For days which had seemed like eternity to Alice they had been following the narrow path through the woods. Nothing but trees wherever you looked and only a small clearing with grass and flowers every now and then. During the days the tall trees with their enormous branches and broad leaves had been quite a convenient protection against the burning rays of the bright digital sun, a fact which the girl with the pale skin appreciated. She wasn't sure if the artificial sun of this realm could cause the same nasty sunburns she normally got whenever she spent too much time outside but she wasn't very keen on finding out either.
But no matter how much she welcomed the cool shadows during the daytime at night the seemingly ancient, dark trees always left her with a slight feeling of fear and being watched. Although she didn't like to admit it to herself she was quite grateful to have the others with her. With their Digimon they would surely be able to fend off most of the creatures which were possible lurking in the darkness of the forest just waiting for their chance to take them by surprise. She had never been the easily frightened one but something about this endless sea of trees gave her the creeps. Why would anybody take refugee in such a dark and lonely place especially if he was said to be such a kind and gentle person?
During their march trough the forest Alice had found out a little more about that boy Ryo had mentioned earlier when she had overheard Ryo and Hikari talking about him. Obviously his name was Ken and she was pretty sure that he was an rather old friend of her companion while Hikari seemed to have at least some deeper feelings for him. It had been so plain obvious the way they had been talking about him. It seemed as if the girl was trying to hide her feelings but she was doing a horrible job at that.
Other than that she hadn't been able to find out very much about him. It seemed that he and Ryo had been working together in defeating some freaky evil Digimon. After that something must have happened to him when Ryo had disappeared and he had begun to cause a lot of trouble in the Digiworld before he had come to his senses again. Oddly enough Ryo didn't seem very surprised about any of the events which had been happening after his departure. It almost seemed as if he had already known a lot of what Hikari had told him.
Alice however didn't give it too much thought since it didn't really concern her. It had nothing to do with her goal in this world after all. All this things were past and nobody could change anything about them anymore.
But still she had enjoyed being able to just listen to them without having to take part in the conversation herself. It was the easiest and her favorite way of getting to know more about the people around her without having to bring herself into the spotlight.
However getting to know and finding out more about her other travel companion, Yamato, had turned out to be a bit more challenging task. He had been walking with her most of the time but he hadn't been talking much. From time to time he had been telling her little things about himself, his friends or the Digiworld but he had always been careful not to let out too much about himself. That way she hadn't been able to find out much about him which frustrated her a little. But at the same time she had to admit that she liked his calm behavior. He was nothing like the people she normally met. Like Ryo, but even more so, he was a quiet but polite person. He would talk to you if he felt like it but otherwise keep to himself.
Oddly enough Alice found herself interested in him like she had never been in anyone else before. Those feelings began to bother her a little but she tried to calm herself by always reminding herself that she was only here to get back Dobermon. As soon as they would have found Ken she would hopefully be able to bring back her friend and then there would be no reason to stay in this world any longer.
Maybe there wasn't that much in her own world she was eager to return to but with Dobermon at her side it wouldn't be that bad. Without him she had nobody but her grandfather who had always been caring towards her but who was at the same time almost always busy with some kind of research project and had hardly ever time for her. She didn't blame him for that. After all she was sometimes very much like that as well.
If something was really important to them they would forget everything else around them just to reach their goal and family was no exception at that. Maybe this was the strongest trait of the McCoys. Alice was sure her grandfather would understand since he would probably go to the same extents if he was in her position. But it really didn't matter that much. Soon she would be back at home with her friend and everything would be as it was supposed to be with no digital gods or guys from other dimensions disturbing her boring life.
However at the moment she had to pay more attention on other things. Yamato had put a hand on her shoulder and brought her to a sudden halt. Alice was immediately getting ready to give him a piece of her mind for disturbing her like that but before she could get out a single word she was already stopped but the boy's gesture to be silent. Grudgingly she complied and silently followed his lead towards where the other two and their Digimon were cowering behind what looked like a blackberry bush. It seemed as if they were watching something on the opening before them. Alice had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that the woods had been constantly growing lighter. Obviously they were coming closer towards the edge of the forest.
