Series: Division of Destiny||Story: Reign of the Undead King||Chapter: The Barrier
Characters: Piemon, Vamdemon, Chosen Children, others||Pairings: Ken x Daisuke/Daisuke x Ken, Mimi x Sora/Sora x Mimi
Chapters: 21-40||Words: 2,640||Total: 55,862
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.
The city spread out before him, a wonderful vista of broken buildings, bent lampposts, and dying parks. Some few of those last held strong, tended either by his enslaved humans or likely by refugees who did their best to feed themselves from whatever sources they could manage. Vamdemon let them live; he could only provide for so many, and they were a food source for him and his flock as well.
He did enjoy the sight, though. He didn't get out into the rest of the world as often as he would've liked, but seeing all of this endless gray pleased him. The fog he'd summoned shortly after his arrival spread still and thick above the city, keeping the hideous sun away from him.
Even as he admired the beauty of the world he'd created, Vamdemon leaped from rooftop to rooftop, searching for anything that might be a sign of Daisuke's location. It wouldn't be easy; Daisuke and whoever sheltered him had remained hidden ever since he'd escaped, and Vamdemon doubted they would let their guard down so easily simply because he'd chosen to search for his escaped pet now.
It would've been convenient if they had, but Vamdemon didn't believe in convenience. He preferred a good hunt to something being handed to him without a fight any day of the week. Keeping a blood pet had been something he'd done mostly for the amusement of it.
There were other factors involved as well. Daisuke intrigued him on a level that few had. There hadn't been much fear involved between them, and everyone was afraid of him. Even his former enemies, whether they served him now or not, shivered at the sight of him.
But not Daisuke. Daisuke struggled in his grip and made him fight to take his blood, even when Daisuke knew full well that Vamdemon would win the fight. Every time, from the first to the last, Daisuke resisted. Failing never bothered him. It just made him fight harder.
How can someone fight like that? How can he not give up? How could he never give up?
He'd never encountered a human like Daisuke before, and Vamdemon wanted to make certain there weren't any others like him. And Daisuke himself would remain by his side for the rest of eternity, whether he especially wanted to or not.
The vampire perched himself on top of one building and took a long look around. Humans lived hidden somewhere in this city. It was merely a matter of finding their traces and waiting for them to show themselves. Sooner or later, he would find his prey. He had all the patience of those for whom death wasn't an issue.
"There! There! And there! That'll teach you!"
Vamdemon turned his attention to the unexpected voice, eyes narrowing a fraction behind his mask. Unexpected, but not at all unfamiliar. He knew Pinnochimon could well be in this area, but he hadn't spared much thought toward finding him today.
But seeing him there, slamming his mallet down on some unoffending rubble, Vamdemon turned in that direction and landed not that far from the former Dark Master.
"Pinnochimon."
The puppet jumped back, mallet raised, until he saw who stood before him. For all that he was an Ultimate and Vamdemon was a Perfect level, they both knew who would win should they fight one another, and it wasn't Pinnochimon.
"Vamdemon." He didn't drop the mallet, though, and stared at Vamdemon as if he wished he could win a fight against him. "What are you doing here?"
"I feel if anyone should account for his actions, it's you. This city belongs to me. I don't recall telling you to destroy any part of it." Not that he especially cared that much for the buildings Pinnochimon wrecked, but what was his was his and he didn't want it ruined without his permission.
Pinnochimon shrugged. "They were in my way."
Vamdemon hadn't ever understood why Piemon wanted this child as one of his allies in the first place. While he hadn't spent much time in Black Rosemon's company, he did approve of putting her into Pinnochimon's place. She was far more intelligent than Pinnochimon.
He suspected at times that there were twigs that were more intelligent than Pinnochimon.
"You'll destroy nothing else in my realm without my permission." And since his realm included the entire world, that would put an end to Pinnochimon running around crushing everything in sight. "What is it that you actually want here?"
Pinnochimon's grip tightened on his mallet. Vamdemon made little sign of it, but if the other attacked, he was ready to defend himself.
"Just a place to stay that's not the Digital World. I don't like it there anymore."
