Takumi, Ami, Yuuko, Yuugo, Takuto, Shiki, Himari, Kouta, Shoma, and Mameo, were assembled in the War Room with a number of allied Digimon. "Did you find it?" Yuugo asked.

"We did." Mirei pulled up a map. "We have the exact location of the gate to the Dark Area thanks to Beelzemon."

"Great." Mameo said. "So, all we need to do is find a way to reopen that gate and we can start digging."

"Not quite." Mirei replied. "In order to safely burrow our way under all that lava, we will need to strengthen the diggers we have available in the city. I also want to boost our signal so we can communicate from the Dark Area and create a Royal Knight radar so we can track down Alphamon as quickly as possible."

"Good call." UlforceVeedramon nodded. "The less time we spend down there the better."

"Alright. What can we do?" Shiki asked.

Mirei pulled up a list. "I will need all of you to gather materials thought the Digital World again. This time I am going to need a large number of things."

"Sounds like it's all hands on deck." Kouta said. "...Where are Keisuke and Hudiemon anyway?"

"I haven't seen Luche all day either." Takuto pointed out. "That's strange..."

Ami shrugged. "Nokia said she had something she wanted to do for the Resistance."

Yuuko sighed. "She's so desperate to prove herself. At least she's no longer depressed. I just hope she doesn't act recklessly."

"Agreed." Shoma replied. "You know what? Maybe we should give her a call."

"That won't be necessary." Everyone turned to the doorway where Zero stood. "She has already departed the city for her mission."

"Zero?" Yuuko faced him. "What mission?"

"To do our part in getting to the Dark Area. Even if you do reach the gate, we'll never open it without finding out how to undo the program that was used to seal it away. And the only one left who can tell us about it is Brother Sorrow."

"His name is Kiryu."

"No. Not anymore." Zero replied earning looks of confusion and concern though the room. "Kiryu perished along with his brother that day. The man we once knew has become a demon of despair and regret. He works with the Next Order and will destroy anything in his way. All that's left of him is a monster that has become our enemy. We can't view him as a former ally or sentiment will keep us from doing what must be done."

"Zero!" Takumi shouted. "Even if he works for the Next Order now, he was still your friend! Yuuko's too! And now you're going to cast that aside and target him?!"

"Have you forgotten how our "friend" had your sister's Digimon attack us at Zaxon's Pride HQ?! Have you forgotten how he kidnapped Fei and turned her into K resulting in Ami and Shiki's abduction?! How about the time he kidnapped you and Yuuko and tried to take your life?! He certainly doesn't see us as his friends! He's the one targeting us! We need to hit him back hard!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Takuto said. "Kiryu helped us rescue our friends from GranDracmon! He saved Koh and Sayo's lives!"

"Only because it aligned with his own goals. It doesn't change what needs to be done. Fei, Nokia, Arata, Keisuke, Sayo, Koh, and Hudiemon all agree with me on this."

"Fei and the others?" Yuugo asked. "What are you planning to do Zero?"

"We're conducting a large search for Brother Sorrow. Nokia and the others have already departed. I'm about to head out myself."

"A search?"

"That's right. We need to get to the Dark Area to save Alphamon and to secure our means to the enemy base. And by capturing Kiryu we can learn how to do both and eliminate him as an obstacle. Three birds with one stone."

Agunimon aproached Zero. "And what's your plan if he refuses to tell you anything? Are you going to torture the info you want out of him?"

"What if I say yes?"

Lobomon glared at him. "Know that we will stop you."

Zero let out an exasperated groan. "Case in point. You're both letting your respect for the person you thought you knew keep you from what you need to do. Brother Sorrow is probably the most dangerous weapon the Next Order can use against us. He knows how we operate and can do things nobody else in the Order can. This is our chance to turn the tide of this war!"

"Zero, I am not going to give up on Kiryu!" Yuuko objected. "We know he's better then this! The Next Order led him astray using the mistake we committed against him and Subaru! Don't you think we owe it to both of them to try to help Kiryu?!"

"As the ones who committed that mistake that turned him into the monster that took so many lives in the Resistance, don't you think we owe it to everyone to stop him? The longer we wait to find a means to open his eyes that may or may not even exist the more Digimon will suffer!"

