The Destiny Of The Emperor
Chapter 2: A Change For The Better
By CyberDracomon
(Author's Note: What follows is very far from my usual fanfic. It is in tribute to something few of us remember, but those who do cherish the memory, the first fanfic I ever read. It is a version of an old Final Fantasy 6 story called "Anti-violence Therapy Subject 11983" by an author going by the name Cross Knight Kefka. I printed this story back in 1997 and as far as I know my printout is all that remains of the original story, I haven't even found the original author yet. The concept and ideas the story presented were too good to be forgotten, so I rewrote it into this. Please be warned this is a PG-13 fic and the first chapter depicts a great deal more violence than I generally use, if you disapprove of this please do not read.)
Ken trudged through the vast Digital desert, fighting through the heat that burned against his wounds, which were no longer bleeding. The hot desert wind blew sand into his wounds, stinging them badly, making each step more torturous. His clothes were shredded beyond repair thanks to the knife slashed, but he no longer cared about that. All that mattered now was survival, if he survived this trial he would at last be free from the pain he had been forced to experience, pain which no human deserved to know. Ken knew the Digimon back at the village had no intent of coming after him, they knew this desert would most likely be his grave. Ken had been walking for hours, his pain increasing with every moment, every step was a struggle. At last he could take no more and collapsed, letting his battered body fall to the soft, hot desert sand. With no hope of survival, Ken closed his eyes, awaiting death's grip to relieve him of his agony.
Before death could take it's hold, Ken heard a bouncing noise close by, like a rubber ball bouncing off pavement. Ken forced his eyes open, looking around. He saw nothing but barren desert all around, yet he still heard the bouncing noise. Finally he looked behind him to see a small Leafmon bouncing past him through the desert. Ken couldn't believe it, a baby Digimon trying to cross the desert all alone. He figured it made sense for a Leafmon to try, with it's tail providing shade, though this Leafmon was obviously young as it's tail was too small to drape over him. The baby Digimon wandered close to Ken, finding comfort in the shade of his body. Somehow a part of him was glad his dying body would provide shade for the young Digimon. In a way his death would bring this Digimon another chance at life. He closed his eyes again, feeling weaker than before.
He became alert again as a strong burst of wind hit him, throwing bits of his tattered clothing around. Ken kept his eyes closed tight to keep sand out of them, then opened them as he felt the wind dying down. His eyes immediately fell on Leafmon, who's flat tail had become buried behind him by the sand. Ken watched as Leafmon began to bounce fiercely, trying to free himself. The sand under him was soft, though, making his sharp bounces just bury him deeper. Ken was amazed by this, Leafmon had to know he couldn't escape, yet it kept trying despite how hopeless it seemed. It was a determination Ken had never seen before. Maybe the little Digimon was too young to know what doom was, or maybe his only sense was to survive, but whatever it was, it was something Ken knew he had never had, nor would he ever have it. Ken realized that Leafmon knew something Ken should have known all along. His only desire for the past 5 months had been his freedom, and that's never easily gained. He had to keep struggling, had to keep going. Ken learned that when it all ended, the pain, the punishment, the torture, he would at last be free, or the ones who did so much to him would win in the end after all. After a minute of watching Leafmon, Ken made a decision, picking himself up as best as he could. He walked over to Leafmon and picked it up, freeing it from the sand that weighed it down.
"You, my friend, have dome something to me." Ken said. "Somehow you've restored my will to live when all I wanted to do was die and end my suffering the easy way. For that I can never thank you enough, but for now, let me at least thank you with my friendship." Leafmon smiled as best it could through his pacifier-shaped mouth, apparently glad Ken had made the decision. With his new companion in his arms, Ken continued on, ignoring the pain and heat. His mind was focused now, his determination renewed, and he knew his pain would end soon.
**********
Hours passed as Ken walked on with Leafmon cradled in his arms. The pain from his wounds was as hideous as ever as sand continued to blow into them, stinging him to no end. At least now Ken had someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't judge him for his past deeds, who was willing to listen out of friendship rather than by force from a dark ring or spiral. Ken chatted as much as he could with his small friend, trying to keep his mind off of the pain and heat. His mind would occasionally wander off, hoping for an oasis over the next dune, though he knew there wouldn't be one until he was across this wasteland.
"It's kind of funny..." Ken said, keeping his chatting going. "We... met under similar circumstances, and we both only want to... escape this forsaken place... We got ourselves in much over our... our..." Ken suddenly felt his legs buckle from exhaustion, forcing him to fall to the sand. Leafmon jumped out of Ken's arms just in time to avoid his falling body. Ken tried to get up, but it was like every part of him had quit all at once. His wounds hurt immensely, weakening him further, draining him of any strength. He had determination, but without the strength to back it up, death was his only escape. "Leafmon... please, keep... going... s... save... your... self..." Leafmon looked panicked, but turned and bounced off as instructed. Ken watched as long as he could before his eyes grew too weak to remain open. "P... pain... s... so... bad... agh..." Ken struggled to even mutter those words, draining him of any remaining strength. He could feel death upon him, ready to end his pain along with his existence.
"Hey, a baby Digimon!" Ken faintly heard. It was the voice of a young boy, it sounded so faint, either his hearing was going out or it was far away. "It's so cute..." Ken thought it was probably his imagination trying to convince him Leafmon found salvation.
"I love it's leaf tail, it's adorable..." Another voice said, this one older, female, and somewhat familiar... "Hey, I think it want us to follow it... Hey, come back!" Ken forced his eyes open again to see two figures coming his way, following a bouncing ball. It was all Ken could make out before darkness overtook him as he blacked out.
**********
"Hey, are you alright?" Ken faintly heard. He realized he hadn't died, although his body felt numb and lifeless, still lacking any strength. Someone began shaking him roughly, forcing him alert. Ken managed to open his eyes, though his vision was so blurred he couldn't even make out shapes. Suddenly a hand touched his chin, guiding it up. Ken could feel the edge of a glass put to his lips, slowly pouring cool water into his aching throat. His bone dry throat forced him to cough up the water at first, but then accepted it quickly, taking in as much water as the glass held. Eventually the glass left his lips and Ken could feel the cold water running through him, cooling his overheated body slowly. His vision cleared slightly, making out the forms of a small boy and a girl around his own age in front of him.
"You're really lucky, you were almost a goner." The boy said loudly. Ken cringed, his head pounding at the sudden loud noise. His hearing hadn't quite recovered, as well, making sounds very hard to take.
"Wh... where... am I...?" Ken managed to say. The boy looked up at the girl, who walked over smiling. Somehow the sight was comforting to Ken, making him forget about his headache.
"Shh, don't try to speak." The girl said. "You're among friends, just get some rest. You're save here." Somehow the words came as a huge relief to Ken, who felt better just hearing them. The girl put a cold, damp towel over Ken's head, cooling him off. "Get some sleep, you'll be better in no time, just don't worry." The words again comforted Ken, it had been so long since anyone had given him such tranquility with their words rather than just bring him pain with them. He closed his eyes again, out of choice rather than exhaustion. For some reason he felt, for the first time in years, safe.
**********
Ken again opened his eyes, this time with ease. His body felt more like it's old self, with everything apparently working again, some of his cuts were even starting to heal. It was then he realized he was now dressed in loose fitting clothes, much more casual than his straight gray outfit he was used to. Right now he was glad to be in anything as long as it wasn't his own grave.
"Feeling better?" Someone asked. Ken looked to his side to see the same boy from earlier holding a bowl with some steam coming from it. His vision was clear now and he could make out the boy's shaggy blue hair and light clothing, which looked slightly worn out. "You were asleep for a whole day, I thought you'd be hungry so I brought some soup for you." Ken was surprised he could sleep for so long even with his weakened state. When the boy mentioned hunger Ken noticed how badly his stomach was growling, he hadn't eaten in a few days. He sat up in the bed and gladly accepted the bowl from the boy.
"Thanks, I could really use this right now." Ken said. "So what's your name? And where am I?" The boy took a seat beside Ken's bed as Ken started in on the soup. It tasted like warm chicken soup, but here in the Digiworld there were no chickens... He decided not to think about it, at least it tasted good.
"I'm Ryu, one of the Refugara Digidestined." The boy explained. Ken looked on in confusion, then noticed a small white ball by his feet. He wouldn't have thought much of it if it didn't have yellow eyes and ears.
"So this place is called Refugara..." Ken said, putting things together out loud. "And I guess that's your Digimon down there?" Ryu looked down at the tiny Digimon and bent over, picking him up to give Ken a better look.
"Yup, this is SnowyBotamon." Ryu said. The white puffball bounced happily as his name was announced. "He's too little to fight now, but he'll grow up in no time." Ken smiled slightly, then finished off the last of his soup. He hadn't realized how fast he had eaten it, it was a fairly big bowl, too.
"You said you were a Digidestined..." Ken said, setting the bowl on a small table near the bed. "Are there other Digidestined here?" Ryu nodded quickly, smiling widely. Ken had no idea what could make him so cheerful, it was strange to him.
"Yeah, a whole team of them." The boy said. "Come on, I'll show you around and then you can meet them. I'm sure they'll be glad to know you're alright." Ken chuckled a little at the though, Digidestined that would be glad he was okay. Still this place was already catching his attention, so he stood and followed the boy out of the room, who had left kind of eagerly.
