A/N: Thank you to San Child of the Wolves, White Hunter, Night owl and my subscribers. Your reviews mean everything to me. I am so pleased everyone liked the last chapter. Yes that was one of the longest, I had to go back and cut things out. At least I keep you all on your toes. A little heads up, read carefully, will be jumping between characters. You'll see what I mean in this chapter.

Chapter 35

Break in

Kiva watched as the humans and their digimon left the campsite in order to locate their findings. She grinned faintly as this gave her time to discuss her plan with Johnny and Ember, knowing full well both would help if asked.

"What does seriously not want to be part of a group any more? Key thing here; stick together," Johnny insisted looking over at Kiva, just missing the smile, curiously.

"I suppose it's just the different agendas everyone has. Mind you, there is something I have in mind though," Kiva admitted, there was a distinct change in her tone. She raised her eyes to the ghosts before her. There was something in those obsidian eyes that held a plan.

Puppymon already had been discussing her plan with her mentally while the group were all together for a social gathering. Continuously he gave his two cents into the whole matter, telling her the upside as well as the downside to what could happen if any of them get caught.

'No one is going to get caught, this is fool proof. We obviously just have to be careful around the patrols,' she argued.

'Don't you still think this isn't going to be suicidal?'

'Not if we send the ghosts in to scan the area for any hidden passages and keep an eye out for guard patrol.'

There were plenty more arguments to come and Puppymon was amazed she didn't sever their link after all that.

"You truly wish to get Kota out of there, don't you?" Ember acknowledged knowing all too well what was behind those eyes.

"What I truly need is information on the castle itself. Everything from security, secret passages, how many digimon I have to deal with, how long it will take to get there. I also need to know posts. I highly doubt this Myotismon will keep his castle open for attack. I also need to locate Kota and ONLY locate him. He is MY responsibility to rescue him."

"Let me guess, you want us to check it out?" Ember assumed.

"You two are the only ones that can sneak in undetected and it won't be suspicious with you two missing. We can't afford for all of us to separate."

"You are one crafty girl. What's the time limit for this mission?"

"No limit, just keep track of your time."

"I promise, we'll be quick," Ember assured her.

Kiva nodded her head, as soon as she received the information; she just needed to convince the group to help her. There was no way they would deny helping, they searched together for the rest of the group and would risk their lives if it were Kisho or someone else for that matter.

Ember and Johnny flew off into the afternoon sky scanning every direction possible to locate the castle. There was no way they were going to let Kiva down. The problem the two faced was which direction could the castle be in? The surrounding areas were huge, making it difficult to pinpoint an exact area to go by.

"How difficult is it to find a castle?" Ember groaned fifteen minutes into their adventure.

"I'm sure it's not that far away. How about we just start searching? Who knows what we'll find," Johnny suggested.

"Yes, let's fly aimlessly in an unknown world, get lost and be of no use to Kiva and never hear the end of it from Victoria," Ember huffed agitated as hell.

Johnny blinked at her taken aback by her out burst; no she was not known to be a sweet girl by any means but would never snap at him. He was truly afraid of her at that moment and didn't know what he should do.

"I…uh…um…well…"

"Well? Spit it out!" she yelled.

Johnny gulped backing away from her. Even when Kitty was furious he was never this scared of her. Usually he could brush it off. "I take it all back; we can do whatever you want."

"You cave way too easily. Just glad you see it my way."

Johnny sighed as he followed Ember through the sky heading north of the campsite completely bypassing the three groups. Somehow or another, Ember had a feeling this was the right way. There was also a chance that this could also lead the wrong way, a trap or simply become lost.

Thick trees passed under them giving no direction or indication of where they could recognize something. An eerie feeling filled their stomachs as both continued their journey. Even as ghosts something always frightened them one way or another. Ember shrugged it off refusing to show any fear. She didn't scare easily.

