Yes, I finally continued. I'm so sorry for being this late! I hope this chapter will make it up to you all. I do not own Digimon or Card Captor Sakura...
*~*~*~*~*
Digital Cards
Memory
*~*~*~*~*
"Sora-san!" Takeru shouted through the trees. They had been walking in a straight line for the last five minutes. Had she really searched this far? She said she wouldn't go far…
"She's close by, I know it." Sakura announced
"Which way?"
"This way." Sakura said and they continued to follow her.
"Sora-san!" Hikari repeated
They walked a few seconds before finally Sakura stopped. "I don't get it…"
"What is it, Kinomoto-san?"
"I can feel her aura coming from right here but…"
"…She's not here." Takeru ended for her
"Do you know from which direction?" questioned Hikari. She didn't know the limits of finding auras but she really wanted to find Sora.
"It seems to have dimmed… gotten weaker… I think she may be hurt…" Sakura confessed
"Hurt! How hurt? Is she okay?" Takeru gasped
"I don't know, but her aura is coming from that tree." Sakura replied and pointed to the tree beside them. Takeru went up to examine it.
"It looks like a normal tree to me." He stated and looked up into the branches. "Sora-san!"
"No, I would be able to feel her aura up there. I'm sure she's at the same level as us." Sakura commented on the direction Takeru was yelling
"Is the aura coming from the tree or just behind it?" Hikari asked who was walking up to examine the tree with Takeru.
Sakura circled around the tree just to be sure but in the end it was the same answer.
"No, I'm positive the aura is coming from the middle of the tree."
"Maybe it's just…"
Sakura's eyes widened and her hand shot up in a 'please be quite' motion. She closed her eyes in concentration.
Takeru and Hikari looked at each other in question. Did she find Sora? When Sakura finally opened her eyes, Takeru decided to ask.
"What is it?"
"Piedmon…" Sakura hesitated
"He's coming?!"
"Not here… he's going toward a different group…"
"The others?! We have to get there!" Hikari cried
"But what about Sora? She's hurt! We can't just leave her here!" Takeru pointed out.
"It's one or the other! He's heading right for them!" Sakura stated
Takeru's swore under his breath as his hands clenched into fists. This was a terribly hard decision. Some of the other digidestined were in trouble and needed help. But on the other hand, Sora was injured and may even be dieing.
"Sora-san is safe for now. Let's hurry to the other group." Takeru directed
The two girls nodded in approval. The three of them looked over at the tree, just in case, and after finding nothing, ran back into the trees.
*~*~*~*~*
"It's no use! This stupid thing just won't work!" Daisuke shouted and started banging his D-terminal against the ground.
"Maybe something happened with hers… try Takeru-kun… or Iori-kun." Miyako suggested.
Daisuke grumbled as he began typing in another message on his D-terminal. He clicked send and waited for a few seconds.
"It's no use! The same message popped up for Iori's D-terminal too!"
"What does the message say again?" Miyako asked
"It just says that the user is unavailable. Maybe Hikari-chan and Iori-kun got turned into cards!"
"I don't think that's it…" Ken interrupted. He was sitting beside Miyako, looking down at his own D-terminal.
"What makes you say that?" Miyako questioned
"Did you get a message on your D-terminal just now Daisuke?"
Daisuke looked down at his miniature computer, then shook his head. "No, why?"
"I just sent you an e-mail, but you didn't get it. It must be that the D-terminals aren't working."
"Gah! That sucks!" Daisuke grumbled, but he was also really relieved. "In that case, we'll have to go search for the others the old fashioned way."
*~*~*~*~*
"Oh no!" Sakura gasped
"What is it?" Hikari called out from behind.
"The group! They're moving towards Piedmon! I'm afraid we won't make it!"
"We have to get there faster!" Takeru yelled
Sakura stopped and took out her Sakura cards from her backpack. Without having to flip through them, she instinctively pulled out the Jump card.
"Oh Kami-sama, please let this work." She prayed under her breath and flipped the card forward. It flew up into the air and fluttered to the ground as if it wasn't one of the powerful Sakura cards created by Clow Reed.
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. This was their only hope. She could have gone ahead with the jump card then brought the other two along behind her with the Float card.
Hikari bent down to receive the Jump card. "We better get going, unless we might not make it."
Sakura wiped the tears forming in her eyes and looked up. Hikari also looked sad, but she was forcing a smile. Sakura accepted the card from Hikari's hand thankfully. She nodded and began running again. "Yes, lets go. We may still have a chance to get there in time."
"How many are there? What colour are their auras?" Takeru questioned
"There's a blue one, a pink one, and that other red one."
