Chapter 22: Darkness, Kindness and the Light of Hope

Darkness.

That's all he saw.

After all, it was what he… no it was what the Digimon Kaiser was, right? No, that wasn't right either. He and the Kaiser were one and the same, weren't they? Darkness was him, and he was the Darkness. The Kaiser's actions were his. It would be foolish to blame the Kaiser.

They were his actions too.

Mrs Ichijouji stared at Ken's at sleeping form for a moment before leaving the room and closing the door. Mr Ichujouji looked at her with sorrow.

Mr Ichijouji: "How is he?"

Mrs Ichijouji: "No good, he isn't waking up… but I'm sure he'll wake up someday."

Ken was on his bed, currently resting as he had been since the day he returned.

"Where do I belong..? I… don't know the answer to that… but I want to… I will find my heart and where I belong…"

"I wasn't a genius… No… that was Onii-san… He could do everything… I really looked up to him…"

"He really was the genius… 'Osamu is such a smart boy', 'I wish my son was more like Osamu!'… That's right… Onii-chan was all that mattered… I've always just been the addition… Mama always favoured Onii-chan more… she always liked hearing those compliments… It doesn't matter if I'm here or not…"

"If only Onii-chan wasn't around… if only he… if only he… if only he just DISAPPEARED!"

"I got that wish… He's gone now… never to be seen again… And it's all my fault…"

A young Ken was walking with his brother. Ken was looking at his phone scrolling through messages.

"Hey, Ken. You should really watch where you're going, if you're on that phone all the time… something could happen to you…"

"That won't happen. I'm not that careless."

"Yeah, but… nevermind… just make sure you're careful."

Later, they reached a crossing, with Ken not realising their location, he just continued to walk. He didn't realise his surroundings. The next seconds were a blur. The only memories left… were the shout of his name… the pull on his arm… and the terrible sound of tyres screeching…

"Onii-chan..? Onii-Chan!"

"That was it… Onii-san… was gone forever… Was it because I wished for him to disappear..? Was it because I didn't listen to him for one time..? Or maybe both..? I… I don't know anymore…"

"Some days after Onii-san's… funeral… I received an email… on his computer… for me… Why would an email be for me… if it was from his computer..? 'Your brother passing away was an unfortunate accident. It must be tragic for you, but don't worry. Your brother has gone to a better place. There is no need to feel guilty. Your brother has simply been… released in a sense. He has gained his eternal freedom, yet you still have to keep living a boring everyday life. Take the Digivice in the drawer. Take what is truly your's to begin with. Take the Digivice, and experience a taste of eternal freedom.' I didn't understand the words, yet I followed them… why..?"

A young Ken appeared in a desolate landscape, on the beach. Oddly, he felt drawn towards the water. He eventually went into the water, such that it reached his ankles. He fell to his knees and let the water swirl around the Digivice in his right hand. The white, pure Digivice, began to change. It changed shape and looked like a D3, except it was a pure, dull black.

"That's right… this Digivice is mine… mine alone… not anyone else's… not even your's, Onii-chan…"

"When did I get that Digivice..? It was…"

Mr and Mrs Ichijouji stood by Ken's bed and watched over him.

Mrs Ichijouji: "After Osamu… Ken started to become a lot better at everything. He reached the same feats as Osamu. It was so sudden…"

Mr Ichijouji: "Yeah, we were so happy…"

Mrs Ichijouji: "It was like Osamu had come back to us… but… what was Ken feeling..? Shouldn't we have thought more about how Ken felt..?"

Mr Ichijouji: "Ken… he has many good traits… most of which are his alone… We are such failures as parents… We never did acknowledge Ken and his accomplishments, did we? We became so focused on Osamu's stellar performance."

Mrs Ichijouji: "It's… not just Ken… Did Osamu really like studying? I don't think he hated it but… could it be that he wanted to relax more? Was he maybe… forcing himself to make us happy..? Did we… Did we limit our Osamu's happiness so we could have more..?"

Mr Ichijouji: "We… have really failed as parents… Ken… please wake up soon… Give us a chance to apologise to you."

"Where do I belong..? I don't know… I couldn't do anything better than my brother… could I..? No he… he told me…

"Ken, don't change yourself. Continue to be the Kind kid that you are. It's something I admire about you."

"There's something you admire about me, Onii-chan?"

"Yeah, because no matter what, you will always be kinder and purer than me. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"That's right… he… Onii-san… he looked up to me in at least one regard… right..?"

Ken awoke and saw two adults in his room.

Mr Ichijouji: "Ken!"

Mrs Ichijouji: "You're awake!"

Ken: "Who… Who are you..? Who… am I..?"

Mrs Ichijouji: "You don't… you don't know who we are..?"

Mr Ichijouji: "He has… amnesia..?"

Mrs Ichijouji: "It's alright, don't push yourself, Ken. We're just happy you're safe."

