Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ A battle won, a battle lost... ❯ Chapter 1

A battle won, a battle lost.

By Jack

*~Disclaimer~*

I own nothing that could possibly get me sued. Except for Chris who I introduce completely in The Shinobimon Trilogy.

*~End Disclaimer~*

He leaned against the wall with a thump and sighed. He had just broken into a high security building, fought the security guards and personnel, and was in a great deal of pain at the moment from a wound to the leg. Not a good start to a day that was getting worse by the minute.

Pulling out his two handguns, he checked the clips. Good, this one was spent but he still had two full ones left. Ejecting the spent cartridges, he slammed in the fresh ones and tucked them away into the holsters flanking his chest. Next he checked the small machine gun that he pulled off one of the guards that he passed on the way in. Only half a clip left. Great. He sighed again. Once he got back he would have to put in for a long vacation, he more than deserved it. Pushing off against the wall he started to move.

Creeping as softly as he could with what his wounded leg would allow, he approached the door that was his last obstacle in his mission. He could hear excited voices and hurried movements inside, probably preparing for his arrival. The door was in a small corridor only wide enough for two men to walk abreast, not much room to maneuver in if things got out of hand. Oh well. Bracing his back against the opposite wall, he kicked the door open with his good leg.

Instantly the corridor was filled with a hail of bullets, most of them directed to the spot where he had occupied just milliseconds before, only to slam into the corridor wall. After the kick, instead of standing there, he turned the momentum into a forward roll. Pain shot up his leg as he tumbled into the room. Coming up out of it, he aimed his machine gun and sprayed the room with a deadly shower, catching anyone who hadn't had time to take cover and causing the others to lower their heads behind their own.

Ducking behind a pillar, he assessed the situation. The room was small, about the size of an apartment's living room. A couch and a table were turned over and he had counted seven or eight heads behind them. On the far side was a computer terminal, his objective, but in order to get at it he had to go through them. Wonderful

Discarding the now empty machine gun, he pulled out the two handguns. With double clicks he brought bullets into both chambers. He sighed again as he spun from the relative protection. What met him was another rain of hot metal. Moving across the room he let loose with his weapons. The shards of metal came from each barrel with deafening roars. Picking his targets, he brought each down with practiced accuracy.

His shoulder erupted in mind searing pain as he threw himself against the far wall .One of the enemies' bullets had hit its mark. Cursing, he brought up his weapon and fired, bringing down the attacker. Quickly he fired again and again, bringing down each of the defenders.

*Click* *Click*

His weapons were empty.

Cursing again, he ran towards the safety of the pillar. Arriving there he checked what he had, nothing. Except for a small combat knife that was strapped against his leg he was totally unarmed. Deciding he had nothing left to do, he prepared to run out and take the rest of the defenders hand to hand and would most likely get killed before he got close enough.

In the middle of his planning, he noticed that something was missing. It took him a couple seconds to realize what it was. Noise. The room was quiet, deathly quiet. He didn't hear any movements, nothing.

Taking a quick glance from around the pillar he didn't see anything moving. Deciding to take the risk, he moved from behind the pillar and into the open and… nothing. The silence remained. Walking over to the barricade, he looked behind it. Still silence, none of them were left.

Looking around the room he did the only thing that seemed appropriate, he laughed. It was a laugh of amazement and victory. He reached the console and retrieved what he was sent to acquire, a small data disk.

He was still laughing softly as he left the room. He turned and headed down the corridor towards the exit that would get him to safety. He turned the corner and was completely unprepared for the sight that awaited him. He was staring down the barrel of a gun. It was held by one of the last guards still standing in the building, which was at the moment shaking in visible fury. Adrenalin once again coursing through his veins he reached for the combat knife and …

*Blam*

***

"Man, tough break," said a voice.

Coming out of the self-induced trance, Chris was met with the mocking words that were flashing on the screen in front of him: Game Over.

As the sights and sounds of the arcade started to float back into his consciousness, he turned to face the voice; it was Davis. The other boy was staring at the screen

"Hi Davis. You play this game too?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I spent a lot of time and my allowance getting to that point. But then I got cocky and the next thing I knew I was dead." He shrugged. "I don't play it anymore though."

"Really? Why not?"

