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.
Ken was still in a foul mood after Daisuke had left at a flat out run. He shook his head hard, rubbing his fingers in circles at his temples. He knew he was getting a headache, he just knew it. With a heavy sigh he began to pace, wondering if Daisuke was really in a bad state and wondering why the hell he had gone after him yet. Could it be that he, the mighty Digimon Kaiser, was afraid? The thought was mildly offensive.
After turning yet again, it finally hit him that Takeru was still there, staring at the door Daisuke had left through with a troubled expression. Ken gave him an ugly look. "Why the hell are you still here?!" he demanded, glaring at him. Takeru glared back.
"Why the hell haven't you gone after him yet then?!" Takeru retorted, looking every bit as angry as Ken felt. "It's you he likes after all, therefore it's your job to look after him, particularly when he goes off looking ready to have a nervous breakdown!" This speech hit home just a little bit too hard and Ken fought not to fidget nervously. Truth be told he was getting a little bit worried about Daisuke. Damn.
"I guess we'll go look for him and make sure he hasn't done anything stupid," Ken said at last, looking none too pleased with the whole idea, and indeed with how things had been going at all. When you thought about it, could you blame him?
Takeru stared at him. "We? Excuse me, but we? I don't think so Kaiser!" Up to that point both of them had conveniently forgotten the fact they were actually enemies. This, naturally, brought it all back and both glared at each other fiercely.
"Well it's your fault any of this happened!" Ken snapped, eyes burning. "If you hadn't acted like an idiot and come here in the first place!" Possibly the worst thing about this in Takeru's mind was that he was right. It was his fault.
He was still trying to come up with a suitable comeback that didn't automatically pinpoint the blame at him, when suddenly Ken clutched his head and moaned, swaying. Hatred for his enemy automatically took second place to concern so he naturally went over to him. "Are you all right?" he asked.
Ken shook his head hard, still clutching his head in the process and still moaning. "Do I look all right to you?!" he snapped and Takeru sighed. So what if it had been a stupid question?! At least he was showing he cared... sort of anyway. Then Ken moaned again and staggered. "Daisuke..." he groaned.
Daisuke? "What's happening?" Takeru demanded. "What about Daisuke?!" Damn, what was going on?!
"He's in pain..." Ken muttered, starting to go a bit pale. He looks sick, Takeru realised suddenly and wished he knew what was going on. "...something... someone's hurting him... blood!... I see blood!... too much blood.... Daisuke!" Ken's knees shook and Takeru had to grab onto him to prevent him from hitting the ground. "Daisuke!" Ken snapped. "We have to get to him right away!" The expression on his face was slightly fearful and Takeru didn't bother hiding this opinion.
"All right," he agreed, even though he hadn't the faintest idea what was actually going on. "We'll get to Daisuke. Just... where is he?"
If only he'd known what they were going up against...
Daisuke looked around and had no idea where he was. Anywhere and everywhere he looked, there was either grey there or mist, or usually, there was both. It was so like his dream it was slightly alarming. He'd met Erik in his dream... had danced with him...had agreed to be his and only his. The sheer thought of what he had agreed to be with Erik was now making him feel very, very sick. He gulped at the heavy feeling in his stomach and told himself to calm down. So far he was alone. Although whether this was a good or bad thing, he wasn't exactly sure.
I better stand up at least, he finally realised, blinking and trying to remember how to stand up and walk again. Falling... somewhere... really wasn't something he liked doing much. It tended to do strange things to him. Eventually he was on his feet and trying to see where he was and hoped he wasn't going to walk over a cliff or anything. That wouldn't be the smartest thing he'd ever done.
Take one step, he told himself. One step and it'll be all easier from there. Or at least, that's what they say... Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward, holding out his arms warily to brush through the mist and grey. It obviously didn't work. But still he kept going, in the dim hope he would eventually find his way out of there. I will not let Erik win! he swore. I will stop him, I swear it! Although finding his way out of here was the rather top priority at the moment, considering if he couldn't get out of here, he couldn't stop Erik either.
He wasn't sure how long he walked for. He had no watch and the time on his D3 had mysteriously stopped, so minutes or hours could have passed while he walked. Even days for all he knew. All he could do was walk forward, his arms slashing through the relentless mist... he was beginning to call it a fog almost. Upon a chance glance down at the ground, he realised he was almost walking upon a path of sorts... a road. It didn't make any sense.
As time passed (how much he just had no idea of) a new feeling took over him. The feeling of being watched. He frowned as a crawling sensation overtook him and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Someone was watching him, but in this fog he couldn't see them. It did more than just freak him out -- it terrified him. Erik had watched him. He didn't think he was going to be comfortable with being watched for a long time to come.
Back to present matters. He looked around as he walked, eyes probing the fog to try and make out a shape, any shape at all. All he could see was swirling fog. At last, simply frustrated with everything, he spoke. Or shouted more like. "Who's there?!" he yelled, voice echoing. "I know you're there, so just come out and face me!" The little voice inside his head was screeching at him to just keep his mouth shut, but he ignored it. And ignored the fact that everytime he had ignored that voice before, he had just got into deeper trouble. Convenient.
