A/N: I have good news and bad news for Wizardmon fans.  The good news is that Wiz did not just dematerialize or get sucked into a deadly plot hole, and he will play a major part in the story.  The bad news… he won't be in the story too often.  Sorry about that!  Maybe Wizzy will get more air time in an upcoming fic.  I like him too!  And now… the review responses!

To Flameshe: Thanks, Rouge!  (Psst, bring Rouge along to read next time!)

To VampireNaomi: It was supposed to be a bit funny… sort of an OOC thing that you wouldn't expect him to say, I guess…

To Elendil: Wizzy didn't fade away!  He's right here!

To vande: It's fine if you like the Shadow Mode better.  And about the J.K. Rowling thing… I doubt it, since a zillion people aren't lining up to get copies of my new book ^^;;

Enjoy, everyone!!!

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Chapter 8

Courage in a Fire

  On December 23, the entirety of Tokyo was blanketed in a fog so thick one thought it could be cut by a knife.  It was quite shocking to all experts in meteorology, since the day was not even remotely hot or humid; as a matter of fact, the frigid air could suck the moisture out of unprotected saturated surfaces.  The light-gray mass concealed everything up to the fifth floor of most buildings, taking on the appearance of a flood; while from far away it looked exactly like a stratus cloud that was shot out of the sky and dropped to the earth.  With the sky's color coinciding with the fog blanket, as well as the color of the snow clusters that fell from it, it seemed that Tokyo was trapped in a mass of grayish-white.

  Rena had decided to sneak out of the apartment, using her frequent alibi of "visiting a friend," in spite of the fact that she didn't have any.  No one, not even her younger twin brothers, had figured anything out about the misfit's lack of friends.  She had decided to seize this opportunity to run away.  "It's not like anyone is going to care," she had muttered.  So, bundled up in a ratty blue coat and her faded pink backpack filled with misshapen sandwiches and her change purse, she headed to the hectic shopping district to see if she could blend in with the mob.

  Wizardmon had also made an escape when the Shadow Mode made his bargain with Rosseau.  Luckily for him, the other evil digimon had not cared.  If anything, it was good riddance.  Over the course of two days, he made his way out of the underground lair and endured the blizzard until he reached the city.  Though he was concerned about leaving footprints in the snow, he was relieved that the snowfall would cover his tracks.  As soon as he reached the Odaiba district, he kept his eyes open, watching the passersby for anyone who looked vaguely like the digi-destined.  He needed to admonish them about the Shadow Mode and how much peril they were in.

  The two runaway souls were about to meet, which was fortunate for both of them in ways that were quite different.

  Rena sighed and slumped down against the wall of the alley that late afternoon, as the sun hung low in the sky, which was blotted out by blackish ribbons of altostratus clouds.  She had spent the day in the shopping district, gazing at goods she wanted to buy but could not afford and dodging the glances of people she knew from school.  She had eaten one of the sandwiches for lunch but threw the remainder of her food in the trash; when a person accidentally knocked her down to the ground, the rations— as well as her— spilled out into a puddle of muddy slush.  She knew that even a freak like her would not eat a soggy, contaminated sandwich.

  Her jeans were drenched and dirty from the knees down.  She did not have enough money for anything, especially a nice warm platter of food.  Her toes were numb from walking in piles of snow, as well as her fingers from her forgetting her gloves.  Her feet ached from walking for hours.  She shivered and hugged herself to keep warm as she stared into the window of the restaurant across the street.  She could smell the alluring aroma of hibachi chicken and shrimp and see dozens of people munching on their dinners.

  "I'd kill for some clear soup…" muttered Rena, her mouth watering.  "…a cup of tea, anything!"  As an attempt to resist the empty feeling in her stomach, she averted her gaze to a pile of cloth in the corner… which stirred.  "What is that?" she asked, wandering over to see what was moving.  She drew the cape away to reveal Wizardmon, who was napping.

  "AAAAAAAH!" she shrieked, jumping away.  "DEAD PERSON!"  The scream did nothing except earn her suspicious glances from the crowd.

  Wizardmon stretched, then rubbed his head.  "Who are you?" he asked.

  Rena stood like a statue, her eyes as wide as plates, occasionally blinking.

  "Don't worry, I won't harm you," assured the wizard, standing up and walking toward Rena, who began to slowly back away.

