DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue.
A/N: Okay, *now* you can see what happened to Yolei's Ken-chan...and I do mean *now*...
Ken murmured, halfway between unconscious and awake. Someone was running their hand down his cheek. Of course, his first thought was that he'd been rescued. "Yolei...Yolei, I'm all right!"
"Sorry, cutie, but my name is Arukenimon, and I'm sorry to say that I am not the one you want."
He jerked away from the touch and opened his eyes. Yup. Same funky woman that had interrupted his honeymoon. "What do you want?"
"I want you to go back to the way you were. I liked the Kaiser very much. I had him whipped, too. You're much more difficult to control, Ken."
"How do you know my name and what do you want with me? And what are you talking about? Having the Kaiser whipped? That's insane!" he cried, finally becoming aware of his surroundings. He was strapped to the wall. It didn't feel so great.
"Why, Ken, I've been controlling you all this time. Did you honestly think that you came up with the idea of Control Spires and Dark Rings and things like that? You would never have thought to try and take over the Digital World--but it was easy to control you into doing my dirty work."
"Your dirty work?"
"All I ever needed in life were things to control. Through you, I controlled the entire Digital World. I made your decisions for you. As long as you were running the empire smoothly, I saw no need to shatter you and your ego and take over directly. But I knew about the girl. Why do you think I made sure that you avoided those DigiDestined prisoners for so long? But then you went and saw them, and..." Arukenimon waved a hand in the air to indicate disarray.
"And I realized that Yolei was the girl I was destined to love."
Arukenimon huffed. "Destined. Yes. You were destined to be one of the good guys. You should be grateful I got to you in time to prevent most of that."
Ken frowned. He had so many questions, and he had no idea how long he had to ask them. He decided that he should ask as many as he could while there was a chance. "What would have happened if you hadn't taken over me?"
"Oh, I don't know for sure. I think you would have met up with the original DigiDestined group. You and T.K. and Kari are all close in age, you probably would have been friends. Of course, the second group would still have been formed, because I would have found someone else to take over and have them do this. So you still would have met--*her*."
"Why me?"
"Because you were so vulnerable after the death of Osamu it was pathetically easy. I avoid work where I can."
"So now what do you plan to do?"
Arukenimon sighed. "Unfortunately, sooner or later, I have to kill you. It's a shame. You're handsome. For a human, anyway. I might not have minded having a consort after I took over the Empire you've taken care of for me all this time."
"I'm taken," he spat bitterly. He was not just going to up and forget about Yolei, especially not for some bitchmon from hell.
"That too. I didn't think anything of it when I picked you, because you were so young, but you really did grow up to be a handsome devil. In your own world you probably would have been a lady-killer--but you don't care, do you? So long as you have that precious girl of yours. Shame, shame. At any rate, I have to get the rest of those DigiDestined out of the way. Shouldn't be a problem. Then I pick up where you left off, controlling the DigiWorld."
Ken grimaced, then smirked. "I was planning on peacefully disbanding the Empire and letting the Digital World return to its natural state."
Arukenimon laughed. It was a high-pitched laugh that made Ken wince. "You aren't as much of a genius as I thought. Those poor digimon are so used to being slaves, they probably couldn't survive on their own."
"So when can I expect to die?" Ken asked levelly. He had his answers, and he was certain that Arukenimon would not relay a message to Yolei or Wormmon, so he really didn't have any other final business.
"I'm not sure. Sometime after all the DigiDestined die before you, one by one. Your precious wife last, of course, and it'll be slow and agonizing."
"No! I swear, if you harm Yolei, it will give me the strength to kill you with my bare hands!"
"If you could come down off that wall," she said, making him angrier. "Now, I am tired of your questions. You're boring me. Sleep." She held out a hand, and Ken felt the wooziness wash over him, and he was out like a light.
"...and then I came down here to get you guys. I thought maybe you'd help me save him," Yolei finished, tears threatening in her eyes and playing tricks with her voice but refusing to stain her cheeks yet another time.
Kari looked around. "I don't know about the rest of you guys, I don't even know about you, Gatomon, but I'm in."
"If you're going, I'm going," Gatomon said. "Besides, if this is true about Ken wanting to disband the Empire, we have to save him, and he might be a big help to us later."
"Later?" Yolei blinked.
"Sure. If we get to come back and fight more evil Digimon."
"I'm coming, Yolei," Hawkmon reassured.
They went around the circle, and not one person or Digimon wanted to stay behind.
