OMG!! People actually reviewed! I love u all ^_^
"Sailor Crystal"---actually my best friend's name is Danellia, and I couldn't leave her out, but this is a more standard name and a little easier to spell...
Sister Orlanda Marie Skippy---(kewlish name btw)-I'm trying!! I'm taking too many advanced classes for someone of my lack of intelligence, I guess.
Sailor Bree---Yes, my master.
"morningstar"---I'll try, I promise...
Angel Beech---Why, tanx so much! ^_^ I feel very special, so special I'll have to write! P.S.- thanks for adding me to ur favorite stories, that means so much to a menial author like me!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I don't own "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch. Heck, I don't even own a house, so please don't sue. Also, I don't make any money from these insane ramblings. Unfortunately. (Oh, and the name Cherith belongs to some Star Wars author or another.)
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"All You Wanted"
Chapter 5
All you wanted was somebody who cared
If you need me, you know I'll be there
"Digidestined. Didn't you mention that once somewhere? It sounds vaguely familiar."
Ken shrugged. "I don't remember for sure." He and Cherith were walking through part of the Digital World again. "Someone who is Digidestined has a digivice and a partner Digimon, and they can come to the Digital World."
"Partner Digimon?" she interrupted, frowning.
"It's a Digimon that pairs up with a human. This partnership enables it to Digivolve when it wants to."
"Digivolve?"
"Well," he explained, "Digimon are capable of transforming into a stronger shape but keeping their thoughts and memories. This process is called 'digivolving.' It requires a lot of energy, though, so the Digimon usually has to de-digivolve after a while. You know, they go back to their original form."
"I think I see," she responded thoughtfully. "What does the digivice have to do with it?"
"It lets you go between the Digital World and the real world. Also, it seems to help your partner Digimon to be able to digivolve."
She nodded slowly and asked, "Who is your partner Digimon?"
Ken found it odd that Cherith wouldn't quite meet his eyes, and she looked like she was thinking something she didn't want to say out loud. He opened his mouth to say that he wasn't sure, but an old memory resurfaced in his mind, and without further thought he replied, "Wormmon."
She looked at him. "Who's that? Can I meet him?"
Ken was surprised. "I guess so," he said slowly. He felt reluctant to have her meet his partner. Why do I feel so uneasy about that? But, in his heart, he knew the answer. He was ashamed of the way he treated Wormmon. He didn't want her to know that he treated his partner more like a servant. But, most of all, he didn't want her to be afraid that he'd do the same thing to her. Never, he vowed to himself. I would never do that to her. But a mocking voice seemed to reply, Does she know that? He sighed softly and checked the time. "Hey, Cherith."
She came out of her reverie. "Huh?"
"It's almost six. We should probably head back." He paused, then added, "We can go see Wormmon tomorrow, or whenever the next time we come to the Digital World is."
She smiled. "That works."
They located the nearest portal and left the Digital World, reappearing in Ken's room. Ken noticed that Cherith seemed to have gotten the hang of coming out of the portals and no longer fell down. He offered to walk her to the door of his family's apartment.
As she turned to leave, Cherith bit her lip and stopped. She looked at Ken as though trying to decide whether or not to say something.
"What is it?" he asked gently.
She looked at him for a moment longer, sadness and even some apprehension in her eyes. "Do you think I have a partner Digimon out there?" she asked, and slipped away before he could answer.
He blinked and looked off in the direction she had disappeared in. Is that what she's been worrying about all day? It had never occurred to him that she didn't have a partner Digimon. He was used to her being alone.
Alone. Maybe that's why it seems so important to her. He closed the door and went into the kitchen to help his mom prepare dinner.
After dinner, he told his parents he was going to do some computer programming, and slipped away to the Digital World. On impulse, he chose not to don his Digimon Emperor outfit, staying with the clothes he typically wore in the real world.
He walked to his fortress, where Wormmon met him at the front door.
