A/N: Well no new reviewers to thank this time, so thanks to all the reviewers and stuff. To Calli: Yes, I am evil. Mwahahahahahahahaha!!!! J/K. I thought it would make an interesting story if I made everyone's favorite cat digivolve into Myo's female counterpart. Pleeeeeeeease forgive me!!!!!!!!!! To Shadow Rider: Thanks for the non-pointless review. It helps to have the author read over ur shoulder, huh? To CheeseWizardmon: Mayo-tismon. That's a new one. To Devidramon: Your idea worked! Thanks! To everyone: Here I am with another chapter. Sorries SO much about the delay! And BTW, the slight changes in the 01 storyline are because this is an AU fic based on another AU fic of mine. That should clear some things up.
Chapter 7: The Past and the Present
"Your eyes are telling me the truth," said the sorcerer, sticking his hands through the bars of the cage, struggling to get the thoughts of LadyMyotismon's digi-destined and what she would think out of his head. "I see you are Gatomon."
"But will Incantemon see?" the vampire lady asked with barely more than a whisper.
"I must warn him," replied Necromamon.
"How will you?" wondered Lady Myotismon.
"Well, milady, how do you feel about your new life as one of the undead?" asked Myotismon. "We must celebrate your transformation."
The sorcerer's face was swept with a mixture of anger, fear, and disgust with this transformation Gatomon had gone through. He had remembered the day he met Gatomon as if it had been yesterday.
He had been exiled from the vampire's castle for defying him and succeeding in battle against him. He had de-digivolved to Wizardmon and had found himself lying limply in the sand of Server's vast, arid desert. All his joints ached from combat and his thirst ached for water. As the sun beamed down upon Wizardmon's fragile body, he grew even weaker and more parched from the heat. His dark cloak and thick jumpsuit made the heat especially unbearable to him. The grits of sand slid into his clothing and the feeling was extremely discomforting.
The wizard thought he heard voices as he squinted in the white sunlight. It sounded just like the small, high-pitched voice of a digimon he had heard, possibly even seen before. Water, any liquid at all, would have been anywhere another digimon was. With his joints and muscles aching and being nearly immobile, Wizardmon took his staff and tried to stand up. Weakly, he leaned on the sun staff and used it as a crutch for his entire body. The wizard pushed himself up to where the staff was, taking a great deal of time due to the short length of his stride.
That was when he saw what looked like an old Western ghost town, with the streets paved with sand and dust, the sidewalks made of creaky wooden boards, and the quaint wooden buildings hardly casting a shadow in the bright sunlight. The town was entirely deserted, and the wizard thought he could see a slight streak of white rush from place to place.
Wizardmon thought he could see a trough full of fresh water nearby, and his feet were burning and aching as if they were on fire. He was parched and ached so much for a drink of water. The appearance of the white figure grew more frequent, and the wizard thought he could even see a pair of cerulean blue eyes peer at him and the wiggle of a white-and-purple tail. He reached out for water and took the last few steps before he grew delirious and couldn't take it anymore. Losing his consciousness, Wizardmon collapsed, making clouds of dust float up around him.
The wizard would have been left for dead if the small miracle in cat form hadn't shown up. A white ear twitched from around the corner of an old saloon. The white face of Gatomon appeared next. Then she gasped a high-pitched gasp and scampered out to Wizardmon. Thinking quickly, she took a scarf and scooped up some clear water. The cat had perched Wizardmon's head up on a stump and made him wake up.
Despite him being groggy after waking up, the water Gatomon had looked most appealing to him at the moment. Worriedly, the cat lifted it up to the wizard's mouth and held it there. Wizardmon pulled down his scarf and took a deep drink of the water. It was so cool and refreshing as every drop of it flowed down his throat and reviving him by every second.
"Thank you for saving me," were the first words he had spoken for a long time. He was deeply grateful about the way this stranger had saved his life. "I will do the same for you someday." He puled the scarf back over his face.
Gatomon said nothing, for she knew what the wizard had been through. She worked for Myotismon, who had bestowed upon her the same treatment he had given Wizardmon.
"What is your name?" asked Wizardmon.
"Gatomon," the cat replied dryly. Her tail twitched, and the sunlight reflected off her golden tail ring.
