Disclaimer: Digimon, its plots, characters and concepts are not mine. They're belonged to such people as Toei Animation, Bandai and Saban. All are being borrowed and will hopefully be brought back as they were. No profit is being made, so please don't sue. Any quotes from the Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux aren't mine either. The Ghost Roads idea was borrowed from the Buffy Trilogy, The Gatekeeper I think. It's not mine either. Any original characters and this fic are mine.
Daisuke could hardly hide his surprise as he followed Ken into the room. His eyes immediately fell upon the large array of blank monitors on the wall opposite them, unaware that they were the same monitors that Ken used to spy on them, and which also held the hidden controls that were linked to the hundreds of digimon under his control. He didn't know at all. "Wow," he whispered, looking around in awe. "This place is totally cool!" Beside him, Veemon was stunned into silence.
Ken gave him a frosty smile. "It works efficiently enough for its purpose." It was then that Daisuke actually remembered that Ken was his enemy and that those monitors were probably used to spy on himself and his friends. The silence grew uncomfortable, neither sure what to say to the other.
At last Ken broke the stretched silence saying, "I suppose since it is control that you lack the most, that is what we'll start with."
"Oh?" Daisuke said, disappointed. "You mean I won't learn any nifty spells then?" Ken tossed him a sharp glance and he blushed. "Guess not then."
"Oh, you'll learn them eventually," the Kaiser replied smoothly. "But without control you can't learn anything." He turned toward Daisuke, who looked much more happier now that he had learned he would eventually learn to throw fireballs. If Ken had actually heard what type of spells he wanted to learn, he probably would have fainted from shock and fear.
Ken spread out his arms and said, "Toss anything at me." Daisuke stared blankly at him.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," he said without changing a beat. "Fire something at me." When Daisuke didn't automatically obey his command, he frowned. "Would you like me to fire at Veemon again to kick start you into action then?" he demanded angrily.
"No!" Daisuke yelped in a hurry. Thinking quickly, he tried to remember exactly what had happened to him earlier, what had got to him so much that he would make it start raining fire? He remembered that Ken had fired at Veemon and that had made him mad, so mad he had got into a rage. He frowned. How could he get that mad again?
Ken seemed to be thinking similar thoughts, for he began to taunt Daisuke. "What, cat got your tongue?" he sneered. "Hardly surprising, considering all of your so-called friends would probably collapse if they saw you actually think!" He cackled cruelly, as Daisuke struggled to think straight.
He wasn't stupid, he knew he wasn't. Ken was just being a jerk, his usual self for that matter. He wasn't stupid, and he knew the others wouldn't act like that - or at least he hoped they wouldn't. They knew he wasn't stupid... right? Eyes narrowing, Daisuke felt the anger build up inside himself without even realising it, until it was too late and he was unleashing it in all of its terrifying glory. Oh no, he thought faintly, as Ken balked and hurled himself out of the way before he got hit with it. I did it again. Ken's going to love this.
"I see," Ken said a few moments later, standing up again and absently brushing off invisible dust from his sleeves. "It appears we're going to have to think of some other way to get you to use your power. It seems anger isn't the best of emotions to use."
Daisuke chuckled nervously. "But it was a start, right?" He winced as Ken gave him a withering look.
Yes, things were going just brilliantly.
"Will you ever pay attention?!" Ken howled at the top of his lungs, looking ready to hit Daisuke hard. Daisuke jerked back out of his thoughts and glanced sheepishly up at his teacher. "Honestly, you have the attention span of a gnat!" the dictator yelled in frustration. Dealing with the media was easier than trying to teach a certain Daisuke Motomiya!
"It's been said before," the redhead said meekly, hoping he hadn't driven Ken too far. He hadn't really meant to space off, but he had done so anyway. It was just hard to pay attention today, that was all. He opened his mouth to tell the Kaiser this, but the twilight haired boy spoke before him.
"Get up," he snarled roughly, and Daisuke obediently got to his feet, wondering what Ken was going to do to him. He hoped he wasn't going to punish him or anything like that. He'd only spaced for a few minutes. He bet he hadn't even missed much. But the fear still remained in his stomach. Ken's torture tended to be extensive and not very pleasant.
Grabbing his arm, Ken dragged him out of the room, leaving a very surprised Wormmon and Veemon behind. Veemon moved to follow them, but Wormmon wouldn't let him go. When Veemon protested angrily, all Wormmon would say, "Only humans are allowed to where they're going." Veemon only sat down on his haunches, looking worried and angry.
Daisuke was very nervous as he struggled to keep up with Ken's brisk pace. His mind swarmed with thoughts of the different punishments Ken could do to him. None of them were very appealing. As Ken finally stopped before two large double doors, Daisuke stared at them. He had to admit, despite the morbid air that surrounded them, their design was exquisite. Botticelli himself couldn't have done better.
