The Destiny Of The Emperor
Chapter 3: The Price of Freedom
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 and Yolei arrived at the theater just before the sun went down, taking in the view of the sunset from the mountain before walking into the theater. Inside was very regal, with red carpeting leading down all hallways and many well carved statues and colorful paintings decorating the walls and corners. The sight of the place never failed to amaze Ken. The two walked to the main ticket booth to pay for admission, finding a Tapirmon running the booth.
"Welcome to the Mountainside Theater." Tapirmon said. "How may I help you?" Ken never understood how Tapirmon could say that to so many day in and day out without going nuts. Yolei pulled out a few Digidollars and laid them on the counter.
"Can we get two balcony seats, please?" Yolei asked. It was better they stayed in the seclusion of a balcony, not just to enjoy the show together but to remain hidden. Tapirmon nodded, taking the Digidollars and handing Yolei a pair of yellow tickets, which she immediately took. With tickets now in hand, the couple walked along the red carpeting until they came across a staircase that lead to the balconies and a Candlemon taking tickets. Yolei and Ken walked up to the small Digimon and handed him the tickets, which he dropped into a small box he was standing on, before walking up the steps and into the hallway that connected to the balconies. Many of them were designed just for two people and all of the doors to them had a small sliding sign to say if they were in use or not. Luckily there was one closer to the stage that wasn't in use, which they immediately chose. Inside was very simple, a pair of nice seats overlooking the large stage. The two pulled their hoods off and sat down to wait for the show to start just as Ken remembered something.
"Um, Yolei?" Ken asked. "Did you happen to catch what show we're actually watching?" Ken realized he hadn't seen the title or description of the show that was playing as they came in. Yolei thought about it for a second before forming a worried look on her face.
"...I don't think I did." She admitted, smiling nervously. "This is a nice place, though, I'm sure it can't be that bad." Ken looked down at the stage, worried at what might be coming out onto it in a minute. He got his answer as a Bakemon floated out to the middle of the stage. Most of the actors were Bakemon since they could do their own stunts without getting hurt and they could shapeshift, saving money on stuntmen and makeup people.
"Ladies and gentlemen." Bakemon announced. "Thank you for coming to the Mountainside Theater for our show tonight. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it." Ken sat back, relaxing a bit. "Now, with no further delay, we present to you our newest play, The Fallen Emperor." Ken jumped out of is seat at the announcement of the title. He looked over the railing of the balcony as the first scene played out. A Bakemon, morphed to look like Ken in his Digimon Emperor outfit, tossed black colored rings at Digimon that ran across the stage and eventually out of view, coming back in a second with the rings on them, either on the arm, waist, or neck depending on the Digimon. Ken looked at Yolei, who was in shock as much as Ken.
"Ken, I'm so sorry..." Yolei said. "I should have looked at the title before coming here... Let's keep hope, maybe it won't be so bad..." Ken sat back in his seat in nervous relaxation, watching the play go on. It was fairly long, showing various battles with the Digidestined, events in his life, both based on real ones or completely made up, and even showing mild versions of his torture in Leomon's treatment facility. The last scene of the play showed the Bakemon playing him strung up like he was in Primary Village as the stage he stood on caught fire with him still tied to the stage's posts. Unlike the real events, though, the Bakemon actor didn't run off, didn't get cut down, but in a twist of truth, hang limp as the fire burned and the lights died down until the stage was black. The crowd sitting in the regular seats clapped as Ken and Yolei both hung their heads low in silence.
"I don't believe this is how they think of me..." Ken said in despair. He knew his past was bad and that many Digimon hated him, but an entire play based on him that only showed him as pure evil... it was too much to take all at once.
"Ken, it's just a play..." Yolei said. "This may be a good thing. The play showed the Digimon Emperor being executed, not you. Despite being him in the past, you aren't him now. You've changed, you've become a man willing to risk everything for one group of misunderstood Digimon... and you've become the man I love with all my heart... Let them think of the Digimon Emperor however they want, as long as they don't say the same about Ken." Ken couldn't help but be uplifted by Yolei's words. As smart as he had always been, Yolei was much wiser in such things and always had the right answers to give.
"You're right, of course..." Ken said, standing from his seat and leaning on the railing of the balcony. "I guess they think I died in the fire that saved me... and I think it's better like this. It symbolizes the end of my old life, the end of the pain that I caused and endured. It also reminded me that my present and future are looking much better than my past." Yolei smiled as she stood form her seat, replacing her hood. She walked over the Ken and turned him to face her, placing his hood over his head.
"Guess this date wasn't wasted after all..." Yolei said gently. "Come on, we should get to the inn and get a room before they close for the night." Ken nodded, taking her hand and walking out of the balcony with her. He only hoped the rest of the night would go over so well.
**********
The couple made it to the inn just before it closed for new occupants. Luckily the Gotsumon running things didn't recognize either one of them through their hoods and gave them a room for the night. Ken was a little nervous, not only was it the first time he and Yolei would ever share a room, but tonight had the possibility of becoming the best of his life. The two pulled off their cloaks, relieved they could be rid of them until they checked out.
"I don't think we've ever stayed all night up here, have we?" Yolei said, just now noticing. Ken shook his head no, although they've visited every now and then they usually headed back the same day. Today the show started later, though, not giving them much choice.
"I'm kind of glad, it's a nice change of pace." Ken said. He liked his room in Refugara, but the wooden, wallpapered room of the inn was a welcomed change.
"Hey, you didn't complain about the decorations when we brought you into one of those rooms to recover." Yolei joked. Ken laughed a little, even if it was true. The comment made him remember those first days, his wounds healing, the first of his training, and Yolei's company and guidance, which he always liked remembering. Remembering the first month of his life in Refugara made him decide something he had been turning over in his mind all day.
"Yolei..." Ken said, a nervous pitch in his voice. "There's something I need to tell you." Yolei looked on at Ken in confusion, then sat down on the edge of the bed to listen to him. "These past six months have been the best of my life... And every good memory I have of those six months is always about you, in some way or another... In that time, you helped me become someone I never even hoped to become, someone who knew good from evil, love from hate, and who could choose the better path. I wanted you to know, I hope you'll always be in my life, to help me until the day I die..." Ken dropped down to his knee, taking Yolei's hand gentle. "Yolei, I want you to share my life with me, every day, every second of it... Will you marry me?" With that Ken reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, gold ring decorated with a white gemstone, most likely white quartz, which was rare among the red quartz of Refugara. Yolei gasped from the sudden shock, staring at the ring like she was trying to burn a hole through it.
"Oh, Ken..." Yolei finally said. "...Of course... I'd be happy to be your wife." Ken smiled, happier than he had ever been, as he slid the ring onto Yolei's finger. As soon as it was on, Yolei put her arms around Ken's neck and kissed him deeply, too happy to do anything less. Ken kissed back with all the passion he had for his love, now certain it wouldn't be the last time he would do so. For the first time in his life, everything Ken had ever hoped for was coming true, everything in life was perfect.
**********
"Are you absolutely sure, Kari?" TK asked, pacing back and forth in the cabin reserved for the air cab's Digimon. "It could be a coincidence or just dumb luck..." Kari sat on the bed entering an e-mail into her D-Terminal for her brother and the other Digidestined. Patamon and Gatomon were asleep at the foot of the bed, curled up together, finding comfort in being so close.
