Sinister Remnant
Part 2 - The Thrall
by Meimi

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Standard disclaimers apply.

SPOILER WARNING: Spoilers for all of 02 except the epilogue.

YAOI WARNING: Erm... hmm, well there's going to be boy x boy stuff all throughout this fic, but I doubt it will get explicit. I don't really want to call it shonen ai though, because there's not going to be much WAFF at -all- in this fic. Just loads and loads of angst.

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"Of course I can track him," Koushirou said, sounding somewhat offended to even being asked that. It was easy enough to track any of the other Chosen Children. The digivices and the D3s had strong signals unique to them that was rather easy to pinpoint. He frowned slightly and added, "Well, as long as he still has his D3 on him."

Yamato, Takeru and Hikari looked at each other questioningly. All three shook their heads as if coming to the same conclusion. They were all huddled together in one corner of the waiting room to avoid any eavesdropping. Taichi and Koushirou had arrived about half an hour after the police had left. Yamato had watched his brother and Hikari for the entire time. He wasn't sure what to do, but knew one way or another that they had to find Daisuke -soon-. "No, we didn't see it anywhere in the apartment," he answered finally, glancing over at Taichi as he did so, "He probably still has it with him."

"No sweat then," Taichi grinned and enthusiastically slapped Koushirou on the back. "Kou-kun will find Daisuke with his pineapple, we'll go rescue the kid and kick the ass of whoever did this."

"It's not that simple. And I told you not to call me that," Koushirou bristled as he glared over at Taichi. He sighed in defeat when Taichi just grinned back at him maniacally. There were times when he really wondered about their leader's mental health. Surely no one could be that dense and sane at the same time. "It won't be hard at all to find him. But, I don't think it's all that smart to go searching without at least one of our digimon along," he continued blandly as he slid his laptop carrying case off of his shoulder. He hoped Taichi would get the clue like he sometimes did. It was a rare occurrence, but it did happen, sometimes. Really.

Taichi chewed on his bottom lip as he glanced at Hikari, Takeru and then Yamato in turn. They all looked worn out and worried, though Yamato seemed more so. "I don't think we have the time to waste to go look for them," he murmured as he locked gazes with Yamato. Their eyes mirrored each other in shared determination and understanding. Yamato expected him to do the right thing as leader and damned if he was going to disappoint.

"All right, fine. I don't think it's a good idea though," Koushirou said absently as he looked back and forth at Taichi and Yamato. No matter how much he knew about Taichi, he never could figure out those two. Sometimes he wondered if they were telepathically connected somehow. It wouldn't be too hard for that considering all those climatic moments they'd shared in their travails. But, at other times he wondered which was going to kill the other first. They were just way too strange to fathom. Shaking his head, he flipped his trusty pineapple open and booted it up.

Hikari frowned as they waited for Koushirou to start up the search program. She was worried about Daisuke and hoped that he was okay. She was also worried about Ken, but the doctor had assured them that he would be fine with enough rest. Something else was bugging her though. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling something really bad was going to happen tonight and there was nothing any of them would be able to do about it. But what was it? She couldn't pinpoint what the worry was about, it was just an all-encompassing feeling and she couldn't shake it.

Above all else, Hikari wished Tailmon was there, but the others had agreed that they didn't have time to go get any of their digimon. It was frustrating. Squeezing Takeru's fingers, which were grasped within her own, she looked up at her brother and asked, "Should we all be going? Maybe one of us should stay here with Ken."

"Don't worry, Kou-kun will be here," Taichi flashed a satisfied smirk as Koushirou glared up at him again. "Don't give me that look. You can order us around fine through our terminals."

"Quit calling me that! And that's not the point," Koushirou ground his teeth together. Oh, he knew what this was. Taichi's protective streak was rearing its smothering tendencies again. And Taichi seemed to take such perverse pleasure in treating him like he was breakable. It was infuriating.

"No, it's not." Taichi shook his finger under Koushirou's nose, surprising them all a bit as he explained further, "The point is and has always been that you're far more valuable away from the front lines. Information specialists shouldn't have to fight, especially when there aren't any digimon around."

