A Demon's Return

[RaptorSyn]

Chapter 2:Unique
Sex: N/A

************************************************************************


5 Months Earlier...

Christopher sped down the surface roads to Danelle's and his apartment complex. He dodged other cars nimbly, occasionally driving on into the oncoming traffic lane when it was safe to do so. He had received a text message during his Spanish class. So lost in thought he just barely noticed the train tracks were closing off before him, Chris just narrowly avoiding stopping on the tracks. “No avoiding it here. I'm stuck for now,” Chris said to himself. “Damn it!” He reached into his pocket, pulling his phone out and accessing his messages. He still couldn't believe what he had read.

“Chris, I have some bad news. Hiroshi is dead. You need to get to the Digital World now. Everyone here is claiming it wasn't an accident. They are saying he was murdered. Hawkmon is nowhere to be found either. Get here soon. Danelle.” Questions plagued his mind. His first thoughts were of who, how, and why. He almost couldn't make himself believe Hiroshi was dead. Tears began to form in Chris's eyes, sorrow giving way to anger. Hiroshi was one of the nicest people he knew. His sense of justice was unmatched, always doing the right thing. The idea of him being murdered disgusted and appalled Chris.

Chris silently cursed himself again as the train continued to pass. He had been so focused on getting there as quick as he could, he didn't even think to simply use one of the college's thousands of computers. No, instead he instantly left for his car. The vehicle rocked a little as the side of his fist collided with the driver's side window in anger, the train continuing to rush by. Finally the last bit rolled by, the bars raising to let him through. Christopher immediately took off, the top of his car scraping along the bottoms of the poles.

Ten minutes later, Christopher was rushing up the stairs of their two bedroom apartment. He fumbled with keys, trying to find the one to unlock the door. When he finally had it in the slot and turned, he learned that the door had already been unlocked, and frustratingly unlocked it again. He walked immediately to the master bedroom, throwing his backpack onto the bed and pulling his Digivice out. He walked up to the sole computer in the room, his Digivice and the computer humming in unison. “Digiportal open!” A blinding white light filled the small room, Christopher's body disappearing into it.

***********************************************************************************


Flames swirled around Meramon, his form being consumed. “Fire Blast!” The mass of fire rushed towards Christopher, scorched pavement following in it's wake. The speed of the attack caught the partners off guard, Velocimon narrowly knocking Chris out of the way as he took the brunt of the attack, flying back through the air several feet until he collided with a car, it's door caving in and the windshields cracking. Velocimon immediately rose, smoke rising from his hunched form.

Chris rose to his feet, checking the screen of his Digivice for Velocimon's vitals. “A little hurt,” he thought to himself, “but nothing we can't handle.” He looked back up at his partner, the Digimon resembling a dam holding back a river. “Alright Velocimon, let's cool this hot head down.” Christopher focused all his thoughts, energy, his emotions into the object in his hand, Velocimon doing the same. The two minds became one. They both saw what the other saw, both thought what the other was thinking, both felt the others strengths and weaknesses, dreams and nightmares, courage and fears. Though in two separate bodies, they were one mind. Chris felt Velocimon's tensed body as though it were his own, the sheer power that was concealed behind the Digimon's frame. Velocimon felt Chris's pain, his anger, hate, all the emotions that swirled like a storm through his mind, forever shifting. Most of all, he felt Chris's courage, his sense of justice. The power his mind held.

The dam was released.

Meramon began to swirl the flames around him again, preparing for another strike. Before he could finish, Velocimon took off, feet seeming to barely touch the ground as he rushed his opponent. He crashed into Meramon, who was sent skipping, coming to a rest several yards away. “Velocimon, don't let him stand!”

Velocimon rushed again, this time leaping into the air as he closed the distance. Wings spread, he gained altitude, climbing several stories in a matter of seconds. Meramon rose to his knees, looking for the Digimon. Velocimon performed a back flip, nose diving towards the flaming creature. Wings tucked, he continued to gain speed, adding rotation to his dive. Chris felt the air rushing by, his stomach falling as Velocimon climbed. “Ariel Strike!” Meramon looked up from his kneeling position, only to be met with the all of Velocimon's speed and strength. The two sunk into the ground, Velocimon instantly uncoiling after impact, flying away inches over the ground before lifting his wings and landing gracefully on his feet.