"That impatient and reckless line of thought is what led to our misguided assault in Under Zero."

"My answer will not change." Zero said. "I will eliminate Brother Sorrow."

"Are you serious?!" Himari asked. "When did you become so heartless?!"

"Since when did I have a heart? Are you forgetting that I am an A.I.? I am programed to calculate the most likely outcomes and the best means of achieving victory without letting needless things like emotion getting in the way."

Ami looked into his cold stare. "Zero..."

"I am not asking any of you for approval. Hurry and finish preparations for going to the Dark Area. Once I squeeze the answers we need from Brother Sorrow we will depart." He turned around and started walking away.

"Zero!" Yuuko ran after him. "We can't abandon someone who we know is suffering!" She grabbed his shoulder. "If we can just prove it was Crusadermon who-

Zero smacked her arm away and glared at her. "Yuuko... I'm fed up with you."

"Wha...?"

"You had no problem fighting me that day just to split us up, when all I wanted was to continue existing. When it was about Crusadermon you would gladly charge into traps and badmouth your friends if it meant getting revenge. But when it comes to fighting Kiryu for the sake of this world you hesitate? Maybe you were right about Takumi back when you lost your head in Kawloon 5. He's a soft fool. And clinging to him the way you do all the time to deal with your problems has made you even more of a weak selfish coward." Yuuko could practically feel his sword stab into her heart. "I've wasted enough time with you." Zero turned back around. "Just stay out of my way."

She said nothing as Zero stormed off. The others watched in shock. "Zero..." Shiki gapped.

After a brief silence Himari glared "What's his problem?! He's just taking it upon himself to decide someone else's fate?! He could have at least consulted the rest of us before just deciding that!"

"I've never seen him like that!" Ami said. "What's gotten into him all the sudden?!"

"Maybe he feels he needs to take action to prevent Kiryu from hurting anyone else." Mameo suggested. "Maybe he thinks anyone hurt by Kiryu is hurt by him via extension."

"Even so...!" Himari protested. "I feel like there has to be something we can do to help him...he's already suffered so much. And if something happens to him his little brother will be left alone. We can't let that happen!"

"I understand how you all feel." Mirei said. "But try to keep in mind that Zero is neither human nor Digimon."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Yuugo asked.

"What I'm saying is, he thinks differently from the rest of us. He wants what's best for us all. In his own way."

Everyone sighed. "...But are Nokia and the others really okay with going through with this?" Takumi asked.

"Arata..." Ami put on her Digivice and dialed. She heard ringing but got no response. "He's not picking up."

"Neither is Fei." Yuuko added staring solemnly at her Digivice.

"To locate a hacker as skilled and evasive at Kiryu, I imagine they'll be doing their best to hide their presence." Mirei replied. "Even communicating with us risks him discovering the com line. Still…I don't know how they plan on locating Kiryu. There are still many places under the Next Order's command. I feel they'll end their search empty handed. Either way we should focus on the task at hand."

"What? So, we're just going to ignore them?" Gallantmon asked. "What if they run into trouble?"

"I'll keep an eye on them." Mirei said. "But we need to focus on our preparations. Even Alphamon won't survive the Dark Area forever. Thought the Deadly Digimon are gone it still holds unspeakable horrors."

"She's right." Darcmon nodded. "Once we're set, we will think about how to deal with Kiryu and undo the program the right way. The honorable way."

Takumi sighed. "…Alright. Let's just hope they can stay out of trouble until then."

Sayo, Koh, Fei, and Nokia were standing in a tree line looking at a huge tower in front of them. "That thing is huge." Nokia said. "And who knows how many enemies are inside."

"Yeah. Taking her is not gonna be an easy job." Fei added. "But we gotta do it."

A blue light appeared behind them and Zero along with Machinedramon teleported right behind them. "Sorry for the wait. So, this is it." Zero said looking at the massive structure in front of them. "Left Eye's Tower."

"So, what did you tell the others?" Koh asked.

"That we were on a headhunt for Brother Sorrow so we can force him to tell us how to unlock the Dark Area. …But I didn't tell them we already knew where to find him."

