Chosen… in the Dark part 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or the associated characters. The only characters that I own are the ones I made up, namely me (Akuji) and BlackTailmon's mega and armor form.

Chibi-Akuji: Question… should I do this story in Japanese edit? [scratches head]

Chibi-Sora: See what the readers think.

Chibi-Akuji: That is, if they will start reading my story… [face faults] I'm going to do it anyway…

Chibi-Sora: Anyway… bold means that there's an author's note, or talking on the side. Italics mean that a person is in thought. Enjoy!

Chibi-Akuji: Hey… I was supposed to say that…

Chibi-Sora: [shrugs] Oh well…

The rest of the kids and digimon laugh.

Not a Chosen Child…?

Akuji

The forest is very quiet and lively with forest creatures today. Its canopy is shading them from the warm and sunny summer afternoon. It is almost fitting after all that has happened on this side of the world. There has been nothing but trouble from the day I got here, probably from before also. After all, I wasn't the first to come. There were several kids before me, and legend know how many before them. It's eerie and mysterious how this place could be so quiet and serene after what has happened over the past few days, even the past few hours. The luscious scents of the forest background fills my nostrils only driving me harder to get to my destination. There is a chance that I won't find it because where I was placed this time around, but I will not give up… she's counting on me. And, I will not let her down.

Chibi-Tai: [sarcastically] Hmm… the following looks awfully familiar… [sly grin]

Chibi-Akuji: [irritated] Shut up! I happen to like the intro to Sonic Adventure, which I do not own. [sticks tongue out at paralegals] Nyeh-nyeh!

The forest continues to fly by me in a green blur… the trees are no longer individually seen, but is now just as collage of green. All obstacles come within seconds, keeping me alert of our path to our destination. All digimon, good or evil or whatever, do not even get the chance to ask us questions or attack us for the speed we're traveling at. Right now, there is only one thing on my mind… get her to safety. The one I have been searching for days for finally returned to me. For what reason she left me for is not of concern right now, because when she did return to me, she was in the worst condition possible. From the looks of it, she just came out of a battle, or got swarmed by hungry digimon, looking for an easy meal. Well, if she was in the same condition as me, who can blame them? If it weren't for Sonicmon, I would probably be in the same state as her. But now he's gone… I said he should leave because I think he joined with me too early… besides, I don't think the time has come yet for us to need the two of my digimon against the forces of evil. We're not that badly outnumbered… yet.

And then, there's the matter of finding and making it back to the other kids, whom I promised Sora I would join. I wonder if I had done so earlier on if any of this would have even happened. But its not like it would be easy for me. I'm not like I used to be… I don't even know if I'm a human anymore… it feels like my whole genetic make up is messed up. I'm sure that Sora and Hikari think I'm some kind of freak or something, so of course that's running through my mind and telling me to stay alone, but they seem so… caring… but what would the others think? Mimi and Jyou know now, and it looks like I scared the crap out of them, which made for a hasty retreat. I didn't mean for them to see, but when I thought of how BlackTailmon was treated for the way she is, and the battle with MetalEtemon… I just broke loose without thinking twice… so much good that did… we still lost a friend back there. SaberLeomon is gone. I know it wasn't my fault, but I can't help but feel responsible for it all. Maybe that's why I keep chasing after my past… to see if I really played a factor in whatever seems to be hidden with it.

Back when we were fighting Vamdemon, he just happened to send me back here leaving the eight kids to fight him alone, deleting my digimon in the process, which is why I'm rushing her where I am right now. But, when I came back, I was locked up in Piemon's castle, and he told me some rather interesting things while I was there. He told me a little about my past, and that the powers I have right now has to do with something back then. But I still think that it was Vamdemon who gave it to me so he could use me to do his bidding or at least bring them to the surface prematurely. Also, Piemon was nice enough to tell me that I wouldn't have to live in grief over the loss of BlackTailmon when she was destroyed. He told me that digimon don't really die… they just get reformatted. That's kind of a blessing in disguise because your digimon might come back after losing a battle, but what does that say about the Dark Masters after we defeat all of them? Piemon also told me about true love. It turns out that he has a thing for Vamdemon, whom kids have destroyed no doubt. He says that he truly loves him, so I have no doubt in my mind that he would wait until he got reformatted to be with him again. But what was most striking to me was the fact that he told me that there has been some human-digimon relationships in the past, and quite possibly in the future too.

I have a strange hunch that he was talking about BlackTailmon and me as well. But how is that possible…? I don't feel for BlackTailmon in that way… do I?

