ONLY HOPE AND LIGHT TOGETHER CAN DEFEAT DARKNESS
By kathlaida-princess
Summary: Five years after their last battle, the Dark Ocean calls for Kari again. She tries her best to resist, but the calling gets worse and more desperate, and she decides to end the problem once and for all, this time, with the help of her best friend Takeru Takaishi. But they seem to get into a hopeless situation, and only by using the powerful crests they carry for ten years they can find a way out. Major Takari. Rated M for one chapter, and one chapter only.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Digimon, but I hope to own your interest while you're reading this!
Author's Notes: Hello everyone! I know I took quite a while to update, but with three other fics brewing plus school and all that comes with it, this was the best I could do... The good thing is, I got myself a laptop (where I'm writing now), so I can try to get things done faster ^^). Anyway, as usual, I appreciate all who have read this fic this far and I want to thank Aero Angel (thanks for all the motivation!), Odat (that was my purpose, so I'm glad you did, they are living creatures after all), pinayangel528 (lol, I loved the image you described to me, with T.K. and Kari fighting together as angels ^^ And about your questions, you'll find out soon enough! Thanks so much for the review!), PrincessOfHeartsNYP, Wish I Could Forget You, joeshen (well, that's the good part of writing, making people think about what happens next xD But about the thousand shards thing, I wasn't referring to the manga, I was talking about a song by the band Isis ^^ Thanks for your review! ^^), Light-of-Hope-07 (thank you so much! ^^), regie and Anonymus (sorry I couldn't reply before ^^; still here it is!)for leaving their wonderful reviews ^^
Once again, sorry for keeping you waiting!
On with the story!
CHAPTER 12
THE RIGHT CHOICE? MAYBE...
While a new hope began to sparkle boldly not too far away, another one kept withering, decaying into an endless shower of sorrowful, sobbing tears as the broken-hearted Hikari Kamiya was still trapped inside a lie, a very dangerous lie.
As hope dimmed, so did the light that was the two young adults' only guide inside that nightmare, but Kari didn't even notice that progressive loss. Knowing that her best friend wouldn't cross those colossal doors, wouldn't spontaneously throw a will-power-generating smirk at her and make all the doubts vanish before his golden aura, left the brunette without the only safety channel that still conveyed some sense of reality into the madness that filled the Dark Ocean, abandoned her inside a freezing hole where she could only stay still and expect nothing but the worst.
All she did was cry. She wouldn't think about trying to make herself feel better, for she thought that was only possible if she had Takeru with her, and she hadn't. The tears kept spilling with her complete consent, and she even wished they were her own blood instead, drawing her faster to the place where her best friend was taken after his last breath.
And it was all her fault. She was so weak that she couldn't face this challenge (and, after all, this was a quest made only for her) alone. Worst of all, she had to suck the greatest motivation of her life into it, and rendering him dead in yet another moment of helplessness.
Hikari wondered, imagined how lonely his last moments must have been as the ultimate whimpers of breath vanished from his lungs and his body sank deeper into the immense ocean of blood, surrendered to his own mortality. Did he reach out a hand in hopes to still rescue her? Or did he regret in the end to have a friend as troublesome as she was? Would he have been happier if he knew how much she loved him, the love she had tried to suppress for so long?
Hikari kept crying as her heart painfully squeezed. She didn't have now the ability to do anything else. For the very first time since she set foot in the Dark Ocean, the Child of Light felt completely hopeless, even without hope to ever hope again. For the first time, she understood clearly where she was and how far her home laid.
While the young woman remained in that unavoidable state of mind and couldn't care less about it, the ruler of that horrid dimension began visiting her room regularly, right before the Scubamon brought the meals and bowl of water she would barely use, for he knew his world was still dependent on the brunette's power and, more importantly, her choice.
He would resume the persuasive speech he had begun the first time they met and, in between her own sobs and tears, some of Dagomon's words did get through to her, and she would inadvertently pay attention to them. Whenever he entered her room, Kari would try to keep the greatest distance possible between them, but as time went by, the giant Digimon seemed much less dangerous to her, with some sort of hidden yet inherent sense of kindness among its hideous flesh.
On the first times he visited her, he respected her wish to be left alone and remained by the door, an immense tower of silence and tentacles. He wouldn't say a word for several minutes and he would then leave. Hikari felt bothered during those times, uneasy with that terrible presence, but her inner sorrow was stronger and kept her from noticing it too much. His gaze never fixed her nor she felt too observed.
The next times, the Dark Master dared to come closer (still with Kari's negative response) and approached the gigantic bed where the young woman laid with her sea of tears, but still brought nothing with him but silence. This would give the Child of Light the opportunity to analyze him more thoroughly where her crying paused occasionally. His gaze was fixed on the painting in the bedroom and his expression was serene, but Hikari could sometimes see an aura of suffering and sorrow surrounding him, something that surprised her a lot. Still those moments of analysis were brief, for the woman would always return to her almost catatonic state.
