Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Now, Forever and Always ❯ chapter 8 ( Chapter 9 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: moose_of_doom 
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Romance / Action | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 07.14.2005 | Pages: 6 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 292 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Romance / Action | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 07.14.2005 | Pages: 6 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 292 | Status: Completed
Chapter 8:
Firestorm.
********
“They’re being held in some kind of tower.” Said Agumon, warming himself by the fire.
“I know. It’s being used to enhance the link between Digimon and their partners.” Davis replied.
The escaped Digimon were now huddled around their friends, exchanging information. Veemon and Gatomon were asleep at Davis’s side, huddled close together, taking comfort in each other’s company. But Davis was restless. After Agumon had told him of their escape, he had only felt more so. He new he was close to Kari now, and all he wanted was to hold her in his arms. But she was still out of reach.
His sword lay on the ground at his side. He reached down, and pulled it out of the scabbard. Agumon and Gabumon looked at it in interest. Davis looked down at the blade, and ran his finger gently along the flat side.
The metal seemed to pulse under his fingertips, lit by some inner glow. He closed his eyes, and a vision leapt onto the underside of his eyelids.
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He was standing in what appeared to be a massive courtroom, but everything seemed to be without colour, all in shades of grey. He looked down, and saw that his clothes were still the same colour. Then he realised. This was a memory. He looked up, and saw twelve men sitting in thrones around a small circle, each had a huge dragon sitting on a parapet above him. Their gaze seemed to be fixed behind him, inside the circle.
He turned, and looked at the young man inside the circle of stone. Younger than when Davis had met his spirit, Ichiro Miyomoto gazed up at the dragon- lords impassively, an empty scabbard slung across his back. There was one who sat slightly higher than the rest, and Davis had the impression that he was in charge of the proceedings.
“Ichiro Miyomoto. You have been charged with treason against the rule of the dragon-lords. You have been found guilty. The sentence is death.”
The other lord nodded approvingly. The speaker continued, ignoring them. Davis noticed that the paladin-sword lay on the table in front of him.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” asked the speaker.
“I have only one request.” Ichiro spoke quietly.
“If I am to die, then it must be by your hand, Father. That is all I ask.”
The older man looked down at his son savagely. A slow grin spread across his face.
“I grant your request.”
He got up, and moved down a small flight of steps at the side of his podium. He drew his own sword as he moved. When he reached his son, he motioned for Ichiro to kneel.
The young man looked briefly at his Digimon, a Veemon, not unlike Davis’s but missing the small scar over the eye. Ichiro knelt on the stone floor.
His father brought his sword up, holding it high above his head. Then he started to bring the blade down, in a lethal cut.
Ichiro threw his hands down in front of him, and suddenly his own sword had leapt through the air, and was held in his hands. He brought the blade up above his head, still kneeling, and his fathers cut slammed against the golden metal. There was a flash like lightening, and a thunderous clang.
Davis opened his eyes.
=============================================================
“Are you okay?” asked Veemon, as Davis gazed around, disorientated.
His Digimon companion looked up at him, concern in his eyes.
“You saw it?” asked Davis.
Veemon nodded.
“Yeah. The courtroom… That was Ichiro, wasn’t it?”
Davis didn’t reply. He looked into the dying embers of the fire, then down at the sword in his hands. He pushed the blade back into its scabbard.
“I’m gonna get some sleep. See you in the morning.”
He lay down, and closed his eyes.
=============================================================
He moved swiftly through the rainy streets of Belfast, an MP5 submachine gun held in his hands, and his silenced Beretta in the holster that hung from the back of his waistband.
The rest of the team he was leading was behind him, with McKane, but he had decided to do the recon alone. Just like he always had.
They had been told that one of the terrorist ASU’s (Active Service Unit’s) was operating out of a block of flats in this area, and his team had been sent to find them.
Ever since the peace accord had been signed, the security of Northern Ireland had relied on the strength of the Special Forces unit made up of both Protestant, British, and Catholic members of the old factions, The NIDF (Northern Ireland Defence Force). Liam had risen through the ranks, despite being Ex-PIRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army).
He crouched at the corner of the tenement, looking over the internal courtyard of the block of flats. The SMG in his hands swung round, covering all the angles.
He reached for the tiny transmitter in his helmet, and sent two clicks flying over the airwaves, summoning the rest of his men too him. These small terrorist groups were all that remained of the old Factions, and now they had a new target to direct their anger against.
The NIDF.
Tetsuo McKane dropped beside his friend, and swung up his own SMG. The bulky night vision goggles on his head gave a green-tinted picture of the courtyard, but revealed nothing.
Liam and McKane moved into the darkness of the courtyard, keeping their weapons raised to their shoulders.
Suddenly, bright lights burst up around them, illuminating the courtyard. McKane swiftly pulled off the goggles, half blinded by the lights.
A voice called from the shadows behind the huge lamps.
“Get the traitors!”
