Chapter 2:

The Steelheilm Massacres

Steelheilm Embassy, Metal Empire.

To say that the embassy was overcrowded was an understatement. It was packed. ME police and soldiers were virtually in every corner around and inside the building. Ground and air forces frequently patrolled the area. A mass crowd of eager and impatient journalists was gathered at the front gate of the embassy, blocking the visitors' way. The soldiers forcefully pushed the reporters away, creating a passage between the sea of digimon as the Royal Knights' transport arrived, pulled by a formidable and intimidating AncientTroiamon.

"MAKE WAY!" AncientTroiamon ordered sternly, their voice boomed into the crowd and startled them.

Satisfied, the tall wooden digimon pulled the carriage through the gate and into the main courtyard. Once the knights were dropped off, they headed towards the embassy's main entrance. Two Knightmon stood guard beside the two doors. They saluted the incoming visitors and opened the doors for them.

Greeting them at the main hall was a Meramon with an non-flammable black bow tie around his neck.

"Welcome, Sires. Please take a seat while I inform the mayor of your presence," He told them while pointing at the sofas next to him.

The Royal Knights complied and waited patiently while Meramon went to get mayor Jewelbeemon. Alphamon obliged himself to take a seat on one of the sofas. The puffy cushion sank with his weight but he immediately felt comfort, sighing blissfully. If only he had tea right now.

Duftmon and Dukemon opted to observe the hall's decorations, admiring some of the paintings that were on display around them. The calm silence was then interrupted when the doors opened, letting two digimon in. All three Royal Knights turned around with curious gazes, catching sight of a Gaioumon and a SaviorHackmon.

Both newcomers halted their tracks in surprise for a moment before they respectfully bowed down.

"It is an honour to meet you, Royal Knights, to this summit," Gaioumon stated formally, "I'm Lieutenant Gaioumon and this is Lieutenant SaviorHackmon, we're CNS peace inspectors," He lied to them, not wanting reveal their true purpose or work.

"Oh? So you've arrived earlier than the representative?" Dukemon asked.

"Uh... the contrary actually," SaviorHackmon responded sheepishly, "We ran into some trouble on our way. These reporters were beginning to cause quite the traffic out there,"

"Uhm," Duftmon agreed quietly.

"Well you can take a seat if you guys want to. I bet it was difficult to get through them," Alphamon suggested kindly.

"We'll be fine just by standing, sire," Gaioumon replied humbly.

They nodded at each other and an awkward silence filled the hall, neither party didn't know how or where to start a conversation.

"So...um, nice weather we're having, huh?" SaviorHackmon spoke tentatively, feeling his cheeks blushing in embarrassment. Dukemon laughed lightly at the digimon's poor attempt to start a conversation. His partner, Gaioumon, stared at him with a deadpan look.

Thankfully for them, Meramon returned with Jewelbeemon tagging along. The mayor smiled politely at the visitors and bowed his head.

"Greetings, gentlemen, it is both an honour and pleasure to have you all in this important summit. Please follow me, the meeting is about to start," Jewelbeemon requested kindly and turned around, leading the five digimon to the first floor and into the meeting room.

Four other digimon officials were present in the room, chatting idly before the visitors arrived. The four officials were ambassador Andiramon of the Sword Zone, ambassador Angewomon of the CNS and ambassador PileVolcamon with Storm Commander Raijinmon of the Metal Empire. The digimon greeted each other quickly before they settled around the long, polished wooden table a the center of the room. The representatives of the Metal Empire and CNS sat on one side while the Royal Knights and the Sword Zone ambassador sat on the other. Jewelbeemon sat at the end of the table, between the sides. Being the host, he had the word to commence or end the summit. Once everyone have been served a glass of water, Jewelbeemon allowed the summit to commence.

Perched on a branch, hidden behind the thick leaves of a tree from the other side of the embassy, an Owlmon closely examined the building. His red eyes zoomed in on the first floor, spotting the digimon in the middle of a meeting. His eyes narrowed,metallic slits rapidly closed in and opened, changing Owlmon's vision to infrared. The eyes flashed briefly, contacting his superior.