Koushirou blushed slightly as the others smiled in agreement. "I hate it when you make sense," he muttered before returning his attention back to the search program. He smirked in triumph as an orange blip started blinking on a map of the bay. "There," he said, pointing at the blip as he turned his laptop around so that the others could see his results, "He's in a warehouse out on the waterfront."

"Good job." Taichi held his chin as he considered a plan of action, "All right, it's a few miles from here, so we'd better get going. Koushirou, you let us know exactly where he is in relation to us when we get there, or if he moves at all." Koushirou nodded in understanding and he continued, "The rest of us are going to have to be extra careful. We don't know what we're up against and we don't have any digimon to bail us out if we get into a fight."

"I brought along some flashlights since it's already getting dark. I guess Jou is rubbing off on me," Koushirou chuckled lightly as he handed them out. "Be careful and stay in touch. If anything happens let the rest of us know."

"Don't worry, Kou-kun. I'm sure we'll be fine. We'll be back with Daisuke in no time flat," Taichi patted Koushirou on the shoulder reassuringly. The rest voiced their own reassurances before heading out, though Hikari looked as if she didn't quite believe her own words.

~*~

The hunger. It was a living, breathing thing. It coiled beneath the skin, scrabbling painfully at already exhausted nerve-endings. It demanded appeasement. It demanded to be satiated with the warm, red liquid it craved so much. But it wasn't getting what it wanted and it didn't seem like it would anytime soon.

It was driving him crazy.

He was laying on his right side now, his knees drawn up tightly to his chest. He kept changing positions every now and then, but all were uncomfortable and he just couldn't stay still for very long either. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be outside, under a night sky blanketed in a thousand pinpricks of stars, hunting for something that looked pretty to the eye and would certainly be tasty.

But he couldn't do that. No, that bitch had chained him here to the floor, with a chain he apparently couldn't break even with his newly enhanced strength. She had known exactly what would happen and was probably relishing the results even now. Well, he had definitely decided on what to do with her thanks to this. She was just going to have to die for it, slowly, painfully and creatively. After she delivered on her part of the bargain, of course.

Blowing out an explosive breath as his fangs sent lances of pain bouncing around inside of his skull, he gritted his eyes closed and curled up even tighter. He was almost to the point of letting Daisuke wake up and shoulder this incredible ache for awhile. Almost. He didn't quite trust innocent little Daisuke to be able to handle something of this magnitude and yet hold onto to some shred of sanity. And well, an insane Daisuke around -his- Ken wasn't a very pleasant train of thought. No, he could handle it fine himself.

And speaking of Daisuke, he was going to have to figure out a better way to control his idiot self. There had to be some sort of mental manipulation that would get his other self to act accordingly. Or perhaps he could just come up with a way to absorb Daisuke into himself so there really wouldn't be any sort of separation. That was somewhat appealing, but he had no clue whatsoever as to how to go about doing something like that. It -was- an option to think further upon, though.

Lost in his own misery and contemplation of the future, he didn't hear when she finally returned. He didn't hear the light click of her heels on the cement floor as she approached him. He didn't hear her soft chuckle as she stood there gleefully studying the portrait of pain and incomparable hunger he'd made of himself in the past few hours, such a short time. Nor did he hear the almost inaudible crinkle of her clothing as she kneeled down just out reach, but he did hear when she spoke in a beguiling tone that instantly set his teeth on edge, "Feeling a little peckish, pet?"

To his credit, Beast Daisuke -tried-. Unfortunately, the chain kept him from the pleasant task of throttling her neck. Thanks to the titanium links, all he could do was claw ineffectually at thin air and growl sulfurously as she grinned at his futile attempts at mayhem. After a few minutes of this, he sighed and sat back on his haunches, waiting for whatever it was she wanted now.

"I must say, it's been quite entertaining to watch you writhe," she purred, her grin widening slightly when a low growl rose at her teasing. "But all good things must come to an end," she pouted as she continued, "I do hope you're hungry, pet. We'll be having visitors soon. Nice, young, healthy visitors. A perfect meal for a starving little vampire, wouldn't you agree?"

