In The Dark

Part Three: Evil Has Struck!

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon, all related characters and what not, is not mine. This story, however, is! The plot is! Hear that, suit-clad men in Tokyo? It's mine! Mine! Mine! ::ahem::

***

Miyako saw the fire blaze through the cover of trees and knew instantly that something was happening. Iori heard the shout Fladramon called a split second before he saw the fire.

"Looks like the digimental worked for Daisuke," Miyako observed. "Let's see if he needs help. Digimental up!"

"Hawkmon armor evolve! Holsmon!" A giant bird with a metal helmet appeared a moment later.

"Hop on, Iori," Miyako shouted to the boy and his partner as she climbed aboard her partner. Seconds later, they were in the air.

Another moment later, and they were above the dark tower. "Red Sun!" Holsmon called loudly, as two red beams shot from his helmet. They connected easily with a few of the Flymon, the rings around them breaking in half and disintegrating.

"Miyako! Yeah!" Daisuke shouted, now paying absolutely no attention to his surroundings.

"Daisuke, look out!" Iori called in warning, but it was too late. The Flymon behind him had gone undetected, and now struck out violently with the stinger attached to the end of its body.

"Brown Stinger!" the controlled Flymon shouted, red eyes glowing as it fired the stinger.

Daisuke spun around after Iori's shout, and saw the Flymon just before it attacked. He dodged quickly to the left, in hopes of possibly escaping, but a rock in the way caused him to trip. His ankle twisted underneath him, and he landed on the ground with a thud. Another stone on the ground scraped his left arm, a tree branch scratched a mark above his eyes, and the stinger landed solidly in his left leg just above the knee.

Miyako winced in sympathy as he screamed. "I expect that hurt," she noted, steering Holsmon towards the ground. As soon as he'd landed, she, Iori, and Armadimon dismounted, and her partner took to the air again fending off the Flymon that remained.

"Armadimon, let's help out," Iori decided. "Digimental Up!"

"Good plan," his partner agreed. "Armadimon armor evolve! Digmon!" The bright light filled the area momentarily, and then the small yellow digimon was replaced with a larger one. "Let's take out that tower."

Miyako had made her way to Daisuke, a short distance away, and was examining him for bruises. "Oh, this is just fabulous," she was saying as Iori approached. "You couldn't sit and wait, right? Had to run ahead and get hurt. This is great. Now what are we going to do?"

"I'd say it would be wise to retreat," Iori noted. "I'm not sure how long we can hold off these Flymon, and there's likely to be reinforcements soon."

"Reinforcements? Great," Miyako groaned. She began to search in the bag she carried for something that could be used as a bandage.
"What happened to the Kaiser?" Daisuke wondered, gritting his teeth and trying not to look at his leg.. Miyako paid no attention to him.

"I think he left," Iori replied. "I haven't seen him." He turned and surveyed the battle field. A dozen or so Flymon remained, and Holsmon and Fladramon were managing to battle successfully with help from Digmon, who was making his way through the reduced swarm towards the tower.

"Leave? Why would he leave?" Miyako looked up from her search.

"Maybe because he knew we were beating him!" Daisuke said, half-cheering. Miyako located a piece of cloth that was useful as a bandage, and began to wrap it around his arm, which was bleeding profusely. "Ow!" he protested, wincing again.

"Yeah, we're beating him all right," Miyako grumbled slightly. She assessed his leg. "That's going to hurt when it comes out."

"It hurts already," he replied, still trying not to look at it. "Can't we leave it in?"

"Bad idea," Iori noted. "We've got to get back to the Village. That's where the doctors are."

"How?" Miyako demanded, using another cloth to wipe away the blood around her 'patient's' eye. "I doubt he can walk."

"I can walk fine," Daisuke protested. He braced himself on his arms and tried to move his leg beneath him. A sharp pain ran through his leg. He gritted his teeth, tried not to shout, and gave up. "Maybe later," he decided, falsely casual.

