Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers

by Alene Deirbre

when piedmon was destroyed he was forced to choose a new ruler for the nightmare soldiers, and the one he chose was Matt, but deamon wants that honor for himself. Matt/Tk brotherly stuff & Matt/Tai friendship

5. Of Angels, Demons, and Blood Stained Gla...

A/N: this is probably the most poorly written chapter of this story, oh well at least I'm finally updating it. I started driver's ed., which means four hours five days a week of extra classroom time. So obviously my schedule is full, but I'm still going to be working on this, no month breaks between chapters, but it might still take me a while to update so, I'll just apologize a head of time for that.

Oh I didn't proof read this chapter (didn't have the time) so I will probably go back and do that later so sorry for any bad grammar mistakes (because I know there are a lot in there).

Disclaimer: don't own it, never will.

~*~*~

Shadows and fog spread across and endless sea of murky water. If any producer of light did exist in this desolate world it could not be seen through the impenetrable layer of black clouds which created an obscure barrier between the freedom in light and the torment in darkness. Despite the wall blocking out all heavenly bodies of light the world could still be seen as though a dim ray of unnatural light illuminated the gloomy objects occupying it. This unnatural light lifted some of the darkness casting the world into an everlasting caliginous atmosphere. Locked in an eternal penumbra the captive creatures of this world wonder aimlessly searching for some freedom from the nightmare which was their home.

The waves of the bottomless ocean constantly raked upon the small landmasses where the few innocent beings of the world seek refuge from the merciless armies of evil digimon that lingered in this world of the own free will. In the center of these inky waves stood a structure of deteriorating bricks built in the form of tall towers and massive stone walls.

The castle was built upon a molding landmass, the island was larger then all the refuges in the world put together. The outer wall of the castle encircled most of the island leaving only a small outside area of rotting plants and countless graves. The tall towers reached high into the blacken clouds and the outer-court was laid with stones cracked by the cursed land's thorn covered roots.

Inside the castle dark halls lined with banners of deep red and gloomy grays stretched on for miles. Torches lit each hall and room, the flickering light from the small flames cast shadows and play illusions on all who walked these cold passages. Large wooden doors with iron handles led off from the halls into many windowless rooms.

The wind passed through the cracks of the decaying castle whistling an eerie melody. The sound would echo through the halls and taunt all who heard it, it would whisper to lost souls of the freedom in the outside world, it would jeer at them constantly as it bragged of the freedom it possessed, freedom that the souls trapped within the castle, would never have.

Buried deep under the rooms, where the free inhabitants of the world lived, laid the dungeons keeping all who had betrayed or failed the darkness captive in the torment the shadows of hopelessness gave. The agonizing screams of the prisoner echo with the wind throughout the entire castle. The sounds of whips tearing flesh and rods braking bones constantly flowed through the underground chasms. The smell of decaying flesh, dried blood and pain freed sweat lingered on the ice-cold walls and rusted prison bars.

This world was truly created from nightmares and pain for that was all you could find lurking in the shadows of The World of Darkness. Depression opened the gate to this world and regret, pain, sorrow, loneliness, hopelessness, where the chains which bond you there. The only beings which existed in this world out of free will were creatures of evil, born of the darkness itself, and Deamon the ruler of nightmares, the one who brings despair was the strongest of these beings.

In the grand courtroom of the decaying castle resided Deamon. Tall pillars of cracked stone along with a stone throne made up the largest room in the haunted castle. Like all other rooms the only light in the courtroom came from torches and iron chandeliers. The chill of death hung upon the room at all times as it did in its master's cold eyes. So many souls, both good and evil, had been tormented for pleasure then cast away like garbage at the command of Deamon. Now the demon's eyes glowed with the lust for blood, as his fist flinched and released in anger. His sharp talons stained with the blood of thousands of innocent beings scratched upon his stone throne causing a horrifying screech to echo through the hall.

"Are you certain?" the hallow, merciless voice which haunted so many nightmares, demanded of his servant who was now trembling before him.

"Yes my master, the boy claimed he was the new Lord." The kneeling digimon answered in fear. His master had already showed sings of anger, and no one wished to be near the Dark Area digimon when he was in a state of rage.

Deamon was silent, his eyes flashed with the fury running through his icy veins as he stood from his throne and looked down upon his scout. Soon he floated down to where his fearful servant knelt, his body almost looked transparent in the shadows and mist which blanketed the room, his robes of deep reds floated behind him like trailing waves of blood, and his horned had made him look like many pictures of Satan.

"Find out for certain, Devimon. Go to the real world seek out this boy and make sure he is the one. I am not taking any chances this time." Deamon ordered his voice was cruel but his intent was crueler.

"A you wish Master." The Devimon replied. He was thankful that his master's anger would not be taken out upon him. With a bow of respect Devimon left the courtroom and merged with the shadows.

'No child will have the strength to defeat Master Deamon, it will be a pleasure to sink my claws into this boy's flesh.'

~*~*~

"Okay we have a choose white rice or brown rice." Matt shouted, hoping the increase in volume of his usually soft voice would perpetrate the wall separating him from the one he spoke to.

"I'm surprised you don't have more food in the house since you love cooking and all." Came the bewildered reply.

Matt shut the cabinet doors and walked to the living room where the reply had come from. With an exhausted sigh he flopped down on one of the chairs, placed by the small table where he and his father generally ate their meals. His eyes stared straightforward at the picture of his father, brother and himself placed on the stand by a lamp.

"What's wrong Matt?" the concern voice of Gabumon broke through the blonde's reverie.

"Nothing." The he answered quietly, before slowly tearing his eyes away from the photo holding two of the people he loved and shifted them to the blue and white striped digimon sitting at the other side of the small table.

Gabumon's gentle crimson eyes held all the tenderness and sympathy of an angel looking upon an innocent child lost amongst the corruption of the human realm. "You can tell me Yamato, that is what I am here for, to listen and help if I can." Gabumon coaxed.

Matt looked away from Gabumon and laughed softly, not in amusement, but in a thought that was only apparent to him.

Gabumon peered at his partner in confusion, and was about to ask the young man what he was laughing at, but he was cut off. "That was the first time you ever called me Yamato." The blond explained, his voice sounding grieved by his own discovery.

"It seemed appropriate, after all you're growing up Matt." This time the reptile used the distressed boy's nickname in an attempt to offer him comfort.

Matt looked back at his partner, his crystal eyes peered deeply into the crimson ones across from him, and they searched his partner closely looking for any hint of uncertainty. "I'm not growing, if anything I am going backwards." He answered, his voice cracking with sorrow as he thought of the events which had transpired over the past two days.

"Why do you say that?" the digital creature asked, generally he understood his friend, but Matt was going through a great change and this caused the blond to drift from reality and who he was.

Matt stood up his jerky yet fluent movement showed Gabumon that his partner was aggravated, but also strangely calm. "Why do you think they chose me to be the ruler of evil digimon?" the blond asked in a wrenched voice.

Gabumon hopped off the chair he sat upon and walked to stand near his distressed partner. "Now you are buying into Gennia's beliefs, the Nightmare Soldiers aren't evil, well not all of them anyway. Just look at me, do you think I am evil?" he questioned gently not wanting to say something that could cause the Keeper of Friendship more confusion.

Matt didn't reply at first, instead he looked out the sliding glass door which stood between him and the balcony. Outside skyscrapers as high as mountains extended into the sky, their warning lights and office lamps glowed like beckons in the polluted sky that the large city was accustom to. The skyline was oddly beautiful the lights flashed in many colors and the glass buildings reflected some moonlight which pierced the clouds of smog. Homes, business, hospitals, all of them blended into one man made accomplishment that at certain times could be considered breath taking. Generally looking out upon the city from the security of his home made him feel safe, it allowed him to observe the beauty or the wreckage of the world without having to be a part of it.

"Maybe I am the one who's evil." The Keeper of Friendship's voice held all the unshed tears, all the rage, and all the knowledge hidden inside him.

Matt began to feel weak, not physically but mental and emotionally. Darkness was creeping over his vision and clouding his head with all the doubt inside him. All the negative emotions passing through him at that moment grew to the point that they were unbearable. With a cry a frustration Matt fell to his knees and grabbed locks of his blond hair in an attempt to fight the voices haunting his mind. Voices which told him he was evil, a traitor to his friends, that he was too weak to handle his own destiny.

