~Reflection~ Disclaimer: Digimon belongs to some rich people who don’t want to adopt me for some reason. *gives muses a cold look* *** Chapter 5 Save for a few partying teenagers and the adults working the night shift, silence reigned over the district of Odaiba. Since the next day would be a school day, all young children were supposed to be in their beds by now. Supposed to be, that is… It was 1:00 in the morning; a pitch-black night dotted with millions of shimmering lights covered the sky, yet one window in a certain apartment building remained lit when it wasn’t supposed to be. Yolei Inoue’s fingers danced lightly over the keys of her keyboard, deftly ending a chat session with one of her friends from the Computer Club. Closing the various windows on her computer screen and disconnecting herself from the Internet, she was just about to shut down her computer for the night when she heard a faint bleeping at her side. After a few minutes of searching, she found the source of the sound inside her backpack. Curious as to who would be sending her e-mail at this time of night, she flipped open her gray D-terminal and brought up the message onto the screen. Davis, Yolei, Cody, T. K., Kari, anyone! Ken’s missing! I woke up a few seconds ago, and he was gone. I think he went to the Digital World because the Digiport program is still on his computer. Can one of you please go and find him for me? You know I would do it myself and not disturb you if I could, but I can’t open the Digital Gate without someone with a D-3. Please, anybody? Ken could be in danger. Wormmon This news shocked Yolei, but she didn’t waste any time. Hurriedly she typed out a response and sent it to Wormmon and the others. Hi all, Don’t worry; I’ll get on it, everyone. Just sit back and get your beauty sleep. That means you, too, Wormmon. I’ll find Ken for you, wait and see. Talk to ya later today. Yolei P. S. If you guys don’t see me at school, can someone please come and rescue me? "Come on, Hawkmon! Let’s go," Yolei ordered. Then, pulling out her D-3 and stuffing her D-terminal in her pocket, she started up the Digiport program on her computer. When she didn’t hear her partner digimon’s usual enthusiastic affirmation, she turned to glance at her bed—and nearly face-vaulted. "Hawkmon!" she whined. On her bed lay Hawkmon, snoring and fast asleep. "Oh, yeah, that’s right," Yolei said, scratching the back of her head. "I forgot that I’d told him to go to bed half an hour ago. He must have just fallen asleep. I really don’t want to wake him up after he’s stayed up this late…" After mulling over it for a few seconds, she declared more lightheartedly, "No problem! I can do this by myself." Yolei turned back to her computer, D-3 raised in her outstretched arm. "Digiport open!" she called. In a bright flash of light that amazingly didn’t disturb the bird digimon sleeping soundly on the bed, Yolei was instantly transported to the Digital World. ~~~ The wind shrieked and howled as it blew across the seemingly endless desert. Sharp grains of sand were upturned and flew in every direction, making it impossible to see clearly in the eerie moonlight. Night's frigid, ebony blanket had long ago descended over the blazing hot region and turned it into a freezing cold wasteland. "If Ken isn't dead by now, I'll kill him myself for making me come here at this time of night!" Yolei yelled to herself as she shielded her eyes from the biting wind and looked down at her D-3 for the third time in two minutes. 'Maybe I should have waken up Hawkmon and brought him along…' Immediately upon entering the Digital World, she had activated her D-3 and located a lone dot (besides the one representing her) moving towards this area. She didn't need Izzy's brain to deduce that this blip was most likely Ken, so she had instantly raced over to intercept it. "He should be just a little farther…At least he's stopped moving now." She continued to trudge tediously over the desert's dunes, and soon she managed to make out the dark silhouette of a person in the distance standing near what looked like a mountain of rubble. "KEN!" she called as loudly as she could to him. Apparently he didn't hear her for the figure remained still. Yolei took a step forward and was about to make her way towards him when she saw something that made her freeze in her tracks. The shadowy figure had suddenly turned and fled in the opposite direction, and as he did, Yolei could have sworn she saw the outline of a very familiar two-pronged cape billowing out behind him. "It can't be!" she gasped, for a moment forgetting the cold and the wind buffeting her body with sand. She squinted and tried to make sure that she wasn't seeing things, but it wasn't long before the retreating figure disappeared from view. "WAIT! Ken, is that you?!" Yolei shouted, but her voice was lost to the wind. Finding that this wasn't working, she began to sprint as best she could after him. The lavender-haired girl looked down at her D-3 again and saw that no matter how fast she ran, the distance between her and the second dot was increasing. Still, Yolei pressed onward, and not long after, she made it to the edge of the desert. Although her entire body ached from running across the stormy wasteland, she stepped up her pace and continued to track him with her D-3. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the blip stopped. However, Yolei didn’t have time to breathe a sigh of relief because seconds later, it disappeared from her screen. 'That could only mean that he's left the Digital World,' Yolei pondered. 'I hope I can get there before he decides to close the Digital Gate.' Her eyes glued to the spot where the dot had disappeared on her D-3, Yolei kept on running, despite the protesting from her exhausted legs. Once the dot representing her had gotten near enough to the place where the second dot had vanished, she looked up and instantly spotted a T. V. with an active Digiport still on its screen. "Now, let's see if it was really you I saw out there, Ken," Yolei panted to herself. She continued jogging at full tilt as she held out her D-3 in front of her and yelled, "Here goes nothing! Digiport open!" The dim plains surrounding the area were brilliantly lit for a moment as the helmeted girl disappeared mere centimeters away from the seemingly out-of-place television set. Then, once again, all was dark and as it should be in the Digital World. *** G: *attaches doggie treat to the end of a fishing line and throws it into a tree* Gwen: *walks by and sees what she did* Uhm, G, what are you doing? G: What does it look like I’m doing? I’m trying to lure Ken down here. *points to a shaking Ken curled up in the tree* Gwen: I see…Why would you want to do that? G: Duh! If we get Ken to be Gaia’s muse, he’ll take all the abuse instead of us. Gwen: Isn’t that a little mean? G: Do you want to be thrown out the window again? Gwen: *pauses to think and then calls into the tree* Here, Ken! Here, boy! We got some yummy treats down here for you!