"No, TK, it was Ken, I'm sure of it." Kari said. "That song he played on the flute in the cart, it was the same one he always played during his treatment. We never gave him any music books so he had to have made up the song himself, nobody but him could have played it." Again Kari's logic outdid his own. It was one of the things he loved about her, one reason he proposed to her a month ago.
"You're writing to the others?" TK asked. He knew that was what she was doing, but the reason escaped him.
"Yeah." Kari replied. "We can't do much to recapture him from here, so I'm telling Tai to set up an ambush for when we bring him back. It's the best way we have of getting him back." Like most others, TK thought Ken had died in that fire in Primary Village. He had to agree about not being able to do anything about him here, but an ambush somehow didn't seem right..."
"Kari, I know it might sound a little strange..." TK started. "But isn't an ambush kind of, well, underhanded? It sounds more like something Ken would do. Besides, he's got that woman with him, what if she gets into the mix by accident?" Kari had forgotten that Ken wasn't alone on his trip to the theater.
"TK, I don't like it as much as you do..." Kari said. "But if we let him go there's no telling what he might do. You know what he did as the Digimon Emperor, if he gets away now he could do things twice as worse..." TK lowered his head in disappointment. He wished there was something better that they could do, something that might keep Ken free and still keep him in check. Unfortunately, TK couldn't think of anything that could do such thing. He watched on as Kari finished her e-mail, sending it to Tai to start the ambush plans.
**********
The next morning Duran walked through the central building of Refugara. He hadn't completed the sorting of the food from the last raid since Ken and Yolei were out for the day. Ken had consulted Duran for advice on proposing to Yolei so he knew it would be a while. He even gave Ken the white quartz needed for the engagement ring. He knew Yolei just as well and knew the two would come back as an engaged couple. Duran was about to head for the storage room when he heard the doors of the building burst open behind him. Duran turned to see Ryu run through the doors, Dokunemon crawling behind him as fast as he could.
"Duran!" The blue haired boy shouted. "I think we've got trouble! There's a bunch of Digimon heading for the north town and there's a Greymon and a Digidestined leading the way!" Duran started to panic. A Digidestined with a Greymon meant Tai, leader of the Digidestined that chased after Ken for so long, and the north town was where Ken and Yolei had to catch the air taxi.
"They must have discovered Ken..." Duran said, thinking outloud. "We can't let them get ahold of Ken, they don't know of his changes, they'll treat him even worse than before if they catch him again." Ryu suddenly looked even more worried. Even he knew of the things Ken had to endure last time he was captured.
"Should I get the other Digidestined together?" Ryu suggested, picking up on Duran's idea. Duran nodded and right away Ryu picked up Dokunemon and ran out of the building to round up the other Digidestined and Digimon. Duran turned his head toward the doorway of his room where his own digimon partner was waiting.
"SnowAgumon, come on!" He shouted. "We've got trouble to take care of!" Hearing this, SnowAgumon popped his head out of the doorway, then ran after his human partner, who was already running out the door to join the others. The two didn't get very far as Wormmon stood in front of them just outside the door, a stern look in his eyes.
"Ken's in trouble, isn't he?" The worm Digimon asked. Duran nodded in reply, then watched as Wormmon crawled his way over to him and crawled up his leg, making his way up him until he was sitting on Duran's shoulder. "You aren't going without me, Ken's just as much my friend as yours." Duran didn't have time to argue and simply nodded again, running toward the main entrance to the desert with Wormmon hanging on tight and SnowAgumon trailing behind.
**********
Ken and Yolei, with hoods in place, walked from the inn hand in hand, still excited from the previous night. Even with all night and all morning, it was still too much to take in for both of them. The two walked to the air cab where TK and Kari, along with Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, waited to return them to town, where they knew Tai would be waiting for them. Both were nervous about the ambush, if it would work, if it was the right thing, but they had little choice.
"Welcome back." TK said, hiding his nervousness as if nothing was wrong. "Just hop into the cab, we'll have you and, uh..." Kari nudged TK with her elbow as he slipped, trying to keep him in check.
"Soon to be husband, sir." Yolei said in her disguised voice, finishing for TK. TK's eyes widened at the announcement, his mind suddenly reeling. Kari was in a similar state of disbelief. Even if she didn't know the girl, she knew Ken, or at least she thought she did. What kind of evil person could know love, the same kind she had for TK?
"Oh, well..." TK said, stumbling to find words. "Then I wish you and your, uh... fiancée... the best lives possible..." Yolei smiled under her hood and led Ken into the cab again, taking the same seats as the night before. TK released a breath of air he didn't realize he was holding. In just a few words that girl made TK's ideas of Ken change radically. He looked on at Kari, who looked like she was in the same state, then walked over to her, getting close enough to whisper.
"TK, can we really go through with this now?" Kari whispered to him. "The Ken we remember isn't capable of love, especially not marriage." TK didn't have an answer, Kari was the one that was sure about the ambush idea but even she doubted her idea now that they knew Ken was engaged.
"Tai and a lot of angry Digimon will be waiting for us." TK whispered back. "We can't betray them, we'll be off even worse than Ken if they think we've sided with him..." TK was right, if they pulled out now they would be in as deep as Ken was. They didn't realize Ken had changed and they were too angry with him to believe that he had.
"It doesn't seem right, though..." Kari whispered. "Ken was pure evil six months ago, now he's engaged to marry... He had to have worked really hard to change so much... We take him back now and it might ruin all he's become." TK knew she was right, and if the circumstances were any better he wouldn't have gone through with the idea, but there was too much riding against all of them if they didn't go through with the plan.
"Kari, I know it's not right." TK admitted. "But if we don't, all three of us are going to be hunted down like Ken was. Let's see if we can beat Tai to the port and we'll think of something there." Kari just nodded, a sad look in her eyes. "What about that girl with him? If she gets between Ken and those Digimon..." Kari took a quick look at the two of the cab, trying to confirm a though she had earlier.
"I think that girl is Yolei." Kari whispered. "I wasn't really sure last night, but that voice of hers doesn't fool me now." TK was already in shock from Ken's engagement, but knowing that his fiancée was Yolei made it even harder to do this. Ken hated all of the Digidestined before, but to choose one as his wife... It was all too much to believe at once, but it was all true.
"Let's just get to town and see how things play out." TK said. Kari nodded and walked over to Nefertimon, mounting her for the ride home. Kari whispered something to Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, probably telling them to speed up the flight a little to beat Tai to the port. TK took another look at Ken in the cab, talking with the girl that was now his fiancée, before walking to Pegasusmon and mounting him for their return trip.
**********
Ken had a harder time enjoying the flight home than he did the flight to the theater. The trip was noticeably faster than before, the wind and scenery below were both going too fast to be enjoyable. Yolei was still in a blissful state, her eyes closed and her head on Ken's shoulder. It was probably the only thing about this return flight Ken could enjoy. Looking at Yolei's peaceful form beside him, knowing this girl would be with him for the rest of their lives, somehow an unpleasant ride didn't seem to matter. His thoughts passed most of the time and before he knew it they were arriving back at the port. The two Armor Digimon had to slow to land so at least Ken got a good look at the lake beside the port. He gave Yolei a gentle nudge to wake her up from her nap, which she quickly did.