Fear and desperation had taken over Gabumon the moment he saw Matt's eyes turn from their pure cerulean to a dark blue which was quickly turning into black. "Matt, you can't do this again, don't let your fear over take you. You must fight it!" the reptile digimon ordered.

"What if I can't fight it? What if I'm too weak?" Matt's voice was distant, but it was still steady. That meant that the darkness hadn't clogged his ability for reasoning.

"Matt listen to me, you are not evil. Fate chose you for this place for a reason. The Nightmare Soldiers need you to return them to their true selves, but you can't help them if you have doubts about yourself. I know you can do this, I have faith in you, and even if you chose not to become the new Lord it doesn't mean you are weak." Gabumon tried to persuade the braking boy.

"You mean I have a choose?" Matt loosened his grip on his golden hair and placed his shaky hands on the cold wooden floors of the apartment for support.

"You always have a choose, and no matter what, I know you will make the right one." The striped digimon spoke words that had grown familiar to him, but still held the honest sincerity as though they were being promised for the first time.

"But what if this is all a mistake?" the question came out stronger, as Matt grew calmer, the wave of negative emotions within him began to fade as the friendship between digimon and partner was expressed by comfort and trust.

"There are no mistakes in destiny Yamato, this is your calling and only you can decided to take it. What Piedmon or Gennia think doesn't matter, all that matters is that you try your best. I'll always be there for you Matt, but when the time comes you will have to make the decision to take this position of leadership or not. I can't make that choose for you, nor can anyone else." Gabumon wrapped his long fur cover arm around the shaking boy.

The physical contacted chased away Matt's feelings of loneliness and soon the shadow which had evaded his troubled mind faded and was replaced by the light of friendship.

'Gabumon's right, this is my decision, but I haven't even passed the Digi-Core's test. Ladydevimon believed in me and so does Gabumon, I don't want to let them down. If Deamon and Gennia want to get rid of me then they can try, as long as I have friends and I remain calm inside I can overcome this.' Matt seceded in pushing back the darkness within him. The recognition that he not only had enemies on the outside, but a threat also existed within his very heart made him shiver, but also gave him a new desire to overcome all challenges in his path to destiny.

"Gabumon, thank you." The child of Friendship spoke his gratitude then stood from the cold floor. A wave of dizziness passed over him and he swayed from blurry vision and lack of feeling in his limbs, soon the spell paced and his senses returned to normal.

"Brown." The decided voice of Gabumon declared.

Matt looked down at his companion with confusion, after cocking an eyebrow at the smiling digimon he asked. "What?" his voice held amusement along with confusion.

"You asked me if I wanted white rice or brown rice and the answer is brown." The digimon expressed again.

Matt laughed, all the fear which had dominated his voice before had vanished and was replaced with the carelessness of a child. "All right, brown rice it is."

With that decided Matt returned to the kitchen to prepare the meal for two.

~*~*~

"Is it suppose to be cover in green fuzzy stuff?" Sora asked out loud as she examined the cafeteria food on her tray.

"Maybe it's the school's way of making sure that our bodies receive a sufficient amount of penicillin." Izzy responded as he eyed the slab of molding mystery meat on his plate.

Sora picked up her plastic fork and began pocking at the rotting food. "I think it just winked at me." She spoke dully as she laid down her fork and pushed her lunch tray away from her.

Izzy quickly followed the young women's example and pushed his tray back with a scowl on his face.

"Tentomon is at home eating cake and I have been reduced to polluted synthesized food." The red headed genius complained, receiving a nod of agreement from his companion.

"Hey guys!" the cheerful voice of the Child of Courage echoed through the cafeteria causing a few stares from other students.

Tai immediately blushed when he realized how loudly he had greeted his friends. After a nervous laugh and a bow of apology the brunette took a seat next to Sora and began to rip apart the plastic cover blocking him from his fork and butter knife. Once he had his fork in hand he began to scarf down the contents on his plates.

Izzy and Sora both watched Tai with a disgusted look on their face. Tai continued to eat his meal oblivious to the look he was receiving from his friends. After biting into the fuzzy meat Sora finally cracked.

"How can you possibly eat this stuff?!" she shouted in amazement as the sight of the juices from the green meat made her nauseous.

Sora's outburst caused all conversation in the room to stop as all attention fell on her. Her face soon faded from its pail color with a light rosy tent, to a bright red matching her red turtleneck. Soon the moment ended and all the students returned to their earlier activities, although that didn't grant Sora much relief.

Once the attention had left the table of three Tai decided to answer Sora's question. "Once you've had my mom's cooking you find that you can eat anything." He replied with a cocky smile, and then continued his meal.

Both Izzy and Sora shuddered at the thought of what Tai could be contracting from the cafeteria food, but neither of them said anymore about it.

"So um, Izzy, is there any news from the Digital World?" Sora asked casually, hoping to bring her mind of the dangers of the cafeteria.

The red headed boy took a small sip of his soda before answering. "Well Gennia is currently attempting to recover information on the Nightmare Soldiers and their possible new Lord." The boy explained in his usual tone. "There are no sings of activity on Deamon's part, so it is possible that he is no longer a threat, however I'm still monitoring the digi-port's activity to make sure that there are no unauthorized access to either worlds."

Sora only nodded to show that she had at least heard Izzy's report on the other world's statues.

"Has anyone noticed that Matt has been acting kind of weird lately?" Tai spoke up with a bight of unchewed food still in his mouth.

His two friends cocked their eyebrows in a questionable way, to show that they weren't certain of what he was talking about. Tai chewed his bight of food quickly then gulped it down along with a sip of his orange soda.

"What I mean is that he's showing a little more emotion lately. Over the last couple of months he's seemed dead, but yesterday he was more loose and he actually came, that was defiantly an improvement." The brunette stated thoughtfully as he went over his friend's unusual behavior.

"You have a point there Tai, Matt has been very antisocial over the past couple of months, and then he simply showed up and was open enough to engage in conversation." Izzy added as he also began to formulate theories on his comrade's actions.

"Well Matt has always been a little on the quiet side, and he has been under a lot of stress with his band and the whole thing about the school board thinking of cutting the musical programs hasn't helped." Sora's voice held sympathy for her friend. Since she was a tennis player the possibility of loosing the music department didn't really upset her, in fact the cut would mean more money for the athletic programs, but the music department was Matt's life. It was his favorite class and it was his ticked to full scholarships to any collage he wanted.

"Yeah I know that's been bothering him, but I still think there's something else. I think he's been in a fight or something because yesterday he had a bruise on his check and he moved like he was trying to protect his body from contact." The group's leader explained his theories as he remembered what he had discovered the day before.

The other two present looked at their leader with a hint of shock and disbelief in their gaze. "But I didn't see any bruise on Matt, and besides he hasn't gotten into a fight all year." The auburn hair girl replied reasonably.

Matt had given up the tough guy attitude years ago. He had told everyone that fighting should be avoided at all cost. Most everyone realized that he did this so he wouldn't be a bad example to his brother, but he also gave up fighting because he truly believed in trying to settle matters peacefully. Of course anytime a bully would pick on someone he cared about, they were going down. He actually was a great fighter and had earned a reputation of not being someone to trifle with, however with this reputation came a nickname. Unlike the bullies or short-tempered kids who sought out fights, Matt would avoid them completely unless he was defending someone else, and that had cause many people to call him guardian angle. It was the fan girls which started this nickname, and then the name kind of spread and Matt was known as a protector. You could do anything to him and he would just let it slid, but the moment you laid a hand on his friends or someone weaker then you, he became your enemy.

"Hey guys what's going on?" a soft voice broke through the troubling silence that had fallen between the three friends.

The sound of Matt's voice had caused Izzy and Tai to jump in surprise, while Sora turned around to greet the blond. "Hey Matt, what are you doing in here?" she asked surprised to see her friend who generally spent lunch time in the music room.

Matt shrugged his shoulders gracefully in reply. "Mind if I sit down?" he asked politely as he waited to see if he was welcome at the table. He wasn't use to being with his friends during lunch so he didn't want to intrude on their traditions.

"Sure! Have a seat." Tai motion to the empty spot across from himself as a smile spread across his face. He was glad to spend more time with his absent friend, he was begging to feel like he didn't know the blond at all.

