The lantern had darkened until it was useless, but Yolei couldn't bring herself to abandon it on this empty path. She hated to think of it, but what if they had to find their way out of here again? When she remembered the foul river, she thought she could feel that oily sensation all over her, and she rubbed her arms briskly.
The distant light warmed them little by little, and Yolei felt some of the pollution of the river and the night creatures evaporate from her skin. When she looked down at her feet, she noticed that the stones were roughly circular and of a similar size. It took her awhile to realize that they were ancient cobblestones, lining the tunnel ground.
She wanted to skip until it hit her that the light wasn't growing stronger as they walked. This either meant that the star was very far away or that it was dying very quickly. She didn't much like either scenario.
The ground was more certain here than it had been since they had set foot upon Infinity Mountain, so they quickened their pace. Ken mused aloud that the light had a slightly reddish cast, the same color many stellar stars took before they collapsed. Yolei didn't like the sound of that much, despite Ken's assurances that these collapses lasted for millennia.
The tunnel turned here and there, but the monotony bore down on Yolei until she could think of nothing else but her footsteps, one after the other. She couldn't think of any conversation or any mental games to pass the time, and minutes stretched out into hours that followed one another like an ocean's eternal waves. She was sure would go barking mad if this lasted much longer, but she always managed the next footstep. She found herself reluctant to stop, undesirous of prolonging this slow torture (for so she had come to think of the mind-numbing repetition of hours) anymore than necessary.
Ken brooded beside her, equally unwilling or unable to break the silence. She began to speculate about what he was thinking, and dark thoughts rose in her own mind. In this grey light, he was probably forgetting everything he had said up there in the sunlight and starlight above ground. Forgetting everything he had said about change and forgetting their moment in the desert cave. He was plotting his latest scheme for taking over the Digital World, now that he had experienced Yolei's weaknesses firsthand. In fact, he probably wouldn't even wait until they left this place. What if… what if he tried to take the star for himself? What if he refused to return it to the angel and threatened to destroy it? What if he did destroy it and allied himself with the shadow?
She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. Yolei Inoue would not let that happen. She had saved his arrogant Emperor butt, and now he was going to betray her trust and conquer this world once and for all. She steeled herself to keep her pace, ready to break into a sprint at the first sign of the star. No way would the Emperor get his hands on this last precious object.
Of course, she reasoned, Ken was thinking that she was thinking that he was going to try to grab the star. She turned and smiled at him, hoping that he couldn't tell that she was gritting her teeth. He looked a little surprised—nice acting—and smiled back unsteadily. Hardly convincing.
Slowly, the light grew a bit more certain, and then it came upon them suddenly. Yolei willed herself not to give her intentions away by looking at Ken before she shot toward the faintly red light like a bullet. Ken stared after her for a few seconds following her at a jog.
She reached for it and lifted an incredibly bright ball of light into her arms. The star's light died quickly as it left its source, but up close, it was still blinding. She cried out in pain as it burned through her clothing but refused to loosen her grasp. "You're not getting it," she screamed above her pain. "I'm going to return this to the angel, and you're not going to stop me!"
Ken's dark eyes widened, then narrowed at the girl's words. Not of anger, though, but deep hurt. He approached her cautiously, noting her erratic glances around the small chamber and twitchy movements. "Yolei… I don't want to take it from you." He saw red blisters on her exposed hands and forearms and inhaled sharply. "I would like to help you carry the star, but I do not wish to claim it as mine. Did you… did you think that I lied to you up there, all those times?"
He lowered his head. "I know I deserve your mistrust." He didn't want to meet her slightly crazed eyes and see the hatred that burned there and the agony that bespoke itself in the tightness around her mouth. "I have thought about everything continually for these days that we've journeyed together… but maybe you're right." He sighed, and sorrow welled up from the depths of his soul. "Maybe I will never change. Maybe I am destined to live my life as an Emperor, striving for power and eager to see the pain I inflict on others." A single tear, illuminated in starlight, slipped down his pale cheek. Where it landed on an ancient stone, a crack shot through the chip of bedrock. Neither noticed.
"Then you admit it," Yolei shouted. "You admit that you will never relent in your greed for domination! I should have let those digimon kill you in the forest—to finally give you the justice for all those lives you've destroyed."
Ken stood helpless before her, offering no defense. What could he say?
Unbeknownst to the pair, tiny cobweb cracks in a stone at Ken's feet had begun to carve out a strange shape. Yolei might have recognized the general outline, had she seen it, but not the specific details.
"You don't even try to defend yourself! Are you that proud of everything you've done? Well, I will not let you continue in your cruel reign over this world! Do you hear me, I will not let you!"
Ken's eyes dropped in overwhelming shame, and only then did he noticed the shape at his feet. He bent to investigate it further and pried it gently from the stone around it.
His sudden motion set off Yolei's hair-trigger senses, and she was sure he was making his move. While he was still bent over, she charged him, uncertain exactly of what she was doing but determined to end this battle once and for all. She lifted the star high above her head, aware of the burns like fire that licked at her skin but uncaring.
