This is a side-story to The Dead Princess, so please give that a read.

The Fall of Light

Chapter V

Eclipse

Sora stood atop the mountain ridge, watching in the valley below the army of Nightmare Soldiers tear into the Metal Empire. Devidramon claws ripped into Metal Tyrannomons, Mekanorimon lasers turned Bakemon sheets into flames, while above them Okuwamons and Megadramons screamed as they tore into each other.

"Commander," a Bakemon with a witch's head said.

She turned to him. "Report, Soulmon."

"Our forces are holding their own, but Mugendramon's forces are quickly gaining ground."

Sora frowned and turned back to the battle. Four months since she asked to be part of Myotismon's army, two months since she was given command of part of his army, one month since Mugendramon started encroaching on their territory. The redhead's fingers curled around her digivice. "Piyomon."

Her digimon nodded and fluttered into the air. "Piyomon evolve to Sabirdramon!"

Sora frowned as she felt a pang in her chest. The first time since joining Myotismon's armies, the first time Piyomon had evolved to Sabirdramon, that sick feeling of a broken heart filled her chest. It was because she had willingly embraced the darkness for Hikari. Yet, Sora still hoped, but that hope died each time her partner evolved to that Virus bird, evolved with Sora's own dark side.

"Night Roar!" her partner screamed, as razor-sharp feathers flew from her body, ripping through the lesser Metal Empire soldiers with ease; data filling the air.

At least Sabirdramon still had the power she had as a Chosen partner. "Good job!" Sora cried, "Now give our ground forces a hand."

The bird squawked out a reply, but before she could execute her partner's command, Megadramon appeared overhead, whacking his tail into her back.

"Sabirdramon!" Sora cried.

The flame bird twisted in the air and fired a stream of rings from her wings. Megadramon blocked with his gun barrel arm and then swung at her face. "Metal Arm!"

She cried out, whacking the cyborg digimon with her wing. Megadramon's tail snaked around Sairdramon's feet and yanked her into the ground.

Sora clenched her digivice tighter. "You've got to evolve!"

Sabirdramon darted back into the air. "Sabirdramon evolve to…"

Sora's digivice did not turn a bright red, as it normally did when evolving to Fully Evolved. She pulled her crest from beneath her dark chest plate, but it remained silent. Sora stared, fingers curled around her the Crest of Love. Her partner's evolution to an Adult Virus had been bad enough but why was she not able to evolve again? Was it because of her evolution to Sabirdramon, or was it because of Sora?

Sabirdramon's screams brought Sora back to the battle. She turned to the Okuwamon. "Help her!"

The viral insects attacked Megadramon from behind, devouring his data like a swarm of locusts. Sora watched with a perverse interested. She should have been disgusted, should have been scared, but after watching Taichi and then Yamato as leaders for what seemed like so long, now she was the one giving orders.

With the battle over and their forces victorious, she ordered a march back to Myotismon's castle. Sora studied her crest as they walked.

"Sora?" Piyomon asked.

The redheaded girl frowned. "My Crest is fading," she said, "The darkness is getting stronger."

"We can still try to escape."

Sora sighed. "At this point, even if the others find us, what can we do? I can't go back home like…this!" She displayed her fangs.

"Are you saying there's no hope at all?" her partner asked.

Sora did not answer.

Sora entered Myotismon's throne room, her eyes focusing on the young girl seated next to him. Hikari was now presiding over court with him? She flashed Sora a smile, and despite herself, Sora returned it.

Myotismon's voice brought her back to reality. "Commander, your report."

Sora bowed. "Yes, sir. MugenDramon's forces have been repelled."

"Good," he smiled, "But our intelligence indicates that he is still coming."

"What about the Chosen Children?" Hikari asked, "Aren't they attacking MugenDramon and Piedmon?"

Sora cast Hikari a worried glanced; she had not said other Chosen Children. Sora only hoped it meant nothing.

Myotismon replied, "I will worry about them." He waved his hand at the door, "But it's been some time since the two of you spoke, yes? Go and catch up."

Hikari hopped off the throne, her eyes sparkling. She grabbed Sora's arm and dragged her from the throne room. "Sora, I'm so glad to see you!"

Despite her worry, Sora's heart melted. She returned the younger girl's embrace. "I'm so glad to see you too. I'm sorry I missed your birthday."

She blinked. "It was my birthday?"

