I don't own Digimon if I did there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth...
Prelude to Nightfall
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Taichi looked at the reports. It had been a month of random monster attacks "Aya!" yelped the young man. "This all started in Moscow when that Mega Dramon attacked! When was last time Megadramon attacked...?"
"A Megadramon attacked twenty years ago, Ambassador," said one of Taichi's colleagues. "I was checking the records."
"Thanks, Charlie..." said Taichi he smiled at the sandy haired young man next to him. Charlie was an American ambassador with Taichi's UN led ambassadorial network with the Digital World. "So...how long was the attack?"
"Approximately thirty minutes," said Charlie. He was rifling through a portfolio. "During that time all electromagnetic signals were dampened within a fifty mile radius."
"He just stopped then..." asked the young ambassador.
"Yes, as if on cue..." said Charlie. He looked up at Taichi, "Ambassador Kamaiya, could this be an attack of some kind?"
"By whom?" asked Tai defensively, "Azulongmon would have given us a heads up if there were any baddies out there and none of the digi-destined have reported anything malevolent on their patrols...."
"Maybe...a country is training their digi-destined..." started Charlie.
"No, Charlie, no," Tai looked down at his desk, "No one would be that foolish..."
"There are many nations that are looking for an upper hand..." said Charlie. His eyes looked down, "and intelligence agencies have picked this up..." Charlie slid a file under Tai's nose.
Tai opened the file regretfully. "No, no, no, no, no...."
"It looks like it..." said Charlie quietly, "but we're not finding the camps..."
"How odd..." said Tai. He looked over the reports silently. "They all talk about an attack led by Azulongmon...and Zhuqiaomon is also mentioned in a sparser manner, of course..."
"Would Lord Azulongmon do such a thing?" Charlie looked at his colleague. "I know Azulongmon has been benevolent before...but..."
"I don't even want you to finish that thought," Tai cut off Charlie sharply. "Azulongmon is a protector of harmony not a creator of discord. Some one has to be setting him up...some one that wants the human world and the Digital world to go to war..."
"Lord Zhuqiaomon?" offered Charlie quietly.
"Possibly," said Tai quietly. He furrowed his brow, "but why?"
"Maybe Ebonwumon and Azulongmon are starting to sway Baihumon on the council..." suggested Charlie. He pulled out a file. "You said that Baihumon is still indifferent with a touch of skepticism...maybe that skepticism is fading...With Baihumon's support they may try and open Zhuqiaomon's borders..."
"No, The Harmonious Ones don't work like that," said Tai quietly. He looked up at Charlie, "They would never force one of their own to do something that was so drastic...but Baihumon's sway would explain Zhuqiaomon's sudden envoy. Could be some one is trying to pit the Harmonious Ones against each other," Tai's eyes opened wide. "If some one is trying to rip the council apart they may be trying to clear the way to make a move on the Digital World! I have to make a call to Azure City!"
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"Awaken my warriors of fortune..." called the whispered voice of the robed figure. Four pairs of eyes glowed a deep crimson in the darkness of the cave like temple.
"Lord and master," growled the four voices.
"Heh," the figure gave a short smirk. The hood was removed and the figure's mussed, blonde hair and pale skin were visible. His sapphire eyes burned quietly in the dim cave lighting. "You are my knights most noble. You will do my bidding without contemplation or regret. You will obey me and for your obedience you will be given much in return, but if you fail me, or disobey...you will pay with anguish and your blood...do you understand?"
"Yes, Lord and Master," replied the four figures.
The first stepped forward. He was tall and muscular, like a cross between a man and dragon. He wore white armor and had large blue-grey wings. His head was adorned with the skull helmet of some draconic beast. "I, Dynasmon, give thee mine allegiance, sire."
The figure nodded quietly. The second figure stood forward. An androgynous metal clad figure with large golden ribbons shooting from its shoulder blades stepped forward. The metal armor that adorned its body was pink and it held a rose in its hand. The figure bowed low, "I, RhodoKnightmon, give you my allegiance, Lord and Master..."
The blonde haired figure repeated his nod. The third figure stepped forward and bowed, and stood. He, like Dynasmon, was a cross between a knight and a dragon. He was blue all over and had large magenta wings. His arms and chest were adorned with golden strips over the armor; on his chest they formed the letter 'V'. He had a draconic head with a horn on his snout. "I, Alforce Veedramon, give you my allegiance, Lord and Master..."
