A World of Pain

When I look into the mirror,

Could that guy be me?

Because I don't recognize the face I see,

And the nights get longer,

When you're all alone,

And there's not one friendly face in the crowd,

To take me home,

Take me home . . .

Davis sat on the couch, listening to the rainfall down on the sliding glass doors that lead to the small balcony. The sky was a deep gray, promising more rain to come. He sighed and closed his eyes. It was eight at night, all the light where turned off, and he was home alone (Veemon with the other Digimon, looking into the Digital Emperor's work). Good, Davis liked it better that way.

His sister, Jun, would always bug him about anything she could. For awhile, he tried not talking around her, but that just gave her something more to bug him about. "Hey, Davis, what's that matter? Getting a crush on me, just like you did with that Kari girl?" her voice rang in his ears before he slammed the door on her face. That got them back to throwing insults back and forth.

His mother, though kind and sweet, really didn't care. She would always pretend to be interested in what Davis had to say, but he could always see the boredom in her eyes and hear the distance in her voice. Why does he even bother to talk to her, anyway? Maybe because he didn't know anyone else who would sit still long enough for him to complain about his day.

And his father . . . He barely saw his father any more. He was always at work, out with the guys, or locked in his room doing work from his work. He would say that if he didn't work hard enough, the world was going to leave them in the gutter. Davis half-believed his father. True, if you don't work hard enough, you'll become poor. False that his father worked so hard just to not become poor. Davis knew that they had enough money to not be poor before his father started to work so hard.

Sometimes, Davis was so sure that his father worked this hard because of him. He could hear his mother and father arguing sometimes late at night. They would argue about everything from taxes to politics to their children's future. But he would always be reassured that it wasn't him that they were truly arguing about, that they were just angry and he happened to be the topic at hand.

At first, Davis believed that. Now, he doesn't know what to think. Someone said something nice to Davis, but then the truth comes out. That's how it is with everyone he knows. His family (aside from Jun) doesn't want him to be upset, probably because they'll get the backhand of it in one way or another. His friends, on the other hand, are nice to him just because he has the crest of courage.

That's how it is. They use him, abuse him, and then will through him away. He saw this now, and didn't know what he was going to do about it. He had over heard them one time, talking about how much he annoyed them, how they were thinking about having a new leader and how they wish someone else had been the leader.

"I might as well as give up on life right now," he said with his eyes still close. He started to talk to himself a lot, finding no one else to talk to. Of course, he did it when no one could hear him. "People think it's the cowards way out, to commit suicide. But it takes a lot of courage to face Death and ask him to take your life. I wonder what it is like in the next life. I'll bet it's pretty nice. It must be better than this place. At least, in the next life, if there is one, I can get away from my so- called friends."

He stopped speaking then, not finding the energy for speech. Davis didn't have dinner, and would probably skip breakfast, too. Not having any friends could take away your appetite. Soon, before long, he was asleep.

***

The next day, it was still raining. Davis woke up, somehow even more tired than he had been last night, and rolled out of bed. He got his usual clothes without thinking, brushed his hair (as if it made a difference, it still looked messy) and picked up his backpack. It was heavier than before, which meant that Veemon was in it, probably as Chibimon. He might have gotten home late and didn't want to wake Davis up.

He headed out the door, not even say hi to those in the kitchen. They didn't make any comment to him, so he didn't make any himself. Besides, he didn't feel like talking that much. These days, he tries to avoid it as much as possible. At school or with Veemon, sometimes, he had to talk, but other than that, he could act mute and no one would care.

"Hey, Davis!" the voice of Kari shouted from across the school's lawn.

He looked up and saw the whole gang of the Digi-destine jogging up to him. They looked like they did any other day, bright, cheerful and ready for anything. Even to say they didn't like Daivs . . .?

When they saw that Davis wasn't going to speak back, TK spoke up. "Hey, Davis," he said in his usual voice, cheerful and positive, "we were wondering where you were last night. Everyone was suppose to meet in the computer lab."

"Sorry, I forgot," Davis answered dully. He didn't care to put on a happy face when everything seemed gray and depressing.

"Are you okay?" Yolie asked.

"Yeah," Davis answered.

"Well, we didn't talk much in the computer lab," Kari picked up the slack, "So we were going to meet after school. Are you going to come?"

" . . . Maybe," Davis answered and walked away.

They didn't go after Davis, not knowing how to approach the topic. They had noticed that the past view days, Davis hadn't been himself. They wondered if he had over heard them that day when they had got fed up with his recklessness.

"He could have," Cody spoke up, "I mean, if he did, at least, we would know what's bothering him."

"Yeah, but we don't know what is bothering him until we ask," Kari pointed out.

"This has to end!" Yolie stopped her foot. Without waiting for the others to reply, she marched after Davis and found him at his locker. She quieted her steps, trying to act as if it were any old day. "Hey, Davis, what's up?"

Davis answered after a moment, "Nothing."

"How's the math coming along?" Yolie teased. She knew how much he hated to be reminded that he was flunking math, but if she could get more than three words out of him at once, that would be a start.

Davis, however, just shrugged and continued to get his things from his locker to his backpack. Yolie noticed a notebook filled with loose pieces of papers, ready to fall out . . . perfect. She rammed herself into him, making the notebook fly out of his hand and scattering the papers.