"I don't think time will help much," Iori sighed.

"Big Crack!" Digmon's shout rung through the forest as he pressed his drills to the side of the tower. A crack began to appear in the side of the tall obelisk, and a moment later, it had split completely in half.

"Yeah!" Miyako shouted joyfully, and Iori, too, looked pleased. The rings around the Flymon snapped in half, leaving a few very dazed creatures. Fladramon, Holsmon, and Armadimon de-evolved. Miyako looked towards Daisuke to get his reaction, but was surprised to find that he had lost consciousness.

"Careful!" Hawkmon warned, catching V-mon as he fell. "This could be bad."

"What happened?" Armadimon wondered.

"The magic around the tower was broken," Miyako observed, looking at the remains. "The dark magic in the tower was also the source of the dark magic controlling the Flymon. Now that the spell is broken, they're freed again."

"I'd suspect the only reason V-mon was able to keep fighting as Fladramon was because Daisuke was managing to stay awake. Now that the spell was broken, he must have known there was no reason to keep fighting. He couldn't hold out any longer," Hawkmon theorized.

"Looks that way," Iori noted. "The question is, how do we get him back to the village?"

***

It was way past dark, and Yamato was worried. A fire had been lit in the center of the camp they'd set up on the edge of the village, and he was pacing.

"How long have they been gone?" he demanded of his partner.

Gabumon sighed, looking up from his gaze into the fire. "Four hours," he replied. "And five minutes from the last time you asked me."

"Should we go after them?"

"We can't, remember?"

Yamato sighed, sitting on the ground beside his partner. "This was a bad idea. I just know it. Something's gone wrong. Horribly wrong."

"You should be the one to tell Hikari the news," Gabumon told him.

"I know. She's not going to like it. She's been working with the injured digimon all day, and I'm sure if she wasn't doing that, she'd be over here, worrying."

"Keeping busy is a good way to forget your troubles," the blue and white digimon told his partner sagely. "You should do something, too."

Yamato was about to reply to that when he saw a bit of movement in the distance. "I think that's them…"

"It would appear they have wounded," Gabumon observed. "Two of them are carrying another."

"Go get a doctor," Yamato advised, and was gone a moment later.

***

"He's very heavy," Miyako sighed, finally setting the injured boy down on a cot inside a tent. "I never want to carry him that far again."

"What happened?" Yamato wondered.

"Long story," Hawkmon sighed, collapsing beside his partner on the ground.

"Daisuke was separated from us and ran into a swarm of Kaiser-controlled Flymon," Iori reported, sipping a glass of water that one of the medics handed him. "We caught up with him a short while later. I don't know what happened in between. As soon as we got there, one of the Flymon caught him unawares. He tried to dodge, but it got him in the leg."

"He was stung?" Jyou repeated, not having noticed the giant stinger until now, and turned a bit pale.

"Yes. In the leg," Iori repeated.

One of the nurses was attempting to waken the boy. She helped him to drink some water, and he opened his eyes groggily. "What -?"

"You're back at Primary village," another doctor told him.

"Yeah, we had to carry you all the way back!" Miyako complained loudly.

"Carry – me?" he repeated blankly, and groaned, laying back again. "I feel like I was stampeded."

"Don't blame you," Jyou observed dryly, having recovered somewhat. "Flymon stingers hurt."

There was a slight commotion near the entrance of the tent, and several of the medics moved out of the way. "Daisuke!" a female voice called in surprise, and a split-second later, Hikari was by his side. She said nothing, just stared numbly at him.

Daisuke grinned sheepishly. "Hello…" he began.

"All right. I need this room cleared out!" Jyou shouted, loudly enough to be heard over the commotion. He pointed to a few nurses and medics, and then to Miyako and Iori "Take those two to another tent and make sure they're all right. Yamato, I'll need you to stay. Everyone else, Out!" Immediately, everyone began to obey.

