black cape with purple inner lining trailed behind him as he approached Tai and his sister.
"You have no reason to fear…right now." He coolly stated. Tai studied the man up and down, taking note on his long, sharp pristine fingernails, pale complexion, and violet eyes. Everything about this guy seemed unnatural.
"What are you staring at boy?" he snapped. Kari jerked back in her brother's arms.
"I apologize madam." The creature said and bowed before them.
Tai repeated his question. "Who are you?"
"I, sir?" he said, placing his hand over his chest, "I am Radu."
"That doesn't explain a lot." Tai retorted.
"That is all you need know of me for now." He hissed.
"What were you saying earlier?" Kari interjected, "What was that about what we had to fear?" she queried.
"Oh yes…" he nodded, "Forgive me for not elaborating."
Kari glanced up at her brother, worry written in her expression.
"Don't worry." Tai whispered, "If he was going to kill us, he'd have done it by now…wouldn't he?"
This did not make Kari feel any better.
"The Twilight Hour." Radu stated.
"Huh?" Tai grunted, his attention returning to the tall, dark figure.
"Listen well." Radu advised. "You do not want to be here during the Twilight Hour."
"What's the Twilight Hour?" Kari asked tentatively.
"It is the hour of awakening." He answered.
Tai finally mustered up the courage to stand, in the process helping his sister to her feet as well.
"Hour of awakening?" Tai questioned with a puzzled look.
"It is an unknown fact, but vampires do possess certain abilities which enable them to control time and space for a brief instance. The reason this is not known is because they are only able to do it for seconds or minutes at a time. However…" he paused.
"Are you gonna tell us that one of these vamps figured out how to manipulate time and space for a longer period of time?" Tai stated sarcastically.
"As a matter of fact, yes." Radu replied. "There are many things about vampires that mortals still do not know." He chuckled sinisterly.
"Such as?" Kari inquired.
"Oh, I'm not telling you two anything. But I suggest you hurry, for the Twilight Hour is nearly upon us."
"Hurry? But why?" she continued.
"If you wish to stay around and see, be my guest." He laughed, "But don't say I did not bid you warning."
With that final statement, Radu disappeared in a flash of light. Tai and Kari both stood stunned, unable to believe their eyes.
"Creepy." Kari muttered.
"I wonder what he meant by the Twilight Hour?" Tai pondered out loud.
"Me too. Do you think he was a vampire?" she responded. Tai only shook his head.
"I don't know, but I'm betting he was." The boy finally commented.
"We should get outta here," she said, gazing around the cave-like surroundings.
Tai searched around the candle-lit room then pointed off in the distance. "I think I see a light up ahead, like from an opening or something."
"That's better than nothing. Let's go." Kari said, pulling her brother along by his shirtsleeve.
When the two had made it to the entrance to the small cave, they immediately surveyed the area. Tai pointed out a little hill and suggested they climb it and get their bearings.
"Well, this is that forest, so the cemetery should be over there." Kari announced extending her index finger in the direction she figured to be the cemetery's location. Tai whipped out his miniature telescope and began to check the perimeter.
Tai scanned the trees surrounding them. "Whatever you say. This looks sorta familiar." He said scratching his head, unable to really see much.
The two children started to tread forward, when a change in the atmosphere caught their attention.
"It's so cold." Kari shivered, looking up at the sky that had mysteriously turned a dark grayish-purple hue.
"I don't like the looks of this." Tai added, "I think we're about to find out what the Twilight Hour is." he said, swallowing hard. "Let's get going and find the others."
Kari followed him down the hill towards the graveyard. Cautiously glancing over her shoulder every few seconds. She didn't know why, but she could have sworn someone was following them; she could feel their presence.
Tai was a couple of steps ahead of his sister. "It's not far now Kari. Look, the graveyard's just over this ridge." He pointed out.
A flash of lighting lit up the dark sky and both children jumped. Seconds after an ominous thunderclap rolled in the distance.
"K-Keep going." Tai urged his frightened sister.
As they walked on, the sky grew darker. Tai glanced down at his watch. "This is odd." He commented. "It's only noon. How can it already be this dark?" he questioned.