Outside he found he hadn't been in a room, but rather a small house that looked like it was made of quartz crystal. Ken looked around and was amazed at the sight he found. It looked like he was somewhere underground in a gigantic cavern, high above him was nothing but stone and stalactites hanging down. Around him many more buildings stood, all carved from the same rose-colored crystal. He figured the cavern was a massive deposit of the stone before they had made it their home. Ken then noticed the Digimon walking around, passing from building to building. He saw many familiar ones, but none looked right somehow. Many were the wrong color for some reason. Ken looked ahead of him to see Ryu, who was looking around the area.
"Ryu, can I ask you something?" Ken said. "A lot of these Digimon I've seen before, but not in these colors..." Ken looked around more until he realized it wasn't a lot of them, rather all of them were oddly detailed, not a single normal Digimon among them.
"These are refugee Digimon." Ryu explained. "They have no other place to live but here in Refugara. They've been abandoned by the Digiworld above because of their oddities." Ryu looked around for a good example, then pointed to a Unimon that featured zebra stripes. "That's ShimaUnimon. His stripes make him an outcast above." He pointed to a pair of Digimon talking, a blue Ogremon holding an ice club and a dark blue Devimon "Those two are Hyogamon and IceDevimon. They're always hanging out since they're both icy virus types." Ken was starting to understand now as he looked around at others. A brown Frigimon and Mojyamon, a red Penguinmon, a black Birdramon. None of them were accepted by their fellow Digimon because of their oddities.
"So this is a town of outcasts..." Ken said. "I think I know how they feel." Ryu looked back at Ken and smiled.
"I'm glad." He said cheerfully. "Come on, the others will want to know you're alright." With that Ryu walked off, still holding SnowyBotamon, toward the largest of the buildings. Ken followed behind, not sure just what to expect. Did the Digidestined down here even know of his past? They must not have, if they stayed down here and were actually helping him there was no way they could.
Inside the building was larger than it looked from the outside. Ken guessed it was built into the wall of the cavern so it could be larger. The decorations were nothing special, it didn't look too different from the building he was resting in. Standing at a table near the back of the main room stood a teen about his age in clothes similar to Ryu's, but in better condition. He was looking over something on the table while a white Agumon stood on the table, looking at the same thing.
"Hey, Duran!" Ryu shouted. "Look who's up and about!" The boy ran off toward the table as the teen, apparently named Duran, looked up and smiled. Ryu ran over to the table and jumped up, sitting himself on it's edge. SnowyBotamon jumped off of his hands and onto the table to greet the white Agumon.
"I'm glad you're alright." Duran said, walking over to Ken and extending his hand. Despite the doubts still in his head, Ken accepted it, shaking his hand. "As my young friend announced, my name is Duran, and in case you're wandering, my white friend back there is SnowAgumon." Another misfit Digimon. Ken assumed all the Digidestined from here had similar Digimon, which would make sense for them to defend this place.
"My name's Ken." He announced. Instead of the shocked reaction he expected from Duran, who he thought didn't realize who he was, he instead got a warm smile from him, which he was relieved to see. "Are you the one that pulled me out of the desert?" Duran released Ken's head and shook his head no.
"Actually it was your friend over there." Duran said, indicating something to the side of the room. Ken looked over to see a green and brown Digimon asleep on a small bed. It looked like a small green ball with arms sitting on a pinecone. "Last time you saw him he was just a little Leafmon, but since he's digivolved into Minamon. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you once he's awake." Ken was glad to know his little friend was okay, and to be honest he was surprised he was strong enough to have already digivolved. Remembering those last moments in the desert, Ken recalled something else.
"When I was lost in the desert..." Ken began. "I remember hearing a pair of voices. One of them was definitely Ryu's, but who else was with him?" Ken remembered something familiar about the voice, it was haunting him to know what it was.
"That was me you heard." A female voice said behind him. It was the same voice, and with Ken's hearing working perfectly it really did sound familiar. Ken turned to see who the voice came from. Standing in the open doorway was Yolei, just as Ken last saw her, even in a similar outfit. Ken panicked a little, remembering his history with Yolei and her group of Digidestined all too well. After a second he began to realize, if she held the same intentions as the others he would be rotting in the desert right now.
"Yolei..." Ken said, still in a bit of shock. "Why would you save me? Of all people I thought you or the others would be the first to leave me in that desert to die." Yolei giggled a little, probably because she expected that reaction, the walked out of the doorway to face Ken.
"Things change, Ken, you of all people should know that." Yolei explained. "Besides, Leafmon wouldn't let us leave without you." Her tone was a joking one on the second comment, which Ken was thankful for.
"What are you doing here, though?" Ken asked. "I remember you weren't with the others during their last fight with me and Kimeramon. At the time I was glad I didn't have to face all 5 of you but now I'm kind of curious." Yolei walked past Ken and took a seat at the table beside Ryu.
"The Digimon here just seemed to need me more than Davis and the others did." Yolei explained. "The Digimon here are so rejected by the Digimon above that the Refugara Digidestined have to raid nearby towns on the edge of the desert. I hate doing it, but it's the only way any of the Digimon down here can get food to survive, as it is there's barely ever enough for everyone here. Including Duran, there's only 4 Digidestined here capable of going on raids so they needed as much help as they could get. They still do, too." Ken had no idea the Digimon here were so rejected that they couldn't even get food from the towns near the desert. It was shocking to say the least since he had never known Digimon that acted in such a way. Yet just a few differences in these Digimon made most others hate them...
"Yolei..." Ken began. "I'd like to help... but with my past, I doubt the Digimon here would accept it..." Duran stepped forward, shaking his head in disagreeance.
"You judge them too quickly." He said. "We know of your history as the Digimon Emperor, as do all of the Digimon here in Refugara, but you will not be judged by your past, only by how you are now. Believe me, if you choose to aid us, the Digimon here will be glad to welcome you." Ken hadn't realized the Digimon here would be so understanding. He should have, though, being rejected themselves, they know what it's like to be ridiculed for things beyond your control.
"Alright then." Ken announced. "Let me know what I have to do and you've got it." Duran, Yolei, and Ryu all smiled, all glad to have Ken part of their group.
**********
"Okay, you sure you're going to get it this time?" Yolei asked Ken. Ken was sitting on top of an odd wooden training device, a barrel with four legs attached to it's underside. The legs all had wheels that ran along a straight track that led across the long room. Across the path there were three dummies, each rigged with a small pouch on their sides. Ken had been trying all morning to successfully run this training gauntlet to no avail, never getting past the second dummy, which was rigged to move when he got too close.
"I'm sure." Ken said with confidence. He already had his eyes locked onto the first pouch, his hand flexing, ready to snatch it. Yolei shrugged and pulled back on a long level, shooting the spring loaded training horse down the track. Ken reached out as he approached the first dummy and easily snagged the pouch at it's side. Quickly he swung it over and into a saddle bag for safe keeping. He was already nearing the second dummy as he completed this and it had started to wobble back and forth a little. Ken kept his eyes locked on the pouch as he reached out for it. As it did a dozen times before, the dummy moved to the side, forcing Ken to reach farther out. Somehow Ken's hand found the pouch, grabbing it and pacing it into the saddle bag. Ken moved back to a comfortable spot on the seat as he came up on the third, which didn't seem to be doing anything unusual. Ken reached out, confident he would succeed. His hand found the pouch, grabbing onto it tightly. Ken pulled himself back toward his seat, but suddenly discovered he couldn't, the pouch was stuck too tightly to the dummy. He couldn't release the pouch in time after realizing this and got pulled off the wooden horse, sending him into the ground hard. Ken could hear a slight gasp from Yolei across the room as he hit, his arm sore from the sudden pull against it. Slowly Ken picked himself up as Yolei walked over to check on him.
"You now, you could have warned me that you nailed this pouch onto the dummy..." Ken said. Yolei smiled nervously as she walked past him to collect the other two pouches from the saddle bag.
"Actually I couldn't." Yolei said. "Some things you can't get without a fight and you never know when you'll have to pull a little harder than usual to get it." Ken saw her point, this new task he was going to undertake was going to be full of surprises, good and bad. Yolei reclaimed the pouches from the bag and walked over to the first two dummies, replacing their pouches for another try. Ken sighed and walked over to the dummy horse and pulled it back to the starting point until a loud click could be heard, signaling it's spring was reset and ready to launch it again.
"Ken, I know I've asked you this before..." Yolei started. "But are you really sure you want to do this? I mean your reputation isn't the best as it is, it wouldn't be good to add theft to it. As it is they're more than ready to kill you off the second they have you helpless." Ken had heard all of this ever since he agreed to help a month ago, from Duran, Minamon, and Yolei especially. For some reason, one that escaped him, she seemed concerned about him. Whatever reason she had, it must have been a good one since she never seemed to drop the issue.
"Don't worry, Yolei, my reputation couldn't be any worse." Ken said. "As long as it's this bad, I might as well do this, and as long as it helps the refugee Digimon it's worth it." Yolei smiled gently at Ken, the same smile Ken remembered from his first day in Refugara. It always gave him this warm feeling of comfort, a feeling he always liked having. He couldn't describe it himself, but something about Yolei's smile just made him feel better about all of this.
"Well get ready, I'm expecting you to get all three this time." Yolei said, taking her spot at the lever. Ken climbed up onto the dummy horse and readied himself, eyeing the first of the pouches. Yolei pulled on the lever, sending him off again. Ken once again reached and grabbed the first with ease, dropping it into the saddle bag. The second was as hard as ever, but he managed to grab it and drop it into the bag. Now was the one he had to get, the third one that he was now ready for. Ken reached out, holding onto the horse tightly with his legs and left hand, reaching with his right. His hand found the pouch, grabbing it tightly, but he was now ready, tugging on the pouch as hard as he could without throwing himself off. He could hear a loud ripping sound as the pouch was torn away from the dummy, leaving only a scrap of fabric from the pouch hanging on the nail. Ken jumped off the wooden horse and looked down at the pouch in his hand, hardly believing that he managed to take it. He looked up from the pouch to see Yolei running over to see for herself.