"The red one is Miyako, the blue one is either Yamato of Daisuke, and the pink one is…" Takeru hesitated
"Ken." Hikari finished for him, "Ken has the crest of kindness. It's pink, remember?"
"That's right…"
"Your crests… have names?" Sakura gasped between breaths.
"Yes, the original digidestined… have special crests… for their most special attribute" Hikari panted. She was also getting worn-out from running.
"How much further?" Takeru puffed
"Just a little bit this way!"
*~*~*~*~*
"I think we should go back to the real world and look for the others on the D-port." Miyako suggested.
"That's a good idea. Then we can go through the portal closest to them." Ken agreed.
They both looked ahead for Daisuke's approval. He seemed to be ignoring them.
"Oi… Daisuke-kun…" Miyako whined
"I'm not going back without Hikari-chan! You two can leave, but it will be alone." Daisuke shot back.
"Fine, fine… but where are we going?"
Daisuke stopped in his tracks. He had gone rigid.
"Daisuke! Don't tell me you got us lost again!" Miyako yelled, but Daisuke didn't respond. What was wrong with him? Was he mad at them?
"Mou… Daisuke-kun, don't be mad. We aren't going to leave…"
Before Miyako could finish, Ken yanked her arm, pulling her body into his. He gently covered her mouth with his hand.
Miyako blushed madly. Ken was holding her. She had always wanted this to happen. Her head was so close to his. She could smell him, and it was better than she expected. If only he would take his hand off of her mouth so she could kiss him…
Miyako then began to hear something in the distance. Her ears perked up and she found that is was a voice. Before she could pick up who it was, Ken started pulling her into a bush. Did he know who it was? Was it Piedmon?
After making sure Miyako was completely hidden, Ken looked back at Daisuke. He was still standing in the same spot, tense as ever.
"Daisuke! What are you doing? Hide!" Ken directed, but Daisuke gave no indication of even hearing him. The voice was approaching and Ken could now hear what the voice was saying.
"…1 card, 2 cards, 3 cards is what I see. Courage, Knowledge, and Responsibility. One more card and I'll have 4. Come out kids so I'll have more. Run and hide away from me. Run and hide so you'll stay free…"
"Stay here." Ken whispered to Miyako and ran out to his friend. It wasn't until then when he saw the boys face. Ken could hardly recognise him. This had to have been the angriest he had ever seen Daisuke. His mouth curved into a snarl and his eyes were literally red with rage.
"Daisuke! Snap out of it…" Ken whispered harshly and grabbed onto his arm.
"Let go of me Ken." Daisuke growled under his breath.
"Daisuke, I…"
"Well what do we have here…?" A voice interrupted. Piedmon stepped out from behind a tree. "I don't remember you boys… Oh well, no matter. You are still digidestined and that means you are going to be mine."
Piedmon put his hand into his coat and pulled out the black cloak.
"Daisuke! Let's get out of here!" Ken urged
"I ran…" Ken could hear Daisuke whisper. "I knew Taichi was staying behind but I still ran…"
"Daisuke, It wasn't your fault! But we have to run now!" Ken said. He was now pulling on Daisuke's arm.
"It was!" Daisuke snapped, "And you, Piedmon, are going to pay!"
Daisuke pushed Ken away and began running towards the taller digimon.
"Daisuke!" Ken cried from where he had fallen to the ground. Again, Daisuke didn't listen. Piedmon smirked as he saw the boy approaching.
"You? Beat me? I sincerely doubt it." Piedmon chuckled and unfolded his magic cloak. But Daisuke didn't hesitate. He continued charging at the threat.
Ken stood up. He wanted to get to his friend before he got himself turned into a card. He was about to run after Daisuke but something was holding him back. He turned his head and saw Miyako standing there. His shirt was clenched in her fist and her forehead was against his back.
"Ken-kun… please… don't leave…" He heard her plea.
"Miyako, I told you to stay in the bush…" Ken began and turned around. Miyako had her head bowed and now Ken could see why. Silent tears were running down her cheeks. The child of kindness embraced the crying girl. Daisuke would have to wait until Miyako was safe, even though he didn't think he would be able to help now. Daisuke just couldn't seem to control himself. Ken started to pull Miyako back to the bushes, hoping Piedmon hadn't seen her, but it was too late.
"Three digidestined? This turned out better than I thought. This will triple the amount I have now. Hey, you two! Come over here!"
Ken cursed under his breath and turned around. He saw that Piedmon had thrown the cloak but Daisuke had been able to dodge it and it was now lying beside him. Daisuke looked to be thinking about what to do next. Even though Piedmon didn't have his cloak at hand, he didn't appear worried. Everything seemed to be a game to him.