"Ken?" he said in surprise, probably at seeing Ken not wearing his Digimon Emperor getup.
"Hello, Wormmon," Ken responded quietly. He hesitated, not sure what to say. Finally he said, "Wormmon, would you like to take a walk with me? You don't have to if you don't want to."
Wormmon seemed surprised by the way Ken made it a request. He thought for a moment, then said, "I'd be happy to, Master, but I have to feed your captive Digimon first, and that may take a while."
Ken gave him a small, tired smile. "I'll help you so you finish faster."
Wormmon didn't seem to know what to say in light of Ken's unexpected kindness. He scuttled along silently at Ken's side, and Ken began to wonder, Why have I been treating my partner Digimon like one of my slaves?
***************
Wormmon found himself wondering what was going on with Ken. They had been walking for nearly five minutes, but Ken seemed lost in his own thoughts and seemed to have forgotten about him. Ken had done most of the work when they were feeding his slaves, but he had looked like something was bothering him. Oh, well. He'll talk when he's ready.
They walked in silence for a few more minutes, then Ken said, "Wormmon, I think I'm going crazy. I let a girl get involved in my life, and now she's changing me. She isn't doing it on purpose, it's more like I want to make her happy. But I'm still changing."
Wormmon was quiet for a moment. "Is that good or bad, Master?"
Ken sighed softly. "Good, probably, but it's still hard. And you don't need to call me that."
Wormmon glanced at him in surprise. That was definitely different. He used to demand that I call him that. Maybe this change was for the better.
Ken continued after a moment. "Tomorrow, or whenever she comes to the Digital World next time, she wants to come and visit."
Wormmon nodded, feeling a slight pang of disappointment. "So you want me to stay out of the way."
Ken looked at him in surprise. "Actually, no. The reason she wanted to come was to meet you."
"Oh," he replied, taken aback. "I won't embarrass you, will I?" He looked down at his chubby, caterpillar-like body.
Ken looked at him and smiled. "She'll probably think you're cute. Don't worry. If you just be yourself, she'll like you."
They walked on in silence for a few more minutes, Ken again lost in thought. Eventually he turned. "Hey, Wormmon?" he said, a little hesitantly. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about the way I've been treating you. I've been a jerk, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. You've been the best friend I could ever have." Ken knelt in front of Wormmon and looked him in the eyes. "If I ever start acting like that again, tell me. You deserve better than that." Ken's head dropped to his chest. "You deserve a better partner than me. Oh, Wormmon, will you ever forgive me?"
Wormmon looked at the boy he had begun to think of as his master, who was now begging to be his friend. "Of course, Ken. I knew you'd come around. I'm just glad that you are yourself again."
Ken smiled slightly. "Thank you," he whispered, and hugged his small friend. "Hey," he said suddenly, "I want to tell you about this girl I met recently..."
***************
Cherith glanced over at Ken. He looked nervous. He must be worried about what I'll think of Wormmon. She smiled reassuringly at him and turned her gaze back in front of her. Ahead, Ken's fortress loomed up like a huge monolith, rising out of a clearing in the forest.
It seemed to take hours to cross the distance to the fortress, although it couldn't have lasted more than a couple of minutes. They entered through the front door, and he led her to his command chamber. He smiled at her and opened the door, holding it for her. She stepped through, unsure of what to expect. She had pestered Ken for the first half of the trip to tell her something, anything about his partner. He had finally given in and whispered secretively to her that he was a Digimon. She had thrown her hands up in the air and told him he was annoying, which he seemed to find very amusing.
She glanced around the unlit room and turned to her right as she heard a soft scuttling sound. Ken stepped in behind her and flipped a switch somewhere. The room flooded with light, and Cherith gasped softly.
"Oh, he's so cute!" she exclaimed, and knelt on the floor in front of the Digimon. He looked like a large, chubby, segmented caterpillar about two feet long from head to tail, and he held the front third of his body upright off the ground. He was green with a black stripe around his middle, and his conical feet were purple, as well as his mouth and the symbol on his forehead. He had large, smiling eyes, two long antennae, and his mouth opened sideways when he spoke.
