Palm of My Hand / Part 4 / Cataclysm and Confines @-->---- I have to let her go. But I won't. Ken has to let her go. But I won't. "Do you think....She'll hate me?" I ponder this, inwardly nervous, and Wormon is stunned I would deign to speak to him, let alone seek his opinion. As am I. "Well Master..." He cautiously hedges. "You did kidnapp her, almost kill her, then lock her in solitary confinment for three days now..." I throw myself from my chair, pacing the length of my control room. I could go see her, no...To risky. Wormon could...No...Because he is not I... We could, She might... "Could I take her for a walk in the solarium?" I cock my head quizzically, my steps slow. Where did that come from? "Yes...Yes, I think I shall..." The olive critter scampers to the doorway, turning to face me. "Master? Should I go prepeare her?" I frown, confused. "What are you talking about?" My voice is sharper then I meant, and he cowers. "Maybe, maybe the girl would l-like to freshen up, Master...We did b-bring her some g-garments..." I nod, remembering the clothes I had opened a port to her room and collected...A risky venture to be sure. "Yes...Bring her them." The bug leaves, and I sigh, nervous beyond expectation. What would I say? How would I act? "Do you like it?" The question is blurted forth, and seems over eager and nervous. Pathetic... Rightly so. "Um...Yes, very much..." She is as captivated by the flowers around her as I am with her. A myriad of flowers cascaded down, covering the metal walls and giving the interior an outdoor feel. It made Yolei ache for the sky. The filtering of the glass overhead brought the warmth of the sun upon them, and she breathed in the heavily perfumed air, "It's beautiful..." Colors and shades gleamed and glowed, seeking the warmth of the sky and the cool of the breeze, and she reached out, daintily smoothing a finger over a pale yellow rose. "The yellow rose is for friendship." She grinned, turning to look at me. I start, caught staring, before blushing and looking away. This awed Yolei. The Kaizer was blushing? Why couldn't he just be a normal boy? She smiled, touching her new outfit. A dark green ¾ sleeved button up and tan capri pants made her feel clean and...Welcome... Her hair, in all it's lilac glory, was allowed ro fall freely down her shoulders, making her feel feminine. If only they ould be here under difffrent circumstances. "The...Yellow rose is for friendship...The white for pure love...The pink for innocent love, and the red for passionate love." She sighed, examining the blossom again, while in turn Ken examined her. I swallowed, feeling at a lose in my emporer garb. She looked so ordinary and beautiful...So feminine and human... I pluck at my gloves, biting my lip. I fidget with the cape. I could beat this weakness! I could... I come to a sudden conclusion. "Stay here...I'll return in a moment." I stride from the interior, locking the door behind me, but Yolei was content to admire the flowers in the green house alone. I fly down the halls, my boots thundering rythmically until I reached my private sector. Throwing open a closet, I searched quickly, discarding my body suit, boots, gloves and cape I pull on a white, short sleeved dress shirt and baggy shorts, feeling totally alive and like a teenage boy again! I turn to leave the room, glancing in the mirror for a once over. But I stop, letting out a breath. The hands, bare now, reach up and touch 'his' shades, flicking them off my face with a quick movement. "I'm me again..." This makes me laugh, nervously bordering on hysteria. "I'm Ken again!" I take off, scampering back to the garden within the building. Yolei stood deeper in then before, smelling a canopy of gardanias. "Hi Ken, I was just..." She stopped, turning and taking him in. Except for the spiked blue hair...He was genius Ken Ichijouji again... "Ken you...Changed..." He scuffed his foot, looking shy and child like. Her heart went out to him. "Yes...I..." The eyes he raised to hers were filled with pain and longing. They both swallowed. Yolei knew she should't trust him, but her naïve heart couldn't believe he would trick her like this... "I...Don't...Know!" He reaffirmed the stern countenence, declaring to all that though the suit was gone, the Kaizer remained. At least for the moment. "I shouldn't be here!" He muttered, striding forward in direct dismissal of his statement. "Ken! What are you-" In moment he was kissing her. His lips angry and hard and soft... It was her first kiss. I trembled beneath her hands, and she let them slide down my shoulders, clutching the whipcord muscles of my forarms. I groan against her mouth, seeking deeper contact, as I press her body to me. Yolei was soft and curved and so gentle... Ken seemed to devour her, searching her innermost secrets from her mind. She leaned into the kiss, wanting more but unsure. The first touch of his tongue against hers would have sent her reeling had he not been holding her so firmly. She had read a billion romance novels, but had never expected this... Ken tasted like something dark and rich, and he taunted her with his caress even as she did the same. The smell of roses and something sweeter, more delicate touched his senses, stirring tears into his closed eyes. Her small hand reached up and lay against his cheek, feeling the liquid trickle down his face. She wanted to comfort him, help him save them all... With a last, teasing flick of his tongue, he broke the kiss, leaning his head against her shoulder. They said nothing, and nothing needed to be said. "We have to find her now!" Davis threw a fist against the door, not even noticing the burning pain that abruptly shot through it. His eyes hadn't stopped burning with a haunting rage that quelled and unnerved the others. "Davis..." It was Kari who stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We will get her back." Her conviction lacked flare as her sweet voice met his ears. He threw off her hand, turning away. "I should have stayed with her! I knew something was wrong! I could feel it!" His eyes saddened, his voice took on a tone of defeat and meloncholy. "If I had just kept back with her, then maybe..." Tk stepped closer to him, looking him in his deep purple gaze. "There are so many 'what