Chapter Twenty (In honor of the fact it's no spring break I'm putting up 3 chapters! Thanks for all the reviews-they mean a lot)
The morning sun shone down on the field the next clearing, lighting up the abandoned party scene.
All of the Digimon had disappeared, save the partners, who were crowded around the circle of Digidestined and snoring.
"Chocolate…" Patamon murmured.
"Hot dogs…" Agumon sighed.
Renamon flicked her tail in her sleep and moaned. "Fried chicken…I want…"
The only person not asleep was me. I was laying separate from the others, staring up at the sky in thought.
"What was I THINKING?"
Of all the stupid mistakes…was it a mistake? My lips curled in a slight smile as I remembered the feeling of Tai's lips on mine.
It had been even better than my dream.
But this was not good. This was really REALLY not good.
I bit my lip and looked up at the sky, fear flooding me. It was early enough in the morning that you could barely see the moon through the morning haze.
A crescent moon-and I was able to read the phases well enough to know that I had run out of time.
Myotismon was coming back—tonight!
"I am SO dead." I muttered, snapping a twig with both hands.
No—forget dead. He was gonna kill me, bury me, unbury me, bring me back to life, and kill me again!
Now that hurting Tai or the others wasn't an option…
And it DEFINENTLY wasn't an option. I didn't know what Tai and I were exactly, but, I knew I liked it.
One thing I've learned over the years though? Telling Myotismon no? Never ends well.
I was just going to have to find some excuse—a REALLY really good excuse.
Or maybe I should just forget romantic love, run away, and become a hermit.
Tai groaned as his eyes slowly opened. He blinked, adjusting to the bright sunlight. "Lily?…"
"Morning." I reminded absent-mindedly, my mind still on other things.
Like certain vampires who are gonna kill me…
My fingers flickered slightly, as frustration filled me. What the heck am I supposed to do?…
He blinked before slowly sitting up. "What are you…doing?"
"Huh?" I felt confused before I looked down at my hands—and I had to stop myself from yelping slightly.
Trickles of fire played across the front of my fingers, sparking upwards. "Umm…" I stammered before clasping my hands on top of each other. "Nothing!"
Oh please, PLEASE buy it!
Tai's eyes narrowed, and I could see slight suspicion in his eyes. Dang it, what had he seen exactly?
"Uh…" I laughed uneasily before leaping to my feet. "I'll be…right back!"
"Where are you going?"
My back to him, I licked my lips uneasily. "To uh…get more firewood!"
"Lily-"
But I was already gone.
Tai sighed and turned back to face the others, who were all stirring slightly.
Joe groaned as he slid his glasses on. "What…where are all the others?"
"Looks like we got left with clean-up duty." Gomamon said, knocking away an empty soda can.
Matt just sighed and shook his head. "From the Digital World's protectors…"
"To janitors." Tai agreed before looking back over his shoulder….
I kicked at a rock as I wandered throughout the forest. "Ow!"
Hopping on one foot, I cursed profoundly. Now I had a broken foot-on top of everything else!
Sometimes, I could've sworn Yggdrasil really had it in for me. Or just had a really cruel sense of humor.
I glared down at my hands. The perks of being a star…
Even though I was getting better control of my abilities, that didn't mean they didn't go out of whack occasionally.
Sometimes the consequences could be quite hilarious.
Like, for example, the time I…turned everything and everyone in the castle pink.
Neon pink to be exact. Long story-but trust me, it went sour after a few minutes.
Especially since it didn't go back to normal for a whole two weeks…
But other times—it was just embarrassing. Or in this case, dangerous.
Tai would never hurt me. I knew that.
But…I couldn't keep the fear that…Face facts. He would see me as a freak.
I couldn't take the look of fear and apprehension that Tai would surely look at me with…if he found out.
If he found out…
And that was the one thing I would never allow.
I'd finally found someone who accepted me and cared for me.
I wasn't about to let my powers ruin everything for me again….
"Huh?"
I stiffened as the wind changed direction, bringing a different scent to me.
My face turned pale and I felt fear run through my body. "Oh no…"
"There you are my pet."
Uh oh…
I whirled around to see Myotismon and the others standing behind me.
No…
"What are you doing here?" I managed to squeak out. "I thought you weren't coming back till tonight!"
Gatomon rolled her eyes. "Look up, moron."
I glanced up at the sky to see the night sky above me, the darkness closing in.
Oh. Time really flies when you've been musing in angst I guess…
"Umm…."
"Having a wonderful time?" he said, his voice mocking/sweet.
"N-no! I mean yes! I mean…" Help me, someone please…
Myotismon's sapphire eyes narrowed down to slits as he took a step forward, making me cringe away.
"I trust the Digidestined ARE dead."
"Er…"
"Aren't they?" he whispered dangerously. "Surely, you would not be so foolish as to risk SO much of my wrath?"