Machinegun fire started rattling around the enclosed space, as the rest of the NIDF team rushed into the courtyard. Liam and McKane, caught in the open, dived behind the pillars supporting the overhanging ledges. Bullets chewed into the concrete around them, as they leant round the corners to return the inaccurate fire with a withering spray of bullets from their SMG’s.
“We can’t fight here!”
Liam’s voice rang over the radio. McKane nodded, and ordered the men to retreat to the street outside. With any luck, the terrorists would follow them onto the road, where the odds would be more even.
They ran for the exit, keeping behind as much cover as they could, and sprinted down the street outside. The two snipers that Liam had left with the vehicle would be ready to take out any bad guys who exited the building. As Liam and his Men ran, he saw the first flashes from the rifles muzzles, sending leaden death to the men who followed. But any second now, Liam and his men would be in the way.
McKane was just in front of him, as the gunfire opened up behind him as well. Liam felt a burning pain in his leg, and fell to the floor. The MP5 skittered off into the shadows. Useless. He rolled over onto his back.
A man in a ski mask stood over him, with a levelled AK47 rifle aimed at his head. The terrorist spoke in a muffled voice.
“You traitorous pig. See how you like this!”
His finger started to squeeze the trigger, but Liam was one of the most feared soldiers in the NIDF, and he hadn’t earned that reputation for nothing.
He swung his good leg at the mans feet, knocking him off balance, and pulled the silenced Beretta from it’s holster.
As the man raised his rifle again, Liam shot him twice in the heart. The man fell to the floor with a dull thud.
The only noise the Beretta made, was when the ejected casings fell to the floor, with the tinkle of a coin.
Several bursts of Fire from the NIDF team rang out behind him, as he wrapped a makeshift tourquinet round his wounded leg. He flinched at the pain, and looked up as the last few terrorists ran away, their fear overcoming what bravery they had.
He crawled over to the fallen terrorist, and checked his pulse. As he had expected, nothing.
He pulled back the ski mask, to try and make a positive Identification on his attacker, and fell back as a flash of lightening overhead illuminated the face.
A boy, no more than sixteen years old, lay on the road before him, a growing red stain blooming over his chest like some cruel flower. His youthful eyes stared up at nothing, unseeing, as they would forever more.
His head seemed to turn towards Liam Dillon, and the dead lips moved as they spoke.
“Liam, Wake up!”
=============================================================
Liam Dillon jerked back to life, to see Mimi bending over him, her eyes full of concern.
“What?” he asked.
“You were dreaming, you kept shouting out in you’re sleep.”
He smiled grimly.
“Just an old nightmare. Is it morning already?”
She nodded. The air around the courtyard was filled with mist, they couldn’t see more than a few metres, and there was a noise, just on the edge of his hearing, a routine Thwup-thwup-thwup.
He knew that sound.
Helicopters.
He rose quickly, pulling his rifle with him, and moved over to where Davis lay. He shook the younger man awake, and instantly Davis knew what was wrong.
“We need to get out of sight.” Said Liam
Davis nodded, and went to wake the others.
Within minutes, they were hidden behind a pile of rubble next to one of the buildings, looking down the main street, waiting for whatever came. An overhanging ledge stuck over their heads, as they lay.
TK looked through the sights of his rifle, ready for anything that would happen.
As they watched, a black Helicopter landed in the middle of the street, and men leapt out, their black combat armour shining in the misty light. One of them lifted a loudspeaker to his mouth.
“All you escaped Digimon! We know you are in this city! Get out here know, or we’ll level the town, and all of you with it!”
Beside Davis, Agumon stood. The young Paladin looked at him.
“What are you doing?!?” he whispered sharply
“You heard what he said! I can’t let them ruin the city!”
Gabumon stood up beside his friend.
“He’s right, we need something to come back to when you guys come to get us.”
Thoughts rushed through Davis’s brain. Wild plans, that he knew couldn’t work. Then it hit him.
“TK!” he whispered.
His blonde friend was on his other side.
“Yeah?”
“Lets send Veemon and Patomon with them! They can armour-digivolve!”
TK caught his friend’s drift. He nudged Liam.
“Davis has got a plan.”
“What?” the big Irishman kept his rifle fixed firmly on the armoured men.
TK gave him a feral grin.
“Trojan Horse.”
=============================================================
Slowly, the Digimon came out of the safety of the buildings, and lined up in front of the commandos. In the middle of the line stood four who weren’t quite as dejected as the rest. Each of them had a glint in their eyes.
Back behind the rubble barricade, Liam fixed a scope to the top of his rifle.
The lead commando walked along the line of Digimon, checking all off against a list. He reached the four in the middle, and stopped. His brow furrowed slightly.
“Who are you? You ain’t on the list…”
He levelled his rifle at Veemon and Patomon.
“Out. Move yourselves!”
They moved forward, and the commando looked back at Agumon and Gabumon.
“What, are you trying to smuggle in help now? Want to release your friends?”
He swung his rifle in an arc, slamming the butt against the side of Agumon’s head. A malicious grin spread across his face.