"Hello," he said in a slightly quavery voice. "You must be Cherith. Ken has told me all about you."
She smiled at him. "Yes, and you must be Wormmon. It's nice to meet you."
"Thank you," replied Wormmon politely.
Ken stood by Cherith and smiled at Wormmon. "What did I tell you?"
Cherith straightened up almost self-consciously. "Hey, why don't we take a walk? In my experience that is the best way to get to know someone."
Ken grimaced. "I can't; I have English homework to do."
Cherith gave him a pitying look. "I got it done during study hall."
Ken smiled at her. "You two go without me. No reason you should suffer along with me."
She looked him in the eyes. "Only if you're absolutely sure. I don't want to make you feel bad or anything."
Ken laughed lightly. "Oh, go on, you two. Do you really think that would bother me?"
Cherith smiled also. "I guess not, but you never know."
Ken said goodbye and left to find the nearest Digi-port. Cherith turned to Wormmon.
"So, where do you think we should go?"
Wormmon looked surprised. "I don't know. Wherever you would like."
Cherith smiled at him. "Oh, come on. This is your home. Surely you know of a nice place to go for a walk."
Somehow he managed a smile, perhaps with his eyes. "Well, I'm sure I can think of somewhere. Follow me."
***************
Ken glanced up and then smiled as he saw Cherith appear in front of his computer. That's right, we went through my computer.
"How was your walk?"
She smiled happily at him. "It was great! He can be very funny, and he's really nice. I think we will be good friends." Her head dropped slightly and her smile faded.
Ken, guessing what was bothering her, tried to cheer her up. "Come on, Cherith. All Digidestined have partner Digimon. Yours probably just hasn't found you. You have to be patient."
She sighed. "You're right. It's just hard, you know?"
Ken smiled and punched her shoulder lightly. "As long as you have that straight. Hey, did you make any more plans to go to the Digital World?"
"Actually, yes," she replied. "This Saturday I don't have anything else to do. Are you free then?"
He nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Why don't we meet here at ten?"
She nodded. "That should work. I'll call you if anything changes."
She slipped out of his room, and he got back to his homework.
***************
Ken got up off the couch to answer the door. "Hi, Cherith. You're late."
She smiled distractedly. "Hi, Ken. Nikolas started crying as I was about to leave, and Mom's hands were full."
He chuckled. "I was teasing you. It's not like we will be late for anything."
She followed him down the hallway into his room and they went through the Digiport. They emerged in a grassy plains-like area to find Wormmon waiting for them.
"Hey, Wormmon. How are you?"
Wormmon smiled at Cherith with his eyes. "I'm happy. I've been looking forward to all of us getting together."
Ken turned to Wormmon as they began to walk. "I got the impression you and Cherith really hit it off."
Wormmon nodded. "We get along together very well."
Cherith nodded but didn't elaborate, and they walked in silence for a few minutes.
They stepped into a clearing and froze in their tracks. There, on the other side of the clearing, were several humans and Digimon. Cherith's mouth dropped open as she recognized her friends Davis, Yolei, Kari, and two other boys she had probably seen at school. "Are they Digidestined?"
Ken didn't respond. Which of my slaves should I call? "Tyrannomon! Come here!"
Cherith grabbed his arm. "We aren't here to fight!" she said, but her tone was more pleading than demanding.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "If I don't do something, they'll attack us!"
"We could leave," she said, but he ignored her.
"Veemon armor-digivolve to...Flamedramon!"
He looked at Cherith, who was staring in amazement. "What was that?" she whispered.
"That," he said darkly, as all the others began to digivolve, "was one of them digivolving. My Tyrannomon won't reach us in time at this rate. Come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her away, Wormmon running behind them.
After a minute, they stopped in another clearing to catch their breath. Cherith shook her head as the crashing behind them grew louder. "We can't get away fast enough," she gasped between breaths.