if's' in this world Davis...Fate took control, and this is what was meant to be." Davis jerked away, tossing his spiked burgundy head to indicate Kari. "Oh yea? If Kari had been the one taken, we both know that we'd be out there searching right now! None of you cared enough for her! I'm the only one who..." He stopped, trailing off as his eyes filled with tears. "I can't just sit here while that girl is out there with that basterd!" He strode towards the door, pulling on his yellow gloves, Veemon by his side. Cody raised his hand "Davis! What are you doing!" The cold eyes that looked back at him froze the circle of Digidestined. "What none of you 'friends' have the courage to." He swept out of the room with an astounding maturity that shamed them all. Wormon watched carefully as his master sprinted into the room. All it had taken was a girl to bring him back from the precipice bordering on insanity. All it had taken was love and kindness... Which he had never accepted from him. "Wormon!" The bark that greeted him caused him to jump, as Ken Ichijouji, stopped in front of him. "The girl...Yolei...Is back in her quarters. See that she is fed and attended to." The bug nodded clicking across the metal floor. I sat back pensivly. Brooding as I stared out at the many screens flickering around my base. Yolei Inoue, Digidetined of Love and Sincerity... My obsession had driven me to new hights of ecstacy, and caused me to lose sight of a goal which had once taken precedence over all else. Power. "Witch..." I glanced into her room, wher Wormon now stood. Her face, blushing and smiling despite her surroundings stuns me. She was beautiful. I had always known she was beautiful outside...But now he saw she was even more breathtaking 'inside' I swallowed, my foot hit something on the ground, and I falter, teetering almost to the floor. When I steady himself, I see that my whip had almost caused my fall. "Stupid thing..." I leaned down, picking it up. A flicker of disgust crosses my face, and I tossed it out of sight. Turning back to the monitors, I smiled gently. This girl was stealing my heart... ...And saving my soul... It was the next morning when she awoke with the sun bathing her face. The sound of running water greeted her ears, and she smiled, turning in her sleep. This was nice... Reality soon pulled her from the realm of Morpheus, and she blinked sleepy golden eyes, stretching luxuriously. Her hand touched grass, and she frowned, coming fully awake. She wasn't in her room! She was in the Solarioum! Sitting up, she eyes her surroundings warily. How had she gotten here? Had Ken- She blushed, remembering their passionate kiss. Yolei was betraying her friends, but she had never been more happy in her life! She stood, glancing down only to see a perfect yellow rose sitting beside her. Bending, she picked it up and unfurled the tiny white note that circled the stem. -Dear Yolei, The yellow rose is for friendship. I hope you can one day consider me a friend... Follow the petals and find me... Sincerely, Ken Ichijouji - With a smile and a lovesick sigh, she hugged the blossom and looked down to see a trail of yellow petals. "Following the leader..." She whispered, before continuing on her way. A small pink bud soon followed his yellow predecessor, and she unfurled the paper from the pale green stem. - Pink is for innocent love, and you have an innocence that shows me the light... - She grinned and followed the now pink trail through the empty corridors and back to her own chamber. There, a white bud lay nestled upon her pillow. - White is for pure love, and you have the purest heart I've ever known - Yolei hugged the three flowers again, tiptoeing after the white trail until she reached a wide, metal panel, stepping closer, the door opened and she stepped into the darkness. "Hello?" The light flickered on, and there Ken stood, smooth hair and grey suit, holding onto a longstemmed red rose, Wormon by his feet. "Hello, Yolei..." She smiled softly, her eyes as warm as the sun, and stood before him. "Thank you Ken, they're beautiful..." He smiled shyly, holding out the red flower. "Here. This is the last one." She took the proffered rose, uncurling the paper, and reading it. -I've fallen in love with you.- With a cry and a muffled sob, she threw her arms around the nervous boy, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Oh Ken! I- I don't know what to say!" He held her at arms length, calmly watching her features. "Say whatever you have to Yolei." She frowned, turning away. "I'm a prisoner. You're the kaizer." He clenched his fists, looking down at Wormon. "I've come to realize that if I don't escape from this now...I never will." Ken looked at her, his brilliant sapphie eys shining. "You've taught me that, Yolei." Sighing, Yolei touched the roses clutched to her breast. "You have to leave this place behind Ken. You have to return hom, and destoy the evil you've created." He grinned handsomly, his icy eyes twinkling. "Even as we speak, control spires are being destroyed." With a cry, she flew back into his embrace, clinging to him. "Then it's over! You can go home! And I can see my mom and Dad again! We can forget this whole thing ever happened!" She looked up tearfully, smiling up at him. Ken turned serious. "No. I can never forget this. I can never forget what a monster I am." Lifting a hand to his face, Yolei implored him with her gaze. "Were Ken. The monster you were." Davis approached the base with all the stealth and concentration he and Exveemon could acquire. It startled the hell out of him when Ken Ichijouji came outside and gave express orders to destroy the building in 5 minutes. Davis thought quickly. "Yolei is in there!" His mind rushed forward frantically as he thought of the possible outcomes Was the Kaizer so inhuman he would kill a teenage girl in cold blood? He dared not answer his own question, instead, he watched as the Kaizer reentered the building and the portal close behind him. Unless the other boy was suicidal, he would be taking a Digiport out from inside! Davis could do nothing! With the number of Digimon getting ready to decimate the exterior, him and Exveemon, Flamdramon or Raidramon would never even get close! All he could do was watch...And pray.