“One more, one less…”
he turned the rifle, and aimed at the dinosaur-Digimon. His finger started to depress the trigger.
Agumon closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Davis had left it to late.
BANG!
He jumped, then opened his eyes.
The commando looked down in shock at the smoking hole in the front of his armour. Then his eyes glazed over as he slumped to the ground.
Behind the rubble, Davis and TK leapt to their feet, holding out their Digieggs in front of them.
“Digi-armour, energise!”
The cry resounded around the buildings, and suddenly, where Veemon and Patomon ad been standing, Lightdramon and Pegasusmon leapt forward at the guards.
The two men leapt to the sides as the commandos brought up their weapons, spraying the spots where they had been.
Davis hit the ground, rolled on his shoulder, and came up with his Berettas in his hands. Aiming quickly, and running as he did, he started firing at the commandos. Sparks leapt up form the men’s chest armour, the rounds being absorbed with enough force to stop them erupting out of the other sides of their bodies. They slumped down, blood oozing form their wounds, and didn’t get up again.
Liam, Jun, Tasha and Mimi broke from the cover of the rubble, firing as they went. TK covered them with his rifle, picking his shots carefully. Tasha ran to is side, and fired into another group of the soldiers.
Liam ran forward and kicked a commando in the groin, bringing his knee up into the mans face as he went down. It had been a long time, but suddenly, every dirty trick he had ever learned in the IRA came back to him. He dived to the side, and fired a spray across another commando’s legs. The man fell, and Liam kicked the rifle away from his hands.
He rose, but was unprepared as a rifle butt collided with the side of his ribs, driving the breath out of him. He fell and the man started kicking him.
Mimi saw Liam go down, and ran forward she had run out of ammo in her rifles magazine; so she tried to body slam him. But the commando saw her coming, span around, and slashed his own rifle across her face, the barrel slamming into her jaw. She stumbled, and fell on top of the man Liam had sprayed in the legs. She rolled over, and something jabbed into her back.
The commando’s rifle.
Liam looked up at his attacker as the man levelled his rifle at him. He went for his berretta, but before he got to it…
A gout of reddish vapour erupted from the man’s chest, and he fell to the floor. Behind him, Mimi rose to her feet, a shocked expression on her face, and the smoking rifle in her hands. Liam went to her, and gently took the weapon from her hands.
“Well done.” He whispered, “Well done.”
“I killed him…” her voice choked off in a sob.
“You saved me. He would have killed you if he got the chance. You did what you had to do.”
She fell to her knees, and cried weakly, the adrenaline rush wearing off.
=============================================================
Davis carried on blasting at the commandos in front of him, his Pistols jerking in his hands.
Then the firing pins clicked on empty chambers. But there was no one left in the mist around him. He could still hear the sounds of fighting in the distance, and ran towards it, pulling the paladin-blade from its scabbard as he moved.
He ran quietly, a feral creature stalking through the hazy light, until he saw what was happening.
============================================================
TK, Tasha and Jun stood with their backs against the wall, firing their weapons last few shots at the commandos surrounding them, still trying to fire as the pins clicked on empty.
The circle of commandos closed in, five of them. They motioned for the three to drop their weapons.
Three rifles fell to the floor. TK’s looked angrily at the men, as one of them spoke.
“Hold him.”
Two of the men moved forward, and pinned TK against the wall. The other three looked over Tasha and Jun.
“What have we here… two very pretty ladies indeed. Fancy some company girls?”
Tasha pulled her head back, and spat at the man.
“Go fuck yourself.”
He grinned, and pulled off his chest armour, undoing the straps at the side.
“Ooh. I like a bitch who fights me.” He said maliciously. “Grab’em!”
The three remaining men moved forward. The first man was the only one who spoke.
“You three can have the brunette, I’ll have the blonde one. Then you guys,” he indicated the men holding TK back. “Can have a go.”
TK struggled against his captors, but the men drove their fists into his stomach, causing him to cry out in pain. The first man moved towards Tasha, a glint in his eyes.
“Let them go.” Someone called from the mist, the voice seeming to float about them in the haze.
The commandos looked about them, but there was no one there.
“Who are you? Show yourself!” called the first man.
“You think you’re gonna hurt these people? You’ve got one chance. Let them go or face the consequences.”
The man grabbed Tasha, and held her in front of him.
“Either show yourself, or the feisty one gets it!” he held a combat knife threateningly at the blonde girls throat. Tasha went dead still.
There was a blur of motion in the mist, and the man holding Tasha fell back as a small throwing knife planted itself in his forehead. He blinked, comically, morbidly, and fell backwards. Tasha ducked out of the way of his arm as the knife fell from his numbed fingers.
“The rest of you want a fight? I’ll give you one.”
=============================================================
Davis held the sword in both hands, feeling the pulse of the living metal under his palms. His eyes glowed with an unearthly light, allowing his gaze too cut through the mist.
His friends were in trouble, and he had to save them.
He knew at that moment, that he would have to kill the commandos. He didn’t like it, but he had to do it. He had to save them.