"Gatomon," repeated Wizardmon, closing his eyes and resting. "I'm Wizardmon."
Gatomon's heart melted for her fellow henchmon, so she motioned for him to stand up. "You look as if you could use a rest," she said. "I know just the place here."
Wizardmon weakly stood up as Gatomon ran ahead to one of the wooden structures. It appeared to have been a dilapidated 1800's hotel. The door creaked as it was opened to reveal a musty common room with a creaky and sagging wooden staircase. As the sun began to set, Wizardmon and Gatomon climbed up the stairs to a long hallway. The closest doorway revealed a room with a small bed with scratchy white sheets and a white feather pillow. The wizard fell onto the bed and laid his head on the pillow and his staff on the ground.
The cat admired this sight, seeing that she had helped another in need. I thought I was hopeless and evil now that I work for Myotismon, she thought. And look… this wizard says I saved his life. I thought that ever since the one I had been searching for my life had disappeared, possibly forever, I didn't have a grain of righteousness within me. A good deed has proven me wrong. Was I cut out for a life in darkness?
As Wizardmon drifted off into a deep, dark sleep, Gatomon ran down the set of stairs, which creaked even under her light weight. She glanced at her tail ring in anxiety. If the vampire had seen the favor she did for the helpless wizard, he would surely punish her. The punishment was extremely harsh although it wasn't as harsh as it was then.
"Gatomon…" came a soft voice as a wind blew around her and the light started getting extremely dim. Something was coming.
"it can't be!" breathed Gatomon.
"My pet…" A cloud of black bats fluttered around Gatomon and screeched as they flew around the room and hung from the rafters of the ceiling. Myotismon appeared in front of Gatomon, towering over the small digimon at his seven feet in height, with his blue eyes flashing with impatience. "Have you found any unsuspecting digimon for my new henchmen?"
"Myotismon… baka…" muttered the cat. "Nothing, master," she libeled, trying to conceal the fact that she didn't want to think her master to think she was disloyal to him.
Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted into the air as if by magic and floated up to near the vampire, about a few inches away from his face. He grabbed her by the neck and started growling at her, "Well find them or you will be fed to Darktyrannomon." He dropped her on the floor, and she started to cry and rub herself. Then she started to back away in fear. "You have seven hours to find a henchmen for my elite team. And don't let me down, Gatomon."
The bats that were hanging upside-down from the rafters glared at Gatomon with glowing red eyes. About five of them spread their wings and squeaked.
"I won't let you down, Lord Myotismon," said Gatomon, bowing after she had stood up.
The vampire just cast a frown at his henchman and looked straight ahead. "Yes, Gatomon, find him or else."
Suddenly all the bats flew out at their master and formed a cloud around him, flying closer and closer until he had disappeared. Then the cloud flew right out the door, which was opened by a gust of wind. As the bats flew into the distance, the cat trudged up the stairs. Why hadn't she realized it before? The wizard was the perfect target and the perfect henchman.
She didn't see any nets or traps anywhere, but she opened an old cupboard and discovered an empty flour sack inside it, exactly the right size for a Wizardmon to fit inside. Her eyes glinting with malice, Gatomon swiped the sack and hurried up the stairs with it in one of her paws. Inside the room, the wizard was sleeping peacefully on the soft bed. He had had a long day and needed his rest.
The cat knew it was her chance as she opened the bag so it was wide enough to ensnare the unsuspecting victim. She trembled as she pulled the bag over his feet, then she abruptly ceased the capture and heaved a heavy sigh.
Why can't I go through with this? I need to capture Wizardmon if I want to please the master, but I can't. Am I cut out to be a virus?
"I can't do this!" she exclaimed, breaking the silence. She dropped the sack and started to take it off before six black bats flew in through the open window and pulled the top of the sack up to his neck. "You!" she exclaimed, swatting. One of the bats bit her paw, and as she got pricked by the sharp little teeth, red blood dripped out of the wound. Then she jumped right onto his head and swiped one of her claws gently across his face. "WIZARDMON! WAKE UP!" she screamed.
The wizard opened his eyes and saw Gatomon and asked, "Why did you awaken me?"
"Wizardmon…" she said, "this place isn't safe! Quick, I'll try to get you out of this sack!"