"I told you to come here! Or are you going to run away and leave this boy behind?" Piedmon yelled, gesturing to Daisuke.
Seeing that his opponent was distracted, Daisuke lunged at Piedmon with a stick he found on the ground. This took Piedmon by surprise and the 14 year old was able to whack him across the face with it. Daisuke landed on his feet in front of the clown and looked up at him. Piedmon's hand went straight to his cheek where he felt a small gash. This angered him a great deal and he pulled out a black key from his coat. Piedmon didn't even have to say anything before it merged into his glove, creating a gauntlet. With the other hand, Piedmon pulled out a pink card and threw it in front of him. It floated in the air for a couple seconds before Piedmon swung his arm at it.
"Shot!"
A young girl with crazy pink hair emerged from the card and turned into a ball of light. She hovered over the boy, getting ready to attack.
"Daisuke! Run! That's the card that shot Agumon!" Ken yelled, but it was too late. The ball of light shot Daisuke right in the chest, sending him backwards into a tree.
"Daisuke!" Ken screamed and ran towards his friend, followed by the crying Miyako. Halfway there, Piedmon intercepted them. Again, he had his cloak in his hand.
"This brat just ruined my face. I'll be sure to torture him for it later. I'll torture him just like I tortured those cards that disobeyed me. But first, I'll turn you two into cards and be even more powerful!" Piedmon laughed and threw his cloak above Ken and Miyako. Ken turned around and pushed Miyako away, hoping she would run. Ken thought to himself, what would it like being a card? Would it be painful turning into one? Even though he wouldn't be able to protect Miyako when he was a card, he just wanted her to be safe.
Ken realised that the cloak should have landed on him by now. He looked over to where he pushed Miyako and saw that she was on the ground. A look of shock was pasted on her face.
"Daisuke-kun!" She screamed and Ken spun around. The black cloak had landed to the left of him a bit but that wasn't what shocked him. Daisuke was no longer lying under the tree.
Piedmon smirked and picked up his cloak. Underneath was a blue card with the crests of Courage and Friendship on the back.
"Feh, so he managed to prolong the time you are to stay human. No matter, I'll get you two now." Piedmon sneered
"Ken-kun!" Miyako cried and got up off the ground. Ken told her to stay back but she didn't listen. She ran to the boy, embracing him around the chest. Ken put his arms around Miyako. Piedmon threw the cloak into the air above him. Ken swore under his breath. There was nothing he could do for Daisuke and now Miyako was going to be turned into a card.
Ken looked up at the black cloak above him but all of a sudden it disappeared with a pink flash. He looked over to his left and found the cloak attached to a tree by a pink arrow. To the right was a pink girl with purple clothes Ken recognized at the Arrow card. The young girl was frowning at the scowling digimon. A few seconds later, the panting mistress of the cards ran up behind Arrow.
"It's you again!" Piedmon snapped just as Takeru and Hikari ran up beside Sakura. Piedmon grinned. "Ah… I thought I would have to search the digital world for you, boy, but it seems you came to me."
Hikari panicked. Piedmon was still after Takeru? She grabbed onto Takeru's hand, afraid for his safety. Takeru looked over at Hikari, shocked at her reaction. He saw fear in her eyes.
"Arrow-san…" Sakura began, but she didn't need to finish. Arrow immediately lifted her bow and shot an arrow straight at Piedmon's head. The Arrow was deflected by Piedmon's invisible shield and Piedmon smirked. He looked down at Sakura but was surprised to see that she was also smirking.
"I was surprised to see a creature as evil as yourself could even have a hint of love in him, but I think your luck is running out." Sakura called out. "For you see, Piedmon, the more evil you become, the less love you will have to protect yourself."
Piedmon frowned at the girl's words. He did not understand her logic. His shield was…
Piedmon looked closer at his shield. He was surprised to see a small crack right where the arrow was deflected.
"Arrow-s…" Before Sakura could finish ordering Arrow to shoot at the shield, she was interrupted by Piedmon's voice.
"Shoot her!" He yelled. Behind him, the white ball of light appeared. Ken had forgotten all about the Shot card. He had also forgotten about the way he was holding Miyako. He let go of her, and to his surprise, she seemed a little disappointed. Without a second though, Ken began pulling her away to safety.
In the meantime, Shot was slowly advancing on Arrow. Her movements were jolty and Sakura knew that Shot was trying not to follow Piedmon's direction. Sakura had never thought before if her cards were 'made' to do what she told them to. Did she ever make them do anything they didn't want to do?
Arrow was trying to decide what to shoot at. Her bow wavered between her two friends, the Shield card and the Shot card. The shield needed at least five more shots before it could be broken. And while she was attacking it, Shot would surely loose control and shoot at her. Arrow thought about it for a sec, and then finally made her decision.