Yolei was on the verge of tears again, but it was Wormmon who stopped her. "Yolei-sama, save your crying for later, please. We need to get started. First we need to decide where to go."
"What do you suggest?"
"The Control Room."
Yolei, Hawkmon, and Wormmon were able to focus on where they were headed, but everyone else gawked at the rest of the base. It had been so long since they had seen anything outside their prison.
The first thing they did upon getting to the Control Room was step back and let Wormmon take over. He knew exactly what as going on.
"Okay, I'm putting everything on autopilot. We don't want to worry about the base crashing into mountains. Done! Now, to see if Ken is still in the base."
"Oh, Kami, I hope so," Yolei said, concerned. "Or even close by." A few minutes passed. "Well?"
"Well, I can't get a reading on him at all. He's not anywhere in the Digital World."
The five humans exchanged glances.
Davis lunged for Wormmon and grabbed him around what might have been his neck, had Wormmon technically had a neck. He started shaking him. "What the hell do you mean, 'He's not in the DigiWorld'?!"
"I can't find him!"
"Could someone have messed up the computers, or fixed them where we couldn't track him?" Cody asked somberly.
Yolei tilted her head. "Put Wormmon down, Davis. He's trying to help us, can't you see that?" She watched Davis carefully as he did what she asked. "Um, Cody, it's a possibility."
Kari shook her head. "No. I don't think so. I think that the computers are fine."
"What are you saying?" T.K. asked. He knew that the Crest of Light sometimes gave otherwise unretrieveable knowledge to its bearer, and he could tell by Kari's mood when it was happening.
"All I'm saying is this. He's not in the DigiWorld, and I don't think he's in our world."
Cody frowned deeply. "Then where?"
Kari bit her lip and looked down. The knowledge had stopped. It refused to tell her where. It always gave her just enough to tip her off as to which of her options was the right one--it never made her choices for her.
Everyone tried to think. Of course, if he wasn't on Earth and not in the DigiWorld, it *had* to be some sort of alternate dimension, but where it was and how to get there presented problems. Yolei watched them carefully. "I don't care. I'm going to look everywhere I can get to until I find him, damn it!" The group all looked at her, admiring her determination.
"That's a nice sentiment, but I'm afraid it's completely unnecessary." The unknown voice was heavy and low.
"Kisama!" Yolei cried, turning to face it and point an accusatory finger. "You were the one!"
The woman in red stepped out of the shadows. "Yes, I take the credit. Don't kill me just yet, woman. I have him."
Yolei halted in her tracks. "...Ken?..." she breathed.
"Yes. Your precious Ken. I don't know what you see in him. He's so weak. His resolve to be strong and keep the Empire crumbled when you showed up. But then, maybe you like having him whipped. But anyway, that's why I'm taking over the Empire."
"Who are you, anyway?" T.K. challenged.
"Yeah, and why do you want the Empire?" Davis cried.
She smiled, her purple lips curling upwards. "I am...ARUKENIMON!" She opened up her coat and flung it aside, her body transforming. Her fingers melted into long legs, and extra legs hidden in the coat stood on the floor. Her ladylike appearance melted into an ugly, barely human form. She looked vaguely spider-like.
It dawned on Yolei. Arukeni. Arachne. Of course she would be like a spider.
And then something else dawned on her.
The digimon couldn't digivolve. They couldn't even use their attacks in their present form.
"Spider Thread!" Arukenimon yelled. Long, ugly strands of white hurtled out of her hand right toward Yolei. Yolei screamed, and ducked, but Arukenimon redirected the thread with a flick of her hand.
It was over. Yolei would never see her Ken again, they'd never disband the Empire, never settle down and have kids, never...
"Sticky Web!"
What? That was a new attack, but the voice was familiar. Yolei dared to open her eyes.
"Wormmon?" she cried.
Sure enough, he had counterattacked Arukenimon, wrapping up her threads in webbing of his own. He'd saved Yolei, erasing any questions the others might have had about his loyalty.
Yolei had very little time to think. She had to tell them what she'd realized and hope one of them got the drift. "Guys, we need to be able to attack! Wormmon can't hold her off forever!" She reached for Hawkmon, who was standing nearby, and ran for cover with him. She couldn't see what happened to the others, but heard Arukenimon and Wormmon trading attacks.
They hid in an inaccessible corner, and he blinked up at her.
"Quiet. Hopefully this won't hurt you."
He winced at that, but shut his eyes. She started hammering away at his Dark Spiral with her bare fists. When he realized what she was trying, he started to help. She took one end and bent it, cracking it off, and then he took the other end and did the same thing, and they worked toward the middle.
