" Matt, stop! ", an ice like voice called out from behind the armored Digidestined. He looked over his shoulder to see Gabumon, with the other rookie protector digimon, running towards them. The blonde young man didn't seem to even feel guilty that his best friend was seeing him at his worst.

" What right do you have to tell me what to do anymore? I know you were told to keep away from me, to stay away so you wouldn't help me, and you didn't do anything but let them! You could have done something, but you just stood by and let them…let them…let them betray me! ", Yamato shouted angrily, fitting back tears. He clenched his fists once more before he pointed at the digimon accusingly. " You, out of all of them were supposed to be my friend! How could you let them? How? You knew how much I cared about her and you still stood by and watched! "

" I'm sorry, Matt, but we couldn't let you be together when the fate of two worlds is in the bala- ", Gabumon started to say but Matt wasn't listening any longer. He pointed his fist at the creature, a fire beginning to burn on his hands. The same blood red of the flames clouded his eyes as he opened his mouth.

" Fiery betrayal! ", the boy cried, but Tai jumped him from the side, making his attack hit the ground and miss all of the rookie digimon by less than a foot. Sora ran to her digital companion's side and said to her, " All of you better digievolve. "

Augumon digievolves to ….. Greymon!

Biyomon digievolves to ….. Birdramon!

Tentomon digievolves to….. Kabuteriemon!

Veemon digievolves to…. ExVeemon!

Patamon digievolves to ….. Angemon!

" Scorching lies! ", the former bearer of Friendship yelled, firing upon the rest of the rookie digimon before they could join the others on the champion level. Yamato then lifted off into the sky, glaring down upon the chosen children with an icy glare, and he then sounded like his voice had grown older without his body. " I don't think all of you need to digievolve to face me, not yet anyway. I have the power now don't you get it? I'm not going to be frail little Yamato anymore, I have a way to fight back, and there's no way for you to take it from me, so back off! "

" Matt, we're sorry it's come to this, but please, put the armor away and just talk to us. We only want to help you! ", Gabumon insisted from his spot on the ground. " Please, just listen to me. We don't have to fight! "

" Liar! None of you want to talk, you just want to believe that you can handle this, that sooner or later it'll be safe for you to let me go. Well, I'm not gonna wait around. You can either fight me, " the blonde young man implied. " or just let me leave, and live my life the way I want, with whoever I chose to be with. "

" We can't let you do that, armor, or no. ", TK exclaimed forcefully, making himself seem like he knew what he was saying. " Mat, we don't have to do this. "

" Yes, brother, it appears we do. ", the former Guardian of Friendship said, almost bitterly. He then flew down at the champion digimon covered in flames until he slammed into Greymon and punched him in the metal helmet. " Scorching lies! "

Greymon was hesitant to attack the teen, but Kabuteriemon wasn't, he hit Yamato with his Electro shocker from behind. Matt crashed to the ground looking as if he'd been knocked unconcious. ExVeemon approached him carefully, and was grabbed by the horn on the end of his nose by a sneering Yamato. He threw the dragon like digimon to the ground, hitting him with another of his fiery attacks. Mimi held onto Joe's arm, looking at him with fearful eyes, and Cody was shaking his head in shame. Not one of them could believe what was happening.

" Matt, please! Think about what you're doing! ", Davis shouted at him as he rushed to his digital partner's, now Veemon because of the blonde's attack. His eyes were pleading, and for a moment, Matt seemed as if he were going to reconsider his actions but then Birdramon let rip her Meteor wing attack and he was drawn back into the battle. Izzy turned to Ken, almost as if he were desperate.

" How is this possible? ", he demanded of the younger genius.

" I don't know! It shouldn't be! ", the bearer of Kindness shouted in disbelief. " I mean, how could he have gotten a D-3, or even a digiegg? "

" What's that symbol on his chest mean? ", Yolei questioned curiously. " It looks like some kind of dagger. Could it be evil? Could it be controlling Matt? "

" For some reason, I don't think so, Yolei. ", Tai implied, a hint of regret in his low tone. He then turned to his sister, and tried to take charge of the situation by ordering, " Kari, have Gatomon armor digievolve to battle Matt. "

" Okay, here goes. ", she sighed, taking in a deep breath, and the lifting her digivice high into the air, letting out pink light. " Digi-armor energize! "

Gatomon armor-digievolves to…. Nefertimon, the angel of light!