Wizardmon blinked and gasped as he saw his entire body concealed in a flour sack and six bats pulling the drawstring around his neck. "Gatomon!" he accused. "What have you done?"
"It wasn't me, Wizardmon!" the cat digimon exclaimed, unaware that the light had grown extremely dim and more bats were flying into the room and perching upside-down on the rafters of the ceiling. "I'll get you out of these chains!" She drew her paw back, preparing to sever the bag. "LIGHTNING—"
Suddenly, she was grabbed by the neck by two pinching claw-like hands and found herself looking into the eyes of Myotismon.
"I see you have found me a henchmon," he declared as the bag was pulled over Wizardmon's head and concealing him from view. It was fortunate that Myotismon hadn't seen the wizard. Gatomon winced as he pinched her skin. "I must give you credit, Gatomon." Gatomon was dropped onto the bed as Demidevimon flew up to the bed and perched onto a post.
"Demidevimon…" groaned the cat. "If I had the chance I'd kill you."
"You're a little fiesty today, Gatomon dear," said the vampire. "I have my henchmon, but if you don't get any more digimon I won't be so easy on me."
Gatomon felt herself being dropped onto the ground. Wizardmon heard the entire thing as he squirmed in the bag. "She works for Myotismon?!" the wizard exclaimed as he struggled to escape. The air was growing hotter than the desert and a lot more uncomfortable as he felt himself being dragged along the floor and up into the cargo hold of the stagecoach.
Necromamon, the dark sorcerer, had vividly remembered every detail of the capture. He saw two identical thrones next to each other at the end of a long crimson carpet lined with a gold border. Myotismon was sitting in the larger one, and Lady Myotismon in the other. Demidevimon had appeared in the midst of the sorcerer's reminiscing and was fluttering his wings and flying up to the two thrones.
"Well well well," the imp said, perching on top of the vampire's throne and looking down at the vampire's lady counterpart. "Look at what the cat dragged in! You look better that way, you know."
"Shut up, Demidevimon," said Lady Myotismon, glaring at Demidevimon with her blue eyes. Then she shot the sorcerer a sympathetic look that plainly said I'll get you out of here.
"Well congrats on you finally changing and forgetting about your eighth digi-destined," continued the imp. He flapped his wings and flew onto a suit of armor. That was when he glanced at Necromamon and snorted at him. "I guess they haven't taken out the palace trash yet."
The sorcerer was not good at thinking up combacks, but he knew the best one to use. "I see that because you aren't gone, Demidevimon," he retorted.
"This scene I ought to see," remarked Demidevimon, referring to the one between Myotismon and his female counterpart.
Myotismon gathered some of Lady Myotismon's hair and smelled it. He relished the scent, which was the fragrant aroma of black roses. Then he drew close to her and eyed her neck as if he were about to bite it.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Necromamon shouted, rattling the bars of his cage.
The vampire turned his head around to see the sorcerer was still in the room. Then he glared at him. "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" he shouted, sending a bolt right at the cage and shocking Necromamon through the metal. The sorcerer fell limp onto the metal floor of the cage. Being his seductive self, Myotismon drew even closer to his female counterpart. "You are so beautiful," he said in a silky voice, running his hand through her hair. The vampire lady tried her best not to scream. "I hope you know what life for the Lady of the Undead is like… for that is what you are…"
It took all of the sorcerer's willpower not to yell out again. If only he had his staff, if only he had his staff!
"And that means feeding on the blood of unsuspecting victims," Myotismon continued. "Your first meal is over there, in that cage. Necromamon has the sweetest blood of all the dark digimon here." He pointed a finger at the cage. The vampire lady rose from her throne and strode over to the cage.
"Please don't kill me," whispered the sorcerer. "Please don't kill me."
"I would never kill you," whispered Lady Myotismon. "I'm Gatomon." She used a small ball of violet-colored lightning to break the bars of the cage. "Just play along, it will guarantee your freedom. For I would rather starve to death than see others suffer."