"I'm not going anywhere," Hikari stated before anyone could say anything.

"Good. You'll be needed. This will hurt," Jyou replied.

"Hurt?" Daisuke repeated blankly.

"Yup," Gomamon replied in an entirely too-cheerful voice. "That stinger has to be pulled out." The patient's eyes grew wide.

"Yes, it will hurt quite a bit," the doctor agreed. "Yamato, I'll need you to hold his leg. Hikari, mind holding his head?"

"Can't it just stay in?" Daisuke wondered, half-whining.

"Well, it could," Gomamon replied. "But unfortunately, that would mean the poison stays in your body."

"Poison?" His eyes grew wide.

"Flymon stingers have an incredibly potent poison," Jyou replied. "Ready?"

He most certainly was not ready, but he really didn't have a choice in that matter. Yamato and Hikari were, though. Yamato gripped his lower leg so that he wouldn't accidentally kick Jyou in the process, and Hikari held his head because it would be better for him not to watch the procedure. Jyou positioned himself in the best location, gripped the large stinger with both hands, and pulled with all his might.

Daisuke felt a sharp pain run through him that was possibly greater than the pain of initial impact with the stinger. Unconsciously, he flailed about, and Yamato had to throw nearly all his weight upon his leg to avoid being kicked. Jyou pulled harder, and harder. Eventually the object was removed, and the doctor fell backwards on to the floor. He held up the stinger triumphantly, and then looked at it closely.

"Awful lot of poison out of here," he noted. "That means he got nearly the full strength." He spoke of Daisuke in the third person now because the boy had passed out again.

"Will he be all right?" Yamato wondered, looking worriedly at the patient.

"Yes, of course. Just as long as he gets the antidote in time," Jyou assured him. "In the meantime, though, this leg has to be bandaged." He searched through a box of medical equipment and found quickly a long white bandage, which he proceeded to wrap around the wound.

"You'll need that poultice, too, won't you?" Gomamon questioned, and his partner nodded.

"Poultice?" Gabumon repeated uncomprehendingly, having stayed in the with his partner.

"Herbs. Designed to stop the bleeding and ease the pain," Jyou explained. "One of the nurses will make one up and put it on soon." He finished wrapping the wound.

"He's in a lot of pain, isn't he?" Hikari questioned then, looking up from Daisuke's face for the first time since he'd passed out again.

Jyou sighed. "Not at the moment, no, since he's asleep, but he will be when he awakes."

"How long do we have?" she asked directly.

"Judging from the amount of poison that came out of that stinger, I'd say that if he doesn't get the antidote by tomorrow evening, he's in serious trouble."

***

Sora was enjoying a very peaceful sleep. The weather was chilly now, so she was snuggled under thick blankets. For the first time in several months she had the entire suite of rooms to herself, and so as not to feel too alone she'd left the door to her room wide open while she slumbered. Piyomon laid comfortably at the end of the bed, snoring slightly as she slept.

Suddenly, there was frantic knocking on the outer door on the opposite side of the parlor that she ordinarily shared with Jun and Miyako. Sleepily, Sora sat up, confused, and then the person who'd been knocking became frustrated with it, and the door opened wide. Koushiro peered into the room.

"Sorry for the interruption, but I think you might be needed."

"For – what?" she wondered, rubbing her eyes and blinking in the dim light at the wizard.

"It would appear that Hikari's gone missing."

***

It was late at night when Takeru arrived.

The first thing he noticed was that it was extraordinarily busy at the castle for such an hour. People – servants, nobles, everyone – were running around frantically. Thankfully, he'd walked the last of the distance or he wouldn't have found anyone to care for his carriage. As he entered the main hall, no less than three frantic maids dashed past him in a big hurry.

"Excuse me," Takeru tried to question a butler, but he was busy rushing past and didn't even hear the request. "Apparently security is not currently an issue…" he noted, lifting the one bag he'd carried with him over his shoulder and deciding to head for his room.

