Not much to say before this chapter, other than please review this and Adventures of the Tainted. I need the questions answered before I finish planning chapter 2 out.

Oh, yea, most of this chapter is just Kaiser, with no Ken involved (you know what happened to him last chapter). Before I referred to Ken/Kaiser as either or interchangeably, so there would be some variety, so I might refer to him as Ken or Kaiser now, just so there is still some variety. Spelling out 'the Kaiser' repeatedly gets kind of old. I don't know; we'll see when I write it!

Shattered

Chapter Seven: Split Personality

The digidestined were all thrown into a cell together. The digimon had been locked away somewhere, under the spell of the dark rings and spirals. There had been no need to chain the teens up at all, seeing as they were all badly injured.

Matt had been thrown mercilessly into a tree, which had cracked his ribs. His left wrist was broken and he could not move without an extreme amount of pain following. He tried, however, to look after his brother.

The cuts in Tk's shoulders from being handled by Parrotmon were deep and turning an ugly greenish color. They were nothing in comparison to his stomach, though. The wounds were bleeding profusely. Chunks of skin were torn out in random places all along his abdomen and chest, his shirt was nearly black from being soaked in blood. Breathing was a chore, and his life blood was spilling over onto the cold stone floor. The wounds were not clotting, and dirt and grime infected them.

Tai was lying on his stomach, his head resting on his arms. His back had been torn open from being dragged across the jagged ground. His ankles were so raw from the Gisamon that he could not support his own weight. He lay there, staring blankly, there but not there at the same time. He was too preoccupied feeling guilty to notice anyone around him. He had failed Agumon, his friends; he had failed Kari, who could be a floor above him for all he knew.

Sora and Yolie had both fallen from a height of twenty feet. Sora's spine was misaligned, which, if it didn't kill her, would cripple her for life. Yolie's arm was twisted backwards, made worse by being thrown into the cell. Her legs were both broken, too. Neither girl had moved since the fall, they scarcely looked alive they were so eerily still. They had been moved so that Sora was on her stomach and Yolie was on her back.

Davis had taken quite a hit from Weremon's attack. The 'Howling Despair' had ripped the skin off his right arm, exposing muscle and bone. Also, the bone in his right arm had been snapped and was sticking out of the tissue and muscle. His side was in a similar condition, having tiny holes that pierced through it.

Izzy's hip bone had been pushed out of place from the tree falling on him. The pressure had put a hole in his lung so he spent his time focusing on breathing. It was painful, but it was better than focusing on hoping that his lung wasn't filling up with blood or that any internal bleeding was occurring.

Cody's throat had been slashed by the tree, tearing at his vocal chords. He was mute and unsure whether or not he'd ever be able to speak again. The cut had missed all major arteries in his neck and had successfully clotted. Unless he coughed, the bleeding had stopped. His legs were also crushed by the tree. He had been set up against the wall, but he had somehow slide flat on the ground.

Luckily for them, Joe was the least injured of the group. His left forearm had been shattered when a Gisamon had jumped on it. He had been trying his best to help everyone, but he lacked the supplies and training to handle the severe cases presented to him. He knew that it was likely that Tk, Sora, Yolie, and Izzy were going to die. Cody would probably never speak again, and Tai would never play soccer again. Davis and Matt had injuries that, if treated properly, could turn out for the better. His entire arm was numb, making him wonder if he'd ever be able to use it again.

All the digidestined had additional cuts and bruises, and, as Tai figured, they were all going to die down in the dungeon anyway. There was no hope nor courage nor reliability from which the digidestined could draw strength from. The situation was hopeless, they were afraid, and they could not count on one another for help.

"Hey Izzy, would you mind calculating the probability of Mimi coming and saving the day?" Davis joked.

"I would, but the situation is depressing enough…" he said before coughing painfully.

The cell door suddenly flung open, and the Kaiser walked in. In his arms was Demiveemon, who had dedigivolved as Davis' condition deteriorated. "This makes you wonder what in the world you were thinking trying to challenge me, doesn't it? I let you all go not a few days ago, and here you come, waltzing back into my Digital World, trying to be the heroes. Tell me, do any of you feel like heroes?"

Cody stuck his middle finger up at Ken. "You need to help them, Ken." Joe pleaded. "They're going to die if they don't get to a hospital soon. Really soon."

