Redemption

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon

A loud snap broke the constant low hum inside the darkened room. Dark, and not from lack of light or sources, for that was not something in short supply. Many screens, aligned at one end of the chamber, should have given enough illumination to light up the entire room several times over. But it wasn't, the perpetual darkness of the place could not be swayed. With a black floor, black walls and ceiling, all light was absorbed by the dark interior.

One comfortable as well as functional chair stood empty and slightly turned in front of the many screens and the panoramic view of a conqueror's domain. It was the seat of power of a natural ruler, the heart of his operations, his command centre. Cold, dark, efficient, just like his heart, just the way he desired it. It was here that the entity known as the Kaiser, who had rejected the weak name of a snivelling boy named Ken, who was feared throughout his domain and soon the entire world, conducted most of his activities. The number of hours, days even, that he had spend in the contrasting space of darkness and light were too much to fully remember, even for his great mind. Besides, why would he want to even spend a fraction of his time or effort into considering something as trivial as that?

That was beneath him, an activity better suited for the servants crawling at this feet, simpletons that would never appreciate how much he stood beyond them.

"Crawl for me, worm!" the Kaiser sneered at the lowly creature at his feet.

"Yes, Ken," it said meekly, like a subordinate was supposed to do, but it still enraged the master even further. How dare that thing address him as Ken, the weakling being he had renounced, and how dare he not cry out when he was meted his proper punishment!

"I told you to call me Master!" the Kaiser yelled at Wormmon, again bringing forth his trusted whip. It seemed that tonight's session would run long again.

"I will teach you the proper way of addressing me, my little worm."

Brandishing his weapon of choice for a mere moment, basking in the sweet euphoria of power, he started whipping the poor, defenceless creature in front of him, enjoying every moment as it tried not to scream in pain. Crying blue eyes looked up at him, but they weren't really seeing him, the Kaiser. No, they were searching for something behind him, pleading and imploring. Those eyes were looking for the boy he had once been, before turning into the monstrous entity of the present, but the dark tinted glasses made it impossible for the caterpillar to see the eyes of his beloved partner. All the young digimon could see was the satisfied smirk of his Master as his control gave out and he screamed.

In shock Ken sat straight up in bed, shaking loose from the ensnaring hold the nightmare had on him. He tried to shake of the lingering memory of it, but he couldn't do it. What he had dreamed wasn't just another nightmare; it was one of his memories, one he so desperately tried to renounce as he had once done to his true self. How could he have been so cruel, he wondered? What had ever possessed him to act in such an appalling way, to treat the one being who truly loved him through all of his faults as nothing more than dirt on his shoes?

Many things were a blur to him now, his past and especially those parts containing to the Digital World were hidden from him in a mist. Somehow he could recall that once he had been different, nice and gentle, a friend to Wormmon and not his tormentor. Those few memories that were left to him told him that much, told him of the promise he made to his friend to never change. Of course, they both knew what happened to that promise, he thought sourly.

"What's wrong Ken?" Minomon asked from his comfortable place on Ken's pillow. After he had found his friend back Ken didn't want to leave him alone for even a moment, afraid he would lose him again if he did. So they now slept together in his bed, though it was a mystery to the conflicted boy why Wormmon would still want to stay close to him. After all the torture and abuse, how he could even stand his presence was proof of just how faithful Wormmon was and how much of a better person. If it were him in the young digimon's shoes he wouldn't have stayed at all, in fact he would have hit his partner in the head many times over for being so incredibly stupid and deluded.

"Oh, Minomon," Ken said, almost in tears, "how can you stay with me after all I've done to you?"

"Ken, don't cry," Minomon said, huddling close to him, "I knew that wasn't the real you and now I've got you back."

"Thanks, Minomon," ken replied to Minomon's statement. He still wondered if that was truly what his friend was thinking, or if he was just saying it to make him feel better. The innocence he saw in those eyes though, the innocence he had once tried to destroy, convinced him that his partner truly meant what he was saying. But even though Wormmon had forgiven him he still sought for a way to redeem himself, if not only in his eyes than in those of his other victims. The forgiveness of his partner was a start, but it wasn't like all the other digimon had done the same and they had no reason to do so. His brief visit to the Village of Beginnings had shown that harsh reality clearly. Somehow he had to make it up to them, if such a thing was even possible, and for that he had to go back.

With a sigh he settled back into bed, thinking of how he could go back to the Digital World and face up to his victims and their hate while he slept.

All the while Minomon kept a silent vigil over Ken's sleeping body, worrying about his friend's safety, especially after the appearance of that strange woman in their bedroom earlier that evening. How she got in unnoticed, and how she got out again, remained a mystery. The possibility that she had come from the computer, from a gate to Digiworld, was most worrisome. That meant she could come and go as she pleased. He was sure that Ken's nightmare had been triggered by what that woman had said to him, and for that he wouldn't forgive her.

Morning came quickly and by then Ken had made up his mind. He would go back to the world he had tried to enslave in the delusion that it was all just a game and somehow face up to what he had done. If possible even help to rebuild what his misguided actions had destroyed. Also, he wondered what that white-haired woman was up to. Like Wormmon he had come to the conclusion that she could only have come and gone from his room with such ease if she had used the Digital World. And from what she had said to him she was definitely up to no good, she liked the Kaiser a bit too much for that.

