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"Why would you go up against a god like Beelzebumon?" Lee said coldly. "Are you insane or something?"

"You know that Beelzebumon was way to powerful, but you still went up to fight him like you could actually beat him" Rika muttered. Her purple eyes held none of the shine that they had earlier, and her expression was cold.

"Shut up" Kazu muttered. He turned to Lee. "If you had been there, you would have done the same thing. You don't go down without a fight. I was going to make Beelzebumon pay for what he did"

"It would have been smarter to save yourself instead of making yourself suffer" Lee replied, his cold, dark grey eyes glaring fiercely at Kazu.

"Shut up" Kazu said again. "You know as well as I do that there was no way I could have let them all fall to their knees at Beelzebumon. I would have been as guilty as if I had murdered them myself. I had to make Beelzebumon pay"

"So you thought that after you got your revenge, everything would turn out fine? As though this was all just a walk in a meadow?" Rika questioned darkly.

"What's more important? The needs of revenge or the lives of my friends?" Kazu cut back sharply. "I had to protect them"

"So you thought that their lives were more important then your own! Compassion is not a true power! You are stupid! Your needs always outweigh others!" shouted Lee.

"SHUT UP!" Kazu shouted for the last time.

Lee dove forward and brought his foot up in a roundhouse kick. Kazu ducked, then leaped backwards as a flurry of punches was delivered his way. Rika stood back, watching the fight with her cold, blank expression.

Lee suddenly gave a loud cry of pain, and two large, dark wings appeared on his back. These were nothing like a bird wing. They were simply made of pinions wrapped with flesh, which folded the air underneath. He took flight in the air, then held his hand up.

A bolt of purple lightning struck down on his outstretched hand. A sword appeared in his fist, which he held across his shoulder for a moment, then stuck it outwards and dived down towards Kazu.

Kazu gave a loud cry, and again, two white angel wings grew out of his back, scattering glistening feathers all over the glowing floor. This was Kazu's world. He could do what he wanted.

Kazu brought up his hand, and a sword appeared in it. It was a crystal white, translucent in the blade and colored silver at the hilt, with a large diamond wrapped in ropes on the end. He sprang upwards, then they both cried out as they slammed into each other.

Kazu's blade slammed against Lee's, and sparks flew as they met. The metal scraped against each other with frictionless abandonment, and not even a dent or a chip of glass touched the floor. Kazu pushed the sword out of the way, then slammed it into Lee's sword, which caused Lee to lose his balance for a moment.

Kazu pulled back his sword, then sliced it forward, whistling through the air. It cut into Lee's side, and he grunted in pain, then grabbed the sword in his thigh and wrenched it out, nearly throwing Kazu across the floor.

Kazu regained his composure immediately. He sprang up, then parried several blows as Lee struck at him repeatedly. His arm was numb after blocking them, and Lee saw his chance.

Knowing that Kazu could still block another sword strike, he dove forward with a different idea. His shoulder slammed straight into Kazu's chest, throwing him to the floor. Kazu grunted as he hit the floor as the wind was knocked out of him.

"If you can't beat me, then there is no way you can beat a god like Beelzebumon!" Lee shouted, then brought his sword down for the killing blow.

Kazu's blade flashed upwards. Lee slowly pressed Kazu's own blade against his neck, struggling to slice it down. Kazu was struggling to push Lee's sword back up. Kazu was nearly tired out from all of the fighting and running he had been doing, and had nearly no energy left. But then he remembered.

This was his world.

Then suddenly, he believed. He had strength. He was strong enough to beat Lee. He had to be. No, he was!

Kazu pressed Lee's blade upwards easily, almost casually. Then, he let go with one hand and slammed his fist into Lee's mid-section. Lee fell backwards, holding his stomach as Kazu punched him.

Kazu's blade struck downward.

Lee just managed to block it with the black sword he was carrying. But in his weakened state, he could not hold on at all. The sword went flying from his hand and spinning into the ground a small distance away, looking as though someone had stuck it into the ground.

Kazu looked down at him, his blade pressed against Lee's neck. "Even now, you see why I stood up to Beelzebumon" said Kazu. Then he reared up his sword and brought it downwards.

Lee was smiling as he brought the sword down, which kind of unnerved Kazu. Just as the blade struck, Lee vanished. Disappearing into thin air really surprised Kazu, and he turned around immediately, looking desperately for him.