" Rosetta stone! " She tried to hit the young man in the black armor, but he dodged it and flew past all of them, off into the forest, faster than they could follow. Matt had gotten away, and Cody couldn't help but feel relief inside. He turned slowly to see that everyone was okay, but Tai seemed furious.

" What are we gonna do now? He can go anywhere he wants without us even knowing! He can go anywhere in the world to be with her and all he has to do is pick her up for the ride! Two worlds are gonna crumble, " the former leader of the Digidestined stated in a hysterical voice. " and it'll be all our fault. "

" Maybe we should return to your house to discuss this further. ", Izzy suggested as he helped Tentomon to his feet. " Are all of you okay? I can't believe how Matt was able to attack you all like that! It was like he was a digimon. "

" I didn't like the sound of his attacks, all they had to do with were lies and betrayals. ", Mimi commented, clutching Joe's arm just a little tighter than before. She then was happy as he put his arms around her in comfort. " It gave me the creeps, just like Myotismon's Crimson lightning. But he was right, we don't have the right to mess with his life, and we don't know if we'll be able to make it so he and Cass can be together without something blowing up! "

" Let's get back before our parents discover we're gone, Tai. ", the Guardian of Light remarked as she lifted her cat like digimon into her arms. She didn't seem to be in the same spirits as usual, and Tai was sure what had just happened had to have been the cause. " I'll open the gate, and make sure it's safe. "

" Okay, so Matt can now leave and enter the digital world without us knowing, and there's nothing we can do about it. ", Tai said for maybe the fifth time. " If only we had been able to get through to him, but he just wouldn't listen. "

" He wouldn't listen? ", Cody exclaimed in the former bearer of Friendship's as he jumped up from his seat on the Kamiya's living room couch. His green eyes seemed to be on fire, and his fists were clenched even though he had Upamon resting on his head. " None of you even considered his feelings, or even Cass's when you decided to play that you were fate and toy with their lives. None of this would've happened if you had just stopped to think about what you were doing! "

" He's right you guys, we've been going about this all wrong. Matt is the one with power, but… ", Ken cut off after a moment, think silently now, instead of out loud. He turned from the group, rubbing his chin and thinking deeply. The others waited anxiously, even Cody seemed frozen, waiting for the former digimon emperor to continue with what he was saying. " I have an idea, Tai, and with Davis's help, we may be able to pull it off without a problem. "

' I can't believe I just did that! I never meant to attack them, just get them to leave me alone, to let me be free again. But when I used that digiegg…something inside of me made me see just how angry I was with them. It let me see how betrayed I felt, and if Davis hadn't made me recoil for that one brief second… ', he didn't want to finish that thought, he just was glad the armor was off again, and that he was alone. That was all he needed right now, until he could sort his thoughts. ' Maybe it was the rush of power from the suit or something. I mean, I'd never felt so strong. '

The feeling of his digi-armor encasing his entire body had made him feel invincible, like nothing could ever hurt him. And when they were trying to convince him to back down, to talk to them instead, it had been like there was this voice inside of his head telling him that if he took off they would betray him again, and keep him away from the woman he loved. The voice kept saying that they would only hurt him again, and that real friends didn't hurt you. He had listened.

' They'll be watching for me now, waiting for me to show up again. I'll have to be even more careful this time. ', Matt thought as he leaned up against a tree. He fingered the D-3 in his hand, running a solitary finger over one of the buttons that was a deep black. He couldn't help but wonder where Archnemon could have gotten the powerful device or if she had made it. There was something about it that made a shiver run down his spine, but he knew that without it he would never see Cass again, so he shoved the negative feelings to the back of his mind. He then slowly rose to his feet. He'd need to get the things he'd want from the clearing they had originally trapped him in so he wouldn't have to cam back, then he'd have to find somewhere to spend the night, and it didn't matter where.

He changed his clothes and bathed in the river under the moonlight of the Digital world, deciding if it would be more fun to stay the night in the Digiworld or go back to the real world and spend the night in some hotel in the world. His thoughts of his friends wouldn't leave him as he walked through the night in search of somewhere he could sleep. Surprisingly, Matt found a familiar forest, the one he and Gabumon had wandered in when Matt had been convinced no one had needed him anymore. The blonde teen didn't want to stay there, but he was so tired that he knew he couldn't go on any further. He laid down, and tried to sleep.