He glared at her suspiciously. She was, without a doubt, up to something. What that something might be, he had no clue. He doubted he'd like whatever it was though. Still, he was very, very hungry and at this point he was more than willing to put up with her taunting if it would get him a bite. And maybe, just maybe, he could get loose and back to Ken. Barring being fed, that was the most important thing for him to do right now.

Smiling slyly when no answer seemed forthcoming from him, Sumire darted forward, grabbed his chained arm and yanked it towards her. "You -do- look good in chains, pet, but fortunately for you hunting requires free mobility," she murmured absently as she effortlessly pried the titanium cuff from around his wrist.

Beast Daisuke rubbed his wrist and frowned thoughtfully. That had been too easy. Then again, she had showed how utterly unconcerned she was with any fight he might muster against her. She was certainly overconfident, but she had reason to be it seemed. She had bent the metal cuff in no time flat without even breaking a sweat. He hadn't been able to put a dent in the thing for however many hours he had been in here. He was going to have to be very careful around her. And he was definitely going to have to get creative in coming up with a way to get rid of her. A straight out assault against her would obviously be futile at this point.

"Now then, as I was saying," Sumire continued breezily, as if she truly didn't have a care in the world. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and she stood up, dragging him along with her as she continued, "We will be having guests shortly. I'm sure you know what that means so I won't bore you with the particulars." Smiling cheerfully, she smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes and straightened out his unruly hair as if she were a mother about to send her only child out on his first date.

"Whatever," he muttered gruffly as he shrugged out of her grasp. He didn't like her touching him and when she did it only seemed to encourage that little demonic urge that wanted him to at least try and break her neck. But, he knew that would be a really dumb move at this point. His stomach had thankfully disengaged in its pursuit of eating him from the inside out and was now patiently waiting for him to feed it. Well somewhat, it still burned like nothing else, but that was bearable compared to the earlier agony.

"Mhmm," Sumire hummed to herself as she dragged him over to the door. After she had opened it, she pushed him through and into the room beyond. It was a wide hallway with a door set in the far wall and a stairwell descending downwards into darkness before them. Indicating the stairs, she stepped away from him and explained, "I left something of yours down there. It should attract their attention nicely. Do enjoy yourself but try not to be too messy." Waving her fingers at him, she headed towards the other doorway with a few parting words, "Feel free to go -home-, pet. I'll find you when I have need of you. Do not doubt that."

Beast Daisuke watched warily as she left in silence. After a few moments had passed, he walked over to the door and tried the knob. Locked. He knew he could easily break it down, but chances were she was still around out there and he just did not want to risk fighting with her right now. Feeding, on the other hand, was an appealing idea. Scratching his chin thoughtfully, he glanced over at the stairs. His stomach definitely liked that idea as well. But the fact that she would go to these lengths to feed him made him hesitate.

It didn't make sense.

True, she had certainly made an effort to catch him. And, she had succeeded splendidly in doing so. This was no thanks to Daisuke's unwillingness to upset his 'friendship' with Ken. But now that she had him, there was no need to pamper him or even humor him really. So, why was she offering to feed him and leave him to his own devices? There was no logic to it. Unless, it was another trick. Either way though, he did need to feed soon before his stomach again decided it didn't like him anymore and went back to chewing on his spine.

And besides, he thought to himself as he walked over to the stairs, this seemed to be the only safe way out of here now. The quicker he got out, the sooner he could get back to Ken. And at least this way, he'd get a bite to eat on the way. There was no need to bother Ken with weird glowing eyes after all.

~*~

"Is it just me," Yamato asked sarcastically as he swept the beam of his flashlight over the damp, concrete walls of the tunnel surrounding them, "Or have we really been going out of our way lately on dumb ideas?" The sun had already vanished over the horizon by the time they had arrived at the beginning of the warehouses. A quick search by the halo of flashlights had revealed that Daisuke had to be underground somewhere. Standing on top of the signal's location and there being absolutely nothing there had driven that point home. So they had quickly found a way down and discovered that there were at least two levels of tunnels that had been in use recently, no telling how many more there could be under those.