Lee suddenly appeared right in front of Kazu, and his foot struck out. Kazu stumbled backwards as Lee pummeled him again and again. The turning pint came when Kazu ws finally knocked to the ground.

Lee stood over him for a moment, then reached down toward Kazu's neck, then lifted him off the ground as easily as if he was lifting a wet tissue.

"Beelzebumon is something none of us can beat. Because of that, we must follow him. Those who don't must be killed!" shouted Lee, then began gripping Kazu's neck, squeezing as tight as he could.

Kazu's sword flew upward and slammed into Lee's gut. Lee didn't even flinch. He simply looked down at the sword for a moment, then up at Kazu with an annoyed expression. He put both of his hands up in a karate chop style, then slammed them both into Kazu's chest.

Kazu went flying backwards like he had been hit with a wrecking ball. He felt like he had run into a brick wall at full force. He went flying backwards onto the ground and collapsed with his eyes closed, and his sword clattered to the ground beside him, red near the hilt.

Lee stepped above Kazu, his own black blade appearing above Kazu's head. "I'll admit, you have put up a good fight. I can see why Beelzebumon thought of you as a worthy opponent, but beings that cannot even beat me must be destroyed!" shouted Lee, then dropped his blade downwards.

Kazu decided in the next split second what he had to do. His arm that was not wounded reached over and scooped up the sword, then he brought it up to meet Lee's.

Kazu's blade had a glowing white energy trailing from it as he brought it up.

The sword's met, and the unthinkable happened. Lee's blade was shattered into a million pieces as Kazu's struck it. The hilt steamed in his hand. Kazu's blade melted in his hand, disappearing into a wisp of smoke that floated away.

Lee cried out for a moment, then threw the hilt away, listening to it clatter on the ground. Falling to his knees, he looked at Kazu. "You are a strange one. I don't know how you could have defeated me, but you did. But you shall never win against a god like Beelzebumon"

With that, he disappeared into a million black, diamond-shaped pieces of glass, which floated away into the sky.

"Weak" Kazu heard Rika mutter.

Kazu turned around. He had to believe he was strong, or else he would never beat Rika.

She looked at him, and her eyes held a cold, dark energy inside them. "Your fears shall be your downfall!" she murmured.

She looked at him for a moment. Then she held perfectly still. Kazu took up a fighting stance. He was ready.

Her eyes glazed over with the strange dark energy, then, it flashed around her instantly. The energy just washed over her like a waterfall, then she absorbed it.

Then, suddenly, she was gone. Small flecks of lightning flashed at the spot she was at a moment ago. Sparking up for a moment, they faded out after they had gone a couple of feet. He could also see that a dark energy was left behind in trace amounts.

Kazu felt a hand on his shoulder. Instinctively, he turned around. He was rewarded with a fist in his face. Kazu turned around backwards in his dizziness just as she blasted him in the face with a roundhouse kick which sent him spinning to the floor.

"Rika, I don't want to fight you!" he pleaded.

She didn't listen. Rika leaped into the air, then put her legs down to slam on top of him. Kazu rolled out of the way just as Rika's feet slammed into the spot he had been a moment ago. Leaping up, he put himself in a battle position.

He was startled to find that Rika was suddenly behind him again. She wrapped an arm around his neck and began choking him.

Kazu grabbed Rika's arm with both of his own and began pulling with all his might. The more air he needed, the more desperate his struggle became, until at last, he jerked Rika over his shoulder. She hit the ground in front of him feet first instead of on her back.

The next part was completely unexpected. Her arm was still connected to his, and for some reason which Kazu couldn't figure out, her strength seemed to multiply by fifty. She jerked him over his shoulder as though he was a rag doll.

Needless to say, when he hit the ground, he was knocked senseless. He just barely was able to look upwards as her foot slammed down onto his face. Kazu's head practically exploded with pain.

He was knocked into the air as another kick blasted his neck. He was sent flying onto the ground about two feet away. Rika came over to him, then stepped on his back, further increasing the pain.

"That idiot Lee was weak. You are no challenge to me or Beelzebumon The world won't miss another weakling" she held up her hands, and a small purple ball gathered in it. The ball suddenly took the form of a dagger. Her other hand held a dagger also, both crafted of the same size and shape.

Then she struck them downwards.

Kazu's arm shot up. In it was a long staff, a blade at one end. He blocked both daggers with the staff.

