Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon

Authors Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you like this chapter and please tell me what you think.

A Clue, Decisions and The Plan

The following day, Jou went straight to Tai's and immediately found Ken and all the others there. Jou hurriedly went inside and closed the front doors. Ken saw him coming is so he stopped all the things that he was doing to entertain Jou.

"Good morning Jou." Greeted Ken and so do all the others

"Morning to you goys too." Said Jou

"So did you find anything? Were you able to talk to Tai and the others?" asked Davis. For starters, he wanted to know if his friends were alright.

"Yes I was able to talk to them. They're alright by the way, we were able to have a decent chat." Said Jou as the others, including himself sat down the chairs for them to have a clearer conversation

"That's nice, so did they tell you anything that might help in their getting bailed out situation?" asked Davis

"Not entirely, but Koushiro was able to think of something though. He's given me a job at the moment and he seems to have thought of some kind of plan, he wouldn't tell me the whole thing though." Explained Jou

"Let's leave that be for now. Knowing Koushiro he's thinking of a way so that this won't backfire on us lie the last time. Now, did hey say anything on what we have to do?" asked Ken

"Not really, they simply told me to tell you guys about their first part of the plan." Said Jou

"And that first part would be what exactly?" asked Yolei

"To begin they want to expose Van's connection to Cassandra." Said Jou

"Van would be….????" Asked Davis

"He was one of Cassandra's soldiers and he was the one in charge of the investigations here in the village. Tai said something about Van being involved in this mess." Said Jou looking at the others

"That's not much of a surprise considering he is working under Cassandra right? It's not surprising that they would end up suspecting him." Said Ken as he thought "If this guy's been working with Cassandra from the start then it would be appropriate to get him out of the way first. It makes sense though…if it's true, that would explain who was really behind the attacks while we were gone."

"Jou how do you plan to expose him though? Isn't that going to need some kind of proof to prove that he's a part of this?" asked Kari

"Yes that's true, that's why they're telling me to sneak inside Van's room. Koushiro said that if I could find anything that linked Cassandra and Van's involvement in this together then maybe this could get us one more step closer to the real truth." Explained Jou

"Then what? What'll we do while you go get the evidence thing?" asked Davis

"They didn't really say much, Koushiro simply stated that I should find what I'm looking for in Van's room. He mentioned that there had to be a clue there somewhere." Jou now noticed that Ken was starting to get very silent all of a sudden. "Ken are you alright?" he asked

"Huh? Oh yes I'm fine." Replied Ken snapping back to reality then he spoke again "I think that you should do whatever it is that Koushiro has in mind. It might prove to be a big help with our situation at hand."

"Alright, I will. Anyway, I just came here to inform you about it and Koushiro said that you guys should continue the investigations around here, if ever you find any clues please inform me." Said Jou

"We'll do just that Jou, but you should be careful too. I doubt that sneaking in someone's room would be easy." Said Cody looking at Jou

"Cody has a point, you just leave all the investigations to us You've already got enough to worry about Jou." Said Yolei with a smile

"Thanks you guys. I guess I better get going now. I have to sneak into Van's room and find whatever is in there that could help in getting the others out." Said Jou

"Good luck Jou, and be careful. You wouldn't want to end up getting caught do you?" asked Davis

"Yeah I wouldn't Davis. I'll try my best. Well see you guys soon." Said Jou as he waved to the others and left for the castle once again

As Jou left, Ken and the others were the one's left and Yolei decided to ask "So Ken, you got awfully silent earlier. Something on your mind?"

Ken looked at the others and spoke "Well it just came to me that if Van and Cassandra were working together this whole time that would mean it wouldn't be all that surprising if Van was the one responsible for the attack."

Cody looked at Ken and asked "He might have been related to it in some way, but it's going to be hard to prove that he was the one who was in charge of the attack."