After Matt had received confirming nods from the other two occupying the table he walked to the seat and plopped down, grateful to get off his feet. He had been attacked by dizzy spells all day, and standing up didn't help his numb legs grow steadier.

The three original members of the table studied Matt closely. Lying in front of him was a book written in English which he had set there the moment he reached the table. Matt's dad had insisted that his sons learn English at a young age, mostly because of the fact that he was a reporter and his job caused him to interact with many Americans. Matt also knew how to speak French, that was something his mother had wished due to her heritage.

"So what're you reading?" Sora asked with curiosity. She was never good with other languages and even though she had taken English for two years she still couldn't understand it.

Matt looked up from his now open book and smiled kindly at Sora. "The Scarlet Letter, it's for my American Literature course." He explained his voice still soft, but was heard by the three at the table.

Izzy gave Matt an unpleasant. "I had to read that book, it was very depressing in my opinion." The younger boy expressed his dislike of the book.

Again Matt looked up from his book only this time his attention was upon the red headed boy. "Actually this is my second time to read it, I think it's an excellent example of hypocrisy and it also teaches one how to strengthen their character. Hyster shows a great example of how to overcome circumstance and grow stronger from suffering instead of bending to your oppressor's assault upon your will." The blond explained what intrigued him about the book, his ideas made the teen seem far wiser then his peers.

Matt loved to read, Literature was he second favorite subject, with music being his first, and even if he read a book he didn't like he still tried to gain some moral, some tiny piece of wisdom that he could apply to his own life. This particular book gave him a great view into a survivor's character.

"School has corrupted him, quick everyone run, save yourselves before you enjoy learning too." Tai joked; not seeming fazed by Matt insights and calm soothing voice. He had grown use to his friend's love of reading and tendency to turn a book into a lesson of life.

"Very funny Tai, besides we all know that you love to graph on a rectangular coordination system." Sora joked good naturally.

Despite his joking Tai actually is a good student. He makes A's and B's in all his classes, and is top in his class for math and geography. This surprised a lot of people, especially Tai's parents but Matt had known that the brunette boy would take an interest in these two subjects after the two of them had made a bet that Tai could never learn how to draw a map. Of course after seeing Tai's first attempted at maps on File Island, Matt thought he had the bet in the bag, that was until he realized how determined and stubborn his friend was.

Matt mentally laughed as he remembered his friend's earlier attempts at graphing, but then the thoughts left him and he was forced to return to his problems. Not just his troubles in the Digi-World, but disturbances in the real world as well.

"You're worried about the music program being cut aren't you?" Sora's sympathetic voice drove Matt's attention away from his book that he was attempting to focus on and back to his concerned friends.

"Yes, but I'm sure everything will work out." He answered simply. It was true that the program cut would leave him a bit scared, but at the moment his mind was more occupied with dread of his encounter with the Digi-Core.

"Do you think the school board will reconsider your proposals and keep at least some of the music classes available?" Izzy asked his curiosity of the direction his school was going in was flaring with unanswered questions.

The only one who really knew what was going on with the music department was Matt, the three music teachers, and the school board.

"Well I don't see why you're bothering with it, I mean the school band is so beneath you." Tai spoke his thoughts on the issue as he began to work on Sora's uneaten lunch.

"I've already been offer full scholarships to some of the best music academies in Japan, and the classes would give me full high school credit, a chance to travel and meat other musicians and they also offered me brand new instruments of my choose." Matt hadn't really discussed this with anybody, but he knew his friends wouldn't leave the matter alone unless he gave them some information on it.

"Well then what's the problem?" Tai asked amazed at the fact that his friend hadn't already taken one of the offers from an academy.

Matt looked at Tai, conviction held strongly in his gaze. "What happens when I do take one of those offers? The second I give up the fight on the music department here it will close down. None of the other students have a high enough GPA to argue against the school board, and the moment I quiet, the debate will be over. Those other students don't have anything else, only six of them have had offers for scholarships as well, and only eleven are wealthy enough to take lessons else where without a scholarship. Most of the students depend on the music department it's the only subject they're good at, so it's there only chance to get into collage." Matt was silent for a moment; he wanted everything he had just said to sink in to his friends' minds.

After he was certain they understood the dilemma that the cut of the music department would produce he decided to add an after thought. "This in my one chance to make a difference not simply in our class, but in the classes that have yet to come. I want students years from now to be able to feel the joy of picking up an instrument and using it to play the melody of their souls. The school board doesn't have a right to take the privilege of learning how to make music with your own hands away from the future students of this school." The blond finished his thoughts on the issue he had been fighting for and went silent.

Tai, Sora, and Izzy were silent, none of them were certain of how to respond to Matt's cause or how strongly he felt about it.

As usual Tai gained control first and decided to express his feeling on the issue at hand. "If you feel this strongly about it then I'm sure you'll convince the board to keep the music department." The brunette exclaimed with confidence in his voice.

Matt was just about to express his thanks when an overwhelming feeling flooded over him. His vision began to blur and the roaring voices of the cafeteria faded until they could be heard no more. His sense of touch followed his hearing and soon all feeling left his body. Matt gripped the table in a desperate attempt to regain his senses and to make certain he was still sitting in the cafeteria and not floating lifelessly in a pool of shadows. His numb limbs, fading vision, and loss of hearing caused fear and nausea to consume what little feeling he had left.

In a desperate attempt to regain control over his body Matt shut his eyes tightly blocking off what little vision he had left. Forcing back some of the shadows that were clogging his physical senses seemed impossible so instead Matt decided to gain control over his mental activity. Gripping the table so tightly that his already pail knuckles turned white he focused all his energy in clearing his mind. His thoughts soon became organized and he decided to use this as an opportunity to see why his physical senses were fading.

Matt reached out his thoughts and allowed his other senses to search for the problem. He could feel the presence of each human being in the room with him. He could feel Tai, Sora and Izzy, like beacons each of them engulfed in an aurora the same color as their crest. Searching further he could feel the other Digidesitned in Japan, and their digimon, however he couldn't sense the presence of any other normal humans besides the ones occupying the cafeteria with him. Sifting his attention from humans to digimon revealed a very interesting fact to the blond. He could sense digimon far easier then even the Digidestined. He could sense digimon not simply in Japan but in the Asian continent and all islands around Japan.

Brining his attention back from the digimon surrounding Japan to the digimon in Japan showed Matt something very disturbing. There were six digimon too many in the area. He focused on the six creatures heading towards his school feeling the presence of the most powerful one sent shivers down his spine, all he could feel from this digimon was power and hatred. The darkness coming from this digimon made him want to scream out in pain, and just as he felt he could handle the presence of this darkness no longer, his physical senses returned and all feeling of this digimon faded from an overwhelming darkness to simply a feeling of unwanted life.

Matt raised a shaking hand to his head and rested his forehead against the sweaty palm for support. His body had returned to its normal feeling, but he still felt as though he was going to be sick.

Tai waved his hand in front of the blonde's unfocussed eyes to gain his attention. With a small struggle Matt sifted his gaze from the table to the brunette across from him.

"Dude are you all right?" he asked with genuine concern. "You looked like you zoned out from a second there."

'A second? Was it only a second, it felt like an eternity.' The Keeper of Friendship thought to himself wearily. "Yeah I'm all right. I just think the smell of this cafeteria food is getting to me." He said simply as he closed his book and slowly stood up. "I'm going to go, but I'll see you guys later. Bye." After he announced this he left, not waiting for a goodbye from his concerned friends.

"That was weird." Sora commented on the actions of her friend.

Izzy nodded a confirming yes, but Tai remained still and silent.

'What's bothering him? I know there's something wrong, why won't he tell us.' The leader of the Digidesitned questioned to himself. He tried to think of any possible explanation for his friend's behavior but he was still coming up with a blank. 'I'll go over to see him this afternoon, and find out what's been bothering him.' the brunette decided as he pushed the tray of Sora's food away from him and began to mentally go over what he would say to his blond friend the next time they met.

Matt exited the cafeteria, oblivious of Tai's plan to interrogate him that evening. As soon as he had left the area of school that was currently flowing with teens and teachers he began to speed up his pace. In a matter of seconds he went from a steady walk to a dash that could beat any member of the track team. He ran down the school halls effortlessly and was soon out the school doors. Then he quickly took off in the direction he had sensed the evil digimon.

