Disclaimer - Yeah, you remember, right? Don't own Digimon. Gawd, does this sound repetitive or what?
A/N: I think ffn ate some of my reviews... I don't know, maybe not. Anyway, it's fun to write, meaning you get more sooner than usual. Aren't you all so lucky? XD Changed the rating too, because having it R-rated makes me feel better about some of the... disturbing things... that will appear.
Quick thank-you thingy-ma-bobbers... Erm, yeah:
Sillie: What's happening with Taichi? Heh, I'm not telling! XD Weird... Yeah, I'll except that. Thanks for reading! ::grins::
nEo-cHaN: Not crap, huh? Maybe not... Anyway, here it is! ::grins:: Thanks for reading, hun!
LadyK Na-No-Da: I know! Poor Taichi, and I feel bad for Daisuke too... Being all torture-fied and stuff. XD 'Torture-fied' is a new one. Thanks for reading!
Redvind: I'm taking it not being able to say a word is a good thing...? Here's more! XD Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Yamachi Rainbow: I'm scaring you!? Cool. I keep think they should make a horror flick out of this... XD Thanks for reading, hun!
Kurochan: Hee, I am proud... I like confusing people! It's fun! XD Thanks for reading!
Night Sparkle: Heheh, pretty clever. XD And, I'm so going to try to keep the crappy work coming. XD Thanks for reading!
Tinanit Enozym: Rambling is always entertaining. ::grins:: Heh, love your little 'predictions', they made me laugh. XD The review in general entertained me to no end. Oh, and I wouldn't want you to wear all your keyboard down for nothing, so here's the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Y'know, if I missed you... I'm sorry. Hence the reason why I thought ffn ate some of my reviews. ::shrugs::
Warning: Some, erm, disturbing...? Material in this chapter... Maybe.
---
Bottom of the Abyss (3/?)
by Aero
There was only one thing going through his head, he had to find Daisuke before he got really bad. Even if the brunet was scared, he still had to find the younger boy. Taichi'd never been scared of anyone, but he was of that Daisuke that his eyes had fallen upon. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen. He couldn't feel himself stumbling to the door. He was kind of surprised his feet and legs were even working correctly since his whole body was numb. Or maybe it wasn't, Taichi couldn't really tell. He could feel his brain shutting down, his mental state was pretty unstable and he could feel it.
He would have screamed the name at the top of his lungs if it weren't for the hand that clasped over his mouth, abruptly shutting him up. So instead all he got was a half-yelled, half-muffled, Daisuke, out before the hallway was quiet. He struggled against the hand roughly. Taichi gasped into the hand when he was spun around quickly, nearly making him dizzy. His eyes widened when he met crystal-clear blue ones, which he recognized immediately belonging to Yamato. He stopped struggling against him instantly.
"What's going on?" Yamato asked, worry etched across his face. He removed his hand from Taichi's mouth. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Taichi replied frantically. "Daisuke was out here, he smelled like he had a dead animal in his pocket. He was bleeding all over, he got it all over me..." The brunet trailed off as he looked down at his once bloody hand. He was surprised to find it wasn't bloody anymore. Taichi looked up at Yamato. "It was bloody, he was here... He was all bloody."
"Taichi, Daisuke hasn't been here. I'm sure he's at home sleeping, just like you were five minutes ago." Yamato paused and watched Taichi. "You just had a bad dream, okay? Daisuke is fine, if you want, I'll call him and make sure." Yamato could see something in Taichi's eyes click, and the brunet laughed.
"No, why would you do something like that? I know it was just a dream, I was just kidding around. I know the loud thumping sound, blood, and darkness wasn't real. Of course I know it wasn't real, what do you take me for?"
"Taichi! It's okay, you don't have to convince me," the blonde cut in quickly, wanting to spare the shorter boy some embarrassment. "You look exhausted, why don't you go back inside and get some rest, huh?" Taichi shook his head.
"I'm not tired," he said quickly. Yamato raised an eyebrow.
"What? What do you mean, 'not tired'? You look like you haven't slept in days."
'Day,' Taichi thought. 'My first nightmare was last night and then this one.'
"Yama, everyone has nightmares, right? It's no big deal." Taichi couldn't tell if he was trying to convince Yamato or himself. He figured he was trying to convince himself, and he knew he needed convincing. You don't have dreams like that, at least he never had dreams like that before. You don't tend to dream that one of your good friends looks and smells like they're half-dead.