"Sorry! Someone pushed me," she lied and bent down with Davis to help pick up his papers. Most of the kids had gone to class and the rest were on their way to their classroom. As soon as the last kid shut the last door, Yolie yanked Davis up by his shoulders and pinned him against the lockers. A look of shock washed over him, but was gone almost as soon as it came. "Alright, you're not leaving until I get some answers from you!"

"We'll both have to stand out in the hall," he answered, still with a dull voice.

"I don't care! I need to know what's bothering you and I need to know now!"

"Why? So you feed me more lies?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What do you think?" Davis glared, now building up his anger.

"I don't know!" she exhaled hard in frustration. "I don't know because you won't tell me, or anyone, what's bothering you! I'm your friend, and I want to help you."

At this point, Davis' eyes flared up and he shoved Yolie away from him. "Yeah, you care," he said with all the venom of a Cobra King. "You care about the goof with the goggles as much as everyone else!"

With that, Davis ran out of the school. He didn't care if that he was cutting or that he would get in trouble. Yolie sat there shocked. He had repeated what she had told Cody that day. So, he had over heard the . . . conversation.

"Davis, wait!" Yolie shouted, as if he could hear her. She ran down the hallway, hoping to catch up to him when she hit something very hard and solid. Looking up, she saw it was the principle. "Oh, uh, hello?"

"Where you in such a hurry, little girl?" he asked, enjoying her discomfort.

"Uh, to class," she lied. Hopefully he won't punish her too much.

"Well, you better hurry up," he smirked.

Yolie mentally sneered, but didn't do anything to change her expression as she quietly walked passed him. Luckily, her classroom was just down the hall, so she didn't have to wait until he was gone and then sneak back up the hall.

***

It was eight of clock of that day, and Yolie finally got to tell her friends what had happened. First, after school, she had to attend the store while her mother and father were out, taking care of a friend who had gotten into a car accident, and then had to do her homework with one of her siblings hovering over her. She had made everyone meet at the park, even when they protested.

"So, he had over heard," Cody noted.

"Uh, yeah," Yolie snapped, "I think that's been established!"

"Yolie, calm down," TK said. "We don't need to get mad right now. What we need to do is to talk to Davis and tell him what really happened."

"What really happened?" Yolie asked, shocked. "What really happened was that we made fun of Davis, and he had over heard! I think we all, even Davis, as the truth straight."

"Yolie," Kari started, "we were just venting, that's all. We didn't mean to make fun of Davis, he just happened to be the first thing that was mentioned."

"Oh, isn't that sweet?" Yolie's voice became cold and venomous. "We just say that we were venting, and everything will go back to normal, isn't that it? How stupid do you really Davis is? Do you really believe what you said when you called Davis a dead-brain jock?!"

"No, I don't. We were just venting-"

"Shut up! Just, shut up!" she was now screaming. "It makes no difference! His feelings are still hurt and we're the reason! Saying that we were just venting doesn't help him; it only blocks all of his arguments, so he can't be sad or anything."

"What else are we suppose to do?" Cody asked.

"What do you think? Apologize to him! No saying that we're venting, just say were sorry!"

"But that won't help anything at all," TK noted. "Davis won't be our friend if-"

"That's his choice!" she stomped her foot. "If Davis wants to find some other people to hang out with, then let him. It's his life, and I just want him to know that he's a cool kid, and even though we made fun of him, he isn't a jerk, or a goof ball with goggle, or a dead-brain jock, or any of the other things that we said he was!"

"What about the Crest of Courage?" TK asked.

"What about it?" Yolie glared at him. "Think we can't make it without Davis, is that it? Do you really believe that he's so important that we can't save the Digital World without him? If so, why did you called him a piece of mucus that crawled out of a dog's nose?"

No one spoke after that, not knowing what to say. The wind blew across the grass, rising up to had the cold discomfort of a winter night. Yolie wasn't going to stand with them any longer. They can decide on what they want to do, it made no difference to her, she was going to tell Davis she was sorry and be done with it! She walked off to Davis' house, and didn't look back.

"Yes?" a girl with messy, brown hair like Davis', only shorter, questioned when she opened the door. This must have been Davis' sister, Jun – he had mentioned her once or twice.

"Hi, I'm Yolie. I was wondering if Davis was home," Yolie said politely.

"Nope, he's not home," Jun started to close the door.

Yolie stopped with her hand and asked, "What do you mean, not home? Do you mean that he doesn't want to see anyone or something like that?"

"No, I mean he's really not home!" Jun snapped, then lowered her voice, "Look, Davis has done this before. He leaves without telling anyone where he's going or when he'll be back. I've been covering for him forever now, so just go before my parents over hear us and start wondering if he's somewhere else than where I said he would, okay? Oh, and don't tell anyone. I don't anyone to think that I care about him, okay?"

"Okay," Yolie said, wanting to tell Jun that she should at least let Davis know that she loves him, but didn't want to make her angry. Besides, she had told Yolie where Davis is, even if she didn't realize it. He had gone to the Digital World, like every time he had disappeared without a word (Though, those other times where with the rest of the Digi-destines).

She went home, now, to get on the computer. Everyone was doing their own thing, so she crept quickly and quietly to her room. Thankfully, no one heard her and didn't even glance at her. It was better that they thought she was still out with her friends, or else they'll have a missing person report on her when they see she isn't in her room. It happened once before.

Yolie e-mailed everyone else, to let them know where she was heading and why, and went into the Digital World. There, she looked and looked for Davis, but found no sign of him . . . Then she remembered she could track him down with the D-3.

