Arc I: Shadow Over His Face

IV

Drifting Away (Part II)

"Time's running out for you, Daisuke Motomiya." The voice whispered in his ear. Its breath felt unbearably cold against his skin.

Daisuke's eyes fluttered opened as a wave of dizziness slammed into him. The room was spinning and his ears were ringing. However the spell quickly passed. He pushed himself up, clutching his head. Pain shot up his spine, causing a hiss to escape his teeth.

"Crap…" he muttered as he slipped out of bed. His vision blurred over with tears, the pain was driving him insane! It was making him feel sick to the stomach.

"Time's running out."

"Huh?" Daisuke suddenly let out a yelp as something suddenly tripped him up. He tumbled to them floor, biting down on his tongue as his chin slammed into the ground.

"Ow!" he heard Ken exclaim. The boy sat up and glared down at Daisuke lying across him. "Well good morning to you too." He grumbled as he shoved him off.

"Sorry." Daisuke muttered as he got to his feet. He stumbled, clutching at his shoulder as pain jumped through his back. What's going on with me lately?

"Nothing…time's just running out."

The boy jumped when he heard the voice and looked around the room nervously. Great now he was hearing voices now!

"Daisuke?"

Ken took notice of how tense his friend had gotten. He stood up and stretched out. "You okay, man? You're looking kind of…um pale."

The spiky haired teen shook his head to clear it. "Uh…um yeah. I guess I zoned out or something." He offered a weak smile.

His friend gave him a suspicious look. From his point of view, it seemed like Daisuke had been out of it quite a lot. If there was something wrong, he wasn't telling him and that made Ken feel somewhat nervous. "Okay." He replied still unsure about if he should take his word for it.

Before an awkward silence could fill between them Daisuke's mother appeared at the door. "Oh good, you're both awake." She said by way of greeting when she saw them. "Daisuke, one of your friends called, they said something about meeting at her house."

"Who was it?" Daisuke asked, quizzical.

"I think it was Hikari." His mother replied. "You two should probably get dressed." With those words said, she was gone. "Oh and do you boys want any breakfast before you go?" she called from the end of the hall.

"Uh no mom, we're fine." Daisuke quickly replied. He glanced over at Ken with an arched brow.

"What do you think is going on?" he asked him.

The spiky haired teen shrugged. "It better be important. I don't think I can stand being without V-mon for a moment longer." He glanced over at the digivice that was lying on his nightstand. Sorrow twisted inside his gut. "When I get my hands on whomever took him…" he let his words trail off.

Ken sighed. "Thinking like that isn't going to get you anywhere. Trust me," Ken said, cutting Daisuke off before he could say anything, "I'm angry too, but that's not going to help. If we're going to get our partners back than we need clear heads so we can plan this out perfectly."

Daisuke gave him a long hard look. He grappled with a snappish reply but all he could do was groan. Ken did have a point; besides he felt off with all this anger. Something didn't feel right and it scared him. He needed to calm down. Something about his anger made something dark stir inside him. The boy cringed just thinking about it.

"You're right." The boy muttered under his breath.

…..

"So…you're saying that it just appeared there?" Koushiro asked incredulously.

Iori nodded with a grim expression. His hands were balled into two trembling fists. "It was so strange." The younger boy explained. "I was just walking by and then all of a sudden…WHAM, right there!"

Miyako frowned and placed a finger on her chin. "That's not right…" she muttered. "A digital gate just appearing like that. Not unheard of though, right?"

Koushiro nodded his head. "That's right. But…something about this makes me nervous." He looked up as Taichi and Hikari walked into the room. "Taichi, what do you think?"

The older Digidestined sat down on the bed. "I'm not sure about it. I certainly wouldn't trust it, especially with what's been happening."

Every since that incident a couple days ago, weird things have been happening around town. Electronics were acting up, power outages were scattered across neighborhoods. Now some strange portal had appeared.

With everything that was occurring, Taichi wasn't sure if they could trust it. For all they knew, that gate could be just some trap.

