Uncaring eyes flashed over the wreckage. Computer components, glass, twisted bits of metal, and unidentifiable debris were littered over the inside of the volcano cone's floor. The air was still warm, smelling of roasted motherboards and something else...

The Cyberdramon identified it immediately. Augmented flame-based attack. Probably from a Virus type, he decided.

Looking over the wreckage, he realised he would have to report back to his leader. Those pitiful fools that had manned the post had obviously slacked off. Their bodies were nowhere to be seen, but the Cyberdramon wasn't surprised. Deceased Digimon broke up into their constituent data and dispersed about twenty minutes after death, if the data wasn't absorbed or otherwise contained.

He tensed his legs, and leapt into the air. With furious wingbeats, he accelerated into the sky. And just before he cleared the lip of the exit, a glow built up around his body, and he vanished.

Less than two seconds later, Jorcy and Kaida appeared over the horizon.

They were both running at a furious, yet timed, pace. Kaida easily managed to keep up to Jorcy, but he wasn't using HEAV right now. If he was, she thought, he'd have torn a hole in the sonic barrier a long time ago.

It has been less than four minutes of sustained pace from Chelone. They were nearing their destination, and
Kaida started slowing down. The volcano loomed above them, a massive cone sticking out of the rocky land surface. Kaida would climb it by running up, and Jorcy was already on his way to leaping up the thing in one go.

Kaida watched as he tore into the sky, then diverted her attention forward. Fifteen seconds of intense leaps,
grabs, pulls, pushes, and general gravity defiance brought her to the top of the three-hundred climb. Then she looked down the vertical drop. It was about 350 metres down. Jorcy was already falling, and she took a leap.

Unlike the last time, she wasn't being caught off guard. She managed to slam into the floor with a massive bang, compressing and splitting the rock, but taking no damage.

She stood. Jorcy was already looking around, his holstered pistols reflecting the light from above. The cave was very dim, Kaida realised. Her eyes were already adjusting, but she figured they could use better light.

Silently thanking Flame for this long-lost technique, she brought the palms of the claws together, and whispered something in a foreign tongue. A small ball of fire appeared between her talons. Then she aimed them up, and fired.

The ball spread into a ring, and eventually slammed into the walls of the volcano. But instead of dispersing,
the fire held it's shape. Kaida raised her left claw to the ring, and muttered something else.

The ring of fire burst into an intense white light. Jorcy - even through his visor - had to blink hard to readjust. He looked back at Kaida, who was already going about the search.

His eyes narrowed, as he tried to think of how she was able to do that. He had seen the technique before - when Flame had lit up a cave under Chelone for construction - but he had never seen it anywhere else.

Jorcy shrugged it off. Maybe it was because she was a Guilmon. Maybe it was a compensation for her weaker HEAV ability. He didn't mind either way. But he would make a point of finding out later. He got back to his searching.

Damian looked out the window, as a dark flying Digimon appeared over the horizon, emerging in a flash of light. He smiled to himself, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was a sadistic grin. He was the only person around, though.

He stepped away from the window, and went looking for his cellphone. Living in this castle had it's problems. He never thought that he's refer to space as a problem, until he started losing things. Still, coming from the cramped ghettos of New York had taught him a new appreciation for room.

Damian was human. Probably the only pure human in the Digital World - the rest could shift into Digimon forms. He had been picked up in the slums by a government agent, and put to work here. He didn't know the exact motives behind his presence, but all he did know was that he wasn't working for the good side.

Not that he gave a damn. The world owed him everything, and his bitterness wasn't going to let up soon. Even though he was still only sixteen.

There was a thud as the Cyberdramon landed in the prep bay of the castle. This castle belonged to one of the Princes of the Northern Kingdom, and had been given to him - and his team - to use for the duration of the war. Officially, they were a special tactics support team for the Northerns, but the G-Woman had taken several decisions that weren't exactly in line with that mission.

Damian didn't mind either way. He served her, no matter what. Especially since he had been flung into the Digital world. He had no friends or allies here, save for her. And the Cyberdramon that had just appeared around the corner.

He preferred that they refer to him as "Cyber", and Damian presently greeted him with that. Cyber nodded at him, then disappeared into another room, presumably searching for a telephone.

Damian flipped open his phone, and hit a speed-dial key. He also had an important call to make.

Jorcy poked at another pile of wreckage. The search was turning out fruitless. All they were learning was that these guys had had quite a bit of time to set up.

"Found something!" Kaida called from all the way across the floor. Jorcy looked over at her - she was kneeling on the floor, bent over something.

"What is it?" Jorcy called, starting to move over to her.

"A high speed data trunk," she said. He arrived at her side, and looked down. There was a square hole in the
floor, about twelve inches deep. At the bottom of that was a black box. Kaida had flipped the lid, uncovering a three-inch thick fiber-optic cable. The cable was clear, and glowing in a profusion of blue, purple, and white.

"Right," Jorcy said. "It's still active," he noted.

Kaida nodded. "Indeed, Captain Obvious. And it's a solid cable, which means that it will physically lead somewhere. Maybe to the homebase of whoever put it here."

"Really? Well then, start digging," Jorcy said, feigning hurt. They were more than used to this kind of joking around, and Kaida shrugged it off.

"At least we'll have something to show Gennai when he arrives. He will be able to trace the other end from here."

"Right," Jorcy said, suddenly remembering Flame's words. And the reaction it had brought. Even Jorcy had wondered if Flame was making a wise choice.

For a very long time, Gennai had been in hiding. When the present Digimon empire discovered that he had been harboring Shifters, he had to flee. He still had a secret communications link into Chelone, though, and they had kept intermittent contact. But bringing him here would be a massive risk.

But if there was more at risk than what appeared at the surface level - which was the general consensus - then bringing him here would be their only option.

He wondered where Flame was. Gennai was hiding in a special safe-house back on Earth. In Paris, if Jorcy recalled correctly...

A/N: For readers of the original TSP: This story has a whole lot of differences from the original series. Whether or not Jared will take the time to make them line up, is up to him. Don't be surprised if some really unexpected stuff happens :)