Night stretched its vast black expanse across Earth’s sky, covering the
land and all things residing within and upon it. Stars glittered icily as a
chill wind blew swiftly from the east, forcing all to retreat to their homes as
it danced wildly over the ground. Creatures stirred, creatures slept . . . And
among these were two with much inner turmoil. Red eyes, blue eyes, both looked
up from parallel realities, both contemplating their identities. Destiny was to
bring them together . . .
He stood alone under the night sky,
mind roving. Red eyes turned upwards, he could feel that his fate was soon to
draw to its close. He would go down fighting, as the true warrior of which he
was.
Sighing, he reverted to his beast
mode, a Velociraptor. It suited him well, for it was an intelligent creature,
swift and powerful. And it somehow fit perfectly with his unbending code of
Honor.
As he began to silently trot back to
the Maximal base, Dinobot could not help but think about his fate.
Sprawled out on his bed, Tai Kamiya
could only think about their present mission: to find the eighth Digidestined
before Myotismon, their enemy, did. He, as well as his Digidestined friends,
had returned to the real world to find the eighth child. And if their adversary
found them first? Then both worlds, human and digital, would be doomed.
He sighed, and rolled onto the floor before standing up. He was hungry, and felt like raiding the refrigerator. I bet Agumon wants something, he thought, opening his door. I’ll grab something for him when I get there.
Then, without further delay, he
stumbled towards the kitchen.
A pair of deep midnight blue eyes
were turned heavenwards as the Digimon reflected upon his life. It was harsh,
for him-especially more so for those that had fallen under him.
He turned, trying to rid his mind of
thoughts such as those of remorse for the fallen. He was evil. Why did it
matter to him?
But was he truly evil? Was there
still good hidden somewhere in his dark soul?
He did not know, but merely turned
his head down. The three stray blond bangs gently fluttered for an instant, but
were then still as he hung his head in thought. Myotismon, dark lord of Server,
was beginning to turn away from Evil.
As the sun rose that morning, Matt Ishida
fell out of his bed as he slipped from dreaming into awakening. Gaubumon was
already awake.
“Rise and shine, Matt,” he said.
Matt groaned.
Pulling himself up, he asked, “How
long have you been awake, Gaubumon?” The Digimon smiled. “Since six o’clock,”
he answered in his Oriental-like voice.
When he was dressed, he stumbled
sleepily into the kitchen for breakfast. No one was awake. “Oh yeah, it’s
Saturday,” he said, remembering the day. He decided to make breakfast for his
dad.
The sun rose silently over
prehistoric Earth, its light falling over creatures already awake. One in
particular had been in awakening all night, his mind running through endless
possibilities . . . But one in particular had been his demise.
Dinobot walked silently through the
hall of the Maximal base, deep in thought. It was then that he ran into
Rattrap.
“Hey, how ya doin’, Chopper Face?”
he asked, coming to a sudden halt. Dinobot did not answer, as though he hadn’t
heard the question at all.
Rattrap shrugged his Transmetal
shoulders. “I guess sometimes you can’t get to that guy at all,” he said, and
continued towards his destination.
Dinobot had, in truth, heard the
friendly question. He had chosen not to answer, as he was in a somehow
disturbed mood. He could now sense more than ever that his fate would soon draw
to an end. And he could not stop reflecting upon it . . .
When he reached the control room, he
saw Silverbolt, Optimus, Rhinox, Rattrap, and Cheetor gathered. They had
apparently been discussing a plan.
As he had not been noticed, he
decided to stop in the hallway outside. He could not help but listen to their
conversation.
“I believe there is another stasis
pod that has landed,” Silverbolt was saying as he pointed to the alleged
location on a map.
Optimus nodded his head. “The
animals in the surrounding area have seem disturbed lately,” he said. Then:
“Cheetor, Rattrap, see if there is a stasis pod out there. As for you,
Silverbolt,” he said, turning to face the Transfusor, “you will be their guide.
Show them where they think it is. Rhinox and I will scan for any other stasis
pods.”
“What about ol’ Chopper Face?”
Rattrap asked his commander before he left. Optimus faced him, and said,
“Dinobot will stay here, wherever he is.” So saying, he continued looking over
Rhinox’s shoulder at the map.
Mimi sauntered along, pushing a very
heavy Palmon in a baby carriage. Sora was following, with Biyomon disguised
rather than making more work for Mimi.
They were, of course, searching for
the eighth Digidestined. It was a very hot day, though, and all Mimi could
think about was air conditioning, much less the eighth child.
Suddenly, they heard the sounds of
screams wafting through the heavy air. It seemed to be coming from the water
front . . .
“I think we need to get there, and
quick,” Sora said, and they were off.
The land was peaceful here, a
beautiful hue of emerald green that soothed the
mind
and soul. The pure blue sky stretched overhead as he stood on the lush grass
outside of the nearby diner.
He had been caught in this dimension
for a day now, and it was so much more different than his home. Strange
creatures called “Digimon” roamed everywhere, some good, some evil; he, though,
could not tell them apart until they battled him. Every single one so far had
lost.
He lazily swung his Velociraptor
tail from side to side, as though attempting to knock insects out of the air.
And then, someone came up behind
him. They were incredibly silent, but not enough to escape the experienced ears
of he.