Vamdemon didn't believe that for a moment. There were few Digimon who didn't prefer the Digital World over Earth. He stayed here because of the bargain between himself and Piemon, giving each of them one world to rule as they pleased. If he could find a way to dispose of Piemon, then he would gladly leave this place and return home.
For now, however, he would let Pinnochimon think otherwise. "Go to the castle. I'll have work for you there." It wouldn't be great work, but it would keep him under Vamdemon's eye, and he would be able to inform Piemon that the loose cannon was under control again.
Pinnochimon opened his mouth, protest written in every splinter of him, and Vamdemon turned his fiercest gaze onto him. There would be no questioning of his commands. Any Digimon who wanted to live in this world would report to him, no matter their level of evolution, or suffer destruction.
"I've heard rumors that Digimon who die in this world don't return to the Village of Beginnings," Vamdemon said, his tone level and unamused. He'd spoken the truth; they couldn't always get accurate reports from the Village, but what they did know seemed to indicate that was true. Exactly why it was, no one knew. But that meant any Digimon who died here would never be reborn.
Pinnochimon slung his mallet over one shoulder and turned away. "Fine." Vamdemon hadn't heard too many verbal pouts, but that certainly ranked among them.
As Pinnochimon began to slump away in the vague direction of the castle, Vamdemon called him back. "Have you seen any humans around?" He wouldn't bother describing Daisuke; the boy had likely changed from the time they'd spent together, and if Pinnochimon had seen a handful of humans who weren't the former Chosen in his entire life, Vamdemon didn't know about it.
"No. Should I have?" Pinnochimon didn't look as if he would've given a human so much as the time of day if he had seen them.
"Perhaps. There are some around here." He didn't know every lurking area for them, but they were there. Humans could never be completely exterminated from a place, no matter how hard anyone tried.
Perhaps while he was hunting for his former blood pet, he'd pick up a snack or two. Preferably while leaving witnesses, ones that could take tales back to wherever Daisuke had hidden himself.
The more Vamdemon thought on that, the more it appealed to him. He dismissed Pinnochimon with an absent gesture and took to the skies again, rolling the plan over in his mind.
Daisuke would never surrender his will to him, not without dying first. But he would surrender himself to him, without a doubt, under the right circumstances. He'd seen it in Daisuke's eyes before, when he'd watched the slaves in the pen being fed from by the others of the pack.
The question will be how to get the word to him. Vamdemon turned more and more thoughts over and came to a conclusion. He needed a spy. Or a messenger. The term he used didn't matter, not so long as the proper results were achieved.
Which meant he needed to return to the castle and have a long chat with Jou about something involving the pen captives that wasn't dinner.
Taichi crouched in a fall of shadow created by two broken buildings leaning against one another. There wasn't much space there, but he curled up in what was, watching the castle from a distance.
Spying on Wizarmon wouldn't be easy. The other moved like a shadow, staying out of everyone's way whenever he could. Taichi didn't know if he actually had something to hide, or if he just wanted to avoid people. Either way, the vampire refused to rest until he either could clear his suspicions of Wizarmon's loyalties or confirm them.
Finding the time to track Wizarmon wasn't too hard; what was difficult was making certain Wizarmon went anywhere in order to be tracked. What was even more difficult would be tracking him without being seen. This wasn't like the old days of the city, where he could've followed someone without standing out from the crowd. There weren't any crowds to stand out from here, unless one counted crowds of Digimon, and he stood out from them by not being one.
Taichi seldom thought about the days when he'd been human. That was so long ago, or so it seemed to him. He vaguely recalled that he'd fought the change when it first happened, but then the dark enfolded him, and when he opened his eyes again, he'd known without a shadow of a doubt that Vamdemon was his master and he would serve him forever.
He tensed suddenly at the sight of Wizarmon flying by, clearly bent on going somewhere with all due speed. He didn't waste any time, but slipped out after him, taking only the few moments necessary to figure out which way he was going.
There! Taichi darted after him, deciding the best way to stay hidden was to hide behind whatever remains of buildings he could find and to keep low. It didn't look as if Wizarmon spent much time checking behind him, which would make this that much easier. Taichi wondered if this could mean the other was off on some innocent trip altogether, collecting herbs or whatever it was he did.