  Suddenly the brunette heard Wizardmon's voice inside her head.  Don't worry, it repeated.  I did not mean to frighten you, but I was merely sleeping.  Let me talk to you.

  "H…h… how did… how did you d…do that?" questioned Rena.

  "I am a wizard," replied Wizardmon.  "But a good wizard.  My name is Wizardmon, and I am from the digital world.  Who might you be?"

  "Rena Yuriko," responded Rena, who was beginning to calm down.  "I live in the Odaiba district."

  Wizardmon's ears perked up at the word "Odaiba."  He knew that the digi-destined resided there.  "Tell me… Rena, do you know a boy named Taichi Kamiya?"

  Rena blinked.  "Y-yes," she stammered, astounded that this wizard whom she just met knew about a boy who attended school with her.  "He's in sixth grade with me.  He's OK compared to some of the assholes in my homeroom who shoot spitballs at me and call—"

  "Yes, yes, yes," interrupted the wizard, who did not want to hear about the misfit's peer-related afflictions.  "Tell me, do you recall where he lives?"

  Rena remembered; he lived in the same building as her only friend from school, who had moved to Nerima the summer of the digimon attacks.  So she guided Wizardmon back to Odaiba and directly to Tai's apartment building.  They combed the floors until they arrived at the door with the "Kamiya" nameplate.  She took a deep breath as if she were about to ask him out, then knocked.

  To her luck, Tai was the one who answered.  "Rena?" he asked.  "What are you doing—"  He looked downward and saw Wizardmon, who was peacefully standing in the hall.  "How do you know Wizardmon?"

  "He knew me," replied Rena.

  "Well come in.  Mom and Dad went shopping with Kari, so we're safe.  Yes, you too, Rena!" Tai demanded, seeing how violently his classmate was shivering.  I can't believe I'm doing this… he was thinking as Rena walked into the apartment.  "Uh… are you hungry?"

  "Yes," answered Rena, her mouth beginning to water again.  "I'm starved.  I haven't had a thing to eat all day!"

  "There's soup in the cabinet," instructed the keeper of courage.  "Just heat it up.  And I think there's some sashimi and rice left over from supper in the fridge.  And save some for Wizardmon; he's probably hungrier than you!"

  Ten minutes later, Rena and Wizardmon were shoveling down piping hot food, with Tai just staring and pondering where they put it all.  As they began to decelerate their eating, Tai began to speak.

  "Wizardmon… why are you here?" he questioned.

  "There's something I need to tell you and fast," replied the wizard.  "The fog… Myotismon has returned, and he's nastier than ever."

  Tai stared at Wizardmon.  "Is this true, Wizardmon?  Like how nasty?  Even nastier than Apocalymon?"

  "Yes," answered Wizardmon.  "Let me explain.  I sort of… cast a spell, but it was only halfway performed.  It was supposed to transform him into an angel, but it only did it halfway.  Instead of Angemon, he was AngeMyotismon.  I thought we were safe, but he came back dressed in black leather and appearing more sadistic than ever, calling himself the Shadow Mode."

  "Ange-whatever and Shadow Mode?" questioned Rena.  "So… it's like a Jekyll-and-Hyde thing?" she guessed.

  "That is my guess," reposted Wizardmon.  "Possibly at times he's the Shadow Mode, and others he is AngeMyotismon."

  Tai began to supress a laugh, his face turning red.  Then he began to let it out.  "ANGE Myotismon?  HA HA HA HA HA!!!  OK, the cold is really getting to you!"

  "No, I saw him as an angel with my own two eyes!" retorted Wizardmon.  He took his staff, which produced a viewing orb that appeared to be like a mirror surrounded by a white mist.  As if it had been a camera, the orb produced a clear, vivid image of Myotismon in his angelic form.

  "Oh… my… God…" whispered Rena.  "It's him!"

  Tai's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates.  "You saw— you're telling me you're familiar with Myotismon?  You know who he is?"

  Rena stared at Tai, astounded.  "Do you?"

  "Yeah!" exclaimed the lead digi-destined.  "What digi-destined doesn't know who Myotismon is?  He was by far the most evil digimon we ever fought against!  We thought he killed Wizardmon, but luckily he must have gotten reconfigured.  He covered all of Tokyo in fog, he sent all these digimon— er, monsters all over the city, he practically destroyed the entire city!"

