A Dark Pit of Self Pity and Sadness
[Disclaimer: I don't own these terms, characters, concepts, etc. I made up Shinji Shazaki and her Crest.]
Prologue: Tai had just made Shinji run away, saying that he didn't trust her. Her problems were made worse by Cherrymon, a digimon that worked for the Dark Masters. Myotismon tried to cheer her up but to no avail.
"Are you going to go back to the others?" Myotismon asked. Shinji didn't answer. They kept walking through a charred looking forest that was poisoned by the Dark Masters' evil. "Why won't you answer me?" he asked. He sighed and stayed by Shinji's side. They didn't see a black cloud follow behind them.
"Where do you think she is Matt?" TK asked. "I don't know TK. I hope we find her soon." Matt said. "Do you know why Tai's so stubborn about Shinji?" Kari asked. "I don't know Kari. He just doesn't trust her." Matt replied. They were walking through the same charred forest that Myotismon and Shinji were.
"Where are we going?" Myotismon asked. "Nowhere. Just somewhere." Shinji said. The black cloud behind was getting larger and thicker. "I don't know what to do." Shinji said quietly. She pulled out her Crest. "And my Crest had to be the Crest of Understanding. What a joke." she said. The black cloud appeared under Shinji in the form of a hole and she fell into it. "AAAAAA!" she cried. Myotismon dove after her and they disappeared into the darkness.
Matt, TK, and Kari came across the hole and looked down it. "Wait." Kari said, "Do you hear anything?" A voice came from within the hole. "C'mon!" Matt said, "Let's get down there!" They slowly climbed down the hole with their digimon. It was a very dark cavern/hole and was hard to see. "SHINJI!" the voice shouted again, "WHERE ARE YOU SHINJI?!" They finally got to the bottom of the pit and walked into the tunnel. "SHINJI!" the voice called once more. They came across Myotismon calling into the darkness. "Hey! Myotismon!" Matt shouted. Myotismon turned around and saw the mixture of six children and digimon running towards him. "Where's Shinji?" Kari asked. "That's the problem! I can't find her!" he shouted angrily.
"Well, let's go deeper in the tunnel!" TK said. They walked deeper and deeper into the tunnel and the black darkness became even darker and thicker. After walking for quite a few minutes, they saw a sliver of Shinji's silver t-shirt. They ran forwards and saw Shinji with her head up to her knees and her hands wrapped around her shins. Her eyes were hidden from any view. "Shinji!" Myotismon shouted. He dropped down on one knee next to her. "Come on! We have to get out of here!" Matt said. Shinji was mumbling something into her knees and they all got close to here what she was saying. "No one trusts me. I can't let Myotismon down. No one trusts me." she said again and again, "I have to find the others. I HAVE to find them!"
"Shinji, we're right here!" Matt said, "Now come on!" He grabbed Shinji's arm but she wouldn't even budge. Myotismon grabbed her other arm and they both pulled together. She still wouldn't move a muscle. "Shinji, we're right here! Look at us!" TK said shaking her arm. Shinji finally looked up. They all gasped. Her usual kind and playful sea-blue eyes were sad and tired and had turned a saddening black-blue. "Matt? TK? Kari? Myotismon? How did you get down here? I don't understand." she said in a tired voice. "What's gotten into you?" Myotismon asked. He put his hand on her shoulders. The black cloud had surrounded itself around Shinji. Shinji was confused and didn't understand what was going on. Her Crest hung limply from her neck and didn't glow or shine. In another perspective, Shinji was submerged in a deep sea. She was floating in the deep sea looking away sadly.
"This place is created by your own self pity and sadness." A voice rang out from far away and echoed into Shinji's ears. She looked up and saw a tiny spot of a shimmering gold. "I don't understand." Shinji said. She let her position go limp and sank even deeper into the water, nearly losing consciousness. "You say that no one trusts you." the voice said, "They do. I trust you Shinji." Shinji opened her eyes the smallest sliver and recognized the voice. "Myotismon?" she asked. Her voice was weak. She shut her eyes again and sighed. She sank even deeper, spiraling downward. "You're sad because you don't trust anyone and you say that no one else trusts you." Matt's voice rang out.
"I don't trust you at all!" Tai's voice rang in Shinji's head. The sound of Tai shouting that echoed through the sea. "Don't you see? No one trusts me!" Shinji said. "Tai doesn't trust people that he doesn't know!" Kari's voice joined the rest. "But we do!" TK shouted. Shinji opened her eyes and saw a large glimmer of gold. She opened her eyes wider and the gold color became larger. She could see four figures floating towards her. "You can't judge every person's opinion based on one person's opinion just because they're the leader!" Myotismon said. "Tai doesn't know you yet! He'll change his mind soon!" Kari said. They came closer and closer and Shinji opened her eyes wider.
"We have complete trust in you!" they all said. They all gave Shinji their hands and she took them and was enclosed within the gold. Back in the tunnel, Shinji's eyes changed slowly back into their normal sea-blue, playful, and kind selves. "I get it now!" she said. Her Crest began to glow once more. Matt and Myotismon pulled her to her feet. The black cloud around Shinji flew away and up to the top of the tunnel. "What's that?" TK asked. "That thing's pitch black. It's the feeling I had in my heart a few minutes ago. I know what it is!" Shinji said. "What is it?" Gabumon asked. "It's the darkness that I was carrying around with me all along." Shinji said, "But it can't hurt me because I understand that you guys trust me!" Shinji's Crest shot a beam of light and destroyed the black cloud.
"C'mon!" TK said, "Let's get out of here and find the others!" "Which way to we go?" Kari asked. They realized that they were lost. As the last remnants of the black cloud disappeared, the cave disappeared along with it. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't we just in a cave?" Matt asked. "I guess it was created by that evil feeling I had." Shinji said, "Let's just find the others!" They pulled out their digivices and checked them. "They're not working." Kari said. "How do we find them?" TK asked. "Simple little friend." Gabumon said. He tapped his nose. "Oh yeah Gabumon!" TK said, remembering Gabumon's sense of smell. Gabumon sniffed the air. "Tai and Sora are this way." he said pointing forwards. "Let's go!" they all said.
Epilogue: Matt, TK, Kari, Shinji, Gabumon, Gatomon, Myotismon, and Patamon soon found Tai and Sora. But Puppetmon wanted to play…
Next: Puppetmon's Playtime With the Digi-destined