Yamato finally got Taichi to go back inside, but Taichi still wanted to make sure Daisuke was alright. He didn't tell the blonde that though. He figured he'd wait until Yamato was asleep or something before calling Daisuke to make sure. Then it hit Taichi, would he have to explain to Daisuke why he was making sure he was alright? Taichi shook his head, 'Of course not, you idiot. Daisuke's like you... Stupid.' The brunet had to keep himself from laughing at the thought. He knew he really shouldn't be laughing at something like that and he wasn't quite sure what he found to humorous about it.
When Taichi yawned Yamato gave him a knowing look. "You should really get some sleep, Taichi," he said, rolling his eyes when Taichi shook his head.
"No, I'm fine, really. Don't worry." Yamato sighed.
"Look, you can sleep right here on the couch, and I won't move... I'll be here the whole time." He was sitting at the end of the couch, and Taichi contemplated the offer. Would Yamato really sit there for however long Taichi was asleep? 'Of course he would, idiot. How can you question your best friend like that?' he thought, slapping himself mentally.
Taichi nodded when he felt a yawn coming on again. "Only for a few minutes though," he said as he laid his head down on the pillow at the opposite end of Yamato. The blonde rolled his eyes, but nodded none-the-less. Taichi was out the second his head hit the pillow. He really was tired, but he was scared to fall asleep again. Scared as to what his subconscious would come up with next.
He woke up two hours later and glanced down at his feet. They were in Yamato's lap and the blonde was watching television. Taichi grinned.
"I didn't think you'd actually sit there while I was sleeping," he said, laughing lightly. Yamato shrugged and smiled at the brunet.
"I told you I would, and you didn't believe me. Now I hope you have nightmares." The smile on Taichi's face faded away instantly.
"That's not funny, Yamato," he said seriously. "Knock on wood quick before you curse me again." He knocked on his own head before Yamato had the chance to reply. "I can't believe you said that! I hope you feel bad when I tell you that you were half-dead in my next dream."
"Your next dream?" Yamato asked laughing a bit. "Now you're going to have another?" he paused and then it hit him. "Hey, I'm going to be half-dead?" Taichi nodded with a smug grin across his face, and crossed his arms.
"Yeah, and you'll stink really bad... Making me puke, and it'll be all over you making you smell worse." Yamato let out a chuckle.
"Thanks, Taichi. I feel real great now; only thing is," Taichi looked at the blonde expectantly. "How can I be half-dead? Is that even possible?" Taichi shrugged.
"How should I know? I just know that you'll smell like you're half-dead." Yamato opened his mouth to reply, but Taichi cut him off. "You'll smell like you're dead, not half-dead. Jeez, dreams don't go by any rules anyway... You could be disguised as that and actually be an alien for all I know in my dreams."
Yamato nodded. "Sure Taichi, whatever you say."
#$#$#$#$#$
Taichi couldn't remember going to sleep, but figured he must have if he was waking up. He was still laying on the couch, but after a few seconds he realized that Yamato wasn't sitting where he had been. Taichi fought down the panic that settled in the pit of his stomach. 'Is this another dream?' he asked himself. Sitting up from his lying position on the couch Taichi looked around the room. It wasn't dark anymore, it looked like everything was normal. He sniffed the air sheepishly and found that it smelled normal. Taichi let out a sigh of relief.
Standing up Taichi called, "Yamato, are you still here?" He hoped the blonde wouldn't leave without saying good-bye. He would be hurt if he had. Very hurt.
When Taichi found himself in front of the door, he swallowed loudly. He stared at the door as it called to him, telling him to look out in the hallway. Taichi didn't want to, afraid of what he might find. He fought the urge to open the door and lost. He could feel the slow-motion taking effect as he turned the knob. Staring out into the hallway from his doorway, Taichi couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was eerily quiet though, which made Taichi shudder.
'Okay, Taichi, gather your courage. I know you've got it, use it,' he thought to himself. He stepped out into the hallway and glanced around. Everything was normal, well at least he thought it was until he noticed some red stains on the carpet. His breathing hitched and he stared at the red blotches. Blood. Blood stains on the carpet.