Mr Ichijouji: "Ken, we may have forced you to be like Osamu without realising. We're sorry. Please… be yourself, Ken."

"I don't… I don't understand…"

The following day

Ken was staring out the window. Mrs Ichijouji entered the room and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Mrs Ichijouji: "Ken, lunch is ready."

Mrs Ichijouji left the room when Ken gave no response. Ken slowly turned around and walked to his desk, where he saw his Digivice. He gasped.

"The Digivice… When did I get it… I… I… I was with Onii-san..? We were in his room… it appeared before our eyes… But it belonged to Onii-san… Everything belonged to him…"

"He could do everything. He had everything… Onii-chan tried to make it work… but nothing happened… it was just… there…"

"Ken, wait here, and don't touch it. I'm going out to meet my friends."

"Onii-san put it inside his drawer… and left the room… but I felt… drawn to the Digivice… He left and I grabbed it… It shined brightly and before I knew it I was in a new world…"

"I found myself without anyone around me… there was an odd… green caterpillar? Worm? There was a green insect near me… it said… it said… 'Ken! I've been waiting for you for so long!' What was this… Where was I..?"

"Eventually, the insect showed me around. I don't know why… but I felt comfortable with this thing… it introduced itself as Wormmon… saying I was it's partner… Wormmon… that's right… I… travelled the world with Wormmon. He… gave me a sense of comfort…"

"I remember… seeing a large… beast..? And also a large… ball… it looked like the sun… Eveyrthing around was… burning… and yet… there were small… yellow lights floating up to the sky… and then… and then… there was a bright light… and I… felt a sharp pain… in my neck soon after… I recall… Wormmon… he was… different..? I was… flying in the air… the sharp winds… and then… a large blue area…"

"And then… I felt fine… and was in my room, with the Digivice clenched in my hands… Onii-san came in… and he… he… hit my hand..?"

"What do you think you are doing?! Don't touch my stuff! This Device isn't yours! It's mine, you got that!? Now leave, I need to study."

The young Ken had a shocked expression but hung his head low and left the room. Just before he left, Osamu spoke up.

"Ken. People who steal other people's things. Are the worst kind of people. Don't end up like that."

Ken nodded and left the room.

Ken stared at the Digivice on the desk.

Ken: "Wormmon…"

Mrs Ichijouji: "Ken, what drink would you like?"

Mrs Ichijouji opened the door and saw no one in the room.

Mrs Ichijouji: "Ken!? No… not again…"

He was gone.

A few minutes later

Takeru and Hikari knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, with Patamon being held by Takeru, and Tailmon on the ground acting like a pet cat. The door opened and they saw a man at the entrance. He stared at them for a few moments, before putting on a smile that both Takeru and Hikari knew was fake. It seemed very forced.

Mr Ichijouji: "You two must be friends of Ken?"

Takeru: "Something like that. Where is he right now?"

Mr Ichijouji: "I'm afraid… he's not home right now… I recommend you come back later."

Just then, Tailmon began to lightly scratch at Hikari's leg while growling. Hikari picked her up, inadvertently allowing Tailmon to glare at Mr Ichijouji.

Hikari: "Sorry Mr Ichijouji, but we cannot do that."

Takeru: "Yeah, we have something very very important to talk about with Ken."

Mr Ichijouji looked back to his wife who was sitting on the couch with a tissue in hand. She gave a look of defeat as she nodded her head. Mr Ichijouji sighed and opened the door and let the pair walk in.

Mr Ichijouji: "Come in…"

Hikari: "Thank you, Mr Ichijouji."

Takeru and Hikari stood in front of the table, as Mr and Mrs Ichijouji sat on the couch. Mr Ichijouji had his head in his hands while Mrs Ichijouji continued to sob into her tissue. Takeru and Hikari stood there quietly, waiting until the Ichijoujis spoke up.

Mr Ichijouji: "So, what do you need to meet my son for?"

Takeru: "We just came to meet him. We heard what happened on the news yesterday."

Hikari: "We just wanted to see if he is alright."

Mr Ichijouji: "That's a problem… see Ken is currently… sleeping in his room. I will have to ask you to leave."

Takeru and Hikari looked to each other and sighed, both having dark looks on their faces. They both looked up and had faces of determination.

Takeru: "He isn't here, is he?"

Hikari: "Take us to his room. We can get him back."

Mr Ichijouji: "How did you… how can I trust you two?"

Takeru: "We will get your son back. Trust us. Don't say any of this to the public, but we helped to get your son back the first time."

Hikari: "We won't go into any details. That is for Ken to tell you, not us. However, you can believe us when we say we can bring Ken back to you. You just need to trust us."

Mr and Mrs Ichijouji looked at each other for some time, until they both had defeated looks on their faces.