"Alright, Ken, you did it!" Yolei shouted, throwing her arms around Ken's neck. Too ecstatic to do otherwise, Ken returned the embrace, swinging Yolei around a few times, smiling widely at his accomplishment. Ken stopped swinging Yolei and looked at her, just now realizing how close he had pulled her. The two quickly let go, both blushing severely.
"Heh... sorry about that..." Ken said quickly. "I guess I got carried away." Yolei nodded quickly, a nervous smile across her face.
"Yeah, guess I did, too..." Yolei said, just as nervous as Ken. "...not that I minded, or anything." Ken was surprised to hear Yolei admitting this, but he actually felt the same, which surprised him even more.
"Yeah, neither did I..." Ken said, his nervousness slipping. "I guess after so many years of being hated by everyone, it's nice to know some are still willing to get that close to me..." He couldn't describe this feeling that was letting him be so open suddenly, it wasn't anything like had felt before, nothing even compared. He had been having it around Yolei since he came to Refugara, it was very strange to him...
"Well I'm glad you changed..." Yolei admitted. "Things have been a lot happier around this place since you arrived, especially for me. Things down here for the past few months have been so boring, and for the past month I've had you to keep me company. While I'm here I'm away from my siblings, my parents, my friends... Besides Hawkmon you're all I've got in this place." Ken could feel something swelling up inside himself as she spoke, he couldn't believe this was the same girl he was being hunted by for nearly 7 years.
"After all I've done..." Ken said, speaking through the tight feeling in his chest. "All the pain, all the suffering I've caused... I'm glad I can finally make someone happy." Ken smiled warmly at Yolei, returning the smile he liked seeing on her so often.
"Hey, Ken..." Yolei said, a nervous tone in her voice. "...you ever get caught up in some heated moment and did something you knew was stupid...?" Ken didn't understand what she meant, it was completely off subject, if their conversation had one to begin with.
"Um..." Ken said, trying to remember. He had made a lot of headed choices in the past years but none he felt was stupid. "Never, I don't think so..." He couldn't begin to guess where Yolei was going with this, she hadn't made much sense.
"Here's the problem with never..." Yolei said, again embracing Ken, but this time with a more gentle hold rather than the excited hold from before. Before Ken realized what was happening, Yolei closed her eyes, pressing her lips to Ken's. Ken's mind went blank at the sudden show of affection, but slowly melted into it, returning the kiss and embrace without even realizing it. Ken couldn't believe what was happening, it was like every part of him was racing all at once, his mind losing all thought about anything else but that moment. All too soon the moment ended as Yolei broke the kiss, leaving Ken's mind reeling. He could hardly remember anything that happened before the kiss as he sat there, still stunned. "Sorry, I guess I really got carried away..." Yolei sounded disappointed by Ken's reaction, snapping him out of the daze.
"Yolei, don't be sorry..." Ken said, trying to comfort her. "It's just that nobody has ever shown me any sign of affection before... My brother was always mean to me, more concerned about his schoolwork than me... My parents only paid attention to him until his death, and even after that they only praised me on my intelligence. I guess it's all too much for me at once, it was only 6 months ago when I hated all of the Digidestined, you included..." Yolei stared on at Ken, a mournful look in her eyes. Ken couldn't believe he had told her all of this, whatever he was feeling right now, it loved to be honest.
"And what about now, Ken?" Yolei asked. "How do you feel about us Digidestined now?" Ken hadn't thought of the others that much in the last month, he was just glad to be rid of them. Still, now that Yolei asked, he was beginning to think about it.
"Well since your friends want to hunt me down to go through those torture sessions again, I think I could do without them." Ken said. As his mind wandered over to Yolei, the past month wither her really stuck out. He realized he didn't care about the past 7 years as her enemy, he cherished the past month and it was all he thought about when thinking of Yolei. "You, on the other hand... I don't think I could live without you anymore..." Yolei's eyes widened a bit as he said this. Even Ken couldn't believe he had said it, but it was true. The past month had easily been the best in his life and in every fond memory he had, Yolei was the center of it. Just thinking of this place without her being there, without her company, without that smile... It was all so important to him.
"Ken..." Yolei said, now the stunned one. "I... I don't know what to say..." Ken knew there was something he had to say, but he didn't have the words for it... His life was nothing but pain, suffering, be it in his childhood or his reign as the Digimon Emperor, that was his life, either receiving or causing it. He knew nothing else thoughout his life, but now there was this new sensation with Yolei, completely opposite of anything he had known before... He didn't even know what the word for it was. "Then again, maybe I do..." Yolei said, pulling herself closer to Ken. "I love you, Ken..." Ken's mind hung on those words for a moment. He knew the word love, of course, but he never even experienced it with his brother or parents... Other than that he had only heard it used by TK and Kari during some battles, but that didn't explain much of it's meaning. Whatever he felt for Yolei, it was incredible, though. Maybe this was what TK felt with Kari... Maybe this immense feeling in Ken really was love.
"...I love you, too, Yolei..." Ken finally said, embracing Yolei as much as he could, not wanting her to leave even for a second. Maybe the word love was invented to describe the feelings he had for Yolei, but he was sure it didn't describe it well enough, there was way too much to sum up in a single word. Until he could think of something better, if there was something better, love seemed to fit best, and for now he was happy he knew it.
**********
"Everybody, run!!" A Gekomon shouted, running down the road of the Gekomon town. "The black thieves are back!!" Gekomon darted inside as four figures dressed completely in black from head to toe raced in riding Unimons, except for the one in front, however, who rode what appeared to be a Garurumon.
"Raid the entire town!" The leader shouted to his group. "Take only food items and nothing else!" With that the three Unimon riders split up as the leader and Garurumon darted straight through the middle of town. With Garurumon's speed he had to be good to grab enough, and he was, grabbing a big bag of rice easily from a pair of Otamamon he caught off guard. The Unimon riders were having similar luck, picking off dried meat, gains, even some fruit, all with little resistance. The small band met up near the edge of town, riding out of the other side of the town together. Their raid had been so fast that the Gekomon couldn't react or even get ShogunGekomon to stop them. The group continued riding at full speed for about a mile before slowing to a stop in the Digital desert, safely away from any retaliation the Gekomon might have had. The leader dismounted, petting his wolf Digimon.
"Great work, Gururumon." He said, taking off his hood. It was Duran, and the Digimon he had ridden wasn't Garurumon, rather it's alternate version of Gururumon, which had darker stripes than Garurumon. It was the Digivolution of his SnowAgumon partner, which he always found kind strange, a lizard becoming a wolf. Ken removed his hood and hopped off the Unimon, who was actually a ShimaUnimon, and looked over the items they had managed to get.
"I didn't think we'd be able to get so much on such a fast raid." Ken commented. Will this be enough to feed everyone in Refugara?" Ken had been on dozens of these raids in the past five months but he was always cautious of getting enough food for the entire city. He even had times where he made a second, solo raid when he wasn't sure there was enough.
"Relax, Ken, we've got more than enough here." Duran assured him. "We should get it back to Refugara before the desert heat gets to it, though." Ken nodded, leading his ShimaUnimon along as Duran and Gururumon walked ahead. The other two followed as Duran made it to a lone sand dune. He reached his Digivice on his side and pressed the tall button on it's corner. After a second the dune slid backwards, revealing a ramp that lead deep into the ground. Duran and Gururumon lead the way as the band of thieves entered, relieved to be in the shade of the tunnel. The path down was long and winding, making it a little harder, but after a while Ken was able to get used to it. He would go on the weekly raid often, always trying to pick as much food as possible within the few short minutes they had going through the town. He had come a long way since his training sessions with Yolei and was getting as good as Duran at it, though he still couldn't do as well at the speeds Gururumon ran.
Eventually they reached the bottom of the ramp where a pair of Digimon always stood guard, usually a pair that looked like Gotsumon, Icemon and Meteormon. The only difference was Icemon was a Champion and Meteormon was an Ultimate, which always made Ken laugh a little. He found it funny that a Gotsumon could live his entire life and only change colors when he Digivolved. The other two thieves, who were also Digidestined of Refugara, dismounted and took the saddlebags off of the ShimaUnimon, letting them go back to their homes, and placed them on Gururumon's back for the final leg of the trip. Ken and Duran continued on as the other two Digidestined bid them farewell, their jobs done and their own duties to get back to. The pair led Gururumon to the main building where most of the food they collected on raids was sorted out and stored. Once inside Duran lead Gururumon to a side room where the saddle bags could be unpacked as Ken continued on toward his room to change into a better outfit. In a desert, black is the last color you want to wear, which he knew too well by now. Ken walked to the room on the side that he stayed in and walked in to find Yolei sitting on the bed.
"Ken!" She shouted, standing from the bed and running to Ken to embrace him, which Ken quickly returned. This was possibly his favorite part of the raids, at least when Yolei wasn't in the raid herself. She only joined when another Digidestined was sick or they happened to be raiding a bigger town. "How did the raid go?" She asked, as always.