But how do I go back to Digiworld without upsetting my parents? He thought with a pensive look on his face. The dilemma took more time than he wanted, and he wasted most of the morning sitting at his desk or pacing around his room.

Minomon noticed Ken's mood swing and hopped off the bed to join him, sitting at his desk. Kaiser or no Kaiser his partner still had the unfortunate habit of thinking too much.

"What's the matter Ken?" he asked meekly, still not fully used to being allowed to call Ken by his name again and not by 'master' or variations thereof.

The boy in question looked at the little creature in front of him and the concern he noted in his cutely oversized eyes with some surprise, he hadn't noticed his partner's approach at all.

"Nothing really, Minomon," he said, not wanting to worry the little one anymore than he already had, "I'm just wondering how to go to Digiworld without making my parents worry I disappeared again. They've suffered enough for my foolishness."

Minomon was just forming a response to that despondent statement when the monitor of Ken's computer lit up. Both of them immediately whipped their faces towards it, as neither of them had activated the computer or the monitor in the first place, just like the night before. On it was the visage of someone they didn't want to see again, but had to deal with nevertheless.

Somehow this strange woman was tied in with what he represented as the Kaiser, a definite threat to the Digital World and possibly Earth as well. After all he had done he would not allow another threat to emerge in his wake.

"Being indecisive, young Kaiser?" the white-haired woman asked, "You never used to be, how sad to see you in this pathetic state, how truly sad."

Ken looked at the screen with a look of shock on his face, but it quickly turned to anger.

"Who are you! What do you want from me!" he nearly screamed. It still came out quite loud, much louder than he preferred if he was to keep his parents out of this business, but he couldn't help himself.

"My, my, Ken, where are your manners?" she pretended to look shocked, "I don't want anything from you except to remind you of a certain world you once called yours. Such a beautiful place isn't it?"

She smirked before the screen went blank again and a chair fell back to clatter on the floor behind Ken, who stood in anger in front of the empty black rectangle that was his monitor and gate to Digiworld. His hand clenched firmly over his black digivice, seething as he brought it up to the screen.

"But Ken, what about your parents?" Minomon asked in concern.

"We don't have time for that Minomon," Ken said decisively, "that woman is doing something over there and it can't be good. We have to go right now."

"Right Ken," Minomon chirped in consent.

"Alright, Digiport open," Ken said, and both disappeared in a flash of light.

When the light had faded on the other side of the port, and boy and digimon had materialized, they were in a mountainous terrain, filled with rocks and outcroppings. Behind them stood a very old television, the antennae on top of it seemingly bent from either old age or the wind. But this was the Digital World, so even that was uncertain, it could very well be brand new and formatted like that.

Looking around himself Ken tried to memorize the lay of the land as best as he could, so that they could find their way back to the television if needed. It was their link back to the real world and they had no idea if they could find another any time soon. The probability was high that this one set was the only one for miles away. Spending days to find a way back was not what he had in mind.

"So," Wormmon said, "where to now, Ken?"

Surprised to hear Wormmon's voice, and not the slightly more childish one he had come to know from Minomon, he looked down to his companion.

"Wormmon, you evolved," he couldn't help but say, rather lamely and worthy of much rage if he had uttered it while still being the Kaiser. Right now though, he was just glad to see that familiar form again.

"Yes, I guess I have," Wormmon answered, wiggling his many appendages that still felt so very familiar after having been in that form for just about most of his first life.

"Must be because we've returned to Digiworld," Ken observed, "but to answer your question, I don't really know."

One thing caught his eye though, a familiar looking black spire that jutted out of the rocks on the edge of a high cliff some distance away. Now that he had returned, giving in to the impulse of rushing after the woman, he had no idea where to find her or if she was even there in the first place. He mentally berated himself for letting himself be goaded like that, but as long as he was there he might as well do something about the Dark Towers he had erected during his time as the Kaiser. Once they were his triumph, a testament to his brilliance, but now they were an affront to him, a testament to his greatest mistake. Strange, how things could change so much in so little time.

"Let's go take a look at that Dark Tower over there."

The walk to the tower took longer than Ken had hoped, but it couldn't really be helped given the roughness of the terrain. Still, he had no real trouble moving along and Wormmon seemed to scoot along easily at his side as well. Wormmon's form made it easy for him to travel across a variety of landscapes, albeit not that fast. After an hour of walking, climbing and sliding, they finally reached their destination on top of the cliff. But at the site of the tower they found they were not alone.

"Greetings, young Kaiser," the white-haired woman said, leaning back carelessly against the black obelisk. She looked at the two new arrivals with a superior smugness, and just the sight of her against his tower, his folly, angered Ken.

"So I was right," Ken said, determined to not let her get to him, "You can get into the Digital World."

"Bravo Ken, you always were a master at stating the obvious," she said, sounding bored with them already.

"What are you doing here?" Ken shouted, his anger getting the better of him despite his intentions.

