A/N: Hello once again, and my SINCERE APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY!!!!  So many plausible excuses: Homework, sidetracking, computer occupied, time limited, writer's block, and TRACK AND FIELD PRACTICE!  Yes, I am now on the school's track team (My bet is that I'll be on JV, though the varsity team has been undecided.)  My website's still being worked on, so posts will take a bit longer than expected.  Especially with an overload in schoolwork and the computer being occupied by others.  I promise they'll be a lot less rushed than I made the conclusion of the last.  By the way, I made up PyroAngemon.

Chapter 4

Eyes

  A brisk gale blew through the vacant streets and alleyways of Tokyo, winding around and through the endless metal jungle of skyscrapers, vehicles, and fences.  In the hushed dead of the winter night, every human in the vicinity was tucked safely away in their bed, their heads having sunk into their pillows and the covers drawn up to their chins, motionless except for their soft breathing.  Every one, it seemed, was dreaming of positive scenes, the reveries of the Christian population anticipating the upcoming Christmas morning.  Not a soul was awake, with the exception of one.

  Standing on the surface of a wide, gray cumulus cloud which was in front of Earth's immense silver moon, he was looking down at the human world below, every single structure reminding him of an event influenced by him.  They had rebuilt everything so quickly, he was truly amazed at what those primitive bundles of flesh and blood could accomplish.  His arms were at his sides, legs slightly parted as his feet were implanted in the cloud, which had partially risen above them.  His six snow-white bat wings laid flat on his back, draping over him like his former cape.  The massive concrete buildings and the moon's light gently shining down upon it reflected in his blue eyes.

  "The digi-destined are here," he breathed, barely in a whisper.  "I can feel it… every one is somewhere in the city."

  A slight breeze blew his golden blonde hair slightly behind him, then settled it back into its perfection.

  "Angewomon…"  Myotismon gazed upwards, eyes fixed on the stars in the sky, gleaming like diamonds on a black velvet background.  "I want you so much… if only you other angels could understand.  But it seems I can never be understood.  I am an outcast to the entire digital world, and will be on Earth.  The humans know about me being a digimon.  I cannot travel back to Digiworld, for the viruses only see Ange, and the vaccines only see…"

  "…Myotismon," whispered Angewomon from the other side of an invisible barrier of data that separated the real and digital world.  "Why must the two of us be apart?"  She clasped her hands together as if in prayer and gazed upwards.  "An innate thirst and desire for the blood of others cannot be a technicality that can get between us.  Why must Angemon believe you are still evil?  Is it because of your blackened heart of your past vampiric life?  Is it the title given to you by no digimon in particular… the Undead King?  Was it because I was a slave to you in your castle to wait on you hand and foot as Gatomon?  If only Angemon could see…  I know you are good deep inside.  I see it in…"

  "Your eyes," continued Myotismon from his solitary cloud in the real world.  "Every day I loathed your eyes to a point where I had not wished to see them any longer.  Now…" he sighed, incredulous that he was actually stating this, "…I wish that I could see them once again.  So blue, so sexy, so appealing, so full of righteousness and joy…"

  Little did he know that the angel was thinking the exact same thought about HIS eyes.

  Angewomon sighed, gently sat down on her cloud, and stared at the stars scattered in the black sky, glittering like diamonds on a necklace.  Her eyes wandered over the heavenly lights, not marvelling at their inexplicable beauty but feeling rather bored.  She felt like a puzzle—one that did not have one of its edge pieces astray, but instead was missing a piece in its center, where it mattered.  For a strange reason, Myotismon's sudden banishment to the real world made her yearn for him even worse, and attached to every last memory about him was a burning desire to keep them in her mind and to see him again.

  Suddenly her blue eyes fixed their gaze on a shining light near the center.  It was much smaller than the others, as minute as a speck that would usually be unnoticed to the naked eye.  So miniscule it was not white or yellow at all, but closer to a black hue.

  "Why is it," she wondered to herself as she curled her long, slim legs closer to her body and wrapped her arms around them, "that the one star in the heavens above, so dark, so unnoticed, so… misunderstood?  (Why would a star be misunderstood?  Could it have been because it is not in any constellation in particular, so it doesn't seem like a decent part of the usual layout?  Or because it's so far away?  Why must I be talking to myself like this?  I do not make any sense at all.)  That one star is a dark archangel.  So much like the new Myotismon.  ANGE Myotismon."  She heaved a sigh, uncurled herself from her position, and gracefully stood up.  "I long for him."