Anyhow, back to the task on hand, I'm searching for Gennai; hopefully he can help BlackTailmon. I don't know digimon anatomy very much, but it looks like she is clinging to life… again. I don't want to lose her and search for her all over again. So I happened to use my powers again to transform into X-Sonicmon, so I could search for Gennai's place at light speed. I just hope that traveling at this speed doesn't put any strain on her. If this method fails, I could transform into a flyer and search by air. Definitely not Vamdemon… he has a terrible reputation here, and I wouldn't do much to salvage it, even if I wanted to. Angemon, Angewomon or Lillymon would be the best bet, I guess. At least I wouldn't have to hold her in my talons if I were Birdramon or someone. But there still is something bugging me. Okay, two things. One, what if the Dark Masters do come back? There's no doubt that they would hold a grudge against us, and that they would be more powerful… I hope that the others would be able to cope with something like that. Second, could she and me possibly be a couple in the future? I mean, look at all the attention I give to her, and now I'm rushing her to Gennai's in fear of her life. That is what a partner would do for their friend wouldn't they? Or is it something more? Am I falling for my digimon? What's the mystery behind this?

I start to slow down when I see something suspicious up ahead. It's a mysterious cave, that I never seen before. Mysterious because I am now in familiar territory and I've never seen it here before while I was here before.

"May as well rest. I have been running for hours on end. At this point it would be best to search for air anyway. Let's just check out this cave and see what's so mysterious about it."

I change back to myself and start to walk into the cave. It gets colder and darker the farther we get in, and I'm not talking normal dark when you walk in a cave. I'm talking evil dark. "The c-cave looks like it's made from pure darkness to me…"

I look down at her. "Your awake!"

"Yes. And aren't you a site for sore eyes…" She shifts and winces a little. "…And body…" She gives me a weak smile.

I hug her tight and nuzzle her with my nose. "Don't worry, you'll be okay. I'm taking you to Gennai; he'll fix you right up. I was just taking a rest because I've been running for hours and I saw this cave. It looked mysterious so I decided to check it out. Wait… what's that sound?"

BlackTailmon strained her ears to hear. "Sounds like someone talking…"

"Let's check it out."

* * *

"Matt? Matt! Why won't you speak to me? C'mon, Matt…"

"I don't deserve this friendship crest… I'm supposed to be a friend, but all I do is push the others away…"

"Of course you deserve the friendship crest, Matt… you wouldn't have been given it if it didn't belong to you… you're the best friend anyone could have, Matt, but even friends fight sometimes. You just have to let those times pass, Matt. I know you need some time alone, but why did we have to go so far away, Matt? C'mon, Matt… speak to me!"

"Gabumon?"

He turned around to where the voice came from and his eyes grew wide. "Akuji? Akuji-san! Your okay! I thought that the Dark Masters had you…" He ran up and shook my hand… and noticed BlackTailmon. "BlackTailmon? What happened? Is she alright?"

"I don't know, she came back to me like this."

Then she spoke up. "While I was searching for A-chan, I ran into a group of Snimon, who thought it would be easy to have me for breakfast. They almost did too, but I was finally able to drive them off. They did a number on me though…" I better not tell them about me running away from Akuji…

I didn't want to bring up the subject of why she was avoiding me in front of Matt and Gabumon so I kept quiet.

"So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Well, Matt and me were walking and we came up to the cave. He wanted to go in, but I already knew it was trouble, but he went in without me. Then some darkness swirled around him and now he's filled with it. Now he won't even talk to me…" He went back to shaking Matt. "C'mon, Matt… Akuji and BlackTailmon are here. They want to talk to you, Matt…"

Matt, who had icy eyes of blue, no longer had their luster. They were dull with darkness and were just a flat blue. He didn't look the same at all. "Oh, hey Akuji… I suppose you came to tell me how much you hate me too…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Admit it! You hate me! Just like the others do…"

"You're way off base, Matt! First of all, no one hates you! You have a loving brother and a loving digimon partner who needs you! You're brother needs you! Yeah, sure he's grown some, and he is in need of his space, but you're family and he does need you! Mimi and Jyou separated from the group, and I have no doubt in my mind that they did it because of you, they're looking for you! Sora's been worried the most for you." As much as this pains me to say this, but… "I think she likes you…" I wish the circumstances were different, but I think she does like him out of all of us. I wonder what Tai would think… "And as for me, I don't hate you… I was just mad at you guys because you sneaked up on me when I was swimming, and I didn't exactly have any clothes on at the moment. So if you would find it in your heart to return to your friends, we would greatly appreciate it…"

He sat there looking at me for a while and didn't say anything. Then, he went back to looking at the dirt. I sigh. This is something that he has to do without me. He has to realize his importance to the team as a team member, as well as a friend, on his own. "I have to go. I was in the process of taking BlackTailmon to see Gennai, so he could fix her up. I'll meet up with you guys later."