"Home already...?" Yolei asked in a sleepy daze. Ken smiled at her gentle, running a hand through her purple hair.
"Not quite yet." Ken replied. "We will be soon, though." Yolei smiled, then stood up, taking Ken's hand in hers and leading him out of the cab. As they saw this, TK and Kari hopped off of their Digimon and walked over to confront the two. TK gave Kari a quick look to be sure this is what they should do, then looked at the hooded couple.
"Ken, Yolei, you've gotta get out of here!" TK announced suddenly. Ken and Yolei both turned to TK in surprise, not sure what to think.
"TK, how did you know it was us?!" Ken asked. TK shook his head, not having the time to explain.
"There's no time." Kari said. "My brother is coming with a lot of Digimon, they're going to ambush you!" Ken suddenly panicked, what was once a perfect event was about to become his worst nightmare. He turned to find a way out of the town, someway to get around the main roads and into the desert and Refugara.
"Kari, how could you?!" Someone shouted. The four turned to see Tai and Greymon, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. It only took a minute for many other Digimon to appear from hiding, all with angry glares in their eyes and many looked like they were eager to rush in and attack.
"Tai, wait, you don't understand!" Kari yelled to her brother, stepping in front of Ken. "Ken's changed, he's not evil anymore!" Kari knew hew cries were in vein, her brother was pretty stubborn about these things and the Digimon didn't look like they were ready to change their minds, either.
"Don't listen to her!" A Mushroomon shouted from the crowd. "He's probably got some kind of dark ring for humans on her!" It was the reaction he expected from the crowd. They didn't seem to remember that he never used anything like that in seven years, why would he use it now? No such device was possible, he even tried to create them several times.
"He's probably right." Tai concluded, thick headed as ever. "Release your control on them! Now!" Ken threw off his cloak, no use for it anymore. Yolei did the same, staying beside Ken despite the danger.
"I have no control on them!" Ken shouted. "You took my Digivice and my power from it, there's no way I could have control over them!" Tai shook his head, refusing to believe it.
"You're lying!" Tai shouted in anger. "Greymon, get him!" With that command Greymon stomped forward toward Ken, his jaw slightly open in case he had to throw any attacks. Ken shielded Yolei just in case Greymon decided to, but didn't get the chance. Before he got close enough something flew past Greymon, distracting him. Tai and Greymon looked for the object to see a zebra striped Unimon flying by.
"That Unimon!" A Digimon in the crowd shouted. "That's a symbol of the black thieves!" Upon that announcement, more of the ShimaUnimon flew past, dropping off the Digidestined of Refugara and their Digimon. Duran and Ryu were the last to land, standing in front of Ken to guard him. Ken looked at Duran in time to see Wormmon jump off of Duran and into Ken's arms. He was happy to see his Digimon friend, but didn't have the time to greet him.
"We aren't letting you take Ken again!" Duran announced. Ken couldn't believe they were doing this, showing themselves revealed their identities, they could be hunted like he was, yet they risked such odds for him. He didn't have time to ponder as he watched them send their Digimon at Greymon, all Digivolving to match Greymon. A ToyAgumon became BlueMeramon, a Tsukaimon became Soulmon, a Psychemon became Panjyamon, and Dokunemon became SandYanmamon. The show ended when SnowAgumon became Gururumon, taking the lead of the Digimon.
"Takes more than a few copycat Digimon to stop me!" Greymon announced, charging forward. Ken knew the Refugara Digimon could stand the angry Digimon, who were starting to join the fight one at a time, but Greymon was too experienced, braking through the Digimon line. The Refugara Digimon tried to keep blocking Greymon, but became too wrapped up in the Digimon mob to keep it up. Ken tried to back up only to find the edge of the port and the water below. He was about to jump in, hoping to swim away, when Wormmon jumped from his arms, looking up at Greymon.
"You aren't taking Ken without a fight!" He announced. "Wormmon Digivolve to..." Ken watched on as Wormmon floated into the air, glowing brightly. It became so bright it was blinding, forcing Ken and many of the others around to hide their eyes. When the light died down, Wormmon had been replaced by a tall, green Digimon with powerful dark gray forearms and claws. His head and insect wings made him look like a bug, but the green armor and spiked shoulder guards made him look more like a warrior. "Stingmon!" Ken couldn't believe Wormmon Digivolved like that for him, and without a Digivice, which was the part that was confusing him.
"Hey, no way!" Tai shouted from the sidelines. "We still have his Digivice at Leomon's manor, how could he Digivolve?" TK and Kari were confused by the action as well, as far as they knew it was impossible.
"I think Izzy said something about it once..." TK said suddenly. "He said the Digivices are just tools like crests, but our connection to them is strong enough not to need those crests. Maybe if a bond is strong enough, even the Digivice is unneeded." Tai wasn't interested in the explanation as he watched Stingmon fly above Greymon to attack.
"Nova Blast!" Greymon roared as he blew the huge fireball at Stingmon. The bug Digimon was fast on his wings and avoided the fireball easily. The spike on Stingmon's forearm started glowing, getting longer.
"Spiking Strike!" Stingmon dove down at Greymon with the glowing spear aimed at him. The orange dinosaur was faster than he looked, managing to avoid getting stabbed, making Stingmon dig through the stone ground underneath, causing a fairly long groove through the ground before he flew up to try again. Stingmon turned and dove again, aiming higher this time, but Greymon avoided the second blow as well. Stingmon was ready and pulled up fast enough to avoid hitting the ground again, but so was Greymon, recovering quickly and throwing another Nova Blast. Stingmon proved even faster, darting upwards to avoid the impact. Tai and Greymon both watched on as the stray blast flew to the ground right in front of TK and Kari, nearly blasting both of them. The force of the blast was incredible, forcing TK to fall down, but Kari wasn't as ready for the force of the blast, getting thrown from the port and into the water below.
Ken watched on as this happened, taking in everything. Kari wasn't yelling or kicking around, she might be knocked out, and TK was holding his head, so he was probably too dazed to make the save. Tai was too far away, meaning he only had one choice. Ken ran for the edge of the port, jumping off and diving into the water after Kari. He looked frantically through the water for Kari, knowing he had to get to her fast. Eventually he spotted a form floating downward through the hazy water and swam after it, eventually getting his arms around it. Ken swam back to the surface as fast as he could without using his arms, eventually breaking the surface, making sure to pull Kari's head above water as soon as he could. Out of the water Kari weighed more, making Ken struggle to swim to shore, and even more to push her up from the water and onto the edge of the port. Ken pulled himself out of the water and looked toward where the blast hit, seeing the dust still flying from the impact of the Nova Blast. As it cleared, he saw Greymon and Stingmon still in a stalemate and Tai watching on until he noticed Kari and Ken.
"Kari!!" Tai shouted in a panic. "Ken, what did you do to her?!" Ken just now realized Tai hadn't seen anything of what happened from the Nova Blast, when Ken dove in the dust was probably way too thick. All he saw was Kari's unconscious form and Ken kneeling over it. Tai looked toward the two warring Digimon, neither one getting the upper hand. "Greymon, time to finish this!" Greymon nodded, still focused on Stingmon, who was starting another dive.
