Crystal tried desperately to get to her fallen friends, only to be pulled back to where she was standing next to Ken by her hair. She cried out in pain and looked back, wincing with the tears stinging her eyes, to find Ken holding her by the hair, a malevolent smile playing on his face. "No, no, no, Slave. I don't remember telling you that you could go anywhere," he hissed to her with a cruel laugh, throwing her to the ground at his feet.

Looking back and forth from Ken to her friends lying there, Crystal broke down crying right then and there. "No… This can't be happening to me… They can't be dead… No…" She cried, her voice coming out as no more than a choked whisper. She covered her face with her hands and kneeled there in front of Ken, crying, awaiting whatever Ken decided to do to her next with extreme fright. There was no hope for her now—not now that her friends were all gone and there was no one left who could help her. Ken had won, or at least that's what Crystal was thinking to herself by then.

"Oh, but it is, Slave. It is happening to you. They're all dead, and nothing you do can change that. Now, I suggest that you stop crying right now." Ken grabbed her by the hair again and brought his face only inches from hers as she winced in pain, grasping his fist with both of her hands. "It's not accomplishing anything and, quite frankly, it's getting on my last nerve." And, with that, he threw her to the ground again and walked over to where Matt lay sprawled in the dirt.

"'Pity, too," he laughed, kicking Matt's arm, which moved a little bit with the force of his kick but got no other response. "I found it rather amusing that you thought you had a chance against me. But now, without them, it seems that your chances for an escape have all but run out on you. There's no escape for you now, and you know it, don't you? You're mine forever and you know that there's nothing that can be done about it now. Without them, you have no chance." He laughed cruelly, watching her try to be strong and stop crying, although she failed miserably.

"Now, come with me, my new slave. I believe it's time for you to learn exactly how things are going to be run around her for the rest of your pathetic life. Come." He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back inside to her cell, where he threw her in with such force that she hit the wall on the other side, letting out an anguished cry of pain as she hit it.

"Why?" Crystal managed to choke out between her sobs as she sat up onto her knees, her head down in bitter defeat. "Why did you have to kill them? If you're as powerful as you claim to be, then why did they pose so much of a threat to you that you saw it fit to end all of their lives?" She wanted to understand how anyone could do such a thing to such innocent people, but found it too hard for her to understand at the moment.

She lifted her head to find a cold pair of amethyst-colored eyes staring spitefully back at her. Ken stood observing her every move, her every reaction, him leaning against the bars of the cell coolly, smirking mercilessly at her and seeming to enjoy her pain greatly—the sick bastard. After a few seconds, he stood straight up and walked towards her ominously, like approaching storm clouds.

"Because, my dear kitten," he hissed mercilessly as he stood there, his shadow by then looming over her. "If I had let them live, then you would've kept resisting me, convinced that they would one day 'save' you. Plus, they would've kept coming back and fighting me until either they accomplished this fantasy or I killed them all. It was either going to be one or the other, and, really, I'd choose this way over that one. I've worked way too hard to get you back. Now that you're mine again, I'm not sure I want to let you go. And, since you won't join me willingly, the only way I can keep you here with me is for me to force you to stay here and for me to teach you your place in this world now—as my slave. Like it or not, that's all you are now, a worthless slave."

"If I'm so worthless, than why don't you just kill me too!" Crystal yelled, the tears streaming down her face.

"Now, where would the fun be in that?" Ken answered her coolly, his eyes showing not even the slightest hint of remorse. All that could be seen in those dark empty voids was coldness—coldness…and cruelty. All that Crystal could think about as she stared into those voids was that this boy couldn't be human anymore. There just couldn't be any hint of humanity left in him. All that was left was cruelty, darkness, and pure evil. Crystal realized this as she kept searching, but was unable to find even the slightest bit of emotion; the slightest hint of pity or sympathy in his gaze.

Giving up all hope, Crystal again lowered her gaze to the floor in defeat. "So, here's how it's going to be from now on. Listen well, because I'm only going to say this once! You are to do whatever I say when I say it, understand? You are to call me 'Master' from now on, just as you have been for the past week or so. And I will not tolerate any more of your now well-known disobedience. Any more of that will get you punished severely. Am I making myself perfectly clear, Slave!"

"…Yes, Master…" Crystal said with a flat, lifeless tone, her seemingly emotionless gaze still to the floor in sadness and angst. Well, he'd done it. Ken had finally broken her and they both knew it. Ken smirked cruelly as this realization dawned on him. Satisfied with this apparent victory, Ken went on.

"Good! And I hope, for your sake, that you will heed this warning. You know perfectly well that I will not hesitate in beating you 'till you're on the edge of death. And what did I say about crying?" he glared down at Crystal mercilessly now, the smirk gone from his face once again. Crystal forced herself to stop crying as she shrank back, away from him, as she stared up at Ken, frightened. She didn't want to get hurt again. She didn't think that she could handle it at the moment.

