Disclaimer: Digimon is own by Toei.

Author's Note: May not be suitable for young children. While the rating is due mostly to language and violence, there may be suggestive adult themes and situation. Better to be safe then sorry.

This is the sequel for Digimon Apocalypse, it is a very good idea to read that fic first.

Also, the name 'Gog,' has many definitions, but for the purposes of this tale, it refers to the Book of Revelation. Basically, after Armageddon, there will come a thousand years, and then will come the Battle of Gog and Magog. So, basically, it means, the battle after the last battle, or, in this case, the struggle after the end of the Digital World.

One more thing, this takes place after the defeat of GranDracmon, but before Taichi and Sora are married.

Enjoy.

Digimon: Gog

The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall.

                                                                                                            -Francis Bacon

My name is Taichi Yagami, and the past few months have been one hell of a ride. It started when a mysterious disease started to spread through the Chosen population. It was a computer virus that was designed to destroy all information on a computer hard drive, but once it mutated, it began to eat away all digital information, including digimon, and since Chosen had a high percentage of digital information in their bodies, the virus began to eat away at them as well. Both digimon and Chosen watched as their bodies vanished before them: they lost arms, legs, eyes, lungs, and they were the lucky ones. At its worst, the Second Black Death, or BD-2, could kill a Chosen within days. And it gets even worse, those Chosen that were dying slowly, their digimon couldn't evolve, and they required greater doses of digital energy, which meant many Infected Chosen started to live permanently in the Digital World.

            That's what happened to Koushiro, Daisuke, Takeru, Miyako and Iori, they all caught BD-2, and died within the first wave of infection. But before he died, Koushiro managed to develop an antibody, he called it the X-Antibody, and set it lose. It was supposed to cure Chosen of the BD-2, and even prevent infection. And it worked…but only for 10 percent of the Chosen population. Me, Yamato, Hikari, Jyou, Mimi and Michael were among those modified by the X-Antibody, we called ourselves X-Chosen. Our digimon actually mutated, become stronger, more powerful, they even started to look different, and gain different evolutions, but because there were so few of us, Chosen that would never get sick, in a population that was now dying, we weren't too popular.

            I had moved out of my parent's apartment and got a job as a coach at a local school. When I had enough money, I went to University, trying to get a degree in political science. Hikari graduated before me and got her teaching degree. She got her first job in a school not far from my apartment, so she became my roommate. Yamato was trying to become an astronaut, Jyou was in his internship at a hospital, Michael and Mimi got married, and h  became a television producer and produced her cooking show.

            But that was the good news, the number of Infected Chosen in the Digital World was growing rapidly. Thousands of Chosen lay dying in the cities of the Digital World, they needed help, they needed hope. And hope they got.

            She called herself Chihi Miayag, and she was the Priestess to the God of the Digital World. She began to heal the Infected Chosen, and she selected a few to become the Digitalatri, her personal soldiers. She gave them the power to evolve their partners  to our former enemies: James from the London Chosen,  got Metalseadramon, Hiroshi, Keiko, and Takashi, formerly Dark Seed children, then members of the Odaiba Chosen, got Piedmon, Pinocchimon, and Mugen Dramon. Tatum and Sam from the New York Chosen got Archnemon and Mummymon, and Vicente from the Mexico Chosen got Skull Satanmon. They began to overwhelm the Digital World, turning everyone against us.

            But they weren't even the worse, the mysterious Demon Lords appeared. Each one looked like a Chosen that had died, and they each had a corrupted crest, the opposite of our original crests. These seven started attacking girls across the globe, first Lynna from Australia, then Catherine in France, next was Anna from Moscow, Keeya from Africa, Iduia from Brazil, Maria from New York, and even Noriko and Sora.

            As it turned out, they were the Daughters of the First, granddaughters of the First Chosen, they didn't even know it themselves. They were able to give us X-Chosen their power to have our digimon evolve.  The Demon Lords wanted to use their powers of the Elements to destroy the Digital World and remake it in their own image. We killed each one, until it was time to face their leader, Cahiti, the Demon King. He used the power he stole from all eight to finally destroy the Digital World, but me and Yamato were able to evolve with Agumon X and Gabumon X to Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X and killed him.

            Things got weirder. Miayag found something she called 'The Staff of Yuushi." Yuushi was the leader of the First Chosen, and Miayag was his granddaughter…and Miayag's mother was my mother's younger sister! Miayag was my cousin! Which meant Yuushi was my grandfather too!

            Mina from India found weapons for me and Yamato; the Katana of Hidokoro and the Shotguns of Lucien. They were both First Chosen too, Hidokoro was Sora's grandfather and Lucien was Catherine's grandfather. And we needed them when we traveled to the center of the Digital World, which was revealed after the planet blew up. Inside was the Dark Area, and it was ruled by a demon called GranDracmon. He was the God that Miayag had been worshiping. He also created the Demon Lords for the purpose of destroying the Digital World to free himself. The remaining Digitalatri joined with us to fight him. We were losing, until all eight Daughters of the First, even Miayag, gave me and Yamato their powers. We  evolved together to Omegamon X and managed to kill him.