=============================================================
Two glowing orbs appeared in the mist.
The commandos stood still, unable to move for their fear, as a golden bar of light shone in the haziness.
With a blood-curdling war cry, Davis ran forward. The commandos raised their rifles to shoot, but too late.
The paladin-blade slashed out at the nearest man, cutting a thin red line across his chest, sending him tumbling too the ground. As the others stood transfixed by this site, TK slammed his elbow back into the face of the man holding his right arm. The man flinched back, and TK rolled forward, scooping up his rifle, and turning to face his captors.
A brief volley of shots echoed in the mist, but none of them seemed to find their mark, as if Davis intimidated the very bullets themselves. The young paladin moves in close, and the two men holding Jun released her arms and drew their knives.
They circled him, like hungry animals, but Davis just stood still, waiting for them to move.
TK fired a long burst at the two men who had been holding him, riddling their bodies with bullets. He dropped the rifle and moved over to Tasha, who was slumped to the ground in shock.
“Are you okay?”
She looked up into his concerned face.
“Yeah, but we’ve gotta help Davis!”
She scooped up another rifle, and they made their way to where the clang of metal on metal echoed in the murky dawn.
The first man lunged at Davis, but he flicked his sword blade and deflected the knife, sending it skidding of and away.
“I don’t want to hurt you guys.” He said quietly. “Leave now, and nothing will happen too you.”
The man just snarled. How dare this boy tell him, a professional soldier, what to do!
He lunged forward again, but this time, Davis didn’t just parry the cut. He sidestepped, and brought his sword in a low cut that slammed into the man’s stomach, cutting through flesh and bone.
The second soldier screamed in rage, and leapt at him.
Davis, without even looking, brought his sword round in a one-handed slice that slashed across the man’s throat.
Blood sprayed from the tip of the sword as it pulled out of the commando’s neck, glittering ruby drops in the hazy light of the morning. Davis turned as the man fell, and the strength seemed to leave him.
“What have I done?” he asked of no one in particular.
“You saved us from something that’s worse than death.”
Tasha and TK walked out of the mist.
“They were going to rape us Davis. You did what you had to do.”
Davis continued to stare at the corpse in front of him. Jun pulled him around, and slapped him across the face. His eyes snapped back into focus.
“Wake up Davis!” she snapped. “Your not the only one who killed people today! Shit, I just shot five men, maybe more! Now I know that shooting someone is nothing like killing them with that sword,”
She indicated the katana, which still hung loosely in his grasp.
“But you did only as much as you had too! You did what you could to save us! Now SNAP OUT OF IT!”
He looked surprised at the force of her outburst.
“Okay, okay! I know what you mean, I had to do this. It doesn’t mean I have to like it! And I’m probably gonna do more of it before this is over!”
She smiled at him, sadly.
“Probably. But now, we might have wounded to attend to. Lets go find Liam and Mimi, and we can patch up the commando’s who aren’t dead.”
=============================================================
As they walked through the mist, in the general direction of the camp, they came across Liam and Mimi. The big Irishman had his arm around her shoulders, and spoke gently too her, whilst she nodded. They barely noticed the four figures until they collided with them.
“What’s wrong with her?” asked June, whilst she checked over Liam’s various bruises.
“A little shock, a little battle fatigue. She had to shoot a guy at point blank. It gave her a bit of a scare.”
He sighed.
“She’ll be okay. She just needs to come to terms with it.”
“Davis already has. He took out three men with that sword of his. I pity uncle Paul, when Davis catches up with him.”
Liam nodded.
Their conversation was interrupted as a figure suddenly came out of the mist next to the helicopter. His hand extended shakily, holding a pistol.
“You sons of bitches. You killed my friends.”
They could see him more clearly now. He was dressed in a pilot’s uniform.
They were all grouped together, and they had nowhere to run. Davis reached for his sword. The pilot, catching the movement, jerked his gun hand towards him.
“Keep those hands where I can see them. I think I’ll start with you, you bastard.”
He lined up his sights with Davis’s forehead.
A bolt of lighting slammed into his back, and Lightdramon strode out of the mist. The pilot lay still. Pegasusmon touched down lightly beside the Digidestined, and spoke quickly.
“There’s another helicopter on the way. We can’t stay here, we’re putting everyone in danger. That guy…”
And he motioned towards the fallen pilot.
“Sent out a radio signal calling for backup.”
Davis stood.
“We can only carry four people! That leaves three of us without transportation.”
Liam also stood, and moved over to the helicopter.
“I wouldn’t say that. Mimi and Jun can come with me in this thing.”
He grinned back at the astonishment on their faces.
“What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.”
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less than ten minutes later, the commando helicopter shifted course as Lightdramon, carrying Davis on his back, galloped out of the city, followed swiftly by Pegasusmon, bearing TK and Tasha, and the first helicopter, which now bore a new callsign painted onto it’s side.
Paladin Blade 1.
Davis spoke into the radio headset he had picked up from the helicopter.