Sora studied her. "Didn't you say your birthday was in April? It's early May."

"Oh," she shrugged, "I guess I didn't realize it. I'm nine-years-old now."

Her tone was flat. "Um," Sora continued, "M-maybe when Taichi rescues us, we can have a late party or something."

Hikari grinned. "Yeah, and we can have cake too. Taichi's going to be surprised though to see that I'm a big girl now."

Sora felt that same pang in her heart. "Yeah…he sure will…"

They returned to Hikari's room, which looked nicer since she was last there. "Did you redecorate?" she asked, admiring the pink and purple curtains.

She nodded. "Myotismon let me. He even said I could sit with him in the throne room now. It's so much better than being stuck in my room all day."

Sora should have felt something at this, should have been concerned, but all that mattered was Hikari was happy.

They chatted until Floramon appeared at the door. "Lady Hikari, it is time for dinner."

"Are you going to eat with us?" she asked Sora.

She should have agreed, should have seen how bad Myotismon's influence over her had become. Yet she shook her head. "No, we pretty much marched all day and night. I just want to crawl into bed and sleep."

Hikari nodded. "Pleasant dreams."

Since becoming an officer in Myotismon's army, Sora and Piyomon had been given their own room in the castle, albeit one befitting of their status. Neither one would complain; the simple bed in the small room was a far improvement over the cots in the servant's communal bedroom.

Piyomon pulled herself into her small bed; she did not even have the energy to fly. "I feel like I could sleep for days."

"Yeah," Sora sighed, "I feel the same."

The human girl pulled off her gauntlets and removed her armored chest plate. She then pulled off her shirt, and caught sight of her crest resting against her chest, or, could she say between her…?

She stood sideways to the mirror. Were they larger? She had been so focused on Hikari's aging that she did not stop to think of herself. Her own birthday would be coming up soon; her twelfth birthday. At home, her mother had kept track of her growth, but there was no benchmarks here.

"Hey Piyomon, do I look taller to you?"

Her only response was a slight snore. Her partner was out cold in her cot.

Sora sighed, her frown breaking into a smile and turned back to the mirror. Was she growing at all? She needed to know, needed to be sure she was aging, that Hikari was aging because…

She held her breath and checked again; nothing. She had not had a period in five months. She had gotten her first one when she was ten, and Mimi had only just started when they entered the Digital World. They had made do as best they could, but what had happened now? She thought maybe her body was just adjusting to Myotismon's realm, but no; no it had to be Myotismon himself, had to be what he did to her. Turning her into a vampire had done something inside her, changed her. She was still aging, but had lost the chance of ever becoming a mother.

She was only eleven, almost twelve. That thought should not have even entered her head yet…

But she still curled up on her rotted mattress and cried.

Once Lady Hikari had returned to her room, Floramon helped her prepare for bed. "I hope you enjoyed your meal," she said.

The human nodded. "Yes, I did. I never really liked steak too much before, but now I'm really starting to like it."

"I am glad you are enjoying yourself here."

Plotmon blurted from the bed. "We're used to it here," she glared, "We don't like it."

Lady Hikari did not answer. "I know you would grow to like it here. Soon, you will think of this as your home."

She only nodded. "Yes."

Floramon remembered the bubbly, talkative girl who first arrived. Her eyes, which had been so full of light, had dulled. There was still a sparkle there, but it was only slight, only small. Lord Myotismon wished it that way and that should have been pleasing to her, yet Floramon found her heart suddenly breaking. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked.

She shook her head. "No thank you. You are dismissed for the night."

Floramon bowed and turned towards the door. Yet something stopped her. She hesitated, a debate raging in her mind. She finally sighed and turned to her. "Lady Hikari, I shouldn't tell you this, but…but Lord Myotismon had left shortly after dinner to deal with two intruders near the Forest of Shattered Light."

She only stared back and Plotmon asked, "So what? He can handle two of MugenDramon's troops."

Floramon shook her head. "The intruders are a human and an Agumon."

That sparkle in Lady Hikari's eyes grew. "W-what? Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes, and with the Master gone, you should be able to escape easily."

Lady Hikari turned to the Plotmon. "My brother…"

Her partner jumped into her arms. "Then let's get Sora and go!"

Hikari's mouth broke into a grin. "Oniichan…" They raced to the door, but she looked over her shoulder at the Floramon. "Why did you tell us?"