"What's he doing over at the beach this late? Hopefully not going for a swim," Yolie stopped herself, realizing the other message that went with it. Was Davis desperate enough to kill himself?

Over at the beach, Yolie found Davis siting on the sand, looking at his D- 3. He knew that someone was tracking him, and yet he did nothing about it. That's a good sign . . . or is it bad? Could he be so far gone that he doesn't care?

"Davis," Yolie spoke his name softly. When he looked up, she nearly choked on her breath. His eyes were so hallow . . . "Davis, I'm sorry."

Davis just sat there.

"I know I shouldn't have said those things about you; they aren't true. You might not want to be my friend anymore, but I at least want you to know that I am sorry."

Silence fell over them like a vale of wool, heavy and scratchy. It was the kind of silence that made you want to fidget and look around. Yolie did her best to say still, but she wiggled her toes to help control the urge.

"It's alright," Davis whispered, his eyes now sad. "I should say I'm sorry to you. I should have never snapped at you like that in the hall. You were only trying to be a friend and find out my problem. Sorry."

"Hey, you had a right to be angry," she smiled a little, but it disappeared quickly. She sat beside him in the sand and asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?" he looked away, knowing fully well what she meant.

"I mean, what are you going to do now that you don't like us? Are you going to go on your own as a Destine? Are you going to stop hanging out with us at school?"

"I . . I don't know. I guess I'll continue to hang out with you and everyone else."

"Why? We don't deserve your friendship."

"Yeah, but I don't deserve your friendship, either. I am what you guys called me."

"No, you're not! Davis, we didn't really mean those things we said about you! You are a really great guy-"

"Then why did you say those things?" he asked, voice rising a little with anger.

"I . . . I don't know. Maybe we were venting our anger, like everyone else believes . . . Maybe we just didn't see the real you at the time . . . Maybe we were just being shit-heads." That part made Davis' shoulder jolt and his lips twitched a little (conditioned response), though his eyes didn't change. "Whatever the reason, I just know we shouldn't have said those things, and they're not true. I'm truly sorry, Davis."

"Yeah, me too."

"Oh, how sweet! I'm getting cavities just watching!" a rough voice said from behind them.

They looked behind them and saw a Digimon come towards them. It was Shellmon, an over-grown, pink turtle with a snail's shell on its back.

"What do you want?" Yolie snapped, mad at the Digimon for ruining the moment.

"What else? You're in my home and I want you out right now! Spiking Strike!"

Before either of them could move, a blast sent them flying to the water's edge. Yolie was just a little dazed and had a headache, but okay in general. Davis, on the other hand, got most of the blast. The right side of his head was buried into the sand, eyes closed. Burnt marks scraped down his arms and legs and left wholes in his clothing. His air was singe just a little, and he had a few, light burn marks from sliding in the sand. He moaned and tried to move, but winced when the burns flared to life. Pain ran threw him like a raw electric shock.

Yolie ran over to him and picked him up before anything else could be done. He screamed in pain, and all she could was say that she was sorry. Davis needed to be in a safe place where his wounds could be treated, and being close to a grumpy pink turtle wasn't one of those places. Not to mention that with out their Digimon to protect them, they were practically helpless.

The Digmon, however, wasn't satisfied with just scaring them off. It tried to attack them again, but Yolie managed to move fast enough to avoid the blow. It kept on firing and firing until they were way off the beach and out of site.

Finally, when they were safely in the forest, Yolie set Davis down. He was shaking with pain and his breaths were quick. Yolie realized how light he was – she barely had any trouble caring him. She didn't bother thinking about his weight right now and looked around for something that she could use to help his burns. Damnit, why didn't she take that First Aid class in the summer?

After a little bit of searching, she found a small creek and took of her tan vest, hoping this didn't ruin the fabric. With her vest completely soaked, she hurried back to Davis, who hadn't moved but was breathing normally. Yolie carefully placed her vest on one of the burns on his arms and . . .

"E-OW!!" Davis screamed, but controlled himself to not move. "Damn, that stung!"

"It's just water," Yolie blinked in surprise. "I guess it would hurt a little-"

"Try a lot!"

"-But still, I need to help your burns until you're not so soar and get back to our world."

"Why would I want to do that?" Davis asked, depressed.

"What do you mean?" Yolie, worried as he was depressed. "You're whole life is there. How can you just give it up?"

"Simple, I'll just give it up. It's not that hard to get rid of something that you hate."

"You can't hate your life-"

"Yes, I can. Of course, you won't understand. You have a family that loves you and friends that don't talk behind your back."

"Davis, would you stop it?" Anger replaced her worry. "We made fun of you, and I said I'm sorry! Weather if you forgive me or not, you don't need to carry on like this! You're a cool guy and you can make friends easily! No matter what we said that day in the computer lab, it doesn't matter. You are who you are, and from what I've seen, it's a very cool you."

"You . . mean it?" he looked up at her with soft, uncertain eyes.

"Yeah, I do," she smiled sweetly. "I mean, sure, sometimes you are a little annoying at times, but, hey, who isn't? It just adds to your character."

"TK's never annoying," he snorted.

"Are you kidding?" Yolie smirked. "You don't think that it's annoying the way he protects Kari as if she's some endangered species? Or what about his way of reasoning? Even I hate it some times that he's always right. Not to mention the way he dribbles that stupid basketball around like he's a pro!"