“Lets get moving. I want to get as far from the city as possible”
Chirps of affirmation sounded in his earphones, and Lightdramon picked up speed, dashing towards the distance.
Firestorm.
********
“They’re being held in some kind of tower.” Said Agumon, warming himself by the fire.
“I know. It’s being used to enhance the link between Digimon and their partners.” Davis replied.
The escaped Digimon were now huddled around their friends, exchanging information. Veemon and Gatomon were asleep at Davis’s side, huddled close together, taking comfort in each other’s company. But Davis was restless. After Agumon had told him of their escape, he had only felt more so. He new he was close to Kari now, and all he wanted was to hold her in his arms. But she was still out of reach.
His sword lay on the ground at his side. He reached down, and pulled it out of the scabbard. Agumon and Gabumon looked at it in interest. Davis looked down at the blade, and ran his finger gently along the flat side.
The metal seemed to pulse under his fingertips, lit by some inner glow. He closed his eyes, and a vision leapt onto the underside of his eyelids.
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He was standing in what appeared to be a massive courtroom, but everything seemed to be without colour, all in shades of grey. He looked down, and saw that his clothes were still the same colour. Then he realised. This was a memory. He looked up, and saw twelve men sitting in thrones around a small circle, each had a huge dragon sitting on a parapet above him. Their gaze seemed to be fixed behind him, inside the circle.
He turned, and looked at the young man inside the circle of stone. Younger than when Davis had met his spirit, Ichiro Miyomoto gazed up at the dragon- lords impassively, an empty scabbard slung across his back. There was one who sat slightly higher than the rest, and Davis had the impression that he was in charge of the proceedings.
“Ichiro Miyomoto. You have been charged with treason against the rule of the dragon-lords. You have been found guilty. The sentence is death.”
The other lord nodded approvingly. The speaker continued, ignoring them. Davis noticed that the paladin-sword lay on the table in front of him.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” asked the speaker.
“I have only one request.” Ichiro spoke quietly.
“If I am to die, then it must be by your hand, Father. That is all I ask.”
The older man looked down at his son savagely. A slow grin spread across his face.
“I grant your request.”
He got up, and moved down a small flight of steps at the side of his podium. He drew his own sword as he moved. When he reached his son, he motioned for Ichiro to kneel.
The young man looked briefly at his Digimon, a Veemon, not unlike Davis’s but missing the small scar over the eye. Ichiro knelt on the stone floor.
His father brought his sword up, holding it high above his head. Then he started to bring the blade down, in a lethal cut.
Ichiro threw his hands down in front of him, and suddenly his own sword had leapt through the air, and was held in his hands. He brought the blade up above his head, still kneeling, and his fathers cut slammed against the golden metal. There was a flash like lightening, and a thunderous clang.
Davis opened his eyes.
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“Are you okay?” asked Veemon, as Davis gazed around, disorientated.
His Digimon companion looked up at him, concern in his eyes.
“You saw it?” asked Davis.
Veemon nodded.
“Yeah. The courtroom… That was Ichiro, wasn’t it?”
Davis didn’t reply. He looked into the dying embers of the fire, then down at the sword in his hands. He pushed the blade back into its scabbard.
“I’m gonna get some sleep. See you in the morning.”
He lay down, and closed his eyes.
=============================================================
He moved swiftly through the rainy streets of Belfast, an MP5 submachine gun held in his hands, and his silenced Beretta in the holster that hung from the back of his waistband.
The rest of the team he was leading was behind him, with McKane, but he had decided to do the recon alone. Just like he always had.
They had been told that one of the terrorist ASU’s (Active Service Unit’s) was operating out of a block of flats in this area, and his team had been sent to find them.
Ever since the peace accord had been signed, the security of Northern Ireland had relied on the strength of the Special Forces unit made up of both Protestant, British, and Catholic members of the old factions, The NIDF (Northern Ireland Defence Force). Liam had risen through the ranks, despite being Ex-PIRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army).
He crouched at the corner of the tenement, looking over the internal courtyard of the block of flats. The SMG in his hands swung round, covering all the angles.
He reached for the tiny transmitter in his helmet, and sent two clicks flying over the airwaves, summoning the rest of his men too him. These small terrorist groups were all that remained of the old Factions, and now they had a new target to direct their anger against.
The NIDF.
Tetsuo McKane dropped beside his friend, and swung up his own SMG. The bulky night vision goggles on his head gave a green-tinted picture of the courtyard, but revealed nothing.
Liam and McKane moved into the darkness of the courtyard, keeping their weapons raised to their shoulders.
Suddenly, bright lights burst up around them, illuminating the courtyard. McKane swiftly pulled off the goggles, half blinded by the lights.
A voice called from the shadows behind the huge lamps.
“Get the traitors!”
Machinegun fire started rattling around the enclosed space, as the rest of the NIDF team rushed into the courtyard. Liam and McKane, caught in the open, dived behind the pillars supporting the overhanging ledges. Bullets chewed into the concrete around them, as they leant round the corners to return the inaccurate fire with a withering spray of bullets from their SMG’s.