"True, but that's where Koushiro's plan comes kicking in right?" asked Davis

"Yes, if Jou successfully gets his hands on some kind of evidence that can prove it then we can get Van and Cassandra arrested. Not to mention that this whole thing was perfectly planned out." Said Ken

"There's one thing that's been bothering me though…" said Yolei

"Which would be what exactly? Care to enlighten us Yolei?" asked Davis looking at her confused

"Think about it, didn't Jou say that this Van guy was also in charge of investigations right after the attack? He works for Cassandra and he's the one in charge of investigations? If that's true then that could prove their link too right?" asked Yolei

"Ken, please explain…" said Davis

"It's simple, Yolei has a good point. If Van had something to do with the attack and he was in charge of the investigations that would make Cassandra's plan go a whole lot quicker. Who would even dare suspect that a person who is very well respected soldier would also turn out to be a criminal, and who would even think of him wanting to investigate his own crime? For what purpose would that serve? I would all end up being an alibi or a cover up." Said Ken

"No one would suspect him because of his status and the fact hat he was the one in charge of the whole thing." Said Cody

"That's the thing, which points us to the fact that even the investigating was all planned out, she planned it all to the last detail." Said Ken "That's why we're having such a hard time, but if we can make this work then we might just get out of here."

"Now all we have to do is believe in Jou, I sure hope he doesn't get himself hurt…" said Kari with worry, his brother and friends were already arrested she didn't want Jou to be the next one to go.

"Don't worry about it Kari, I'm sure he'll be fine. It will work out somehow." Said Ken then he thought "Jou…he's our chance, we still have a lot of things to worry about…Yamato's wedding being another problem. We need to settle all this in two weeks time and this is our chance to do it. We're counting on you right now Jou…"

Jou hurriedly went to the castle and he rushed to the corridors to find Van's room hoping that he wasn't there. As he was running all over the place he suddenly bumped into Nicholas.

"Oh, sir Jou pleasure to see you here today." Greeted Nicholas

"Nicholas I am so sorry, I guess I was in a bit of a hurry. I wasn't really looking at where I headed to. I apologize." Said Jou apologetically

"No need for apologies sir. May I ask though, what seems to be the hurry?" asked Nicholas

"Well….I was looking for something that I can't seem to find." Answered Jou

"I see, is there anyway that I can be of assistance?" asked Nicholas

"Oh…" Jou thought for a moment about the situation "I don't think there would be any harm of asking Nicholas for directions…I'm a bit lost here myself…" Jou looked back at Nicholas and spoke "If it's no trouble Nicholas, I'd simply like to ask for some directions."

"Of course sir, where are you headed?" asked Nicholas

"I'm looking for the room of Van…the soldier that works under princess Cassandra." Said Jou

"Ah yes, he's residing here for the moment. His room is a little bit more to east, I'm sure that you can find it near the room of the princess." Said Nicholas giving Jou directions

"Oh I see…um one more thing Nicholas, where are Yamato and Takeru?" asked Jou

"I've heard that they are both busy at the moment. Preparations for the wedding and such…" said Nicholas a little dismayed, he didn't like the idea of the wedding either.

"I see…." Said Jou then he spoke softly "Is Yamato planning to go through with this??? I wonder what he's thinking right now…."

Jou was interrupted by the voice of Nicholas "I apologize sir Jou, but I must take my leave now."

"Huh? Oh alright, thank you for the information Nicholas you've been a great help to me today." Said Jou and as the two of them were about to go their separate ways Jou turned and called out "Oh…and Nicholas?"

Nicholas, hearing his name, tuned around and asked "Yes? Is there something wrong sir?"

"Please do drop the sir…Jou would be just fine. Thank you once again." And before Nicholas had any time to respond Jou dashed off heading straight for Van's room.

Jou dashed for Van's room and when he got there he sighed in relief. Van was nowhere to be found and the room wasn't locked either. The room was empty and no one was nearby. Jou took this as his chance and went inside.

"Well…he'll be back soon so I better not waste my time here. Now where to start looking?" as he asked himself this, he quickly scanned the room for any possible clues an started his search.

Jou closed the door as to not raise any suspicion on anyone who passes by. He searched everything inside the room hoping to find something, sadly he couldn't find anything….Jou sighed and was about to give up….