"Greymon Digivolve to..." Greymon learned to Digivolve faster now and could get through the process easily. His mechanical chestplate and arms formed, followed by a metal helmet and broken wings, and finally the mechanical parts on his tail and leg became exposed. "Metal Greymon!" Stingmon was caught off guard by the sudden change of his opponents size. "Mega Claw!" MetalGreymon wasted no time, firing off his metal claws at Stingmon. The insect Digimon tried to dodge, but was still stunned and couldn't move fast enough. The claw side swiped him, causing him to spin in midair. "Giga Blaster!" MetalGreymon reeled his claw back in as he fired off his main attack, blasting Stingmon hard with the organic missiles. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, Stingmon was still in the air, hanging limp from his wings and slowly falling to the ground, too weak to stay in the air. Tai grinned as the bug Digimon fell, knowing Ken couldn't get away once Stingmon was out.
"One more shot and we've got him, MetalGreymon." Tai said. MetalGreymon opened his chest plate again and fired off another pair of missiles at the weakened Stingmon, who saw them coming his way. Luckily his mind was better off than his body and though of all he could do. Stingmon retracted his wings, letting himself fall to the ground below and avoiding the missiles. He landed hard on the pavement below, then looked behind him at the missiles. They fell to the ground near the port, blasting the area hard.
Ken watched on, still with Kari and a good distance away, then remembered Yolei was still there when he went to save Kari. Ken looked on in horror at the blast, seeing Yolei's fallen form as the smoke cleared. Ken turned his attention to Tai, the one who ordered MetalGreymon's attack, a vicious glare in his eyes. Suddenly he could feel all of his hate, all of his anger from his days in treatment, all coming back to the surface. Ken rushed across the battle worn pavement of the port straight at Tai, not caring about anything else at that moment. Tai looked at Ken only a split second before Ken knocked him to the ground hard, pinning Tai to the ground. Tai tried swinging a fist, only to get it backhanded by Ken, throwing it against the pavement, hurting it badly. Before Tai could swing the other Ken had it pinned with one hand, raising the other to punch at Tai.
"Ken, don't!!" TK shouted, who was now kneeling over Yolei, who was starting to stir. "She just got the wind knocked out of her, you don't need to do this!" Ken heard TK's pleas, but didn't care. All he knew was Tai had hurt Yolei, his love, his fiancèe, his reason to live.
"I don't care!" Ken screamed, an obvious hint of madness in his voice. "He hurt her, he hurt Yolei! I'll kill him!!" Ken's rage was all he could feel, all he knew, and all that mattered was making sure Tai could feel how angry he was.
"Ken, stop!" A new voice shouted. Ken looked up from his soon to be victim to see Davis running his way with Flamedramon following close behind. Davis stopped a few feet before reaching Ken as Flamedramon continued past to break up the Digimon's fight. "Yolei's just fine and it's not Tai's fault she got hurt. If you do this you'll lose everything you've worked so hard to gain these past few months. If you let your anger beat you you're no better than the Digimon Emperor was." Something in the way Davis spoke made Ken rethink things, letting his anger subside and his rational mind take control again. After a minute of silence Ken stood up from Tai and stepped back, reaching a hand down to help Tai to his feet. Tai was hesitant, but eventually accepted it, letting Ken pull him up to his feet. The two looked back to see MetalGreymon standing back as Flamedramon checked on Stingmon. More importantly to both was the sight of Kari and Yolei on their feet, both of them looking fine. It was only when Ken saw Flamedramon for the first time in years that it got his mind wandering, thinking back. Remembering the day he escaped from execution six months ago, he suddenly realized something.
"The three exploding fireballs..." Ken thought outloud. "Davis, those were Flamedramon's Fire Rockets, weren't they?" Davis nodded to Ken, smiling. "You saved me? You of all people... why would you?" Davis crossed his arms, thinking back to those days six months ago.
"To be honest, I didn't think those Digimon gave you a fair chance." Davis said. "I was hoping those treatments would somehow at least tame you, so I wanted to be sure you got a chance to live a normal life. I couldn't stop all those Digimon, but with Flamedramon's help, I could give you a chance to escape and make the Digimon believe you died in the fire." Ken couldn't believe Davis would do something like that, especially with how heated their battles had been in the past. What surprised Ken more was Davis actually coming up with such a plan and putting it to use so quickly, he always knew Davis as rash and quick to react.
"Thanks, Davis..." Ken said, finding no other words to use. He was about to turn and rejoin Yolei when Tai put his hand on his shoulder, making Ken look back to face the older Digidestined.
"I'm sorry, Ken..." Tai said, surprising Ken. "I didn't realize you changed... I guess I only remember how you were as the Digimon Emperor." Ken looked past Tai for a second to check on the mob of Digimon and the Refugara Digidestined. He was surprised to see the Digimon back to their Rookie levels and with their Digidestined and the Digimon mob watching on. They had all seen Ken dive in after Kari, not being blocked by the dust like Tai had been, and many were in disbelief still.
"I guess all of us have been changing lately." Ken said, returning his attention to Tai. He was right, too, the Digimon, Yolei, Davis, Tai, and Ken himself had all seemed to change somehow today, and all for the better.
"I'll be honest." Tai continued. "I'm getting tired of always fighting you. Let's make sure this is our last fight." With that Tai extended his hand to Ken, smiling.
"And I'm getting tired of getting beaten and hiding out." Ken joked. "This will be our last battle, I'm sure of it." Ken extended his own hand, shaking hands with Tai. As the two broke the handshake, Kari, TK, and Yolei joined the three.
"Ken, get your friends out of here." Tai said, indicating the Refugara Digidestined. "Live your life as peacefully as possible. Who knows, maybe we can be friends someday." Ken smiled and nodded, somehow liking that idea. He turned to Yolei, taking her hand into his own before leading her to the ShimaUnimon, who had been waiting on the sidelines for the battle to end to fly the Refugara Digidestined home. Ken mounted one, then pulled Yolei up to sit behind him. The other Refugara Digidestined followed suit, with Ryu sitting with Duran to make up for the lack of ShimaUnimon, then took to the air, with Ken and Yolei leading the way back to Refugara. Tai, Kari, TK, and Davis watched them fly off, not sure if they'd ever see any of them again.
"I still can't believe it..." Kari said to TK. "Ken used to be so evil... and now he's just trying to live peacefully... He's even engaged to marry..." Kari turned to look at TK, who smiled at her. "Think I'll be invited to the wedding?" TK laughed a bit at the joke, though he wondered the same himself.
"Who knows." TK replied. "After today I think I would believe anything..." The two again turned to watch Ken and Yolei lead their group back toward the desert, now almost out of sight. The Digimon watched on as well, some wondering if they'll have to ever fear the Digimon Emperor again, others wondering if what they saw really meant Ken was changed. Flying into the distance, Ken was the only one who knew for sure, and as long as he was in control of it, he would make sure his life was as peaceful and happy as possible.
The End
This is probably going to be the only story of this kind I ever do, as I said before this was in tribute to the first fanfic I ever read, which has been offline for years. If by some chance the author of Anti-violence Therapy Subject 11983 reads this, thank you for such a great story and I'm sorry I didn't ask if I could do this. The original story I printed didn't have an e-mail address on it. I hope you enjoyed it, though.
I had fun writing this. It was a nice change from my usual romance fics. Don't let that fool you, though, what comes next from CyberDracomon will defiantly be Takari, whatever it is. Until then!
