Hey everyone. This is Toxic Picnic. Before We get started, I'd just like to say: Hi to all of my readers. Anyway, I've also come to announce that I will be alternating stories from this, Demon Hunters, back to Walk This World. I will not be stopping Walk This World, just I'll probably do a few chapters in this, then a few chapters in that. Never fear, and enjoy the fic!
Demon Hunters
Chapter 1: On Our Way Home!
"Home is where the Heart is."
All of the Digidestined sprinted for the cliff, looking to see what the disturbance was in the Digital World. They all reached the edge and stared in horror at the terror unfolding. A portal was suspended in midair about sixty feet below them, red lightning cackling from the hole. The whole area was bathed in an eerie red light, in contrast the darkness of night.
"So that's where all of those strange creatures have been coming from," Tai exclaimed.
"It seems so, but the question is, how do we close it?" Izzy inquired.
As if in response to his question, a red lightning bolt fired out and broke off some of the cliff. Davis slipped off the broken cliff and fell down. TK's hand shot out and grabbed Davis' foot. Unfortunately TK wasn't expecting how heavy Davis would be and was also pulled over. In one last attempt to save them Sora made a grab for TK's shirt, and actually made contact, but was pulled over as well. Tai made a grab for her foot but just barely missed it.
"DAVIS! TK! SORA!" They plunged down the canyon until they finally disappeared into the portal.
"NO!" Tai and Matt yelled in unison.
Kari sat bolt upright in her bed. Cold sweat poured down her face, her heart beating three times faster.
"Only a dream," she told herself.
No matter what she still couldn't forget what had happened that day. Kari
looked over at the mirror and saw herself reflected in the glass. Kari had
matured a lot ever since her days in the Digital World. She was eighteen now,
with shoulder length hair. She was much taller than she used to be. Her face
was much prettier, although right now it was pure white and terrified.
Kari looked at her clock and groaned. It was four
thirteen. She at first thought about going back to sleep, but not
with the dream she just had. At the end of all her reasoning, she decided to
take a shower. That should wake her up.
"Ah well, at least it's Friday," She thought out loud. Little did she know that there would be a surprise would be waiting for her in school on Monday.
"Good work today men!" Sergeant Redeyes yelled as he clapped Slash on the back, causing the other to spit out his coffee.
"Jeez Sergeant! Couldn't you be a little less, uh, enthusiastic?" Slash asked. Sergeant Redeyes glared at the private with a sort of angry pride.
"You guys were incredible! I do have another mission for you though. But believe me, you're all are in General Brushburn's eyes. If you pull through on this though, I'll have to say good bye, because you'll be on your way to the elites!" Sergeant Redeyes barked happily.
"Okay then Sergeant, what's the story?" Red asked.
"Alright Red, I'll fill you guys in. We recently received intelligence that a force of Demons has occupied Darkside City on the Darkside of our Moon. You and ten other forces have been asked to infiltrate the city, and kill the pit lord in charge. After that, call for reinforcements to wipe out the demons. Alright men, get moving!" Sergeant Redeyes smiled at them, but that faded when they didn't move.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Red! Slash! Switch! Get going!"
"Your pardon Sergeant," the one called Switch put in, "but I believe that Red, Slash, and Mend all had something to say to you."
Red, Slash, and Mend all stepped forward and asked what they had been holding back for four years. Sergeant Redeyes looked at them cautiously while waiting to be addressed. Sora, also called Mend, stepped forward.
"Well, you see, when we were inaugurated into the Demon Hunters, we were given a promise. Once our commander felt that we had paid off our debt to the Demon Hunters, we would be allowed to go back to our home planet. So Sergeant, do you think that we've paid back our debt yet?" Mend asked nervously. Sergeant Redeyes focused hard on her.
"Well, truthfully I have to say that you have paid it back threefold, but this is a real opportunity here. If you guys pass this up, you might never get this chance again! And think of your other group members. You guys can never stop interacting as a group, it's forbidden. You'd be dragging the others down with you! Plus, you can't just quit. If you devote your service, it's a lifetime service!" Redeyes looked around at the privates.
Switch, Sharp, and Fizzle stepped forward. Sharp was the first to speak, her voice punctuating the silence.
"Well, we've all decided that we've had enough of the front line. A quiet outpost on Earth is just what we're looking for," Sharp pushed her hair out of her face as she spoke.
