A/N: Wow, was anyone expecting to see this updated again? I'm really sorry if people were following it. To be honest, my life hasn't been going well for a while and I wanted to hold off on finishing this until I was in a better place... but I don't see that happening soon, so there's no point putting it off any longer.

––

The rebel camp was solemn and quiet. None of the Digimon wandering around were in the mood to speak. There was no sign that such a lighthearted party had taken place there just two days ago.

Now that the Digidestined knew the Emperor's true identity, after the initial shock had worn off, they had unanimously agreed to confront him at his home in the human world, where he had no slaves and no empire to protect him. Wormmon had not come with them; he was still nearly catatonic, for reasons nobody could explain, and so Davis had decided the rebel camp was the safest place for him for the time. Now he was curled up alone by the fire pit, too broken to speak, his mind a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions.

The Digimon Emperor was his partner. As impossible as it seemed, it was true. And it really did explain everything. Why Wormmon had felt so awful about causing him harm. And why no matter how much he'd wanted to live free of the Emperor, their fates had somehow become intertwined.

But why had he forgotten? How could he? Ken had been his partner, his best friend, his reason for living… and yet that was all he could remember. He couldn't remember anything more specific, not how they'd met, what they'd been through together… or what had torn them apart.

He thought back to all the times he'd run into the Emperor, how terrified he'd always been, and how full of hatred the Emperor had been towards him. But why? Weren't they chosen partners, meant to go together? What could have caused Ken to hate him so much?

Was it possible Ken had forgotten him too?

––

"Finally. Here we are," Yolei huffed, grinding her fist into her palm. "Time to teach that sexy dreamboat a lesson he'll never forget!"

The five Digidestined had traveled from Odaiba all the way to Tamachi, and currently they were walking up to Ken Ichijouji's apartment building. "So remember guys, we're not getting violent," TK instructed the others. "We're doing this as peacefully as we can and – uh oh."

Everyone came to a stop. A number of police cars were parked outside the building, and several policemen were standing around and appeared to be interviewing some of the residents.

"This can't be good," Cody muttered.

"Wait here a sec, guys," said TK, hurriedly walking over to the nearest policeman. The others stood back and watched him before turning to glance uneasily at each other.

"What do you guys think happened?" said Davis. "Did Ken go crazy and burn the whole place down?"

"Does it look burned down to you, genius?" Yolei snapped, smacking him upside the head.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, guys," Kari said gently. "We don't even know if this has to do with Ken…"

She trailed off as she noticed TK wandering back over to them, a very worried look on his face. "TK? What's the matter?"

TK pulled his hat off and started fiddling with it, looking agitated. "Guys? I just finished talking with the police," he said uneasily. "They said… Ken's parents found a note in his room. It sounds like he ran away from home."

––

The computer screens in the control room cast their pallid light across the Digimon Emperor's face as he typed furiously at his keyboards. For the first time in what felt like ages, the looming threat of failure had vanished, and his confidence had returned.

Home sweet home.

He should have left that other world long ago. Maybe it was a good thing the Digidestined had figured out his identity; it had been the final push he'd needed. There was no way he could stay in the real world now, not where those brats could attack him at his weakest.

Besides… he had too much work to do to ever leave this place. If he was going to put his master plan into action, he'd need to be here to supervise every step.

His fingers flew over the keys, and a manic grin appeared on his face as he once again recalled his genius plan. It had come to him the moment he'd revealed himself to the other children, and he'd seen the anger on their faces. The betrayal they had felt when they'd realized the boy they admired was really their greatest foe.

And then he'd realized… that feeling could be weaponized.

He could make them suffer that betrayal all over again. And not just them, but those accursed rebel Digimon as well. And whose betrayal would hurt them the most? Who was the one Digimon all of those idiots loved without fail?

He wasn't finished yet. Not by a long shot. He was going to turn all of this around. And the Digimon who would help him do it… was the same one who had started this whole mess in the first place.

He did so love poetic justice.

––

"Wormmon?"