Fei glanced down and sighed. "…I dunno if Yuuko will ever forgive us for this. She really wanted to stop him herself. Her way."

"She's been put through enough Fei. Besides…when push comes to shove it's not Yuuko Kamishiro Kiryu hates the most. It's me, Yuugo of Zaxon." Zero looked ahead at the tower. "Is Kiryu in there yet?"

"No." Omegamon replied. "But Arata confirmed that he's on his way. As we predicted, by disabling all teleporter access within the tower Leopardmon sent Kiryu to investigate. Looks like he has to teleport to a Next Order outpost and fly here."

"And Crusadermon?"

"Hudiemon sent her a taunting message saying she's waiting for her at the Right Eye's Tower." TiggerVespamon replied. "Her vanity won't allow her to resist charging straight there. Hudiemon, Keisuke and Arata are with Luche ready to move in."

"Alright." Zero said. "I need to set things up inside the tower before confronting Kiryu. So, let's get started." Fei, Nokia, Sayo, and Koh started moving towards the tower.

"Zero." Machinedramon spoke up. "Are you sure that was how you want to end things between you and Yuuko?"

"It's for the best. She had to experience mourning her entire family. She shouldn't have to mourn me to. I don't care if it means she hates me." Zero smiled to his Digimon. "More importantly…thank you for everything Machinedramon. I'm sorry to force you into this."

"You are not. Following you to the end is the is the decision I made with my own free will."

Zero sadly looked at the tower. "This will be…our final mission. I did mean one thing I told the others. A.I. like me calculate the most likely outcome and the best means of achieving victory. This is the best option to succeed with our goal." He and his Digimon started to follow the others. "But fittingly enough…my chances of surviving this are…zero."

Arata, Keisuke, and Luche were hiding behind a giant bolder with their Digimon, Hudiemon, Justimon, and Shakkoumon. Keisuke looked at his Digivice. "Nokia just messaged me. Kiryu's on his way to the Left Eye's Tower. And they're moving in."

"Then we should get a move on ourselves." Hudiemon said.

"Okay." Arata took a deep breath. "Let's do this." They started walking towards the tower.

Crusadermon was flying across the sky through the Digital World. Her gaze narrowed ahead of her until she pulled up a blue screen that showed a message that was recently sent to her. It read "Still mad that I humiliated you on that rooftop that day? Come over to the Right Eye's Tower so I can have another chance to prove you the cowardly weakling you really are!" Crusadermon stares at it a while longer. "That little brat from back then is in this world too it seems." She closed the screen. "Well then…I'll bury that weakling once and for all. I look forward to watching Ryuji's little sister die." She hurried on ahead laughing.

Elsewhere in the Digital World, Dorugoramon smashed a rock to pieces. "Anything?"

Takumi combed through the rubble and something shiny caught his eye. "Here it is!" He picked it up. "A DigiDiamond! We just need to find four more of these. Hopefully the others are finding the rest of what we need, huh Yuuko?" Takumi turned around. Yuuko was staring off into space quietly. "Yuuko?" Takumi walked over and waved his hand in front of her face.

The girl took a moment before noticing. "Huh? Sorry, did you say something?"

"Are you alright? You're totally spacing out."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Takumi sighed at her. "Yuuko… I know you well enough to know when you're lying. Are you still shaken over what Zero said?"

"It's not important." Yuuko walked away.

Takumi grabbed her wrist before she could get far. "Yuuko, stop. Your emotions are out of wack again. We need to talk."

Part of Yuuko wanted to yell at Takumi to leave her alone, but she knew from experience that wouldn't make things any better. She just sighed and turned around. "…Fine."

"I'm sure Zero didn't really mean what he said. Just like how you didn't mean to offend me or Ami back in Kawloon. He just…got a little heated."

"…Is it true though?" Yuuko asked. "Do I rely on others too much? Am I…weak?"

"For needing help from time to time?" Takumi asked. "Yuuko, if that makes you weak then so am I. So are the others. That's why we need to support each other. Because we're a team. Right now, I'm sure Zero is doing what he thinks is supporting the team too."