"Any luck with getting in contact with Daisuke?" Taichi asked his sister.

Hikari was gazing worriedly out the window. She seemed to be pulling herself from a daze as she replied. "He and Ken are on their way." She said.

"Oh yeah, how's he doing?" Koushiro asked. "After he passed out I haven't heard from him for a while. Is he okay now?"

Taichi nodded. "I think so."

He knew it was wrong for thinking this, but he wished that Daisuke wouldn't be able to come. The younger teen certainly had a fiery spirit and wouldn't give up easily but that's what worried Taichi. That fiery spirit may have been one of his best traits it was also one of his worst. In some situations his temper could prove to get the best of him.

This was going to be a dangerous rescue mission. The group couldn't afford to have someone losing their cool. It was already going to be dangerous enough for them to go to the Digital World by themselves. In fact it was probably a suicide mission; they had no idea what was going on there!

Taichi looked at his sister. He loved her too much to let her walk into danger. However he also loved her enough to know that they just had to save the digimon. Tailmon was her best friend and he could tell that this situation was tearing her apart.

"Well I hope they make it here safely." Koushiro said while casting an apprehensive look to the bedroom window. Outside one could see dark clouds beginning to shield the sun away. It looked like the wind was picking up too. "Looks like it's going to pour. I'd hate for them to get caught in that."

"The forecast said that it would be sunny all week." Iori said, tilting his head. "I want to say that it's normal since forecasts aren't always accurate but…another part of me wants to assume that it has something to do with the Digital World."

Koushiro looked back at him. "I wouldn't dismiss it with all the strange things happening."

"Me neither." Taichi said.

….

The hall echoed loudly with the sound of his footfalls as Roninmon paced back and forth. His head was still pounding because of his anger. He's put up with years of this. Years! Without a second thought he was always told to stay here on guard duty.

Why? Why was it always him whom had to stay? Wasn't he strong enough?

The warrior digimon let out a growl of frustration. "Curse you, Pantheramon!" he shouted out the empty corridors. "Why are you always suppressing my potential? That's all you and everyone else do to me!"

He angrily punched his fist into a wall. His rage left him trembling uncontrollably; it hurt to keep it inside. Roninmon wanted to fight someone, he wanted a confrontation! He wanted to someone to say the wrong thing to him so he'd be riled. For the longest time all he's wanted was to release this pent up anger that he held inside.

Roninmon looked at the sealed doors of Bellonamon's throne room.

"It's your fault." He growled.

He walked over and ran his hand against the cool doors. A shiver ran down his spine as a shock of power went through him. It was Bellonamon's aura, she was getting stronger. That meant that she was going to Awaken very soon. The Queen of War and Darkness was going to rise again to plunge the worlds into chaos. Both the Digital and the Human world and all the worlds in between would fall.

For such a mighty digimon empress, she fell so easily. When victory was in her grasp she let it slip through her fingers. He was almost free; he could've seen the outside of this damned palace! Roninmon could practically taste it on his tongue but Bellonamon had to shatter his dreams! She was their great ruler, their queen, and she had failed them all! The most powerful digimon in the Digital World had fallen to a bunch of silly little children.

How pathetic…

If it were up to Roninmon they would've left Bellonamon behind. She failed her soldiers, she gave them empty promises. Roninmon didn't see the point to following her anymore; after all, she was gone. She had been defeated; she was dead so why should they still remain loyal to a corpse?

Because of the Legacy that was written in stone long ago. It was written down even before the Digital World existed.

War cannot be resolved once.

It will always repeat in history.

Darkness will not go away forever.

The sun eventually goes down

And the moon comes up

So the warriors shall sleep

The soldiers shall rest

And the sun will shine brightly through the clouds

The storm being chased away

While the warriors rest

And the soldiers sleep

The clouds will begin to gather once more

And the Dark Life will return

So goes the Legacy that was written down. It meant that the Darkness would return as would their precious queen, Bellonamon. However, it also meant that their enemies would rise again as well. Weapons would be taken up once more and the war of the Dark Life would continue.