            The war was over, but we lost so many of our friends, Yuri from Russia, Keeya, Iduia, Maria and Catherine. But there was some good news, Sora and I fell in love, and so did Yamato and Noriko.

            It's been one year since we killed GranDracmon, and another battle is about to begin…

Digimon Gog

The Fallen Chosen:

Chapter 1

            There once existed a mystical and magical world, the Digital World, which resided in a parallel universe. This universe was created as a result of the energies that were emitted from the technology of this universe. The Digital World soon gave birth to creatures called digimon, who were able to evolve to powerful versions of themselves, but as evil crept into that world, the digimon soon called to the humans for aid. These Chosen were partnered to a digimon, and together they were able to do wondrous feats, and defeat even the most powerful of enemies. This Digital World was then a realm where humans and digimon lived in peace. That was, until, it was destroyed, annihilated by an agent of the ultimate evil.

            However, there existed on that world, items of great power. These items would not perish, and so they floated within the void, spinning and twisting, until, through an error in time and space, a gate was open. It was as if a water faucet had been turned, and these items were pulled through.

            They traveled through dimensions until they arrived in the skies of the planet Earth. The gravity of Terra Firma soon grasped them and pulled them into the atmosphere, where they began to glow as brightly as shooting stars. Most shooting stars vanish during the journey, but these items would not, they were made of mystical material.

            These items…seven items, scattered across the planet, but three arrived over the skies of the Island of Japan. One of these objects fell to the north, another to the southwest, while the last fell to the south. The one in the north fell to the Island of Hokkaido, where it smashed into the snow-covered cap of the volcanic Mount Komaga-take, sending a wave of snow and rocks shooting into the sky. The second crashed into the mountainous southern region of the Island of Shikoku, while the third smashed into the Pacific Ocean, close enough to the Nichinan Coastline to assault the city with a massive tidal wave. This item imbedded within the ocean floor…an item that was more weapon…a brown Claymore sword to be precise…

111

            Within the Untied States City of Los Angeles, California resided the University of Southern California. This college was founded in 1880, and has housed a countless number of students, with a multitude of disciplinary degrees. One such major was philosophy, and one such student was a young woman who was intently interested in the professor's lecture.

            The elderly man pointed to a set of notes on the marker board. "So, as you can see, Kant believed that lying was the worst thing anyone could do."

            The young woman raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Seisou?'

            "If that is what Kant believed, how did he explain situations where it is sometimes better to lie?"

            "Can you explain that better?"

            She hesitated for a moment. "Suppose…suppose you know a drug addict, and you want to help them, so you hide their drugs, but then when they ask you, are you suppose to tell them?"

            The professor considered his answer. "According to Kant, you should not lie, but it's possible that he would also say that would should alert the authorities, rather then take that task on yourself."

            She fidgeted. "What if it is someone you did not want to be sent to jail…someone like your mother?"

            The professor nodded. "While you bring up good points, I think we might be moving away from the topic here..." He glanced to the clock hanging on the wall, "And we're out of time. I'll see you next week."

            The students began to gather up their belongings, as did she. She dropped her supplies into her bag and filed out of the room. She passed by the other students, who were chatting loudly with one another. She kept her head low, and kept as well as she could out of sight. She was similar enough to them, just an ordinary girl, dressed in a pink sweater, an orange skirt, and a pair of simple white sneakers. She had her messy hair held in a long tail by a thick hair band. She could easily pass for a normal human, but she was not a normal human, she was a Chosen, a defender of Earth, but one that used the mysterious world of the digital to do so. But she chose to hide herself for another reason, her past was not as innocent as some of the others students, and it was this past she strived to overcome.

            As she walked into the school's cafeteria, she passed by a group of young adults that had been in her previous class. "Hey, Megumi!"a girl with blond hair called.

            The young woman turned to face them. "Hello, Amy," she responded.

            The blond girl giggled. "I can't believe we have sit through that class, its so boring!"

            Megumi shrugged. "It is my major."

            The other girl blushed slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

            Megumi smiled. "Yes, but it is boring, isn't it?"

            Amy began to laugh, then glanced over her shoulder. Her friends had already commandeered a table. "Why don't you join us?" she asked.

            Megumi hesitated. "I…"

            Amy grabbed her arm and dragged her to the table. "You always sit by yourself! It's not good for you, now come on."

            The other young adults all greeted her, and she felt at ease enough, to place her bag down and sit beside them. One of the young men, Scott, began to speak to her. "Um, we were wondering, that thing you were talking about in class, about your mother…?"