The distant light warmed them little by little, and Yolei felt some of the pollution of the river and the night creatures evaporate from her skin. When she looked down at her feet, she noticed that the stones were roughly circular and of a similar size. It took her awhile to realize that they were ancient cobblestones, lining the tunnel ground.
She wanted to skip until it hit her that the light wasn't growing stronger as they walked. This either meant that the star was very far away or that it was dying very quickly. She didn't much like either scenario.
The ground was more certain here than it had been since they had set foot upon Infinity Mountain, so they quickened their pace. Ken mused aloud that the light had a slightly reddish cast, the same color many stellar stars took before they collapsed. Yolei didn't like the sound of that much, despite Ken's assurances that these collapses lasted for millennia.
The tunnel turned here and there, but the monotony bore down on Yolei until she could think of nothing else but her footsteps, one after the other. She couldn't think of any conversation or any mental games to pass the time, and minutes stretched out into hours that followed one another like an ocean's eternal waves. She was sure would go barking mad if this lasted much longer, but she always managed the next footstep. She found herself reluctant to stop, undesirous of prolonging this slow torture (for so she had come to think of the mind-numbing repetition of hours) anymore than necessary.
Ken brooded beside her, equally unwilling or unable to break the silence. She began to speculate about what he was thinking, and dark thoughts rose in her own mind. In this grey light, he was probably forgetting everything he had said up there in the sunlight and starlight above ground. Forgetting everything he had said about change and forgetting their moment in the desert cave. He was plotting his latest scheme for taking over the Digital World, now that he had experienced Yolei's weaknesses firsthand. In fact, he probably wouldn't even wait until they left this place. What if… what if he tried to take the star for himself? What if he refused to return it to the angel and threatened to destroy it? What if he did destroy it and allied himself with the shadow?
She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. Yolei Inoue would not let that happen. She had saved his arrogant Emperor butt, and now he was going to betray her trust and conquer this world once and for all. She steeled herself to keep her pace, ready to break into a sprint at the first sign of the star. No way would the Emperor get his hands on this last precious object.
Of course, she reasoned, Ken was thinking that she was thinking that he was going to try to grab the star. She turned and smiled at him, hoping that he couldn't tell that she was gritting her teeth. He looked a little surprised—nice acting—and smiled back unsteadily. Hardly convincing.
Slowly, the light grew a bit more certain, and then it came upon them suddenly. Yolei willed herself not to give her intentions away by looking at Ken before she shot toward the faintly red light like a bullet. Ken stared after her for a few seconds following her at a jog.
She reached for it and lifted an incredibly bright ball of light into her arms. The star's light died quickly as it left its source, but up close, it was still blinding. She cried out in pain as it burned through her clothing but refused to loosen her grasp. "You're not getting it," she screamed above her pain. "I'm going to return this to the angel, and you're not going to stop me!"
Ken's dark eyes widened, then narrowed at the girl's words. Not of anger, though, but deep hurt. He approached her cautiously, noting her erratic glances around the small chamber and twitchy movements. "Yolei… I don't want to take it from you." He saw red blisters on her exposed hands and forearms and inhaled sharply. "I would like to help you carry the star, but I do not wish to claim it as mine. Did you… did you think that I lied to you up there, all those times?"
He lowered his head. "I know I deserve your mistrust." He didn't want to meet her slightly crazed eyes and see the hatred that burned there and the agony that bespoke itself in the tightness around her mouth. "I have thought about everything continually for these days that we've journeyed together… but maybe you're right." He sighed, and sorrow welled up from the depths of his soul. "Maybe I will never change. Maybe I am destined to live my life as an Emperor, striving for power and eager to see the pain I inflict on others." A single tear, illuminated in starlight, slipped down his pale cheek. Where it landed on an ancient stone, a crack shot through the chip of bedrock. Neither noticed.
"Then you admit it," Yolei shouted. "You admit that you will never relent in your greed for domination! I should have let those digimon kill you in the forest—to finally give you the justice for all those lives you've destroyed."
Ken stood helpless before her, offering no defense. What could he say?
Unbeknownst to the pair, tiny cobweb cracks in a stone at Ken's feet had begun to carve out a strange shape. Yolei might have recognized the general outline, had she seen it, but not the specific details.
"You don't even try to defend yourself! Are you that proud of everything you've done? Well, I will not let you continue in your cruel reign over this world! Do you hear me, I will not let you!"
Ken's eyes dropped in overwhelming shame, and only then did he noticed the shape at his feet. He bent to investigate it further and pried it gently from the stone around it.
His sudden motion set off Yolei's hair-trigger senses, and she was sure he was making his move. While he was still bent over, she charged him, uncertain exactly of what she was doing but determined to end this battle once and for all. She lifted the star high above her head, aware of the burns like fire that licked at her skin but uncaring.