"Will you fail us again, Bellonamon?" Roninmon questioned aloud. A stronger jolt of power shot through him and he stepped back warily.

Could she hear him?

"Show some respect, brother."

Roninmon snorted at the voice that came from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. "Valkyriemon." He greeted, grimly. "What brings you here? I thought you and Aresmon were guarding the prisoners."

Valkyriemon, like Roninmon, was a warrior digimon. She clad in thin, silver armor that allowed her to move freely if she were fighting. Strapped to her leg was a long dagger and she bore brass knuckles on each hand. On her hip was an axe, held against her waist by a leather loop.

The chest plate on her armor was carved into a human skull with blood red sockets. A broken war helmet sat on her head; it was old and dented, a few rust patches plagued it. The visor was down but half of it was missing, shielding only the right eye. Pale blue hair fell down to her waist hiding a pair of leathery, bat-like wings attached at her shoulders.

Her single cat-like eye that was visible flickered with dark light as she leered at Roninmon. Hand on her hip she sauntered over, examining him closely. "Lady Bellonamon may be Sleeping but that doesn't mean she isn't listening." She informed as she tapped one of nails against the door.

Roninmon grunted and turned away. Valkyriemon arched a brow, smiling slightly. "Oh someone's in a bad mood." She said in a sing-song way.

Roninmon remaining silent walked away. The other warrior digimon chuckled and pursued him. Her favorite game was to push Roninmon's buttons when his temper was up. "Little brother, has someone hurt your feelings? Did mean ole Pantheramon bully you again?" she teased.

"Shut your mouth, Valkyriemon. I'm in no mood for your jests." Roninmon snapped.

Valkyriemon laughed. "So it is Pantheramon. What happened this time?" she asked though she knew the answer already. Poor little brother was denied permission again; he couldn't leave the palace. Poor little brother.

She sighed. "You can't throw a fit every time you don't get your way, Roninmon."

Her sibling stopped suddenly and pivoted on his heel. His fists were clenched and trembling; for a moment she thought he was going to fight her. Valkyriemon tensed up from a battle just in case.

"I don't throw fits!" Roninmon snarled at her through gritted teeth.

"Then what are you doing now?" Valkyriemon asked while giving him a very pointed look.

"Getting pissed off but your antics." Was all he said before turning away.

Valkyriemon folded her arms as she watched him go. All she could was shake her head. She understood Roninmon's anger; he's never been allowed to leave this place ever. Her fellow warrior was becoming impatient and that wasn't good. She didn't trust him not to do something incredibly stupid.

She didn't trust him at all actually…

Years ago Roninmon had plotted mutiny. He wanted to abandon Bellonamon and had several followers. However, something stopped his rebellion. She wasn't sure if someone found out about it and told Bellonamon but it all fell apart. His supporters seemed to have left him and Roninmon never spoke of it again.

Perhaps his talk about rebellion had resulted in his imprisonment inside this palace. It was a very light punishment, something that you'd never expect from Bellonamon. She would've had him killed or even tortured to the point where he would beg for death.

"Where are you going?" Valkyriemon demanded as she pulled herself from her thoughts. "Aresmon and I need you to return to your post. We can't do guard duty without you."

Roninmon waved off her comment. "You can take care of those loud mouthed prisoners yourselves. I've decided to take a break." He punctuated his sentence with a cold laugh. "A long…very well deserved break."

Valkyriemon didn't like the sound of what he was implying. She knew Roninmon all too well and knew when he was stirring up trouble. Right now, she could see the mischievous aura floating around him. "A break I don't care about but where you are going concerns me." She placed a hand on her hip.

The warrior digimon paused for a moment and glanced behind him. "I'm sick of it, Valkyriemon."

"Hm, I see. Well what are you going to do about it?" She asked him, knowing exactly what he was intending to do. "Gonna leave your post just like that? You must want to die, little brother."