            She studied each of them carefully. They appeared to be genuinely concerned, maybe the only reason they asked her to sit with them was because they were curious about her, but it was not for selfish reasons, simply, they were worried about her.

            She sighed. "It is…" She sighed again.

            Amy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Was your mother…a drug user?"

            Megumi nodded. "Yes."

            "I'm sorry," another girl, Courtney, said, "Did she…did she ever get help?"

            The young woman shook her head. "No, she did not."

            The table fell silent. "What about your father?"

            "He…he was killed when I was still a child."

            Amy gasped. "Then…you're all alone?"

            "Well, I do have an aunt and cousins in Japan…"

            "But, what about here? You're living…alone?"

            "I have an apartment a few blocks from here."

            "But…how do you pay for it?"

            She smiled slightly. "I have no siblings or other relatives, I am the sole heir to my parents' estate."

            Scott raised an eyebrow. "They were rich?"

            "They possessed…enough…" she smiled slightly.

            "But, you live alone?" Amy asked again.

            "Wait," Courtney said, "Didn't I see you around campus with your dog?"

            "Dog?" Amy squealed.

            Megumi began to sweat slightly. "Well, she is more of a puppy…"

            "Oh, that's so cute! What's her name?"

            Megumi was about to respond, when a sudden jolt shook through her body. Her heart seized, her body spasm, and a great pressure exploded in her head, threatening to tear her apart. She gripped her head and screamed a bloodied roar before collapsing to the floor.

111

            Across the might Pacific Ocean, the nation of Japan was just beginning to notice the falling items that assailed them. Within the section of Tokyo known as Shinjuku, Taichi and Hikari Yagami's apartment was oddly quiet, and, Hikari noted, staring into the guest room, empty. As she stared into the vacant room, she momentarily saw a young woman inside, seated on a wheelchair, as she was missing both of her legs beneath her knees.

"Hikari?"

She twisted and saw Plotmon X standing in the hall. "Oh, good morning."

"You were thinking about Maria?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes. I can't believe it, she was only here for a few weeks, but…she made such a difference in our lives, it's so empty without her."

            Plotmon X only nodded. "Yeah, I know, but…."

            Hikari nodded quickly, taking deep breaths to control her tears. "Yeah, we have to move forward." She dried her eyes and continued on her path down the hall. As she did, she passed by her brother's room. She knocked on the door slightly. "Taichi, are you going to have breakfast?"

            She did not hear a response, so she assumed he was still sleeping. It was early in the morning, and he did come home after she had fallen asleep. She just shrugged and walked into the kitchen. While she made her breakfast, she turned on the television; it was in the living room, and there was a window in the wall that served as a divider, so she was able to watch and hear the device clearly.

            A young woman sat behind the news desk. "…The Japanese Meteorological Agency has detected a spike in seismic activity in Hokkaido, specifically, the Oshima Peninsula. Results are sketchy at this time, but it is believed to be caused by Komaga-take, who's last known eruption occurred in 2000. There is no evidence that it is about to erupt, but citizens in neighboring areas have been put on high alert. A similar reading was given for Shikoku Island, and the Kochi Prefecture has been put on alert as well. It is not know if there is any connection between these two."

            Hikari sighed slightly. "I hope they'll be okay."

            After breakfast she returned to her room. She glanced through her closet before grabbing an outfit that was draped around a hanger. She removed her robe, placing it gently within the closet before discarding her white pajamas, throwing them into the clothes hamper. She then quickly pulled on her pink blouse and white skirt before applying her makeup. Satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her school supplies and walked into the hall. She paused by her brother's door again and knocked once more. "Taichi? I'm leaving for work."

            When she did not hear a response, she began to grow concerned. "Taichi?" She stepped inside and saw only darkness. She began to slide her hand along the wall before she found the light switch. After clicking it on, the room became illuminated, and she saw that her brother was lying in his bed…only perpendicular, with his mouth open wide and a glazed look in his eyes.

            She dropped her bags and ran to him. "Taichi?" she asked, shaking him slightly, "Taichi!"

            He groaned slightly and slowly moved his hand, rubbing his head. "H…Hikari? Don't talk so loud…"

            She frowned. "You had me so worried! Please don't come home like that anymore…"

            He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What? No I…I wasn't drinking…"

            Hikari crossed her arms. "Then please explain why you were like that."

            "I was just coming back from the bathroom when I…" He shook his head, "This pain just shot through me, I…I just collapsed."

            She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you didn't just have a hallucination?"

            He stared at her. "I'm not making this up!"

            Her face softened slightly. "Well…maybe you just had a bad headache?"

            He shook his head. "I don't think it was a seizure or anything like that…"

            But before he could continue, they both heard Agumon X, who had been lying on the floor close to the far wall, suddenly gasp. "Taichi!"