'These digimon have to be here for me, and I have to destroy them before they hurt innocent people.' The blond decided as he continued to run at full speed down the streets of Odiba.

~*~*~

"Fist you allow the bird to thaw, now on to the actually preparation. Make sure you have a large enough pan and that you have already preheated your oven to three hundred degrees. Now you remove the liver and other organs, they should be in a pouch inside the carcass, so you simply reach in and…"

"Listen honey this is my man!"

"If you think you're taking my man you got another thing coming you little…"

A flash of light filled the room then faded as the television was changed from station to station.

'I have a choose, I can watch to old ladies fight over their cheating boyfriend or I can what a man do questionable things to a dead turkey.' A horned creature with a coat of snow white fur with strips of navy blue like the sky fading from day to night, pouted slightly to himself as he grew bored of the daytime television shows he had been starring at for the last hour.

"I wonder when Matt will be getting back from school." He asked out loud as he pushed himself off the blue leather couch and landed on the cool wooden floor of his partner's apartment.

Sluggishly he staggered to the kitchen a looked at the clock set on the apartment's black microwave. The neon green digits displayed twelve twenty-five, which meant that Matt wouldn't be returning for another couple of hours.

Gabumon loved being with his partner and would gladly give up his world to do so, but when the blond wasn't around it left the digimon bored and lonely.

'I just hope that Matt is having a good day. I know he hasn't fully recovered from his battle with Piedmon. He has been taking good care of his injuries, but his left arm, and some of the other cuts really worry me. His left arm may not ever function the same, even if it is healing it still causes him pain and he's having difficulty using it properly.' The reptile digimon's sorrowful thoughts were interrupted by an ominous premonition.

All other things lost meaning to him and all he could feel was his partners distressed thoughts.

'These digimon have to be here for me, and I have to destroy them before they hurt innocent people'

That thought didn't come from the wolf like creature; it came from his partner. "Yamato needs me I must go help him."

Gabumon forgot all other aspects and obstacles. Quickly he ran out the Ishida's front door and headed out of the apartment complex in search of his endangered partner.

~*~*~

Matt ran as fast as his sore legs would carry him, ignoring the many pedestrians eyeing him suspiciously as he passed. Jumping over obstacles and avoiding collision with the other occupants of the street sent a waver of cramps up his legs slowing his pace but not his progress. He still moved gracefully through the busy streets with effortless navigation. His golden blond hair caught every ray of sunshine that passed through the smog-covered sky and reflected it off with a healthy glow.

Suddenly after running none stop for four blocks Matt skid to a complete stop and looked around. He wasn't sure why but for some reason his instincts were telling him to ignore the powerful digimon, which was now very near, and take a detour in the opposite direction.

'I have to destroy that evil digimon, he's so close I can feel it, but I also have to learn to trust my instincts and they are telling me to head the other way.' Matt stood completely motionless as staring people passed him glancing at the boy with curiosity before continue their own walk.

The debate within Matt's mind lasted for another minute until he finally gave in and decided to search for what he was sensing. With a groan he headed across the street leaving the evil digimon to do whatever mischief it was up to.

Matt cast his eyes down to the ground as he walked casually across the intersection and headed down the street opposite from the one that would lead him to the most powerful digimon out of the group. Following his instinct he began to jog down the street a block and a half when he came to the entrance of an alley.

The blond looked down the dark ally straining his eyes to see past the darkness, which seemed to always be a constant thing in alleys even during the day. His cerulean eyes cooperated with his commands and sharpen their visual scale so that he could see deep into the thin back street. Littered with rotting food and disregarded trashcans which had overflowed months ago.

The sound of a high pitch shrill brought followed by a lower scream echoed from the ally causing the blond to jump out of surprise. After regaining control over his heartbeat Matt took off into the ally following the sound of the two screams. Splashing into the small puddles of intoxicated standing water and jumping over the many fallen tin trashcans didn't slow down Matt's speed. He flew through the ally making as many turns as necessary to get to the sounds of fear still echoing off the close outer walls of the old building surrounding the ally.

Just as the he thought he was getting close the cries for help stopped and were replaced by a frightening silence. The blond stopped dead in his tracks and began to scan the ally. The silence meant that either his foe knew he was near or that there was no one left to cry for help. Matt truly wished that it was the first one, that would mean that the enemy was only interested in him and would let his hostages go.

After searching over the open area that he stood in Matt decided to disregard his normal senses and try relaying on his new abilities. Closing his eyes he began to focus all of his energy and concentration on locating the digimon nearest to him. All the buildings and people faded as all his focus was directed to the evil lurking somewhere within the dreary allies. His body tensed for a moment as he grew accustom to the loss of his regular senses, floating in the black abyss between the reality of the physical life he had grown to know and the dimension where only power existed threw his balance off causing him to sway and stumble to one knee on the filthy concrete ground. His strength left him as he was still growing use to his unusual gifts, but soon the loss of energy paid off. His senses showed him that the evil he sot was very near, and it also showed him exactly how to find it.

Slowly the darkness faded and his vision went from black to blurry to its normal vision span. Shakily he stood up brushed the debris that had stuck to he loose jeans off and regained control over all his bodily functions. Soon strength began to run through his limbs enabling him to return to his hunt. After his breathing had returned to normal he dashed off in the direction he had sensed his opponent in. approaching a ten foot fence with bob-wire strung upon the top would have generally brought his trek to an end, but instead of stopping he sped up his pace, leaped onto a dumpster resting vertically by the fence, and flipped over the bob-wire with amazing agility and grace. Lading on the ground with barely a sound and coming to a finally stop on his knee lessened the impact and therefore allowed him to take off running again with barely a seconds rest.

He ran down the ally each time his feet hit the ground they made a soft thumb as though he were simply walking. His breathing was steady as well as his pace and all sense of weariness had vanished from his body completely. Continue on the path his mind told him to follow he made a sharp left and entered an opened intersection within the back streets. Slowly he walked to the center of the intersection and began to scan the area with his eyes while listen for any sounds of movement. Suddenly the soft sound of shuffling and breathing caught his ears and he turned around to see what had disturbed the silence.

Looking over into the shadows he saw two people huddled together with terror written all over their faces. Matt quickly ran over to see if the people were all right, but when he got to them he received a shock. One of them was a young woman around the age of seventeen or eighteen and the other was a young man who couldn't be older then twenty-two. Both of the victims had bruises on their faces, while the guy had a bloody and possibly broken noise and the girl had a split lip with dried blood caked upon her chin. Matt shifted his eyes from their faces to their bodies and saw that their close had been ripped in many places with blood soaking the torn fabric. Both of them pulled the other close as they looked at the blond in fear.

Matt took off his brown jacket and laid in on the ground the he gently lifted the young women to a sitting position and wrapped the cotton jacket around her shoulders before lowering her back to her original position in her boyfriends arms.

"Who did this?" he asked gently hoping his voice was soothing enough to receive an answer. He couldn't help the two if there was still an evil digimon around, but he also didn't know the full extent of the pair's injuries so he didn't want to take any chances of them dying from eternal problems.

The couple eyes still held fear, they had been traumatized to the point were even Matt frighten them, but the blonde's soft voice made them feel safe despite the fact they didn't know him.

"A ghost." The man's voice came out as a fearful whisper sending a sense of dread to the blue eyed boy hoping to protect them.

Matt shook his head to show that he understood then he stood up and turned away from the couple.

"Please don't leave us." The woman begged as she tried to sit up but fell back down.

Matt turned back to face the two injured people and smiled reassuringly at them. "Don't worry I won't let anything hurt you further I promise." His words were strong and full of meaning known only to him.

When the couple had first seen the boy they were afraid, but now they knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would help them. That knowledge gave them great comfort even in their wounded state.

Matt looked around the clearing once more trusting his sight and feelings to work together to show him where his enemy stood. Suddenly he saw a shadow sift out of the corner of his eyes. The movement was quick and small but it still caught the blond boy's attention. Swiftly he swung his leg around kicking the cause of the shadow to the ground in one quick moisten. Rage built up within Matt as he looked upon a figure clothed in a tattered white cloth.

"So does Deamon always send spooks to do his dirt work, or was he afraid to come here and face me himself." The Keeper of Friendship asked calmly as he eyed the creature picking himself up off the ground.

