In The Dark

Part One: Visible Evil

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon is mine! Yes! Mine! ::cough:: Er, actually, it's not, it belongs to some people in Japan. But this plot is mine, and it uses the characters and some plot points from the original. I don't have permission to use them, and I'm not giving them back. So there.

***

Yamato leaned back in the carriage and rested his feet on the opposite seat. "Nice day for a ride," he commented leisurely, letting his eyelids droop. The weather was typical of early fall – cold, yet still warm enough on occasion to be comfortable or even hot.

"It is," Gabumon agreed, napping in the seat beside him. "I'm glad we decided to come this way."

Truth was, although they were on pretense of a vacation, Yamato was on official business. Recently, there had been reports from the Primary Village of increased refugees from somewhere outside the eastern border of the kingdom. Yamato had been hanging around complaining of boredom when one of the reports came in, and his friend and King, Taichi, had suggested that he investigate.

The quick stop at Primary Village had yielded little information. Most of the refugees were digimon, and they all were mumbling something about a Kaiser. All were weak, and some in serious need of medical assistance. After sending a healthier and swift Piyomon back to the palace with the information and request for doctors, Yamato and his partner had decided to head east, to the source of the problem.

Now, a half-day's ride from the village and a short way from the border, Yamato was enjoying the cool air and taking the time to nap. It was nearly dark now, and he knew that he'd have to stop and camp soon, but was in no hurry.

"Crossing the border now, sir," the driver of the carriage called from above him, halting their progress as he spoke. "Do you want to make camp here?"

Yamato stepped from the carriage, frowning as he surveyed his situation. "Maybe," he said, thinking aloud. He looked around at the scenery.

There were few residents in this area of Yagami. The nearest village was a good hour's walk away, and this it mostly forest, occupied by wild, usually peaceful resident digimon. 'Who would want to attack peaceful wild digimon?' he wondered as he took a few steps from the carriage and stretched his arms.

He scanned the area, but all he could see was trees. A short distance away from the carriage was a hill which appeared to rise above the tree line. "I think I'll go see what I can see from there," he announced. "Wait here."

The carriage driver nodded, climbing down from the carriage and rummaging in the bag he carried for a piece of fruit to feed the Monochromon that pulled the vehicle. His partner, a small, quiet Plotmon, followed him.

Gabumon followed Yamato to the top of the hill. Once there, they found that they did, indeed, have a fairly good view of the surrounding area. For quite some distance, they could see trees extending. In the distance, he thought he saw the strange trick of the light that showed the careful observer where the hidden Primary Village was. Another village was nearby, and he found that if he squinted he could almost make out the castle –but not really.

When they turned in the opposite direction, neither could see anything. All that was visible from the hill were the vast reaches of trees. It was unknown what sorts of strange digimon lurked within those lands, and if there were any people left, they'd had little contact with the rest of the world. Yamato frowned slightly. He wasn't looking forward to treading through those lands in search of some sort of Kaiser.

"What's that?" Gabumon questioned, his voice breaking through the young man's reverie. He pointed a claw to the south east.

"I don't know," Yamato admitted. "It looks like some sort of tower – but it's completely black. How did they make it that color?"

"Magic, maybe?" the digimon theorized. "It would have to be dark magic to make it black, though. And what would it be used for?"

"Maybe it's a religious thing," he proposed, shrugging slightly. "Hey – wait, I see another one."

"There's definitely something in those forests that's building those dark towers," Gabumon stated. "But what?"

"I'm guessing we'll have to find out," Yamato decided. "We're only a short way from the border."

They made their way down the hill back to the carriage. "See anything?" the driver asked.

"Yeah, and it disturbed me," he replied, climbing back into the carriage. "Let's keep moving."

***

The small green digimon scuttled along the floor nervously. Oh, his master was not going to like this. Not at all. Then again, he rarely liked anything anymore.

"Master?" he questioned. He would have crossed his fingers if he had any – or if he thought it would help.

"If you have bad news for me, just get it over with," the Kaiser demanded. He was hunched over a book, totally absorbed in what he was reading.

"Yes, Master. There's been a human sighted at the western border." Cringing, he braced himself for the explosion he sensed coming.

"A human?" Surprisingly, his voice was calm. Deceptively calm, his servant supposed. "Well, I'll just have to pay him a visit, then." Chuckling to himself, he rose and left the room.

