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.
What had felt wonderful a mere few moments before, now felt horrifying. Daisuke found something wet and warm spill down his cheeks and realised he was crying. Not the sobbing tears of before, but tears of rage, tears of pain, tears of disbelief. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't be happening! Things like this didn't happen in real life, they happened in the movies and in books -- and they didn't happen to normal people. Although, now that he thought of it, when had he ever been a normal person?
The vampire withdrew his fangs from his neck but immediately latched onto the bleeding vein, draining Daisuke of what he needed to survive. The redhead's survival instincts finally kicked in and when he opened his mouth to yell, he discovered he and Erik held some sort of telepathic bond if you could call it that. So he used it to his advantage... well, what else could he do?
~Let me go!~ he demanded of the vampire indignantly. ~Let go of me right now!~
Erik's chuckle thrummed through his mind. ~Do you really expect your piteous demands to work Daisuke?~ he enquired lazily.
~I don't know, but it's a lot better than letting you eat me!~ he snapped in answer. The vampire burst out laughing.
~Foolish boy,~ he drawled. ~I am far, far older than you can imagine. I was alive before your ancestors discovered farming, before they even discovered fire! I was there and I was always the more powerful. Your pitiful race is no match, it never was.~
Daisuke knew things were going very badly right now, particularly for him, but he also knew he couldn't let this vampire win, otherwise he was putting the other Digidestined and Ken at risk. He was aware that he was weakening -- he was shivering and he felt very, very light-headed, too light-headed in fact. Strange things swirled around in his mind -- vivid colours that leaked into each other, forming a sickening pool that hurt his head and hurt his eyes from looking at it. A throbbing pain in his head did a steady beat in time to his heart, but as his heartbeat was rapidly quickening while his headache didn't, that didn't matter anymore.
Daisuke swallowed as agony gushed into his stomach and closed his eyes as he tried to remember some of the symptons of anaemia... dizziness, nausea, headaches, stomach aches... to be technical about it he was suffering from anaemia. To be extremely technical about it. Well large quantities of his blood were going bye-bye, so... yeah. When he found his vision going hazy and black, he knew he had to do something before he passed out.
But what? First thing was first -- shields. He was not going to let that vampire know his every thought and know exactly how to stop him from getting loose. He quickly envisioned large steel walls as Ken had taught him to, and immediately slammed them down. They didn't cut off the link, but they did keep Daisuke's thoughts from Erik. Good. Ken would have been proud of him.
What now? Daisuke quickly went through everything Ken had taught him, but defeating a vampire wasn't one of things a teacher covered was it? Especially not when they were supposed to be legend of all things! He bit his lip and to his dismay, came to another conclusion. As well as draining his blood, the vampire was also draining his power. There wasn't enough left to do a simple spell without tapping into his life supply, which, when used up, would inevitably kill him. But if he didn't do something soon, the vampire would tap into that source with no regret and there would definitely be no more Daisuke.
Think Daisuke! he thought seriously. Think, think! What do you know about vampires? What kills them? He quickly went through everything he had heard and seen about vampires from the movies, books and ghost stories Jun had told him when he was a kid. Whether it was true or not he didn't know, but he was willing to do anything at this point. Vampires were night creatures. They slept in coffins and needed blood and power to survive. They hated the sunlight, it was even supposed to kill them. There were certain rules to be followed. Destroying a vampire meant one of four things -- a stake through the heart, decapitation, setting them on fire or exposing them to sunlight. Holy objects, such as crosses and holy water did not kill them but did hinder them a considerable amount if you wanted to run for your life.
Seeing as it was night-time, sunlight was out. He had no stake and there wasn't a branch in sight as he was miles from the forest. He had no axe so decapitation was out and he had no lighter or anything. This was beginning to look very bad. He racked his brains desperately for something -- anything -- and slowly an idea began to form in his mind as his hand drifted to his shirt...
"Hikari!" Daisuke yelped, as he stared at the brunette who stood patiently outside his apartment door. She had been the last person he had expected to see there. "What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to get his mind back in working order. It was true he'd once had a crush on her, but seeing as she was with Mimi now, the crush had quickly died out.
She smiled, but he could still see the tense look in her eyes. What was wrong? "Hi Daisuke," she replied. "Can I come in?" He blinked, but stepped aside so she could come in. "Thanks." She pretended not to see the curious look on his face as he shut the door after her. It really wasn't often she came over to the Motomiya apartment and when she did, there was a very good reason.
"So what's up?" he asked her, as he followed her inside. He grabbed a chair as she sank into the couch. "I mean, it's nice to see you and all, but you don't exactly come here often."
She smiled again. "I know. Actually I came here to give you something." She grinned when Daisuke's eyes lit up. "No, it's not food." She laughed as Daisuke's face immediately fell. "Honestly Daisuke, sometimes I wonder who's worse -- you or Chibimon!"