That brought back another memory from the sorcerer's past, back from when he was Wizardmon. He was back in the castle, as he remembered. The light was extremely dim and dark, and a musty scent was floating in through the sack. That was when he stopped struggling to escape for he had run out of his much-needed energy. He felt the sack being opened and he tumbled onto the floor. As he looked up, he saw himself lying on the floor, feeling the scratchy crimson carpet underneath himself. He saw a dark throne not too far away from himself.
"My, my, look at what the cat dragged in," said Myotismon, glaring at the wizard with his ice blue eyes. "GATOMON!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the empty halls.
The cat charged into the room so quickly she was nearly a white flash. "Yes, Lord Myotismon?" she said, bowing.
"Don't 'yes Lord Myotismon' me," growled the vampire, rising from his throne, extremely mad. "This is Wizardmon!"
"I know it's Wizardmon," said the cat digimon. "If you are unhappy with him, I'll be glad to get you a different digimon—"
"Don't push your luck, Gatomon," said Myotismon, sitting back in his throne, his hand glowing. "You have angered me. Wizardmon… is a TRAITOR! And by bringing him back to me you must be a traitor as well! CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" He whipped Gatomon across the back with the lightning, leaving a pink burn mark on her fur every time the lightning hit.
"Please… Lord Myotismon… I'm sorry… forgive me, Lord Myotismon! Master Myotismon! I will find another servant—" Suddenly a huge bolt of lightning flew right at her side and actually made her bleed. As dark red blood flowed from her wound, she screamed out. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!" Her scream was so loud Wizardmon went deaf for three seconds after the scream finished. "I will… I… will find another servant…"
"Bakemon, lock up this traitor!" commanded the vampire as the cat flew out of the room, crying her eyes out. Two ghost digimon grabbed the innocent wizard by the arms and threw him into a nearby cage. Then they locked the door extremely tight so he couldn't escape.
That was when Wizardmon realized he didn't have his staff with him. "I need my STAFF!" he shouted, reaching between the bars of the cage and straining to see if the staff was anywhere.
"I see you are nothing without your staff," said Myotismon, merely minutes later as he strode up to the cage. One of his hands was glowing, and he started to produce a bolt of his crimson lightning. Wizardmon braced himself for a whipping. "You are a TRAITOR! No one betrays me and gets out alive!" The bolt lashed out between the bars and hit Wizardmon across his back, re-opening his wounds and making them so sore he couldn't move without feeling more agonizing pain. "You are a TRAITOR!" With every word he whipped even harder. Wizardmon refused to say anything even though he didn't deserve an ounce of punishment. "I gave you the chance to be powerful and you turned your back on me and attacked me! Wizardmon, your life will come to an end!" He whipped three more times even harder than ever. The final whip was so hard it actually made him cry out so loudly Gatomon was able to hear it.
"Wizardmon…" she gasped, forgetting her own pain and remembering Wizardmon had it harder than she ever had. His existence might have been more important than she thought, and her saving him might have been for a better reason.
Hours later, when she was sure Myotismon was asleep, she took the cloths from her prison (which she slept on) and her bowl of water and used her attack to open the door. Then she carried it to Wizardmon's cage and dipped the first cloth into the bowl of water. Then she slipped in and stripped the wizard down to his skin and saw many wounds from past whippings on his back. She spread the cloth onto his back and knew where the healing root rarely used in any potions was.
The wizard opened his eyes and saw Gatomon tending to his wounds. "Gatomon… don't you work for Myotismon?" he asked.
"I do but I'll be disloyal to help you. I know what you've been through," replied the cat. She dashed between the bars and came back a few minutes later with a healing root. She poured it onto the cloth and on the whipped areas. The cloth was rubbed over all his wounds, and then she wrapped a dry cloth around him. "Keep this around your wounds overnight and you will be healed," she assured him.
Wizardmon nodded, trusting Gatomon this time. And his wounds did heal the next day. The vampire was in a foul mood that next day, so he threatened to starve Wizardmon by not giving him any food or water for three days.
"No," he said, feeling parched from the day before.
Gatomon considered this, but since she was a higher servant than most of Myotismon's other servants, she would survive on only half of her food and she could steal water from other servants, only a bit at a time. What she did for the day was keep Wizardmon fed by giving him nearly all her food. She was ravenous for the entire day after being deprived of most of her food to keep her friend alive. She was parched and would have even drunk a bitter wine or salt water, or even poison just to stay alive.
