"Takato, why are you doing this?" Jenrya demanded, very nearly breathless from the fight he had just endured with the other dark guardian. He lay pinned underneath the brunet with one of his hands wrapped around his throat, staring directly up into silver-crimson eyes glazed with madness, his gaze unwavering even as BlackRapidmon screamed out in pain somewhere nearby and de-evolved. He shuddered as their link trembled, but never once tore his eyes from his partner.

Megidramon shadowing him overhead, Takato smirked darkly, leaning up so he was properly straddling the bluenet but just enough to leave his hand enclosed tightly around Jenrya's neck. "Why?" he managed to whisper, looking down at him with contempt as his fingers struggled to make that final squeeze. "You dare ask me why, Jenrya?" Takato's laughter rang through the shallow valley where they had fought, maniac and insane and horribly chilling, his shoulders shaking with mirth until he stopped short, licking his lips. "I'm going to make them pay," he purred, the sound making a shiver run down Jenrya's spine. "I'm going to enjoy watching them suffer."

There was no doubt in the bluenet's mind what the other was talking about. He stared up challengingly, dark green eyes calm even as he made no attempt to stop him. Out the corner of his eye, he saw BlackTerriermon struggling up, long ears flattening against his head before the rabbit-like Digimon bounded towards Megidramon with a battle cry once again. He raised a hand to wrap around the wrist of Takato's as he felt sweat drip from the fingertips. "Then kill me." He saw a flinch roll across the pale skin of Takato's face, the silver-crimson gaze softening slightly. The hand under his grasp jerked and he continued, watching the brunet's head lower. "Kill me, Takato."

"I…" Fingers twitched and his free hand flew to grasp the back of his neck…right on the spot where Kagemon's mark rested, his head lowering even more until it rested on his chest. "…I…I…"

Jenrya leaned up during that moment, lips brushing the lobe of Takato's ear. "Kill me. Take your revenge. That's what you want, isn't it?" he hissed. He waited patiently for a reply, feeling the pressure around his throat loosen and his shirt become wet as something dropped onto it.

Takato was crying.

"Jen," the brunet whispered, voice hitching through his sobs as his shoulders shook, finally relenting and removing his hand from the other's neck. He sat there in Jenrya's lap, head bowed with hot, wet tears running down his cheeks. Now Jenrya wouldn't want to stay with him; he'd see him for the monster the others had said he was and leave…

Arms wrapped around him and he froze, tears still falling as Jenrya gathered him to his chest, burying his head into the crook of the slightly younger boy's shoulder, holding him as though he was something precious. "I'm sorry," Jenrya murmured into his skin, the arms around him tightening as the bluenet squeezed. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me…I'm sorry I wasn't there to stop him…"

Fresh tears spilled from Takato's silver-ruby eyes, clinging desperately to the only one who had ever cared about him as the battle between their Digimon ended in the background, Megidramon de-evolving and BlackGillmon, feeling his Tamer's despair, howled their grief to the Dejitarusekai, a battered and bruised BlackTerriermon doing his best to offer the saurian comfort.

The tears he was crying were different from the ones he had cried as a human, he would realize later, when things weren't so confusing and they were curled around each other in sleepy contentment. They weren't the salty, pure crystals he had wailed at birth…

No…

They were tears of blood.

On the back of his neck, a hazard-symboled crucifix gleamed a bright red once before it seemed to flicker off, dulling until it was just a light pink scar…

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The Dark Guardians
Chapter VI
Written by Takato Metallium
Disclaimer: I disclaim all rights to Digimon Tamers. It belongs to Akiyoshi Hongo and other such people. I only own the fic, the idea, some Digimon you haven't seen before and not much else.
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Cerulean eyes opened groggily and Ryo had to let them focus until he could confirm his surroundings. Why he felt so drained he didn't know, and the back of his neck throbbed like nothing else he'd ever experienced, not even through all his travels in the Dejitarusekai. Briefly he wondered what time it was, as he vaguely remembered something about the park, before his gaze caught sight of the back of a familiar teenager and their partner.

He sat up, ignoring the thumping his head was making as he tried to glare at the brunet but it only came out sleepily. "What…"

"He's marked you." Matsuda didn't even turn around to face him as he talked, hands in the pockets of his jacket as cold wind blew around them. "Kagemon."

The events of several hours before came back to Ryo and his hand flew to the back of his neck, fingering the marking he could feel outlined in his skin. His hand came away with dried blood, glistening in the street lamp light as though it was still damp. "What are you…?"

"Kagemon's soldiers are all marked by his symbol. Even the more reluctant ones are eventually…forced into working for him." Matsuda finally turned, eyes hard compared to the childish ones Ryo seemed to remember from six years ago. "It's a pull unlike any other. A drug that only he can satiate. You'll feel it sooner or later, when he decides he wants a new puppet to manipulate and control."

