Night had fallen over the Digital World, but the moon hadn't yet risen, and the usual star-filled sky was thick with clouds that would most likely conceal all light no matter what. That was quite fine with many of the Digimon who lived there, especially in one particular darker realm on the continent of Server. There were those who chose the night by need and those who walked it by preference, but no matter what, this darkness was more than welcome.

Piemon's castle, situated on the top of a high mountain, was not a place that entertained many visitors. He was known to exist, and had lived there for time out of mind. To be honest, no one could guess when he had come there. Any Digimon who was ever asked always replied with that he'd always been there. Even Gennai didn't know the origins of the strange Digimon, and many of them had given up asking in favor of simply being glad that he didn't bother them.

He was one of those who chose the dark and the night by preference, though he could easily function in the daylight, and frequently did when it was necessary. But he had dozed through his day today, and for a reason: he had wanted to be up all night. Though visitors seldom came here, he was expecting one tonight, one that he very much looked forward to entertaining.

The clown Digimon didn't sit and stare out at his balcony waiting for his guest. That was for silly folk who had nothing better to do. He had much better things to do that wait forlornly. He listened to the reports of Pinnochimon, Mugen Dramon, and Metal SeaDramon, though they were all nearly identical and boring to boot. He almost wished that there were someone worthy of giving him an actuallygood fight would show up. He was, after all, late.

Once he'd finished listening to his underlings, he selected a fine vintage of wine, and a good book, and settled himself in his library to pass the time in one of his favorite fashions. He'd always been partial to this book, and wished at times he could meet the author. But as that wasn't possible, he would be satisfied with simply reading it.

He sipped silently at his wine as he turned the pages, his ears subtly perked for any noise that would mean he was being intruded on. Hardly anyone else would have the kind of nerve that it would take to do so. His minions certainly knew better, and his slaves knew if they did that, they'd be reformatted, and quickly at that.

Even with all of his care, he was almost taken by surprise when a sudden spray of bats leaped out of nowhere and shot towards him. He back flipped out of his chair and sent two of his Trump Swords angling towards where the bats had come from, while he kept the other two ready in his hands, all of his senses turned towards finding out where the attack had really originated.

He made no sound as he moved carefully, knowing that he was extraordinarily visible in the center of the candlelit room. That was the only kind of light he would have here at this time of night, for more than one reason. He preferred reading by it for one thing, and it added a little spice when certain Digimon…or to be precise, one certain Digimon…came over for a visit.

Only the faintest hint of a chill breath warned him, and he was in the air in a second, and landed behind Vamdemon, his own sword extended to touch the back of the vampire's neck. They remained like that for a moment, neither moving, until Vamdemon bent his head ever so slightly.

"What a shame," he commented with a faint twist to his lips. "I was certain I had you that time."

"Never be certain unless you wrote and memorized the script," Piemon advised, his swords vanishing to return to their proper sheaths on his back. Once they'd had their initial scuffle, he knew he didn't need to worry about Vamdemon turning on him. It was not just their normal way of greeting one another, it was a reaffirmation of which of them was in charge. Vamdemon was extraordinarily powerful for a Perfect level Digimon, but Piemon was the rare Ultimate level, and had been that way for longer than Vamdemon had even existed as a hatchling. Age brought more than wisdom to a Digimon, it also brought strength, and Piemon was the oldest of them all.

Vamdemon smiled ever so briefly, though anyone other than Piemon who saw that might have been more than a little nervous at the sight. Then he strolled casually to the chair and seated himself where Piemon had just been, picking up the glass of wine and sniffing at it delicately. "I don't suppose you have anything more suitable for company?"

"I think that can be arranged." Piemon summoned a servant and gave the orders casually. While they waited for appropriate refreshments, he took his glass back and sipped at it. Fighting always made him a little thirsty. "Do you have anything useful to report?"

"Nothing as of yet." Vamdemon shrugged elegantly. "My spies indicate that Gennai and his companions are doing something, but it's very vague at the moment. I think it might have something to do with that breach that took place a few years ago."

Piemon nodded slightly; he'd heard about that. A Greymon and a Parrotmon had somehow broken through to Earth. He wanted to know more about that, and the sooner the better. He had his own Digimon working on it, of course, but until there was more information to work with, there was little else he could do about it.

His servant, Enshoumon, re-entered the room, dragging behind her a struggling Pidmon, his wrists chained behind his back and his wings having been neatly clipped to deprive him of his ability to fly. Vamdemon licked his lips at the sight of him. Normally a Digimon like this, or an Angemon, would've been very deadly to him. But trapped and bound as he was, Pidmon was nothing more than a meal.

Enshoumon handed the leash by which she had led Pidmon into the room over to Vamdemon, bowed to both him and Piemon, and departed quickly and silently. Piemon made certain the door was closed and locked; he knew how he hated being interrupted during dinner, and Vamdemon was much the same way.