"Deamon fears no one, least of all a weak little boy like yourself." The Bakemon snarled as he floated three feet above the ground.

Matt was about to retaliate with another insult when a clawed hand stretched out from under the Bakemon's white drape. With an evil laugh the ghost type digimon sent out his Zombie Claw attack, in an effort to avoid the attack Matt threw himself to the side and landed painfully on his left shoulder sending a waver of sharp lancination all through his left arm.

With a loud groan Matt struggled to his feet holding his left shoulder protectively with his right hand. His eyes sharpened upon the jeering ghost as malice began to fill his veins. 'This digimon hurt two innocent people just so he could lure my out and play games with me!' Matt's usually calm blue eyes turned to ice, but held a fire of absolute rage.

Matt charged at the Bakemon dodging another Zombie Claw and swung his fist connecting with what could be considered the digimon's stomach. The ghost flew back and hit a near by brick wall from the force of the impact. A load thump echoed from the intersection after the digimon hit the wall, with a pain stricken groan he slid to the ground leaving a wall with broken bricks, some which had turned into crumbles of worn rubble.

A sneer formed on Matt's cold features as he approached the fallen digimon. Just as he was about to deliver another blow to the wounded creature when suddenly a powerful energy blast hit him from behind. Staggering slightly from the force of the hit Matt turned around to see what had attacked him.

At he saw nothing, which only sent confusion through his rage filled mind, but a figure slowly started to materialize. Soon another Bakemon stood before the blond, as it could not remain transparent any longer. The Bakemon laughed at the shocked boy before sending another Evil Charm attack straight at his chest.

A cloud of dust filled the intersection as the blast hit. When the dust finally settled there was no sign of the blond boy.

"I guess that child was weaker then Master Deamon had thought." The ghost digimon that had just attack mocked with delight at his handy work.

The first Bakemon floated to his friend with a victorious smile, which displayed razor sharp teeth and large red gums. "Master Deamon will be so pleased he will probably give us a promotion." The first digimon stated with glee.

"Yes, but before we go to brake the noise to him, what should we do with these two pathetic humans?" the second asked as he eyed the couple still huddled together hungrily.

"I have never tasted human flesh before, I beat it is a delightful meal." The first ghost replied as a gleam of blood lust flashed within his coal black eyes.

"Excellent idea, we will eat their flesh and drink their blood, as he feed upon their dyeing life force."

Once both had agreed upon their decision to feast upon their two remain victims they floated towards the frozen couple both ready to rip the humans skin with the sharp talons.

"Please stay away!" the guy yelled hoping that his pleas would drive the ghost away.

The young woman gripped tightly to her boyfriend's shirt as tears began to fall freely from her fearful green eyes. "Don't hurt us please have mercy, please." She begged with all her remaining strength.

The couples pleas and cries for mercy only fueled the ghost desire to hurt them further. The first ghost ran his blood red tong over his sharp teeth as the second Bakemon drooled over his female victim. The two ghost were about to sink their claws into the couples battered bodies when a powerful force stopped them.

Without warning energy griped the two ghost around their necks and yanked the off their victims. The energy felt like to large hands clogging off their airflow as they were thrown to the ground ad then released.

The two Bakemon looked up confusion flashing in their eyes as they scanned the ally for the source of the attack. Swiftly another blast of energy his the second Bakemon from behind.

"That was for attacking me from the back, and this was for attacking me period." came a cold voice filled with malice as a bright ball of blue energy flew from the shadows and hit the fist Bakemon sending him flying and crashing him next to his companion.

After both Bakemon had regain control and were floating in their usually manner the first spoke to the voice which was the source of their pain. "How could you have possibly survived my attack?" it demanded to know.

Matt emerged from the shadows that had concealed him for the last couple of minutes. His eyes no longer burned with rage nor did his face so any emotion at all. His eyes were like ice, his was cold and straight, nothing could be read by the boy's appearance. "Simple your attack never hit me." He stated, his voice clam and all emotion was held under control.

"What?!" the Bakemon replied as he looked upon the human before him.

Matt's clam behavior sent both fear and irritation through the ghost digimon, and this only granted the boy more satisfaction.

"I jumped out of the way, your attack hit the ground not me." He answered his voice cool and collective. "And now it is time for the two of you to pay for what you have done to these people." He stated simply as he gestured towards the couple lying on the ground.

Both of the ghosts laughed as they sent their Zombie Claw straight at the blond. Matt dodged the first Bakemon's attack and grabbed the extended arm of the second Bakemon. Then he forceful pulled the second Bakemon towards him and with his free hand punched the ghost right in the head causing the digimon to loose balance and vision.

Matt then lowered his right arm; the Crest of Friendship appeared upon his hand as blue energy engulfed it. Quickly he pulled his glowing hand back making it into a fist as it went passed his head then released the fist and opened his hand to were his palm and the Crest of Friendship could be seen as he brought his arm back. The energy then flew from his hand in the shape of his crest; the blue winged circle hit the first Bakemon directly in the chest.

An agonizing scream was let out just before the blue electricity sped through the ghost's body causing him to blow up from the inside. The first Bakemon was gone leaving the second one vulnerable and companionless.

Matt's crystal eyes radiated with a pail glow of light blue as he stared at the dazed Bakemon before him. He waited patiently allowing the digimon to regain his sense and see the full scale of his predicament.

Once the Bakemon had regain his vision and saw that his partner was truly gone panic began to show on his face. "All right I gave you when, I won't hurt any more humans honest." He stated hoping the hallow promise would grant him mercy.

Matt's face remained cold and hard. "A change of heart won't undo the damage you caused these people." He answered his voice was firm and icy as he approached the retreating digimon.

This time he brought his arm back and blue energy formed in the shape of a spear within his hand. Drawing his arm back a little further caused the energies power to increase, then he threw he arm forward once more releasing the spear of energy.

The remaining Bakemon froze, all he could do was float there and watch as his doom approached him. Less then a second later the spear hit the ghost clean between the eyes. The energy split the digimon in half each half remained suspended in the air for about three seconds both with a half face covered in fear and wide eyes showing it's final thoughts. Then at last the two halves began to brake up and disappear, as was the way for all destroyed digimon.

Matt continued to stare at the space where the last Bakemon was left standing until a small whimper returned him to reality. The blond looked over to the injured couple still huddled together on the cold ally floor. Quickly he ran to them and looked over the injuries once more. Both were in pretty bad shape and Matt wasn't certain of what to do. He didn't have the energy to heal them, and he was pretty certain that healing humans was more difficult then healing creatures made from data.

"Can either of you stand?" he asked softly, trying not to startle the couple further.

The guy nodded dumbly as he shakily moved to his knees. Matt looked the guy over then grabbed him gently by the arm and helped lifted his body off the ground. Once the man was standing the blond turned his attention to the young woman. She was shaking violently, probably from trauma and cold.

The girl whimpered as she realized for the first time that her boyfriend was no longer lying next to her.

"She's in shock, and her injuries appear to be worse then yours." Matt answered the questioning look he received from the man standing next to him. "We have to get you both out of the ally and find a pay phone so we can call an ambulance." He shared his thoughts with the guy to ease some of the man's concern.

"But how?" the young man asked sounding more like a child then an adult.

Matt looked at the tear-streaked face of the man before him; sympathy and compassion filled his heart for the two victims of the ghost digimon. "Listen, I will carry her, I won't leave you two not until I know you safe understand." The Keeper of Friendship spoke kindly as he kneeled beside the girl. "What's her name?" he asked the guy simply as he gazed upon the wounded teen.

"Amy." The man answered, his voice cracking with pain and fear.

Matt smiled reassuringly at the young man, giving him some comfort then he turned to the woman once more. "Amy, don't worry your safe, I'm going to pick you up, don't be frighten." The blond spoke gently in her ear.

Amy's unseeing eyes flashed with fear as a whimper escaped her lips. She began to fidget, as Matt's voice was unrecognizable in her mind.

Seeing her fear broke Matt's heart, he was certain that neither this girl nor guy would ever be the same again. Gently he took his hand, which was still wearing a black biker glove, and began to stroke the woman's hair. His soft touch stopped Amy's whimpering and fidgeting completely and a calm look entered her eyes as she allowed Matt to lift her broken body of the cold ground.