Passing by the forest, cliffs came into view up ahead cooling the surrounding area. Johnny and Ember glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. Taking higher into the sky, their luck soon found them when an old, creepy style castle came into view. It was gigantic, similar to the one belonging to Pariah Dark. Ember eyed it suspiciously as she flew closer to it.

"I really hope it is easy to find Kota in there. This could take forever."

"Stop whining. I'm sure we can find him. Now come on, keep close and stay quiet," she snapped.

That got Johnny to shut up in a heart beat as the two landed in front of the castle taking in the dark, washed out stone. It was a place one did not want to be in at night. So far all was quiet for the time being, not a soul was out. Taking the opportunity, the ghosts went intangible and snuck inside the castle to begin their search.

Ember took the lead as soon as both were inside and tangible again. Johnny was in no mood to start a fight with her. He was already on her bad side and didn't want to know what she could do at any given time.

The inside of the castle was bleak, dreary and had the distinct feeling of foreboding. Johnny and Ember looked around with a mix of awe and fear. The halls continued on and on for what seemed forever. There were many closed doors that could lead to either additional hallways or bedrooms. The only problem that each one faced was keeping to a single hallway or splitting up and heading off down different ones. Even the closed doors looked inviting. There was no need to worry about a key if they were locked. There was so much exploring to do in this castle and both wanted to see it all.

"We have to keep with the plan; locate Kota and head back to Kiva to report," Ember reminded Johnny, as well as herself.

"But who is to say it will be easy to find him? There are probably hundreds of different passages in this place. There is no telling where he could be."

"Look, as long as we keep our heads about all of this, the better off we'll be. I'm sure we'll find something."

"This is going to take hours!" groaned Johnny following behind Ember who gave him a warning look. "It'll be like finding a needle in a haystack."

So the search began down multiple different passages. Some came to dead-ends, while others lead to never ending halls. There were countless backtracks the entire trip. An hour passed by and Ember and Johnny were finally off the main floor but no longer knew exactly where the start was. There were far too many turns to keep them all in order. Ember cursed herself for not leaving markers; however, she did reconsider seeing as it would alert the other digimon of their presence.

Giving up on following the passages, the curiosity of searching the rooms came to a strong point in Ember's head. They were lucky on more than one occasion heading down the halls to find no soul moving around. More than once the two took the risk to be shown in the castle. There was no fear in that. There were a few scare attacks along the way when a random Bakemon or RedVegiemon would be roaming around the halls almost spotting the two ghosts. There was always a bonus to going intangible, it kept them safe from harm.

As Ember expected, most of the closed doors led to additional hallways. Each one would split off to more hallways half way down the passages. Johnny was getting frustrated with not getting closer to a destination but at least they got to explore the castle a bit more.

On the other side of the castle, a floor above where Ember and Johnny searched, in one of the many rooms lining the particular corridor, Wizardmon lay on his bed. His eyes were closed in concentration as he kept urging his aching muscles to move. He cursed himself for being so stupid to believe any of Myotismon's devious tricks. The last one nearly cost him his life.

"How stupid does one have to be to keep falling into those traps of his? Kota, I am so sorry I let you down. I promise, in time I will return so you can be with your friend. Though I wish there were a way for the two of us to be free of this place once in for all. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case in the near future," Wizardmon sighed. He flexed his non gloved hands. Things seemed to be working properly in his hands again.

While Wizardmon held the ability to heal those in need, he, himself couldn't self heal. Even when he could, it was only at half strength. There was no rhyme or reason; it was just part of his healing. There were still many areas that were damaged and would take a long extent of time to heal.

"I could never be able to face Yumi the way I look now. This will only break her heart. My fear now would be never seeing her again. Only mere glimpses from far away were never enough."

Slowly, Wizardmon sat up, grimacing on the way as a hot fiery pain shot through his back. Several whippings back, Wizardmon recalled coldly. He had such a hard time with authority and the rules that it called for punishment. He was amazed death wasn't on the list of possible punishments.