"A very rare vintage indeed," Vamdemon purred as he pulled Pidmon closer to him and eyed him up and down. A thick gag kept the angel Digimon from saying anything, but the expression of hatred was clear enough.

"I thought you'd enjoy it, that's why I took such good care of it for you," Piemon told him. He enjoyed watching Vamdemon feed. It was always so arousing.

Vamdemon licked his lips slightly, then bent Pidmon's head to the side and buried his fangs in the Digimon's neck. No eyes were visible beneath the other's helmet, but Piemon could read body language effectively, and the hatred not only doubled, but transformed almost at once into fear and pain at the same time. He watched eagerly as Vamdemon fed, a couple of thin trails of blood leaking down Pidmon's neck.

Wonderful. So wonderful. Very few things could get Piemon's interest like violence or death, and here was both of them wrapped up in a deliciously perfect package. His eyes raked possessively over Vamdemon, and he quite looked forward to what they would be doing later that night. There was no question about it; Vamdemon's every visit led to it sooner or later.

Vamdemon finally pulled away from Pidmon's neck, and watched with an avid gleam as the angel Digimon quivered briefly, his wings trembling, before he shattered into data bits and faded away to nothingness. Then he turned towards Piemon. "That was delicious. Just what I needed."

Piemon nodded slightly, then reached for Vamdemon and pulled him closer, fastening his cold lips onto Vamdemon's blood-smeared ones. He didn't need to feed off of the blood like the vampire did, but he did enjoy tasting it on Vamdemon's like this. The kiss was passionate and deep, and they drew closer and closer with each moment, Piemon's hands reaching up to slide through Vamdemon's hair for a moment or two.

Then, before they went too far too quickly, he stepped away and wiped almost daintily at his mouth. "I'll make certain to have something different for you next time. You don't want to get the same old thing every time, of course."

Vamdemon licked his lips, though it was uncertain if he did so to taste the faint remains of Pidmon's blood or to taste what there might be of Piemon. Then he turned away and stepped towards the curtained window that looked out over the territory surrounding the castle. One could see some of the guards there, but the guards themselves could not see in. Piemon's library, like all of his personal quarters, were sacrosanct. No one who valued his life would interrupt them without being summoned.

He pulled aside the curtain and gazed out at the landscape. "It's snowing," he said almost absently. "I didn't think it was going to keep it up." For all that either of them acted at the moment, that kiss might not have ever happened. All of their meetings held a similar rhythm. Soon enough they would return to more erotic pursuits. But not too quickly. Taking their time heightened the building tension and passion between them, and made the eventual culmination even more exotic.

"Let it." Piemon shrugged, but didn't make any moves towards Vamdemon. "I have no need to go out in it." If his guards were cold, that was their own foolishness for not being protected against it. He was warm enough himself and that was what mattered the most to him.

His attention wandered all over Vamdemon again. There were few Digimon of any level of evolution that could attract his attention, but Vamdemon most certainly had it. He was intelligent, in a way that his three supposed allies simply weren't, and he was absolutely attractive, as well as powerful and dedicated to their mutual goals. And there was absolutely nothing as erotic in Piemon's mind as seeing Vamdemon suck the blood and the life out of someone else.

He took another drink of his wine, wondering in the back of his mind what would happen to these lovely trysts whenever what it was that Gennai and his associates were doing came to fruition. It would be somethingannoying, and he would have to take care of it as quickly as he could, to make certain it didn't cause him any trouble at all. He already had some plans for Gennai, and smirked just at the thought of it. That young upstart thought that he could defy Piemon. He would learn differently very soon indeed.

There was no need for him to fret too much about what hadn't happened yet, though. There was still plenty of time for him to indulge himself in his favorite pleasures. His wine, his books, his Vamdemon…

He stepped closer to the vampire, his ardor rising more and more quickly with each breath. The other appeared not to have taken any notice, but Piemon knew better than that. When they were in the same room, it was almost impossible for either of them to focus on anything but one another. He took another step, and still Vamdemon simply gazed out the window.

Even as Piemon took a third step, Vamdemon turned towards him, and caught him in a rough, hard embrace that turned into a kiss so intense that the first one in comparison had been something that two children might have giggled about. Piemon sucked and licked at those delicious lips, pulling Vamdemon closer and closer to himself as he did. He was used to waiting for many things, but today it appeared his patience was at an end sooner than usual, and he did not care, he wanted what he wanted, and he would have it, and nothing, no one would ever stop him.

"So soon?" Vamdemon whispered the words, but there was no heat or blame in them, only curiosity and amusement, even as his own hands pressed closer to Piemon, searching and finding what he wanted to on the other's slender form beneath his clothes.

"The sooner we begin, the more time we have together," Piemon offered it as the only sort of excuse he would ever use. The more time for pleasure he had, the more he would enjoy himself.