"Because I found something even better to play."

"Is it another arcade game?" asked Chris.

"No it's even better. It's a game called Laser Battle. It's a game where you're actually in it. They give you these guns that shoot lasers and you have to tag the other person with them," Davis explained.

"Oh that! I love that game! I just didn't know there were any places to play around here," exclaimed Chris.

"Yeah there is one a couple of blocks down the street in an old warehouse," he said. "I was just heading there when I saw you through the front window. Do you want to come and play with me?"

"Sure!" said Chris as he checked his wallet. "And I think I have enough for at least one or two games."

"Great! Let's go."

As they came out of the arcade they heard a familiar voice calling them, "Chris! Davis! Wait!" They turned and saw Kari and T.K running to join them.

"Hi Kari!" said Davis and as an afterthought. "Hi T.A"

"That's T.K Davis, not T.A" T.K said with a hint of irritation in his voice. Obviously he was a still a little angry about the newfound relationship between the two teens in front of him. And the bump on the back of his head was a constant reminder of that and the visit of that dimensionally traveling author.

"Hi you guys, we're just going to that Laser Tag Park down the street, do you two want to come along?" asked Chris.

"Sure! We'd love to," answered Kari.

"Great! Lets go!" said Chris, echoing Davis' earlier exclamation.

***

The place was an old warehouse near the river that had been bought and restored by the new owner. It was huge, at least two or three stories high and half a block deep. Everyone looked at it and imagined how easy it would be to get lost in it.

"This is going to be fun," said Chris

"That's an understatement," agreed Kari.

"Come on! What are we waiting for?" called Davis as he ran towards the entrance.

The others quickly followed quickly behind him.

***

The inside of the warehouse was nothing like the outside. While the outside was drab and only the color of rust, the inside was bright and vibrant. It was designed with a futuristic theme, there were metal bulkheads, and computer terminals that housed arcade games for the players who weren't in the game playing. Black lights mounted in the ceiling cast a deep dark blue glow throughout the room, illuminating the fluorescent decorations of aliens and spaceships that adorned the walls. There was a registration desk sitting in the middle of the room that was made up to look like an alien UFO. Davis and the group made their way towards it

"Hello! Can I help you?" asked the young man behind the counter.

"Yeah, four people for the next game," said Davis.

"Ok, the next one will be in about five minutes," said the man. "I'll need your money, and your codenames."

"Codenames? Why do we need codenames?" asked T.K

"They're for the game silly," smiled Kari. "They use codenames instead of our real ones. I guess it's to help with the fantasy of going out and having an adventure."

"Like we need another of those," whispered Davis. Everyone giggled.

They each paid the man and gave him their codenames. He entered them into a computer and gave them a tag with a little metal disk attacked to it.

"What are these for?" Now it was Kari's turn to be confused.

"They have your code name and what team you're on recorded into that disk. When you get into the game you press that disk onto your laser and you'll be entered into the game," explained Chris.

"Come on. They're about to start," said T.K as he moved over to the `Airlock'.

The group moved over to a gold-painted door that was made up to resemble an airlock, complete with giant hinges and a large pressure wheel. There was another group standing in front of the door, waiting for it to open. There were about seven of them and were each about nine or ten years old. It looked like a birthday party; most of them were dressed in clean clothes that looked only to be used on formal occasions, much to their obvious discomfort.

As they reached it, the giant door swung slowly open on its hinges with a hiss of air. As they watched a figure emerged, clothed in white, which glowed blue in the shine of the black lights from inside the dark room.

A silence fell over the kids as the figure spoke. "Are you ready for the fight of your life?" it asked.

A loud chorus of yells exploded from everyone present, each saying that they were.

The figure nodded once and stepped into the light. "All right," she said. "Everyone follow me." She then disappeared back into the shadows.

Everyone in the birthday party pushed and shoved their way into the room, each trying to be the first to get in, while Davis and the others calmly walked in after them.

Once everyone was in and quiet, the woman in the white clothing climbed a ladder to a platform where she stood and looked over the group in front of her.

"Hello everyone," she began, "I am the marshal of this game, which means that you do what I say. First off, how many of you have already played here before?" About half of the people put up their hands. "Good, but there are some people that don't know how to play so I'll explain anyway." This was met with a bunch of moans and `I want to play now's' from the group.