Yuuko breathed and smiled to Takumi. "…You're right. Thank you." She then frowned again. "People who support you…Kiryu doesn't have anything like that right now… He's alone suffering his own private hell…"

"Then maybe we can find a way to support him." Takumi took hold of both of Yuuko's hands. "Just like how you supported me."

Yuuko blushed as she looked at the hands holding hers. "Um, thanks Takumi…" She wanted to ask him to let go but she couldn't find it in her. His hands were so warm…

"You two find any of the materials we need? Or are you too busy flirting?"

Takumi and Yuuko felt a jolt then looked at a smug, smiling Ami leaning against a tree. Takumi's first thought was to ask where she came from but when he and Yuuko looked at each other's red faces they backed away from each other and the first thing that escaped his mouth was "This is so not what it looks like."

"Suuuuuuure."

"A-anyway, I'm going to go look over there now!" Yuuko said before running off.

Takumi watched Yuuko leave then turned to his sister who aproached him smiling. "…It was NOT what it looked like!"

"Uh, huh. Frankly bro me seeing you two holding hands should be the least of your concerns. I might have overheard your passionate moment with her in her room?"

Takumi's face shifted from embarrassed to confused. "Passionate what now?"

"You know, that day you went to talk to her alone? It was the day Sayo, Koh, Takuto and Himari went to investigate GranDracmon's lair?"

Takumi thought about what he was doing on that day. "Oh! You mean the day after we learned Brother Sorrow was Kiryu. Yeah, Yuuko took that revelation pretty hard. That's why I went to try to cheer her up. What's that got to do with anything?"

"I was passing by, and I distinctly heard Yuuko dominating you "prisoner of war"."

Takumi blushed again. "Oh god, you heard that?"

"Yeah. Caught the part of you being without your shirt!" Ami teased poking him.

Takumi groaned. "Bad enough she learned about my ticklish spot she had to take my shirt off for that too."

Ami blinked. "Ticklish? Wait, that's what she was doing? Tickling you?"

"Yeah!" Takumi glared. "Thanks to YOU revealing my sensitivity to the entire group!"

BlackWarGreymon rolled his eyes. "You're such children sometimes, both of you."

Ami had a blank stare. "Oh. And here I could have sworn Yuuko was…You know what, nevermind, this conversation could get really awkward."

BlitzGreymon lowered himself to the ground CresGarurumon dropped to. Kiryu jumped off BlitzGreymon's shoulder onto the ground and stared at Left Eye's tower. "Here we are. Our mission is to investigate the disconnection of the teleporter access inside the tower."

"That sounds more like repair work then a mission." CresGarurumon said.

"The towers are important for accessing the network across the Digital World. I find it hard to believe it simply disconnected by accident. We seem to have lost communications with the inside as well."

"So, the Resistance has attacked?" BlitzGreymon asked.

"With GranDracmon and Lucemon disposed off, that is the only plausible explanation. If that's the case, we drive them out and liberate the tower."

"Can we do that by ourselves?" BlitzGreymon asked. "I don't mean to doubt our power and your guidance, but we could be in trouble if we have to fight the Cyber Sleuth again. And Arata, Nokia, Keisuke, Himari, all of them have gained great power."

"Which is why I have an emergence signal I will send out if we need reinforcements. His majesty said he's prepared to send Examon and Arcadiamon if need be to get the tower back." Kiryu started walking towards the tower.

His Digimon looked up at it as they followed. "The last time we were here was when we battled Jesmon and Gankoomon." BlitzGreymon said. "That was before the enemy humans arrived. You know…you've been gone from your world for a long time Kiryu."

"Yeah. Your father and brother must be worried sick." CresGarurumon added.

Kiryu's expression softened. "I know. Yuki and Saotome are keeping an eye on them. God knows what I'm going to say to father when I get back. But I can't turn back now. Not until I grant Subaru peace of mind." Kiryu opened the tower door. But he was so occupied with his thoughts, he wasn't prepared for what he saw. "What the…?!" A Deputymon, a Aurumon, and a Meteormon were all unconscious on the ground.

As Kiryu ran over to the Meteormon. CresGarurumon and BlitzGreymon all looked around. There were more Digimon out cold all around them. "What the hell happened here?"