  Rena stared forward.  So she had fallen in love with a demon all along.  Her eyes wandered downward to the empty bowl of soup in front of her.  "I want to go home now," she admitted.  "Wizardmon can stay with you, Tai.  Thanks for the food."

  "No problem," replied Tai, grinning.  She's actually a pretty nice girl once you look past the blubber and tacky hand-me-downs, he thought as he watched Rena put on her coat and get her backpack.  She waved goodbye and headed out the door.

  "Azulongmon!  I need your permission to enter the real world through your portal," stated Angemon that night.  For the three days subsequent to Pyro Angemon's unfortunate removal, he had prepared a simple plot to take Angewomon back into the digital world, where she would be safe.

  "Why do you wish to do so?" inquired the Guardian.  He was not the type of Guardian who would simply allow anyone to waltz through the portal in his palace.  He needed a legitimate reason as to why they felt they wanted to.

  "Because Angewomon traveled there and I need her to come back to the digital world, where she is safe," replied the digital angel.  "Safe from Myotismon," he added.

  Azulongmon's eyes widened.  "Myotismon?"

  "Yes, Your Greatness.  He is more evil than ever!  He flew into the real world, possibly after Angewomon to wipe her out as well, and then to take over, upsetting the balance—"

  "Angemon, please get a grip.  I sent Wizardmon a spell to transform him into Angemon—"  All of a sudden, the area grew a deathly silent as Azulongmon paused in his speech.  He felt as if he were falling, and his face froze in an alarmed expression.  After the lengthy pause, the Guardian spoke more quietly, a slight tremor in his voice.  "Unless… Wizardmon performed the incantation incorrectly, or omitted several words.  In a spell, every syllable is crucial.  Even if a word is pronounced wrong, drastic results can ensue.  Instead of Angemon, Wizardmon must have transformed Myotismon into… a digital demon."

  "But he was an ANGEL!" insisted Angemon.  "He was AngeMyotismon!  And he was banished from the digital world for all eternity for killing the Rosemon who was the keeper of the digital vegetation!  Were you at the trial?"

  "Why, yes, but that does not edify why Myotismon's darker mode was still rampant in this world when it is physically impossible for a banished digimon to enter the digital world through any sort of portal, not even a hidden one.  The force field…"  Azulongmon musingly paused.  Suddenly, he came to a conclusion.  "Wizardmon's incantation must have… separated the angel from the demon.  They are both Myotismon, yet they are not.  Or are they?…  One of them might be the true Myotismon, the one the other disjoined from."

  "Is there any way to reverse this spell?" questioned Angemon.  "Even one Myotismon is more than enough for us angels to handle!"

  "All spells have counterspells," replied Azulongmon.  "It will be extremely difficult to retrieve, but it will be able to transform either AngeMyotismon or his dark mode back into the initial Myotismon, whichever one is the true one, and the supplement will either become part of him again when in contact with him unless he is destroyed by the true one.  Fortunately for me, I possess a book of spells which I got the original transformation from, and I will give it to Wizardmon in the next dream he has."

  "What if it's too late?" wondered Angemon.  "What if the untrue Myotismon got deleted, or what if WIZARDMON got deleted?"

  "Do you wish to go to the real world, still?" asked Azulongmon, abruptly changing the subject so he would not be interrogated for answers he did not know at the moment.  He was unable to know anything about what was occurring in the real world.

  "Yes, to bring Angewomon back to the digital world," replied Angemon.

  "I wish you good fortune," commendated the Guardian, motioning for Angemon to proceed through the portal at the end of the corridor that was adjacent to his main sanctuary where he dwelled most of the day.  He himself departed for the study, which was down the other hallway.

  Azulongmon's study was quite cavernous and took on the appearance of a cathedral with pure white marble walls and floor, and a glass ceiling.  The towering white bookcases were stuffed with both ancient and pristine books which were mainly records and legends of the digital world.  Among them were histories of the angels and the digi-destined, as well as an encyclopedia of all digimon that ever existed.  (The article about Myotismon was one of the most extended, him being a digimon of myriad feats.  Azulongmon could not resist reading the article about himself.)  Windows lined three of the four walls, letting the sunlight or moonlight— depending on the time of day— stream in.  Near the north end was a clear glass podium, and on it was the largest, heaviest, longest, and oldest book in the entire room: The Book of Spells.  It was over 10,000 thin, yellowing pages in length, the pages between two white covers lined in gold.  A golden ribbon marked the place in the open page.

