A Digimon Frontier Fanfic

By Sakura Martinez

Disclaimer:

I do not own Digimon. This story, however, is something that I do own, including the OCs that you will find here.

Chronicles of Time: Another Future

Chapter Nine

Hands of Darkness

.::.

Where, O kind, destined to perish, are you directing your unavailing flight?

Alas, lost one, you know not whom you flee;

you are running upon enemies, whilst you flee from your foe.

You fall upon the rock Scylla desiring to avoid the whirlpool Charbdis.

.::.

Yumi was exasperated.

Well, she was more angry than exasperated. Not only were they lost and without any supplies (Why didn't I pack anything? She berated herself on several occasions) , but they had ended up camping inside a cave. Even though she was with Kouichi—who had done everything he could to make her feel comfortable—it was anything but romantic. In fact, being romantic could probably have been so far from Kouichi's mind and from hers. Trying to survive the night and find the others, maybe even find a way back home, had been at the forefront of their minds.

And, if that wasn't enough, she had woken up to find that Kouichi was gone and that the person who was with her—if 'person' was really the word to describe him, she didn't really know or care much about the semantics—was none other than Duskmon.

She really didn't have anything against him. She actually found him dependable, plus he knew more about where they were than Kouichi did. But, she would have rather been stuck with Kouichi. At least Kouichi wasn't as somber as him.

Throughout the morning, Duskmon barely spoke to her save for giving orders like making her get up and telling her that they had to move. When she asked "Move to where, exactly?" She was awarded with only a three-worded answer, "Far from here." He didn't even bother to elaborate. It drove Yumi nuts not knowing where they were going.

It was only when they had been walking for what seemed like hours that she noticed something and she did not bother to stop herself from pointing this out to her companion.

"Hey, Dusky," she started.

This caused Duskmon to perk up and say, "Don't call me that!"

Yumi didn't bother to correct herself to stop Duskmon from glaring at her, "Why does it look like we're going back to where Kouichi and I arrived?"

"That's because that's exactly what we're doing," he huffed.

"Why?" she couldn't keep the whine away from her voice, "There's nothing there! And, unless you haven't noticed, we don't really have any food or water to keep ourselves fed and hydrated. Or do you not care if we shrivel up and die?"

Duskmon chose not to answer. He was starting to be annoyed with Yumi. Why can't she be like how she used to be, back when she was Yumi Kanbara? He couldn't help but complain. And, of course, sharing bodies with Kouichi, Kouichi was privy to his thoughts. And Kouichi wasn't happy with him for that thought of his.

She hard Yumi gasp, and he immediately whirled around thinking that she saw something that surprised her—an enemy, a mysterious structure, anything of the sort. But then she merely glared at her, pointing an accusing finger followed by saying, "That's it, isn't it? You really don't care. I mean, unlike us, you'll probably just live on when we die."

Duskmon sighed, shaking his head. "Since when did you become so...overly dramatic? Not once, in the past, did you act like that. And, I should know, I had just been lying dormant within Kouichi during all of those months."

Yumi just continued to glare at him. To which Duskmon just gave another sigh. Apparently, unlike the other Yumi, this Yumi did not appreciate him being quiet and just doing his thing.

"Look, it's just...complicated. Very hard to explain, especially to someone like you—" Duskmon raised his palms up to silence whatever it was she was about to say, "—who's not used to stuff like this happening. Not that this kind of thing frequently happens to Kouichi and the others...The point is: just...trust me." Silently he added, Like you used to...

It was strange for him to keep on betting on that word: trust. After all, he was Duskmon. A lone wolf. Someone who could care less about the next person, much less how he is being perceived by others. Trust was not something he betted on. Until he was stuck with Kouichi, fear was his ace.

Hearing not another complaint from Yumi, Duskmon nodded to himself, turned back around and continued on with the trek, all the while making sure that Yumi was following him and that no harm had befallen her. Though he is still having a hard time completely understanding human emotions, he knew that Yumi's annoyance with him was well-warranted. After all, he was the one who had plucked her from the human world and insisted that she came along with them. Had he known that he would mess up with the portal, he would have...well, he couldn't say not make the portal since, unless she jumped into it, said portal will remain open for all to use...until the energy that was used to open it was gone.