  The angel was correct when she had mused about the lone dark star in the sky above: It might have seemed like no more than dark and pathetic at that point of view, but if the angle was different, the star could be seen as the brightest of all.

  Suddenly she heard the rustling of wings behind her, and a strong, firm hand laid gently on her shoulder.  With it came a warmth so great it was nearly uncomfortable.  "Is something the matter?" wondered the benign male voice from her left side.  "Angewomon, you seem quite moody, as if you're missing a large part of your life.  What is it?  Do you wish to return to Kari?  I hear that all of the other Chosen Children's digimon traveled to Earth for these holidays."

  "I wish it were that insignificant of a problem, Pyro Angemon," replied the angel maiden.

  Pyro Angemon, as his name suggested, had the element of fire.  His six wings were yellow with orange and red tips, all blazing in golden flames.  His helmet was gold with a red plume on top, concealing the top of his head and his eyes, revealing a perfectly chiseled nose and solemn mouth against a background of tanned skin.  Hanging down his back was a mane of hair as black as coal.  His overly robust physique was shown off by his shiny golden skintight suit that covered, but not completely concealed, everything from the neck down.  He wore a golden belt around his waist with a red cloth attached to it, which hung down to the ground.  Around his left leg was a red band, and connected to it was a long golden sword that could become white-hot and combust in the blink of an eye.  He wore lightweight crimson boots on his feet, and orange gloves.  He carried a staff that was a long golden rod with an eternally-burning flame encased in a crystal globe on top.

  The angel of the flame was considered a rebel among them, possibly because he had learned that hell's main element was fire.  Yet he was very gratuitous towards assisting his fellow angel in whatever means possible if they had a plausible reason to why he must obey them.  Not a competent worker, he had been expelled from the Grand Council for condemning one of their own angels to the digital world (he knew he was up to no good), where he became the infamous Devimon of File Island.  It was all for the best of the digital world, but no one knew what he had done was right.  If Pyro Angemon had not, Devimon would have conquered the digital world by deleting all vaccines, starting with the angels.  Still bitter about his sudden overthrowing after an approximate 400 years, he was willing to inflict revenge upon whoever had squealed on him.

  He had heard of the Myotismon scenario but was not able to attend the trial or even get a good look at this outcast.  But he knew than his more fair share about what was going on in Angewomon's mind and that she was in love.

  "You want him, do you not?" he questioned innocently.

  The angel maiden's face froze, her gasping in horror.  She did not know what to say to this— this— eavesdropper.  No wonder he had gotten ousted.  "Who are you talking about?" she lied.

  "One name will say it all," declared Pyro Angemon.  "I am talking about this dark archangel the Grand Council and other digital seraphs are gossiping and prating about.  The one who caused a great controversy—destroying the oceans?"

  "It was the digital flora, and it was a pure fluke!" snapped back Angewomon.

  "The one with the fangs?" he continued, unaware that the other angel was a combination of angry and afraid.  "You love him.  The legendary Vampire Lord of Server, transformed by an innocent prayer from that wuss Wizardmon?"

  "He is NOT a wuss!" shouted Angewomon, causing Pyro Angemon to draw himself back a few steps.  "Wizardmon is a sweet, gentle soul and it is not right of you to speak like that!  I loved him as a close friend!"

  "Aha, two mons in your life!" exclaimed Pyro Angemon.  "But I was not speaking about your Wizardmon; rather, it is the half-angel of AngeMyotismon."

  The angel grew fearful.  If the fiery diety dared to announce everything to the others, she would be forced to walk the digital world without her wings, forever an outcast like Myotismon had become.  "please don't tell," she requested.

  "No, I wish to help you," whispered Pyro Angemon, taking her hands in his.  "I know what it's like for you… but why would you be in love with the very one who made your life so miserable?"