Wormmon sighed and shook his head slightly as he watched his partner leave.

***

The carriage ground sharply to a halt and Yamato fell off his seat. Scrambling to his feet again, he flung open the door and fell to the ground. "What's going on?"

"Sorry sir," the driver apologized. "Those Airdramon scared the Monochromon."

"Airdramon?" Gabumon echoed from the door of the carriage. "I thought we were through with those."

"Oh no," a voice called from above. "We're just beginning."

Yamato scrambled to his feet. One of the Airdramon flew close to the ground and hovered. It was apparently controlled by the figure riding on its head, an impressive – looking young human who glared at him through tinted spectacles.

The figure was dressed in mostly traditional dress for the time, but a cape was wrapped around his shoulders. Yamato, not possessing magic, could see something strange about it, but was uncertain of what it was. The tinted spectacles barred any observers from identifying him, and he was topped with a wild mop of dark hair that would have rivaled Taichi's.

"Who are you?" Yamato asked, bluntly forgetting his manners – as is common when taken by surprise.

"You can refer to me as the Digimon Kaiser," the figure replied. "And humans are not allowed on my land. Especially those that claim to be Chosen." He spat the last words out like an insult.

"And what will you do about it?" Yamato challenged.

"Simply have you removed, of course," the Kaiser responded with a wave of his hand. Suddenly, the trees around the clearing they were in parted.

Yamato looked around him and found he was surrounded by a group of giant, ferocious Tyrannomon. There were six all together, and they were all staring at him with red, glowing eyes from every angle. "I haven't done anything!" he protested. "Can't we talk about this or something?"

"You're trespassing on my land," his foe responded. "Finish him!"

"Let's get out of here!" Yamato decided, dodging between the legs of the nearest Tyrannomon.

"Gabumon evolve!" The bright light filled the area, but something was different, Yamato could sense it. "Gabumon?" The blue and white digimon looked confused. "I can't evolve!"

"What? How is that possible?" Yamato demanded.

His only answer was some sort of maniacal laughter from behind him. Having no choice but to run, he pumped his legs as hard as he could. A moment later, he heard a rumbling sound as the carriage, Monochromon, driver, Plotmon, and all, came barreling past him at top speed.

Yamato blinked, startled. He'd been unaware that Monochromon were capable of running at such a speed. Thinking quickly, he gripped his partner's paw and jumped on to the back of the cart.

Thankfully, Tyrannomon were possibly slower moving than Monochromon – especially one that has been spooked – so they were quickly left behind. "We're not going to get away that easily," Yamato muttered under his breath. He climbed to the top of the cart – a task that was not as hard as one might have thought because the Monochromon lacked stamina and was already slowing.

"We need to ditch this carriage – and fast. Then we need to hide. I don't think this guy's going to give up on us that easily," he explained to the driver.

"Especially since we're heading deeper into his territory," the driver added with a frown. Yamato groaned. A few moments later, they had stopped the carriage, disconnected the Monochromon, and were doing their bests to drag the giant creature into the bushes. It was immensely stubborn, however.

"I hate to say this, but I think we should just leave him," Yamato sighed.

"That seems like a good idea," Gabumon agreed with a panicked expression. The Tyrannomon appeared above them.

"Hide!" Yamato shouted, quickly diving into the brush.

***

Miyako was meditating. Seated on the grass, she breathed in the fresh smell of the lawn and felt herself grow calm. There was a chill in the air, now. Summer was over, and the cold weather was beginning to come into the area.

"Good. Concentrate," Koushiro coached. He was busy peering through a book at the same time, seated a few feet from her. "You need to be consciously aware of your aura at all times or it can go out of control."

The girl nodded, feeling the wind blow past her. The multi-colored aura expanded as she focused on breathing outward, and then contracted as she inhaled. She could see it, even with her eyes closed.

Over the last three months, Miyako had been perfecting the use of her magic. At sixteen years of age, she was late to discover that she possessed such talent, but Koushiro assured her that she was making great progress.

Soft footsteps padded behind her in the grass, but the intruder didn't make a sound. Miyako decided that whoever it was most likely didn't have a reason for interrupting, so she continued focusing on her breathing. A moment later, Koushiro's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Miyako, I'm going to go inside for a moment, all right? I'll be back. Just keep meditating."