Taichi, in his infinite wisdom or lack thereof, had suggested they split up into pairs to search both levels at the same time. They had all agreed to it and here Yamato was searching the upper level with his brother. But, the plan left him feeling very uneasy. They didn't know what they were up against. They didn't have their digimon with them. And now they were divided too. If they were attacked, there wouldn't be much they could do but beat a hasty retreat... assuming they could do even that if it came down to it.

"Well, to tell the truth, I'm not exactly thrilled with the situation," Takeru said tonelessly as he looked up from his D3. "But, I think it's better that we find Daisuke now. There's no telling what might have happened to him, much less what might happen to him if we don't find him soon."

"Worried about him?" Yamato asked carefully, noting the sound of Takeru's voice and not really liking it. Daisuke and Takeru didn't exactly hate each other, but they couldn't seem to get along either. He knew Takeru was just plain nice most of the time, but he didn't think it would go that far. Then again, he hadn't really been paying much attention to them lately, even Takeru. He felt kinda bad about that. He had always wanted to be a good big brother, but there was always a reason to put things off it seemed. Taichi. Jou. Sora. The complete mess he had made of things with them lately. At least Koushirou didn't know anything about it... yet. Then there was the band and school and everything else that went with those. There was just never any time left to spend with his family.

"Well, of course. He's my friend," Takeru stated simply as he walked ahead. He wondered briefly why Yamato would ask something like that, then brushed it off as unimportant. "Besides, Ken would kill me if I didn't take up the slack."

"Okay, so the worry is mainly because of Ken then?" Yamato asked slowly as he thought about that particular oddity. All right, so he -really- didn't pay attention to the kids much anymore. He did know that Takeru and Ken were friends... They weren't more than just friends though were they? No, that didn't make sense what with Hikari and Takeru always hanging out. This was confusing. And why was he even thinking about this now when they were looking for Daisuke? Eh, maybe he was just trying to distract himself from worrying too much.

"You think too much like a fangirl," Takeru muttered snidely under his breath and shook his head. A second later, he said louder so his brother could hear him, "Just nevermind, Yamato. It's not as big of a deal as you're probably thinking it is."

"If you say so," Yamato replied as he followed Takeru further down the tunnel. It was quiet, too quiet. They were getting closer, a quick glance at the D3 held in Takeru's hand confirmed that. The little bleep was blinking faster and faster the further along they went. But that meant they were probably getting closer to whatever took Daisuke and attacked Ken. Yamato's muscles knotted from the tension he was feeling at the unknown that lay ahead. He didn't like this. He didn't like it at all.

"Almost there~" Takeru trailed off as he followed the direction of the D3. Something wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on it, but for some odd reason he just knew something was about to happen, something he had a feeling he wasn't going to like, not all all. Sighing, he looked back at his brother as he took a step forward, tripped and fell and just kept falling.

"Takeru!" Yamato yelled as his brother disappeared from view. What the? Panic threaded its way through his veins as his flashlight revealed a significant hole in the concrete Takeru had just been walking on. How in the hell did you get a hole in a place like this? Not unless someone put it there on purpose... "Takeru?!?" he called out frantically as he peered down through feet of sheered concrete and into a dust cloud in the tunnel below. That wasn't the type of fall someone could walk away from intact...

Hacking from the dust, Takeru slowly sat up and peered fuzzily at the semi-lit cloud that hovered around him. He hurt. A lot. He should hurt more from a fall like that, though. It had felt like he landed on something that was certainly softer than concrete. A quick feel with his hands proved this fact. It felt more like a heap of dirt or something. Well, at least he was in one piece. Finally hearing his brother's calls, he yelled, "I'm fine! A little bruised, but fine."

Yamato blew out a breath of air. Well, that was a relief. Frowning worriedly a moment later, he asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Other than a mild feeling of déjà vu and a hell of a lot of bruises, yes," Takeru answered shortly before sneezing as the dust slowly settled around him. When it was clearer he looked down at his D3 to make sure it was still intact. Thankfully, he had managed to keep ahold of it when he fell. It was fine, though quite dirty right now.

"Déjà vu?" Yamato asked absently as he looked around for another way down. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be one nearby.