Moving away from the spire and closer to Ken and Wormmon the woman smiled evilly, "If you must know, young Kaiser, I've come to pick up where you left off and take it a step further. I'm going to do what you could not. Take over Digiworld and, if I feel like it, maybe even destroy it."

Aghast by the stranger's words and the certainty that she intended to do just what she said, Ken involuntarily took a step back.

"You're mad, how do you plan to do that?"

"Like this," she drawled, pulling out one of her long white hairs. If it hurt her, she gave no sign of it, and the long strand became rigid between her fingers almost instantaneous.

"Spirit Needle," she called out, as if she was a digimon stating their attack, and proceeded to throw the string, now as hard as bone, at the Dark Tower. Both boy and digimon started in shock as the obelisk slowly absorbed it.

"What are you doing?" Ken asked, deep concern replacing the angered tone of when he asked that question before. But she didn't need to answer the question, as they watched the answer came to them all by itself. The Tower, hard enough to withstand the attacks of the child digimon it was designed to subdue suddenly seemed to collapse in on itself. It became smaller in height, but expanded in width. Other features started to emerge in the amorphous black blob as it smoothly changed into the appearance of a wolf.

"Meet Gururumon," the woman said, amused by the shocked looks both she and her pet were getting, "it's a vaccine version of Garurumon, if you can believe it. Gururumon, destroy them."

Ken's eyes widened in a sudden pang of fright, that last order, spoken in such a casual tone, took longer for him to register than it did for the wolf. Letting out a howl filled with rage and bloodlust it charged at him, crossing the distance like it was nothing. In less than a second the wolf and its maw filled with teeth glistening from saliva, was right there in front of him.

With a reaction speed Ken didn't remember his partner possessed Wormmon sprang into action the same time the wolf did, knocking his partner out of the attacker's way. Teeth as sharp as knives closed in on empty air, but the wolf hardly let the escape of his target bother him. Instead he just barged his large form into the small caterpillar. Suspended in the air after his rescue attempt Wormmon didn't stand a chance of getting out of the way before he too was slammed down.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity he had been given Ken rolled several times over the rocky ground before getting back up on his feet. Once again there was some distance between him and the unexpected foe, but it wouldn't be enough. His partner let out a very audible groan when he fell to the ground from the impact, but otherwise seemed unharmed.

That was more than he would soon be able to say for himself as he came face to face with the digimon who was stalking slowly towards him. Believing victory to be his already the wolf saw no need to hurry. Ken hoped he could somehow use that confidence to try and escape, but Gururumon stood between him and the safe way down the cliff. Backing away he only brought himself closer to the side of the cliff and the long drop beyond.

His eyes sought desperately for a way out, but found none. There was no escape, only the choice between the predator's teeth or a shattering fall to his death.

This can't be happening, I can't just die here like this, Ken thought fervently. Appalling, but unmistakably true, part of him felt that he actually deserved this, to be killed by one of his own created horrors. It would be poetic justice.

Behind him he reached the end of the cliff, there was no more room to retreat and the wolf seemed tired of delaying the inevitable. His mistress' command could only be held back for so long before he had to follow it to the letter.

Ken stopped his struggling, his resistance and his tension, and simply waited for the coming deathblow. Only a small part was continuing a struggle, the part that was considering jumping instead of being mauled. Sensing the other's surrender Gururumon took the last few steps boldly, intend on just finishing his business then and there.

"Sticky Net," the attack declaration seemed to come from nowhere, as well as the sticky webbing that followed. It settled over part of the wolf's face, taking half of his vision with it.

Wormmon, Ken thought as he glanced at his small friend and his best attempt at a glare, he would miss me if I died.

A new resolve came over him, if he died it wouldn't be just Wormmon who would miss him, so would his parents. His only chance at redeeming himself for what he had done would be gone forever; he wouldn't be able to give something back to the world that he had harrowed for so long.

Taking advantage of the half blinded wolf Ken started to run from the edge and past the creature's blindside, but in thinking of what he should do he wasted some valuable time. Though he was blinded by the surprise attack Gururumon's intended charge could not be stopped and with a single lunge he brought himself to the spot where Ken had stood only a moment earlier. His large leg graced the fleeing boy only slightly, but even that small contact was enough.

Ken lost his balance and before he knew what was happening he couldn't feel any ground anymore. He let out a cry of dismay, bringing back the attention of the blinded facsimile on him again. Not that it mattered; those teeth would not be the instruments of his death now as he fell from the edge. Ironic that he was going to die just when he decided he wanted to live.

Unable to help himself he screamed as gravity took its course and dragged him down to the earth below, a field of rocky spires on which he would be impaled, "Wormmon!"

The air whipped past him, as did the foreboding cliff, but he couldn't see it with his eyes snapped shut. Only once before had he felt such panic, such fear, and that was when he was confronted with the world of darkness when he was creating Chimeramon. Then it was enough to shatter through his delusions ever so briefly. This time it completely numbed him. Falling, ever falling, a dispassionate thought of how long it would take and how much it would hurt crossed his mind.

