Author's Note: I'm sorry it's short. Next we meet Ryo.
Dedications: Thank you to the following Hcharpher131, Suntan140, Thomassun300, TheSpiritWolves, Angeloflight324 and Nolston for adding this story to their favourites/alerts. Appreciate it.
I don't own Digimon. But I do own any original characters that are of my own design.
Title: Expect the Unexpected
Summary: Kimiko is the estranged daughter of Mitsuo Yamaki. For her fifteenth birthday, she acquires the Digimon: Labramon and becomes the fourth Digimon Tamer.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Travelling
"Man, I feel like we've been walking for days," Takato whined as he and the others continued their travels north, away from the Forgotten Village.
"Smells like it too," Guilmon agreed, sniffing the air.
Henry sighed as he looked around at his friends. "I just wish we had a better idea of where to start looking for Rika and the others," he said.
"Momentai," Terriermon chirped, jumping down from Henry's head. He had been laying up there protecting his tamer from the harsh heat of the Digital sun. "If we're meant to find them, we will, right?"
Takato laughed nervously.
"I sure hope Rika and the others are alright, though," said Jeri. She was riding upon Leomon's shoulder.
"They could be anywhere," Leomon said. "Those streams of data send you to a new location every time."
"But it only matters if they're safe," said Jeri.
"And even if we were with them they may not be safe," Takato added. "Because we attract trouble like a magnet."
"Hey, relax already," Terriermon squeaked. "Maybe they're waiting back by Takato's goofy flag."
"That's not such a bad idea," Kimiko agreed. "That flag is almost as a rendezvous point for us. Like a silent ruling that if we ever get lost, we each come back to the flag."
Jeri nodded.
"Then let's go take a look," Takato said. "You never know, you could be right."
~*Expect the Unexpected*~
The trip back to the flag took twice as long as did walking away from it. But when they did finally return no one was there waiting.
"Great!" Takato groaned.
"This is ridiculous!" Henry said. "We'll never find them like this. We should split up and go looking for them."
"Bad plan," Kimiko replied. "We don't know this place any better than the others do. What if we get lost too? Like you said, we should be looking for Calumon not each other."
Henry sighed. She had a point. "Well we've got to do something," he said. "Instead of wandering around and hoping that we run into them."
"It does seem kind of pointless," Jeri said. "If only we had some clues."
As the wind started to pick up it knocked Terriermon off of Henry's head, and Guilmon off his feet. The dinosaur groaned as he landed on his stomach. "Hey, I smell Renamon," Guilmon said, sniffing the ground.
"You do?" Takato asked.
"She was here just a little while ago," Guilmon said, following the scent trail. "I think she went this way."
Labramon bent her head and sniffed the ground. "He's right," she said. "I can smell her too."
"What is Terriermon doing?" Takato asked. He had spotted the bunny trying to walk in the harsh winds. "And I thought Guilmon was weird."
"I think he is practicing to be a mime," Guilmon said.
"It'd never work," Henry replied. "He'd have to be quiet to be a mime."
"Gotcha," Kimiko said, scooping the little Digimon into her arms. She turned back to her friends. "We should follow Renamon's scent trail. Maybe they haven't gone too far."
Jeri nodded.
"OK then," Takato said. "Let's go."
~*Expect the Unexpected*~
Kimiko groaned as they reached the end of the scent trail. They hadn't come across Rika, Renamon or the others the entire time, and at the very end of the trail was just another abandoned village of stones.
"Unless you were following the trail of rocks, you really messed up," Terriermon told Guilmon.
"I can't help it," Guilmon replied. "The scent disappears here."
"Great," Takato whined. "How are we ever going to find them?"
"They probably got sucked up by another data stream," Henry theorised.
"I wouldn't put it past Kazu and Kenta to think they had more time if they saw another one," Kimiko agreed. "They probably figured it wouldn't get to them for hours or maybe it would pass by them this time."
Henry nodded in agreement.
"Despite her cold exterior, Rika wouldn't have left them behind," Kimiko added. "She'd have turned back, probably to say something cruel, and ended up getting sucked up too."
"You know her so well," Takato chuckled.
Kimiko smiled, despite the situation.
"What if we can't find them because they're exploring that cave?" Jeri asked. "It wouldn't hurt to look, right?"
"It might," Terriermon said.
Takato looked up at Jeri. "It's better than hanging around out here," he said. "Let's go."
The cave was dark, as expected, except for a little glimmer of light coming from an open area near the back. The light was seeping in through a makeshift sunlight in the ceiling. But aside from that, there were no visible signs that anyone had been in here apart from them.
"Smell anything Guilmon?" Leomon asked.
"Lots of stuff," Guilmon said. He paused and then added, "Oh, you mean Renamon? No."
"Labramon?" Kimiko asked.
Labramon shook her head. "They didn't come in here," she said. "Henry's probably right when he said they got sucked up by a data stream. It's the only plausible explanation."
The group sighed.
"Hey, what's that?" Jeri asked walking further into the cave. She came out in a small area and noticed a square rock sticking out of the wall.
"Beats me," Gulimon said scrambling forward. He climbed into the square and sniffed around, picking up no recognisable smells. "Check it out," he said to the others.
"Is it dangerous, Guilmon?" Jeri asked.
"I think it's OK."
"You think?" Kimiko repeated. "That's not reassuring, Guilmon."
Climbing in after Guilmon, Labramon turned to her partner. "It's just a real big storage cupboard," she said.
"A storage cupboard in the middle of the digital world," Kimiko said, leaning into the square. The rock was smooth under her touch making her question whether or not it was really stone.
Suddenly the rock started to move and Kimiko looked up to see Guilmon and Terriermon jumping up and down. Henry, who had climbed into the square after Labramon, shook his head at the two before scolding them. "Guys, would you knock it off?" he said. "We shouldn't mess with this until we know what it is."
The two Digimon stopped jumping and apologised.
"Hey, that looks like fun," Jeri laughed climbing inside. Takato followed her, leaving Kimiko and Leomon outside.
Kimiko chewed her lower lip nervously. "Guys, I don't think we should do that," she said.
"Come on, Kimi," Takato said. "Loosen up. Have a little fun."
"We're not here for fun, Takato, we're trying to find Rika and the others so we can find Calumon," Kimiko argued.
"Well we're not going to find either of them wandering around in the desert," Takato pointed out.
"And we're not going to find them wandering around in here, either!" Kimiko argued.
Jeri sighed. She was used to people arguing, but not amongst her friends. "We've been walking for hours," she said. "A little relaxation isn't going to harm anyone. And besides, look at Labramon, she needs all the rest she can get."
Kimiko cast a glance at her partner and her attitude softened. She didn't want to push Labramon anymore than she already was the extent of her injuries were uncertain. She sighed and caved. "Fine! But only for a little more," she said, climbing inside and sliding in close to Henry, "and not a second longer."
"Right," Jeri nodded. She turned to her partner and smiled. "Come on, Leomon, don't be shy."
"I'm not," Leomon said, climbing. He sat on the edge of the square and pushed Takato and Jeri further into the back.
Jeri beamed and looked around at them all. "This is like being in an elevator," she said.
"An elevator?" Takato questioned.
Before anyone could answer his question the square sealed itself shut, pushing the occupants further into one another.
"I knew this was a bad idea!" Kimiko yelled as the square started to shrink.
Copyrighted ©
Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx
Chapter updated Monday, 09 January 2017 at 1:50am