Velocimon turned his head to view the damage. “Burning Fist!” Velocimon lay sprawled on the earth from the unexpected attack. Chris felt the pain, touching his own cheek as if it was burned.

“Get up, Velocimon!”

“Crimson Tail!”

Meramon was sent airborne, Velocimon's attack making contact with his midsection. Meramon corrected himself mid-fall, launching a volley of Fire Balls at the dinosaur like Digimon, who proceeded to swipe at the the attacks, countering with his own moves. Chris spoke to Velocimon through the Digivice. “Any chance you can take to the skies?”

“Not without getting hit, but then again, I can't keep this up forever.” Velocimon was already loosing step, stopping some mere inches from his face. “It's your call, Chris.”

Ideas flooded his mind. “There has to be a cool down period. Watch for it, he can't keep it up forever either.”

“Got it.” Velocimon watched his opponent's attacks, the way they left his fists and the time between volleys. He counted the time between contacts of the attacks. “There!” Velocimon continued to block attack after attack.

“I saw it too. Three of the fireballs hit almost at the same time. There is a pause afterword.” The two counted the fireballs in their mind. “Now Velocimon! Hit 'em!”

“Crimson Tail!” Velocimon pivoted on the balls of his feet, the red mist over his tail colliding with the three flames hurtled at him. He continued his spin, his left foot planting as he finished. Dark energy fill his open maw. “TERRA BLAST!” The dark sphere left his mouth, traveling towards Meramon. Meramon was caught between assaults, unable to defend himself, arms still outstretched as the attack made contact with his gut. The attack exploded upon impact, black smoke engulfing the Digimon. No flames leaped forth, no attacks came flying through.

Meramon watched as the smoke cleared, his vision blurred. “Odd,” he thought to himself, “smoke has never caused me problems before.” Through the haze, he could make out a shape that resembled Velocimon slowly walking towards him. “Why is he walking?” Meramon attempted to raise his arms to launch another volley, but found he couldn't quite seem to do it. He looked down at his arms, but became sidetracked by the large hole in his stomach. Small bits of data leaked away, soft shades of blue and pink. Suddenly it dawned on him. “Good job, kid.” He whispered. “Guess I'll be the one taking a nap.” Meramon lifted his head, Velocimon now a mere inch from him. He fell to his knees, no longer capable of supporting himself. Out of the blur, he could make out the Digimon raising his clawed hand, the arm pulling back. The last image he saw was the sight of those claws hurtling towards his face.

***********************************************************************************


Christopher made his way past the other mourning Digidestined. He skipped past them all, doing everything he could not to start running towards the few in the middle. Christopher had forgotten how so few Digidestined were left. Not many survived the event three years prior. There were so many then.

As he walked, he couldn't help but notice that they all seemed to be avoiding his glance. The few looks he did receive were ice cold, almost as if angry. Something wasn't right. He finally approached where the stronger Digidestined had gathered. What he saw brought him to knees, his stomach emptying it's contents into the grass. Around the Digidestined lay half a human torso, devoid of it's right leg and anything above the waist. Blood and unrecognizable organs lay strewn around the clearing, jagged edges along the flesh. One of the Digidestined approached Chris and grabbed him by the collar, painfully hoisting him onto his feet. Chris immediately swatted the hand away, looking the person in the face. “David, what the hell happened?” David's blue eyes burned with hate, his body tensed, his fists curled, the sleeves of his brown shirt rolled up past his elbows. Chris had never seen David angry. The blond male was usually calculating, methodical,but above all else, he kept his cool. To see him like this was unnerving to Chris to say the least. “David, tell me what happened.”

David and Chris had both played vital roles in the destruction of Oblivionmon. A Digimon that three years prior had threatened not only the Digital World, but the Human world as well. At that time, the Digital had chosen over a hundred warriors to defend it, the first Digidestined numbering in the hundreds. Oblivionmon was far more powerful, many of the Digidestined being not only defeated, but killed by the malicious Digimon. They had been outmatched, unable to contend with him, even with the superior numbers. That was until David and himself had managed to Digivolve their Digimon to the Mega level. Both had led smaller groups of Digidestined, not actually meeting until days before the battle. It is still unknown how they had managed to reach that level, though Chris supposed it had something to do with his unique Digivice.

