~Reflection~ Disclaimer:  I don’t own Digimon.  Boo hoo. *** Chapter 15 High above the two humans and the giant bird digimon, the luminous moon took its rightful place in the starry sky while down below, the bleak landscape shifted from a barren canyon to a river flowing through a dimly lit meadow.  The night air had become colder than a Frigimon by now, but the lavender haired girl atop the champion-level digimon didn’t care.  Her attention was completely focused on the unconscious boy she cradled in her arms. “Come on, Ken, you can get through this.  I know you can find a way to come back to me,” Yolei chanted over and over like a mantra. Suddenly the boy glowed with a bright white light, which soon engulfed his entire body and nearly blinded the holder of the Digieggs of Love and Sincerity at his side. Yolei raised a hand to protect her eyes from the brilliant radiance until she noticed the light dissipating almost as quickly as it had appeared.  She then lowered her hand in time to see the gray-clad boy fluttering open his eyes.  “Ken?! Oh my gosh!”  She instantly reached down and tightly hugged the boy, whose air supply was immediately cut off, much to his surprise.  After her initial excitement had subsided, though, Yolei remembered something and warily said, “Wait a minute…” She hastily backed off and looked him in the eye.  “How do I know that it’s really you?” The indigo-haired boy coughed a little now that oxygen could get to his lungs before he replied, “After what you pulled, would the Emperor do this?”  With that, Ken sat up and gave Yolei a kiss full on the lips. Immediately, the weary girl’s eyes grew twice their normal size in shock; she had been prepared for anything that could happen when Ken awoke, even if he woke up as the Emperor…but certainly not this.  Soon enough, though, she relaxed and gladly returned his warm show of affection. In the meantime, an embarrassed Aquilamon tried his best to keep flying straight and not disturb the two lip-locked young lovers on his back—which may have very well been the hardest thing he had to do throughout this entire ordeal. Finally, after several minutes, they parted, both of them almost out of breath. “You’re right,” Yolei giggled happily.  “I don’t think the Emperor would ever do that.” In one of those rare moments, Ken smiled and blushed.  Yolei thought he looked kind of cute like that. A few failed attempts by the two children at saying something later, they were spared any further awkwardness by the sound of the giant bird digimon clearing his throat. “Pardon me, but can someone please explain to me what’s been going on.  The first thing I remembered after that attack was a having a feeling that you two were in trouble and seeing a black band fall off my leg.” The lavender-haired girl sighed.  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later.”  A sudden thought occurring to her, she turned back to Ken and asked, “By the way, what did just happen here?  The Emperor said that he’s a permanent part of you.  Does that mean--?” Ken solemnly nodded.  “Yes, in a way he’s still inside me.  But,” he held up a reassuring hand to the concerned girl who opened her mouth to speak, “he won’t be able to surface again.  The only reason why he returned in the first place was that I didn’t want to accept my dark side as a part of me.” Yolei remained silent as he took a deep breath and continued.  “That, compounded with me feeling a bunch of dark emotions all at once, was what allowed him to take over.  But now that I’ve recognized him as an integral part of me, I don’t think I’ll ever have to worry about my dark side taking over again.”  The indigo-haired boy wrapped an arm around the slim girl’s waist.  “And as long as you’re with me, I don’t think I’ll ever have to worry about experiencing any more dark emotions for him to feed off of, if he ever happens to return.” It was Yolei’s turn to smile and blush.  “I, uh…thanks, Ken,” she said flusteredly.  “Just promise me that you won’t ever become the Digimon Emperor, okay?” Smiling, Ken answered, “I think that’s a promise I’ll be able to keep.”  Then, looking over Yolei’s shoulder and addressing her partner digimon, Ken apologized, “By the way, Aquilamon, sorry about what happened earlier.” “That’s okay, Ken…but don’t you ever do anything like that again,” replied Aquilamon in his gruff voice. “Of course not,” said the boy, relieved that bird digimon wouldn’t be having him for lunch tomorrow.  “Oh, and Aquilamon…” “Yes?” The champion-level digimon turned his head to face the boy. “Do you mind if we stop by Digitamamon’s?  There’s something I’ve got to pick up for a friend of mine.” “No problem!”  With that, Aquilamon veered left towards the restaurant of the famous chef digimon. Throughout the rest of the ride, Ken and Yolei relaxed on the bird digimon’s soft back, enjoying the beauty of the Digital World’s night sky blissfully in each other’s arms.  *** Gaia: Man, I’m horrible at writing romantic scenes. G: You got that right! Gwen: I can’t believe you made them kiss! Gaia: *nonchalantly shrugs* So I forgot what I had originally planned to make Ken say so that Yolei would recognize him.  No big deal. G: And no, we are not upping the rating because of this. Gwen: Sometimes I can’t believe you two.  Whoever said that majority rule was the best?  G: You did.  Now, are you about done yet? Gwen: Yes. G: Then shut up and let the readers go on to the epilogue.