"Perfecto!" she cried. She was glad her old battle wits had not left her. "Go on, Hawkmon!"
Hawkmon leapt up and flew towards the battle between his new ally and newer enemy. Standing beside Wormmon, he took proper stance, and...
"Hawk Beam!"
"All right!" Yolei cried. "Guys, if you take the ends and bend them back, the Spirals break off pretty easily! Quick!"
Soon the two were joined by Patamon, Gatomon, Veemon, and Armadillomon.
Arukenimon growled. "I'll be back!" And at that, she vanished.
"Damn!" Yolei cried. "There went our chance to find him!"
"We don't know how long we have," Cody said. "Wormmon, where are our digivices and Digi-Armors? And D-Terminals? Where are they all?"
Wormmon led them to a wall safe in one of the corners of the Control Room. "I know they're in there, but I don't know the combi..."
"Vee Head Butt!"
The safe's door was smashed inward, revealing the equipment necessary for digivolving. The digimon started crying out the names of their different higher-digivolved forms. It was like finding a long-missing piece of a puzzle hidden between the cushions of a couch. The kids all dove for their own.
"We need to see if these still work!" Davis said. "Digi-Armor Energize!"
Veemon was unexpectedly drawn into the digivolving process, but six years had changed nothing. "Veemon Armor Digivolve to...Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!"
"All riiiiight!"
Kari laughed at her husband's impishness. "You baka. He didn't need to digivolve right now."
"I think I did," Flamedramon corrected gently. "It's such an incredible feeling to be back in this body again, after I had resigned myself to just being Veemon forever."
The other digimon agreed with him, except for Wormmon. "I've never digivolved. I don't know how it feels."
Yolei bent down and hugged him. "But we love ya anyway. And, thanks for saving my life."
He blushed. "You--you're welcome."
"Now, what's next on the agenda? We have to find Ken, but where do we look?" Davis asked. The old feelings, the adrenaline rushes, the drive to win no matter what, were all returning, and he was ready to put up his dukes and fight! It was a new enemy, and an old enemy had turned ally, but who cared? He was ready for battle!
"We need to follow Arukenimon wherever she goes," Cody said. "She has Ken, so if we follow her to her world, we'll find Ken."
"Right, but we need a battle plan," T.K. said. "I say Flamedramon de-digivolves, and when she returns, we battle her with the rookies for a while, and then when we digivolve, she's totally off-guard. Element of surprise." It wasn't just Davis and Flamedramon who were remembering what it used to be like.
Davis nodded. "Sorry, bud, but he's right."
Flamedramon growled and crossed his arms. "This is totally not fair."
"Hey, after we spring the surprise, you can stay like that as long as you want. Now, hurry, de-digivolve before she gets back."
"Well...all right..." With much murmuring and muttering, Flamedramon let the power of his armor go back into the D-Terminal, and de-digivolved back to Veemon. "But I still say this is totally not fair."
Yolei smiled. "Thanks, Veemon."
He blushed. "Well, if you put it that way..." he said, scratching the back of his head.
Davis frowned. "Look, guys, there'll be time to be funny later. Arukenimon will be coming back, and we have to be ready."
Cody nodded. "We should hide, so we can have a double surprise."
"Right," T.K. said. "The more surprise, the better."
The five and their digimon quickly found hiding spaces in nooks and crannies around the Control Room, thanks to Wormmon. Wormmon hid himself, too. Now all they had to do was wait.
Ken felt himself coming to again. He tried to fight his way back into sleep. The reality was so weird that his odd, unconscious dreams made more sense at that point.
But it wasn't meant to be.
He woke to see Arukenimon staring at him.
"Oh. You're awake again. I saw your precious girl."
"You saw Yolei? You hurt her, didn't you? Something happened to her!" he strained against his bonds. They weren't as strong as he had thought, in fact, they seemed to be made of nothing more than leather.
"No. Unfortunately, she's fine. I'm very disappointed in myself. They managed to break those Spirals off their digimon and they were able to fight back. I have to regroup and come back stronger than ever."
Ken winced. It was a strategy he had used many a time as the Kaiser. Now he knew where it came from.
As the grogginess wore off again, thought started to formulate more clearly. ~If they got rid of the Spirals, all they need are their digivices and Digi-Armors to digivolve! They can beat this bakayaro yet if Wormmon can crack the safe!~
"You're boring me again," Arukenimon informed him.
"I suppose that means it's back to sleep?" he asked, dryly.