The Kaiser just sneered. "What makes you think I care? You all are going to die down here. It's just how and how fast that needs to be decided." The Kaiser looked down at Demiveemon. The small blue digimon jumped down from his arms and threw himself at Davis. The Kaiser turned and walked away as Davis used his foot to try and keep Demiveemon at bay.

(0)

The Kaiser had entered the control room. Half of the digidestined are near death already. I'll have no fun whatsoever if they all just up and die on me. Oh well, I'll see what I can do. So long as Kari doesn't find out…

Instinctively, the Kaiser waited for Ken's rebuttal or protest. Remembering that Ken was stuck in the shadows of his mind gave the Kaiser great satisfaction. He praised his genius for successfully evading Ken's suspicions while he worked on a way to stop the host body. Letting Ken believe that he was in control by sinking into the back of Ken's mind, like when he Ken wanted to talk to Kari alone, gave the Kaiser the opportunity to plan out what he would do. Mostly when Ken was sleeping, the Kaiser had gone back into Ken's mind, carving a hole out that, when finished, would easily keep him at bay. Using Ken's guilt as the barrier would ensure that Ken could not free himself. Ken had avoided those feelings for years; he didn't know how to face them to obtain freedom.

Kari walked into the control room, interrupting the Kaiser's self praise. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her. What? I don't feel this way; Ken was the one who cares about her. I shouldn't have these feelings now that Ken is out of the way. I can't care about her, the light. The Kaiser was baffled. He had expected that Ken's feelings would be suppressed along with Ken. Unless they weren't Ken's feelings after all. The Kaiser knew that his desire for Kari was based on his need to conquer her. But now, the feelings had been warped; he wanted her beside him, still submissive and defeated, but with him nonetheless.

"What have you done to Ken?" She asked abruptly, folding her arms over her chest. She had felt the drastic contrast between light and dark in Ken's entity, and it unnerved her. It felt like the light had been extinguished and only ashes remained.

A sinister smile spread across his face. "Sit down," he ordered, directing Kari into a chair. He stood behind her and began massaging her shoulders. "It's just going to be you and me for awhile. Ken's on a sort of timeout, you could say."

Kari shook her head. "Don't be so confident that you've beaten him. If you underestimate him then you'll be sorry."

"Why do you give him more credit than he deserves? Ken is weak and easily manipulated. I have no need for him anymore."

"You wouldn't be here if it weren't for him."

"True, but he's gotten in my way too many times. When I wanted him to come to the Digital World, he resisted until I could convince him that his destiny was here. He's kept me from making a full out attack on the digimon and taking them all down in one grand swoop. He wasn't going to let me have what I want now. Do you know what that is?" The Kaiser leaned in closer to Kari, whispering in her ear. "I want you, Kari."

Kari shook his hands of her shoulders and stood up. She walked away from him, only turning when she was near the door. "You don't scare me," she said.

"That's good; a Kaiserin shouldn't be afraid of anything." The Kaiser watched with a satisfied smile when she walked away from him. Alright, if she's what I want and not just what Ken wants, then she's going to be mine. I'm going to have to put her in her place, punish her so she knows better than to disobey me. I'll have to dispose of those digital morons first, though. The Kaiser headed down to his lab, where a white feline digimon and an orange bat-pig were being held. He had some experiments to perform, testing the effects of his dark D3 on holy digimon.

(0)

Kari walked at a quick pace to get away from the Kaiser. When she thought she was far enough away, she collapsed against the wall, holding her head in her hands. The Kaiser didn't scare Kari, he terrified her.

She refused to believe that the Kaiser had beaten Ken. Ken was a real person, not a collection of dark energy that manifested itself into its own personality. She was going to have to find a way to help Ken overpower the Kaiser, the only question was how? Kari realized that Ken was pretty much on his own for this one; he would have to find a way to regain control. She didn't even know for sure what had happened to him.

A strange feeling washed over Kari's person, making her shiver uncontrollably. She stood up and started walking, following where the feeling was leading her. She ended up heading straight down to the dungeons. She heard a voice in the distance. "Demi, knock it off! Get a grip…OWW!"

Was that Davis? Kari ran down the hallway past all the empty cells, and nearly ran past the one that was filled with nine people and only digimon. Kari gasped, watching as Demiveemon viciously bit down on Davis' sneaker, after Davis stuck his foot out to prevent the little guy from ripping his stomach open.