As he walked through the corridors, more servants rushed past him, and a few ladies that seemed to have been awakened in the middle of the night as they were still wearing robes. "What's going on?" he called.

"Missing! She's missing!" one of the women called back over her shoulder as she rushed on by, but gave no further information.

"Who's missing?" Takeru shouted back, but she was already gone and didn't appear to have heard him. He shrugged slightly, opening the door to his room. "Maybe Yamato knows what's going on."

A few minutes later, he got no further in his questions, as his brother didn't appear to be in his room either. "Now this is getting strange," Takeru decided. He left the room, too overwhelmed by curiosity to be concerned with feeling tired, and headed for the main hall in search of information.

"Takeru? What are you doing here?" A female voice questioned, and when he turned around he was surprised to see Sora and Koushiro heading towards him.

"I just got in – what's going on?"

"The princess is missing," Koushiro replied. "Taichi's frantic, the whole place is searching for her."

"Missing? Hikari?" Takeru repeated. "Was she kidnapped?"

"No one knows," Sora replied. "She just can't be found." She began walking again, and Koushiro followed. Takeru rushed after them.

"How long has she been missing?" he wondered.

"It was only just discovered a few hours ago," Tentomon replied, flying behind his partner.

***

When Daisuke awoke again, he was aware of a sharp pain in his leg, a dull pain in his head, another in his arm, and a weakness that seemed to permeate his entire body. He groaned slightly and opened his eyes. The dim light that filtered through the tent told him that it was early morning.

"Here, drink," a voice advised, and he felt a cup placed against his lips. The same someone also lifted his head with a hand. Without really thinking of a reason to resist, he obeyed, gulping, and felt cool, clean water flow down his throat. When there was no more water, the cup disappeared, and Hikari's face replaced it.

"Thanks," he said, not surprised to find his voice was weak. He coughed slightly, trying to clear his throat.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Not too bad," he replied, partially lying, and leaned back again. The pain in his head was sharper now, and he reached up to feel the bandage wrapped just above his eyes.

The look on her face told him she didn't believe that in the least, but she said nothing about it. "You look a little better."

"How long was I out?"

"Well, you passed out a bit before midnight, and it's nearly morning now. I'd say about five hours."

"Guess I needed the nap," he sighed, and shut his eyes. He opened them a moment later. "Hikari?" She was quiet, had been quiet, and he could sense something strange.

"I – ," she began, and paused, cleared her throat, and looked at the ground. "I saw this."

"Saw – what?" Daisuke repeated blankly.

"This. You, this tent, and the way you are now. I saw it. I dreamt it." Her voice was very soft, as though she was afraid of revealing the information.

***

Taichi was pacing about his room, still only half-dressed. He wore a thin, off-white linen nightshirt and a pair of his usual pants. Sora, still exhausted, had fallen asleep a half-hour ago in a chair, but he was too worried to sleep. He walked back and forth between the window and the door, barely noticing that the sun had risen and day was beginning anew. The rest of the palace was searching for his sister, and he would have been searching himself, except that Takeru and Koushiro had convinced him to try to get some rest. Sora had stayed with him, but her efforts had, unfortunately, failed.

There was a knock on the door and Koushiro entered.

"Is there anything?" Taichi questioned. Koushiro shook his head.

"Nothing yet," he replied with a tired sigh. "We've sent the soldiers to search the courtyard, and they're beginning to spread out across the grounds. The only thing I'm certain of is that she's not in the palace."

"What could have happened?" he wondered, stepping away from Koushiro to the window and opening the curtains. From there, he could see that the soldiers and several servants were beginning to search the grounds, peering behind bushes. In the distance, on the road beyond the castle, he could see a single carriage speeding up the road.

"Who's that?" Agumon wondered sleepily from where he'd been dozing on the window seat.

Koushiro walked to the window and peered past Taichi's shoulder. "I don't know," he admitted. "Looks as though he's in a hurry, though."

