Series: Division of Destiny||Story: Reign of the Undead King||Chapter: The Fear
Characters: Piemon, Vamdemon, Chosen Children, others||Pairings: Ken x Daisuke/Daisuke x Ken, Mimi x Sora/Sora x Mimi
Chapters: 31-40||Words: 2,540||Total: 82,120
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.
Ten years earlier, Yagami Taichi wouldn't have believed that someone could smell fear. But now with the barest hint of effort, he could scent it ever so clearly all over these humans. Most of them were taller than he was, and in other days might've been better built. But while he still bore the body of an eleven year old, he could crush any of them between his fingers as easily as if they made out of twigs.
The only one that he wouldn't do that to was Daisuke. Daisuke was the Master's prey. Some of the others could be interesting to toy with; he thought two of them looked vaguely familiar. He strolled toward them lazily.
"I've seen you before, haven't I?" He studied them carefully, enjoying the way they skittered back, pathetic little knives pointed toward him, as if metal could cause a vampire any harm. "I'm certain that I have."
The taller one moved forward, standing in front of the other. "We've seen each other. You didn't have us then, and you won't have us now, Yagami."
Taichi grinned, a sight that showed the sharp length of his fangs. "Really. What makes you think that?"
"Because I'm not going to let you have them." That came from Daisuke, all but throwing himself in between Taichi and the other two. "You want them, you go through me."
"Daisuke..." The younger one murmured the name, one hand reaching out to touch the blood pet's arm. "You should be getting out of here."
"I do a lot of things I shouldn't be doing." Daisuke cast a quick glance over his shoulder and Taichi thought he saw a smile there. "If anyone needs to go, it's all of you."
Taichi came closer, enjoying watching them move back. "He's right, you know. If there's anyone here that we want, it's him. The rest of you are dinner. He's...special."
"You don't think we went to all that trouble of getting you out of there for you to go back, do you?" The taller one asked, eyes narrowing as his attention shifted back and forth between Daisuke and Taichi.
The vampire frowned at that. That sense of familiarity tugged at him again and he took a better look at the two. They looked enough like one another to be brothers, and while that didn't help him identify them, looking closer did spark something.
"Now I remember you." He smiled again, and his fangs glinted dangerously in the pale shimmers of light from the small sparks of flames that sputtered here and there. "You're the ones who took our Master's pet away from him in the first place."
Oh, this was delicious! They weren't as wanted as Daisuke himself was but Vamdemon-sama would certainly love to know that they'd been found. Taichi wondered if he might actually get to have one of them as a reward. From the way the younger one and Daisuke kept exchanging looks...ohh, yes, he wanted that younger one now. More than he could remember wanting anything.
"And like we said already, we're not going to let him go back." The taller one moved around Daisuke, much to the other's clear annoyance, and raised the arm wielding the knife. "Not now, and not ever."
Taichi took another step forward, and this time the others didn't move back. "I didn't ask your opinion. My master wants him, and he wants all of you dead. Of course, if I happen to take a few years for some of you, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"Taichi." One of the older humans moved forward, stumbling before she got back on her feet. "You knew my sons, didn't you?"
He frowned at her. "Do you always interrupt other people's conversations?" Weren't old people supposed to have manners? He vaguely recalled people having complained about how young ones didn't, when he'd been human.
"Answer me!" She glared at him, trying a look that had probabaly worked on children in the past. Too bad for her that he wasn't a child anymore.
"You have two choices. You can shut up and let me finish with them, or you can keep talking and I tear your throat out. I can kill and talk at the same time. It's your decision," Taichi said. He didn't like the way she looked at him. Her scent rang oddly familiar, though he couldn't recall having met her before. It wasn't so much her, as it reminded him of someone else that he knew. He couldn't put his mental finger on just who it was, though.
She started to move closer, before another of the humans closed one hand around her wrist. "Natsuko, he's not going to tell us anything even if he knew where Yamato and Takeru were."
