Series: Division of Destiny||Story: Reign of the Undead King||Chapter: The Turning
Characters: Piemon, Vamdemon, Chosen Children, others||Pairings: Ken x Daisuke/Daisuke x Ken, Mimi x Sora/Sora x Mimi
Chapters: 19-40||Words: 2,701||Total: 50,627
Genre: Romance, Drama||Rated: PG-13
Summary: Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.
Wizarmon tossed and turned, hands clenching at the light blanket that he'd pulled over himself earlier. His breath came in short pants, his eyes moving quickly behind his closed lids. Stitched together lips, hardly visible behind his scarf, moved softly, faint words inaudible to anyone who might've been there falling from them.
Then his eyes shot open and he sat up, one hand reaching outward as if reaching for something-or someone. For a few seconds he remained like that, breathing hard, then collapsed backward, closing his eyes.
Another nightmare. This wasn't the first he'd had about what happened, nor, he felt, would it be the last. He didn't think anything would ever purge those memories from him, short of finding a way to travel into the past and change everything.
He remained where he was, not yet ready to try getting out of bed. He would have to, sooner or later, but he just didn't want to. Not with those images shimmering bright behind his eyes still. Getting up would involve encountering Vamdemon or the pack, and he truly did not want to see any of them right now.
Especially not her. Takenouchi Sora, once the Chosen of Love, the oldest of the pack, though not by more than a couple of weeks.
Wizarmon drew in a deep, stuttering breath, and did his best not to think about it. Unfortunately, his best wasn't that good, and he found himself reliving it yet again, as vividly as if those moments had just happened.
That day, Wizarmon knew that Vamdemon and PicoDevimon were up to something. He didn't know what, but he wanted to keep an eye on them, even if it risked his life. He'd done so for years already, burrowing his way into Vamdemon's armies, awaiting the day when he could do something to help his dear friend Tailmon. She wanted to find someone who was special to her, the person she'd waited and hoped for over the course of decades, but had never seen. He would help her find this person, no matter what it cost him.
This meant that he had to protect her as best that he could, and if that meant trailing after Vamdemon, then he would do so. It had meant, on more than one occasion, that he'd had to deal with PicoDevimon and his taunts and jeers, but Wizarmon had learned to give as good as he got when he needed to.
His powers of magic were more than adequate to conceal himself from PicoDevimon, and since Vamdemon was there only through a messaging spell, Wizarmon didn't think he'd be noticed. So he remained as close as he could to where PicoDevimon lurked speaking with his master.
Most of what they talked about, Wizarmon wasn't certain about. He knew of the Chosen Children, for talk of them had filled Vamdemon's army for weeks now, and he'd guessed that PicoDevimon was involved with distracting them somehow. But more than that, he didn't really know.
"What's that?"
The moment he heard Vamdemon speak, he froze in fear, wondering if he should simply flee now and take his chances. If he'd seen the vampire Digimon looking toward him, he might well have.
Instead, Vamdemon's attention turned elsewhere, somewhere behind PicoDevimon. Wizarmon managed to crane his neck enough to get a good look himself. He recognized a Piyomon, half-hidden behind a thick bush, but what was that with her?
"One of the Chosen Children. Bring her to me, PicoDevimon." Vamdemon declared.
Wizarmon's fingers clenched together. A human, one of those humans who fought evil Digimon like Vamdemon, in the dark creature's clutches? He hoped that she would be able to flee from him, get away safely and rejoin her friends. Chosen Children came in groups, he knew that much. He didn't know why she was here on her own, but the quicker she left, the safer she would be.
"She's no trouble. I already talked to her." PicoDevimon seemed to want to wave it off, and Wizarmon began to breathe more easily. "She'll never get her Crest to activate now."
Vamdemon turned his cold gaze onto his subordinate. "I did not ask you for your opinion. I gave you an order."
PicoDevimon squawked and flapped up into the air. Showing a remarkable amount of sense, the Chosen Child hadn't waited around, but already hurried out of there, her partner flying with her.
"Hey, wait up! Come on, just slow down a little!" PicoDevimon shouted, his wings not as suited as Piyomon's for swift flying. "The boss just wants to talk to you!"
"Like I believe that!" The human snapped back, glancing over her shoulder as she ran. Wizarmon saw a shadow fall in front of her, and his heart clenched deep in his chest. He knew that shape so very well.