Ryo's eyes widened in understanding, hand falling from where it had returned to the back of his neck to gingerly rub along the marking, fingers covered in dried blood. "He marked you…didn't he?"

A sardonic smirk curled its way onto Matsuda's lips and he gave a dry sort of chuckle, gaze distant. "A moment of my life I'd rather forget," he answered, licking his lips delicately even as he closed his eyes. "I broke my oath as a dark guardian that day. I destroyed so many lives before Jenrya finally stopped me that I doubt they were ever returned to the Primary Villages."

He turned so he was side on to the Akiyama boy, staring off into the distance as though he was seeing something else. "I'm not as famous as I am infamous in the Dejitarusekai. It took a long time before everyone felt as though they could trust me again, and even then Quinglonmon placed wards on me to keep my…powers at bay." He laughed darkly, shoulders shaking with mirth. "Really; it's as though he's afraid I'll go insane and massacre the entire Dejitarusekai."

"Why are you…telling me all this?" Ryo was thoroughly puzzled by the other teen, sitting up and leaning on one hand. He noticed that Monodramon was still knocked out beside him, eyes flickering towards his partner momentarily before Matsuda held his interest once again.

"You'll know the pull when you feel it." Ignoring the question entirely, the dark guardian looked at him out the corner of his eye. "A deep tugging at the end of your soul. You'll find yourself wanting to kill the next person who looks at you the wrong way, and it only becomes worse from there."

Before Ryo could repeat his question, BlackGillmon nudged at his human partner's legs with his muzzle, looking at the brunet imploringly when he was regarded with silver-crimson eyes. "A Daeva," was all the saurian-type needed to say in explanation, and Matsuda began walking away from him before he stopped, looking over his shoulder at the other brunet.

"You might as well come along." The dark smile that curled on his lips unnerved the legendary Tamer, but nonetheless Ryo stood, pulling Monodramon with him as the purple and gold Digimon began to wake. "Perhaps a good battle will make things clear."

Ryo certainly hoped it would…

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Ruki couldn't sleep.

The redhead had carefully slid out from the bed she was sharing with Juri sometime ago, careful not to wake her girlfriend of her partner Elecmon whom she held in her arms tightly but gently. She now stood on the balcony outside her family home, one arm placed palm-sided onto a log pole holding the roof up, staring up at the partially cloudy night sky. Despite the chill, she had neglected a dressing gown, figuring her pajamas to be enough.

"Renamon…"

Almost on cue, her partner Digimon appeared from the shadows surrounding the shrine, coming to stand next to her. Ruki looked at the golden-furred kitsune, unfazed by her sudden appearance as always. "You called me, Ruki?"

Ruki pulled her arms around herself, squatting until she was able to sit down on the balcony and look out over the backyard. "Renamon…is it true what he said? That he was the one who led you all back?"

Renamon paused, taking the seat next to her Tamer with one leg propped up so she could rest her arm on it, the other allowing her to lean back. "Ruki…I didn't tell you because I knew you would be upset about it. He asked us to keep their anonymity a secret, and so we did." She looked at her human partner out the corner of her eye before turning her head, regarding Ruki with a kind blue gaze. "But that's not the reason why you wanted to talk to me, is it?"

Ruki was silent for a few moments before she spoke again, curling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, leaning forward so her chin touched her legs. "…Was it wrong of us to abandon him? Did we…did we make the right decision?"

The kitsune mulled over her questions a little, staring up at the moon – it would be full in another few days, she realized. "I believe…I believe we made the right decision by what was happening at the time; there was no way any of us could have won against Beelzebumon, or Megidramon if he had gone out of control. Takato was asking the impossible of us, to win a battle none of us could. Seeing Leomon defeated and absorbed…it made me scared for the first time in my existence. I wanted to pull back out of the fight, but I wouldn't unless you told me to, and when you didn't, I acted on my own to save you and the others."

The redhead paused, thinking about Renamon's confession. They had never spoken about this before – preferring to keep it in the past, and so not to upset Juri at the mention of Leomon – but Ruki could remember that time even after six years. Remember the hotness of the underground lava; remember the panic in her chest when Beelzebumon had stood over Kyuubimon, ready to kill her at a moment's notice; remember the insane look in Takato's eyes as Gillmon evolved to his dark Ultimate form, Megidramon…

Remember the tears in his eyes as, one by one, they all turned their backs on him; remember how Jenrya had scorned them for their actions and follow their former leader away from Zhuqiamon's stronghold; remember the guilt she had felt in the years after and wonder if they were still alive…

"You…want to join them again, don't you Ruki?" Renamon's voice brought her out of her reverie and she twisted her head to look at the kitsune Digimon once more. Renamon was standing, the cool breeze blowing her tail in the other direction as she looked down at Ruki. She held a paw out, offering her human partner a smile rarely seen by anyone else. "Whatever decision you make, I will gladly follow it. You know that."

