"YAHOOOOOO! This is awesome!" Davis cheered as he raced down the sidewalk away from Odaiba Elementary with Veemon's In-Training form, Demiveemon, in his arms. Momentarily he stopped and held up the little Digimon, spinning him around in the air. "You guys never said our Digimon got to come home with us! Man, Demiveemon, this is gonna be the best! I can show you my room and you can see all my games and my comic books and my sister and – well, no, don't meet my sister."

"Yeesh, Davis. You don't know the meaning of the word 'discreet', do you?" said Yolei as she held onto her own In-Training Digimon, Poromon.

"Remember, guys, you have to be careful about having your Digimon out in public," TK said as he pointed up at his Patamon, who was doing his very best to keep still as he perched on his partner's head. "If you have to have them out for everybody to see, it's better that you pretend they're stuffed animals or something. Most people still haven't really accepted that they exist."

Yolei frowned. "What… really? Even after the Odaiba Fog Incident from three years ago? How did people forget about that?"

"Nobody forgot, it's just… some people like to pretend it wasn't real."

Davis looked very upset at that. "Not real?! My sister and I were caught up right in the middle of that! And people are gonna act like it didn't even happen?!"

"What's the matter, Davis?" Demiveemon asked timidly from his place in his partner's arms.

"Davis, calm down," Cody said sternly, keeping a dutiful hold on his Upamon. "The fact is, most people can't accept that there's another world with creatures living in it that they don't know about. I'm still getting used to it myself. I think our job as Digidestined is as much about helping the Digimon as it is keeping their secret from people who aren't ready for it."

TK smiled down at him. "You sure are a smart kid, Cody."

"Yeah, fine," Davis sighed, stroking Demiveemon's ears absentmindedly. "But seriously, who wouldn't want to know about the Digital World? That place rocks!"

"Guys, let's talk about something else," Kari said pleasantly, her Gatomon stretched out lazily on her shoulders. "What do you guys think about Wormmon?"

Everyone turned to look at her. "Hmm? What about him?" asked Yolei.

"Well, he saved Davis yesterday, and he saved Yolei today… kind of funny he'd be in both places right when we needed him. Do you guys think maybe he's following us around?"

TK frowned. "Why would he be doing that?"

"Well, TK, it's not every day you see a human in the Digital World. You and I both know that," Kari giggled at him, causing TK to start looking flustered and Davis to start looking very irritated.

"ANYWAY, the little guy looked kinda lonely when we said goodbye to him just now," he said loudly, trying to get Kari's attention back on him. "What do you guys think? Maybe tomorrow we could go visit him or something!"

"Davis, we don't even know where he lives," Yolei reminded him.

"We don't have time to go off doing something like that. We need to find out as much as we can about the Digimon Emperor," said Cody, all business as usual.

Davis frowned. "Man, I told you guys! He's just a kid like the rest of us! I saw him! Taking down a little snot-nosed punk like that is gonna be a piece of cake."

"And yet you still managed to get caught by him," Yolei said with a smirk, prodding him in the side. "Oh and by the way, you're welcome for saving your sorry behind!"

"Okay, that's enough, you two," TK sighed, stepping in between them before they could break out in a fistfight. "We'll figure out what we're going to do about the Emperor tomorrow. Now we should all go home and get some rest."

"Yeah, whatever," Davis muttered, falling to the back of the group as they continued to walk down the sidewalk, though he immediately brightened up as he saw Kari fall back next to him.

"Don't worry about Wormmon, Davis. I'm sure we'll see him again… after all, he's always the one who finds us."

––

The Digimon Emperor was not in the best of moods.

Mostly because he wasn't out there doing what he loved most: enslaving Digimon and making them suffer as he laughed. He was currently seated in his control room, where he spent most of his time, reviewing the archived video footage of the past two days, studying these children who'd gotten it in their minds to oppose him.

First, there was the annoying boy in the goggles, the one he'd managed to capture yesterday before his friends had to swoop in and save the day. And now there was that geeky glasses girl and the short little brat… apart from all dressing like idiots, these kids had no business being in his Digital World.