With some effort, Wormmon dragged himself back to reality and lifted up his head to see a Floramon standing over him. He stared up at her for a moment, feeling like he didn't recognize this one… but then, the rebel camp was full of Digimon. He probably hadn't met them all.

"Err… yes?" he said, realizing she was waiting for a response.

"Bearmon wants to talk to you," the Floramon said without preamble. "He said to take you to him."

Wormmon stood up in surprise. "Bearmon? But, isn't he here at the camp somewhere?"

"No. He wants this conversation to be private."

The Floramon said nothing after that, and Wormmon immediately felt that old familiar awkwardness creeping over him.

"Well… okay then, I suppose," he finally said, still not sure where this was going. They had just had a "private conversation" yesterday… what could Bearmon want to talk about now?

The Floramon immediately turned around and began marching out of the camp, and Wormmon hurried along after her in astonishment. She was acting awfully strangely… but Wormmon was still so wrapped up in his thoughts that he couldn't even wonder about that for very long. All he could think about right now was Ken.

After they had been walking along for several minutes, heading into what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, Wormmon finally began to realize something was wrong.

"Wait a minute. Where is Bearmon?"

"This way. Follow me," the Floramon replied tonelessly.

Wormmon immediately jerked to a stop. "No. What's going on here? There's no reason for us to meet out here like this." Fear was creeping up his neck.

The Floramon stopped and turned to face him, wearing no expression on her blank mask of a face. Wormmon stared at her in horror. "I was right. I don't recognize you," he said accusingly. "You're not one of the rebels! You're – "

The Floramon's eyes started glowing red, and the petals around her neck lifted up to reveal a Dark Ring clamped down underneath them. Wormmon didn't even have time to scramble away before a deafening screech filled the air, and he looked up at the sky just in time to see a ringed Devidramon descending upon him.

"NO! NO!" he screamed, trying to run away, but he didn't stand a chance. The Devidramon was upon him in an instant, his screams cut off as it snapped him up in its jaws, and then as darkness fell over him, primal terror swelled up and consumed him entirely so that he could remember nothing else, and then he remembered nothing at all.

––

The next thing he was aware of was a sound like a loud pounding on metal, along with a very unpleasant voice coming from somewhere.

"On your feet, prisoner!" it shouted. "The Emperor will see you now."

Wormmon blearily forced his eyes open, coherent thought returning to him only gradually. He numbly realized he must have passed out. He tried to remember what had happened to him, and as soon as he remembered the Devidramon, he jolted awake in fear, only just then seeing where he was.

He was inside a prison cell, two ringed Goblimon glaring at him from the other side of the bars. He looked around and realized that they were standing in a long, dark hallway, with either side of it lined with cells identical to his own. Nearly all of them were filled with one or more weary, frightened, emaciated Digimon, prisoners who looked like they hadn't seen the sun in a long time.

I'm inside the Emperor's fortress.

So he'd finally been captured. This had always been his deepest fear… and it still was, only this time his fear was tinted by the faintest, wildest hope.

Does this mean… I'll get to see Ken? I can talk to him?

"Hey! Are you paying attention?!" one of the Goblimon shouted, jerking him back to reality while the other one fumbled with a set of keys and opened the cell door. "The Emperor doesn't like to be kept waiting!"

"I'm sorry," Wormmon whispered, timidly crawling to his feet and out of the cell. His two wardens led him down the hallway, flanking him on either side so he had no chance to run away. Of course, they needn't have bothered. He didn't plan on running away from this.

They left the prisoners' cell block and traveled through the fortress, following a long, winding series of metal hallways that Wormmon would never remember. Everything was vast, dark, and empty. Wormmon kept glancing nervously around as he went, but aside from a few ringed slaves performing maintenance, he saw no one. His heart began to ache as he thought of Ken spending all his time in such a lonely place.

Finally the Goblimon led him through a door that seemed to open up into the very front of the fortress. It was a wide open room lined with windows, through which the outside world could be seen. There was only one person in the room: a tall, dark figure standing with its back facing Wormmon.

"We've brought the prisoner you requested, your highness," one of the Goblimon grunted, and then both of them bowed and backed respectfully away, standing on either side of the door, making sure Wormmon had no way out.

