Hi guys! Thank you for your patience! I'll try to be better about posting chapters in the future, but my 2nd semester is very busy, so it may be a few weeks.
The narrators for this chapter are Mimi, Ken, Matt, Joe, and Ken one last time.
Just one note, during the first section, you may want to listen to "Cupid de Locke" by the Smashing Pumpkins. That's what i wrote it to, and I feel that accentuates Mimi's vibe in this chapter the best.
Enjoy!

I remembered the night Kari called me.

…

7:04 PM

I tuck myself into bed. Too tired to dream, too exhausted to care it was only seven.

8:11 PM

Insomnia hits once again. I awake and wander my room. I start to watch Gossip Girl. No… too tired for cheating and gossiping tonight.

8:32 PM

Maybe a book. I pull out Twilight, and start reading.

"My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down…"

No… it's been too many times. I know it by heart, it's too boring to be entertaining, yet too boring to fall asleep to.

8:45 PM

ASMR was next. I upload YouTube, and pull up ASMR Darling to get going. Her calming and relaxing voice felt soothing… for the first few minutes.

Uggghhh…

I turned off my laptop in defeat, softly sighing in exhaustion as I put down the cover. I adjust my night gown as I head over to my bed, and open the window. I see the bright lights amongst the blanket of black sky while the sounds of sirens greet me as I stare into Times Square below. New York was just lovely, but there was something missing. I look at the clock.

9:03 PM

If only tonight could end as soon as it came.

I admit defeat, and get out of bed, turning on the lights to my room. I groan at how strongly the light hits my eyes. I head over to my mirror and look at myself. My skin was white and ghostly, and an unhealthy pale lingered down my arms and legs. My brown hair was all over the place, and I pushed it out of the way, daring to look instead at my red, puffy eyes.

Ugh. I guess I have to.

I grab the pills from the table next to me, and swallow two with a water bottle I kept in my room.

Maybe the allure of sleep will come now….

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I awoke with a gasp to the blackness of night. I look over to my phone. Ugh… shouldn't have set my ringtone to beeping mode…. Wait… Kari? Why is she calling? I look to the clock.

11:04 PM

So much for sleep tonight.

….

Day Two in the Digital World:

I awoke to a sharp feeling in my back.

"Ow!" I yelped, and cried out again as I looked into the eyes of an elderly Digimon, staring at me with an intense hatred. His clothes were in rags, and his white hair shaggy. He had a sharp spear pointed at my face. I arched my back, figuring that's what he hit me with.

"Is that the last one?" I heard a voice from behind him.

"I think so. Search the perimeter one more time. Lord Dark Sphinxmon will be pleased."

I gulped as I absorbed the hatred in his eyes. My stomach ached as I struggled to sit up. I looked around and noticed Matt fussing against ropes tying his wrists together. Davis, Ken, and Joe were nowhere to be seen.

"What are you doing? Why are you taking us away? We haven't done anything to you!"

The old man gripped my pink blouse hard, nearly tearing the fabric and choking me in the process.

"Shut up. Or you're in for a worse fate than you've already got."

"Leave her alone!" Matt screamed, turning towards my direction, his eyes bulging from his face.

The Digimon ignored him.

"Take them away!"

Another Digimon angrily pricked Matt with his spear, with the latter howling in pain while the two mysterious Digimon escorted us gruffly out of the cave.

Outside, we were greeted with the image of the same elderly Digimon as the two we met inside. No doubt a tribe of them. We encountered Davis, Ken, and Joe who each looked shocked, and had met the same fate as us, sitting in the sand outside. Joe in particular looked exhausted and exasperated, and Davis was as furious as Matt.

"What the hell are you going to do to us, you Bastards?! Don't you know who we are!?"

The one who grabbed me grunted, lifting up Davis and tying him to me; I winced at the discomfort of the tightness in the ropes.

"We don't care. You will suit our needs perfectly."

They continued tying us to each other; Davis to me, me to Ken, Ken to Matt, and Matt to Joe; until we formed a line of people tied together.

