Flamedramon's Girl

by Canomon

That's not the orrigional title, but it sounds better. It's basically what the title says. I'm not good at sumaries, so don't judge fics by the sumary. You might like it. Rated PG because little kids go "ewww, mushy stuff!", nothing else. Please r/r. "Moe

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. That belongs to Toei, Saban, Bandai, FoxKids, and whoever else owns them. Pokémon belongs to Nintendo. All other characters are property of their rightful owners, too. I'm not making any money off of this, so don't sue me. I do, however, claim Shadomon, BlackSalamon, JaiGizamon, and other Digimon I've created. Plus I claim Nariko and her race and Kristi (wait a second…how can I claim myself?).

"Indicates speech"

'Indicates thought'

Indicates telepathy

Kristi's Flame

I looked up from my sketch of Suikun and Ninetails's Ice Beam and Flame-thrower attacks colliding and making a puddle on the battleground. The kid behind me was snoring. I jabbed him with my pencil eraser. English was kinda boring. Mrs. Tillman, our teacher, was really nice, though. She was letting us watch a movie about the book our class had just finished. I began to feel rather sick. The ache in my gut had always been there for as long as I could remember, but doctors never found a thing wrong with me. I clutched my stomach, hoping no one noticed how pale I'd become.

"Kristi? Are you all right? Would you like to sit outside for a moment?" Mrs. Tillman asked.

"Hai. Arigatou, Tillmon-sama," I replied, practicing my Japanese. She smiled. I walked out the door and down the hall, sitting on the concrete just outside the school doors. I felt even dizzier. My eyes fluttered and my lips felt dry. I sank into a strange unconsciousness.

* * *

When I woke up, I was in a strange jungle-like area. 'Oh, wonderful,' I thought. 'Some lunatic's kidnapped me.' I raised myself to a sitting position. There was no one, not even a monkey or alligator. I figured I was alone. Just then, a loud sound reached my ears. Some one was shouting, "Fire Rocket!" I ducked as low as I could, not wanting to be in the rocket's path. I belly-crawled towards the sound. Several strange-looking creatures were fighting.

One stood on four legs and reminded me of a Griffin. It had a mask over its head and two small wings that couldn't possibly support such a creature. But, it flew through the air carrying a girl on its back.

Another was like a flying horse or some sort of Pegasus. It carried a young kid, though it was too far away for me to be able to tell exactly how old he was. It wore a strange armor on its face, chest, and feet.

A third was like a flying cat or Sphinx. This one, I could tell, was female. She carried a girl with short brown hair and shot stone tablets that she called "Rosetta Stone".

Another one was like a bug or something. It had wings and was incased in yellow armor. No one was riding this one.

The one closest to me was the one who used a Fire Rocket. He had strange, fire-theme armor on. Apparently, this armor kept him from burning up when he was engulfed in a flame.

Another, different sort of creature flew about in the skies. It was like a long, sinewy dragon with no hands or feet. It blasted powerful black ball of energy it said was a "Spinning Needle". That was one more thing I could do without. I hate needles.

Inching closer, I managed to figure out that it was a group of five human kids against one; he controlled the flying dragons. From what I could tell, it was a rebellion or something. I raised myself to my elbows, trying to see over the high grass better. What a mistake. The fire creature turned to look at me; no one else had noticed.

"What the…? Arrrg!" he yelled as a Spinning Needle hit him. I wondered if that armor was strong enough to block it. Apparently, that didn't matter. The blow sent him flying towards me. The first time he hit the ground, I saw his left ankle give out in a twisted position. Somehow he maintained his momentum and bounced again, this time he looked like he'd hit me. I put out my right hand to try to stop him from flattening me. That, too, was a mistake. I managed to keep from being squashed, but my wrist seemed to jam, then give out. I yelped with pain.

"Hey!" a kid with spiky hair and goggles yelled. "Who're you?" He didn't seem the least bit concerned about the creature that had nearly hit me. He ran at me; I just sat still and waited. One of the flying dragons flew behind him and picked up something that had fallen from his pocket. "Gimme back my D-Terminal!"

I groaned in pain. My wrist had already swollen to nearly twice its ordinary size. The pain was immense. The flying dragons decided to leave. I looked up, trying to see though the tears of pain that stung my eyes. "Get it over with," I said. "Just…just get it over with."

"What?" the kid standing over me asked. The other four ran over. The large creatures who'd been fighting glowed and shrank. The Griffin became a hawk with an Indian feather. The Pegasus became a sort of hamster with bat wings for ears. The Sphinx became a cat with unusually big ears and a long, striped whip of a tail. The bug changed to a large yellow thing that was almost like an armadillo. Nothing happened to the fire creature.

"Hi. I'm Kari. What's your name?" said a girl with light-ish brown hair and brown eyes. I grunted in pain, but refused to speak. "Well," she said, undeterred at my silence, "that's T.K., that's Yolei, that's Cody, and that's Davis in front of you." She gestured to each of the kids around her. "This is Gatomon; she's my Digimon."

"Digimon…" I repeated. "What in the world's a Digimon?"

"Well, uh, we're not really sure," the kid she'd called T.K. replied. "It means 'Digital Monster'. This is Patamon." He pointed to the hamster with wings.

"I'm-" stared the yellow armadillo.

"Wait. Let me guess. Armadillomon, right?" I said.

"Yeah, but how'd you know?" He had a thick Texas accent.

"Lucky guess," I muttered.

"I'm Hawkmon."

"That's Flamedramon. He should've De-Digivolved back to Veemon by now," Davis said. I blinked. What in the world was a Veemon?

"We still don't know your name," Yolei stated. Her hair was, of all things, a dusty purple color.

"Kristi," I said, very slowly. I wasn't sure weather or not to trust them. I looked at the large creature they'd said was Flamedramon. A long, sharp blade jutted sharply from his nose, like a rhino's horn. If you could get past the fact that he was a human-sized dragon in armor, he might have been pretty hansom. Maybe. His left ankle was a lot bigger than the other. "Looks sprained," I said, nodding at him. "Gotta hurt."

"Ouch," he moaned, as if to prove me right. I looked at my own wrist. It seemed to be swelling even more than a moment ago. I touched it, wincing in pain. I gritted my teeth. We all sort of stared at things for a moment, before Davis decided to move Flamedramon to a safer location. I offered to help, considering that if I hadn't looked up, he wouldn't have seen me, but they said I shouldn't use my wrist since it might be sprained or broken, too. It took all five of them to lift and carry him.

They moved through the forest quickly, in spite of the dense brush. Sometimes, the Digimon had to cut a path. I held my wrist tightly, trying to keep it from jarring. They stopped in a small clearing and declared to stay there for a while. I sat against one of the many trees. The ground here was a mixture of sand, rocks, gravel, and the occasional blade of grass. Gatomon took some vines and sliced them into thin strips with her claws. She handed them to Kari and Yolei, who made a sort of bandage for my wrist. It held tightly. Davis and Cody, who wasn't very talkative, had to work together to get Flamedramon to let them fix his ankle. I smiled. 'Typical guy,' I thought to myself. 'He knows it'll help, but he won't let 'em near 'im.' I wondered what time it was.

As if on cue, T.K. pointed out that it was extremely late and they should be getting back home. 'Maybe you have someplace to go,' I thought bitterly. 'You're lucky you do. I don't even know where I am.' I opened my mouth to ask, then decided against it. After all, why would they answer me? The pain in my wrist was still like a hot knife. I'd never injured myself that badly before. Maybe because I'm always so cautious. I watched them debate what to do about the two invalids among us. Flamedramon wouldn't be able to return with them unless he De-Digivolved, which he refused to do. Something about "loosing the DigiEgg if there wasn't a D-Terminal to store it in". I couldn't go, either, because their parents would wonder who I was. Tomorrow was Saturday, so they'd have all day to figure out what to do.

Soon after they left, the sun began to sink. I watched the sky turn gold, then orange, then pink, then purple, then black. The stars came out, but they weren't the familiar stars I'd seen out my bedroom window at home. They were brighter and clearer, and the pale wisps of clouds never completely blocked their light. I leaned against my tree and shivered. I took a small submarine-shaped whistle from my pocket and played a warbling scale up and down. It was the only thing I knew how to play. Across the clearing, Flamedramon was trying to position himself so he didn't hurt his ankle. I watched for a moment, slightly amused, then told him how to prop his foot up on the other so it didn't hurt as bad. He nodded and copied what I'd shown him. He grinned at me, showing white pointed teeth. I shivered again.

* * * Morning * * *

I raised my head and tried to push myself up, only to have a painful reminder that I'd injured myself the day before. "Yeow! Ouchies-ouchies-ouchies! That hurt!" I yelped, forgetting the large Digimon sitting five feet away. I sprang up, without using my hands, and started to hop from one foot to the other, all the time yelling about the pain.

"Well, you could try being quiet," a voice said. "I can't sleep."

"Huh?" I asked. "Oh, sorry. I forgot about you, Flamedramon." I sat back down. "Know what? I'm hungry."

"Sorry. I'm all out of food myself." I yawned. It was probably about ten or twelve, judging by the sun. I'd slept in late. A rustling sound came from a bush to my left. I chunked a rock into it with my good hand, and Gatomon bounded out.

"Well, if you don't want me around, just say so," she said. I grinned. The rest of them came out from roughly the same spot. Yolei had brought a bag of food from her parents' convenience store. I pulled out a small glob of rice covered in cellophane.

"What in the world is this?" I asked.

"A rice ball, silly. What's it look like?" Yolei asked. I shrugged.

"Why would your parents have rice balls in a store? I thought rice balls were Oriental food."

"Well, maybe it's because we live in Japan!" she snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute," I said. "If you're from Japan, how can you be speaking English?"

"I'm not," she replied.

"Uh, yeah, you are, 'cause otherwise I wouldn't understand you."

"You only understand English? Then how on Earth are you speaking Japanese?"

"It must be the Digital World," Cody said. "Izzy told me that the Digital World was a bunch of computer data given life and a solid form. The Digital World must be translating all of this so we can understand each other."

"So, what you're saying, is that while I'm speaking in English, you're all hearing Japanese?" I asked. He nodded. I didn't know who 'Izzy' was, but he must've been a pretty smart kid. I ripped the plastic off my rice ball and bit into it. I chewed, swallowed, and bit off another chunk. It was gone in three bites.

"And I thought I was a pig!" Armadillomon said. I grinned and licked my lips. Rice balls were pretty good, especially if you were starving. I pulled out another and chunked the bag at Flamedramon. He caught it and got himself a candy bar.

"We would've been here sooner, but Davis just had to watch Pocket Monsters. Again," Kari said. I glared at her.

"I happen to like Pokémon!" I snapped, glad that I knew the Japanese name. "'Sides, I slept in late, anyways." I yawned, making a long, high sound the way my dog used to when she yawned.

"We need to get my D-Terminal back," Davis said, changing the subject. "If we don't, Flamedramon won't be able to De-Digivolve."

