Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon Adventure 02: Amnesia and Hidden Secrets ❯ Nightmares ( Chapter 5 )

He was running. He wasn't sure why he was running or from whom. All he knew was that he had to keep running. He had to get away from him.

Ken panted as he ran through a forest. Where was Daisuke? Where was Wormmon? Where was Takeru? Where was anyone?

“They're not coming for you?”

Ken paled at the voice. He was coming. He was getting closer. He had to run faster.

“Why would they help you? You are a monster?”

Ken didn't understand what this voice was talking about. But it sounded familiar. Who was not coming and why was he a monster?

“We enslaved hundreds of Digimon?” Enslaved?

“We killed those who rebelled against us.” K-kill?

“We captured them, enslaved them, and put Dark Rings on them.” Dark Ring?

“We even had them build the Dark Towers for us.” Ken stopped his escape as the voice mentioned the Dark Towers. None of this made sense. Why would he build a Dark Tower or harm Digimon?

Ken spun around and faced the person that the voice belonged to. Ken staggered back as he looks at a boy with spiky raven color hair. How was it possible? He looks just like him. The only difference is the blue jumpsuit, spiky hair, metal cufflinks, a cape, and a whip on his belt.

The other smiles at Ken's shocked faced. How was this possible? He was him. But, how? Why?

“Oh, Ken. It's about time you stopped running from me. I was starting to get bored of our little game.” The other cooed as he walked closer to Ken.

Ken staggered back as the other stroked his cheek. “How? Who?” The other smiled at his stuttering.

“Ken, Ken, Ken. You disappoint me. After all I have done for you. And this is how you repay me.”

Ken backs away as the other yells at him, angrily. “What were you thinking? How can you throw away the empire that we worked so hard for?” Ken yelps as the other slapped him across the face, making him fall backwards to the ground. “For what? Just because your stupid worm died! He was nothing but a worthless insect! And what's with you befriending the enemy? Those Chosen brats are nothing but insects!” Ken whimpered as the other slapped him again. Holding his cheek Ken looks fearfully at the other. Only to be taken aback by the images that flashed in front of his eyes.

Ken watched as the other yelled commands at the digimon he captured. Saw him kicking and screaming at Wormmon. Saw him fighting against the Chosen Children. He saw him ordering some digimon to build his towers and to attack several villages. Ken saw the other laughing and telling Daisuke to beg and call him master, as some of the other Chosen were hanging on some cliff. Ken saw the other fighting with Takeru. Takeru punched the other with anger. Ken trembled as Takeru call the other Ken.

Ken screamed and sobbed as memories flooded into his mind. The other was him. He was the Digimon Kaiser.

(Line Break)

Takeru listened as Daisuke talk about nothing in particular. It wasn't that what Daisuke was saying wasn't interesting or funny. It was just that he could not get this feeling of dread to go away. It started about fifteen minutes ago.

He and Daisuke were talking about the others and what happened when Ken saw them, again. Takeru suspected Ken would not react kindly to their presence. He didn't the first time and then there were Ken's parents. What would happen if they tell them why Ken was here in the first place? They will be mad of course. And what about the other stuff that happened to him. They will find out eventually, when Ken remembers them and freaks out because of it. He can only imagine the looks of Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji's faces when they hear of Ken kidnapping and rape. Takeru wasn't sure what to do about this.

His mind shifted at his almost successful kiss. Daisuke had ruined that of course. Curse him for that. He probably did that as revenge for protecting Hikari from him. Figures.

“Tk?” Takeru turned to his friend. He noticed that Daisuke had a worried expression on his face. Why?

“Davis? What's wrong?” Daisuke's shifted his eyes from him to Ken. Takeru followed his gaze and took in Ken's furrowed eyebrows and trembling bottom lip. I wonder what he's dreaming about? Takeru frowned worriedly at the thought. He hoped Ken wasn't remembering any of the bad things in his life. He was so happy before. He wouldn't be able to stand seeing Ken in distress. “What you think he's dreaming about Davis?” Takeru whispered.

Daisuke bit his lip in worry. Takeru feared that Daisuke might be thinking the same thing. “I hope he's not remembering the Kaiser or his rape.”