Then, as he knew it would, he hit something hard, but it wasn't stone. He could still feel the wind, but he seemed to now be falling in the wrong direction. Was this it, he wondered? Had he died and was now being carried of into the heavens by an angel? Strange, considering he didn't even believe in that stuff and he certainly didn't deserve to go to such a place if it should exist.

He opened his eyes, and saw his saviour. Not an angel, but something splendid nonetheless, a large and powerful looking insect warrior.

"Ken," the digimon said, sounding relieved, "You're alright, I've got you now."

The voice sounded familiar, giving him a feeling of safety and security. It was almost like, "Wormmon?"

"Not anymore, now I'm Stingmon," the fighter replied, hovering high above the cliff and the wolf who was there waiting for them.

"You've actually evolved to your adult form," Ken panted, wondering why his heart hadn't burst from his chest yet, it was certainly beating strong enough for that.

"I-I did," Stingmon said slowly, as if just realizing the importance of what had happened. Never before had he been able to evolve himself to his adult form, but now he had finally succeeded.

"I really evolved, Ken, I finally evolved!"

It was the same voice he knew so well, being only slightly more mature. Now that it came from the imposing fighter it sounded almost comical in its enthusiasm, but Ken didn't care, he laughed along with his partner.

"Chaos Fire," a growling voice said, the first time Gururumon had actually spoken after being created and the only warning before a torrent of black and green flames flew at them. That little warning was all Stingmon needed to position himself out of harm's way, and both warrior and passenger watched the streaking pillar of fire go harmlessly by.

"Too slow," Stingmon boasted with a hint of menace present in his voice. To attack him was one thing, but to threaten and nearly kill his partner was something completely different. He flew back down to the cliff and let Ken down at what he deemed to be a safe location for the moment.

"Be careful Stingmon," Ken said.

"I always am," Stingmon said to reassure, but to Ken only an image of his partner's child form knocking him off a Devidramon before going to take on Chimeramon came to his mind unbidden. Back then, though it was necessary, his partner hadn't been careful at all and it had gotten him killed. All because what he had done, Wormmon's killer was a being born from his mistakes and this time it could happen all over again. I'm to blame for this, it's all my fault, he wanted to say to his partner. But Stingmon had already launched himself into the air once again, once again to fight a battle outside Ken's reach.

"Chaos Fire," Gururumon violently shot another wave of dark flames at his flying target, but once again Stingmon dodged it. He was amazed at the speed he now possessed, a far cry from what he had been capable of before. This time he flew over the flames, ascending higher to survey the playing field better. Also, to be able to fly like that was exhilarating and truth be told he could hardly get enough of it. But he had to be careful, like he had promised, and take care of the fake digimon quickly. For all his bravado he was still a rookie at this and he wasn't sure if he could subdue his foe without killing him. To kill a fellow digimon, no matter how evil or misguided he was, wasn't something he was ready for yet. He doubted Ken would want another burden like that on his mind either. But whatever he was going to do he had to do it while Gururumon's attention was solely aimed at him and not Ken.

Going into a rapid dive, Stingmon spiralled around another volley of flames shot at him to bring himself right down to Gururumon's still blinded side.

"Hell Squeeze," Stingmon exclaimed, and the antennae on his head started to vibrate before extending and wrapping themselves around the wolf's body and tightening firmly around him. Grabbing on to the shoulders with his oversized gauntleted hands Stingmon was able to immobilize him.

Gururumon yowled in pain and rage, just about the only feelings it seemed capable of, shaking violently to throw the attack off. And while Stingmon could maintain his position for some time longer he thought it better to make a move while he still had the upper hand.

Gripping the shoulders even more tightly he retracted his antennae at the same time he kicked one of the paws out from under him and then threw him to the ground, his own claws scraping at the fur of Gururumon's left shoulder. The hide on the wolf's shoulder was cut open, showing the released hairs changing into stale particles of data.

Stingmon stopped moving at the sight of the now open skin of the wound, but it wasn't the injury that gave him pause, but what he saw beneath that. Causing the wolf an injury was something he could live with and he never expected the fight to leave them both unharmed. After what it had done to Ken this creature didn't even deserve otherwise. But Gururumon's shoulder, stripped bare of fur and skin, was mat black, like the material the Dark Towers were made from.

Standing still on the ground was a mistake, as an angry eye latched onto him and with a snarl the wolf was upon him.

"Stingmon!" Ken cried out, his friend was now on his back with the vicious beast on top of him, pinning him down while trying to bite his head off. Only Stingmon's powerful arms kept the opened maw away from his head.

"I'm alright Ken," Stingmon managed to say, staring at the sharp teeth and the saliva dripping from them and all over his body. It sickened him as the spit also found its way to land on his face, where it continued its trek along his body down to the ground. Even as they were locked in that deadlock for only a few moments, a copious amount had already collected on the rocks under them.

I really need a shower after this, he thought to himself sourly. With one hand on Gururumon's snout and the other under his jaw he managed, with a forced burst of strength, to close his enemy's mouth and push it to the right. Then with a mighty heave to the left, unwittingly assisted by the wolf's own struggles, he managed to fling himself free and quickly took to the safety of the sky again.