CyberDracomon
Chapter 3: The Price of Freedom
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 and Yolei arrived at the theater just before the sun went down, taking in the view of the sunset from the mountain before walking into the theater. Inside was very regal, with red carpeting leading down all hallways and many well carved statues and colorful paintings decorating the walls and corners. The sight of the place never failed to amaze Ken. The two walked to the main ticket booth to pay for admission, finding a Tapirmon running the booth.
"Welcome to the Mountainside Theater." Tapirmon said. "How may I help you?" Ken never understood how Tapirmon could say that to so many day in and day out without going nuts. Yolei pulled out a few Digidollars and laid them on the counter.
"Can we get two balcony seats, please?" Yolei asked. It was better they stayed in the seclusion of a balcony, not just to enjoy the show together but to remain hidden. Tapirmon nodded, taking the Digidollars and handing Yolei a pair of yellow tickets, which she immediately took. With tickets now in hand, the couple walked along the red carpeting until they came across a staircase that lead to the balconies and a Candlemon taking tickets. Yolei and Ken walked up to the small Digimon and handed him the tickets, which he dropped into a small box he was standing on, before walking up the steps and into the hallway that connected to the balconies. Many of them were designed just for two people and all of the doors to them had a small sliding sign to say if they were in use or not. Luckily there was one closer to the stage that wasn't in use, which they immediately chose. Inside was very simple, a pair of nice seats overlooking the large stage. The two pulled their hoods off and sat down to wait for the show to start just as Ken remembered something.
"Um, Yolei?" Ken asked. "Did you happen to catch what show we're actually watching?" Ken realized he hadn't seen the title or description of the show that was playing as they came in. Yolei thought about it for a second before forming a worried look on her face.
"...I don't think I did." She admitted, smiling nervously. "This is a nice place, though, I'm sure it can't be that bad." Ken looked down at the stage, worried at what might be coming out onto it in a minute. He got his answer as a Bakemon floated out to the middle of the stage. Most of the actors were Bakemon since they could do their own stunts without getting hurt and they could shapeshift, saving money on stuntmen and makeup people.
"Ladies and gentlemen." Bakemon announced. "Thank you for coming to the Mountainside Theater for our show tonight. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it." Ken sat back, relaxing a bit. "Now, with no further delay, we present to you our newest play, The Fallen Emperor." Ken jumped out of is seat at the announcement of the title. He looked over the railing of the balcony as the first scene played out. A Bakemon, morphed to look like Ken in his Digimon Emperor outfit, tossed black colored rings at Digimon that ran across the stage and eventually out of view, coming back in a second with the rings on them, either on the arm, waist, or neck depending on the Digimon. Ken looked at Yolei, who was in shock as much as Ken.
"Ken, I'm so sorry..." Yolei said. "I should have looked at the title before coming here... Let's keep hope, maybe it won't be so bad..." Ken sat back in his seat in nervous relaxation, watching the play go on. It was fairly long, showing various battles with the Digidestined, events in his life, both based on real ones or completely made up, and even showing mild versions of his torture in Leomon's treatment facility. The last scene of the play showed the Bakemon playing him strung up like he was in Primary Village as the stage he stood on caught fire with him still tied to the stage's posts. Unlike the real events, though, the Bakemon actor didn't run off, didn't get cut down, but in a twist of truth, hang limp as the fire burned and the lights died down until the stage was black. The crowd sitting in the regular seats clapped as Ken and Yolei both hung their heads low in silence.
"I don't believe this is how they think of me..." Ken said in despair. He knew his past was bad and that many Digimon hated him, but an entire play based on him that only showed him as pure evil... it was too much to take all at once.
"Ken, it's just a play..." Yolei said. "This may be a good thing. The play showed the Digimon Emperor being executed, not you. Despite being him in the past, you aren't him now. You've changed, you've become a man willing to risk everything for one group of misunderstood Digimon... and you've become the man I love with all my heart... Let them think of the Digimon Emperor however they want, as long as they don't say the same about Ken." Ken couldn't help but be uplifted by Yolei's words. As smart as he had always been, Yolei was much wiser in such things and always had the right answers to give.
"You're right, of course..." Ken said, standing from his seat and leaning on the railing of the balcony. "I guess they think I died in the fire that saved me... and I think it's better like this. It symbolizes the end of my old life, the end of the pain that I caused and endured. It also reminded me that my present and future are looking much better than my past." Yolei smiled as she stood form her seat, replacing her hood. She walked over the Ken and turned him to face her, placing his hood over his head.
"Guess this date wasn't wasted after all..." Yolei said gently. "Come on, we should get to the inn and get a room before they close for the night." Ken nodded, taking her hand and walking out of the balcony with her. He only hoped the rest of the night would go over so well.
**********
The couple made it to the inn just before it closed for new occupants. Luckily the Gotsumon running things didn't recognize either one of them through their hoods and gave them a room for the night. Ken was a little nervous, not only was it the first time he and Yolei would ever share a room, but tonight had the possibility of becoming the best of his life. The two pulled off their cloaks, relieved they could be rid of them until they checked out.
"I don't think we've ever stayed all night up here, have we?" Yolei said, just now noticing. Ken shook his head no, although they've visited every now and then they usually headed back the same day. Today the show started later, though, not giving them much choice.
"I'm kind of glad, it's a nice change of pace." Ken said. He liked his room in Refugara, but the wooden, wallpapered room of the inn was a welcomed change.
"Hey, you didn't complain about the decorations when we brought you into one of those rooms to recover." Yolei joked. Ken laughed a little, even if it was true. The comment made him remember those first days, his wounds healing, the first of his training, and Yolei's company and guidance, which he always liked remembering. Remembering the first month of his life in Refugara made him decide something he had been turning over in his mind all day.
"Yolei..." Ken said, a nervous pitch in his voice. "There's something I need to tell you." Yolei looked on at Ken in confusion, then sat down on the edge of the bed to listen to him. "These past six months have been the best of my life... And every good memory I have of those six months is always about you, in some way or another... In that time, you helped me become someone I never even hoped to become, someone who knew good from evil, love from hate, and who could choose the better path. I wanted you to know, I hope you'll always be in my life, to help me until the day I die..." Ken dropped down to his knee, taking Yolei's hand gentle. "Yolei, I want you to share my life with me, every day, every second of it... Will you marry me?" With that Ken reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, gold ring decorated with a white gemstone, most likely white quartz, which was rare among the red quartz of Refugara. Yolei gasped from the sudden shock, staring at the ring like she was trying to burn a hole through it.
"Oh, Ken..." Yolei finally said. "...Of course... I'd be happy to be your wife." Ken smiled, happier than he had ever been, as he slid the ring onto Yolei's finger. As soon as it was on, Yolei put her arms around Ken's neck and kissed him deeply, too happy to do anything less. Ken kissed back with all the passion he had for his love, now certain it wouldn't be the last time he would do so. For the first time in his life, everything Ken had ever hoped for was coming true, everything in life was perfect.
**********
"Are you absolutely sure, Kari?" TK asked, pacing back and forth in the cabin reserved for the air cab's Digimon. "It could be a coincidence or just dumb luck..." Kari sat on the bed entering an e-mail into her D-Terminal for her brother and the other Digidestined. Patamon and Gatomon were asleep at the foot of the bed, curled up together, finding comfort in being so close.
