A Kernel of Hope

A familiar sound filled the cave as a familiar sight found its way to Gali’s eyes. In a corner far enough away from the fire to not be dangerous, but close enough to stay warm. There Gali watched a scene that was always amusing to her no matter how many times she saw it.

“Zzzzzzzzz” snored Yatina as she laid to the left of John.

“Yipyipyipyip,” snored Mimi as she laid to the right of John. John had one arm wrapped around each derp and snuggled them closely. The two derps were latched tightly onto the side of John’s chest as they took turns with their snores. Gali could see a look of peaceful bliss on the faces of all three of them.

“What? Why? How?!” was all Shelly could mutter as she watched the three sleep together. Gali could not help but chuckle at the perplexed face that Shelly wore.

“That is quite the common scene, my dear,” Gali told the young thief. “Those three end up like that whenever John decides to spend the day playing with the derps. Those two will wear him out so much that he’ll have to take a nap. Those two will always cuddle up next to him. They feel safe next to him. So, whenever they need to sleep away from home, they always want to cuddle with him. It’s the only way for them to sleep while away from home,” Gali informed the stealthy sleuth. “Although, they always seem to alternate who snores and who yips whenever they sleep. It’s truly fascinating,” remarked Gali on her observation.

“I-I see,” Shelly replied as she pondered her own thoughts. Her face cycled through many emotions as many thoughts ran through her mind. Thoughts of her sister, her sister’s safety, her own safety, her own future all twirled in her mind, her focus non-existent thanks to her runaway thoughts.

“What’s on your mind, sweetie?” asked Gali, who could see the internal fight that Shelly was in the midst of.

“Oh, uh, nothing,” Shelly said in an attempt to deflect Gali’s prying.

“Love, I can tell there’s something eating away at you,” Gali told Shelly. “I have been a priestess for over 100 years. I know when someone is struggling with thoughts. Tell me what you are thinking, perhaps we can find a solution to your problems,” Gali informed Shelly, who still looked conflicted.

“I...I don’t know,” Shelly told the priestess that attempted to console her.

“Just do as she says, girl,” Gryzmon told her as the digimon laid in the corner as it feigned sleep.

“I...fine, I’ll talk about my feelings,” Shelly said before a sigh as she mentally prepared herself to speak to Gali. She then took a deep breath before she continued. “This plan has gone off the rails! We were supposed to sneak into a goddamn Nazi science compound to retrieve my sister and, somehow, we ended up in a god damn Saturday morning cartoon!” Shelly shot up and began to pace back and forth as she continued. “Now I don’t know if we’ll get out of here let alone ever see her again! All our magic is gone and our only defense is a bunch of derpy little girls and their digimon! Like, how are we supposed to survive?! We’re gonna die here! Nobody will ever know what happened to us and I’ll never...I’ll never...get to...” tears welled up in her eyes as the realization that she may never see her sister really took hold. The young girl burst out crying as her emotions overpowered her. Her breaths quickened into hyperventilation as she lost control of her ability to breathe.
“Shhh. It’s ok, my child,” Gali said as she wrapped her arms around Shelly as she brought her head to rest on Gali's chest. “Let the emotions flow out of you,” Gali told her as she continued to hold and stroke the younger girl. Shelly squeezed her tighter as she just let all of her emotions flow out of her as she nuzzled further into Gali’s generous chest pillows.

“Listen to your friend there, girl,” Gryzmon told Shelly as she continued to lay in her corner. “There’s no use in getting all worked up over something you can not know or have no control over,” the digimon told the scared girl. “Instead, focus on the things you can control, such as what you do while you are trapped here,” pointed out the bear-like digimon. “What you do here, now, is completely up to you. You can cower in fear or you can go out there, regain your magic, and get a digimon to protect yourself,” Gryzmon told Shelly.

“Wait, what?!” both girls exclaimed to the furry digimon’s remark. Shelly removed herself from Gali’s bountiful breasts and wiped away the tears from her eyes as she regained her composure. Gali simply wrapped her arms around Shelly from behind to comfort her and keep her calm.

“You mean there’s a way for the rest of us to use magic here again?!” asked Shelly as she grabbed Gali’s arm to keep herself steady.

“Perhaps...” Gryzmon said in a mysterious way. “There is a place, a holy site you could call it, that is supposedly connected to the Kernel,” Gryzmon told the two ladies as they listened intently to what the digimon had to say.

“What is this Kernel?” asked Gali, who felt a slight link to the place.

“If the rumors are true, it is the Realm of God, where Yggdrasill resides. Yggdrasill is the Host Computer of the Digital World. All data runs through it. It is quite literally, the God of this world. However, it is neutral and does not take sides with good or evil digimon. It only cares about keeping the Digital World functioning. How it hasn’t done anything about the Digimon Empress I do not know. Perhaps it doesn’t see what she is doing as dangerous to the Digital World or perhaps the Empress has sealed it somehow. Either way, this piece of the Kernel that is located in that area may be able to rewrite your innate magic to work in this world. I give no promises but rather a chance to fight back in this world that none of you should even be in,” Gryzmon informed the two ladies.

“So we could...” Shelly started.

“Regain our magic...” finished Gali.

“Well yes, but actually no,” Gryzmon told them. “You’ll regain magic, but not the magic you had in the Real World. Your magic would be changed to match the Digital World. Now I do not know if they’d change back in the Real World or not. So that is a risk you must be willing to take,” Gryzmon corrected the two women.

“Hmm, that is quite the gamble...” Gali said.

“Yes, it is. But it’s one I’m willing to take to get my sister back,” Shelly said with a steadfast resolve.

“Hmm. I agree that the risk is one worth taking, but I will wait until we get council from Sam and John as well. But I believe that this is the right move to make,” Gali informed Shelly and Gryzmon.

“I’m doing it no matter what the others say, just so you know,” Shelly adamantly told Gali.

“I understand your position and will support you the best I can. I shall go relieve Sam of watch duty and tell her of our potential plans. Get some rest, my dear, I suspect tomorrow will be a very busy day,” Gali said as she sent a warm smile Shelly’s way. Shelly could not help but feel a warmness and welcomed whenever she saw Gali’s smile.