"Sora! Watch out!" Piyomon squawked at her, and the Chosen Child turned around just in time to crash headfirst into Vamdemon. She stumbled back a step or two, but before she could recover and move out of the way, his hands came down firmly on her shoulders and he pulled her closer to him.
"You are the Chosen Child of Love," Vamdemon said, his teeth sharp and visible with every word. The human, Sora, struggled in his grip, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing happened. Piyomon flapped her wings, rising backward, and only stopped when Vamdemon's gaze settled on her. "Would you attack me when I have your partner this close to me?"
"Let Sora go!" Piyomon shouted, fury in every sweep of her wings. "She hasn't done anything to you!"
"And I intend to make certain that she never does. But not here." Vamdemon pulled the girl up into his embrace and gave the pink Digimon another look. "If you wish to come along, do so."
Wizarmon winced; Vamdemon could've destroyed Piyomon with little more than a wave of one hand. The sorcerer had seen the vampire do it before, too many times for him to count. But he wanted the Digimon to come along, to see whatever horrid fate he had in store for this Sora first-hand.
And he would go as well, he knew. Perhaps he could find Tailmon and persuade her to let the girl go, if it could be done at all. Attacking Vamdemon and PicoDevimon now would result only in his own death. Getting help wasn't just the best that he could do, it was the only thing he could do.
Getting back to the castle without being seen didn't take long. Finding Tailmon took longer, especially since she had been in the middle of delivering a speech to some new recruits she'd gathered up for Vamdemon's army. He waited until she was done before he approached her.
"Is there something I could help you with, Wizarmon?" She didn't look very approachable, but these days, she never did. He missed the times when there had been kindness in her eyes, small and fragile as it had been. Being one of Vamdemon's most trusted lackeys had done that to her.
This was why he wanted to bring her and that unknown person together. To give her back her heart, lost as it had been.
Could she have a Chosen Child for a partner? No one knew how many of them there were, and it would be like Vamdemon to twist something like that to his advantage, if he knew.
He spoke before she could get wary of his silence, putting the thought out of his mind for the moment. "I only wanted to know how things have been with you." He knew he had to be careful when it came to speaking with her on going against Vamdemon in even the slightest ways. If he didn't do it right, she'd be just as likely to denounce him as PicoDevimon would, if not more so. He'd done his best to keep her convinced that he was as loyal to Vamdemon as she was, or at least would do nothing against him. Now wasn't the time to push too hard.
"I don't have time for casual chitchat. Vamdemon-sama sent word that he's bringing in a special prisoner." She started to move past him and he gestured for her to wait. "Wizarmon. I don't have time."
"This is important. I think he's captured one of the Chosen Children." At his words, she froze for a heartbeat before turning to look at him.
"If he did, then I need to see what he needs me to do." This time she didn't give him a chance to stop her, but hurried on as quickly as she could.
He looked after her, frustration in the set of his shoulders. He couldn't believe how devoted she'd come after all these years. Perhaps if he'd found the right words, something to spark in her heart that he still trusted beat beneath the obedience, he could've done something more.
Perhaps he would have to be the one to save this child, if she could be saved at all. He'd never seen a human before this, and this one looked so very young, much like a Child Digimon indeed, despite being about his own size.
I'll do what I can. There isn't much time. He could throw some secret help to her partner and that might secure their escape. Anything that he could do that wouldn't endanger his own life and secrecy would help. He hoped.
Finding out where Sora was being held proved impossible: because Vamdemon wasn't holding her in a cell at all. He kept her in his own quarters, which meant that the only one who stood a chance to enter in there without being noticed was Vamdemon himself. A dozen wards and spells kept anyone else out, and even if Wizarmon had been able to break them, Vamdemon would know right away who did it.
Wizarmon knew exactly who had taught Vamdemon how to cast spells of that nature, and there wasn't any way that he could break them without Vamdemon knowing. Vamdemon's power was strong enough and with the spells themselves provided by Piemon, there was nothing he could do.
He would have to study more, learn more about how to bend those spells in such a way that no one could detect them. It wouldn't help this Chosen of Love now, but if ever there were another prisoner bound like this that he could release, it would help then.
Vamdemon didn't take much time in showing exactly what he had in mind for these humans who had the temerity to defy him in even the smallest ways. His army gathered together in the great courtyard, hundreds strong and with more arriving on a daily basis. Tailmon and PicoDevimon stood near him, while Piyomon hovered, as chained by her partner's captivity as if she'd born steel chains herself.
