Falling Inside the Black
Summary: Yamato, Hikari, and Ken find themselves being drawn back to the world of Darkness. There, they must traverse the Digital World's Hell to take down the Demon Lords and Dagomon while overcoming their personal dilemmas.
Warnings: Heavy violence, mentions of abuse, incest, and rape.
Pairings: Taishirou, ex-Sorato/ex-Jyoumato, hinted Takari, hinted Kenyako. Also DaemonxLilithmon.
A/N: This is part of the headcanon, but can be read as a stand-alone. The Chosen's Digimon will likely not make an appearance (the Digital World was cut off in 2004).
3 – Anubismon's Gate
Ken's chest hurt as he came to. All around him were twisting shadows. The earth was soft soil and leaves. As he took his first breath in the overcast wood, something smelled foul about the air.
Yamato was sitting against a tree not far from him, smoking a cigarette. He noticed the young man stirring. "About time."
"Where's Hikari?" Ken asked.
"Over here," came the girl's voice. She appeared from the trees. Ken hadn't realized how deathly quiet the place was until Hikari's feet silenced. "I went to look around a little."
"Alone?" Ken hissed, glaring at Yamato, who shrugged.
"It's no big deal. I can handle myself," Hikari stated. In a way, she thanked Yamato's apathy for allowing her to finally deal with things by herself. Not that she didn't understand her limits. "There's nothing but more forest for miles. If we look around more, we need to go together."
"Where the Hell did you drag us?" Yamato snorted, putting out the deathstick on his boot. "Doesn't look like any Dark Ocean to me."
"...I'm not sure," Ken mused, finally climbing to his feet. He dusted the mud from his uniform and looked at the tiny clearing they landed in. "Could it be the Digital World?"
"...it doesn't feel like the Digital World," Hikari whispered. "But it doesn't look anything like the Dark Ocean I remember. Yamato?"
"Nnh. I was in a cave. This is just some shitty forest. I say we look for a way out of here or someone who can tell us where the Hell we are."
"Together," Ken reminded, still unsure about the blonde's callousness. He missed the Yamato from better days- willing to go dungeon crawling and not mind a laugh or two along the way.
The three of them chose a direction and started walking. Yamato, knowing how easily it was to get lost, took a nearby stone and carved into one of the tree's branches. They walked in silence and fear, with only the sound of their footsteps to comfort them with the fact that they weren't alone in such a spooky place.
Then, they heard a strange noise from above their heads. A growl? A snore?
"...you hear that?" Ken questioned.
Hikari made a frieghtened noise.
Ken reached for a nearby fallen tree branch and plucked it into his fists. "It's up there!" he called, looking above them. Indeed, a quick shadow was darting between the branches, getting closer. Then, silence again.
"Maybe we just startled it?" Yamato asked, then he felt the wind knocked out of him. He fell forward onto the ground, cursing. Blood dripped from his mouth and he wiped it away.
"Yamato!" Ken called, running over with the stick armed much like a baseball bat. "That thing just came outta nowhere!"
"I see it!" Hikari said. She grabbed a handful of stones from the ground. Some she shoved in her pocket; the rest, she tossed at the shadowy blur. It cried out with a horrible screeching noise. Hikari took the stunned moment to rush back to her friends. They would need to see from all sides to defend themselves. Ken reached down to help Yamato to his feet, but the blonde batted him away.
Back along the path sat a fluffy Digimon. It was brown koala-like thing with two tiny horns on it's head. The miniature red wings on it's back fluttered as it stared them down.
"That thing doesn't look so strong," Ken said.
"Tell that to my busted lip," Yamato growled. "Give me that stick, I'm gonna shove it-"
Hikari cut him off with a yelp. Above them in the branches were a few dozen more of the Digimon known as Phascomon. They chattered at the humans below them, sinking back into the darkness of the forest, only their red eyes remaining. Blinking.
"Consider that a warning!" one cried.
"Go back to your dirty human world!"
"Anubismon won't like it when you show up on his doorstep!" chuckled the one across from them in the clearing.
"Get over here and say that!" Yamato barked.
"Don't provoke them," Ken hissed.
"Who's Anubismon?" Hikari wondered.
"Guardian of the Dark Area," Phascomon continued. "I wonder how he'll treat a few renegade humans?"
"The Dark Area," Yamato whispered.
"L-let's go, before they change their mind. We're defenseless," Ken said, grabbing Yamato and waving Hikari towards him. They started into the forest again as the bear-demons hopped from limb to limb.
"Maybe Anubismon can help us understand why the darkness is imbalanced again," Hikari offered between breaths.
Suddenly, they were being pelted with bark and shot at with dark energy from the demons' claws. Ken could feel the heat against his heels. He wanted to look back to make sure Hikari was still with him, but bark pelted his back. Luckily, he could hear her panting to his left somewhere as she rushed to keep up. Yamato was cursing repeatedly a few feet ahead of Ken, swearing to turn the little bastards into fur coats, given the chance.
They could see a clearing ahead, but still kept an eye out in every direction, especially for the red speckles in the canopy. Yamato growled to himself, "I never should have come with any of you."
"You let your guard down," Ken reprimanded.