Duskmon hated complications and thinking of how he had messed up and complicated things made him want to destroy something, blow something up...

He could not believe his luck that it would actually work, but he did not dare question how it had when things have begun playing right. Who would have thought that, despite the powerful force that had tried to break his connection—his trap—that that the girl would somehow still end up in his domain. It was really not something he had expected to happen.

Though he knew that it was one of the many possibilities waiting to happen, the existence of The Paradox caused him to doubt. After all, The Paradox, itself, was an existence that he had not foreseen in all of the histories that had been written and had branched off after that little time-travelling stunt that the Kanbara children did.

For him, who had seen a lot, it amused him that the twins thought they could change the future. Make it a little bit brighter and stop the destruction of the world. They failed to see that Chronosmon was not the real problem. Had they not wonder how Chronosmon came to be and how Chronosmon obtained his power? Did they really believe that humans would be powerful enough to create such a being? Of course not! And, instead of really trying to find out how it all came to be, the humans decided on a story—a theory—that they believed to be true...and stuck with it. It was funny how they didn't even see how wrong they were.

It was also fun making them believe whatever it was they wanted to believe, playing with their hopes in dreams. It wasn't that hard. All he had to do was see what it was they desired and he contorted their reality to suit his needs. And suit his needs it did. They grew lax. They grew weak. They let their guard down even as he was slowly rising to power. Now, it would only take that girl for him to be free and wreck as much havoc as he wanted.

He was truly thankful for the girl and that human bearer of the Spirit of Darkness for making such a strong wish. A desire to change time and space. That was all he needed, after all: a powerful desire from two individuals.

And now...it would only be a matter of time until he finally has the girl in his clutches. He wouldn't even need to wait for his Valkyries to come back. He can do it on his own even though the "light" of the Dead Sea of Dreams is trying to hinder his plans, even if there was The Paradox, he knew he would have her. And have her soon.

They arrived at the place where they had first touched down in the Dead Sea of Dreams—if this was really that place, and true to word, there really wasn't anything there that Duskmon could see. He was hoping to see a sign, a direction of where he needed to take Kouichi and Yumi to meet with the person they were supposed to meet. But there was none. There was not even a sign of life, or traces that there had been anything living in that place—except for those that Kouichi and Yumi had left.

"We're here, now what?" Yumi asked, she sounded tired...and she was.

"I don't know. Maybe go from here to the opposite direction of where you and Kouichi walked off to," Duskmon replied.

"You don't know?" Yumi shouted at him. Her temper was back. "You made us go back here and you don't even know what we're supposed to do now?"

"I know what we're supposed to do," countered Duskmon, "I just don't know how we're supposed to accomplish it. I was told that I needed to get you and Kouichi on the right track and that trek you took, going in that direction," Duskmon pointed towards the direction where they had come from, "was not the right way. You're supposed to meet with someone...someone who can help you sort all of this out."

"And that 'someone' would be—?"

Duskmon shrugged, "I wasn't able to gain any more information apart from that. The...person...I was talking to disappeared before he could tell me."

Yumi stared at Duskmon, waiting for him to elaborate and Duskmon knew that she would not drop it until he could tell her more. And so, she did. "The others...like me. But, not exactly like me. The Spirits Ten. A complicated story for another day."

"So, a bunch of ghosts told you what we're supposed to be doing?" Yumi wanted to clarify what Duskmon had just told her.

He glared at her, "Spirits. Not ghosts."

"I don't see any difference between the two," she honestly told him as she brushed past him.

Duskmon had the sudden urge to give her a lecture regarding the Ancient Ten and the Digi-Spirits. To make her understand—just as how she used to understand—just how powerful they can be, that they should be awed upon, revered even. But he knew that, being a human, Yumi wasn't really inclined to feel that way about him and his brethren. And so, he just let it go. Not that she didn't want her to understand but he knew that there would be another time and place—a better one—to have such lectures and discussions.

He did not, however, hid the fact that it irked him to be compared to ghosts.