"Yeah, like I'd fallen off a cliff or something before," Takeru muttered as he looked up and frowned. There was no way he'd be able to get back up there. So what were they going to do now?

"I wouldn't be surprised if you had," Yamato sighed as he resigned himself to what he was about to do. "Look, I can't see a way down. I'm going to have to go find one. Just... stay put. I'll be there in a little bit."

"But~" Takeru groaned as the light vanished and a soft echo of quick footsteps filtered down from above. Why couldn't Yamato just listen to him for once instead of being so impulsive? Grousing to himself over said idiotic impulsiveness of older siblings, Takeru dug the little flashlight of his own out of his pocket and thanked whatever god was listening that he hadn't landed on it.

Really, there was no need for Yamato to go all the way back and then all the way down here since Hikari and Taichi would probably get here soon. Yamato could have just waited for them at the entrance and they could have all gone down the upper tunnel together after this one, assuming they didn't find Daisuke down here. It made sense to him. Oh well, they'd find Daisuke one way or another.

Takeru blinked as his eyes watered, the dust was settling but not fast enough. Gingerly, he made his way down off of the pile of dirt he had landed on. It was pretty big, not exactly something a person would expect to find in an underground tunnel made of concrete. Then again, that pitfall wasn't something to be expected either. That meant that somebody had probably set them up on purpose as a trap. That didn't bode well.

Turning around to get a better look at the tunnel, Takeru froze as the hairs on the back of his neck decided to do a little dance in accompaniment to the icy fingers that seemed to be crawling up his spine. Someone out there was watching him. Someone who wasn't very nice and didn't have his good health at the forefront of their mind.

"Well well, if it isn't Takeru," a familiar voice purred from within the darkness. "Always showing up where you're not wanted. Always getting in the way. That's a rather dangerous habit you've got there. After all, somebody might decide to take umbrage at it and then where would you be?"

Takeru gulped, he didn't like the sound of that but... that voice. He knew that voice. It was emotionally colder, a little lower in tone, but it was unmistakable. It had to be, "Daisuke?"

"Ah, and another one of your problems," Beast Daisuke muttered as he stalked out into the light of Takeru's flashlight, being careful to keep his eyes out of view. "You're just too damned perceptive for your own good."

Frowning in uncertainty, Takeru took an involuntary step back. This was Daisuke, so why was every instinct for preservation in his body screaming at him to run for his life? It was ridiculous. Licking his lips hesitantly, he asked, "Daisuke, what~?"

"I guess it boils down to the fact that I just don't like you enough," Beast Daisuke cut Takeru off easily as he walked closer. "Oh, you're nice enough and all, but you're too annoying and you're getting in the way. I just can't have that." Smirking knowingly, he finally looked up at Takeru, his eyes glowing a hellish crimson from the amusement he felt at this turn of events.

Takeru gaped, stumbling backwards from the impossibility standing before him. This couldn't be his friend. Before he could fall, 'Daisuke' grabbed his wrist in a painful grasp causing him to drop the flashlight. The sound of it smacking hard against the ground was just registering in his mind when he was yanked forward. He had almost got his bearings when twin lances of pain buried themselves deep into his neck and then, nothing.

Beast Daisuke hummed in pleasure as he fed off of his, well Daisuke's friend. It seemed as if Sumire really had planned a trick on him, but he didn't really mind all that much. Finding his D3 in the middle of an underground tunnel had been mystifying but discovering that one of his arranged 'victims' was Takeru certainly had been a bonus. He really didn't like Takeru all that much. Oh, he probably could have begrudgingly liked Mr. Goody-Goody given time, but with Ken coming home smelling like him... well, that was another thing altogether. Yes, he could certainly do without Takeru's 'interference'.

He was so involved in his feast that he didn't notice the bobbing lights making their way down the tunnel. It wasn't until a beam of light flashed across the huge pile of dirt and then across him that he finally noticed that he was no longer alone. Instinct ignited, he dropped his meal and ran back into the safety of the dark. Behind him a high pitched scream echoed painfully off of the concrete walls.

"TAKERU!"

