My legs hurt so badly. I just wanted to stop, wanted to rest my aching body; if only for a few minutes then that would be fine with me, but I couldn't. I couldn't risk it. If I stopped, he could catch up to me; he could bring me back and then beat me more severely than ever before for running away. No, I couldn't stop just yet. I just had to keep going... until I was absolutely sure that I was safe.
The cool evening air felt so nice against my skin, and the sky looked just ever so beautiful. Hmm, well, I guess that's what you get from someone who hasn't felt or, for that matter, actually been so free in months. But then a thought suddenly came to my mind. 'How am I gonna get home? I mean Ken took my digivice away months ago, after he hurt me the first time, trying to ensure that I'd never be able to completely escape him.
I listened for any sounds of me being pursued—the sounds of an airdramon flying towards me, Ken yelling for me to just give up and show myself, his whip cracking every so often—that sort of thing. But then, I finally stopped and breathed a sigh of relief as I was only greeted with the familiar sound of silence.
So, once I was pretty sure that I was safe, I took a minute to take in my surroundings. I was in a forest, the one bordering Ken's fortress on all sides, making it impossible to tell from which direction an attack my the emperor may come by now.
Then, as soon as I figured out where I was in general, I began to look for a place to sleep down for the night; I was so tired. My eyes soon fell upon an old willow, hollowed out at its huge base. "Ah well, I guess it's as good a place as any," I said to myself and shrugged, climbing inside and settling down.
I took a blanket out of my suitcase and wrapped it around myself for warmth. My eyelids were so heavy that it didn't take long for them to close and for me to slip into a deep sleep, even though I'd been telling myself to be careful in case Ken shows up just a few seconds ago.
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I awoke the next morning to sunlight shining in my eyes and a peculiar noise I couldn't quite place. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was voices that I was hearing. (And no, not the voices in my heard; that's a different story.)
As soon as I realized what it was, though, I became alarmed. What if that was Ken, out looking for me?! I sat bolt upright and accidentally banged my head on the inside of the tree hollow. As I rubbed my sore head, I listened closely to the voices, trying to figure out where they were coming from and whom they belonged to.
"Man, it sure is nice to be back in the Digital World after such a long time."
"Yeah. It was a great idea you had to have a picnic here, Tai. I just hope that nothing goes wrong while we're hear."
"Thanks Sora. And don't sweat it. Hopefully, the Digimon Emperor will take a day off and leave us the hell alone."
I heard a yell and a sound like someone falling to the ground. Then I could here laughter erupting from the direction in which the voices where coming from. "Way to avoid the tree roots, Matt," someone laughed.
What? Was I hearing things, or were there other humans in the Digital World right now besides Ken and me? Well, whoever it was, they didn't seem to like Ken too much. But wait, the last person to speak; I recognized that voice as one of the digidestined that Ken was always fighting. What was that one's name? Uhhhh...
"Thanks a lot, Yolei."
Yeah, Yolei, that was it.
Well, now that I knew exactly who it was, I figured it was safe to come out of my hiding spot. Who knows, they might be able to help me. I put the blanket on top of my suitcase and came out of the tree trunk, only to find just who I was looking for to my right.
For a few seconds, no one moved, no one made a sound. I guess they weren't too sure what to think of me. Not that they knew who I was; they didn't. Ken never let me come with him when he was going off to fight the digidestined. It was simply that they were probably all wondering where the hell I just popped out from. And I just wasn't sure of what to do next all together.
Finally, one of them broke the long silence. "Uhhhh...Hi, I'm Davis," he said as he stepped forward and extended his hand for me to shake.
After a second of apprehension, I kindly returned the gesture, smiling and shaking his hand timidly, as was all I could bring myself to do at the moment. "I'm Crystal, pleased to meet you."
"Hi," everyone else said practically at the same time. (Oh how nice, a chorus.)
Another of them then spoke up. "I'm Yolei."
"Cody."
"Kari."
"TK."
"Tai."
"Matt."
"Sora."
"Izzy."
"Joe."
"And I'm Mimi." (I know she moved to America, but let's just say that she's here for a nice little visit. Shall we? We shall, okay.)
Another pause followed the introductions. (Man it took me a while to remember everyone's names.) I guess everyone was unsure of what to do next. I imagine that they're all pretty confused about why I just came out of a tree.
"Uhhhh...Were you sleeping in there?" the boy called TK finally asked me.
"Well...It's a long story." I know, the reply was a classic, but that's all I could think of to say at the moment. I paused for another second, debating on whether or not telling them what happened was a good idea. I finally decided that it couldn't hurt; if anything, they'd be able to help me. So, I launched into the lengthy tale of how I got here, starting at the point where I first met Ken.
"...And so, here I am," I finished up about fifteen minutes later. I looked around at everyone's faces. They were all staring at me with their mouth open. 'Oh great, another uncomfortable silence.' I waited for someone to speak.
"Whoa," Tai finally said. "Well, you don't have to worry about Ken anymore, Crystal. We'll help you out." He gave me a warm smile, as did the rest of them, and I knew right then and there, that they were sincere about all of this. Finally...sincerity. After months of going through hell with Ken, someone was sincere and kind to me; well actually, besides Wormmon that is.
And so with that, they invited me to sit down and join them with their picnic. And maybe, after that, they could find some way to get me home. Oh that would be wonderful, to finally go home and to see my family again, after so long. I've missed them so much and I would've given anything for this opportunity had it been necessary. It's just too bad that my joy didn't last too much longer than that.
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"Want anymore pie, Crystal?"
"Oh no thanks, Kari, I'm good." I politely shook my head as I replied, still smiling as I'd been through the entire picnic.
"Don't worry about seeming rude. Eat as much as you want; there's plenty here to eat," Cody said to me, and then bit down into his own slice of the delicious apple pie that Yolei had brought from her grandparents' store.
"Yeah, I mean, you deserve it, considering how much you've been through," Joe decided to add to the conversation. I had to admit it; Joe was right about one thing. I have been through a whole lot this week.
"Yeah. And now, I just hope that it's finally over," I sighed, and then took in a deep whiff of all the mouth-watering food laid out before me. But I suddenly froze as the bushes behind us shook and a certain someone came out from behind them, riding confidently on one of his tyrannomon.
"It's too bad for you that this isn't over, little girl!"
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A/N: Don't hate me for the cliffhanger; I just had to leave it there. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'll get started on the next one right away.
Digimon Emperor: Ya just had to stop it right when I was about to have a little fun, didn't ya Diva'sDream?
(Pretends to think about it) Uhhhh...yeah, pretty much.
Digimon Emperor: Why you little—
Anyway, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has reviewed so far.
Digimon Emperor: (Sarcastically) Yeah, thanks for encouraging her.
Ah give it a rest. You're just mad because I attacked you over kidnapping midnight breezy. Which, by the way, (whispering to midnight breezy) don't worry. I'll find some way to get ya out of there.
Digimon Emperor: No ya won't.
(Sticks tongue out at him) Oh and that reminds me, thanks for all the digidollars, midnight breezy; I really appreciate it. (Counts money) Yay, I've got 250 digidollars! That's a lot of digimoney!
Digimon Emperor: Hey!
And no, Ken, they're not yours. ...They're Michael's. Well, some of them are anyway.
Digimon Emperor: --... I-hate-you.
(Smiles sweetly) I know. Isn't it wonderful? Anyway, I gotta go start on chapter 8. See ya later, people!!!