Just as dryly, she raised a hand and he went back into oblivion.
The DigiDestined didn't have to wait long.
Arukenimon appeared in her "true" form in the center of the room and looked around. "Well, now, where are they? The sensors indicated that they were in the Control Room. They couldn't have left that fast!"
Davis looked down at Veemon, and whispered, "That's our cue!" Then he dared to raise his voice. "Everyone, ATTAAAAACK!"
Everyone came out of hiding and attacks flew from every corner of the ring.
"Hawk Beam!"
"Vee Head Butt!"
"Lightning Paw!"
"Boom Bubble!"
"Diamond Shell!"
The attacks hit Arukenimon, and she faltered, but retaliated. "Spider Thread!"
"Sticky Web!" Wormmon cried. He might not be able to digivolve, and Ken might not be able to be there, but it didn't mean he couldn't fight for him, and for Yolei, too. Arukenimon seemed to be focusing her anger on Yolei, anyway, and in Wormmon's eyes, the situation made it where he would fight harder for Ken than at any other time.
The attack did its job well. Not only did it contain Arukenimon's attack, but it managed to hurt her a little, too.
"GAH!" It took her a minute to gather her wits.
"Wormmon is the only one that can hurt her now!" Davis cried. "So, everyone, digivolve! Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Veemon Armor Digivolve to...Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!"
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Gatomon Armor Digivolve to...Nefertimon! The Angel of Light!"
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Patamon Armor Digivolve to...Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!"
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Armadillomon Armor Digivolve to...Digmon! The Drill of Knowledge!"
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Hawkmon Armor Digivolve to...Halsemon! The Wings of Love!"
The DigiDestined all stood proudly and looked at their digimon. "And again I say, all RIIIIIGHT!" Davis cried.
"Spider Thread!" Arukenimon tried, but she was surprised just like they'd planned and her attack didn't come out as strong as it could have.
"Fire Rocket!"
Davis had not expected the words to sound so good on his ear. It had been so long. "Yeah! Flamedramon, go! Get her! Get her!"
Arukenimon ducked, it missed, and she aimed her attack elsewhere. "Spider Thread!"
"Gold Rush!" Digmon tried to avoid the threads, but got caught despite his efforts. It didn't take Arukenimon more than two seconds to have him back to Upamon.
"Shimatta!" Cody let the mild cuss slip.
They battled fiercely for several minutes. Nefertimon was back to Gatomon, and Pegasusmon back to Patamon. Flamedramon and Halsemon were fighting her alone, but at the same time, she was weakening.
"I need reinforcements! Mummymon!"
A portal, seemingly made of light, appeared out of nowhere near T.K., Kari, and Cody, and a tall man in a dark blue coat stepped through. "At your service, dear," he said, sweetly to Arukenimon.
"Don't call me dear!"
Kari glanced at the two guys. "Come on, it might be our only chance!" She lifted Gatomon so that the digi-kitty was over her shoulder, and grabbed the other two's arms. She hauled, and the threesome slipped behind the new arrival and through the portal before it closed.
"Damn!" Arukenimon cried. "Mummymon, get those two!" She pointed toward Flamedramon and Halsemon.
Yolei wasn't too happy herself. Three of her friends had disappeared, and the odds weren't looking good.
The man was throwing off his coat just like Arukenimon had. There was--not surprisingly--a mummy-like digimon standing there, with a machine gun in hand.
"Kuso!" Davis said. "Not him, too!"
"She did call him Mummy*mon*," Yolei said. "Halsemon! Get over here!" Yolei picked up Wormmon, and when Halsemon got close enough, she jumped on his back and they took back to the air. Yolei had a feeling that things were coming down, and now would be a good time to get ready to run.
"Snake Bandage!" he cried, shooting towards Flamedramon.
Flamedramon was entangled in strand after strand of gauze. Mummymon had some sort of power similar to Arukenimon's that made him de-digivolve back to DemiVeemon. "Davis! Davis!"
Davis ran and snatched him up. Halsemon took off and did a loop around the room, coming back around toward Davis. Balancing Wormmon in her lap with one hand, Yolei held onto Halsemon with her legs and lifted Davis up onto her digimon behind her. He handed DemiVeemon to her and scrambled to get a grip himself.
"Halsemon, get us out of here!"
"Aye, aye, captain!" Halsemon cried, and with his four passengers he squeezed through the door and disappeared into the dark recesses of the rest of the base.
A/N: Ha! You may know what happened to Ken, but now you have no idea where Kari, Cody, and T.K. are! Don't worry, it's first thing next chapter.