Slowly, the figure turned around.

The Digimon Emperor stood with his cape wrapped around him, creating an aura of impenetrability. He glared silently down at Wormmon, and Wormmon could only quail as he stared back up, his heart swelling with a mass of confusing emotions. The more he looked, the less and less sure he became that this person was really the beautiful, kind boy from his dreams.

Ken… oh, Ken… what's happened to you?

"So… the guest of honor has finally arrived," the Emperor said in a low voice, completely calm, perfectly still, like a cobra coiled and about to strike. "Wormmon. To think… I was almost beaten for good by something as weak and pathetic as you."

And then he struck.

Wormmon didn't even have time to flinch. Quick as a flash of lightning, the Emperor pulled out his whip and surged toward him, lashing out and striking him across the face. Wormmon cried out in pain, tumbling over onto his side, but Ken wasn't finished. Again and again he lashed out at Wormmon, relishing in the creature's wails of pain, unleashing all the rage and hatred that had been festering within him for months.

"Ken!" Wormmon finally choked out, scuttling away from his attacker. "Ken – please – stop!"

That just made the Emperor's rage burn hotter. "Don't call me that! Don't ever call me that! I am the Digimon Emperor!" He started whipping Wormmon even harder, but even as stars exploded before his eyes and his head swam with pain, Wormmon knew he couldn't give up.

"Ken, please! Don't you remember me? I'm – " The words spilled out of him. "I'm your partner!"

The Emperor stopped dead, if only due to surprise. His eyes briefly widened, then narrowed dangerously as he lowered his whip.

"What are you talking about, you little maggot?" he hissed. "You think I'd fall for a lie like that? Me?"

Wormmon felt his heart sink into his stomach. It was just as he'd feared, then. Ken didn't remember him at all.

"I'm not lying, Ken," he said pleadingly, slowly picking himself off the floor. "It's true. We were partners… when you were a little boy…" His eyes were stinging with tears. "Please, Ken, you have to remember – "

"Shut up!" the Emperor snarled, cutting him off and lashing out at him with his whip again. "Shut your filthy mouth! As if I'd ever be partners with a useless thing like you!"

Wormmon winced in pain, curling up and trying in vain to shield himself as Ken dealt him blow after blow. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the whippings came to a stop, and Wormmon timidly opened his eyes to see Ken simply standing where he was, breathing heavily as he glared down at him, visibly restraining himself. For all his fury, it seemed he didn't want to kill Wormmon… at least not yet.

Wormmon had to get him to remember… but how? How was he supposed to remind him of their shared past when he could barely remember it himself?

"Please, Ken… why would I lie to you?" he begged, trying to think of something, anything, to convince him. "Don't you think it's strange? How you're the only human in the Digital World with no partner?"

Ken just scoffed at him. "Don't be ridiculous. The Digimon Emperor doesn't have a partner. I don't need one. Why would I, when I'll soon have every Digimon in this world under my control?" He suddenly turned away from Wormmon, speaking to the wall on the other side of the room. "And anyway, those Digidestined fools are the ones with partners. And I'm not one of them."

He clenched his gloved fist, glaring down at it with something unreadable in his eyes. "I'm nothing like them," he muttered softly.

Wormmon could only stare up at him, wondering fearfully what was going through his head. Did he really think he could still enslave the entire Digital World? Even after the Digidestined had nearly defeated him? What was he planning?

Well, whatever it was, he realized with an icy chill, he probably wouldn't live to find out.

"Are you… going to kill me now, then?" he whispered.

Ken turned his head back around, glaring over his shoulder down at Wormmon in contempt. "I would love to, more than anything else in this world. But that's up to you."

Wormmon didn't like the sound of that. "Up to… me? What do you mean?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, you are singlehandedly responsible for ruining my plans for this world." Now the Emperor began walking, circling around Wormmon like a vulture. "You've forced me into damage control. It's because of you that I've had to retreat to the Digital World permanently."

"Permanently?" Wormmon cried, his eyes growing wide. "But you – don't you live in the human world?"

