"Well, good morning, Crystal."

The words, that voice—the combination of the two immediately sent a chill down my spine. I became frozen on the spot, shaking like a leaf. I thought that I'd be okay, that whatever he could do to me wouldn't be enough to make me submit to him completely, but as I stood there, all that confidence that I'd shown only a few minutes earlier seemed to had disappeared. I was more scared than I'd been in a long time.

I heard his footsteps coming closer as he walked up behind me. 'Run!' my mind screamed, 'Run!' If only my legs would listen. I wanted to get out of there so badly, to run away and find safety, but I couldn't move.

It felt as if my legs had turned to jell-o. I began to breathe even heavier than I'd been a few minutes ago. 'C'mon!' I silently begged myself to move, and after all this was finally about to move when—

"I'm sorry, I must not have heard you. I believe I just told you 'good morning'. Isn't there something you'd like to say back to me?" I felt his hand on my shoulder before I could budge an inch, his fingers quickly closing tightly onto it.

He turned me to face him then, and as he did so, my gaze automatically dropped to the floor, not wanted to have to stare into those chilling eyes of his. "Good morning," I said back to him, trying to make myself sound as calm as possible, even though my mind was saying otherwise.

I flinched slightly as he put his hand under my chin and pushed my head up. While I didn't struggle to get away from him, I simply kept my gaze on the floor, even as my face was tilted upwards towards his. Then, as if he'd just been offended in some way, his hand closed tightly on my chin. "Look at me!" he growled sharply, shaking my head just the slightest bit.

I had no other choice in the matter. Shaking, I lifted my gaze and soon found myself staring straight into Ken's cold, amethyst eyes. He didn't look happy at all in the least. He started off with hardly any emotion showing on his face when I looked at him, but that soon changed a few seconds later.

All of a sudden, his eyes narrowed at me menacingly as his lips suddenly formed a downright angry scowl. Then, in the blink of an eye, I found myself on the ground, only to realize about a second later that he'd backhanded me across the face.

I sat there on the ground for a few seconds, again frozen with fear as he stared down at me. It was only when he took a step towards me that I reacted, crawling backwards in a pathetic attempt to get away from him. But as I crawled back, Ken only kept coming towards me, until I found myself pressed up against the wall, unable to go any further, and, for the first time in my life, feeling completely trapped.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes, stinging them furiously as they threatened to fall. I begged them silently not to, for I hated the idea of finally showing any signs of Ken having power over me, especially after all this time of me being so determined to not let him control me. But, no matter what I did, I found it of no use as the tears ran down my cheeks, then falling to the ground. So much for me being so strong-willed and brave—

"Oh no, Crystal. Don't think you can get out of this one just by crying like the little brat you are. Those tears have no effect on me," he said to me then scornfully, his voice as venomous as ever.

He took something out of his cape then. As soon as I saw what it was, I gasped and quickly twisted myself around so as to expose my back to him instead of, say, my face or my arms, where it would hurt more to be hit. Then, I put my arms in front of my face to protect them even more from Ken's fury.

I stole one quick look back at him and then turned back and closed my eyes as he raised his whip. A second passed, and surprisingly, I felt nothing. I cracked my eyes open slightly and looked back at Ken.

He was still holding his whip in the air, ready to strike at any second, but he had a peculiar expression on his face for a second. He was contemplating on whether what he was about to do was right or not, I could see it in his eyes. I held my breath, praying that he was gonna change his mind.

But then, just as quickly as this newfound hope came to me, it disappeared as his expression changed back to usual. I snapped my head around again as before and braced myself for the pain I knew was to come, my entire body shaking violently by now because of my sheer terror.

I tried so hard not to cry out, not to show any signs of defeat, but it was near impossible. As Ken's whip repeatedly struck me, the tears streamed down my face, and I groaned in immense pain as my back began to feel as though it were on fire.

This went on for about five minutes and then, suddenly, it stopped—not the pain, just the sounds of the whip and that constant striking. I was breathing heavily, trying to handle the seemingly unbearable pain.

A few seconds passed, and I heard no noise from Ken. I turned my head slightly, the movement only seeming to make the pain worse, and looked towards where I'd last seen Ken standing. He wasn't there. I figured he'd left after completely what he'd set out to do, finally leaving me alone...for now.

Finding the strength to walk was extremely difficult, but I finally did and limped back slowly to the safety of my room. As I went back along the dark corridor, one thought went through my head. Ken thought I hadn't noticed the slight hesitation he showed back there, but I did...

He was having doubts about what he was doing, and I knew it. For once in the months that I've known him, he finally had begun to show some signs of compassion. 'Hmm...ya know, maybe I misjudged him. Maybe there is a kind person in there somewhere, just waiting to come out. Is it possible that Ken, the person who calls himself Digimon Emperor, whom I'm starting to think is not the right person to team up with, has some good in him...somewhere?

'No, of course not. Get a grip on yourself, Crystal! That must be the pain talking. I can't let my guard down with him for a second. I think he's dangerous! I should definitely go ahead with my plan to see how he treats the slaves. And if my suspicions are confirmed today, I have no choice but to get the hell out of here and—'

I stopped in my tracks as I came to the open door to his control room once more. I peered around the corner, and immediately noticed him there, again just typing away at his computer. I tried my best to quietly slip past the open doorway and back into my room. Whether he noticed me go by or not, I'm not sure. But he sure didn't follow me this time.

As I reached my room and closed and locked the door, one thing that I'd thought out there fixed itself in my head. One question was stuck in my mind for a long time, and no matter how many times I asked myself that question, I could find no accurate answer for it. 'Is it possible that Ken has some good in him...somewhere?'

............................................................................................................

A/N: Well there you go, chapter 4. And, to answer Miguels-Lover's question, Stewart Townsend is an actor. He played Lestat on "Queen of the Damned", which I do have a fanfiction for that movie but nooooooo! They won't let me post a "Queen of the Damned" fanfic. They won't let me—

Digimon Emperor: Ah stop complaining, Diva'sDream. Get over it!

Shut up, idiot! I'm still pissed off at you!

Digimon Emperor: Like I said before, 'get over it'.

(Chucks a really heavy book at his head. Direct hit—again!) Anyways, I'll get started on chapter 5 as soon as I can. Hope you guys like my story so far. Please R&R, and remember, absolutely NO FLAMES once so ever. All flamers who mess with me will find themselves cursed for always and eternity! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Digimon Emperor: (Rubbing sore spot on forehead) --...Someone's seen "Holes" one too many times.

And your point is...? (Realizes the reader's still watching her) Oh, uh, buh-bye!