Right now, he was just happy he was able to move around on his own. Only the other day he was already attempting moving, he was heavily leaning on his staff for support. He couldn't make it two steps without falling. He felt so weak and powerless in this state. There were so many times he recalled Kudamon scolding him for allowing something like this to occur.

Kudamon, the only true friend, side from Kota, he had at the castle. Even to this day, Wizardmon could remember their meeting. The two helped each other on any given day, Wizardmon worried about her safety above his own. Kudamon always told him that it was weakness to worry about others. You had to worry about yourself; she so elegantly put it more than once.

"At least you are finally on your feet with no trouble," Kudamon remarked from the doorway.

"I guess time has a way of healing most wounds."

"Don't you mean all?"

"No, there are too many wounds that could never be healed. You know that better than I."

"Don't speak of such things!"

"I never meant to get under your skin my friend. I just tell truth."

Kudamon looked away with a small huff at his sayings. How dare he say such ridiculous things? There were so many things that he didn't know about her, or what she had to deal with all those years ago.

"Whatever…how are your wounds?" Quickly as that, she immediately changed the subject.

"Slowly healing. I fear there is much more to go by for this. In time I shall be back to my old self."

"I'm glad. Please, for the time being, don't get on Myotismon's bad side. I'm sure things will end up worse than they need to be," Kudamon warned.

"So you've said time and time again. I always seem to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"More like your thoughts are in the clouds. You've been so unfocused lately. What is going on?"

"Nothing you need to worry yourself about. I give you my word things are fine and I will watch my every step."

"I'm keeping my eye on you Wizardmon."

Wizardmon couldn't help but smile at her; she was so concerned for his safety. Obviously she wouldn't let anyone else know about this. He was forever grateful for having her at his side. Kudamon raised an eyebrow at him trying to understand what was going on in the mage's head. There was so much mystery behind his eyes that even she couldn't figure out.

"What are you smiling at?"

"At you; oh don't give me that look Kudamon. I'm just grateful for everything you have done for me."

Kudamon slipped further into the room to be at Wizardmon's side. There was so much caring between the, the other digimon was oblivious toward it. Her presence by his side filled him with happiness and the belief that one day things will be all right. Next to her was a small bag filled with different things.

"What's in the bag?" Wizardmon asked, although it was not necessary as Kudamon took out a small canteen of water.

"I got what I could, there's a little more in the bag, but I don't know if it'll be enough. I tried so desperately to get medical items, but I was nearly caught in the process," Kudamon explained handing the food to Wizardmon. He actually got the hint on the additional food. They were meant for Kota. Even though Kudamon tried not to get attached with the boy, she knew that Wizardmon cared for him and would rather see him healthy.

Down in the dungeons, pacing in the minimum spaced, dark cell, Kota was getting restless. Sure, he had been cooped up in the cell for two years; it didn't mean he would get use to it. One of the highlights, however, was the fact he had Wizardmon to keep him company. Whenever the digimon was able to come down, he would stay with the boy for hours on end. Both learned different things about each other, Kota shared his darkest secrets and Wizardmon revealed important ones of his own.

Since being put into the coma five years ago, Kota lost all connection with those he cared about; mainly his parents and Kiva. After being sent to the digital world, he went into a depression and swore he would never befriend anyone ever again. Life was so uncaring that he would be in a place of limbo while those who did this to him walked freely. He was forever grateful for Gennai taking him in and showing him the utmost respect and kindness. Over two years with him, Kota's perspective on things changed again bringing on a lighter side.

After being kidnapped and brought to the castle, Kota slipped back into the depressed state, cursing himself for trusting that he was wanted. When he met Wizardmon, the digimon was able to once again prove to Kota there were those who could be trusted.

All the while he was destined to rot in the cell; Kota still had no particular understanding for why he was kept in a cell and what Myotismon could possibly want from him. He was simply a kid…a kid who somehow managed to wind up in the digital world. There was also the possibility of him being a vampire, but that made no sense. Kota slammed his head on the metal bars disregarding any pain receptors.