            He twisted around and gasped as well. Taichi's digital weapon, the Katana of Hidokoro, which had been resting peacefully on Taichi's dresser, was now glowing a bright red color. "W…what does this mean?" Hikari asked.

            Taichi shook his head. "I…I don't know."

            Agumon X frowned, "I bet its bad news, whatever it is."

111

            A similar scene had occurred at Yamato's apartment. The blond man was sleeping peacefully, with Noriko lying beside him, her arm lying around his chest. As they slept, Yamato suddenly shot upright, a deep scream emanating from his lips.

            "Yamato!" Noriko shrieked, leaping to her feet, "Yamato!"

            Then, suddenly as the mysterious night terror had occurred, the blond man's eyes closed and he fell back to his pillow. Noriko grabbed his shoulders and began to shake him. "Yamato, Yamato, wake up!"

            His eyes suddenly shot open. "Wha..?" he asked, "Noriko what's…" He suddenly gripped his head, "Oh man…why does my head hurt so much?"

            "You woke up screaming!" she exclaimed, "Don't you remember?"

            He shook his head. "No…was I dreaming?"

            The young woman sighed. "Well, at least you're all right now."

            As they both lay back to sleep, had they glanced to the shelf on the right, they would have seen Yamato's Shotguns of Lucien glowing a bright white.

111

            These three were not the only ones to feel the mysterious items' planet fall. In the countryside of Japan, a simple house sat nested within the mountainside. Inside this, home, however, was a man that was anything but ordinary.

He was seated in a armchair, wide awake-he had very little need for sleep lately. This senior citizen was gripping the armrests as hard as he could; his body was shaking, beads of sweat were pouring down his face. He panted heavily, "I…I….will…not…pass…out…I am…stronger…then…this!"

The pain soon subsided and the old man fell back into his recliner. As he panted heavily, he managed to grin to himself. "So, the First Chosen's legacy yet lives…"

            He rose to his feet and stared out the window to the pre-dawn sky, "After all this time, I shall have my vengeance at last!"

111

            The priest glanced to the young man. "Taichi Yagami, do you take Sora to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for long as you both shall live?"

            He nodded. "I do."

            The priest turned to the young woman. "Sora Takenouchi, do you take Taichi to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for long as you both shall live?"

            She nodded. "I do."

            "Then I hereby pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride."

            Sora grinned as she turned to face Taichi, but her grin quickly faded and her heart turned to ice when she saw the skin on her husband's face begin to melt away, revealing a rotting skeleton wearing her clothes.

            She began to scream, but the skeleton pulled her closer and laughed, "…for long as we both shall live…."

            Sora gasped loudly as she bolted upright in her bed. "Just…just a dream…" she panted, "Just a dream…"

            That realization gave her no comfort, however. Since discovering that she was the Daughter of Fire, she also discovered that she was the Second Messenger, but with Catherine's death, she was now the only Messenger. As such, she was a prophet, she was able to have glimpses of the past or future. Was her nightmare simply a bad dream…or was it a premonition of a horror to come?

            She glanced at her clock, it was nine thirty. "Might as well get up," she said.

            She threw off her covers and grabbed the crutches that were resting against the wall. Positioning them beneath her arms, she began to limp forward on her remaining leg. She hobbled over to her dresser, and grabbed a pair of clean undergarments. She continued into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

            She peeled her sleepwear from her body, then followed with her bra and thong. While she allowed the water to fill the bath, she turned her attention to what was remaining of her left leg. The Second Black Death her had eaten away most of her leg, but the infection had not spread much father. She removed the bandages wrapping that leg, then glanced at her reflection to removed the bandage covering her right eye…or rather, eye socket as that eye had been devoured by BD-2 months ago. Like her leg, the infection had not spread any further, and she was beginning to hope that perhaps her nightmare had ended.

            After finishing her bath and pulling on her clean undergarments, she returned to her room to choose her clothes for the day. She remembered that she was seeing Jyou today, so she slid on an ankle-length red skirt and a matching sweater, as the temperature was close to freezing outside.

            She limped into the kitchen and found that her partner was already awake. "Good morning," she said, "I didn't think you'd be up."

            The pink bird shrugged. "Yeah…well…How did you sleep?"

            She frowned. "Not well. I had this bad dream."

            "Really? About what?"

            She shook her head. "It's nothing…" She sighed, "At least I hope not…"

111

            The city of Kochi had been put on technical lock down. No planes where allowed in or out of the city, all cars needed to be check and double check. The official report was that terrorist training ground had been operating on the Shikoku coastline, and that one of their bombs had gone off prematurely, causing the loud explosion that woke many of the citizens that morning. Witness testimony had been carefully examined, and any references to a 'shooting star' had been effectively removed.