Matt gently held the woman, he didn't want to move her for fear that her back might be broken, but he also didn't want to leave her here. Amy snuggled closer to Matt's warm body and sighed in peace, as it became obvious that she not only trusted Matt but she also felt safe in his arms. Matt smiled kindly at her even though she had shut her eyes and was probably unconscious.

"Come on let's get you guys to safety." He stated simply as he began to walk going to the north path of the intersection. The guy followed without a word, looking over his shoulder and jumping at every noise as he did so.

Matt didn't take the same path he used to get to the intersection; instead he went the opposite direction. The original path he used lead to a fence that he was certain he couldn't get over with the two injured victims.

'I have to get these two to safety, and then I have to go after the other digimon that broke through the barer. I just hope I don't get lost in these ally ways. The fate of this girl depends on my ability to get her medical attention, and I can't let her down. Oh please, please let this path be right.'

~*~*~

Gabumon ran down the street ignoring the many screams and car horns directed at his as he did. When he first left he tried to avoid being seen by the many people walking the streets, but eventually urgency kicked in and he decided to take the risk of being seen in order to get to his injured and endangered partner. Unfortunately his rookie form was not built for running especially long distance and the pace he was going eventually became too much. His small legs were cramping from the over use of their ability and his breathing quickly turned to pants of exhaustion and need for air.

Beads of sweat flowed down his body, most of them escaping from the fur-covered areas, and he soon had to come to a stop so that he could regain his strength. Placing his clawed paw against the outside wall to the local bakery for support and wrapping his other paw aground his cramping side in a desperate attempt to vanquish the pain only fluid his feelings of weakness.

Yamato his partner had grown stronger, but he still needed him, and not being able to help simply because he was too weak and not built for running didn't help Gabumon's self-esteem.

'I have to get to Matt no matter what, he may be strong but he still needs me.' With these thought for motivation Gabumon pushed himself away from the wall and continued his dash in the direction he sensed his partner.

Just as the reptile digimon felt that he was getting use to the exertion of his small legs a scream of terror rang through the streets. At first Gabumon thought he was the cause of the scream but once he looked up he noticed that the woman was scream from fear of a Bakemon or rather three Bakemon.

One of the ghost type digimon was terrorizing an elderly woman while the other two where bouncing on a car with two men trapped inside.

"Hey air for brains why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Gabumon challenged as he ran towards the three digimon hoping to draw their attention away from the people they were haunting.

The Bakemon that was pushing the lady around immediately stopped and floated towards Gabumon who now stood in a battle ready position with his crimson eyes dancing with fire. The other two Bakemon stopped a few seconds later and looked up to watch their companion who was obviously the head of the three tangle with the rookie digimon who was bold enough to even challenge him.

"Do you know who we are little rookie." The leader questioned with amusement.

Gabumon didn't so much as flinch he simply stared at the ghost with battle written all over his features.

The leader laughed when he saw the determined look upon Gabumon's face. "We are servants of the most powerful Lord in the Digital World, Master Deamon." He bragged as his two companions left the car they were beating upon and joined him.

"I don't care if you're the Oral of Disney World, I still going to slice you in half for attacking those people." Gabumon replied coolly as he brought his arms up displaying his purplish claws.

The first Bakemon and his companions soon joined in. "You just a rookie what chance do you stand against three champions." The leader taunted with delight. "Little puppy go home to you master, we have more important things to deal with." With that the three turned their backs upon Gabumon and headed back towards the crowd that had assembled to see the unusual scene playing out.

Once the Bakemon's back were turned Gabumon let out a powerful Blue Blaster hitting the leader directly in the back causing him to cry out in pain and shock.

"This isn't over till I say it is!" Gabumon shouted with anger, as he sent out another Blue Blaster straight at the Bakemon furthest to the left, knocking him to the ground with the attack.

"You'll pay for that little puppy!" the leader screamed in fury as he sent his Evil Charm attack flying at the reptile digimon.

The attack hit Gabumon Square in the chest sending him flying a few feet before he crashed to the sidewalk. Dirt and small traces of blood now stained Gabumon's coat, as he lay on the sidewalk motionless.

The Bakemon laughed gleefully as they danced around like mad spirits. "Poor little puppy, guess that will teach him a lesson in how to pick his battles." The leader taunted maliciously. "Now to finish him off." Just as he said this he sent his Zombie Claw straight for Gabumon's back. Digging his talons into the fallen creatures black and ripping them down his spin.

Gabumon yelped in pain, as the Bakemon's claws torn his leather like skin, blood immediately flowed from were the skin had been ripped soaking his white coat in his crimson blood.

'I'm sorry Matt I felled you, I wasn't strong enough.' Just as Gabumon was about to shut his eyes in defeat, blue energy engulfed him, healing his wounds and removing all traces of blood and dirt from the now healed body.

The Bakemon were forced to float back and shield their eyes from the intensity of the light. Once their sight returned they saw that Gabumon was no longer laying broken on the sidewalk, but he now stood, all signs of injury or even battle were gone, and his eyes were shut as clam was written on his face.

The Bakemon were shocked to see the reptile digimon recover, but they didn't let it phase them, instead they returned to their battle ready positions and prepared to attack once more.

Just as the three ghosts were lunging towards him Gabumon opened his eyes and stared calmly at the three lunging digimon. The Bakemon stopped straight in their tracks and stared back at Gabumon as though they were in a daze. All three of them were at a complete loss for words as the reptile digimon stared at them not with the crimson eyes accustom to his kind, but with ice cold blue eyes glowing with the same intensity as the Crest of Friendship itself.

Gabumon looked at the three suspended digimon closely, deciding to use this moment to his advantage he breathed in deeply then released a powerful Blue Blaster at the Bakemon on the left, the attack hit him with incredible force destroying him the moment it hit.

The two remaining Bakemon looked to where their companion was floating only moments ago with shock. They the turned back to Gabumon.

The reptile didn't waste anytime, the moment the first Bakemon was gone he charged the second one. His claws were held out in front of him as he slashed at the ghost of the right ripping him into small pieces, which quickly exploded and vanished. Now the only Bakemon remain was the leader.

"Now who's the poor little puppy dog?" the stripped digimon asked as he stared at the remaining Bakemon with an icy glare.

Rage filled the final ghost as he saw that a rookie had defeated his champion companions so easily. "You may have destroyed them, but I can assure you I am a much greater opponent!" the last Bakemon replied through grinning teeth.

After this threat was made the ghost type digimon sent an Evil Charm attack straight at Gabumon.

Gabumon saw the attack coming and quickly dodged it. Running at speed that was unheard of for his kind he charged the Bakemon avoiding every Zombie Claw sent his way. After braking the Bakemon's defenses Gabumon jumped into the air high enough to be level with his opponent then took both of his long arm and brought his sharp claws down upon the ghost digimon tearing him to shreds of data.

After the last of the Bakemon's data disappeared Gabumon landed softly on the ground closing his eyes as he did. After a moment of rest Gabumon reopened his eyes to reveal a pair of kind crimson orbs. The blue had vanished as well as the unusual energy within him.

The reptile digimon took a few seconds to breath and get use to the loss of power before he forced himself to look up and meet the eyes of them any pedestrians that had seen the battle. The crowds of people eyed the digimon, some with grateful looks others with confused stares.

Gabumon didn't allow himself the time to consider how bad his situation was; instead he took off continuing on the path that would lead him to his partner.

~*~*~

Matt struggled down the small ally with the young man whose name was revealed to be Justin followed close behind. The young woman he held in his arms was breathing deeply still resting in dreamless sleep. That was something that Matt was very grateful for, Amy had fidgeted or even whimpered since they had begun their trek towards the outside world and that meant that she was not being plagued by nightmares.

The group of three had been walking for about thirty minutes and were only forced to take one brake and that was due to Matt's own exhaustion. Justin hadn't said much since they began their walk and Amy certainly wasn't going to start any conversation, but the quiet didn't bother Matt he preferred quiet to questions.

"Look!" all of the sudden Justin's joyful voiced broke the silence and Matt's thoughts.

The blond looked up from the ground, which he had been staring at the entire time to see what the young man was indicating at. To Matt's relief Justin was pointing to an exit to the ally. A smile spread across Matt's face as Justin ran ahead of him and exited the ally. Matt walked quietly behind, pleased that his choose in direction was correct.