Why had she? If Lord Myotismon discovered it was her, death would be the most beneficial outcome. "I…I don't know. I…I just wanted to help you."

"Yeah," Plotmon grinned, "Hikari has that effect on people."

"What can we do to repay you?"

Floramon grinned. "Just smile again. That's all I want."

Hikari grinned even wider and bowed. "Thank you. Thank you for everything."

The plant nodded. "Now hurry, go!"

Hikari had woken Sora in her quarters. It looked like the older girl had been crying, but she did not want to tell her why. Hikari knew something was wrong, but decided that they could talk about it after they met up again with Taichi.

"He's really here," Sora asked as they ran through the castle halls.

"Yes!" she grinned, "He's finally come to rescue us!" Visions filled her mind; of her brother, of her parents, of home. And Taichi could even find a way to turn her back to normal, Taichi could do anything!

She did have to admit that she would miss being a princess, miss giving out orders, like the one she told the two Bakemon on guard, "Myotismon wants us to join him. Do you really want to go out and face the Chosen to ask him?" Those ghost digimon were so stupid anyway, she could have said anything and they would have believe it!

Once outside the castle, Piyomon evolved to Sabirdramon, and they flew to the Forest of Shattered Light in less than fifteen minutes. The forest was quite close to Myotismon's castle, which meant Taichi and Agumon snuck all the way into Myotismon's realm without being detected. Her Oniichan could do anything!

"Take us down," Sora ordered, "We don't want Myotismon to see us until after we've met up with Taichi."

"What are you going to say to him?" the giant bird asked as she regressed to Piyomon.

Sora shook her head. "I don't know. What matters right now is making sure Hikari's safe."

The young girl blushed. "You don't have to worry about me."

Sora grinned. "I'll stop once you're safely back in your brother's arms."

Hikari giggled.

The Forest of Shattered Light was thick, the tree cover cut out what little sunlight streamed through the thick fog. Taichi filled Hikari's mind; if she had grown, then so had her brother, but how tall would he be? Sora said it was May, which meant he would still be eleven, since her birthday always came first.

"Slow down!" Plotmon cried as she leapt over a fallen log.

Hikari giggled and hoisted her into her arms. "Maybe once I'm back to normal, you can evolve to Tailmon again. Sora, do you think…"

The older girl was not behind her, nor could she see her in the shadows of the forest. Her heart raced, but she held her breath to keep from hyperventilating. She was nine years old now, it was time to start acting like a big girl.

Besides, Taichi had to be around here somewhere.

They continued deeper into the forest, deeper into the shadows. She knew if she were back home, and the power went out because of a storm, she would be clinging to her brother or her parents. Now, now she was not as scared; the darkness was not as scary as it once had been.

Light flicked off to the side. "Taichi?"

She ran, the glow lighting an area in the depths of the trees. She approached the edge of a massive clearing; VenonMyotismon stood in the center, severely elongated arms swatting at a figure, slightly larger than a human, wearing orange armor.

Plotmon gasped.

"What is it?" Hikari asked.

"T-that Digimon! It's Wargreymon! Agumon reached the Final Level!"

Hikari felt like it was Christmas morning. If Agumon was here then…

Her eyes found him; her brother stood on the opposite edge of the clearing. He looked older, a lot older, but at the same time, exactly as she remembered him. He still had those goofy goggles pushing down his wild hair that he refused to let Mom comb. He wore the same grin in battle that he wore during his soccer match. But he wore a cape this time. It looked really good on him, like he was finally dressing like the superhero Hikari always knew he was.

"What should we do?" Plotmon asked.

Wargreymon's kick into VenomMyotismon's face caused him to twist around. Hikari darted behind a tree. "We'll run around to get to him."

"What about Sora?"

Her eyes darted from the opening and back to the forest. "Once we get to Taichi, then we'll go look for her."

The clearing was far larger than Hikari originally thought, maybe half a kilometer. She ran around the perimeter, watching as VenomMyotismon and Wargreymon clashed with one another. Wargreymon's claws slashed across the towering demon's chest. VenomMyotismon flapped his wings, the dinosaur man flew backwards from the gale winds. Hikari had made it halfway around the clearing's edge, halfway to her brother, when Wargreymon twisted around in a tight whirlwind, flying towards VenomMyotismon's head.

"We've got you now!" Taichi shouted.