Another flash of lightning sent them running when it struck mere inches from where they stood.
"I don't think I like this Twilight Hour!!" Kari yelled as she followed Tai in between rows of grave markers. She let out a loud yelp when something caused her to fall over. She winced in pain and clutched at her knee. Tai skidded to a stop and whirled around to help his sister up, but his eyes widened in horror at what he saw. A rotting, dead hand had shot up from the ground and seized Kari's foot.
"Help me Tai! It's got me!!" she cried, digging her fingernails into the decayed flesh of the green hand, desperately trying to free her foot.
Tai ran back towards her and grabbed onto the dead hand and yanked it from Kari's sneaker. He succeeded in freeing Kari, but the hand popped out of the ground, sending him reeling backwards and onto his rear.
Tai sat motionless holding the rotting hand, as it continued to move.
"Ugh!!" he screamed in disgust and threw it off to the side, quickly leaping back up to his feet. "Come on Kari!!" he hollered at his sister, as more hands began to sprout up from the ground around them like daisies.
Koushiro and Malcolm had just completed their inspection of the mausoleum, when the two glanced out the window of the small structure.
"Am I seeing things, or did the sky just suddenly turn gray?" Izzy asked, rubbing his eyes.
"If you are, than I'm suffering from the same affliction." Mr. Ishida replied.
"What's going on here?" Izzy asked quizzically.
"Natural phenomena?" Mr. Ishida suggested, hoping it was.
A chilly draft blew through the mausoleum, making both of them shiver. Izzy rubbed his arms and made his way closer to the window.
"Let's get out of here and find the others. We're going home now." Mr. Ishida firmly stated as he headed for the door. Izzy started to follow him, when they both heard a loud crash coming from the other room. It was more like a thud, as the stone coffin covers crumbled into large chunks upon hitting the ground. Malcolm and Izzy rushed back over to the doorway to inspect the recent commotion.
The redhead stared in horror at the sight before them. The corpses occupying the coffins had somehow been reincarnated and were now rising up from their resting places.
"This doesn't look good." Izzy commented, as he and Mr. Ishida slowly backed up towards the front door.
"Would you mind trying to explain this!?" Malcolm shrieked, as the corpses stepped out of the caskets and began to approach the two.
"Uh…zombies?" Izzy suggested.
"That's just great, vampires and now this!" Malcolm said as he reached for the door. "It's locked!!" he cried in disbelief.
"What!?!?" Izzy exclaimed. "This is no time to be joking Mr. Ishida!"
"I'm not joking!! It's really locked!" he frantically yelled.
"What do we do now!?!" Izzy asked fearfully as one of the walking corpses came nearer to him. He couldn't tell whether it was male or female. A few wispy strands of blonde hair adorned the decayed head of the deceased creature. A slimy green substance oozed from it's eye sockets, and what was left of it's face, which seemed to be primarily the outline of a skull. Izzy shuddered as he edged further backward.
The creature that had been approaching Mr. Ishida, opened its mouth, revealing a hoard of maggots that dropped to the floor, making a sickening squishy sound as they did. Malcolm's stomach wrenched at the sight and he held his hand over his mouth.
A bony, blood drenched hand reached out to Izzy, who flinched at its presence. He used his laptop to shield himself from the wretched figure in front of him. Malcolm eyed the laptop thoughtfully, and then ripped it from Izzy's hands.
"Hey!" Izzy complained, "Find your own shield!"
"Try to get the door open!" was Malcolm's only comment, before he swung the computer back and belted one of the un-dead across the face with it, causing the creature's head to fly off and clatter to the floor.
"Ewww!!" Izzy cringed, and rushed over to the locked door. He desperately tugged on it, but to no avail. It wouldn't budge. Izzy had now become aware of the pounding he heard all about the room, realizing in great terror, that it was coming from the other corpses trying to escape the confines of the walls.
"We need to break one of those windows!" Malcolm shouted as he waved the laptop around, trying to ward off the other zombie.