"We have to find a pay phone so we can call an ambulance." The blond stated as exited the ally and looked at his new surroundings. The street was actually fairly close to his neighborhood, and that fact allowed him to know exactly where a phone could be found.

"Justin," he called the celebrating man back to attention as he careful bent down to lie Amy on the sidewalk. "Stay here and watch Amy." He ordered as he stood back up.

"You leaving us?" the man asked with fear as he ran to stand beside his resting girlfriend.

"No, of course not, I promised you a wouldn't leave you until you were safe." He answered as he laid his right hand on Justin's shoulder for comfort. "But I have to go call an ambulance and the nearest phone is across the street there. You be able to see me, and I'll be able to watch over you, just stay here and comfort Amy." He stated as he released the man's shoulder and turned to walk across the street.

Justin slowly sat down next to his girlfriends and took her pail trembling hand in his. His eyes never left the blond boy as he squeezed Amy's hand tightly showing her that he was there.

Matt walked across the street as quickly as possible and then went straight to the pay phone. Picking up the receiver and dialing the local emergency number took longer then he had expected since his hands were shaking uncontrollably.

Once he finally did make the call he received a clueless operator who felt it necessary to find out his entire life story before she would actually send help. Finally after some gentle persuasion on Matt's part the operator radioed an ambulance to come retrieve Amy and Justin.

After Matt hung up the phone he quickly ran back to where the couple waited. "There sending an ambulance." he announced sounding relieved himself.

Justin only nodded to show that he had heard the boy then turned his eyes back to Amy. "Is she going to be all right?" he asked his voice shaking with worry.

Matt bent down on one knee and laid his hand upon Justin's shoulder once more. "The doctors will help her don't worry." He tried to reassure the man, despite the doubt in his own mind.

"Can't you help her?" Justin asked as he looked at the blond with trusting eyes.

Matt was shocked he was quite sure of how to answer. "I've already done everything I can, but I know the doctors will do everything in their power to help." He finally replied though the words came out uncertainly.

"We're suppose to get married in a month." Justin's words held a bittersweet meaning. He fell silent as he stroked Amy's long brown hair softly. "She always use to talk about her guardian angel, I always thought she was crazy for believing in angels" he continued as he sifted his eyes from her to Matt "but then I meat you, and now I know that angels are real." He spoke with no doubt in his mind on what he said.

Matt's eyes widen in shock then he turned away ashamed to even look at this man who had so much faith in him. "I'm no angel, I could stop those creatures from hurting you." He answered as tears began to fill in his own eyes.

Justin looked confused for a moment. "You saved us, and even now you're still watching over use, you are an angel." Justin stated, the sound of his voice made it obvious that his decision could not be altered.

Matt looked at Amy once more, the guilt that this young woman would not by lying there if it were not for him was begging to overwhelm him. "I can't heal her, not physically, doctors will do that, but maybe I can help her in another way." Matt stood and left Justin's side and went to kneel on the other side of Amy.

He then placed his hands together as though he were praying, slowly the symbol of Friendship appeared on both his hands shining through his black gloves. The symbol then grew bright until blue light covered his palms; he then pulled his hands apart and placed one on each side of her head pressing against her ears. The blue light spread until it covered Amy's frail body, and then it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Justin looked at Matt confused. Matt didn't take his eyes off of Amy's face, but he felt Justin's eyes upon him." She won't be plagued by nightmares ever again. She will always rest in peace just as you see her now." Matt explained. He had ridden this girl of all the fear that haunt her no matter what they were and that was a gift far grater then physical healing.

The sound of sirens rang through the streets, the sound of the high pitch beeps caused both Matt and Justin to jump in shock.

Once Matt had regained control over his heartbeat he stood. "I have to go now the medics will take care of you." He announced and then took off across the street and back into the alleys without even glancing back at the couple.

The Medics arrived and put Amy in a stretcher and had Justin board the ambulance with her. Once the doors were shut and sirens whaled once more the protective blue eyes that had watched from the alley vanished, entrusting the couple to the care of the medics.

~*~*~

Matt ran, ignoring the sirens, the people screaming, the crashed cars, and the news stations interviewing the many people who claimed to have seen three ghost fighting a dog like creature. He didn't have time to investigate the situation himself so he just hoped that Gabumon had won the battle, that took place a few blocks away, and that he was now on his way to intercept the last evil digimon.

All the time he was running he failed to notice the blood which had seeped through his dark green shirt on his upper left sleeve turning it a murky shade of black. The place of the stain and the size of it could only mean that the stitches in his arm had broken causing the healing skin to pull apart once more which allowed the blood to flow out of his wound in large thick drops. Still the blond ignored this and continued his trek towards the remaining digimon; he didn't want to give this last digimon a chance to cause any of the trouble the others one had.

No one paid much attention to the filthy and now bloody teen, they were all too busy with their own trauma to recognize a boy who was actually hurt, ad the news crews wanted the people who would exaggerate and turn this attack into a big show. Since the Matt didn't offer any kind of a performance none one wished to find out his story.

'They probably wouldn't believe me even if I told them.' he thought to himself as an almost smug smile pulled at his lips. Once he entered an area where many people were he decided to slow down his pace to a quick walk, stuffing his hands into his pockets and keeping his head low her tried to look as casual as possible so as not to attracted any unneeded attention.

As he made his way around the maze of people he was able to see some of the damages done. Most of the victims hadn't been physically damaged but they were all so freaked that many of them had to be rushed to the hospital due to heart trouble. There were a few kids crying in their mother's arms, while the many lost children sat alone and forgotten as they cried out hoping their mothers would here their pleas for comfort.

Tears filled Matt's eyes as he watched the damage that in his mind was his fault. For a moment he was tempted to stop, tempted to shout out that it was him, that he was the reason for their suffering, but his will to prevent more pain kept him silent. He couldn't stop not even to help the children crying alone, every second counted and he had to find the last evil digimon before it was too late.

Finally he made it through the crowds of hustling people and entered a clear street completely vacant of human life. Slowly he walked down the road until he was certain that he was out of ear and eyeshot from the people just beyond the barrier of buildings. Now that he was not under any eyes he took off once more, his speed had decreased considerably from his earlier runs, but he was still moving faster than he did only a month ago.

Three blocks later Matt was forced to stop in order to catch his breath.

'I'm over doing it, I still don't know my own boundaries.' He scolded himself as he began to slowly walk down the street. His left arm still dangled lifelessly at his side; the pain from the re-injured wound was excruciating. His breathing was labored and he was sure that he was dehydrated.

'I'm getting close I can feel it.'

He staggered forward, all the pain and exhaustion didn't matter as long as he could stop whatever evil awaited him.

"Having problems child." A cold voice mocked, amusing itself with Matt's pain.

Matt jumped the turned around to see who the voice belonged to. When he did he was shocked to find a tall humanoid digimon clad in tight black leather with two long bony arms and razor sharp talons on each hand. Thick horns with vampire like fangs were two distinct features on the creatures head, but the thing that topped all the other gruesome features of this creature was it crimson eyes glowing with a lust for blood, Matt's blood.

"Deamon sent a Devimon to fight me?" Matt asked dryly. He was afraid, after all he was already injured and most of his energy was gone, but he didn't want Devimon to know that so he pretended that the thought of fighting the champion demon was laughable.

"If you find this to be so amusing then why are you trembling?" Devimon smiled revealing the full length of his fangs.

Matt took a step back he was shocked to discover that he was indeed trembling. 'I can't let this guy freak me out, I have to stop him or he'll go wield on the city.' His surprised face went cold as he clenched both his fists in anger. "Why did you send your freaks to fight me, were you too afraid to attack me while I was at full strength?" he questioned his voice raising as his anger built up.

The demon laughed smugly as his smile broadened. "Actually I sent the boys out there to have a little fun, I knew it wouldn't take all of us to beat you." He mocked as he stretched out his brittle wings in a bored movement.

This time Matt was the one to smile in mockery. "And yet you are the only one left."

Devimon's smile faded to an irritated scowl. "They were weak, but I will not be defeated by a little punk like you! I will never be the slave to a human, I will never let you be the new Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers!" he snarled in anger as he brought his claws up to make his threat seem even stronger.