            The government was quick to respond, and by ten that morning, more then a dozen government agents were scouring the coast…but those special agents were focused on the massive crater that had appeared on the beach.

            A young woman, early to mid-20's, was observing a group of five or six men, all dressed in hazmat suits, digging at the sand. No one spoke, the less that was said, the less to later be used against them. In the three hours since arriving, very little had been spoken at all, that is, until one of the men called out to her.

            "Lieutenant! We've found something."

            The woman walked over, swinging her light purple hair behind her back before kneeling down. Dug partially away from the sand was a strange item, a black metal stick with a spiked ball connection via a chain. She gasped slightly, then stood up. "Sir, you're gonna wanna take a look at this."

            Moments later a man dressed in a black business suit marched over. He knelt down as well, staring intensely at the item. He did not speak, so the lieutenant cleared her throat. "It's possible that this is some kind of ancient weapon, buried here for thousands of years…"

            "The samurai were sword-masters," he interrupted, "They wouldn't have used this type of weapon. This is what we're looking for."

            The woman nodded. "Okay, get this packed ASAP!"

            The men quickly began to remove the item. The man in the black suit reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette lighter, which he began to click rapidly.

            Unbeknownst to all, they were being watched. A distance away, hidden within the mountains and trees surrounding the beach, an elderly man was observing them through a powerful telescope. He was not able to hear them, unfortunately, but as he watched the hazmat-dressed men lift the mysterious weapon, he growled. "Damn."

111

            Yamato glanced at his watch. "He's always late."

            He leaned back in the bench and watched as the young adults traversed the campus. He had been waiting for over an hour, and he was amazed that the quad of Tokyo University was never empty; he guessed it must have had something to do with the fact that not all classes were at the same time, but did that mean that students were always rushing to class? He really was not much for college anyway.

            "Yamato!"

            He glanced to his right and saw Taichi running towards him. "You're late."

            The brown-haired young man gave a slight smile. "Yeah, sorry about that, I had an exam, it ran kinda long…"

            Yamato nodded. "Yeah…I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that anymore…"

            The brown-haired young man rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, when your musical career ends, don't come crying to me for money."

            "Yeah yeah…I've had to hear that from my parents too. Now, what did you want to talk about?"

            Taichi narrowed his eyes. "About eight thirty this morning…"

            Yamato interrupted, "You got that weird feeling too?"

            "Feeling? It was more like my head was going to explode!"

            "Well…what do you think it was?"

            He shrugged. "I don't know, but I've got the feeling whatever it is…it's going to be bad."

            Yamato sighed. "Yeah, me too." He nodded slightly. "Hey, what did Jyou want to see Sora about?"

            Taichi blinked. "What?"

            "What did Jyou…"

            "No, I heard you. What are you talking about?"

            "You mean Sora didn't tell you?"

            "No!"

            Yamato raised his hands. "Easy…easy…Jyou wanted to see Sora about something. She was going with Noriko, she didn't tell you?"

            Taichi shook his head. "No, she didn't. We don't live together yet, not like you and Noriko."

            Yamato rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, that doesn't mean anything, we haven't even set a date yet."

            The other young man nodded. "Yeah…me and Sora…" He smiled slightly "It's in June…"

            The blond man nodded. "Yeah, I know. Noriko won't shut up about it."

            Taichi chuckled and placed his hand on the other man's shoulder. "My friend, get used to it now, because that's what they're going to be doing for the rest of our lives…"

            Standing behind them, at a distance safe far enough not to be seen, but close enough to hear, was an elderly man dressed in an ankle-length trench jacket. He chuckled slightly, "So, the Heir of Fire and the Heir of Light, the King and Prince of the Chosen…"

111

            Jyou smiled as he saw two familiar young women, one with jet black hair, and another with bright orange hair. He ran through the lobby to help them enter when he remembered that the doors were automatic. He hid his embarrassment and continued to smile. "Sora, Noriko, glad you could make it."

            "I'm kind of nervous," the redheaded woman grinned, following Jyou down the hospital halls, "I can't believe this is really going to happen!"

            "Well," Jyou said, "With the Second Black Death infection slowing down, I think now might be the best time."

            "We're both slowing down," Noriko spoke up, "Uh…I mean our infections…"

            Jyou nodded. "Yes, I think it has something to do with your powers. If you weren't Daughters of the First, you might be…well…"

            "Screwed?" Noriko asked.
            Jyou sighed. "Yes…screwed…" He led them through the maze of halls until they arrived at the third floor, which was much quieter and calm, rather then the chaos of the lower floors. He brought them to a room in the far corner, where a young woman dressed in hospital scrubs was standing. There was a standard examination table in the center with a cart to the right, with an unusual piece of equipment resting on top.

            "Hello Kiku," Sora smiled as she limped inside on her crutches.

