A/N: This chapter is a little short, but that's to compensate for the length of chapter 10. Next chapter is the conclusion! Yay! Because after this story, I am going to write a mega-fic about… I'll give you three guesses who ^^
To Jules: Hmmmm… just wait… maybe Pyro will appear again!
To Flameshe: Thanks. I liked that part about Rena mistaking Wiz for a dead person too!
To blackmage: I hope the same things too!
To Elendil: Good Sarabi. Good Sarabi. Don't eat me… ^^;;;
Until next chapter… remember to review so I can respond to them! ENJOY!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 9
Watery Grave
Late that night, past midnight, in his underground headquarters, Myotismon Shadow Mode settled at his ebony desk, fuming with rage and clutching a crystal chalice filled nearly to the brim with blood-red wine. "Damned humans cannot do anything right," he muttered to himself, then took a long and thoughtful sip of the strong drink. When he set the goblet down it was approximately half full. "Uneducated dimwits with the intelligence and common sense of a rock…" He opened a book on conquest strategies of past villains who had nearly achieved their goals but failed. "If that is the way those flesh bundles have to be, then I guess I will have to take care of Angewomon and the counterpart scum myself." He quickly downed the remainder of the red wine and stood up to summon one of his henchmen. "DEMIDEVIMON!" he bellowed.
A moment later, the bulbous winged rookie flew into the room as fast as his ragged wings could carry him. Though he was nearly as dimwitted as the humans, Myotismon was always able to count on Demidevimon to follow his orders and execute them a bit more precisely. "Yes… Master Myotismon?" He landed on the desk and began to pant.
"Demidevimon, the humans are more incompetent than you are. Instead of capturing Angewomon and AngeMyotismon, they brought back that egotistic Angemon and expected me to reward them for it. Which is why I decided if I want something done right, I have got to do it myself. I will bring Angewomon and AngeMyotismon to those slouches, but I need you to release…" The vampire paused in his speech, deciding on which henchman to release on the digi-destined that coming day. "… DarkTyrannomon to lure the digi-destined in." He darkly chuckled, envisioning Angewomon writhing to break free in her captor net, like a fish that had just been caught.
"Will do, master," saluted Demidevimon. He flew down the shadowy corridor to release the black, digital Tyrannosaurus Rex from his dungeon cell.
"It is only a matter of time now…" murmured the Shadow Mode. "Angewomon, you are mine."
The next morning marked the beginning of Christmas Eve Day, the day where the Christian population attended church as well as managed to squeeze in any necessary last-minute Christmas shopping. Tai's family had gone out of town to do exactly that that day, leaving Wizardmon, Agumon, and Gatomon alone in the apartment. Mimi's family had departed to the shopping district as well.
DarkTyrannomon stomped through the snow in the direction of the Odaiba district that morning, causing an uproar everywhere it passed. Police were phoned, and people were reassured that them, as well as Animal Control, would find a way to calm the gigantic dinosaur down.
"Mom, I'm sick of looking at girly stuff," complained Tai, stuffing his gloved hands into the pockets of his burgundy coat, as he and his family window shopped outside a girls' clothing store, supervising Kari as she bought adorable shirts and accessories for her friends. Clouds escaped from his mouth as he exhaled. "And I'm cold and hungry."
His mother sighed. "Fine, Tai, you may go and get some lunch," she acquiesced. "As soon as Kari finishes paying for her things, we'll join you."
The keeper of courage shot down the street like a bullet with a short, stubby figure clad in a dark blue snowsuit and ski mask struggling to keep up. It was ironic that though he could defeat such digimon like Apocalymon in battle, he still was unable to survive a day of Christmas shopping with his family. He gazed around, skimming the street for a decent restaurant. Finally he came upon a fast-food place. "Score!" he whispered, then looked downward at the chubby snowsuited figure. "Hey Agumon, let's get some food! And don't even think of taking off the snowsuit."
"Can I at least take off the ski mask?" asked Agumon, who was the one wearing the winter ensemble.
Tai said nothing in reply; he just dashed off to the restaurant, Agumon following at his heels. He did his best to dodge whatever people were in the way, not being careful to not splash their shopping bags with snow slush.
"Tai, look out!" shouted Agumon.
Tai could not stop himself in time, as he stepped onto a liberally-sized sheet of ice that covered the sidewalk. He flailed his arms and planted his other foot on the ground as an attempt to cease his slipping, but his other foot gave way and a second later, he found himself falling to the ground. As his butt touched the ice, he slid across the frozen puddle and hit a person in a pink overcoat and clutching several bulky shopping bags, causing her to scream and fall over, dropping her bags on the ground. Various wrapped toys, clothes, and even a patterned blanket spilled out.