"It went great." Ken said, loosening the embrace to look at Yolei better. "We managed to get enough food for everyone without hurting any of the Gekomon or Otamamon." Ken always tried his best not to have ShimaUnimon attack any of the Digimon, but on rare occasion there was no choice.
"I'm glad." Yolei said. "Of course with you on the raid there was no doubt it would be a success." Yolei quickly kissed Ken before letting go, starting to leave the room. "I should give you a chance to change out of that gear, I've gotta go help Duran put away all that food, anyway." Ken always admired Yolei's helpful nature, it was probably the first thing about her he fell in love with.
"Oh yeah, where's Ryu?" Ken asked before Yolei went out the door. "I promised we would play when I got back from the raid." That was another thing Ken had seemed to gain thanks to this place, between studies and his evil doings he never had any kind of fun that a normal child should have. With Ryu he had learned how to have fun out of practically nothing and had an excuse to make up the lost playtime from his childhood.
"I think he's playing in the oasis with Wormmon." Yolei said. "Knowing them they've probably webbed the whole place up by now." Ken smiled as Yolei left the room, closing the door behind her. He found it kind of strange that the Leafmon he met in the desert six months ago, the same that saved his life, would eventually become the same Digimon that tried to save him over seven years ago. He had thought it might actually have been his original Wormmon reborn, but when he first asked about it Wormmon had no idea what he was talking about. Ken decided not to dwell on it has he removed his black gear and outfit, preferring his loose fitting clothing to his thief's outfit.
Once changed, Ken made his way to an elevator system set up for easier access to the oasis since it provided most of Refugara's water. Inside, he pulled a lever, dropping a sandbag from above that weighed enough to pull the elevator up with him in it. The system was actually more complicated than that but he never could figure it out. As long as it still worked he didn't complain. The elevator ride ended as it poked through the sand above it, letting Ken step out into the desert just in front of the oasis. He had already spotted Ryu and Wormmon and, true to Yolei's guess, many palm trees had Wormmon's sticky webbing hanging from it. The two goofed around with the stuff all the time and they ended up having to clean the place up often.
"Hey Ken!" Ryu shouted, spotting Ken's appearance. Ken walked over to the oasis, admiring it. It was a sight he never got tired of seeing, lush grass surrounding a fairly large pond of crystal blue water, decorated with palm trees on all sides, even a lone, very tall one in the middle of the pond. Wormmon crawled over to Ken and smiled, at least Ken thought it was a smile, with a vertical mouth it was hard to tell. Ken picked up the worm Digimon and gave it a soft hug, the usual greeting he had for his friend.
"We were getting a little worried." Wormmon said. "Your raid seemed to be taking a little longer than usual." Ken shook his head, hopefully reassuring the Digimon.
"Nah, just a little run in with Yolei before I could make it up here." Ken said. "Actually last time I got here early I got more webbed than the trees so being a little late doesn't bother me that much." Wormmon and Ryu chuckled a little, but Ryu stopped suddenly, remembering something.
"Hey, Wormmon?" Ryu said suddenly. "Think you could go check on Dokunemon for me? He's been gone a while and I need to talk to Ken privately." Dokunemon was a green form of Kunemon, and not only was he Ryu's Digimon partner, but Wormmon's partner in crime, so to speak. The two had grown up together from baby Digimon to their Rookie forms that they held today. Ken and Ryu often blamed Wormmon for influencing SnowyBotamon to become a worm Digimon like him. Wormmon hopped out of Ken's arms and squirmed off to find Dokunemon, probably in a tree somewhere.
"So what's up, Ryu?" Ken asked, concerned. It wasn't often Ryu would turn away both Dokunemon and Wormmon to talk, but whenever he did it was serious, at least in a young boy's terms it was.
"Well..." Ryu began. "When I was in Primary Village the other day, I stole a story book... It was about you and what you did as the Digimon Emperor... Is it true? Did you really do all of those bad things?" Ken wasn't surprised, Ryu would have found out one way or another about Ken's past, he just wished it had been from Yolei or himself. The main rule of the Refugara Digidestined was to never steal things other than food.
"...Some of it." Ken admitted. He had seen many of the books that had been written, describing his actions, but they were always overblown, telling that he went as far as killing Digimon for his own sick pleasure. "Some things they say only to make me look worse, it's how they choose to see who I used to be... I'm not proud of my past, that's why I'm working so hard to make sure you and Refugara have a better chance than I did." Ryu smiled, relieving Ken. He was worried he might not explain well enough or made himself sound worse. As if on que, Wormmon and Dokunemon came crawling back to the two, joining their respected Digidestined.
"Guess it's time to go, isn't it?" Ryu asked. "You've really gotta get here sooner, we didn't get any time to do anything." Ken smiled, rubbing the boy's shaggy blue hair with his hand.
"I'll make it up to you next time." Ken said. "I've gotta get ready for a date with Yolei, anyway, you know how she gets when I'm late for that." Ryu quickly nodded, laughing a little. The two and their Digimon walked back to the elevator, stepping in and pulling on a return handle that pulled the lift back to Refugara. Again Ken wasn't sure how it worked, but he liked the lift as long as it worked at all.
**********
Later that day Ken and Yolei walked hand in hand through a small town, trying to keep themselves unseen. Both were wearing cloaks to hide their identities, not wanting to recognized by any passing Digimon. Ken couldn't help but feel nervous, should any Digimon recognize him here there would be no place to get away. Yolei squeezed his hand tighter, somehow knowing his concerns.
"Don't worry so much." Yolei whispered to him. They were walking on a lonely street so luckily there were no Digimon around to hear them. "We get to the air taxi, we see the show, and we come home, we've done it before." That was the general plan on dates to the theater. The best one was on the side of a mountain a few miles away so an air taxi was the best way to get there, which usually meant letting a pair of Birdramon or Airdramon pull you through the air on a small cart.
"I guess I can't help it..." Ken admitted. "These are the same ones that wanted to rip me into quarters, after all." The thought of what he barely escaped six months ago still made him cringe, but he was glad it was just in his past. His future was all he was worried about now, and with Yolei around it seemed pretty good.
"Just relax, before you know it we'll be at the theater enjoying the show." Yolei said, reassuring Ken. She always had a way of doing that ever since he first met her in Refugara. It was an incredible feeling to know someone could do that for you no matter what was wrong. Eventually the couple got to the air taxi, which was basically a small runway beside a lake. Yolei and Ken both received a surprise as they noticed the usual pair of Birdramon and Airdramon weren't in the cart's reigns, rather it was Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, and as luck would have it, TK and Kari were there as well, talking to their Digimon.
"What was that about relaxing?" Ken asked nervously. Yolei had the same worried look on her face, but managed to shake it off, pulling the hood of her cloak over her face a little better.
"Just leave it to me." Yolei said with confidence. "I'll take care of things, just keep quiet and keep hidden." Ken nodded, adjusting his hood to hide his face better. The two walked on toward the air taxi, both stepping a little more slowly than usual. TK and Kari noticed them walking their way and turned from their Digimon to greet them.
"Welcome." TK said as the two approached the cart. "Where are you two going today?" It seemed pretty straight forward, just as if it was being run normally.
"The mountainside theater." Yolei said, speaking in a voice that only barely sounded like her own. She had been working on it since they started using the air taxi for dates so no Digimon would recognize her, though this was a much better use for it. "If you don't mind me asking, where are the regular operators?" Ken somehow knew she would ask this, she was always curious about such things.
"The Birdramon said something about a Digiegg in their nest hatching." Kari explained. "And the Airdramon both caught a virus. When we heard about it we volunteered to take over until they could get back." Ken could tell the two were always like this, something about them seemed to say they were naturally this generous. If he hadn't been obsessed with being the Digimon Emperor they could have probably been friends.
"I see..." Yolei said simply. "We might be staying at the theater's inn and come back tomorrow, can you stay there through the night to take us back?" TK simply nodded in reply.
"Actually there's a cabin at the station up there for us to stay in for just such trips." TK explained. "Just hop in and leave the rest to us." Yolei nodded, opening the door on the cart. She stepped in, taking the far seat as Ken stepped in to sit beside her, closing the door as he sat down. TK and Kari walked to the front and mounted their Digimon, signaling them to take off. Ken was surprised that the takeoff was a little smoother than Birdramon or Airdramon's, possibly because they preferred a running start unlike the usual sudden takeoffs.
"I always liked these rides." Yolei said, once they were flying straight. "The wind in my hair, the view of the stars and ground below..." Ken had to agree, at least on the part about the view. His hair was just annoying when it blew around so much. The sight and the feel of the ride was fine, but Ken didn't really like the silence, other than the flapping of Pegasusmon and Nefertimon's wings. He decided to change it, reaching into a pocket on the inside of his vest and pulling out his old flute from his treatment, the one good thing he seemed to have gotten out of it. "I didn't know you played the flute" Yolei commented, noticing the small wooden instrument.
"It was one of my rehab treatments, the only one I liked." Ken said. "I used to work all night on making up my own song, making it sound just right." With that Ken took a deep breath and put the instrument to his lips to play his song. As he played, he remembered the nights in his cell making up the song, with only Orgemon to hear it, who was asleep usually. He was glad someone important to him like Yolei could finally hear it.
"I think those nights of work were well spent..." Yolei complimented, resting her head on Ken's shoulder as she closed her eyes, taking in all the sound the small flute could make. Ken had to admit, this was a nice way to spend a day, just him and Yolei, nobody chasing after him, nobody to disturb them. Months ago he just wished his life would end, only wanting to end all the suffering he had to endure. Now he couldn't imagine not living, not when life was this rewarding.