“He was raped!” Damn! They forgot that the witch was still here. Daisuke turned to her with a sad expression. “Yeah few years back he was kidnapped with a bunch of other children.” Daisuke said with a pained face. He must still blame himself for that. “We managed to save him, but not before Oikawa scanned the Dark Spore and raped him.” Takeru looked at Daisuke. Why was Daisuke telling her about the Dark Spore like that?

“Why did Oikawa want the Dark Spore anyway? Is there anything special about it?”

Daisuke shrugged his shoulders in uncertainly. “Wormmon told me that when Ken got hit by the Dark Spore it made him cold, mean, and smart. He may have not shown it in public, but he was distant. With the Spore he was able exceled in school and sports that he had hidden away. The Spore brought it out. The Spore was evil though. It twisted his mind and made him the Kaiser.” Takeru groaned. Why was he telling her this? “When the Spore lost its effect Ken got depressed and distant. A lot of the other Chosen didn't see that it wasn't his fault for what happened. However, they pretty much shunned him for a while and said he wasn't a Chosen Child like the rest of us, until they admitted that they actually needed his help.” The witched scuffed at the mentioned of the others. He had to agree with on that at least.

“That explains why his grades dropped for a few months, before they went back up. Though that didn't stop the other kids from picking on him.” Daisuke and Takeru stared at her in confusion. Daisuke, surprisingly, didn't ask for an explanation.

“Anyway, Oikawa was behind the scenes in making Ken this way. When Ken was kidnapped he copied the Spore, putting it in other kids, and raped Ken. Ken didn't remember it though. I noticed they way he was walking when we saved him and the nightmares he had when he sleeps over my place. However, he couldn't remember them, until about a week ago that is.” Takeru was shocked. He didn't know about this. Poor Ken. He should have realized something was wrong. He saw the way Ken was after Daisuke saved him, but he never put two and two together. He remembered on that day he noticed Ken wincing slightly. When Joe's brother offered to give them a ride he gave his seat up to Ken. He had a feeling that Ken shouldn't be walking alone or walking period.

The witch had a sad expression on her face. What was she thinking? “I know what's it's like to be abused like that.” We both looked at her in disbelief. “When I was very young my biological father abused me and my mother. This went on for a few years until he was arrested and jailed. My mother remarried two years to a close friend that she loved since middle school, which is the man you know today Motomiya-kun.” Takeru felt sorry for her, but not enough to not see her a conniving witch though. Daisuke on the other hand look sad.

“I'm sorry to here that. Maybe you can help us when Ken remembers that part. Maybe you can help him get through this. I'm not really sure how to help him when it comes to being violated.” Daisuke said sadly. The witch smiled and accepted the offer. Takeru personally didn't like the idea, but they could use as much help as they can get. Takeru looked at her curiously and was going to ask her about what she meant about Ken being picked on, but Ken's screaming and sobbing in his sleep stop him from questioning her.

Daisuke jumped from his seat and rushed to Ken's side. He began to shake Ken's shoulders in an attempt to wake him up from whatever nightmare he was having. When Ken finally woke up Daisuke pulled him close as he sobbed quietly into his shoulder. Ken mumble between sobs something Takeru couldn't hear. But the look Daisuke had on his face told him that Ken must have remembered something they wished he hadn't.

Daisuke whispered into Ken's ear in hopes of calming Ken down. After several minutes Ken calmed down slightly. The look in his eyes though made Takeru's heart fall to the Dark Ocean. Ken's eyes were hunted and afraid.

“I-I remember…” Ken sobbed brokenly. “I built them…I hurt them…Wormmon died because of me…” Ken broke down and sobbed again. Minomon crawled to his distressed partner. Takeru could only watch as Daisuke and Minomon tried to comfort Ken.

(Line Break)

Meya bit her lip as Ken sobbed in his friend's arms. She remembered watching the Digimon Kaiser arc of Digimon Adventures. It was a shame she couldn't tell them what see knew. She had to pretend that she knew nothing about what happened. She knew how Ken got the Dark Spore and knew about his kidnapping. But the show never mentioned him getting raped. She felt bad. It reminded her of herself and her real father.

Poor Ken. He was suffering from nightmares now. She thought she told the bots to not show any bad memories. She should have listened to Datamon's warning about the prototypes. Ken was reliving being the Kaiser all over again. He had gotten over it in the last episode of Digimon Adventures.

Thanks to her Ken is relapsing. What have she done?