  Suddenly memories flashed back, painful ones where she could still feel the scars on her back.  She had wings and a suit to conceal them, but for every one she received as Gatomon, it appeared on her body as a long, pink mark that was slightly raised as all scars were.  If one were to remove her bodysuit and raise her wings, they could see the pink— sometimes even deep red— agony from her past.  They criscrossed her alabaster skin in no particular pattern, but each one telling a story about how displeased her master was.  The worst all resulted from the EYES.

  One was an X-shaped red mark on her left hand that burned whenever it was thought of, irritated even worse by the tight gloves.  That, according to the angel, was the worst of all.  She knew how she had received it, and could not help but have horrible memories about it whenever she least expected it.

  I do not belong here in this castle.  I know there is someone I am looking for, but I do not know who.  Gatomon was standing in the cavernous hall in Nightmare Castle, her paws gloveless and scarless.  I thought I belonged here, but now I know this is pure evil and I don't seem like that type.  I am always pushed past my limit, sometimes over the edge.  Harassed by the other small digimon for being so mature and the larger ones for being so IMmature, abused by Master Myotismon… MASTER.  I feel like spitting at him every time I address him as "master."  This castle is hell, much worse than any Devimon's or Daemon's fortress.  It's so dark, so melancholy, with so much torture and death every time I turn the corner.  Fire… bats… darkness… screams of the dying… so many die in agony every day.

  The small cat knew she was independent, but how could she proclaim it with so much work to do?  All the deeds were evil…  I refuse to do any more work until MASTER Myotismon finally understands who I am!  I am not like his stupid Bakemon, able to do ANYTHING at will.  Ghosts have no heart, just loyalty to a force of the undead greater than their own.  From this point forward, I will remain self-reliant, not taking an order from HIM.  She clenched her paws, feeling her thick black claws digging into the flesh.

  "Gatomon, why haven't you done what I told you to do?" the vampire asked her sternly, pacing back and forth in his study.  A disturbing silence surrounded both as he glared down at the poor white cat with his blue eyes.

  Don't make eye contact… please don't make eye contact… thought Gatomon, her vision traveling upwards as if they were drawn to those icy blue eyes.  Suddenly she found herself staring into those sapphire ice crystals, and she shuddered as a shiver traveled up and down her spine.  It happened every time; she had attempted not to look directly into the vampire's eyes, but failed.  She kept her mouth clamped shut, refusing to speak.

  "I know you can talk, Gatomon," continued Myotismon.  His voice began to drip with sugar, a tone most digimon should have learned to watch out for, for he was trying to hide his rage.  "Why have you decided not to do as I say?"  Silence.  "ANSWER ME!"  The last line reverberated off of the walls of the study.

  Her feelings, which had been repressed for so long, bubbled up inside her and erupted in one outburst peppered with curse words.  She wished she had not said it afterwards.  "YOU!" she spat out.  Much of what she had screamed next was not implanted in her memory, only she had swore like she had never done in her life (most swears she had learned from Skullmeramon, who spewed profanity as well as steam and heat from every orifice and duct), and all she had remembered was the last few lines.  "YOU HAVE MADE MY LIFE A LIVING HELL!  I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING YOU WANTED AND YOU TREAT ME LIKE DIRT!  I DON'T BELONG HERE, WILL NOT WORK FOR YOU, AND REFUSE TO CONDESCEND TO THE LIKES OF YOU, YOU RUTHLESS, HEARTLESS, COLD-BLOODED DIGITAL SCUM!"  Gatomon caught her breath, both still mad and glad to get everything off her chest.  She stared directly at her adversary with her eyes: blue pools of hope and light.

  Myotismon, on the other hand, appeared enraged.  He attempted to suppress everything like Gatomon, but when his face became tinged pink with anger and a small vein popped up on his forehead.  Then his eyes seemed to fill with blue fire, and he bared his fangs in a menacing frown.  His right hand— his whipping hand— started to glow a neon red, which only meant one thing: Crimson Lightning.

  "Every damned time you look at me with those eyes," he growled through his pearly teeth, "I can see your rebellion that is so full of hope and light.  They will lead to incompetence, and I will not allow anything like that in my castle, especially from you!  CRIMSON LIGHTNING!"  With that shout, Myotismon withdrew his whip of Crimson Lightning, lifted it, then cracked it as it flew towards Gatomon.