Turning around, he said,
“Tlaernskuha.”
Indeed, it was Tlaernskuha, the
small Digimon that constantly followed him around. He had midnight blue eyes,
deep, which always seemed to hold a sadness behind them.
“Things are good, Damhriis?” he
asked, walking up to the Velociraptor.
“Yes, Tlaernskuha, things are well.
If only, though, I could return to Cybertron.”
“Is that your home?”
“Yes, it is.”
Tlaernskuha hung his head. “I have
no real home. I have been wandering since I was old enough to leave Primary
Village, the place where all baby Digimon are raised. I came across Veggiemon
by chance, and he now has me working in his restaurant.”
Damhriis could not help but feel
some sympathy for the poor child.
Turning around so that he faced the
Digimon, Damhriis said, “Why do you tolerate him? He drives you like a slave.
If there was anything that I could do, I would do it. But, there is not. It is
all in your hands.”
He looked down at his own claws, and
flexed them as though preparing for battle. But he had no intention of battling
the poor Tlaernskuha.
He reached out a clawed hand, and
lifted the Digimon’s face so that he was staring directly into the midnight
blue eyes. “One day, Tlaernskuha,” Damhriis said, “you will have to stand up
for your self. When that day comes, I cannot assure you that I will be here.
Never forget Honor, my child, when you are battling; that I cannot stress more.
Honor is my very existence, and I hope that, in the future, it shall be yours.
You are a noble warrior, pure of heart, strong of soul, Tlaernskuha, and I want
it to all be worthwhile for you in the end. Never turn the dark path into evil,
for my sake.” With that, Damhriis turned and looked back at the sky, dropping
Tlaernskuha’s chin from his hand. “I know what it is like to be evil.”
“What the hey is it?!” Sora
exclaimed upon arriving at the water front. There was a huge Digimon slithering
about as though there was no tomorrow. And, if it continued like that, there
wouldn’t be one for some people.
“That’s Kuroshiromon, terror of the
seas surrounding and skies over Server,” Biyomon explained.
“Well, he’s ugly, too,” Mimi added.
Palmon nodded her head.
Kuroshiromon looked like a huge,
glittering black-and-white snake. It had three pairs of dark blue wings, like a
dragon’s, sprouting from its scaly back. It roared, revealing rows of pointed
white teeth. It had a forked snake-like tongue that it constantly shot out of
its mouth. Its head was sleek and streamlined, making it a very fast swimmer as
well as flyer. On its back was a pattern that twisted and wound like
Kuroshiromon itself.
The serpent-like Digimon roared, a
sound that resembled an angry Seadramon’s cry crossed with an ear-splitting
hiss. With another cry, it dove headlong into the water, without so much as a
ripple.
“Well, maybe that’s the end of him,”
Sora said hopefully. She was wrong.
Kuroshiromon came leaping out of the
water at full speed, sailing into the air. He spread his dragon’s wings wide,
and soared over the water. Then, as if finally spotting the Digidestined, he
came tearing out of the sky in a screaming dive.
“Biyomon Digivolved to . . .
BIRDRAMON!”
“Palmon Digivolved to . . .
TOGEMON!”
The giant phoenix-like Digimon and
what appeared to be a walking cactus charged the flying snake, prepared for
battle.
“Meteor Wing!”
“Needle Spray!”
Kuroshiromon turned away for an
instant, letting the attacks glance if his shimmering black-and-white scales.
But, as soon as they had stopped, he charged in another dive. Tearing through
the sky, someone looking on could have sworn that they saw something hovering
ever near him.
Just then, another sound made
Kuroshiromon break away from his targets and pull out of his dive.
“Nova Blast!”
“Electro Shocker!”
“Howling Blaster”
“Harpoon Torpedo!”
Every single attack hit the serpent,
causing him to crash, headlong, into a series of apartments. The Digimon
groaned, and tried to move its stream-lined head. It simply did not have the
strength to, because it had taken a serious blow to the skull . . .
The other Digidestined came running
over: Tai on Greymon, Izzy on Kabuterrimon, Joe on Ikkakumon, and T.K.,
Patamon, and Matt on Garurumon.
“It’s about time!” Sora said, a
good-natured smile playing across her face. Matt, too, smiled. He loved it when
she did that.
Kuroshiromon groaned again, but this
time added a mournful sound to the end, as though he were crying. It looked
like there were tears running down his stream-lined cheeks.
“What are we going to do about him?”
Tai asked, looking at the injured serpent.
Sora shook her head. “I don’t know,
Tai. I don’t know.”
Drawing his courage, Tai decided to
go over to the Digimon. If he was in any danger, he knew that Greymon would
Digivolve to help him.
Kuroshiromon turned as much as it
could so that it could get a clear look at Tai
and
Greymon. Would this human and his Digimon help him?
“You took a pretty nasty fall,
didn’t you?” Tai said, just loud enough for the other Digimon to hear him.
There actually were tears streaming down Kuroshiromon’s face.
Tai was almost knocked off Greymon
in shock by what happened next.
<Are you going to help me?>
The voice rang out through Tai’s
head. But no one had spoken . . .
Tai, frozen in shock, managed a weak
reply. “Uh . . . If we can . . .”
Kuroshiromon tried to move again,
this time managing to pull himself into a position where Tai could look
directly into his green-black eyes.
