Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Shadow War ❯ Chapter 9
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: moose_of_doom 
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.31.2005 | Pages: 8 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 249 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.31.2005 | Pages: 8 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 249 | Status: Completed
Chapter 9:
********
The tunnels closed I around them claustrophobically, a lightless cage hemming them below the ground. The silence was deafening, the atmosphere of defeat pushing everyone into cloying quietness. Suddenly they halted.
“Davis? What’s wrong?” Kari said.
They were standing at a junction. Three tunnels led away into the darkness. Davis looked from one to the other, and a slight feeling of panic arose in his guts.
“I don’t know which way to go.”
Liam stepped forward, and knelt. He called Pallet over, and peered at the rocky ground.
“Shadowmon have been this way.” The Londoner said.
“How do you know?” TK asked.
Liam pointed to a series of scratches on the ground.
“They sling their swords low on their waists. The blades have scratched the ground as they go past.”
He used his flashlight to follow the scratches.
“They went down the left tunnel. I say we go another way.”
Davis nodded. The light from the paladin-blade shone bright in the tunnel as they moved. DemiVeemon hopped up onto his shoulder, his eyes shining. The young Paladin looked down at his watch.
“We’ll start out again tomorrow. It’s late, and we’re all tired after today.”
Liam didn’t look happy.
“I don’t like it Davis. The Shadowmon obviously come this way…”
“They don’t need to use the tunnels anymore, Liam. They’ve got the surface now.”
The big Irishman’s expression didn’t change, but he nodded anyway, and slung his pack onto the ground. He slumped against the wall, and closed his eyes slightly.
“I’m getting to old for this shit.” He moaned.
“Yeah, cos you’re so old, Boss.” Nick said as he slumped next to his friend.
“Oh, shut up, you English bastard.”
Before long, using the small fuel pouches the troopers carried with them, a small campfire was burning brightly in the small chamber. They all sat around it, savouring the warmth.
Davis sat a little way apart from the rest, gently running his finger along his Katanas razor edge. Veemon and Gatomon lay curled on the floor at his feet, exhausted, and Kari leant against him, her head on his shoulder.
“You couldn’t have done any more than you did, Davis.”
“Yes I could, Kari. I could have stopped them. We were so close.”
“We all tried our best, Davis. If this happened, then maybe it was meant to. Maybe we weren’t meant to win today.”
“Huh?”
“Maybe this is fate.”
“You know, that sounds scarily like something Gennai would say.”
“Hey!” she punched him gently in the ribs, and for the first time since that morning, he smiled at her.
“I love you, Kari.”
“I love you too, Davis.”
Across the fireplace, TK and Tasha were also sitting together.
“Well, that didn’t go entirely as planned.”
“How clever of you to notice.” Tasha replied.
“Remind me why I put up with this abuse?”
“Cos you love me so much.”
“Ah. That must be it. Why else would I do this?”
She laughed gently, and slipped her hand into his.
“Remember what I asked you, TK. If anything happens to me…”
“It’s not going to, Tasha.”
“You don’t know that. If something does happen to me… I want you to know that I love you, TK.”
“I know, Tasha. I know.”
Jun looked down at the sleeping Tai, and smiled gently. Even after all this time, he still looked so handsome to her. She didn’t care what else was going on around her, provided she could be by his side.
“It never stops, does it?”
She glanced up at Sora, beside whom Matt was also fitfully dozing.
“I don’t think so. No matter what happens, there’s always gonna be a battle to fight. And I will stand by Davis to the bitter end. He’s my brother.”
Sora smiled.
“So will the rest of us, Jun. That’s what family does.”
The young doctor smiled back.
“You know, you’re right. Even though I don’t have a Digimon, everyone treats me like a Digidestined.”
“The adoption papers are in the post.”
Sora glanced down at Matt one last time, and then gently moved over to sit behind Jun. She stared at Davis for a moment.
“Why is he so scared, Jun? Why is he so afraid of not being enough?”