"That Digimon Emperor makes me so mad!" Yolei cried, striking her hand against a tree. "Even if he is cute." I gave her an odd look. The kid that had controlled the flying dragons was not cute. Not in the least.

"We should split up and try to find him," T.K. announced. "Kari and I will go one way, Cody and Yolei will go another, and Davis will stay put."

"Wha? There's no way I'm letting you get Kari, K.T.!"

"It's T.K." There was a short pushing-shoving match, then they broke it off. T.K. had apparently won, because they split up the way he'd suggested. I sat against my tree. Davis paced this way and that, like a caged animal.

"Davis doesn't like being left out, does he?" I asked.

"Nope," Flamedramon said. I watched a cloud shift and change from a rabbit to a crocodile.

"You said you like Pocket Monsters," Davis started. "Who's you favorite? I like Pikachu."

"Ninetales."

"Who?" I thought for a moment, trying to remember Ninetales' Japanese name.

"Kyoukon. You know, yellow fur, fire-type fox, nine tails, evolves from Vulpix. I mean Rocon." I saw the crocodile-cloud become a long wisp, then vanish.

* * * Cody & Yolei * * *

Cody struggled to hold on as Halsemon flew through the air at an alarmingly fast speed. He was struggling because Armadillomon's sharp claws kept digging in to his ribs, and his short arms wouldn't quite reach around Yolei's waist. His yellow D-3 beeped. "Hey, I think we just found Davis's D-Terminal."

"Slow down, Halsemon!" Yolei yelled over the rush of the wind. Halsemon set down at the edge of some water and reverted to Hawkmon. The D-3 beeped again, louder this time, and showed a red blip out in the water. "Is it under the water, or on top of it?" Yolei asked, peering over her younger friend's shoulder.

"I don't know," Cody replied. "Maybe Submarimon and I should check it out. Digi-Armor Energize!"

"Armadillomon! Armor-Digivolve to…Submarimon, Guardian of the Sea!" Cody climbed into the cockpit on his Digimon's back and grabbed the controls. Even though Submarimon could steer himself perfectly well, Cody found it comforting to know he could help. The big white Digimon dove under the water and glided calmly along the bottom.

'We shouldn't be going so slowly,' Cody thought to himself. 'But then, maybe Submarimon's looking for something. I shouldn't interfere.' The Digimon was, in fact, just enjoying himself as he dove deeper. He found it much easier to swim in deep water than along the surface, because he wasn't constantly hitting the air and slowing himself down. Submarimon leveled off about fifty feet down, where the water began to get dark. He swam in a zigzagging course, looking for a cave or other odd thing.

"Cody! Did you see that?" Submarimon asked the young boy riding inside him.

"Yes. Look!" He pointed Submarimon's nose at a group of Seadramon coming out of an underwater cave. Submarimon swam closer, trying to keep quiet and unnoticed. The Seadramon all wore Dark Rings around them, like the Airdramon. They never even stopped to glance at the odd white Digimon that slipped inside their cave. Submarimon poked his long nose up in an air bubble.

"Well, I'll be! This looks like an underwater base for the Digimon Emperor."

"We'd better tell the others, and fast!" Submarimon dove under again and swam out. The Seadramon, however, noticed them this time. They were extremely fast and agile in the water.

"Ice Blast!" The attack froze Submarimon's entire back half, just barely covering the holes he shot his Oxygen Torpedoes out of. He rolled to one side and rubbed against the rock bottom. The ice came off in little bits and chunks. He repeated the procedure with the other side, until his cannons were free. However, they had slowed down considerably, and the Seadramon had them surrounded.

"Oxygen Torpedo!" The bubble of air hit a Seadramon in the face. It turned sideways and shook its big head. "Submarine Attack!" Submarimon cried, shooting out many smaller torpedoes. They hit the Dark Ring and it exploded into tiny bits of data. The Seadramon turned and attacked another Seadramon, who attacked another. The Dark Rings fell apart and disappeared.

"Let's hurry, Submarimon." The white Digimon shot though the water at an amazing pace. Just as he broke the surface, he slid open the hatch on his cockpit. Cody flew out and landed in a heap. A whitish glow surrounded Submarimon, then jumped into Cody's D-Terminal, leaving Armadillomon floundering in six feet of water. Hawkmon airlifted him out onto the sand, where Yolei was trying to help Cody dust himself off.

"Did you find anything unusual?" Hawkmon asked in his British accent.

"You bet we did!" Armadillomon said. "The Digimon Emperor's building himself a big underwater base with Seadramon guards."

"We need to get back," Yolei said.

"Please, not another ride. I'm gonna loose my lunch!" Armadillomon complained.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" Yolei yelled. Armadillomon and Cody both covered their mouths at the thought of another ride on Halsemon.

"Hawkmon! Armor-Digivolve to…Halsemon, the Wings of Love!" Yolei climbed on easily, then helped her two smaller, already airsick comrades onto Halsemon's back.

* * * Kristi * * *

By the time everyone was back, Davis had gathered enough firewood to start an Aggie bonfire. I'd asked him to help because I couldn't hold or lift much of anything, and Flamedramon was stuck. "Did anyone find something?" Davis asked quickly.

"We found the Emperor's underwater base," Yolei said. "There's a whole lot of Seadramon hanging around it, though."

"We didn't find anything, unless a black Digimon counts," Kari said. "It looked like a puppy. Here, I have a picture." She took the small digital camera from around her neck and passed it around. In the small frame, I could see a little black smudge in some tall grass, but nothing more.

"That's it?" I asked. "It's all fuzzy."

"Oh, sorry." She grabbed it, pushed some buttons, and handed it back. Now I could see a black face with two brilliant red eyes where the smudge had been. "I took it just before it paused to look at us when we stopped to rest, so it was moving." It did look like a puppy. A puppy with a wolf's mind. I passed the camera to Yolei.

"We need to get moving and find the D-Terminal, not look at a black Digimon," Flamedramon pointed out. "I'm taking way too long to heal because I can't De-Digivolve." Davis nodded his agreement. Yolei handed the camera to Hawkmon.

"Did you ever see a Digimon like this one?" she asked.

"No. Armadillomon?"

"Nope. Gatomon?"

"Not that I recall. Patamon?"

"I don't remember anything like that. Have you seen anything like this, Flamedramon?"

"Yes," he replied, squinting at the small picture. "It's a Shadomon. They're garbage eaters and don't usually come out in broad daylight." I wondered why anything would want to eat garbage, but I could identify with not coming out in bright light. I like the dark. I guessed it was like those African dung beetles. Flamedramon grunted as he stood up and balanced on one foot. "We should get moving."

"Woah, wait a minute. You're not going to be able to walk that far, and you can't become Raidramon," Davis said pointedly.

'What's a Raidramon?' I wondered silently.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" Kari, T.K., and Yolei all yelled at once. I watched, fascinated, as their Digimon glowed a bright whitish-gold.

"Gatomon! Armor-Digivolve to…Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

"Patamon! Armor-Digivolve to…Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

"Hawkmon! Armor-Digivolve to…Halsemon, the Wings of Love!" So, that's what I'd seen in the battle. Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, and Halsemon. They had names. Cody, Yolei, and Armadillomon climbed on Halsemon's back; Kari and I climbed on Nefertimon, and T.K. and Davis got on Pegasusmon. I wondered why Flamedramon didn't climb on someone's back, too.

"Hey, Flamedramon, why don't you get on?" Kari asked. He looked at her as if to say, 'I can't walk over there. How can I get on?' Nefertimon walked over and sat down in front of him. Her movements were gentler and smoother than a horse's, but when she sat down I nearly fell off. Davis climbed off Pegasusmon's back to help him on.

"Why did I have to be the one in the middle?" I complained good-naturedly. "I have to sit on my feet!"

"Be glad you're not falling off the back end!"

"Or the one carrying three heavy people!" I rested my eyes and ended up dozing off.

* * *

"Who're you?" I asked a girl in front of me. She didn't look like a human. "Are you a Digimon?"

"No."

"A human?"

"No."

"Then what? Alien?"

"No. I am a paradox; I should not exist. Like you should not be in the Digital World."

"Yeah, but I am. If that's what this place is called." I looked at her more closely. Her eyes were green, like mine, yet they shone with an inward fire that mine never seemed to catch. Her skin was milky-white and she wore a bright red sleeveless shirt and yellow shorts with an orange belt. She also had orange bracelets and yellow gloves and red high-heeled shoes. Her hair was only a bit below her shoulders, but it was the brightest red I'd ever seen.

"You will learn things about yourself you did not want to know. Should not know. You will learn them soon. And then you will regret it."

"Yeah, like I regretted that third slice of pizza." I cringed as I remembered the horrible stomachache I'd had. "Who are you?"

"My name is Nariko."

"You said you're a paradox. How come you shouldn't exist?"

"Because. Because, I am an exact replica of you and a Digimon melded together. I am psychic; that's why I'm in your dream."

"I'm dreaming?" Looking around, I realized it was probably true. After all, where else could you float in a vast expanse of grey clouds, surrounded by blue auroras?

"Yes. You are actually riding on Nefertimon's back, and you fell asleep."

"Oh." I yawned and felt that pre-awakening feeling, like I knew about both my dream and real life. "I'm waking up."

* * *

I yawned and slowly let my eyes flutter open. I was still on Nefertimon's back, and still kneeling, but something was different. I was leaning back against something warm. I realized my arms were folded and resting on some other warm, hard thing. Then it hit me: Flamedramon was holding me to keep me from falling off! I quickly sit fully upright, and was probably turning redder than the sunset. Luckily, Kari wasn't looking, and Nefertimon was slower than the others since she had to carry more weight, so no one else would see.

"You sleep well?" Flamedramon asked, leaning over my shoulder. I pushed his white nose back and nodded, faking a yawn so I didn't have to talk. I craned my neck up to see as far as possible. There were a few trees, but they were low and twisted by the wind. There was lots of grass, tall grass that probably tasted salty. Far ahead I could see white sand, and farther still, water.

"Is that an ocean?" I asked, pointing to the gleaming water.

"Nah, that's not an ocean. Just a big old salty lake," Flamedramon replied. I could now smell the rich, salty scent of the water carried on a gentle breeze. The wind lifted my long brown ponytail from my back. I took a deep breath.

"It's been a while since I've smelled salty air. Last time was about a half a year ago, when my parents and aunt and cousin and I all went to Galveston," I said. "I've almost forgotten it." We were over the white sand. Nefertimon landed gracefully about ten feet from the water. I slid off easily, landing with little more than a light thwump. Flamedramon fell on his bottom when he tried to get off; I guess he forgot about that ankle. Kari jumped off as easily as me. Everyone else was already ready.

"Let's go, Armadillomon. You'll have to carry us all in, since you're the only one of us who can swim that deep. Digi-Armor Energize!"

"Armadillomon! Armor-Digivolve to…Submarimon, Guardian of the Sea!" I watched the little, yellow armadillo become a big, white submarine with fins.