"Watch where you're going, you klutz!" she shouted, straightening her fuzzy pink earmuffs. "You almost messed up my coat!"
"Sorry," apologized Tai, turning bright red. He nearly jumped when he saw his victim. "Mimi! What are you… I mean, that is to say…"
"I knew you would be idiot enough to slip," denounced Mimi, her cheeks tinged crimson. She stood up, brushed the snow off of her coat, and stooped down to pick up the mess. "I bet you were going to the restaurant. Always thinking of your stomach instead of where to go—"
*RRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!* A cacophonous roar resounded through the streets, accompanied by people running around the corner. Tai, Mimi, and Agumon whirled their heads around in that direction, forgetting about the ice incident, just in time to see DarkTyrannomon prowling through the streets. Though he necessarily did not want people to get suspicious of Agumon, or even get panicky, Tai was willing to break the rules in order to save his fellow humans.
Unfortunately, he ignored the two Bakemon that were hovering fifteen feet behind them, for they were invisible as preparation for ambush. They were sent by the Shadow Mode to capture Gatomon if she was there.
Agumon abruptly shed his snowsuit and ski mask as Tai's digivice began to tremor and emit a brilliant orange glow.
"Agumon, digivolve to…" He jumped up into the air as he glowed the same color as the digivice and transmuted his shape, expanding at the same time. "…GREYMON!"
Spectators gasped as Greymon stomped into the center of the street, clenching his gigantic fists and prepared to take down DarkTyrannomon. The dark dinosaur growled as he saw another digimon braced to fight, then roared so hard people within a thousand-foot radius covered their ears in agony.
"NOVA BLAST!" Greymon leaned back, then spit out a fireball as large as a car. As it hit DarkTyrannomon, the dinosaur stomped back and roared a third time, the place the fire hit searing with pain.
"Is Palmon with you?" questioned Tai, a twinge of fear in his usually courageous voice.
"No," replied Mimi. "But is Kari with you?"
"Yes!"
"Then can you get Gatomon?"
"GATOMON'S IN MY APARTMENT WITH WIZARDMON!" shouted Tai over the discord of DarkTyrannomon attacking.
The Bakemon began to cackle, then fly off. One of them flew in front of DarkTyrannomon and said, "She's not here. Go back home." In an instant, the dinosaur dematerialized to quickly reappear again in the Shadow Mode's dungeon, accompanied by the Bakemon. It was not a matter of getting reconfigured; it was the rare power of teleportation that the ghosts possessed.
Greymon hit the ground, temporarily knocked out by the attack. He de-digivolved to Agumon, who Tai and Mimi ran over to. People began to crowd around a dinosaur-shaped concrete crater where the digimon was lying. "What… what happened?" he managed to moan.
Tai and Mimi appeared perplexed. "I don't know," replied Tai.
The two Bakemon, one of which was holding a brown sack, phased through the walls of Tai's apartment, familiar of its location from the invasion of the preceding summer. They skulked through the halls, barely making a noise. They peered through each of the doors they passed until they reached the door of Kari's bedroom. Inside, Gatomon was peacefully sleeping at the foot of the bed, oblivious to any evil around her. Unfortunately for the Bakemon, Wizardmon was in Tai's bedroom, which was adjacent to Kari's. One of them had seen him dozing on Tai's futon.
"You keep an eye out for the wizard scum," instructed the Bakemon with the burlap sack. "I'll get Gatomon." He phased through the door to the room.
Gatomon was awakened from her sleep by a seductive yet scratchy mumbling. "Here kitty kitty kitty… Here kitty kitty kitty…" She opened one eye and peered around the room until she saw a white blotch holding open a sack, which was gaping wide like a giant mouth about to swallow her up. "Well, little pussycat, take a good look before you're CAPTURED!"
In an instant, the bag closed around Gatomon, who began screaming and clawing at the bag for her life, getting lifted off the ground. The sack was scratchy and smelled like corpses. She was sweating and nearly suffocating from the hot air. "LET ME OUT! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE LET ME OUT OR I'LL DIE!" she cried at the top of her lungs.
"Don't you fret; Master Myotismon isn't going to let you die before we get to his headquarters!" shouted the voice. "We're taking the express back!"
"Myotismon?!" gasped Gatomon. Then she realized who her captors were. "BAKEMON!"
She heard wind rushing around the bag and through some of the pores, giving her a breath of fresh, cool air. She would have been grateful if she had not been so frightened at that point. Her thoughts were assaulting her so much, her mind halted altogether. Her heart was beating like a hammer in her chest, which was beginning to ache.
