Hello everyone. So I'm trying to get a few things going for Xros Wars. I am a little worried about Akari so I apologise if she comes off as a little OOC. The situation she's in makes it a little bit complicated. Lillithmon, on the other hand is intentionally a little OOC towards Akari. This is for the Diversity Writing Challenge #49: write about gaining an understanding about something.

1. I Don't Really Care Anymore

Akari didn't understand this nor did she really want to. She could hear Taiki telling her he cared but did he? It wasn't like him to lie and it wasn't like her to believe he would lie to her.

"Akari, I need you!" Taiki called out again, snapping Akari out of her thoughts once more. "I like having you around. You're my best friend and Lillithmon's wrong. You are needed with us. Everyone here needs you."

Akari felt her eyes water. She was needed? The redhead almost reached out before something hit her on the back of the head roughly, making her vision swim in front of her. Everything was turning black. Taiki and the others were still standing there but their expressions were changing. They were becoming cruel and mocking. They didn't mean anything. Taiki and the others were just lying to her, that was all. Turning her back on Taiki and the others, she gave the Code Crown to Lillithmon, whose claws wrapped around it.

The zone belonged to her now, didn't it? Lillithmon's arms wrapped around Akari's shoulders as a fight began in Lake Zone. Akari could only hear commotion coming from everywhere and didn't really know what was going on. She felt a hand grab hers.

"Akari, you need to snap out of it!" Taiki cried. "Please!"

Taiki sounded so desperate, she almost reached out to him but then a portal appeared and the hand was torn away from her own. The redhead almost stumbled as Lillithmon pushed her inside the portal that had appeared.

Akari realized she was in some sort of dungeon. The lighting was dim but it was enough that she could see where she was standing. It was an empty sort of room with not many people there. Had she done the right thing surrendering the Code Crown like that? She didn't know but it really didn't matter. It didn't matter if it was the right thing or not, all she knew right now was that she didn't care anymore. What was right, what wasn't, she didn't care about it. She just wanted to sleep. Sitting herself in the corner of the room, she buried her head in her hands, allowing the darkness to engulf her.

Hours passed when Akari came to again and she realized she was in a different room, different from the dungeon she had fell asleep in. It was still rather dark but there was a sofa and it was a little bit warmer than the dungeon. The redhead looked around.

"Where…?" she mumbled.

"You're in my room," Lillithmon crooned, stepping inside. "You were sleeping on the floor so I thought I'd move you to a bed."

Akari blinked. "Oh?"

Lillithmon observed her for a moment, before speaking. "Did you rest well?"

Akari shrugged. "I guess." She still felt emotionally drained but she didn't know what else to do.

Lillithmon laughed a little. "You've had a bit of a shock, don't worry about it okay? Everything will be fine." She reached out to stroke Akari's cheek. "Your friends thought I was evil, after all but really, they're the evil ones." Subconsciously, she played with the girl's hair, pulling her hair out of the ponytails they were held in, brushing them down gently.

Akari's eyes watered a little. "Taiki isn't…he isn't…"

"He's been brainwashed by those evil digimon," Lillithmon said, continuing to stroke one hand down the girl's cheek while the other played with Akari's hair. She sounded rather sad and disappointed. "You'll need to teach him right, won't you? Akari, you need to save Taiki from them."

Akari stared at Lillithmon, face flushing a little at the touch, not used to such close contact. "But how? He listens to them, Zenjirou, Shoutmon and everyone else so much, how am I supposed to…?"

Lillithmon hummed. "Oh Akari." She sighed. "I'll teach you. I'll teach you everything." Once again, she wrapped her arms around Akari, pulling her close. "Work with us and we can save Taiki together."

Akari stiffened at first, before relaxing. Yeah…yeah Lillithmon was right. Those digimon, Zenjirou, they were all taking advantage of Taiki. She needed to protect him no matter how much it hurt her. She needed to get him away from the others before he got hurt.

"I'll do it," she said firmly. "No matter what it takes."

Lillithmon smiled. "That's so sweet of you. You really are devoted to him, aren't you?" She nodded. "I like helping young girls with their dreams, after all." She held out a black low-cut dress out. "Go change into these. You'll need to be prepared properly."

Despite herself, Akari blushed at the clothes. "Um…I don't wear clothes like that, Lillithmon."

Lillithmon shrugged. "I know. There's a lot you'll need to learn to be ready. Clothes make a strong impression on the mind and heart." She leaned close, staring into Akari's eyes deeply. "They have Taiki trapped, Akari. They have him entangled in every single way and breaking him out won't be easy. You need to change, become stronger, harden your heart enough to not let words sway you towards them. The first step to change is changing the way you look. You want to do anything to save Taiki don't you?" A nod. "Then put these on okay?"

Akari hesitated a little but took the clothes, going to change in a separate room.

Am I doing what's right? The thought lingered inside of her for a few moments before letting go, as she changed her clothes. Her face turned the colour of her hair and she felt rather odd, having these exposing clothes on. She wasn't the type of person who was used to this after all. However, Lillithmon's words echoed through her mind and all embarrassing thoughts fled from her, expression becoming firm. This is all for Taiki, remember that. Nothing else matters.