"I could do without changing back and forth from Demon to Human whenever it's needed, for a while at least," Switch said thoughtfully. Sergeant Redeyes looked all around at the soldiers. None of them were budging an inch. Even little Fizzle's face was set. Seeing that they had made up their mind, he sighed in defeat.
"I'll have a gate ready in a few minutes. You'll have to report every so often about demonic activities. That sector is unexplored, so your contact with anything will be minimal. You know the routine for setting up a detector. I hope you guys enjoy your new outpost," there was a distinct not of sadness in Sergeant Redeyes voice, "dismissed."
"So, what's E-Earth like?" Fizzle asked. The six privates all strode down the hall leading towards the gate room. From there they would take a portal leading to Earth.
"You'll find it a bit strange," Mend told him, "they make war upon each other for their personal gain. They elect foolish people into places of power, and make no sense. It seems so strange what they do, but Earth is such a nice place to live, because everyone is so blissfully ignorant. No one there knows about the Demons, or the efforts to destroy them. And it's not overpopulated to the point where you can't find open spaces."
Fizzle seemed to be trying to absorb all of this at once.
"Don't worry about it little guy, you'll soon see," Red rubbed the top of the younger ones head. Fizzle smiled and continued walking and looked back down the hall. Fizzle was easily the youngest Demon Hunter alive. He was twelve, and one out of two of the group that excepting the Demon Hunters code hadn't changed his appearance at all. Whenever people joined the Demon Hunters something in their appearance would change within the next few days. Fizzle had dazzling blue eyes and short blonde hair. He wasn't as tall as any of the other members, but was a stunning magic caster. His blood red robes hung down, covering up his shoes. He did some spell-casting that made elder members stare in amazement. However, part of the Demon Hunters code was everyone, EVERYONE, started at the beginning, and Fizzle found no desire to move up, all though his spell-casting put an end to countless Demons. Plus, he had a brilliant mind.
"I'm also very interested in this planet of yours," Switch put in, "from what you told me, it's beautiful, yet terrible at the same time. Kind of like you Sharp." This last comment was directed as a joke. It was rare to hear Switch make a joke, but rightfully so Sharp slapped him on the back of the head for it. Switch was tall, at least eighteen, with pitch black hair that came to his eyebrows, which was his changed appearance. He had black eyes that somehow radiated warmth at the moment. Switch always wore black garments instead of the usual red. He had black chain mail that didn't make a sound, and studded pants. He mainly used short swords to destroy Demons. Another strange quality about him was that he could shape-shift to look like a Demon at will, or teleport short distances and blend in with the shadows. Sharp was a very attractive woman also eighteen. She had long auburn hair that was set back in a pony-tail. Her changed appearance trait was that her eyes glowed with a mysterious green which made her even more attractive. She wore a white T-shirt, and dark red shorts that came down to her mid-thigh. She used mostly bows, arrows, and ranged weapons to take on her foes
"You'll see what it's like in a few minutes," Red finally spoke. Red was formerly known as TK. When he joined the Demon Hunters, his hair turned bright red, so thus he adopted the name Red. He let it grow beyond his eyes down to the tip of his nose, shading his eyes away. He also did away with his hat. No one was really sure how he was able to see with a big shield of hair in front of him. He had grown at least a foot from when he was a Digidestined. Red was eighteen, just like Sharp and Switch, but used magical claws that emanated from the end of his gloves. He wore a gray sleeveless shirt and baggy black pants.
"Yeah, and I can't wait to see everyone again," Slash said enthusiastically. Slash used to be Davis. He took the name Slash when he mastered his swordsmanship. Like Fizzle, there was no change in his appearance, except he was a little taller and his face more mature. He had big iron boots that came halfway up to his knee. They like his leg and full plate was black, but his undershirt and pants were red, making an eerie contrast. When he walked, it made no noise. Fizzle had enchanted it. He was now taller than Red, though they were the same age. Unlike before, there was no quarrel between Red and Slash. They had both agreed to work seamlessly together.
"You know the rules though. No contacting people with our true identities. We have to pretend like we're someone else, for the rest of our lives, unless there is an emergency," Mend said in a serious tone. Mend used to be Sora. When she learned her healing magic, she made her name Mend. Before her hair used to be Auburn, but now it was pure gold. It reflected light like you wouldn't believe. She, in complete contrast to Switch, wore pure white garments. Over the years she had become increasingly more attractive, but there was only one person her heart was devoted to.
"Well, then it seems that you won't be able to go to your beloved Matt," Slash snickered.
