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).
5 – Rosemon's Red Rooms of Repute
Hikari heard the door open. The Digimon scattered about, hiding not unlike the manner she was. She gasped as she huddled back against the wall, deep in the safety of the shadows from the table. She could see green boots and hear something being dragged along.
Then she saw blonde hair.
Yamato-! She thought, landing forward on her palms. She peered around the corner of a table leg.
Rosemon walked over to the Renamon and kicked it. Harder the second time. Hikari heard the Digimon sigh, "Another waste of such a beautiful Digimon. Well. People will pay more for a human anyway."
I have to do something... Hikari wondered. But what could she do?
"Hey," Rosemon barked, tugging at the whip. "Don't pass out on me just yet, child."
Hikari watched as Rosemon passed her, nearing the stairwell. Yamato was unconscious at the end of the thorny whip. The girl bit her lip and gathered some of her brother's courage, then broke out of her hiding place. Rosemon turned as Hikari lunged at her, screaming to let her friend go.
Rosemon hit the wall and pulled back her whip, then circled it about Hikari's ankle, tossing her to the ground. She shielded her face but still managed to hit the bottom stair. Dazed, she watched as Rosemon stood over her in a power stance.
"Don't interfere with me," Rosemon ordered. "Go find your precious Dagomon and do what you came here to do. Trust me, it will save Lilithmon that much more trouble if you do."
"I don't care about any of that. You're hurting my friend. Let him go."
"I can't do that," Rosemon smiled. "Lilithmon needs this boy's body. How else will she enter the Real World?"
Hikari tossed her head. "Take me!"
"If only that were an option. I'll give you a chance to run, girl, while you have usefulness. If I see you come near this child again, I'll rip you limb from limb!"
"No!" Hikari said, struggling to her feet. Rosemon kicked her in the face and Hikari fell backwards, clutching her cheek. Hikari could hear the footsteps as Rosemon went up the stairs. She climbed to her feet again, only to feel a thorn against her shoulder plunge itself into her and retract again. Hikari felt dizzy and collapsed, watching Rosemon drag Yamato's near-lifeless body up the stairs.
"Can't... I can't do this..." Hikari whispered. Her stomach began to churn. The Digimon that had filled the room with giggles and growls were now gone. She reached out for the carpet and pulled herself over to the door, each time growing weaker. "She... there's something wrong with me."
"What did... what did you do to Hikari?" Yamato choked, feeling spit run down his lower lip. It soothed the clotted cut from earlier.
"Just a little poison. She'll be fine, I suppose," Rosemon said. She let Yamato go and he stumbled to a stand. He was at the top of the stairs and looking down a row of rooms, like a motel. She went to the nearest room and unlocked the door. "Now get in there. I have a slew of clients lined up for you."
"I told you... I don't listen to people who boss me around."
Rosemon laughed. "You're a hard one to break. Not like that boyfriend of yours would have been. If only I'd had the chance."
"Shut up," Yamato demanded.
"It was worthless, wasn't it?" Rosemon questioned, placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder. She lead him inside the room as if this was some casual conversation. "Getting that crest to glow for someone, who, wasn't even your friend at all."
"What the Hell do you know about Jyou," Yamato hissed, shrugging her off.
Rosemon grabbed him, stripping him of his trenchcoat and annihilating it in her hands. Yamato was left in his blue school uniform. "That really brings out your eyes. I was debating leaving the tie, but it could lead to some entertaining possibilities." She started to leave and Yamato took a step forward to follow. She turned back at him, raising her hand. "I wouldn't do that, unless you want to end up like your friend. If you really have any."
Yamato spat at her.
She slammed the door behind her and he could hear her starting down the stairs. He called after her, "I thought you weren't allowed to hurt me!"
Don't worry. I'm not allowed to hurt you. Rosemon thought. She went back to the main level. The child of light was gone now, but no matter. Rosemon walked behind the desk and flipped on the lights. Red, purple, and pink filled the tiny drug den. She quickly used her whip to cleanse away Renamon's corpse and then found the rotary phone. Lilithmon needed to hear about her new vessel.
Ken was unnerved by the way the city seemed to come to life after Daemon's leave. All kinds of virus Digimon wandered about. There was a PicoDevimon running some kind of food stand and Ken sighed. He was pretty hungry. He walked over and the Digimon eyed him.
"Hee hee, no charge, you know," it told him.
"What do you mean?" Ken wondered, finding that a simple meat-flavored fruit sounded pretty appealing, even when it was something he never developed a taste for. He didn't have any money, so...
"You're the Kaizer, ain'tya?" PicoDevimon questioned.
"N-No," Ken smiled, batting away his embarassment. Then he saw the Kaizer's gloves on him. He spun, looking the rest of himself over. The cape twirled behind him. He found his shades tucked into his belt, near his whip. "No."
"To say the Nightmare Soldiers aren't a fan of you would be a lie," PicoDevimon chuckled. "Go on, take something."
Ken shook his head and started running past a group of Devimon. He froze and wondered, Is that Devimon in there? The one whose arms I took? He shook his head and stared down at his hands. How can this happen?
"I heard Lilithmon herself is coming for a visit!"
"How rare! She never comes down from Daemon's Castle."
Ken turned back, watching as the Devimon continued to converse:
"I heard she's found a body worthy enough."
"One of those human children? Must be."
"A glorious day when Lilithmon walks amongst the humans and we have the Digimon Kaizer on our side."
Ken growled to himself, "Hey!"
The two Devimon turned. One raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of..."