"*sigh* I've searched almost everywhere, there's nothing in here…" said Jou, but then he sat on the chair near the shelf of Van's bedroom and to his surprise as he hit the shelf a book from the top shelf fell and as this happened at white piece of paper appeared sliding out of the book.

As Jou's curiosity took over the best of him he couldn't help but open the white piece of paper. As he did so his eyes widened "This is…" before he got anymore time to think he suddenly decided to get out of the room

He placed the book back and dashed out of the room, as he did so he saw, from the corner of his eye, that Van and Cassandra were talking and approaching. He hid behind one of the walls and he still had the paper clutched in his hands. He breathed heavily and once again looked at the piece of paper…

"This is it, it has to be…I can't believe that it really was her. I have to get to Tai and the others and fast. This is way too important for them to miss out on." With that, Jou dashed off once more this time making his way to the palace dungeons to talk to his friends…

Meanwhile Takeru didn't know what to think anymore, he had a sudden conversation with his brother and he didn't like how it turned out one bit. Takeru now in deep thought "Why would he think that? Doesn't he know that this could tear her apart?"

As Takeru was thinking somebody suddenly bumped into him. Takeru opened his eyes to take a look at who it was and was surprised when he saw Jou "Jou? What- what are you doing here? Are you alright?" asked Takeru as he lend Jou a hand to get up.

"I'm fine Takeru thanks..." replied Jou as he quickly got up "Sorry about bumping into you, I was in a hurry and I still am."

"What? Don't quite understand…Jou what going…" but before he could continue his sentence Jou cut him off

"Sorry for the rudeness or anything like that but I really need to go Takeru." Said Jou quickly as he dashed off and yelled back "Sorry again, I'm in a hurry, see you soon."

"Jou wait! Where are you going? I have something I need to talk to you about!" yelled Takeru then as he saw Jou's figure get dimmer he thought "I have to tell him." With that he dashed off to follow Jou to wherever he was planning to go.

Jou dashed into the dungeons as quickly as he could, unknown that Takeru was following him. He was allowed inside the dungeon because he had permission from he queen and that's something that Jou was truly grateful for. He ran inside as fast as he could and soon made it to the cellar which the others were put in.

"Jou! You're back! Are we glad to see you again." Said Mimi happily

"Were *huff* you *huff* expecting *huff* someone else?" asked Jou as he breathed heavily from all the running that he just did

"Yeah, we just got an unexpected visit from Cassandra and Van a few minutes ago. Trust me it was anything but pretty." Said Tai as he remembered the moment

"I see, that would explain why Van wasn't in his room when I got there." Said Jou as his breathing returned to normal.

"Hearing that, does that mean you were able to sneak into his room already?" asked Koushiro impressed. He sure didn't expect Jou to do his task just right after he was told to do it.

"Yeah, I was and lucky for me he wasn't there." Said Jou with a tone of relief

"Did you find anything?" asked Sora

As Jou heard this he remembered the piece of paper that he had found inside the room. He quickly took it out of his pocket and handed it to Koushiro "That's what I found."

"A white piece of paper? Is that supposed to help us with anything?" asked Tai confused

Koushiro remained silent and opened the paper. He read it's contents carefully while Jou was talking to the others explaining what the paper was all about. "It's no ordinary paper Tai, I got lucky that a book fell from the shelf and revealed the existence of that paper. I was about to leave the room empty handed if it wasn't for that."

"So…what's in it?" asked Tai

"It's a note that I found inside his room. It was placed inside a book at the top of the shelf. It's more like a letter than a note actually." Explained Jou

"A letter? That Van wrote?" asked Mimi

"No, It was more like a letter that was addressed to Van. Someone wrote it to him. What made it interesting was it's contents." Said Jou

"And the contents are what exactly?" asked Tai

"They're orders Tai…orders to Van." Replied Koushiro who had just finished reading the letter

"Orders? You mean…things that van should do? Like instructions?" asked Mimi "What kind of instructions Koushiro?"