A/N: Okay, *now* you can see what happened to Yolei's Ken-chan...and I do mean *now*...
Ken murmured, halfway between unconscious and awake. Someone was running their hand down his cheek. Of course, his first thought was that he'd been rescued. "Yolei...Yolei, I'm all right!"
"Sorry, cutie, but my name is Arukenimon, and I'm sorry to say that I am not the one you want."
He jerked away from the touch and opened his eyes. Yup. Same funky woman that had interrupted his honeymoon. "What do you want?"
"I want you to go back to the way you were. I liked the Kaiser very much. I had him whipped, too. You're much more difficult to control, Ken."
"How do you know my name and what do you want with me? And what are you talking about? Having the Kaiser whipped? That's insane!" he cried, finally becoming aware of his surroundings. He was strapped to the wall. It didn't feel so great.
"Why, Ken, I've been controlling you all this time. Did you honestly think that you came up with the idea of Control Spires and Dark Rings and things like that? You would never have thought to try and take over the Digital World--but it was easy to control you into doing my dirty work."
"Your dirty work?"
"All I ever needed in life were things to control. Through you, I controlled the entire Digital World. I made your decisions for you. As long as you were running the empire smoothly, I saw no need to shatter you and your ego and take over directly. But I knew about the girl. Why do you think I made sure that you avoided those DigiDestined prisoners for so long? But then you went and saw them, and..." Arukenimon waved a hand in the air to indicate disarray.
"And I realized that Yolei was the girl I was destined to love."
Arukenimon huffed. "Destined. Yes. You were destined to be one of the good guys. You should be grateful I got to you in time to prevent most of that."
Ken frowned. He had so many questions, and he had no idea how long he had to ask them. He decided that he should ask as many as he could while there was a chance. "What would have happened if you hadn't taken over me?"
"Oh, I don't know for sure. I think you would have met up with the original DigiDestined group. You and T.K. and Kari are all close in age, you probably would have been friends. Of course, the second group would still have been formed, because I would have found someone else to take over and have them do this. So you still would have met--*her*."
"Why me?"
"Because you were so vulnerable after the death of Osamu it was pathetically easy. I avoid work where I can."
"So now what do you plan to do?"
Arukenimon sighed. "Unfortunately, sooner or later, I have to kill you. It's a shame. You're handsome. For a human, anyway. I might not have minded having a consort after I took over the Empire you've taken care of for me all this time."
"I'm taken," he spat bitterly. He was not just going to up and forget about Yolei, especially not for some bitchmon from hell.
"That too. I didn't think anything of it when I picked you, because you were so young, but you really did grow up to be a handsome devil. In your own world you probably would have been a lady-killer--but you don't care, do you? So long as you have that precious girl of yours. Shame, shame. At any rate, I have to get the rest of those DigiDestined out of the way. Shouldn't be a problem. Then I pick up where you left off, controlling the DigiWorld."
Ken grimaced, then smirked. "I was planning on peacefully disbanding the Empire and letting the Digital World return to its natural state."
Arukenimon laughed. It was a high-pitched laugh that made Ken wince. "You aren't as much of a genius as I thought. Those poor digimon are so used to being slaves, they probably couldn't survive on their own."
"So when can I expect to die?" Ken asked levelly. He had his answers, and he was certain that Arukenimon would not relay a message to Yolei or Wormmon, so he really didn't have any other final business.
"I'm not sure. Sometime after all the DigiDestined die before you, one by one. Your precious wife last, of course, and it'll be slow and agonizing."
"No! I swear, if you harm Yolei, it will give me the strength to kill you with my bare hands!"
"If you could come down off that wall," she said, making him angrier. "Now, I am tired of your questions. You're boring me. Sleep." She held out a hand, and Ken felt the wooziness wash over him, and he was out like a light.
"...and then I came down here to get you guys. I thought maybe you'd help me save him," Yolei finished, tears threatening in her eyes and playing tricks with her voice but refusing to stain her cheeks yet another time.
Kari looked around. "I don't know about the rest of you guys, I don't even know about you, Gatomon, but I'm in."
"If you're going, I'm going," Gatomon said. "Besides, if this is true about Ken wanting to disband the Empire, we have to save him, and he might be a big help to us later."
"Later?" Yolei blinked.
"Sure. If we get to come back and fight more evil Digimon."
"I'm coming, Yolei," Hawkmon reassured.
They went around the circle, and not one person or Digimon wanted to stay behind.