" It's really late, Davis, why did you want me to meet you now? It's Friday night, couldn't this have waited until tomorrow? ", Cass demanded wrapped her coat around her just a little tighter. The chilling wind was all around her as she and the bearer of Friendship/Courage walked down a path in the park that seemed to be completely empty as the clock neared midnight. He had called her about twenty minutes ago and said he needed to see her right away, and to meet him out here.

For some reason, the brunette young man wouldn't look at her, keeping his dark eyed gaze on the sidewalk, or the trees along the path. He bit his lower lip as if he was thinking of his reply and they kept walking until he sighed and looked up at the stars. " Do you miss him? Matt I mean, since he left. "

" Yeah, I miss him. ", she replied after a moment, now feeling a bit suspicious about this meeting. Did he know about Matt's new D-3, or that they'd been trotting he globe together? Is that why he called her here in the dark of the night? " I didn't even get to say good-bye to him when he left for…America, his father would've flipped if I had gone within a hundred feet of him then. Why, Davis? That can't be why you called me out here in the middle of the night. What's going on? "

" Cass, I guess I just really wanted to talk to you about… when I kissed you. I mean, I don't really know how you felt about it, and I can't get it off my mind, so I thought that if we talked about it, " he started, again avoiding her eyes, his voice soft. " that it might make us both feel better, ya know? "

She eyed him suspiciously, unsure if she should question his motives again. He didn't exactly sound sincere, and why wouldn't he look at her? " I guess we haven't talked about it. I'm not really sure what you want me to say about it though. Um, I guess I have been wondering why you did it though. "

A blush creeped across his face and a shy smile followed it. " I, uh, kinda fell for ya, Cass. Wasn't that obvious? I mean, I kinda always liked you, and you were always so friendly to me that I guess it just sort of happened. I'm sorry if it hurt you though, I mean, I knew you loved Matt even then, but I guess I thought that it would be better if you knew how I felt. Sounds stupid, doesn't it? "

" Not really, although I have to admit, you are cute Davis. ", the blonde girl grinned as they sat down at the foot of tall tress. " I'm sorry if I hurt you when I walked off like that, but I was really confused and I needed to get away to clear my head. I'm sure that that doesn't make up for it but you're the best friend I have right now and I don't want there to be any grudges between us. "

" And you know I'd never do anything to hurt you? " The way he said it, and the way his eyes met hers so suddenly, with desperation in them, made her realize that something was wrong. He knew she knew by the gasp that was going to come out of her throat, but he leaned a little closer hiding his face in her hair. " They're watching, Cass. Get out of here, now! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! You have to run! "

Cass was then terrified as she climbed to her feet. Who could be watching, and why? She didn't think she had the time to contemplate it, so she ran as fast as she could down the path, leaving Davis where he sat. Tears were in the young boy's eyes, guilt all over his face. The blonde girl didn't know what was going on, but she kept running as fast as she could, until she was compelled to look back, walking backwards. That's how she bumped into the strong chest of someone.

He didn't give her the chance to turn around by wrapping his powerful arms around her waist and that pinned her arms to her sides. She was about to let out a scream when another set of hands, from off to the side of the guy who held her, covered her mouth, muffling the cry. Fiercely she struggled against their grip but it only got her to turn around and see her captors' faces.

Tai Kamiya had her around the waist while Joe had his hands over her mouth. Green eyes wide in horror, she tried to scream to Davis for help, but she heard his voice from just a little of into the distance say to someone, " There, are you happy? I did it! Now I'm just as bad as the rest of you. I helped you hurt her. God, why did I help you hurt her! She never did anything wrong! "

He'd been standing next to Ken, trying not to break down anymore as the older guys grabbed Cass. It had been Ken's idea that if they couldn't keep Matt from Cass, maybe it would be better to keep her from him. They had needed Davis to lure her out, probably because he was the only one they were sure she wouldn't suspect, and he had reluctantly agreed. Now he ran from the former Digimon Emperor, tears pouring down his cheeks and regret flooding his very being. Tears were pouring down Cass's cheeks as well, of fear, and of the feelings that made her feel betrayed. The people she had thought of as friends were kidnapping her!