"I think I should go first, since I have a Digimon capable of Digivolving," Yolei pointed out.

"And what are we, kitty litter?" Gatomon whispered to Patamon, hiding her mouth with a big, orange-striped yellow paw. Her claws were pretty long, too.

"Let her go. At least she'll be quiet," Patamon answered. Yolei climbed in a little cockpit with Hawkmon. Cody decided he'd go, too, since there was still a little room. After much pushing, shoving, squirming, and rearranging, Submarimon managed to close the cover without hitting Yolei on the head, or catching one of Hawkmon's feathers, or something like that. When he came back, T.K. and Patamon got in. Kari and Gatomon received the next ride. I went next. The cockpit was smaller than it looked. I had to lay on my side and curl up into a tight ball to fit.

"You really need to grow a little!" I said. "There's hardly any room in here."

"Well, it seems bigger when you're only nine years old, 'cause Cody's never complained." Under water, however, the small size didn't seem to bother me. I pushed my face against the glass, or plastic, or whatever it was, and watched all sorts of things go swimming by. One of them even seemed to be a yellow and white dog with long ears. Submarimon said it was a Canomon, whatever that meant. A school of blue-purple fish swam by, their sides glittering in the filtered sunlight. The things I saw amazed me.

Too soon, however, the big Digimon's long nose broke the surface, and foul-smelling air rushed into my nostrils. I climbed out, unsteady after the minute or so of being coiled up like that. I leaned against a hard, rocky wall and caught my breath. The air here reeked of sewage, and sweat, and other disgusting things I couldn't place. Davis came next, followed by Flamedramon, who said he'd never do that again, because of all that water being pressed around him.

"They really need a clean-up crew in here. Or maybe some air freshener. Or perfume," Yolei complained.

"No!" I barked in a raspy voice. "I'm deathly allergic to perfume."

"Well, they need to do something about the smell!"

"There aren't any Shadomon down here," Flamedramon said bluntly. "If there were, this place wouldn't stink so bad. Shadomon seem to have some sort of way of keeping themselves clean, even though they like sewage and other things like that." We walked in a jumbled up group towards the sound of machinery and yelling. I hung towards the back, not feeling like I belonged or was welcome. Especially since Davis kept telling me to run away if I saw a strange Digimon or human, but told everyone else to fight. I kicked a loose rock at him. It skittered and bounced and jumped right against the back of his knee, which promptly buckled.

"Hey! What was that?"

"A rock, Davis," Kari said flatly.

"Who threw a rock at me? And, why would someone throw a rock at me?" he asked.

"Maybe because he's a jerk," Yolei whispered to me. "Good shot." I nodded. We kept moving after that, with only two more rocks hitting people. When we rounded a corner, I could see a boy with a whip in his hand, mercilessly hitting strange-looking creatures. They were small and fury, with orange above and white below. Along their backs were dark spines, and around their necks were black rings. I could also see a little worm-like creature; he didn't look very happy. He hid behind the boy's leg.

"Let's go!" Davis hissed. Gatomon became Nefertimon, Patamon became Pegasusmon, Hawkmon became Halsemon, and Armadillomon became Digmon, who was the strange yellow creature I'd seen on my first day. Flamedramon balanced on one foot and hopped this way and that, shooting little fireballs at the orange, spiny things. T.K. said they were Gizamon. They jumped and spun around and around, tackling our Digimon. Soon, a larger, more ferocious-looking creature appeared. He had big, rough-looking hands and feet. His long mouth was full of sharp teeth and his eyes burned an angry red. A long, thick tail hung behind it, covered in spikes to the tip, which had a big, scorpion-like blade on it. It looked like a big Gizamon, actually.

"Let's get out of here!" Nefertimon yelled, running and flapping her wings at the same time. "A JaiGizamon is not something to mess with! He's an Ultimate-level Digimon, and if he gets us in the water, we're toast." The Gizamon were grouping around the bigger Digimon. We didn't have to be told twice. We ran, bolting down a corridor that ended in a T. I was trying to help Flamedramon, so I didn't see the others turn.

"When in doubt, GO RIGHT!" I yelled, ducking into the smaller side hall. It was dark. I ran my hand along the wall, feeling for another doorway. I found it, and pulled Flamedramon in after me. I then walked down the twisting, winding hall blindly.

"Here, I think I can help." Flamedramon held up his right hand and started a little fire in it. The light shimmered and flickered, but at least we could see. I soon felt a thick, slimy muck seeping into my sandals. They were the kind with little spikes in the sole, so you always felt like you were walking half on air. The sludge squeaked between my toes and made slopping sounds as we walked. The Gizamon weren't following us, and the halls here were too narrow for JaiGizamon.

"Intruders!" a voice rasped. "Intruders in our sewers!"

"Yes! Intruders!" another replied.

"Eat them! Eat them!"

"Yes! Intruders! Eat them! Yes, eat the intruders!" chorused several voices. I pressed closer to Flamedramon, frightened by the notion of being eaten.

"There are Shadomon here!" Flamedramon hissed, brightening the fire. "See their eyes?" I could see several pairs of red pinpricks. "They're under the Emperor's control. They're just not being used at the moment."

"So, this Digimon Emperor, he just uses a Digimon, then throws it in his waste pipes? That's not right."

"Eat! Eat! Eat!" chimed the Shadomon. "Intruders must be eaten!"

"Uh, I don't exactly taste good," I offered. "I'm sour."

"EAT!" screamed a Shadomon behind us. "Eat! Eat!" I turned and kicked the sloppy mess at it. It ran a slimy paw across its eyes. I could see a Dark Ring on its foot.

"Hit them in the feet!" I whispered. "That's where the Dark Rings are." I had decided that the rings were how the Digimon Emperor controlled the Digimon. Flamedramon shot a small fireball at the pack in front of us. They jumped back, screaming. One of them rolled over, coating itself with slime. "You have to hit them! They're going to fire-proof themselves!"

"Moonlight's Shadow!" one of them yelled. Flamedramon shoved me against the wall, getting me out of the path of the black and white beam. I squealed in fear. The sloppy one shook himself, flinging sludge on everything. Several of them attacked together and hit Flamedramon squarely. I covered my eyes to prevent from being blinded.

"Fire Rocket!" I could see a huge column of fire shoot into the middle of the pack. When the smoke cleared, I saw Flamedramon being pounced upon by a dozen or more Shadomon. They were biting and clawing at him. "Run! Get out of here!"

"No!" I yelled. "I'm not leaving!"

"Well, well, well, isn't that sweet?" said a voice behind me. I turned to find the Digimon Emperor standing on the heads of two unhappy-looking Gizamon. "Shadomon, restrain them!" I felt several wet paws hitting me, over and over. I kicked out, blindly, in the dark. A Shadomon fell away with a satisfying yelp. There was total pandemonium for a moment or two, then I felt myself being dragged along by a chain around my neck. I coughed and choked on slime. The thick sludge dripped from my hair and eyelashes into my eyes, blinding me. I shook my head and pulled away from the horrible chain.

"Don't fight it," mumbled a soft voice beside me. "It doesn't hurt as bad." I spit slime at the sound. I found myself in a cage or something. I could barely see through the gunk in my eyes. I wiped at them with my dirty hands. A few feet away, I could see Flamedramon, in much worse shape than me. I squinted around, but there was no one else.

"Flamedramon?" I asked softly. My voice was cracking from all the screaming I'd done while fighting the Shadomon. Every time they'd bitten or sometimes even touched me, I'd yelled. I touched his shoulder with a mucky hand. His warm flesh shivered, but there was not other response. "Are you okay? Can you breathe? Can you talk?" I wiped my hands on my grimy clothes and tried to get some of the sludge away from his nose and mouth. He coughed several times and once even made a gagging sound, but never spoke or moved much. I couldn't seem to do much to help. I cried silently. The salty tears cleared my eyes.

I looked around with renewed vision. A bucket or something rested on the ground. I saw that it was about half-full of water. I knelt and touched my lips to it. Stale. Bitter. It was the best thing I'd ever tasted. "Flamedramon? Do you want some water?" I asked, knowing I wouldn't get an answer. But, he did manage to move his head in a soft nod. I looked at my sewage-covered hands, knowing I couldn't dip them into the water and expect to be able to drink it. I wiped them on my clothes again. Just then, a small worm came crawling though a doorway.

"Here. You might want these." He shoved a pan of something under the bars or our cage. The tray held cups with hot tea, a loaf of bread, and several rags. I took a rag and wiped my hands. "I'll bring a blanket." I wadded the messy rag up and grabbed another. I dipped this one into the bucket.

"Here," I said, nudging the wet cloth against Flamedramon's mouth. "Suck on this. It's water." He opened his mouth a bit, and I set the cloth partway in. I took another rag and tried to wipe off his arms and face. The instant I touched his shoulder, he cringed. "Hurt?" I asked. No answer. I looked at the slimy rag. "Yucky, huh?"

"Here's a blanket and some ice," the worm said. I hadn't noticed his return. I took the blanket and laid it gently over Flamedramon. I took an ice cube and sucked on it. The cold liquid trickled down my throat. I broke the bread in half and gulped down one piece in four big bites. The worm left.

"Uhhh. Oh, ow!" Flamedramon yelped. I gripped his arm tightly, trying to calm him down. "I'm hungry."

"You want some bread? Or how about a slimy rag?" I asked, trying to make a joke of the situation. He grabbed the fist-sized chunk of stale bread in one of his three-clawed hands and bit into it. He ate it in two bites. "Here, the worm brought tea." His long claws couldn't grasp the dainty cup.

"Dang-blast this stupid armor!" he snapped, yanking the long red-and-yellow armor from his hands. He grabbed the cup with amazingly human hands and gulped the tea. I swallowed my own without much thought. Then we passed the ice back and forth, grabbing chunks and crunching them until it was gone. I yawned and curled up on the edge of the blanket. "You're tired."

"Yeah," I replied, smiling weakly. What I wouldn't tell him was that I had a fever. 'Must'a been somethin' in that sewage.'

"Your face is red. Are you okay?" I nodded. "You sure?"

"I'm fine." I raised myself to a sitting position, and promptly fell over. "Well, mostly. I'm just tired." I pushed myself up again, more slowly this time. He laid one of his large, sapphire-colored hands against my cheek. I could see a short white claw on the end of each finger.

"You're feverish," he said. "You're not okay."

"I probably swallowed sewage." I refused to believe I was really that sick. A feeling in the pit of my stomach told me it was true, though. "I'm tired." I let my shoulders slump over.

"Here," Flamedramon said. "Wrap this around you." He pulled the blanket tightly around me. I tucked it around my legs. "You can lean against me." I nodded and leaned against the large Digimon, much the same way I had on Nefertimon. I yawned and let sleep come, feeling secure with someone so powerful next to me. Zzzzzz…

* * *

I'm not sure how long I slept. It was probably around two or three hours. What woke me up was a cool cloth toughing my face and icy, foul air against my skin. I tried to open my eyes and found them thoroughly gunked up. You know how when you're really sick your eyes sometimes get matted. I rubbed them and tried to get them open. The water that dripped from the cloth helped some. I pressed my hand to my cheek. "Fire," I mussed. "Must be over a hundred and two."