Yolei was on the verge of tears again, but it was Wormmon who stopped her. "Yolei-sama, save your crying for later, please. We need to get started. First we need to decide where to go."
"What do you suggest?"
"The Control Room."
Yolei, Hawkmon, and Wormmon were able to focus on where they were headed, but everyone else gawked at the rest of the base. It had been so long since they had seen anything outside their prison.
The first thing they did upon getting to the Control Room was step back and let Wormmon take over. He knew exactly what as going on.
"Okay, I'm putting everything on autopilot. We don't want to worry about the base crashing into mountains. Done! Now, to see if Ken is still in the base."
"Oh, Kami, I hope so," Yolei said, concerned. "Or even close by." A few minutes passed. "Well?"
"Well, I can't get a reading on him at all. He's not anywhere in the Digital World."
The five humans exchanged glances.
Davis lunged for Wormmon and grabbed him around what might have been his neck, had Wormmon technically had a neck. He started shaking him. "What the hell do you mean, 'He's not in the DigiWorld'?!"
"I can't find him!"
"Could someone have messed up the computers, or fixed them where we couldn't track him?" Cody asked somberly.
Yolei tilted her head. "Put Wormmon down, Davis. He's trying to help us, can't you see that?" She watched Davis carefully as he did what she asked. "Um, Cody, it's a possibility."
Kari shook her head. "No. I don't think so. I think that the computers are fine."
"What are you saying?" T.K. asked. He knew that the Crest of Light sometimes gave otherwise unretrieveable knowledge to its bearer, and he could tell by Kari's mood when it was happening.
"All I'm saying is this. He's not in the DigiWorld, and I don't think he's in our world."
Cody frowned deeply. "Then where?"
Kari bit her lip and looked down. The knowledge had stopped. It refused to tell her where. It always gave her just enough to tip her off as to which of her options was the right one--it never made her choices for her.
Everyone tried to think. Of course, if he wasn't on Earth and not in the DigiWorld, it *had* to be some sort of alternate dimension, but where it was and how to get there presented problems. Yolei watched them carefully. "I don't care. I'm going to look everywhere I can get to until I find him, damn it!" The group all looked at her, admiring her determination.
"That's a nice sentiment, but I'm afraid it's completely unnecessary." The unknown voice was heavy and low.
"Kisama!" Yolei cried, turning to face it and point an accusatory finger. "You were the one!"
The woman in red stepped out of the shadows. "Yes, I take the credit. Don't kill me just yet, woman. I have him."
Yolei halted in her tracks. "...Ken?..." she breathed.
"Yes. Your precious Ken. I don't know what you see in him. He's so weak. His resolve to be strong and keep the Empire crumbled when you showed up. But then, maybe you like having him whipped. But anyway, that's why I'm taking over the Empire."
"Who are you, anyway?" T.K. challenged.
"Yeah, and why do you want the Empire?" Davis cried.
She smiled, her purple lips curling upwards. "I am...ARUKENIMON!" She opened up her coat and flung it aside, her body transforming. Her fingers melted into long legs, and extra legs hidden in the coat stood on the floor. Her ladylike appearance melted into an ugly, barely human form. She looked vaguely spider-like.
It dawned on Yolei. Arukeni. Arachne. Of course she would be like a spider.
And then something else dawned on her.
The digimon couldn't digivolve. They couldn't even use their attacks in their present form.
"Spider Thread!" Arukenimon yelled. Long, ugly strands of white hurtled out of her hand right toward Yolei. Yolei screamed, and ducked, but Arukenimon redirected the thread with a flick of her hand.
It was over. Yolei would never see her Ken again, they'd never disband the Empire, never settle down and have kids, never...
"Sticky Web!"
What? That was a new attack, but the voice was familiar. Yolei dared to open her eyes.
"Wormmon?" she cried.
Sure enough, he had counterattacked Arukenimon, wrapping up her threads in webbing of his own. He'd saved Yolei, erasing any questions the others might have had about his loyalty.
Yolei had very little time to think. She had to tell them what she'd realized and hope one of them got the drift. "Guys, we need to be able to attack! Wormmon can't hold her off forever!" She reached for Hawkmon, who was standing nearby, and ran for cover with him. She couldn't see what happened to the others, but heard Arukenimon and Wormmon trading attacks.
They hid in an inaccessible corner, and he blinked up at her.
"Quiet. Hopefully this won't hurt you."
He winced at that, but shut his eyes. She started hammering away at his Dark Spiral with her bare fists. When he realized what she was trying, he started to help. She took one end and bent it, cracking it off, and then he took the other end and did the same thing, and they worked toward the middle.
