Chapter 38: Desperate Crush
Everything seemingly returned to normal the next day: Patty, Neko, DeeDee and Moshi were playing together. Wendy approached Patty a little shyly. "Umm... P-Patty?" She asked. "Oh, Wendy!" Patty greeted her. "What is it?" "Listen, I... I'm s-sorry about k-kissing Neko." Wendy explained. "I meant absolutely nothing by it, I just wanted to thank him-" "Hey, no need to be sorry!" Patty stated. "I just overreacted a little." "S-so I didn't ruin your relationship?" Wendy asked, and Patty shook her head. "It takes more than that to make me and Neko stop liking each other." Patty stated. "Well, I'm glad to hear." Wendy said, and smiled a little. "No hard feelings, right?" Patty asked, and offered her hand to Wendy. Wendy looked confused at first, but then she said "Right..." and shook Patty's hand. "Friends?" "Friends." Patty replied.
"Hey, are you two coming?" Moshi asked, and Patty and Wendy turned their heads. "S-sure!" Patty replied quickly. "Come on, Wendy, let's go!" "Y-yeah." Wendy replied, and followed Patty. "So, what's the name of the game?" Patty asked. "DeeDee suggested a new idea." Neko replied. "Would you mind to explain, DeeDee?" "Sure." DeeDee replied and smiled. "It's called 'Capture the Flag'. Ever heard of that?" Moshi, Patty and Wendy all shook their heads. "Well, there are two teams. Both of them have a flag in the team's base. The idea of the game is that the opposite team must capture the other team's flag, and carry it safely to their base. However, if an opposite player touches you at their own territory, you'll go to jail, and the only way to get out of there is by having a player from their own team touching them." "Hmm... Sounds like fun!" Patty stated. "How are we gonna form the teams?" Moshi asked. "If there's two teams and there's five of us..." "Don't worry, we can be a team." Neko replied, and patted Moshi's shoulder. "So boys versus girls it is." DeeDee said.
"We need some sort of border to know what is our side and what is yours." Patty stated. "Hmm... Let's say that these two trees could be the border." Neko said, and pointed at two trees. "Okay, let's mark them somehow." DeeDee said, grabbed a sharp rock, and carved two X's on the both sides. "Okay, let's settle the rules." Neko said. "Number one: The flag must be in sight. That means not hiding it in a top of a tree or under a rock. Number two: If the player in jail hasn't been rescued in fifteen minutes, he's free to go. And number three: NO flying OR teleporting." He finished, and looked at Patty and Wendy, who both smiled shyly. "Good. Now, you've got one minute to hide the flag." DeeDee stated. "GO!" She shouted, and Neko & Moshi and Patty & Wendy ran at opposite directions. "Okay, where should we hide this?" Patty asked. "Umm..." Wendy wondered, and looked around. She spotted a big hole under a rock. "Hey, how 'bout over there?" She suggested. "Let's see..." Patty wondered. "Hold the flag." She said, and gave the flag to Wendy. She looked at the hole. "Well, that looks like a good place-"
THUD! Someone pushed Patty's back, and she fell into the small cave. "EEK!" She screamed, and hit the ground. "Ow! What the-" She wondered, and turned her around. Patty saw Wendy standing in the mouth of the cave. "Wendy, what are you doing?!" Patty wondered. "I'm sorry." Wendy said quietly. "It's okay." Patty replied and smiled. "Can you help me out?" "No," Wendy started. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this." "W-what do you mean?" Patty asked, and looked confused. "I'm sorry, but I've lost my heart to Neko." Wendy stated.
"And I can't have him if you're around. I wished that I could've ruined whatever you two had by kissing him, but apparently the bond between you two is too strong." "Wendy," Patty started. "You're not completely in your senses. Now, step aside from the cave mouth, and we can talk-" "What good does talking do?!" Wendy asked, and looked like she was going to cry. "There's no way to get over that fact that Neko likes you and not me by talking." She sighed a little. "I really wished I wouldn't have to do this... But I've got no other choice..." Wendy muttered. Patty quickly tried to fly out of the cave, but Wendy rolled a rock over the cave mouth.
"OUCH!!" Patty screamed as her head hit the rock. She rolled back down to the cave. "WENDY!!" She shouted. "STOP THIS MADNESS AT ONCE!! WENDYY!!!" However, the cave appeared to be soundproofing. "Don't worry." Wendy said from the outside. "I'm sure someone will find you... In a week or a two." She giggled evilly, and walked away. "NOO!! WENDY!! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!!!" Patty yelled, to no avail. She fell to the ground, and started crying. "Why you..." She sobbed. "I thought you were a nice digimon..." "TIME'S UP!!" DeeDee shouted.
Wendy came from the other side of the forest. "Hey, where's Patty?" Moshi asked. "Uhh, Patty had some family matters to deal with." Wendy replied and smiled. "Oh... Well, at least the team's are now even." Neko said. "Okay, let's begin, shall we?" DeeDee asked. "Yeah!" Moshi exclaimed. "Okay... Ready, set, GO!!"
"Urrk..." Gatomon whined. "It wasn't this horrible when I had Patty..." "Maybe Patty was more peaceful inside your tummy." Patamon replied. "Well, judging by her impulsive nature, I seriously doubt it." Gatomon replied. "Maybe you ate paper and crayons..." Patamon joked. "Speaking of..." Gatomon said, and started eating. "Aren't you hungry?" She asked Patamon, who just looked outside the window. "No, I'm just... I'm just worried about Patty." Patamon replied. "Huh? What for?" Gatomon asked. "I dunno, I just got this feeling that she's in trouble again..." Patamon replied, and sighed. "Hey, Patty's brave and smart." Gatomon stated. "She can take care of herself." "Not necessarily..." Patamon muttered. "Diaboromon would've killed her, had it not been for Neko, T.K. and Kari." "Well, she's in the woods playing with her friends." Gatomon said. "If you're worried about her, you can go see her if you want." "Thanks, but maybe later." Patamon replied. "She'll sulk if I interrupt their games." He looked at Gatomon's stomach. "It's a boy." He said suddenly. "Huh?" Gatomon asked. "The baby. It's a boy, I'm sure about it." Patamon replied. Gatomon looked a little suspicious, but started eating again.