Ken grimaced. "And they're chasing us away from my Tyrannomon."
Cherith turned to Ken. "Some of them are my friends. I'm sure I can talk them into letting us go."
Ken shook his head. "Yeah, right. It's not that I don't have faith in you, but there is no way they will let me get away."
Cherith looked at him oddly. "What have you done to them that--"
She broke off as the Digimon pursuing them came into the clearing. They turned to run, but one of the Digimon, the red bird-like one called Halsemon, had apparently circled around behind them--there was nowhere to run.
Ken stepped in front of Cherith and Wormmon. "Your fight is with me; leave them alone."
The Digidestined humans stepped up beside their respective Digimon, except for Yolei.
"You're going down," said Davis angrily.
Cherith stepped forward. "Davis, what is--"
Ken cut her off. "Cherith, this is not your fight. You should leave now while you can."
"Ken, as I've told you before, I'm your friend. And friends stand by their friends."
Ken turned around to face her, sadness in his eyes. "But what if it gets you hurt or killed?"
Cherith, apparently seeing the Digimon behind him about to attack, grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the way less than a second before four attacks hit the ground where he'd been standing. He turned to face them in surprise, and felt something hit him from behind, then an excruciating pain, then everything went dark.
***************
Cherith stared in horror as Ken crumpled from the red bird-thing's attack.
"Wormmon, we have to do something," she gasped, but her brain seemed to be frozen. She knelt by Ken and took his hand in hers.
"Get out of the way!" said the taller boy with the hat.
Davis frowned at her. "I'm with T.K. on this one, Cherith. You hang with the wrong crowd, you're just asking for trouble. Now leave him for us."
Cherith narrowed her eyes at him. "Over my dead body." she growled.
Wormmon jumped out in front of her and Ken. "And you'll have to come through me to get at her!"
Cherith stood up, then jumped slightly as her digivice began to beep. She unclipped it from her waist and looked at it. The screen was glowing brightly.
Wormmon made a surprised sound. "Cherith, I can digivolve!"
She stared in disbelief, as did the others across the clearing, as Wormmon began to glow and then change form. Just like those other Digimon did earlier.
"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!"
Cherith studied Wormmon's new form. He now had a humanoid body, covered with a jointed green exoskeleton. His head had two large insect eyes, and he had two pairs of transparent dragonfly wings.
As she realized that the others across the clearing were still staring, she made a quick decision.
"Worm-- I mean Stingmon, let's get out of here."
"Agreed," he replied, and scooped Ken up over one arm. Cherith carefully sat down on that arm to make sure Ken didn't fall, and they took off.
She glanced over the Digimon's shoulder as they flew off. "That bird-like one's catching up to us!" she cried.
Stingmon turned around to face the rapidly approaching Digimon. As it seemed to be readying itself to make an attack, Stingmon extended his unoccupied arm, and a glowing purple energy blade extended from his wrist.
"Spiking Strike!"
As he hit it, the other Digimon halted and seemed to shudder, then headed down toward the ground. Halfway there, it de-digivolved, turning into a small red eagle-like creature. From the clearing that they'd left came the other two flying Digimon.
Stingmon turned and flew away, and over his shoulder, Cherith saw the catlike one stop and land where the bird Digimon had gone down. The horselike one pursued them for a moment, but wasn't as fast as the birdlike one had been. When it realized that it would never catch them, it, too, circled around and landed where the other two had.
Stingmon changed course after the other Digimon had disappeared from sight, and after a while, he landed at the edge of another small clearing. He gently lay Ken down, and Cherith knelt beside him. Stingmon de-digivolved to Wormmon, which earned him an odd look from Cherith.
"Digivolving takes a lot of energy," he explained, "and I'm tired."
She nodded and checked Ken for a pulse, sighing with relief when she felt a strong one. She sat down with her back against a nearby tree. "Well, now I guess we wait until he comes to."