"Like you're an expert," the blonde sighed. His head was beginning to hurt from lack of alcohol to keep up his buzz. He shielded his head with his hands and his coat kept most of the debris from peircing through.
Hikari remained her usual silent self. This was a bad idea. We should have waited to get the others. Taichi. Takeru. Are they wondering where we are? The darkness is getting stronger... where... Hikari stopped running and felt. "Th-This way. The gate must be this way!" she called, darting to the right sharply.
"We don't even know what the Dark Area is," Yamato muttered.
"You're in it!" cried the Phascomon.
"We warned you!" several chanted, and then the barrage stopped.
The kids stopped just short of the clearing, catching their breaths.
"...wherever it is, it's part of the Digital World. At least we're in the right place," Ken mused.
"The Dark Ocean isn't here, is it?" the blonde retorted. "You said it was another dimension."
"It was just a theory," Ken growled. "Let's just follow Hikari."
"Our own little compass," Yamato chuckled.
Hikari took baby steps towards the freezing air. She began to gain speed with each step until she found herself running. Running away from her suffering mother. Her hateful father. Her distant brother. Herself. To the center of the clearing.
Even Ken could feel the darkness growing around them. He still remembered Vamdemon's laugh and pushed it from his mind as he held up the rear of their trio, wondering if the koala Digimon would come back for them. Was there something in this spot they feared?
The children's arms were laced with cuts from the trees' branches and bark, as if the wood itself reached out and tried to prevent them from going further.
"There it is," Hikari stated. The gate was surrounded by ornate vines and enclosed at the trunk of a large tree. The gate itself was golden and enscribed with letters along the fringe. "What are those symbols?"
"It's Digi-Code," Ken said. "I worked with it a lot as the Kaizer."
"Can you read it?"
"...I... I don't remember," Ken admitted, staring at his feet.
"That isn't important, anyway," Hikari pressed. She walked up to the door and placed her hands on it. She pushed against it, but the door was immeasurably heavy. So much force pushed back at her she suffered a bit of a recoil as she stumbled away. "Guess that's out of the question."
A jingle eminated somewhere behind them. "Stop. You're scratching the holy gate."
"The door to heaven?" Yamato joked.
"Don't mock the judge of your soul," the Digimon said. Judging by appearance, the group suspected it was Anubismon. The jackal-like being was bipedal and wearing robes. Once it passed Hikari, the Digimon spread large, golden wings. In it's hand was a scale, which had emitted the jingling noise. The sound silenced as Anubismon faced them. "What do you want?"
"Don't you know that?"
"We're here to defend the Digital World."
"Chosen. I see," Anubismon said. It's voice was quiet and deep, but filled the silent clearing. "The Darkness has grown uneven as of late. Many factions are at work, some more foreign to this world than even you. Why should I let you pass?" Anubismon, in particularly, looked to Yamato.
"We've dealt with this before," Hikari urged. "We can handle it."
Anubismon chuckled. "This coming from one who can't handle her pathetic, human life? Why don't you tell them what you're really thinking? That you should turn back now."
"Why are you so sure we can't?" Ken sneered.
"If anyone belongs, truly it is you, Digimon Kaizer. A human completely merged with the dark."
"Enough with the snide remarks. Are you gonna let us through or not?"
"You don't even want to be here... no, should I say, you could care less if I strike you down just now?"
"No one asked you," Yamato snapped. "Answer me."
"Please," Hikari urged, approaching Anubismon. "If we fail, what harm could we cause except to prove you right?"
Anubismon stared Hikari down, then turned to the others. "If you wish for death, I have no qualms granting it. I would delete you now, but that's beyond my power."
"So, you'll let us through?" Ken questioned.
Anubismon folded it's wings back against itself and stood away, raising the scale in it's hands. The door cracked open, billowing dark light. Hikari gasped, It looks just like the dark lighthouse. We must be on the right track.
She turned to Ken and Yamato. "Let's go."
A large castle loomed in the center of a desolate, desserted desert. Wind howled all around the two figures as they stood on the balcony at the top. The first was a horned demon-man in red robes. The woman next to him was scandily clad with her own set of demon wings to match the sharp, black and purple attire. Between them rested a telescope, enchanted to see through the storm.
"He's here," Daemon said.
"But he has those other two with him," Lilithmon sneered, snaking her arm around her lover's. "Dagomon's little pet and this other human."
"Don't mind them. Ken is the only one we need. I doubt he realizes a fraction of the Dark Spore Prototype still lays dormant in him. That may be all the energy I need to take down Lucemon."
"I assume Dagomon will handle the girl. I'm growing tired of this form anyway. May I have the other one? I sense immense power from him."
"Do what you wish as long as it doesn't get in my way, Lilithmon," Daemon huffed, untangling his arm. "Just remember not to lose your Crest to him. We need it to open the Seal."
"Do I look like I was reformatted yesterday?" she snapped. "I'm not subservient to you."
"I have an offer to make. I'll be back in awhile."
Daemon just chuckled to himself and left the balcony. Lilithmon leaned on one elbow, the other arm entangled over the telescope. She peered through, watching as the three children started across the gray, lifeless terrain. She prepared herself for disappointment with a frown about her lips- they wouldn't last a day out there.