...chapter EIGHT – For the Record

The task was beginning to grow tiresome. He repeated the steps over and over again, to the point where the activity of breaking and entering was no longer entertaining. Find the home, wait until the inhabitants were asleep or out of the way, then search the place and move on. How many more buildings must he look through to discover what he was looking for?

Of course, he should have known better than to trust information that Picodevimon had gathered. The incompetent ball of feathers always managed to screw up somehow, a fact which Vamdemon was growing increasingly tired of. He kept himself sane by imagining painful ways to torment the small digimon when he returned to his lair.

He turned a corner and a small house came into view. It was painted a bright sky blue, and even though it was dark, the shade bore into his eyes almost painfully. If Tailmon hadn't been the one who had given him the location he might have believed the place was intentionally chosen to cause him discomfort.

He approached the door and pressed his back against the wall, ears perked slightly to listen for movement inside. There was a woman's voice, babbling gently, and a child laughing in response. Vamdemon frowned, unhappy the building was occupied, but the lack of a male voice gave him hope for an easy night.

Breathing deeply, he thought about the task at hand. His gaol was a list of addresses of all the children in town that were located on certain school records of some sort .Not only would he have the locations of the known chosen ones, but he would know exactly where to look for the one still unknown. Just the thought of the amount of time he would save made him feel better. He was looking for some sort of documentation... Files, folders, or a database of some sort.

Tailmon had said the woman was high up in the standings of the schooling system, so it made sense that she might have records of the children's homes, and after unknowingly discovering the Kido residence he realized how important and beneficial such information would be.

Allowing his thoughts to drift away, he wrapped gently on the door. From inside the home, the woman's voice died away as she moved to answer his call. Vamdemon wasted no time when the door opened just a few centimeters, forcing his way inside and shutting the wooden opening behind him quickly before grasping tightly the woman's wrists and staring into her eyes menacingly.

"You will remain quiet and cooperate with me fully, or I will kill you." He rasped, "Is that understood?"

She shook her head hurriedly, horror and surprise etched upon her face.

"Speak up, woman, I can't hear you." Vamdemon growled.

"Y-yes!" She whispered quickly. She had tried to say it loudly and clearly with a sense of sureness but it was unable to come. "Whatever you want!"

"What a smart girl." Vamdemon said softly, running a hand up her left arm as he muttered a spell under his breath. As he finished speaking the words a thin mist formed around the door and thickened into a fog. He explained, "So you can't escape."

Her heart skipped a beat as she blinked a few times, even more surprised than before. Not only had the intruder scared her out of her mind but he was able to cast some sort of spell... What was he? She asked hesitantly, "What do you want?"

Vamdemon smirked. "Straight to business, then. That is the best path to take I suppose. Alright then, I will tell you what I want..." He paused, watching the woman lean forwards slightly in anticipation. "I want information, dear girl. You work for this town's education system..."

"I used to..." She corrected automatically. Instantly she regretted it as the intruder's eyes narrowed. She silently prayed that he wouldn't be too angry.

"Explain." He said with a frown.

"I was fired about a week ago." She said timidly, shrinking back now against the wall.

"Why?" He pressed.

"I... I misplaced some important documents that were needed for the start of the school year."

Vamdemon's eyes lit up. "What were they?"

"Class schedules..."

"Excellent." Vamdemon said with satisfaction. Tailmon's information was correct after all. He would be sure to praise her adequately when he returned. "Find them."

"...what?"

"I will not repeat myself." He said angrily.

"S-sorry..." She stuttered, fear growing. "But I don't know where they are... It might take a while to find them."

He told her darkly. "I have all night."

She swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded proceeding to search. Into draws, cabinets, and file bins she delved, but found nothing. She jumped involuntarily as bats appeared beside her, apparently searching themselves. Painstakingly long seconds passed as she moved from place to place and it hadn't taken long before she had looked through the entire floor of the home and found nothing. With a sick moan, she fell to the ground and began to weep.