<Please, Digidestined. I beg of
you . . .>
The dragon-winged snake fell over
again, and momentarily writhed in pain. He then stopped, and looked expectantly
at Tai.
<I will give you anything, but
please, help me . . . I . . .>
He stopped, and weakly fluttered his
wings.
<If only he were here . . .>
He painfully pulled himself up part
of the way, looking intently in one direction.
<Something is coming . . .>
He sniffed the air, delicate
nostrils quivering. Suddenly, a look of pure hatred shot into his eyes, making
them burn a frightening orange.
<Him!>
Tai looked in the same direction as
the snake-like Digimon, and, squinting his eyes, noticed a small black dot on
the horizon, which was rapidly growing larger.
The snake-dragon turned to face Tai.
<Go!> he said. <A very powerful Digimon is on his way, one least
expected from you . . . Myotismon.
Lord Myotismon!>
Kuroshiromon fell over once more.
<He will surely destroy me . . . He cannot stand a Digimon in such condition
as I. I once watched him destroy a Trumhaemon for not defeating a MegaSeadramon
. . .>
“We’re not going to let that happen,
Kuroshiromon!” Tai shouted, realizing that the Digimon was good at heart. He
had merely fought under Myotismon in fear, in fear of the dark lord’s power.
Looking up, the Digimon said,
<Go! He will destroy you! Never let that happen . . You are the only hope
for both worlds! Run!>
“We’ll fight him, Kuroshiromon!” Tai
said defiantly.
Their battle was to open the Gate.
The Veggiemon lay trembling on the
ground as the warrior held his sword over his throat. The warrior was Damhriis,
and he was ready to destroy the Veggiemon at any moment.
“If I ever hear that you did anything
like that ever again . . .” Damhriis growled, letting the sentence hang. He
drew a x in the air over the
Veggiemon’s throat.
About three feet away, Tlaernskuha
was kneeling in pain, his right hand over his right eye. Veggiemon had blamed
him for something he didn’t do, and slapped him across the eye with a vine-like
arm. There was now a slash-shaped scar running
diagonally
across that eye. Pulling the hand away, Tlaernskuha saw blood on the palm; it
had been a hard blow, indeed.
He fell over on the emerald grass,
wracked with pain. There would be a scar over his right eye for the rest of his
life . . . And he was to try and hide it, to hide the past . . . The past . . .
The Veggiemon now fell over himself
apologizing.
“I didn’t mean it, really, Lord
Myotismon . . . Please forgive me, my lord! . . .”
Myotismon smirked. He knew that the
Veggiemon would be repentant after he Digivolved . . .
“Get up, Veggiemon,” he said in a
commanding tone. The Veggiemon shot up instantly into a standing position, arms
at his sides.
“I really didn’t mean it, my lord,
honest . . .”
Staring evilly at the Veggiemon from
behind midnight blue eyes, he said, “You will be forgiven. This time.” And,
with a swirl of his dark cape, he was gone.
“Here he comes!” Tai shouted, now
able to recognize the approaching shape as Myotismon.
The other Digidestined saw him, too.
“I think it’s going to get very ugly some time soon,” Matt said, looking at
their approaching enemy. “But what I want to now is, how is he out right now?
It’s day!”
“I think we all knew that,” the
preoccupied Joe said.
The first thing that happened was
Myotismon took on Greymon.
“Nova Blast!”
The dark lord dodged the attack, an
evil smile on his face. “Is that the best you can do?” he said, the smile still
there.
“Crimson Lightning!”
By now, Tai was no longer riding Greymon. That was just as
well, for Greymon was soon beaten to his scaled knees. Then, the other
Digidestined Digimon joined the ensuing fray.
“Howling Blaster!”
“Meteor Wing!”
“Electro Shocker!”
“Needle Spray!”
“Harpoon Torpedo!”
Myotismon seemed not to care about
the attacks coming closer at a surprisingly rapid speed. Then, at the last
moment, he moved out of the way, letting the onslaught go flying harmlessly
past.
He never should have made the next
move.
“Nightmare Claw!”
The Digidestined didn’t know what
would happen if hit . . . But they found out when Birdramon fell out of the
sky, all her flaming color drained away.
A smirk was playing itself across
Myotismon’s pale face.
But then, there was a flash of
incredibly bright light, and there was what appeared to be two rifts on Earth,
one in the sky, one on the ground . . .
Greymon picked up Birdramon as best
he could, and the Digidestined and their Digimon ran as fast as they could into
the rift. It instantly closed behind them.
As for Myotismon . . .
He turned towards the tear in time
and space, knowing what it was. Something such as this had once brought a
strange visitor to the Digiworld . . . One he called Damhriis . . .
He floated slowly into the portal,
mystified almost, remembering Damhriis . . .
“Where are we?”
Tai blinked his eyes, trying to
adjust them to the darkness.
It was night, wherever they were.
As soon as the Digidestined had left
the dimensional rift, they had fallen into this strange world. It was, of
course, night, and Tai guessed that it was probably somewhere around one in the
morning.
Pulling himself into an upright
position, he said, “Is everyone okay?”
The answers came one by one, but
there were thirteen in all: the other Digidestined and their Digimon. Slowly,
they all pulled themselves over to Tai.