As Ken opened the doors and stepped inside, Daisuke hesitated a moment before following him. When he actually saw the contents of the room, he couldn't help but let his jaw drop open. He had been expecting many things. None of them had included this. Without thinking, he heard himself quote a part of a book, whose title he couldn't remember yet:
"Christine walked toward her image in the glass and the image came toward her. The two Christines - the real one and the reflection - ended by touching; and Raoul put out his arms to clasp the two in one embrace. But, by a sort of dazzling miracle that sent him staggering, Raoul was suddenly flung back, while an icy blast swept over his face; he saw, not two, but four, eight, twenty Christines spinning round him, laughing at him and fleeing so swiftly that he could not touch one of them. At last, everything stood still again; and he saw himself in the glass. But Christine had disappeared."
Ken glanced at him sharply. "You've read Gaston Leroux?" he asked, looking as if he hardly believed it. "You've read the Phantom of the Opera?"
Daisuke nodded proudly. "Yep. Good book wasn't it?" Ken couldn't answer him, stunned speechless by the fact that Daisuke Motomiya actually read books and even more astonishingly, he read classics! It was rather hard to believe, but he forced himself to, considering Daisuke had just quoted an entire paragraph flawlessly.
Daisuke turned his attention to the room of mirrors that lay before him. "As far as punishments go, I've never had this one," he remarked. "Usually all I get is detention and the chance to do my homework." Ken looked amused at that, which didn't surprise Daisuke. Ken probably hadn't detention a day in his life.
"Don't think it's easy Daisuke - I assure you it isn't. It's a lot more difficult than it first seems." A cunning smile curled the Kaiser's lips, as he watched him. "Trust me - you won't ever moan about detention after this." He fought not to laugh as Daisuke's eyes lit up at the blatant challenge. He fallen for the bait hook, line and sinker. He's so easy to figure out. And he reacts so obviously as his buttons are pushed.
The redhead crossed his arms and met Ken's eyes directly. "So what do I have to do? How does this 'punishment' work?" he asked, glancing at the multitude of mirrors before them, trying not to feel unnerved as he saw himself in every one of them. Okay... being surrounded by himself was plainly not something he liked.
Ken's smile turned sly. "It's quite easy - get to the other side of the room and then come back to me." The urge to laugh was so bad he felt his stomach clench in agony from holding it in. The ache grew stronger as he saw the outraged look appear on Daisuke's face. His expression showed clearly that he had been offended.
"That's it?!" he demanded, still not sure whether to believe it or not as Ken nodded. It was so easy it felt offensive! It felt too easy... he frowned as he tried to make up his mind. He was doing it quite obviously. Besides the fact he had to, there was still his image to maintain. He wasn't going to appear a fool in front of anyone, least of all Ken! But it still felt too easy... "Fine," he said at last, reaching up to touch his goggles, perched proudly in the mass of spiky hair. Whether for comfort or good luck, he wasn't sure. "I'll do it."
Ken hid a smile. "Of course." He knew very well that when he saw Daisuke again he would be considerably changed to what he was now. But he didn't say it naturally. He watched silently, as Daisuke walked forward, fingers reaching out to lightly touch the mirrors on either side of him. As Daisuke disappeared around a corner, he wondered if he should have said good luck to him.
Daisuke found that going through a room of mirrors wasn't as easy as it first sounded. First, the sight of dozens of reflections around him was not a comforting one, and he quickly discovered that it wasn't a sight he particularly enjoyed. In fact, it was damn unnerving.
He turned yet another corner and shuddered as another reflection appeared before him. He lightly touched the mirror and felt some reality come back as his warm gloved fingers touched the cool reflective glass. Yes, things were real here. He was real. The mirrors were real. The reflections were not.
Quickly looking around to figure out where his path was, he tried to ignore the reflections that swarmed around and before him. But since they all looked like him, it was kind of hard to. As he passed a particularly large mirror, he swore as he passed by that there had been more than one figure in it. Freezing in his tracks, he whirled on his heel and walked back to the mirror. When he saw the image in it, he stiffened, chocolate-tinted eyes widening. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He had been right before: there was more than one person in the mirror. There was himself... and Ken. Only - it couldn't be. It just couldn't be. For a start he wasn't dressed in his normal clothes... he was... God, he was wearing... leather! It was true, although he hoped desperately that it wouldn't be real. It was tight, smooth and supple... and it flattered the right places. Daisuke felt his stomach begin to churn as he stared at it in disbelief. Altogether it was a pretty disturbing picture - but not as disturbing as the rest of it.
Ken was behind him and Daisuke winced as he saw how closely pressed together they were. Ken's arms were wrapped around his chest and his lips were scare millimetres from his neck - and the expression on his face was of sadistic lust. And the worse thing was that the Daisuke in the mirror seemed to be enjoying it... the real Daisuke felt himself begin to shake. He didn't dare try and decide if it was from sudden attraction to the Ken in the mirror or from fear. His mind full of whirling chaos, he turned and bolted away from the terrifying mirror and the image it held.