" Come on, let's get her to TK's. ", Joe whispered.

He'd been lying low for the past two days, and had sent Cass and e-mail explaining that he would see her soon. He couldn't get a reply, be he was sure it would get to her, and she'd be waiting for him to come. Matt came through the screen of her computer wearing a pair of black dress up pants and a long sleeved, button down red shirt so he could take her somewhere nice in Paris.

" Cass, it's me, are you here? ", Yamato called into the apartment. He'd been pretty sure that her mom wouldn't be home, and this had been the usual time that he'd come and take her somewhere. He moved from the computer room, seeing first that it had been left on, and that Cass hadn't checked her e-mail in a while. With a confused look on his face, he searched the living room until he heard a click behind him. With a surprised look on his face he turned to see the front door opened.

" Matt, I-I wasn't expecting to see you here. ", Ms. Sheroma, Cass's mother, said a little startled. " How did you get in, wasn't the door locked? "

" Uh, no it was open. ", he lied casually. He'd met her many times before, and it was like having a second mom to him when she was around, and Cass had insisted that her mother liked him too. " Is Cass home? "

" Matt, honey, no one's seen Cass for the… ", she broke up, unable to finish through her tears. The blonde young man escorted her to the couch and handed her a tissue from the box on the coffee table. It took a moment, but she was finally able to finish. " Matt, Cass has been gone for the past two days. Even I don't know where she went. She told me before she left she was gonna meet one of her friends from school and that's the last anyone's seen of her. The police are keeping an eye out for her, and I've talked to all her friends, but nothing's come up so far. "

The former bearer of Friendship turned his gaze to the floor, trying to contain what was racing through his mind. ' She wouldn't have just run off, there's no reason for it since I found a way for us to be together. But why would someone want to meet her at night, and who was it? What if it was one of the others, would they… '

" Ms. Sheroma, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I…think I know where she might be. ", the blonde boy implied as he slowly got up from his seat. " If I find her, I'll make sure she comes home, okay? Don't worry, I'll find her. "

As soon as he was out of the apartment building he hid in the bushes and pulled out his D-3 with a scowl on his face. " Why do I have the feeling Tai is behind this? Oh well, I can take care of this easily with a few simple words and a little scare for my 'friends' in the middle of the night. Digi-armor energize! "

" Somebody let me out of here! Help! Someone help me! ", she cried as she kicked the chain-link fence that she was locked behind in the storage room of an apartment building not far from where she lived. She had seen the door opening from across the room and was hoping it was someone who would give her back her freedom. TK walked in shaking his head and carrying a tray of food for her.

" I thought we told you this room is sound proof. Izzy checked. ", he commented as he slid the tray through the small crack between the floor and the bottom of the fence that held her back. They had brought her there that night when she had gone to see Davis and since then TK had come down to feed her when his mother wouldn't notice. She had tried everything to get out but nothing seemed to work, and she soon just had to hope that someone would find her. " This is only temporary, Cass, don't worry about it. Just as soon as we find Matt… "

" Can you even hear yourself? What about my mom? Don't you think she's totally worried about me? I bet she's freaking out right now, and she probably has the police out looking for me. ", she yelled, finally giving into the panic she felt. She held onto the metal links, hoping her words would finally get through to him. " And when Matt finds out that you guys are holding me here do you really think he'll be in the mood to sit down and talk to you guys? You can't keep me here any longer, TK, it isn't right. I know you're trying to do the right thing but this isn't it! "

He looked away from her. " I just want my brother back. Keeping him in the digital world, holding you here, we're doing it to help him. "

" You're hurting him! Listen to what you've said, you held your brother against his will in another dimension, and now you're holding me against my will to lure him out! You're supposed to save the world, but not at the cost of someone you care about more than anything! He just wants to have his life back! "

" I don't want to listen to this! ", the blonde boy exclaimed, putting his hands over his ears and heading it out the door. He slammed it behind him, and was sure to lock it afterwards. Cass then leaned against the far wall until she slid and took a seat on the cold cement floor. Yolei had brought her a blanket, and Cody had even brought her a book, but nothing was a real comfort for the loneliness she felt.