Well, now that did get his attention. He turned a more thoughtful look on the old humans, while keeping his ears perked for whatever Daisuke and his human friends might try to do. "You mean Piemon-sama's sons? They're in the Digital World."
"They're not his sons!" The two humans spoke almost in one breath. Taichi would've been more impressed if he remembered what breathing was like in the first place. Now that he paid attention, the man carried that same hint of familiarity, and perhaps it was...yes. Yes, it was. He hadn't smelled Yamato and Takeru in years, but now he realized where that familiarity came from.
"They're as good as. Do you think they'd even recognize you if they met you? Or care if they did? They're his warriors now, and they bring the fear of his name to everywhere they go in the Digital World," Taichi said. He tapped his fingers on his arm for a moment. "I don't think you'd recognize them, either. They're both very different from the babies they used to be."
He shrugged, interest in the conversatoin slipping away as he looked back toward Daisuke. He couldn't forget what his master wanted, after all. "Now, Daisuke, are you going to come along quietly, or am I going to have to start killing people for you to do as you're told? The Master has your old collar waiting for you. He's quite looking forward to putting it back on you."
Daisuke's hands snapped up and Taichi's eyes widened as he saw what the other held. This was somewhat different from a simple metal knife.
"Crossbow, Yagami. It has enough strength to pierce even your skin, and the bolts are made out of wood." Daisuke's smile held no more humor than Taichi's own. "Now, you're going to listen to me. You're going to leave these people alone. That includes all of them," he jerked his head toward the older humans, most of whom were too busy fleeing from Mimi, Sora, and Jou to notice what was going on, "and my friends here too." Now he gestured with one finger toward the ones more of his own age.
Taichi didn't move. Wood alone could truly kill a vampire; Vamdemon had made that clear over the years. Never before had he been so close to somethign that could cause final death. "What do you want?"
His fellow vampires still moved among the other humans, picking some of them off and enjoying a good feed. They weren't close enough to get there before the bolt went through Taichi, if Daisuke fired it.
He could die here. He could die and stay dead, and Taichi wasn't certain if he could wrap his mind around that possibility. Vamdemon-sama had told them all that they were far superior to humans now, that nothing humans could ever do could hurt them for more than a few seconds. Only sunlight and wood could bring them harm, and he'd blotted out the sun, and without the sun, trees and bushes didn't grow as strong or as thick.
But he could see those bolts now, and whatever method had made them, they were very strong and very thick and very capable of piercing his heart.
"I told you already." Daisuke's crossbow didn't waver, and Taichi realized now what he should have earlier: there was no doubt at all that Daisuke was the hunter. And it all made sense: who else would hate vampires to the extent of seeking a weapon that could kill them like this?
Daisuke raised the weapon a fraction higher; it would still cause fatal damage, but it got Taichi's attention focused on him even more clearly. "Now, call off the rest of the pack. We're leaving. And not with you."
Fangs didn't make it a good idea to grind one's teeth together but Taichi thought about it anyway. He knew what his master's orders were, but the thought of sinking those teeth into Daisuke's neck and drinking until there was nothing left to drink.
"Do you think this will stop Vamdemon from hunting you?" Taichi wasn't going to let this just slip away. He needed to have something to show to his master. "We can track you wherever you go. There's nowhere that you can hide and no one who will protect you."
"We can protect ourselves," Daisuke said, head held high. "Now, call them off!"
Taichi snarled before lifting his own head. "Mimi. Sora. Jou." The moment he had their attention, he waved them over. They'd heard what was going on and none of them looked any happier about it than he was.
"Master wants him," Mimi said, eyes resting on Daisuke before shifting over to the knot of other rebels. "And I want her." Her gaze rested on the one with long violet hair.
Taichi didn't think he'd ever heard that kind of language coming from someone when he wasn't actually chasing them down or feeding from them. To hear it when Mimi had merely mentioned she wanted them? Impressive.
"Oh, no! Oh, no way!" The girl Mimi targeted shook her head so hard and so fast her hair struck both people to her sides. "There's not enough no in the universe! In any universe! In every universe! In all the universes! There could never be enough no!"