Not to be swayed Gururumon got back to his feet almost as soon as he had gone down, showing his wound to the boy standing at the sides. Now Ken understood what had paralyzed his partner earlier. The sight was fascinating; somehow the white-haired woman had actually transformed one of his towers into a fake digimon. The urgency of the situation hadn't allowed much thought on what had actually happened to get Gururumon there, but now he knew what had transpired. He didn't understand how it was possible, but for now it was enough to know that it was not a real digimon. One of the faint ideas had been that she had summoned a digimon there by using the tower, or that maybe they already contained digimon to begin with. Like with so many things he had known as the Kaiser his memory of what made his Towers work was vague at best.

This though, this was far more ingenious. A fake digimon would have no real will of its own; therefore it was completely under the woman's control, eliminating the problems real digimon gave. He did somewhat remember how annoyed he felt when his control devices were destroyed by the Chosen. No more enslaving, or acquiring the loyalties of others. Also, a virtually limitless army could be created with barely any effort at; there were plenty of Towers around to use for that.

Ken gritted his teeth in anger, all he had done in his time as the Kaiser was to help that woman amass an army. The Towers served as the foundation on which he had based his reign, but they were only fuel for her, even if he hadn't been beaten by his own partner and the Chosen that woman would have done so anyway.

The things she was capable of, thanks to him, were almost too much to consider. Hundreds, thousands of Dark Towers could be found all over the Digital World. If she got to them all, she'd be unstoppable. With an army of mindless slaves, one more powerful and larger than his own force had been at the top of reign, conquering the Digital World was a certainty.

Not even the Chosen might be able to stop her if that happened, not after all the trouble they had against him and this was beyond even the Kaiser. Somehow he had to stop that from happening, he had to stop her. But he couldn't do that if they fell here to the facsimile of a Garurumon wannabe.

"Stingmon, that thing is not a real digimon. It's only a Dark Tower, destroy it, quickly!" Ken shouted to his flying partner, drawing the attention of both digimon to him. The wolf let out an angry howl, running at Ken with the intent of killing the boy for real this time around.

"No, I won't let you," Stingmon hissed, going into another dive. The grey spikes on his gauntlets retracted, opening the way for a pair of purple energy spikes. This attack would surely be the last.

"Spiking Finish!" He shouted, attacking the wolf with a whirlwind of kicks and punches aided by his spikes. The beast was hammered into the ground, groaning as its exterior faded away into weak particles of data, leaving its body of dark matter behind. That didn't last long under Stingmon's onslaught either.

"Stingmon, you did it," Ken said happily.

"Of course, no fake digimon can take me down," Stingmon said, landing gracefully in front of Ken. They didn't have any more time for congratulations though, as there was still one more enemy to take care of. Unfortunately she was nowhere to be found anymore.

Ken closed his eyes for a little bit, the feeling of the wind blowing past his face had never felt so good to him before. He sighed contently, feeling safe in the protective arms of his digimon even though they were quite high in the air. As soon as they noticed that the strange woman had disappeared on them they set of in pursuit.

For far too long now they had been going in the direction the woman would likely have gone, but without luck. There was only one way to get off the cliff where they'd just fought Gururumon, but she wasn't anywhere near there. Circling above the area in ever increasing loops didn't give them any results either.

Though finding her was of the utmost importance the boy couldn't help but revel in the feeling of flying with his friend. This was completely different from all the times he had flown on Airdramon when he was still the Kaiser, the sense of freedom felt great. He knew he didn't deserve to feel like that, but he did nonetheless.

Stingmon knew too, but he said nothing of it. He was just happy his partner was finally able to enjoy himself. It had been so long since he saw such a serene expression on Ken's face.

Ken sighed, the area they were flying over was just too rocky and wild, someone could do all they could to draw attention and still remain unnoticed, so it was practically impossible to find someone who didn't want to be found.

"This isn't working," Ken said, this time feeling far from content.

"It's taking pretty long as well, maybe we should return home?" Stingmon asked.

Ken thought about it for a bit, he really didn't want to give up that soon, "Not yet, there is still something I'd like to do before we go back."

It was several hours after they'd left so abruptly that the monitor in Ken's room once again lit up. For the past few hours they'd been knocking down all the Dark Towers they could find. It was something that he had been meaning to do in the first place, but with the arrival of the white-haired woman it became all the more a priority. If they couldn't find her, at least they could take away from her potential army.

Wormmon hopped over to his bed, climbing up the ladder to the top so he could take a rest. It had been a long day for the young digimon. It was already running late and his room had gotten pretty dark already, so Ken didn't waste any time in flipping the light switch at the door.

No sooner had the caterpillar settled down or the light been turned on when they could hear hurried footsteps coming their way. Stepping back from the door he took a glance at the bed, but Wormmon had already hidden himself.

Looking quite worried Ken's mother opened the door to his room.

"Mom," Ken said in surprise. He had known of course that he'd have to answer for his absence, but he wasn't prepared to see her so worried. Yet another thing I've done wrong, he thought dejectedly.

"Ken, where have you been," his mother asked, sounding equally concerned as she sounded relieved in seeing him.