Sakura gaped as she watched her friend's arrow slowly become brighter. It grew so bright she had to look away. There was an ear splitting "twang" and Sakura heard the arrow contact something. She looked forward and found that the shield had completely shattered. Arrow collapsed to the ground in exhaustion as Sakura ran up to her.
"Arrow-san! Daijoubu ka?" Sakura cried. Arrow looked up at her, smiling slightly, and then disappeared. Her body was replaced with a pink Sakura card, which flew into Sakura's hand. Sakura silently thanked her friend. Arrow had used all of her magical strength to destroy the shield.
"Feh, you may have broken my shield little girl, but I'm afraid you don't have anything to defend yourself now." Piedmon laughed. The Shot card was right beside him. She seemed a little more relaxed for now.
Sakura gasped. The evil digimon was right. With Arrow gone, Sakura didn't have any cards left. She reached into her pouch and pulled out the deck of cards she had. She threw the Snow card in front of her but before she could swing her pink staff, the card fluttered to the ground. Sakura picked it up sadly.
"Oh… It looks like you found my other deck. I wonder, did you also find the secret room behind it?" Piedmon laughed. Sakura just glared at him.
"I take that as a yes. Well, no bother, even if you find a way to release those cards, they will be no use to you. For that is my discarded deck, my unwanted deck, the deck of cards that did not obey me. I didn't leave an inch of skin on their bodies unharmed. If you released them, I wouldn't be surprised if they died on the spot. Oh! By the way, you can add these to that deck as well." Piedmon said and threw down two cards at Sakura. Tears were already streaming down her face at the thought of her friends being tortured by the clown digimon. She picked up the two cards and found that they were the Shield card and the Sleep card.
Piedmon looked over at Takeru, who was still standing a bit behind Sakura, with Hikari. Ken and Miyako had also joined them.
"How long do you think you would have stayed hidden if you hadn't fallen asleep?" Piedmon asked. Takeru looked up at him in shock. How did he know they had fallen asleep? Did he know where they were all along?
"Take that time and that's how long it would have taken me to get you, brat. If it wasn't for that stupid Sleep card, you would all be cards right now. Lucky for you, I found that Sleep was missing from my deck and went after it. I realise I could have stayed in my cave until you all woke up and took the bait, but I couldn't stand the thought of one of my cards disobeying me and not being punished for it." Piedmon smirked, "Sleep was not hard to find. And that all doesn't matter now, for you will become mine!"
Piedmon walked over to his cloak, where it was lying on the ground. When Arrow returned to her card form, her arrow disappeared, so the cloak was no longer attached to the tree.
He turned around and saw Takeru trying to pull Hikari away. Hikari was trying to get Sakura off the ground.
"Hikari! We have to get away!" Takeru yelled
"Not without her!" Hikari cried. Ken was also pulling Miyako into the trees.
"Kinomoto-san! We have to get away!" Hikari told Sakura.
Takeru was getting frustrated and decided to use force. He picked up Hikari and swung her over his shoulder. She was astonishingly light. He grabbed onto Sakura's underarm and began pulling her towards the woods. Sakura's eyes were open and her legs were moving beneath her but she didn't appear conscious. She seemed to be in shock.
"There's no use running children!" Takeru heard Piedmon say, but Sakura did not.
"What do I do… what do I do… what do I do…?" Sakura kept on repeating in her mind. All she could see before her was stark white. Nothing was there.
"Is this a nice place?" Sakura heard a voice say. She recognized this voice, for she had heard it before. "Why did you come here?"
"I… I don't know… There was nothing I could do…" Sakura mumbled
"Is that so?"
"Yes, my friends got hurt and it was all my fault. Now, because of me, my new friends are going to get hurt."
"Why was it your fault?" the female voice continued
"Because I wasn't there for them…"
"Do you know where your new friends are now?"
"They… they're… I-I forget…"
"Hmm… that is a problem…"
"Will you help me?"
"Help you? Help you with what?"
"Help my friends…"
"My dear, you need to tell me what you want."
"I… I forget."
"Then I'm afraid I cannot help you."
"Then what should I do?" Sakura cried as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I CAN'T CRY! I have to do my best! Even if I disappear!"
Sakura blinked. Where did that come from? A flashback… but a flashback of what? She was remembering something from her past… Not too long ago… It was in her dream. Her dream was about the play she did a few years ago.
Sakura smiled. "It'll be alright. It'll surely be okay."
Suddenly a bright light emerged from within her.
"Light!"
*~*~*~*~*
Whew! This chapter was longer than most wasn't it? There was originally going to be more to the end but I'm getting really tired and I go to my dad's tomorrow so I wanted to finish it this weekend.