After they had finally taken position next to their friends they tried to get a look at what was so interesting that they had to sneak around in a lonely and spooky forest. Yamato helped her to part the branches full of thorns a little so that they could look through without being seen immediately.
A small smiled formed on her lips as Alice noticed the lonely boy sitting with his back against a huge dark boulder which looked slightly out of place. He had drawn his knees towards his chest and his forehead was resting on them. She couldn't make out his face which was hidden behind his knees and his long dark hair but he was wearing a light grey school uniform. Although she had never met him before she was quite sure that this had to be Ken. Would there be anybody else hiding in that creepy woods? No, it just had to be him.
Without a warning she suddenly got up and began marching over the clearing towards the boy. She had taken the others completely by surprise and none of them knew what to do for a few seconds. Yamato was the first to get over the initial shock so he got up as well and swiftly followed her with the other two and the Digimon close behind.
Meanwhile the blonde girl had reached the equally surprised boy and was now standing right in front of him. Not wasting another second she asked him straight out: "Are you Ken?"
Ken who was slightly dumbfounded by the strange girl's rude behavior didn't respond immediately. Instead he glanced at the quickly approaching figures behind her and his expression of surprise quickly turned into one of discomfort. He had known that they would find him eventually but he had hoped that it would take them a little longer. But his surprised expression returned immediately when he noticed Ryo walking behind Hikari. He had expected them to find him and the unfamiliar looking girl who was with them had been quite a surprise but meeting his long lost friend again was something he had never even dreamed of. A wave of conflicting emotions was washing over him.
The joy of seeing his old friend alive and well was soon replaced with an overwhelming feeling of guilt for everything he had ever done to his friends, his family and this world but that was pushed aside as well by the happiness he felt when looking at Hikari's smiling face. But would she forgive him? He would find out soon enough.
Meanwhile the others had reached the two and after a moment Yamato was the one to break the silence.
"Ken this is Alice, a friend of Ryo's. Alice this is Ken."
Ken just kept staring at the small group so Hikari decided to continue.
"Ken, Alice and Ryo have come to ask you for help. As far as I can tell you are the only one besides Gennai who could possibly help them. Nobody knows more about Digimon than you. Please listen to what they have to say."
Ken was quite relieved that Hikari had chosen to discuss that topic first. He would have to talk to her about a lot of other things sooner or later but right now he preferred to delay that moment as long as possible.
"Hello to all of you too," he replied with a bit more irritation in his voice than necessary. But he couldn't help it. He felt rather uncomfortable and letting them feel his anger laced with false arrogance was his natural reaction in such situations. Hikari as the one who would probably be hurt the most by his cold behavior and he knew that but he had no idea how else he should react. After another moment of cold staring he went on.
"So what is it that you want from me? You have probably come a long way just to meet me, haven't you? Otherwise Ryo would have visited his old friend sooner, right?" He heavily emphasized the word friend just to make sure to hurt Ryo as well. Of course Ryo would have come back sooner if he had been able to, of that Ken was sure, but in his insecurity he was lashing out at all of them.
Alice who had been just watching and listening for a while was slightly astonished by the unceremonious reunion. It was nothing at all like she had expected it to be and Ken was a surprise as well. After all she had heard about him she was not expecting something like that. He was so cold and unfriendly that she was afraid that she might have found her match this time even if all of this was just a mask. But it was worth a try anyway.
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A.N.: I'm really sorry for the long wait! But I honestly had no idea how to go on. It seemed as if I had written myself into a dead-end but now I have a vague idea of how to end this story.
By the way: it may take some time again until I will be able to update again. I don't want to rush the ending and I will have to study a bit harder for a while so I won't have much time for writing. But I promise that I won't keep you waiting for so long this time! ;)