"No, TK, it was Ken, I'm sure of it." Kari said. "That song he played on the flute in the cart, it was the same one he always played during his treatment. We never gave him any music books so he had to have made up the song himself, nobody but him could have played it." Again Kari's logic outdid his own. It was one of the things he loved about her, one reason he proposed to her a month ago.
"You're writing to the others?" TK asked. He knew that was what she was doing, but the reason escaped him.
"Yeah." Kari replied. "We can't do much to recapture him from here, so I'm telling Tai to set up an ambush for when we bring him back. It's the best way we have of getting him back." Like most others, TK thought Ken had died in that fire in Primary Village. He had to agree about not being able to do anything about him here, but an ambush somehow didn't seem right..."
"Kari, I know it might sound a little strange..." TK started. "But isn't an ambush kind of, well, underhanded? It sounds more like something Ken would do. Besides, he's got that woman with him, what if she gets into the mix by accident?" Kari had forgotten that Ken wasn't alone on his trip to the theater.
"TK, I don't like it as much as you do..." Kari said. "But if we let him go there's no telling what he might do. You know what he did as the Digimon Emperor, if he gets away now he could do things twice as worse..." TK lowered his head in disappointment. He wished there was something better that they could do, something that might keep Ken free and still keep him in check. Unfortunately, TK couldn't think of anything that could do such thing. He watched on as Kari finished her e-mail, sending it to Tai to start the ambush plans.
**********
The next morning Duran walked through the central building of Refugara. He hadn't completed the sorting of the food from the last raid since Ken and Yolei were out for the day. Ken had consulted Duran for advice on proposing to Yolei so he knew it would be a while. He even gave Ken the white quartz needed for the engagement ring. He knew Yolei just as well and knew the two would come back as an engaged couple. Duran was about to head for the storage room when he heard the doors of the building burst open behind him. Duran turned to see Ryu run through the doors, Dokunemon crawling behind him as fast as he could.
"Duran!" The blue haired boy shouted. "I think we've got trouble! There's a bunch of Digimon heading for the north town and there's a Greymon and a Digidestined leading the way!" Duran started to panic. A Digidestined with a Greymon meant Tai, leader of the Digidestined that chased after Ken for so long, and the north town was where Ken and Yolei had to catch the air taxi.
"They must have discovered Ken..." Duran said, thinking outloud. "We can't let them get ahold of Ken, they don't know of his changes, they'll treat him even worse than before if they catch him again." Ryu suddenly looked even more worried. Even he knew of the things Ken had to endure last time he was captured.
"Should I get the other Digidestined together?" Ryu suggested, picking up on Duran's idea. Duran nodded and right away Ryu picked up Dokunemon and ran out of the building to round up the other Digidestined and Digimon. Duran turned his head toward the doorway of his room where his own digimon partner was waiting.
"SnowAgumon, come on!" He shouted. "We've got trouble to take care of!" Hearing this, SnowAgumon popped his head out of the doorway, then ran after his human partner, who was already running out the door to join the others. The two didn't get very far as Wormmon stood in front of them just outside the door, a stern look in his eyes.
"Ken's in trouble, isn't he?" The worm Digimon asked. Duran nodded in reply, then watched as Wormmon crawled his way over to him and crawled up his leg, making his way up him until he was sitting on Duran's shoulder. "You aren't going without me, Ken's just as much my friend as yours." Duran didn't have time to argue and simply nodded again, running toward the main entrance to the desert with Wormmon hanging on tight and SnowAgumon trailing behind.
**********
Ken and Yolei, with hoods in place, walked from the inn hand in hand, still excited from the previous night. Even with all night and all morning, it was still too much to take in for both of them. The two walked to the air cab where TK and Kari, along with Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, waited to return them to town, where they knew Tai would be waiting for them. Both were nervous about the ambush, if it would work, if it was the right thing, but they had little choice.
"Welcome back." TK said, hiding his nervousness as if nothing was wrong. "Just hop into the cab, we'll have you and, uh..." Kari nudged TK with her elbow as he slipped, trying to keep him in check.
"Soon to be husband, sir." Yolei said in her disguised voice, finishing for TK. TK's eyes widened at the announcement, his mind suddenly reeling. Kari was in a similar state of disbelief. Even if she didn't know the girl, she knew Ken, or at least she thought she did. What kind of evil person could know love, the same kind she had for TK?
"Oh, well..." TK said, stumbling to find words. "Then I wish you and your, uh... fiancée... the best lives possible..." Yolei smiled under her hood and led Ken into the cab again, taking the same seats as the night before. TK released a breath of air he didn't realize he was holding. In just a few words that girl made TK's ideas of Ken change radically. He looked on at Kari, who looked like she was in the same state, then walked over to her, getting close enough to whisper.
"TK, can we really go through with this now?" Kari whispered to him. "The Ken we remember isn't capable of love, especially not marriage." TK didn't have an answer, Kari was the one that was sure about the ambush idea but even she doubted her idea now that they knew Ken was engaged.
"Tai and a lot of angry Digimon will be waiting for us." TK whispered back. "We can't betray them, we'll be off even worse than Ken if they think we've sided with him..." TK was right, if they pulled out now they would be in as deep as Ken was. They didn't realize Ken had changed and they were too angry with him to believe that he had.
"It doesn't seem right, though..." Kari whispered. "Ken was pure evil six months ago, now he's engaged to marry... He had to have worked really hard to change so much... We take him back now and it might ruin all he's become." TK knew she was right, and if the circumstances were any better he wouldn't have gone through with the idea, but there was too much riding against all of them if they didn't go through with the plan.
"Kari, I know it's not right." TK admitted. "But if we don't, all three of us are going to be hunted down like Ken was. Let's see if we can beat Tai to the port and we'll think of something there." Kari just nodded, a sad look in her eyes. "What about that girl with him? If she gets between Ken and those Digimon..." Kari took a quick look at the two of the cab, trying to confirm a though she had earlier.
"I think that girl is Yolei." Kari whispered. "I wasn't really sure last night, but that voice of hers doesn't fool me now." TK was already in shock from Ken's engagement, but knowing that his fiancée was Yolei made it even harder to do this. Ken hated all of the Digidestined before, but to choose one as his wife... It was all too much to believe at once, but it was all true.
"Let's just get to town and see how things play out." TK said. Kari nodded and walked over to Nefertimon, mounting her for the ride home. Kari whispered something to Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, probably telling them to speed up the flight a little to beat Tai to the port. TK took another look at Ken in the cab, talking with the girl that was now his fiancée, before walking to Pegasusmon and mounting him for their return trip.
**********
Ken had a harder time enjoying the flight home than he did the flight to the theater. The trip was noticeably faster than before, the wind and scenery below were both going too fast to be enjoyable. Yolei was still in a blissful state, her eyes closed and her head on Ken's shoulder. It was probably the only thing about this return flight Ken could enjoy. Looking at Yolei's peaceful form beside him, knowing this girl would be with him for the rest of their lives, somehow an unpleasant ride didn't seem to matter. His thoughts passed most of the time and before he knew it they were arriving back at the port. The two Armor Digimon had to slow to land so at least Ken got a good look at the lake beside the port. He gave Yolei a gentle nudge to wake her up from her nap, which she quickly did.