  Azulongmon floated over to the page, which was open to the spell he had performed last.  It was the one he had given to Wizardmon that fateful night.  He looked over the small text without a trouble— despite being gigantic in size, he had an uncanny sense of sight— and saw the counterspell written underneath it.

  In spite of the fact that he was unable to detect any action in the real world, he had a faint intuition of what magical digimon were feeling at that moment and could get through to them no matter what dimension they were in, unless the barrier between it and the digital world was extremely potent.

  He closed his eyes.  Wizardmon, can you hear me?  Then the sensation arrived: Wizardmon was asleep and in a dream world.  He was taken, in spirit, to the darkness the dormant wizard perceived.

  "Azulongmon?" asked Wizardmon.  "Why are you here?"

  "I am here to give you the reversal to the spell, which will take effect when the two beings are close enough to each other.  I am speaking about Myotismon.  Or so to speak, the two Myotismons."

  "Two?" questioned Wizardmon.  "I thought I transformed Myotismon into the angel, and then somehow he returned as his Shadow Mode!"

  "No," answered the guardian.  "When you performed the spell, you actually split the vampire into two counterparts, the yin and yang.  The counterspell will bring everything back to normal, and you must perform it in its entirety, OR ELSE."

  The wizard nodded his head in silence, knowing that he learned from his disastrous impropriety.

  The guardian began to speak.  "Uniten té enje à té daíven sa té itrinse, antithét ori knovlusi!  Unite the angel and the devil into the original, reverse my spell!"

  "I shall do my best," replied Wizardmon.

  Azulongmon exited the dream, knowing that for sure, Wizardmon would be able to remember every last syllable.

  Less than an hour prior to this, the Shadow Mode stated that in order to completely dominate the real world, he needed to capture and delete the only one who could stop him: AngeMyotismon.  He had explained this dilemma to Rosseau and his men, who agreed that they wanted him, but for discrete reasons.  While Myotismon Shadow Mode desired to destroy him, Rosseau wished to exhibit him and Angewomon for money.

  "Why him?" asked the vampire.  "Why not just the female angel?"

  "Because your AngeMyotismon is a freak among angels!  Humans love seeing freak shows!  Circuses thrive on exhibiting freaks!  People would pay hundreds to see a real angel in captivity!"

  The Shadow Mode's lips curled into a fang-baring grin.  "I know there are other angels out there…" he mused.  "Allow me to dispose of my angel counterpart after the night we capture him.  If he struggles to escape, consider it a shorter time."

  "But the question is, how the hell do we capture the friggin angel thing?" asked D, who was smoking a cigarette in the corner.

  "Ah, that can be arranged by creating a danger setting," replied the vampire.  "Set all of Tokyo on fire, which will create victims.  When AngeMyotismon sees how all these pathetic humans are struggling for their pitiful little lives, he will arrive to rescue them.  Then, some of you will pose as victims.  When he gets to you, capture him and bring him to Rosseau's jet.  We will worry about Angewomon later."

  "Excellent," complimented the billionaire, standing up at his desk.  "I would like D, Connolly, and Weston to pose as victims.  Possibly our boss will provide assistance in setting Tokyo on fire?"

  "It would be my pleasure," replied the Shadow Mode.  He flew out the open window as the three men rode down the elevator and left the hotel, then piling into a black Cadillac in the parking lot.  Connolly kept an eye out for Myotismon Shadow Mode in the sky.

  The Shadow Mode halted.  Then he extended a beam of crimson lightning, which he retracted into a small glowing ball.  He hurled it down to the street, where it made a crater that immediately burst into hundreds of towering flames, melting and drying out all snow in its path, then creeping to the buildings that surrounded it.  Screams erupted in the air as Connolly and Weston left the black car and walked casually into an apartment building, rushing against the current of people as they attempted to escape.  Before the escapes could occur, the Shadow Mode whipped the lightning down onto buildings, which began to crumble and break on the inside.