Davis had to laugh at that. TK did get full of himself sometimes, expectably with that basketball. Just the laughter made him feel better.

"Okay, bite down on your lip so you don't yell so damn loud again," Yolie warned and placed her wet vest on another burn. She heard him stifled a yelp and saw that he was shaking. Taking the vest to another burn, she waited until he stopped shaking before placing it on again. Man, he's really in pain, she thought sadly. Sorry, Davis.

After she had cleaned every wound, Yolie hung her vest over a tree branch, not realizing that Davis was looking around to the best of his capability.

"Where's Veemon?" Davis asked suddenly.

"Um?" Yolie spun around, looking as if to see him in the shadows. "I don't know. Was he suppose to be with you?"

"No, he wasn't," he said truthfully. "I guess I was so use to always having him by my side."

"Yeah, well, he is your best friend. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Where are you going?"

"Just to our world for a moment. I have to let my parents that I'm staying over at your house tonight."

"But, you aren't . . . ?"

"I know, but my parents don't have to know. I promise that I'll be back, okay?"

"Why don't I come, too?"

"If a little water makes you scream like a girl," she mentally said no offense to herself. "I don't want to risk you moving or traveling between worlds. Just stay put and I'll be back soon."

When Davis didn't reply, Yolie went off to the single on her D-3 that pointed out a portal. Once there, she got back to the computer room, sunk out to a pay phone and dialed up Davis' home phone number.

"Hello?"

"Jun?"

"Speaking."

"It's Yolie."

"Who?"

"The one that asked you where Davis was tonight."

"Oh, yeah. He still hasn't returned home."

"I know. I know where he is."

"You do? Where?"

"He's . . . at my house, sort of. Look, I just wanted you to know that he's safe . . . And, if you could, I want to sleep over at your house."

"What? Oh, oh! I see! Alright, I'll play along, one condition."

"What?"

"You know Matt, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Can you put the good word in for me?"

Yolie sighed, but agreed to it. After saying bye, she called up her folks and told them that she was going to be over at Davis' house. They complained that it was it was a school night, but she counter-attacked that by saying that she was going to help him with his math. With no other arguments that came to mind, they agreed and hung up with an "I love you."

She gave a sigh and then bolted to the computer room to get back to the Digital World.

***

"Wormmon!" the Digital Emperor spat, not taking his eyes off the screens.

"Yes, Master?" Wormmon crept out of the shadows, afraid of another beating, but loyal to Ken, still.

"I want you to bring . . . a guest here," he motioned with his hand to the screens that showed Davis from different angles.

" . . . Yes, Master."

"Do I hear uncertainty in your voice?"

"No, Master!" And to prove it, Wormmon went off with a bow to prepare for the aviary of their guest. He wondered what Ken would do with Davis, but he didn't asked, knowing that he'll be beaten for question the Digital Emperor. All he could do was wait and hope that Ken will come back to him.

He sent off two nameless Digimon, not really caring who went. The boy was alone and hurt, so he didn't need to worry about strength, tactics, or surprises. In five minutes flat, they came back with Davis wincing like it really hurt. Well, burns will do that to you.

"The Master wishes to see you," Wormmon said plainly. He turned and walked to where the Digital Emperor met all of his "guest." It was just an empty storage room, but the walls would scream in horror if they had voices. "Put him down here," he commanded and left to tell the Master that Davis was here.

Davis, not wanting to seem as helpless as he felt, stayed on his feet after he was dropped carelessly by the Digimon. He was a little worried sense those Digimon had no trouble in retaining him. All they had to do was barely touch his burns and pain would run threw him like wild horses, trampling his senses. He didn't have that much care for his life right now, but he knew that he didn't want to go out as a helpless victim of the Digital Emperor.

"So, I finally get to meet the famous Digi-destine leader," the Digital Emperor said at the doorway, catching Davis off guard.

He spun around, but didn't glare. "What do you want?" he asked as if he were reading a script.

"Why, I did I catch you at a bad time?" the blue-haired boy smirked.

"It's all been bad."

"Well, too bad, there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Davis gave a half of a sneer and snorted. "As if it were all about you."

"What?"

"Do you really think that I care what you do? Hell, burn the whole Digital World for all I care."

The Digital Emperor looked into Davis' eyes, trying to find out where these words really came from. He couldn't find any emotions in those brown eyes – not one. There was usually hate, happiness, passion, love, or something! Now, they were just like dolls eyes, empty and vague. What brought about this change in the leader of his enemy? It must have been big to do this to him.

"Oh, what's the matter, Davis? Did you give up so soon?" he sneered, trying to get some emotion of out Davis. He couldn't understand it, but seeing this usually lively boy with no sparkle in his eyes was . . . unnerving.

"Life has its ups and downs," Davis answered.

With that, Ken felt something tug at his memory. It was a time of when his brother, Sam, was still alive. For Ken, it had been one mistake after another all day long, and when Sam came home with a big, red A+ on his test, that had been the last straw for Ken. He ran to his room and started to sob into his pillow . . .

Sam opened the door to find his little brother crying in the dark. "Ken- chan, what's wrong?"

"Go-go away!" Ken half-shouted - most of it muffled by the pillow.

"But we're brothers. We're suppose to tell each other what's wrong," Sam sat on the side of the bed.

"Easy for you to say! You're the perfect one, remember?"

"Is this about my test?"