Mrs Ichijouji: "Please… just bring back our son. I can't bear it if we… if we…"

Takeru: "We will do our best to bring back your son. You have our word."

Hikari: "Just bring us to his room, and we will do our best to have him back within an hour or two."

Mr Ichijouji looked uneasy and defeated, yet he brought the two Digidestined to Ken's room where the computer was on.

Hikari: "Good thing this program is similar to Koushiro's… give me a few seconds to bring up the last location he went with this and then we can go, Keru."

Takeru: "Alright, I leave it to you Hika."

Mr Ichijouji: "Go? Go where? What are you talking about?"

Takeru: "We will be going to where Ken is, we will do our best to bring him back, Mr Ichijouji."

Mr and Mrs Ichijouji were worried yet felt some form of comfort. They had barely even met these two children, yet they felt a strange comforting aura coming from them. They felt like they could trust these two.

Hikari: "Alright, the gate is open. We can go."

Mrs Ichijouji: "Wait! Who are you two?"

Takeru and Hikari smiled at each other, and both turned to face the parents.

Takeru: "We're just two children,"

Hikari: "trying our best to help."

The pair turned to the computer and raised their Digivices causing them and their partners to disappear, Mr and Mrs Ichijouji were both shocked as they saw that the only thing that remained from the pair was a single white feather, glowing with a soothing rainbow colour around it.

Takeru, Hikari and their partners ended up on the edge of Petaldramon's forest. They both breathed a sigh of relief.

Takeru: "That acting took way too much effort."

Hikari: "Yeah, I'm surprised we even managed to pull that off."

Patamon: "It was quite impressive actually."

Tailmon: "It was a good performance considering they don't know how you two normally act."

Hikari: "Right, but now we need to save Ken."

The group of four started to run towards the forest, following the small and faint footsteps going into it. Soon they reached a clearing, which had a small hut, which was held up by only a few sticks. They saw Ken crouched there. However, the scene was not as clean as they thought it would be.

There were streaks of red trickling down Ken. He was hugging himself with tears in his eyes. Sharp roots had pierced into him. Takeru and Hikari gasped and ran towards him. Hikari turned towards the large pink mass that used to be Petaldramon.

Hikari: "Petaldramon! Stop! Don't hurt him!"

On cue, the roots started to slowly retract themselves, revealing that they had not pierced deep, leaving only shallow wounds on Ken. It was as if the wounds were never meant to kill, only meant to cause prolonged pain.

Ken looked up to see Takeru and Hikari.

Ken: "Who… Who are you..? Why… Why would you save me..?"

Takeru: "Because everyone deserves a second chance, Ken."

Ken: "So you know… of what the Kaiser… what I did…"

Hikari: "No, you didn't do that, Ken. It was the Digimon Kaiser who did all those cruel things."

Tailmon: "Your heart is clouded by darkness, but we can sense the Light within you."

Patamon: "Come back to the Light, Ken."

Takeru: "This darkness isn't the real you."

Ken: "No… the Kaiser and I… we are one and the same… his actions are mine…"

Hikari: "Then, come with us, to the Light, and fix what you think you have caused."

Takeru and Hikari's Digivices began to faintly glow, enveloping them in a white light. They slowly walked over to Ken and placed their hands on his shoulder, as they kneeled to be at eye-level with him.

Takeru: "Ken, you have suffered a lot. We are here for you. You're a Digidestined just like us."

Hikari: "We will always be there for each other. Digidestined are like family. Let us share your burden. Don't do it alone."

Ken looked to his left and right, looking at Takeru and Hikari. Takeru's eyes were still the same sky blue, yet had a tint of yellow in them, while Hikari's eyes were pink in colour. Ken didn't know what to think. He had done so much to hurt people, he felt like he had hurt these two as well, and yet, he felt comforted by their presence.

Ken's eyes began to tear up again as he let his tears fall freely.

Ken: "Wormmon… Digital World… I'm so sorry… I didn't want this to happen… I've caused so much pain and grief… I don't want this… I want… I want… I want to help… I don't want to cause pain anymore…"

Just then, Ken's Digivice began to glow and changed colour. Instead of being fully black, it was now white, similar to the other D3s, with a black rim. (Basically, just think of the other 02 Digivices and change the special colours on the sides to black. In the original Ken's Digivice is fully black.)

After the Digivice changed, an egg began to glow in front of Ken. He slowly approached it, with Takeru and Hikari letting go of him. The two of them stepped back with their partners and watched as Ken went towards the egg.

Ken: "Wormmon..?"

Ken touched the egg, causing it to hatch, revealing a small green Digimon, with a leaf.

Ken: "Wormmon…"

Leafmon: "Ken… I'm so glad to see you again."

Ken hugged Leafmon gently yet tightly.

Ken: "I'm so sorry…"

Leafmon: "Don't say that, Ken. I can tell, you and the Digimon Kaiser, aren't the same person."