"Oh shut up!" Mend snapped, "I'll think of something."
"Of course you will," Slash suddenly became very serious, and encouraging, "we'll all think of something."
At that moment they all stepped through the door into the gate room. All throughout the room were archways. Some up against walls, some in the middle of the room, some bigger than others, some wider than others. The one similarity with all of them was that there was nothing between them. You could simply step through them onto the floor behind them. They all seemed pointless. Suddenly a door on the left of the room burst open. A man walked through it, his eyes drooping, as if he were sleep-walking. He carried a bag to one of the door ways before shouting, "let's go, I don't have all day you know!" The six privates walked over to him and watched him. The man rifled through his bag and began muttering, as if making a checklist.
"You got all your personal stuff?" he asked blearily. They nodded and he closed the bag.
"This is all the stuff you'll need when you get to your destination, specially given by Sergeant Redeyes," he drawled at them. Then he stood up and pulled out a key, inserting it into the side of the closest archway. Suddenly the space between the archway flared into life, becoming a blue surface. It looked a lot like the surface of a lake.
"Go ahead," the man sneered.
Slash stepped forward and lightly touched the surface. Drawing memories up from his past, he remembered Odaiba, Japan. Without warning he was suddenly looking at the planet Earth from far away. He zoomed in quickly moving towards Japan. The next second he was staring at the streets of Odaiba. This was as the town was right now, in real time. People bustled down the streets, some shouting, and some laughing. For a moment Slash considered moving towards Tai's apartment. But he refrained and looked for an empty space. There was an abandoned alleyway just behind Main Street. Slash moved in towards there. There was absolutely no one around.
"Let's go!" he shouted. They all darted forward through the portal. There was a moment where they were blanketed by the mysterious portal. The next second they were on the other side, in an alley of Odaiba. They all turned to look at the portal behind them. There was a portal, which looked like the surface of a lake there. All of them raised their hands to their heads, and saluted. They held their salute until the portal shrank into nothingness, disappearing from sight.
"Well then, let's get moving," Red spoke after a while.
"With the exception of Sharp, don't you think we'll look a little odd in this?" Mend noticed.
"Hmm, I see what you mean," Slash looked down at his plate of armor.
"Let's change into something a little more suited to this world," He told them. All of them with the exception of Sharp closed their eyes and focused. A light golden light wrapped around all of them blocking them from view. After a moment the light disappeared. Slash, Red, Switch, and Fizzle all had blue jeans and different colored T-shirts. Mend also had blue jeans, but had a pink spaghetti strap T-shirt on.
"We have to find a place to stay. Let's fan out and we'll meet back here in half an hour. Synchronize watches to earth time…now!" Mend said as they pressed a button on her watch. It turned to Earth time, which was 3:02. The six of them darted out and split off in opposite directions.
Slash walked along the street. He remembered this place so vividly. There was the bakery on the street corner that he used to buy bread from. And there was the flower shop he had given roses to Kari as an anonymous gift.
"She still probably doesn't know that it was me," Slash thought out loud. Slash continued along the road until he reached a big building. This used to be his school. A scene unveiled in front of him. A blonde boy with a hat walked by a soccer field next to the school.
There was a pick up game going on. A boy with brown hair and goggles ran to the ball as it was kicked out. Luckily the blonde kid was watching and caught it. He threw it to the boy with goggles and said something. The scene disappeared, it was just a memory. Slash walked over to the soccer field. It seemed like a lifetime since he had been here. There was no one on the field, but a Soccer ball was in the middle of it. Slash stepped over to it and stared. He had taught this game to his fellow Demon Hunters. They all learned quickly, and usually played with Slash in their free time. Occasionally other Demon Hunter groups would all play a tournament.
Casually, Slash flicked up the ball and began juggling it. He attempted to keep it in the air with as many consecutive touches as he could. Slash got bored when he reached one hundred. On the last touch he flicked it up and snapped a shot towards the goal, from the half way line. The ball easily went in. Slash checked his watch, and saw that he would have to be back at the meeting place in five minutes. Slash started his walk back to the alleyway.
"I'll come back later," he thought to himself.
Red had chosen an alley to stride down. He remembered this place, but it wasn't intimate like his apartment.