She nodded, not bothering to break her concentration, and heard Koushiro and the other person leave. Feeling peaceful, Miyako let her thoughts wander. Her sister, Momoe, was set to give birth in the next few weeks. Because of the medical care available at the palace from the physician, Jyou, she had decided to stay there and enjoy the vacation. Miyako couldn't wait until the baby was born, and looked forward to it. She'd volunteered to stay at the palace for the last few months to stay with her sister while their parents returned home.

She was about to move on to more peaceful thoughts when the sound of footsteps running hurriedly towards her broke her concentration. "Miyako?" a voice asked. "You're needed inside."

Miyako opened her eyes and saw Iori standing before her. The youngest of the Chosen, Iori served his time as a chief palace advisor and was often sent on minor errands such as bringing news. She stood up, sensing the earnest sound in his voice, and noticed that the aura around him had changed.

As one who possessed magical powers, Miyako was aware that all people had an aura, even those without magic. She was learning to read the colors evident in these auras and discover what they meant. Right now, Iori's normally pale, calm, and peaceful green and golden-colored aura was filled with spots of brown and black – the colors of fear and a bit of anger. "What's wrong?" she wondered.

"Official Chosen business," he replied vaguely. "No details yet."

The twelve Chosen were not all in residence at the castle at that moment, Miyako remembered, but those that were there were expected to attend. That included herself, Iori, Sora, Jyou, Koushiro, Hikari, and Taichi.

"Sounds serious," Miyako noted as she followed him back to the palace. Her partner, Hawkmon, met her near the door as they entered.

The meeting was held in a small parlor room not far from the massive kitchen. Miyako had discovered that the kingdom's newest leader was very secretive about where he held meetings, especially with the Chosen, and so therefore he rarely used the massive Throne room. She and Iori were the last to arrive, slipping in the door and seating themselves on one of the numerous couches.

Sora sat on a comfortable armchair to the left of the couch, speaking with her partner, Piyomon, and another Piyomon, who looked tired. Jyou was peering over the strange Piyomon and examining him while he talked to Sora and her partner.

"Don't seem to be any serious injuries," the doctor noted.

"I'm just tired," the Piyomon (whom Miyako assumed to be male because of his deep voice) replied. "It's all the others back at Primary Village who need the doctor."

"I'll do what I can to send help," Jyou promised, standing up and taking a seat near Miyako.

"What's going on?" Miyako wondered.

The visiting Piyomon glanced up at Taichi momentarily, who nodded. "The lands to the East of Primary Village are reported to have been annexed by a human who calls himself a Kaiser."

"The lands to the east?" Miyako repeated blankly. "What's to the east?"

"Not much," Koushiro replied. "Mostly tribal groups, if anything. Two hundred years ago, they united briefly – long enough to sign a treaty with Yagami and form our borders. They're honored today, even though there's been no sign of activity from that land for quite some time." He was searching through one of his books as he spoke, and didn't bother to look up when she asked the question.

The visiting Piyomon nodded in agreement. "Various wild digimon, from what I can tell. None appear to have had much contact with humans, meaning that there are most likely none left in that land – or very few."

"I sent Yamato to investigate reports of injured digimon appearing in the Primary Village. He sent Piyomon back with a message that he was going further – past the border into the territory," Taichi informed the group.

Piyomon nodded. "There are hundreds of digimon at Primary Village," he agreed. "Most are hurt, badly, and they all have horror stories to tell."

"What sort of horror stories?" Hikari spoke up.

"It's reported that the Kaiser keeps digimon as slaves for his own amusement, making them fight each other against their will," the pink bird explained, eyes narrowing in anger. "He's got to be stopped."

"Slaves?" the Princess repeated, surprised. "How horrible! Slavery was outlawed several hundred years ago, wasn't it?"

"Three hundred and twenty four years ago, to be precise," Koushiro spoke up without pausing in his book searching. "Doesn't mean, however, that the law is followed."

"It's not always," Iori agreed. He glanced towards Armadimon for a moment before continuing: "Near my grandfather's dojo in the northernmost reaches of the kingdom, there are people that have slaves. Human and digimon. Not many of them, but some." His partner nodded in solemn agreement.

Hikari looked astonished, but her partner Tailmon only grimly noted: "Some people think laws are to be voluntarily obeyed," she noted cynically.