"All targets present in the meeting. Security's tight in the courtyard, more than three dozen foot mobiles and a dozen tanks with four air assets patrolling the objective in a two kilometer radius. I've spotted twenty foot mobiles in the objective building along with fifteen non-combatants," Owlmon reported stoically, "Should we commence the operation?"

"Negative. Keep up with reconnaissance as planned and make sure that all ground assets are in correct position," His superior instructed sternly.

"Copy that, resuming reconnaissance. Owlmon out,"

Owlmon spread out their wings and flew off, relocating to another observation spot to get better angles of the embassy's security detail. Being a relatively small digimon, Owlmon had ease to fly at low altitude without gathering any attention from other digimon. This also meant that they were able fly between buildings and narrow alleyways without much difficulty in addition of having the ability to turn their head in a 270 degree rotation. Virtually nothing escapes his sights.

About an hour passed and Owlmon moved away from the embassy by about two blocks. He glided towards the rooftop of an apartment and gracefully perched himself on the rusty, metallic railings. Quietly, he observed his surrounding, making sure he was alone on this rootop and not other digimon could see him. The whine of a rusty door caused his head to immediately turn, gazing at Baalmon neutrally.

The white assassin carried a long, black gun case, slung behind him. Baalmon walked toward the avian digimon and halted in his tracks, expecting Owlmon to speak.

"I've found two possible sniper positions for you. They're about five hundred meters to the East, four blocks away from the embassy. You should be able to have a clear line of sight on at least four targets, though there are a lot of windows, so you should be quick and accurate with your shots,"

"You don't have to tell me how I do my job, bird," Baalmon sneered, "Are my positions clear of ME soldiers?"

"Affirmative," Owlmon replied with a sigh, "You'll still be in range of air assets but with the cover of darkness, you won't get any problem,"

"When does the operation start then?" Baalmon asked impatiently, "I could easily kill the ambassador right now,"

"Sure you can... but you'll have to wait for now. Boss wants us to strike when the evening dinner starts," Owlmon said flatly.

"Then what's the point for you to find sniper positions if they're going to move to another room?" The assassin asked, now irritated.

Owlmon rolled their eyes while groaning, "Those positions are for the evening dinner, you git!"

Baalmon's eyes widened with realisation and although most of his face was hidden, Owlmon could tell his mouth was mouthing an "O".

"Heh, sorry about that. I'm just a little bit impatient right now," Baalmon said with a light laugh.

"Oh for the love of- Look, you wait for the signal then you can shoot at your heart's content..." Baalmon fist pumped in excitement as Owlmon said that, "But until then, you move your dumb ass over there, find your favourite spot and stay put while I go continue scouting around. Got it?"

"Got it!" Baalmon replied with a thumbs up.

"Unbelievable..." Owlmon muttered dryly, "Well, I'll see you later... don't fuck this up!"

Baalmon watched silently as the winged digimon flew away and out of sight. He stood there for several moment before he looked around, and brought his left hand to his ear.

"Shadow Actual, this is Sheep 0-1, just got intel when they're going to strike..." He reported dutifully, contacting Karatenmon, "We should intercept fast if we want to avoid a massacre this evening. Over,"

"Copy that, we'll start deploying ground teams in the area. Do you have any intel on their assets?"

"Affirmative, they've got forty troops spread out through the district. Their targets are the embassy and the police station. Be advised: they're organized and armed with explosives, expect heavy resistance. Over," Baalmon informed the captain while he went down the staircases.

"How about the ME or the CNS?"

"So far the D-Brigade isn't present, only ME reserves are here, at least a hundred troops and several detachments of armour and air units. I've been provided a sniper position. What are your orders, Shadow Actual?"