"What?" a deep, far-away voice asked. Not deep enough to bother me, but not high.

"Fever. My fever's high." I tried to speak loudly, but the sound wouldn't come. It was like my mouth was covered in slime. I felt around me, still blind, and tried to find the tattered blanket. It was under me. I pulled, and felt strong hands forcing me, gently, to relax. I felt the cold, wet rag tap my face again. It was getting lighter; my eyes must've been clearing. My vision was still extremely blurry, but I could tell there was something very close to my eyes. It looked sharp. "Hmm?" I asked myself. I felt of it with my fingertips. It wiggled a bit.

"Stop it," the voice said. It seemed to be coming from the oddly shaped object in front of me. I guess he didn't like it. I curled into a ball. The room reeked of acid. I felt sick. I needed a potty break. I tried to stand, mumbling about where to find a bathroom. I almost thought I was already in one; after all, it was cold and hard all around, and it smelled terrible. But, as my eyes adjusted, I saw that it was really a cold, hard cell.

'Oh, yeah, that's right, now I remember!' I thought to myself. 'The Digimon Emperor caught us, and I'm stuck in his dungeon with Flamedramon.' My fever must have fogged my mind a little. I spotted a little door, and found that it led to a bathroom with running water and soap. I, well, I did my business. "What time is it?" I asked, leaning against a wall. I felt along the wall, back to where Flamedramon still sat.

"I think it's about ten or eleven," Flamedramon said. "At night." I lowered myself into a half-sitting, half-crouching position. I put my head on my knees and groaned. I slouched sideways, and almost fell in Flamedramon's lap. I kept my balance, though. I did turn a bit pink, but in the half-light I don't think he noticed.

"Why do I have to be the one who always gets sick?" I asked, more to myself than to him. He shrugged. I figured the 'sharp thing' I'd seen was one of the small spikes that jutted down from his helmet. I felt like puking; it must have been the smell. I close my eyes and tried to sleep. I felt something pulling me against Flamedramon, but I was too weak to struggle. I didn't really mind, actually. Humans touching or hugging me I don't like, but then, Digimon aren't humans. I tucked my legs up against me tighter and leaned against him. I could hear him humming something; a lullaby, maybe.

I'm not quite sure how many times I woke up that night. Each time, though, I felt a little bit better. My eyes weren't so gunked up any more, and I didn't have any more memory lapses. By the time the worm came crawling in, I was able to move without becoming lightheaded and dizzy. I ate my bread, which, this time, had some sort of bean-ish flavor to it. I figured that the worm was a Japanese Digimon, and that what I was eating was anpan, or bread with bean curd inside. I licked the juices from my fingers. It wasn't all that bad, actually.

"I can't bring you too much tea, or my master will suspect something," the worm mumbled. "It's my job to look after the prisoners and keep this place clean, so I'd better get moving." Even though I hadn't seen nearly all of it, I figured that this thing was a huge fortress. Cleaning it must take forever.

"I actually pity Wormmon," Flamedramon said. "He's the only Digimon I know of to have to be partners with an evil human."

"Who? What?" I asked.

"The green worm is Wormmon. He's stuck serving the Digimon Emperor, who thinks that just because he's a little smarter than everyone else, he should rule the Digital World."

"Oh." 'Am I like that?' I wondered. 'Am I about to become like that? I am a bit bossy; who knows what I'll be like in a few years?' "You know, my wrist isn't as sore, and these slime-covered vines aren't doing any good." I tugged at the dry, brittle vines that wrapped around my right wrist. They came off easily enough. Flamedramon did the same with the ones around his ankle. I yawned. Flamedramon tried to start a conversation, but I'm not much of a talker. I'd nod, or say something like, "Yeah, uh-huh", or just stare at the wall. I knew that's one of the main reasons I didn't have any friends, but the friends I'd had before hadn't been very good friends. We were best friends from about first grade through fourth. Then they'd been real jerks in fifth grade, then okay friends in sixth, then they'd begun to completely ignore me in seventh grade, right before I'd moved. I didn't want something like that happening again. I'd been hurt once, and that was more than enough.

The morning dragged by. Close to what I figured was noon, I decided to ask Flamedramon if I could call him Flame instead, just for the sake of saving my breath. You want to know what he said? "Sure, you can call me anything you want, just don't call me stupid." I've said stuff like that to people before, when they wanted to know whether to call me Kristi or Kristina. I'm not that picky about my name. I fiddled with a string that hung from my sleeve. My shirt, when it was clean, was a mucky green-brown with thin bands of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The orange, green, and purple only occurred where red met yellow, yellow met blue, or blue met red. Right now, though, it was a nameless mud.

Around three, the Digimon Emperor decided to pay us a visit. Flamedramon stood up, in full armor, so that he'd be taller than him. I could stand, too, but I preferred to sit in a dark corner and remain unnoticed. I crouched on the dirty floor, glad that the kaki color of my shorts was stained a dark brownish-green. I could see something in his hands; a Dark Ring, probably. I didn't dare move. Even though he was clearly shorter than me, I was scared of him. 'What's wrong with me? I've always been so bold up against some one smaller. I've never even fought him, so how do I know he'd beat me?' I then noticed the whip at his belt. I mostly noticed it because he was casually reaching for it while he taunted Flamedramon.

WHAP! The movement was so fast I hadn't even seen what happened. I then saw that the whip was coiled around Flame's blade. He jerked his head back, yanking the Digimon Emperor forward against the bars of our cage. He hit the bars with a resounding fwang! and muttered something I couldn't understand. I'm not quite sure I wanted to understand it, either. Then it was a tug-o'-war, with each of them trying to smash the other silly instead of yanking them into a pool of dirty water. I watched it all in silence. Then, without my knowing why, I jumped in, yanking, pulling, and twisting the whip. The power balance shifted to our side, and he lost his hold on the whip. I sat down and began to methodically chew it, trying to break it into little bits.

"Go ahead and chew. It won't break so easily," he taunted. I stuck my tongue out and continued to gnaw. "Besides, you'll be too busy fighting in a minute to bother." I didn't understand. What did he mean by being 'too busy fighting'? I didn't have to wonder long. He flung a Dark Ring into the cage. Flamedramon immediately began to shoot at it, trying to burn the troublesome thing.

"Yow! Watch it!" I yelped, feeling a fireball fly past my arm. I tried using the whip, but I couldn't make it hit the Ring. It clasped itself tightly around his upper arm, just above one of the black leather bands. I blinked. 'That's what it does? Freaky. I didn't know rings could fly.' The Digimon Emperor snapped his fingers and the bars to our cage lifted. I jumped, without thinking, to hit him. Just before my fist connected, I was yanked back by my hair. I shrieked in pain. He laughed at me as I struggled to break free from Flamedramon's hold. I had taken Tae Kwon Do, and there had been a self-defense for being grabbed from behind, but I couldn't remember it.

"Wormmon, don't you think a battle should be held in an arena?" he asked, looking at the little green worm.

"I guess. What are you going to do?"

"I'll make them fight each other."

"But…but she's a human. She won't be able to withstand the attack of a Digimon for two seconds," Wormmon pointed out. He cringed when the Digimon Emperor glared at him. Flamedramon managed to drag me as far as the doorway, where I planted my feet. I wasn't going anywhere. Unfortunately, his strength was about twice mine, and he barely had to work to lift me. He bundled me up tightly against him and carried me. I kicked and squirmed, without any results but my own tiredness.

I was dropped on my butt in a huge room. I noticed a small room with windows overlooking it. I scrambled to my feet and backed away from Flamedramon, unsure of what that Dark Ring would make him do next. I was in a half-crouch, ready to leap to either side to avoid being hit. I waited for what seemed like hours, but was probably only moments, before I had to move. 'So, that's what he meant by being too busy fighting,' I thought. 'But, I was never very good in sparring matches.' I concentrated on keeping from being hit. Of the five or six attacks, only one hit me.

I was flung into a wall. It had merely been a hard shove, but I might as well have been shot out of a cannon. I leaned against the wall and tried to catch my breath. Flamedramon walked over to me, as calm and uncaring as if I had not been there, or had not been alive. "No," I rasped hoarsely. "No, don't. Don't do something you'll regret." He blinked at me placidly, as if he were deaf and didn't care. I stood against the wall, feeling its cold seeping through my clothes. "Well, if you're going to do it, get it over with." I stood tall and proud, ready for the fatal blow.

I cringed as his armored fist flew at my face. I never felt it connect, though. I opened my eyes to see a wall of bright yellow, and three long silver claws. The claws were around my head; they had narrowly missed my face and were digging into the cold tan stone. He grinned evilly at me. I felt the air around my face becoming unbearably hot. Then I realized that my end would come as a hot fire burning me to ashes. I noticed an orangy-golden glow surrounding the armor. I leaned forward a bit, so that my nose touched it, and threw my head back with a yelp. It was hot!

I whimpered in fear. "Please, don't," I whimpered softly. I expected it to have no effect, just like the rest of my words. But, to my amazement, he dropped his hand and stumbled away, as if he couldn't quite remember something and were more concerned with it than with where he was going.

"Flamedramon! What are you doing!?!? Get back there and finish her!" I heard the Digimon Emperor shout from inside his protective room. Flamedramon snapped to attention and whirled to face me. He leaped high into the air. His head almost hit the ceiling. I imagined that the tips of his ears were touching it. He hung there for a moment, suspended in midair. Then, he shot straight down at me in a burning column of flame.

He just barely missed me. Instead of the long blade on his nose hitting me, it rammed into the wall and became thoroughly stuck. The fire disappeared instantly. His long claws scrabbled at the rock wall. I could have just ducked and slipped away, but something held me back. I stood perfectly still, for fear of being raked by his claws. I could see his eyes, or at least one of them, because his head was parallel to mine. Instead of being kind and gentle, the way he'd looked when I'd first met him, they burned with rage and hatred. It was sad, the way something as simple as a ring could change some one so much.

I felt my eyes becoming hot and watery. I blinked to keep from crying. Crying was weak; crying was something to be avoided, which I did very well. But, not this time. I felt the tears spill over and run down my cheeks. I dropped my head and hoped he didn't see. But, how could he not, when he was less than six inches away? I saw one lone teardrop fall onto the bright red armor that covered his chest. The moment it hit, he stopped struggling. I wrapped my arms around his waist and cried.

"Please, don't do that. Humans are supposed to be strong," Flamedramon whispered, rubbing my back. I lifted my head and looked at him with my blurry eyes. "Get it off," he said, gesturing to the Dark Ring. I tugged at it, and it exploded into little black bits in my hands.

"Hold still," I instructed, taking the chance that my voice would work. I placed my hands around his blade, one on either side, and pushed. He pulled back, and it came loose with a shower if dirt.