"My life!" Ken's voice started to waver. If he wasn't careful, his sobbing would turn out to full-out crying.

"Hey, don't worry, Ken-chan. Life has its ups and downs. You'll have your glory days and days where you're eating dirt – everybody does."

Ken looked up with disbelieve, "Not you."

"Yes, even me. I'll bet that you'll have a great tomorrow! You'll get all the questions right, people will like you, and you'll get to bring home an A+, too!"

This made Ken smile and stop sobbing. Somehow, even when he was just a shadow compare to Sam, his brother always managed to pull Ken back onto his feet. It was these moments that made Ken question how he could never hate his brother . . .

Sam was there for me when I felt sad or lost. Who'll be there for Davis? Ken surprised himself with that question. Why did he care if Davis was sad or anything? He had him in his grasp, and that's all that matter! He can get rid of the Digi-destine now that he has one of them. It was perfect.

"Wormmon!" the Digital Emperor snapped.

"Yes, Master?"

"Take him to the jail and lock him up," he ordered and left. He couldn't seem to bring himself to hurt Davis at the moment, but he passed it off as he's just thinking of his plan on how to get the Digi-destines.

Yolie will be back soon, find Davis gone, called the others, and when they come, the Digital Emperor will send out some Digimon slaves. Of course, as not to underestimate them, he'll have to send out a lot of powerful Digimon, too many for them to handle.

Once he thought up of the list for the Digimon that will take out the Digi- destine, he ordered them to wait around for them to arrive. He made it very clear that they were to wait until Yolie contacted the other Digi-destines before they attacked. This time, nothing is going to stand in his way. He'll see the Digi-brats dead even if it meant ripping out their hearts . . . witch didn't seem like a bad idea.

But his thoughts once again were turned back to Davis. It had seemed that the boy had already had his heart torn out. What had happened to make him seem so . . . lifeless? Well, it didn't matter, anyway . . . But still . . .

"Master? Where are you going?" Wormmon asked as he saw the Digital Emperor get up and leave. He usually never left his position unless he had something important to attend to, or go to the bathroom.

"Stay here and make sure those slaves don't screw anything up," he ordered, not even turning around. The Emperor knew where Davis was; he was in the closest cell, which would explain why Wormmon was back so early. Down the hallway and turn a corner, the Digital Emperor found what he sought. Davis was standing in the middle of the cell only because his wounds wouldn't let him sit down or lean against a wall.

Davis looked up and saw the Emperor, but didn't care. Those Digimon treated him pretty rough and his wounds were blazing with pain at the moment. What does he care that some over-stuffed-ego twisted kid want to have "fun" with him?

"So," the Digital Emperor started. What am I doing here? "How did you get those burns?"

"Shellmon decided that we were invading his territory," Davis stated flatly.

"What?! A Digimon who isn't under my control?"

Davis snickered coldly, "Impressive, isn't it? You think you know everything and that's it's all going your way, and then someone decides to show you wrong."

"What are you saying?" The Emperor snapped. "Are you saying that I'm not doing my job? I am the most fear-some power this world as ever seen!"

"That Shellmon didn't seem to think so. If he did, why did he make such a scene?" Davis pointed out with no emotions.

"You weren't speaking of me, were you?" the other boy asked, looking really close at Davis.

"Was I speaking of anyone?"

"Hn. You're appetents to confuse won't work. I see through your little act!"

"You're not the first to do so," Davis said, lowering his head. His thoughts went back to how this all started. If he had just stayed in his world, then maybe none of this would have happened . . . But oh well. You are where you are now and the ifs and maybes won't change that. He had to figure out to get out here so he can run away somewhere . . . anywhere.

There was nothing the Emperor could do that he could think of. They were at an impasse. Unless . . . Ken removed his goggles, letting them fall to the ground. He unlocked the door and stepped inside of the cell. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but something told him that he had to do something.

Davis didn't move, even though he heard the Emperor come. He'll probably want to torture him now, so why delay it? Isn't like he has anywhere to go . . . Unless . . .

Ken was now only inches away from Davis. He scooted closer and reached out to touch Davis' face. That's when Davis sprang to life! He grabbed the other boy's arm and flung him around to the back of the cell and then ran out of the cell, locking it before he ran off. Shouts were coming from everywhere, the Digimon slaves responding to the capture of their master. They tried to attack Davis, but only hit the wall or each other.

Davis kept running and dodging and turning corners, letting his primal instincts take him away from the danger. If the Digimon were attacking at the left, he went right. If the Digimon came from one way, he went another. He didn't care if he would be cornered or caught later on – just to run freely for as long as he could was all he could think of at the moment.

"Finally!" he breathed when he saw the exit door at the end of the hall. It was time to run freely in the open world.

"STOP HIM, YOU FOOLS!" Davis heard the Emperor shout at the top of his lungs, but from where he was, it sounded like loud whisper.

Only ten steps 'til freedom . . . Six . . . Two . . . Davis jumped out of the door, and wish he didn't. The base was an air base it seems. He went falling into the night. . . .

"Oaf!" he moaned as he hit something solid. Funny, the ground was still too far away to have landed yet. Who – what – was holding him? "Ex- Veemon?" Davis asked as he looked up to find his friend's worried face.

"Are you insane, Davis?" Ex-Veemon questioned as he landed on the ground and turned back into Veemon. "You could have gotten killed! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Oh, so you want to make fun of me, too?" the human glared at the Digimon.