It irritated him that they'd found a way to fight against him under his nose. They were all using this strange new method of digivolution he wasn't familiar with… he had to study this further. Surely there must be some way to modify his digivice so that it could block this evolution as well…

Even so, though, it shouldn't have been enough for those kids. Both yesterday and the day before, his slaves had put them on the ropes. He rewound and reviewed the footage again. What exactly had happened that had saved them both those times?

Something caught his eye, and he frowned. Pausing the video on the left, he noticed a small green blur in the corner of the screen right at the crucial moment of the battle against the Monochromon, when it had suddenly started staggering around and looking like there was something in its eyes. Then on the right, he saw a suspiciously similar green blur perched on the cliff above the girl, shooting something down after her as she fell off her Digimon.

Was it just him, or was that the same little green Digimon helping them out both times?

How obnoxious, he thought to himself, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. He hadn't counted on the other players getting help from NPCs in this game… and who was to say other Digimon wouldn't get ideas when they saw this one's example? These kids were getting to be tricky enough as it was…

It was time to nip this problem in the bud. He hadn't gotten this far by being complacent.

However resourceful that Digimon was, it looked far too small and pathetic to be a worthwhile slave… so there was only one thing to be done.

It would only take one Tyrannomon. Surely he could spare that much.

––

"BLAZE BLAST!"

Wormmon's eyes flew open to the sound and sensation of scorching heat directly above him.

Shrieking, he scrambled backwards and pressed himself against the dirt wall of his burrow, staring in horror at the roaring flames and rippling air he could make out from outside the entrance. He winced against the heat, and the moment the flames died away he frantically crawled up and stuck his head out of the hole, suspecting he'd be cooked alive if he stayed where he was…

There was a Tyrannomon standing directly over him… a Tyrannomon with glowing red eyes and a Dark Ring around its neck.

Wormmon nearly fainted where he stood, but the Tyrannomon didn't even give him time to do it. It shot another Blaze Blast at him, and he screamed and dived out of the way at the last instant, scurrying off through the trees and the bushes. The Tyrannomon immediately gave chase, indiscriminately spewing fire at any tree or branch that got in the way of its quarry.

"Wait! Stop! Please!" Wormmon cried, but of course his pursuer paid him no heed, if it could even understand him. It stomped after him with a mighty roar, lashing out with its powerful tail and striking a decaying tree branch, causing it to topple over and crash directly in front of Wormmon's path. Wormmon scurried to a stop and made a hard left turn, only for the Tyrannomon to stomp directly in front of him, blocking his path.

"Sticky Net!" Wormmon defended himself the only way he could, shooting out a thick sticky web from his mouth, but the Tyrannomon knocked it away with a swipe of its hand. Feeling his heart sink, Wormmon spun around and took off in the opposite direction as the enormous Champion shot another blast of fire at him. Feeling its heat on his back, he swerved wildly to the right at the last second, causing the fire to strike the ground and sending the surrounding grass and trees up in flames.

He's burning the forest down, Wormmon realized with a slow dawning horror. My home… this can't be happening…

The fires the Tyrannomon had started were rapidly spreading, turning their surroundings into an inferno. Wormmon's eyes began to water from the smoke filling the air, and he coughed violently as he ran, but the Tyrannomon's pounding footsteps told him he still hadn't gotten away. His only advantage was that he was small and fast while the Tyrannomon was slow and stupid, but that wouldn't be any help if he couldn't even tell where he was running.

"Please… stop…" he whispered, cringing against the heat and the flying embers striking him in the face. He was overcome by wild fear, his mind filled with nothing but the instinct to run. He had no idea how long he ran, nor did he notice the Tyrannomon suddenly stopping its pursuit and falling back as it received some unheard order. Still he kept running, long after he'd outrun the fire, just kept on running blindly ahead, his vision blurred by hysterical tears.

The Emperor… why has he done this to me?

––

"All riiiiight! Here we are, back in the Digital World!" Davis cheered as he and the others were walking along. "Now let's get out there and – woah. Uh, guys… is that supposed to be happening?"

Everyone turned and looked where he was pointing, wearing an uncharacteristically worried expression. Off in the distance was an enormous cloud of black smoke, billowing up from somewhere deep in the forest.

Gatomon immediately grew stiff. "We're not safe here."