Vamdemon approached her from behind slowly, quietly, and placed a hand upon her right shoulder with as much gentleness as she could muster. He needed those documents. If he killed her now, angry as he was, there was good chance that he would not find them. He spoke to her, "You have cooperated, and so, for now, I will not harm you. However, I do not expect you to stop your search. Surely there is a floor of some sort above or below?"

She wiped at her eyes frantically and nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes, there is a basement!"

Vamdemon took her hands and helped her to her feet, giving her a fake look of sincerity and a misleading smile. She smiled back weakly and headed for the door to the basement, glancing back once more to make sure the child was sound before opening it and heading down. Vamdemon glanced at it as well, thinking of what he could do to it later.

When she reached the bottom of the stairway she pressed a switch to turn on the lights and glanced around the room. It was a mess. Toys were tossed about on the floor, left where they had fallen from days past; a result of the child above. In the corner of the room was a desk and computer, where the woman worked when the child was playing.

She returned to work quickly, rummaging through toys and piles of papers in hopes of finding the schedules. Suddenly she paused, a thought popping into her head. 'He said he wouldn't harm me... I can pretend to be searching and simply tell him I can't find it... Then those kids wont have to suffer whatever he has in store for them...'

But it was too late. Vamdemon, searching himself, seemed to have found what he was looking for. Grasped in his hands was a white binder filled with the schedules of children in the school district. "Right in plain sight, on the table here. Things lost are always in places like that."

"Yes..." She said feeling sick. "Was that all you needed?"

Vamdemon opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by a bang from the floor above. Multiple voice erupted from the entrance to the home. He hadn't been focusing on the weak spell at the door, and it had broken. Slightly panicked, Vamdemon sent the woman a cold, hateful glare. "What have you done, you impudent wench?!"

She shook her head tremendously, a horrified expression upon her face. "Nothing! I didn't call anyone! You saw me searching the whole time! I never had a chance!"

Vamdemon grunted in acknowledgment, knowing she was speaking the truth. "Get in the corner. Stay there, low, and remain silent."

She nodded and moved out of sight quickly. The sounds drew nearer as the men on the floor above approached the door. Bangs sounded at the threshold of the basement as the door finally it was kicked in. The men filed down the stairway, guns pointed forwards towards their assumed intruder.

They were shouting words, but Vamdemon wasn't listening, uncaring, not wanting to put forth the energy to pull out each one. He turned, ignoring them, and placed the binder onto the table he had found it on. Turning around again, he faced the men. Folding his arms, he stared at them, laughing.

Their shouting died in place at the sound of the cold voice. One man stepped forward and put pressure on the trigger of his gun. "Put up your hands and get on the ground!"

"Or you'll do what?" Vamdemon challenged, smirking mockingly.

"I'll shoot."

Vamdemon's laughter rose. "On what basis? What have I done to harm anyone?"

"Neighbors on the street reported that you forced your way inside, thus breaking the law."

"So I did, but that hardly is a reason to harm me."

The man furrowed his brows and began to push down the trigger, intending to shoot out the suspects legs. Vamdemon, angered, reacted instantly, flinging his arm forwards and knocking the weapon out of the police officer's hand and far away to the other end of the room. Simultaneously his other arm sped forwards and grasped at the mans neck, lifting him up off the ground with a rock hard grip.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the others began to shoot. Bullets traveled through the air, penetrating the flesh of Vamdemon's arms and legs. He twitched as the twinges of pain flooded through his body, but held strong his grasp. Some of the bullets remained lodged in his skin, where his strong bones had blocked their pathway, but most exited through the other side. These wounds, where the bullet had not been blocked, began to heal, creating horror struck expression to appear on the faces of the men.

Angered even further, Vamdemon decided to cast away the seriousness of the even and have fun, and closed his hand suddenly then pulling back, ripping out the throat of the one clutched in his grip. Blood poured from the gaping hole as the body slid to the ground into a lump. The metallic smell invaded the room, causing the other men to cover their mouths and noses in an attempt to block it out. More bullets flew by, but nothing would stop the monster now.

