The boundary between the Northern and Southern kingdoms only existed on a map. In reality, it was an area of rolling green hills, sandwiched between two parallel mountain ranges. One of these hills had an outcropping of rock, and several massive boulders were scattered down the slope.

The air was dark, and it was an overcast night. Perfect conditions to contrast the blinding flash of light near the base of the hill. Three shadowy figures appeared out of nowhere, running at a constant - and very high - speed up the hill.

It took them less than three seconds to complete the hundred-metre climb. As they flicked over the top, they hit the ground running, accelerating to a blinding speed for manual running. The three of them drew together, and took the terrain in leaps and bounds.

Until an explosion appeared out of nowhere. Unable to change direction without severe injury, the three of them were flung into a massive net. As his momentum canceled, Jorcy was right out of the net.

The Digimon in front him looked menacing. A Cyberdramon. Jorcy tore out his pistols, fully intending to go HEAV and blast this Cyberdramon out of existence.

That was until a blue beam flashed out from behind a tree, slamming into him with a powerful jolt. Suddenly, he felt all his power draining, as an unknown force interfaced with his HEAV abilities - and bottomed them out.

He fell to his knees, dropping his pistols as his muscles went limp. He looked over to the source of the beam. It was a small device in the hands of a woman - tall, dressed in a dark suit, blonde hair. Jorcy had never seen her before, and was intent on doing her some seri...

Jorcy collapsed, fully drained. The Cyberdramon had already fired tranquilisers into the two Guilmon.

Cindy laughed. The capture had been easier than expected.

"No!" Flame yelled. He was watching the whole thing via a video feed in Gennai's secret control room. He watched as the human female took advantage of a weakness in Jorcy's HEAV activation sequence, draining him of all his power. Before Edan or Kaida could come around, Cyber had fired tranquilisers into them, and all three were lying on the ground, unconscious.

Flame exited the control room with undue speed, ordering EVA to activate all of Chelone's defenses.

"Cyber, get these three to our main camp in the North," Cindy said, playing with the HEAV-drain device by tossing it into the air and catching it again.

"Sure," Cyber said, looking back at the three, who were now bound.

Cindy looked smug. Her plan had worked, just a lot easier than she was hoping for. But on to more important matters. She pulled out her cellphone.

"It's me... Send reinforcements to my current location ... No, that will not be necessary." She hung up and nodded to Cyber. "Help's on the way. I'd better get back."

Cyber nodded as Cindy melted into nothingness right before his eyes.

"You can't go out there!" Jet said, pinning a struggling Flame to the wall.

"Let me go, damnit," Flame shouted, struggling even harder. Jet hesitated, then swung his arm up, pressing Flame against the neck.

Flame knew the move, and forced himself to calm down. A few more centimeters of pressure, and Jet would start cutting off his air supply. He was serious.

"Jet," he said, "They were captured!"

"I know!" Jet shouted back. "Don't you think I want them back too?"

Flame was silent.

"Damnit, Flame," Jet said, releasing the pressure on his neck. "I want them back as badly as you do, but going out there with nothing but adrenaline won't solve anything. I shouldn't be the one saying this, Flame."

Flame took a deep breath and nodded. Jet released him completely and stood back.

"Now, are you back to normal?"

Flame shook his head, and looked up at him. "Not until they're back safe and sound."

Jet grinned. "Just the answer I was hoping to hear."

"Do you have a plan?"

Jet laughed and shook his head. "Damn, Flame, when are you ever going to learn? Of course I don't have a plan!"

"Just adrenaline?" Flame asked with a smirk.

"And experience. Get that EVA thingy of you to tell you where they've been taken. I'll be waiting at the exit door."

Flame nodded, and Jet turned to leave.

A quick visit to EVA's inner core had told him what he needed to know - they had been taken to the castle in the Northern Kingdom that Kaida's trace had fingered. Right into the hands of their current worst - or so it seemed - enemy.

Flame didn't have a plan, other than to get them out. Given that it was a castle, they would probably be kept underground. He didn't know the kinds of defenses the castle had, however.

He was trusting his intuition as much as he was trusting Jet's skill at things like this. He sensed that they would need every ounce of skill and strength they had to pull this off.

Cyber finished dragging the last one in to the dungeon, then locked the door, leaving him inside with the new prisoners. He quickly stripped them of their weapons. Edan's cybernetic enhancements proved problematic, until he decided to install a global inhibitor. It would limit everything that was not mechanically enhanced - which was probably just his stomach and his left leg.

Poor thing. But that didn't stop Cyber from chaining him to the wall just as he had done with Jorcy and Kaida. The Flamedramon, he noted, had gained a distinct shade of his natural blue after the HEAV drain. Being pure white like that, Cyber guessed that he was really powerful. In his normal state - and he was far from normal right now.

The dungeon was a part of Cindy's castle - a heavily defended, decaying, underground room. Three massive wooden doors stood between it and the outside world, and the castle itself was on high alert. Intruders would find it very difficult to get in - and even more difficult to get out.

Cyber grinned. He knew the plan. It was sheer genius, and it would probably work, too.