"I had some things to do mom," he said. Not so sure if he came across even remotely convincing. He could remember a time when he could convince his parents of anything. Of course he was only seeing them as insects at the time, things he could put to a limited use before discarding them.

"It was some important school stuff, so I've been in the library all day. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I left," his eyes were downcast, he hated to lie like this but there was just no other choice. Telling his mother where he had really been was out of the question. And if she knew how close to dying he had come, and how he still felt he kind of deserved it, she would be devastated. His parents had already suffered enough because of him, he could at least spare them that much.

"Oh, it's alright," she said, but she did look him over with a slightly disapproving look. It was then that he realized just how dirty he had gotten.

"I slipped on the way home, the street was a bit muddy and slippery and I wasn't paying attention," he said, the lie sounding so pathetically weak to him, but once again his mother just nodded, seemingly more at ease.

"You're not hurt are you?"

"No, just dirty," Ken answered, "I'll get changed and take a shower I think."

"I'll have dinner ready when you finish."

"Thanks mom, I'm starving," he said, watching his mother smile and leave the room. It took a while for him to stop staring at the door. His mother seemed to believe him, at least enough not to ask difficult questions, for which he was grateful. He shook his head; hopefully a shower would help in clearing his mind. The last thing he needed was more worries.

"Ken?" Wormmon's silent voice came from the bed.

"Yes, Wormmon?"

"If you're going to take a shower, could I have one as well?" the caterpillar asked. He could still feel the fake wolf's saliva on him, even though it had been gone for hours. Just the thought made him feel dirty.

"Of course."

When the door to her son's room opened again some time later Mrs. Ichijouji looked over to see her son with a large bundle in his arms. He smiled at her before going to the bathroom and she smiled back till he was gone again. It felt so good to have him back after he had disappeared from their lives; it had been like when they lost his brother Osamu all over again.

Worse even, it had been their fault he'd ran away, she was sure of it. The pressure they had put on him to be just like his brother had been too much, but she hadn't seen it, not until it was too late. For a while it had seemed as if Osamu had returned as Ken became more and more like him. It was wrong, and she should have put a stop to it then, but she hadn't. None of them had.

Twice now he had disappeared after he had come back to them, the first time he had healed from his apparent memory loss. Both times now he had left without a trace from his room and came back the same way.

Ken used to be such a gentle boy and she was glad he was like his former self again. She knew he didn't want her to worry, but she couldn't help but do so, that's just what it meant to be a mother. Also, she knew he wasn't telling her everything, but she feared he would just disappear again if she pressed him on it.

"Never change again Ken," she whispered before going back to preparing dinner.

Lying in his bed later that night Ken though of all that had transpired during the day, from being taunted into a rash action, almost being killed by a transformed spire and the futile search of the perpetrator afterwards. It was almost too much to be true, but it had all happened and that really worried him. And as always when he worried he started thinking too much.

"Ken?" Wormmon asked, seeing the pensive look he had come to know appear on his partner's face.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about things Wormmon," Ken answered. His partner said nothing, simply waiting for him to continue as he knew he would.

"It's just that woman. I can't get her out of my mind. She's going to be a lot trouble," Ken started; feeling encouraged to vent his thoughts by his partner's silent support.

"For some reason she is able to transform my…the Dark Towers, into fake digimon. And that shouldn't be possible. I didn't create them for that."

He sighed, his memory loss came at a really bad time. For the life of him he couldn't remember all that he should know about the black spires, other than that they suppressed evolution somehow.

"I don't remember Wormmon," he admitted, feeling dejected, "and that could be fatal to the Digital World. Again, and it's all because of me and my mistakes."

"No Ken, this isn't your fault," his partner objected immediately.

"But it is," Ken almost shouted, "I made those horrible things and now they are again used against Digiworld. Why did I make them, why couldn't I have made something useful, something good?"

"Oh Ken," Wormmon's said, his voice sounding extremely sad, "It's all my fault this happened."

"No," he said quickly, shocked to hear such a thing, "don't ever think that. I decided to be the Kaiser, I decided to conquer a world and build those towers. This situation is my responsibility, not yours."

"It's still my fault," Wormmon said softly, thinking back to the time before Ken changed, when he had failed to protect him.

Ken chose to ignore his partner for now, not really interested in a blaming match right now, it wouldn't change the way either of them felt anyway.

"What I still don't understand is, even if the towers could be changed into digimon, as they evidently can, how does she do it? And why, since I made them, didn't I use them for that."

"She seemed to use her hair," Wormmon suggested.

"Exactly, but how can hair do that? It doesn't make any sense at all, we're missing a big piece of this puzzle, one that might just be somewhere in my hidden memories."

"You'll figure it out Ken," Wormmon said.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I do know we have to stop her. If she changes all the towers she may very well be unstoppable."

"So, what do we do? Should we tell the other Chosen?" Wormmon asked.

"No, this is our mess, our responsibility," Ken said firmly. At first he had wanted to say it was his responsibility, but his partner wouldn't like that one bit, "We'll stop her ourselves, or in the very least take down the towers. That's something I had been meaning to do anyway, only now it's even more important to do it, and do it fast."

"When do we start?" Wormmon asked, already fairly certain of what the answer would be.