Jun looked down at the fire.
“It’s the thought of his Legacy. He’s the Paladin, the direct descendant of Ichiro Motomiya. He thinks that he has to prove himself worthy of that. Most of all, though, I think he fears becoming like Paul. Giving in to the shadows, and being manipulated.”
“He’s not Paul. He never could be. Davis is so straight they could use him as a test standard for pool-cues.”
Jun laughed softly.
“Yeah. But that doesn’t stop him being afraid.”
All the time, whilst the rest of the group talked softly, Michael sat staring into the flames. Even Mimi had given up trying to get his attention. The guilt was tearing him apart. He closed his eyes, to stop the bitter tears spilling out.
=============================================================
He was back in Armagh, the MP5 in his hands, and the berretta in its holster at the small of his back. He held the submachinegun in both hands, extending it around the corner into the courtyard. He knew that the terrorists were in there. He pulled the trigger, spraying the courtyard with ammunition. The slight tinkle of the empty shell casings hitting the ground sounded like coins, as the flash from the muzzle lit up the rain-filled night. he lowered the weapon to hip height, and stepped round the corner, the SMGs barrel sweeping the expanse of the concrete yard. He activated his night-vision goggles.
There were bodies there, dressed in the ski masks of the remaining terrorist cells of Northern Ireland. He swiftly changes the magazine on his gun, and moved forward.
“Not bad shooting, Liam.”
He glanced at McKane. Dead McKane, gone McKane. His friend nodded at him, and hefted his own SMG.
“Look out!”
Liam span, and fired a three round burst at the figure who had loomed out of the shadows. He saw the rounds hit home, and the figures hair span out behind her. Pink hair, with a couple of stars placed in it. Mimi’s hair.
He had dropped the gun, dived, and caught her before she even hit the ground. His eyes brimmed with tears of horror at what he had done. He tentatively brushed a stray strand of hair away from Mimi’s cold, still face, and bowed his head.
“Jesus…”
“After all you’ve seen, you still believe in Him?”
The Irishman looked up, into the Barrel of Tetsuo McKane’s MP5. The Air burned a bright white as the gun fired…
=============================================================
He woke with a start. The fire was slowly burning still, and he put an extra fuel pack onto it. Liam shook off the last vestiges of the nightmare, and looked at his watch, only to find that the face was cracked and the hands were no longer turning.
“Ah, Bollocks.”
He blinked, and stretched, careful not to kick the sleeping Pallet. He reached into his bag, and pulled out a radio. The rock in this area was fairly Porous, but his signal, though weak, might get through. He flicked to the first channel setting the Digi-world troopers used.
“Knight one to all knights, come back?”
Static was his only answer. He flicked through the channels, using the same callsign each time. Nothing.
That meant his people had either lost their radios, or…
He didn’t dwell on the thought, but instead settled his head back against the cave wall. His mind, left to it’s own devices; started to break out of the confines he put on it.
How had the Shadowmon got into the city? They had to have come through the tunnels, but he had personally sealed off all the entrances. Hell, the only people who knew the codes were in this room now…
He stopped.
No… it couldn’t… they couldn’t have…
He gently got up, stepped past the sleepers on the floor, and crouched by Davis. He gently shook the young Paladins shoulder. Davis woke with a start, his hand flashing out, and the knife in it coming to a halt just before Liam’s stomach.
“Watch where you’re bloody sticking that thing.”
“What’s wrong, Liam?”
“Follow me.”
He stood, and quietly moved over to the side corridor, just out of view of the fire, but with still enough light from its reflection on the walls to see each other’s outlines.
“You mind explaining what you’ve disturbed my beauty sleep for?”
“How many people knew the codes to the tunnel doors, Davis?”
The big Irishman saw the silhouette shrug slightly.
“Everyone in the chamber back there. Cody and Ken too.”
“hmm.”
“You’re going down that road of thought too, huh?”
“What road of thought?”
“The one that ends with us deciding which one of those people let the Shadowmon into the city.”