The marshal waited for it to quiet back down before she continued. "Now when we go into the next room you will find vests just like this one." She held up one of them for everyone to see. "You will go choose one and put it on." She demonstrated by putting on the one she was holding. "When you get it on, you press your little tag to the metal disk on the side of your `laser'. This will tell the computers in your laser who you are and what team you are on. Now, the teams were randomly chosen when you got your tag, so I don't want anyone complaining about what team they're on, Ok?" Everyone said yes, they understood.

"All right, let's get going," she said as she moved to the ladder but stopped midway. "Oh I almost forgot, there will be no physical contact in there at all, understood? That means no punching, kicking or grabbing the other person's laser. If I catch anyone doing it they'll have to deal with me." A few gulps and nervous whispers could be heard as the marshal moved down the ladder and through another door. The rest of them quickly followed.

They came into another room much bigger than the last one. Each wall had a row of vests hanging from pegs with lights blinking from the shoulders, front and back. Each person grabbed a vest and the beeps of keys being pressed into the lasers sounded all around the room. Each vest began flashing one of the two teams colors.

"Alright!" shouted Davis. "I'm on the red team!"

"Hey! So am I!" said Chris as he pointed to his shoulder lights.

"Well, looks like I'm on the green team," said T.K

"Yeah, me too," smiled Kari.

"Awwww man! That means that we'll be fighting each other," complained Davis.

"Oh, we won't go too hard on you Davis," laughed Kari. "Besides, you've got half of the birthday party on you side."

"The teams look pretty even to me," said T.K. "And it looks like the fun's just starting." He nodded towards the marshal who was asking for everyone's attention.

"Alright, now when this door behind me opens," said the marshal as she pointed to the door, "you will go in single file, when everyone is in you will have twenty seconds to head to your sides before I start the game." She held up a small round disk the size of her hand. "This is your recharge station. Each team's base has two. When you're hit you must go back and press the muzzle of your laser to recharge it and get back in the game. However, you must protect them at all costs, because they are the targets for the other team. If the enemy get to it and presses their laser to it they win, and you lose. Do you understand?"

There was a chorus of Yes's as the players lifted their lasers in the air and cheered.

"Good. Now get out there!" she said as she pulled the door open into the mist-covered arena. "And good luck."

***

It had been a heated battle, laser fire lit up the air around the combatants as each side tried to gain the advantage. The flood of tagged soldiers poured in to the recharge stations at a constant rate on both sides yet things were looking good for Davis and his team. Their base was the closer of the two to the door of the arena, which gave them a few extra seconds to prepare to attack T.K and Kari's position. Ten minutes into the game, they had already captured three quarters of the playing field and we're now concentrating on getting the small distance to the front doorstep of the enemy's base.

"Alright! We've got them cornered," said Davis as he peered through the darkness at the faces of the rest of the team who were huddled around him. "The only thing between us and winning is The Pass." The group opened up into low conversation over that last revelation.

The Pass was a section of arena just ahead of the green base. It was where all the pathways converged to form a bottleneck only wide enough for three to walk side by side and carried on for fifty meters. It didn't take long for The Pass to gain an imposing reputation for danger.

"Come on you guys! We can do it, we've got the advantage of skill, courage and killer instinct and nothing can stop us!" yelled Davis. "Now let's go out there and win us a laser battle!" The group erupted in confident cheers and some of the kids lifted their weapons in the air and let loose a couple of shots to show their enthusiasm.

Chris moved up close to Davis and spoke in a low tone. "Nice speech. `The killer instinct?'" He raised an eyebrow.

Davis just shrugged and smiled. "Hey, it got them going didn't it?"

***

The small group of laser commandos moved their way through the maze of tunnels and corridors onward towards the end of the warehouse; their numbers steadily growing as they passed their sentries and guards. At last they reached the mouth of The Pass and through it they could see the green lights of the opposing base shining in the dark at the end of the long corridor.

Davis was talking quietly with one of the sentries they had placed at the mouth of The Pass in low and urgent tones. He nodded once and then twice and then sent the kid to join with the others waiting for the signal to go ahead.

Moving back to where Chris was standing he shook his head. "I don't like this."

