FireCacodemon: Welcome to a new One-shot I wrote. I had this idea for a while so I finally wrote it and posted it. Super excited. Disclaimer below.

Into the Gate

A Darker Than Black Fan-Fiction

Written by FireCacodemon

Disclaimer: Darker Than Black belongs to Tensai Okamura

AU – Hell's Gate Hei

Summary: Rumours had started to spread among lower rank members, something about a possible being punishing people who went into the gate. While most researchers had ignored those rumours, clawing at the back of the mind was the guilt of sending someone else to their own death.

Into the Gate

Humans were always curious about the unknown, and one of the many things that puzzled humans were the gates that stood in South America and Tokyo. When the two gates arrived, beings known as Contractors and dolls followed and the sky was lost, replaced by a fake sky with fake stars that twinkle in the night. Contractors, people who gained a supernatural ability but must pay a price each time their power was used...beings that were said to have sacrificed their human morals in order to gain the power. Emotions are either none existent or very limited for a contractor, much like a doll. Dolls are passive mediums that can send spectres out which only contractors could see. Yet...when contractors and dolls came into existence, the governments banned any information leaking out to the general public. When people ban something, human curiosity gets the best of people and they go looking for what they shouldn't know, the common public shouldn't know about contractors because of the panic it could create. Contractors take on the dirty jobs, the murder, their ability to deceive...everything the average human will hesitate to do a contractor can do it so much better. Yet there was something that neither human nor contractor could predict would happen.

"This is Doctor Kiyoshi Isamu reporting from section 3 of Hell's Gate. The maps needs to be re-drawn again as where this map says there's a street forward...there's now a huge crater," Dr Kiyoshi spoke into the transceiver. All he heard was static on the other end so the message wasn't scent through. Mentally sighing to himself he looked into the crater. He had been into the gate a couple of times but this was the first time he had seen the path change as drastically as it had done. There was still little life in the gate, the only life possible were the distorted plants that somehow grew. The researchers in PANDORA had given up on figuring out how they grew. What they were more interested in were the properties that the plants had and if they could grow them outside the gate.

"Why are you wearing a suit?" Isamu felt his body freeze as the new voice appeared behind him. Isamu inhaled and exhaled slowly as he calmed down. All he had to do was turn around and he could see who had walked up behind him. It was probably another member on the team who had been sent out to bring him home again. Turning around, his eyes widened in shock as another male stood behind him with midnight eyes and sort, scruffy black hair and pale skin, there was strong evidence that the individual was from China. "It looks cool, can I wear one?" He spoke in a childish manner, like his body had aged and matured quicker than it should while his mind remained of a child. Isamu looked down the body of the new male to see that his favourite colour must be black as he wore black and white trainers with white laces, baggy black trousers which were a little worn and torn in some placed from use, a couple of plant seeds were stuck on the trousers as well as white pollen particles. He wore a black shirt with the few top buttons undone which exposed his collarbones (which looked attractive) and as a protective layer, he had a black trench coat made out of bullet proof material. Around his neck was a chain which had a yin-yang symbol hanging off. Isamu couldn't read the aura that the individual was giving off but he could tell that there was something off. Everyone who entered the gate by PANDORA had a safety suit on which prevented the radiation from the gate causing any psychological damage and a method for contacting them.

"I...erm...no?" Isamu wasn't sure how to respond to the new individual. He frowned and looked disappointed at the response as he started to shuffle on his feet while watching the ground below him.

"Aww...Well, that's a shame. So, Doctor Kiyoshi Isamu, why are you exploring Hell's Gate?"

"That's classified, who are you?"

"What's my name? I go by many names, but recently I've been going by Shengshun Hei."

"Shengshun...Hei?" Isamu repeated what he had just heard. He nodded in acceptance but he was also put off by the fact that he apparently had many names which people have been calling him by or he had called himself. Was it possible that Hei had fled to the gate to avoid the name calling? It wasn't uncommon for people to try and enter the gate if their lives were hard. Hei was watching him, his midnight eyes never leaving Isamu's body. "I'll take you out of here, follow me." Isamu thought that bringing Hei back with him to PANDORA. He could probably explain some things that others might not be able to. Hei had managed to slip past the security of PANDORA and settled down in Hell's Gate; that was something that not many could pull off as well as Hei had done. If he brought Hei back then they could improve their security about letting innocent people into the Gate. He wasn't even sure how long Hei had been in the gate.