Izzy's eyes darted around the room in search of something he could use to smash through the glass. His gaze fell to the floor, where the skull of one of the un-dead lay, hissing and shrieking something terrible. He wondered how it could make any noise without vocal chords, but then again, how could it even be alive? Izzy shrugged and raced over to the skull, carefully picking it up, so as to avoid its chomping teeth and launched it through one of the nearest windows.
Shards of glass fell to the floor, and Izzy watched as Malcolm used all his weight to shove the final creature to the ground. Afterwards, he ushered Izzy to the window and helped him out of it, steering clear of the sharp broken glass that bordered its frame. He then tossed the battered laptop to the redheaded teenager, and he himself dove out of the window and onto the soft grass below.
"Go!" Mr. Ishida hollered at Izzy, as he scrambled up to follow the terrified teen, as a thick white mist began to cover the cemetery grounds.
A loud clap of thunder sent T.K. reeling back into his brother.
"Settle down there squirt." Matt said, steadying the younger boy.
"S-Sorry Matt. It's just this place…it's so eerie." He commented. "And how come it's raining all of sudden? Wasn't it nice and sunny earlier?"
"That's a good question. I'll have to put that on the list, along with the one about that spooky candle and that gust of wind." Matt retorted, as they made their way to the door.
Both brothers stopped in their tracks, when the room suddenly got darker.
"What's going on?" Matt asked tentatively, his eyes darting from one wall to the next.
T.K. ran to the window and gasped in amazement. "Matt, those vines!" he yelled in fright.
"Impossible!" Matt interjected; as he and his brother watched the foliage that had adorned the entire building, swiftly engulf the windows and front door.
T.K. rushed over to the entrance and started to push on the door, but the outside was so completely covered in vines, that it wouldn't budge.
"We're trapped!!" he cried.
Matt looked on in fear, "No! There has to be a way out of here!" he screamed, trying to calm his brother down, only succeeding in panicking the two even further.
Out of the darkness, a tall, foreboding creature loomed before them. "You dare disturb my slumber?!" it hissed.
T.K.'s eyes glazed over in apprehension, and his skin began to pale. Matt stepped in front of his brother, as if to protect him somehow.
"W-who are you?" he asked intrepidly.
"I am Mircea Tepes, you insolent cur!"
Matt glanced back at T.K., and the two stared at each other, unable to breath or move.
The dark creature began to sniff the air, and his eyes narrowed. Matt bit his lower lip, as the figure stared at him hungrily, eyeing the stitches on his neck.
"I see someone forgot to finish what they started." He chuckled, slowly closing the gap between him and the two boys. He started to lunge at the teenagers, but they both split up in opposite directions, evading his grasp. Mircea gave them an annoyed look, and then proceeded to go after the one closest to him, which happened to be T.K.
In one swooping motion, he pinned the younger boy up against the wall. Using all his weight, Matt slammed into the dark creature, knocking him to the floor. Both landed in a heap near the front entryway. Despite the ringing in his head, the older boy started to scramble to his feet, but Mircea was too quick for him, having preternatural reflexes. A cold, white hand shot out and held Matt up by the throat. Matt dug his fingernails into the cold flesh and gasped for air, as Mircea opened his mouth to reveal a sharp pair of fangs, dripping with saliva.
T.K. looked on in horror as his brother dangled helplessly in the fiend's clutches. His mind went into over drive debating on what course of action to pursue, when he remembered the crucifix in his pocket. The young boy pulled it out and rushed over to his brother's side, thrusting the small object out in front of the vampire's face. Mircea instantly released Matt and drew back from the religious icon. The older boy dropped to the floor, sputtering and choking, as he tried to replenish his depleted oxygen.
"Are you okay Matt?" T.K. asked with concern, glancing at him from the corner of his eye, while waving the cross at Mircea menacingly.
"I'll be okay." He managed to choke out, as he leaned up against the door for leverage. The younger boy started to notice that with the vampire being held at bay by the cross, the vines surrounding the outside of the complex seemed to wither away.
"Cool!" he exclaimed, "This thing is kind of like Kryptonite."
Matt scratched his head, trying to figure out what his brother was referring to, when he noticed the vines disappearing as well. As T.K. repelled the vampire, Matt pushed open the door. Grabbing the back of T.K.'s shirt, he slowly led him out of the building.