“I’ve already decided. The only three wild-cards are Tasha, Michael and Nick. Tasha was with Kari and Yolei after I sealed the doors, Nick was on the walls the whole time, with me.”
“Liam…”
“What?”
“Are you sure you’re not letting personal feelings get in the way here?”
Davis didn’t see, so much as feel the big Irishman’s eyes narrow.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I know you like Mimi. Me and Ken figured it out, so is this a personal Vendetta here?”
“Davis, whatever my personal feelings towards Mimi are, right now they’re playing second fiddle to finding out why the hell we lost the battle. I lost a lot of friends, and a lot of good men today.”
“They were soldiers, Liam…”
“And they knew the risks. But we would have won out there today if they hadn’t gotten inside, and I want to know why.”
They quickly went back into the main chamber, and set about waking everyone up. Michael moved last, getting groggily to his feet. He found Liam standing opposite him. Davis stood at the front of the junction.
“It appears that we have a traitor in our midst.”
Most of the Digidestined stared at their friend incredulously, but Liam had been looking at Michael. The blonde mans eyes flickered towards the tunnels, and he started towards them. He looked back at the Irishman. Liam’s eyes were boring into his, and cold, barely contained anger burned behind his eyes. Michael stopped moving.
Davis turned to stare at Michael, his eyes not full of hatred, as the blonde man had a right to expect, but full of pity and sadness.
“What did they offer you, Michael?”
“What the hell?” Mimi spoke up for the first time since “Where the fuck do you get off accusing him, Davis?!? He’s saved our lives more than once!”
Palmon stepped out in front of the pair, her vine-like tentacles ready to spring. Michael put a hand on Mimi’s shoulder.
“Get out of the way, Mimi.”
“But…”
“Do as I say!”
Numbness spread over Mimi’s body. She looked up at him incredulously.
“Michael… you did, didn’t you? You let the Shadowmon in…”
“Mimi…”
She stepped away from him. Palmon’s vines gently withdrew into stubby fingers. Davis looked at the blonde man again. TK, unnoticed, slipped towards the junction tunnel. Nick Pallet slipped towards the other, and Jun took the third, her shotgun held loosely in her hand.
“Why did you do it, Michael? What was the deal?”
“They said… that they would spare the Digidestined. The Digidestined could go free, provided I gave her the city.”
“Taythe?”
Michael nodded. Liam took his turn.
“And what about my men, Michael? What about them?”
The blonde man said nothing. He merely shook his head slightly. Stepped back, making a visible effort to calm himself down. For a few seconds, no one spoke.
“And what about Davis?” asked Kari.
The young Paladin snapped his head round to look at her.
“That doesn’t matter, Kari.”
“It does to me! What about Davis, Michael?!?”
“The paladin was to die in the city. He was the only Digidestined who would not be set free. She said you were too much of a threat.”
Michael didn’t have time to say any more, as Liam’s right fist slammed into his jaw.
“BASTARD!!!”
The blonde boy made it to his feet in time to block the next punch.
“DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MEN I LOST TODAY!?? HOW MANY DIED TO MAKE SURE YOUR LYING ARSE SURVIVED?”
Liam’s left fist slammed into Michael’s belly, doubling the younger man over. Instead of staying down, the blonde rose into an uppercut, sending Liam reeling back.
“IT WASN’T MEANT TO BE THIS WAY! I JUST WANTED A CHANCE OF SURVIVING! FOR ALL OF US!”
The big Irishman started forward again, fist raised, but Davis dived in between the pair of them.
“That’s enough, Liam!”
“This bastard sold us all out, Davis. He sold us to die, so he could escape!”
“We don’t need this right now! We don’t have the time for this! If we’re gonna make it out of this alive, we have to stick together!”
Liam closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were calm. But the hint of fury behind them made Davis grip his friends arm even harder.
“If he comes near me, or if he tries anything, I’ll kill him myself, you understand me, Davis? This little bastard sold us all to die, and I, for one, am not gonna forgive him.”