"Home already...?" Yolei asked in a sleepy daze. Ken smiled at her gentle, running a hand through her purple hair.
"Not quite yet." Ken replied. "We will be soon, though." Yolei smiled, then stood up, taking Ken's hand in hers and leading him out of the cab. As they saw this, TK and Kari hopped off of their Digimon and walked over to confront the two. TK gave Kari a quick look to be sure this is what they should do, then looked at the hooded couple.
"Ken, Yolei, you've gotta get out of here!" TK announced suddenly. Ken and Yolei both turned to TK in surprise, not sure what to think.
"TK, how did you know it was us?!" Ken asked. TK shook his head, not having the time to explain.
"There's no time." Kari said. "My brother is coming with a lot of Digimon, they're going to ambush you!" Ken suddenly panicked, what was once a perfect event was about to become his worst nightmare. He turned to find a way out of the town, someway to get around the main roads and into the desert and Refugara.
"Kari, how could you?!" Someone shouted. The four turned to see Tai and Greymon, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. It only took a minute for many other Digimon to appear from hiding, all with angry glares in their eyes and many looked like they were eager to rush in and attack.
"Tai, wait, you don't understand!" Kari yelled to her brother, stepping in front of Ken. "Ken's changed, he's not evil anymore!" Kari knew hew cries were in vein, her brother was pretty stubborn about these things and the Digimon didn't look like they were ready to change their minds, either.
"Don't listen to her!" A Mushroomon shouted from the crowd. "He's probably got some kind of dark ring for humans on her!" It was the reaction he expected from the crowd. They didn't seem to remember that he never used anything like that in seven years, why would he use it now? No such device was possible, he even tried to create them several times.
"He's probably right." Tai concluded, thick headed as ever. "Release your control on them! Now!" Ken threw off his cloak, no use for it anymore. Yolei did the same, staying beside Ken despite the danger.
"I have no control on them!" Ken shouted. "You took my Digivice and my power from it, there's no way I could have control over them!" Tai shook his head, refusing to believe it.
"You're lying!" Tai shouted in anger. "Greymon, get him!" With that command Greymon stomped forward toward Ken, his jaw slightly open in case he had to throw any attacks. Ken shielded Yolei just in case Greymon decided to, but didn't get the chance. Before he got close enough something flew past Greymon, distracting him. Tai and Greymon looked for the object to see a zebra striped Unimon flying by.
"That Unimon!" A Digimon in the crowd shouted. "That's a symbol of the black thieves!" Upon that announcement, more of the ShimaUnimon flew past, dropping off the Digidestined of Refugara and their Digimon. Duran and Ryu were the last to land, standing in front of Ken to guard him. Ken looked at Duran in time to see Wormmon jump off of Duran and into Ken's arms. He was happy to see his Digimon friend, but didn't have the time to greet him.
"We aren't letting you take Ken again!" Duran announced. Ken couldn't believe they were doing this, showing themselves revealed their identities, they could be hunted like he was, yet they risked such odds for him. He didn't have time to ponder as he watched them send their Digimon at Greymon, all Digivolving to match Greymon. A ToyAgumon became BlueMeramon, a Tsukaimon became Soulmon, a Psychemon became Panjyamon, and Dokunemon became SandYanmamon. The show ended when SnowAgumon became Gururumon, taking the lead of the Digimon.
"Takes more than a few copycat Digimon to stop me!" Greymon announced, charging forward. Ken knew the Refugara Digimon could stand the angry Digimon, who were starting to join the fight one at a time, but Greymon was too experienced, braking through the Digimon line. The Refugara Digimon tried to keep blocking Greymon, but became too wrapped up in the Digimon mob to keep it up. Ken tried to back up only to find the edge of the port and the water below. He was about to jump in, hoping to swim away, when Wormmon jumped from his arms, looking up at Greymon.
"You aren't taking Ken without a fight!" He announced. "Wormmon Digivolve to..." Ken watched on as Wormmon floated into the air, glowing brightly. It became so bright it was blinding, forcing Ken and many of the others around to hide their eyes. When the light died down, Wormmon had been replaced by a tall, green Digimon with powerful dark gray forearms and claws. His head and insect wings made him look like a bug, but the green armor and spiked shoulder guards made him look more like a warrior. "Stingmon!" Ken couldn't believe Wormmon Digivolved like that for him, and without a Digivice, which was the part that was confusing him.
"Hey, no way!" Tai shouted from the sidelines. "We still have his Digivice at Leomon's manor, how could he Digivolve?" TK and Kari were confused by the action as well, as far as they knew it was impossible.
"I think Izzy said something about it once..." TK said suddenly. "He said the Digivices are just tools like crests, but our connection to them is strong enough not to need those crests. Maybe if a bond is strong enough, even the Digivice is unneeded." Tai wasn't interested in the explanation as he watched Stingmon fly above Greymon to attack.
"Nova Blast!" Greymon roared as he blew the huge fireball at Stingmon. The bug Digimon was fast on his wings and avoided the fireball easily. The spike on Stingmon's forearm started glowing, getting longer.
"Spiking Strike!" Stingmon dove down at Greymon with the glowing spear aimed at him. The orange dinosaur was faster than he looked, managing to avoid getting stabbed, making Stingmon dig through the stone ground underneath, causing a fairly long groove through the ground before he flew up to try again. Stingmon turned and dove again, aiming higher this time, but Greymon avoided the second blow as well. Stingmon was ready and pulled up fast enough to avoid hitting the ground again, but so was Greymon, recovering quickly and throwing another Nova Blast. Stingmon proved even faster, darting upwards to avoid the impact. Tai and Greymon both watched on as the stray blast flew to the ground right in front of TK and Kari, nearly blasting both of them. The force of the blast was incredible, forcing TK to fall down, but Kari wasn't as ready for the force of the blast, getting thrown from the port and into the water below.
Ken watched on as this happened, taking in everything. Kari wasn't yelling or kicking around, she might be knocked out, and TK was holding his head, so he was probably too dazed to make the save. Tai was too far away, meaning he only had one choice. Ken ran for the edge of the port, jumping off and diving into the water after Kari. He looked frantically through the water for Kari, knowing he had to get to her fast. Eventually he spotted a form floating downward through the hazy water and swam after it, eventually getting his arms around it. Ken swam back to the surface as fast as he could without using his arms, eventually breaking the surface, making sure to pull Kari's head above water as soon as he could. Out of the water Kari weighed more, making Ken struggle to swim to shore, and even more to push her up from the water and onto the edge of the port. Ken pulled himself out of the water and looked toward where the blast hit, seeing the dust still flying from the impact of the Nova Blast. As it cleared, he saw Greymon and Stingmon still in a stalemate and Tai watching on until he noticed Kari and Ken.
"Kari!!" Tai shouted in a panic. "Ken, what did you do to her?!" Ken just now realized Tai hadn't seen anything of what happened from the Nova Blast, when Ken dove in the dust was probably way too thick. All he saw was Kari's unconscious form and Ken kneeling over it. Tai looked toward the two warring Digimon, neither one getting the upper hand. "Greymon, time to finish this!" Greymon nodded, still focused on Stingmon, who was starting another dive.