His fingertips twitched slightly, and I felt my shoulders shake, expecting to feel Crimson Lightning crash down on my back….any second. "I-I…"
"So…" Myotismon hissed, as he looked into my terrified eyes. "I can smell your fear and guilt pet."
I could hear Gatomon and Demidevimon snickering cruelly in the background.
"Master, I tried! I really did!"
That part was true. I HAD tried. I just…couldn't help myself.
"Obviously not enough…" he sneered.
I fought back a slight growl at him. My fear was greater than my pride…
"You know what this means, my pet…" the smile on his face now was one of pure enjoyment at seeing me squirm.
Demidevimon positively howled with laughter.
In the background, I could see Wizardmon watching from behind a tree, fear and worry in his eyes.
"Help me!" I begged him with my eyes.
But we both knew he couldn't…
"Please master…"
Myotismon just smirked as the red whip appeared in his hand.
Bile rose in my throat as I felt my stomach churn with fear.
"Crimson Lightning!"
I screamed in pain as whip seared through my flesh, slamming me into the ground.
I could hear Myotismon's chuckle at my pain over my pounding head, and I gritted my teeth, renewing my vow not to let him hear me scream.
Or cry. Never cry.
I just felt the tears burn, as I forced them back, the pain in my back feeling like fire trickling down my spine…
"Lily?" Tai called, as he searched through the forest. "Lils?"
No answer.
He sighed in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. She'd disappeared all day today…without any explanation at all!
"Did I do something wrong?…"
Maybe he'd been too forward. Maybe he'd been too pushy.
"But she said she likes me back!" Or maybe…she'd just been saying that.
What if she just had been taking pity on him?…
He sighed as he kicked at an empty beer bottle in frustration. Having all this mess to clean up wasn't improving his mood…
Myotismon just smirked cruelly as I lay weakly on the ground, the blood turning the grass a sickly shade of red.
His nostrils flared slightly at the scent, and I saw a look of slight greed…and hunger appear on his face.
I cringed backwards as much as my body would allow. He WOULDN'T…would he?
No…creep's probably just trying to scare the crap out of me again.
My teeth gritted as another spasm of pain shot across my back, and I couldn't resist shooting him a glare through slitted eyes.
Myotismon snarled angrily before I felt the whip lash across my shoulders.
"Don't EVER look at me like that!"
I growled in disgust before turning my head away, feeling the old fury rise up in me.
The desire to rebel…to shout, to scream at him to leave me alone…had never been this strong before.
"Master?"
He turned around impatiently to look at Phantomon, who was hovering behind him. "What?"
Phantomon smirked slightly. "If I may, I had a…suggestion to this little…" He looked at me. "Problem."
Oh this cannot be good…
Myotismon raised an eyebrow. "Proceed…"
"The Digidestined are staying in the clearing, from what we've discovered…"
He shot me a look as if to say, "No thanks to you."
I rolled my eyes in response. Annoying Casper reject…
"And?"
"Your army is at it's strongest." Gatomon purred, looking up at Myotismon adoringly. "We could wipe them out—easily."
No…
"All we need is for them to be lured out of the forest and into the valley." The evil spook continued. "They'd be surrounded by the mountains with no hope of escape."
"No!" I wanted to cry out desperately, but all I could do was let out a whimper deep in my throat.
Myotismon smiled cruelly. "Brilliant…"
Phantomon beamed-he always loved it when Myotismon complimented him. For certain…special reasons.
"Now…all we need is someone to lure them in…"
I froze as everyone's gaze fixed on me.
"Yes…" Myotismon murmured slightly to himself as he stepped forward. "You will do more than an adequate job, won't you my pet?"
I could hear the thinly-veiled threat in his voice. Still I shakily took a step back. "No…"
He whirled around to glare at me. "WHAT?"
I just glared back at him, folding my arms defiantly. "No! I have followed plenty of your orders—but I will not be a part of this any longer!"
"Oh really?"
His voice had lowered dangerously, and Demidevimon and Gatomon were shooting me looks of disbelief.
The next thing I knew was the burning, agonizing pain as the whip wrapped around me before tossing me in the air.
"GACK!" I snarled as I slammed into the ground at full-force. I could hear my ribs snap…
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear…"
I groaned slightly and pressed a hand to my stomach. Blood was seeping from the wound, turning my shirt a bright red.
Myotismon grabbed me by the collar and pulled me up slightly, like a disobedient kitten he was hoisting up by the scruff.
"Get…off…" I muttered weakly, struggling in vain.
His grip tightened slightly, and I coughed as it got even harder to breathe.
He touched the open wounds on my back lightly, with just his fingertips. Still, it was enough to make me shudder.
"You think you're in agony now my pet?" Myotismon murmured softly to me. "I can do so much worse…and you know it."
I gritted my teeth.
"Think about your precious partner. You wouldn't want anything to…happen to her would you?"
"Leave Renamon OUT of this!"
He smirked. "Well then?…"
There was no other way. "Fine….I'll do it."