“I’m so tired, I feel like I could
sleep through every natural disaster that you can name,” Matt said.
“So you would sleep through a
tornado, a flash flood, a hurricane, a monsoon, a thunderstorm, a . . .”
“Okay, okay, I get the point!”
Matt shook his head.
Suddenly, Sora asked, “Hey! What’s
that?”
She was pointing to an even darker
place than the surrounding night, a shadow within a shadow.
“Why don’t we go find out?” Tai
said, pulled himself up, and began stumbling towards whatever it was. Everyone
followed.
Inadvertently, the Digidestined had
found the Maximal base.
Myotismon was in better shape than
the Digidestined had been when he entered this other world.
Floating gently to the ground, he
looked around him. It seemed almost familiar, as if someone had once described
it to him . . .
He took a few silent steps forward,
blue eyes seeing through the darkness like day.
Beginning to float again, he moved
silently towards the nearby base . . . That
of the Predacons.
“Who the heck are they?!”
Rattrap’s voice was unbelievably
loud as he spotted the Digidestined, now hardly stumbling in their tiredness,
as they approached the Maximal base.
This brought Dinobot out, who
thought he recognized the Digimon at the humans’ sides.
“Those, Vermin,” he said, looking
down at Rattrap, “are, I believe, Digidestined. I once fell into the world of
the Digimon through a dimensional rift, where I heard a legend about humans
that guarded the Digital world from evil.”
Rattrap gave Dinobot a “okay, I have
no idea what you are talking about” look, sighed, and went to tell Optimus what
they had found.
The Digidestined were just as
confused as the Maximals.
“Is it just me, or did I just see
something that looked like a robot rat and a Velociraptor talking to each
other?” Joe said, coming to a complete halt.
“It isn’t just you,” Tai muttered
under his breath.
Now everyone stopped, puzzling over
what had just happened. What the hey was going on?
“I think we need to find out where
we are,” Tai said, beginning to walk towards the Maximal base again.
“Wazzpinator, terrorize!”
That was the first thing Myotismon
heard when he arrived at the Predacon base. The second thing was . . .
“Quick Strike, terrorize!”
He was being shot at from the ground.
The dark lord floated once again to
the ground.
“Crimson Lightning!”
Quick Strike, fast as he was,
couldn’t dodge the attack, and was sent sprawling to one side. It was then that
Waspinator began to fire.
Looking up, Myotismon shot a rather
large energy ball at the Transformer, making Waspinator crash. The last thing
he said before hitting ground was: “Wazzpinator tired of being blown up!” Then,
with a tremendous crash, he hit.
Myotismon kept on walking silently
towards the base of those he had just defeated.
“Someone’s coming!” Black Arachnia
exclaimed as she saw the approaching Myotismon on the monitor before her.
“Who is it?” Megatron’s question was
commanding, as he always was.
The black widow squinted her eyes
and said, “I don’t know. It’s an unidentified life-form, with neither a Maximal
nor Predacon energy signature. The only time it seems
to
have a definite one is when it attacks!”
“And what has it done so far?”
She continued squinting her eyes,
looking at the monitor, before answering, “Well, so far, it’s damaged
Waspinator and Quick Strike. The thing is, it doesn’t even have any weapons!”
Megatron put his hand to his chin in
thought. “It could be a valuable ally against the Maximals, yes . . .” He
seemed to be talking to himself.
Not for the first time, Black
Arachnia asked, “Why are you talking to yourself?”
Replied Megatron, “I merely wished
to hold an intelligent conversation.”
“We’re the Digidestined,” Tai said
in reply to the Maximal leader’s question. “We come from the human world,
Earth.”
“But this is Earth!” cut in Dinobot.
Tai shook his head. “Maybe it is,
but we come from earth in the future. We were fighting our enemy, Myotismon,
and this dimensional rift just opened in front of us. We ran into it to
escape.”
“And what about your enemy, the one
you call Myotismon?” asked the Velociraptor.
“We don’t know about him,” Matt
said, stepping forward, “but I think
that he entered that other rift.” The other Digidestined nodded their heads at
this.
“We need to figure out how to get
you back to your world,” Optimus said, “but until then, make yourselves at
home.”
The dark lord stood tall before
Megatron, almost the same height as the Predacon leader.
“Who are you?” Megatron questioned,
to which Myotismon replied, “I am Lord Myotismon.”
Megatron shot a look to the other
Predacons standing behind him. “Where are you from?”
“The continent of Server, in the
Digital world.” Then, as if in afterthought, the dark lord added, “And you?”
“I am Megatron, leader of the
Predacons. I am from the planet of Cybertron.”
Myotismon jerked his head to one
side, hearing someone behind him. He turned around to see Inferno trying to
sneak up behind him.
“Crimson Lightning!”
He knocked the Transformer to one
side, then turned to face Megatron again.
“So. You are trying to capture me,
are you not? I have met others like you, who use someone before disposing of
them.”
Megatron made note of the stranger’s
insight. He is wise, indeed, he
thought.
“Maybe I am, maybe I am not. Will
you join me as my ally?”
The blue-eyed Digimon looked at the
gathering around him, a group of robots of which he knew nothing about.
Beginning to float, he said, “For
now. But never underestimate the vampire lord of the Digiworld.”