“We can’t fight here!”
Liam’s voice rang over the radio. McKane nodded, and ordered the men to retreat to the street outside. With any luck, the terrorists would follow them onto the road, where the odds would be more even.
They ran for the exit, keeping behind as much cover as they could, and sprinted down the street outside. The two snipers that Liam had left with the vehicle would be ready to take out any bad guys who exited the building. As Liam and his Men ran, he saw the first flashes from the rifles muzzles, sending leaden death to the men who followed. But any second now, Liam and his men would be in the way.
McKane was just in front of him, as the gunfire opened up behind him as well. Liam felt a burning pain in his leg, and fell to the floor. The MP5 skittered off into the shadows. Useless. He rolled over onto his back.
A man in a ski mask stood over him, with a levelled AK47 rifle aimed at his head. The terrorist spoke in a muffled voice.
“You traitorous pig. See how you like this!”
His finger started to squeeze the trigger, but Liam was one of the most feared soldiers in the NIDF, and he hadn’t earned that reputation for nothing.
He swung his good leg at the mans feet, knocking him off balance, and pulled the silenced Beretta from it’s holster.
As the man raised his rifle again, Liam shot him twice in the heart. The man fell to the floor with a dull thud.
The only noise the Beretta made, was when the ejected casings fell to the floor, with the tinkle of a coin.
Several bursts of Fire from the NIDF team rang out behind him, as he wrapped a makeshift tourquinet round his wounded leg. He flinched at the pain, and looked up as the last few terrorists ran away, their fear overcoming what bravery they had.
He crawled over to the fallen terrorist, and checked his pulse. As he had expected, nothing.
He pulled back the ski mask, to try and make a positive Identification on his attacker, and fell back as a flash of lightening overhead illuminated the face.
A boy, no more than sixteen years old, lay on the road before him, a growing red stain blooming over his chest like some cruel flower. His youthful eyes stared up at nothing, unseeing, as they would forever more.
His head seemed to turn towards Liam Dillon, and the dead lips moved as they spoke.
“Liam, Wake up!”
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Liam Dillon jerked back to life, to see Mimi bending over him, her eyes full of concern.
“What?” he asked.
“You were dreaming, you kept shouting out in you’re sleep.”
He smiled grimly.
“Just an old nightmare. Is it morning already?”
She nodded. The air around the courtyard was filled with mist, they couldn’t see more than a few metres, and there was a noise, just on the edge of his hearing, a routine Thwup-thwup-thwup.
He knew that sound.
Helicopters.
He rose quickly, pulling his rifle with him, and moved over to where Davis lay. He shook the younger man awake, and instantly Davis knew what was wrong.
“We need to get out of sight.” Said Liam
Davis nodded, and went to wake the others.
Within minutes, they were hidden behind a pile of rubble next to one of the buildings, looking down the main street, waiting for whatever came. An overhanging ledge stuck over their heads, as they lay.
TK looked through the sights of his rifle, ready for anything that would happen.
As they watched, a black Helicopter landed in the middle of the street, and men leapt out, their black combat armour shining in the misty light. One of them lifted a loudspeaker to his mouth.
“All you escaped Digimon! We know you are in this city! Get out here know, or we’ll level the town, and all of you with it!”
Beside Davis, Agumon stood. The young Paladin looked at him.
“What are you doing?!?” he whispered sharply
“You heard what he said! I can’t let them ruin the city!”
Gabumon stood up beside his friend.
“He’s right, we need something to come back to when you guys come to get us.”
Thoughts rushed through Davis’s brain. Wild plans, that he knew couldn’t work. Then it hit him.
“TK!” he whispered.
His blonde friend was on his other side.
“Yeah?”
“Lets send Veemon and Patomon with them! They can armour-digivolve!”
TK caught his friend’s drift. He nudged Liam.
“Davis has got a plan.”
“What?” the big Irishman kept his rifle fixed firmly on the armoured men.
TK gave him a feral grin.
“Trojan Horse.”
=============================================================
Slowly, the Digimon came out of the safety of the buildings, and lined up in front of the commandos. In the middle of the line stood four who weren’t quite as dejected as the rest. Each of them had a glint in their eyes.
Back behind the rubble barricade, Liam fixed a scope to the top of his rifle.
The lead commando walked along the line of Digimon, checking all off against a list. He reached the four in the middle, and stopped. His brow furrowed slightly.
“Who are you? You ain’t on the list…”
He levelled his rifle at Veemon and Patomon.
“Out. Move yourselves!”
They moved forward, and the commando looked back at Agumon and Gabumon.
“What, are you trying to smuggle in help now? Want to release your friends?”
He swung his rifle in an arc, slamming the butt against the side of Agumon’s head. A malicious grin spread across his face.
“One more, one less…”
he turned the rifle, and aimed at the dinosaur-Digimon. His finger started to depress the trigger.
Agumon closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Davis had left it to late.
BANG!