' I bet Matt's out there, somewhere, wondering where I am. I mean, he has to know I'm missing right? I just wish he were here, even if it meant he were trapped here too, at least we'd be together right? ' she thought sadly, staring at a window that was just beyond the fence that held her back. The starry night seemed serene and peaceful, and she wished she could have been out there instead of where she was.

Suddenly, something moved outside, catching her eyes. " Huh? "

Moving to her feet, she watched intently, sure she had seen something. And when whatever it was moved again outside the blurry glass window, she was sure that something was out there. But what could she do about it? TK was right, the entire room, including the door and window were sound proof, so how could she get the person's attention? Her mind added bitterly, ' With my luck it's a squirrel. '

She didn't have much time to wonder, because suddenly, the window was open, and a tiny figure came in, wearing all black with a staff tied to it's back. It grunted when it landed on the floor in a crouched position, and then she could see its face. He grinned at her. " I guess this wasn't as hard as I thought. "

" Cody! ", she gasped in shock, realizing she'd never been so happy to see anyone in her life. " Oh my God, Cody, what are you doing here? "

He immediately moved over to where the padlock held the door of the fence that went from the ceiling to the floor and began to giggle the lock. After a moment, he pulled out a small metal pick and smiled up at her. " Isn't it obvious? I came here to rescue you! Davis is waiting outside in the bushes, and as soon as we get you out of there we're going to bring you to his house. Thanks to my Grandpa, I can… "

The lock clicked open, and he let the gate pen wide. Cass stepped out, gave him a hug and before she could think, she kissed him on the cheek. " Thank you so much, Cody. I know how much trouble you'd get in if the others knew about this. "

" Now let's get out of here! ", he nodded, trying to hide a blush in the dark. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her over to the window. " Davis! Now! "

The brunette leaned down, reaching down through the window to help them up and out of the basement of the building. Cody moved a sturdy box over so that Cass could step onto it and with Davis's help, got out of the basement. They then helped Cody out together, and she hugged the both of them. Cody took her hand once again, and started to lead her down the street. " We'd better go now, the last thing we need is for TK or Yolei to catch us. We'd all be in trouble. "

" Good idea, let's get going. ", the bearer of Friendship and Courage agreed. They the started down the street, and he turned to Cass. " You know that back at the park, I never wanted to do that, but…I mean… "

" It's okay, I understand. ", she told him honestly. " But let's make a deal, you don't kiss me again, and you don't let them trap me, and I'll try to get you a date for next Friday night, okay? Does that sound fair? "

" It's fine by me. ", he grinned happy that she was still his friend. Suddenly, the sky seemed to get brighter, and it made them stop. Davis saw the cause first and pointed to a streak heading in the other direction. " That's Matt! "

He was right and Cody knew it once he looked up. The fiery form had to be Yamato, for he was the only one who had a suit of armor like that. He looked as the blonde Digidestined streak across the skyline, disappearing behind a bunch of buildings. The bearer of Knowledge/Reliability turned back to his friends, a look of worry on his young face. " He's headed to where Tai lives. His apartment's that direction, he's the only one who lives that way! And he must be mad! "

" We have to get there! ", Cass insisted as she started to run.

" I just hope we don't get there too late! ", Davis remarked.

He stood on the balcony, holding his head in his hands. Everything seemed to be falling apart. His best friend had pretty much turned against him, feeling betrayed. And Tai Kamiya had to admit, he felt like a traitor. Even worse though, was now he and his friends were holding Cass Sheroma in the musty basement storage room of TK, Yolei, and Cody's apartment building. As he shook his head, and let out a low sigh, Tai realized that he was sure things couldn't get any worse.

" I hope you're hanging your head in shame. ", a low, threatening voice came from before him. The former bearer of Courage was sure that no one could be that close without being behind him, but when he looked up he was proven wrong. Matt was hovering there, wearing his digi-armor, and clenching fiery fists with a scowl.

Abruptly, Yamato lashed out, sending a blast from his fingertips that sent the brunette flying through the glass door behind him and into his empty living room. Matt slowly floated through after him, soon landing on the floor and walking towards the fallen brunette boy. Tai was trying to get up, but the blow he'd taken was too much and he couldn't make it to his feet. Matt grabbed his collar.