Vamdemon knew this as well as he did, and didn't care either. This was for the two of them, each seeking pleasure from the other, and taking it for themselves quite relentlessly. It was somewhere between a game and a challenge for the both of them, one that could have no real winner, and that suited them for now.

Piemon descended again upon Vamdemon's lips, ruthlessly plundering them, his tongue daring those fangs to prod inside the vampire's mouth. Vamdemon parted his lips a little to allow better access, letting Piemon weave himself carefully past the fangs for a moment or two, then jerked his head briefly. One fang sliced into Piemon's tongue, and a few drops of rich Ultimate blood fell down Vamdemon's throat.

The clown pulled back a little and licked his own lips with his slightly bleeding tongue, a faint smirk appearing. "You like being daring, don't you?"

"It's interesting." Vamdemon taunted back. "Did you want to stay in here all night?" It wouldn't be the first time they had brought their games to a peak in the library, though Piemon's bedroom did have more room and many more interesting toys to play with.

"I don't think so. Not tonight." The taste of his own blood excited Piemon's already heavily aroused ardors, and he was barely able to keep even this much control over himself. He wanted to enjoy the full experience, and that meant everything he had in his bedroom.

"Then let's go." Vamdemon stole another kiss, licking a bit in his own turn at Piemon's bloodstained lips. The wound hadn't bled for long, and would more than likely be healed by morning, if not sooner. The taste of Piemon's blood was one he rarely got to have and he savored it every time he could steal a little. Every kind of blood was different, and that of a Viral Ultimate was rare and sweet and heady and strong. He had wondered frequently if he could get drunk off of it if he had enough. Someday he was certain he would find out.

Piemon was not even close to being in the mood to protest. He turned with a dramatic flair and stalked out of the room, ignoring the guards who were standing outside. He didn't even bother with them most of the time, except to give Vamdemon someone to slip by when he came over to visit, or to give Lady Devimon someone to order around. She enjoyed being the captain of his bodyguard, even though he didn't see a need for one himself. But perhaps they'd come in handy one day. One never knew, after all.

The guards knew better than to follow the two of them as they headed down the corridor and around the corner. The same held true for any of the other guards they passed, since anyone who was insane enough to try to attack either of them would deserve what they got. It had happened once before when they'd been making this same little trek to Piemon's quarters. Some of the guards still told stories about what the two of them had done to the unfortunate fool before they'd finally finished him off.

Side by side the two of them moved through several corridors and up two flights of stairs before they finally came to the door that led into Piemon's personal suite of rooms. No guards were allowed past this door, not even Lady Devimon, much less those other three idiots in his employ. Mugen Dramon and Metal SeaDramon wouldn't have even fit in there, and Piemon would gladly render Pinnochimon down to kindling wood if he'd tried to enter. The clown had maintained for over a hundred years that if a Rosemon ever appeared who was suitable enough, Pinnochimon would be reformatted in the blink of an eye.

But that was business and not the pleasure that he looked forward to right now. His mind raced over just what they would be doing tonight. There were so many variations on the themes they were so used to, and his breath caught a little at the mental image of some of them. There was so much to choose from.

And the sooner they got to it the better. As the door closed behind them, Piemon seized Vamdemon by one arm and tossed him towards the wide canopied bed, stalking over in his most dramatic and impressive fashion.

"I do hope you don't have any plans for the next few days," he smirked as he spoke, enjoying the dangerous light gleaming in the back of Vamdemon's eyes. "Since even when I let you out of here, you're not going to be in any condition to do anything."

Vamdemon lounged gracefully on the bed where he'd fallen and his own smirk was the veritable twin of Piemon's. "I always make certain to clear my schedule when I come here." Piemon had known that would be the answer. It always was. They had been doing this for some time, after all. But asking the question was just a part of the whole script, and Piemon hated deviating from the script. Freeform had a place but this was not it at all.

He moved forward, taking his time now that they were here. His desires would be satiated soon enough, so he was a little more relaxed now, and let that reflect itself by deliciously stretching out the moments. Then he was on the bed with Vamdemon, his hands buried quickly in that golden hair only for a few moments before they both indulged themselves in a frenzy of disrobing, tearing savagely at their own clothes and at each other's, until all they wore were their respective masks.

Both of them stopped just then. This was perhaps more intimate than even being without all the rest of their clothes was. It had taken them centuries to be comfortable enough with each other to even go that final step, even though they had indulged themselves in wild and passionate sex with the masks on.

Vamdemon bent his head first, one hand going up to his face, and lowered a second later with the mask in his grip. He set it to one side on the table beside the bed, and Piemon's joined it a moment later. The two of them gazed at one another in silence before a softer, slightly more tender kiss was shared…

And then all else was forgotten as gentleness vanished and hot savagery took it's place.

And all through the days that followed, the two masks sat side by side and watched.