A/N: Here are some more thank you's. First, thank you's to Sabrina Black, Kyer, Shadow Rider, and Jes, but also to Chibi Myotismon, blackmage718, Blackout12, and GameGirl. May you all enjoy the next chapter as well. Tell me if it needs a rating change, OK? Sorry about the delay, I had writers block, and then there was my band's concert, and that little infamous science report about sickle-cell anemia… And now for chapter 3 of Forever Virus!
Chapter 3: Finding Kari
Kari fell asleep in her bed that night, with Gatomon purring herself to sleep near her. "Good night, Gatomon," she whispered, pulling the covers close to her chin. The soft pillow and warmth of the sheets helped her fall asleep quickly. Kari drifted off into her deep sleep and the dream.
Kari found herself standing in the middle of a cold, dark abyss, without Gatomon there to protect her. She gasped as flames burned around her and licked the air. "GATOMON! HELP!" she squealed, but it seemed the cat digimon wasn't there to answer her.
"Yes, little girl, call for help," said an unfamiliar voice as cold fingers touched the back of the young girl's neck. Shivers ran down her spine as she turned around to stare into the yellow eyes that became black holes as she stared into them. The eyes belonged to a dark sorcerer. Everything about him— the dark robes, the wild black hair, the sinister staff, the gray skin, and the long, deep cut running down the side of his face— made Kari feel more and more frightened of him.
"Who are you?" asked Kari with barely more than a whisper.
"I am Necromamon," said the sorcerer. "Your worst nightmare."
"GATOMON!" Kari cried, backing away from the Necromamon in the dream.
"Your Gatomon is no more, Hikari Kamiya," declared the dark sorcerer, spreading his arms into the air. Above him, Gatomon was floating in the air. She had turned a grayish-black. Her mouth was open as if she were suffocating. The worst part was that her eyes were open, but only the whites were showing, and the whites had turned a bright yellow. "She is mine," said Necromamon, extending a hand to touch the young girl and make her dark as well. "Come join me and Gatomon…"
The cat digimon landed in front of the dark sorcerer and started glowing a yellowish color. The glow took on a completely different shape and form as Necromamon laughed evilly.
"Gatomon, dark digivolve to… LADYDEVIMON! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" A demon lady hovered where the once-vaccine cat digimon was.
"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Necromamon laughed as the flames grew taller and redder. Kari started to run away. "YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE THE CLUTCHES OF DARKNESS!" he bellowed. "DARK SPELL!" A burst of dark energy flew out of his staff and hit the ground, causing a whirlpool of darkness and shrill screams to emerge from it and swallow everything in its path, including the flames that were there.
The girl started screaming and running with all her might as the whirlpool of darkness swallowed her up and made her drop at a tremendous speed as she screamed bloody murder at the top of her lungs, hoping that someone, anyone, would come along and save her—
She woke up in her bed, screaming. Her heart was pounding faster than ever, she was breathing so fast it was as if she wasn't breathing at all, and beads of sweat had formed on her now-pale face.
Gatomon opened one eye and gasped when she saw Kari was wide awake and screaming. "Kari," said the cat digimon, pouncing on her lap after the girl had sat up. "Kari, what's wrong?"
"Oh, Gatomon!" Kari hugged her digimon tightly, still breathing quickly. "It was awful! I— I had a nightmare!"
"What's wrong, Kari?" Kari's mom opened her bedroom door. She was standing in the doorway with Tai and Kari's dad. All three of them looked concerned about the screaming.
"Mom!" the girl began to cry. "I just had the most awful nightmare!" Mrs. Kamiya walked over to the bed and sat down. Kari buried her head in her mother's shoulder and began to cry like she had never cried before.
"Don't worry," her mother assured her. "It will be all right. It was all a dream. Now try to get some sleep."
Kari took her head away and laid herself down on the pillow. Her mother stood up and left with her father. Tai came over and sat down on her bed. "Tai," the girl said to her brother. "It was about a digimon!"
"A digimon?" The digi-destined's leader blinked. "Who was it?"
"It was some dark sorcerer," replied the girl. "He said his name was Necromamon. He made Gatomon dark digivolve and then he attacked me!"
Tai sighed and stared at the ceiling. "I think it's a sign," he finally replied. "Whoever this Necromamon is, I think he's your enemy. I think you ought to stay away from him."
"I hope you're right, Tai," said the girl, shutting her eyes and drawing her covers and Gatomon closer to herself for protection. Tai ran his hand over his sleeping sister's head and left the room.
"The child believes Necromamon is the enemy, master," said Phantomon, bowing. The ghost digimon was the one who had created the nightmare.
