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The Digidestined walked around in the Ken's base, surprised at the interior. They had snuck in at night. They were sneaking through the main corridor, and not getting spotted. A Violin was heard in the background, but was a little muffled, because it was behind a door somewhere. Miyako was a little freaked by the whole place. It was mystifying. T.K was looking around for guards. For some reason, Davis didn't think there were any. It was night, after all. But, where was the violin sound coming from? They all stopped in the middle of a huge hall. It must have been the main hallway. There was one, large, decorated door, and in German writing, was a label. T.K walked forward, and touched the engraved writing with his finger, trailing over the letters. He waved the others closer. They all came. T.K read out loud.
" Private study. That's what it says, I wonder...... The sound is strongest from in here. It's not locked, that's for sure. Let's go in." T.K whispered. He creaked open the door, the Digimon ready to pounce on the Ken if it was a trap. They all entered the room quietly. Ken had his back to them, standing tall, playing a violin like a professional. It was beautiful music, but reflected on how sad and how much pain he was in. Wormmon was there, listening, a tear in his eye. Ken stopped, wrote down some notes, scratched out others, and then started from the beginning. Kari was holding back tears, for the music was that saddening. Miyako listened closer. It was a mourning song. Ken was mourning. But for what? What could a monster mourn for? Ken stopped playing after he finished the new notes, and started to write again, having a whole page. He put his pen down, sat down in a chair, and took of his glasses. He bent his head down, the spikes slowly turning flat, into the normal Ken. He suddenly spoke, very quietly, but strong.
" Wormmon, please leave me. Get out of here, far away, go somewhere good for yourself. Please, leave this awful place." Cody was shocked at Ken's words. As was Wormmon.
" No, master, never! Believe it or not, I'm you're Digidestined Partner, and I'm going to stick with you to the end. Even if it means my own life. Please, rest for a while. You haven't slept in days." Wormmon pleaded. Ken sighed.
" You may be correct, but it isn't right for you to be obliged to take care of me. I'll listen to you, I will, but I can no longer deal with the pain I cause all creatures in this world. I cannot take it much longer......." Ken stood up, and was about to turn around, when he suddenly cried out loudly, collapsing to his knees, hands on his neck. Wormmon leapt to Ken's side, knowing what was happening. Ken had immediately stopped screaming, and was only making gasping noises, almost as if he couldn't breathe. T.K went pale as he saw the back of Ken's neck. It was something like a Black Gear, but was smaller, spore and seed like. He rushed to Ken's side, ignoring the other's shocked gasps. T.K lifted Ken's hair up further, and touched the spore with a finger. His hand was flung back, and the spore flashed black, energy pouring out. T.K's eyes widened. It was more powerful then the gears, that was for sure. It slowly sunk back into Ken's neck, disappearing. Ken blacked out, and collapsed onto his chest and stomach. He wasn't bleeding from the neck. But, how does that work? Wormmon was crying. He sobbed quietly. Miyako picked up the little Worm, and embraced him like she did with Cody when she used to baby-sit him, obviously years ago. She was around 8, and he was just 5. Wormmon stared at Ken's fallen form.
" It happens, every time he thinks about his brother, and how he died for him, he just collapses like that. His neck, it always has something black in it. It's what made him the way he is, I know it! He was so kind, before all of this........" Wormmon sobbed. Davis's eyes widened. Ken? Kind? A brother? Hey, wait, didn't I hear something about that? I wish I had paid more attention. Jun said something about an Ichijouji boy getting killed by a car, for his little brother..... That's it, I know it. Who says I'm not smart? Davis thought. T.K and Davis turned Ken over onto his back, and stared at the paleness in Ken's face. He was very white. They lifted Ken up onto the bed in the room. Miyako was still holding Wormmon, letting him cry. He looked over to Ken from Miyako's arms.
" After 1 hour, he'll start to toss violently, in pain, and he'll scream a lot. That's why you have to lock him down with the chains....." Wormmon sobbed out. T.K and Davis nodded, and looked at Ken. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. They took the chains that were attached to the bed, and chained Ken down, and stepped back, staring at what they had been told to do. Ken was being treated like he was in an asylum. For this matter, he might as well have been. Miyako took a seat in the chair, by the desk. It had the paper Ken was writing on, right on the top of the desk, along with a pen. Miyako couldn't help it. She stared over the notes, and then narrowed her eyes. She had never heard of or found this piece. It looked like it was pretty good. The notes all made sense, and the way it was formatted was almost perfect. But after a quick look, she realized something.
" Wormmon, this piece, it's a mourning song, but the way the notes are, it forms a vivid image of anger, and denial. This wasn't what Ken was playing. He was playing the exact opposite of these notes, it doesn't make sense. Ken was only playing a mourning song, but this defiantly isn't a total mourning song." Wormmon stared.
" You must know about music like Ken does. He knows a lot about the violin, he plays everyday. Well, he said he was doing a duet, but no one in the base, or what some would call a castle base, knows how to play the violin other then Ken. He plays something called a Blood Violin. I don't get why he calls it a Blood Violin. He made it himself. Then, he's got something called a Red Violin. That, I understand, because it's red. " Miyako blinked a few times. She then saw the black case, opened, with the 'Blood Violin' in it. She peered inside, and stared at the beautiful instrument. Miyako handed Wormmon to Kari, and stood up, put her hands on the desk, {were the paper wasn't} and stared down at the violin. Nothing was too special, except for the Kindness mark on the Bow, which was laying beside the violin. Miyako adjusted her glasses, and looked closer, inspecting the varnish. She took off her glove, on her right hand, and touched the surface. Her hand jumped back, and she gasped. It felt like blood on wood. With a closer look, Miyako decided on her decision. The varnish was made with 3/4 blood, 1/4 clear varnish. So, that was what 'Blood Violin' meant. She sighed.