Taichi looked bleak. "Some do," he agreed, with a sigh. "But the Kaiser appears to be only interested in digimon as slaves. And then uses them for his own amusement."

Miyako shook her head slightly. "Horrible," she agreed.

Koushiro shook his head slightly as he shut the book he'd been searching through. "Nothing in here about a Kaiser," he stated bleakly. "I'll have to do some amount of research."

"Well, I guess we won't see Koushiro for a week or so," Jyou's partner, Gomamon stated. There were smiles and a few laughs, but it was true that the wizard tended to get wrapped up in studying and searching for books.

Sora turned to the visiting digimon. "Rest here for the night and return in the morning," she advised. "You look exhausted."

Taichi agreed solemnly. "As soon as Yamato returns, we'll decide what to do. Maybe he'll find some sort of evidence, or be able to talk with this Kaiser person. In the meantime, Jyou, try to get together a contingent of doctors to volunteer to go to Primary Village first thing in the morning. Go with them if you want."

"How many doctors?" Jyou questioned.

"Take at least fifteen," the Piyomon advised. "And a fair amount of medics and nurses. Some of the injuries are serious, and some are minor. You'll need all the help you can get."

"We'll have to make sure we're well stocked with herbs and medicines," Gomamon noted, and his partner agreed.

"I'm sure I can round up a good amount," the doctor assured them. "When we get there, we'll try to send a better report of the injuries back home. Maybe we can get some more information from the injured."

***

Yamato peered out from behind the leaves of the bush he was hiding in. The Kaiser had arrived on one of the Airdramon, and he appeared to be fuming mad.

"Stupid, stupid," he shouted at the Tyrannomon. "I don't know why I bother with you. Get lost!" Whimpering slightly, the red dinosaurs disappeared into the forest. The Kaiser peered at the Monochromon that had been abandoned. "At least I get a slave out of this. And with so little effort." He grinned slightly, sending a shiver down the spine of those who watched from the cover of the bush.

Yamato expected the Kaiser to produce some sort of collar, or to proceed to whip the Monochromon in the direction he wanted – the tool for which was fastened securely to his belt. But he merely twisted his right hand in a certain way and produced from nowhere a dark, ring-shaped item, which he tossed at the Monochromon. Amazingly (Yamato presumed due to some sort of magic), the ring attached itself around the neck of the massive creature. For a moment, all was the same, and he wondered what the ring was supposed to do. Then, it glowed slightly, markings on the side standing out for a moment.

The Monochromon roared – either in pain or in anger, Yamato couldn't tell – and suddenly its eyes turned a vicious red color, glowing brightly in the dimming light.

***

Miyako peered at the night sky through the window in the parlor she shared with Sora. Despite the late hour, she was unable to sleep.

"What are you doing up?" her suitemate questioned sleepily from behind her. "Can't sleep?"

Miyako shook her head. "No. Worried about stuff," she replied. "You either?"

Sora sighed and sat beside Miyako on the couch. "No," she admitted. "I slept for a bit and had some sort of a nightmare and woke up. Couldn't sleep after that."

"What was the nightmare about?" Miyako wondered, conversationally.

The older girl shook her head in confusion. "I don't remember," she confessed. "I just know it was scary." There was a moment of silence then. "Something interesting about the stars?"

"Koushiro told me that some people can see things in the stars," Miyako explained. "The future, or something like that. I can't see anything though. Just stars."

"I guess your magic doesn't lie in the future, then." There was silence for a few moments. "You're worried about something more aren't you?"

"I suppose. Actually, I'm concerned about Hikari."

"Hikari?" Sora was surprised. "Why?"

"You saw her and Daisuke at the party, right?" Miyako asked. When the other girl nodded, she continued. "Since Ken's disappeared, Daisuke's been in a foul mood. He left last month without a word to her and didn't say anything about returning." She sighed. "She cares about him, you know, and I know he feels the same. I just hope this doesn't end up tearing them apart."

Sighing, Sora agreed: "It would be sort of like Daisuke to do that," she noted with a frown. "But I don't think Hikari will give up on him that easily."

Miyako shook her head. "She won't," she agreed. There was silence again before she said: "I just wish I had some sort of clue what happened to Ken. He was so…" she broke off and shuttered. "It was scary, Sora." Having nothing to say, the other girl reached out and hugged her.