"Wizardmon, where are you?" Kota sighed sliding down the bars to finally sit on the dirty ground. Over time he grew to ignore it.

"Aw, is the little boy concerned for the Wizard?" a mocking voice asked behind him.

Kota let out a groan as he realized who the voice belonged to. It was another thing he learned to just ignore like everyone else in the castle seemed to do.

"What do you want sludge breath?"

"Somebody is in a mood. Don't tell me you are a little irritated that don't have your precious friend down here to keep you company," DemiDevimon simpered.

"Keep it up and I promise I'll make your life a living hell."

"What petty threats. For someone stuck in a cell, you would think to give up this charade."

"I might be stuck in here, but it doesn't mean I won't hurt you when the time comes."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me!"

"DemiDevimon, get away from him," Kudamon snarled.

"Or what?"

"Oh, I don't know, have the pleasure in watching Myotismon rip out your wings. He's looking for you."

"You're lucky brat."

DemiDevimon flew off, leaving a fuming Kota who was grasping the bars, anger written on his face. Kudamon looked down at him, a look in her eyes telling him there is no sense in fighting something like that.

Calming down somewhat, Kota returned to his spot on the ground and tried so desperately to relax his racing mind. Kudamon, for as long as he could recall, would watch over him when Wizardmon was out. In no way were they friends but she did have a soft spot.

Upstairs, Wizardmon set a few of the items Kudamon could get for him in a bag. She had left some time ago due to rounds and training. Wizardmon knew Myotismon would want to keep the two separated as long as possible.

He didn't know home many times he would risk himself getting caught by visiting Kota. He worried about the boy from the beginning. Right now, his only hope was that Kota was going all right, he felt horrible for leaving him this long. He tried to at least be at his side as many days as possible. He could not forget the day he met the young boy those many years ago.

~flashback~

Wizardmon retuned back to the castle once again after another mission. He didn't mind those missions from Kudamon; it at least got him out of the castle and away from Myotismon. As he was doing his rounds down in the dungeons, he noticed something new in one of the cells. The figure was curled into a ball at the far corner of the wall.

The boy's silver, cheek length hair was sticking up all over the place. His clothes, a simple pair of dark blue jeans a light grey shirt were torn; either by a fight or wandering around the digital world for so long. The only thing missing were his shoes. Wizardmon figured that perhaps Myotismon ordered the other digimon to take them away making it impossible for the child to run away.

Wizardmon's heart sank seeing the poor thing. There had never been a human in the digital world before. He did hear rumour while upstairs that SkullMeramon captured a child from one of the monks. At the time being, there was no knowledge of something unique about him. He could tell the boy was frightened; this was a new place to be in.

Wizardmon gripped the bar as he continued to gaze upon the boy. He stirred a bit; the boy knew someone was standing there. He was still furious for being taken away from his sanctuary with Gennai. Was this digimon here to gloat or ridicule him? Was he there to reveal to him how weak he was? He no longer wanted to hear it; he would rather be miles from there.

"What do you want?" the child hissed.

"I don't want anything. I just…"

"Then leave. I heard all the bad mouthing from the others," the boy snapped.

"I'm not here to bad mouth you. I assure you."

"Right, what other reasons could possibly have to you down here then?"

"To talk."

"I don't want to talk…just leave."

"You don't have to talk, you can listen…"

"Just leave! I don't want to deal with any of you!" the boy yelled turning to face Wizardmon, red eyes blazing with anger.

Wizardmon backed away unsure of what he could possibly do or say to comfort him. He felt so saddened for him. No child should ever be in his position. This was something Wizardmon wished on no one. Giving the boy his space, Wizardmon took his leave back to his rounds. The anger in the child's voice rang so clear in his ears he couldn't will it away. He just hoped that perhaps one day the boy would give him a chance to talk to him.

