Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Descent into Darkness ❯ CHAPTER THREE ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do not claim to own Digimon. Toei own Digimon and Sensation Animation (formally known as Saban) make the dub. This is for fun not profit.

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Descent into Darkness

Part Three

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"Why do I get the feeling that people are talking about me behind my back?" Hikari asked rhetorically. She put her hands on her hips and surveyed the other digidestined. "I should have suspected something was going on when Taichi wasn't home."

She had woken up that morning to find a message saying that there was a meeting in the Digital World at 10.30am. She'd arrived a few minutes early to find that everyone else was already there and they had fallen silent the moment she'd emerged from the digiport.

"Kari-chan! You're early." Takeru told her. The sound of his voice was enough to improve her mood slightly.

"So are all of you early too or is my guess that I was the subject of conversation correct?" No one spoke and she shook her head. "That's what I thought! I'll just leave then." She turned back towards the digiport.

"If we didn't want you here we wouldn't have invited you. We just wanted to talk first." Ken said. She cringed because his voice went through her. It was like someone scraping their nails down a chalkboard. He apparently noticed this and frowned. "Kamiya-san, I think you're in great danger."

"I agree." Daisuke said. She resisted the urge to put her hands over her ears and scream at everyone to shut up as his voice hurt her as well.

"It does fit the available evidence." Koushiro agreed. He looked miserable. "I don't like it but it does."

"Especially after what happened yesterday." Iori said. He also looked very unhappy about it.

"Would someone like to tell ME what this theory is?" Hikari tried to keep her tone mild but was aware that she didn't really succeed.

"Ken thinks that there's more going on than these dreams. He thinks that the Dark is trying to corrupt you." Takeru said. She was relieved that it was him who told her. His and her brother's were the only voices was that didn't grate on her nerves at the moment. Well Gatomon's didn't either but her digimon had come with her and therefore couldn't explain. "He thinks that they are doing something to you."

She resisted saying something sarcastic about how obvious that was only because she knew that the urge came from the Darkness that she could sense growing inside her. Her instincts said that she mustn't indulge it if at all possible though that wasn't easy. Instead she just nodded. "I think so as well." She agreed, then winced because even such a simple statement managed to come out with unintentional bite. The others gave her worried looks. "Sorry about that." She ground her teeth, took a deep breath and then described the previous night's dream.

"Well that settles it. This enemy is trying to corrupt her." Taichi growled. "I'll teach the dark to go after my baby sister."

---

Hikari was staring at her brother and trying not to laugh. "First we have to find out what we're up against." She said in a logical tone.

Takeru nodded. "We need to find out who this guy is." {And why he's after my Kari-chan.} He appended mentally.

"I've been thinking about that." Daisuke said. "I know we need to get him to tip his hand somehow but I can't think of anything."

"Me neither." Ken admitted. "The only thing we could do is dangerous. I don't think this enemy is going to show himself here until he's ready."

"Or in the real world." Koushiro agreed. "I think I know what you were thinking. Leaving aside the danger how could we get there?"

Ken sighed. "I think that I could open the gate … but really it's dangerous and I really don't want to go back there."

"To Hikari or all of us?" Taichi asked.

"Mostly to Hikari, very probably to me and to a lesser extent to everyone." He shuddered. "That place … it sinks into your skin. Being exposed to that level of energy might make her worse and we don't know what might attack us there … or if I'd be able to get us back."

"Or if it might cause you to relapse." Iori finally spoke in a quiet voice. He looked very thoughtful. "May I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

"Ken's idea is dangerous but that doesn't mean that it isn't a good idea. However the danger means that it should only be a last resort. Our first order of business should be not leaving Hikari alone."

"But we haven't been leaving her alone." Takeru protested. "At the very least Gatomon's been with her all the time."

"And I expect they were sleeping at the same time?" Ken asked suddenly.

"Exactly." Iori nodded.

"Y-yes." Hikari said. "W-we were. You think…?" Comprehension suddenly dawned in her eyes.

Both Ken and Iori nodded. "Something is being done to you while you're asleep." The younger boy said.

"Watching me while I'm asleep is going to be difficult." She pointed out.

"I know. We should check out your room. If we can figure out what they are doing to you we might be able to stop it."

"Yes we might." Hikari said ungraciously putting the emphasis on the might. "But it's worth a try. Better than the other option. Let's go." As she turned back to the digiport Takeru couldn't help wondering if the other suggestion she meant was going to the dark sea or watching her while she was asleep.