He crossed his arms and drew them back, unleashing a torrent of bats that rushed forwards and removed the weapons from the hands of the men. Next he rose an arm high into the air and formed a pulsating red orb, which he held there for a few seconds, allowing his power to flow into it. Then, flinging his arm forwards, the ball extended into a long, crimson chain and struck another man across the chest with great force. He let out a gurgled sound as the whip tore his body and melted through his flesh as his mid body slid apart into two pieces and his organs flooded onto the ground. The bats previously unleashed fell upon them and began to clean up the mess.

The third man turned as the second man fell apart and moved to run, but wasn't fast enough. Vamdemon reached forwards and grabbed the back of his head then jerked him to the side. There was a sound of separation as the man's body flew across the room and smashed into the wall. Still held in his hands, blood dripping down chain of white, was the man's head, which had been ripped cleanly off his shoulders.

Vamdemon rose the head above his own, allowing the blood to drain down the gleaming bone and into his mouth, swallowing the liquid in huge gulps, relishing in the bitter sweet taste. He smirked at the flavor, which reeked of alcohol. The officer had been drinking. Dropping the skull to the ground, his eyes scanned the room for remaining signs of life.

Sure enough there had been a woman in the ranks of the men. A rookie officer, by her timid appearance. Her gun had long since fallen, abandoned out of fear. The bats, now satiated and having disposed of the gizzards on the floor, had her pinned against the wall, trapped.

He sauntered up to her, face and front of his shirt covered in blood, and tilted her chin upwards so he could stare into her tear stricken eyes. He smiled widely, relishing in her immense fear.

"You are a brave soul to have remained silent, girl." Vamdemon whispered close to her face. The smell of his blood stained breath made her gag. "I admire that, so I will express my unrelenting generosity. There is another human in this room. Another woman. I will allow one of you to live, and each of you will decide who."

"What!" The other cried out, anger and rage boiling over in her voice. She stood unsteadily beside a puddle of vomit where she had emptied her stomach as the murders occurred in her basement.. Vamdemon pulled away from the police woman and shifted his gaze to the irate owner of the home. She continued, "You promised you wouldn't hurt me if I cooperated."

"I did say that I wouldn't harm you, yes, but only for the moment." He said, then thought for a moment. With a smirk, he added, "I never said I would not kill you."

The woman blanched, and cried out without hesitation, "Take her! You promised me! I-I have a child!"

Vamdemon smirk disappeared and morphed into a thin line. A contemplative expression on his face, he turned back to the police woman. "And you? Who shall you condemn to a death, girl?"

Her voice was quiet, choked with fear and despair, "If I said to take her you might kill us both, angered that a verdict could not be reached. There is already a call against me..." She drew in a breath as a shiver ran through her body. "So I volunteer myself. I only request, if I may, that you do it as painlessly as possible."

"Because you have asked it of me you shall receive. Lift your chin dear."

She shuddered once more, but tilted her head back, tensing her muscles in preparation for the inevitable as he stepped forward and pressed his body against hers. Resting his face against her neck, he swiftly bit down, piercing her skin with his sharp teeth, and into her artery injected a potent fluid into the blood stream. Her eyes drooped before he could even pull away, and upon his release, she slid to the ground – dead to the eye.

The other woman smiled slightly, bending over and stretching her legs whilst glancing around the room at the gore spread on her floor. Meanwhile, Vamdemon bent down himself and picked up the police woman's weapon. He turned it over in his hands, analyzing the strange machine, then, without warning, he pointed it at the woman's leg and pulled the trigger. She cried out as the limb buckled beneath her weight and fell to the ground, clutching at the wound as he shot her three more times, in the arms and abdomen. He approached and knelt beside her in order to place the muzzle of the gun against her head.

"Stop this..." She pleaded, "You just said you would spare me."