Of course, Matt didn't say anything, so Gabumon replied for him. "Okay, Akuji. Good luck…"

"Thanks. And don't worry… he'll be back to his charming self soon enough, you'll see…" I smile to him and then leave.

* * *

"A-chan…?"

I look down on her. "Yes, BlackTailmon?"

"I've been meaning to ask you… how did we get over here so fast? From where you found me, it would have taken days to get here… but you said we got here in a matter of hours… how did you do that?"

"Well, it's a long story. It's better if I show you… but first, have you heard of a Sonicmon?"

"A legendary digimon who uses his speed against his enemies?"

"Yes. Now watch!" I close my eyes and concentrate on my departed digimon. "Midnight Twin!" I'm surrounded by a light, and I start glowing the same way. "Shou shinka… X-Sonicmon!"

Chibi-Akuji: Okay… I officially changed the name of my digivolving attack. It changes from 'Mystic Replication', to 'Midnight Twin'. It's not as long, and I like the way it sounds. ^_^ I was typing my other story in Japanese and came up with a Japanese name for the attack, and it just hit me. So here it is! ^_~

She stared at me, obviously awe struck by what she just saw. She looks me up and down, while her eyes are still wide with shock. "How did you do that? I thought only digimon could evolve…"

"Courtesy of Vamdemon and his dirty work. This is among a few more abilities he gave to me when he sent us against the Chosen. Unfortunately or fortunately, which one I don't know, when the spell was broken, the abilities I had stayed with me."

"Vamdemon…" she muttered. It looked like she was about to break down and cry. If it weren't for the fact that I was holding her and hugging her already, I would have picked her up and squeezed her tight. "What's wrong? What did Vamdemon do to you?"

"I…. I can't tell you… not yet…"

I turn her to face me. "BlackTailmon… you know that I'm always here for you. If there's anything you want or need to talk about, and I mean anything, I'm always here for you, no hesitation, no complaints, 100 % attention, anytime, I'm here."

She gives me a small smile and says, "Thanks, A-chan. And thanks… for waiting for me."

"I'll always be there." Two quick changes and we're soaring the skies, me as Angemon, carrying her in my arms towards Gennai's house.

* * *

"Gennai? Gennai!" We are circling around Gennai's lake, hoping that he will come out. Suddenly and finally, the waters part, allowing us passage to his home. I flew down and landed with his approach.

"Angemon? What brings you here? And with… BlackTailmon? My—! What happened? And where's Akuji?"

"I got reformatted, and then mistaken for breakfast. And Akuji? You're looking at him." She gave him a sly grin.

He looked me up and down. "Akuji? As Angemon? Remarkable! Well, you two better come inside. We'll get you all fixed up, BlackTailmon." I handed over BlackTailmon and changed back to myself. We all walked into the dojo.

* * *

While Gennai was in with my digimon, I sat down and started to read the daily 'Digital Post'. I find it very interesting that even the digital world has a daily newspaper. I wonder who writes it… I grin. I read a few pages about hot spots in the digital world, new baby digimon being born, digimon celebrity birthdays and the weather in the Digiworld. Then I finally found what was to capture my attention the most, 'Number of Dark Masters on the Decline'.

"Oh! Now this looks intriguing…" Very. Says here that most of the Dark Masters in our region are disappearing. Among the names are: Devimon, SeaDramon, Etemon, Vamdemon, MetalEtemon, MetalSeaDramon, Pinocchimon, and MachineDramon who just got defeated yesterday. The Dark Masters known to be left are LadyDevimon and Piemon.

That caught my attention. Aww, man… I need to get to them before the others do… Just then, Gennai walked into the room. "How is she, doc… I mean Gennai?"

He chucked fur a bit then said, "She's going to be fine. She just needs some rest, that's all." I breathe a sigh of relief. " So tell me… you've finally realized your powers… when did this happen?

"It was after I was under Vamdemon's control. But I thought it was he who gave me these powers, just so he could have me destroy the Chosen Children. Do you mean to say that I had them even before this?"

"That's right. You were born with these powers. In fact, your mother was right from the digital world."