The farther they went into the city, the more he began to wonder about that. He wasn't a plant specialist by any means, but so far as he knew, there weren't any gardens out here, wild or otherwise. He vaguely recalled some of these buildings as they'd been before the conquest, and thought they might've been important somehow.
Aren't there humans living in some of these still? Some of the reports Jou brought up at conferences now and then mentioned something to that effect, but he hadn't listened to them all that well. Humans could live anywhere they liked and so long as he had plenty when it came feeding time, he didn't care.
So if humans did live here, what was Wizarmon doing coming this way? Some sort of trade? Taichi hardly believed he would be there to reinforce Vamdemon's domination of the world. It wasn't Wizarmon's style, no matter where his loyalties lay in the end.
Perhaps he wants someone to practice his spells on? That seemed a little more likely, though Taichi wouldn't be convinced until he actually saw that. Wizarmon had something of a soft heart. He'd seen that clearly when he hadn't wanted to burn Pinnochimon alive.
Taichi paused as he spied Wizarmon heading into the ruins of a building that struck some kind of a chord deep within him. He hesitated before following, eyes skimming over the wreck of it. What struck him the most was the large sphere sunk before the building. He couldn't remember seeing this anywhere before.
It's…it's… He shook his head. The fuzz of death and rebirth made it impossible for him to recall some things at times, and he seldom cared. Now wasn't going to be one of those times. Whatever this place had been in the past, it was where Wizarmon was going now, which meant it was where he would go.
Only as he started to slide into the nearest crevice, something stopped him. Nothing his eyes could see, but a very definite barrier that he couldn't cross.
He pressed against it with the tips of his fingers, frowning. What is this? The only thing he could think to compare it to was solid air, or perhaps a glass shield of some kind. He banged on it several times before trying to drive his fist through it.
It had been years since he'd experienced genuine pain. Being unable to be harmed by almost anything contributed to that. But as his fist bounced off the barrier, Taichi yelped, staring in disbelief.
Wizarmon. Wizarmon did this. I don't know how, but he did!
Taichi circled around, checking to see how high and how far around the barrier extended. It curved up at the top to come down the other side, protecting the whole interior. If there were ways inside, he would have to find a way down in order to get to them.
He could still have some kind of reason for it. At least one he'd tell Vamdemon. I need to know what he's doing before I tell the master.
Taichi hated having to wait. He'd done enough of that before Wizarmon came out. But he couldn't see any other answer at the moment. He would have to stay in the area to question Wizarmon once he came out of there.
That didn't mean he had to sit right here, though. He had no idea of how long Wizarmon would be playing around with whatever he was doing in there, and he wasn't going to let himself get bored. There was no telling what he'd find out if he explored the area. Perhaps it would even clear up some of the confusion that lurked in the back of his mind still.
Careful not to move too quickly, in the interests of avoiding attention by any lurking watchers, Taichi leaped from one to the other of the broken shards of buildings. He kept an eye out for anything that might look like signs of humans, but saw very little. A few scrapes here that could've been made by dragging a cart of some kind, cold blackened holes that might've been firepits weeks or months earlier, and nothing more.
Something fell somewhere. Taichi tensed at once, hands tightening into fists without a moment's thought. It could be nothing. It could be something worth checking into.
He took off into the skies as easily as a leaf blowing upward on the breeze. Here he had a much better view of the area, though he still couldn't see inside. The building wasn't really fit for habitation, but the damage to the roof had happened in such a way that the gaps he could see through didn't show him anything going on.
Taichi checked out the whole area that he could see from up here, looking for any sort of hint as to what he'd heard. He reran the sound in his head, trying to identify it. It hadn't been a footfall nor quite like the sound of someone kicking something. Just something falling somewhere. It could have been nothing more than a brief gust of wind knocking something over, or a wild animal doing the same.
He started to let himself relax and settle down into another dark hiding place. There were humans in the area, he realized, catching a bit of their scent. He would wait here until he could see them, and then have a bite to eat while waiting for Wizarmon. He wouldn't put it past the other to have set this up for some nefarious purpose of his own. And once he found out what it was, Wizarmon would wish that he had betrayed Vamdemon.
To Be Continued