He jumped, then opened his eyes.
The commando looked down in shock at the smoking hole in the front of his armour. Then his eyes glazed over as he slumped to the ground.
Behind the rubble, Davis and TK leapt to their feet, holding out their Digieggs in front of them.
“Digi-armour, energise!”
The cry resounded around the buildings, and suddenly, where Veemon and Patomon ad been standing, Lightdramon and Pegasusmon leapt forward at the guards.
The two men leapt to the sides as the commandos brought up their weapons, spraying the spots where they had been.
Davis hit the ground, rolled on his shoulder, and came up with his Berettas in his hands. Aiming quickly, and running as he did, he started firing at the commandos. Sparks leapt up form the men’s chest armour, the rounds being absorbed with enough force to stop them erupting out of the other sides of their bodies. They slumped down, blood oozing form their wounds, and didn’t get up again.
Liam, Jun, Tasha and Mimi broke from the cover of the rubble, firing as they went. TK covered them with his rifle, picking his shots carefully. Tasha ran to is side, and fired into another group of the soldiers.
Liam ran forward and kicked a commando in the groin, bringing his knee up into the mans face as he went down. It had been a long time, but suddenly, every dirty trick he had ever learned in the IRA came back to him. He dived to the side, and fired a spray across another commando’s legs. The man fell, and Liam kicked the rifle away from his hands.
He rose, but was unprepared as a rifle butt collided with the side of his ribs, driving the breath out of him. He fell and the man started kicking him.
Mimi saw Liam go down, and ran forward she had run out of ammo in her rifles magazine; so she tried to body slam him. But the commando saw her coming, span around, and slashed his own rifle across her face, the barrel slamming into her jaw. She stumbled, and fell on top of the man Liam had sprayed in the legs. She rolled over, and something jabbed into her back.
The commando’s rifle.
Liam looked up at his attacker as the man levelled his rifle at him. He went for his berretta, but before he got to it…
A gout of reddish vapour erupted from the man’s chest, and he fell to the floor. Behind him, Mimi rose to her feet, a shocked expression on her face, and the smoking rifle in her hands. Liam went to her, and gently took the weapon from her hands.
“Well done.” He whispered, “Well done.”
“I killed him…” her voice choked off in a sob.
“You saved me. He would have killed you if he got the chance. You did what you had to do.”
She fell to her knees, and cried weakly, the adrenaline rush wearing off.
=============================================================
Davis carried on blasting at the commandos in front of him, his Pistols jerking in his hands.
Then the firing pins clicked on empty chambers. But there was no one left in the mist around him. He could still hear the sounds of fighting in the distance, and ran towards it, pulling the paladin-blade from its scabbard as he moved.
He ran quietly, a feral creature stalking through the hazy light, until he saw what was happening.
============================================================
TK, Tasha and Jun stood with their backs against the wall, firing their weapons last few shots at the commandos surrounding them, still trying to fire as the pins clicked on empty.
The circle of commandos closed in, five of them. They motioned for the three to drop their weapons.
Three rifles fell to the floor. TK’s looked angrily at the men, as one of them spoke.
“Hold him.”
Two of the men moved forward, and pinned TK against the wall. The other three looked over Tasha and Jun.
“What have we here… two very pretty ladies indeed. Fancy some company girls?”
Tasha pulled her head back, and spat at the man.
“Go fuck yourself.”
He grinned, and pulled off his chest armour, undoing the straps at the side.
“Ooh. I like a bitch who fights me.” He said maliciously. “Grab’em!”
The three remaining men moved forward. The first man was the only one who spoke.
“You three can have the brunette, I’ll have the blonde one. Then you guys,” he indicated the men holding TK back. “Can have a go.”
TK struggled against his captors, but the men drove their fists into his stomach, causing him to cry out in pain. The first man moved towards Tasha, a glint in his eyes.
“Let them go.” Someone called from the mist, the voice seeming to float about them in the haze.
The commandos looked about them, but there was no one there.
“Who are you? Show yourself!” called the first man.
“You think you’re gonna hurt these people? You’ve got one chance. Let them go or face the consequences.”
The man grabbed Tasha, and held her in front of him.
“Either show yourself, or the feisty one gets it!” he held a combat knife threateningly at the blonde girls throat. Tasha went dead still.
There was a blur of motion in the mist, and the man holding Tasha fell back as a small throwing knife planted itself in his forehead. He blinked, comically, morbidly, and fell backwards. Tasha ducked out of the way of his arm as the knife fell from his numbed fingers.
“The rest of you want a fight? I’ll give you one.”
=============================================================
Davis held the sword in both hands, feeling the pulse of the living metal under his palms. His eyes glowed with an unearthly light, allowing his gaze too cut through the mist.
His friends were in trouble, and he had to save them.
He knew at that moment, that he would have to kill the commandos. He didn’t like it, but he had to do it. He had to save them.
=============================================================
Two glowing orbs appeared in the mist.
The commandos stood still, unable to move for their fear, as a golden bar of light shone in the haziness.