Utterly shocked and unable to stand up straight, I sit back down. "You're kidding! Right? Are you saying that…"

"You are half digimon, half human yes. But there's something more I have to tell you."

I sat down on the couch looking up at him and listening, although I could not believe what I was hearing.

"It has come to my attention that you are not a Chosen Child after all. The elders and I were too quick to assume that you were, since you were brought into the digital world. But, you do have all the right to travel with your friends that are here."

"I don't understand… how can I not be a Chosen Child after all that has happened? I mean… I have my own digimon…" Two actually… "…And a crest, that I recently found, and you even said so when I showed you my digiegg a while back. So, I don't understand how I'm not a Chosen Child…"

He chuckled again. "If you let me finish, I can explain. It is true that you are not a Chosen Child like we thought, but I has come into our attention of a prophecy that speaks of a certain individual or a select few from each generation of Chosen Children that would rise higher than the rank of Chosen Child. And, we believe that you are that one."

"Um k… in English please (or Japanese rather ^_^ ). If I'm not a Chosen and I'm at a higher rank than that, then what am I?" What is this charades?

"You are a Guardian. You are higher in rank than to the Chosen Child, in which you walk with, endeared with special abilities adept to battle with evil whenever it is present. You have not one digimon, but two in which to assist you in your missions of peace over the digital world. You do more than to just battle evil when it comes, you search it out and try to stop it before it becomes relevant. For that job, you have been chosen. However… there is another possibility that you might be of another level, the Rogue level. "

I sink further to the ground. "Me? How can I possibly do all of that? I'm so young! I still have a bit of trouble tying my shoelace… How can I even take this mantle?"

"With the elders and myself, your digimon, and the Chosen Children behind you and giving you support, you'll make a fine Guardian. You think about that." And with that, he went to another room and left me to my thoughts.

Geez… why does he always have to be so mysterious?

* * *

A Kabuterimon and BlackTailmon leave Gennai's house, BlackTailmon waving from his back. "Thanks for everything, Gennai! We'll see you soon!" We rise above the water levels, and watch the walls come back together to make a full lake again. "So, are we going to check up on Matt now, Akuji?"

The Kabuterimon nodded. "Yes. I told Gabumon that I would come back to check up on him if they were still there."

They fly to the area they met Matt and his digimon a few hours ago. The whole time they flew there they talked. It seems like the short time apart has definitely changed our views on each other. Both of us wanted to know what the other did while we were separated. She told me of her time of thought, and how most of the time she was thinking of me. She thought of her sister a few times, and even the Chosen Children, but mostly of me. She told me that for reasons she can't explain to me right now, she had to take some time to herself to gather her thoughts and to figure out what to do. I told her that I would have waited forever and she melted in my arms. I told her of my little escapade with Piemon and his mistress, and how I thought that his LadyDevimon was she, and also of the things that he told me while I was there in his castle. I explained about how he knew of my powers, told her about how he knew some of my past, and the concept of true love. Of course I didn't tell her that he said that I would end up with her… that she would have to find out for herself later.

I can't believe I just thought that… I still don't know how I can possibly fall for BlackTailmon…

We finally arrive where we left Matt and Gabumon, only to find out that the cave that they were in mysteriously vanished and they were nowhere in sight. "Hmm… I don't know what the cave was all about, but it seems as if he finally snapped out of it and went back to the others… what do you think, BlackTailmon?"

We land, and she answers, while I change back to myself. "I think you might be right. Should we head to Piemon's castle then?"

"Sure! Can you evolve? I bet you've been waiting a long time to." I smile at her as her eyes light up. One of the things she craved the most was to be able to evolve to the next level.

"Have I ever!" She all of a sudden had all the enthusiasm of a little kid on Christmas when they get the toy they always wanted. She stands impatiently as I get out my Crest and Digivice.

"Do you want to dark evolve, or do you have another evolution you want to try?"

She started to sound a bit disappointed. "Remember that Gennai said that one half of the crest is missing? We still have to find the Light portion of it. There is that evolution between Mystery and Light that I want to try out, but we have to find the other side to the crest first. Seeing that Vamdemon had my sister's crest, I wonder if he had mine as well. Either him or Piemon, since they were so close, could have mine. And if Vamdemon did have my crest, I'm sure that the others would've found it when they defeated him. So, my guess is that Piemon has it."

I scratch my chin. "I think you may be right. He must have it then. So, what can you evolve to then? All dark evolutions?"

"Yep. Till we find the crest of light, I'm an Angel of Darkness. Luckily, I have two Mega forms on the dark side, although the second one isn't dark."