"Fools! Do you think I wouldn't have a back up plan? Wormmon, get out there!" The little worm crawled out a door and gave us a mean look. At least, I think it was intended to be mean. It came out really funny, though. "Digi-Armor Energize!"

"Wormmon! Armor-Digivolve to…Togemogumon, the Storm of Friendship!"

"WHAT?" Flamedramon asked. "How'd he do that?"

"I have your D-Terminal. I simply accessed your DigiEgg of Friendship," the Digimon Emperor replied.

"He shouldn't have been able to do that," Flamedramon said to me. "That DigiEgg is supposed to only respond to true friendship. Davis couldn't even lift it until he learned what it really meant. And, I don't think he's friends with his Digimon." I nodded, even though I didn't fully understand.

"Hail Machinegun!" I yelped with fear as Togemogumon attacked. Flamedramon grabbed me and jumped out of the way. The sudden movement sickened me, especially since we were jumping really high, and I'm afraid of hights.

"Thanks," I breathed as he set me down.

"Stay out of the way, or you might get hurt," he said. He could be really nice at times, but other times he was all business. I watched them exchange attacks from behind a pile of rocks. Most of the time, though, Flamedramon was the one attacking, and Togemogumon defended himself with a Crystal Guard. I could see the larger Digimon beginning to weaken after each blow. Flamedramon, too, looked exhausted, but not nearly as bad. However, Togemogumon managed to get one clean shot in, right as Flamedramon was about to finish him. The force of the two combined attacks knocked the big porcupine down and threw the smaller dragon into the wall behind me.

"Flame!" I yelped. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm okay. Just a little tired. Can you finish it?"

"ME? I'm not gonna fight that thing. He's huge!"

"Please? I know you can. I'll let you use my armor so you can throw fireballs and jump higher." He gave me his hand and foot armor. I yanked them on, expecting them to fall right off. I have small hands. But, they stayed on, and, what was even cooler was that the slightest movement of my fingers moved the claws. "Just think about a fireball when you want one."

"Alright, I'll try. But, if he gets me, you pay the funeral costs," I said, trying to joke. He didn't think it was very funny. I jumped over the rocks. I expected to go high, but not up to the ceiling. I just barely missed it. When I landed, I found I wasn't as breathless as I'd expected. 'Now, what was it he said? Oh, yeah!' "Fire Rocket!" I yelled, just to be silly. The three little fireballs hit Togemogumon in the face. He wasn't fully recovered from the shock wave from the previous explosion of the two attacks combining, and he fell over and reverted into Wormmon. I scooped up the little worm in my arms and walked over to the Emperor.

"Stay back!" he yelled, holding a new whip. I didn't care. I set the worm down and walked back to Flamedramon.

"Here," I said, kicking the armor at him. "Let's go." I wasn't as hyper as I usually was after winning a fight. Maybe I was growing up. Or, maybe I was upset that some one else had been hurt. That wasn't like me, though. I wasn't a touchy-feely person; I usually didn't care two beans about others. I had when I was younger, but that had brought nothing but pain. I had long since quit caring for anyone other than myself and animals. Had I turned soft? Flamedramon and I walked out the door to the hallway.

We found the exit quickly enough. The afternoon air felt good, and the warm breeze lifted my hair from my neck. I took a deep breath. It smelled of rain "We came out in a forest," Flame pointed out. "I think I know of a cave around here. It looks like it's going to rain." He hopped up into a tree, glanced around, and jumped back down. "Yup. I found it. It's not more than a mile or two. Come on!" The outdoor air had lifted both our spirits greatly, and for a while we ran.

"Whoa, slow down. I'm getting tired," I panted.

"What? Tired already? But we're only halfway there."

"And I'm already half-way dehydrated!"

"Oh, alright, we can stop," Flame said, sounding like he really, really didn't want to. I sat against a tree and nearly fell asleep, I was so tired. "Come on, let's get moving." I shook my head and yawned. "I'm leaving," he warned.

"Go ahead. You won't be the first." I was used to being left behind, or left alone, or left out. I was used to being left, period.

"Okay, so I'm not leaving. We're leaving, even if I have to carry you!" And that's just what he did, too. I fell asleep in his arms and slept for a good, long time.

* * * Flamedramon * * *

He didn't really understand why he'd ever picked her up. After all, she wasn't his human. She didn't even seem to like Davis very much. 'But then, she doesn't like much of anything.' And, he could like some one without his consent. He glanced at her as she moved in her sleep and tried to be comfortable. 'It must be hard, sleeping like that.' He shifted her limp form in his arms so that her head rested more on his shoulder. She snorted and made a growl-like sound, but otherwise didn't seem to notice, or at least didn't care. He could have moved much faster without the added load, be something told him that he'd never live with himself if he woke her up. For once, the pained wrinkle between her eyes was relaxed and her mouth didn't turn into an angry scowl. He could, however, see faint lines between her eyes that showed her expression had been set like that for a long time, longer than he'd known her.

Taking a long breath that smelled of rain and lightning, he pushed harder through the forest. He'd never reach the cave at the rate he was going. As if on cue, drips of water fell on his head. Kristi wrinkled her nose as a drop hit it, then relaxed. 'Lucky thing she's a deep sleeper.' He leaned his head over hers to try and block the water. She shifted again and made a half-yawn, then reached up and gripped his shoulder tightly.

"Goof San'y. Glow s'eep," she muttered, wiping at a drop that hit her ear. The rain made little spots in the dirt that covered them. He stood as tall as he could and spotted a fallen tree. He ran to it and sat under it, because the tree was thick and had a lot of branched that kept out most of the water, but every now and then a drip would land on his nose. Somehow, Kristi hadn't woken up during the whole thing.

"You must be real tired then," he whispered. He leaned against her lightly, more to block stray drops than anything, at least that's what he told himself.

"San'y," she said again, talking in her sleep. "No…no San'y. F'ame. Goof F'ame. 'Ack." She reached up and touched the tip of his nose lightly with her fingertips. Then, as if she lost interest in her dream, she dropped her hand limply. It slipped off his shoulder and rested on his arm, causing him to turn pink under his armor. The rain let up and he continued to the cave.

* * * Kristi * * *

When I woke up, I was lying on my side in a cave with smooth, silver-grey stone walls. I rubbed my eyes sleepily. It was raining outside, but a slanted rock kept all the water out. A warm fire crackled invitingly a few feet away. I walked to the front of the cave and scooped some water in my hands. I rubbed at the grit on my face, arms, and legs. I drank some, too. That didn't help much for the hunger, but it was okay. I then remembered Flamedramon. 'Did he just drop me somewhere?' I wondered. 'He better not have.' Turning around, I saw that he was up against a wall, sound asleep. There was another shape in the shadows.

I walked closer, trying to look casual. Why, I'll never know. I guess it's just a habit. I saw that the 'shadow' was actually a girl who looked very similar to Nariko. I felt a twinge of jealousy. 'Stop it! You are not going to fall in love with a Digimon. You shouldn't care. Imagine what a relationship stronger than friendship hurts like when it breaks,' I scolded myself. She was using a Shadomon as a pillow, and was holding a little black puppy with a big gold collar in her arms as she slept. I went and sat at the mouth of the cave. I felt my eyes getting wet.

"Stop it," I hissed to myself. "You don't care." I tucked my legs up into a tight ball and wrapped my arms around them. I put my head on my arms and tried to hold back the tears. Somehow, this was worse than any of my little 'depression attacks'. Those I could stop; this I couldn't. I choked back a sob. The least I could do was not wake them.

I'm not sure how long I had been crying when something warm touched my back. I twitched and scooted forward an inch or two, shuddering at the thought of something touching me. "Hey," Flamedramon's deep, gentle voice said. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" I didn't answer. Maybe if I just sat still, he wouldn't bother me. Wrong. I should've known he'd be more persistent. I made a half-choking, half-coughing sound, followed by a few tiny whimpers. "What's wrong? Did I do something? Did you hurt yourself? What's wrong?"

I half-considered screaming 'What's wrong? Is that all you can say?', but didn't. Instead, I just shivered. The rain was coming down harder now; I could hear it, even if I couldn't see it. I felt his arm around my shoulders, and, for some reason, didn't pull away like I should have. I whimpered a little more. Why hadn't it stopped? I'd never cried this long before. Never.

Never is a long time, a voice in my head told me. Great, now I was going crazy, too! You're not crazy. I'm telepathic. I looked up and wiped at my eyes. The tears had stopped, but they were still wet. It felt good to look around.

"You don't look too happy," Flamedramon said, stating the oh-so-obvious truth and wiping my face with the back of his fingers. I then noticed that he didn't have on any of his armor. At first, it kinda surprised me. You know, like if you only saw some one in a dress, and then suddenly they were wearing jeans. That kind of surprised. Then, I noticed how really hansom he looked. I must have turned red.

"Kristi? Flamedramon? What're you two doing?" The voice sounded like the one in my head. I snapped my head around, and noticed that the girl didn't look similar to the girl I'd met in my dream, she looked exactly like her.

"Who're you?" I asked, forcing the sound out. I couldn't let a stranger think I was a softie.

"What, you don't recognize me?" she asked, sounding hurt. "I'm Nariko. Like I said, I'm psychic. Maybe I should explain myself a little better."

As it turned out, Nariko was from a race of human-Digimon meldings. There was one for each team of DigiDestined and their Digimon. She said that each of them was from the bond that Digimon and their human partners shared, and that when the bond was broken, their physical shape disappeared, and that their minds floated freely in a grey-blue space until that bond was restored. She said that, though I wasn't a DigiDestined, Digimon would play a big part in my life. She had all of our memories, Flamedramon's and mine. And, she could communicate with us telepathically if we were close or asleep.

"Would you like something?" she finished. "I have some dried berries." I stuffed my face with them. "The yellow ones are the best. They're health-berries. Those are relax-berries, those are mint-berries, those are burnt-berries, those are ice-berries, and those are just plain old berries," she said, pointing to each color. I liked them all, actually.

After we ate, Nariko introduced us to her two companions, Shadomon and BlackSalamon. She said the BlackSalamon was a un-Digivolved, virus version of Gatomon. "Virus? You mean she's sick?" I asked, hoping it was a Digimon-only disease and I wouldn't catch it. "And, what's a 'un-Digivolved'?"

"I think this would be easier if I showed you, instead of telling you," she replied. I stared, dumbfounded. "I'll telepathically give you the knowledge. You don't mind, either of you?"

"Why should I mind? It's her brain."

"Well, it was originally your intelligence, Flamedramon. I just have it because I copied your thoughts."

'Intelligence?' I thought. 'I'm not quite sure you'd call him intelligent. Kind, maybe, but not intelligent. Not really stupid, more like naive. Why am I talking to myself like I'm another person? Gah. I'm the only one who ever going to know about what I'm thinking.'

