Heya peeps, I'm BAAAAAAACK! (*ahem*) Anyhow, here's chapter 3 - this is the weird, "supernatural-y" one, so bear with! But yeah, this was fun to write. I do like torturing the characters......
I thought I'd get more into this chapter, but it turned out to take more writing then I thought...I really wanna get to the bit with Sora and Matt, cos I got it all planned out, just gotta get it typed...Yay! Next chapter! I promise...!! Anyway, read on, please guys...

'---' equals thoughts
"---"equals speech

Disclaimer: lalalalalala...Ooh, sorry. Got distracted. Well, as we all know, I don't own those luvverly digidestined, however, Frenzy is a figment of my own bizarre imagination - so she's MINE! Mwahahahahaha!

Chapter 3 : The Enigmatic Stranger

Matt was lost in thought as he tuned up his guitar one final time before he was due on stage with the other members of the Teenage Wolves. When the strings were as satisfactorily resonant as he could get them, he finally looked up. Instead of standing and running through a few chords as he usually did, he sat uncommonly still, staring into space, unfocused.
His head was still spinning from his meeting with Sora. 'Damn her,' he thought fiercely. 'She's really unsettled me...I never thought I'd see her -or any of them-again.'
Just thinking about his old friends, the digidestined (it was still hard to believe what they had all gone through together...) made Matt self-consciously draw the long sleeves of his black shirt down over his arms. They were mottled with bruises from the multiple injections. Some were fading to a pale brown, others, newer ones, were blue-purple and painful looking. He shuddered slightly, the way he always did when he thought of what he had become.
A drug addict.
It was still hard to think of that, despite the front he put up to others when they seemed surprised - instead of being defensive, he wore his casual, don't-care attitude like a mask to conceal his true feelings. No-one ever saw the other side of Matt Ishida - the side of him that just wanted to scream and cry, break down utterly at the injustice of losing his father, his friends, his brother, his sanity...
His entire life had been changed - he was a teen idol, a rock star, doing what he loved, making music that others appreciated, adored, even, yet he hadn't ever pictured it being this way - alone. Despite the comradeship of the other guys and their support, they could never truly understand him. The fans adored him, but they couldn't be close to him.
The rest of the band accepted the fact that he used drugs - they could hardly escape it after all, it was gossip that affected the whole band and their image, and in a way he felt guilty for that. He had built walls around himself to stop that sensitive, wretched side showing - he couldn't afford to let it surface - he had to retain his cool exterior. If he lost the band and the music, there would be nothing worth living for, it was that simple. A slip-up could mean the end of your career in the music business. They may say it's all about the music, Matt thought, but if your image goes, then you're finished.

His first slip-up had been being photographed with the tell-tales marks on his arms - there was no disguising the fact he was on drugs then. Sure, the tabloids had had a ball with that story, Matt hated to think of the fans' reactions. He hoped none of them had idolised him so much that they followed that road as well - it was not something he would recommend - far from it. If there was anything he could have done to stop the papers running the story he would have. Not so much for his own benefit, but for the fans.
He didn't care what people thought of him any more. But he didn't want lives ruined because of him. That was partly why he had agreed to do a documentary, along with the other members of the band on the so-called "rock-star life" - he wanted to make it clear that drugs could, and did ruin your life.

But though he despised the drugs, he could not live without them. 'I suppose that's why they call it an addiction,' the teen thought sardonically, adjusting the length of his guitar strap, hearing the screaming from the packed concert hall filter down to where he was sitting backstage.
It had become a habit, and he came to crave the brief high that the stuff gave him, because the harsh reality was often too hard to face. Worse than that was the loneliness. OK, he knew he had brought it on himself by pushing Tai and TK - the people closest to him - away, but that knowledge didn't make it any better. He was trapped, effectively. Desperate for his true friends, yet unable to allow himself to let them into his life because of the drugs he was addicted to, and without his friends or someone to give him a reason to give up, the need for the hits was just too strong to ignore.

"Matt!" Jon yelled, his voice unnaturally loud, partly to be heard over the muffled screaming, and also because he was wearing his ear-phones to muffle the sound of the drum-kit he would be responsible for playing once the band got on stage. "You ready? This is gonna be the big one for you! Home town's always the best, right?"
"You tell me," Matt remarked, standing up and putting all thought of Sora and his old life aside. "You should know - you've played in L.A. enough times, after all! This is my first time playing at home."
"Yeah," Jon agreed. "You don't mind about that do you? We did do L.A. first, after all. It must be kinda hard being away from home so much...But then, that's what its all about, right?"
"Yeah," Matt nodded and clapped him on the shoulder, indicating Dave, who was urging them over to him, frantically. "Let's rock this joint! Before Dave strains something..." He laughed, his clear blue eyes sparkling with wicked humour, and Jon joined in.
'I guess it would be hard being away from home if home actually meant something to me...' The teen thought, with a inward sigh. Ostensibly, he grinned at Dave and Paul, who played keyboards and guitar respectively and ran a hand through his blonde hair.
"Ready guys? I think we'd better get out there - people are getting impatient!"
The others laughed - the thudding from hundreds of eager, excited fans' feet as they stamped on the concert hall floor was almost deafening.