The next day, Wizardmon headed back to the dungeons to once again talk to the boy. Wizardmon's hope was that a new day would bring out a more talkative child. Once again, the child was curled up in the corner of the cell shivering from the cold. The dank air did no justice to those down there. His back was to Wizardmon, but that didn't mean the boy didn't realize he was there.

"Why do you insist on coming back?" the boy asked before Wizardmon could get a word in.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Am I that fascinating of a subject that you have to study me?"

"I'm concerned, that is all."

"Ha, that is a laugh. Concerned for me? I'm pretty sure your kind would rather see me dead," the boy scoffed.

"My kind? Why would you put me in the category of those digimon and insist they are my kind?"

"Because you are different just like they are. You reside in this castle, so either you belong here, or there is more to it than what you are letting on."

"You seem to have things pretty figured out haven't you?"

"I have only been here possibly two days and by what I've seen, there are two set of digimon I would prefer to avoid like the plague. The one that looks like a bowling ball with wings and that big guy with the flames and chains."

"Only two days and you already know who to avoid…took me a lot longer to realize that with the SkullMeramon…"

"Who?"

"The one with the chains. It never dawned on me that he was one to never mess with. There is another one, Phantomon that you want to keep your distance from."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Just some pointers."

"It makes no difference. It's not like I am ever going to trust any of you anyway."

With that, silence filled the dungeons once again. Wizardmon was happy that the boy actually talked a little more this time around then he had the day before. He just wished that his trust could be there. He did understand though that the boy had been through so much, so why should he trust him.

Day after day Wizardmon would visit the cell, usually bringing food he could collect and a blanket. Little offerings such as those seemed to lighten the boy's mood bit by bit. There were still no actual personal talks or anything just yet. Some times the questioning of why Wizardmon would bring food to him was brought up, given the response of: "You need to eat and to keep up your strength."

After a week of visiting the cell one particular evening, Wizardmon saw improvement on the way Kota talked to him. All the other digimon were out of the castle along with Myotismon himself. That gave Wizardmon the chance to sit with Kota and not have to worry about being interrupted.

"I brought you some water," Wizardmon said sitting in front of the cell.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Forgive me, after all this time I have come to visit you, I have never gotten your name," Wizardmon mentioned handing over the canteen.

"What?" the boy asked taken aback by the digimon's question; little information was ever passed by them every time Wizardmon came to see him. Still, he couldn't take the risk, what were the chances that he was just there to collect information and bring it back to his master?

"What is your name?" Wizardmon asked again.

The boy kept up his guard, sure, what harm could come to talking to this particular digimon? He did come to visit daily, perhaps this one was different. "Kota…Kota Chiksta. What do they call you?"

"I am Wizardmon."

"You are not like the other digimon. You seem…different," Kota noticed sitting up a little straighter.

"I take it you have never truly met a lot of pleasant digimon have you?"

"Not particularly. Even when I first arrived here I had the worst luck with running into the worst of the worst. I was nearly killed. The fact that I was captured by that giant freak, SkullMeramon, from my safe haven made me rethink everything."

"Kota, please understand that not all digimon are evil. It does take time to get to know someone."

"Well, it doesn't seem to be getting better."

Wizardmon sighed sadly at Kota's words. He was trying his hardest to understand the boy and perhaps get him to trust him. Though Wizardmon doubted that he would actually trust him in this current situation. One thing still remained the same; the two did share some things in common when it came to trusting others.

"It will take time I know that, but please know that you can talk to me whenever you need to."

"It's greatly appreciated, thank you so much."

"I have to say, it took me a while too before I could trust anyone."

"Really?"

"Yes. I never always worked for Myotismon, before all this, I wondered around the digital in search for something."

"In search for what?"

"Something…or someone. Even to this day I am unsure of what it is, but I know in my heart someone is out there waiting for me."

"Then…how did you come to be here?" This caught Kisho's attention quickly and he was eager to know more about Wizardmon's searching's.