"Is that – it's a forest fire!" said TK, eyes wide. "Guys, I think we'd better – "

He didn't get to finish before a small green figure came bursting out of the bushes, screaming at the top of its lungs with panicked tears running down its face.

Davis spun around. "What in the – Wormmon?"

"Davis! Davis!" Wormmon screamed, barreling toward him, shimmying up his leg and clinging fearfully to his shoulder before the gogglehead could even react. Davis whipped around and tried to figure out what was going on, but the little caterpillar was crying too hard to even form a coherent sentence.

"Wormmon! Wormmon, are you all right?" Kari cried, running up to him as Davis was flailing around and trying to keep his balance. "Were you running from that fire? Wormmon, what's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on," came a voice that did not belong to anyone present – a dark, dangerous voice. "You kids are protecting a traitor and a fugitive. If you know what's good for you, you'll hand him over right now."

Wormmon timidly opened his eyes at the sound of the voice, sensing Davis and the others growing tense and turning to face it… and then his eyes grew far wider as a holographic figure materialized several feet away from them, revealing a humanoid form clad in darkness. Everyone present instantly realized they were looking at the Digimon Emperor.

Now, at last, Wormmon had a face to give to his nightmares.

The Emperor seemed to be about the same age as the other human children… not that it made him any less terrifying. He stood with a regal, imperious air, one that exuded utter self-confidence and offered no room whatsoever to challenge his authority. He was dressed in a blue and white jumpsuit with black metal-clasped gloves and a long, bifurcated cape draped over his shoulders. His hair was wild and spiky, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark tinted shades, creating the impression that trying to look into them would be like staring into an abyss.

Wormmon had thought he'd been a nervous creature before. But he'd never known true terror until now. He couldn't look away, shaking so hard he thought he might fall off Davis's shoulders. That wasn't helped when Davis suddenly clenched his fists and took a step forward.

"You," he spat. "What the heck did you just try to do to Wormmon, you big jerk?!"

"Now, now… don't act so innocent," said the hologram, a smirk drawing across its face. "If you should be blaming anyone, it's yourselves. You're the ones trespassing in my world without my permission. If you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have to punish him for helping you."

"You tried to kill him?! Just for helping us?!" Yolei cried, wearing the same mortified expression as everyone else, even as they all realized this meant the Emperor had seen Wormmon helping them both times. Just how far did his influence extend, anyway?

"And why not? I see no reason why I can't deal with any Digimon in this world as I see fit," said the Emperor. "I'm just sending a message. No Digimon who gets it in their minds to help you kids will escape punishment. What kind of emperor would I be if I couldn't control my subjects?"

"Digimon are not your subjects!" TK shouted at him, growing red in the face. "Nothing gives you the right to come in here and do these things to them!"

"Is that so?" the Emperor said snidely, in a tone of voice that suddenly made all the kids feel like socking him in the face. "And who are you to say such things? As far as I'm concerned, you're the ones with no right to be here. Only perfect humans such as I should be allowed in the Digital World." The smugness suddenly left his voice, replaced by a steely coldness. "You're all trespassing where you don't belong. Turn over the bug and get out of here before I lose my patience."

"Get real! We'll never listen to you!" Patamon shot back.

"Not on your life!" Gatomon snarled.

"I had a feeling you'd make this difficult," the Emperor sighed theatrically, and then suddenly his hologram vanished. Before the group could wonder where he'd gone, there suddenly came a number of loud, crashing footsteps from all around them… and then a grand total of five Tyrannomon, each one wearing a Dark Ring, came crashing out of the trees, completely surrounding them. The real, flesh-and-blood Emperor himself was standing on the shoulder of the one in the center, and Wormmon instantly recognized it as the one who had chased him over here.

"Maybe this will help persuade you?" the Emperor sneered. "Tyrannomon, attack!"

"I'm not likin' the looks of these odds…" Cody's Armadillomon said timidly as the ferocious Champions advanced on them.

"Come on, guys, we can't just do nothing! Let's get in there and fight!" Davis shouted. Yolei and Cody nodded firmly, and all three children held up their respective Digieggs, transforming their Digimon into their Armored forms.