"Greymon Digivolve to..." Greymon learned to Digivolve faster now and could get through the process easily. His mechanical chestplate and arms formed, followed by a metal helmet and broken wings, and finally the mechanical parts on his tail and leg became exposed. "Metal Greymon!" Stingmon was caught off guard by the sudden change of his opponents size. "Mega Claw!" MetalGreymon wasted no time, firing off his metal claws at Stingmon. The insect Digimon tried to dodge, but was still stunned and couldn't move fast enough. The claw side swiped him, causing him to spin in midair. "Giga Blaster!" MetalGreymon reeled his claw back in as he fired off his main attack, blasting Stingmon hard with the organic missiles. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, Stingmon was still in the air, hanging limp from his wings and slowly falling to the ground, too weak to stay in the air. Tai grinned as the bug Digimon fell, knowing Ken couldn't get away once Stingmon was out.
"One more shot and we've got him, MetalGreymon." Tai said. MetalGreymon opened his chest plate again and fired off another pair of missiles at the weakened Stingmon, who saw them coming his way. Luckily his mind was better off than his body and though of all he could do. Stingmon retracted his wings, letting himself fall to the ground below and avoiding the missiles. He landed hard on the pavement below, then looked behind him at the missiles. They fell to the ground near the port, blasting the area hard.
Ken watched on, still with Kari and a good distance away, then remembered Yolei was still there when he went to save Kari. Ken looked on in horror at the blast, seeing Yolei's fallen form as the smoke cleared. Ken turned his attention to Tai, the one who ordered MetalGreymon's attack, a vicious glare in his eyes. Suddenly he could feel all of his hate, all of his anger from his days in treatment, all coming back to the surface. Ken rushed across the battle worn pavement of the port straight at Tai, not caring about anything else at that moment. Tai looked at Ken only a split second before Ken knocked him to the ground hard, pinning Tai to the ground. Tai tried swinging a fist, only to get it backhanded by Ken, throwing it against the pavement, hurting it badly. Before Tai could swing the other Ken had it pinned with one hand, raising the other to punch at Tai.
"Ken, don't!!" TK shouted, who was now kneeling over Yolei, who was starting to stir. "She just got the wind knocked out of her, you don't need to do this!" Ken heard TK's pleas, but didn't care. All he knew was Tai had hurt Yolei, his love, his fiancèe, his reason to live.
"I don't care!" Ken screamed, an obvious hint of madness in his voice. "He hurt her, he hurt Yolei! I'll kill him!!" Ken's rage was all he could feel, all he knew, and all that mattered was making sure Tai could feel how angry he was.
"Ken, stop!" A new voice shouted. Ken looked up from his soon to be victim to see Davis running his way with Flamedramon following close behind. Davis stopped a few feet before reaching Ken as Flamedramon continued past to break up the Digimon's fight. "Yolei's just fine and it's not Tai's fault she got hurt. If you do this you'll lose everything you've worked so hard to gain these past few months. If you let your anger beat you you're no better than the Digimon Emperor was." Something in the way Davis spoke made Ken rethink things, letting his anger subside and his rational mind take control again. After a minute of silence Ken stood up from Tai and stepped back, reaching a hand down to help Tai to his feet. Tai was hesitant, but eventually accepted it, letting Ken pull him up to his feet. The two looked back to see MetalGreymon standing back as Flamedramon checked on Stingmon. More importantly to both was the sight of Kari and Yolei on their feet, both of them looking fine. It was only when Ken saw Flamedramon for the first time in years that it got his mind wandering, thinking back. Remembering the day he escaped from execution six months ago, he suddenly realized something.
"The three exploding fireballs..." Ken thought outloud. "Davis, those were Flamedramon's Fire Rockets, weren't they?" Davis nodded to Ken, smiling. "You saved me? You of all people... why would you?" Davis crossed his arms, thinking back to those days six months ago.
"To be honest, I didn't think those Digimon gave you a fair chance." Davis said. "I was hoping those treatments would somehow at least tame you, so I wanted to be sure you got a chance to live a normal life. I couldn't stop all those Digimon, but with Flamedramon's help, I could give you a chance to escape and make the Digimon believe you died in the fire." Ken couldn't believe Davis would do something like that, especially with how heated their battles had been in the past. What surprised Ken more was Davis actually coming up with such a plan and putting it to use so quickly, he always knew Davis as rash and quick to react.
"Thanks, Davis..." Ken said, finding no other words to use. He was about to turn and rejoin Yolei when Tai put his hand on his shoulder, making Ken look back to face the older Digidestined.
"I'm sorry, Ken..." Tai said, surprising Ken. "I didn't realize you changed... I guess I only remember how you were as the Digimon Emperor." Ken looked past Tai for a second to check on the mob of Digimon and the Refugara Digidestined. He was surprised to see the Digimon back to their Rookie levels and with their Digidestined and the Digimon mob watching on. They had all seen Ken dive in after Kari, not being blocked by the dust like Tai had been, and many were in disbelief still.
"I guess all of us have been changing lately." Ken said, returning his attention to Tai. He was right, too, the Digimon, Yolei, Davis, Tai, and Ken himself had all seemed to change somehow today, and all for the better.
"I'll be honest." Tai continued. "I'm getting tired of always fighting you. Let's make sure this is our last fight." With that Tai extended his hand to Ken, smiling.
"And I'm getting tired of getting beaten and hiding out." Ken joked. "This will be our last battle, I'm sure of it." Ken extended his own hand, shaking hands with Tai. As the two broke the handshake, Kari, TK, and Yolei joined the three.
"Ken, get your friends out of here." Tai said, indicating the Refugara Digidestined. "Live your life as peacefully as possible. Who knows, maybe we can be friends someday." Ken smiled and nodded, somehow liking that idea. He turned to Yolei, taking her hand into his own before leading her to the ShimaUnimon, who had been waiting on the sidelines for the battle to end to fly the Refugara Digidestined home. Ken mounted one, then pulled Yolei up to sit behind him. The other Refugara Digidestined followed suit, with Ryu sitting with Duran to make up for the lack of ShimaUnimon, then took to the air, with Ken and Yolei leading the way back to Refugara. Tai, Kari, TK, and Davis watched them fly off, not sure if they'd ever see any of them again.
"I still can't believe it..." Kari said to TK. "Ken used to be so evil... and now he's just trying to live peacefully... He's even engaged to marry..." Kari turned to look at TK, who smiled at her. "Think I'll be invited to the wedding?" TK laughed a bit at the joke, though he wondered the same himself.
"Who knows." TK replied. "After today I think I would believe anything..." The two again turned to watch Ken and Yolei lead their group back toward the desert, now almost out of sight. The Digimon watched on as well, some wondering if they'll have to ever fear the Digimon Emperor again, others wondering if what they saw really meant Ken was changed. Flying into the distance, Ken was the only one who knew for sure, and as long as he was in control of it, he would make sure his life was as peaceful and happy as possible.
The End
This is probably going to be the only story of this kind I ever do, as I said before this was in tribute to the first fanfic I ever read, which has been offline for years. If by some chance the author of Anti-violence Therapy Subject 11983 reads this, thank you for such a great story and I'm sorry I didn't ask if I could do this. The original story I printed didn't have an e-mail address on it. I hope you enjoyed it, though.
I had fun writing this. It was a nice change from my usual romance fics. Don't let that fool you, though, what comes next from CyberDracomon will defiantly be Takari, whatever it is. Until then!
CyberDracomon