"Thank you so much, Gatomon," said the wizard, gulping down most of the water on the third day. "I am very grateful." He returned the bowl and the cat, seeing that there was still enough water in there, drank it down. She was still aching for any liquid. Luckily, the next day Wizardmon's starvation penalty was over and she was never so grateful for water. Gatomon had nearly starved to save Wizardmon's life.
But there still was the matter of the staff. The cat had obtained the staff and secretly gave it to Wizardmon, who escaped, but was forced to work for the vampire, but alongside the cat digimon. He had to repay her for the ways she had saved his life.
Lady Myotismon unlocked the bars and forced Necromamon to climb out. She held her hands gently around him and pretended to dispise the sorcerer. Necromamon played along, afraid that something really would happen to him. The vampire lady was beginning to eye his neck in the hungry way Myotismon looked at him sometimes. She resisted the temptation even though she had the thirst for blood that her male counterpart had.
"Please don't bite me," gasped the sorcerer.
"I won't…" she whispered. Then she appeared puzzled even though she naturally knew what to do to draw blood. "I don't know how to do this," she lied. "I can't go through with something I don't know how to do."
Necromamon tried not to weakly smile at his friend, who was truly Gatomon in disguise. Perhaps there was hope for him.
Then there was Incantemon. His brother came bursting in through the doors with Erika and Kari by his side. "Leave Necromamon and Gatomon alone, Myotismon!" he exclaimed, pointing his staff right at him.
"I'm afraid I already got to Gatomon," said the vampire, exposing his fangs in a sinister grin.
The dream! Kari remembered. Necromamon truly is evil, letting that happen to Gatomon like that!
Reading the digi-destined's thoughts, the good sorcerer started to grow furious at the three virus digimon. "NECROMAMON! HOW DARE I CALL YOU 'BROTHER'! How could you do this to Gatomon after all she's done for you! She's now the female counterpart of our greatest enemy yet, and you probably changed her! Kari's dream did come true for you… you are truly evil. You are not my brother at all!"
"Incantemon… it's not like that!" shouted the dark sorcerer. "Please understand!"
"I do believe that you are Wizardmon," said Erika, "but I do believe that the potion has gotten to you. Maybe you are, deep within, but I don't know if we have hope."
Not even my own brother believes me! thought Necromamon, beginning to cry. He saw Myotismon devouring every last accusation and the ways it was torturing the dark sorcerer's soul. Suddenly he got an inspiration. It was an ancient poem that he, the light sorcerer, and the cat digimon had learned and made the code of their alliance. Not even Erika or Kari knew about it. Should I recite it? I must if Incantemon doesn't learn.
Suddenly, his strong and shaky voice broke the silence.
"When all of Digiworld has fallen,
When the data code is broken…"Lady Myotismon knew exactly what Necromamon was trying to do.
"When the goodness has disappeared,
What will stand strong is our word spoken…"The dark sorcerer decided to speak as he saw his brother's heart starting to melt and the expression on his face beginning to soften.
"The seas may have been drained dry
And the green grass has turned to dust…"And the vampire lady joined in with her friend as Incantemon realized how wrong he was.
"And though the sun may never shine,
Three digimon stay strong, they must…"
Incantemon realized that they truly were good, and that if they were evil, they wouldn't remember this verse. He joined in and the two voices became a chorus of three.
"The Alliance of Three, digimon of light
To fight evil though they rule the Digi Land
Though the world is no more and hope may be lost
They will restore it to how they began.
For Light has not turned to Darkness
And Hope will never be Dispair,
The Virtues of the Alliance will prevail
And will always remain with them there.
And with them the Digiworld is blessed
With the Powers of Light."
"You truly are Wizardmon and Gatomon," apologized the sorcerer of light. "We must turn around and fight before anything goes wrong."
Suddenly, Bakemon flew around from all corners and chained up the two sorcerers, who faced a furious Myotismon glaring at his lady counterpart. Kari was still extremely doubtful of this and was chained up as well. What if she had learned that verse and was trying to throw Incantemon and Necromamon off?
"Lock them all up!" commanded Myotismon. "Lady Myotismon, or should I say, Gatomon… I have special plans for you."
To be continued…