"Which one is that?"

"Rosemon."

"Rosemon? Isn't that Palmon's mega form?"

"Yes, but evolving is a complicated… hey! How did you know about Palmon's mega form?"

I grin at her. "It's amazing what you read in the newspaper when you're waiting for a loved one to recover." She laughed. "So you ready to evolve to your mega form?"

"As ready as I've always been!"

"Well… get ready." She glows and shrinks in size changing to Plotmon. In this form she looks like a little puppy. "Ready?" I ask. She nods. "All right, Plotmon… dark evolve!"

A flamed light comes out of my Digivice, and sends it to my crest. The fiery light engulfs her as she starts to cycle through her champion and ultimate stage.

"Plotmon! Dark warp shinka… Spritemon!"

I stare in shock and slight horror as she takes a different shape in front of me, a familiar shape. She is a humanoid digimon, with a dark violet body suit and tunic, cut to the navel, with gold trimmings. She has a golden bat top button, which spread out the span of her shoulders. Her hair changes to a light brown, and her skin is pale blue. She wears a cape with a tall collar, black on the outside, red on the in. She had black knee high boots, and the cuffs on her sleeves were blue. I took a double take when I saw her… she looked exactly like Vamdemon… only female! She didn't wear a mask though.

"Spritemon…!" I gasp.

"I'm truly sorry, Akuji-chan… I should have given you some warning."

DIGIMON ANALYZER ON

Spritemon: I am Spritemon. As the undead queen, I can claim invincibility by night, as my powers of Darkness are tremendous. Although I may look like my male counterpart, Vamdemon, I have a tolerance to the sun and am trouble for my enemies any time of day. My ultimate attack is Midnight Crush; when I use it on you, it's not because I like you, it's because you are my enemy.

DIGIMON ANALYZER OFF

After finally catching my breath, I am finally able to ask her some questions. "I know that this is your mega form, but is it possible that you might have another form after this? You know, like how Vamdemon had VenomVamdemon…"

"It might be possible, but I doubt I could reach it today. It is, after all, my first day as a mega." She grins, after finally being able to reach at least one of her mega forms. "Let's go find Piemon, shall we?

* * *

"TK! Here, catch!" Sora threw something at TK to catch. He caught it and looked at it.

"Matt?"

"Go TK!"

"But what about you?"

"What about her?" sneered an evil voice.

Gomamon screamed out, "Sora! Behind you!"

She turned around and came face to face with the most terrifying evil they have ever faced. "P-P-Piemon…!" She tried to back away from him. But he only grabbed her arm. Gomamon jumped forward at him in hopes of getting Sora free.

"Marching Fishes!"

Piemon swam through the fleet of fishes, walking, while they harmlessly bounced off of him. Gomamon was about to run off towards Takeru and Hikari, but it was too late.

"Gomamon! Run!" Sora screamed from Piemon's grasp.

Piemon smirked as he called out, "Clown Trick!" and engulfed both he and Sora in his magical sheet. Piemon now had two more key chains' to add to his collection.

With this distraction, Takeru was able to run forward with Hikari, up some stairs and to a balcony. Jamming the door, they ran over to the edge of the balcony.

"It's a dead end! What do we do now TK?"

Chibi-Akuji: Whew… it took me forever for that chapter… [hangs head down] I hate writers block…

Chibi-Sora: Not just that… you were busy with your pokémon/digimon crossover.

Chibi-Tailmon: Unnecessary Roughness: P vs. D — Round 2, based on Quatré Fan's story Pokémon vs. Digimon.

Chibi-Mimi: [hesitates] What an… anou… um… interesting story…

Chibi-Taichi: [indignant] What are you talking about, Mimi? It was crap!

Chibi-Akuji: Now, now, Tai… don't speak like that. Just because he majorly bashed Digimon in that story, doesn't mean that it was 'crap', like you said.

Chibi-Taichi: [irritated] So you liked his story then?

Chibi-Akuji: [sweat drops] I never said that either… it was… interesting… to say the least… but everybody is allowed their freedom of speech [to self] some more than others, sometimes… [to audience] Anyhow… I have the other chapter written already, having an evil mind, I wrote a story on BlackTailmon with Vamdemon when he had Akuji, so I just turned it into a chapter… as a warning though… it will be a bit lemon-limey (I say about a half a can of lemon-lime 7-UP). I've had requests to 'liven' it up more, but I wanted to keep it as mild as I could… maybe another time ^_~ Anyways, let me do the finishing touches on next chapter… be seeing ya! ^_^