Please review!!!
*~*~*~*~*
Digital Cards
Memory
*~*~*~*~*
"Sora-san!" Takeru shouted through the trees. They had been walking in a straight line for the last five minutes. Had she really searched this far? She said she wouldn't go far…
"She's close by, I know it." Sakura announced
"Which way?"
"This way." Sakura said and they continued to follow her.
"Sora-san!" Hikari repeated
They walked a few seconds before finally Sakura stopped. "I don't get it…"
"What is it, Kinomoto-san?"
"I can feel her aura coming from right here but…"
"…She's not here." Takeru ended for her
"Do you know from which direction?" questioned Hikari. She didn't know the limits of finding auras but she really wanted to find Sora.
"It seems to have dimmed… gotten weaker… I think she may be hurt…" Sakura confessed
"Hurt! How hurt? Is she okay?" Takeru gasped
"I don't know, but her aura is coming from that tree." Sakura replied and pointed to the tree beside them. Takeru went up to examine it.
"It looks like a normal tree to me." He stated and looked up into the branches. "Sora-san!"
"No, I would be able to feel her aura up there. I'm sure she's at the same level as us." Sakura commented on the direction Takeru was yelling
"Is the aura coming from the tree or just behind it?" Hikari asked who was walking up to examine the tree with Takeru.
Sakura circled around the tree just to be sure but in the end it was the same answer.
"No, I'm positive the aura is coming from the middle of the tree."
"Maybe it's just…"
Sakura's eyes widened and her hand shot up in a 'please be quite' motion. She closed her eyes in concentration.
Takeru and Hikari looked at each other in question. Did she find Sora? When Sakura finally opened her eyes, Takeru decided to ask.
"What is it?"
"Piedmon…" Sakura hesitated
"He's coming?!"
"Not here… he's going toward a different group…"
"The others?! We have to get there!" Hikari cried
"But what about Sora? She's hurt! We can't just leave her here!" Takeru pointed out.
"It's one or the other! He's heading right for them!" Sakura stated
Takeru's swore under his breath as his hands clenched into fists. This was a terribly hard decision. Some of the other digidestined were in trouble and needed help. But on the other hand, Sora was injured and may even be dieing.
"Sora-san is safe for now. Let's hurry to the other group." Takeru directed
The two girls nodded in approval. The three of them looked over at the tree, just in case, and after finding nothing, ran back into the trees.
*~*~*~*~*
"It's no use! This stupid thing just won't work!" Daisuke shouted and started banging his D-terminal against the ground.
"Maybe something happened with hers… try Takeru-kun… or Iori-kun." Miyako suggested.
Daisuke grumbled as he began typing in another message on his D-terminal. He clicked send and waited for a few seconds.
"It's no use! The same message popped up for Iori's D-terminal too!"
"What does the message say again?" Miyako asked
"It just says that the user is unavailable. Maybe Hikari-chan and Iori-kun got turned into cards!"
"I don't think that's it…" Ken interrupted. He was sitting beside Miyako, looking down at his own D-terminal.
"What makes you say that?" Miyako questioned
"Did you get a message on your D-terminal just now Daisuke?"
Daisuke looked down at his miniature computer, then shook his head. "No, why?"
"I just sent you an e-mail, but you didn't get it. It must be that the D-terminals aren't working."
"Gah! That sucks!" Daisuke grumbled, but he was also really relieved. "In that case, we'll have to go search for the others the old fashioned way."
*~*~*~*~*
"Oh no!" Sakura gasped
"What is it?" Hikari called out from behind.
"The group! They're moving towards Piedmon! I'm afraid we won't make it!"
"We have to get there faster!" Takeru yelled
Sakura stopped and took out her Sakura cards from her backpack. Without having to flip through them, she instinctively pulled out the Jump card.
"Oh Kami-sama, please let this work." She prayed under her breath and flipped the card forward. It flew up into the air and fluttered to the ground as if it wasn't one of the powerful Sakura cards created by Clow Reed.
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. This was their only hope. She could have gone ahead with the jump card then brought the other two along behind her with the Float card.
Hikari bent down to receive the Jump card. "We better get going, unless we might not make it."
Sakura wiped the tears forming in her eyes and looked up. Hikari also looked sad, but she was forcing a smile. Sakura accepted the card from Hikari's hand thankfully. She nodded and began running again. "Yes, lets go. We may still have a chance to get there in time."
"How many are there? What colour are their auras?" Takeru questioned
"There's a blue one, a pink one, and that other red one."
"The red one is Miyako, the blue one is either Yamato of Daisuke, and the pink one is…" Takeru hesitated
"Ken." Hikari finished for him, "Ken has the crest of kindness. It's pink, remember?"