  An entire street of Tokyo was ablaze, with white-hot flames licking the sky and pure black smoke erupting from it in a large cloud, raining ash and soot onto the buildings and streets that were not affected by the fire…

  At that point, Myotismon had seen what happened, and knew that this was the work of the Shadow Mode.  "This is low, even for him…" he muttered to himself.  Since he had been wandering the streets in his long trenchcoat, he shed it and leapt up into the air, not even thinking of the ultimate reward of seeing under Angewomon's helmet.  He just wished to rescue the innocent humans trapped in the web of the Shadow Mode's sinister plots.  Taking off, he was unaware of the passersby who were still showing an interest of the hefty reward involved with the capture.

  Soaring towards the disaster, Myotismon did not show a single sign of reluctance even when the air grew warmer until it was sweltering hot, nearly too hot to breathe even for an angel.  He closed his eyes, his senses as an angel growing more intense.  He could sense that most of the humans were already on the ground, and the dozens of loud sirens blaring on the ground told him that the firefighters were attempting to do their job.  But still, would they know that there were seven humans trapped in a single building.

  "HELP!"  A faint cry of a young girl resounded through the air.  Myotismon was able to sense that the source was currently trapped in a building near them.  Braving the black smoke, which was stinging his eyes, he refused to stop.

  That was when he saw the family of five, which consisted of a mother, a father, a ten-year old boy, a five-year old girl, and a two-year old in her mother's arms, attempting to escape from their apartment, but all exits had been blocked by fallen wooden beams.  The flames were closing in quickly.

  "CRIMSON SWORD!"  Utilizing his sword, he slashed a hole in the window, knocking it inside with a loud bang.

  "W-who are you?" shouted the mother, clutching her two-year old closer to herself.

  "It's the Angel of Death!" shouted the boy.

  "No, no," Myotismon assured the boy.  "I'm here to save you."  He rushed over to the family and knelt down.  "Come here and hold on.  I promise I won't hurt you."

  The father and the boy nodded to the females of the family, then walked over to Myotismon, who took them in his arms and flew out the window with them.  The four-year old clutched her mother's dress, extremely fearful.  They saw the angel come back up, then he took them down.  The ride down was smooth but scary, but he had a firm grip.  They were set on the ground, perfectly intact and far away from the apartment building.

  "Thank you so much," said the mother.  "You saved us all."

  "HELP!"  Another voice resounded from the same building, so Myotismon immediately took off into the air.  Using the same procedure as that of the family, he slashed a hole in the window.  But there was something different about these men dressed in fancy black suits… a different sensation in the air… EVIL.  These men worked for the Shadow Mode. 

  "We are trapped!  Please save us!" shouted the same voice.

  Myotismon flew away, but first he turned back and replied, "I know who your employer is."

  At that point, the apartment collapsed, crashing to the ground and spraying dust and debris everywhere.  All evil in the vicinity had been eliminated, and the lives of the good had been spared.  The fire was extinguished in five more minutes.

  D had been waiting at his car for Connolly and Weston to return, leaning against the side and reading the newspaper.  "I can't make heads or tails of this," he muttered.

  Suddenly a circular hole formed in the sky, as if it had ripped apart to reveal a black hole.  An angel flew out and landed on the ground.

  D's face broke into a grin.  That must be the angel, he thought, not knowing what AngeMyotismon looked like since he had not seen a picture of him.  Well AngeMyotismon isn't going to get away with this.  He reached for his gun and shot it at Angemon.  It went off with a bang, and the bullet hit him in the arm before he realized what was going on.  Angemon fell to the ground, engulfed in a wave of unbearable pain.  Before he had a chance to do anything else, D withdrew another gun and shot a tranquilizer dart at his chest.  The angel immediately fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  "Well, you will realize that no angel will get away with escaping from me," stated D, grabbing a net out of the trunk, wrapping the angel in it, and then tying it tightly.  He picked up the weighty angel and placed him in the trunk.  Forgetting about his late— in more ways than one— fellow employees, he sped the car back to the hotel.

  "You IMBECILE!" shouted the Shadow Mode, whacking Rosseau's desk with his hand.  "This is not the correct angel…"  He immediately trailed off, considering the possibilities.  "But… he might make an adequate pawn in my plan.  With one angel down, the others will follow.  Including AngeMyotismon."  He walked over to the window and stared at the sky, traces of smoke still lingering in it.  "AngeMyotismon, you are not far away now.  I can sense you, and I will capture you no matter what it takes.  As for you poor escuses for minions, put him in a cage before he awakens."

  At that point, the moon turned a bloody crimson color.

To be continued…

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