"Instructions and plans…of the whole incident with the village." Replied Koushiro as he saw the face of the others widened

"A-are you serious?!? H-how?" asked Tai, as to answer his question Koushiro passed the letter to Jou and he handed it to Tai. Tai went a few inches closer to Sora's part of the cellar so she could read it with him. As they read the letter they noticed that Koushiro wasn't kidding. The letter was filled with instructions an plans on the who incident on the village.

Something in the letter suddenly caught Sora's attention. She saw that their names were specifically written in the bottom of the paper. "Why are our names listed here?" she asked turning to Koushiro.

Koushiro looked at the note again and soon he spoke. "Cassandra was the sender of this letter. She wrote it to Van, which proves the point that they did work together to make this whole issue into a possibility."

"Wait just a second Koushiro, you can't just make assumptions like that especially if you can't prove it." Said Mimi

"But I can prove it Meems." Koushiro turned the piece of paper over and on the back lower right part was a small signature. It was a fine print of a signature it was pretty small though, something that someone might not even notice if not observed closely.

"She's right, with the signature here that only means that she was the sender. Which would also explain why your names are written there. She wanted Van to know who se wanted to get rid of and to do that she wrote it down in her letter." Said Jou

"Well, that would explain a lot, now that we know that she did it and we have some proof we could finally get out of here." Said Tai

"Yeah I sure hope so…." Said Mimi

"It's not that easy, we still have to prove the signature is hers then we can get out. But if you ask me all clues already point to her." Said Koushiro "I mean who else would write a letter of plans like this to Van?"

As they were all thinking of positive ways to get the others out. Takeru's vice echoed through the dungeons and he spoke "Jou? Where are you? I really need to talk to you right now it's important." Said Takeru as he approached the cellar where Tai and the others were in.

"Takeru what are you doing here in the dungeons?" asked Jou

"I should ask you that too Jou. I followed you here because I needed to talk with you and it's really important." Said Takeru then he soon noticed Tai and the others around him and he spoke "Tai, Sora, Mimi, Koushiro! Are you guys alright?" asked Takeru looking over at the others

"We're fine Takeru thanks for your concern. I have to say that it's good to see you again." Said Mimi with a smile

"It's good to see you guys too. I'm glad that you're all doing well." Said Takeru relived

"We're fine and maybe we can finally get out of here." Said Tai

When Takeru heard this his face suddenly turned into a sad expression and they didn't fail to notice it either. "Hey what's up, you look as if you don't want us to get out of here." Said Tai

"It's not that, it's just that…my brother…" as Takeru started Tai asked

"Oh yeah, how is he by the way? We heard about the whole wedding thing, is he holding up?" asked Tai

"Yes…but…but…" Takeru couldn't seem to have the strength to say whatever it was that he wanted to say

"But? Hey did something happen to Yamato?" asked Tai as he saw Sora get worried

"You see…we had a talk. It happened last night…and it didn't go so well to say the least. We actually had a fight about it and it was the first time that he and I had fought like that. The fight wasn't all that serious, but the issue that caused it pretty much is." Said Takeru sadly

"Alright…would you mind telling us what happened? We'd be here to hear you out if you're willing to tell the tale." Said Mimi, she had a bad feeling about it but she couldn't help but want to know what was going on.

"Well….he's planning to go on with the wedding with Princess Cassandra." Said Takeru

"HE'S WHAT?!?!?" yelled the others except Sora who had kept silent

"What are you talking about? He can't do that! Why would he do that? Has he completely lost it?" asked Tai in a yelling tone

"Tai maybe he has his reasons…." Spoke Sora softly, but on the inside it was like she could feel her heart break to a million pieces

"Oh no, I don't care what his reason is . T.K what happened and when did he decide all this?" asked Tai

"Yeah, it isn't like him to just do this for no reason." Said Jou "Did something happen between you two?"