"Did I? I don't recall ever speaking those words." Vamdemon said menacingly. "You are a greedy, miserable little wench. Indeed. If you had each nominated yourself you both would have walked, but you chose instead to condemn another to death. For that you will die."

"But my baby-"

He pulled the trigger, interrupting her speech, and her brain splattered against the wall. Her body slumped sideways, dead.

"Worry not," He spoke softly, running a hand over the dead woman's hair, flattening it against her skull and into the wet hole. "I will put him to good use. An excellent snack he will make for my ghouls."

Across the room, the police woman stirred, venom from earlier wearing off. She groaned and sat up with difficulty, staring around the room in incredible confusion. Hadn't she just died? Vamdemon abandoned the gun where he had made the kill and approached the police woman, sliding down the wall beside her to squat low to the ground.

"What...just happened?" She asked groggily, "How...why am I alive?"

"I changed my mind." He said sweetly, enjoying the game he was playing with her emotions. "I decided your soul was more worthy of salvation than hers was."

"Oh..." She said quietly, trying not to look where the other woman had been in fear of what she might see.

"But I wonder what I should do with you." He mused, glancing at her. "Should I bring you to my lair and make use of your incredible sternness, or should I present you to your master – bloody and half dead? Or kill you even still? Oh the decisions to make... Why don't you decide. I grow weary of the choices the night has given me."

"Either I subject myself to slavery or I risk the slaughter of my squadron?" She asked.

"Essentially." He said, amused she had blatantly skipped the third option he had given; her death.

She breathed deeply for a few moments. "What would you do with me if I were to serve you?"

Vamdemon smirked and thought how to word his plan so that it would give her hope. "Perhaps I can appoint you as a...personal trainer...for one of my servants... Yes. You seem to have abilities your friends over there did not realize existed. Maybe if you were in charge this situation could have been alleviated through speech, though I do enjoy the thrill of a kill..."

"You aren't just saying these things." She stated. He grinned, bloody fangs reflecting in the light of the room. He knew she had said that out of weariness. She would never have the chance to know how right she was. She sighed, and put her hands to her face. "I don't want to see any more death..."

"Then you will come with me?"

"Yes."

Vamdemon rose at her acknowledgment and helped the woman to her feet. He retrieved the binder of information he had come for to begin with and helped her up the stairs.

"Will you really kill it? The child?"

"Yes." He said, uncaring, picking it up by the arm. Glancing around, he spotted a backpack in the corner of the room. He retrieved it and put inside both the binder and the baby.

"What if I could find him a home?" She pleaded, but the glare he sent her way silenced her, and they both left through the door.

Parked along the street were patrol cars. Their lights were still flashing and had attracted a small crowd. He watched in amusement when they took on surprised looks as they left the building and walked towards the vehicles.

"You can operate one of those?" He asked, motioning towards them.

"Yes." She whispered, moving close to him under the scrutiny of the on lookers. She was fearful they would try and make a citizens arrest. They would all kill themselves. But it didn't happen. They stayed put as Vamdemon sliding into the passenger seat of an idling vehicle. Hesitantly she entered the other side and shifted the gear. He pointed in a direction and she started driving.

"Do you have a name?" He asked, trying to appear more friendly and personable. She would need to be comfortable around him if his plan was to succeed.

"...Margaret Hawking." She answered.

"Do you have a way to contact your master?" He asked further. Her face grew pale as she nodded. "Do it. I would like to speak with him."

"Yes, sir." She whispered, and picked up the receiver from the dashboard. She remained silent, afraid to reveal to him that her boss was a woman as well. The number dialed, she waited for the office to pick up.

One ring. Two.. Three...

"Commander Shiko? What has taken so long? Why isn't your squadron back?"

The strong clear voice took Vamdemon by surprise, but he smirked it away and took the talking box from the woman's hand.

"Your squadron is dead, friend." He informed her with as much gentleness as he could muster.

There was a drawn out silence on the other end before the voice exploded. "Who is this?"