"What did he say?" asked Chris.

Davis looked towards the group of kids gathered at the mouth of The Pass and into the darkness beyond. "He said that it's been very quiet for a while now. He didn't see anything moving in or around here. It's like there was no one there."

Chris followed his gaze. "You're right. I don't like this ether. But what choice do we have? This is the only way to get to the green base. We have to go if we want to win."

"Yeah but we should keep a lookout for anything out of the ordinary. I'd hate to lose when we've come so far," sighed Davis as he moved to gather the troops, with Chris following right behind him.

***

As the small group of commandos inched cautiously down the corridor, their eyes were darted from the darkness in front of them to the jagged walls above them. Everyone had their senses pushed to the limit, trying to detect the faintest sign of trouble lurking in the murky shadows.

They were almost halfway through The Pass when all hell broke loose.

A shout of a warning and the flash of green vest lights at the other end of the corridor was enough to cause the entire space in between to erupt in a barrage of laser fire; Red laser fire. Although Davis' team had opened up immediately, there wasn't anything coming from the other team.

"Hold your fire!" called Davis over the sounds of a very one-sided battle.

As the shooting stopped the corridor was once again plunged into darkness. Everyone stared into it, trying to find the enemy. They didn't have to wait long, seconds into the quiet stillness; two silhouetted forms moved into view and were once again met with another barrage of laser fire.

"Stop shooting!" yelled Davis and everyone froze in mid shot. "Something's not right here."

"Its T.K and Kari," said Chris as he peered at the other end of The Pass, "and it looks like they're surrendering."

"Hey yeah, he's right!" said one of the kids. "They've got their arms raised."

A loud yell of victory rolled from the red team as they cheered. "Come on you guys! Let's go win us the game!" said Davis.

As the others surged ahead, Chris caught Davis' arm. "Wait Davis, this doesn't seem right."

"And how wrong could it be?" countered Davis as he pulled his arm away. "They're surrendering, we win. Let me guess, is it the ninja talking or is it you?"

"It's both of us and we think this is too easy," said Chris but it wasn't any use, Davis was already running after the other kids.

This isn't right, thought Chris, sure they were losing but it's not like T.K or Kari to give up; from the little time I've known them they never gave up hope and I don't think they're going to start now. No, something's up; why would the two of them just surrender? Wait a minute, there's only two of them, where's the rest of the their team? It's not like they could just do this without them… Chris' eyes went wide as the truth came to him. Oh…"NO! …Get back! It's a TRAP!"

"What?" Davis asked as he stopped in mid stride to look back. "What are you… talking… about…?" Davis trailed off as he saw the small smiles on both T.K and Kari's lips curl up into mischievous grins.

Instantly, The Pass sprang to life. Green vested soldiers sprang up from the tops of the high walls and leveled green lasers at the surprised Red team below. More surged forward from behind T.K and Kari ready to fight. It all happened in an instant, from victory to impending defeat, the red teams chances of survival dwindled drastically.

All was silent as Davis and the other red soldiers took in the sight before them. Some started to backup slowly the way they came, others raised their own weapons and pointed them shakily towards the enemy. Davis aimed his own laser at T.K, let loose a yell and pulled the trigger. A red beam of supercharged light shot forth and struck the boy right in the chest, causing the pack to vibrate and power down. His shot was met and returned with every green laser opening up on the cornered red team. Green laser bolts filled the hall of The Pass streaking towards their targets with the speed of light.

Some of the red team managed to get off a few shots at their attackers before they too fell under the onslaught. Davis, who had somehow managed to keep his pack powered, shouted as he returned their fire. "Get back to the base! We've got to recharge our lasers!"

As one, the team ran quickly back to their mouth of The Pass, green lasers licking at their heels. As they passed into their territory, Chris, who had taken cover behind a nearby wall, sprayed The Pass with laser fire to cover the retreat from the already advancing green team. As Davis passed, Chris fell into step beside him. Every couple of paces they would turn and fire a couple of shots behind them as they followed the rest of the team as they ran to the illusion of security that surrounded their base.

As they rounded a turn Chris opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Davis. "If you say `I told you so', I'll shoot you myself," he said. Chris only grinned in response.

