Hey, everyone! Ta-Ni here, bringing you another chapter of the Shadowed Digi-town. I also want to apologize to those who also read my other stories: I know I haven't updated like I said I would, but I'm suffering some major writer's block right now.
Also, this chapter is told from a familiar person's POV, so hopefully I got their personalities right. Please let me know!
I grit my teeth, straining to see through the swirling sand. Almost instinctively, I can feel my partner in trouble against whatever attacked us. Desperate, I call out above the roar, "Pull back! We can't fight what we can't see!" Whether she heard me or not, I don't know, but I felt my D3 stop vibrating. No, she couldn't be… I thought with worry. Looking away from the fighting, I manage to see a break in the storm and start walking toward it.
As if sensing my retreat, the storm slowly began to lessen its fury, and I could see the outline of a town through the sand. It hurt my heart to turn my back on my partner, but I also trusted her to find shelter as well, especially if she was forced to revert her Digivolution. As I reached the edge of the town, the storm finally stopped, and I could breathe again. I shook some of the sand from my long brown hair, and then looked down at my D3. It was oddly quiet; were there no Digimon in the area?
Suddenly, I heard a voice shout my name. "Kairi! Are you all right?" Recognizing the voice, I turned with a sigh of relief. Jogging out of the sand was a small, cream-colored puppy with a gold collar around her neck. "Wow, Salamon," I replied. "I didn't expect you to revert quite THAT far. It must have been tough." She stopped in front of me, shaking herself to try and rid her fur of the ever-present sand. "Well, like you said, it's hard to fight something you can't see," she replied hotly. "What matters is, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Salamon," I replied. "However, we will have to find some sort of shelter in this town until you can Digivolve again. Maybe the local Digimon can help us?" Salamon stopped and stared at the vacant streets. "That is, if anyone is still living here; it looks like a ghost town," she replied. "They're probably just taking shelter from the sandstorm," I mused. Still, a feeling of unease hung over me, especially since my D3 remained quiet.
Curious, I walked up to the nearest house and knocked on the door. To my surprise, a middle-aged man opened the door, rather than a Digimon. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked politely. "Yes, is there someplace I can stay the night?" I asked. "The sandstorm got me all disoriented." "Of course," he replied. "There is an inn just down the street; they have food and lodging for visitors. Granted, we don't get visitors often, so they are certain to have room."
"Thank you, sir," I said in return, and started to turn away. This happened to show Salamon behind me, and to my surprise, the man screamed, "A D-d-d-digimon! G-g-g-get away from it; you'll be cursed!" He then slammed the door, and I heard a lock click into place. My partner looked at me in confusion, asking me, "What was that about?" I shrugged in return; I had no idea what happened either. Looking up and down the street, I noticed other people, humans not Digimon, looking out of their windows with fear in their eyes.
"Salamon, I think they're afraid of Digimon, which is really odd given we're in the Digital World." Then, an idea occurred to me, and I subtly signaled to Salamon to play along. Raising my voice, I shouted, "Go away, I don't want you following me!" Feigning sadness, she ran into a nearby alley, so I started walking down the street. Once out of sight of the villagers, I also ducked into an alley, and Salamon rejoined me.
"Sorry I had to do that, but I couldn't let them know you're my partner," I explained. She nodded in understanding, and then asked, "But what do we do now? I don't want to be separated from you; I spent most of my life alone." I picked her up to give her a hug. "For now, you can hide in my bag; once we're alone, you can come out, and I'll see if I can get you something to eat." She nodded and jumped from my arms and into my bag, but before I zipped it up, she quipped, "Don't forget to hide your D3 and D-Terminal, they're a dead giveaway."
I nodded and pulled my shirt over the devices, then stepped out of the alley and headed down the street. I soon reached a large building which resembled an inn, so I figured I was in the right place. I could feel Salamon shifting slightly in my bag, and gave her a little nudge to warn her before knocking on the door. A middle-aged woman opened the door, momentarily suspicious, but quickly masked it with a warm smile.
"Welcome to the village inn, how may I help you?" she asked sweetly. "Um, yes," I replied hesitantly. "I heard you provide rooms for travelers? I need some place to stay until the storms settle down." Her smile slipped again, but her tone stayed normal. "Oh, deary. The storms never calm completely; they are meant for our protection, to keep THEM out of our town. However, you are free to stay here as long as you like; in fact, we don't have any other visitors at the moment."
She turned to a young girl my age, which had just walked down the stairs. "Julie, would you escort our new visitor to one of our rooms?" She nodded silently, and reached to take my bag. I, however, pulled back and said, "No thanks. I can carry it up just fine." She seemed suspicious for a moment, but still said nothing; she merely motioned me to follow her upstairs.
Just so everyone knows, this takes place during season 2, shortly after Ken reforms but before all the Dark Towers were destroyed. Following chapters will alternate between Julie's and Kairi's POVs, so look out for the next exciting chapter!
Please read and review, and may your Ember never fade.