The warrior chuckled. "Are you going to stop me, sister?" he reached around to draw his blade. If Valkyriemon was going to fight him on this then he'd be ready. He's had enough of being caged inside this palace; it was time to take matters into his own hands.

His sibling merely sighed, making no move to attack. "Bellonamon will disapprove great—"

"I don't give a damn what she thinks!" Roninmon snarled. "And you shouldn't either, Valkyriemon. What can she do? She's locked away and powerless! I can do whatever I want without fearing any consequences."

"That's what you think, Roninmon." Valkyriemon countered.

"And what does that mean, dear sister?" the other warrior demanded.

For a long time they stood there, staring each other down. Roninmon had adopted a battle stance and was pointing is sound at the female warrior. While Roninmon remained tense, Valkyriemon remained calm and relaxed. If she were nervous that he would strike, she didn't dare to show it. She refused to satisfy this fiery, young digimon.

Finally Valkyriemon looked away. "Nothing…" she growled through gritted teeth. "Do as you please, traitor. You'll regret you decision once Bellonamon Awakens."

Roninmon looked away. "I have no regrets. The only one I have is blindly following that witch of false promises." That said he began to walk away once more. Not wasting time to look back at his furious sibling.

How dare he? Valkyriemon clenched her fists. "Fool, don't ever come back! You hear me?! As soon as you're gone, I'll tell the others and if they see your face around here, they destroy you!" her voice became dangerously quiet. There was ice in her tone.

"Don't worry," Roninmon called back as he walked away, "I won't return to this prison…"

Roninmon left her behind, not even bothering to look back. It's not like he cared if she went and played tattle-tale. By the time the others knew of his abandonment, he'd be long gone. Valkyriemon didn't have to worry about him either; he wasn't coming back. Bellonamon and her puppets could fight this pathetic war without him. He was done with it.

He made his way out to a balcony. The open sky looked amazing as it stretched out above him. Roninmon had seen this sky many times before, it was always the same sky he saw when it was night or day. He should've been bored by it by now…but for some reason he was really happy.

What was this feeling? Was it finally because he was going to be free?

Years ago my dreams were shattered. I lost my chance at freedom because Bellonamon had failed. "Now she's not here to stop me." He looked back at the silent palace. Back then this place had been very busy; digimon were everywhere. However, now it was actually quite lonely.

At least when he had to stay in the palace years ago he had someone to talk to. All the digimon that use to be around were gone. Some of them were his kindest friends and he missed them dearly. In the war the digimon here were either destroyed in the battle or they fled like cowards. Roninmon wished that he could have run away as well.

"Freedom…now they can't hold me back." Roninmon whispered as he walked towards the edge of the balcony.

He leapt up on the railing and looked across the land. All he saw would be part of the battlefield for the Dark Life that was coming soon. Sighing, he gave his prison one last look before jumping…

Wind rushed passed him as he dived down. The warrior digimon chuckled as a amusing thought occurred to him. Hm…traitor…I like the sound of it…

During his fall he scanned over the ground, looking for a place to land. Something caught his eye; a figure looking up at him. It—or rather they—was about a mile out. Who or whatever it was seemed to be pretty darn bold for coming this close to Bellonamon's domain. The digimon were usually too scared to approach.

Roninmon adjusted his fall. "What do we have here?" he asked as he landed with surprising grace a few feet away from the stranger. Now that he was closer he could identify this guest as a…human…

A lone human in the Digital World? A human in such a dangerous area?

Something wasn't right.

The human wore a dark blue hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head. His identity was left unknown. However, his icy blue eyes could be seen, peeking out. Those eyes held a strange glow that immediately but Roninmon on guard. He wasn't dealing with a regular human brat.

"Going for a walk?" the human asked while adjusting his jacket's hood so it hid his face better.

Roninmon tilted his head, perplexed. "Why are you here, boy?" he demanded in a cool tone. Something was very wrong about this stranger and Roninmon was almost sure of why he radiated such a strange aura. He just didn't like what he was thinking of.