Myotismon was silent as he wandered
the halls of the Predacon base. It was his silentness that enabled him to
overhear a conversation between Black Arachnia and Quick Strike.
“What do you think of that new guy,
Sugarbot?” Quick Strike asked Black Arachnia. Black Arachnia shuddered.
“He’s creepy,” she said. “He moves
without making a sound, he floats, he doesn’t have a definite energy signature
. . . Who knows what the heck he is!”
“Well, I know one thing,” Quick
Strike said, moving closer. “He said he was a vampire lord, right, Sugarbot?”
Black Arachnia nodded her head.
“I think I know what he’s talking
about. I once heard him mention blood”-shudder-“when he was talking to
himself.”
The other Transformer, too,
shuddered. “What happened next?” she asked.
“Well, then he . . .”-Quick Strike
gave a nervous laugh-“Then he barbecued me with one heck of an energy
ball.”
Breaking the mood, Black Arachnia
started laughing. “Why didn’t you get out of the way? You’re good at that.” At least, you’re supposed to be, she
silently added.
Quick Strike gave another nervous
laugh. “Well, I guess he was kind of fast for me . . . Considering that he had
me fried before I could even think about moving.”
Black Arachnia stopped laughing when she saw Myotismon enter the room. She hastily went back to what she was doing, as did Quick Strike. A few moments later, the dark lord left to return to wandering.
He was silent and swift as he hunted
in the night. The stars glittered icily overhead, casting a weak glow over the
world. There was no moon as the creature stalked beneath the night sky.
His blue eyes narrowed in thought as
he came to a halt. He thought he had heard a sound . . .
Turning quickly, he caught a glimpse
of a creature not fast enough to escape his gaze.
Moving silently, he caught the other
life-form-a human attempting to spy on him. He gave an evil grin, baring his
fangs. The human tried to scream, but the sound was muffled in the still night
air. No one heard their plight . . .
Tlaernskuha stood before him,
looking at the night sky.
Turning around, he said, “I somehow
feel that the night is my home . . .”
Damhriis grimly nodded his head. He,
too, felt it. When it was dark, something seemed to radiate in the air around
the small Digimon called Tlaernskuha. It was as
though
the creature fit in perfectly with the darkness, the shadows, the night . . .
Tlaernskuha walked silently over to
Damhriis. He was growing more a hunter by night rapidly, and now he could
approach Damhriis without being heard.
Looking up at the Velociraptor, he
said, “Damhriis?”
“Yes?”
“Will you ever leave? You are the
only creature I can trust, I can rely on.”
The Velociraptor sighed.
“Tlaernskuha, I must eventually return. I cannot stay forever. When the time
comes that I must go . . .”
He stopped for a moment, searching
inside the Digimon’s dark blue eyes for something.
“When the time comes that I must
leave, then you will have to carry on without me. I know that you are strong
enough to survive on your own. I have seen it in you before-it radiates in the
very air around you. But never leave your element-night. It is where you
belong, Tlaernskuha, and it is where you need to turn for strength when I am
gone. The Night, the Darkness, the Shadows-all are yours. Live in them,
Tlaernskuha, thrive in them, and you will someday be glad for their protection.
But I have had dreams that I believe might deal with your future . . . If they
are true, then you shall eventually come to loathe life, yours especially, for
how you do thrive.”
Tlaernskuha seemed to accept it. “I
know that sometimes dreams can foretell of he future. But why would I loathe
life? There is so much to it.”
“Because, Tlaernskuha, if the dreams
are correct, then others shall suffer in order for you to survive.”
Dinobot remembered now the time he
spent in the Digital world-and he also recalled Tlaernskuha.
Tlaernskuha. Strength.
That was what he called a small
creature, a Digimon, with much inner strength. He had no past, but he had a
future-one that meant he would hate his own life because of how he survived.
The dreams he had had then told also
why Tlaernskuha would hate life . . .
Because he would prey upon the blood
of others.
The scar over his eye was still
there. The dark lord constantly found himself wishing to be rid of the red mask
he wore to cover his face . . . And, in the process, cover the past.
There was a scar of his right eye,
hidden beneath the mask. He had gotten it because he had once been accused by a
Veggiemon of something he didn’t do. The Veggiemon whipped him across the right
eye with a vine-like arm, leaving the diagonally running scar.
He remembered, too, what Damhriis
had done to the Veggiemon-turned it on its back and held his sword at its
throat. He had also threatened the old slave driver.
But Tlaernskuha had his revenge when
he Digivolved.
The Veggiemon had been almost
humorous then. He literally fell over himself apologizing, repeating, over and
over, “I didn’t mean it! I really didn’t mean it, Lord Myotismon!”
Lord Myotismon.
Yes, that was who he was. A creature
of the Darkness, of the Night-a Child of the Shadow, as he once described
himself. An evil being that did not care about the suffering of others.
But was he really that way? Could he
really stand by and watch the innocent suffer because of him?
Of
him . . .
He tried to ignore it, but it tore
at his soul to see those who had done nothing-nothing-suffer.
Megatron had his guard lowered as he
stood in the absolute middle of the Predacon base. He was busy thinking about
an attack he was planning on the Maximals. And then . . .