The clash that followed was chaotic and terrifying, at least from Wormmon's perspective. After all, the only thing he could do was cling tightly to Davis and pray the other Digimon could save them, cursing himself inwardly for his uselessness, remembering how ineffective he'd been against the one Tyrannomon. If only there was something he could do… the others were risking their lives to help him… all of this was his fault…

He was so wrapped up in that that he never even noticed TK, Kari, and their Digimon getting separated from the others amid the confusion… and neither, it seemed, did Davis, at least until two new Digimon suddenly flew onto the scene.

"Woah! Who are those guys?" the gogglehead gasped.

"That's Pegasusmon and Nefertimon! They must be Patamon and Gatomon's Armor digivolutions!" said Flamedramon. "We've got this fight in the bag now, everyone!"

Sure enough, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon suddenly produced a noose of shining golden light that they wrapped around the Tyrannomon, immobilizing them, and then all it took was a few shots of their own attacks to destroy the Dark Rings around their necks. Everyone sighed in relief as the Tyrannomon returned to normal, recognizing they'd won this round…

But much to their annoyance, the Digimon Emperor was nowhere to be found. It seemed he'd fled the battle long ago.

––

Recognizing there was nothing they could do about the forest fire, the group quickly moved upwind where the flames couldn't reach them. As they stood on a low cliff and grimly watched the smoke, all of them had the same thing on their minds.

"That Digimon Emperor… look at what he's done," Davis growled, grinding his fist into his palm. "I just wanna wipe that grin off his face!"

"I'm liking this guy less and less the more we learn about him," TK muttered. "He's enslaving and hurting all the Digimon, and he can keep ours from digivolving? He's like some kind of anti-Digidestined!"

"Come to think of it… does he have a Digimon partner?" Yolei said thoughtfully.

"Why should he?" said Cody. "It's not like he's one of us. He doesn't belong in this world."

"But he does have a digivice…" said Kari, thinking uneasily back to the pitch black, modified digivice in his hand that somehow had the disturbing power to suppress evolution.

"Yeah? He probably stole it from somebody! Some kid who deserves it!" Davis said in a huff.

The only one who wasn't looking out at the smoke was Wormmon. He was standing several feet away from the others, gazing miserably at the ground. He still hadn't fully accepted what had happened to him… he couldn't even begin to understand what it all meant.

Whatever they say, this is all my fault, he thought. The fire… the Tyrannomon… it's all because the Emperor wanted me. And my new friends… they're in danger, all because of me.

He started tearing up again. All I wanted was to live away from the Emperor, somewhere safe… why? Why did this have to happen to me?

Momentarily, the others seemed to realize Wormmon wasn't standing with them, and they all turned around to gaze over at him with sobered expressions.

"I can't believe that guy… going after Wormmon just because of us," Yolei said softly.

"I've never heard of anything so despicable," Cody muttered, a grim look on his face. Armadillomon gently nuzzled his leg, sensing his partner was getting upset.

Finally, Davis walked over and knelt down next to Wormmon, gently pulling him into his lap. He knew he should say something… but he couldn't think of anything that would help. He wasn't used to consoling people.

"Wormmon… hey, Wormmon… come on, buddy, it's not that bad…"

"Yes… yes it is!" Wormmon choked out through his tears. "My home is gone! I can't go back… I don't have anywhere to live anymore… and the Emperor, he wants to… I'm not safe anymore!" He finally broke down sobbing and huddled as close to Davis as he could, desperate to be comforted. He should never have left his burrow that one day… never have tried to help the Digidestined. He should have done the smart thing and run away the moment he saw them. Everything new, everything unknown was just a danger…

"He has a point, though," Kari said softly. "If the Emperor's targeted him, there's really nowhere safe for him…"

Strangely, Davis suddenly brightened up.

"What're you talking about? Of course there is!" He looked down at the little caterpillar Digimon. "Wormmon! You can stay at my place!"

"WHAT?!" screamed everyone else present… except Wormmon, who was suddenly gazing up at Davis with lights dancing in his eyes.

"Oh, really, Davis?" he cried in delight, not seeming to notice everyone else looking utterly mortified.

––

A/N: What with all the fire-breathing Digimon we have, it's a wonder that forest fires aren't more common… anyway, hope this part was a bit more exciting.