"Master, we have captured the female angel!" exclaimed the second Bakemon.
Then came the sound of something creaking open, then various male voices mumbling and chuckling to themselves. Gatomon felt herself getting dumped out of the bag. She made an impact on a hard metal surface, then heard a door slamming shut. When she came to her senses, she saw herself surrounded by metal bars and a medley of men in black suits in a familiar surrounding… The TV station! implemented Gatomon.
"She doesn't look like an angel to me," commented Rosseau.
"That can be arranged," declared a familiar voice. The crowd parted to reveal the Shadow Mode, who took a long whip of Crimson Lightning. "Digivolve," he growled. "Damn you," he added.
"Myotismon!" cried Gatomon. "What—" Suddenly she saw the whip of lightning touch her cage, which glowed bright red and emitted unbearable electrical currents that were so strong one could see through her flesh down to the bone. She screamed her loudest.
"Digivolve if you want this to cease!"
The first item on the cat's priority list was to live, so she quickly announced, "Gatomon, digivolve to… ANGEWOMON!" and landed on the bottom of the cage. The Shadow Mode withdrew his whip as the angel flopped down to the floor, limp as a wet dishrag.
"If you want to live, you had damn well better stay that way," imperiled the vampire. "And Rosseau, you owe me. Your incompetent ship of fools couldn't even steal a kiss, much less this digital treasure." He and the humans departed.
A tear ran down the angel's rosy cheek. Had she been seduced by Myotismon, lulled into thinking he had completely become an angel? "Myo…" she sobbed into her hands, "…I thought I loved you! Angemon was correct; I never should have fallen in love with you! I was such a fool, believing you for all that time!" She buried her face into her arms and cried out loud.
"All we need now is AngeMyotismon…" the Shadow Mode reminded Rosseau. "The real world is as good as mine."
"But do you think we could use my men for this one?" wondered the multimillionaire. "If we use your Godzilla-looking monster, you won't have a city to reign over."
The vampire paused, then actually considered it. "We will need a situation of mortal peril for this, giving him a diversion so you can prepare for his capture. But just to warn you, judging by the past attempt, he is a devious bastard who can't be fooled. Do not act as victims this time. And I want this completed before the day ends or I will kill you all."
Rosseau's employees noded, then walked away.
Tai's family returned from shopping that late afternoon. Kari dashed off to her room, clutching a fuzzy lime green sweater that was small enough to fit a newborn child. "Gatomon, guess what I got!" she shouted, opening the door. She looked around the room and saw no sign of Gatomon in her room. "Gatomon, where are you? GATOMON!" she shouted. Her eyes wandered onto her bed, where a small piece of paper lay. She picked it up and read it. "Give up hope before you die as well… GATOMON!" she screamed, then flung herself onto her bed and cried into her pillow.
Kari's wailing woke up Wizardmon and caused her family to dash into her bedroom.
"Kari! What happened?" wondered Mrs. Kamiya.
"GATOMON'S DEAD!" wailed the keeper of light. "SOMEONE KIDNAPPED HER AND KILLED HER!"
Wizardmon climbed onto her bed and patted her back. "Don't worry, she's not dead," he assured her. He saw Kari turning her teary-eyed head towards him. "But she was kidnapped… by Myotismon Shadow Mode."
"MYOTISMON???!!!" Tai's eyes were nearly popping out of his head. "I knew it was him! I didn't know he returned that fast! Oooh, he is going to be sorry that he messed with my sister!" He left his bawling sister, confused-looking parents, and Wizardmon, to dash to the nearest phone. He called all the other digi-destined as quickly as he could to warn them.
At that exact time, Rena's family was driving home in their old, rusty, gray station wagon from the church service, which was held across the bridge from where they lived. A sign warned them that they needed to take extra precautions, as there were small patches of ice covering it. She was in the backseat with her twin brothers Kojiro and Kenji, staring at the sky outside. So much was on her mind that she just wished to forget it all. She looked at the orange sun sinking in the golden sky and the purplish-gray clouds passing through it. The bay was below them, placid as it was enveloped in a thin sheet of white ice. Just as she escaped into that utopia of her mind, her mother's shrill, angry voice interrupted her.
"Kaito, didn't you read the sign? Slow down!" she scolded Rena's dad.
"I know how to drive," huffed Rena's father, gripping the wheel.
"Wouldn't it be cool if Daddy crashed the car?" asked Kojiro. He and Kenji started talking about car crashes.