"That's a thing of the past," Ken said sharply. "As I was saying, you more than deserve the death penalty for your treason… but your Emperor is magnanimous. I'm willing to make a deal with you. Either I kill you, right here and right now… or you agree to be my spy."

Wormmon was sure he'd heard wrong.

Ken couldn't be serious. He couldn't be forcing this choice on Wormmon. Not this. Anything but this.

"Spy?" he whispered, the disbelief audible in his voice. "You mean you… you want me to spy on the Digidestined?!"

"Them, the Digimon working with them, everyone. They're all a threat to my power," the Emperor hissed. "You're in a unique position. Somehow, someone as pathetic as you has become the most beloved person in the Digital World. Everyone trusts you."

"But… I…" Wormmon was too distraught to even speak. How could he even consider this? How could he betray his friends? The ones who had saved him from the Emperor and given him a place to stay? Given him a sense of worth?

"I don't understand… what do you want me to do?" he finally said.

"Obviously, you're going to keep working with the Digidestined. Go on and keep being their little pet, or whatever you like to call yourself," Ken said derisively. "But every night, you will report their activity to me. I want to know everything."

Wormmon's brain scrambled to make sense of all this. "But – but – they're going to ask where I'm going every night! What would I tell them?"

"That's your job to figure out, not mine," said the Emperor. "These are the terms of my arrangement. As long as you do as you're ordered, I will guarantee your protection. Something I can't promise to anyone else in this world."

His expression suddenly grew stony. "But if you ever choose to renege on it, or think of telling those friends of yours the truth… rest assured, your end will be swift."

Wormmon was silent for a long moment. He was almost ready to cry. The Emperor had no idea how cruel his ultimatum actually was.

He knew what the heroic thing to do would be. What Davis would have done. He would have spit in the Emperor's eyes and refused to ever betray his friends, even if it meant his death. But Wormmon…

If Wormmon died, he'd never find out what happened to Ken. What turned him into this monster. He'd never get his memories back, or have another chance to remind Ken of how he used to be.

And… this was what he'd wanted all along, wasn't it? To be at his partner's side, helping him whenever he needed it.

"All right. I'll do it."

The Emperor blinked in shock. He clearly hadn't expected Wormmon to cave in so easily – he'd been prepared to resort to far worse than threats. After a moment, though, he realized what this meant, and he began to grin triumphantly.

"Pathetic," he sneered. "So this is the great hero of the Digidestined. Look how easily he breaks." Without warning, he delivered a painful kick to Wormmon's side, sending him tumbling across the floor. "You're even weaker than I thought."

Wormmon gasped in pain, struggling for air, lifting his head up and gazing at Ken forlornly. This wasn't how he'd wanted it to go. "Ken… Ken, please listen to me – "

"Tomorrow night. After those kids have gone home. And make sure it's worth my time," Ken cut him off, then finally turned away from him once more, as though Wormmon was no longer worth being in his sight. "Guards! Escort him out of the fortress. Make sure no one knows he was here. It wouldn't do to have my secrets spilled early."

"Yes, sir," the Goblimon muttered, neither of them able to see the deranged grin on the Emperor's face as he faced away from them. In truth, he wasn't overly concerned about the Digidestined learning about his new weapon. They'd learn the truth eventually, of that he was certain. He wanted it to happen. Imagine their rage and hatred when they found out – Wormmon, their precious hero, traitorous spy of the Digimon Emperor! He'd tell them all how quickly, how easily the cowardly little thing had agreed to it. How readily he'd sold them all out. And every word of it would be true.

The future was finally looking bright.

Wormmon finally managed to drag himself to his feet, dawning horror slowly seeping through his body. What had he just agreed to? There was no way he could betray Davis and the others. They had saved his life. He owed them everything…

But even after all that, there was one thing they couldn't give him. The one thing he needed most of all. Only Ken could give him that.

With that knowledge weighing heavily on his heart, he spared one more longing glance back at the Emperor, then finally allowed the Goblimon to escort him away.

"I love you, Ken," he whispered before turning away and crawling out of the room.