"That's right…"
"Your crests… have names?" Sakura gasped between breaths.
"Yes, the original digidestined… have special crests… for their most special attribute" Hikari panted. She was also getting worn-out from running.
"How much further?" Takeru puffed
"Just a little bit this way!"
*~*~*~*~*
"I think we should go back to the real world and look for the others on the D-port." Miyako suggested.
"That's a good idea. Then we can go through the portal closest to them." Ken agreed.
They both looked ahead for Daisuke's approval. He seemed to be ignoring them.
"Oi… Daisuke-kun…" Miyako whined
"I'm not going back without Hikari-chan! You two can leave, but it will be alone." Daisuke shot back.
"Fine, fine… but where are we going?"
Daisuke stopped in his tracks. He had gone rigid.
"Daisuke! Don't tell me you got us lost again!" Miyako yelled, but Daisuke didn't respond. What was wrong with him? Was he mad at them?
"Mou… Daisuke-kun, don't be mad. We aren't going to leave…"
Before Miyako could finish, Ken yanked her arm, pulling her body into his. He gently covered her mouth with his hand.
Miyako blushed madly. Ken was holding her. She had always wanted this to happen. Her head was so close to his. She could smell him, and it was better than she expected. If only he would take his hand off of her mouth so she could kiss him…
Miyako then began to hear something in the distance. Her ears perked up and she found that is was a voice. Before she could pick up who it was, Ken started pulling her into a bush. Did he know who it was? Was it Piedmon?
After making sure Miyako was completely hidden, Ken looked back at Daisuke. He was still standing in the same spot, tense as ever.
"Daisuke! What are you doing? Hide!" Ken directed, but Daisuke gave no indication of even hearing him. The voice was approaching and Ken could now hear what the voice was saying.
"…1 card, 2 cards, 3 cards is what I see. Courage, Knowledge, and Responsibility. One more card and I'll have 4. Come out kids so I'll have more. Run and hide away from me. Run and hide so you'll stay free…"
"Stay here." Ken whispered to Miyako and ran out to his friend. It wasn't until then when he saw the boys face. Ken could hardly recognise him. This had to have been the angriest he had ever seen Daisuke. His mouth curved into a snarl and his eyes were literally red with rage.
"Daisuke! Snap out of it…" Ken whispered harshly and grabbed onto his arm.
"Let go of me Ken." Daisuke growled under his breath.
"Daisuke, I…"
"Well what do we have here…?" A voice interrupted. Piedmon stepped out from behind a tree. "I don't remember you boys… Oh well, no matter. You are still digidestined and that means you are going to be mine."
Piedmon put his hand into his coat and pulled out the black cloak.
"Daisuke! Let's get out of here!" Ken urged
"I ran…" Ken could hear Daisuke whisper. "I knew Taichi was staying behind but I still ran…"
"Daisuke, It wasn't your fault! But we have to run now!" Ken said. He was now pulling on Daisuke's arm.
"It was!" Daisuke snapped, "And you, Piedmon, are going to pay!"
Daisuke pushed Ken away and began running towards the taller digimon.
"Daisuke!" Ken cried from where he had fallen to the ground. Again, Daisuke didn't listen. Piedmon smirked as he saw the boy approaching.
"You? Beat me? I sincerely doubt it." Piedmon chuckled and unfolded his magic cloak. But Daisuke didn't hesitate. He continued charging at the threat.
Ken stood up. He wanted to get to his friend before he got himself turned into a card. He was about to run after Daisuke but something was holding him back. He turned his head and saw Miyako standing there. His shirt was clenched in her fist and her forehead was against his back.
"Ken-kun… please… don't leave…" He heard her plea.
"Miyako, I told you to stay in the bush…" Ken began and turned around. Miyako had her head bowed and now Ken could see why. Silent tears were running down her cheeks. The child of kindness embraced the crying girl. Daisuke would have to wait until Miyako was safe, even though he didn't think he would be able to help now. Daisuke just couldn't seem to control himself. Ken started to pull Miyako back to the bushes, hoping Piedmon hadn't seen her, but it was too late.
"Three digidestined? This turned out better than I thought. This will triple the amount I have now. Hey, you two! Come over here!"
Ken cursed under his breath and turned around. He saw that Piedmon had thrown the cloak but Daisuke had been able to dodge it and it was now lying beside him. Daisuke looked to be thinking about what to do next. Even though Piedmon didn't have his cloak at hand, he didn't appear worried. Everything seemed to be a game to him.
"I told you to come here! Or are you going to run away and leave this boy behind?" Piedmon yelled, gesturing to Daisuke.