Except me, Nariko pointed out. Blast! I'd forgotten she was psychic. "Do you want me to teach you about Digimon?" she asked out loud. I shrugged and nodded. "Okay, this may feel a bit weird, and you'll be confused for a bit, but it won't hurt." At least, I don't think it hurts, she told me silently. I blinked. She pulled the glove from her right hand. I shuddered as her fingers touched my forehead. She wasn't really a human, but it was close enough. I hate it when people touch me. I felt a tingle of energy, then…

Ack! I couldn't reach! It was just a table; how come I couldn't get the food? My stomach rumbled. A human voice was saying, "Sit still, Chibimon, or mom's gonna see you!" I sat and pouted. It wasn't fair. I didn't get to eat until they were all through, and I was the one fighting in the Digital World…

I was bigger now. I could feel it. More strength, more power, and, best of all, I could reach the tabletop with only minor difficulty. If there had been a tabletop to reach, that is. There aren't many tables in the Digital World. I kept my fists clenched as I walked. A Gotsumon blocked the road ahead. Gotsumon? Wha? Oh, Gotsumon. Right. I heard a human saying, "Should we have them Digivolve?" and another replying, "No, it's just one Gotsumon.". The first human looked at me. "Alright, Veemon, go for it!" I charged and Vee Headbutted him…

Woah! I was tall! Taller than the humans. 'No time to think about that,' I chided myself. I looked up at the flying dragons, the Airdramon. "Flame Fist!" I yelled, throwing a ball of fire at them. Then, I jumped high – wow, it sure felt great to be in the air – and came down on the nose of one in a Fire Rocket…

Run! Yes, run! Cary the humans, and RUN! I felt myself taking the long, effortless strides of a Raidramon. Raidramon? When I crossed my eyes, I could see a lightning-shaped yellow-and-silver blade. I felt my tail swing and act as a rudder while I turned. Run! Run! Run. Run. Run…run…

I jarred back into reality. 'Woah, that was weird!' I felt my head swim, like I was in a complicated lesson or something. I felt I knew things, things I really shouldn't know. "What…urg!" I yelped in pain as my head began to feel like it was exploding. I staggered and took a step back, clutching my head, and bumped into Flamedramon. He grabbed me and helped me stand.

"What did you do to her?!" he yelled. Why couldn't he be quiet? I made a soft, painful whimper in response to the noise. "What's…what's wrong with her?" At least his voice was calm. Even through the pain, I could hear a concerned, caring note in his voice.

"I didn't think she'd have such a reaction to memory transference. She didn't yell when I spoke to her telepathically, so I thought she could handle it. I don't remember what it was like when I first got both of your memories very well. I'd forgotten the pain."

"What can we do?"

"Nothing," she replied. "Just let her rest; she shouldn't take too long to recover." I felt Flamedramon forcing me to sit. He sat down, too, and pulled me up against him. I winced at the pain movement caused. I could feel a gentle, half-hearted movement as his arm slid around my waist.

"Try to sleep," he suggested. "You might not feel the pain as bad." I whined a soft protest, but obediently leaned against his shoulder and closed my eyes.

* * *

When I managed to pull myself from a deep slumber filled with all sorts of strange Digimon, I noticed that Flamedramon was still holding me, even though he was asleep and half-snoring. If I even so much as wiggled, he'd tighten his grip on me a bit, then relax when I sat still. With the thought of 'maybe he's not really asleep' in my mind, I cocked my finger and thumped his hand. No response. I squirmed away and went to sit by the entryway. The rain came down harder now, in sheets instead of droplets. "I'll bet it's just pity," I whispered to myself. "He can't really care about me." The thought was rather saddening, and I felt the burning that told me I might cry in my eyes.

"Besides," I said, trying to reason, "you live in completely different dimensions." I'd learned that from the memories Nariko had given me. "And, you're not the same species. It'd just be too weird."

And, what, might I ask, is so wrong with being weird? Nariko asked. People call you weird. I am weird, no matter how you reason it out.

'Well,' I thought, feeling that it might be better to communicate silently, 'it wouldn't work. No long-distance relationship has ever worked, as far as I know. 'Sides, how'd you feel if you couldn't be seen in public, just 'cause the guy you're with happens to be blue?'

Ha ha ha! she laughed in my head. You sound just like…oh, what was her name? Kitty, wasn't it?…in that story you read. Wouldn't let herself like a guy 'cause he looks weird.

'Heh heh, yeah, I guess. Maybe.'

How'd it end?

'You know how it ended, just as good as I do.'

So?

'So, what? They didn't have jillions of miles separating them.'

So?

'So! Will you quit 'so'ing me? I'm not a dress!'

"I'm gonna go to bed. G'night." I turned and watched as she climbed into her woven-reed bed. I wondered if she hadn't gotten my know-how on weaving, and Flame's patience. I could weave a whole closet full if I had the time and patience. I then thought that if she knew what I thought, why couldn't she know what Flame was thinking? I know good and well what he thinks. Believe me, some times I really, really wish I didn't. Besides, it's not my place to tell you; it's his.

Tell me what? That I wasn't good enough? That I stank (which, at the moment, was quite literally true)? 'How come I'm the one who's always on the blunt end?' I wondered. 'People judge me jus' 'cause I don't look or dress like them, and they hate me for it.' Then, I realized that I was acting exactly like them. 'This is what Nariko meant about 'learning something I didn't want to know': I'm not different; not in the least. I'm still judging by looks. They say love can bridge any gap – no matter how big. Well, you can test that.' But, when I looked back, my 'firm resolution' turned to jelly. I couldn't risk breaking any sort of bond between us. 'Maybe he will get the same idea I did, but follow through.' I tucked myself into a tight ball and slept.

* * *

A loud thunderclap woke me. Flash! Lightning! 'One-thousand one…' BOOM! 'Too close!' I whined softly in fear. I rushed towards the back of the cave and coiled up in a corner full of something warm. When I squinted and cocked my head, I could make out the shape of Flamedramon, asleep on his side, with his hands clenched over his ears. I laid down with my back to him, my head tucked up under his chin. "Flame…?" I asked. "Flame?"

"Morph…hmm? Wha?" He squirmed and hit my head. BOOM! "Yak! Thunder!"

"Um, yeah. That's why I'm over here."

"Really?" I could finish that old line easily enough: 'what, you mean it's not my good looks?'. I nodded and curled up tightly again. "You storm-shy or something?"

"Yeah."

"You sure do say 'yeah' a lot."

"Yeah, well, it's a teenager/Texan thing."

"You did it again!"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Now you did it!" I doubled over laughing. Lightning illuminated the cave, followed twenty seconds later by brrrm-rrrrm-umrrm. "Four miles. Still striking distance," I mumbled. He gave me a look I couldn't quite place, but it looked like pity, confusion, admiration, and begging all rolled up. 'Admiration? Yeah, right!'

"You look scared," he pointed out. He was only stating a fact, not poking fun at my fear. I was probably whiter than him. "Com'ere." He held his arms open, as if he expected me to sit in his lap or something like that. I used his lap as a pillow instead. "Okay, this works too." I could feel his hand – which was amazingly gentle – rubbing my back. I actually liked it.

By morning, the storm had stopped and left a fine mist over everything. We went outside as the first golden rays began to peek over the horizon. I guessed it to be around seventy or seventy-five degrees. "Everything smells so fresh! Except us…we smell like over-ripe tomatoes!" I joked.

Flame cocked his head – still without its armor – and gave me a funny look. "Race ya down to that bamboo forest!" he laughed, pointing to a golden-green area to my lower left. I bolted after him, but without success. "Slowpoke!"

"Fast-poke!" I called back. I caught him at the edge of it, and, even though I knew he'd let me, it felt good. It felt good to run.

"I have a surprise. Want it?"

"Depends on what it is." I'd been given more than my share of snakes, crickets, and other things intended to freak girls out, without success. I caught crickets and tadpoles and the like for the fun of it in the summer.

"You'll like it."

"Alright," I said, not too comforted by those oh-so-infamous words.

"Close your eyes. I'll lead you, and you're just going to have to trust me." I shrugged and obeyed. I felt him grip my shoulders and push. I responded with a quick step. It took us a little while to get coordinated enough to move easily, but it did work. The wet leaves slapped me a lot. Then, I felt open air around me. "Okay, look."

"Whoa…" was all I managed. It was a tiny pool, no more than eight feet wide at the center, and sort of egg-shaped, but it was so pretty. The warm morning sunlight glistened off it and reflected onto the leaves and flowers that hung over it in places. I could see a bunch of little fish in a rainbow of color flitting just beneath the calm surface. A vine dangled almost directly in front of me. Had the pool been deeper, I might have been tempted to swing in, but I judged it to be no more than two or three feet at its deepest, and I don't like wet clothes. I just stared and, after a moment, asked, "How'd you know where this was?"

"It's a pool I used to swim in when I was a Chibimon. I haven't been here in a while; I'm surprised it hasn't changed."

'Chibimon?' I wondered. 'Oh, oh, Chibimon. Jeez, I gotta learn how to use those memories I got.' I remembered the small, blue creature that couldn't reach the tabletops. The one who was always hungry. I could form a rough, sketchy picture from bits of memories of mirrors and lakes and other shiny objects. A small body with a too-large head and too-small arms, big ears and a long tail, that's what Chibimon was. I sat down on the soft leaf litter and leaned against a bunch of bamboo. It bent a little, but it held fast. Flamedramon sat down beside me.

"I just now realized that I'm really, really hungry," he said, laughing like it was really funny.

"Yeah," I said, half-smiling. I don't usually show too much emotion, and my face sometimes seems eternally frozen in a thoughtful, don't-bother-me look. Even without trying, I can't be read like an open book the way some people can. If I really try, I just look dark and angry.

"Something wrong?"

"No. Well, sorta. I miss my pets. And my games. But, it doesn't matter, does it? It doesn't matter."

"It does too matter! It matters a whole lot!" I covered my head with my arms; I've come to expect a harsh blow along with loud words. "What's wrong with you? I'm not going to hit you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Well, old habits die hard," I said. "Not everyone is as nice as they look, you know." He cocked his head, as if he didn't understand what a mean person was. "Look, back home, if I got in trouble, I was yelled at. Sometimes, it stopped at that. Other times, well…" I trailed off and slapped my shoulder. "Not fun. Especially if you have extra-sensitive nerves."

"I'm guessing you had it tough."

"Not what most people would call tough. I wasn't starving. I was making good grades. I had some pets who weren't starving. I wasn't what people classified as 'hurt'. Not by their standards, at least. I've learned how to hide myself, though. I'm nearly silent all through the day. A word here, a sentence there, a paragraph every now and then, too quiet to be normal, but it hides anything." I pulled my legs up to me and hugged my knees.

"Hmmm," he mumbled, as if I didn't explain myself clearly. I closed my eyes and tried to block out everything, to go into a half-trance like I did when I was really bored. "Didn't you have friends?"

"Not what I'd call friends. They were only my friends when it served them well. Otherwise, I was just a nuisance. I moved away from them, though, and I never talk to them now. Personally, I'd rather take on a whole army of enemies that I knew were my enemies than to have some one like that pretending to be my friend."