What was happening to him? It wasn't like him to get wound up so much over something - but that could hardly be compared to anything, could it? God, it was disturbing. Daisuke felt himself hurry down two more corridors of mirrors, not bothering to see where he was going, before stopping and leaning against one of them. He felt himself breathe a sigh of relief as his hot forehead touched cool glass. The sharp contrast helped him calm down. He felt himself sink to the floor, breathing hard, eyes firmly shut. He felt his mind unconsciously go through a few options, as to why that image had appeared before him. As the last one drifted lazily through his mind, he sat bolt upright, eyes snapping open in shock.
No... it couldn't be. It wasn't like that. He wasn't like that. Heart thumping in his chest, Daisuke felt himself gaze at an image of himself in the mirror opposite him, brown eyes meeting identical brown eyes. Surely the image wouldn't have come... because deep down inside himself he wanted it to come in real life? No... No...
He remembered the previous day, when he'd absently remarked to himself that Ken's eyes were beautiful. At the time he'd thought nothing of it, presuming it had been because he'd been tired of the lesson by then - but what if it wasn't? What if he thought of Ken... that way?
Daisuke felt himself gulp really hard.
Ken was enjoying himself very much as he watched Daisuke practically faint in shock from the image in the mirror. Due to his magic, he was able to spy on people, and since Daisuke was in a part of his own base, it was so easy for him. This was even better than battling the Digidestined altogether! Daisuke was so predictable!
Ken leaned back against the double doors that barred any other digimon from entering. Even if they did manage to knock down the doors, he'd placed dozens of spells around the floor, ceiling and walls, all tumbled together. If they even brushed against one they'd be temporarily driven insane for a day. Secretly, he was rather disappointed that the digimon were so obedient and that it hadn't yet happened. It would have made a good show.
He'd warned Daisuke that crossing this room was a lot harder than it seemed. He wasn't to blame that Daisuke was walking near the roads of insanity even at this moment. To be fair, he was only barely touching the edges, but the deeper he went the nearer he got. But it wouldn't be his fault and that was the most important thing.
Ken blinked. But now that he thought of it, claiming that he had helped the leader of the Digidestined lose his mind had a certain appeal. Ken's expression turned thoughtful. Of course, there was also the chance that Daisuke would be smart and would fight the attack of the growing darkness. If he did, then none of this would be of any importance. Then... there was also the chance that Daisuke wouldn't. Dear God, the possibilities...
The Digimon Kaiser felt himself chuckle, and soon the mild sounds of mirth turned into full out cackles that were his trademark. They echoed around the room, and when they reached Daisuke's ears, they seemed to be hysterical screams.
Daisuke thought he would burst into tears, as he found himself approaching a plain brown door. He had reached the other side of the room. Standing in front of the door, he stared at it for a moment, before completely breaking down. Beating his fists weakly against the weathered wood, he felt tears sting his eyes, but vowed he would not cry. The mirrors hadn't affected him that badly - yet.
He forced himself to take several deep breaths, practically praying he would calm down. Gradually his fists relaxed and his arms fell loosely against his sides, as he felt all of the tension leak from his body, and he felt empty and hollow for a moment.
Ken had been right. He wouldn't complain about detention anymore, that was for sure.
And to think I could have been with Takeru doing Math, instead of keeping to my word and coming here to nearly lose my mind, he thought bitterly, glaring at the door with venom he hadn't imagined he could possess. With a shaky sigh, he turned and began to make his way back to Ken and the doors out of this nightmare. He kept his eyes on his feet for the entire time, not looking at the mirrors. Making sure he didn't look at the mirrors. When he passed by that mirror, his felt his entire body stiffen, but he did not cry out.
He did not say anything when he saw Ken come into view. Instead he wordlessly stepped up before him, his hands clenched into fists again, as he waited for Ken to speak.
He did not have to wait long. He flinched as Ken's voice entered his ears, his tone sickeningly cheerful and triumphant.
"Was I right? Was it harder than you thought it would be?"
He nodded silently, before figuring it'd probably be better to answer. He didn't want to be punished like that again. "Yes," he said softly. "It was harder than I thought it would be."
Ken nodded and continued. "Will you ever complain about detention again?" A shake of his head. "Will you ever lose attention in my lessons again?" Another shake of his head. "Good," he decided in approval. "You've learnt your own lesson then." He turned to go, and Daisuke started to follow him.
Remembering the image Daisuke had seen in the mirror, Ken smiled to himself. It would be so very wrong of him not to play with Daisuke for a few seconds only. Turning abruptly, so that Daisuke would be unable to dart away from him, he cupped the redhead's chin in his head. He stared hard into Daisuke's eyes for a moment, before smiling mysteriously, and running his hand down Daisuke's cheekbone. Laughing inwardly at Daisuke's startled and horrified expression, he turned and walked out of the room, not bothering to see if he would follow him or not. Lesson was over. Daisuke knew the way out and Wormmon would send Veemon out to him.
Although he had to admit, as he walked through the halls, that it had been a very satisfying day in more ways than one. And he had to admit that the thought of Daisuke in leather was a very nice one. He grinned again, as he imagined Daisuke's reaction to that thought. Yes, the next few days were going to be fun!