***

As bad as it was for the red team, when they reached their base, things went downhill from there, fast. Only half of the team was able to recharge their lasers at the recharge stations before the first green team members appeared and started firing. Davis and Chris let down cover fire for the others to get to the stations as more and more green warriors entered into the area.

"This doesn't look good!" yelled Chris.

"Tell me something I don't know!" snapped Davis as he pegged off another attacker. "They're killing our team as soon as they get their lasers charged!"

Chris only frowned at that as his brow wrinkled in thought. Then his face relaxed and he holstered his laser.

Davis saw this and yelled across to him, "What the heck are you doing? Are you crazy? Keep on shooting!"

"Davis! I've got a plan!" He yelled back as he signaled one of the few reds that were still able to fight. "Quick! Both of you give me your lasers!"

"What? Are you crazy?" Davis repeated.

"Just do it!"

Davis sighed and shrugged in resignation as he handed his laser over to the outstretched hand of his friend.

As soon as he had both lasers in each of his hands, Chris took a deep breath and jumped out into the open. And as expected, the barrage of green laser beams converged on his chest, killing him instantly. Though he got up, raised the two lasers and pulled both triggers. Red lasers erupted from both muzzles, striking two enemies and putting them out. Again and again, both weapons fired brining down more and more attackers. The green team obviously couldn't understand how this guy was still shooting even after so many direct hits because the stream of green energy slowed down to a couple of pot shots as they took cover from the barrage.

The other red teammates took advantage of the lull in the siege immediately, pushing each tagged member through the charging station and strengthening the positions around the base. Once everyone was ready, all there was left to do was wait because as all this was happening the green team had stopped firing at all. The arena fell into a strained and uncomfortable silence broken only by the occasional hushed whisper or the scurry of feet somewhere out in the blackness.

"What's happening?" asked Chris as he panned the darkness in front of him with his lasers.

"I don't know," whispered Davis. "They must be regrouping. Figuring out what to do next."

"Well, I wish they'd hurry up. The suspense is killing me," grumbled Chris.

"Yeah, I don't know what's worse: The shooting or the anticipation of the shots that will be coming…" Davis trailed off as something at the edge of his vision moved. Turning his head he saw the distinct form of Kari in one of the raised platforms along one of the sides of the arena, gun up and pointed towards them. "Sniper!" he yelled just a second too late as she and at least ten other green team members opened fire.

In the first milliseconds after the warning, two shots shut down the borrowed lasers in Chris' hands. Three more hit teammates on ether side of Davis and many more filled the air all around them. A look of surprise passed over both of them as they turned and headed for the recharge station, only to find the rest of the team already there, clamoring desperately for a chance to recharge their packs. But if the team was here, who was guarding their backs?

The answer came in the form of the tell tale clicks of about fifteen laser triggers being pulled back. And as one, the red team stopped, stiffened and turned slowly around to stare into the barrels of the green teams lasers and the triumphant smirks of T.K and Kari.

"Awwww, nuts," was all Davis and Chris could say.

***

As the airlock door opened and let the players leave, four tired and sweating figures stumbled across the lobby and collapsed into the sofas that were waiting for them.

"Man, what a game," sighed Davis.

"Yeah," agreed Chris, "You guys really put one to us."

"Well, we thought that at least someone should cool off you two hotshots," Kari giggled.

"Who'd of thought you two would be so devious and underhanded," said Chris with a small chuckle.

T.K shook his head as he looked at the two. "To tell you the truth, we didn't know if you would fall for the ambush."

"We almost didn't," said Davis. "I was already in the ambush before Chris figured out what you were doing."

Chris held up his hands. "I can't take the credit for that, it was Shinobimon that caught it. I just relayed the message."

"Ether way, you guys won," smiled Davis.

Suddenly the loudspeakers mounted on the walls around the room came to life with the voice of the manager.

Attention all players, the next game will be starting in another three minutes. Keep in mind that this game is a melee game, which means that it will be everyone for themselves. Whoever is risking joining the game; please sign up at the player's area. Then the speaker turned off with a click.

Our four heroes sat in silence four a couple of seconds as they looked at each other. Each one taking glances at one another until Davis broke the silence.

"So, you guys want a rematch?" He grinned.

***

The end

~Jack