"Good girl," Ken simply responded to her submissiveness. And, that being said, he turned and, with a sweep of his cape, left her in the dungeon alone to grieve over the loss of her friends. As soon as she was sure he'd gone, Crystal broke down crying again sitting in the corner of the cell again, hugging her legs, her face buried in her knees and her long, light brown hair falling all around her.

After she'd been sobbing for about 10 minutes or so, she heard a door creak open suddenly. Fearing that it might be Ken, Crystal gasped in fright and wiped away her tears, trying to pretend as though she hadn't been crying. She watched the door cautiously as it opened, then let out a small sigh of relief as Wormmon came through it and closed the door behind him. "Are you all right?" he asked her, concern showing clearly in his voice and facial expression as he slipped through the bars of the cell and came to her.

"Yes," Crystal replied, not wanting her dear friend to worry about her, "I'm fine, Wormmon. Thank you." She tried to give him a reassuring smile, although it came out as exhausted, weak, and frightened. She knew he wasn't going to buy it, but she still felt she had to be strong for him so that he wouldn't worry about her.

Wormmon came over and gave Crystal a comforting hug. "Alright then," he said, and then turned to leave. Before he left though, he turned his back slightly to look at her as he said, "If you need anything, feel free to call me. And please don't worry too much. Things may look awful, but you're strong; you'll get through this…somehow. Bye," And, with that, he left. Crystal stared after him for a moment, and then sighed to herself sadly, lowing her gaze to the floor.

"Oh, Wormmon, I know you're trying to help, but there's no hope anymore," she thought to herself, a tear rolling down her cheek. "There's no one left to save me. I can't overpower him myself, and he's too smart for me to be able to sneak out or trick him. There's just nothing I can do now except for giving up. I desperately don't wanna do that, but what other choice do I have? I guess, from now on, I have to do whatever Ken says. If I don't, I can't fight him off when he tries to beat me—I'm just too weak." Another sad sigh escaped from Crystal's throat. "My life is going to be a living hell…"

With that thought, Crystal looked out the window longingly, noticing that it had started to rain again. A distant clap of thunder rumbled in the air, followed by the faint flash of a lightning bolt. Crystal sadly leaned her head against the wall, trying desperately to shield herself from the pouring rain, and contemplating on whether continuing to live is the best idea now that she was just gonna be tormented for the rest of her life.

Death was starting to sound pretty good to her at the moment. It was probably a good thing that Ken took away anything Crystal had that could be used as a weapon and wouldn't let her handle anything like knives and stuff like that. At this point, she'd probably use any one of these things against herself.

Crystal then found herself completely exhausted as she thought about this. She decided to take a nap, so she went and lied down on the cot. "Maybe things will look a little better after I've gotten some rest. And, who knows, maybe I'll wake up and find that this whole thing has been nothing but one big nightmare." she thought to herself in obvious denial. Within a few minutes, she'd fallen asleep, her face still tearstained.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

About half an hour later, Crystal felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and heard a soft voice calling her name. "Crystal," it whispered to her, "Please wake up." Crystal's eyes slowly opened. When she opened them, she found herself staring into a pair of familiar green eyes. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was and she sat bolt upright in the cot, her heart racing, her breaths increasing, and her hopes soaring. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was definitely the shock of her life. It wasn't possible, was it…?

"M-Matt…?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A/N: Sorry, everyone, but that's all you're getting for now. Don't worry, though. I'll get Chapter 26 up as soon as I possibly can—

midnight breezy: (Gasps and starts jumping around, clapping her hands, and shouting excitedly) They're alive! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! (An hour later…still going…) I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I—Ouch! (Looks at brochure lying on the ground that just hit her and then looks at Diva'sDream) Hey! Diva!

What? I didn't do it! Kenny Boy over there did! (Points to Digimon Emperor)

Digimon Emperor: (Smiles evilly and sarcastically says) I have no idea what you're talking about. (Realizes what was just said) Hey! Don't call me "Kenny Boy"!

Oops! My bad. Sorry, Cape Boy.

Digimon Emperor: Grrrrr! (Reaches for Diva'sDream, but then sees midnight breezy coming after him and decides to start running for his life) Yikes!

midnight breezy: (Chases after Digimon Emperor) Come back here, ya little devil with sunglasses!

(Hands midnight breezy a phonebook as she goes by)

midnight breezy: Thanks, Diva! (Runs after Ken)

Well…(Winces as the sound of a phonebook colliding with someone's had can be heard in the background) See ya! (Looks at huge bump on Digimon Emperor's head as he walks back to her, followed closely by midnight breezy, who looks quite satisfied) Ooh! That's gotta hurt! (Notices that the reader is still there and turns back to the reader) Bye!