"Kudamon. She found me nearly passed out in the desert village; I hadn't eaten in days nor had any water in my body. She took care of me, she didn't have to, but she did. It didn't take long before those looking for her took both of us back here. I had a choice in the matter, I could become loyal to Myotismon or bad things could happen. Sadly, those bad things cannot be revealed, it is not for me to tell. So…here I've stayed. Although I keep close to my heart someday soon I will come across the one that I have been searching for."

"It must be hard to not being near those you consider friends. I know those very well."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I came here, I came from a place called Earth. I have this really dear friend, she means everything to me. When we were eight, a bunch of older kids got a jump on us, just because we were different, as well as the fact that a lot of people feared us. Of course, these older kids just didn't like us in the long run. Got me pretty bad. I don't recall a lot of things that occurred, but I do know that I am in a coma. I can remember hearing voices telling my parents the fate I've been put in. I've been separated by those I care most about. I just wish one day I can see her again."

"What is your friend's name?"

"Kiva Inuzia. We grew up together; my parents and her father are best friends."

"Sounds like you have someone watching over you."

"Yeah, that is true. I just wish I knew how and why I was sent here. Gennai sort of explained it to me but I didn't fully understand it and I still don't."

"Don't give up; destiny has a funny way of bringing things all together in the end."

"Wizardmon…can I tell you something…?" Kota asked Wizardmon a month later after daily talks and getting to know each other more and more.

"What is it?"

"I would never trust anyone with this secret, but I trust in you. I'm a vampire. Both my parents are vampires themselves."

"How have you been surviving without blood? If I knew this sooner, I would have gotten something for you."

"Easy. I appreciate that, really I do. The only thing is it has to be human blood and specific ones. I am very partial to those I feed upon."

"Only if Myotismon would take a page from your books," Wizardmon laughed coldly.

"There are different kinds of vampires out there. I hate the way a lot of them feed."

Time went by and Wizardmon kept his promise of visiting Kota. The trust between the two grew and grew. The conversations continued, even when there was nothing to talk about. Mostly when that happened, Kota got interested to know what was going on outside the window seeing as the only window he had was far too out of reach. With all that going on, the two grew to become close friends and Wizardmon promised to protect him no matter what happened.

~End flashback~

Wizardmon sighed as he headed out of his room and made his way to the dungeons. He would be happy to see the child's smiling face, or at least, a partial one that only Wizardmon could see. As soon as the coast was clear, Wizardmon snuck down the corridor toward the dungeons. His steps were still hesitant after the latest punishment. He cursed Myotismon for all that he's done.

No other digimon were around, and as a bonus, DemiDevimon was nowhere to be found around the hallways. That was probably his only upside to everything. There wasn't a day that went by when he wasn't tempted to choke the life out of him.

'Get those thoughts out of your mind; you need to stay focus on the task at hand. Kota is counting on you,' Wizardmon scolded himself angrily.

Roaming around the part of the castle, Ember and Johnny continued their search. Already they came across numerous dead ends, even phasing through the walls leading to nowhere. That or the drop of a lifetime.

"Five hundred rooms and still no actual destination. Are you sure we are going the right way Ember?" Johnny groaned as both stood in one of the corridors and tried their hardest to calculate their next move. Ember was mentally going through all the passage ways they took. She could remember a good chunk of areas better than most.

"Just trust me, all right? I think our best bet would be to go down this corridor. We keep bypassing it; I think it would be wise to take it."

"If we get lost, I swe…."

"Someone's coming!" Ember quickly interjected turning her head to the one side before going intangible. There was more than one time during their search they remained tangible and nearly getting caught. Johnny followed soon after and watched as a tall red skeleton like creature with a scythe in his hands walked past them. Even as ghosts a shudder went through their bodies in fear.

"That was too close," Johnny sighed moving to Ember's side as the digimon turned a corner.

"We need to be more careful. I am unsure if we can keep this up any longer," Ember warned.

"So…uh…long corridor?"