The human shrugged. "Just…seeing how things are going…." He replied. "Making sure that Bellonamon won't be causing any trouble anytime soon. Is the old witch still Sleeping?"

Roninmon tensed. "So…the Legacy Children are Awakening." No wonder this child had such a strange vibe hovering around him. His aura was that of a renewed soul…a soul that had been put to Sleep but was Awakened.

The boy looked down and laughed. "What makes you think I'm a Legacy Child?"

"Are you trying to deny it?" Roninmon asked as he drew his sword. Kill this Legacy Brat now and that was one less to worry about later.

"Well not many people know of the Legacy Children. That's all I'm trying to say." The boy chuckled again. A cocky smirk was glued to his face; it was clear that he found this to simply be a game. "You can't go around accusing people of being something they don't know about."

The young Animosity Digimon raise his blade, the tip was pointed at the boy's chest. He did not find this child's antics all that jesting. "You seem to know about them…" he lifted the blade up and used it to flick back the boy's hood. Behind his mask a smirk flickered across his lips when he saw the boy's face. "Haku…"

The boy hastily pulled his hood back up. His face displayed a sour expression. "I've seen you outside the palace, Roninmon." Haku said, allowing the game he was playing, to end. "Did they finally cut you some slack. Surprised they did after that little rebellion fiasco you tried to pull back then."

"You're a fool to have come here, boy. You must be looking for a long and painful death." Roninmon said, pretending as if Haku's comment wasn't even made. He didn't have to answer to this thorn in his side. "Is that what you want? I can grant that for you right now." With a quick flick of his blade, he cut open the front of the boy's jacket.

Haku didn't seem intimidated. "I've merely come to see what those Digidestined are up against. Are they sending only you?"

"Plans like that are classified to you. What makes you think I should tell you? You are my enemy." He pressed the tip of his blade against the boy's chest. A pinprick of blood began to bloom over his shirt.

"That's not fair. I thought you had an honour code." Haku looked down at the blade at his chest then looked back up at the digimon. "You'd kill me while I was defenseless?"

Roninmon pressed harder. "Better to be rid of you now than to deal with you later."

"You do know that there are others who will come after you. My friends will Awaken and they will destroy you to avenge me." The boy threatened. "So go ahead…kill me. By all means, do it. They won't need me to end the Dark Life and to kill Bellonamon once and for all."

Roninmon chuckled and lowered the blade. "Now that's not fair. You don't even have any faith in the Digidestined? Aren't you supposed to be some sort of allies? You all are fighting for the same purpose."

Haku snorted. "They'd never survive Dark Life. It is written that they will fall." His tone was cold and devoid of any sympathy. Simply put, he didn't care what happened to them. They weren't strong enough to handle the Dark Life; Bellonamon would be too much for them to handle.

The Animosity digimon arched an unseen brow. "How cold of you. Bellonamon should've chosen you instead of those other two."

Haku eyes flashed with rage. "Shut up." He growled.

"Ah yes," Roninmon slide his sword back into its sheath, "that is a…touchy subject for you. After all, you did have to…kill one of them. Am I correct?" he laughed cruelly as he felt the boy's anger intensify. Yes, get angry. Give me the strength that I want.

Haku gritted his teeth, trying to keep his anger in check. He hadn't come here to lose his temper. No, he had to stay calm; he had to keep a clear mind. His body was still weak and he couldn't afford to do something that risked further injury.

"My opinion of the…Digidestined is not negative, it's just that I don't expect very much from them. They've never faced something like this before." The boy said. "They're coming here on a suicide mission. Without their Digimon partners, they're even more defenseless than a fledgling that's fallen from its nest."

"So you think of them almost as nuisances. I'm surprised." Roninmon replied.

"Not nuisances…just getting into something they'd be better off avoiding. This isn't their fight." Haku quickly said.