"A big hurry. And he's headed this way," Agumon observed.

"Send someone down to figure out what the problem is," Taichi decided. "The driver wouldn't be running a Monochromon at such a speed if there wasn't something important."

***

Daisuke was surprised, to say the least. "Dreamt? This?" he repeated. "But – how?"

Hikari stood up and stepped away from him, still not looking in his direction. "I don't know," she replied, very softly. "I just know it was exactly like this. You were hurt, the same places you are now." She turned back to him finally, with watery eyes. She held a wavering arm out and pointed. "The cut – there – above the eyes…it was the same. And there was this laugh…"

He nodded, eyes becoming distant as though he remembered something. "The Kaiser," he said, softly. "He had this laugh, this mocking laugh…," he broke off, shuddering slightly. "But – how?"

***

Takeru was the lucky one chosen to meet the frantic carriage. He stood at the end of the path that lead to the castle. Almost immediately after he'd arrived, the carriage pulled to a quick stop before him, and Jyou tumbled out.

"Doctor? Why the hurry?"

"There's no time to explain, Takeru!" Jyou replied, a harried expression on his face as he walked past him into the castle. "I'll need another carriage, quickly as possible."

"I'll try," Takeru replied. "But it might take a while. We need every available person to search."

"Search?" the doctor paused for a moment, turning around. "Search for what?"

"Hikari. She's missing."

"Missing – oh dear," Jyou turned slightly pale. "Where's Taichi? I'll need to see him. Now."

"Upstairs," Takeru pointed. "I'll show you – ."

"No, no, I'll find it," he waved a hand in dismissal. "Call in those searchers. Find someone to get me a carriage. I know where Hikari is, and I'll need a ride fast."

"You know? But, where?"

"No time to explain, Takeru! It's a matter of life and death!"
***

Miyako awoke early in the morning on a cot in a tent. After the usual morning routine, slightly modified since she was living in a tent, she went to the tent where Daisuke had been left to see how he was doing. She was about to enter when she heard a voice and paused.

"I don't understand," Hikari was saying. "I've never expressed any magical ability before. I'm sure one of the wizards at the palace would have noticed if I did. But this dream – this dream tells otherwise."

Ordinarily, Miyako wouldn't have interrupted or eavesdropped on a private conversation. But, as magic was something she knew a little about, she decided that perhaps it might be best if she did intrude. So, she coughed loudly and entered the tent. "Sorry for the intrusion," she apologized. "I couldn't help overhearing –."

"It's all right," Hikari assured her.

Miyako nodded. "I heard you say something about magic?"

"She had a dream," Daisuke informed her.

"I dreamt that Daisuke was hurt. In exactly the same manner he is now," she elaborated.

"A prophetic dream?" Miyako repeated. "Sounds like magic to me."

"To me, too," the injured boy noted from his place on the cot.

"But I've never had any magic before," Hikari protested. "I've never shown any signs of magic. One of the wizards would have noticed if I did. There are always tons of them at the palace. And I can't see the way you do, either, Miyako."

"That doesn't mean anything," the magic-user among them told her. "Many times magic can go without detection for many years. And many wizards don't have the magic sight like I do. I'm lucky. I can see magic. Some can't. Some of the most powerful sorcerers, wizards, and mages cannot see magic."

"Still, wouldn't someone have noticed?"

Miyako shook her head. "To me, your aura looks the same as it always has. People without magic have pale auras with splashes of color. Things with magic show more color…bright light, sometimes even. But your aura looks the same as it always has – without magic."

Hikari was intrigued now. "What does it look like to you?" she questioned.

"Pale, like most people's, but with a little bit of a pink and yellow color in it," Miyako replied. She looked past Hikari. "I think perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere." She pointed towards Daisuke, who'd fallen asleep.

Hikari turned around, noting that the boy's eyes had closed. "Is he all right?"