"Well…like I said we had a talk and that's how it turned out to be. It kind of went like this…" then Takeru started to tell the tale of what had happened with his brother and him during their conversation

Flashback…sometime last night…

Yamato had just come back from all the wedding preparations that had been happening. He's been in deep thought lately and couldn't help but get confused. He went into his room so that he could have some time to think. He sat on his bed and then after a few minutes of silence he heard a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" came the voice of Takeru

"Sure go on ahead…" said Yamato as he saw Takeru get inside his room

"Hello big brother, so how were the preparations?" asked Takeru

"Fine I guess…" replied Yamato plainly

"Don't worry I'm sure we'll get you out of this mess somehow…we just need some time to do it." Said Takeru taking a seat on one of the chairs

"Actually Takeru…I'm planning to go on with the wedding anyway…" said Yamato sadly

Takeru looked wide eyed and spoke "You're what? Big brother what are you talking about?" asked Takeru as he wanted to make sure that he heard right which he was hoping that he didn't.

"I said I was planning to go on with the whole wedding thing." Replied Yamato

"B-but why, you said you didn't love Cassandra let alone liked her…so….why?" asked Takeru who wanted his brother to change his mind

"I still don't love her and I will never learn to do so, but after everything that's happened I don't think that I can handle just sitting here and doing nothing. Just for this, she's put our friends in orison and put innocent villagers in danger. If marriage will be the only way to stop all this and if it can get Tai and the other out of there then I might as well do it." Explained Yamato

"But, what about Sora? Have you forgotten all about her? You told me that you loved her didn't you? Don't you know how much this is going to hurt her?" asked Takeru as he was begging for his brother to stop the crazy talk

"I love Sora more than anything Takeru. Nothing in the world could change that! I will never stop loving her and that's the reason why I'm doing this. I don't want to see her suffering like this anymore, we both know that I'm the reason why Cassandra got angry at her, it was my actions that made her loose it. Now Sora and the others are in the dungeons and I'm responsible for that." Said Yamato looking at Takeru

"Do you really think that if you wet on with the marriage Tai and the others would be happy about it? What then if you do get them out? You'll be living a miserable life then and Sora would end up heartbroken. It's true that you are doing this to keep them safe, but she'll want you to be happy too, do you really think that if you're here married to someone you don't love and unhappy that Sora would be happy too? Do you think that is she found out you went through with this she'd live a happy life. Knowing that you're with someone else would tear her apart! You should know that, you could cause her even more pain than the one that she's already in!" countered Takeru who couldn't stay seated anymore saying nothing. He was now standing up and looking straight at his brother.

Yamato was shocked that his brother had spoken to him that way, he sure didn't expect that to happen at all. He soon spoke up "I know that, but if I could lessen the pain that all the others are feeling and let Sora free then I'm happy knowing that she's finally away from here. She'll forget about me soon enough Takeru, if this is the only way to keep her safe then I'm willing to risk it…" said Yamato "I would never and could never replace Sora in my heart and even you know that, but in times like this…"

"You're not thinking of this, do you really think that she could forget about you that easily after all that's happened? How could you even think that? She lives here in this kingdom and not too far from the castle. She'd be thinking of you every time she looks at the castle and I doubt that she could ever forget about you. She loves you, you're the first person that was able to make her feel this way. Even Tai stated that as a fact. Will you really risk it? Everything that you've felt for her…would you throw all that away, just to say that you kept her safe?" asked Takeru

"…" Yamato remained silent and soon before he could answer the door to his room opened revealing Nicholas

"I'm sorry to intrude your highnesses, but princess Cassandra calls for you in the royal ball room." Said Nicholas

"Alright please tell her that I'll be there in a minute." Said Yamato

"Of course." With that said Nicholas bowed and left the room

"I'm sorry Takeru but I need to go." Before Takeru could object Yamato was already out the door.

Takeru was left alone in his brothers room, and in his own thoughts "What are you thinking big brother?"

End of Flashback…

The others remained silent as Takeru's tale ended and Tai soon spoke "Is he insane? Does he really think that what he's doing is a good thing?"

"Calm down Tai, knowing Yamato he really just wants to get you guys out of this mess because he feels like he's the one that got you all involved in the first place." Said Jou

"But he isn't thinking this through! How does he think this is making Sor feel?" asked Tai annoyed

Sora looked at Tai and spoke "It's alright Tai, I understand why he's doing this…" but as she said this it made tears fall down her eyes as she thought "He's doing this because he loves me but it hurts so much. I'd rather bear it staying here than knowing that he's getting married for that reason…"

Tai and the others saw Sora crying and Mimi spoke "Can't we have a shot at talking to him T.K? Maybe we could change his mind or something…"

Takeru shook his head "He's been pretty busy right now I can't even see him that much anymore. The preparations are taking much of his time and Cassandra's been keeping him with her at all times."