"Tomorrow."

Placing the pen down in silence Ken gave the letter one more look before leaning back in his chair.

"This will do nicely," he said, feeling a trace of the smugness he had when he was still the Kaiser. He had thought about this all night in between periods of sleep, which all things considered wasn't as much as it could have been. This night there had been no unwelcome guests, but the thought that someone could come and go as she pleases was quite unsettling. Still, he had managed to catch at least a few hours of sleep.

"What have you made Ken?" Wormmon asked, eating some of Ken's leftover breakfast. Right now they were all alone, his father having gone to work and his mother grocery shopping. This was the moment he had waited for.

"It's a note to my mom saying I'll be spending the day at the library again. That should keep her from worrying, hopefully."

"Good idea Ken," Wormmon said, gulping down the last few bits of his food.

"I'm going to put this on the table in the living room for her to find and then we're going hunting."

"Spiking Strike," Ken looked up from the rock he was sitting on. Stingmon was making excellent time destroying the Dark Towers, but there was still no sign of the woman they were searching for. Unlike the day before all they found were normal spires, dormant and easy to take out. This area seemed to have them in abundance, so he could just sit down and watch his partner take care of all the work around him.

"Maybe I should have brought a book," he murmured, but he really just enjoyed the peace and quiet till another of his creations went down with a bang and a cloud of dust. There were no other digimon around the area at the moment, something he was grateful for. The accusing stares and words he had gotten when looking for Wormmon in the Village of Beginnings were still fresh in his minds, like scars that didn't want to heal. They had a right to be angry with him, even hate him, after what he had put them through. It would be a long time, if ever, before he could be forgiven. He sighed; chances were that would sooner happen than that he would forgive himself.

I have to make things right, he thought, and stopping that woman and destroying the towers might just be the first step to redeem myself.

On some faint level he had to admit to himself that he owed the woman some thanks, if it wasn't for her coming into his room he would most likely never have come back to the Digital World so soon. And he knew now that would have been a fatal mistake, he had to face up for what he had done and not shy from it or pretend it never happened. Still, he was glad there was no one around right then to face up to; he wasn't quite ready for that just yet.

"Spiking Strike!" Ken was shaken from his reverie as the last of the towers in sight fell to the ground.

"We're done here," Stingmon said as he touched down near his partner.

"Let's find another area, who knows, maybe we'll get lucky," Ken said, waiting for his partner to devolve. Then, with Wormmon held in his arms he walked away, leaving some of the ruins of his past behind.

For a long time he just walked, his digimon snuggling comfortably in his arms. Tall, slender dark forms had been passing them by for a while, just waiting to be destroyed. They'd have to wait a tad longer as far as the former nemesis of the Digital World was concerned. Destroying them didn't bring them any closer to their real objective of finding the white-haired woman. However, walking like that didn't seem to help either.

Maybe I should let Stingmon take care of these obelisks after all, at least then we would be doing something productive, he thought to himself.

"Ken," Wormmon said suddenly, an unmistakable note of worry in his soft voice. Looking up Ken could see what had startled is partner, there was someone coming towards them. Someone tall and slender, someone they knew, a woman with a very confident stride.

Ken frowned but he continued walking despite of who it was that was coming at them.

"Wormmon, evolve to Stingmon!" His partner said, evolving out of his arms and into the air above him.

"Hello again, young Kaiser," the woman greeted them in that smug tone of voice she always used, completely unconcerned with the glaring she got from Stingmon.

"You shouldn't be so smug," Ken said, irritated by being called Kaiser again. That name, that title, was nothing but a source of anger for him now.

"There is nowhere for you to go, you won't escape Stingmon this time. Tell me what you're up to!"

"I don't feel like talking to you now boy, not in your current pathetic state. And as for your overgrown larvae, he won't attack me."

"What makes you say that?" Ken asked, his eyes shifting about, looking for some kind of ambush or anything else she could use to her advantage. But then a loud sound, kind of like an explosion, rang in their ears. The woman just smirked, as if she had planned for that to happen just then and Ken had no doubt that she was involved in it. If he had to guess, he figured it was another of her fakes on the loose.

"Now, you can stand here and take me in while a little associate of mine wreaks havoc over there, or, you can rush off to play the hero. I'm sure your Chosen buddies will be glad for the help," She said with her infuriating voice.

"They can take care of themselves," Ken said, but there were doubts nagging in his mind. The woman seemed to know what those doubts were and pressed on.

"My digimon fights to the death. Can you say the same for them? They don't know what you know; they think him to be alive and so won't be able to kill him. That's what makes you all weak," she said, continuing her walk right past them. Ken knew she was right, the Chosen would try to contain the attacking digimon, try to reason with it, but there just wasn't anything to reason with.

"They'll know," he said over his shoulder at the retreating woman.

"How? They didn't see me making him and you won't tell them. Unless," she deliberated slowly, still moving away from them in a relaxed manner, "you changed your mind about being ready to face them?"

"Stingmon, let's go," he said angrily, ignoring the woman's malicious and triumphant laughter.

"Next time, I'll stop you for certain," he gritted out.