Bouncing back as was typical of him, Daisuke didn't bother to hide his curiosity. Hikari knew him too well. "So what are you going to give me?" he asked, telling himself that he would not fidget. Nope, not him.
"This." Hikari reached into her pocket and pulled out something about the size of her palm and stood up. Walking over to him, she pressed it into his hands and grinned at his astonished look. "No, I haven't lost it Daisuke," she supplied, giggling.
"But..." Daisuke stammered. "But -- but -- a cross?!" He looked at the small cross in his hands. As far as he could tell it was made of silver, with small jewels encrusted into each of the four points. "As nice as it Hikari... why are you giving it to me?" He was baffled and it showed plainly. Not many people thought of giving him crosses everyday.
He blinked as Hikari's expression visibly changed and grew more serious. "What's wrong?" he asked, wondering what he had said wrong. It was just typical of him.
"Nothing," she said quietly, eyes grim and her face painfully serious for one so young. "Just take it Daisuke and keep it safe. If you can manage it, keep it on yourself at all times or near you." She looked at him and Daisuke's jokes died in his throat. "Something tells me that you'll need it one day. I'm not sure why exactly, but you'll need it."
He hadn't know what to say, but he had kept it and thanked her.
Daisuke strained to reach his slacks pocket, face tensed in determination. At last his gloved hand reached the pocket and he yanked it in, his hand closing over the cool metal, pulling it out. Now he was so glad that he'd done as Hikari had told him, he was nearly fit to cry. Of course, he was still puzzled as to how Hkari had known he'd need it, but he figured it was something she had known because of her strange powers.
Okay Motomiya, he told himself, fighting to keep calm. You have to plan this carefully, even though technically, you don't have much time. Okay, wait for it... wait... hold it... wait.... NOW! With a violent wrench, he rammed the cross into Erik's face making sure the metal touched his face and prayed he had enough faith that this entire thing would work, never mind faith in anything else. It worked.
The cross started to smoke and Erik's face began to singe where the cross touched his face. In moments the cross was burning and the vampire was clawing at Daisuke, trying to get the cross out of his face. But the redhead was stubborn and clenched his teeth as he fought against Erik's awsome strength. He wanted to leave a mark Erik would never forget. So far it was working.
At last, while Erik shrieked in pain and fear, he managed to deliver a blinding sideblow against Daisuke's face, sending the boy spinning, cross still held tightly in his hand. He gasped for breath, stunned and dazed, but blissfully alive. Without thinking he reached up to lightly touch his neck and winced. The spot where Erik had bitten him was sore and tender, but thankfully not bleeding too heavily... although now that he thought of it, maybe that was a very bad thing. A sudden wave of dizziness overtook him and he knew it was a bad thing as the pain he had been holding back while hurting Erik returned in full force. He had to get away.
Staggering to his feet, he shakily took a step forward and then another. After a few hesitant steps, he tossed caution to the winds and broke into a stumbling run, the only thing clear in his mind was to put as much distance between him and Erik as he possibly could. But at the pace he was going, it just wasn't enough. He needed help.
A hissing roar brought his attention back to the situation at hand. He looked back to see Erik apparently recovering from the agony he had given him and preparing to go after him. His scarred, smoking face was twisted into an ugly rancour, hatred burning in his eyes. Whatever facade he had been going under, it was completely gone now. Erik was going to kill him if he didn't get away, but seeing as he was nearly dead and could hardly walk, that was going to be a problem.
Their eyes met and then Daisuke uttered a gasp, turning again. But Erik didn't go after him. He was tired of games and tired of running and tired of chasing. This time he meant business. And business was never a long affair. A grim, cruel smile twisting his lips, Erik held out his hand and clenched the fingers so they vaguely resembled claws. The hissing, reptilian-sounding words curled from his throat and were definitely not in English or any other recognisable language. This was from a time when humans were the hunted and lived in caves and were constantly living in fear. Where they were not the arrogant, self-assured race they were now. Grey mist swirled around his hands and reached for Daisuke.
The redhead couldn't do anything as the mist gathered around him. Nothing worked, he couldn't break it apart. Instead of fading, it grew thick and dense until he couldn't see anything except grey. He gagged as it entered his mouth and nose, tickling his nostrils and filling him with a smoky, thick scent that made him feel so tired. He slowly fell to his knees, as his eyes grew heavy. He couldn't fall asleep, he just couldn't! But he couldn't stop it, it was so powerful...
He found himself overwhelmed by the greyness and the smell and fell into liquid darkness that clung to him as he fell. Black and grey everywhere... black... grey... black... only grey and black. It all grew too much as his eyes closed and all he saw was black and he couldn't remember anything anymore.
When his eyes opened, all he could see was the grey and the mist that surrounded him.