Devimon's outburst didn't throw Matt off. He simply stared at the fallen angel with cold steady eyes, and clam thoughtful features. Finally after a moment of silence the teen spoke. "You know that I am weakened and injured, but you still wish to fight, how noble is that?" he questioned as he cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms still ignoring the pain from his wound.

Devimon screamed in frustration and rage, knowing that what Matt said was true made him even angrier. "I will do what it takes to bring honor to my master!" he shouted as he lunged towards the blond.

Matt jumped out of the way of the attacking digimon causing Devimon to hit his fist full force on the pavement. The sound of bone and cement cracking sounded through the street. The demon stayed on the ground for a moment nursing his injured knuckles; Matt used this time to attack. He took his leg swung it around kicking Devimon exactly where the human kidneys could be found.

Devimon was forced to the ground from the strength of the kick, but he didn't stay down long. Stretching his long arms out he jerked his body up, energy flowing from his body like a shield of power. The energy threw Matt back into a near by window to the local toyshop. Matt hit the window with incredible force shattering the glass into splinters some as tiny as dust fragments other as large as car windows.

Matt screamed in shock and pain as he went through the window then hit the display shelve for the window display. Toys were broken and thrown while glass scattered all over the closed shop's floor.

Matt was in pain, glass was stuck into his back and his green shirt had been ripped in so many places each that it could be questioned if the fabric was ever a shirt at all. Matt groaned from the pain in his bruised and bloody back.

Devimon laughed with glee as he walked to the shattered window and peered at the boy lying in a crumbled heap upon the broken glass.

"Well boy it looks like it's all over for you." He jeered as he revealed in the victory at hand. "I will have fun devouring your world once you are gone." He stated as he jumped onto the window display and bent down so that he could look the blond directly in the eyes and see his last plea for mercy.

'I lost, after all this I lost to a Devimon.' Matt thought to himself as he began to loose feeling in his left arm.

His right hand griped at the floor as he prepared himself for the final blow, but when he tightened his fist he felt something sharp cutting into his skin. Matt cracked his eyes to look at the objected he held in his hand. It was a long piece of glass with a very sharp end.

Just as Devimon was bending down to sink his talons into the blonde's throat Matt yanked his arm around and shoved the sharpest end of the glass straight into the demons stomach. Devimon screamed in pain as Matt twisted the glass in his stomach then ripped it out once more. Before Devimon could attack the boy Matt pulled his right leg up and pushed Devimon off of him by placing his foot exactly where he had put the glass. Devimon screamed once more as he went flying out of the shop window and landed on the road.

Matt staggered to his feet all the time small pieces of dug into his skin. Once he was up he slowly walked to the window then jumped out. His crystal eyes scanned the area looking for the digimon he had just sent out there. There was a bloody puddle where Devimon had hit the ground, but there was no trace of the demon anywhere.

Matt walked further into the road as he looked down both ways for any sign of the fallen angel. Suddenly he could feel two hands with sharp claws grabbing at his back and pushing him down to the pavement. Matt hit the ground hard with barely enough time to put his hands out to brace his fall. His bloody hands hit the ground sending pain up his wrist. He turned his body over and rolled onto his back as he moaned in pain.

Devimon's eyes held rage and blood lust as he looked upon the fallen boy. Blood gushed out from his stomach wound, but he didn't seem to notice or he simply didn't care.

Matt used all of his strength to scoot his broken body away from the approaching digimon, but he knew that this action was futile.

"The fist person I will go after is your brother followed by your leader, then all you other little Digidesitned friends, each one of them will feel the pain you feel now, each one of them will suffer because of you!" the demon screamed like a mad man delighted by his own twisted thoughts of how he would mutilate the remaining Digidestined once he was done with the Child of Friendship.

Silent tears flowed down Matt's checks at the words of Devimon. The very thought of his precious friends suffering made him want to rip out his hair.

Devimon smiled cruelly at the tormented blond as he stood directly over him. He was just about to release his Touch of Evil attack and rip out Matt's heart when the blond boy quickly kicked him in his left knee forcing him back.

Matt then put his hands by his head and in one simply movement he flipped himself up and was standing fist ready to engage in combat.

Devimon snarled in fury as he brought his clawed hand around again in another attempted at his Tough of Evil attack.

This time Matt caught the attack, much like he did with the Bakemon only hours ago, and pulled Devimon's body towards his. His crystal eyes turned to ice as he placed his leg by the side of Devimon's neck.

"Give me regards to your brother from File Island if you see him." he stated coldly as he moved his foot to the digimon's chin and in one push broke the demon's neck.

The sound of Devimon's neck bone cracking under the pressure of Matt's foot could be heard a block away as the demon breathed his breath.

Devimon's data broken into many small fragments then scattered from the one another taking away the fallen angels form as they finally disappeared go to be reconfigured in whatever form of hell the Digital World could provided for the cruel creatures of darkness.

Matt fell to his knees in quiet sobs. His torn and bloody hands supported his weight as he allowed the tears to run freely down his face. His shoulders shook with his each painful cry he let out.

He felt alone, guilty, and weak. Alone because he was alone, none of his friends would have ever been willing to kill a digimon with their own two hands, they would have found some other way. Guilty because Amy and Justin and all the other victims would still be innocent and carefree if those creatures hadn't come after him, and weak for crying, for letting those monsters make him feel alone and guilty.

An arm wrapped gently around Matt's shaking body pulling him into a comforting embrace. Matt didn't have to look up to see who it was he simply allowed himself to be held like a frightened child as he drew in the warmth from the other party's body heat.

"Will you be all right?" a kind voice finally asked after Matt's crying had subsided.

"I killed those digimon." The blond whispered back his voice cracking from sorrow.

"You did what you had to do to protect those people. If you hadn't stopped them then lots of innocent people would have been hurt, possibly even killed." The voice replied gently. "When you're in a point of authority or power every decision you make effects people's lives. It is a responsibility that all of the Digidestined posses, but you shall have far more responsibility then the others, the question is what you do with it. Today you showed that you can handle the power that is yours and use it for the greater good. You risked being discovered or killed to save those people. You did the right thing." The voice ended its speech, knowing that the words probably wouldn't offer much comfort to the dolorous boy but also know that it would at least ease some of his doubts.

"Thank you Gabumon." The teen answered as he pulled the reptile digimon into a tight hug.

"Come on Matt let's get you home." Gabumon stated as he pulled away and helped his partner to his feet.

Matt stood but didn't move beyond that.

"Matt?" Gabumon questioned his frozen friend.

"I'm not going home Gabumon." The blond stated without turning around to see his partner.

Gabumon looked at the teens back trying to read the meaning behind his words without. "What do you mean?" he finally asked once he realized he could not see why Matt was behaving so strangely.

"Deamon knows who I am, he'll come after me again, and who knows who he'll use as beat this time. I can't take the risk that anymore people will be hurt because of me."

"Then what are you going to do?" the reptile digimon asked worried at where this conversation was going.

Matt turned around so that he could look at his partner. "I'm going to the Digital World, to the southern lands. I can wait there until Zhuqiaomon comes for me to take me before the Digi-Core." He answered calmly completely sure of his decision.

"But Yamato everyone will know if you leave, Izzy is watching the Digi-Port remember." The stripped digimon reminded the Digidestined.

"I don't think that matters, he was monitoring it before and Deamon's flunkies were able to get through without him realizing it. I think the barrier between the worlds has been thinned out. There must be a way to brake completely through without being noticed. "He announced as he stared hard at his digi-vice willing it to do something to help him. "Myotismon used a spell, Deamon used a gate, but we have always used our digi-vices, there must be some way to use it now."

Gabumon watched his partner as tears filled up in his eyes once more. "This thing is useless just like me!" the blond teen shouted as a tear fell from his crystal eyes and landed on his digi-vice.

Suddenly the small machine began to glow, at first a light blue which quickly turned into a dark stronger blue. Then the light engulfed both Matt and his digimon, and without warning the light faded as well as the reptile digimon and the Keeper of Friendship.

~*~*~

Well this chapter is done, it's finally done. *shouts for joy * I didn't think I would ever finish it. Okay the fight scenes still suck don't they? *blushes * I'm still working on improving the action part of the serious. Well review please, I am still aiming for five reviews per chapter, but if more then five people would like to review then that will be okay to hehehe. I am really hyper right now and I have to leave for drivers Ed. In thirty minutes so have a nice day and please review.