Once outside, T.K. quickly turned his head to glance at his brother, as well as their surroundings. His brow furrowed at the darkened sky and the white mist blanketing the ground. When he averted his gaze back to the doorway, he discovered the vampire had vanished.
"Where'd he go?" Matt asked, cautiously scanning around them.
"I don't know." T.K. replied, "And I don't care, so long as we get outta here!" he added.
"I'm with you!" Matt agreed, as small chunks of ice began to pelt them from above.
T.K. took one last glimpse into the crypt before the two ran off at top speed in the direction of the car. Matt couldn't see the ground, or his feet for that matter, and prayed he was heading the right way. A dense fog had eerily rolled in as the two pounded up the hill, making visibility almost impossible.
The only incentive they had was to make it back to safety, away from that vampire, and out from the bombardment of hail that stung them as they ran.
Every now and then Matt would jerk his head around to make sure T.K. was still behind him. Neglecting to pay attention to the view in front of him proved disastrous when he collided with something, or actually someone.
"Aauugghh!!" Tai screamed as he plowed into Matt, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Matt sat up and shook his head, intently staring into the mist to see who he had ran into.
"Tai?" Matt asked warily; as T.K. stooped down to help him up.
"Matt? T.K. is that you?" came the familiar feminine voice of Kari.
"It's us!" T.K. smiled in relief.
Matt brushed himself off and peered into the thickness, trying to find the two.
"I can't see you guys." He said, waving his hand out in front of him, until he made contact with something.
"Ow!! Quit it Matt! We're right here!" Tai complained, grabbing the blonde by the wrist. "Come on!" he said as he pulled the boy along. T.K. placed his hand on Matt's shoulder, so he wouldn't lose him in the fog, and the four trooped down towards the front gate.
"Something weird is going on." T.K. mentioned, as they tramped along blindly.
"No time to explain that now." Tai replied, "We have to find Izzy and you guys' dad and get the hell outta here!"
"What do you mean no time to explain?" Matt asked, stumbling along, as Tai picked up his pace. The older blonde yanked his wrist from Tai's grasp.
"We know why this is happening." Kari elucidated. "It's called the Twilight Hour."
"Why what's happening?" T.K. wondered out loud, "You mean the strange occurrences?"
"Yeah." Tai added, "The mysterious weather, the fog, the hands sprouting up out of the ground…" he rambled.
"Hands sprouting up out of the ground!?!" the two brothers said simultaneously, but their questions would go unanswered for the moment, as Tai, there so-called leader, refused to relinquish any more information to them until they had found Izzy and Mr. Ishida.
As quickly as the hailstorm came, it disappeared, leaving a violent downpour of rain in its wake. The four children began to run faster, sloshing through mud and fierce gusts of wind that whipped at their water-soaked hair. They ran until they could make out the front gate of the cemetery, where to both their surprise and relief Izzy and Mr. Ishida stood waiting, looking a little worse for the wear themselves.
"Are you all okay?" Mr. Ishida asked with general concern in his wavering voice, as the children huddled around him. He silently made a head count to himself, making sure everyone was present that should be.
"W-We'll be f-fine, as s-soon as we get into the car." Tai said with chattering teeth. The other children had been in much the same predicament. Mr. Ishida craned his head from one shivering child to the next. T.K.'s head drew back and he cupped his hands in preparation to sneeze.
"Bless you." Kari said, as T.K. sniffled a bit and thanked her.
Izzy pushed the large, creaking front gate open as everyone hurriedly filed out, wanting to escape the awful place as fast as they could.
"You guys…" Kari muttered, pointing towards the cemetery with a dazed look on her face.
The six faces gawked in amazement at the sight before them. Inside the cemetery was a torrent of rain, thunder, lightning, and fog. But outside the gates of the mysterious graveyard, everything was as it had been when they had arrived, bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky.
"I think it's safe to conclude one thing." Izzy stated, pulling his laptop out from underneath his drenched shirt, "We know where our vampire is."
What ya think? Spooky? I'm having fun with this story. Hehe. =)