            The young woman nodded. "Hello Sora, hi Noriko, how are you today?"

            "Pretty excited," Sora grinned.

            Noriko smirked. "Yeah, she's been acting like a five-year-old the entire way here."

            Kiku chuckled, "Well, she's been looking forward to this day, right? How about your fiancé?"

            "He doesn't know," Sora responded, "It's going to be a surprise."

            "Well, that's sure going to make him happy," she grinned. She patted on the examination table, and Sora used her remaining leg to leap onto the table. She sat at the edge, with her lower limbs hanging off the edge.

            Kiku grabbed the prosthetic leg off of the cart. Sora reached down and punched up the skirt to her waist. Kiku knelt down and gently placed the stump of Sora's missing leg into the top of the prosthetic and secured it by wrapping the fabric buckles around her leg. She looked up at the red-headed woman. "Ready?"

            Sora hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Ready." She took a deep breath and slid off of the table. She felt the pressure on her leg stump, for the first time in half a year. She stepped forward, raising her prosthetic leg first, but she knew that the real test would be the nest step. She put all of her weight on the fake leg, and lifted her true leg. She lost her balance and would have fallen to the ground, if Noriko and Jyou had not grabbed her.

            "Are you okay?" Noriko gasped.

            "Y…yeah," she replied, as the others helped her back to her feet, "Just…have to get used to it."

            "You'll do fine," Jyou smiled.

            After spending an hour practicing her new leg, Sora and Noriko thanked Jyou and Kiku and exited the hospital. They begin their trek back across the city.

They were not aware of it, but as they marched through the crowds, an elderly man draped in a trench coat was following them.

111

            Hikari finished double-checking her math before using her red pen to write a large 87 on the top of the essay paper. She also wrote, "Excellent work, you've really shown improvement."

            She gave a small sigh, and then gathered up the papers she had already written and dropped them into her bag. After checking to make certain that she had not forgotten anything, she slung her bag and purse over her shoulder. She turned off the light and locked her classroom door. She noticed how bare the halls were, and the only sound was the sound of her heels echoing through the walls.

            Once she reached the parking lot, she realized how late it actually was, as her car was the only vehicle in the parking lot…besides the janitors, that is. She used her keyless remote the open the hood to drop her bags inside.

            "Hey there, need a hand?"

            She spun around quickly, but grinned when she saw a blond-haired young man standing before her. "Mitsuo!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him.

            "Hi, Hikari," her boyfriend responded, kissing her lightly.

            "Mitsuo, I didn't know you were coming home today!" she exclaimed, barely able to contain her excitement, "How was your trip?"

            He shrugged. "You know, government meetings are so boring…"

            "But you got to see Kanto, right?" she asked, "How was the Pacific Ocean?"

            "To tell the truth, I didn't really get to spend much time there, I was usually stuffed inside a conference room with a bunch of other officials, and with that much hot air, of course nothing got done." He smiled, "Hey, why don't I tell you about it over dinner?"

            She hesitated. "Um…"

            He blinked. "What?"

            "I'm…I'm just really tired, it was a long day, and…" she smiled slightly, "Why don't you come over for dinner? Taichi's got a late class, and Agumon and Plotmon won't bother us…"

            He smiled slightly. "Sure, I'll even cook so you can rest."

            Hikari laughed. "What did I do to deserve someone like you?"

            He hugged her tightly. "I was just wondering how I deserved someone like you…"

111

Sora and Noriko had returned to Sora's apartment, where Piyomon and Plotmon had been waiting. After eating a small meal, Sora was eager to continue practicing with her prosthetic leg, so they decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the park, before it became too dark or cold to enjoy it. With the two digimon pretending to be stuffed animals, Sora was moving slower then normal, as she was walking without her crutches. Noriko was displaying unusual patience, but then again, Sora was her best friend.

            They two chatted as they continued down the sidewalk. "So, are you getting excited?" Noriko asked, "It's only eight months away…"

            Sora smiled slightly at her friend. "We're starting to discuss it."

            "Well, just let me know when you're going to pick out the bridesmaid dresses."

            "Why?"

            "Well, I think I should have some input, right?"

            Sora did not answer.

            Noriko's smile faded. "R…right? I'm gonna be your Maid of Honor, right?"

            Sora grinned. "Yes, of course you're gonna be my Maid of Honor. It'd be kind of weird since Yamato's going to be Taichi's Best Man…" She suddenly gasped, "You can't tell Yamato!"

            "What? Why?"

            "Because Taichi hasn't asked him yet. Please Noriko, don't say anything."

            The other woman grinned. "Okay, sure, I'll keep quiet for as long as you need me to…" Her smile faded, "He's going to ask soon…right?"

            The redhead shrugged. "I don't know…"

            "Hey Sora," Piyomon whispered from her place on Sora's back, "If you and Taichi get married, what does that make me and Agumon?"