***************
The first thing Ken noticed when he woke up was that he ached all over. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but everything was blurry and there was something heavy on his chest that prevented him from sitting up. As his vision focused, he saw that Cherith was sitting beside him with her hand on his chest, holding him down.
"Where are we?" he asked, trying to sit up again, but still she wouldn't let him up.
"I don't know, but neither do the others." She finally released him, and he sat up slowly, wincing in pain.
"What hit me?" he asked, rubbing his back, which was especially sore.
"That red bird-thing, the one behind you. Are you all right?"
"Yeah, just sore." He looked around. Where are we? "If you don't know where we are, then how did we get here?"
Cherith looked at him for a moment before answering. "Wormmon digivolved and flew us both away to here."
He frowned. "But I was unconscious! How could he have digivolved?"
"Cherith helped me," Wormmon replied before Cherith could.
Ken suddenly felt cold all over. "Cherith, could you give Wormmon and me a moment?"
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"Sure," she said and slipped away.
Ken gazed thoughtfully at Wormmon, although inside he was feeling frustrated and depressed. "So, I guess you're actually Cherith's partner Digimon, then."
"Of course not, Ken," came the slightly surprised reply. "That was more of an emergency situation. Anyway, you can make other Digimon digivolve, can't you?"
"But I have to use something special for that, like a black ring."
"And you don't think her digivice is special?" Wormmon asked. At Ken's look of consternation, he continued, "Well, I knew it was different the moment I saw it. It has a kind of aura about it, even more than yours does."
Ken felt like his head was spinning. He certainly didn't remember Wormmon saying anything about his digivice before, and now learning that Cherith's was even more special? "Is...is that why she doesn't have a partner Digimon?"
Wormmon looked at him for a moment. "I'm not sure what you're asking me. All I know is that I was able to digivolve because of her digivice and our friendship. What do you mean about her having a partner Digimon?"
Ken shook his head in confusion. "Forget it; I'll worry about it later. So, you're saying that her digivice can help other Digidestined's Digimon digivolve?" (a/n-Augh! Always avoid alliteration! heehee)
"Well, she has to get to know them a little first, but other than that, yes."
Where is Cherith, anyway? "Cherith?" he called loudly in the direction in which she had left. After a moment he could hear her coming.
He stood up as she came into sight, her expression carefully neutral.
He gave her a distracted smile. "Sorry about that; I just needed to figure a few things out."
She smiled back, relaxing as she understood that there was apparently no real problem. "So, what's going on?"
"Well, our first order of business is to get out of here before those other kids find us again. I don't know where the nearest Digiport is, though."
She grimaced. "Neither do I. I don't even have the slightest clue where we are."
Ken nodded. "So we can either walk to the edge of the forest and try to figure out where we are, or I can call my Airdramon and almost certainly be found by those kids." He leaned back against a nearby tree, frustrated. Neither of those options really appealed to him.
She frowned. "Or maybe Wormmon could digivolve..." she said slowly, not completing her thought.
Ken straightened suddenly as an idea occurred to him.
"I think I know what to do!" He smiled. "Airdramon? I want you to fly toward me, but land before you get to me. I will give you further instructions then."
"What's that for?" Cherith's voice brought his attention back to her.
He grinned. "He's going to be a decoy for us. Those kids will follow him and you," he pointed at Wormmon, "will digivolve and fly us out of here. Can you do that?"
Wormmon nodded hesitantly. "I think I've rested long enough."
"Good. If either of you think of anything else, tell me and we'll consider it. Until Airdramon lands, I don't think there's much else we can do." He sat down with his back against a tree.
Cherith sat beside him, her back to the same tree. "Great. You know how much I love waiting." Wormmon settled in between them as they began to brainstorm.
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See, I finally posted more! (sorry it took so long.) This was going to be the last chapter, but it's too long, so you can expect one more installment. PLEASE REVIEW!!! I'm actually not a human, I'm a review vampire. If you don't review, I'll die and won't finish the last chapter!