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A figure stepped out of the shadows. A woman; willowy, quite tall. Slender, with blonde swathes of immaculately curled hair tumbling past the shoulder and dark, midnight-blue eyes that could strip away a person's soul.
A smile played over her smooth features, and a soft sigh escaped the stranger's curved lips.
"Ahhh. Twilight Hour."
The sun had set moments before and a pale blush of pink still remained in the western sky. Turning her head toward the East, the woman laughed, quietly, melodiously. A full moon hung silvery in the darkening heavens as she set off down the deserted street. "Now, to begin the search..."
It had not been long before she felt what she had been searching for. An abundance of energy pulsed nearby, she was almost overwhelmed by it. Drawn to it like a wolf to its prey, she slipped across the street on noiseless bare feet. Her lips curved in a feral smile as she stepped up to the men at the doors to the concert hall.
"Excuse me miss, but the doors are closed," one said, with the bored attitude of a man who is sick of his job.
Quick as a flash, the young woman shot out her hand with supernatural speed and dealt the man a harsh blow to the throat. He crumpled instantly. The other man only gaped for a moment, to give him credit.
"OK, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
He received no reply. An instant later, he had joined his companion, but he was less fortunate. His companion had at least kept his head.
Frenzy wiped her blade casually on the dead man's coat and resheathed it. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" She said sweetly to the decapitated corpse, and spun on her heel. "Doors aren't a problem to me."

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Matt couldn't help having a good time. The atmosphere on stage was electric, you could almost reach out and touch the excitement - it was buzzing. It was almost time to draw the concert to a close, and he felt a tinge of annoyance. When he could lose himself in the music, he almost enjoyed being alive. It gave him some kind of vital energy.
But, as always, there had to be a finish. They made it a good one. The fans were screaming so loud, Matt felt as though the roof would cave in. Literally.

Exhausted, sweating but exhilarated, the band members staggered down the backstage steps, grinning all over their faces. "Wow, that was brilliant!" Dave mumbled, as he flexed his fingers experimentally. "Man, I could go out there and do it all again!"
"Hey, don't wanna burn yourself out too soon." Matt remarked as he swung his guitar over his shoulder and rested it on a nearby chair. "I hate to be the voice of reason, but we've got plenty more dates to play!"
"Can't wait," Jon said, snatching up a towel. "The crowd were great, weren't they? It was really buzzing out there!"
"Yeah," Matt smiled briefly, as he remembered. "Well, c'mon, guys, lets go get changed and get out to 'face the crowd.' "

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"This is perfect," murmured Frenzy as she watched the young blonde-haired musician wave to the crowd and depart the stage. "He's perfect..."
She pushed her way through the hordes of people who were still screaming, hoping for a second encore.
'Hmmm. Backstage doors....Should be...here.'
"Excuse me," She said pleasantly to the man standing watchfully at the barred backstage doors. Her knife shot out momentarily in a flash of silver, then was gone again just as fast. The man fell to the floor with a barely audible gurgle, his throat slit.
"Too slow."
The woman slipped unnoticed through the doors, and barred them once more. She didn't want any of those lunatics out there spoiling her fun...

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Matt sighed as he shut the door of his dressing room, and for a moment he just leant against it silently, feeling his heartbeat as it thudded within him. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off now, and tiredness set in. Snatching a towel from a chair, Matt rubbed his face dry, stripped off his shirt and slipped on a fresh one. He left it unbuttoned for the moment as he stood in front of the wall-mirror and ran a comb through his unruly blonde hair.
The door clicked as it opened. Matt jumped. He was sure he had locked it, for the sake of privacy. He swung round, eyes narrowed, irritated by the interruption. He was taken aback by the fact that the intruder was a young woman. A remarkably beautiful young woman, in fact. She strolled in confidently, her eyes fixed on his, and Matt felt a little unnerved, though annoyance at her audacity soon took over.
"What do you want?" He demanded.
"Ooh, straight to the point, I like that." She answered casually. "No introductions?"
"What do you want?" Matt repeated tightly, crossing his arms.
"Well, I'll tell you who I am. My name is Firenze Orenda Gloriana. [A/N - don't ask OK? It came from my odd mind] But you can call me Frenzy for short, since we're going to be such good friends."
"And what makes you think that?" Matt asked, staring at her, feeling that perhaps he should just yell for security and get this weirdo out of here.

"Not a good idea. Security are no match for me," Frenzy said sweetly. "But tell you what, I'll tell you what I want, and then you can help me."
Matt gaped at her, his hands trembling ever so slightly. Had she read his thoughts? It would appear so.