He stood there as sweat rolled down his face and back, making his shirt cling to him. He grimaced. That just felt rotten! And he hated being afraid... then he froze as something moved near him. He whirled around to face it, just as it broke apart from the mist to come before him. It was then he finally understood that he had never been alone here at all. He had always been surrounded because these... things... whatever they were... were part of the mist -- they were the mist -- and they surrounded him. As the wisps of fog shifted and features defined in front of him, his nerve completely failed him as it finally hit him what the fog was. What the beings were. He turned dramatically pale and fell to his knees as the fog being seemed to become something near solid in front of him.
He looked like a boy, or at least he had the face, torso and arms of a boy. All below the waist was just wavering mist. He looked to be around his own age, with spiky, wild hair that vaguely resembled Ken's when he was the Kaiser, Daisuke realised. He had large eyes and large glasses before them. He seemed to be in a sweater or something and was gazing at him rather calmly, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that he was nearly see-through and was floating about three feet above the ground and was just slightly above Daisuke's eye level. He didn't seem surprised that Daisuke looked completely floored, but didn't seem to be surprised at anything for that matter.
"Welcome to the Ghost Roads," he said, sounding very polite. His voice echoed and quickly faded, eaten up, Daisuke presumed, by the thickness of the fog. Absorbed.
"Uh... hi," Daisuke stammered at last, after a few moments of just staring at the being before him and opening and closing his mouth like a fish gasping. "I guess... you're... that is, you're a..." He couldn't say it. No matter how he phrased it, he just couldn't say it.
"A ghost," the boy supplied. "That is, to say, that I'm dead naturally." He didn't seem bothered by this fact. Although, if you've been dead for a couple of years, Daisuke figured you got used to it eventually. He supposed you had to, or you went mad or something.
"So why I am here?" Daisuke asked, fighting to get over being starstruck... or was it ghoststruck? That was one bad joke, he thought wryly. Takeru was right -- I do need to get a new sense of humour. The brief mention of Takeru brought all of the memories back and Daisuke faltered for a second and closed his eyes briefly. I'll deal with that when I find my way back to the Digital World... I'm obviously not there anymore. The ghost guy said I was in the Ghost Roads... whatever they are.
He opened his eyes to find the ghost watching him solemnly. He cracked a half-hearted smile. "What are the Ghost Roads anyway? And why am I here?" He shifted as the ghost continued to look at him seriously. Why is he looking at me like that?
"The Ghost Roads are the places where the souls reside. These souls are either too unforgiving to go to the Higher Plane and too gentle to go to the Damnation. They walk because they know they will never go anywhere else unless they change. And most don't want to change," the ghost answered and Daisuke noted the way his eyes clouded at his explanation.
"And why are you here?" Daisuke asked, making sure to keep his voice soft. He didn't want to say anything he would regret. Very ironic, considering what he'd already said to Ken and Takeru. Now those were words you'd regret in years to come. Daisuke sighed.
The ghost gave him a wry glance. "I walk here because I cannot forgive myself. Unforgiving souls are not needed anywhere." It was hard not to sense the bitterness and anger in his voice. It seemed in Daisuke's opinion, that this spirit needed to go a lot more than forgiving. He needed to let go of many things.
"Okay... so why am I here?" Daisuke asked again, wondering why the ghost kept dodging that particular question. The answer couldn't be that bad, could it? Part of him didn't really want to know. He swiftly ignored that part, as he always did.
The ghost sighed, just as heavily as Daisuke had himself a mere few moments before. Then, to Daisuke's amazement, the ghost did something he had never thought he'd see a ghost ever do (let's just ignore the fact that Daisuke had never thought he'd see a ghost in the first place). The ghost fidgeted, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Look, what's the big, bad secret?" Daisuke asked, beginning to feel very frustrated. "Will you just tell me already!"
"Fine," the ghost answered. "Only spirits may reside here. Mortals are not allowed." He kept the answer bluntly short, but it was all right, because Daisuke discovered the meaning immediately. He staggered, swaying, as the blood drained from his cheeks.
"No," Daisuke whispered in disbelief, shaking his head. His eyes were large and empty in shock and disbelief. "It can't be. I'm only eleven!" Realising what he was saying, he cast a guilty look at the ghost, who looked about eleven as well. "Sorry." The ghost shrugged, looking indifferent.
"Are you... are you saying..." Daisuke asked with a struggling expression and extreme difficulty, "are you saying that I'm... that I'm dead?!" The last word was uttered with a strangled gasp, as he started to shake his head again, unwilling to believe that it could be true.
For a moment the ghost didn't reply, looking sorrowful. Then, at last, he said, "Yes. Almost dead."
Daisuke's breath came in ragged gasps, as he fought to keep control. He would not panic or scream or do anything stupid, because it wouldn't even matter anymore if he was really dead. Finally he choked out, "And who are you?!"
The ghost bowed his head and Daisuke thought he could just see a single tear slide down his cheek. Wow. Ghosts could cry. The thought filled him with a slightly giddy feeling, as if he was going high. He wondered dimly if he was finally giving into hysterics. The thought made him laugh, which proved his suspicions. The sound was strangled and high-pitched, a panicked laugh.
At last the ghost said softly, "My name is Osamu Ichijouji. Ken's brother."