He adjusted his hood as a gust of wind suddenly blew against him. "There's a reason I came here, Roninmon. I have something to ask of you about the Digidestined." Haku sighed, knowing that he was taking a huge gamble. Roninmon was unpredictable and uncontrollable. There was no telling what he would do or if he would even listen to him.

Roninmon snorted and turned away from him. He crossed his arms over his chest. "You have some nerve to ask me for something, boy. What makes you think that I'd bargain with you?"

Shit. Of course this would happen. Haku gritted his teeth. "I was under the impression that you quit follow Bellonamon." He regretted what he said immediately, as it was a huge gamble.

The warrior digimon let out a bark of laughter. "You've the wrong assumption! As if I'd ever betray her. I should kill you for such ignorance."

"Hm…I apologize." Haku responded with a small smile. "You've just always seemed like the lone wolf type; the type that strikes out on their own."

"Ask your request already and I'll decide if it deserves my…help as you would call it." The digimon grumbled.

"Well, I was going to ask you assuming that you had walked out on your allies." Haku said but then quickly added when the digimon looked at him. "I'm not saying you have but if you had, I'd only request this of you."

"Get on with it."

Haku chewed his lip, not sure if Roninmon would truly go through with what he was about to ask. He was almost certain that he'd probably offend the warrior digimon. "I dislike the Digidestined, do not get me wrong." He said. "I don't care about them and think they are even bigger fools for planning on coming to the Digital World like this; without protection. But I only will ask this of a digimon who is not allied with Bellonamon. I ask that you could protect them."

Roninmon was silent for a long time. Tension hung heavy in the air between the two of them. For a moment Haku held his breath, fearing the worse. The boy stood still as if frozen and watched the Animosity Digimon carefully, watching for any signs. As the icy silence drew out longer, Haku began to feel more unsure of this idea. Roninmon was never going to do this…

Finally the Animosity Digimon broke his silence. He let out a bark of laughter. "You expect me to help them? Has the Sleep muddled your brain, Legacy Child? You said it yourself," Roninmon turned and began to round on him. He chuckled as the boy jerk around to keep an eye on him, "you don't like those Digidestined, and they'll only get in your way. Why would you want them protected on this foolish mission they intend to carry out? Let them suffer the consequences."

"You don't have to do it, Roninmon." Haku snapped. "I said that I'd only ask this of a digimon who wasn't loyal to Bellonamon. Besides…I'd only require you to protect them until they reached haven."

"Haven?" Where could they go that was safe? They'd be killed or eaten before they reached a so called haven.

The boy nodded. "They have several allies in the Digital World but one main one that'll provide the help they need. He goes by the name Gennai I believe."

"You want me to lead them to a safe place? A place where they'll be protected? You'd trust me not to destroy it?" Roninmon asked as he continued to pace around him.

Haku shook his head. "You don't have to do it, Roninmon. I can look for someone else, I won't make you betray your queen."

"Some queen she was. She's failed her subjects and now Sleeps the years away." The digimon growled in agitation. "How pathetic…"

Haku chuckled. "You claim to serve her and yet you talk like a mutineer." He laughed again. "Which is it, Roninmon? Are you friend or foe?"

The digimon advanced suddenly and Haku tensed. "A foe…to you."

The boy wasn't intimidated; in fact he was actually smiling. "And a friend to whom?"

Roninmon made no move to attack but merely stepped away. This little brat… "A friend to none. Not even those idiots that choose to be Bellonamon's perfect little army puppets."

"Do I have your answer then?" the Legacy Child asked cockily.

The digimon scoffed. "I'll be deleted if they find out I'm helping those children. Why should I risk my life?"

"Just don't let yourself be seen then or better yet, don't do it. I'm not forcing you, it's your choice." Haku answered.

"Did you come here just hoping to find me? What would you have done if you found nothing?"

"All I'm looking for is a digimon who'd openly oppose Bellonamon without fearing consequence. It didn't have to be you; I was just lucky…or unlucky…"

"And why can't you help them? You're a Legacy Child, you fight for what is right. Why can't you do anything?" Roninmon taunted him.