            The redhead stopped for a moment. "I…I don't know, I never really thought about it…"

            Noriko turned to her own partner, who was hanging like a bag from her shoulder. "You guys don't really have relationships, right?"

            "Well," Plotmon said, "Not really, but there have been digimon that kind of…stay together for the rest of their lives, but it's not the same as marriage."

            "But it's like marriage," Piyomon added.

            Noriko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that helps…"

            "Noriko," Sora said in a lower voice.

            Noriko blinked. "What?"

            "Someone's following us."

            Noriko went to turn her head over her shoulder, but Sora whispered fiercely, "No, don't turn around! Just keep walking."

            "Who is it?" Plotmon asked.

            "I don't know."

            Noriko managed to turn her head slightly and use her peripheral vision to catch a glimpse of the figure behind her; it was an elderly man dressed in a trench coat.  "Ya think it's just some pervert or something?"

            "I don't know," she replied, "Something weird about him…"

            "He's an fucking 100-year-old following two 25-year-olds around, of course there's something weird about him!"

            The two young women then heard a sound that caused their spines to turn to ice. "The Daughter of Fire and the Daughter of Darkness…"

            "Shit," Noriko muttered.

            The two young women turned around and saw the devilish grin of the elderly man. "All right," Sora said, "It's obvious you know who we are, but who are you?"

            "A name would probably mean nothing to you," he answered, "But I am a Chosen that has Fallen."

            "A Fallen Chosen?" Noriko asked, "How can you be a Chosen? You're at least what, a hundred years old?"

            He narrowed his eyes. "Nothing that old, I'm afraid, I am of the esteemed age of 81."

            "81?" Sora gasped, "But, that means you had to be…"

            Both young women and their partners gasped at the same time, "You knew the First Chosen?"

            "Know them?" he chuckled, "I fought them!"

            "W…what do you want?" Sora asked.

            The Fallen Chosen turned to her. He narrowed his eyes, "The Daughter of Fire? Pathetic!"

            "What the hell does that mean?" Piyomon snapped.

            "Simply that you have extraordinary power…" He glanced at Noriko, "Both of you, and yet, that power can not be utilized because of a simple infection…"

            "Simple?" Noriko gasped, "Simple? Look at my arms! Look! The skin's falling off! Sora doesn't have a leg or eye!"

            "And because of that, your partners cannot even evolve past the Adult level without causing you considerable strain, you who should be the mightiest, now you are a far second to those you call X-Chosen."

            "Shut up!" Plotmon screamed, "Shut the fuck up!"

            The mysterious man chuckled. "I've touched a nerve I see. Let me get to the point, where is the Flail of Chance?"

            Both young women glanced at one another. "Flail of Chance?"

            He smiled slightly. "That's right, you don't know…your grandparents swore never to tell you anything about their time in the Digital World…damn Yuushi's oath. Well, I know that you have been in contact with the other descendents of the First Chosen, and they must have lead that man to that beach, how else did he find it, right?"

            The four females glanced at one another. "What is he talking about?" Plotmon asked.

            Noriko shook her head. "I think this guy's completely insane! I mean, how could he be a Chosen? Even a First Chosen, or Fallen Chosen or whatever he said. That was like fifty years ago, shouldn't his digimon's data have disintegrated by now?"

            The Fallen Chosen chuckled. "Yes, while the data of a digimon can't remain in one form forever, there is a why around that."

            "What?"

            "That is not your concern. Now, as I was saying, the location of the Flail of Chance may not be within your feeble minds, but I would guess with certainty that whoever took it, knows you, so they would be willing to trade."

            "Trade?" Sora blinked.

The Fallen Chosen grinned. "I will give you the dignity of surrendering."

            "What?" Sora asked.

            "You don't expect them to give me the Flail of Chance without a bargaining chip, right? And I'm sure Yuushi's grandson, even if he doesn't know where it is, will do anything to ensure his whore's safety…"

            "You bastard," Sora growled.

            "We're not going anywhere with you, you jack ass!" Noriko shouted.

            He shook his head. "I'm sure you know that I'm not giving you a choice, there's nothing you can do but surrender…"

            "You don't scare us!" Piyomon shouted.

            The Fallen Chosen reached inside of his jacket and pulled out a large egg with a dark color.

            "Digitama?!" both young women gasped.

            He smirked and threw the egg into the sky. It began to glow brightly for the merest of moments before exploding, revealing a terrifying sight, a dinosaur-like creature with a long neck, yellow scales, and a metal mid-section with giant mechanical wings flapping in the evening light.

            Both Piyomon and Plotmon leapt from their partners' bodies. "Hey, Plotmon," the Chick digimon gasped, "That's Raptordramon, right?"