Taichi was leaning against his door, his breathing rapid. He was back in his apartment and he'd gotten there as fast as he could. His whole body was shaking and he couldn't stop it. The brunet didn't know what to do, that's when he got the urge to throw-up. Scrambling to the bathroom and barely made it to the porcelain before he started to heave, though nothing came out. Taichi sat there for a few minutes, nothing but dry-heaves.
Standing up from his position on the floor, something caught Taichi's eye. His eyes quickly fell on the bathtub, he gagged when he saw Daisuke laying in the tub in a crimson liquid that Taichi recognized instantly. The blood was overflowing out of the porcelain and Taichi realized it was all over. All over him, the walls, the floor. Taichi gasped as Daisuke looked at him, the brunet's back was against the closed bathroom door instantly. He waited for Daisuke to say something.
"It's not mine," the boy said, his voice strained.
Taichi took a step towards the bathtub getting ready to ask Daisuke a question, but slipped instead, falling forward. When the pain came and all he saw was red, Taichi blacked-out.
He could hear a faint voice calling his name. Trying to find it Taichi looked around, but he couldn't find the source. So he concentrated on the words the voice was saying.
"Taichi," the voice called. "Taichi, wake up. Please!" That was more than enough for Taichi. He opened his eyes abruptly and stared at the pale face looking down at him.
"Yamato," he croaked out. "I thought you left." Yamato shook his head.
"No, I've been right here." The blonde paused. "I went to get a drink and you flipped off the couch, hitting your head on the coffee table in the process. Wait here while I go to the bathroom and you get a wet washcloth, you're bleeding from where you hit your head."
As the sentence rolled off of Yamato's tongue, Taichi reached for him. He shook the blonde frantically. "No, don't go into the bathroom. There's blood everywhere." Yamato shook his head as he pulled away from Taichi.
"I'll be right back, okay?" Taichi shook his head. He watched as Yamato disappeared and second later he heard a gasp. That was all Taichi needed, he climbed to his feet and scrambled back to the bathroom. He stopped in the doorway of it staring at the scene before him.
Yamato sat leaning against the bathtub, his hair dripping a crimson liquid; it streaked down his face and onto his clothes. The once blonde hair was now a deep red and clung to Yamato's pale face. Taichi shook his head. 'This can't be happening,' he thought. 'This couldn't have happened that fast.' Taichi took a step into the bathroom and glance over Yamato, Daisuke wasn't there anymore, and neither was the blood that he once was laying in. Taking another step forward, Taichi reached out a hand towards Yamato.
When the blonde's head snapped up Taichi pulled his hand back with a gasp as if he'd been burned. Yamato's once perfect-pale face was now nothing but bleeding gashes; for a split second Taichi swore he could see the inside of Yamato's mouth through one of the deep cuts. Taichi fought back the tears that stung the back of his eyes, and he choked on the sob that tried to free itself from his throat. The blonde's mouth was stitched shut, his lips a redish-purple. Taichi forced himself to look at the wall and he dropped to his knees.
There was pain again, his head hurt. It hurt pretty bad. Would people just be quiet for a minute so he could sleep the pain away? 'Why is everyone yelling? What's going on?' he thought, his head jerking in different directions. When he opened his eyes he was met with the perfect-pale face that he was so sure he wouldn't ever see like that again.
"Yamato," he croaked. "You're okay, you... You're face is okay." Yamato stared at him and finally nodded.
"Of course it is, Taichi. Look, stay here... I'm going to go to the bathroom and get a wet washcloth for the cut on your head." Taichi grabbed Yamato instantly, the images still crisp and clear in his mind.
"No, it's okay. I'm fine, don't go." He sounded so frantic. So desperate. "Don't leave me here."
Yamato sat down next to Taichi where he was laying on the floor. "I'm not, I'm just going to the bathroom." Taichi shook his head and sat up. When the pain hit him he began to wish he hadn't.
"No, look... I'm fine," he said, giving Yamato a crooked grin. He hoped that it didn't look too forced. Taichi could feel the blood dripping down his brow. He wondered how bad he banged himself up, but wasn't willing to go into the bathroom and wasn't going to let Yamato go either for that matter.
---
Aero: How was that? Please leave me a review! Y'know you all own me! XD Thanks for reading, much appreciated!