"You created the perfect nightmare," said Myotismon. "Humans… hearing them scream for their lives is so delicious."
"Shouldn't you be the one attacking them in their nightmares?" asked Demidevimon, flying around the vampire demon's head.
"That is a thought… but I've seen more suffering with Necromamon."
"Anyone suffers with you around."
"Ah, but those humans have never suffered as Necromamon has. They have never been placed in the body of a virus digimon when truly their data or vaccine soul is within. I love watching that digimon suffer."
"Especially after he ruined your suit?"
"I see that the Kamiya girl has plans to travel to the digital world tomorrow," said the ghost digimon.
"I'll be ready for her." Myotismon bared his fangs in a sinister grin. "And so will my little victim Necromamon."
That next day, Kari and Gatomon traveled to the digital world and met another digi-destined with a Wizardmon that was now an Auramon. This digi-destined was about thirteen years old, had dark eyes and dark hair with blonde highlights, and was wearing a short red tank top, blue elbow-length gloves, a short blue skirt, and purple knee-length boots.
"My name is Erika," she said to Kari. "You must be Kari. I got a signal last night that seemed like a sign. I'm searching for something called Necromamon. Have you seen one?"
Kari's face grew pale and her eyes grew wide. "Necromamon?"
"She had a nightmare about that digimon last night," said Gatomon. "She prefers not to talk about it."
Sudddenly, there was a soft rustling in the bushes. Four heads turned to see what was causing that rustling. Erika and Auramon cautiously walked over to the bushes to find out the source of the noise. As Auramon pulled a branch back, a black shadow shot out of the bush and into a tree. So the teenage girl and her wizard digimon checked out that place.
As Kari watched that, she felt as if something was behind her. A draft floated around her body, starting at her spine. The tingling coldness spread through her until she felt as if something was standing behind her.
Gatomon looked behind herself. "Kari!" she exclaimed. "Behind you!"
Before the girl could do anything, two cold, clammy hands clamped over her mouth, blocking off all the sound possible. She squirmed to escape as she felt paralyzed because so may Bakemon were holding her tightly. Erika and Auramon turned their heads and ran over to where the Bakemon were before they flew away with Kari and Gatomon.
"They're flying to the castle," said Auramon. "On top of that mountain over there. We can still make it." He floated in the Bakemons' path, Erika following closely behind.
Hours later, on top of Belial Mountain, the Bakemon proceeded to put chains around Kari's neck, wrists, and legs so she wouldn't escape. A chain was also put around Gatomon's neck. Then the ghost digimon pushed the girl into the dark, musty, and above all, sinister castle, dragging the cat digimon with them. She was led down the halls until she found herself in a room that resembled a medieval torture chamber, complete with a roaring fire and chains that held victims to the wall. Kari and Gatomon were both attached to the wall as the Bakemon flew out.
"HELP!" Kari screamed.
Meanwhile, more Bakemon led Necromamon out of his prison and started pushing him down the hallway to the torture room. "You have visitors," the ghosts kept saying until the sorcerer was led into the room, revealing Kari and Gatomon chained to the wall over a pit of flames.
"No," gasped the dark sorcerer. "Not Kari! Anyone but her and Salamon… after all I've done for them!"
"Now's the time to attack them, NECROMAMON," said another Bakemon, pushing the dark sorcerer forward and nearly making him stumble into the pit.
"AAAAAAAAIIIIII!" screamed the young digi-destined. "You're— you're the one in my nightmare! DON'T HURT GATOMON!"
"No!" the sorcerer barely squeezed out of himself, extending his hands towards the digi-destined and her digimon.
"You're not going to get away with this, Necromamon!" Gatomon threatened. "I know you're the one behind all this!"
"You don't understand, Gatomon," said the sorcerer. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm good! I'd never attack you!"
"LIES! HE'S LYING, GATOMON!" Kari squealed.
"How can you think that, Kari? I am Wizardmon!" The sorcerer looked at his hands and his dark robes. "I'm not Wizardmon outside, but on the inside I'm still your friend. Why are you afraid, Kari? I'll even rescue you!" He pointed his staff at the chains as the Bakemon watched and snickered, waiting for the slip-up. "DARK SPELL!" The blast of dark magic shot out at the chains and made them loose enough so he could slice them open with his sword. Then the sorcerer made cards with ancient Japanese symbols appear on them appear, and said an incantation to freeze the flames. Seeing he hardly had any time left, he took his sword and sliced all the chains apart. Then he took Kari and Gatomon in his arms and set them on the ground before the fire started again.