And speaking of his apartment… Red changed his direction back towards the way he was coming from. He cut through a park to get to the other side. Stepping back out onto the street he saw a big apartment building right in front of him. There was a set of double doors. Red slowly pushed them open and stepped forwards. Inside was the main lobby of the building. A counter was at the back of the room, with a set of keys for every room. To the left of the counter was a staircase. To the left of Red was an elevator. It suddenly opened and three kids stepped out. One was a tall girl with lavender hair and big glasses. The second was a short boy with dark hair. The last was a blonde boy with a hat on. As they all stepped out of the elevator, they faded away. Just a memory.
Red stepped up to the elevator and pressed the up button. He waited for a minute before it arrived. It opened with no one on it. Red stepped in smiling, the memories flooding back. He casually pushed eight. The elevator shook and moved upwards. The lights above the door flashed in turn. Finally the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Red stepped out and started walking down the hall. He began counting the apartments as we walked by. Suddenly Red stopped. This was it. Apartment 83. Where Red used to live. Beyond this door a lot was written about his heritage.
Maybe his mom was still living here. Red peered through the small look hole. There was a woman sitting at a desk inside. She still had the remnants of good looks, although she was a bit older and her face was now lined. The woman was typing away at a computer. Suddenly she stopped and sighed. Slowly she picked up a picture and looked at it. Red couldn't see what was in the picture, but he could guess. He recognized that woman. It was his mother, still living there. Red moved away from the door, stunned. His mom hadn't moved on. She still mourned over what she thought was his death.
"I'll be back mom, I promise," Red whispered to the door before he left. He only had five minutes to get back to the meeting place.
Mend stepped into the park. She remembered this place well. This is where the older Digidestined had gathered to learn about the new threat from the Digimon Emperor. This park held significant historical premise, because this was the meeting place for both the first and second generation of Digidestined. It was almost as if it were yesterday. Mend continued on walking. Eventually she came out in an unexpected place. Mend looked up at the street sign that said: Hightenview Terrace. A huge Greymon was in the middle of the street, under a crashed bridge. Parrotmon closed in menacingly. Suddenly a sound broke the night. A loud whistle sounded somewhere near the Greymon. The huge beast suddenly opened its eyes and stood up.
"NOVA FLAME!" Greymon roared and fired blue flame from its mouth. The flame engulfed Parrotmon, as the scene faded away. A memory, nothing more.
A tear dropped from Mend's eye. For three long years Mend had killed Demons. Seen her friends torn apart, seen much more than anyone would wish on someone else. And now, it seemed like her adventures in the Digital World were trivial. Mend checked her watch. She had ten minutes to get back. Starting off at a walk one thought occurred to her.
"I've seen enough to last me a lifetime."
The first into the alleyway was Sharp. She leaned up casually against the wall of the building next to her. A few minutes later Fizzle jogged up and stepped into the alley.
"How goes it?" asked Sharp, "Did you find anything?"
"Well, there's a bunch of places where there are a bunch of rooms which people sleep in called h- hotels. The thing is you need stuff called, um, Yen," Fizzle explained.
"Oh. Well, some old lady gave me a little pouch full of
something. Maybe it's the same," Sharp wondered.
"Not likely, these people seem to keep anything of value precious to themselves," Switch said as he walked in.
"Well, she seemed really nice," Sharp mumbled, then changed the subject. "Did you find anything?"
"There are a few abandoned buildings that are falling into ruin deeper into town. No one lives there, but we might want to try something else first," Switch explained. Mend, Slash, and Red all walked in at the same time. There was something etched on their faces that told the others something was troubling them.
"So, what do we got?" Slash asked before anyone could question the look on his face. Fizzle explained about the hotels, and about the Yen. Slash verified that it was Yen, which brought Switch into an involved conversation about why it had been given to them. The conversation ended with Slash explaining about how everyone on this planet acted different.
"By the way Sharp, there isn't really a lot of money in here, only about ten thousand Yen, but where did you get it?"
"Some lady was being mugged, so I picked up a rock, and well you know. But anyway, she rewarded me for helping her," Sharp explained. All the others grinned. It was obvious what had happened to the thief. Sharp was so incredible with projectiles that she could easily whip a rock so hard and fast that it would easily knock out almost anyone.
"Well, let's get going. We should establish a base point before anything else. From there we can contact Sergeant Redeyes. We'll all decide what to do after that," said Mend, enthusiastically.
Kari sighed, frustrated about how the day had gone. She hadn't been able to concentrate with the dream she'd had, and had totally failed her Calculus test. She had studied all the last two weeks for it too! Oh well, this always happened when she had a dream about that day. It seemed like that event four years ago was destined to torment her forever. Davis, TK, and Sora were gone, and there was no denying that. Something strange did happen on the way home though. While she was walking home, Kari thought she saw someone with bright hair that grew past his eyes. When she passed him she felt as if she had known him for a long time. The thing was, when she turned back to get a better look, he was gone. Oh well, at least today was Friday.