The figure nodded quietly and smiled as the large dragon warrior stepped back and let the last figure forward. He was dressed in tight fitting suit of armor. Its torso had crimson designs. His helmet sported a pair of crimson ear wings. A scarlet cloak unfurled behind him as he walked forward with the golden trim wafting in gentle arcs. He held in his hand a large battle axe with a green crystal on the opposite distal end of the blade. The being was what one would epitomize as being a knight. The knight knelt before the figure, "I, Medieval Dukemon, take up my gauntlet for thee, my liege."
"Good," the figure looked over the four knights. "You all will bring glory to my worlds. You will bring back the promise of peace and the joy of trust in the leaders of the worlds. I will ascend soon enough and all will know my benevolence. Soon, we will have the power of both worlds in the palms of our hands....You will abide here, till I call upon you. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord and master," replied the four knights.
The figure nodded and slid away into the shadows.
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"This is most slanderous, Ambassador Kamaiya!" rumbled the deep god like voice of Azulongmon. "I will not allow you to speak of Lord Zhuqiaomon in such a way!"
"The evidence seems to show..." started Tai quietly as he looked up at the immense twisting dragon that filled the sky above him. He had made a fast appointment with the Harmonious One of the East and soon had booked and traveled through the portal to Azure City and was now standing in the courtyard of Azulongmon's floating castle in the clouds.
"The evidence is false!" returned the dragon cutting off Tai's sentence. "Already, I see the poison of this false information festering in your world. Your allies have taken to hiding in some pocket universes...probably building up their military strength..."
"The Commission has been monitoring all military activity," assured Tai. The voice in the back of his head chimed, "For what use it is, if they are in a pocket universe then we can't see them to sanction them..."
"It is not enough..." a booming voice called from behind Tai. The young ambassador nearly leapt out of his skin at the second booming voice.
"Baihumon!" Azulongmon sounded surprised, "Why are you here? And why are you interfering in a private meeting?"
The large white tiger walked forward. It looked down at Tai, making the ambassador very uncomfortable. The tiger's long iron claws clicked on the courtyard's ground. The tiger looked up at Azulongmon. "Have you not seen? The human world is in upheaval! The many smaller states have launched offensives against the large nations...They are using digimon! The large nations have launched a counter offensive...With high frequency, electromagnetic, impulse weapons!"
"No!" Tai looked up at the tiger. "It's not true! When I left..."
"You left many hours ago," the tiger growled softly. "They attacked soon after you took your leave of the human world...already human refugees are trying to swarm into the Digital World. We have already sent many back to their homes by escort!"
Azulongmon looked down at Tai. "Mr. Kamaiya, you must demand your people to stop this immediately! Or else I will have to take a hand in stopping this with force. I can not allow our wards to be put into danger's path!"
"I will try," replied Tai and he bowed deeply to the two sovereigns. Baihumon only acknowledged Tai by giving a short chuffing sound. Azulongmon nodded softly.
Tai then ran off towards the Port Station. Baihumon looked up at the dragon.
"We must convene an emergency meeting," announced the tiger, "I have already sent messengers to Zhuqiaomon and Ebonwumon. The meeting place in Chuuten City is already being furnished to our needs." Azulongmon nodded slowly and unfurled gliding into the sky westward towards the city of the median, Chuuten City. Baihumon ran next to him. Four of the digi-cores around the tiger's waist leveled under the sovereign's feet and he glided on the air as he galloped beside his dragon peer.
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"Hello, Ayame?" Tai was on the phone. His wife was on the other end.
"This is the Kamaiya residence we must be away at the time..." rambled the recording on the phone.
"Damn..." growled Tai angrily. "Where are you, Ayame?
"Taichi?" it was Charlie. "Are you looking for your wife?"
"Yeah, did she call?" asked Tai quietly.
"She said she'd be at your sister's today..." nodded Charlie. He looked at the relieved face on Tai.
"Thank you," sighed Taichi quietly. "Hikari will get them to safety..."
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"Kitai, hurry!" shouted TK. He snatched the child with one hand and opened his other hand to the computer. The D-3 in his hand purred softly, "I hope this old thing still works," whispered TK in a prayer, "Digi-port open!" The computer screen flashed as a portal between worlds opened up.
"What about Mama?" Kitai shouted as the small explosions erupted outside.
"I am sure the security forces have taken everyone out on the streets to sanctuaries," replied TK. He looked into the port, "Patamon, you watch over Kitai and well...the other Patamon...I'll be right behind you!"