"Yep. Let's move."

The two bolted down the long corridor afraid of any more run-ins. No matter what, they needed to locate Kota soon before any of the digimon got wise of their presence. They had been there for three hours and were sure the humans were getting suspicious of their absence.

The long corridors quickly lead down another passage before coming to a set of stairs leading downstairs. The two ghosts stopped in their tracks upon coming to the doorway of the stairs and stared at each other.

"You don't think?" Johnny asked.

"One way to find out."

With that being said, Ember took the lead again, running down the stairs. Johnny kept up behind her as anticipation rose inside of him. There might be some good come from this at long last. Everything became dark and dank down there then it was upstairs. It was eerily quiet down there as well, which got the ghosts to thinking that perhaps no one was there.

Following the dust covered ground further and further from the stairs; voices became louder and louder. That spiked their attention quickly. Maybe their search wasn't in vain after all; their only fear that built up inside of them was the fact that it was running into digimon that could pose a threat to them.

Ember made her way forward taking the risk; she could take care of herself. One of the voices she heard sounded like a young child. Raising her eyebrow she ventured closer, beckoning a hesitant Johnny to follow her.

"Wizardmon, you have to stop these things, I can't afford to lose you."

"I know you can't Kota, I am so sorry for worrying you, believe me on that. Anything that Myotismon pulls I can't risk disobeying."

"So you just keep risking more and more of your life?"

"Kota?" Ember asked going tangible again.

Wizardmon and Kota turned their attention to the two ghosts. Wizardmon automatically went on the protector mode. He raised his staff at Ember not knowing if could trust them or not. Ember and Johnny raised their hands not wanting to cause any trouble.

"Wizardmon, it's okay. They're friends. This is Ember and Johnny. They know Victoria, Kiva and Yumi."

"Please forgive me, I was unaware."

"Don't worry about it. We are sorry to have snuck up on you."

"What are you doing here?" Kota asked.

"Kiva sent us. We don't have a lot of time."

"You two are getting me out of here?"

"No, Kiva wanted us to determine how long it would get here and how to get down here."

"Kiva's going to rescue me?"

"Yes, she wants to get you out of here."

"She'll be killed."

"She's determined."

"Kiva, the one I had seen with Yumi and Victoria? I'm sure she'll do fine. But she does need to know the grave dangers she's putting herself into."

"I'm sure she knows it won't just be her going either."

"All right. Yumi…have you…"

"No, they are still searching for her. I'm sure she'll be around soon."

"Will you have Kiva a message from me when you return?"

"Anything."

Kota went on to tell them his message before bidding them farewell. Wizardmon also gave them his own message to keep his identity secret. All would be revealed in time. After nodding their heads, Ember and Johnny took to the air and flew through the only window in the cell.

Time had definitely passed them by since being in the castle. It wasn't like they were planning to be in there all day long.

The trip back to the campsite turned out to be a quick one. There was no hesitation on the actual location like it had been when they left those many hours ago. Ember was still going over every corridor they took in the castle that led to the dungeons. Wizardmon gave her an actual map to follow when it got to that time. Obviously the room that needed to be well cleared of was Myotismon's. Even if it were on the second floor, the chances of taking a wrong turn were possible.

The sound of Mark's fussing over Kisho could be clearly heard as the camp came into view. Victoria rolled her eyes as she went to sit next to Kiva.

"I can't believe you would be that careless for not watching over him. He could have died. What were you thinking? Or were you not thinking at all?"

Victoria didn't seem to be paying attention to him as her and Kiva started to talk via sign language. Ember shook her head at the sight. How thick headed could somebody be? She gestured to Johnny to follow her lead as she went intangible. Both ghosts landed behind Victoria and Kiva and went back to being tangible.

"What are you two talking about? Discussing how hot I am?" Johnny asked.

"Sure we are, but it wouldn't be about you," Victoria smirked. Ember and Johnny were hoping for a good scare attack but Victoria and Kiva were less likely to scare.