He was suddenly turned on his back,
knocked over by a silent onslaught. Before he could move, Lord Myotismon was
standing on him.
“Yes, it was I, leader of the
Predacons,” he said, giving Megatron an unwavering glare. “I know what you
intend on doing. I have heard you as you planned it aloud to yourself.
Personality quirks, Megatron, can sometimes be the curse of those who posses them.”
He floated swiftly away, not making
a sound, leaving Megatron to lie on the cold floor for some time before he
decided to pick himself up.
“He is a clever one, yes . . .”
He was-for once-tired as he floated
over the ground between bases. His mask had been long ago lost . . . And he
somehow seemed glad for it. But it still bothered him to see his reflection-to
see the scar running over his eye, reminding him of the past . . .
He was searching for the Maximal
base, knowing that Damhriis had been a Maximal. Hopefully, he still would be.
That is, if the dark lord ever found
the base.
He stopped, seeing through the
darkness like it was day. The darkness was his home . . .
Damhriis had once called it his
element. And he had told him that he would someday loathe his life.
And it was true.
Suddenly, there it was, a dark blot
against the dark-in-itself night sky. Damhriis would be there . . .
Hopefully, he would reach it by
dawn. He was confident about that. Almost . . .
“What the heck . . .”
Rattrap was . . . extremely
surprised to see another thing heading towards the Maximal base. But this
creature seemed wearier than the Digidestined that had landed a day ago, as
though it had been through hard times.
He ran inside, got Dinobot (who
seemed to be the expert on these things), and said, “There is something weird
outside, and I think that you might know what it is.”
Dinobot himself didn’t know what the
hey Rattrap was talking about. But he recognized at once who was approaching once
he was outside. He had seen them in his dreams, so long ago, in the Digital
world . . .
“Tlaernskuha?”
The weary Myotismon looked at the
two figures standing outside the Maximal base. One looked familiar . . .
“Damhriis!”
When the creature had arrived,
Dinobot was assured by its appearance that yes, it was Tlaernskuha. It had the
same dark blue eyes, deep, which hid
inner strength . . .
And it also had the scar across its
right eye.
“Tlaernskuha!”
Meanwhile, Rattrap didn’t know what the
heck was going on. It seemed like Dinobot and the creature were having a
reunion. “I think I need to get Optimus,” he said. He turned and went once more
into the Maximal base.
“Who are you?”
By now, Myotismon was accustomed to
being question about his identity.
“I am Lord Myotismon.”
“Called Tlaernskuha,” put in
Dinobot.
“Where are you from?”
“The continent of Server, in the
Digital world.”
Optimus nodded his head.
“You can stay here until you return
to your world.”
The Digidestined, who were present
alongside Optimus, Dinobot, Silverbolt, Rattrap, and Cheetor, didn’t know how
they would react to being in the same base as their enemy.
But Myotismon seemed different. For
one thing, he was minus the mask for which he was so well known. They could all
see a scar running diagonally across his right eye.
Another change in him was his mood. He seemed weary,
weary and weak. Sometimes it seemed like he could hardly stand . . . It was
those times that he reverted to one of his many talents: floating.
Myotismon, presently on the ground, shook his head.
“I need only shelter from
light
during the day. At night . . . Night is my time. My element.”
The Digidestined could all tell that
the dark lord was trying very hard to stand straight. He seemed to have lost
all his energy at the moment . . .
Suddenly, their enemy stumbled, and
fell. The first to be at his side was Dinobot, his old friend from years long
passed.
“Tlaernskuha!” he said. “What is
wrong?”
Beginning to once again float, picking
himself up off the ground, Myotismon said, “Damhriis . . . I am dying.”
Tai was restless that night, roving
the halls of the Maximal base deep in thought.
Everyone was shocked by what
Myotismon had said. He was dying? It didn’t show, except for in his weakness.
But that was common when it was day, and he was in light. He said it himself,
night was his element.
The
leader of the Digidestined stopped momentarily. He thought he had heard a sound
. . .
Upon turning around, he discovered
that Myotismon, too, stalked the corridors by night.
The dark lord seemed a little
stronger than he had been before, but it was night now, of course. He always
seemed stronger at night . . .
“Myotismon?”
The vampire lord looked up. His blue
eyes glittered with memories.
“Yes, Digidestined?”
“Is it true?”
“What? . . .”
He sounded-well as appeared-weary.
“That you are dying.”
The dark lord remained silent for a
few moments. Then, as if accepting his fate, he answered.
“Yes.”
Tai was shocked, once again. But it
seemed to make sense. How could Myotismon survive in this world? He would not
attack the Digidestined, no, they trusted him in that . . .
“Yes, Digidestined, my time is
almost finished. And I am sure that you are . . . pleased?”
This sent a chill coursing through
the Digidestined. Myotismon had seen it in him before, most likely.
The sad thing was, it was true. Tai
almost felt joy when Myotismon had first said it. Something at a subconscious
level said, “You can finally stop having to fight!”
But was he truly glad?
Myotismon turned, stumbled, and fell
once again. Tai was at his side before he could even think about it. He tried
to help him up, but the Digimon was already beginning to float, bringing
himself off the hard floor. He had grown up taking care of himself, and nothing
was to change that fact.
He began to move away. Tai made no
move to follow.