            The Mammal digimon nodded. "Yeah, I think so…"

            "Who's Raptordramon?" Sora asked.

            "A dinosaur digimon that's supposed to be extinct."

            The Fallen Chosen chuckled, "That's only because the First Chosen drove them to extinction, another sin they will pay for…" He chuckled, "Rather, their descendants will pay for…"

            Sora and Noriko glanced at one another. "How strong is Raptordramon?" Sora asked.

            Piyomon shivered slightly. "Fully Evolved…"

            Sora grinned slightly. "Well, two against one's pretty good odds, right?"

            Noriko chuckled, "I'm with you."

            Both young women grasped their digivices, and the vacant area of the park was suddenly illuminated.

            "Piyomon evolve to Birdramon! Birdramon evolve to Garudamon!"

            "Plotmon evolve to Black Tailmon! Black Tailmon evolve to Ladydevimon!"

            Raptordramon stared at them. "An overgrown-hummingbird and a dominatrix with wings? Come now, where is your power? Evolve again!"

            They did not answer.

            The Cyborg digimon roared with laughter. "If you can't evolve, then this will be quicker then I thought…"

            Ladydevimon shot forward, her arm twisting and turning into a sharp-pointed needle. "Darkness Spear!"

            She slashed at Raptordramon's chin, and his neck was flung backwards. She was about to jab him again, but he flung around and clipped her with his wing. She twisted in the air, but was able to quickly recover.

            Garudamon shot like a bullet towards the Cyborg, but at the last second, twisted her body around so her talons were pointing directly at his face. "Eagle Claw!" Her feet quickly began a quick succession of movements, bashing him with a kick before slashing with her claws. He whipped his log tail around and managed to whack her in the face. She was injured, but grabbed his tail and began to spin him around in a tight circle.

            "Yeah!" Sora cheered.

            Garudamon shot in to the air, intending to throw him into the ground with a mighty pile-river, but Raptordramon suddenly executed a burst of speed and broke free. He twisted around in the air, but kept his momentum the same, so that when he head-butted Garudamon in the chest, it was at full force. Even the impressive size of the Bird Man did not save her.

            "Garudamon!" Sora gasped.

            Ladydevimon rushed to her friend's side and threw her hands apart in a semi-circle. "Darkness Wave!"

            Raptordramon folded his wing around like a giant metallic shield, protecting himself from the Fallen Angel's wrath. When he flung his wing back open, it created a burst of wind that nearly knocked the two flying digimon to the ground. They were able to remain in the air, however.

            Raptordramon chuckled as he appeared to crack his neck. "Nice work, you're as good as your reputation."

            Noriko growled. "You're about to see how good we are! Ladydevimon, tear him apart! Come on, don't let him beat you!"

            The Fallen Angel whipped out her claws before flying forward. She slashed Raptordramon's side, but his metallic stomach showed no sign of injury. He spun around quickly, his tail whacking into her before his wings and then outstretched head did. Instead of finishing his attack, he shot backwards, positioning his head directly in front of the Fallen Angel.

            "Ambush Crunch!"

            He exploded forward, opening his mouth to reveal a set of sharp teeth. He used these fangs to rip through Ladydevimon's side, taking a large chunk out of her stomach.

            "Ladydevimon!" Noriko cried.

            The Fallen Angel hovered in the air for a moment before falling to earth. Her body was covered by a bright light and regressed to her Child form of Plotmon. Noriko ran forward and caught the digimon in her arms.

            Garudramon did not show her surprise. She merely flew into the sky and extended her arms. "Shadow Wing!"

            An energy blast in the shape of her shadow erupted from her body and flew on a collision course with Raptordramon. She was expecting the Cyborg to dodge it, which would have given her the opportunity to attack him from behind, but to her surprise, he did not move, simply allowing the energy blast to strike him directly! The Bird Man was silent, but then nearly cried out in shock when the Cyborg was unharmed.

            Raptordramon pulled back, then erupted forward once more, using his teeth to take rip a fair amount of skin from Garudamon's chest. As she clutched her injured torso, she slowly hovered back towards the ground. She too, regressed to her Child form.

            The Fallen Chosen chuckled. "As you can see, you pale in my might. " Raptordramon lowered himself and hovered above his partner. The old man began to walk forward. "Now, we were discussing your surrender…"

             Suddenly he stopped and twisted his head to his partner. Raptordramon began to glow brightly as well, soon returning to a digimon's first form, the Digitama. "No! Damn it, not yet!"

            Even if his partner could hear him, it would have done no good. The Digitama fell to the ground, and the Fallen Chosen dove forward and caught it within his arms. He glanced over his shoulder at the two young women and smiled slightly. "You'd best warn the thief who stole the Flail of Chance, I'm coming."

            He shoved the egg into his jacket and disappeared into the evening light.

The Interlude begins…