After that, they decided to just go ahead and take the road opposite to the one they had been on. They were going to take things up one at a time, solving their problem a little bit at a time. The only sound that could be heard, apart from their breathing was the crunching of the sand underneath their shoes. After a while, they reached a steep incline that eventually lead them to a path between two jagged cliffs. Having no other choice, they purged ahead. Yet, even at such a height, they could still see no other signs of life and Duskmon couldn't see anything familiar.

"It feels like we're not getting anywhere." Yumi groaned as she sat down on the flat surface of a large rock hours later, when Duskmon finally allowed her to rest. "The scenery changes but our destination is still 'to nowhere'."

"Yeah," Duskmon shook his head. A strange feeling was building up inside of him, one that he couldn't understand. "There should at least be a settlement or something around here. You would have thought that, this place being the Dead Sea of Dreams, that it would be more populated...after all, this is the place where the dead future winds up. There should be more people here: people who were supposed to have a future but weren't given a chance to."

"So, it's just like the River Styx," Yumi said.

"The what?" Duskmon asked, confused.

"Greek mythology," was Yumi's two-worded answer and when she saw that Duskmon wasn't following still, she couldn't help but smile. "You know, Greek gods and goddesses? Demi-humans? Zeus, Poseidon, Hades? Olympus? That whole thing?"

Still Duskmon regarded her with a blank look on his face.

Finally, she thought. Something he doesn't know about.

"Well, according to that particular mythology," Yumi decided to explain, "the River Styx is a place where dead dreams, hopes, and futures are. It's a river in the Underworld that Chiron traverses with the souls of the dead for purification. They say it's where Achilles was bathed in, too, and the reason why he became indestructible. Well, except for his weak point which ended up being his heals."

"I...have no idea what you're talking about," Duskmon said after Yumi's explanation. "I could care less about your pantheon of gods and humans' fascination with mysticism."

"That—coming from someone who I would have regarded as a myth—is kind of ironic."

Despite hearing from Duskmon that he didn't want to learn anything more regarding the gods and goddesses of various mythologies, Yumi decided that it would be a good way to pass up time. Not only does she get to show-off just how much she knew about mythology, but she got to annoy Duskmon who obviously didn't want to hear about it. Annoying Duskmon had become a hobby for her, ever since she wound up being stuck with him.

It was just when Yumi was about to tell the story about the trials of Heracles when Duskmon shushed her, stopping dead on his tracks.

The look on Duskmon face told Yumi not to argue as he concentrated on trying to pin down what it was he was feeling. It was the same as before, only now, it was much stronger.

His instinct told him that he had best be prepared. Having survived long using his instincts, Duskmon complied. His crimson eyes burned brightly as he summoned his twin swords. The appearance of the weapon caused Yumi to gasp. It had only been the second time she had seen it and, despite the bravado she had displayed before, there was something about the sword that scared her, frightened her. But, even more than the sword, what truly made her feel afraid was the fact that Duskmon had to call for it.

It could only mean one thing, right? She thought to herself, Something's up...something bad.

"Stay close beside me," Duskmon had told her, and she nodded. She didn't even bother to ask question, especially with that tone he used towards her.

Gripping his dual weapons, Duskmon made himself ready for anything that may happen. That was what his gut was telling him, after all. That something was about to happen. Even though he had, in a way, protected lives before, he had never done so the way he plans to do now.

For a few moments, it seemed like he was wrong. That nothing was going to happen. That all changed however when the ground started shaking. The earthquake wasn't strong at first but it immediately gained magnitude that Yumi had slipped twice before Duskmon had took her by the hand and held her to keep her upright. It made Yumi dizzy, even with her eyes closed her head felt as though it was spinning. Then began the sound of the earth cracking open, landslide occurring on the edge of the cliffs, cutting out the way that they both had come.

"What's going on?" Yumi had to shout her question, thinking that Duskmon would not be able to hear her from the noise caused by the earth.

Duskmon didn't knew the answer, but he knew that if they stayed there, they would end up being buried alive by a landslide. Taking, Yumi's had, he told her that they had to move. Yumi complied.

It was not easy trying to make a run for it with the ground shaking and debris falling around everywhere, not to mention when the ground beneath your feet was cracking, but they both knew they had no choice.