End Chapter 2
Chapter 2: A Change For The Better
By CyberDracomon
(Author's Note: What follows is very far from my usual fanfic. It is in tribute to something few of us remember, but those who do cherish the memory, the first fanfic I ever read. It is a version of an old Final Fantasy 6 story called "Anti-violence Therapy Subject 11983" by an author going by the name Cross Knight Kefka. I printed this story back in 1997 and as far as I know my printout is all that remains of the original story, I haven't even found the original author yet. The concept and ideas the story presented were too good to be forgotten, so I rewrote it into this. Please be warned this is a PG-13 fic and the first chapter depicts a great deal more violence than I generally use, if you disapprove of this please do not read.)
Ken trudged through the vast Digital desert, fighting through the heat that burned against his wounds, which were no longer bleeding. The hot desert wind blew sand into his wounds, stinging them badly, making each step more torturous. His clothes were shredded beyond repair thanks to the knife slashed, but he no longer cared about that. All that mattered now was survival, if he survived this trial he would at last be free from the pain he had been forced to experience, pain which no human deserved to know. Ken knew the Digimon back at the village had no intent of coming after him, they knew this desert would most likely be his grave. Ken had been walking for hours, his pain increasing with every moment, every step was a struggle. At last he could take no more and collapsed, letting his battered body fall to the soft, hot desert sand. With no hope of survival, Ken closed his eyes, awaiting death's grip to relieve him of his agony.
Before death could take it's hold, Ken heard a bouncing noise close by, like a rubber ball bouncing off pavement. Ken forced his eyes open, looking around. He saw nothing but barren desert all around, yet he still heard the bouncing noise. Finally he looked behind him to see a small Leafmon bouncing past him through the desert. Ken couldn't believe it, a baby Digimon trying to cross the desert all alone. He figured it made sense for a Leafmon to try, with it's tail providing shade, though this Leafmon was obviously young as it's tail was too small to drape over him. The baby Digimon wandered close to Ken, finding comfort in the shade of his body. Somehow a part of him was glad his dying body would provide shade for the young Digimon. In a way his death would bring this Digimon another chance at life. He closed his eyes again, feeling weaker than before.
He became alert again as a strong burst of wind hit him, throwing bits of his tattered clothing around. Ken kept his eyes closed tight to keep sand out of them, then opened them as he felt the wind dying down. His eyes immediately fell on Leafmon, who's flat tail had become buried behind him by the sand. Ken watched as Leafmon began to bounce fiercely, trying to free himself. The sand under him was soft, though, making his sharp bounces just bury him deeper. Ken was amazed by this, Leafmon had to know he couldn't escape, yet it kept trying despite how hopeless it seemed. It was a determination Ken had never seen before. Maybe the little Digimon was too young to know what doom was, or maybe his only sense was to survive, but whatever it was, it was something Ken knew he had never had, nor would he ever have it. Ken realized that Leafmon knew something Ken should have known all along. His only desire for the past 5 months had been his freedom, and that's never easily gained. He had to keep struggling, had to keep going. Ken learned that when it all ended, the pain, the punishment, the torture, he would at last be free, or the ones who did so much to him would win in the end after all. After a minute of watching Leafmon, Ken made a decision, picking himself up as best as he could. He walked over to Leafmon and picked it up, freeing it from the sand that weighed it down.
"You, my friend, have dome something to me." Ken said. "Somehow you've restored my will to live when all I wanted to do was die and end my suffering the easy way. For that I can never thank you enough, but for now, let me at least thank you with my friendship." Leafmon smiled as best it could through his pacifier-shaped mouth, apparently glad Ken had made the decision. With his new companion in his arms, Ken continued on, ignoring the pain and heat. His mind was focused now, his determination renewed, and he knew his pain would end soon.
**********
Hours passed as Ken walked on with Leafmon cradled in his arms. The pain from his wounds was as hideous as ever as sand continued to blow into them, stinging him to no end. At least now Ken had someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't judge him for his past deeds, who was willing to listen out of friendship rather than by force from a dark ring or spiral. Ken chatted as much as he could with his small friend, trying to keep his mind off of the pain and heat. His mind would occasionally wander off, hoping for an oasis over the next dune, though he knew there wouldn't be one until he was across this wasteland.
"It's kind of funny..." Ken said, keeping his chatting going. "We... met under similar circumstances, and we both only want to... escape this forsaken place... We got ourselves in much over our... our..." Ken suddenly felt his legs buckle from exhaustion, forcing him to fall to the sand. Leafmon jumped out of Ken's arms just in time to avoid his falling body. Ken tried to get up, but it was like every part of him had quit all at once. His wounds hurt immensely, weakening him further, draining him of any strength. He had determination, but without the strength to back it up, death was his only escape. "Leafmon... please, keep... going... s... save... your... self..." Leafmon looked panicked, but turned and bounced off as instructed. Ken watched as long as he could before his eyes grew too weak to remain open. "P... pain... s... so... bad... agh..." Ken struggled to even mutter those words, draining him of any remaining strength. He could feel death upon him, ready to end his pain along with his existence.
"Hey, a baby Digimon!" Ken faintly heard. It was the voice of a young boy, it sounded so faint, either his hearing was going out or it was far away. "It's so cute..." Ken thought it was probably his imagination trying to convince him Leafmon found salvation.
"I love it's leaf tail, it's adorable..." Another voice said, this one older, female, and somewhat familiar... "Hey, I think it want us to follow it... Hey, come back!" Ken forced his eyes open again to see two figures coming his way, following a bouncing ball. It was all Ken could make out before darkness overtook him as he blacked out.
**********
"Hey, are you alright?" Ken faintly heard. He realized he hadn't died, although his body felt numb and lifeless, still lacking any strength. Someone began shaking him roughly, forcing him alert. Ken managed to open his eyes, though his vision was so blurred he couldn't even make out shapes. Suddenly a hand touched his chin, guiding it up. Ken could feel the edge of a glass put to his lips, slowly pouring cool water into his aching throat. His bone dry throat forced him to cough up the water at first, but then accepted it quickly, taking in as much water as the glass held. Eventually the glass left his lips and Ken could feel the cold water running through him, cooling his overheated body slowly. His vision cleared slightly, making out the forms of a small boy and a girl around his own age in front of him.
"You're really lucky, you were almost a goner." The boy said loudly. Ken cringed, his head pounding at the sudden loud noise. His hearing hadn't quite recovered, as well, making sounds very hard to take.
"Wh... where... am I...?" Ken managed to say. The boy looked up at the girl, who walked over smiling. Somehow the sight was comforting to Ken, making him forget about his headache.
"Shh, don't try to speak." The girl said. "You're among friends, just get some rest. You're save here." Somehow the words came as a huge relief to Ken, who felt better just hearing them. The girl put a cold, damp towel over Ken's head, cooling him off. "Get some sleep, you'll be better in no time, just don't worry." The words again comforted Ken, it had been so long since anyone had given him such tranquility with their words rather than just bring him pain with them. He closed his eyes again, out of choice rather than exhaustion. For some reason he felt, for the first time in years, safe.
**********
Ken again opened his eyes, this time with ease. His body felt more like it's old self, with everything apparently working again, some of his cuts were even starting to heal. It was then he realized he was now dressed in loose fitting clothes, much more casual than his straight gray outfit he was used to. Right now he was glad to be in anything as long as it wasn't his own grave.
"Feeling better?" Someone asked. Ken looked to his side to see the same boy from earlier holding a bowl with some steam coming from it. His vision was clear now and he could make out the boy's shaggy blue hair and light clothing, which looked slightly worn out. "You were asleep for a whole day, I thought you'd be hungry so I brought some soup for you." Ken was surprised he could sleep for so long even with his weakened state. When the boy mentioned hunger Ken noticed how badly his stomach was growling, he hadn't eaten in a few days. He sat up in the bed and gladly accepted the bowl from the boy.
"Thanks, I could really use this right now." Ken said. "So what's your name? And where am I?" The boy took a seat beside Ken's bed as Ken started in on the soup. It tasted like warm chicken soup, but here in the Digiworld there were no chickens... He decided not to think about it, at least it tasted good.
"I'm Ryu, one of the Refugara Digidestined." The boy explained. Ken looked on in confusion, then noticed a small white ball by his feet. He wouldn't have thought much of it if it didn't have yellow eyes and ears.
"So this place is called Refugara..." Ken said, putting things together out loud. "And I guess that's your Digimon down there?" Ryu looked down at the tiny Digimon and bent over, picking him up to give Ken a better look.
"Yup, this is SnowyBotamon." Ryu said. The white puffball bounced happily as his name was announced. "He's too little to fight now, but he'll grow up in no time." Ken smiled slightly, then finished off the last of his soup. He hadn't realized how fast he had eaten it, it was a fairly big bowl, too.
"You said you were a Digidestined..." Ken said, setting the bowl on a small table near the bed. "Are there other Digidestined here?" Ryu nodded quickly, smiling widely. Ken had no idea what could make him so cheerful, it was strange to him.
"Yeah, a whole team of them." The boy said. "Come on, I'll show you around and then you can meet them. I'm sure they'll be glad to know you're alright." Ken chuckled a little at the though, Digidestined that would be glad he was okay. Still this place was already catching his attention, so he stood and followed the boy out of the room, who had left kind of eagerly.