"I'm not on anyone's side!" Ken barked. "I'm here with my friends! Now tell me where Lilithmon is going or I'll rip off all your arms!" Ken shrank back into himself, staring somewhere off to his left. "...please?"
"Rosemon's Red Rooms of Repute," one answered, giving a chuckle.
"...if this kid is the Kaizer, Dev, I'm worried," said the other. The two then resumed their walk.
Ken ran a hand through his now-spiky blue hair and thought of Hikari. What awful things could befall her, he knew well of. As the Kaizer, he even remembered rumours of a Rosemon who took Digimon in as slaves. Not his kind of slaves, either. He, being a naïve boy, didn't delve into things of that nature. He suddenly realized there were worse things than being the Kaizer.
As he walked, he found himself remembering so much he had forgotten. Like how to read that Digi-Code on the gate in Evil Forest, which he now recalled: "All who enter here; abandon your hope". He also now remembered clearly obtaining the knowledge to build his Dark objects...
The being hadn't talked. Merely, it spoke to Ken in his mind; in his voice.
The monster told him that immense power was needed to escape their undersea prison. An exchange was all that was necessary. Their society worked on unspoken trades.
Given the power of the Kaizer, he would plant these Dark Obelisks and Dark Rings amongst the Digital World, weakening it. Ken also harnessed something precious to the squidlike being: the prototype of his Dark Spores, once given to Milleniummon for power.
First, the Kaizer tested the objects out on the Deep Ones; servants of the Dark Ocean's master. When he made the Dark Spirals he would return again to test their effectiveness.
Then, he failed.
Failed to keep his part of the bargain, even?
Ken didn't have time to wonder. He needed to go find Rosemon's Red Rooms of [Ill] Repute.
Hikari could hear voices heading her way. She had managed to crawl outside the door and into the back alley. A long fence made of bone seperated her from a slew of homes. Digimon closed their windows and left their porches. They couldn't be bothered to help a human, especially one of holy light that had no place in the Dark Area.
Hikari wasn't sure how, but she managed to find her feet again and balanced against one of the tall, red light poles. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I'm abandoning Yamato. I'm so useless. If only I had Gatomon. I was never more than a tool for her, for Taichi, for Takeru... for the entire Digital World. I should just go back and offer myself, free of strings, to Rosemon.
The poison coarsing through her veins came and went in dizzying spells. Hikari didn't want to move from her position on the light post; she might throw up. Then she heard the patter of footsteps and a purple-yellow blur appeared at the end of the street.
"K-Kaizer?" she whispered.
"Hikari!" called out a voice that was distinctly Ken's. Not the Kaizer coming towards her. "What happened?"
"Rosemon..." Hikari whispered.
"Come here," Ken said, lifting her over his shoulder. "I'll take you somewhere safe."
"No, no!" Hikari screamed, beating his back with her fists. "You're the Kaizer, the Kaizer!"
"Hikari," he breathed, quickly setting her down. She still held against him for balance. "It's me, Ken. I promise."
"We should never have come here, Ken..." she whispered. "What was I thinking...?"
"I can defend us now," Ken said, hoisting one of her arms over his shoulder. "You've been poisoned and I can cure it. If I wanted you dead, why would I bother?"
Hikari gave a weak smile, "Then stop wasting time."
Ken had an assortment of unused Dark Objects, including a cureall, which he held to Hikari's delicate lips. Something about her light was definetly growing weaker, something he could only see now from the enslaving dark consuming him. "Did Lilithmon find you?"
"Lilithmon... Who...?"
"There's a shack not far from here. Take this," Ken said, handing her his shades. "Tell him you're with the Kaizer and need a safe place to stay."
"O-Okay, Ken, but... you need to help Yamato."
"Eh, you've seen him?" Ken urged.
"There," Hikari said, pointing down the alley.
"Rosemon's brothel... so it wasn't you Lilithmon's after," Ken smiled and shook his head. How could he have been so biased? "I'll bring Yamato back, Hikari. Then, we're going to Daemon's Castle. We have to stop him from destroying everything."
"Ken," Hikari said, grabbing his coattails before he could start off. "Please tell me we're doing the right thing."
"This isn't just an adventure, Hikari," Ken stated, crossing his arms. In Hikari's eyes, he looked stronger than ever. She could still see the glint of kindness in him- sparkling like it had when he realized the error of his ways. At the same time, she could sense the dark taking hold on the both of them. "We're doing this for the Digimon that made us what we are."
Hikari had never heard truer words spoken and began limping off to PicoDevimon's cart with the Kaizer's shades in her hand.
Ken turned back and started for the brothel.
Rosemon wasn't a fool. There was a downside to the Kaizer's newfound power- anyone within a twenty mile radius with an ounce of evil in them could sense him. She darted up the stairs and burst into the room Yamato was in. Before he could rationalize what was happening, and at the risk of damaging him, she tossed out her whip, sending an eletric shock throughout.
The human seized and was out once again. She grabbed him and made haste for the castle at the back of the city.
Ken arrived just in time to see her flying from the window and darted after her, catching his body on the sill. "Rosemon! Get back here!" he cried, as if she would listen to him. He hurried back down the stairs. Outside, he could see the pink and green spec leaping from roof to roof, towards a giant obelisk in the distance.
"Daemon's castle," Ken breathed. "I can't leave the town without Hikari. She should be recovered by now and..." Ken looked at his vile hands once more. They were shaking. He could hear the worn leather of his whip at his side rattling against his belt. "I don't know how much longer I can trust myself."