Finally, on the last times Dagomon came to the bedroom, he decided to begin talking, approaching her a bit more.
"You know, Chosen One, that the time for you to make a decision is rearing its end, don't you?"
Hikari looked up at him, outraged that he began the conversation in such way. Sill the Digimon carried on.
"You must know that, in situations such us ours, one life is worth sacrificing for a thousand. There is no use for Hope when Darkness is taking over our home and the Hope that you brought was only meant to take you this far."
The young woman resumed sobbing silently at the mention of her best friend.
"Down here, the only salvation is power, and the only true power is you, Chosen One. All must go according to the true prophecy, and all has gone well so far. Deep down your heart, you know that you are close to grasp the solution and it is time to act. Or do you want your friend to have died in vain?"
Confusion and the logic of the Digimon's words took their toll on the brunette, making sense to her, bringing the answer to her dilemma closer. It really was... easy... There was only one thing she could do.
"I know the things I have done are not considered the most correct, I have seen myself become something horrible, so different than what I was before... But if I am this hideous it's because this is the last thing I can do to save my people and my world, even if at the risk of hurting them, and believe it, it isn't easy for a leader to destroy his own world. I am too weak of a King to give more for my people, I need my Queen to lend me that power. Know that you are the only Queen the prophecy begs for."
With this, the Dark Master would abandon the room, leaving the human with her thoughts. And Hikari found rightness in what Dagomon said, an immense sense of clearness that swept over her mind and showed her the way, even with some stings of doubt.
The next few times, the leader would return with a similar and very logical speech, further taking Hikari away progressively from her numbness and making her consider a choice for the first time in what seemed like a very long time. When he left, the young woman would bring a hand to her chest and would digest all the new information and feelings, trying to imagine what Takeru would do if he were still there.
And it came clearly to her. He would be so disappointed to see her so beat down, so hopeless. He would suffer to see her that sad and Kari knew he would blame himself really hard for having left her alone. The Child of Light soon realized that she had the duty to use the chance his friend gave her by keeping her safe, to accomplish the mission she knew she had the moment she entered the Dark Ocean. Even if it meant trusting a monster, she was already proved that Dagomon was the only possible choice in that deserted place.
A new, never-heard-before voice whispered inside her head tentatively, approving her thoughts, encouraging her to step forward.
"That's right, Hikari... It is simple, isn't it?"
With it, the last traces of questioning released Hikari, allowing her to make a decision.
She would give her power to Dagomon, ruler of the Dark Ocean and the only Digimon capable of handling the Light inside and using it to save his world. She would do it for Takeru, she would do it because it was her mission as the Child of Light, she would do it so that she could finally return home.
And she would do it now.
The young woman moved her limbs on the bed for the first time in quite a while, and they lazily responded to her, though a bit sore from the lack of use. It took her some effort to crawl out of the bed and onto the white floor, but once she stepped on it and began heading towards the massive door, something completely unexpected happened.
Kari felt a sudden burn against the skin around her neck and another inner voice made itself noticeable, though much louder, much warmer and much closer to her heart.
"Have you gone completely crazy, Hikari Yagami Kamiya?! Look around you, closely... Look what he has done to you, how he took advantage of you!"
Utterly confused, the brunette rubbed the burnt skin and noticed it was her Crest of Light that reacted. She looked around carefully as she was advised and noticed something her previously "comatosed" eyes didn't.
Crawling languidly all over the floor were many tendrils of extremely familiar nigh-transparent dark fog, many of them reaching her bed and reaching for her, holding onto her. Hikari recognized it immediately: it was the same substance that made her turn against T.K. and try to kill him. Dark sorcery. One of Dagomon's powers.
Sure that what he had told her before had some logic in it (it had all the logic if you really thought about it), but for the leader to use those means to control her and for her own Crest of Light to react like that to her decision, Kari knew the solution was still far away and that she had been about to make a terrible mistake, as another of Dagomon's puppets.
Still, one good thing came from that experience. Even without Takeru, she still had to react and carry on. She had to get as far as she could from that place and all things clouding her mind, not letting her make a fair decision.
Walking around the room in circles while trying to disperse the dark fog, Hikari looked for a way to get out. Her eyes landed upon a huge jade statue, right beside the great door, as tall as she was. That surely was heavy. The next time Dagomon came, the Child of Light would have a surprise ready for him.
END OF CHAPTER
And this is it, for now... Sorry if you think it is too short, this is all you are supposed to know so far.
Still I do hope you enjoyed and, well, merry Christmas to you all, my lovelies!
I have some fanfictions to start and I'll then update this one (sooner, now that I have a laptop).
What should the second couple be, Taiora, Sorato or Taito?
Current results:
Taiora – 49
Sorato – 42,5
Taito – 26
See you all next chapter!
kathlaida-princess logging out...