"Why would I leave the gate?" Hei questioned the PANDORA researcher.

"Because the gate is unsafe, the gate could cause psychological damage to individuals." Isamu noticed that Hei had taken a few steps back and away from him.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not leaving Hell's Gate. I don't have a reason to leave." Hei's voice darkened slightly. General fear filled Isamu's body.

Darker Than Black – Into the Gate

To say that the researchers of PANDORA were calm...would be a lie. Dr. Kiyoshi Isamu was a brilliant mind for PANDORA and someone who had been in the gate more than anyone else. When they lost contact with his suit they had all assumed that something negative had happened to him. Others who had lost contact with PANDORA while inside the gate winded up dead and their bodies dropped off just outside the gate like they were thrown out. Rumours had started to spread among lower rank members, something about a possible being punishing people who went into the gate. While most researchers had ignored those rumours, clawing at the back of the mind was the guilt of sending someone else to their own death. If the rumours were true...then anyone else who entered the gate was going to be killed. They couldn't change the fate of anyone who entered the gate now...just stop them before they throw their lives away.

A new program was introduced which allowed public individuals a change to enter and explore the gate for themselves. Advertisements went out explaining fully that the trips into Hell's Gate could result in a person's death. Naturally that had put most people off but one person who was interested in adventuring into Hell's Gate was a young man called Kōzō Tahara. A researcher from the Meyer & Hilton Company that specialises in using contractors as experimental weapons, something that could easily turn from good to horrible. The company was known for inbred contractors to try and widen their ability pool and forced normal people into contracts with the use of brain surgery. They weren't a company to mess with based on how many contractors they were gathering/making. While Kōzō was working for Meyer & Hilton, he was planning on leaving if the gate had something that he was looking for. A way to suppress his daughter's contractor powers before his daughter was experimented on. That was the only reason why he was willingly going to enter the gate; he wasn't doing this for himself...but for his beloved daughter. His daughter, Mai Tahara was a contractor with the ability of Pyrokinesis and her payment was humming a song. Memories of her flashed through his mind. Memories of her setting bugs alight and when questioned...looking at her parents with dead eyes and asked "why?" in a dead voice too. Just seeing that memory filled Kōzō's body with determination. He wasn't going to stand by and let that contractor be used by the Meyer & Hilton company like other contractors were. Despite how inhuman contractors were treated, he was a father and that came first.

Kōzō was geared up and briefed about what was going to happen to him and the side effects of what the gate could do to him. Kōzō nodded and he was sent into the gate. Already the communication was bad to the point where he couldn't understand what was being said and nothing he said could get through. He had given up trying a while back as the feeling of being watched became his main priority. He wasn't even sure when it had started. Maybe when the communications were cut, he started to feel that he was being followed. Yet whenever Kōzō looked around, he couldn't see anyone following. Was this one of the side effects already kicking in? Hallucinating this early on in the gate? Kōzō made a run for it.

Darker Than Black – Into the Gate

Hei rummaged through what Isamu had on his person but grew bored very quickly. They always had the same items on them and it was getting boring to see the same technology inside the suits. There wasn't anything that made humans different from each other. Just the outer appearance changed and their voice did. Apart from that, there wasn't anything else Hei could play with. Hei looked at the shocked expression on Isamu's face sure wasn't pleasant but most humans made that face when they felt a dangerous current through their bodies. Hei got up and walked away from the body and turned around to look back on it. Smiling, his eyes gained a glowing red pupil and a light blue aura around his body. Hei's body started to generate Synchrotron radiation before Isamu's body burst into flames. Charing the body into a black state which couldn't be identified as anyone, the strong scent of burning flesh met Hei's nose and filled him with satisfaction. He didn't understand that human laws but from what he had gathered, it was kill or be killed. That's what he felt that humans did, they killed off everything. Contractors, dolls, plants and even each other, they were strong enough to have contractors follow orders from humans just so that they survived in the world that humans controlled. Naturally, contractors weren't treated as humans so didn't get the same rights but if contractors survived then that was all that mattered.

"There's...another...human...in...the...gate...Hei..." The sudden wind picked up and whispered into Hei's ear.

"Where?" He asked the wind, watching for the swaying of plants to guide him to the next human.