The boy absently rubbed at his chest. "I can't because I'm weak. I shouldn't even really be here in this condition. That's why I was hoping to find a friendly face whom would help." He turned away and began to walk. Over his shoulder he spoke. "Do as you please, Roninmon, I won't force you to turn traitor. I can always ask this of someone else, someone braver. Whatever choice you make, I'll be seeing you on the battle field. Be it on the same side or the opposing sides."

Roninmon clenched his fists at the boy's last comment but kept silent. He watched him go. Why, why was he letting this child get away? He and his friends were his enemy in the first Dark Life. Roninmon could've easily killed him, but he didn't.

He's was neutral, he shouldn't care. Everyone who tried to oppose him was his enemy. He could do whatever he wanted, he was done taking orders. I don't have to listen to him; I don't have to protect those brats. I'm on my own and I shall do whatever I please. I am a lone warrior, I have no master.*

…..

"I almost drowned out there, man." Daisuke muttered as her scrubbed his hair dry with a towel. He shuddered as a cold chill crawled up his spine. No doubt he'd be dealing with a cold later on.

Taichi was leaning in the doorway, watching him. "You sure you don't want to borrow some clothes? I think I have some that'll fit you."

The younger goggle boy waved him off. "Nah, I'm fine. What's the use if I have to go outside again anyway? Dude, I'll live." As he spoke, his teeth began to chatter. He shivered as another chill overwhelmed him.

Taichi sighed; it was going to be harder starting this conversation. He had to make sure that his protégé's mind was in the right place though. The older Digidestined need to know that Daisuke wasn't going to let his temper get the best of him. "Everything okay?" he asked, sounding a bit strained.

Daisuke threw the towel around his shoulders. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?" his voice sounded unusually cold.

"I'm just wondering how you're taking this all." His friend replied.

The boy looked away; a dark look began to form in his eyes. Taichi noticed that his hands were clenched into trembling fists. "How do you think I should handle a situation like this? My best friend is gone and I don't even know what's happening to him. I don't even know if he's even…" Daisuke let his sentence trail off.

Taichi watched him carefully. "The only way we can get them back is if we keep clear minds."

"I know that!" the young Digidestined snapped.

"Keep your voice down." Taichi warned in a cool and calm tone. However, the warning look in his eyes betrayed his neutral tone.

Daisuke cut his eyes at him. "How can I freaking relax, Taichi?" he slammed his fist into the bathroom counter.

The boy's mentor couldn't help but to feel bad for him. He hated seeing that depressed light in his eyes. Daisuke was a fiery and cocky young soul. He hated seeing him down like this. "We're going to find them, I promise. I swear it on my life that we'll get them back and make whoever took them pay."

"Can I hold you to that, though?" Daisuke asked, staring at him intently.

Taichi looked at him, suddenly taken off guard. He'd seen him with determined looks on his face before but this…this was almost chilling. No…that wasn't just determination he saw in his eyes. It was a much darker look that he hadn't seen before, an emotion that he was familiar with seeing Daisuke express. Taichi felt a chill crawl up his spine.

Then it hit him. Could he really be held to his word on this? How could he make a promise for something he probably couldn't control? Was he giving this boy an empty promise? No, he couldn't think like that. He was a Digidestined and a leader, he had to stay positive. It was his job to reassure his followers and give them hope…even in the darkest of times. They would get the digimon back.

The older teen smiled confidently and walked over to the younger. He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Daisuke's shadow filled eyes met his, staring daggers at him. "Daisuke, don't worry, I won't break my promise. We can and we will get the digimon back." He gave the boy's shoulder a squeeze. "But for this plan to work I need your trust, everybody does. Do you trust me Daisuke?"

Daisuke dropped his eyes and watched the floor. Silence plagued him as he warred with the thoughts inside his head. Could we really do this? We don't even know where to look. Then there's the fact that we're going to be charging into the Digital World without the protection of our digimon. Sounds like a quick way to get ourselves killed.