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"I don't see anything out of place." Hikari said as she looked around her room. She headed towards the bedside table. "Oh, Mom hasn't moved the jug yet." For some reason she wanted to get it out of the room as quickly as possible. "I'll take it to the kitchen." She reached out with her good arm and blinked in surprise as Ken's hand closed on her wrist.

"That's it!" He was staring at the jug. "Can you feel it?" Now that he asked she realized that she could. There was a cold, dark energy radiating from the pitcher. It wasn't as strong as the aura in her dreams but it was there.

"My water jug?" She whispered. "I don't understand … unless it's not the jug…"

"…But its contents." Ken finished for her. He lifted the jug carefully and tilted it so that the small amount of water left was visible. "Look." The water had an odd, grey tinge to it. Hikari narrowed her eyes as she realised something. Subconsciously she had been trying to remove the jug before anyone became aware of its significance.

"What does it mean?" Taichi asked as he looked at the water.

"Someone -- a digimon most likely -- has been sneaking in and spiking Hikari's water."

"What with?"

"Water from the World of Darkness I think. That would make sense because every time she took a drink she'd be absorbing its dark energy into her system."

"And the dreams have been making me thirsty!" Hikari added.

"That was probably deliberate. Whoever is doing this would want you to ingest as much of it as possible." He gave her a penetrating look. "How hard is it for you to resist at the moment?"

"Do you want the list?" she asked, unable at that moment to bite back the sarcasm. She was surprised when he just nodded. "Okay. I keep having to resist the urge to be sarcastic. I'm not always successful at that."

"I noticed." He smiled wryly. "What else?"

"Well, with the exception of Gatomon, Onii-chan and Takeru, everyone's voices are going through me like a dentist's drill. If anyone gets to loud I have this urge to strangle them." She paused. "And I think I was trying to get the jug out of here before anyone realised its significance. It wasn't conscious but I'm pretty sure that was what I was doing."

"I guessed that." Ken had lowered his voice slightly. Not such much that the others couldn't hear him. It did however lessen the impact of his voice on her frayed nerves. "Anything else?"

"I'm not sure." She gave him a grateful nod. "It's hard to judge your own behaviour objectively. I think I'm getting more irritable and may be a little paranoid. I definitely assumed the worst when I found you in the Digital World earlier."

"What did you assume?" Takeru asked and she smiled at him. At least she tried to but she wasn't sure she was successful.

"That you were discussing how to neutralise me if I did become corrupted or possibly what to do if you decided I was too far gone to save but hadn't actually fallen yet." She sighed. "I know it was a stupid thing to think… wasn't it?"

"Of course it was." Takeru reassured her. "You won't be corrupted, Kari-chan. I have faith in you."

"I feel like I'm drowning, Takeru." She told him helplessly as she met his eyes so that he could see her fear and confusion. "I think that perhaps you should put a contingency plan in place. You might believe in me but I'm not sure that I do anymore."

Takeru reached out and gave her a gentle shake. "You have to believe in yourself." He said in a firm tone. "That's the most important thing of all."

"I'm trying. I really am but it's so hard."

"We have to protect my sister." Taichi said. He was also speaking quietly even though she'd said that his voice didn't go through her. "If we can keep them away from her the effects will wear off… won't they?"

"Hopefully… Probably… I don't know for sure but it is likely that they will." Ken told him. "We're not exactly sure how it's effecting her… just what the symptoms are. That makes it hard to treat. In the end she's the only one who can save herself."

"A sleepover!" Miyako said suddenly. Her voice wasn't subdued and Hikari winced. "Sorry." She said more quietly. "If Sora and I can find excuse to stay with Hikari we can take it in turns to watch for interlopers."

"That's a good suggestion." Ken agreed. "I'm sure you can come up with something."

"I don't think Mom'll mind. She's been worried about me seeming depressed so she'll hope it'll cheer me up." She looked over at Miyako. "I think we should have it at your place. That might confuse them. Your parents won't mind will they?"

Miyako shook her head. "I doubt it. If it does I'll talk them round."

"Okay, I'll see you tonight." Hikari managed to smile but she guessed it was obviously faked. She really didn't want to be around people at the moment but she was sure that this was the only thing to do."

---

"If I can't dose her will it wear off?" Black Gatomon asked her master. They had been watching the events in Hikari's bedroom via a bug that the digimon had planted the previous night.

She's a fighter so it might." Her master was tapping his claws thoughtfully on the arm of his throne. "We'll just have to move the time table up by a couple of days. We'll do it tonight. Ripping out of their arms will show the other digidestined just how powerless they are against me." He chuckled. "Make the preparations."

"As you wish, master." She bowed and went to do has he had bidden her even as she hoped they would find a way to stop him.

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