"How rude." Vamdemon chuckled. "You should speak more kindly to your men's executioner."

"They are dead..?" She repeated. She hadn't believed him at first, but with the way he was speaking there seemed to be a grim truth in his voice.

"Oh yes. I killed them. All of them. Those filthy wastes of flesh met their end before they knew what hit them. Their blood didn't even taste of good health. No, it was riddled with drugs and alcohol. Was it any wonder they were so quick to shoot at me? Your woman, on the other hand... Her blood, what little I tasted, was crisp and sweet; full of positive energy. You had found a gem in her. It's too bad you wasted her on them and lost her forever."

"Hawking!" The woman cried out, disgusted.

"I am here."

"What has that lunatic done to you? Where are you going?"

"I can't tell you..." She said quietly.

"Hawking... Give her back, monster."

"I will not." Vamdemon said sternly. "You see, I gave her a choice. Come with me, or return to her master. Since she is such an intelligent woman, she chose to keep me away from you. If I met you face to face, after all, I might have killed you for sport."

"You brazen son of a bitch!"

"Enough." Vamdemon growled, leaning forwards in his seat. "I have a message for you and you had better heed it well. My name is Vamdemon. I have traveled here from another world, arrived with the intent of ruling over this one. Only one human stands in my way, and I am very close to finding and killing it. Do not, and I mean what I say, send your forces after me again. Your bullets do not work, and you will simply be sending your men to their deaths. Help your own, do your reports, as you have been, but do not come after me. I hope I have made myself clear."

The woman struggled with how to reply to the flood of information. "It is you, isn't it. You're the one responsible for the recent disappearances and deaths..."

"Ah, so you aren't as stupid as I thought you were." Vamdemon mocked, leaning back in his seat. "Yes, I am responsible for what you have described. Don't be expecting your missing persons back, by the way. I am having far too much fun with them to even consider it."

With those final words he terminated the connection The girl glanced at him from the drivers seat, but held her tongue, driving in silence, afraid to speak. After a long few minutes she garnered up the courage. "Will you tell me more about who you are? What you are? What you said before didn't make sense to me. You aren't...human. You can't be."

"That knowledge comes with a price."

"...I'm willing to pay it. I'm curious." She said.

Vamdemon laughed silently. "You made the choice, remember that in the future when your time comes. You are correct, girl. I am not human. I am a digimon, that is, a digital monster, and I hail from the digital world. My name is Vamdemon, but for the short time we are together you shall not address me as so. I am your master now, but you seem to understand how to speak to me already."

"Yes, Sir."

"Excellent." He said, staring out the window at the lights of the city. Humans were out and about, still not paying heed to the warnings on their news stations. He wondered if his most recent slaughter would be relayed, or if his words would have scared the woman into keeping silent.

The woman that was driving glanced at him once more, curiosity getting the best of her. "What do you think of this place? Is it anything like your world?"

"Oh no." He said casually, "The digital world is much less busy than this one. There are no cars, far less artificial lighting, and much less noise. There is more fighting, much more actually, but that is how life should be. You fight to survive. If you win, you get stronger, and live on. If you lose, you are weakened, and die off. This place seems similar at first glance, but it is weak, pompous individuals who think they are above all others, who think their beliefs are better than others, and somehow manage to prosper. They use other means to gain power, despite their inherent weakness. In my world that doesn't work. Digimon who try and survive on their cunning alone tend to get stomped out long before they can rise to power like many of those humans have."

"But wouldn't you agree that you are the same as those people? You are here to exert power over others, and to spread your own beliefs, are you not?"

Vamdemon narrowed his eyes slightly, "In a way, yes, but that is not my only goal, and I certainly hold the physical ability to back up my mind, girl. You see, I am acting primarily out of self preservation. A group of human children were making rounds in my world and eliminating established rulers. I am up next, you see, but they alone can't defeat me. No, they need another human that resides somewhere in this region. Instead of waiting around for them to destroy me, I've come here to kill that human first. Then, in retaliation, I will establish my power as the ruler of this world. It makes sense, wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose so." She uneasily, staring around in confusion as she took the final turn he instructed and ended up in a dead end alleyway. A feeling of unease fell over her. "Is this the right place."