Seeing that his opponent was distracted, Daisuke lunged at Piedmon with a stick he found on the ground. This took Piedmon by surprise and the 14 year old was able to whack him across the face with it. Daisuke landed on his feet in front of the clown and looked up at him. Piedmon's hand went straight to his cheek where he felt a small gash. This angered him a great deal and he pulled out a black key from his coat. Piedmon didn't even have to say anything before it merged into his glove, creating a gauntlet. With the other hand, Piedmon pulled out a pink card and threw it in front of him. It floated in the air for a couple seconds before Piedmon swung his arm at it.
"Shot!"
A young girl with crazy pink hair emerged from the card and turned into a ball of light. She hovered over the boy, getting ready to attack.
"Daisuke! Run! That's the card that shot Agumon!" Ken yelled, but it was too late. The ball of light shot Daisuke right in the chest, sending him backwards into a tree.
"Daisuke!" Ken screamed and ran towards his friend, followed by the crying Miyako. Halfway there, Piedmon intercepted them. Again, he had his cloak in his hand.
"This brat just ruined my face. I'll be sure to torture him for it later. I'll torture him just like I tortured those cards that disobeyed me. But first, I'll turn you two into cards and be even more powerful!" Piedmon laughed and threw his cloak above Ken and Miyako. Ken turned around and pushed Miyako away, hoping she would run. Ken thought to himself, what would it like being a card? Would it be painful turning into one? Even though he wouldn't be able to protect Miyako when he was a card, he just wanted her to be safe.
Ken realised that the cloak should have landed on him by now. He looked over to where he pushed Miyako and saw that she was on the ground. A look of shock was pasted on her face.
"Daisuke-kun!" She screamed and Ken spun around. The black cloak had landed to the left of him a bit but that wasn't what shocked him. Daisuke was no longer lying under the tree.
Piedmon smirked and picked up his cloak. Underneath was a blue card with the crests of Courage and Friendship on the back.
"Feh, so he managed to prolong the time you are to stay human. No matter, I'll get you two now." Piedmon sneered
"Ken-kun!" Miyako cried and got up off the ground. Ken told her to stay back but she didn't listen. She ran to the boy, embracing him around the chest. Ken put his arms around Miyako. Piedmon threw the cloak into the air above him. Ken swore under his breath. There was nothing he could do for Daisuke and now Miyako was going to be turned into a card.
Ken looked up at the black cloak above him but all of a sudden it disappeared with a pink flash. He looked over to his left and found the cloak attached to a tree by a pink arrow. To the right was a pink girl with purple clothes Ken recognized at the Arrow card. The young girl was frowning at the scowling digimon. A few seconds later, the panting mistress of the cards ran up behind Arrow.
"It's you again!" Piedmon snapped just as Takeru and Hikari ran up beside Sakura. Piedmon grinned. "Ah… I thought I would have to search the digital world for you, boy, but it seems you came to me."
Hikari panicked. Piedmon was still after Takeru? She grabbed onto Takeru's hand, afraid for his safety. Takeru looked over at Hikari, shocked at her reaction. He saw fear in her eyes.
"Arrow-san…" Sakura began, but she didn't need to finish. Arrow immediately lifted her bow and shot an arrow straight at Piedmon's head. The Arrow was deflected by Piedmon's invisible shield and Piedmon smirked. He looked down at Sakura but was surprised to see that she was also smirking.
"I was surprised to see a creature as evil as yourself could even have a hint of love in him, but I think your luck is running out." Sakura called out. "For you see, Piedmon, the more evil you become, the less love you will have to protect yourself."
Piedmon frowned at the girl's words. He did not understand her logic. His shield was…
Piedmon looked closer at his shield. He was surprised to see a small crack right where the arrow was deflected.
"Arrow-s…" Before Sakura could finish ordering Arrow to shoot at the shield, she was interrupted by Piedmon's voice.
"Shoot her!" He yelled. Behind him, the white ball of light appeared. Ken had forgotten all about the Shot card. He had also forgotten about the way he was holding Miyako. He let go of her, and to his surprise, she seemed a little disappointed. Without a second though, Ken began pulling her away to safety.
In the meantime, Shot was slowly advancing on Arrow. Her movements were jolty and Sakura knew that Shot was trying not to follow Piedmon's direction. Sakura had never thought before if her cards were 'made' to do what she told them to. Did she ever make them do anything they didn't want to do?
Arrow was trying to decide what to shoot at. Her bow wavered between her two friends, the Shield card and the Shot card. The shield needed at least five more shots before it could be broken. And while she was attacking it, Shot would surely loose control and shoot at her. Arrow thought about it for a sec, and then finally made her decision.