The Digidestined picked up their packs, and walked away into the tunnels, in silence.
********
The tunnels closed I around them claustrophobically, a lightless cage hemming them below the ground. The silence was deafening, the atmosphere of defeat pushing everyone into cloying quietness. Suddenly they halted.
“Davis? What’s wrong?” Kari said.
They were standing at a junction. Three tunnels led away into the darkness. Davis looked from one to the other, and a slight feeling of panic arose in his guts.
“I don’t know which way to go.”
Liam stepped forward, and knelt. He called Pallet over, and peered at the rocky ground.
“Shadowmon have been this way.” The Londoner said.
“How do you know?” TK asked.
Liam pointed to a series of scratches on the ground.
“They sling their swords low on their waists. The blades have scratched the ground as they go past.”
He used his flashlight to follow the scratches.
“They went down the left tunnel. I say we go another way.”
Davis nodded. The light from the paladin-blade shone bright in the tunnel as they moved. DemiVeemon hopped up onto his shoulder, his eyes shining. The young Paladin looked down at his watch.
“We’ll start out again tomorrow. It’s late, and we’re all tired after today.”
Liam didn’t look happy.
“I don’t like it Davis. The Shadowmon obviously come this way…”
“They don’t need to use the tunnels anymore, Liam. They’ve got the surface now.”
The big Irishman’s expression didn’t change, but he nodded anyway, and slung his pack onto the ground. He slumped against the wall, and closed his eyes slightly.
“I’m getting to old for this shit.” He moaned.
“Yeah, cos you’re so old, Boss.” Nick said as he slumped next to his friend.
“Oh, shut up, you English bastard.”
Before long, using the small fuel pouches the troopers carried with them, a small campfire was burning brightly in the small chamber. They all sat around it, savouring the warmth.
Davis sat a little way apart from the rest, gently running his finger along his Katanas razor edge. Veemon and Gatomon lay curled on the floor at his feet, exhausted, and Kari leant against him, her head on his shoulder.
“You couldn’t have done any more than you did, Davis.”
“Yes I could, Kari. I could have stopped them. We were so close.”
“We all tried our best, Davis. If this happened, then maybe it was meant to. Maybe we weren’t meant to win today.”
“Huh?”
“Maybe this is fate.”
“You know, that sounds scarily like something Gennai would say.”
“Hey!” she punched him gently in the ribs, and for the first time since that morning, he smiled at her.
“I love you, Kari.”
“I love you too, Davis.”
Across the fireplace, TK and Tasha were also sitting together.
“Well, that didn’t go entirely as planned.”
“How clever of you to notice.” Tasha replied.
“Remind me why I put up with this abuse?”
“Cos you love me so much.”
“Ah. That must be it. Why else would I do this?”
She laughed gently, and slipped her hand into his.
“Remember what I asked you, TK. If anything happens to me…”
“It’s not going to, Tasha.”
“You don’t know that. If something does happen to me… I want you to know that I love you, TK.”
“I know, Tasha. I know.”
Jun looked down at the sleeping Tai, and smiled gently. Even after all this time, he still looked so handsome to her. She didn’t care what else was going on around her, provided she could be by his side.
“It never stops, does it?”
She glanced up at Sora, beside whom Matt was also fitfully dozing.
“I don’t think so. No matter what happens, there’s always gonna be a battle to fight. And I will stand by Davis to the bitter end. He’s my brother.”
Sora smiled.
“So will the rest of us, Jun. That’s what family does.”
The young doctor smiled back.
“You know, you’re right. Even though I don’t have a Digimon, everyone treats me like a Digidestined.”
“The adoption papers are in the post.”
Sora glanced down at Matt one last time, and then gently moved over to sit behind Jun. She stared at Davis for a moment.
“Why is he so scared, Jun? Why is he so afraid of not being enough?”
Jun looked down at the fire.