Darker Than Black – Into the Gate

Kōzō couldn't help but throw up his morning breakfast. He felt that the gate was squeezing his gut to the point where it couldn't hold the half-digested meal any longer. The helmet was discarded a few metres away as it had bounced and rolled away. The noises echoed down the empty streets with discarded burnt body parts dotted all over the place. Weird patches of nature were dotted all over the place but the flowers were something that Kōzō had never seen before in his life. Glowing purple petals drew his attention the most. Wiping his face from the remaining sick he looked at the flowers like they were calling him. Telling him that his wish had been granted and the way to protect his daughter was staring at him in the face.

"I wouldn't pick that flower if I were you," Hei formed behind him. The flower gave a small crack and seeds flew off the plant and into the air. Kōzō didn't even look at who was behind him; he kept his eyes on the flower in front of him.

"Why not? It could help my daughter."

"What are you looking for?"

"A way to hide my daughter's power, is that so much to ask?"

"The gate heard your wish and granted it...but it would be better just to let your daughter bloom into the contractor she's meant to be."

"Who gives you the right to decide what I want to do?" Kōzō yelled, Hei recoiled slightly but with a smile on his face. This human was interesting.

"I like you. But if you use those seeds..."

"What?" He demanded from Hei without turning around. "Just tell me if this flower can stop contractors!"

"Yes, the seeds of the flower have the properties to make a contractors go dormant. Insert the seed into her body and she'll live a normal human life. When the seed decays though and you don't have a replacement seed...your daughter will turn into a monster. Is that what you want?" Hei asked with excitement, there was something about this 'deal' that was getting his excitement high. He couldn't explain it but he enjoyed watching this. Watching the gears in the human turn as he thought over what Hei had just told him.

"What...kind of monster?"

"A Moratorium, a being that is neither human nor contractor, and an individual who knows nothing about the power they have and won't have to pay for it. Shifting into a hypnotic state when they use their power...yet when they 'wake up' they'll have to go through psychological trauma. Is that the risk you want your daughter to go to, sir?"

"Yes, to protect her from experiments, I'll take that risk."

"Then feel free to use the seeds of this plant and make your wish come true. Grow one at home and you'll have an unlimited supply of the seeds." Kōzō moved in to harvest the seeds of the plant. Hei watched from behind and faded away.

"Don't worry Mai; you'll live a normal life as much as possible." Kōzō looked at the seeds in his hands. His next research project was going to begin.

Darker Than Black – Into the Gate

Hei walked into the bed of flowers, he had dealt with two humans today. One human from the facility researching about his home while the other human came in to see if he could save his daughter. Hei was still convinced that the human should have just let her become a contractor but just run away rather than relying on a plant from Hell's Gate. Hei chuckled to himself, yes the plant stopped a contractor's power from manifesting but you could only grow the plant inside the gate, much like the other plants here. That human's plan was going to fail unless he found a way to keep it alive long enough to form seeds. Hei looked at the pure white flowers growing in the core and gently stroked the petals. He was Hei; he had vast knowledge on every contractor and doll that came to life. All powers, payments and the ways how dolls sent out their surveillance spectre. Hei was immortal as long as Heaven's Gate and Hell's Gate stood. He was already aware that Heaven's Gate was trapped in an alternative dimension and that others planned to do the same to Hell's Gate. He looked over to the water to see the glowing yellow form of Izanami standing there.

"Hello Izanami, what brings you here this time of night?" Hei questioned the form.

"I'm...still confused on why you let me live in Hell's Gate with you...when I'm designed to wipe out contractors?"

"Do you believe that creatures can change?"

"No, I don't believe that."

"I do, you might be persuaded by your host to not kill them. Still, I best get some sleep. This body needs rest too." Izanami nodded and faded away once more. Hei settled down in the flower bed to get some sleep himself.

FireCacodemon: Yeah, so in some Role-Plays I've been doing, I came up with Hei becoming Hell's Gate and gaining every ability and payment, immortal as long as both Heaven's Gate and Hell's Gate are still standing. As Heaven's Gate is just in an alternative dimension it can still work. Also, as well as having every ability and payment he can also make up new abilities but the payments are random or based on equivalent exchange in some form. This means that when Hei uses molecular manipulation, he now has to pay that off by sleeping, much like Xing did. I do have a full story being planned but I want to test Hell's Gate Hei here first and see what people think. Well, thanks for reading and I'll be back with something else again.

Hei: Bye.