" Where is she, Tai? ", he screamed in his face. " What have you done with her? What was it, huh? You couldn't get to me, so you thought you'd hurt her? "

" You've got it all wrong, Matt, just listen to me… ", the brunette cried, trying to weakly squirm free but his grip was too tight. The former bearer of Friendship shook his roughly, forcing him to cut off in the middle.

" No! I'm sick of listening to you! I've always tried to be your friend, ever since we returned from the Digital world the first time, and where did it get me, Tai? I'm not letting you have the chance to stab me in the back again. ", the boy in the digi-armor snapped with a hot fury in his voice. Tai couldn't help but be happy that no one else was home. " Now where is she? What have you done to her? "

" Will you listen to me? ", Tai screamed in his face, too frustrated to think straight. He wanted to talk to Matt, which had been in the original plan, the one he, Ken and the others had set up, but with that suit of armor Matt had changed that. The blonde's very anger seemed to feed the flames all over his body.

" No, Tai, I won't. I don't have to anymore. I didn't make the rules this time, I'm just breaking them. You're the one who decided to screw with my life! ", Yamato shouted as he threw him to the ground. He then clenched his fists, letting the fire on them grow. " And if you don't want to tell me where she is, then I don't need you around anymore! You have three seconds to reconsider before I decide to barbecue you into ashes, Tai Kamiya. One…. Two…. "

" Yamato, no! " The door flung open and three figures rushed in. If it had been one of the two boys that had said it, he probably wouldn't have frozen, sparing the former leader's life. But it had been her voice. He turned to the doorway, the fire reducing to smoke, and his eyes turning into the two innocent blue eyes he was known for. She ran into his arms, and he held her tight still stunned.

" I was so worried about you. ", he whispered in her ear. " I went to your apartment thinking you'd be home and your mother came in and told me that you'd been missing for the past two days. I thought they might have hurt you. "

" Cody and Davis saved me. ", she told him, kissing him softly.

" If you two don't want a fight I suggest you get out of here before Davis has to stop Tai from making it to his feet. ", Cody commented from at Matt's side. The blonde nodded, and gave him a small smile. " Thanks, Cody, I owe you, and Davis. "

He then held Cass's hand as he placed his strange D-3 up to the computer screen and they disappeared in a flash of light. Tai angrily threw off Davis's arm, not wanting the younger boy's help up. He glared at the both of them angrily. " Did I hear her right? You helped her out? Do you know what you've done? "

" I've helped two friends, that's what I've done. ", Cody shot back.

" Okay, I think we're on a remote enough island that we can rest until we decide where to go. ", Matt implied as he set the blonde girl down on the sand. He'd used his digi-armor's flying ability to take them far away from the gate they had come through. " We'll have to visit your mom soon though, she's really worried. "

" Deal, as long as there's no one to split us up anymore. ", Cass agreed as they took a seat in the grass. He sat slightly behind her, his arms wrapped around her tight. She smiled, caressing his cheek with a touch he'd never imagined could be so soft, and it made him try to pull her closer. Cass was just about to kiss him when she pulled her face away and laughed. " I think you can take the suit off, Matt. "

He blushed, even though some of the strange helmet made it so you couldn't see it. He had removed the suit before with a mental command that the threat was gone and he no longer needed the strange armor on. It had worked before, but for some reason, this time it didn't. " Huh? What gives, it won't come off! "

" Have you tried the old fashioned way? ", the blonde girl questioned, and gently puled on the face of the red and black helmet.

" Ow! ", Yamato yelped, tearing away from her grip.

Her green eyes were wide. " Mat, is that supposed to be attached to your skin? When I pulled on it, it was like it was a part of your face. "

" That can't be. ", he gasped, trying to pull off the gloves he wore by the fingertips. That didn't work, for it hurt and was just like pulling on his skin. He stood up in a panic, trying everything he knew to try to get the suit off. " It has to come off! It has to! There' has to be a way to get it off, Cass, it isn't a part of me! "

" It is now, Yamato. ", a sinister voice replied from behind them. They whirled to see Archnemon standing there, sneering at them. Matt stood protectively in front of Cass, gritting his teeth. The strange woman/digimon laughed at his pathetic attempt to ward her off. " That suit is not coming off, my new little slave. You see, the digiegg I gave you is to meld with the one who feeds it the emotions it needs. You, Yamato, have melded with the armor of Vengeance for eternity. "