"Proceed with their plan and standby for mission update. Good luck, Sheep 0-1. Over and out,"

Reaching the building's back exit door, Baalmon suddenly vanished into the shadows of the alleyway, moving towards his next objective point.

Back at the embassy,

These past two hours had been exhausting for everyone. The first thirty minute had been quite calm but when the topic of reducing the Metal Empire's military and nuclear arsenal, tensions escalated rapidly. At the end, everyone left the room sour and bitter. Gaioumon himself rubbed his head as a headache started to build up.

Jewelbeemon nervously smiled at his guests, trying to calm the tensions down. "Well, although things didn't go so well, at least we can celebrate some of the progress we've made so far, right?" He asked nervously, gazing at his guests.

Andiramon glanced at Pilevolcamon then back at the mayor, "I guess a glass or two of champagne wouldn't hurt,"

Jewelbeemon looked at Pilevolcamon, who simply nodded, then at the Royal Knights and CNS investigators and ambassador, who expressed their agreement. "Very well! Our party guests should arrive soon, so why don't we head to the multipurpose room and begin the ceremony?" He stated with a beaming smile, guiding everyone towards the mentionned room.

The multipurpose room was soon filled with numerous guests, enjoying the fine dining and light air of the evening's event. Embassy waiters calmly walked among the digimon visitors, carrying plates of appetizers or glasses of wine and champagne. It certaintly did calm the tension between the ambassadors, now seen to be chatting with each other amicably.

Both Gaioumon and SaviorHackmon stood at a corner of the room, away from the guests, each with a glass of wine and the latter having a small, plastic plate of appetizers. While the black samurai seemed to be bored out of his mind, SaviorHackmon was a bit uncomfortable and nervous with the ongoing event. Normally he would reserve himself a glass of wine or appetizers in these sort of environments, namely because they were way too expensive for him. But now here he is, a glass of red wine and a plate of snacks in his hands, standing at a corner like an idiot.

"Appetizers, lieutenant?" He offered shyly.

Gaioumon looked at him, then at the plate and back at him. He grunted and took an appetizer, eating it in one go. "Too salty," He concluded, "But at least it's free for now,"

"Yeah..."

Silence fell between those two, drowned by the light and cheery chatter and laughter of the other guests. Gaioumon ungracefully emptied his glass at a nearby plant pot, placed the crystal glass on a tray of a passing waiter and gazed at SaviorHackmon.

"Want to do something productive?"

"Yes!" The sergeant replied too eargerly, more than he expected.

"Alright, you stay here and keep an eye on our guests. I'm going outside to get some fresh air," He said bluntly, much to SaviorHackmon's dismay. "And don't do anything stupid, got it?"

"Solid copy, lieutenant..." The Ultimate-level digimon replied.

Once the lieutenant was gone, he drank in one sip his wine and discreetly placed his plate back on the dining table. It may be a boring and probably unnecessary task, but at least it was a task, he had something to do, a goal to accomplish.

Slowly but confidently, he began to walk around the room, observing each guest from a distance, eyeing every corner and possible entrances. He occasionally looked out at the windows, only to see a patrol team doing its round. Eventhough he trusted the security force employed at the embassy, he was starting to have a bad gut feeling that something is about to happen, his instincts screaming urgently. Adrenaline started to pump in his streams in anticipation for action. This only signalled him to be more aware of his surroundings.

Discreetly, he pulled down his sleek black goggles. His vision blackened before it lit up and returned to normal, now a heads-up display appeared in his field of view. Numerous faint blue dots were scattered across his view, each pinning a digimon in his sight. On command, the goggles switched to another, highly specialized vision. The layout in his surroundings was blue, every digimon were now transparent silhouettes with their digicores highlighted in bright cyan. Highlighted in yellow were the electricity cables that ran through the building, like data streams in a digimon.

Looking around, he concluded that the power was still on, security alarms were on, soldiers were posted on the rooftop in teams of five. He resumed his little patrol, observing the crowd. So far, he went on unnoticed by the other guests. Well that was what he guessed.