" I wonder if he used his own blood for it, or something else's? Hmmm........ Alright, do you know where this ' Red Violin ' is? I can check that one out, too." Wormmon pointed with a claw to the wall above the fireplace. The fireplace was lit, behind metal mesh. Miyako looked at the violin, on the wall, propped up with pegs, and the bow beside it. A cord was strung across the violin and bow, securing it to the wall. Miyako touched the violin. It had a normal varnish, but had the symbol of Love and Sincerity on the bow. She unlatched the ' Red Violin ' and put the chin piece on her shoulder, resting the violin on it, locking it in with her chin. She quickly played a few notes, refreshing her mind, so she could play again. She walked over to the desk, and under the surprised looks of the DD and Wormmon, she started to play the same sad and mourning song Ken did, putting emotion into music. Miyako found this not too tough, because she could put emotion into it. Maybe not the kind of pain Ken had, but she had a few problems of her own, thank you. She finished the piece, and the examined the backbone of the music. She played the furious notes, very fast. It was meant that way. The music was angry, and denying all. It had to be played three times over, just to match up with the 3/4 beats. When she finished, she was sweating, her fingers and arm a bit tired. Miyako slumped down into the chair, and wiped sweat off her eyebrows and hairline, and around the neck and ears. Wormmon stared.
" Now that, was fast." Cody awed. Miyako smiled a bit.
" Well, it was supposed to be. I mean, I had to play it 3 times before it matched the 3/4 beats. That was a little hard. He put a lot of emotion into this whole piece. It sounds like a fight between entities. It's still a great piece, though. Better then most I've heard. If you listen closely to the last line, the one that almost screams, it sounds like it says, Fight the Dark. That was hard, I had to pull my arm hard to match it, and snap my fingers over to the nail. That hurt!" Miyako explained, rubbing her arm, and stretching her fingers.
" Miyako, I didn't know you played the violin. Or, that you played anything for that matter." Davis said, cocking his head a little to the side. Miyako grinned.
" Yeah, I've been playing since I was a little girl. Cody, you might remember, before I sent you to bed every night, because I was baby-sitting you, I used to play the violin. It worked every time." Cody tried to remember.
" Yes, I seem to recall that. I was really little, though......." Cody sighed, and was about to fall asleep, when a scream interrupted them. Ken screamed again, twisting under the chains. He let out another piercing cry, and a chain snapped when he threw his hand up. Wormmon was going to cry.
" He calms down in a few hours, unless I turn on a recording of his own music. Unfortunately, he smashed the player in a fit of rage......." Wormmon started to cry. Miyako thought for a moment. She stood up again, and picked up the Red Violin. She played the mourning part again, following perfect pace. Ken calmed down in seconds, and his arm went down, and his head rolled to the side, staring at Miyako with blank eyes. She finished playing, and stared back into Ken's eyes. He looked, happy. She played the violent piece, and Ken smiled for once, his music being played professionally. T.K and Davis voted to let Ken loose. They did so, and he sat up, still staring at Miyako playing. She finished the piece, and they all clapped. Ken stood up, and picked up the Blood Violin. He used the chin rest, locked it in with his chin, and started to play with Miyako. The duet was stunningly put together. It was furious, yet mournful. Sad, yet angry. When they finished, they switched parts. They did it once more, having a slightly different sound, for different styles. When they finished, both stared into each other's eyes. Ken smiled.
" Finally, someone who can play. Thank you, that was a wonderful experience." Ken stated, bowing to Miyako. Miyako bowed a little, too.
" No problem. That was pretty cool. I didn't think I could play anymore....." Miyako blushed, not used of being complimented by someone. Ken smiled a bit more.
" You never truely lose memory. It just gets trapped under other things. You still have to take time out of the day, or night, to use your skills, and un-bury your memories and skills." Ken philosophized. Miyako nodded, and was about to hand the violin back. Ken put a hand up, and she pulled her arm back, with the violin. " Keep it. You may need it."
" Thank you. Come on, guys, let's go." Miyako was stunned. He let her keep a violin, a bow, and a carrying case. That cost a lot of money! Then again, he did make it himself. " What will you do now?"
" I'm going to release all what's left of the prisoners, then blow this base up. Shouldn't take more then a few hours....... I just hope history does not repeat itself. You keep care of that violin, or I'll let the Kaiser go after you for it." Miyako blinked rapidly. Ken laughed. " Got you there. Nah, just take care of it." Miyako sighed relief. Lucky he was joking. Ken opened the door for them, and walked them to the base door. They said goodbye to Ken, and walked out. For Cody, it was a grunt and a mumbled hate statement. Ken raised an eyebrow at how much the kid knew about revenge. He shook his head, and disappeared into the base, running to the self-destruct place. He came to the area where it was, but collapsed in a heap, not able to keep Kaiser down much more.
Miyako looked back. She knew it. He didn't make it.
" Ken didn't make it. Something happened. We'll just have to find another way....." Miyako whispered, looking back over her shoulder. They all nodded solemnly, and walked to the port. The Digidestined disappeared into the port, and then departed to their homes. Miyako walked through the dark streets, tears dripped down her face.
" If that was the real Ken, then why are we fighting him?" Miyako asked herself, and Poromon. Poromon sighed, and felt a swell of pity for Ken. Miyako, then and there, made a statement, a promise.
" Kaiser, I'll tear you into oblivion for doing this to that poor soul. I swear it!"
~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~
ELP: Short, but kind of nice, anyway.
Sammy: R&R!