Kiryu was checking the condition of the Digimon. "They're out cold. All of them. Damn. All of the past events elsewhere made us careless. We should have deployed more security here."

The door slammed shut and they turned around. "That's not good." CresGarurumon murmured.

Kiryu checked his Digivice. "Signal's being jammed. I can't contact anyone. It seems this was a trap."

"You got that right."

Kiryu looked in front of him as Sayo aproached with Koh and their Digimon. "You two…"

"We have signal jammers in place and teleportation dampeners active." Sayo replied. "Don't expect anyone to interfere."

"You two set this up?" GresGarurumon readied his lance. "How bold of you to try to face us alone."

"No." Kiryu replied. "These two alone could not have defeated all the Digimon here so quickly. There must be others."

"Well, aren't you clever." Diamamon replied.

"Still, I find it amusing that you two think you can defeat us alone. You saw firsthand during our collaboration what we can do."

"You mean back when we teamed up in GranDracmon's lair?" Koh asked. "Yeah. We noticed what you can do. I also noticed you couldn't bring yourself to finish us off when we were done."

"Not to mention you saved our lives." Sayo added.

"That was simply to improve my odds against the enemy at the time." Kiryu replied. "More importantly why the Left Eye's Tower? There were other places you could have set this trap up that would not require you to fight through a tower's worth of troops. You must have some ulterior goal with this place."

"Kiryu…" Koh sighed. "I'm sorry for what you and your brother had to go through…but is claiming revenge on Yuuko really going to-

"That is none of your concern!" Kiryu barked. "I have no time for this. I may have allied myself with you before due to circumstances thrusted upon us. But as promised we are enemies now. And I must follow my orders…and liberate this tower from the Resistance." He got into a fighting stance as his Digimon stood in front of him ready to fight. "Are you prepared to face judgment?"

Koh sighed. Sayo looked at him. "Koh, we have to do this!"

"I know…" The boy looked at the floor sadly. 'Subaru…we'll save him. I promise.' He took a deep breath. "…Apollomon!"

"Dianamon!" Sayo ordered. Their Digimon rushed towards Kiryu's.

"Attack!" Kiryu snapped his fingers and his advanced as well.

Dianamon's weapon clashed with CresGarurumon's spear. Apollomon threw a punch at BlitzGreymon who move out of the way then showered him with electrical bullets. Apollomon blocked them and his hands glowed. "Fatal Hand!"

"Elect Guard!" BlitzGreymon blocked the incoming attack buy was slightly pushed back.

"Crazy Ice Blast!" Dianamon shot a storm of ice needles at CresGarurumon who deflected them with his spear.

The golden beast then lifted his hand. "Grand Rock!" A stalagmite smashed Dianamon from underneath launching her skyward. CresGarurumon leapt after her and above her ready to slam the spear into her. Dianamon dodged his diving thrust.

"D. Mag Square!" Dianamon summoned a cube of purple light that enveloped both of Kiryu's Digimon weakening their Resistance. She then flew at CresGarurumon. "01 Crusher!"

As CresGarurumon's spear clashed with her weapon repeatedly, BlitzGreymon took flight. "Plasma Stake!"

"Apollomon, watch out!" Koh shouted.

His Digimon ran to the side dodging the attack then rolled to get some distance before striking back. "Burst Breath!"

BlitzGreymon winced taking the fire. CresGarurumon blocked Dianamon's last attack but was pushed back. "Switch your targets." Kiryu ordered. "Attack formation 04."

CresGarurumon leapt onto BlitzGreymon's back who flew towards Apollomon. "Here he comes!" Koh warned.

"Dianamon, assist!" Sayo ordered. Her Digimon flew towards Apollomon to block the attack, but when they were close, BltizGreymon threw CresGarurumon into Apollomon knocking him down before he shot himself into Dianamon. "A fent?!"

"Strategy is a key part in battle." Kiryu said. "Rushing in without a plan is begging for failure."

"Another of grandpa solider boy's lessons?" Koh asked.

"Hmph. CresGarurumon, pile on the pressure. Don't give him a chance for long ranged attacks. BlitzGreymon, overwhelm her from a distance."