He pushed his son through the port quickly. The two Patamon dove in soon after. He looked back, hoping his wife would stumble through the door. He took a paper out of his desk and wrote down a fast note telling her to find a shelter and not to worry that they were in the Digital World. He sighed when she didn't arrive. TK then leapt into the port as it closed.
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Yolei looked down at the three children. "Stupid Ken and Wormmon out on a case!" she grumbled to herself. She snatched up the old D-3 and lifted it to their personal computer. "Kiyoshi, Ai, Hiroshi, come on!" shouted Yolei. She looked at them. The children were looking at her. Kiyoshi the twelve year old boy, Ai the thirteen year old girl and Hiroshi the eleven year old boy. They gave her one of those looks that made her feel like she'd said one of the dumbest things in the world. She narrowed her eyes, "What?"
"Are you going to open the digi-port, Mom?" asked Kiyoshi quietly. He looked so much like Ken when her husband was Kiyoshi's age which at times gave Yolei a bit of the willies.
Yolei blinked. A blush traced over her cheeks. She coughed and turned to the computer monitor, "Digi-port open!" the screen flashed with light and then Yolei ushered her children into the port and went in after them.
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Hikari was looking back. "Are you sure, Ayame?" She looked at her sister-in-law worriedly.
"Yes," said the woman quietly. "I'll go to Sora's and then we'll go to a shelter. Isamu would be safer with you and your son!"
Hikari nodded and watched as her sister-in-law started to leave.
"Mom!" shouted Isamu, the miniature form of Tai. "Don't go!"
"Don't worry," Hikari held his shoulder softly, "She'll be ok...Just think about what your father would do if she were to be harmed..."
"Are you sure, Aunt Kari?" asked the child innocently.
"I'm Aunt Kari, aren't I always sure?" smiled the woman. The child nodded and smiled. She looked back, "Akeno, we're taking a little surprise trip to the Digital World, come on...I already left a note for your father, we should go!"
The boy rushed out, he had sandy hair. He was short and a few years younger than Isamu. Tai's son always treated Akeno like a little brother and their relationship almost reminded her of her relationship with Tai. She flicked the D-3 up and opened the port and sent the boys through.
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Cody looked pensive. He had been worried when the first explosion had gone off but he'd passed it off as a car backfiring. The second one terrified him. Then the shouts of digimon attacking the city brought too many bad memories back to his mind. He was in a mall with his daughter at the time. She was twelve and they had been looking at electronics when the explosion had gone off.
"Ok, we're going to do this really, really subtly," said Cody in his daughter's ear. "Noriko, when I open the port you go through ok?"
The girl nodded. She had long dark hair like her mother and wore glasses. Cody smiled softly. "Ok, but what about you, father?"
"I'm going to go and try and see if I can't help the security guards herd people out of here, and then I'm going to look for your mother," whispered Cody quietly. He looked at her softly, "I trust you can take care of yourself, don't wander far, I'll come for you."
The child nodded softly and Cody opened the port. The child leapt through and Cody quickly shut the port and ran off to assist the law enforcement.
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"Kougi!" shouted Davis as he snagged his son from the window. "Come on!"
"But, mother!" returned the boy. "We won't leave without her, will we?"
"I'm going out as soon as you're through the port!" replied Davis. He turned and grabbed the boy by the elbow. "You just wait there...I'm sure Veemon will be there waiting..."
"Ok..." said Kougi. He had spiky hair like Davis himself used to sport and now those damnable goggles were inseparable from the child. Davis lifted his hand and opened the port and literally launched his child through the gate way and shutting it behind the boy.
"I have to find her..." said Davis and he ran from his house.
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Koushiro was running with his daughter to the closest port station. He had emailed Tentomon earlier and had a pass ready. His daughter struggled to keep up with her father.
"Dad, slow down!" shouted the girl. The man with reddish hair turned his head and looked at the dark mahogany haired girl.
"I think it would be appropriate to keep accelerating until we're through the port, Sumi," said Koushiro quietly. The young man was left with his daughter when his wife of eight years was killed in a car accident two years ago. Sumi was the only thing Koushiro had left. "Now, look, we have no evidence or observations to base a hypothesis of the stability of the Digital World, we just have to be careful, with Tentomon there we should be safe, but still...be careful."
"Yes, father," Sumi rolled her eyes. Her father pulled her up to the gate and handed the guard the pass and then pulled her through.
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AN: Will the Chosen Ones be able to make a difference? What is the robed figure going to do with his new knights?