***

It was quite dark, quite late, and most of the palace was asleep, including Hikari. She was fast asleep and in the middle of a nice, peaceful dream. Tailmon lay at the foot of the bed, curled up into a ball and snoring serenely.

Hikari was dreaming of Daisuke. There was no clear storyline behind her dream, it was simply peaceful images and calm moments. There were fantasies of things she wanted to happen mixed with things that probably would happen and things that actually had happened. Speaking with him on the grounds, noting the way the sunlight fell on his face while at the same time engaging in conversation, remembering dancing with him at the party, the soft music in the background with all the guests watching them. Feeling so…right in some way.

And then – then he'd left. Hadn't said anything to her. She dreamt of searching for him one morning and finding Miyako, who told her that he and his sister had left before the sunrise. The pain and confusion, wondering why he'd left, why he had gone so quickly, why he hadn't mentioned anything about leaving. She'd felt the loss deeply…the pain intruded on the previously peaceful dream, and Hikari moaned slightly and shifted in her sleep, shaking the bed enough to annoy Tailmon without waking her.

And then, a horrific vision as the dream became much worse. Daisuke, eyes filled with pain, clutching at his arm, staring defiantly at an opponent she could not see. Hikari could see the blood dripping from a wound over his eye, and more blood from his nose, and she could hear someone laughing…an evil, sinister laugh that sent shivers down her spine. Then, he was gone, and Daisuke was lying on the ground, looking at her with the most – dreadful expression. So much pain…

Hikari sat up in bed, suddenly awake. "No!" she shouted, breathing heavily. Tailmon awoke and was instantly by her side.

"What is it?" her partner questioned, but Hikari was too upset to be able to speak. Tailmon moved to the side of the bed and lit a candle, illuminating the room. "It's all right," she assured her.

The door burst open, and Taichi, having a bedroom near his sister's, stood in the doorway, clutching a candle. "What happened?" he demanded. In the dim light he was able to make out his sister, who was apparently safe.

"Bad dream, I think," Tailmon said. "Get some water."

He nodded, used to taking orders from the small feline digimon, and disappeared. A moment later, he'd returned, cup of water in hand. He sat beside his sister. "Here, drink," he urged, and Hikari did so, breathing deeply.

"I'm all right, Taichi," she said when she had regained her senses enough to stop shaking. "It was just a dream…just a dream, that's all." She repeated those words, trying to convince herself as much as her brother.

She didn't sound very sure about it, that was for certain, he noted. "Tell me about it," he told her, gently but firmly. "It'll make you feel better."

"It's nothing, really," she began, but the look in her brother's eyes told her that he wasn't falling for that statement. "It was just a dream."

"A scary one that woke you up in the middle of the night screaming. Tell me what it was about," Taichi stated, half-ordering, half-pleading with his sister.

Hikari sighed and drank the remainder of the water in the glass he'd brought. She set it on the table. "It wasn't really important," she said. "Silly, really. I was just – it was scary."

"What did you see?" Tailmon asked gently, but curiously.

She took a deep breath and peered at her hands. "Daisuke," she said, softly.

"What about him?" Taichi asked, cautiously probing. A dream about Daisuke was most definitely not enough to wake his sister in the middle of the night. At least, not screaming.

"He was…hurt. Badly," Hikari explained, still examining her hands. There was silence for a moment. "Taichi – it was so scary… I don't know what happened to him…I don't know why he left. What if I did something wrong? What if he's hurt right now, like in my dream?" She turned her head back to face her brother momentarily, but then turned away, sniffling slightly.

Taichi and Tailmon exchanged glances momentarily. "I'm sure he's fine, Hikari," Taichi said. "It was just a dream. Not real. He'll probably have a really good explanation for it all when he gets back, you'll see."

"He'd better," she replied, and now there was a touch of anger in her voice. "If anything happens to him…" Hikari clenched her fist tightly, but the ire didn't last. "I hope he's all right…"

***

Things start quickly! Am I feeling all right? Who knows…

The enemy is obvious, but how will the Chosen handle him? And how will the others react when they hear Yamato's story? Is Hikari's dream a prophetic foreshadowing device inserted by the author or is she just being paranoid and afraid? What will happen?

Well, you'll find out eventually… I think. Thanks for reading! ^_^