With a blood-curdling war cry, Davis ran forward. The commandos raised their rifles to shoot, but too late.
The paladin-blade slashed out at the nearest man, cutting a thin red line across his chest, sending him tumbling too the ground. As the others stood transfixed by this site, TK slammed his elbow back into the face of the man holding his right arm. The man flinched back, and TK rolled forward, scooping up his rifle, and turning to face his captors.
A brief volley of shots echoed in the mist, but none of them seemed to find their mark, as if Davis intimidated the very bullets themselves. The young paladin moves in close, and the two men holding Jun released her arms and drew their knives.
They circled him, like hungry animals, but Davis just stood still, waiting for them to move.
TK fired a long burst at the two men who had been holding him, riddling their bodies with bullets. He dropped the rifle and moved over to Tasha, who was slumped to the ground in shock.
“Are you okay?”
She looked up into his concerned face.
“Yeah, but we’ve gotta help Davis!”
She scooped up another rifle, and they made their way to where the clang of metal on metal echoed in the murky dawn.
The first man lunged at Davis, but he flicked his sword blade and deflected the knife, sending it skidding of and away.
“I don’t want to hurt you guys.” He said quietly. “Leave now, and nothing will happen too you.”
The man just snarled. How dare this boy tell him, a professional soldier, what to do!
He lunged forward again, but this time, Davis didn’t just parry the cut. He sidestepped, and brought his sword in a low cut that slammed into the man’s stomach, cutting through flesh and bone.
The second soldier screamed in rage, and leapt at him.
Davis, without even looking, brought his sword round in a one-handed slice that slashed across the man’s throat.
Blood sprayed from the tip of the sword as it pulled out of the commando’s neck, glittering ruby drops in the hazy light of the morning. Davis turned as the man fell, and the strength seemed to leave him.
“What have I done?” he asked of no one in particular.
“You saved us from something that’s worse than death.”
Tasha and TK walked out of the mist.
“They were going to rape us Davis. You did what you had to do.”
Davis continued to stare at the corpse in front of him. Jun pulled him around, and slapped him across the face. His eyes snapped back into focus.
“Wake up Davis!” she snapped. “Your not the only one who killed people today! Shit, I just shot five men, maybe more! Now I know that shooting someone is nothing like killing them with that sword,”
She indicated the katana, which still hung loosely in his grasp.
“But you did only as much as you had too! You did what you could to save us! Now SNAP OUT OF IT!”
He looked surprised at the force of her outburst.
“Okay, okay! I know what you mean, I had to do this. It doesn’t mean I have to like it! And I’m probably gonna do more of it before this is over!”
She smiled at him, sadly.
“Probably. But now, we might have wounded to attend to. Lets go find Liam and Mimi, and we can patch up the commando’s who aren’t dead.”
=============================================================
As they walked through the mist, in the general direction of the camp, they came across Liam and Mimi. The big Irishman had his arm around her shoulders, and spoke gently too her, whilst she nodded. They barely noticed the four figures until they collided with them.
“What’s wrong with her?” asked June, whilst she checked over Liam’s various bruises.
“A little shock, a little battle fatigue. She had to shoot a guy at point blank. It gave her a bit of a scare.”
He sighed.
“She’ll be okay. She just needs to come to terms with it.”
“Davis already has. He took out three men with that sword of his. I pity uncle Paul, when Davis catches up with him.”
Liam nodded.
Their conversation was interrupted as a figure suddenly came out of the mist next to the helicopter. His hand extended shakily, holding a pistol.
“You sons of bitches. You killed my friends.”
They could see him more clearly now. He was dressed in a pilot’s uniform.
They were all grouped together, and they had nowhere to run. Davis reached for his sword. The pilot, catching the movement, jerked his gun hand towards him.
“Keep those hands where I can see them. I think I’ll start with you, you bastard.”
He lined up his sights with Davis’s forehead.
A bolt of lighting slammed into his back, and Lightdramon strode out of the mist. The pilot lay still. Pegasusmon touched down lightly beside the Digidestined, and spoke quickly.
“There’s another helicopter on the way. We can’t stay here, we’re putting everyone in danger. That guy…”
And he motioned towards the fallen pilot.
“Sent out a radio signal calling for backup.”
Davis stood.
“We can only carry four people! That leaves three of us without transportation.”
Liam also stood, and moved over to the helicopter.
“I wouldn’t say that. Mimi and Jun can come with me in this thing.”
He grinned back at the astonishment on their faces.
“What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.”
=============================================================
less than ten minutes later, the commando helicopter shifted course as Lightdramon, carrying Davis on his back, galloped out of the city, followed swiftly by Pegasusmon, bearing TK and Tasha, and the first helicopter, which now bore a new callsign painted onto it’s side.
Paladin Blade 1.
Davis spoke into the radio headset he had picked up from the helicopter.
“Lets get moving. I want to get as far from the city as possible”
Chirps of affirmation sounded in his earphones, and Lightdramon picked up speed, dashing towards the distance.