~*~

He had been running. He knew this because his muscles ached fiercely and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. He didn't know why he had been running, but it must have been about something important. Actually, he didn't know much about anything right now. He didn't know how he had gotten loose. He didn't know how he had gotten here. And he certainly didn't know where exactly here was.

Sighing mournfully at his predicament, Daisuke looked around at the little cement room he had found himself in. There were two tunnels that connected this room to probably more tunnels but he didn't know which way he came or which way would take him out of here. Moonlight was pouring in through a grate in the ceiling, but that seemed to be the only thing producing light. Everything else was dark. So how had he been able to see to run here, where ever here was?

He squinted as he tried to figure out what had happened, but there wasn't much to go on. He remembered waking up and being chained to the wall of a warehouse. He remembered getting into an argument with the psycho bitch. He remembered having really bad stomach cramps. And then there were just shadows of memories like wisps of dreams that were fading even now. What the hell was going on?

Shaking his head at everything in general, Daisuke froze as he tasted something odd in his mouth. It was mildly metallic and he could swear it almost tasted like... blood. Feeling kinda queasy at this new revelation, Daisuke slowly reached up and touched his lips with his fingers. They were wet. Just as slowly, he raised them into view and blanched. His fingertips glistened darkly in the moonlight. Blood. What the hell? Hastily he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and scrubbed it off on the black part of his jeans. No more raves. That's what started this shit. Never, ever again.

"Daisuke?" He whirled around at the question, coming face to face with a really pissed off looking Taichi. What was Taichi doing here? "Are you okay, Daisuke?" Taichi asked as he stepped closer.

"Uh yeah, I guess..." Daisuke trailed off. What the hell was going on? Why couldn't he remember shit? Why was Taichi here? Why was he pissed off? And why was -he- here for that matter?

"Good," Taichi growled as he gave Daisuke a once over. If that monster had hurt Daisuke too... "Did somebody just run by?"

"No," Daisuke answered slowly. Okay, that made even less sense than everything else. Not that he could remember anything from a few minutes ago, but why would Taichi be asking him that? Nothing made sense anymore.

"Dammit!" Taichi swore then ground his teeth together. Him and his bright ideas. Not only had the vampire claimed another victim but it was still loose. Who knew when it would attack again. Sighing, he pushed his self recrimination to the side for later and turned around. He needed to get back. "Come on, Daisuke. We have to get back. We're going to have to get Takeru to the hospital ASAP."

"Takeru? What's wrong with Takeru?" Daisuke asked in complete confusion. Why was Takeru here? Was anybody else here? Where was here exactly? What the hell was going on?

"He got attacked by the vampire that kidnapped you," Taichi said matter of factly, hesitating for a moment before continuing, "Hikari's with him. He didn't... look so hot."

Daisuke couldn't make sense of anything now. He had been kidnapped by a vampire? Would that mean the psycho chick was a vampire? And why was he feeling so guilty all of sudden from the fact that Takeru had been hurt by that crazy chick? It had to have been her, right?

Something flashed across his mind at that final question. Maybe it was memory. Maybe it was just a tidbit of a nightmare. It frightened him though and the mild guilt he had felt was now an overbearing weight he just couldn't shake.

There had been a cloud of dust that had just started to come back down to earth. There had been the sound of something hard hitting the ground. Somebody had called out his name. And then, there had been some warm liquid coursing through his mouth and the sound of a heartbeat drowning out the sound of anything and everything else. It hadn't been his own. It had been someone else's.

What had he done?

What had he done to Takeru?

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Lookie at all the clichés I've managed to stuff into this fic so far. It's so much fun, especially when poking fun at oneself and my own fics. Heh-heh. Anyway, you know I just had to stick Takeru in there somewhere. Have no fear, it's going to be a Daiken, one way or another. Of that, you need not worry. And as for Yamato's little problems, I should really expand on that shouldn't I? It would just be mean to leave them hanging. Then again, they're not part of the main plot so we'll see. September was an incredibly horrible month. I wasn't able to write for the majority of it nor did I have the inclination to. But, I'm glad I finally got this part finished. I feel accomplished. Still no clue as to how long this is going to end up being. I have the plot pretty secure in my mind, but no clue as to how much of it will go in each part. I guess we'll just have to see.