"Perfecto!" she cried. She was glad her old battle wits had not left her. "Go on, Hawkmon!"
Hawkmon leapt up and flew towards the battle between his new ally and newer enemy. Standing beside Wormmon, he took proper stance, and...
"Hawk Beam!"
"All right!" Yolei cried. "Guys, if you take the ends and bend them back, the Spirals break off pretty easily! Quick!"
Soon the two were joined by Patamon, Gatomon, Veemon, and Armadillomon.
Arukenimon growled. "I'll be back!" And at that, she vanished.
"Damn!" Yolei cried. "There went our chance to find him!"
"We don't know how long we have," Cody said. "Wormmon, where are our digivices and Digi-Armors? And D-Terminals? Where are they all?"
Wormmon led them to a wall safe in one of the corners of the Control Room. "I know they're in there, but I don't know the combi..."
"Vee Head Butt!"
The safe's door was smashed inward, revealing the equipment necessary for digivolving. The digimon started crying out the names of their different higher-digivolved forms. It was like finding a long-missing piece of a puzzle hidden between the cushions of a couch. The kids all dove for their own.
"We need to see if these still work!" Davis said. "Digi-Armor Energize!"
Veemon was unexpectedly drawn into the digivolving process, but six years had changed nothing. "Veemon Armor Digivolve to...Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!"
"All riiiiight!"
Kari laughed at her husband's impishness. "You baka. He didn't need to digivolve right now."
"I think I did," Flamedramon corrected gently. "It's such an incredible feeling to be back in this body again, after I had resigned myself to just being Veemon forever."
The other digimon agreed with him, except for Wormmon. "I've never digivolved. I don't know how it feels."
Yolei bent down and hugged him. "But we love ya anyway. And, thanks for saving my life."
He blushed. "You--you're welcome."
"Now, what's next on the agenda? We have to find Ken, but where do we look?" Davis asked. The old feelings, the adrenaline rushes, the drive to win no matter what, were all returning, and he was ready to put up his dukes and fight! It was a new enemy, and an old enemy had turned ally, but who cared? He was ready for battle!
"We need to follow Arukenimon wherever she goes," Cody said. "She has Ken, so if we follow her to her world, we'll find Ken."
"Right, but we need a battle plan," T.K. said. "I say Flamedramon de-digivolves, and when she returns, we battle her with the rookies for a while, and then when we digivolve, she's totally off-guard. Element of surprise." It wasn't just Davis and Flamedramon who were remembering what it used to be like.
Davis nodded. "Sorry, bud, but he's right."
Flamedramon growled and crossed his arms. "This is totally not fair."
"Hey, after we spring the surprise, you can stay like that as long as you want. Now, hurry, de-digivolve before she gets back."
"Well...all right..." With much murmuring and muttering, Flamedramon let the power of his armor go back into the D-Terminal, and de-digivolved back to Veemon. "But I still say this is totally not fair."
Yolei smiled. "Thanks, Veemon."
He blushed. "Well, if you put it that way..." he said, scratching the back of his head.
Davis frowned. "Look, guys, there'll be time to be funny later. Arukenimon will be coming back, and we have to be ready."
Cody nodded. "We should hide, so we can have a double surprise."
"Right," T.K. said. "The more surprise, the better."
The five and their digimon quickly found hiding spaces in nooks and crannies around the Control Room, thanks to Wormmon. Wormmon hid himself, too. Now all they had to do was wait.
Ken felt himself coming to again. He tried to fight his way back into sleep. The reality was so weird that his odd, unconscious dreams made more sense at that point.
But it wasn't meant to be.
He woke to see Arukenimon staring at him.
"Oh. You're awake again. I saw your precious girl."
"You saw Yolei? You hurt her, didn't you? Something happened to her!" he strained against his bonds. They weren't as strong as he had thought, in fact, they seemed to be made of nothing more than leather.
"No. Unfortunately, she's fine. I'm very disappointed in myself. They managed to break those Spirals off their digimon and they were able to fight back. I have to regroup and come back stronger than ever."
Ken winced. It was a strategy he had used many a time as the Kaiser. Now he knew where it came from.
As the grogginess wore off again, thought started to formulate more clearly. ~If they got rid of the Spirals, all they need are their digivices and Digi-Armors to digivolve! They can beat this bakayaro yet if Wormmon can crack the safe!~
"You're boring me again," Arukenimon informed him.
"I suppose that means it's back to sleep?" he asked, dryly.
Just as dryly, she raised a hand and he went back into oblivion.