  She felt the burning agony brush against her back, singing the flesh and ripping it apart.  It felt white-hot, then surged with pain waves as blood gushed out of it and stained her fur in red streaks.  She dug her claws into the stone floor and dragged them towards her, leaving claw marks.  She glared at the vampire through her burning tears, and she saw the flash of crimson whack her across the backside again, drawing more blood with a surge of searing pain.

  The cat tried her best not to cry… it showed her fear.  She clenched her teeth and ground them together she was afraid they would become a fine powder by the time this torture ended as more whips left their permanent marks on her back, leaving six bleeding crevases in her hide.

  "Will you obey me now?" questioned Myotismon, not lowering his weapon.

  She wished to squeeze the words "Yes, master" out of her throat, but she couldn't.  Gatomon refused to lie.  It did not seem like the right thing for her to do, but she could not say no, either.  Gatomon remained mute, her larynx squeezing shut as it dried out and swelled, choking her up.  Tears stung her eyes, the eyes that resulted in her receiving the permanent blemishes.

  "Answer me, Gatomon," demanded the vampire.

  Still the cat refused to speak, undecisive of what to say.  Either way would result in some form of torment, either physical or mental.  Still, a scar could also become a badge of courage.

  "NEVER!" she screamed, her voice echoing off the walls.  She glared at Myotismon with her eyes, refusing to avert her eye contact to anything else.  An act of rebellion that would result in the most agonizing badge of courage to ever be received in her life.

  "You asked for it!" shouted Myotismon.  "CRIMSON… LIGHTNING!"  With one crack of the whip, it would have surged through Gatomon's chest, but she whipped out her paw to block the full blast that would have killed her.  With a second blast, her paw took the full attack, and it felt a burning heat and searing pain up her arm that was so terrible that she let out a scream that could be heard throughout the castle.

  Gatomon felt nauseous and felt as if she were about to die as she looked down at her equivalent of a hand and saw it covered in her own red blood, her fur stained scarlet and the liquid dripping down onto the stone floor in a puddle.  Salty tears streamed down her face as she let it all out… all her cries just erupting from her as she ran away the best she could.

  The paw had been wrapped tightly in a white cloth that had been tainted various shades of red as days and weeks passed.  She lost all use of it for over a month, impairing her abilities to do whatever work was necessary.  She had become a rebel amongst the other henchmen, and they seemed to respect her for that.

  Until the bandage was removed.  Gatomon's paw was not misshapen or mangled in any way, except for a cross-shaped scar that spanned the back, dark maroon and raised above the fur so it was visible.

  "Scar-paw!" the rookies taunted whenever she passed, after learning the news.  "Scar-paw!"

  The cat could not take it.  Once a hero, the scar seemed to be a badge of courage, but now it was just a deformity.  She found some green material in the corner of a dungeon cell, and made herself a pair of gloves that covered her paws, concealing the scar.

  Angewomon got second thoughts.  "He gave me the scar on my hand that will remain there for life no matter what…" she sighed.  "Still, Myotismon has a new life as an angel now, so I should give him a second chance.  All fallen angels deserve a second chance.  Especially if they are angel-turned.  Maybe their souls have been turned into angelic souls as well."

  "So you want me to assist you?" wondered Pyro Angemon.

  "Absolutely," replied the female angel.  "Please take me to the real world.  That is where he has been banished."

  "What will I tell Angemon?" wondered the fiery one.

  "I have a digi-destined.  I will simply visit her, making it true that that is the business I will attend to.  She will be thrilled to see me again, and I have not seen her in a very long time."

  "But—"

  "Gatomon by day with Kari, and Angewomon by night with my love."

  Pyro Angemon rubbed his chin, deeply in thought.  "Very nice plan, my angel queen," he complimented.  "may I wish you well on your journey.  And your secret is safe with me."

  The portal to the real world was within the walls of Nightmare Castle.  Once the dwelling of digital angels, Pyro Angemon knew everything about the card sequence, so he would accompany Angewomon to ensure that she would get through safely.

  The two angels flew through the tallest towre of the castle and traveled down several halls and flights of steps, going in the right direction according to Angewomon's knowledge of the castle.  Finally, they reached the room that held the portal.

  Pyro Angemon summoned the cards ,which floated down towards him.  He held all nine in his hand and placed them in their rightful positions on the grid.  The doors to the real world opened, letting a brilliant light through.