"Roger! Beast Cyclone!" CresGarurumon spun his spear making a golden cyclone that sucked Apollomon up before he thrusted his weapon into him repeatedly.

"Thunder Vernier!" BlitzGreymon unleashed two powerful bursts of electricity into Dianamon.

When he fired again, she dodged it as she flew in. "Crescent Harken!"

"Freeze Frame!" Kiryu snapped his fingers at Dianamon and she froze in place.

"Ripping Net!" BlitzGreymon bounded her with an electrical restraint, and she crashed into the ground before he aimed downward. "Plasma Stake!" He made it rain electric volts. Dianamon awkwardly rolled away from the attack in her restraints.

"Apollomon, fight back!" Koh ordered.

His Digimon blocked CresGarurumon's spear and his fist glowed. "Sunfire Punch!"

"Skip Frame!" Kiryu snapped his fingers at CresGarurumon who immediately was behind Apollomon who suffered multiple strikes.

Koh groaned. "Kiryu's Digimon are tough enough as is, but those hacking skills give him a huge advantage over us."

"Let's try some tricks of our own then." Sayo replied holding her Digivice. "This world gave us a variety of tools to use." She activated a AGL Boost. Koh used a SPEED Boost. "Let's try this again!"

Dianamon broke free from the Ripping Net and got back onto her feet. "Crescent Harken!" She immediately zoomed up to BlitzGreymon and swiped at him repeatedly before knocking him down. "Good Night Moon!" From above her boots shone a dazzling light that made him fall asleep.

Apollomon dodged a series of spear swings then positioned himself behind CresGarurumon. "SolBlaster!" Apollomon fired an orange beam into his back that blew him a good distance. CresGarurumon stabbed his spear into the ground and flung himself back at Apollomon. "Burst Counter!" He blocked the hit then jabbed his palm into CresGarurumon blowing him away again.

"Not bad." Kiryu said as Dianamon flew towards BlitzGreymon. "But not good enough." He activated a Sleep Recovery and BlitzGreymon awoke before jumping back.

"Koh, let's fight together!" Sayo said.

"You got it!"

Dianamon rushed at BlitzGreymon. "Elect Guard!" He summoned his shield to block her flurry of attacks lowering it only when he was ready to fire, but Dianamon leaned to the side for Apollomon to charge in and ram his fist into BlitzGreymon's face. CresGarurumon rush in to attack Apollomon, but Diamamon blocked him with her weapon. When she knocked it aside Apollomon shot a fireball into CresGarurumon. Koh and Sayo's Digimon ran alongside each other at Kiryu's Digimon who stood ready to fight. "Thunder Fall!"

"Ocean Wave!" Both attacked with projectiles, but Dianamon ran in front of Apollomon blocking the attacks with her weapon before crouching so Apollomon could use her as a springboard to fly above them.

"Sun Punch Arrow!"

"Crazy Ice Blast!" Both fired back at the duo with arrows of light and icicles.

Kiryu stared at the two Digimon. 'Their synergy is uncanny. It's just like…' For a brief moment he was staring at Agunimon and Lobomon for a moment. And where Sayo and Koh were standing her saw something that made his eyes widen. 'Subaru…!'

"Sir, we need some support!" BlitzGreymon said weathering the storm.

Kiryu groaned shaking his head. He used a HP Spray A. "Defence formation 07!"

"Roger!" CresGarurumon stabbed the floor with his spear and summoned a wall of ice to block the attacks. Dianamon and Apollomon stopped attacking. Then the ice glowed slightly gold before BlitzGreymon pierced through it cloaked in electricity as he tackled Dianamon to the floor and started punching her repeatedly. Apollomon ran towards them. "Fury: Ice Moon Fang!" CresGarurumon charged and slashed him with his spear coated in ice. BlitzGreymon bearhugged Dianamon and he carried her up into the air while Cresgarurumon leapt after Apollomon. The red dragon spun in circles as he started charging towards the ground with the screaming and struggling Dianamon in his grip while the golden wolf spun forward with his spear held out towards Apollomon who blocked it with his gauntlets but was now being pushed towards the ground. The impact made a crater in the floor. GresGarurumon and BlitzGreymon leapt out of it leaving Dianamon who was on her head before toppling over and Apollomon who was flat on his back.

