Yolei waited silently for the painful feeling of her body slamming into the cold hard ground, but it never came. Slowly she opened her eyes to find herself looking into a pair of dark eyes hidden behind a pair of dark lensed glasses staring back at her. Fearfully she struggled against the iron grip he had around her wrists.

"Stop it you idiot! That is unless you want to get yourself killed!"

Yolei looked downward at the bleak darkness below. So deep was it that she couldn't even see the ground that lay below. She was immedately certain that her leap wound have most likely killed her. Still, he'd saved her....

But for what purpose? Yolei had no chance to ponder these thoughts however. Because at the thought she could have died she thrusted herself upward with inhuman strength... knocking an unexpecting Digimon Emporer over and herself ontop of him.

Yolei sat on his stomach her eyes hard. "Why did you save me?"

He smirked. "Its much easier to kill two birds with one stone."

Yolei glared at him. "Really? Then let's see who you really are!" With that she jerked the glasses off his head only to reel back in shock. "K- Ken?! Ken Ichijouchi!"

Yolei forced herself into a standing positon. She backed away slowly toward the forest, her eyes wide in shock Ken stood up his face infuratingly calm. "The one and only. You suprise me Digidestined. I thought your whole pathetic group knew who I was by now." He started to walk toward her.

Yolei pointed at him. "Stay away from me. Come one step closer... an- an- and I'll hit you I will!"

Ken raised his eyebrows."You think so, do you?"

With that she turned and ran. It wasn't until then that the fact that Ken Ichijouchi was in fact the cruel Digimon Emporer Matt had described to her earlier. Instantly, Yolei recalled her fantasies of marrying him.

Of kissing him. Of actually being in love with him. She felt tears sting at her eyes. That calm smile she had seen him so often wear had made him seem so calm and gentle. But no. He was the Digimon Emporer. He enslaved Digimon at every whim. He was cruel. Yolei winced visbly as she forced herself to run faster. She felt her cheeks burn at her foolishness. How could she have fallen so hard for someone like him? Vigorously she wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. She would not cry for him. She was strong.

She had to stay strong. Yolei looked fearfully over her shoulder. In the distance she could plainly see the glowing red eys of the Tyrannomon. It wasn't too far away now. Run! Faster! The two commands echoed clearly in her mind and she obeyed. She let out a cry of pain, however, as she tripped over an up-turned root. With a scream she fell down a small hill and slamed right into a stone. It was then she fell into the abyss of unconciousness.

The Digimon Emperor leapt easily off the Tyranomon and stood above the fallen form of Yolei. With suprising gentelness he picked her up off the ground; holding her firmly against him he turned and jumped back on the Tyrannomon and lay Yolei down next to the outcrop of its neck. With that they turned and left the clearing. Their destination: where no free Digimon would dare tread. The Digimon Emporer's Fortress.

Yolei awoke groggily with a sharp pain on her temple. Groaning slightly she reached up to touch her head, only to relize she couldn't move her arms. Fear driving the last whisps of grogginess from her mind. Glancing around she made out quickly that she was strapped spread eagle to a wall by chains.

"Finally you awaken. Took you long enough," a mocking voice stated clearly in the darkness.

The Digimon Emporer stepped silently from the shadows. Behind his glasses she could see the deep frown and scowl on his face. "I am not a coward. Though the same could not be said for you, Digidestined."

Yolei's left eye twitched. "How dare you! Let me go now! Even if you don't... Matt will come for me. He will!"

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Matt? Oh, you mean one of the Digifools. Well I'm counting on them coming for you. It shouldn't be too hard to defeat them while they're in my domain."

Yolei clenched her fists. "If I weren't chained to this wall...."

Ken smirked. "You'd what? I'm a champion in Judo. I highly doubt you'd be able to fight me."

Yolei raised her eyebrows."You are far too overconfident. My friends will come and they'll defeat you."

Ken stepped closer to her. "Maybe you have too much faith in them." He tilted his head. "Strange, i've never seen you with their pathetic little band."

Yolei looked away. "They'rer not pathetic. They'll defeat you. Besides what does it matter if you've seen me before or not? You're much more pathetic than you claim my friends to be. In the real world you strut around like, 'I'm Ken Ichijouchi boy genuis'. You hide behind the cameras and the super achivements there. You are the pathetic one."

Ken's eyes blazed. "I am not pathetic! I am the most superior human being! You and your freinds are just tresspassers in a place where you don't belong!"

Yolei cocked an eyebrow. "Are you so sure that were the ones that don't belong? That could very well be you."

Ken stared at her a moment. Unable to say anything. What was there to say? Was she right? Did he hide behind the cameras and his own personal achievements in the real world?

Yolei felt her anger and strength leave her just as the Digimon Emporer, Ken, turn and leave the room. Yolei assumed that she must have hit a sore spot for him to act that way. Part of her rejoiced at this, the other part felt kind of sorry for him. She quickly quashed the feeling telling herself this was the enemy after all. She pulled her arm against the hard chains, testing its strength.

After a few minutes of yanking against them she gave up and sagged uselessly against her bonds. Would her friends come and rescue her? What was she thinking! Of course they would... but then what if they didn't? 'No!' She scolded herself inwardly. 'They'll come... they must. But then he's expecting them. There must be some way for me to escape!'

Yolei lowered her head agenst her chest. Her thoughts swimming. She still couldn't believe that Ken- Ken Ichijouchi was the Digimon Emporer! She smirked slightly. That old saying that you can't judge a book by its cover, couldn't be more true in this situation.

Suddenly Yolei relized her eyes where starting to feel more and more heavy. She was able to make out a small green figure crawling toward her. She tried her best to make out what it was, but the more she tried the more her eyes keeped on trying to close on her. Suddenly she herd a clank! and felt her shackles fall from her ankles, then legs.

She heard a groan of pain come from herself as she hit the hard porcelain floor then, everything went black. Before the darkness overwhelmed her she saw something green, blue and white glow and kneel next to her. And then darkness.