"That's worse than being starving or stupid."

"You sound like some crazy counselor." I laughed a joyless laugh that came out as a half-bark. "Either that, or you're a nutcase trying to be a prophet or something."

"I'm not trying anything. Who needs to try, when you're already something ten times better?"

"Huh?" I asked. I didn't get it.

"I'm not an easy one to shake off. You ought'a at least know that. I don't abandon my friends, and I don't expect anything more." I let him put an arm around my shoulders, even though I didn't really want to be comforted. I didn't deserve comfort; I'd learned that a long time ago. "Why don't you ever relax? What could possibly happen if you did?"

"The world would end," I answered sarcastically. "It's one of those laws of nature: I'm a tense person, and I don't let down for anything. The loneliness doesn't hurt like the heartache of a lost friend, even a false one."

"Mmmm, true. Don't you ever want a friend?"

"Nah, I don't forget easily. The pain's still fresh."

"I bet I can make you laugh."

"Go ahead. What would it prove?"

"That you can laugh."

"I know I can; you don't need to prove it."

"So?" He started tickling me. I slapped his pale-indigo hand away. "Why don't you loosen up?"

"You're not helping." I was getting grumpy from hunger. "Got something to eat?"

"Um…" he looked around, "yeah, hold on." He got up and pulled a bright, yellow-orange mushroom from the water's edge. "Here. It's not poisonous." He pulled it in half and stuffed one part in his mouth and offered me the other. "Phere. Eaph." I think he was saying, 'here, eat', but he had a mouthful, so I couldn't tell. I took it and bit off a nibble. It was good enough, for a mushroom, that is. I stuffed the rest in my mouth and felt better as I ate it.

"Sorry I was acting so snappish," I muttered, lowering my eyes to my toes, which were poking over the edge of my sandals.

"You were hungry. It's normal," he replied sitting down beside me again. I licked my lips and tasted the mushroom again. "I'm getting bored. Wanna do something? Race? Tag? Hide-'n'-seek?"

"Nah. I'm kinda tired."

"'Cause you're bored. Get up!" The last part was a play-command. I jumped up and shoved him and ran into the thick forest. The sticks of bamboo were dry and stiffer than ever, and I couldn't push through them very fast. "Gotchya!" Flame said as he pulled me against him. I squirmed and twisted around so I could use my arms. Instead, they were expertly pinned between us, and were useless. I relaxed and leaned on him, forcing him to support me. "You're pretty heavy."

I could have come back with a 'I'm prettier when I'm lighter' joke, but I didn't. Somehow, it didn't seem right. "You got what you wanted; I'm relaxed." I felt him gently rub my back, but I made no move to get away. I was able to stand on my toes and see eye-level with him, but I bent my knees a little so that I was noticeably shorter. 'Why aren't I pulling away? What's wrong with me?' I couldn't seem to order myself to move.

"You're it!" he yelled, suddenly pushing me away. I stood back up and chased him, racing down the path he made. "Can't catch me!" It was true, too. I was slow compared to him. Compared to most anyone, for that matter. I stopped and panted heavily. "What, am I too fast for you?" I nodded. "Too bad. I guess this game's out."

"I…don't…like…to…run," I panted. "Let's go…let's go back." I turned and walked in the general direction of the cave.

"No, it's this way," he said, walking at about a thirty-five degree angle to me. I trotted to catch up and fell into a light step. "You would've been walking for two or three days before you came out in that direction."

"Oh." I felt stupid. 'Leave it to me to pick the wrong direction.' I wasn't very happy with myself. True, there was no harm done, but I'd just made myself look like a fool. 'And in front of Flamedramon, too!' my mind scolded. 'Gah, why do I care?'

"Kristi? Are you listening?"

"Huh? Wha? Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm listening," I said, snapping out of my daze.

"Some Digimon you'd make. You're so busy thinking, you weren't paying attention."

"Cha!" I snorted. "So? And don't give me the you-could-be-attacked spill. I've heard it."

"Mmm-hmmm." That ended all conversation until we were back at Nariko's cave. In fact, it ended just about all conversation for the morning.

"Kristi! Come see this!" Nariko yelled, as if she was excited.

"What?"

"Come see!" she insisted. In the back of her cave was a doorway that led to three other doors. "That's the water heater and stuff, that's the washer, and that's the bathroom, which you need to use. You stink!"

I happily took a long, hot shower while Nariko washed my dirty clothes. It felt so good to get that awful slime off me. I quickly toweled off and redressed in my now-clean clothes. I wrapped my hair up in a towel, too. I then went outside and sat on the overhanging rock. About thirty minutes later, Flame joined me. He'd obviously taken a shower, too. I stared out at the far-away lake, the farther-away forest, and the even farther-away mountains. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. He was softly thumping the tip of his tail against the rock. It was the same tempo my eighth-grade choir solo had been, and I started humming.

"What're you humming?" he asked, pausing the steady rhythm.

"A song."

"What song?"

"Solo."

"Do you remember the words?"

"Yeah."

"Can you sing it?"

"I dunno. I didn't do too good at my performance, but I can try.

Oh, he was a lord of high degree,

And she was a lass from the low coun-tree.

But she loved his lordship so tenderly!

Oh, sorrow! Sing sorrow!

Now she sleeps in the valley where the wildflowers nod,

And no one knows she loved him but herself and God.

One morn when the sun was on the mead,

He passed by her door on a milk-white steed.

She smiled and she spoke,

But he paid no heed.

Oh, sorrow! Sing sorrow!

Now she sleeps in the valley where the wildflowers nod,

And no one knows she loved him but herself and God.

If you be a lass from the low coun-tree,

Don't love of no lord of high degree.

They ain't got a heart for sympathy.

Oh, sorrow! Sing sorrow!

Now she sleeps in the valley where the wildflowers nod,

And no one knows she loved him but herself and God."

"You didn't do good? What was wrong with those people? You did great!"

"Ha, and pigs fly, too," I said with more bitterness than I'd intended. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"Being an idiot. Being a jerk. Being me."

"You are the most mixed-up person I've ever met. Digimon included. And I know some pretty mixed-up Digimon."

"You two just gonna sit up there and talk? I'm gonna go take me a shower. I already cleaned the floors and walls," Nariko said, poking her head out from under the slanted rock. Her face and hair were streaked with grit, probably from washing my clothes and the cave. "I need one, too." She left.

"Why do you always look at the dark side of things?"

"Pessimist."

"So?"

"Not the 'so' game again!" I laughed at myself. Maybe I was a little too hard on myself. 'You're not as tough as you thought. You can't even control your own emotions. You are such an idiot!' I leaned back against the rock, feeling its warmth though my clothes. Was that what I wasn't supposed to know? That I wasn't a strong person like I'd thought? 'What's wrong with me?' "I'm hungry," I muttered, sliding off the rock. I grabbed a jar of dried berries and ate a handful. 'Nariko must eat like me – very little.'

"Hey, save me some," Flame said, grabbing a larger handful. I shook my head and smiled to myself. Guys could be so weird.

* * *

That evening, Nariko said she and her two Digimon had to go to a "Shadomon pool" to take a decent bath. When I asked why she didn't just use her own shower, she said it was because of Shadomon's diet and that they had to go about once a week or they would get sick. You might want to come, too, she added silently to me. It's pretty cool.

'Well, maybe. But not for the full time.'

"Here, touch my back and I'll teleport you," the Shadomon said, speaking for the first time since I'd arrived. Each of us put our hands on her back and watched as the world dissolved into milky blue-grey, then reshaped into a dark cavern. It had a glowing pinkish-colored pool in the middle, and the walls gleamed with phosphorescence. A strange Digimon sat beside the pool. It looked an awful lot like a white Vaporeon at first glance, but then less and less as you kept looking. The four strong legs with long-clawed paws and a thick, whip-like tail. His eyes were dark yellow-blue and deep-set in his crested face.

"You there! You, with the brown string on your head. Come here, girl," he called in a voice so loud it hurt, especially with the cavern's echo. "What are you, girl?"

"A human."

"Hue-mon. Never heard of such a thing. You must be very rare, then."

"No, actually, there's about six billion of us."

"Look at yourself, Hue-mon. You have string on your head and an awful rash on your wrists." I stroked my damp hair. It was true; it was stringy. And my wrists had an allergy that never went away on them. It was usually just dry, pink-colored skin, but it sometimes flared up and cracked or spread across the back of my hands. "Take a bath."

"Um, gee, thanks, but I just took one. And I don't bathe in public." The Digimon whacked me into the strange liquid with one stroke of his paw. I looked up in time to hear Flame yell,

"You leave her alone, Lunamon!" and attack him with his fists. Even without his armor, he would fight. What surprised me was that it was because of me. The liquid wasn't water. I lifted my hands from it and found them dry in seconds. As they dried, the rash disappeared, leaving healthy skin. I touched my hair, and it wasn't dry or brittle any more. My eyes were sharper, too. I drank a mouthful and found my stomachache gone completely. The Lunamon had pinned Flame with one paw.

"It's okay, Flame. I'm not hurt," I called. He stopped struggling, and Lunamon let him up.

"You are lucky your Flamedramon was not injured when he so foolishly attacked me. I suppose, though, I could just write it off as Digimon in love, and not both with you two."

"She's not really a Digimon, Lunamon. A human is the other half of me, the half that's not Digimon," Nariko explained.

"So, I can write it off as –"

"Nothing," I said. Flame gave a hurt look, like he was saying 'but I thought…'. "Or anything else is fine, too," I added, much to his satisfaction. 'You might as well give in. You're in love with a Digimon, so get used to it.' It had taken a blunt Lunamon, but I'd finally admitted that one little fact to myself. Flame walked over and put his arm around my shoulders. 'Nariko, what have you been doing?'

Flamedramon spoke to me privately and asked me to watch you for him. He was being honest with himself, so I helped out. I shook my head and grinned, leaning against Flame. It felt good, to be able to do something like that without being embarrassed.

'You'd better be ready for anything now,' I told myself, 'so watch it!' The liquid had already dried from my clothes.

"Last one in is a rotten DigiEgg!" BlackSalamon called in a high, childish voice as she splashed into the pool. Nariko and Shadomon ran and jumped in, too. I jumped in, but almost as soon as my head broke the surface again, it was dry. I just couldn't figure out what it was. I floated on my back.

"CANNONBALL!" A giant splash hit me, then dried.

"Flamedramon! You baka!" I screeched, splashing at him. He ducked under the water, so I put my head under to see what he was doing, and found that all I could see was a pink glow. I felt something bump my back, then I was forced under. I came up sputtering and shoved him with my foot. I crawled out and lay down on my back. I felt that disgusting my-clothes-are-wet feeling for a moment, then I was dry again. Shadomon and BlackSalamon were having a splashing contest, and Flame was trying to push them both under at once, so they both splashed him. "I'm bored."