“Okay, I don’t ever think I am going
to get used to that guy,” Rattrap muttered as he walked towards the control
room of the Maximal base.
“Get used to who?”
The Transformer stopped, and turned
around. It was a Digidestined, Matt.
“Well, for one thing, you , if ya
don’t stop sneakin’ up one me,” Rattrap said.
Matt shook his head. “I was trying
to find Tai, and I heard you. Question repeated: Who are you never going to get
used to?”
“That . . . thing that used to be your enemy. Lord Myotismon, I think.”
Matt now nodded his blond-haired
head. “I find that I still don’t trust him very much.”
Rattrap continued walking to the
control room when Matt strode off in search of Tai.
Upon arriving, he found Optimus,
Cheetor, Silverbolt, and Dinobot all gathered around Rhinox.
“It seems that there are stasis pods
somewhere out there,” Rhinox said. “We need to get to them before Megatron
does.” Optimus nodded his head.
“Once more, we’ll have a search.
Cheetor and Rattrap will look together, as will Dinobot and Silverbolt. We need
to find those stasis pods, or more sparks will be lost to evil!”
Dinobot obeyed the command, but
still did not want to leave Tlaernskuha. He was the only one who truly
understood the Digimon . . .
He sensed that something was wrong.
The feeling ever present in the back of his once dark mind seemed to be calling
for help . . .
The vampire lord, wrapped in his
cloak and hidden in the darkness, shot suddenly from deep sleep into waking.
Damhriis was in need . . .
“A stick against a Transmetal? Hah!
You are obsolete, Dinobot. Face it.”
But he was not about to give up . .
.
A flash of insight hit him upon
seeing a stone on his side. He jammed the stick onto the sharp rock, and pulled
it up with the stone still in place. He ran over to the evil one, whom he was
fighting. And then . . .
With one mighty swing, he knocked
the golden disc from his enemy. He pulled out of his nemesis’ reach . . .
And with his last ounce of power,
Dinobot shattered the golden disc and saved the future from the Predacons . . .
And he fell . . .
“No . . .”
He was the first to arrive at
Dinobot’s side.
“Damhriis . . .”
The others were too late. Nothing
could be done to save his old friend. He was too far gone . . .
When they did arrive, in group, the
Digidestined as well were present alongside the Maximals.
But, as the dark lord realized,
Dinobot was too far gone. He could never be saved.
Dinobot-called Damhriis-looked up at
Myotismon with glowing red eyes. “Tlaernskuha . . .”
Myotismon took the large clawed hand
in his own gloved one, and put his forehead against it. Tears were beginning to
glitter in his dark blue eyes . . .
Looking up at his fellow Maximals,
Dinobot said, “I have one request for you to carry out after I am gone . . . If
any ask to hear my tale, tell it to them in full. Tell them of my evil deeds,
as well as my good ones, so that, in the end, the judgement will be fair and
just.”
He turned his gaze back to
Myotismon. The dark lord remained
silent, his actions speaking for him.
“Fare thee well, Tlaernskuha . . .”
And he moved no more . . .
A glowing sphere of light rose
silently from Dinobot’s still form. Even the Digidestined-who knew nothing
about Transformers-could guess what it was. But it was Myotismon who said it.
“His srunahae. His soul . . .”
The light rose to the night sky,
where it disappeared among the leagues of bright stars. But, for Myotismon, it
shone brighter than all the others for an instant.
And then, he could see it no more.
A disturbing sight then came upon
that place: Myotismon started to silently weep. Tears ran down his pale cheeks
as he still held Dinobot’s hand, his forehead still pressed against it, now
still and lifeless.
Dinobot-his Damhriis-was gone.
Tai was disturbed the most at seeing
their enemy like this. He must have truly known Dinobot. It must have been true
. . . It had to have been . . .
The vampire lord’s blue eyes were
still glittering with tears when he finally looked up. “I need to be alone . .
.” he said.
And they all understood.
So they left him, one by one, until
only he remained, in great sorrow.
But out of his ashes rose a flame of
hatred . . .
Hatred
of Megatron, the one who destroyed his Damhriis.
And he was to avenge his old friend.
“What the . . .”
Black Arachnia brought her feet back
on the ground from where they had been resting on the monitor’s control panel.
Then . . .
“Megatron!”
The leader of the Predacons didn’t
exactly come running.
“What is it, Black Arachnia?”
“Something’s approaching-and fast.
It doesn’t have a definite energy signature . .”
“Say no more. I know who it is.”
Black Arachnia turned to face her
leader. “Who?”
“An old visitor . . .”
He stood waiting for him, already
prepared for battle.
The dark lord, upon arriving,
hovered in the air over and before the Predacon leader.
“You destroyed Damhriis.” His voice
was accusing and hate-filled.
Silence.
“You destroyed Damhriis. And I must
now destroy you.”
“How interesting. You think that you
could destroy I, leader of the glorious Predacons? I think not, vampire lord.”
Myotismon merely glared down at the
leader of the Predacons.
“Let the battle begin.”
“Where’s Myotismon?”
“Nightmare Claw!”
Megatron was knocked over by the
force of the onslaught. But he was not about to give up.
Picking himself up, he said, “Now,
it is my turn.”
He shot a large energy beam at
Myotismon, who didn’t even bother to dodge it. He simply raised a gloved hand,
and the attack disappeared.