"I never… LIAR!" Kari looked at her arms, seeing long bleeding cuts in them where the sword had accidentally cut it. Necromamon saw his accident and started tearing off pieces of his robes to tie around the cut. Kari refused, and so did Gatomon. They started running out of the castle, Necromamon silently following.
The girl and the cat digimon fell asleep by a clear stream late that evening. Necromamon silently walked over to Kari and bent down. He took her arms in his hands and unbandaged them. Seeing the long, deep cuts from his own sword, he took a handful of soil from the ground and recited a healing incantation until it sparkled like glitter. He scooped up some pure water from the river and poured it on the soil. Then he spread the mixture on Kari's wounds and re-bandaged them, hoping that Kari would know that he, the virus, had healed her.
The sorcerer slipped away to wait for the young girl to awaken and see the miracle that had happened to her. Kari was beginning to stir when Necromamon felt the presence of another being with him, this one darker and colder. He shivered and drew his robes closer to himself as he saw the young girl's eyes open slightly. He cautiously stepped out from behind the tree to show Kari that her wounds, the wounds his sword had given her, were healed. Just as the girl was about to sit up and completely wake up, the sorcerer felt the strange sensation that something was wrong.
"Kari…" Necromamon said softly. "It's me, Wizardmon. Only I'm in this—"
Suddenly, without warning, a burning whip of lightning shot out of nowhere and hit him across his back, making him bend down in pain. Another whipped his right arm, singing his robes. Trying to put it out, the sorcerer pulled his staff-holding hand towards his robe sleeve and caused a huge beam of dark energy to accidentally shoot out of the staff and hit the ground mere inches away from where Kari and Gatomon were.
"Kari! Look out!" The cat digimon pointed her tail right at Necromamon, causing Kari to look and scream at the top of her lungs, then quickly run away. Gatomon stayed behind. "LIGHTNING CLAW!" She ran right up to the sorcerer and started slashing part of his robes and knocking him to the ground in the process. "CAT'S EYE HYPNOTISM!" She narrowed her eyes at the sorcerer, who fell into a trance and started throwing himself onto the ground. "LIGHTNING CLAW!" She scratched the innocent sorcerer across the face, finishing her attack. "Don't ever hurt my Kari again, or I'm gonna digivolve and you're REALLY gonna get it!" Gatomon scampered off, following her human partner.
"Wait!" Necromamon extended a hand as a familiar shadow loomed over him. The sorcerer looked at the shadow and narrowed his eyes. "Myotismon!" he exclaimed softly. "I knew it was you. Only you would whip me and make my staff cast a spell by accident!" He stood up and brandished his staff, rage bubbling up inside him as he faced his enemy.
The vampire demon showed no fear as he strode towards the enraged sorcerer. "I thought you were loyal to me, Necromamon," he said softly. "I can't be doing all the attacking for you."
"I'd rather die a thousand deaths than be your servant," said Necromamon.
"So be it," said Myotismon, preparing to attack with his Crimson Lightning. Then he withdrew the beam, getting an inspiration. "I know your secret, Necromamon."
Necromamon grew pale. It can't be! "I have no secret," he lied, not about to tell any of his enemies the truth.
The vampire closed in on the sorcerer, eyes fixed on his neck. He was so close it was as if it was safe to be around him. Then, in barely more than a whisper, he said, "I know you are a vaccine within."
The sorcerer gasped, then backed away, unaware of the unwelcome gaze Myotismon was giving his neck. "That's not my secret! What the hell are you talking about? I am a virus! I have been a virus!"
"I've known it ever since you fought me after you dark digivolved," replied Myotismon, still looking at Necromamon's neck in that hungry sort of way. "I always thought you were free-spirited. Now I know that after you freed the digi-destined brat and healed her wounds, I know you have the heart and soul of a vaccine."
"Baka," said the sorcerer indignantly. "So you know. You're a lot smarter than I thought, BAKA! You knew it so I would have to endure the pain and suffering of being like this! BAKA! BAKA! DARK—"
Before he could finish attacking, Necromamon felt two sharp points piercing the vein on his neck and felt the flow of blood from the wounds. "And you have the blood of a young human," added the vampire demon as he drank the sorcerer's blood from the wounds. "So sweet…"
Necromamon closed his eyes and fell unconscious again.
I remember that one day well, when I saw my brother Auramon again, he thought to himself in the middle of a deep sleep. I promised to see him again. "Remember me as I am," I told Auramon before he traveled to the real world to fight some other digital demon. For days I waited until one day, Gennai came up to me and said that Erika and Auramon would return. What will they think when they see me like this? I know they'll react the way Kari had reacted, with the screaming and running away from me. Why would anyone have a nightmare about me? I know it's the way I look.