"Oh god…" she whispered. The digidestined who were awake looked up at her, surprised expressions painting their faces. She pulled the door open and ran to where Demiveemon was. She picked him up, saving Davis from his friend. Stepping back towards the door, she called to the guard.

A Mushroommon walked over. Kari handled the now docile Demiveemon to him. "Please, go and find Wormmon." The Mushroommon bowed his head and went to find the green digimon.

"How, when, how did you get here?"

"We've been here a few hours. I guess this is what happens when you fail at a rescue attempt." Davis said, trying to make the mood lighter.

Kari looked around, shocked. She saw Tk lying in the corner, the ground around him stained red. "Tk!" She ran over to him, sitting on the ground beside him.

Tk opened his eyes. "Kari?" he whispered weakly.

Kari held his hand, entwining her fingers around his. "Tk," she sobbed, "oh god, Tk…" Kari looked around. Yolie, Sora, Izzy, and Cody were all out. Joe had torn his shirt and was trying to wrap Tai's ankles. Matt had passed out beside his brother. Davis was staring at her, the light missing from his eyes. Her thoughts went to Ken, wondering if he was in a similar condition somehow. She scolded herself for thinking of him at this time, when her friends were in such a condition.

Wormmon ran into the cell as fact as his little legs would allow. He looked around confused. "Ken couldn't have done this…" he told himself.

"Yeah, could have and he did!" Davis replied.

"No he didn't!"

"Wormmon, the Kaiser did do this" Kari spoke up, emphasizing the word 'Kaiser'. Wormmon's face fell. If the Kaiser had been able to get away with this, then Ken must be in some serious trouble. It did explain why he hadn't wanted Kari to know they were here; he probably wanted to torture them and, in doing so, torture Kari. "Wormmon? Do you think you could help them at all?"

Wormmon shook his head. "The best I could do is wrapping the wounds. My Sticky Thread won't do anything for broken bones or internal bleeding. The best it could do would be to help with the small cuts and bruises." Wormmon looked away, unable to watch as tears filled Kari's eyes.

Kari stood up and walked over to her brother. "Tai," she whispered, "what were you thinking coming here?"

Tai said nothing. He looked away from his crying sister, unable to face the reminder that he had failed. His head was turned by a glowing hand. Tai gasped; Kari's body was surrounded by a pink glow that was so bright it nearly blinded him. The light surrounded all the digidestined as it filled the room.

Tai's ankles burned as the skin regenerated itself at an unnatural pace. The cuts on his back closed up, as well. He looked up at his sister but was unable to make out her features very well with the pink light that she generated around her.

Joe jumped back from Tai, confused by the light. It struck his arm, absorbing under his skin. First his arm tingled, then it hurt, then he could move it at his will.

Sora's spine cracked loudly as it moved back into place. The painful sensation awoke her. She sat up, confused. She wasn't sure how she could move after the fall. Beside her, Yolie stirred as the light pierced through her broken arm and legs. Her arm untwisted and her legs went back to their rightful positions.

The hole in Izzy's lung closed up, letting the boy take in a long, healthy breath. His hip was forced back inward, causing the young genius to fall sideways onto Cody. Surprised, Cody let out a soft scream, as his vocal chords were repaired by the light. The slash across his throat became smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely. His legs also healed much as Yolie's had.

The cracks in Matt's ribs were welded back together, creating an uncomfortable sensation that woke him up. He sat up, leaning on his hand for support, forgetting that his wrist was broken. The light wrapped around it, set it back in place, and pulled the bone back together.

Davis' bone sank back into his arm before skin covered it. The gaps of flesh were filled in on his side. Unfortunately, however, his shoe was still in a pitiful condition from Demiveemon's biting.

Tk's wounded shoulders and stomach healed. It burned, though, like new flesh was being poured on while it was on at a fiery temperature. Tk sat up, feeling his chest to see that there were no holes or missing flesh. He pulled off the tattered remains of his blood red shirt.

Kari collapsed to the floor, barely being caught by her brother. She gave him a small smile before closing her eyes and falling asleep from exhaustion. Wormmon ran over and checked out that everything was alright.

A moment later, Kari opened her eyes. She looked ready to pass-out again, but insisted that she was alright. "Wormmon, you know how to remove the dark rings, don't you?" Wormmon nodded uncertainly. Kari gestured towards Demiveemon who was in a very confused Mushroommon's arms.