"But we're the Digidestined!" Davis insisted. "We're here to save the Digital World!"

The world was still as the Digimon looked to each other for a second, a glimmer of… hope? crossing their faces. Then the main one frowned quickly, with the others following suit.

"The Digidestined are just a myth," he leaned into Davis, spitting in his face, "just a Babamon's tale that are told to Fresh that need to be tucked into beddy-bie every night."

He's lying…

I let out a slight gasp.

He glared at us and looked straight at me, "A stupid story made up to give us the tiniest ray of hope. But there is none. Anyone who believes in the Digidestined is an ignorant fool. Now shut up or we'll have your heads on sticks. Jijimon, let's go."

This is new.

Davis' rage disappeared with a look of shock. Joe and Matt stared straight ahead, speechless. Ken and I exchanged looks.

I'm not sure what he has in mind, but a prodigy is a prodigy for a reason.

"But-," Davis began. I elbowed him.

"Shut up," I whispered. "Now's not the time."

Yeah, wouldn't want anything bad to happen.

I wouldn't either.

I couldn't see Davis' face, but he was quiet after that. We marched like a line of slaves through the hot, sticky sand, with a light wind blowing against our faces, the dust flying up after us. Hot rays beating on our bodies.

….

I hadn't quite figured it out yet, but I had a plan cooking in my head. Ugh… like we were cooking in the blazing heat. I could feel my cheeks burning and the sweat beginning to make my shirt stick to my chest. I pursed my lips, feeling the dry skin stick as I pulled them apart again. I cursed myself for licking them. It would only get worse now.

I looked to the sky, expecting to see the brightness of the sun. But there was no sun.

What the hell?

Instead of the sun basking down on us, I saw bright lights almost like lasers beaming from the sky. I opened my mouth in shock.

It was data. Pure data flowing in the sky, with the occasional light beam coming from it. It looked scary, dangerous. I was surprised no one said something before.

Tai was right. There's something wrong here.

I shook my head to move my dark hair out of my face.

And that's when it came to me.

….

I sighed as my blonde hair moved into my face again.

"Shit," I muttered, shaking it out before... WHOA.

"WHOA!"

Thud.

"SHIT!" I cried out, wincing at the pain of the hot sand entering the raw wounds on my freshly scrapped knee. I looked at the culprit below me, the man whose heel from walking too slowly had tripped me and nearly killed us.

"What the hell Joe?!"

"Matt—"

"HEY! NO TALKING!"

The Jijimon grabbed my dusty shirt, and roughly pulled me up, dragging Joe alongside me, who nearly fell over again with the sudden movement.

He looked me deep in the eyes, still holding onto my shirt.

"No funny business," he gestured to the others, who had luckily not fallen themselves. "At least your friends aren't stupid enough to try anything. Now keep moving, we're almost there."

As if on cue, over the sand dune we saw a village. There were several huts that appeared to be made of clay, roughly thrown together by their makers. While the heat was definitely getting to me, I could see it so much more within the people. There were plenty of Jijimon around, but more than that there appeared to be many Fresh, and many elderly looking creatures as well. I could see the dirt sticking to their skin and fur. The metalloid Digimon looked rusty and overworked. Many were pulling carts, with what appeared to be… bodies?

Oh yes, bodies.

Lots of bodies.

I began to feel my emotions getting the better of me.

No. Not the time.

….

Something was wrong here. Digimon don't die, and when they do, they turn into data and then reincarnate into eggs again. What is going on here?

I couldn't wrap my brain around it. In the human world, this would make perfect sense. People are born, they age, and then they die.

But Digimon don't die, and they certainly don't leave bodies behind.

We continued walking through, the Digimon staring at us like we were foreign, which we were I guess. I shut my eyes and tilted my head back, bringing my glasses closer to the top of my face. Matt and I's fall had caused them to crack, breaking my vision into fragments. I blinked rapidly, hoping glass didn't end up in my sensitive eyes.

"Stop!"