Chris learned early on that where the Digidestined he encountered had Digivices in the shape of gray octagons, blue coloring surrounding the screens, Chris's was different. His consisted of twelve different sides, almost as if someone had taken a saw to each side of the Digivice, removing small rectangles. It's color was a metallic gray, the screen outlined in black. His seemed to work the same, the only difference he could notice was that it simply didn't look like the rest. That was until he managed to Digivolve Compiomon into his Mega stage.

Chris stood up straight, his body tensed as he returned the glare David was giving him. Something was wrong.

“Pull out your Digivice,” David said through grinding teeth.

“What?”

“I said pull out your Digivice!” Chris reached into his pocket, the reassuring cold metal touching his fingers. He grasped it, quickly pressing several of the keys. He fished it out, keeping it in his closed fist. “Now open your fist.” Chris did so, the Digivice resting in his open palm. Gasps were heard from behind him, swear words rose up from the crowd, followed by death threats. Chris couldn't believe his ears.

“What is the meaning of this? What happened to Hiroshi?” Chris shouted above the crowd.

“Why don't you take a look for yourself,” was all David whispered as he stepped to the side. Behind him lay the upper half of Hiroshi's body. It took all of Christopher's strength not to puke again. He slowly walked over to the body, covering his nose with his arm from the stench. It was easy to tell the body had once belonged to someone of Asian descent, but that was all. The face was disfigured, the skull caved in and claw marks ruining what was left of it. Christopher's arm dropped away as he saw what was causing all the ruckus. There, in the middle of Hiroshi's chest was a hole that went all the way through his body, out the other end. What was causing all the problems was the hole was shaped exactly like Chris's Digivice.

His mind went blank, his mouth closed. He didn't know what to say. He was dumbstruck. He couldn't make his mind work. He just stared at the hole. Several moments of complete silence passed as the crowd quietly watched to see what he would do.

“Well?” David said. “Would you like to explain how a hole the exact shape of your Digivice ended up through Hiroshi's chest!” Chris remained silent. He was no longer staring at the hole. His head was still tilted, but his gaze was sweeping the surrounding area, taking note of the where the nearest Digital Portals were. He already knew he wasn't walking away from this.

“I don't know.”

“What do you mean you don't know?” David's face turned red in anger.

“Come on, Compiomon,” Chris thought to himself. “We gotta leave.” He turned to face David, trying to remain calm in the face of overwhelming odds. There were around fifteen Digidestined in the immediate area, another twenty in the back. Not to mention every Digidestined had their partners with them, most being able to Digivolve to the Champion phase. “I mean I don't know. I didn't do this.” He continued to evaluate the scene, noticing a cliff a hundred yards to his right.

“That isn't good enough, Chris.” David took a step towards Chris, his Guilmon one step behind him. The entire crowd seemed to follow, Chris being forced to start backing towards the corpse below him. “No one else has a Digivice like yours, Chris. Who else could have done this?”

Maybe there was another survivor from the battle. Maybe a Digidestined with a similar one has been hiding this entire time. We don't know!” Chris was slowly inching to his side.

“Why would a Digidestined hide for all this time, only to come back and kill one of us?” David said it more as a statement then a fact. Chris was out of options. There would be no talking his way out, no convincing them to listen to reason. Christopher broke into a mad run, his feet carrying him as fast as he could towards the cliff. He just hoped Compiomon was nearby. Otherwise it was going to be a long way down. “Don't let him get away!” The sounds of feet rushing and attacks flying through the air tuned out Christopher's own breathing, his hair singeing from the flames that screamed by, the sudden cold blasts almost freezing his skin, the rocks and wind nearly knocking him off balance.

Halfway to the cliff, a lizard the size of a turkey leaped out of a nearby bush, the little Digimon suddenly keeping pace several yards away. They drew closer to the drop. “Compiomon Digivolve!” The little Digimon jumped into the air, his body taking on the familiar white light as he began to change.

“Compiomon Digivolve to...” Chris was at the end. He took a leap of faith, the attacks of the other Digimon still seeking their target. “Velocimon!” The winged raptor suddenly swooped under Chris, the tamer wrapping his arms around the Digimon's neck as the air was knocked out of him. The two began to gain speed, Velocimon using the air currents to help ease the burden. Chris took a few seconds to catch himself.

“Velocimon,” Chris gasped between breaths, “I swear, I didn't...”