"Ready to leave, then?" Shadomon asked. I nodded. She waded out and I touched her thick coat of fur. Flame hurried over and grabbed her foot as she teleported. I felt the sickening feeling again as the world went liquid, then it left as the slate milk became grey, solid rock. "I'm going back now. We'll be gone half the night." She turned milky-grey-black, the shimmered and vanished.

"That is so weird," I said.

"What is?"

"Teleporting. Being teleported. Watching someone else teleport." I sat down on Nariko's bed. It was stiff and crackled when I moved. "How does she sleep in this?"

"When you're tired, you'll sleep anywhere," was his reply. I lay down and put my feet in the air, wind-milling them like I was riding a bike. "What are you doing?"

"Exercise." I rolled onto my side. "I am the most bored person in the world." A blast of cold air hit me. "And the coldest," I added with a shiver. He grabbed one of his armored gloves from the pile in the corner and shot a new fireball into the dying fire.

"Hey, look," he said, tossing the glove back into the pile. "It's a Fire Rock."

"Where? What's a Fire Rock?"

"This is." He reached into the fire – without burning himself – and pulled out a rusty-maroon rock. It was very crumbly. "They're really rare – only a few of my Fire Rockets ever make one. Watch." He dusted off the rock, blew on it, and it fell to bits, leaving a pile of crumbs in his hand. "The cooler it gets, the worse it crumbles." He blew on the fragments, and they flew away in a cloud of dust. A little crystal, maybe an inch in length and teardrop-shaped, was left.

"What's this thing?" I asked, pointing to it.

"Well, it's a Flame Crystal."

"It's transparent blue. Flames are red and yellow."

"Look what happens if it's held up to a fire." He held the thing with the tips of his claws in front of the fire, and it glowed red and yellow for a moment. "Here. It's yours," he said, handing me the small crystal. I put it in my pocket beside my submarine-shaped whistle, then took the whistle out and played my warbling scale. I noticed a CD player and a CD sitting in a corner.

"Hey, look." I crawled over into the corner and put the CD in, then fast-forwarded it for a moment. I always do that. I put the volume really low, so that I could just barely hear it. Then, it started to play an old, familiar song:

…And watch how you play,

'Cause they don't understand – hey!

And so we're…

Runnin' just as fast as we can.

Holdin' onto one another's hand.

Then let me put my arms around you,

And I'll hold you really tight and then I'll say,

"I think we're alone now;

There doesn't seem to be anyone around.

I think we're alone now;

The beating of our hearts is the only sound…"

I shook my head and pushed 'next'. This time, it played the whole Pokérap. I pushed 'next' again, and it started playing a weird flute song. I ran over the whole CD, and found it contained a jumble of songs that I knew. "What is up with this CD? It's like a recording of all sorts of songs. Even ones that are just TV commercials. I mean, this thing was playing 'My dog's better than your dog! My dog's better than yours! My dog's better 'cause he eats kibble, and my dog's better than yours!', for cryin' out loud! There is just something wrong with a CD that plays dog food commercials."

"Well, maybe it's just a bunch of songs that got recorded at random."

"What now? I'm bored."

"You sure do say 'I'm bored' a lot."

"Because I am bored a lot."

"Hi, Bored-a-Lot!"

"Oh, that is so not funny!" I yelled, laughing and tackling him. "Where'd you get such a weird sense of humor?"

"I dunno. Wanna here a knock-knock joke?"

"Not really." I thought for a moment, then said, "Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Banana who?"

"Knock-knock."

"Not this one. Who's there?

"Apple."

"Apple who?"

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Peach."

"Peach who?"

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Orange."

"Orange who?"

"Oranges an' peaches an' apples an' bananas make a fruit salad, that's who!" We both fell over laughing, not necessarily because it was all that funny, but because it was so over-used it wasn't funny. "That joke is so old, and so dumb, it's almost funny!"

"Almost!" That sent us into another fit of laughing. My sides hurt, I'd been laughing so much.

"I'm getting tired," I said with a yawn. "Let's go to sleep." Flame gave a huge yawn that showed his big mouthful of sharp teeth and nodded. I half-sat in his lap and rest my head against his.

"Kristi?"

"Yeah?"

"I…nothing, go to sleep."

"Mmm-hmmm." I blinked and wondered what he'd started to say.

"Hey, cut it out! That tickles!" he said, jerking away. My eyelashes must have brushed against him when I'd blinked. "Go to sleep." I heard him hum the same lullaby from when I'd been sick and captured. It was oddly familiar, considering I'd only heard it once before. I smiled and closed my eyes. Life was going good for me.

* * *

I woke myself slowly. Flame was half-staring at me with those big, black-rimmed, deep-red eyes of his. I shook my head and sat up as much as I could. "I'm hungry." I stood up and grabbed a jar of berries.

"Uh-uh. I've got something better. C'mon!" I willingly followed him out of the cave and into the bamboo forest. "Look," he said, pointing at a patch of berries. "They're called energy fruits." They glowed radioactive-green. I'd learned to trust his instincts on food, so I put one in my mouth. It was sweet and tart, all at once. I licked my lips. "You dry one, and it looses all the flavor." I ate several more before I decided that they might make me hyper.

"What are we gonna do today?" I asked.

"First, we're gonna hike. Then, we're gonna hike. Then, we're gonna take a nap. That's why I wanted to eat these." He set off into the bamboo, and I followed, every now and then grabbing his tail when he went too fast. "Hey, hurry up." I trotted a bit, then fell into step beside him. I didn't mind it when he slid his arm around my waist.

The top of the hill we'd climbed was flat and overlooked a beautiful river. I sat down on a rock and motioned for him to do likewise. I leaned on his shoulder and was half-asleep when he decided to lay back. "Do you mind? I was almost asleep!" I laughed to show I didn't care, and that if he wanted to lie down, that was fine with me. I rested my head on his chest and turned to looked at him. He twisted his head to look at me and smiled. I smiled back and closed my eyes to sleep.

* * * T.K., Kari, and Davis * * *

Nefertimon and Pegasusmon, along with their humans and Davis, were looking for Kristi and Flamedramon. Since she only had to carry one person, Nefertimon was being a show-off. When she wasn't doing crazy, mid-air loops, she flew so close to Pegasusmon that their wings touched. Davis didn't like that, since if two Digimon were together, what was to keep their humans apart? "Hey, are we just sightseeing, or are we looking for lost Digimon?" he called out in annoyance.

"We're looking, Davis, we just haven't found anything," Pegasusmon called over his shoulder. "Wait a second – look down there! See the white and brown spots?"

"Where? I don't see anything," Kari said.

"There, on the hilltop," Nefertimon replied.

"Yeah, I think that might be them," T.K. added. The Digimon flew over and landed in a tiny clearing about ten feet away.

"Be quiet, Davis; they were asleep. And it'll make a cute photo, too," Kari whispered. Davis nodded and pantomimed zipping his mouth shut. They snuck up on them, and Kari clicked her camera.

* * * Kristi * * *

A soft click! woke me. I looked up to see Kari and her camera, along with T.K., Gatomon, Patamon, and Davis, all wearing identical grins. "Awwwww!" they all chorused. Then, Davis shushed them for an unknown reason. Flame looked up and blinked, then the white part behind his blade turned pink.

"Um, hi?" I tried.

"'Hi' yourself, Flamedramon's girl," Gatomon teased. I laughed and grinned; she had figured out the obvious, and it was true: I was Flamedramon's girl, as she'd put it.

"Let's get moving. We need to get my D-Terminal back," Davis said. Gatomon and Patamon Armor-Digivolved – something I now understood – into Nefertimon and Pegasusmon. We climbed on their backs and flew to the cave to get Flame's armor. He ran in for a moment, then ran back out hopping on one leg and trying to buckle the straps on the other. I laughed at how silly he looked. He climbed back on, then Kari sent an E-mail via her D-Terminal to Cody and Yolei to let them know they'd found us.

We flew for a long time, then met them at the edge of the lake. Submarimon took us all inside the base and we found the Emperor quickly enough. "Looking for this?" he crowed. "Well, you can't have it!"

"Give it back, you heartless monster!" Cody yelled in a raspy voice. A battle between our Digimon and twenty Gizamon started. The Gizamon were soon free of their Dark Rings and turned to face the Emperor. They all attacked him and one was even nice enough to get the D-Terminal. Davis thanked him and we ran. They'd keep him busy long enough for us to get away.

When we got outside, it was almost dark. We flew back to the clearing where we'd first camped. "You know," Flame said as he jumped off Nefertimon, "we went through all that trouble to get back that D-Terminal so I could De-Digivolve, and now, I don't want to!"

"So? Don't." I sat down. "I'll be alright for another night."

"Sure, you will!" Gatomon laughed, and the others giggled, too. Apparently, Kari had shown them her photograph. They left, and Flame sat down beside me.

"Why do people always tease other people about liking someone?" he asked. I heard a soft click!, but pretended I didn't hear it and shrugged. "Can you play your whistle for me?" I took out the little thing and played my scale, then put it back. My fingers brushed the warm Flame Crystal. "I always liked that sound." I smiled and went to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Nariko showed up just before the others. "Kristi," she said, and something in her voice told me to beware. "Kristi, it's time to go. I can open the portal for a few moments."

"But – "

"No 'but's. The longer you stay, the worse leaving will hurt. You have to leave now."

"Why today? Why not tomorrow?" Flame asked, tightening his grip on my waist.

"You need to be with your family, Kristi," Kari added.

"Try and understand," Nariko begged me. "Please."

"Alright, alright, if it's okay with him." I said looking at Flame. He nodded, and I could see tiny droplets of water in his eyes. "Okay." A swirling vortex appeared in the air.

"I knew you'd have to leave sometime, so I made this," Kari said, handing me a diskette. "It's got some pictures you might want on it." I smiled and thanked her with my best Japanese bow. I put it in my pocket beside my whistle and Crystal.

"Bye!" "See ya!" "Good-bye!" and other things were said, then I turned to Flame and hugged him tightly.

"I'll miss you," I whispered.

"Me, too." I pulled back with great reluctance and turned to the vortex once more. "Kristi?" I turned around, confused, and felt myself pulled into a passionate kiss. It was strange, but I liked it. I dropped my head to his shoulder. "Sayonara, Kristi-chan."

"Sayonara, Flamedra-kun." I backed up, then jumped into the vortex.

* * * Flamedramon * * *

Flamedramon watched her disappear into the vortex, then watched as it closed. His eyes were wet with tears, and they ran down his face, too. He'd never cried before, at least not in this form. "Sayonara…" he whispered one last time. No one seemed to mind his tears. He clenched his fists inside their armor, feeling the claws bite his skin. Then, he De-Digivolved.

"Coming, Veemon?" Davis asked.

"Shure thing, Davish," Veemon replied in his funny voice. He wiped his eyes and followed him. 'The pain's still fresh.' That's what she'd said. True, it hurt, it hurt plenty, but as Veemon it hurt less. He tugged at the hem of Davis's fiery jacket. "Davish, will I ever shee her again?"

"Sure you will! Just as sure as I'll get Kari to like me!"