Wormmon hobbled over and climbed onto Mushroommon's arm. He disconnected the ring with his claw. "Hmmm? Why does my mouth taste like shoe?" the newly freed Demiveemon asked. "Davish!" Demiveemon hopped down and ran to his partner.

"It's good to have you back."

Demiveemon digivolved into Veemon at his friend's feet. "Are the others still captured?"

Davis nodded sullenly, catching Kari's attention. "All of our digimon are here?" she asked in disbelief. She stood up quickly and headed for the cell door.

"Where are you going?" asked Tk, standing up himself.

"I'm going to set the digimon free, and then I'm going to get you guys out of here."

Tk was confused by the strange choice of words Kari had used. She had said 'I'm going to get you guys out of here' instead of 'I'm going to get us out of here.' He decided that he was just over thinking and followed Kari out of the cell.

The digidestined snuck through the corridors of the dungeons. Kari stopped abruptly, signaling to them to be quiet. Around the corner, the Kaiser was throwing Patamon and Gatomon into the cell where the destined digimon were being held. "What a waste," he mumbled before walking away.

Wormmon crawled around the corner and opened the cell when the coast was clear. The digidestined agilely came around the corner and hurried into the cell. Wormmon quickly removed all of the rings and spirals. Because of the state their partners had been in, all the digimon, except Gatomon, and Patamon because the Kaiser had unsuccessfully tried to make him digivolve into Darkangemon, had dedigivolved. Being reunited, the digimon returned to their rookie levels.

Wormmon's eyes flashed with a glint of jealousy as Kari and Gatomon were reunited. The white feline was crying shamelessly, unable to stop the tears even if she had wanted to. Kari rocked Gatomon in her arms affectionately. "I thought I'd really lost you," the kitten sobbed into her partner's shoulder.

"What happened to you?" inquired Hawkmon. "We all went down to our in-training forms, and I felt like my connection to you was weakening."

Yolie stroked Hawkmon's feathers. "If it weren't for Kari, we'd probably be dead."

"So I was right, you all were hurt, badly, I can only assume."

"What did Ken do to you?" Tk asked Patamon.

"He tried to make Gatomon and me digivolve into dark angels. He couldn't do it though. He was pretty pissed about it, even for him." Patamon flew to the top of Tk's head and rested himself there.

"We'd better get going," Kari said in a hushed voice. "Wormmon, I need you to make sure that the Kaiser doesn't go to the control room until everyone's out of here."

Wormmon gave her a reassuring smile and led the group down to the control room. "I'll keep him away," Wormmon called as he ran off.

"Does anyone have their digivices?" Kari asked, suddenly aware that she had no way to open the gate.

The digidestined patted their pockets. "Wait!" Yolie shouted, taking off her shoe. "Don't ask," she told the staring members of the party. Yolie held her D3 up to the main computer. "Digiport Open!"

"Hurry," Kari said, stepping aside.

"Right after you," Tk said.

"I'm, I mean, I can't go with you…"

"WHAT! What do you mean, of course you can; I'm not leaving without you!"

"Please, trust me. I can't go with you."

Tai grabbed his sister's arm. "I'm not leaving you behind with that psychopath! Let's go!"

The computer screen went black. The Kaiser stood by them, the plug in his hand. "Where do you think you're going?"

Tai lunged at the Kaiser. "I'm going to kill you, Ken!" Ken easily threw Tai off of him. Several Gisamon entered the control room, one holding Wormmon in his jaws. Weremon followed close behind them. "You want to hide behind digimon, fine then! You ready guys?"

The team nodded in unison.

"Agumon digivolve to… Greymon"

"Patamon armor digivolve to… Pegasusmon, Flying Hope"

"Veemon armor digivolve to… Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage"

"Hawkmon armor digivolve to…Halsemon, the Wings of Love"

"Armadillomon armor digivolve to…Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge"

"Gabumon digivolve to… Garurumon"

"Biyomon digivolve to…Birdramon"

"Tentomon digivolve to…Kabuterimon"

"Gomamon digivolve to…Ikakumon"

The limited space greatly hindered the usefulness of the larger digimon. Weremon quickly took out Greymon, Garurumon, Birdramon, Digmon, and Kabuterimon. The Gisamon were well on their way to overpowering Pegasusmon, Halsemon, Gatomon, and Flamedramon.

Tai went at the Kaiser once more. The two teens were locked in a violent fist fight. The Kaiser was the obvious stronger of the two, and Tai was beginning to tire out. Weremon attacked with a Blasting Spiral, which was in the path of both boys. Tai and the Kaiser turned their heads as the attacked neared them.