One of the others there - Taichi wondered if it was worthwhile to try to learn their names and decided not to - shook her head, rubbing her ear. "I think we heard you the first time, Miyako."
"Yeah, why don't you tell us how you really feel about it?" Daisuke muttered. Taichi approved of one thing; Daisuke hadn't stopped watching him for a moment. Good boy. If Vamdemon ever wanted to turn him, he'd make a fine vampire.
But, first things first. "You know I'm telling you the truth. Vamdemon-sama wants you and he will have you. Can you hide behind your friends forever? Can you hide behind that cheap piece of kindling forever?" Taichi shook his head. "This world is his and there's nothing that any of you can do to change that."
One of the surviving older people started to make a noise, only to get shushed hard by the woman who'd spoken to him. Taichi didn't think much of it. Knowing humans, he likely only wanted to insist they'd take their world back one day. Taichi wasn't in the mood to listen to that kind of prattle.
"Get out of here." Daisuke jerked the tip of his crossbow up a fraction. "And don't you worry about what I'm going to do. All you really need to know is that I'm going to make sure all of you die. Especially Vamdemon."
Taichi let a slow chuckle slide out of his mouth. "I'll be certain to let him know." As if Vamdemon could be taken out by such a weak little thing as a crossbow. But let Daisuke think that. It would make finding the truth out that much sweeter.
He flicked one hand, and the rest of the pack backed away. They'd done enough damage here anyway, short of actually capturing Daisuke himself. There weren't that many left of the older ones, which meant his packmates were well-fed, and in a very good mood from having hunted so well. He still needed a bite himself, but he thought he could pick someone up along the way.
Aside from that, this place wouldn't ever be able to hold humans safely again, not without far more work than they could put into it. One less hole for them to hide in, which meant more humans roaming the streets freely, and more food for the vampires to hunt.
He backed away, attention firmly set on Daisuke for as long as he could. He breathed in deeply, marking each and every scent there. He didn't need to know their names, but their mark was set in his mind. He would know them when they crossed paths again, and there was no way that they wouldn't.
"Farewell, for now." He smiled before he took off, joining the rest of the pack in the dark skies.
"Master's not going to like that we found him and didn't bring him back," Jou said as soon as Taichi arrived. "What are you going to tell him?"
Taichi chuckled, moving toward the castle. "That we found him and I have his scent. I can track him anywhere he goes once I find him again. He's not safe. None of them are safe, no matter what they think." He licked his lips. "You say you want that girl with him? The one with the long hair?"
Mimi nodded, eyes rich with a demented glee he hadn't seen in her in years. "I like her energy. She's going to taste delicious, I know it." She glanced over at Sora. "We can share her. I'm sure there's enough for both of us."
"I'd like that." Sora's fingers brushed over Mimi's for a few moments. "If the Master approves, we can keep her for a long, long time."
Taichi didn't argue that; when he wasn't imagining how best to bring Daisuke to heel, his thoughts turned and tumbled themselves all over that younger boy, the one Daisuke seemed so concerned about. There would be blood-pets coming out of this without a doubt.
Not all that far away, Pinnochimon saw the vampire flock heading away and glowered at them all. The more he met vampires, the less he wanted anything to do with them. He couldn't even manage to find himself a good place to rest without them interfering!
But now he had to wonder, what were they doing around here? Hunting? That would mean humans in the area, and Pinnochimon liked humans just a little less than he did vampires.
Maybe I should see if they left anything worth having. He was still supposed to go to Vamdemon's castle, but he'd found excuse after excuse to avoid getting there. This would do for yet another one.
Maybe he'd even find some humans that he could play with. They weren't all that fun here, but he was willing to stretch out just a little these days. He wanted to practice, in case he ever decided to return to the Digital World, and could have a little fun with Piemon's brats.
One thing he would agree with the vampires on, it was fun to watch the humans run.
To Be Continued