The DigiDestined didn't have to wait long.
Arukenimon appeared in her "true" form in the center of the room and looked around. "Well, now, where are they? The sensors indicated that they were in the Control Room. They couldn't have left that fast!"
Davis looked down at Veemon, and whispered, "That's our cue!" Then he dared to raise his voice. "Everyone, ATTAAAAACK!"
Everyone came out of hiding and attacks flew from every corner of the ring.
"Hawk Beam!"
"Vee Head Butt!"
"Lightning Paw!"
"Boom Bubble!"
"Diamond Shell!"
The attacks hit Arukenimon, and she faltered, but retaliated. "Spider Thread!"
"Sticky Web!" Wormmon cried. He might not be able to digivolve, and Ken might not be able to be there, but it didn't mean he couldn't fight for him, and for Yolei, too. Arukenimon seemed to be focusing her anger on Yolei, anyway, and in Wormmon's eyes, the situation made it where he would fight harder for Ken than at any other time.
The attack did its job well. Not only did it contain Arukenimon's attack, but it managed to hurt her a little, too.
"GAH!" It took her a minute to gather her wits.
"Wormmon is the only one that can hurt her now!" Davis cried. "So, everyone, digivolve! Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Veemon Armor Digivolve to...Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!"
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Gatomon Armor Digivolve to...Nefertimon! The Angel of Light!"
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Patamon Armor Digivolve to...Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!"
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Armadillomon Armor Digivolve to...Digmon! The Drill of Knowledge!"
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Hawkmon Armor Digivolve to...Halsemon! The Wings of Love!"
The DigiDestined all stood proudly and looked at their digimon. "And again I say, all RIIIIIGHT!" Davis cried.
"Spider Thread!" Arukenimon tried, but she was surprised just like they'd planned and her attack didn't come out as strong as it could have.
"Fire Rocket!"
Davis had not expected the words to sound so good on his ear. It had been so long. "Yeah! Flamedramon, go! Get her! Get her!"
Arukenimon ducked, it missed, and she aimed her attack elsewhere. "Spider Thread!"
"Gold Rush!" Digmon tried to avoid the threads, but got caught despite his efforts. It didn't take Arukenimon more than two seconds to have him back to Upamon.
"Shimatta!" Cody let the mild cuss slip.
They battled fiercely for several minutes. Nefertimon was back to Gatomon, and Pegasusmon back to Patamon. Flamedramon and Halsemon were fighting her alone, but at the same time, she was weakening.
"I need reinforcements! Mummymon!"
A portal, seemingly made of light, appeared out of nowhere near T.K., Kari, and Cody, and a tall man in a dark blue coat stepped through. "At your service, dear," he said, sweetly to Arukenimon.
"Don't call me dear!"
Kari glanced at the two guys. "Come on, it might be our only chance!" She lifted Gatomon so that the digi-kitty was over her shoulder, and grabbed the other two's arms. She hauled, and the threesome slipped behind the new arrival and through the portal before it closed.
"Damn!" Arukenimon cried. "Mummymon, get those two!" She pointed toward Flamedramon and Halsemon.
Yolei wasn't too happy herself. Three of her friends had disappeared, and the odds weren't looking good.
The man was throwing off his coat just like Arukenimon had. There was--not surprisingly--a mummy-like digimon standing there, with a machine gun in hand.
"Kuso!" Davis said. "Not him, too!"
"She did call him Mummy*mon*," Yolei said. "Halsemon! Get over here!" Yolei picked up Wormmon, and when Halsemon got close enough, she jumped on his back and they took back to the air. Yolei had a feeling that things were coming down, and now would be a good time to get ready to run.
"Snake Bandage!" he cried, shooting towards Flamedramon.
Flamedramon was entangled in strand after strand of gauze. Mummymon had some sort of power similar to Arukenimon's that made him de-digivolve back to DemiVeemon. "Davis! Davis!"
Davis ran and snatched him up. Halsemon took off and did a loop around the room, coming back around toward Davis. Balancing Wormmon in her lap with one hand, Yolei held onto Halsemon with her legs and lifted Davis up onto her digimon behind her. He handed DemiVeemon to her and scrambled to get a grip himself.
"Halsemon, get us out of here!"
"Aye, aye, captain!" Halsemon cried, and with his four passengers he squeezed through the door and disappeared into the dark recesses of the rest of the base.
A/N: Ha! You may know what happened to Ken, but now you have no idea where Kari, Cody, and T.K. are! Don't worry, it's first thing next chapter.