"Again, how? Are you going to kill me? I'm no Dark Tower, Kaiser."

Sitting on his partner's crossed arms the two of them flew towards the origin of the explosion. The woman would just have to wait for another time; as much as he hated having to let her go he knew that this time it couldn't be helped. If one of those kids got hurt, or even died, because he failed to warn them he would never be able to live with himself.

"We have to hurry Stingmon," Ken said, his voice barely reaching his partner over the wind that blasted them as they flew to the other Chosen at high speed. Soon the land dropped down into a valley and a quaint, quiet town. Or it would have been quiet if it weren't for the large dinosaur stomping around. Ken recognized the shape of an Ankylosaurus in the large digimon. He gestured for his partner to let him down on top of a building close to the fighting and just observed the on going altercation.

The dinosaur was struggling against a small ball that was just streaking around, too fast for his lumbering from. When he looked more carefully Ken saw that the beast was trying to protect something in his hand, the youngest member of his former foes, Iori.

Ankylomon gently put the boy on the ground, and then turned to look for the attacking digimon. Ken felt conflicted, if only they knew it wasn't a real digimon. Though, on the other hand, perhaps it was better that they didn't know if was really one of his towers, they might just suspect him being up to his old tricks again. Especially if they caught him watching now.

"Stingmon, they need help, don't hold back," Ken said, moving behind a small tower on the top of the roof. He didn't want the other Chosen on the ground to notice him just yet. Then another blast sounded, followed by Iori's outcry as the boy was flung into the air.

Stingmon was already gone, rushing over to the fight and right in time to catch Iori from falling to his death. With a grace that he was never able to manage in his child form he flew a short circle before giving his passenger back to Ankylomon.

Ken couldn't help but smile, his partner was showing off to the children on the ground and he could see they were visibly impressed. They should be, he reasoned, his partner certainly deserved it. Questions about the unknown wasp digimon were audible from below, but neither he nor Stingmon paid it any mind. Ken just looked at his friend; Wormmon's adult form was so different from his cute child stage, subtle, graceful and powerful.

He wondered how things would have gone if he had Stingmon back when he was the Kaiser. Would he have won then, would he have forgone making Chimeramon, the instrument of his downfall? Or, he thought wryly, or would Wormmon have kicked his ass for being so incredibly stupid?

"Spiking Strike," the attack name disrupted his thoughts in time to see a purple spike of energy destroy the small impostor. It was over, another threat to this world he wanted to protect was gone. With a frown he stepped out from behind his hiding place, motioning for Stingmon to return to him. He would let the Chosen see who had helped them. Fighting the woman and the Towers would be something they did alone, but he wouldn't do it while hiding like a coward.

A light formed around Stingmon before he returned to being Wormmon, landing safely in his partner's arms. Ken gave the shocked Chosen one more look before jumping off the building to run away. As he had guessed they were too surprised to follow him. All the better, he just couldn't deal with them yet, not until he had made everything right again.

The woman had been correct about that, about him, which made him wonder just how much she actually knew. And how she'd come to that knowledge. Maybe the answer to that was hidden in the blanks in his memory as well, so close and yet so far away.

Sunset in the Digital World was beautiful, Ken thought. When he was still the Kaiser he had never noticed that, or the many other splendours of the Digital World for that matter. It was such a pretty shade of red, the orb of the sun shimmering on the horizon. The light turned the air slightly purple, which had a profound calming effect on him. If only he had noticed it during the time he needed calming the most.

"Hey, Wormmon, are you alright?" He asked, walking down the same way the mysterious woman had before they had to rush off. At dusk the stones around them had a reddish tint, livening them up somewhat. It was a scene unlike any he had witnessed on Earth, but maybe he had either never taken the time to find it or he couldn't remember that he had. There were blanks in his memory, holes that worried him. The most pressing of the memories he wanted were the ones filled with the knowledge he had as the Kaiser, memories of a time when he had understood so much yet misjudged the most simple of truths. Now that knowledge was gone, but the fruits of his evil work still threatened the world around him, when it really shouldn't. Without him, without a sufficient power source, the Dark Towers were nothing more than excess data, an eye-sore with no real purpose at all. But they weren't useless; they still posed a threat, a bigger threat than they had been before.

"I'm fine Ken," Wormmon answered, "though I'm sorry we didn't catch her."

"Don't worry about it," Ken said lightly, "there's always next time."

"Yes, next time I won't fail," the worm said with fervour. For Ken's sake he would never fail him again. Ken just held his partner closer to his body, keeping him safe in his embrace as they walked off into the sunset.

Author's Notes:

An old story, at least for me, that I wrote all the way back in 2002 and only now found the time to rewrite it. Back then I was about to introduce Ken in another story of mine and I wanted to get a feel for his character. Never got around to doing anything with this though, which was just as well, it really needed some polishing.

Just for reference, though it probably isn't necessary anymore at this point, "Redemption" takes place after episode 23("When the Digivice is Seeped with Darkness" or "Genesis of Evil") and during episode 24("Armoured Ankylomon of the Earth" or "If I Had a Tail Hammer"), showing Ken's side of things while the others fix a town.