Outside he found he hadn't been in a room, but rather a small house that looked like it was made of quartz crystal. Ken looked around and was amazed at the sight he found. It looked like he was somewhere underground in a gigantic cavern, high above him was nothing but stone and stalactites hanging down. Around him many more buildings stood, all carved from the same rose-colored crystal. He figured the cavern was a massive deposit of the stone before they had made it their home. Ken then noticed the Digimon walking around, passing from building to building. He saw many familiar ones, but none looked right somehow. Many were the wrong color for some reason. Ken looked ahead of him to see Ryu, who was looking around the area.
"Ryu, can I ask you something?" Ken said. "A lot of these Digimon I've seen before, but not in these colors..." Ken looked around more until he realized it wasn't a lot of them, rather all of them were oddly detailed, not a single normal Digimon among them.
"These are refugee Digimon." Ryu explained. "They have no other place to live but here in Refugara. They've been abandoned by the Digiworld above because of their oddities." Ryu looked around for a good example, then pointed to a Unimon that featured zebra stripes. "That's ShimaUnimon. His stripes make him an outcast above." He pointed to a pair of Digimon talking, a blue Ogremon holding an ice club and a dark blue Devimon "Those two are Hyogamon and IceDevimon. They're always hanging out since they're both icy virus types." Ken was starting to understand now as he looked around at others. A brown Frigimon and Mojyamon, a red Penguinmon, a black Birdramon. None of them were accepted by their fellow Digimon because of their oddities.
"So this is a town of outcasts..." Ken said. "I think I know how they feel." Ryu looked back at Ken and smiled.
"I'm glad." He said cheerfully. "Come on, the others will want to know you're alright." With that Ryu walked off, still holding SnowyBotamon, toward the largest of the buildings. Ken followed behind, not sure just what to expect. Did the Digidestined down here even know of his past? They must not have, if they stayed down here and were actually helping him there was no way they could.
Inside the building was larger than it looked from the outside. Ken guessed it was built into the wall of the cavern so it could be larger. The decorations were nothing special, it didn't look too different from the building he was resting in. Standing at a table near the back of the main room stood a teen about his age in clothes similar to Ryu's, but in better condition. He was looking over something on the table while a white Agumon stood on the table, looking at the same thing.
"Hey, Duran!" Ryu shouted. "Look who's up and about!" The boy ran off toward the table as the teen, apparently named Duran, looked up and smiled. Ryu ran over to the table and jumped up, sitting himself on it's edge. SnowyBotamon jumped off of his hands and onto the table to greet the white Agumon.
"I'm glad you're alright." Duran said, walking over to Ken and extending his hand. Despite the doubts still in his head, Ken accepted it, shaking his hand. "As my young friend announced, my name is Duran, and in case you're wandering, my white friend back there is SnowAgumon." Another misfit Digimon. Ken assumed all the Digidestined from here had similar Digimon, which would make sense for them to defend this place.
"My name's Ken." He announced. Instead of the shocked reaction he expected from Duran, who he thought didn't realize who he was, he instead got a warm smile from him, which he was relieved to see. "Are you the one that pulled me out of the desert?" Duran released Ken's head and shook his head no.
"Actually it was your friend over there." Duran said, indicating something to the side of the room. Ken looked over to see a green and brown Digimon asleep on a small bed. It looked like a small green ball with arms sitting on a pinecone. "Last time you saw him he was just a little Leafmon, but since he's digivolved into Minamon. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you once he's awake." Ken was glad to know his little friend was okay, and to be honest he was surprised he was strong enough to have already digivolved. Remembering those last moments in the desert, Ken recalled something else.
"When I was lost in the desert..." Ken began. "I remember hearing a pair of voices. One of them was definitely Ryu's, but who else was with him?" Ken remembered something familiar about the voice, it was haunting him to know what it was.
"That was me you heard." A female voice said behind him. It was the same voice, and with Ken's hearing working perfectly it really did sound familiar. Ken turned to see who the voice came from. Standing in the open doorway was Yolei, just as Ken last saw her, even in a similar outfit. Ken panicked a little, remembering his history with Yolei and her group of Digidestined all too well. After a second he began to realize, if she held the same intentions as the others he would be rotting in the desert right now.
"Yolei..." Ken said, still in a bit of shock. "Why would you save me? Of all people I thought you or the others would be the first to leave me in that desert to die." Yolei giggled a little, probably because she expected that reaction, the walked out of the doorway to face Ken.
"Things change, Ken, you of all people should know that." Yolei explained. "Besides, Leafmon wouldn't let us leave without you." Her tone was a joking one on the second comment, which Ken was thankful for.
"What are you doing here, though?" Ken asked. "I remember you weren't with the others during their last fight with me and Kimeramon. At the time I was glad I didn't have to face all 5 of you but now I'm kind of curious." Yolei walked past Ken and took a seat at the table beside Ryu.
"The Digimon here just seemed to need me more than Davis and the others did." Yolei explained. "The Digimon here are so rejected by the Digimon above that the Refugara Digidestined have to raid nearby towns on the edge of the desert. I hate doing it, but it's the only way any of the Digimon down here can get food to survive, as it is there's barely ever enough for everyone here. Including Duran, there's only 4 Digidestined here capable of going on raids so they needed as much help as they could get. They still do, too." Ken had no idea the Digimon here were so rejected that they couldn't even get food from the towns near the desert. It was shocking to say the least since he had never known Digimon that acted in such a way. Yet just a few differences in these Digimon made most others hate them...
"Yolei..." Ken began. "I'd like to help... but with my past, I doubt the Digimon here would accept it..." Duran stepped forward, shaking his head in disagreeance.
"You judge them too quickly." He said. "We know of your history as the Digimon Emperor, as do all of the Digimon here in Refugara, but you will not be judged by your past, only by how you are now. Believe me, if you choose to aid us, the Digimon here will be glad to welcome you." Ken hadn't realized the Digimon here would be so understanding. He should have, though, being rejected themselves, they know what it's like to be ridiculed for things beyond your control.
"Alright then." Ken announced. "Let me know what I have to do and you've got it." Duran, Yolei, and Ryu all smiled, all glad to have Ken part of their group.
**********
"Okay, you sure you're going to get it this time?" Yolei asked Ken. Ken was sitting on top of an odd wooden training device, a barrel with four legs attached to it's underside. The legs all had wheels that ran along a straight track that led across the long room. Across the path there were three dummies, each rigged with a small pouch on their sides. Ken had been trying all morning to successfully run this training gauntlet to no avail, never getting past the second dummy, which was rigged to move when he got too close.
"I'm sure." Ken said with confidence. He already had his eyes locked onto the first pouch, his hand flexing, ready to snatch it. Yolei shrugged and pulled back on a long level, shooting the spring loaded training horse down the track. Ken reached out as he approached the first dummy and easily snagged the pouch at it's side. Quickly he swung it over and into a saddle bag for safe keeping. He was already nearing the second dummy as he completed this and it had started to wobble back and forth a little. Ken kept his eyes locked on the pouch as he reached out for it. As it did a dozen times before, the dummy moved to the side, forcing Ken to reach farther out. Somehow Ken's hand found the pouch, grabbing it and pacing it into the saddle bag. Ken moved back to a comfortable spot on the seat as he came up on the third, which didn't seem to be doing anything unusual. Ken reached out, confident he would succeed. His hand found the pouch, grabbing onto it tightly. Ken pulled himself back toward his seat, but suddenly discovered he couldn't, the pouch was stuck too tightly to the dummy. He couldn't release the pouch in time after realizing this and got pulled off the wooden horse, sending him into the ground hard. Ken could hear a slight gasp from Yolei across the room as he hit, his arm sore from the sudden pull against it. Slowly Ken picked himself up as Yolei walked over to check on him.
"You now, you could have warned me that you nailed this pouch onto the dummy..." Ken said. Yolei smiled nervously as she walked past him to collect the other two pouches from the saddle bag.
"Actually I couldn't." Yolei said. "Some things you can't get without a fight and you never know when you'll have to pull a little harder than usual to get it." Ken saw her point, this new task he was going to undertake was going to be full of surprises, good and bad. Yolei reclaimed the pouches from the bag and walked over to the first two dummies, replacing their pouches for another try. Ken sighed and walked over to the dummy horse and pulled it back to the starting point until a loud click could be heard, signaling it's spring was reset and ready to launch it again.
"Ken, I know I've asked you this before..." Yolei started. "But are you really sure you want to do this? I mean your reputation isn't the best as it is, it wouldn't be good to add theft to it. As it is they're more than ready to kill you off the second they have you helpless." Ken had heard all of this ever since he agreed to help a month ago, from Duran, Minamon, and Yolei especially. For some reason, one that escaped him, she seemed concerned about him. Whatever reason she had, it must have been a good one since she never seemed to drop the issue.
"Don't worry, Yolei, my reputation couldn't be any worse." Ken said. "As long as it's this bad, I might as well do this, and as long as it helps the refugee Digimon it's worth it." Yolei smiled gently at Ken, the same smile Ken remembered from his first day in Refugara. It always gave him this warm feeling of comfort, a feeling he always liked having. He couldn't describe it himself, but something about Yolei's smile just made him feel better about all of this.
"Well get ready, I'm expecting you to get all three this time." Yolei said, taking her spot at the lever. Ken climbed up onto the dummy horse and readied himself, eyeing the first of the pouches. Yolei pulled on the lever, sending him off again. Ken once again reached and grabbed the first with ease, dropping it into the saddle bag. The second was as hard as ever, but he managed to grab it and drop it into the bag. Now was the one he had to get, the third one that he was now ready for. Ken reached out, holding onto the horse tightly with his legs and left hand, reaching with his right. His hand found the pouch, grabbing it tightly, but he was now ready, tugging on the pouch as hard as he could without throwing himself off. He could hear a loud ripping sound as the pouch was torn away from the dummy, leaving only a scrap of fabric from the pouch hanging on the nail. Ken jumped off the wooden horse and looked down at the pouch in his hand, hardly believing that he managed to take it. He looked up from the pouch to see Yolei running over to see for herself.