Sakura gaped as she watched her friend's arrow slowly become brighter. It grew so bright she had to look away. There was an ear splitting "twang" and Sakura heard the arrow contact something. She looked forward and found that the shield had completely shattered. Arrow collapsed to the ground in exhaustion as Sakura ran up to her.
"Arrow-san! Daijoubu ka?" Sakura cried. Arrow looked up at her, smiling slightly, and then disappeared. Her body was replaced with a pink Sakura card, which flew into Sakura's hand. Sakura silently thanked her friend. Arrow had used all of her magical strength to destroy the shield.
"Feh, you may have broken my shield little girl, but I'm afraid you don't have anything to defend yourself now." Piedmon laughed. The Shot card was right beside him. She seemed a little more relaxed for now.
Sakura gasped. The evil digimon was right. With Arrow gone, Sakura didn't have any cards left. She reached into her pouch and pulled out the deck of cards she had. She threw the Snow card in front of her but before she could swing her pink staff, the card fluttered to the ground. Sakura picked it up sadly.
"Oh… It looks like you found my other deck. I wonder, did you also find the secret room behind it?" Piedmon laughed. Sakura just glared at him.
"I take that as a yes. Well, no bother, even if you find a way to release those cards, they will be no use to you. For that is my discarded deck, my unwanted deck, the deck of cards that did not obey me. I didn't leave an inch of skin on their bodies unharmed. If you released them, I wouldn't be surprised if they died on the spot. Oh! By the way, you can add these to that deck as well." Piedmon said and threw down two cards at Sakura. Tears were already streaming down her face at the thought of her friends being tortured by the clown digimon. She picked up the two cards and found that they were the Shield card and the Sleep card.
Piedmon looked over at Takeru, who was still standing a bit behind Sakura, with Hikari. Ken and Miyako had also joined them.
"How long do you think you would have stayed hidden if you hadn't fallen asleep?" Piedmon asked. Takeru looked up at him in shock. How did he know they had fallen asleep? Did he know where they were all along?
"Take that time and that's how long it would have taken me to get you, brat. If it wasn't for that stupid Sleep card, you would all be cards right now. Lucky for you, I found that Sleep was missing from my deck and went after it. I realise I could have stayed in my cave until you all woke up and took the bait, but I couldn't stand the thought of one of my cards disobeying me and not being punished for it." Piedmon smirked, "Sleep was not hard to find. And that all doesn't matter now, for you will become mine!"
Piedmon walked over to his cloak, where it was lying on the ground. When Arrow returned to her card form, her arrow disappeared, so the cloak was no longer attached to the tree.
He turned around and saw Takeru trying to pull Hikari away. Hikari was trying to get Sakura off the ground.
"Hikari! We have to get away!" Takeru yelled
"Not without her!" Hikari cried. Ken was also pulling Miyako into the trees.
"Kinomoto-san! We have to get away!" Hikari told Sakura.
Takeru was getting frustrated and decided to use force. He picked up Hikari and swung her over his shoulder. She was astonishingly light. He grabbed onto Sakura's underarm and began pulling her towards the woods. Sakura's eyes were open and her legs were moving beneath her but she didn't appear conscious. She seemed to be in shock.
"There's no use running children!" Takeru heard Piedmon say, but Sakura did not.
"What do I do… what do I do… what do I do…?" Sakura kept on repeating in her mind. All she could see before her was stark white. Nothing was there.
"Is this a nice place?" Sakura heard a voice say. She recognized this voice, for she had heard it before. "Why did you come here?"
"I… I don't know… There was nothing I could do…" Sakura mumbled
"Is that so?"
"Yes, my friends got hurt and it was all my fault. Now, because of me, my new friends are going to get hurt."
"Why was it your fault?" the female voice continued
"Because I wasn't there for them…"
"Do you know where your new friends are now?"
"They… they're… I-I forget…"
"Hmm… that is a problem…"
"Will you help me?"
"Help you? Help you with what?"
"Help my friends…"
"My dear, you need to tell me what you want."
"I… I forget."
"Then I'm afraid I cannot help you."
"Then what should I do?" Sakura cried as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I CAN'T CRY! I have to do my best! Even if I disappear!"
Sakura blinked. Where did that come from? A flashback… but a flashback of what? She was remembering something from her past… Not too long ago… It was in her dream. Her dream was about the play she did a few years ago.
Sakura smiled. "It'll be alright. It'll surely be okay."
Suddenly a bright light emerged from within her.
"Light!"
*~*~*~*~*
Whew! This chapter was longer than most wasn't it? There was originally going to be more to the end but I'm getting really tired and I go to my dad's tomorrow so I wanted to finish it this weekend.
Please review!!!