"Dai-kun?" Taichi used the affectionate nickname his friends had given him.

Daisuke flinched and looked back up at him. The dark look now cleared from his eyes and replaced with a puzzled one. I just don't know what to do. Should I trust him? Is he really that sure that we pull this off?

A weak smile spread across his lips. No, Taichi was right, he had to trust him and his friends. They would get their digimon back. "Yeah," he nodded, "I trust you, Taichi."

Taichi grinned back. "Good, now come on, the others are waiting for us. They can't continue until we're all together." He said, slapping the boy across the back.

"I know, I know…" the boy chuckled.

He was just about to follow Taichi out the bathroom when a sharp pain in his back made him stop. He hissed in pain and clutched at his shoulder. "Crap…this again?" the pain forced him to lean against for support, he could barely stand on his feet. Stars began to dance across his vision.

Daisuke groaned in pain and dug his fingers into his shoulder blade. He thought that he was about to black out from the pure agony. What was happening to him? Not now, this can't happen now. The boy stumbled into the bathroom sink; his head suddenly began to throb. He couldn't think straight, his mind was in a fog.

"You wasted your breath on broken promises. There was nothing you could do. You never carried out any of them, not one!"

"You're wrong! I did…even if I fully couldn't, at least I tried! I tried, Akira. I tried!"

"Then why did you abandon me!"

"I…I didn't…Akira, I didn't abandon you. I tried to—"

"You tried! You tried! You always try but apparently never hard enough."

"Akira…I—"

"No, I'm done listening to you! All you've done is let me down and lie to me. I'm done with you, all of you."

"Akira, don't do this, we don't want to have to hurt you. Snap out of it, man!"

"Ha! No, Akira doesn't exist anymore…I am the blade that will end your lives. I am your slayer, your demise, your executioner. I am Dagger."

"Dai-kun?"

Daisuke blinked away his tears and saw the concerned face of Iori looking at him. "You look sick. Are you sure you should be wearing wet clothes? Maybe you should borrow something from Taichi." His young friend advised.

The goggled boy looked at him with a dazed expression. This of course only made Iori worry even more. He reached out and touched Daisuke's arm. "Should I get one of the others? Do you need to go home or something? Daisuke, Daisuke?"

The other teen suddenly snapped out of his strange trance. His groaned and shook his head to clear it. He immediately regretted it when he felt the beginnings of a head coming on. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Iori asked him. "You looked like you were about to pass out or something. Your face was really pale." He told his friend.

"Uh yeah, don't worry about it, Iori." Daisuke waved him off. "You go on, tell them I'm coming. I'll be in there in a sec." he said while massaging his temples.

Iori receded reluctantly, watching Daisuke carefully. "Well okay…just take it easy." He hovered around for amount, hesitant about leaving him alone. "You sure you're okay?"

Daisuke nodded. "I told you I'm fine." He sounded a bit frustrated but he at least managed a smile.

Somewhat reassured, Iori finally left him alone. When he was gone, Daisuke looked into the mirror, examining his awfully pale face. He almost didn't recognize himself. Despite his sickly complexion he was actually starting to feel a lot better. The boy smirked at his reflection.

"Yeah…" he said to himself, still smiling malevolently. His eyes seemed to glow red in the mirror. "I'm going to be just fine."

/

Note: I'm so sorry for this being so late! I've been really busy with school stuff but you guys don't have to worry about that anymore. I have officially graduated and I'm finally freed from high school! Yay!

To make up for the lateness, I've given you a double update. Anyway, hopefully I'll get chapter five up soon…ugh I'm so tired right now.

*One last thing before I go. I'd like to draw your attention to what our dear Roninmon said about being a lone warrior. There was actually a specific reason I wrote that. If any of you can guess or know why then you win a prize. I don't know what it is yet but I have an idea of what it is though. Anyway, bye! Leave a review!