"Alright, Ken, you did it!" Yolei shouted, throwing her arms around Ken's neck. Too ecstatic to do otherwise, Ken returned the embrace, swinging Yolei around a few times, smiling widely at his accomplishment. Ken stopped swinging Yolei and looked at her, just now realizing how close he had pulled her. The two quickly let go, both blushing severely.
"Heh... sorry about that..." Ken said quickly. "I guess I got carried away." Yolei nodded quickly, a nervous smile across her face.
"Yeah, guess I did, too..." Yolei said, just as nervous as Ken. "...not that I minded, or anything." Ken was surprised to hear Yolei admitting this, but he actually felt the same, which surprised him even more.
"Yeah, neither did I..." Ken said, his nervousness slipping. "I guess after so many years of being hated by everyone, it's nice to know some are still willing to get that close to me..." He couldn't describe this feeling that was letting him be so open suddenly, it wasn't anything like had felt before, nothing even compared. He had been having it around Yolei since he came to Refugara, it was very strange to him...
"Well I'm glad you changed..." Yolei admitted. "Things have been a lot happier around this place since you arrived, especially for me. Things down here for the past few months have been so boring, and for the past month I've had you to keep me company. While I'm here I'm away from my siblings, my parents, my friends... Besides Hawkmon you're all I've got in this place." Ken could feel something swelling up inside himself as she spoke, he couldn't believe this was the same girl he was being hunted by for nearly 7 years.
"After all I've done..." Ken said, speaking through the tight feeling in his chest. "All the pain, all the suffering I've caused... I'm glad I can finally make someone happy." Ken smiled warmly at Yolei, returning the smile he liked seeing on her so often.
"Hey, Ken..." Yolei said, a nervous tone in her voice. "...you ever get caught up in some heated moment and did something you knew was stupid...?" Ken didn't understand what she meant, it was completely off subject, if their conversation had one to begin with.
"Um..." Ken said, trying to remember. He had made a lot of headed choices in the past years but none he felt was stupid. "Never, I don't think so..." He couldn't begin to guess where Yolei was going with this, she hadn't made much sense.
"Here's the problem with never..." Yolei said, again embracing Ken, but this time with a more gentle hold rather than the excited hold from before. Before Ken realized what was happening, Yolei closed her eyes, pressing her lips to Ken's. Ken's mind went blank at the sudden show of affection, but slowly melted into it, returning the kiss and embrace without even realizing it. Ken couldn't believe what was happening, it was like every part of him was racing all at once, his mind losing all thought about anything else but that moment. All too soon the moment ended as Yolei broke the kiss, leaving Ken's mind reeling. He could hardly remember anything that happened before the kiss as he sat there, still stunned. "Sorry, I guess I really got carried away..." Yolei sounded disappointed by Ken's reaction, snapping him out of the daze.
"Yolei, don't be sorry..." Ken said, trying to comfort her. "It's just that nobody has ever shown me any sign of affection before... My brother was always mean to me, more concerned about his schoolwork than me... My parents only paid attention to him until his death, and even after that they only praised me on my intelligence. I guess it's all too much for me at once, it was only 6 months ago when I hated all of the Digidestined, you included..." Yolei stared on at Ken, a mournful look in her eyes. Ken couldn't believe he had told her all of this, whatever he was feeling right now, it loved to be honest.
"And what about now, Ken?" Yolei asked. "How do you feel about us Digidestined now?" Ken hadn't thought of the others that much in the last month, he was just glad to be rid of them. Still, now that Yolei asked, he was beginning to think about it.
"Well since your friends want to hunt me down to go through those torture sessions again, I think I could do without them." Ken said. As his mind wandered over to Yolei, the past month wither her really stuck out. He realized he didn't care about the past 7 years as her enemy, he cherished the past month and it was all he thought about when thinking of Yolei. "You, on the other hand... I don't think I could live without you anymore..." Yolei's eyes widened a bit as he said this. Even Ken couldn't believe he had said it, but it was true. The past month had easily been the best in his life and in every fond memory he had, Yolei was the center of it. Just thinking of this place without her being there, without her company, without that smile... It was all so important to him.
"Ken..." Yolei said, now the stunned one. "I... I don't know what to say..." Ken knew there was something he had to say, but he didn't have the words for it... His life was nothing but pain, suffering, be it in his childhood or his reign as the Digimon Emperor, that was his life, either receiving or causing it. He knew nothing else thoughout his life, but now there was this new sensation with Yolei, completely opposite of anything he had known before... He didn't even know what the word for it was. "Then again, maybe I do..." Yolei said, pulling herself closer to Ken. "I love you, Ken..." Ken's mind hung on those words for a moment. He knew the word love, of course, but he never even experienced it with his brother or parents... Other than that he had only heard it used by TK and Kari during some battles, but that didn't explain much of it's meaning. Whatever he felt for Yolei, it was incredible, though. Maybe this was what TK felt with Kari... Maybe this immense feeling in Ken really was love.
"...I love you, too, Yolei..." Ken finally said, embracing Yolei as much as he could, not wanting her to leave even for a second. Maybe the word love was invented to describe the feelings he had for Yolei, but he was sure it didn't describe it well enough, there was way too much to sum up in a single word. Until he could think of something better, if there was something better, love seemed to fit best, and for now he was happy he knew it.
**********
"Everybody, run!!" A Gekomon shouted, running down the road of the Gekomon town. "The black thieves are back!!" Gekomon darted inside as four figures dressed completely in black from head to toe raced in riding Unimons, except for the one in front, however, who rode what appeared to be a Garurumon.
"Raid the entire town!" The leader shouted to his group. "Take only food items and nothing else!" With that the three Unimon riders split up as the leader and Garurumon darted straight through the middle of town. With Garurumon's speed he had to be good to grab enough, and he was, grabbing a big bag of rice easily from a pair of Otamamon he caught off guard. The Unimon riders were having similar luck, picking off dried meat, gains, even some fruit, all with little resistance. The small band met up near the edge of town, riding out of the other side of the town together. Their raid had been so fast that the Gekomon couldn't react or even get ShogunGekomon to stop them. The group continued riding at full speed for about a mile before slowing to a stop in the Digital desert, safely away from any retaliation the Gekomon might have had. The leader dismounted, petting his wolf Digimon.
"Great work, Gururumon." He said, taking off his hood. It was Duran, and the Digimon he had ridden wasn't Garurumon, rather it's alternate version of Gururumon, which had darker stripes than Garurumon. It was the Digivolution of his SnowAgumon partner, which he always found kind strange, a lizard becoming a wolf. Ken removed his hood and hopped off the Unimon, who was actually a ShimaUnimon, and looked over the items they had managed to get.
"I didn't think we'd be able to get so much on such a fast raid." Ken commented. Will this be enough to feed everyone in Refugara?" Ken had been on dozens of these raids in the past five months but he was always cautious of getting enough food for the entire city. He even had times where he made a second, solo raid when he wasn't sure there was enough.
"Relax, Ken, we've got more than enough here." Duran assured him. "We should get it back to Refugara before the desert heat gets to it, though." Ken nodded, leading his ShimaUnimon along as Duran and Gururumon walked ahead. The other two followed as Duran made it to a lone sand dune. He reached his Digivice on his side and pressed the tall button on it's corner. After a second the dune slid backwards, revealing a ramp that lead deep into the ground. Duran and Gururumon lead the way as the band of thieves entered, relieved to be in the shade of the tunnel. The path down was long and winding, making it a little harder, but after a while Ken was able to get used to it. He would go on the weekly raid often, always trying to pick as much food as possible within the few short minutes they had going through the town. He had come a long way since his training sessions with Yolei and was getting as good as Duran at it, though he still couldn't do as well at the speeds Gururumon ran.
Eventually they reached the bottom of the ramp where a pair of Digimon always stood guard, usually a pair that looked like Gotsumon, Icemon and Meteormon. The only difference was Icemon was a Champion and Meteormon was an Ultimate, which always made Ken laugh a little. He found it funny that a Gotsumon could live his entire life and only change colors when he Digivolved. The other two thieves, who were also Digidestined of Refugara, dismounted and took the saddlebags off of the ShimaUnimon, letting them go back to their homes, and placed them on Gururumon's back for the final leg of the trip. Ken and Duran continued on as the other two Digidestined bid them farewell, their jobs done and their own duties to get back to. The pair led Gururumon to the main building where most of the food they collected on raids was sorted out and stored. Once inside Duran lead Gururumon to a side room where the saddle bags could be unpacked as Ken continued on toward his room to change into a better outfit. In a desert, black is the last color you want to wear, which he knew too well by now. Ken walked to the room on the side that he stayed in and walked in to find Yolei sitting on the bed.
"Ken!" She shouted, standing from the bed and running to Ken to embrace him, which Ken quickly returned. This was possibly his favorite part of the raids, at least when Yolei wasn't in the raid herself. She only joined when another Digidestined was sick or they happened to be raiding a bigger town. "How did the raid go?" She asked, as always.
"It went great." Ken said, loosening the embrace to look at Yolei better. "We managed to get enough food for everyone without hurting any of the Gekomon or Otamamon." Ken always tried his best not to have ShimaUnimon attack any of the Digimon, but on rare occasion there was no choice.