"BOOM BUBBLE!!" Patty tried to blast the rock away from the cave mouth. "Not... working..." She panted. "Gotta... try... again... BOOM BUBBLE!!" Another blast at the rock, but it didn't budge. "Oh man... I'm stuck here for the rest of my life!" Patty sobbed, but wiped her tears. "No... I'm not gonna give up..." She muttered, and tried to push the rock herself. "Hngh..!" She grunted. "No use... I'm not strong enough..." Patty muttered. "Papa... Mama... Neko... Anybody... Please save me..!" "HA!" Neko said victoriously, as he carried DeeDee's and Wendy's flag to their side. "We won 2-1!" Moshi stated, and high fived with Neko. "Phew... Well, you won." DeeDee admitted. "So, what next?" "I dunno. Tag?" Moshi suggested. "Let's rest for a while, first." DeeDee replied, and sitted in the ground. "Whee, I've had a really fun day..." Wendy stated and smiled. "All thanks to you." "No problem." Neko replied and smirked. "Though it's a shame that Patty had to leave so early..." "Maybe she still hates me a little..." Wendy said and sighed. "Don't worry, Patty usually isn't unforgiving." DeeDee replied and smiled. "Y-yeah..." Wendy said nervously. "Maybe I shouldn't have locked her there... But this is the only way I can have Neko..." She thought.
Patty was weeping on the cave floor. "It's dark and scary and..." She muttered. "Please, someone help, I don't want to stay the rest of my life here..." She closed her eyes, and a picture of Neko appeared. "Neko... Please help..." She thought. Neko looked surprised. "Are you okay, Neko?" Moshi asked. "Strange... I, I think I heard Patty's voice in my head." Neko replied. "She asked me to... Help." "Are you sure?" DeeDee asked. Wendy looked nervous, and gulped quietly. "Shh!" Neko whispered, and closed his eyes. "Patty..." He thought. "Where are you?" Ten seconds later, he opened his eyes. "Umm, Neko?" Moshi asked. "Patty's in trouble..!" Neko muttered, and ran to the forest. "Come with me. And make sure to bring her, too." He added, and pointed at Wendy before running again. "Wendy, did you do something to Patty?" DeeDee asked. "N-no..." Wendy replied quietly. "We'll see." DeeDee replied, and grabbed Wendy's left arm. Moshi grabbed Wendy's right arm, and they together followed Neko. "PATTY!!" Neko yelled. "ARE YOU HERE?!" "It's Neko..." Patty thought.
"I'M INSIDE THE CAVE!!" "She's close..." Neko muttered.
"NEKO!! OVER HERE!!!" Patty yelled. Neko turned around, and saw a big rock covering the cave. "Wait a sec!!" Neko exclaimed, and rolled the rock away. Patty quickly flew out of the cave. "Patty, thank goodness, you're okay..." Neko said quietly, and hugged Patty. "Now, what's going on around here?" Moshi asked, as he, DeeDee and Wendy arrived. "Well, umm..." Patty started, and looked at Wendy's eyes. "Paguya came over here, pushed me into the hole and rolled-" "Tell us the truth, Patty." Neko said with a demanding voice. "B-but I'm telling the-" Patty started, but was cut by Neko. Wendy looked shocked: Patty had tried to save her... "Listen, I know who did this." Neko stated. "Just tell us-" "FINE!!" Patty yelled, and nearly cried. "Okay, okay, it was Wendy!!" She exclaimed, and pointed at Wendy. "Wendy?!" DeeDee exclaimed. She and Moshi let go of her, but instead of running away, she looked terrified. Neko, DeeDee and Moshi all glared at her. "I should've known all along..." DeeDee muttered. "Hey guys, it's okay..." Patty muttered. "Shall we throw her down there, too?" Neko asked Patty. "Just let her go home." Patty replied, and looked at Wendy. "Fine. Leave, and never come anywhere near us again." Neko said quietly. Wendy sobbed, and ran away.
"Hey, there's no need to be so harsh..." Patty said after Wendy had left. "Patty, she tried to get you out of the way." Neko stated. "If we hadn't found you, who knows what could've happened-" "Wendy was not alright." Patty replied. "She did this, because... She's got a crush on you, Neko." Neko, DeeDee and Moshi looked shocked. "What?" DeeDee asked. "Yeah. That's why she tried to get rid of me; so she could be with Neko." Patty stated. "B-but that's crazy!" Neko exclaimed. "Digimon do crazy things when they're desperately in love."
Patty said. Wendy finally stopped running, collapsed to the ground, and started crying. "I'm a complete moron..." She sobbed. "I never should have tried to do such things to Patty... They're never gonna forgive me..." Wendy sniffled, and looked extremely sad. "Neko. He really seems to love Patty." Wendy stood up, and wiped her tears. "I should try to apologize. Even when I don't deserve forgiveness-" Suddenly, a rope wrapped around Wendy. "EEK!" She screamed, and fell to the ground. "Gotcha..." Someone said, laughed, and stepped behind a tree. "Remember me?" Paguya asked. "W-what are you d-doing?" Wendy asked. "Paying back..." Paguya stated and grinned. "C'mon, boys," He said, and his three friends stepped in. "Let's take this lady for a ride..." Wendy looked terrified as Paguya and Demimeramon started carrying her away.