VenomMyotismon flung his giant hands, smashing Wargreymon between them like he was swatting a bug. Hikari held her breath, but Wargreymon appeared un-injured. The dinosaur man dropped in front of Taichi. "I-I'm sorry," he huffed, "I can't keep this up."

"Damn it!" Taichi cried.

Hikari's heart dropped. H-he lost? T-that was okay. She just needed to reach him, and they could go; she just needed to reach him, and they would be together again.

VenomMyotismon's laugh echoed through the night. "You're strong, I will admit that, but not strong enough. If only you had come here with Ishida, then you would certainly have won, but you two are too busy fighting each other, aren't you?"

Taichi jumped onto his partner's back, clinging tightly to the shield on Wargreymon's back. "Do you think you can escape?" VenomMyotismon laughed, stomping forward.

Taichi's head whipped around and he saw her, he saw his sister. Hikari's heart thumped as her eyes locked with her brother's. He knew she was there in the shadows of the trees! She could reach him, she was almost there!

"Taichi?" Wargreymon asked.

"Go!" her brother shouted, "We need to get stronger."

Wargreymon fired into the night sky, vanishing into the fog.

Hikari's heart dropped to her feet and she collapsed to her knees. H-he left her there. He had to have seen her, he did see her! Why did he leave? Why did he run without her?"

She sat motionless for what could have been hours before hands fell onto her shoulder. "We've got to get back," Sora's voice said, "Before Lord Myotismon gets back."

The little girl was too numb to respond.

Sora dropped Hikari and Plotmon off in their room. "We made it back before Myotismon," Sora sighed. She gave Hikari a weak smile. "I'm sorry we didn't find your brother, but who was Myotismon fighting?"

She must not have seen. Hikari did not answer. Sora turned to Plotmon. "Um, I don't know," she said.

The redhead nodded. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." She swallowed, "T-taichi will come for us, I know he will."

Hikari remained silent.

Sora turned to Plotmon. "Keep an eye on her."

"Y-yeah, sure," she said.

"Are you feeling okay?" Piyomon asked her.

"Y-yeah!" she said, "Never better…"

Sora gave then another look before shutting the door. "Hikari?" Plotmon asked, "I get that you didn't want me to tell them about Taichi, but…but I…I feel weird. What's going on?"

Hikari pulled the Crest of Light from around her neck. She gave the dull pink object a look before placing it on the small table near the window. "H-Hikari?" Plotmon asked again.

The little girl stared out at the night sky. Taichi was there; he saw her, he knew she was there…

And he left her; he left her to find more power. Oni… Taichi was not coming for her, Taichi had abandoned her.

She was weak, she was not strong like him. That was why she had become what she was, because of what Myotismon did to her…

…what this world had done to her. The Digital World was evil; why would it allow creatures such as Myotismon to exist?

She was not strong like Taichi, but if he would not come for her, if she wanted to survive, she would have to be stronger.

And who was stronger than a king…

…or a princess…?

The door creaked open and Floramon stepped inside. "L-lady Hikari? You have returned. I…I take it you did not find your brother?"

"No," Hikari answered, "He wasn't there."

Floramon sighed. "I…I'm so sorry."

Hikari nodded, still keeping her back to her. "Has Myotismon come back yet?"

"Not yet."

"Then help me into bed before he returns."

Floramon nodded. "Yes, of course."

She approached Hikari, but the young girl spun, fangs digging into the plant digimon's neck. "W…what?" Floramon gasped.

Hikari felt the warm liquid over her tongue; Floramon's life essence filled her like honey, sweet, sweet honey.

When she was done, she threw what was left of the Digimon into the smoldering fire; her body vanishing into data.

Hikari heard a moan and saw a black cat stretching on her bed. Yes, a dark Digimon for a dark Chosen…

"Black Tailmon," she said.

Her partner nodded. "Well," she purred, "This is different."

Hikari turned to her crest. The pink dulled, growing darker and darker until it was black as pitch; the star symbol a white spot in the darkness.

The Dead Princess looked out the window at the starless sky and a grin flowed over her lips.

To be concluded…

And please remember to review.

Author's note: Nothing more telling for their respective 'elements,' then Hikari hiding in the shadows, while Taichi was in the lighted clearing.

Why did Taichi leave? You'll find out next chapter.

So, even though Our War Game appears to be canon, to make things fit into my timeline for this story, Sora's birthday is later in the year.