A/N: Nothing, really. Just read the first part…well, first! Make sense? ^_^ Please review!
Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, I wouldn't need to be writing about them because this stuff would have already happened!
For the Sake of Love Part Two: Exposure
Once again Ken stood in front of the Digidestined. He hid a smile as he looked down at Yolei. She glanced up and winked at him. A grin twitched at the corners of his mouth, but he kept control of his expression.
"Oh, great. You again," said Kari.
"And we were having such a nice day," added T.K.
There they go again, thought Ken. Always speaking as a double act. Really, those two are so clueless. Yolei had filled him in on the saga of T.K. and Kari and how she despaired of them ever coming to their senses and getting together. Normally he would have no interest in something like that, but if Yolei was talking, well...but ever since then, he had begun to take notice of little things, like how they always echoed one another while talking. It was almost...sweet.
"Oh, am I spoiling your lovely picnic? What a shame. Too bad I can't wait until you're done eating to destroy you. Being the Emperor of the Digital world leaves me no time to wait around." Ken sighed dramatically. "Shame, really, no rest, just work work work all the time!
"You're despicable," snapped Cody. "How can you talk about enslaving creatures so casually?"
Ken smiled again. Only he and Yolei knew this, but he hadn't enslaved any new Digimon since the night of the dance. In fact, he had even released some, making sure to keep just enough to have an army that could handle the Digidestined. Yolei wanted him to release them all, but she understood it was necessary to keep some in order not to arouse suspicion.
"Oh, it's easier then you might think," he said, letting his eyes twinkle at Yolei. She was trying hard not to laugh. "But enough of this idle chit-chat. I came here to battle, not to talk. DarkTyrranamon, attack!"
As he expected, the Digidestined made their typical comments about not letting him get away with this, yadda yadda yadda. You'd think they could come with something more original, but no, it was always, "Veemon, are you ready for action?" and "Let's get him, Patamon!" and "We'll teach you some respect, Ken!" He sat back as the four Digimon Armor Digivolved and counter-attacked his DarkTyrranamon.
This was the part of the battle that always made him a little sad. He would watch as Yolei and her friends fought against him -and for what? The entire battle was pointless. He was basically required to put in an appearance every time the kids were in the Digital world, but for him the entire purpose was to see Yolei. And now she was required to fight against him, just as he had to attack them. It all seemed so futile.
Actually, Yolei had tried to talk him into giving up the Digital world for good. Ken supposed the idea made sense, but…he couldn't bring himself to leave his safe haven. Here no one expected him to be perfect; here he was safe from prying eyes and camera lenses. He had tried to explain that to Yolei, but he couldn't. For one thing, that wasn't the only reason. The other reason he couldn't explain, even to himself. It was just a voice, no – a feeling, that was soft but so demanding he couldn't even think of disobeying it. The perception that he could not leave his realm was too strong.
He got a little pleasure from watching as his Digimon's attack completely missed Halsemon. He had specially commanded his army to purposely miss while attacking the Digimon of Love. Yolei had complained about it, saying it was bad for security, but Ken would not bend on this -Yolei always rode on Halsemon's back, and he didn't want to chance her getting hurt.
Ken fell into his usual habit during battle: watching Yolei. He was very glad of his dark sunglasses, because it meant he could watch her undetected. Somehow though, Yolei always seemed to know when his eyes were on her - she looked back at him just then and smiled, making his heart jump. After all this time she still has this effect on me, he thought with amusement.
He had sunk into a sort of a daze when a beeping noise startled him. He glanced down at the readout on his D-3 - and jumped up in panic. Horrified, he stared out at the battle as his eyes confirmed the grim report.
DarkTyrannamon was out of control. Somehow Ken's control over him had slipped, and the Digimon was now banging into the cliffs and roaring loudly. He shot a breath of fire straight at Yolei and Halsemon. Terror shot through Ken as Yolei screamed. Then Halsemon soared out of the smoke, revealing Yolei unharmed. She had just screamed when Halsemon did a barrel roll to avoid the blast.
He stood up, grimly determined. That was it. He didn't care what everyone else thought of his actions; there was no way he was going to put Yolei in danger. "DarkTyrranamon! Cease attack!" He paid no attention to the shocked looks and gasps he was getting from the other Digidestined. "DarkTyrranamon! Return to the castle!"
The huge Digimon lurched over to where Ken was standing. Ken glared up at it, focusing all his willpower in controlling the thing. Dimly he heard the shouts of the others. They distracted him for just a moment. He immediately tried to regain control, but the damage was done. DarkTyrranamon wavered, then turned with a deadly roar back to the battle.
"No!" Ken cried.
Yolei looked at him fearfully. "Ken, what's wrong?"
The dread in his heart increased a thousand fold. He hesitated, not wanting to scare his love. But he knew she would rather know the truth. "It's DarkTyrranamon! He's no longer under my control!"
"You're kidding!" yelled T.K.
Ken glared at him. "Now would not be the time to joke, you imbecile!"
"Don't call him that!" screamed Kari.
Ken was about to bite back a reply, but DarkTyrranamon was there! He felt terror wash over him like never before as the huge beast moved in for the kill.
DarkTyrranamon lunged at Ken. He narrowly escaped the blow by throwing himself sideways. His veins sang with adrenaline as he looked up for the next attack. It didn't come. As he breathed a sigh of relief that the Digimon had moved on, he heard a scream that made his blood run cold.
Yolei.
He stared around frantically, trying to find her. There! Yolei was backed against the cliff wall, frozen with fear, as DarkTyrranamon closed in on her. Hawkmon, who had de-Digivolved a little earlier, was trying his best to attack but he was so weak that his feeble attempts did no more than anger the huge Digimon. "Yolei!" he screamed.
"Ken!" she screamed back. The terror in her voice galvanized him into action. He pounded forward, ignoring the shouts of surprise from the other Digidestined. He increased his speed. He wasn't going to make it...he was going to be too late...
Seconds before DarkTyrranamon lifted his claws to attack, Ken reached Yolei and blocked her with his body. The force of the blow sent him sprawling against the cliff wall.
*Cue Digivolving sequence*
"Hawkmon Armor Digivolve to...Halsemon!
Halsemon...the wings of Love!"
Ken faintly heard a roar of "Tempest Wing!" He managed a grim smile to himself as his vision went cloudy. That's my girl, he thought, and the world went dark.
Next part coming soon, if you want it!