"Boys, I need to concentrate!" shouted Mr. Yuriko. "Why can't you be more like Rena and be quiet when I need to?" He let go of the wheel and turned back towards his sons, accidentally pressing his foot against the acceleration pedal. "If you—"
"KAITO, THE CAR!" screamed Mrs. Yuriko, seeing a huge sheet of ice covering the bridge.
Rena felt a jolt as her father swerved around. He pressed the brake down, but the car was skidding across the sheet of ice and then spinning out of control. All five members of the Yuriko family began to scream out of sheer terror as the car crashed through one of the cables that held up the bridge, which was an overhead bridge. The car teetered on the edge of the bridge, about to fall.
"Bingo," muttered Richards, bringing the black Cadillac to a halt, unnoticed as all other cars in the vicinity screeched to a stop, people piling out and whipping out their cell phones in a shaky attempt to call for help. "Keep your eye out for the angel," he dictated, stroking the tranquilizer gun on his lap.
After several minutes, which seemed like several hours, several identical trucks and helicopters seemed to magically arrive, lights blaring through the darkening sky. News teams and helicopters followed. Hundreds of people formed a circle around the scene.
"Quick, don't worry about the presents," said Mrs. Yuriko. "Koji and Kenji! Get out now so we can follow you out the backseat." The two boys undid their buckles with a snapping noise, swung the door open, and clambored out onto the bridge. Rena's parents also undid their seatbelts and climbed over their seats into the back. "Rena, quick!"
Rena pressed the button that fastened her seatbelt together, but nothing would move. "It's stuck!" she cried, as pale as a ghost and sweating. "Help me!"
As her father escaped, Rena's mother quickly pulled in both directions, but it wouldn't budge. As the car tipped at a steeper incline, Mrs. Yuriko followed her instinct and retreated, slamming the door behind her, leaving Rena alone in the car. She stepped onto the bridge and shouted, "DON'T LET IT FALL! MY DAUGHTER'S STILL IN THERE!" But as the rescue vehicles plowed through the mob to where the car was tipping towards its watery grave, the incline came to be too much for the car, which immediately plummeted, bumper first, to the ice below.
"RENA!" shouted Mr. Yuriko, extending his hand and preparing to jump off, but two members of the rescue team restrained him.
The car hit the ice with a crash, and Rena's seatbelt buckle finally spat out the belt, which snapped back to its normal position. The ice around the car broke apart in large chunks until there was a large jagged hole filled with water. "HELP ME!" screamed Rena. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" She scrambled around the car in an attempt to find a safe outlet, but before she figured out that she could open the back door adjacent to the trunk, the vehicle sank in the water, slowly filling with the liquid that leaked through the car doors and windows.
As an uproar rose in the crowd, panicky rescue agents whipped out all their walkie-talkies to call for extra help. Rena's mother buried her head into her father's chest and began to weep. "My daughter is going to die!" she wailed.
Then several hundred gasps resounded in the air, and dozens of hands pointed towards a shape which was silhouetted in the sky above. It was humanoid in shape, but it had six wings protruding from its back, and it flew towards the disaster scene. Everyone's heads turned to look.
"It's… it's an angel!" shouted a random female voice.
Above, Myotismon had sensed the crisis and would not stop at anything until whoever was in peril was alive and well afterwards. He scanned the ice below and saw the gigantic chasm filled with dark water. His innate angelic sense told him that a young girl was imprisoned in her sinking car. He hovered in the air, knowing that he needed to risk his life if this girl was to be saved. He took a deep breath of air, ignoring the helicopters that were drawing closer to him to get a good look, and dove headfirst into the water below.
The water underneath the ice was freezing and dark, making it nearly impossible for him to see. I only have one chance, thought Myotismon as he pushed himself through the water with the aid of his arms and wings. He could feel his air supply slowly diminishing, and the cold water was compressing his body, which had gone numb. Where are you?
Out of nowhere, down several meters and still sinking, were two white lights that were the headlights of the car. Following his instinct, the half-angel swam downwards, hoping that his deductions were accurate and this was the human.
Meanwhile, Rena screamed and cried as the wintry water filled the car up to the backseat. "I'm going to die!" she cried. "And on Christmas Eve, too! I NEED A SAVIOR!"
Then a white figure outside the car made her jump in sheer shock. It grew closer, and the girl grew more frightened. "IT'S THE ANGEL OF DEATH!" she screamed. "Please don't kill me!" She began to cry out of fear as Myotismon reached the car and tried to pull the door open, his face turning blue from lack of oxygen and his blonde hair swirling behind him like smoke. Much to Rena's horror, he opened the door, and water poured through in a river, like him.