Miyako nodded. "He's fine. Just weak." She stepped past Hikari and pulled the blanket up to his chin. "If anyone can pull through this without a problem, it'll be him." She smiled reassuringly.

"I hope so…"

***

"She's where?" Taichi asked. He'd gone completely pale. Sora (who'd awakened in the last few minutes) stood behind him, concerned that he might either loose consciousness or lunge for Jyou. He waved her aside with a hand, and stepped forward. Sora glanced at Takeru once, and he nodded, understanding that he was to step in if Taichi did anything irrational.

"At the Primary Village now," Jyou replied. He looked less nervous than usual. Perhaps, Takeru noted, because he was in such a hurry.

"Why? How? When?"

"She arrived yesterday morning," he answered. "She's not hurt in any way. But that's not why I'm here. I'm on an urgent medical mission."

"Medical?" Sora repeated.

"Someone's hurt?" Takeru questioned.

"Yes. It seems we had a run in with the Kaiser already. But I can't really explain. I've only got until nightfall. That carriage had better be ready within the hour!" He rushed from the room before anyone could explain.

"I'll fill you in," Gomamon spoke up from where he was, on the floor, having followed his partner. "What can I tell you?"

"Who's hurt?" Taichi questioned.

"Start with the easy ones. Good choice. That would be Daisuke."

"What happened?" Sora asked.

"Run in with the Kaiser and a nasty controlled Flymon."

"Flymon?" Takeru repeated. "Ech."

"Exactly," Gomamon nodded. "Flymon stingers are very poisonous."

"And there wasn't any antidote at the camp?" Patamon questioned from his perch on Takeru's head.

The white digimon shook his head. "Not a drop," he replied. "Jyou thought to prepare for a lot of things he might need, but he didn't anticipate Flymon poison."

Taichi sighed. Now that he knew where Hikari was, he had less reason to worry. He sat down weakly on the window seat. "How much did he take?"

"Of poison?" Gomamon asked. When the boy nodded, he replied: "Almost the entire stinger. Jyou thinks he needs to have the antidote by tonight or else."

"Or else?" Takeru repeated. Gomamon made a motion with his flipper as though he were slicing through his own neck. Takeru shuddered. "No wonder he's in so much of a hurry."

"When did you leave?" Sora wondered.

"Almost as soon as we found out it was needed," Gomamon replied. "Daisuke was hurt yesterday, late afternoon. Miyako and Iori needed to carry him back after that to the village and arrived just after nightfall. We left an hour or two after that. Would have left earlier, but we needed to find a willing and awake Monochromon."

"You'll need to hurry back," Takeru noted.

Taichi sighed. "Always getting in troubles, he is," he mumbled, half to himself. "Sora, do you think you and Piyomon could volunteer transportation?"

Sora looked confused for a moment, then she glanced at her partner. "I suppose so. Think you can handle it, Piyomon?"

"Sure," Piyomon replied. "As long as I get a rest once I'm there."

"No problem."

"Good," Taichi nodded. "Takeru, follow them with the carriage. That way they'll have a way home."

"Right," Takeru nodded. "But what do you need me for? A driver could handle it on his own."

"True. But I think you'll be needed," Taichi replied. "And I usually follow my hunches. In the meantime, I'm going to take a nap. Send word back if anything goes wrong."

"What about Hikari?" Agumon questioned.

"Tell her to send a message back with Sora." With that, he was gone.

***

I believe it was Kaeera who requested more "Daisuke-hurt" scenes? Well, there you go! Don't worry, I didn't plan the scene for you. This particular plotline was thought up ages ago, but I wasn't sure if I would use it. ^_^

Let's see…there's obviously much more to write about in this story, so don't expect it to be over any time soon. As usual, I have absolutely no idea how or when it will end, so don't bother asking…feel free to guess, though, you could be right!

Obviously, there's more cliffhangers abound…don't worry, I have no plans to kill off anyone major…!

Thanks again to everyone for all the fabulous reviews I've received! Stay tuned! ^_^