Wizarmon kept himself hidden in the shadows. Tailmon hadn't spoken to him since that first not-conversation, and she didn't look for him now. He noticed her gaze flickering toward the prisoner, however, and wondered what thoughts made their way through her mind. So close to Vamdemon, he dared not use any magic that might find out. Any sort of distraction could and would infuriate the vampire, and now was not the time for that.
"Witness the fate of those humans who would fight me!" Vamdemon declared, and reached out to seize Sora by the collar of her shirt. She struggled, and Piyomon's wings beat harder as once again she prepared her attack. This time, PicoDevimon shot up in front of her, one of his magical darts in his claws. The venom would only make a Digimon very sick, but rumor had it that it could kill a human.
Wizarmon didn't know how that was known. He didn't think now was a time to try to find out. Not with PicoDevimon threatening Sora to keep Piyomon at bay.
"Enough, PicoDevimon. She won't be a problem much longer." If Vamdemon meant the human or Piyomon, Wizarmon didn't know. Either way, he tensed, the sharp need to do something surging through him. Whatever Vamdemon had in mind couldn't be allowed to happen.
Vamdemon pulled Sora closer to himself, ignoring her flailing limbs and the terrified cries that came from both her and her partner. He tilted her head to the side, and Wizarmon realized what he had in mind only then, as sharp fangs pierced the girl's neck.
She screamed. He'd never heard such a scream in his life, and from the looks he spied scattered among the army, neither had some of them. Tailmon didn't move at all, her eyes round with shock, and only by looking closely could Wizarmon tell that she breathed at all.
Sora's screams and struggles faded far more quickly than Wizarmon liked, as Vamdemon sucked every drop of blood out of her that he could. Wizarmon knew he fed on Digimon, but he'd never seen the other feed from a human before. The idea of such a thing had never occurred to him. Now he wished he'd never come here at all.
Her fingers twitched once, twice, then not at all. Piyomon cried out her name, trying to dodge around PicoDevimon, only to get the Pico Dart waved closer to her. Piyomon backed off a little, getting a better position, and blasted an emerald green flare of Magical Fire at PicoDevimon. He hung where he was for a heartbeat, then fell to the side, eyes dazed. Piyomon didn't wait another moment, but charged forward to where Vamdemon had just slashed his own hand and held the wound above Sora's open mouth.
Almost at the same moment the first drops of blood touched Sora, Piyomon shrieked, a faint golden glow surrounding her. She reached out with her claws, still not close enough to touch her partner, then dropped downward, reverting first to a pink creature that Wizarmon recognized as a Pyocomon. Another heartbeat later, Nyokimon hovered there.
Tailmon moved more quickly than he did, as Nyokimon collapsed back into an egg. She caught it in her paws and held it close, staring down at it with an expression in her eyes that Wizarmon could not read.
"Keep that safe. It might be useful in the future," Vamdemon said. The bulk of his attention still rested on Sora, and Wizarmon did not understand why. Surely the girl was already dead. Did something else happen to humans when they died? He wished that he'd made more of a study of them. He couldn't even begin to imagine how much more he would need to know to accomplish anything now. He'd never imagined anything like this happening.
Sora's hand twitched a fraction. Wizarmon thanked every higher power he could imagine for the fact his mouth was not only sewn together but hidden, for he knew it would have hung open in shock otherwise.
Slowly, she sat up, still held in Vamdemon's arms. He set her down on the flagstones and she looked around, confused. "Master?" She murmured, looking back at Vamdemon. "I'm hungry, master. So hungry."
"I know." Vamdemon gazed down on her with the same kind of pride that he showed in Tailmon on occasion. But then he gestured from her to the army, turning toward them. "This is Sora, my first Child. She is one of us now. One of my kind."
Much went unspoken, but recognized: that she was not to be harmed, that Vamdemon would watch over her as she grew used to being what she was, that she was an undead horror now.
Wizarmon breathed harder, shoving the rest of what happened as far from his conscious mind as he could. Sora had learned quickly, feeding first from some of the more humanoid Digimon, then from the lesser ones as she mastered her hunger.
After that, everything simply grew worse. For everyone.
He slowly pulled himself to his feet and stared outside the window. If he'd taken a chance, attacked, helped, done something, perhaps…
He'd lost his chance then. But with the coming of the meeting with the resistance, he might have another one. And this time, he would not let it slip by.
To Be Continued