"No! Davis, I'm just worried-"

"Yeah, you and everyone else."

"Everyone else is worried for you! When Yolie didn't find you, she contacted us and we came to see if we could find you. Then we were attacked by a bunch of Digimon slaves and after freeing them, we went looking for you! Davis, we were all so worried, that Kari even cried!"

"Kari . . . cried?" Davis whispered in shock. Why would Kari cry over him? She had TK, as much as he hated to admit it, and shouldn't be worrying about Davis. "Where are they?"

"Over there. We were going to raid the air base, but you jumped."

The human boy walked quietly in the discretion of which Veemon had pointed to and listen very carefully. He heard whispering, a few sobs, and a soothing voice. Moving a tree branch out of the way, he saw Kari crying, TK with his arms around her, trying to sooth her, and Yolie and Cody whispering to each other on what do next. They must have thought it was better that Kari and TK had their moment without interruptions, to be speaking in such soft voices.

"Hey, guys! I found him!" Veemon broke out of the covers of the trees, ruining the moment. Davis had wanted to stay hidden in the trees to see what they would do next, hoping for some insight on why they're worrying over him. That's not what they did a week ago . . .

"Davis!" Kari ran over to him once he showed him. No use in staying in the dark, at least physically. She hugged him and weep into his should, "I was so worried about you! Please, never do that again!"

"Alright, alright! Just get off me!" Davis said rather harshly. When he saw the hurt look in Kari's eyes, he added, "I have burns on my back and you were pressing hard on them."

"Oh, sorry," she stepped back, as if that could help the pain.

"Um, Davis," Cody came to up him, a mournful look. In his best apology voice, the kind that can't be acted, he said, "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the things we said and that we didn't say sorry sooner. Please, forgive me."

Davis couldn't be cold or emotionless with this. He nodded and said in a low, tight voice, as if he had been holding back tears for some time now, "It's alright. I guess I shouldn't have carried on like that."

"You had a right, too, Davis," TK said, standing where he stood. Something beneath his eyes moved from sight. Was he sad, jealous, of Davis for being hugged by Kari? Nah, couldn't be.

"So, what do we do now?" Yolie asked after a moment of silence.

"Get Davis back to our world so he can be treated for his wounds," Kari said right away.

"No, we don't have to," Davis said plainly. When everyone gave him a questioning look, he added, "My burns don't hurt that much, when they're left alone, and it isn't like I'm dying or anything. I'll just stay here until they don't hurt that much."

"Davis, burns can be serious," Cody said.

"Yeah, they hurt like hell, but, really, I'm fine."

"Davis, I don't what happened in that air base," TK sighed, "But you're not thinking clearly."

"Yes, I am," Davis tried to stay calm. They were doing it again, thinking of him as a lesser person. "I don't need to go to some doctor and get 'treated.' I'm fine."

"What about your family?" Yolie asked. "They'll be missing you-"

"Yeah, no one to clean up the dinner," Davis sneered, becoming cold again. "They don't care for me, so why should they care if I disappeared? They've never seemed to care before."

"Davis, that's not true," Yolie started, wondering if she should tell him how he has been able to get away with not being around when his partners were home, but she also thought that Jun should tell him herself.

"Yeah, right," he spat.

"Davis, you're being unreasonable," TK growled, getting tried of his friend's act.

"Unreasonable? Did you learn that from dribbling your balls around?" Davis lowered his eyes for a moment, to it make a perverted statement.

TK caught on. "What, you pervert!"

"Davis!" Kari said in shock. "Why did you say that?!"

"Maybe I felt like it," Davis shrugged lightly, not bring enough pain to his shoulders to show in his face.

"Please, let's not fight," Hawkmon pleaded. He, like all of the other Digimon, was standing by his human partners.

"Yeah, we're all friends," Palamon said, landing in TK's arms. "Friends don't fight each other."

I'm not sure I have friends, anymore . . . Davis thought sadly, though none of it showed on his face. He still had that cold, emotionless look on his face.

"Davis, say something, please," Yolie nearly whispered.

Davis was at a lost for words that wouldn't seem like ramblings or random feelings being pulled back from the past. What could he say? "Yeah, I'm sorry, my bad?" That wouldn't work, not for him, anyway. Why should he be the sorry one when they're the ones who hurt him? So, with nothing to say, he just remained quiet.

"So, that's it, huh? Nothing to say at all?" TK said rather darkly.

Davis glared at him, not likely the tone TK spoke in. In an even, angry tone with a tint of sadness, he asked sarcastically, "What do you want me to say? Yeah, we're still friends? Yeah, I was crazy to go to the Digital World alone and get attacked by that Shellmon? Or would rather just have me say I fucked up and am a lesser person than you because of it?"

"How about, thanking us for trying to save you?" TK spat back with the same tone - minus the sadness.

"I didn't ask to be saved in the first place."

"That's your problem. You don't ask. You just go off into battle, do whatever you wish, and not give a damn about what others think!"

"Look who's talking!" This time, it was Yolie with the comeback. Everyone looked at her as if she had just appeared out of thin air. When there's tension between two friends, it's hard to remember anyone else that's watching the scene, too. "You think that you're a perfect, little politician? You think that you listen to everyone and idea around you? You are such a hypocrite!"

"Yolie!" Kari gasped in surprised. Yolie, however, ignored her.

"You don't seem to ask other people what they're thinking, so why should you scorn Davis for it?!"