“It’s the thought of his Legacy. He’s the Paladin, the direct descendant of Ichiro Motomiya. He thinks that he has to prove himself worthy of that. Most of all, though, I think he fears becoming like Paul. Giving in to the shadows, and being manipulated.”
“He’s not Paul. He never could be. Davis is so straight they could use him as a test standard for pool-cues.”
Jun laughed softly.
“Yeah. But that doesn’t stop him being afraid.”
All the time, whilst the rest of the group talked softly, Michael sat staring into the flames. Even Mimi had given up trying to get his attention. The guilt was tearing him apart. He closed his eyes, to stop the bitter tears spilling out.
=============================================================
He was back in Armagh, the MP5 in his hands, and the berretta in its holster at the small of his back. He held the submachinegun in both hands, extending it around the corner into the courtyard. He knew that the terrorists were in there. He pulled the trigger, spraying the courtyard with ammunition. The slight tinkle of the empty shell casings hitting the ground sounded like coins, as the flash from the muzzle lit up the rain-filled night. he lowered the weapon to hip height, and stepped round the corner, the SMGs barrel sweeping the expanse of the concrete yard. He activated his night-vision goggles.
There were bodies there, dressed in the ski masks of the remaining terrorist cells of Northern Ireland. He swiftly changes the magazine on his gun, and moved forward.
“Not bad shooting, Liam.”
He glanced at McKane. Dead McKane, gone McKane. His friend nodded at him, and hefted his own SMG.
“Look out!”
Liam span, and fired a three round burst at the figure who had loomed out of the shadows. He saw the rounds hit home, and the figures hair span out behind her. Pink hair, with a couple of stars placed in it. Mimi’s hair.
He had dropped the gun, dived, and caught her before she even hit the ground. His eyes brimmed with tears of horror at what he had done. He tentatively brushed a stray strand of hair away from Mimi’s cold, still face, and bowed his head.
“Jesus…”
“After all you’ve seen, you still believe in Him?”
The Irishman looked up, into the Barrel of Tetsuo McKane’s MP5. The Air burned a bright white as the gun fired…
=============================================================
He woke with a start. The fire was slowly burning still, and he put an extra fuel pack onto it. Liam shook off the last vestiges of the nightmare, and looked at his watch, only to find that the face was cracked and the hands were no longer turning.
“Ah, Bollocks.”
He blinked, and stretched, careful not to kick the sleeping Pallet. He reached into his bag, and pulled out a radio. The rock in this area was fairly Porous, but his signal, though weak, might get through. He flicked to the first channel setting the Digi-world troopers used.
“Knight one to all knights, come back?”
Static was his only answer. He flicked through the channels, using the same callsign each time. Nothing.
That meant his people had either lost their radios, or…
He didn’t dwell on the thought, but instead settled his head back against the cave wall. His mind, left to it’s own devices; started to break out of the confines he put on it.
How had the Shadowmon got into the city? They had to have come through the tunnels, but he had personally sealed off all the entrances. Hell, the only people who knew the codes were in this room now…
He stopped.
No… it couldn’t… they couldn’t have…
He gently got up, stepped past the sleepers on the floor, and crouched by Davis. He gently shook the young Paladins shoulder. Davis woke with a start, his hand flashing out, and the knife in it coming to a halt just before Liam’s stomach.
“Watch where you’re bloody sticking that thing.”
“What’s wrong, Liam?”
“Follow me.”
He stood, and quietly moved over to the side corridor, just out of view of the fire, but with still enough light from its reflection on the walls to see each other’s outlines.
“You mind explaining what you’ve disturbed my beauty sleep for?”
“How many people knew the codes to the tunnel doors, Davis?”
The big Irishman saw the silhouette shrug slightly.
“Everyone in the chamber back there. Cody and Ken too.”
“hmm.”
“You’re going down that road of thought too, huh?”
“What road of thought?”
“The one that ends with us deciding which one of those people let the Shadowmon into the city.”
“I’ve already decided. The only three wild-cards are Tasha, Michael and Nick. Tasha was with Kari and Yolei after I sealed the doors, Nick was on the walls the whole time, with me.”
