What…Huh? Where am I?
The last thing Hikaru remembered was a blinding light as L-Drago's Dark Move (a Dark Move giving off light, how ironic) rushed towards her, and then intense pain once it finally hit. And then darkness.
There was only darkness when she opened her eyes. The place she was in seemed void of light, floors, walls, ceilings, or any sense of space or time. It was as if she were floating in the center of a black hole.
But this black hole wasn't completely empty. From everywhere and nowhere negative energy – fearhatredwrathgreeddespair – pulsed from the darkness, deep as an electric bass, steady as a heartbeat. L-Drago's heartbeat. Hikaru curled into a ball and covered her ears, but it did no good. The pulses went into her, through her, scattering tiny bits of her here and there like waves on the beach scattering sand.
Foolish. Weak. Only prey. Only good for prey. My prey. Hikaru didn't "hear" the voice. Rather, it echoed through her, making every particle of her being shudder in response. The voice was carried to Hikaru by pulse after pulse, as if the darkness itself were speaking. So weak. But prey is food. Spirits is prey. Spirits is food. Food will feed me. Your spirits will feed me.The voice returned, but this time Hikaru could tell that it was made up of three voices. One low voice rumbled like thunder. One shrill voice screamed like wind. And one crackling voice stung and snapped like lightning. Waves of fear rolled off from Hikaru. Even though she had never heard the voices before, she knew exactly who they belonged to. L-Drago.
The darkness hissed with glee. Yes. Me, L-Drago. My name. Your doom. Hikaru shivered. Was she actually inside L-Drago? How did that happen? Was it even possible for a bey spirit to do that? Instinctively Hikaru reached for Aquario – and realized that her bey wasn't on her belt like it usually was. Aquario? Aquario had been with her when the Dark Move hit. Was Aquario somewhere else in this strange place? Or was Aquario…gone? Aquario? Hikaru called out again. Aquario! Where are you? Answer me, Aquario!
No use. Useless. Foolish human, the voices of L-Drago taunted. Where is Aquario? Hikaru screamed into the blackness, fear for her partner replacing fear for herself. What have you done to it? Aquario!
Aquario? Aquarius with me, L-Drago – said? Thought? Hikaru wasn't sure how communicating worked in this realm. Aquarius with me, feeds me. You feed me, Aquarius feed me. But Aquarius not here. Not with you.
So you've taken Aquario too? Hikaru realized. For a moment hope flared inside her like a candle in the darkness – Aquario was here! She could still find her partner!
Hoping was a mistake.
The darkness screamed in response, sending wave after wave – fearhatredwrathgreeddespair – against her, snuffing out her hope like a tsunami snuffing out a match. There was no chance of finding Aquario in here – this place was just too big. There was no chance of escape; she would spend the rest of her not-life in here. She and Aquario would never reunite again. Hikaru would be trapped in darkness forever, bits and snatches of her ripped away to feed L-Drago until there was nothing left. She wouldn't even be allowed to die, instead erased into oblivion.
BOOM…BOOM…BOOM… Fear, bitterness, despair, regret – these emotions replaced whatever hope Hikaru had of escaping from this dark place. L-Drago fed on these emotions, strengthening its own heartbeat while leaving Hikaru with nothing. BOOM…BOOM…BOOM… Hikaru winced at each pulse. She could feel herself disintegrate with each beat, and reform within the pauses between. She wasn't real here, she realized. Not solid-real. Without a body to house itself in, her spirit was about as sturdy as sea spray. With each pulse of darkness L-Drago ripped a piece of her away to feed itself. Yet for some reason Hikaru couldn't bring herself to care. Any hopeful feelings were destroyed, and any dark feelings were taken. Now Hikaru just felt nothing as L-Drago's power washed over like waves on a beach. No, not quite nothing. If Hikaru focused really hard, she could still remember a shimmering cyan wave of light-water that felt oh-so-familiar to her.
Aquario…where are you? Hikaru whispered into the darkness. Where are you, water-spirit? Only now did Hikaru realize the dangers of the darkness, of L-Drago's Dark Power. It was like deep ocean water, relentless and unceasing. Its icy coldness would gradually drain her strength until she couldn't keep her head above the surface and then she would drown. Dimly Hikaru wondered why she hadn't given up and let the waves swallow her already. Only the thought of Storm Aquario kept her spirit fighting for air, if only so she might see it again one day. Hikaru wasn't sure if she could keep what flicker of emotion left in her alive until then.
Aquario, where are you? Please don't leave me to die like this…
(A/N: This story is my answer to a question that bugged me for a long time: what was it like for Hikaru, Tsubasa, and Kyoya to have their souls stolen by L-Drago, and why were they affected so differently afterwards? I was surprised when I looked through the archives here on FFN - apparently no one had done this before, despite the obvious potential. So naturally I had to try writing it myself.
Given the length of this fic, I decided to split it up into chapters. If you want to read the whole thing in one go without waiting for me to finish updating, you can read this on my deviantART account.
I'm going to try to keep a consistent update schedule for this one. Tomorrow's Veterans' Day, which means no school and plenty of time to update. The next chapter will be about Tsubasa.)