Frenzy moved several steps closer to this young man. He was an uncommonly good-looking mortal, and more importantly, she could feel the energy radiating from him - it was this atypical characteristic that set him apart from all the screaming dross out there. This young man had something special...
"Now," she said, sidling up to him. "I need you. You have something special, I can sense it. I could feel it a long way away...But, I don't know..." She lunged forwards and grabbed Matt's arms suddenly, her eyes sparkling with mischievousness. The teen gasped and struggled, trying to pull away from her, but her grip was like iron clamps.
"Let go," Matt gasped, wrenching from side-to side, panic building within him. How could she be so impossibly strong? When that didn't work, he brought up his leg to deliver a sharp roundhouse kick to this odd woman, remembering, despite his fear, what he had learnt in his martial arts classes, a long time ago. Quick as a flash, before Matt's foot could connect with her body, Frenzy let go of Matt's arms, and grabbed his outstretched leg.
Matt yelped in dismay as her nails dug through the material of his jeans, and he lost his balance as Frenzy yanked brutally at his leg. He fell awkwardly, his head thudding painfully against the wooden floor. Dazed, Matt shook his head from side to side, trying to get rid of the dizziness that clouded his mind. He groaned, tasting blood in his mouth.
Frenzy was laughing merrily, still clinging to his leg. "Oh, I do like to play," she giggled.

Anger replaced panic in Matt and he bent his leg at the knee swiftly, dragging Frenzy forward, then lashed out with it again, catching her in the stomach. She let go for a brief moment and Matt lost no time. Rolling over and leaping to his feet, he darted around Frenzy and had just grabbed hold of the door handle when Frenzy screamed in fury and hurled herself at him. She pinned him against the door with such force that Matt's breath was crushed out of him.
"Ughhhnn...Get off of me!!" Matt struggled, but he couldn't move. She had pinned him firmly against the door. He felt her cold hands on the back of his neck and flinched as Frenzy hissed noisily in his ear, "enough playing around."
Matt opened his mouth to yell for help but at that instant, he was wrenched backwards, then thrown forwards again. He felt something solid come into contact with his head and all thoughts of escaping were lost as he succumbed to blackness...

"Hello?" Jon snatched up Matt's cell-phone and connected.
"Um, hello. Is Matt there please?"
Jon furrowed his brow. It sounded like a kid on the other end.
"Who's speaking?" Jon asked as he glanced at his watch. Matt sure was taking his time in his dressing room.
"It's TK. Er, I'm Matt's brother...Who's this?"
"Oh, right! Your Matt's little brother! This is Jon, I'm his bandmate. I'll just go get him for you, TK."

TK glanced nervously at Tai's closed bedroom door and anxiously wound the phone cord round and round his fingers. If Tai knew he was ringing Matt, he wouldn't be too happy. Tai had made it quite clear that he hated Matt, and TK could hardly blame him. He had hated his brother too when Matt had refused to speak to him...
But Tai and Kari were downstairs attempting to make dinner - the Kamiyas were out at a restaurant tonight, and Kari had invited TK round.
TK had been reading one of the magazines lying around on the Kamiya's coffee table, and had been flicking through it, with Tai and his sister's lively banter in the background as they argued over what to cook. He had been surprised when he had seen the advert in the magazine for a Teenage Wolves concert here in Odaiba - that meant his brother was in town somewhere...TK had excused himself and now he was anxiously waiting to speak to his brother. He had to know what was going on.

Frenzy surveyed the unconscious youth. This was no good. She hadn't intended to hit him so hard against the door that he collapsed. 'Well, he was bugging me, she pouted. I can't help it if I don't know my own strength!'
It was a shame that she'd had to damage him, really. There was an ugly bruise appearing where he had hit the door, a dark smudge against the pale skin of his forehead. His eyelids fluttered and Frenzy clapped her hands. 'Good, he's waking up. Then I can test him and get out of here! It's starting to bore me...'

Matt was only unconscious for a few moments. Pain seared through his head as he cautiously opened one eye. Seeing Frenzy above him caused the memories to flood back and his eyes shot open fully, widening in alarm, but before he could do anything, Frenzy had him on his feet, his back to her, her arms clamping round his waist. She forced him over in front of the mirror and as he glared at her reflection in the glass, she smiled ferally back at him. "Now we shall see if I can use you," she remarked in a low voice.
Matt strained desperately, but her arms did not give. 'She can't be human! No one can be this strong!'
With a growl, Frenzy bared her teeth, revealing wickedly jagged fangs. Matt filled his lungs to scream, but Frenzy cut him off as she sank her jaws deep into the tender skin of Matt's throat...

A/N: whew! My fingers hurt. Please tell me what you thought of this strange collection of words loosely referred to as a chapter. I'd be most appreciative...OK, I give up trying to sound accomplished : just R/R peeps, OK? ^_^ Thanx! ~Cara
Ooh, and just for info - Firenze Orenda Cloriana means, in my odd way, "Frenzy Power Glory" So there you go. Learn something new every day, huh?