Kari jumped in and pushed her brother and the Kaiser out of the way. The attack went on until it hit a wall. Tai looked back at where he had been standing; Kari was lying there, motionless. Tai ran to his sister's side. "Kari! Wake up! Oh God, please, no. Please be okay." Blood soaked Tai's knees as it began covering the floor.

The Kaiser grabbed Tai and pulled him away. "If she dies, you die," he hissed, throwing Tai backwards. This wasn't supposed to happen! Ugh! I can't let her die!

The same light that had radiated from Kari back in the dungeons now enshrouded her again. The light went through the Kaiser, reaching to where Ken was. Ken felt the light enter his being, giving him new strength. The events that he had missed played out before him. Kari needs my help! Ken, with the help of the light, pushed back the barrier that had kept him prisoner.

The Kaiser fell to his knees as the light died down. Kari could be seen once more, no longer veiled by her attribute. No longer was she injured, having been able to heal herself like she had the others. The Kaiser grabbed the sides of his heads and howled in pain. No, Ken can't beat me now! I'm too close!

A black light darkened the room, with the Kaiser as its source. When it was gone, Ken was on his hands and knees, breathing heavily. Beside him stood…the Kaiser?

"What the hell…?" Tai whispered to Matt. Matt had no answer as he was just as confused.

The Kaiser burst into a fit of laughs. "You actually thought you could get rid of me? You're a bigger idiot then I had thought, you gave me my own body!" The Kaiser grabbed Ken by his shirt collar and pulled him upright. "Too little, too late," he spat.

"I won't let you get away with this!" Ken shouted, trying to free himself from the Kaiser's grasp. The Kaiser threw Ken into the arms of an awaiting Gisamon.

Holding up Ken's D3, the Kaiser shouted: "Dedigivolve!" The digidestined digimon that had not already dedigivolved now returned to their rookie levels. The dark power weakened them all to the point where they passed out. The Gisamon all grabbed the digidestined while the Kaiser went to where Kari was lying down. He placed one hand under her back and the other below her knees. As he picked her up, he commanded the Gisamon. "Return them to the dungeons, where they belong."

"No! Kari!" Tai shouted as he was dragged out of the room. Ken watched in horror as the Kaiser exited through the other door. Oh God, Kari… He could only image what would happen to her now.

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Guess what? The next chapter is the final chapter! Yay, it's almost done. Yeah, I know the part where the digidestined were healed was weak, feel free to flame my lack of creativity. Question: do you want a teaser for the sequel at the end of the next chapter? Should there be a sequel?

Did you notice that this chapter was completely Japanese name switch free? I didn't put Hikari once (until now). I won't for the rest of the fic, if I remember. I didn't call the Kaiser Ken either, I thought I would have.

Kaiser's luver: don't cry because you're Italian! The review in Italian was exciting, but it's easier when in English because I don't have to venture on down to a translating site (I'm so uncultured!) Any review would be appreciated, though!

Once again…

I'm starting to plan out another story, after this one is done. Which would you prefer?

1) A Yakari that becomes a KenKari: Even though Ken has realized the error of his ways and the digidestined were able to join up to defeat the final enemy, the digidestined never accepted Ken. When Ken transfers to the gang's high school, they don't make things easy for him. Only Kari wants to give him a chance. Overprotective boyfriend (that would be Matt) and brother (Tai, obviously) step in and create problems. Some sort of dark power comes after Kari and…. Well it would end up Ken/Kari but I can't give everything away.

Current votes: 4

2) A KenKari that becomes a Yakari: Ken and Kari become close because they both share a connection to the darkness. Ken gets pulled back into the dark world and breaks up with Kari. Yada, yada, yada, Matt and Kari get together and Ken, controlled by the darkness, tries to kidnap Kari…Matt must save the day.

Current Votes: 3

Both of these summaries are pretty vague, but I don't want to give it all away. Please review this chapter and add in which idea you like better. Pretty please?

Adventures of the Tainted is not the story for either option one or two. It's an idea that I had that I can hopefully straighten out in my head and write up properly. It's an adventure story with all the 01&02 digidestined but focuses on Kari. Check it out!

!(-)! I need a few more reviews before chapter 2 goes up!

Also, check out my profile for info on my current and future fics!

Jillie062