"It is." Vamdemon confirmed, stepping out of the car. She followed his example with uncertainty, then watched as he put his hands together then stretching them forwards created a ball of fire that was projected at the vehicle they had just inhabited. With an explosion it burst into flames that rose high into the night sky and licked the brick of the surrounding buildings.

"W-why did you do that? The buildings will catch!" She screeched, glancing around frantically.

"Exactly my intention." He whispered, flames reflecting dangerously in his eyes. "Now come here, into my arms." He said, pushing the bag he had been carrying towards his back more securely. "I must fly the rest of the way."

Her head spun at the idea. Did she hear him correctly? Fly? Though she had her doubts, she stepped forwards and embraced him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, lifting her up, and within a few seconds they were soaring through the sky, leaving the burning car behind and heading over a large body of water.

She watched in awe as the sky and stars passed by in a blur of dark blue, black, and yellow-white light. This creature could actually fly! She shut her eyes, feeling free, and allowed the weightless sensation to take control of her. She became so wrapped up in the fantasy that she hadn't noticed when they had stopped moving.

There was a quiet sound. A low growl, very close, and a gentle splash as her feet dipped slightly into water. She opened her eyes only to meet Vamdemon's, which were glinting menacingly. Her heart began to pound as a sickening smell invaded her senses. She was no longer in the monster's arms, she noticed. Instead she was resting on something that felt wet and slimy beneath her body. Slowly she glanced down, and numerous sharp white rocks came into view. She reached forward and felt them. They were smooth and polished; not at all like rocks. Her heart thudded even faster as her eyes met Vamdemon's once more

"I already have a toy." He whispered, "I don't need another." Then he laid a hand gently on her chest, just above her breast, and pushed her backwards so that she rested completely on the wet object she was previously just sitting on. The foul smell grew stronger as she gazed upwards at a red ridged sky. She felt herself moving up and down slightly as a thick wind blew past her; a result of something breathing beside her. Her eyes grew heavy as she noticed there were rocks above her as well that were somehow embedded into the sky.

Vamdemon floated back a few feet and watched with amusement as the girl remained there in place without a struggle, too afraid to move, still not realizing what sort of situation she was in. He waited a few moments, and relished in the scream when it finally arrived.

The row of rocks had suddenly snapped down from the sky and impaled themselves into her legs just below her waist as her vision was plunged into darkness. She could feel blood running from the wounds as it traveled down the slight incline towards her head and pooled upon the slimy thing she was laying on. She struggled to breath as the darkness lingered and the sickening smell grew thick.

There was light again. She gasped for air as suddenly her world tilted downwards even more, causing her to slide a few inches backwards. It grew dark again, and the rocks slammed into a new spot on her legs, just above her knees, causing a fresh wave of blood to flow towards her.

A sudden realization flooded over her as the light of the night appeared. Vamdemon's cruel laughter rang through her mind, although it was muffled by her own blood and the spittle of whatever creature she was positioned inside. She slid back even more than before and was thrust into a small opening. Her head and shoulders were forced to enter the tight space where there was no chance to breath. Her own mouth opened and shut a few times in an attempt to draw in air, but the effort was futile.

She felt a breeze at her legs again, but with her position she could no longer see the light that previously accompanied it. A sudden pressure surrounded her face and torso and she was dragged backwards by convulsing walls, then, once again, her legs were dug into, this time down by her ankles. Her senses were fading.

The hold on her legs lifted and there was another strong tug as she was pulled backwards even more, to the point where her head dipped downwards awkwardly compared to the rest of her body. The tightness reached her elbows now, but she couldn't feel it anymore. Her body had grown numb from asphyxiation. She never realized when one final tug drew her down a long tunnel that emptied into a chamber with thick, yellow acid that sloshed about her body and proceeded to break her down.