“What . . .”
“Crimson Lightning!”
The vampire lord began beating at
the leader of the Predacons, unrelenting, never stopping. Then . . .
“Black Arachnia, terrorize!”
“Quick Strike, terrorize!”
“Tarantulas, terrorize!”
“Wazzpinator, terrorize!”
“Inferno, terrorize!”
He was being attacked by many others
from the ground.
He glared down at them. They had
destroyed Damhriis . . . And it was his duty to destroy them.
“Heck, I don’t know where Fang Face
is!”
“T’laernskur
maensharha, pruntaer!”
Myotismon was taunting them.
“Does anybody know what he just
said?”
“Crimson Lightning!”
He swung a bolt of scarlet lightning
at the Predacons, scattering those not hit.
“We need to find him!”
He floated to the ground, preparing
for battle on earth.
“But he was our enemy, Tai!”
He shot an energy ball at Inferno,
leaving five Predacons to go.
“He might have been our enemy once,
Matt, but he changed!”
Black Arachnia tried to use one of
the karate kicks for which she was so well known on him. He put a commanding
hand out in front of him, and Black Arachnia was knocked over; it was one of
the dark lord’s special abilities.
“And how exactly is that?!”
There were now only four Predacons
left.
“Look, Matt, I don’t know how, but
he’s not our enemy anymore. If he were still evil, he wouldn’t have been crying
over Dinobot’s death!”
Tarantulas was ready for battle. He stalked
up behind the vampire lord. And then..
“Crimson Lightning!”
The dark lord didn’t have to worry
about that Predacon anymore.
“How do you know he wasn’t faking
it?!”
“It’s my turn now.”
Quick Strike stepped up for
the challenge. He ran swiftly around the vampire lord.
But he was no match for the Digimon’s
strength, especially in his rage.
“I just know, Matt. There is
something in the air around him that tells you!”
“Uh, maybe Wazzpinator run away
right about now.”
The insect robot wasn’t fast enough
to escape Myotismon’s energy ball.
“Maybe you’re wrong, Tai! Myotismon
was our enemy. There isn’t any reason that he shouldn’t be anymore!”
There he was, the Predacon leader.
He was the only Predacon left . . .
And soon, not even he would be
there.
“I don’t care what you say, Matt! He
might have been our enemy, but now, we need to help him! I think he took it on
himself to fight the Predacons. He’s dying, Matt-there’s no possible way that
he could survive.”
Tai sat down on the cold floor.
“Matt, I can tell that he isn’t
going to fight us. We need to help him. Please.”
“You cannot defeat me, vampire lord!
Not even you is strong enough to best myself!”
Myotismon floated towards him, only
a foot off the ground.
Damhriis would be avenged . . .
They mostly ran, but some flew. They
all, though, were headed towards where they thought Myotismon would be . . .
“It is my duty to avenge Damhriis. On my honor, I will destroy you!”
He floated only feet in front of
Megatron. Then . . .
“Nightmare Claw!”
“We must be close! I can hear him!” Tai
exclaimed.
Megatron fell over, but immediately
picked himself up. “This will be too easy, yes . . .”
“Crimson Lightning!”
Myotismon was not about to stop.
Megatron shot an energy beam, then
an energy ball, at Myotismon.
Myotismon dodged them, but still did not escape energy . . .
His energy was so far gone that not
even floating could help him fight. He fell, and landed, hard, on the ground.
He could see his opponent, ready to destroy him . . .
“I’m coming!”
He looked up at the moon,
determination set in his dark eyes. In his mind, he called something out . . .
<Shytiru kytasri tiiharse hryton, fractun tryshtanhii. Shytiru,
Sliirkashriim!>
“Attack!”
Suddenly, he could see a heavenly
being floating by his side. Megatron could, too, and backed away in awe.
She was beautiful in the moonlight,
her dark blue eyes glittering with the reflection of light from the stars. Her
waist-length golden hair fluttered gently in the wind.
“Megatron.”
Her voice fell gently through the
night, but could be heard by all.
“Megatron. You have destroyed many.
You have murdered the innocent. How do you justify yourself?”
No answer.
“You cannot. It is as I know.
Megatron, you must no longer be able to harm the innocent. It is my duty to
bring peace to this turmoil-filled world.”
She put her hand and her sword’s
hilt, and drew it. It shone with a cold light beneath the stars . . .
“Who is that? . . .”
“This is how it must be.”
She brought her sword over her head
. . .
And there was a brilliant flash as
it came down.
“What happened here?”
Everyone had arrived now. They all
knew that Megatron had been here before . . . And yet, he was gone now.
Myotismon looked up at them. He knew
that now his time drew to its close.
“Maybe some day, Digidestined, we
shall meet again. If that ever happens, then I will tell you my story. But
until then . . . It is time that I must go.”
He tried to pick himself up for the
last time, and manage to briefly pull himself into a position on his elbow.
Then, he fell over again.
“Fare well, Digidestined. Never
forget me . . .”
_____________
They never told anyone that story.
They kept it inside themselves, sometimes having a dream about their experience
on prehistoric earth.
And, as Myotismon wished, they never
forgot him, or Dinobot.
And one night, Tai thought he saw
two shadowy forms standing side by side . . .