"Aw, that's just mean."

"Suck it up. Where have you two been anyway?"

"Oh around," Ember quickly said elbowing Johnny in the ribs as he went to say something.

"Nice of you two to say something."

"Well, we wanted to get away from everyone. You know how it goes."

"I suppose."

"Kiva, can we have a word with you please?" Ember asked.

Kiva: What is it?

Ember raised her eyebrow and motioning her head to a blank location. Kiva got the message clearly while Victoria was still questioning what was going on. Kiva stood up telling Victoria one moment as she followed the two spectres.

Kiva: What did you two find out?

"The castle is far into the east. Past the clutter of tree and the high cliffs lies the castle. There is a way to get to it safely. Once inside is where it gets tricky…" Ember explained. She was stopped when Kiva raised her hand.

Kiva: Kota. Is he safe?

"Yes, a digimon is looking out for him right now."

Kiva: What digimon?

Johnny and Ember looked at each other with questioning looks. They promised to keep his identity secret, but Kiva did have the right to know the truth. Sighing both nodded their heads.

"His name is Wizardmon. That is all we can tell you. Just keep in mind he is taking good care of him."

Kiva: I guess that is all we can ask for.

"We have a map that can come in handy. I kind of did it by memory," admitted Ember.

Kiva: Perfect. You have no idea how much this means to me.

Shortly after going through the map, Kiva returned to Victoria's side who was now sitting by the fire with the rest of the group. She was discussing a possibly new location, there was more cover and still close to the water. It was a bit of a walk, but in the end, well worth it. Kiva took her spot next to Victoria moments later listening to the end of the conversation.

"Is it truly worth the risk?"

"I say yes. I feel highly exposed out here," admitted Yukito.

"Fine, in the morning we'll head out to the new location. It better be worth it," Mark sighed exasperatedly.

"When did you become leader?"

"When the leader abandoned us."

"Okay, seriously? Again with this bloody shit? Can we drop it please?"

"Fine fine."

As the rest of the group went into their own conversations, Kiva went straight for a conversation with Victoria, wanting to get her plan underway.

Kiva: I want to go rescue Kota.

That got Victoria's attention right away. She had inkling that Kiva was planning something; she could see it in her eyes. She just didn't think she was THAT serious.

"Kiva, are you mad? You do realize the dangers that surround this possible outcome right?" Victoria whispered in a hush voice.

Kiva: If we stick together then we'll have no problem.

"Do you truly know what would happen if by chance we were killed? Yumi is still out there somewhere. We don't know where for sure. Okay, don't get me wrong, her dot is screaming HEAR I AM! But that's beside the point. If there were something to happen and she didn't know we would never find each other."

Kiva: I understand the risks, but we have to try. We did this the entire time we've been here.

"Yes, but that is different. Risking our lives for someone we don't know could pose as a threat."

Kiva: How can you even say that, you of all people?

Victoria's voice brought everyone's attention to the two girls who seemed to be in a heated discussion. For once, Victoria seemed to be on Kiva's bad side. Everyone knew what that usually meant.

Kiva: We have to go and rescue Kota, he need our help!

"Kiva, that's suicide!" Puppymon blurted out startling everyone.

To be continued….

A/N: So after months and month of waiting, I give you chapter 35 and another cliff hanger. Mean of me, isn't it? Don't worry; the next chapter will be the last part to this. And just think of it, only two more chapters until they are back in the real world. I am sorry for the delay, I originally wanted this as a Christmas gift to you guys, didn't go so well, then I wanted up before the New Year, I was also going to treat you to a double upload, sadly I have to rewrite the next chapter. It didn't work out the way I wanted it too.

Yumi: You and your bloody writer's block. Was that truly the case or were you deliberately trying to hold off on writing?

Me: Oh you'll never know will you?

Yumi: Evil, that's all I have to say. Just stay focus on this.

Me: Aye aye ma'am.