Vamdemon smiled in satisfaction as the woman disappeared from his sight and Megaseadramon, content with its meal, fell back to the water. She had been getting on his nerves with her questions, and he had said to her too much, so it was necessary to be rid of her.

He flew away, quickly heading towards his lair so that he could bring a close to the night, and fell through the ground into his base with the thrill of the woman's death still fresh in his mind. Passing through the main room, he withdrew the writhing child from the bag at his side and tossed it into the air at his Bakemon servants, which grasped it with feral impulses before it could even hit the ground. It cried as they tore it apart and devoured it's flesh.

"Doctor." Vamdemon said, addressing the man seated in the corner of the room. He was watching the Bakemon's carnage with wide eyes that snapped towards Vamdemon as he approached. "I have a task for you. Follow me."

With a sigh, the man stood and trailed after his captor through a hallway and up stairs, eventually coming to stop in his master's main quarters. Vamdemon sat upon the lid of his coffin and stripped his boots and gloves followed by the layers of torn clothing sticking to his body. He prodded at the wounds still trickling with blood with curiosity, as he had never bled for so long before.

"You can remove these?" Vamdemon questioned, leaning back to look at the man.

"They are bullet holes?" The doctor asked with surprise.

"Yes."

"I can do it..." The doctor muttered and reached into the bag beside him for a scalpel and forceps, then, kneeling beside Vamdemon's legs, got to work digging into the flesh and fishing out the lodged bullets. He watched in amazement as he worked at how the wounds closed up within minutes of being cleared.

It took a long time to remove all the bullets from the body. The doctor wanted ask how the injuries might have occurred, but was afraid of finding out what had happened to whoever had been stupid enough to shoot the monster begin with. A sudden panicked thought ran through his mind. Most likely they were dead. His son, who apparently was a target of this monster, wouldn't stand a chance the next time him and the vampire met. Sadly he wiped off the blade before standing and being dismissed from the room.

There were still flakes of blood on his skin, so Vamdemon wiped himself down with a wet rag before pulling on fresh clothing and sliding back the lid of his coffin. He lowered himself into the box and relaxed into the plush interior with the treasure of the night clutched in his hand. With a satisfied smile he flipped open the cover and skimmed through the contents. Page upon page of printed lines greeted his excited eyes as the addresses of all the children in the school district appeared to him. It was the perfect tool. The chosen child he was after would at least know basic functions in order to be expected to fight along side a digimon, and as soon as human children could speak they were thrown into some level of schooling.

Included in the list, as he expected, were the existing chosen children's names and homes. He already knew the Yagami location as well as Kido, but now he had them all. Those places, at the very least, would not need to be searched.

Tomorrow night, he thought, the real hunt begins. The time for fun has passed. The eighth child is within my grasp. He smiled, I can already taste victory. Soon the chosen ones will fall, and this world will be mine to rule.

The door creaking open drew his attention away from those thoughts. His human captive peered around the corner of the threshold, eyes asking if he would be required that night.

"Come in, boy." Vamdemon said in high spirits "I've got a job for you that I believe you will enjoy."

"Yes, master?" The child wondered, entering the room and sitting upon a stool to the side of the box.

"First, tell me, how is your leg feeling? Is it healing well?"

"Yes, sir." He said, gratitude clear in his voice. "Thanks to you. I can almost bend it now."

"Excellent." Vamdemon said pleasantly, "Now that you can walk with relative stability I will grant you a new freedom."

"Freedom, Sir?"

"Yes..." Vamdemon said quietly, "I will be putting you into the search team for the eighth child. You will be monitored of course, by Tailmon or Wizarmon, but you will be able to get some fresh air and exercise. How do you feel about that? Are you happy?"

"Yes!" The boy said quickly, eyes brightened and full of excitement.

Vamdemon smirked and held out his arms expectantly. "Wonderful. Now, come here child. Celebrate with me my impending victory."