His reflection showed up in his mind.
I look like a demon sorcerer. I know that's what I am. But why am I feeling compassion for others? I know why. I am not a demon sorcerer.
Another face showed up in his mind as the face of Necromamon disappeared. It was his true face as Wizardmon.
I am who that face is. That is my true face.
The face in his mind became attached to a head, and a body. The full body was holding the sun staff.
I am you, Wizardmon. I am you.
The wizard digimon held up the glowing sun staff and let out a beam of yellow light. The beam became a glowing sphere, enveloping the wizard's body and making it glow a brighter yellow. The shape grew into a taller humanoid shape as the sphere grew bigger as well. Wizardmon was now Incantemon.
I should be you, Incantemon. Now I am in the body of a demon sorcerer, without any hope at all.
The sorcerer digimon walked over to where the dark sorcerer was in the vision. "Digivolve with me," he said in a distant yet close voice that echoed through the dream.
Yes, I will digivolve with you!
"Hold out your hands then."
The sorcerer held out his hands as Incantemon put his now-glowing hands on Necromamon's slender gray hands. He felt a slight tingling sensation as he saw that the light was entering his fingers and spreading down his hands at a fast speed, covering everything, even his robes, in a pure bright yellow glow. Incantemon started to glow as well. The dark sorcerer and the light sorcerer both grew until the light covering their bodies looked exactly the same shape and size.
Could it be? Have I digivolved to mega? Please let it be true!
The light was starting to dim down as the sorcerer was about to see his mega form for the first time. He was able to make out the outline of a newly-digivolved Incantemon, and just as the light was about to disappear to reveal himself as a mega, the dark sorcerer woke up, staring at the stone ceiling of the dim prison cell. He was himself again.
"No," he gasped, looking at his robes. "It can't be! I— I was a mega! I need to stay a mega! A vaccine! A data! Wizardmon…"
"There is a way, Necromamon," said Myotismon. The sorcerer turned his head until he was staring into the ice-blue eyes of the vampire demon himself.
"I don't know if I can believe you," replied the sorcerer.
"There is a serum that can change your body back to Wizardmon's," said Myotismon. "You will be a champion data for one day after you drink it. Your true form, as you call it."
"I need proof," said the sorcerer firmly. He knew that he was not going to take any chances when Myotismon was around.
The vampire demon held out his gloved hand. In it was a small glass vial full of a glowing blue liquid. "Take it," he ordered the sorcerer.
Necromamon fixed his gaze on the vial. "I'm not going to drink that until I know that you're not trying to poison me."
"I knew it," hissed Myotismon. He took the vial, opening it and a puff of blue smoke flew out of the vial. The sorcerer could smell the unpleasant odor of the serum from where he was. Then he kept his gaze unaverted as the vampire demon drank every last drop of the serum. Suddenly, he began to change physically, right in front of the sorcerer. He grew slightly smaller and younger. His body became more muscular. His skin became tan. His hair grew longer until it went down past his waist. The red mask changed into a silver helmet. The blue suit turned into a shiny white one with different decorations on it, including a silvery-blue one that looked like the moon. The cape turned into a metallic silver jacket that touched the floor. The gloves became blue gloves, the boots became silvery-blue boots, and he was carrying a sword. Two silver wings grew on his back and spread into the air. "I take on the appearance of the champion digimon Aeronumon, the lower form of MoonAngemon. I am still Myotismon," he said in a younger voice. Then he grinned evilly. The biggest difference of all was that he had no fangs. "Now do you believe me?"
"For now I do," answered the dark sorcerer. "Yes, I will take the serum!"
Aeronumon (Myotismon) held out another vial of the same blue serum. The sorcerer grabbed it and opened it, causing it to let out a puff of blue smoke. The unpleasant stench filled the air as he lifted it to his lips. Necromamon drank the entire thing. It tasted almost like poison mixed with a sorcerer's concoction. As he swallowed the last drop, he felt a slight tingle in every part of his body as he shrank to a height smaller than a human. His robes changed into the stitched yellow-and-red jumpsuit and the blue cape. He felt a hat on his smaller head and saw his staff change into his sun staff.
As the transformation ended, the sorcerer looked at himself in awe. "Yes," he said in a voice that he had missed speaking in. "I… I… I'm Wizardmon again!"
"Enjoy it while you can," said Aeronumon.
Wizardmon decided that he had finally found a way to be liked. But for some reason, he still felt a vague emptiness inside him. Was this really him? He needed to find Erika and his Auramon brother and tell them about everything before it was too late.
To be continued…