"Looks like Yamato's stuck…" said Jou

"Even so, he's making the wrong decision here." Said Tai as he was trying his hardest to calm Sora down and stop her from crying

"True, we have to stop him. The wedding is just in a few more weeks right? We have to do something about the wedding…" suggested Mimi

"Yeah that's true but what? We're not even out of here yet." Said Tai

"That means that we have to get you guys out first. You've been here for days and we have to get you out so we could help Yamato. If we show them the evidence then we could get you released." Said Jou

"No wait. Don't." said Koushiro "We have to stay here a little longer, at least until the day of the wedding."

"Now Koushiro, have you lost it too? Why would we want to do something like that? It would make things worse wouldn't it?" said Tai

"Or it could also make things work to our advantage." Replied Koushiro

"Say what?" asked Tai confused

"If we get out now it wouldn't do us much good, they're too preoccupied with the wedding to even remember that we're here." Said Koushiro

"True, but if we have the evidence then we could get Cassandra kicked off the throne even before the wedding. Then we're settled and our problems are solved!" said Mimi who didn't get the point of staying here longer

"Remember that we have yet to prove that the signature of the letter is hers. So until then we cant call this a foolproof evidence. So why don't we make much use of our time now?" said Koushiro

"And what do you want us to do while we're here?" asked Tai

"Simple, Jou take this letter with you and find some kind of proof that this is hers. While you do that tell Ken and the others to think of something to help us escape here when we need to do so." Sad Koushiro

"Escape? Won't that make it look like we're running away from our crime here in prison?" asked Mimi

"Look it's simple, fist we have to make sure that our evidence is 100% solid. Then we wait until the day of the wedding to strike." Said Koushiro

"Why wait?" asked Tai

"Let me finish. On the day of the wedding we escape this prison cell and make our way to the church where the whole thing will take place. Once we're there we make an ambush and stop the wedding from happening. How? By showing them the solid evidence. That way Cassandra has no way to escape, we can ask help from the others to stall the wedding if we don't get there on time. Anyway, if we expose Cassandra's true nature to everyone here in the kingdom then there'd be no point of escape for her. She'd have no chance. The reason we need to escape on the spot is to make sure that she doesn't get suspicious before hand. If we expose her in front of everyone then they'll all know that she's a fraud and we'll get our justice." Explained Koushiro

"But won't that just add to her humiliation in the end?" asked Tai

"True, but that was the best thing that I could think of." Said Koushiro

"If that's the case then I won't object. After all she's done she deserves to be exposed to everyone at least." Said Mimi

"So you all agree with the plan then?" asked Koushiro

"Sure why not, Jou could go back and ask Ken to look for the evidence that we would need in the end and the whole escape plan too." Said Tai looking at Jou

"Oh and Takeru, don't tell Yamato about this." Said Koushiro

"Why not?" asked Takeru

"I just want him to be surprised in the end. But we have to finalize all this and make sure we do things on time. We can't be late at all costs, especially during the wedding or it'll end up backfiring all over again. Plus, time is ticking. ' Said Koushiro

"Right." They all nodded in reply

Tai then looked at Sora and spoke "Don't worry Sor we'll get him back and give Cassandra a taste of her own medicine."

"Remember that we only have two weeks to make everything turn out perfectly with no holes. We're a step ahead but we need to make this work literally." Said Koushiro "Jou will be the one to pass down the plan to the others in the village."

"Right! So lets get moving guys we have a lot of plans to think about!" encouraged Tai and they all nodded and hoped that this time they could finally expose Cassandra for who she really is.

Authors Note: Sorry for this late update thing. I couldn't finish it quickly because of projects in school I've kind of been cramming lately. Sorry you guys. I hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you think.