  "Good luck," he told her.

  Angewomon stepped forward, then set foot in the portal that she would possibly never return from.

  "Your secret is safe with me," added the angel of the flame, so softly only he could hear it.  He flew out the nearest window into the heavens.

  "Myotismon, my love," whispered Angewomon from the other side of the portal.  She had flown through the heavens above Tokyo and, without much luck, finally came upon the familiar figure standing on the cloud that now blanketed the sky above the city and showering white snow upon it.  "I am here for you."

  Myotismon slowly turned his head around and blushed as he saw his angel standing behind him.  "You came?  You shouldn't be seen with me!  I have been banished, and if you are seen with me you might lose your wings forever—"

  "I am willing to sacrifice anything for you," she admitted through a whisper.  "I love you, AngeMyotismon."

  She wrapped her arms around Myotismon in a loose but intimate caress, and he wrapped his pale, well-muscled arms around her as she spread her six white wings.  His wings stretched to their full span as they drew closer and closer towards each other.  Angewomon stroked the side of Myotismon's handsome face, feeling him… so smooth… so silky… so warm…  She stared into the half-angel's eyes, not seeing even the faintest glimmer of hatred within them.  He had never seemed so sexy before in his life.  But why?  Was it his blonde hair, seemingly spun from threads of pure gold, so beautiful as it shimmered in the moonlight and blew in the wind?  The wings that gave him his Ange- prefix that he refused to see as part of his name?  Him being no more than scantily clad in a skintight white suit that clung to his muscles?  His blue eyes, blue as precious sapphires and azure as the seas, no longer icy and sadistic, but now full of love?

  It was everything, she realized as she leaned inwards for a kiss.  Her lips met his, feeling the warmth and comfort against his body and all the orgasmic pleasure that streamed into her with every touch.  She wrapped her arms more tightly around Myotismon's well-muscled body as he embraced her.  A cool wind blew around them as all the snow that was falling onto the real world blew above the clouds in an updraft, spiraling around them as all the flakes sparkled as the light from the silvery moon reflected off of them.

  Please let this be more than a dream… please… I want this to last forever… thought the true angel as she closed her eyes.

  Finally, after two minutes, their lips slowly parted, and the white snow ceased its spiraling, but fell through the surface of the cloud to the ground below, resuming its usual process of precipitation.

  The angel opened her eyes and breathed, then laid her head on the half-vampire's chest, feeling its warmth and breathing in such a sweet scent… had he always smelled this good and she hadn't noticed?  It smelled like roses and perfume… like a stronger, more masculine version of a spray she sometimes saw the digi-destined Mimi spray on herself.  What was it called again?  Blush?  He felt so firm… so loving… she loved AngeMyotismon.  Why hadn't this angel come into her life sooner than the night before?

  She loved ANGE Myotismon.  Why hadn't this ANGEL come into her life sooner than the NIGHT BEFORE?  But why not Myotismon, who had been in her life since she did not remember, for too many years to know?  He was not an angel.  AngeMyotismon was almost a true angel, if not for the fact about what he had been like in his past life.

  Myotismon had not known about this.  He still felt like his vampiric self inside, but he seemed to feel a strange feeling deep inside him when he kissed Angewomon.  Could it have been that his heart had changed along with his appearance, or had he loved Gatomon or Angewomon (no matter what form or what eyes she had) the entire time and couldn't express it?  Maybe she had never loved him at all, but now that he was an angel… he finally got a taste of love without the blood mixed in.

  Sadly, it had to end.  "I have to leave you," said Angewomon.  "I must remain with Kari during the day as Gatomon, but when night comes and everyone is asleep I will digivolve and come back to you."

  "In the darkness I'll wait for thee," replied Myotismon, holding the angel's hands in his, and giving one a soft kiss.  He liked it when he saw his love blush a deep pink.  "Farewell.  I will be disguised as a human after sunup, but when it goes down you will see me in my full radiance."

  Angewomon bowed, then flew off into the sky like a white comet, fantasizing about AngeMyotismon the entire time.

To be continued…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the next chapter, the Shadow Mode will begin executing his plans to take over the real world, angels become the talk of Odaiba, and Angemon gets suspicious around Pyro Angemon.  I hope to get the next one up soon!