They ran and ran with Duskmon constantly pulling Yumi to her feet as she stumbled. They didn't know where they were going as they weaved their way around. Duskmon could only hope, as he led the way, that the direction he was going through would lead them to safety. His hopes, however, were dashed when they ended up facing a cliff.

"I don't suppose you can fly," Yumi said, breathlessly.

"Not unless Kouichi had regained his ability to Digivolve and call forth my beast-form." Duskmon replied as he searched for another route, only to be stopped by boulders suddenly blocking the path from where they had come from, sealing them in.

"I...have no idea what you're talking about..." Yumi admitted. And, when she saw that their way was blocked, asked, "What now?"

But, before Duskmon could answer, a booming voice resounded around them. It was this voice that answered Yumi's question.

"Now, you come with me, child," the voice said.

Yumi gasp as she looked around, trying to search for where the voice had come from. Duskmon, however, merely tightened his grip on his weapons. He didn't need to be an omnipotent being to know who it was that was speaking to them. He didn't know the being's name, but he knew what it was.

This is bad. He couldn't help but think to himself.

As powerful as he would like to believe he was, Duskmon knew that, under the current circumstance, he would not prove to be a match against this being. He knew that, alone, this creature would merely toy with him. He needed the others and without the others, there was no way he was going to stand and fight. The only thing was, there was nowhere to go, no way to flee.

The voice then laughed as Yumi inched closer to Duskmon, clinging to his arm. "What is this? Do I sense fear?"

Neither Yumi nor Duskmon spoke, beckoning the voice to continue with its monologue.

"Mmm...It taste so delicious...this fear that permeates through your souls. Alas, I cannot appease my appetite with you both. Now, come along, child." With that, shadows appeared around them. These shadows were in a form of elastic hands and were anything but incorporeal. When one of the hands tried snatching Yumi, it grazed her and she felt like someone really did touch her.

Of course, the hand that did touch Yumi, ended up being severed from the mass of hands milliseconds later as Duskmon's weapon sliced cleanly through it.

"Touch her again and I'll destroy you," Duskmon growled, his eyes burning.

"What's this? You intend to fight me?" the voice sounded incredulous and somewhat entertained by the thought. "It is futile. An abomination such as yourself cannot hope to stop me, the lord of this domain!"

"Futile or not, I made an oath...and I intend to keep that promise I made to him...as helpless as he might be." Duskmon retorted. "I will not hand her over to you, regardless of what the consequences might be...on my part."

"The Great Duskmon, enslaved by the whims of a human child." laughed the voice, taunting Duskmon to make the first move. "There is worth fighting for there, Duskmon. You are on the wrong side, as usual. Fight for me instead, and I shall have your oath to Ancient Sphinxmon fulfilled."

"I am no longer bound with that oath." Duskmon spat. "Though for you to know about that bothers me."

"I know a lot of things, Spirit of Darkness." said the voice. "So many things."

As Duskmon and the voice continued their exchange, Yumi could not help but feel confused and more frightened. The danger she had been warned she would be in before felt so surreal that she actually believed that they were just blowing things up out of proportions. Being placed in such a situation that she was in at that moment, made her change her mind. She could feel the pull of the voice and she tried her best to push it back. It was such a hard thing to do. The voice was calling to her, to her very being.

"Snap out of it, Yumi!" she heard Duskmon shout at her before she felt him shaking her. "Don't let him fool you!"

Opening her eyes, she found that she had taken a step towards the shadow hands and that the only thing that kept her from taking another step was Duskmon's firm grip on her wrist. She didn't know what had happened and it scared her even more. So much so that she couldn't come up with anything to say to Duskmon.

"It's no use," the voice said, "She will be mine."

Before Duskmon could react, the hands suddenly attacked with so much speed, overwhelming him. With his hand on Yumi's wrist, dragging her away from the hands, he was only able to fight with one hand. Not being used to defending someone, Duskmon struggled as he swung his sword around.

Though he managed to chop several hands, it did not do him or Yumi any good. With every hand that was severed, two more took its place—like a Hydra. It didn't take long for Duskmon to be completely overwhelmed and, before he knew it, Yumi had been yanked away from him.

Though he struggled to get to her amidst the river of hands that dragged him back and blocked his way, Duskmon was unable to get to her before a portal made of shadow opened and Yumi was swallowed whole.