“Liam…”
“What?”
“Are you sure you’re not letting personal feelings get in the way here?”
Davis didn’t see, so much as feel the big Irishman’s eyes narrow.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I know you like Mimi. Me and Ken figured it out, so is this a personal Vendetta here?”
“Davis, whatever my personal feelings towards Mimi are, right now they’re playing second fiddle to finding out why the hell we lost the battle. I lost a lot of friends, and a lot of good men today.”
“They were soldiers, Liam…”
“And they knew the risks. But we would have won out there today if they hadn’t gotten inside, and I want to know why.”
They quickly went back into the main chamber, and set about waking everyone up. Michael moved last, getting groggily to his feet. He found Liam standing opposite him. Davis stood at the front of the junction.
“It appears that we have a traitor in our midst.”
Most of the Digidestined stared at their friend incredulously, but Liam had been looking at Michael. The blonde mans eyes flickered towards the tunnels, and he started towards them. He looked back at the Irishman. Liam’s eyes were boring into his, and cold, barely contained anger burned behind his eyes. Michael stopped moving.
Davis turned to stare at Michael, his eyes not full of hatred, as the blonde man had a right to expect, but full of pity and sadness.
“What did they offer you, Michael?”
“What the hell?” Mimi spoke up for the first time since “Where the fuck do you get off accusing him, Davis?!? He’s saved our lives more than once!”
Palmon stepped out in front of the pair, her vine-like tentacles ready to spring. Michael put a hand on Mimi’s shoulder.
“Get out of the way, Mimi.”
“But…”
“Do as I say!”
Numbness spread over Mimi’s body. She looked up at him incredulously.
“Michael… you did, didn’t you? You let the Shadowmon in…”
“Mimi…”
She stepped away from him. Palmon’s vines gently withdrew into stubby fingers. Davis looked at the blonde man again. TK, unnoticed, slipped towards the junction tunnel. Nick Pallet slipped towards the other, and Jun took the third, her shotgun held loosely in her hand.
“Why did you do it, Michael? What was the deal?”
“They said… that they would spare the Digidestined. The Digidestined could go free, provided I gave her the city.”
“Taythe?”
Michael nodded. Liam took his turn.
“And what about my men, Michael? What about them?”
The blonde man said nothing. He merely shook his head slightly. Stepped back, making a visible effort to calm himself down. For a few seconds, no one spoke.
“And what about Davis?” asked Kari.
The young Paladin snapped his head round to look at her.
“That doesn’t matter, Kari.”
“It does to me! What about Davis, Michael?!?”
“The paladin was to die in the city. He was the only Digidestined who would not be set free. She said you were too much of a threat.”
Michael didn’t have time to say any more, as Liam’s right fist slammed into his jaw.
“BASTARD!!!”
The blonde boy made it to his feet in time to block the next punch.
“DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MEN I LOST TODAY!?? HOW MANY DIED TO MAKE SURE YOUR LYING ARSE SURVIVED?”
Liam’s left fist slammed into Michael’s belly, doubling the younger man over. Instead of staying down, the blonde rose into an uppercut, sending Liam reeling back.
“IT WASN’T MEANT TO BE THIS WAY! I JUST WANTED A CHANCE OF SURVIVING! FOR ALL OF US!”
The big Irishman started forward again, fist raised, but Davis dived in between the pair of them.
“That’s enough, Liam!”
“This bastard sold us all out, Davis. He sold us to die, so he could escape!”
“We don’t need this right now! We don’t have the time for this! If we’re gonna make it out of this alive, we have to stick together!”
Liam closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were calm. But the hint of fury behind them made Davis grip his friends arm even harder.
“If he comes near me, or if he tries anything, I’ll kill him myself, you understand me, Davis? This little bastard sold us all to die, and I, for one, am not gonna forgive him.”
The Digidestined picked up their packs, and walked away into the tunnels, in silence.