(Line Break)

Daisuke sighed in relief when he and Minomon finally got Ken to calm down. Minomon talked to Ken telling him that he did die, but was reunited when Ken remembered his promise in Primary Village.

“You are kind and gentle, Ken-chan. You always have and always will be. I love you Ken-chan! Please don't cry anymore! You're going to make me cry too!” Minomon sobbed into Ken's chest. Ken did calm down enough to prevent Minomon from join this pity-fest. God. He wasn't sure he could calm down both of them if this continued.

A shudder traveled through Ken's body as he spoke. “Am-am I evil?” Daisuke sharply took in a breath. Damn it! Daisuke was not going to allow Ken to relapse into the depressed state he was in when he stopped being the Kaiser.

Daisuke forced Ken to look into his determine brown eyes. “Ken listen to me when I tell you that you are not evil. You are the most kindness, sweetest, the most caring person that I know. Not even Hikari-chan can beat you even if she tried.” Daisuke smiled softly at his best friend. “You are my best friend and nothing will ever change that. We've been through a lot together and have such a strong bond that nothing can sever it. Ken, listen to our bond and tell me do you think it would be this strong if you were evil? And I'm not saying you are.”

Ken was silent as he listened to his best friend. Daisuke hoped he said the right thing to convince him he is not evil. “Yeah right,” Ken said after being silent for several minutes. Daisuke smiled in relief.

“Of course I am. I'm the Great Daisuke Motomiya! Defender of both worlds and best friend to the best person in the world, Ken Ichijouji!” The other three humans laughed as Daisuke's pride soar a few degrees. “Anyway the point is that the Kaiser is not your fault. You were lost for a while and I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. But we saved you in the end and in turn we became best friends.” Daisuke was relieved when a sparkle of the old Ken reflected in his eyes, but there was something still bothering him. Daisuke frowned slightly as he realized what Ken might be afraid of. “You remember what Oikawa did to you, don't you?” Ken stiffened slightly, but didn't deny it. Fear and pain reflected in his eyes. Daisuke hugged his best friend and whispered into his ear, “I promise I will help get through this. None of this was your fault. You know that right?”

“Yes…thank you Dai,” Ken whispered back sleepily. Daisuke gives his friend a final hug before the doctor arrives.

(Line Break)

Daisuke gently places his best friend back on the bed and turns to the doctor. Doctor Kido gave them a questioning look as he surveys the scene in front of him. Mr. Takaishi and Miss. Hirata were distressed and worried. Mr. Motomiya was holding the patient as he walked in. Something defiantly happened.

“Ken had a nightmare.” Mr. Motomiya told him.

“He remembered something?” Doctor Kido asked. Mr. Motomiya sighed in exasperation.

“Yeah. He remembered being raped.” Doctor Kido's eyes widen. Raped? Did he have to preform a rape kit and call the authorities? Mr. Motomiya must have seen the look on his face since he continued to answer his silent question. “It happened about three years ago, but Ken couldn't remember it until about a week ago.” Doctor Kido frowned in worry. It wasn't strange for a rape victim to block out the incident and to slowly remember years later. However, this is a very delicate situation. Mr. Ichijouji was in the process of remembering, only to have it blocked again by his memory loss. He's in a very fragile state for now and his mind might not be able to handle the memories at this stage. Looks like this is going to need a different approach.

“It's very common for rape victims to block memories of the incident. Some get them back months or years later. However, I never had a case where the victim losses his memory while in the process of remembering.” This was a difficult situation.

“What do we do?” Mr. Takaishi asked worriedly.

“Right now, we should keep a close eye on him. His mind his fragile. He'll be very upset when he starts remembering something that he doesn't like or understand.”

“It may also help if he talks to someone who been in a similar situation as him.” Miss. Hirata mused softly.

Doctor Kido glanced at Miss. Hirata and noticed a familiar pained look on her face. Her expression was similar to those how have experience similar ordeals. “You too?” He asked shocked.

Miss. Hirata raised her hands in a surrender fashion. “I'm fine now. My father is jail now.”

Doctor Kido sighed and looked at the direction of his patient. Mr. Ichijouji was whimpering in his sleep. The boy was having another nightmare. Doctor Kido watched at the maroon color boy spun around from him and attempted to wake up the sleeping child.

