I screamed in pain and then began to breathe heavily in panic as I backed into and then cowered in the corner, my face tearstained, blood beginning to run down my cheek from the cut Ken had made on my face with a knife. Ken was angrier than I'd ever seen him before! I didn't know what to do, and thought that I was probably going to die that night.
Where did he come from? That's what I wanted to know. One second I had woken up in my old room back in his fortress, and then the next Ken was right behind me holding a knife! Even through his glasses, I could see the fire in his eyes, the fury. I hadn't had time to react before he'd brought the knife quickly across my cheek.
"Ken, please, I-I'll never d-do it again! I-I wasn't thinking when I ran a-away!" I stuttered, finding it hard to speak with how fiercely I was trembling, not to mention how hard it was to speak between sobs. I never thought I'd find myself this afraid of Ken, but I guess I was wrong, huh? I am now!
None of what I said seemed to sway Ken's intentions though as he continued to stare at me furiously, getting closer with every second that passed. "Oh, it's too late for that now, Crystal," he told me, now within a few inches of me. "Much too late. You betrayed me ...and I don't accept betrayal."
I couldn't seem to concentrate too well on what he was saying. My body hurt so badly from how much he'd beaten me over the last three hours. But just then, he raised the knife up high. "Goodbye, little girl," he said to me. I screamed in terror, helpless to stop what was happening as it suddenly came down upon me.
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I sat bolt upright in bed with a scream, drenched in sweat. I looked around for a second, trying to figure out what was going on and where I was. I was so disoriented that I forgot just where I really was for a moment. Had that really just happened? Had I really just been back in the fortress, at Ken's mercy? ...No, it was all just a dream; all just a bad nightmare, probably brought on by the events of the last few days.
Suddenly, I felt a small hand on my shoulder and gasped, jumping in surprise, my heart still racing. "Whoa, just relax, Crystal. It's me, Hannah. Are you all right?" My fear finally began to subside and I finally began to calm down as I saw Hannah's worried eyes staring straight at me.
Within a matter of seconds, Fiona and Rachel were both standing there, too. They also had a worried expression on their faces. "Sweetie, is everything okay?" Rachel questioned me, sitting down next to me on the bed. She took a tissue from the desk near my bed and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm all right." I sighed to try and steady my shaky nerves.
"Well, okay; if you say so. Just try and get some sleep, alright? Everything's gonna be better in the morning, I bet. Okay?" Fiona said. With that, we all agreed and went back to sleep, although I have to admit that I personally didn't get much sleep that night.
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That morning, Mom came in and woke us up, saying that she'd made a special breakfast to celebrate my homecoming. So, we got up and got dressed and everything. When we came out of our room, Dad asked me to go wake up the boys and for Rachel to go wake up the other girls.
We did so, me going into their room and waking up Jordan, William, Evan, Dylan, and Nathaniel, while Rachel went and woke up Gypsy, Lily, and Shaina. Then, we all went to the breakfast table. Even before we got there, I could smell the food and knew at once that it was all of my favorites.
I was right! As I sat down, there was so much waiting for me—pancakes with maple syrup, orange juice, milk, bacon, eggs, waffles, hash browns, and French toast. Mmmm!!! It was all so good, especially since I hadn't eaten like that in months. And you know how food always seems to taste better after you hadn't had it in so long. Ken never gave me anything really delicious like this stuff to eat, (and if I have to eat another bite of sushi I swear I am going to scream).
After dinner, I asked Jordan if he could drop me off at a friend's house. I'd almost forgotten that I'd left my digimon, Rubymon (if that's not an actual digimon then oh well, so sue me), at her house. Oh I hadn't seen them in so long and I was eager to finally see them both again.
So, Jo dropped me off and then left. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves as I rang the doorbell. Her mother opened the door and was practically overflowing with delight. She hugged me so tightly that I could only manage to croak out, "It's nice to see you again too, Miss Jennifer. Is Willis home?" (I know, he lives in America, doesn't he? But hey, for story purposes, let's just say he moved here. Okay? All right.)
"Oh, yes of course. Come right in."
As soon as his mother closed the front door, Willis came walking into the living room. Once he saw me he came running up to me and gave me a hug. After talking to Willis's mom for a few minutes, Willis led me to his room. It was exactly how I'd remembered it to be when I last saw it. I sat down on the bed, turning my attention the closet door as it suddenly opened just a crack and then heard an excited gasp—
"Crystal!"
Before I knew what hit me, Rubymon was pressing herself up against my stomach lovingly, her big, beautiful green eyes tearing up. I hadn't seen my partner, that beautiful little cat-like digimon in months. It seemed so surreal to finally be able to hold her in my arms again. "Oh, Rubymon, I've missed you so much!" I said to her as I we nuzzled each other with our cheeks.
I looked into Rubymon's eyes and saw that she'd started to cry, as had I. "I've missed you, too." I'd totally forgotten about Willis, who had been watching us contentedly the entire time.
I smiled at him; he smiled back. Then, we talked for a long while about what'd happened to me and why I hadn't come back in so long. After we had everything all cleared up, I called Jo to come pick me up and then followed Willis into the living room, Rubymon lying in my arms, pretending to be a stuffed animal so Willis's mom wouldn't notice when I took her home.
"Would you like to stay for dinner, Sweetie?" his mother asked me as Willis and I headed towards the door, a caring smile on her face.
"Oh, that's very kind of you, but I'm sorry. I can't tonight. Thank you anyway, though." I absentmindedly started to pet Rubymon without knowing it, and then stopped as soon as I noticed what I was doing. Wouldn't want Willis's mom thinking me strange, would I?
"Oh, all right then. Have a safe trip home, Dear." I thanked them and then went out the door, only to find Jo waiting for me in his car.
On the way home, he only asked me one question: "You went over there just to get a stuffed animal?" Oh well, all I know is that, for the first time in months, everything was starting to become normal again. And it looked as if I wasn't gonna have to look at Ken Ichijouji, the Digimon Emperor, ever again...
...Well...until that night, anyway...
A/N: Well, there it is, chapter 10. It took me a while to figure out where to go with this one. And I couldn't help but leave it there! Please don't try to kill me for the cliffhanger; I couldn't think of a better way to end it.
Digimon Emperor: I know, she's irritating, isn't she?
Ah shut up, Pretty Boy.
Digimon Emperor: Hey!
Hey is for horses, sheep, and—(points to Ken)—Oh look, a cow!
Digimon Emperor: --...well, can't say I didn't know that one was coming.
(Laughing) Anyway, I'm not quite sure which crest to give her. Is there already a Crest of Spirit? Or maybe of Purity? Suggestions are welcome; criticism...okay; flames, HELL NO!!!! (Demon eyes) All flamers shall feel the wrath of the ducks in my head! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!!! (Turns back to normal) Oh...Uh...Bye everybody!