We halted. The entire village literally froze at the Jijimon's words. I could see the fear in their eyes, and the bodies of the young ones shaking.

The leader of the Jijimon stepped forward.

"We have collected five. But five were all we could find." He swallowed, and I saw a hint of sadness in the waters of his eyes. But that was only there for a microsecond, as he grimaced.

"My people… the deadline approaches at sunrise tomorrow…," he looked up from the floor, the tears now visible. "I – I'm sorry to have failed you again. I have no excuse for my incompetence anymore. We need… not two, but one more. I offer myself as one of the sacrifices. You, my friends, my family, deserve better… than the leadership I could give you."

My jaw fell open. Sacrifices? For what? Or, for whom?

….

Sacrifices?

Oh God.

I felt Mimi tense behind me.

"Wait. What?!" Davis cried out from behind. I may not have been able to see him, but I know that voice from anywhere. Mental face-palm ensues.

"Sacrifice!? For who?!"

The Jijimon's face turned angry again, and he shot a look at Davis.

"Shut up you!" The anger went as quickly as it came.

"What's the point anymore," he muttered, then turned back to him. "If we don't offer you up to Lord Dark Sphinxmon, alive," he gestured towards the bodies, "our entire village will end up like that. In an instant."

"How many do you need?" asked Matt, his voice was soft, concerned. Sympathetic.

"Seven. Per month. We usually find wandering Digimon in the desert like you, so we can spare our own people. But as of late, there have been few. The last we sent were two of our own and a rag-tag group of Digimon. That wasn't the first time we've sent our own, but definitely the hardest. We couldn't spare anymore of the old, so we had to send the fresh," his eyes closed, and tears began to fall.

Fresh… children….

My God….

Silence filled the air.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I– I understand your pain. The feeling that you are the cause of another's death is one unlike any other."

….

Wormmon looked me in the eyes weakly as I cradled him in my arms.

"Wormmon. I'm sorry… Don't go! You're my best friend!"

"…You're my best friend too. Goodbye Ken."

I cried as he faded to data before my eyes.

….

I sighed, tears beginning to form.

"It takes… a toll. It's something you can never let go."

"These… these other Digimon you mentioned," Mimi's soft voice came up, "what kind were they?"

"I… I don't know," he responded. He thought for a moment. "Um… a Gabumon, Palmon… or is it a Patamon? Hmm… then there was a Veemon, a Wormmon, and… a Gomamon."

I turned to Mimi, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.

"Those Digimon," Matt stated strongly, "are our partners. We are the Digidestined."

The village gasped, their sadness returning to fear.

"I told you that the Digidestined don't exist!" the Jijimon shouted.

"Where is your proof that they don't?" yelled Matt back.

"BECAUSE THEY WOULD'VE RESCUED US BY NOW!" he screamed.

An uncomfortable silence pierced the air.

"Alright," Matt voiced calmly, "forget the fact we claimed to be Digidestined for one second. Focus on this. We care. We may be your prisoners, but we care. We don't want to see anymore Digimon hurt or killed."

He stepped forward, ropes fallen around his wrists. My jaw dropped. So much for my plan.

"It is time you fight back. For your children. Your friends. Your family! Where is your courage? Your hope?"

The adults gripped their children, and their children cowered.

"If you let evil take it away from you, they've won. You don't need the Digidestined to help you. You can help yourself. The old, the young. Fight! For your freedom!"

A tense silence returned. It was like the fabric of time was holding its breath.

Then a young Digimon stepped forward.

"I'll fight."

Matt's eyes lit up.

The Jijimon looked to his village, and then back to Matt, a glimmer in his eye.

"I'll fight too."

Then another stepped up.

"So will I."

And another.

"And I."

It was a miracle. Over the course of seconds, the entire village volunteered. Their cheers, their passion, was deafening. It was the most beautiful music I had ever heard.

Freedom rings.

What's up with Mimi? Who's Lord Dark Sphinxmon? And what are the other Digidestined up to?
Find out on the next Digimon Kingdom!