"I'll need to see some Identification if you're going to rent a room. The nightly cost is going to be 165,000 Yen," the old, balding clerk at the desk went on and on about all these rules and regulations.
None of them even had an ID specific to this planet, let alone enough money to rent the place. Slash threw a glance at Fizzle, who was staring mesmerized at the clerk. Slash tapped him lightly with his foot and nodded when Fizzle looked at him. Fizzle understood and bent low to cover what he was doing. He held up his fingers an inch apart between which a little ball of energy appeared, no bigger than a marble. He held it near his face and began muttering incantations and gesturing with his hands. In seconds the ball had become like a baseball. Fizzle clutched it then stood up. He casually tossed it to the clerk who wasn't paying attention, but typing keys onto his computer. The ball of energy sunk through his head and tapped directly into his brain. He immediately stopped talking and looked dazed for a moment. His eyes became unfocused. Then he suddenly stood up and grabbed a pair of keys from the wall.
"Please follow me, I will lead you to your rooms," the clerk smiled and led them to some stairs. They all followed him trying to conceal their faces of glee. He led them up three flights of stairs and into a hall way with numbers 67 through 81. At the end of the hallway, he stopped and unlocked two doors: 80 and 81.
"These will be your rooms, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but these are the only rooms that we have available in the suite model," The clerk squealed and wrung his hands apologetically.
"That's great, so how much do we owe you?" Red asked tentatively.
"Oh, we'll just keep this our little secret eh? It'll be on the house, okay?" the clerk seemed more worried about the group than anything else.
"Superb," Switch muttered, but with joy.
"If there's anything else you need, please let me know," the man made one final wring of his hands before he was off bustling down the corridor. Mend waited for the man to disappear down the steps before grabbing Fizzle and hugging him immensely.
"I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" She yelped while choking the life out of him.
"I- ca-eck- help!" Fizzle spluttered and coughed before mend let him go and just beamed to signify her pride.
They stepped into the rooms, which were rather small for a suite. They both had three medium sized beds and a couch in both apartments. There was also a small kitchenette in both only big enough for three people to stand in side by side and a bathroom with a tiny shower, sink, and toilet.
"A bit cramped isn't it?" Slash wondered.
"If these are the suites, then I'd hate to see the standard package," Mend said still beaming at Fizzle.
"So then, what are sleeping quarters?" Switch asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Mend and I are in 80, you four are in 81. It's that simple," Sharp said as she and Mend walked towards their room.
"Hey, wait. Shouldn't we even it up so that everyone can sleep on a be-," Red's last word was cut short as Mend shut her door with a snap.
"Or, this is good too. Yeah."
Slash sniggered, "well, looks like someone's got the couch. I nominate Fizzle."
"I concur," Red and Slash shouted in unison. Fizzle, who was already sitting on top of a bed, narrowed his eyes. Lightning orbs began to cackle on his hands.
"Overruled," Fizzle growled menacingly. The other three smiled in defeat. Fizzle could be tough when he thought others were ganging up on him.
"Okay then, I got couch for tonight," Red volunteered.
"Alrighty then," Slash smiled. They all went and brushed their teeth in turn with tooth brushes provided by the hotel. Red got a blanket from the closet and laid down to rest. Everyone else followed in suit as Switch turned off the lights. As he lay down, he asked them all a question.
"So, this is it huh? We're done? We just stay here on Earth for the rest of our lives, never fighting Demons again?" Switch inquired the question on all their minds.
"I suppose," Fizzle replied, "but you know there will be battles where Sergeant Redeyes will call us into battle."
"Yeah, well I get the feeling that there's a greater purpose for us all here. Like us coming here is just another step in the grand scheme of things," Red sighed in the darkness. All the others looked at him questioningly.
"Probably not eh? Just a thought," Red laughed, "okay then. Our next adventure brings us…to bed!"
The others laughed and settled down. In a few moments they were all asleep. They had no idea how right Red was.
Oooh, cliff hanger. Well almost anyway. So, what'd ya think? Good? Bad? Tremendously Stupid? Lacking Action? Well, if you thought this last thing, then I can assure you that there will be plenty to come in the following chapter of Demon Hunters. Until then, C-ya.