"Checkmate." Kiryu said. "You two have heart, but you never stood a chance."

The two used Revive Capsules. "Don't get ahead of yourself!" Sayo said. "It's not over yet!"

Kiryu watched Dianamon and Apollomon stand up panting. "You can revive them if you want, but those two are still hurt and tired. You don't stand a chance."

"Shut up!" Koh glared. "As long as they can still stand, we'll believe in our Digimon! That's what being a Tamer is all about!"

Kiryu stared at them. "So be it. Know that you both brought this suffering upon yourselves. BlitzGreymon! CresGarurumon!"

"Hold up!" The battle was interrupted by a shout. Fei ran in front of Sayo and Koh and her three Digimon were right behind her.

"Fei!" Sayo gasped.

Kiryu gave her a cold glare. "You…"

"You two tag out." Fei said. "I'll take it from here."

"What? Now way!" Koh replied. "We can still fight!"

"That's right!" Sayo said. "We're Tamers of Union City! We won't disgrace Night Crow or Light Fang by running away!"

Fei put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Hey. I know you two can still fight. Hell, who knows, maybe you can win. But this blockhead is my former subordinate and therefore he's, my responsibility. So let me settle things with him. Ya'll can help Nokia upstairs; she's facin' some heavy resistance."

"But…" After a bit of reluctance Sayo sighed. "Fine, do whatever you want."

"Just be careful." Koh said before he and Sayo withdrew their Digimon into their Digivices and ran off.

Fei watched them leave through a doorway. "Heh. Kids like that are sweet. They try their best even when they know they're outclassed." Fei smirked to Kiryu. "They kinda remind me of Suabru."

"Don't you dare speak his name." Kiryu glared clenching his fists.

Fei glared back. "I haven't forgotten what ya did to me Kiryu. Bad enough ya humiliated me by kidnappin' me to this world…but what really ticks me off is how ya molded me into a weapon against Yuuko!"

"Blame yourself. Your desire to be with that idiot and your jealousy towards the Cyber Sleuth made you prime material for Lilithmon and Leviamon. You lost to your own lust and envy. Besides, I'd say it's well deserved. Yuuko turned my brother against me. So, I thought it was fitting that someone she trusted and cared about would be turned against her in turn."

"Heh. Is that a fact? But I wounder if it was really her who turned your little bro?"

"What do you mean?"

Fei smirked at the doorway Sayo and Koh left in. "Like I said, kids like that are easy to tempt into doing what ya want em to…if ya give them a little nudge. I might have given Subaru a little hint while you were on a mission."

TiggerVespamon looked at her partner. "Fei? What are you-

"What did you do?" Kiryu asked with a threatening tone.

"I just told the kid he's his own person and that he shouldn't let his blockheaded older brother push him around. Told him that he should make his own choices. And he did…when he refused to leave Zaxon with you and stay with us. Heh. Like I said, kids are easy to nudge into doin' what ya want em to."

Kiryu's eyes widened. "So that is why…"

"Heh. That got ya riled up fella? Bet it makes ya angry. Imagine how much pent-up rage I have for ya messin' with my free will! Time to pay ya back with interest!"

"Even now in this world you spout selfish nonsense." Kiryu said. "You complain about being manipulated when you admit you do that to others? It was foolish of you to brag about this to me…last time I defeated you, I took your free will…this time…" Kiryu pulled on his right glove with a vicious glare. "I'll take your life!"

Elsewhere in the tower in a dark red room with a giant mechanical cylinder that spun in place Zero had a bunch of monitors he was operating with. He pulled up another. "Nokia, are you ready yet?"

"Almost! They got a lot of Digimon here! Once I'm done, I'll get that program of yours running! You finished linking that room up to EDEN?"

"Just about. Let me know as soon as you're done." Zero hung up and looked at a screen showing Fei and Kiryu facing off with their Digimon. "Please buy me just a little more time Fei…"

Major developments ahead. Next time see what Keisuke and his side of the team are up to in the other tower.