"I hate seeing you this way Rika" he murmured, watching her press the daggers down harder. He pushed up with the same force, slowly gaining his strength back. When he thought he had gotten high enough, he spun it around.

Rika went flying off balance as her daggers went twisting around. Barely able to keep them in her hand, she slowly stopped spinning, then turned back to face him. She dove at him with her daggers outstretched.

Kazu dove forward to. Since his weapon was longer, he was the person who hit first. His blade struck her right in the stomach, skewering her so that it stuck out between her shoulder blades. She stopped her run in shock and simply let him lift her.

"I didn't want to fight you, but if this is the only way to make you stop" he lifted her into the air. "Then I guess you and I just have to deal with it"

He slammed her to the ground in front of him, then leaped upwards, swinging around the staff, slamming into her back and sending fires of pain rocketing through her.

Then he lifted her up again, then held his staff upwards and swung it like a baseball bat. Rika went flying off the tip, slamming to the ground several feet away with a trail of blood following her.

Kazu rushed over to the spot she was at, then leaped upwards. Nearly ten feet he flew, until his staff aimed downwards. It slammed right into the middle of her back, sending more rockets of pain into her.

Kazu wrenched his staff out, then held it in the ready position. Again, Rika disappeared from his view. Kazu had long ago picked up this trick though. He turned around behind himself and struck at her. Rika ducked under the swing, then brought her dagger upwards.

"You will die!" he heard her shout. Her dagger went forward so fast that it sliced the staff he had in two. The pieces in his hands clattered to the ground.

"I don't want to hurt you Rika!" he shouted pleadingly. "Please stop this!"

His hands came up to meet her own. The daggers in them were held back, then they were wrenched from her hands and cast aside. They clattered to the floor next to the pieces of his staff.

Then he hugged her. Rika's struggling ceased for a moment. In her shock, she simply stood still. Then her gaze softened. The black energy slowly left her eyes, and she began to disappear. Her body turned into black diamonds which slowly disappeared.

"Thank you so much Kazu...You have rid me of my poison. You are almost done! You know what to do next! Save yourself and hurry!" Rika's voice came from nowhere, echoing through his ears.

"You've almost gotten rid of it Kazu...Beelzebumon won't stand a chance against you! Destroy the poison. We need you Kazu!" Lee's voice was carried away after a moment.

Kazu smiled, then looked forward. Next to him, Gardromon clattered up. Kazu put a hand on Gardromon's metallic shoulder. "C'mon, let's get him!"

"Good idea!" said Kazu, who leaped on top. The jets on Gardromon flared to life. It was amazing how fast his digimon could go! Gardromon zoomed forward towards the bright light in front of him.

Kazu looked forward, and it shined even brighter. Then it enveloped them both.

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Kazu opened up his eyes. "Wow...I'm alive" he murmured.

Everyone burst into cheer as soon as he talked. They all began asking questions, what he had to do, if it hurt, what the poison looked like, how he fought it, and several other things.

The celebration did not die down until Sakuya silenced everyone, then turned towards Kazu.

"Lee here has something to say to you..."

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"What?!!! Susie's dead?!" shouted Kazu, shattering the silent stillness of the cavern in Sakuya's home.

"How could you let this happen!" Rika said angrily, glaring coldly at Lee.

"You could have been there to protect her! Terriermon wasn't with me and Lopmon wasn't strong enough to battle him!" Lee defended himself. He found that the more he talked, the closer he was coming to tears.

Kenta and Jeri were standing with their backs to the wall, looking fearfully at the argument, which would soon become a fistfight.

"You were there! You were in charge of her!" Kazu shouted. "As far as I'm concerned, your as guilty as if you had killed them with your own hands!"

After five solid minutes of arguing about who could have saved Susie, Kazu suddenly screamed 'That's it!" and his fist went flying forward, crashing into Lee's face and sending him flying backwards with blood dripping down his face.

Lee sat back up, nearly in tears. Lee's anger had been pinned into him like a deck of cards made into a house. This one motion took the bottom card out and the whole house fell down. His anger exploded out of him and he took it out on Kazu.

Kazu had taken out the joker of the deck.

He shot up like a lightning bolt and cracked Kazu's chest with a right hook, then a left, then charged into his chest knocking them both over, and sending them tumbling down a set of stairs near the back of her home.

"Would you boys stop it?!" shouted Rika

They didn't listen, only continued mindlessly fighting.

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