Ruki swallowed deeply and took Renamon's hand, the golden-furred digital monster hauling her up and into her arms into a hug. She buried her face in the white fluff of Renamon's chest, shivering now not only from the cold…

She just hoped that whatever decision she made, it would be the right one…

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Ryo had had a hard time keeping up with Takato. He could only barely see the back of his jacket and BlackGillmon as he followed the duo through the bustling nightlife of Kabukicho(1) in northeastern Shinjuku. Monodramon was still recovering from being knocked out, so he had to carry his partner Digimon on his back, which he decided only slowed him down.

The mark on his neck was throbbing again, a small voice in his head telling him which way to go. He bit his lip and shook his head to clear it as he figured this was part of the pull Matsuda had told him about. Looking around, he could see the lights flickering on and off and the hair on the back of his neck tingled like immersed in static electricity.

"Sinouramon." Hearing the other brunet speak, Ryo stopped, letting Monodramon down off his back and looking at Matsuda out the corner of his eye. Takato's gaze held that look again – that 'special' kind of hatred he seemed to reserve only for the Daevas. He watched the younger male glance down at his partner, a cold smile curling on his lips. "I believe you can take this one on your own, boy."

The childish disposition of the virus-type monster had disappeared almost as soon as Takato had spoken, and BlackGillmon nodded, his own eyes dilating until the pupils were mere cat-like slits. "As you wish." Without saying much else, the Digimon charged in to tackle Sinouramon head on.

"Wait a sec…you're sending him into battle by himself?" Ryo looked at the other teen in front of him incredulously with a raised eyebrow. "But every battle I've seen you in so far has been the two of you biomerging…"

"Daeva battles don't always require us to biomerge." Takato twisted his head to look at Akiyama over his shoulder, his smile becoming a dry smirk before he returned his attention back to the task at hand. "During my training with the Sovereigns over the last six years, I became able to sense how strong a digital monster was, as well as its type and level. It's part of the reason why Jenrya and I don't have to use our D-Arcs so much anymore." His smile became slightly sad, and he shook his head. "I believe we won't need to use them at all quite soon…"

"Fireball!"

"Positron Pull!"

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Akiyama." He turned so he was able to watch both the battle and the other boy, his eyes narrowing again. "…I'm not real." Noticing the shocked look, he continued, shaking his head. "Not even Jenrya knows this. My real body is asleep in a chamber deep in Kagemon's palace; has been ever since I died. I'm…you could call me a soulless body…a nobody. I can function well enough on my own, but I need Takato's heart and soul to become whole again."(2)

"You should be telling him this, not me…" Ryo glanced towards the battle momentarily before he turned his gaze back towards the dark guardian. "He…Lee cares a lot about you." Even he had seen the clearly longing gazes the other guardian sent towards the one in front of him.

Matsuda chuckled a little, shaking his head again. "He thinks he does. The little that Jenrya knows proves that. He thinks he knows me…but he's never gotten to understand the true me." He leant against one of the buildings they were near, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the battle. "The rage I felt back when Megidramon was born…the hatred…the anger…they were all emotions man is afraid to submit fully – no; completely – to. I did so willingly…" He smiled, a look of absolute bliss appearing on his face as he remembered the feeling.

"It was like liberation into a higher form of life. I shared that rage with BlackGillmon, and through our bond we created Megidramon. We haven't been able to achieve that form since I became Kagemon's, but I know…" His lips parted, revealing his teeth in a grin as he looked over to where his partner was fighting. "…I know it will be soon. Not even those silly little wards Quinglonmon placed on my power will be able to stop me."

Ryo felt a chill crawl up his spine as he looked into Takato's eyes, the bright silver-crimson orbs shining in undisguised glee, before he froze with realization. 'He's trying to make his way back to Kagemon…'

"Rock Breaker!"

"So you realized, have you?" Takato leant away from his post, mouth quirking upward ever so slightly, and Ryo noticed that in the darkness, illuminated by the city lights, he looked like a demon. The guardian ignored Sinouramon's howl of defeat as the Daeva burst into data only to be absorbed by his partner. He held his hand out, palm forward towards Ryo as his smile became a smirk that bared his teeth. "The question I want answered is…are you going to join me in my quest for absolute oblivion? Or will you be one of the ones who will try to stop me?"

To be continued…

General Notes:

(1) Kabukicho is a district in Shinjuku well known for bars, restaurants and a red-light district with street prostitutes, brothels, and other sexual commerce located northeast of Shinjuku Station. Information gathered from Wikipedia.

(2) Anybody who's played Kingdom Hearts 2 will notice the reference to Nobodies and Heartless. I've been playing it all week since it finally came out in Australia (after nearly a year of it being pushed back continuously while the rest of the world got to play it) and defeated the final boss within the week since the day I brought it, so I decided to had to put something in there. Plus, it added something to the story. I've been wanting to write Psycho!Takato again for the longest time…reading Death Note doesn't help either.