"Yolie, please don't make this any worse," Cody half-ordered, half-pleaded.

"How can anything get worse?!" Yolie shrieked.

Davis had remained quiet all the time, just listening to this purple haired girl defend him. Something inside of him started to move with him . . . It was like a lost part of him had found it's way back. Or maybe . . . maybe it was a part that he had never knew was there. Some secret, unknown feeling fills the area like warm bath water, clean and comforting. When he looks at Yolie, he feels the hole getting bigger and bigger, just to be filled in by the feeling. It's almost as if he's taking Yolie's spirit fire and putting it in his . . . heart?

Do I have one?

"The Digital Emperor could attack us," Veemon answered truthfully.

That comment, so matter-of-factually stated, stopped everyone for a second. Yolie blinked and cocked her head to one side. "Well, yeah, I guess that could make it worse . . ."

"Why are you guys even fighting? Aren't you all sorry that you made fun of Davis, despite whatever reason you did it for?" Hawkmon asked.

"Yes," Cody and Yolie said right away.

"Yes," Kari echoed him.

"Yes," TK nodded.

"Then why can't you guys just say your sorry, put it in the past, and try to get on with life?" Armadillomon suggested.

Davis looked at Cody's digimon. Why didn't he just put in the past, like he's done so many times before? Always before, if someone made fun of him - on purpose or not - he usually just forgot about it and went on with his life. Maybe he just couldn't put in the past, or maybe their words scared him. Sticks and stones may brake bones, but words can cut deeper than any tree or rock.

"I'm trying . . ." Yolie whispered. She looked up at Davis, a tear in her eyes and a sincere look on her face, and asked, "It's all up to you, Davis. You can stay our friends, or you can go and do something else. Whatever you do, I'll support you all the way."

The mysterious feeling started to push it's way past the walls of the hole and fill every fiber of him with it's warm presence. It gave him so much energy, he felt like running around the Digital World three times and then go swim all of the oceans on Earth! He left like smiling until the end of all times, even after his bones turned to dust. It felt like . . . love. The mysterious feeling was being loved. Not loving, but being loved back. He knew what it was to love, but to be loved was a hole another ball park. It felt so wonderful and Yolie gave it to him.

"I'll stay with you guys, if it's alright," Davis answered.

Yolie gave him a warm smile and nodded.

"I'm glad you decided to hang around us," Kari's smile echoed Yolie's.

Cody nodded, smiling his own gratefulness, and TK gave a sigh of relief and smiled a little, too. Davis felt the feeling of being loved renewed with each smiled. He started to wonder how could have ever been so cold, cruel, and distant, as if life didn't matter. It does, when people care about you and they show it. Maybe they didn't mean what they said in the computer room. Maybe they were just blowing steam, or being shitheads, whatever. It doesn't matter now. He knows where they stand now, that they're his friends, and THAT'S what matters!

"So, um, Davis?" Kari started, a little nervously. "I know that you don't think that you don't need to see a doctor, but please at least see Joe, so we can be sure that your burns won't hurt you later on."

" . . . Alright, if it'll make you feel better," Davis grinned, and got rewarded with another heart warming smile from Kari. The day was looking up, way up more and more.

They started to walk for the nearest portal out of the Digital World, relaxed and happy that they're all back together, on friendly terms-

BOOM!

A blast sent a tree falling right in front of them. TK grabbed Kari away from the falling tree and saved her from a head splitter. Everyone whipped around and saw the Digital Emperor and a wormmon standing behind them twenty feet away.

"What the heck do you want?!" Yolie snapped.

The Emperor smirked, eyes glinting evilly behind his blue-shaded goggles. "Why, only the worlds."

"Selfish brat," Davis mumbled so only his friends could hear. He raised his voice so the Emperor could hear him also, "Well, too bad, you can't have it!"

"I'll show you! Army, ATTACK!!"

At the command of that one word, dozens of digimon flew, ran, even slugged into view - all with black rings, all with the same red, evilly tint within their eyes. They went straight for the Digi-destines.

"Time to get serious!" Veemon shouted, jumping in front of Davis.

"Yeah, seriously kicking ass!" Davis shouted. "Digi-arm-energize!"

"Veemon, Digi-arm-vole to . . . Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

All of the other digi-destine followed Davis.

"Digi-arm-energize!"

"Armallidomon, digi-arm-vole to . . . Submarimon, the Reliable Guardian of the Sea!"

"Patamon, digi-arm-vole to . . . Pegasusmon, Galloping Hope!"

"Hawkmon, digi-arm-vole to . . . Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"Gatomon, digi-arm-vole to . . . Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

The Digmon took off into action! They flew to the army of enslaved digimon and attacked them, going for the rings.

"There's so many of them . . ." Kari noticed. "Do you think they can handle it?"

"Of course they can!" TK and Davis said at the same time. They looked at each other, and for a split second, there was a complete understanding that passed through the two boys. They both had faith in their digimon and will believe in them until the end.

"Halsemon!" Yolie cried, running towards her fallen digimon, who had de- digi-voled back to Hawkmon. "Hawkmon . . .are you alright?" she picked him up and cradled him like a baby.

" . . . I'm sorry, Yolie," Hawkmon whispered.

"Don't be, you did great," Yolie whispered back right before Hawkmon fainted. With tears burning hot in her eyes, she took Hawkmon back to the group of humans. "Here, take care of Hawkmon," she handed him to Davis.