“Of course you didn't,” Velocimon interrupted. “I wouldn't have picked you up if you had.”

“Listen they are going to be right behind us in a few moments. We need to get to the real world. It is too dangerous to stay here.” Chris's eyes grew wide. “Have you seen Danelle?”

“Yea,” the Digimon hissed, “she couldn't stand the sight or them accusing you, so she returned to the apartment.”

Chris was already planning what he would have to say to her. “Head for the nearest Digiportal.” Velocimon banked slightly, heading towards the jungle below them.

***********************************************************************************


Chris was frantically packing his backpack with essentials, mostly food and water, but a map, money, his wallet, as well as well as his laptop. “Danelle, you have to listen to me. If you come with me, they will think you are involved. If I up and leave, they won't think twice about you.” When Chris had told his love of his plans to run, she had instantly wanted to join him. Not for a second did she believe he was guilty.

“But Chris, how will you get by? How will I get a hold of you?” She forced back a sob. Keep yourself together Danelle, crying isn't going to help.

“You won't be able to get a hold of me. If I bring a cellphone, they will be able to track me using the wireless signal. I'll call you whenever I get the chance.” Chris threw his phone into three plastic bags and tossed it into the toilet, flushing immediately. “That will by me some time.” He zipped his bag shut, going to the closet and pulling out a duffel bag. “Get in Compiomon.”

“Are you kidding? It is way too...” Compiomon's voice was muffled as Christopher forced the small Digimon into the bag. He looked back at Danelle. She stood before the window, her form darkened by the light streaming through. He walked forward, pulling her close as his lips locked with hers. They shared what could possibly be there last kiss, the seconds going by all too fast. Chris never wanted to stop kissing her, taking in her scent, holding her. He never wanted to let her go.

But he did. He broke the kiss and placed his hands on her cheeks. “Don't cry we will figure this out.” He placed a kiss upon her brow. “I won't give up. We'll see each other again.” He left her embrace, removed his hands from her face, and turned to leave. Danelle watched as he crossed the floor, knowing all to well that she may never see him again.

“Wait!” Chris turned, surprised to see Danelle digging through the drawers on their dresser. She pulled forth a small box, the kind meant for jewelery. “I was going to give this to you on our anniversary, but here.” She handed the box over. “Open it later. You don't have time now.” She blew him a kiss goodbye as he ran out the door. She steeled herself for what had to come. She had to pretend to agree with everyone. She would have to believe that Chris had killed Hiroshi. For his sake, and hers.

***********************************************************************************


David gazed down the small crowd of Digidestined and their partners, totaling fourteen in all. The mansion's foyer was immense, easily able to hold ten times the number of people and Digimon that currently occupied it. What appeared to resemble marble pedestals stretched into the distance and upon each one stood an artfully crafted bust of a multitude of Digimon, the reasons why they were immortalized forgotten with time. Twin spiral staircases winded their way to the balcony David stood upon. “Fellow Digidestined and Partners, who you see beside you, in front and behind you. Those who stand around you, are all that are left of us. Five months ago, Christopher Lunen murdered our dear friend Hiroshi, and after that, team after team was killed, each Tamer bearing his mark.” Danelle watched with a grim face, trying to hold back the look of the disgust she would much rather be showing. “We have sent Digital Ambassadors into the real world to try and bring him back unharmed, but each that finds him, is killed!” The group yelled and screamed, their anger being heated by David's words. “But no longer will we send peace loving Digimon to do our dirty work! Meramon will be his last! Through research conducted by Guilmon and myself, we, my friends, have found a way to beat him.” Danelle was now all ears.

***********************************************************************************


Compiomon and Christopher gazed at the gaping hole left from their room. “Well Compiomon, I don't think I'm getting a refund.” Chris turned around, seeing the rest of Meramon's data drift away on the breeze, a small sparkle of pink and blue. A few seconds more of being lost in thought, he heard the high pitch of sirens filling the streets. “Come on, guess we gotta find somewhere else to sleep.”

“Another motel?” Compiomon asked with a hint of disgust.

“Yep, and it looks like we are keeping to the side streets, seeing as I no longer have a bag to keep you in.”

“You don't see me complaining,” Compiomon growled under his breath. The two took off, trying to get as much distance between themselves and the mess behind them.