(Line Break)

Takeru could only sit there as he watched his friend comfort his crush. Oh how he wished he could go back in time and prevent Ken from ever being kidnapped and raped. Sadly that cant happen. Whoever was the smart aleck that said `everything happens for a reason', is a moron and a sadist! How on earth can all the suffering Ken's been through `happen for a reason'?

Takeru gently scratched Patamon's wing as he watched the scene before him. Daisuke was trying to calm Ken down as he sobbed again. This time however they had no idea what he was talking about. He kept crying something about the Dark Spore and to why they were insulting him and trying to push him done the steps. Takeru was angry at this point. It sounded like Ken was being bullied at school and hasn't even said anything about it. Why would he? He thought sadly. Ken probably felt that no one would help him, especially since they go to different schools. And by the looks of it, Daisuke didn't seem to know about this either.

A sudden thought came to him then. Didn't the witch say something about Ken being picked on at school? Takeru turned to the witch to ask her about it. There must be a Digital God hating him today! For Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji just ran into room looking worried.

“KEN!”

(Line Break)

“What is going on here?” Mrs. Ichijouji yells franticly as soon as she entered the room with her husband. Her baby was crying on Daisuke's shirt, which she assumed was soaked by now. She looked around wondering what was going on.

She had been having a bad feeling ever since her husband asked her to attend a weeklong event with him. She was reluctant at first because of this awful feeling she's been having for about two week now. It was telling her that something bad was going to happen to her baby. Why did she ignore it? Even after Ken assured her that he would spend the week with Daisuke for winter break, that feeling didn't go way. Now she knew why?

“Why? Why…does…everyone keep…trying to push me…? Why…are…they…so mean…?” Mrs. Ichijouji eyes widen as her baby spoke between sobs.

Mrs. Ichijouji spun on her heel to face the older gentlemen. She repeated her question more threateningly, her motherly instincts taking over.

The Doctor raised his arms in surrender to her. “Mrs. Ichijouji your son is suffering from amnesia.” Mrs. Ichijouji gasped. No, not again! “He had woken up from a very bad nightmare. Please, I will explain everything when your son has calmed down!” Mrs. Ichijouji felt her husband wrap his arms around her waist. Most likely feeling her distress for their only living son.

Mrs. Ichijouji couldn't stand losing Ken. Ever since he ran away she felt like a failure. How could she ignore her baby's needs and love? She remembered praying hard for his return and when he did she was so relieved. But she was devastated when her baby boy woke up with amnesia and didn't recognize them. From that day she kept a close eye on him, listened to everything he said, and even went as far as having nightly baking sessions in order to improve their relationship.

She remembered one day when they were baking Ken commented on how cute one of the boy actors looked on the television. She frowned at her son when she noticed how freighted and shocked he was when he said that. She placed her bowl down and walked up to her son with a soft, encouraging smile.

“There is nothing wrong with the way you feel, Ken-chan. I don't care if you like boys or girls or both for that matter. What matters is that you don't listen to what others say. I will always support you. You are a sweet, kind boy and whoever is lucky enough to win your heart is a very lucky gal or lad.” She told her son and commented that the boy was quite cute. She even said that she was happy that her baby has great taste, just like her.

She smiled at the memory. From that day her son came to her for everything. They would talk for hours, even if most of it were about cute guys. She was happy though. She was closer to her youngest more then ever. Osamu never really liked baking with her or spending time with her. He was a lot like his father, while Ken was a lot like her.

Her son was like her in so many ways, even so far as having a similar shy, quiet, and kind personality. She loves her son and was glad for the second chance. But about a week ago Ken had been scream and crying in his sleep. She was worried about her baby. She had asked him, but he was reluctant to tell her. She could see how scary his dreams were, so she didn't push it. He would talk when he was ready. She was relieved though when her son's friend came over and questioned Ken about his dreams. She had a feeling that Daisuke would get through to him. He always does.

Mrs. Ichijouji relaxed a little in her husbands hold. She soaked in what comfort and strength he was generating for her. She knew he was just as worried about their son, but he was trying to be strong and calm for her at least.

She watched silently as Daisuke spoke words of comfort to her son. When her son is asleep she will found out what happened. She will find out why he was out in a snowstorm and who are the people who had hurt her child. Her questions will be answered rather they want to or not. She is a mother. She will protect her own.