"I'm glad." Yolei said. "Of course with you on the raid there was no doubt it would be a success." Yolei quickly kissed Ken before letting go, starting to leave the room. "I should give you a chance to change out of that gear, I've gotta go help Duran put away all that food, anyway." Ken always admired Yolei's helpful nature, it was probably the first thing about her he fell in love with.
"Oh yeah, where's Ryu?" Ken asked before Yolei went out the door. "I promised we would play when I got back from the raid." That was another thing Ken had seemed to gain thanks to this place, between studies and his evil doings he never had any kind of fun that a normal child should have. With Ryu he had learned how to have fun out of practically nothing and had an excuse to make up the lost playtime from his childhood.
"I think he's playing in the oasis with Wormmon." Yolei said. "Knowing them they've probably webbed the whole place up by now." Ken smiled as Yolei left the room, closing the door behind her. He found it kind of strange that the Leafmon he met in the desert six months ago, the same that saved his life, would eventually become the same Digimon that tried to save him over seven years ago. He had thought it might actually have been his original Wormmon reborn, but when he first asked about it Wormmon had no idea what he was talking about. Ken decided not to dwell on it has he removed his black gear and outfit, preferring his loose fitting clothing to his thief's outfit.
Once changed, Ken made his way to an elevator system set up for easier access to the oasis since it provided most of Refugara's water. Inside, he pulled a lever, dropping a sandbag from above that weighed enough to pull the elevator up with him in it. The system was actually more complicated than that but he never could figure it out. As long as it still worked he didn't complain. The elevator ride ended as it poked through the sand above it, letting Ken step out into the desert just in front of the oasis. He had already spotted Ryu and Wormmon and, true to Yolei's guess, many palm trees had Wormmon's sticky webbing hanging from it. The two goofed around with the stuff all the time and they ended up having to clean the place up often.
"Hey Ken!" Ryu shouted, spotting Ken's appearance. Ken walked over to the oasis, admiring it. It was a sight he never got tired of seeing, lush grass surrounding a fairly large pond of crystal blue water, decorated with palm trees on all sides, even a lone, very tall one in the middle of the pond. Wormmon crawled over to Ken and smiled, at least Ken thought it was a smile, with a vertical mouth it was hard to tell. Ken picked up the worm Digimon and gave it a soft hug, the usual greeting he had for his friend.
"We were getting a little worried." Wormmon said. "Your raid seemed to be taking a little longer than usual." Ken shook his head, hopefully reassuring the Digimon.
"Nah, just a little run in with Yolei before I could make it up here." Ken said. "Actually last time I got here early I got more webbed than the trees so being a little late doesn't bother me that much." Wormmon and Ryu chuckled a little, but Ryu stopped suddenly, remembering something.
"Hey, Wormmon?" Ryu said suddenly. "Think you could go check on Dokunemon for me? He's been gone a while and I need to talk to Ken privately." Dokunemon was a green form of Kunemon, and not only was he Ryu's Digimon partner, but Wormmon's partner in crime, so to speak. The two had grown up together from baby Digimon to their Rookie forms that they held today. Ken and Ryu often blamed Wormmon for influencing SnowyBotamon to become a worm Digimon like him. Wormmon hopped out of Ken's arms and squirmed off to find Dokunemon, probably in a tree somewhere.
"So what's up, Ryu?" Ken asked, concerned. It wasn't often Ryu would turn away both Dokunemon and Wormmon to talk, but whenever he did it was serious, at least in a young boy's terms it was.
"Well..." Ryu began. "When I was in Primary Village the other day, I stole a story book... It was about you and what you did as the Digimon Emperor... Is it true? Did you really do all of those bad things?" Ken wasn't surprised, Ryu would have found out one way or another about Ken's past, he just wished it had been from Yolei or himself. The main rule of the Refugara Digidestined was to never steal things other than food.
"...Some of it." Ken admitted. He had seen many of the books that had been written, describing his actions, but they were always overblown, telling that he went as far as killing Digimon for his own sick pleasure. "Some things they say only to make me look worse, it's how they choose to see who I used to be... I'm not proud of my past, that's why I'm working so hard to make sure you and Refugara have a better chance than I did." Ryu smiled, relieving Ken. He was worried he might not explain well enough or made himself sound worse. As if on que, Wormmon and Dokunemon came crawling back to the two, joining their respected Digidestined.
"Guess it's time to go, isn't it?" Ryu asked. "You've really gotta get here sooner, we didn't get any time to do anything." Ken smiled, rubbing the boy's shaggy blue hair with his hand.
"I'll make it up to you next time." Ken said. "I've gotta get ready for a date with Yolei, anyway, you know how she gets when I'm late for that." Ryu quickly nodded, laughing a little. The two and their Digimon walked back to the elevator, stepping in and pulling on a return handle that pulled the lift back to Refugara. Again Ken wasn't sure how it worked, but he liked the lift as long as it worked at all.
**********
Later that day Ken and Yolei walked hand in hand through a small town, trying to keep themselves unseen. Both were wearing cloaks to hide their identities, not wanting to recognized by any passing Digimon. Ken couldn't help but feel nervous, should any Digimon recognize him here there would be no place to get away. Yolei squeezed his hand tighter, somehow knowing his concerns.
"Don't worry so much." Yolei whispered to him. They were walking on a lonely street so luckily there were no Digimon around to hear them. "We get to the air taxi, we see the show, and we come home, we've done it before." That was the general plan on dates to the theater. The best one was on the side of a mountain a few miles away so an air taxi was the best way to get there, which usually meant letting a pair of Birdramon or Airdramon pull you through the air on a small cart.
"I guess I can't help it..." Ken admitted. "These are the same ones that wanted to rip me into quarters, after all." The thought of what he barely escaped six months ago still made him cringe, but he was glad it was just in his past. His future was all he was worried about now, and with Yolei around it seemed pretty good.
"Just relax, before you know it we'll be at the theater enjoying the show." Yolei said, reassuring Ken. She always had a way of doing that ever since he first met her in Refugara. It was an incredible feeling to know someone could do that for you no matter what was wrong. Eventually the couple got to the air taxi, which was basically a small runway beside a lake. Yolei and Ken both received a surprise as they noticed the usual pair of Birdramon and Airdramon weren't in the cart's reigns, rather it was Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, and as luck would have it, TK and Kari were there as well, talking to their Digimon.
"What was that about relaxing?" Ken asked nervously. Yolei had the same worried look on her face, but managed to shake it off, pulling the hood of her cloak over her face a little better.
"Just leave it to me." Yolei said with confidence. "I'll take care of things, just keep quiet and keep hidden." Ken nodded, adjusting his hood to hide his face better. The two walked on toward the air taxi, both stepping a little more slowly than usual. TK and Kari noticed them walking their way and turned from their Digimon to greet them.
"Welcome." TK said as the two approached the cart. "Where are you two going today?" It seemed pretty straight forward, just as if it was being run normally.
"The mountainside theater." Yolei said, speaking in a voice that only barely sounded like her own. She had been working on it since they started using the air taxi for dates so no Digimon would recognize her, though this was a much better use for it. "If you don't mind me asking, where are the regular operators?" Ken somehow knew she would ask this, she was always curious about such things.
"The Birdramon said something about a Digiegg in their nest hatching." Kari explained. "And the Airdramon both caught a virus. When we heard about it we volunteered to take over until they could get back." Ken could tell the two were always like this, something about them seemed to say they were naturally this generous. If he hadn't been obsessed with being the Digimon Emperor they could have probably been friends.
"I see..." Yolei said simply. "We might be staying at the theater's inn and come back tomorrow, can you stay there through the night to take us back?" TK simply nodded in reply.
"Actually there's a cabin at the station up there for us to stay in for just such trips." TK explained. "Just hop in and leave the rest to us." Yolei nodded, opening the door on the cart. She stepped in, taking the far seat as Ken stepped in to sit beside her, closing the door as he sat down. TK and Kari walked to the front and mounted their Digimon, signaling them to take off. Ken was surprised that the takeoff was a little smoother than Birdramon or Airdramon's, possibly because they preferred a running start unlike the usual sudden takeoffs.
"I always liked these rides." Yolei said, once they were flying straight. "The wind in my hair, the view of the stars and ground below..." Ken had to agree, at least on the part about the view. His hair was just annoying when it blew around so much. The sight and the feel of the ride was fine, but Ken didn't really like the silence, other than the flapping of Pegasusmon and Nefertimon's wings. He decided to change it, reaching into a pocket on the inside of his vest and pulling out his old flute from his treatment, the one good thing he seemed to have gotten out of it. "I didn't know you played the flute" Yolei commented, noticing the small wooden instrument.
"It was one of my rehab treatments, the only one I liked." Ken said. "I used to work all night on making up my own song, making it sound just right." With that Ken took a deep breath and put the instrument to his lips to play his song. As he played, he remembered the nights in his cell making up the song, with only Orgemon to hear it, who was asleep usually. He was glad someone important to him like Yolei could finally hear it.
"I think those nights of work were well spent..." Yolei complimented, resting her head on Ken's shoulder as she closed her eyes, taking in all the sound the small flute could make. Ken had to admit, this was a nice way to spend a day, just him and Yolei, nobody chasing after him, nobody to disturb them. Months ago he just wished his life would end, only wanting to end all the suffering he had to endure. Now he couldn't imagine not living, not when life was this rewarding.
End Chapter 2