"Wha? Yolie, what are you doing?" Davis asked, bewildered.

"I'm going to teach that brat a lesson about hurting someone," Yolie spoke harsh and evenly. She turned and ran before anyone could react. Screaming in pain and fury, the tears flowed like a river, draining her emotions away.

"Yolie!" Davis shoved Hawkmon into Cody's arms, who was the closest to him at the time, and ran after the girl.

"BASTER!!!" Yolie screeched, pounding her fist into the unexpected Emperor. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH PAIN AND SUFFERING YOU'VE MADE! I SHOULD KILL YOU AND RID THE WORLDS OF YOU!"

The Digital Emperor looked back at her for a second, shocked at her words and her courage. Then he regained himself in the blink of an eye and punched her back, causing her to stumble back a little. "You should know better than to hit your Emperor."

"You're not my Emperor," Yolie sneered, getting into a crouching position. She had never fought in a battle, or even just for practice, but she's seen enough action movies to get a vague idea of how it goes. "You're on one's Emperor."

She swung her fist to him, but he blocked it, so she kicked him and sent him to the ground.

"Master!" Wormmon called, running over to him. He had ran off to protect himself from the blast of the fighting digimon, but now he regrets it. As he watched his master get to his feet, he felt the anger boil in his blood. He faced Yolie and shouted, "Silk Thread!"

The silk thread seemed moved threw the air at a slow speed, as if Yolie had all the time in the world to move. The world slowed down until it was at a complete, gray stop. Yolie's eyes widen as she realized what had happened.

"DAVIS!" Her screech broke the timeless moment and Davis fell to the ground, with needles sticking out of his chest – one in his left lung, one in stomach, and one in his heart.

Yolie fell to her knees and picked up Davis, who didn't cringe at her touch, not a good sign. She noticed little pricks on his back. The needles had shot all the way through his body. Definitely not a good sign. "Davis . . . Oh, God . . . Davis, why? Why!?" Yolie whimpered, not wanting to believe what she was seeing, but knowing it was all true.

Davis looked up at her, coughing a little blood out, and smiled weakly. He opened his mouth to say something, but only brought out more blood with a few choking noises. He knew why he had done it . . . If only he could tell her.

" . . . You'd've done . . . the same," he finally choked out.

"But . . . But, you can't!" Yolie couldn't find all the words to make her thoughts into words; too many emotions got in the way. "This isn't fair! Is not! Don't go . . . !"

Davis used his last bit of energy to raise his hand. Yolie took it and squeezed it genitally. He squeezed back, letting her know that he was still there.

"Davis . . . I . . . I'm sorry . . ."

Don't be sorry . . . Was his last thought before a darkness swept over his body, shutting it down for good, one function at a time. First his ability to move, then smell, then hearing . . . and soon only his sight remained. The last thing he recognized was Yolie's sweet face before his body began to dissolved into little bits of data. In a bright shade of red, like fresh blood, Davis floated away into the sky.

"N-no . . .!" Yolie cried, trying to hold onto Davis. All the little pieces of data slipped out of her hands and soon all she was left with to hold was the Crest of Courage and his D3.

What was once Davis' body gathered in a mass of bright red dots and blasted its way out threw the sky. They all landed on the enslaved digimon and broke off the black rings that controlled them. The digi-destine's digimon stopped fighting and looked in amazement at what was happening. They de- digi-voled themselves and went to their humans, who were all in shock and tears.

Hawkmon saw Yolie sitting by herself, shoulders shaking, and little hick- upping noises came from her. She's crying, he realized. He went over to her and touch her shoulder with his wing.

"Yolie . . .?" he question. Yolie didn't respond, just opened her hand that she clutched to her chest like a life line. Hawkmon saw the Crest of Courage, and the D3, and understood. "Oh, Yolie."

" . . . I don't . . . understand . . ." Yolie choked, crying harder. Everyone had given her space to cry, mainly because they didn't know how to approach her, even if they should. Kari had started to sob, so TK hugged her, with a tear of his own.

Cody went up to Yolie, and placed his hand on her other shoulder. "Davis had given up his life to protect you. He didn't want you to died. I think, after what we did to him, you were his reason for living. He didn't want you to die because of that."

Yolie's sobs calmed down a little and she placed her free hand on Cody's and hugged Hawkmon for a brief moment.

The Digital Emperor had backed off to where he couldn't be seen and watched Yolie cry for the lost boy. He had had held that brave boy as a prisoner. Now he sees how wrong it was to ever try to cage Davis, the Child of Courage. Out of all his darkness, one sad tear rolled down his cheek before he went off to find a portal. There's no more reason to stay there. He's not wanted, so why stay? He'd probably be accused of killing Davis . . .

"Master?" Wormmon asked in a low voice as he shuffled up to the Emperor. "I'm sorry for killing him. I didn't mean to. I thought I was protecting you."

"It's alright," the Emperor sighed. He bent down and picked up Wormmon. With a small hug, he whispered, "Call me Ken."

"Ken?" Wormmon looked up with so many emotions on his face, half couldn't even be named.

"Come on, I want to go home," Ken gave a small smiled and walked on to the portal. Maybe he'll take up taking over the Digital World again, some day. But for now, even his heart was wounded and needed some time to mend. His once greatest foe, on the field and in the Digital World, was dead . . . Even that can leave a dent in the heart of the one who wanted him dead the most.

Sometimes, death is the only to give life to what had become cold. . .

~ End ~