Gasping for a breath, Myotismon grabbed Rena by the arm and held her to his chest. "Don't be alarmed!" he assured her. "I'm here to rescue you! Hold on if you want to live!" He felt a vague sensation of protectiveness as the girl wrapped her arms around him and groped onto two of his wings. The water had reached up to their necks, so there was not much time left. "Take a deep breath and hold it!"
Obeying the vampire, Rena inhaled so much air she thought her lungs would burst. Myotismon escaped through the door, holding Rena. He swam up to the top of the car, crouched down, and kicked off of it in an attempt to rise to the surface faster. Water rushed past them and grew lighter with each passing second. He reached the hole in the ice and aimed for that. He could see the jagged gap growing larger and larger… he needed to make it before the girl passed out from lack of air…
Rena slowly let out several air bubbles and desired more. She felt water seeping into her mouth and her vision growing dimmer…
Myotismon flew out of the water into the air, hovered there a moment, then flew to the bridge, where he placed Rena. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open. Suddenly, she coughed up a river of water and opened her eyes. She was on a flat concrete surface, staring at the sky at dusk. She wanted to scream for joy; she was alive! Soaked to the bone, but alive nonetheless! She saw her savior standing over her.
"My angel! My hero!" she exclaimed, standing up. As a rescue worker took a gray fleece blanket and placed it over her shoulders, she ran up to Myotismon and looked at him. Everything about him seemed to be angelic… his blonde hair clinging to his pale blue face… his wide blue eyes showing sincere concern for her… his white bat wings might as well had been two feathery angel wings and his scanty white suit could have been a majestic silk robe. A halo would have made the ensemble complete.
All of a sudden, she realized who he was. "Ange… AngeMyotismon?" she asked. "I thought you were evil! But now I realize that you are my guardian angel!" She grinned and closed her eyes, slinging her arms around his wiry waist and pressing her head against it. She could feel his fervent warmth entering her body and ceasing her shivering.
Feeling for Rena and knowing how much she loved him, Myotismon decided to wrap his arms around her in comfort. How did she know my name? he wondered. He was rendered speechless; words could not describe the exact sensation he had at the moment. It was a combination of concern, gratitude, sympathy, relief, and slightly worried about what was imminent. Somehow he had a sense that something was about to happen to him, something terrible. It was all a jumble, everything seemingly a blur. Voices resounded around him, red and blue lights whirled through the vicinity…
"You are the one I fell in love with," added the girl.
Myotismon saw Rena's family approaching. "You saved our daughter!" exclaimed Rena's mother. "How can we ever repay you?"
"Cool, it's one of those angels!" exclaimed Kenji. "Only it's not one of those holy angels. He's a cool freak angel!"
"Yeah, check out those wings!" Kojiro pointed out.
"Be nice," chastised Rena's father.
"You know what I think?" asked Kenji. "He's got bat wings and… fangs! He must be some sort of vampire as well. A dark archangel!"
Myotismon said nothing; he was just grateful that he saved a life that was within an inch of death. He felt Rena's arms wrap around him tightly, and he sunk into peacefulness.
Abruptly, he felt a puncture in his left arm and jumped back, shouting. He looked and saw a tranquilizer dart stuck in it, slowly spreading whatever fluid was in it through his body and putting him to sleep… Rena ran up to him and screamed, "AngeMyotismon!" All of a sudden, his side was pricked by another dart in case the first was unable to work. He fell to his knees and bent over. "Who would do such a thing?" She began to cry again.
"Do not… fret over me…" groaned the half-angel as his vision grew dim. He saw two men wearing black suits flinging a net over him, but he was so zapped of energy he could not maneuver to escape. "Let… me… leave here…" He closed his eyes and descended into a world of darkness.
"Someone kick them in the balls!" shouted Kenji.
"Yeah, they gotta pay for what they did!" added Kojiro.
Smith took out a large machine gun the length of his arm and pointed it at Rena, who ran to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. "Nobody move," he ordered. "Anyone who gets within five meters of the angel will be shot on the spot!"
"NO!" screamed Rena. "He saved my LIFE!"
"The angel is ours now, little girl," chuckled D. "If you take a step forward, you'd be better off left in the frickin water." He and Smith loaded the fully restrained Myotismon into the back of the black Cadillac and drove off, leaving a frightened crowd behind.
At that point, Wizardmon raised his staff and declared, "Uniten té enje à té daíven sa té itrinse, antithét ori knovlusi!" Everything had been perfectly recited, and it was only a matter of time before the yin and the yang would become the true Myotismon…
To be concluded…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