Ken: "But…"

Leafmon: "You two are not the same. The Kaiser is not the kind Ken I travelled with around the Digital World."

Ken: "I will… I will rectify the sins I committed as the Digimon Kaiser… whether it was me or not. I will rectify those sins."

Ken stood up with Leafmon in his arms and turned to face Takeru and Hikari, who were both smiling at him.

Hikari: "Have you regained your memories? Your parents are worried about you."

Ken: "Takaishi, Yagami, thank you. I feel… much better than before. I remember most of what's happened. I will take responsibility for my actions."

Takeru: "You can call us by our names. It's fine."

Ken: "Alright, they were… umm… Keru and Hika, right? Sorry, I don't really remember that well."

Takeru and Hikari gave each other amused looks before laughing a little.

Takeru: "Sorry, but that name is a privilege only Hika has. My name is Takeru."

Hikari: "And I'm Hikari. Keru and Hika are special nicknames we have for each other."

Ken's eyes widened and he bowed in embarrassment.

Ken: "My deepest apologies. I didn't know."

Takeru: "It's fine. No need to be so formal with us."

Hikari: "Yeah, we're friends now, so you don't have to be so formal or scared around us."

Ken: "Sorry, I would just like to apologise properly first for any trouble I caused to you two when I was the Digimon Kaiser. Especially you, Yaga- err Hikari. I'm very sorry for what happened with your brother. Oh, and sorry for assuming you two were dating when we met early on."

Ken straightened himself and looked at the two of them, who both had small blushes and were suddenly finding the floor and sky very interesting.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Takeru and Hikari both sighed.

Takeru: "We are best friends."

Hikari: "It's fine, Keru. We might as well tell him. I'm sure Ken can keep a secret."

Takeru: "Alright, you guessed right Ken, well not at the time but… we are dating, but please don't say anything about it to the public, if possible, try not to say it to anyone at all?"

Hikari: "The same goes for the Digital World, except you can tell your parents about that one. We will leave it to you to decide whether you wish to tell your parents or not, but you will probably need to, considering your parents just saw the two of us go through a computer. As for my brother, don't worry about it. He told me that you at the very least didn't hurt him."

Ken: "Oh… I see… If you don't mind me asking, are you two famous or something?"

Takeru: "Kind of? my brother is the real famous one though."

Ken: "Your brother?"

Hikari: "Yamato Ishida, Lead singer of the Teenage Wolves."

Ken: "Teenage… Wolves… wait… that band? Seriously? Your brother is the Yamato Ishida?"

Takeru: "Yeah, he's my brother. Our last names are different because… well our parents aren't… together anymore…"

Ken: "Oh… my condolences…"

Takeru: "It's fine. Anyways, we should get going. We don't want to worry your parents anymore."

Mrs Ichijouji: "Will they really be able to bring Ken back?"

Mr Ichijouji: "I don't know, but for some reason… it just feels like we should and can trust them."

Just then a bright light came from Ken's room. Mr and Mrs Ichijouji rushed into the room, to see Ken, Takeru and Hikari all holding their partners like stuff toys.

Mrs Ichijouji: "Ken!"

Ken: "I'm sorry mom, dad."

Mrs Ichijouji: "No, we're sorry Ken."

Mr Ichijouji: "Thank you, both of you. Is there any way we could possibly repay you?"

Hikari: "No, we didn't do much. We just helped Ken a little."

Takeru: "Right, there is nothing to repay us for."

Mrs Ichijouji: "Thank you so much... both of you..."

Ken: "Mama... thank you for giving birth to me. Papa... Sorry for making you worry."

"Osamu Onii-san, thank you for everything."

Mr and Mrs Ichijouji both hugged Ken. Takeru and Hikari watched and smiled at each other.

Ken: "Mama... Papa... there's something I need to tell you."

That's the end of this chapter. In the original Ken also swapped using 'san' and 'chan' based on whether it was him as 11 or him as 8. I don't understand enough about Japan to really get the significance of this, but I did use it here cos I try to stay somewhat true to original 02 and also, of course, important things from 2020.

For those confused about the story flow here is roughly what is happening.

Ken and Osamu find the Digivice.
Ken enters the Digital world.
When the Digidestined defeated Millenniumon(canon), Ken was in the Digital World at the time,(Not canon, my own addition) and was travelling with Wormmon. In the end, when Millenniumon was defeated, it produced the dark spores, where one of them hit Ken, causing him to be infected with it. Wormmon evolved into Stingmon and managed to bring Ken back to the real world.
He seemed to be ok in the real world, although he had effects due to the dark spore. A little while later, Osamu dies, and Ken receives the email.
Ken ends up in the dark ocean where the dark spore can control him fully and corrupt the Digivice.
2ish years later, Ken captures Taichi and then everything else in this fanfic happens.