Unbeknownst to him, Duftmon was already keeping a close eye on him, sensing his movement around the room. He had already informed his comrades of the inspector's activity. All three Royal Knights were huddled in a small group, keeping a low profile among the crowd.

"You think the terrorists are going to attack?" Dukemon asked in a low whisper.

"It is a possibility. They have plenty of HVTs gathered in a cluster. This could explain the inspector's behaviour," Duftmon explained as a matter-of-fact. Alphamon hummed in agreement.

"We should be ready then if an attack will occur," He instructed with a frown, "Top priority on the ambassadors, leave the military handle the rest,"

"Are sure this is a good idea?" Duftmon asked.

"I'm sure Raijinmon will act accordingly to protect them," The black knight responded.

Back with SaviorHackmon, he could see through the walls the soldiers getting agitated, sprinting right towards the room. The door bursted open as a Duramon rapidly walked towards Raijinmon, curtly apologizing the guests as he pushed them lightly. The TEAR operative kept close watch on him before he turned around. The soldiers seemed to panic, frantically sprinting to the front courtyard while the teams on the rooftop prepped up sniper rifles and radioed in air support. Then an explosion was heard a couple of blocks away from the embassy.

The guests let out surprised gasps as the building rocked lightly. Through the windows, he could see smoke rising to the sky. Zooming in on the rooftops of the buildings in front of the embassy, he could faintly catch sight of a digicore, well hidden in the shadows thanks to the moonless night. All of the sudden, the window cracked and he felt a searing, hot pain on his left shoulder. He winced and instinctively clutched the bullet wound.

Another explosion erupted, this time at the front gate. The embassy rocked violently, the guests screamed in fright. Then gunshots cracked in the air followed by soldiers yelling.

"Contact!"

"Get everyone at the back of the building. Call in evac asap!" Raijinmon ordered Duramon sternly.

More soldiers bursted through the door to evacuate the civilians out of the multipurpose room. The windows cracked and shattered as more projectiles shot through the crowd. A few were hit and gravely wounded, but so far no one died.

SaviorHackmon dove for the ground, avoiding another barrage of bullets. "Sergeant! SaviorHackmon!" He heard the lieutenant called out.

"Over here!" He shouted back.

Gaioumon spotted his partner and ran to him. He picked him back to his feet and pushed him out of the room with the Royal Knights behind them.

"Lieutenant, I've spotted a sniper, just across the street!" SaviorHackmon informed him urgently, "We can-"

"Yeah, well I've spotted dozens of hostiles coming in right now! So shut up and help me secure the back courtyard!" Gaioumon ordered sternly, lightly pushing away the panicked crowd of civilians.

SavoirHackmon pulled the goggles up, resting them on his helmet. Making their way through the kitchen, they were met with Jewelbeemon and his personal staff, fear clearly visible on their faces.

"Everyone, I want you all to prepare the safe room in case we need to use plan B, get all the guests to the back hall and wait until the soldiers have secured the area!" He ordered with a shaky voice. He spun around to meet the two inspectors, "What are-"

"Sir, we will take care of the back courtyard, get the guests to safety, lock every door and window and provide medical aid to any wounded, got it?" Gaioumon instructed firmly, leaving no room for further discussion.

The two operatives got out to the back courtyard where a dozen or so soldiers, mostly Commandramon, were assembled to form a defensive perimeter. Smoke grenades were thrown over the high stone wall that surrounded the embassy. The grenades popped and thick clouds of smoke started to fan out and obsure the soldiers' field of view.

"Get ready!" An officer shouted sternly.

Gaioumon waited in anticipation the wave of hostiles that will charge through the smoke. He then looked up and spotted a barrage of fireball plummeting on their position.

"INCOMING!" He yelled as loud as possible.

The soldiers looked up and frantically spread out, avoiding the rain of fire where possible. The fireballs hit their position hard, exploding on impact and spreading instantaneous flames. A couple of soldiers were directly hit by them, screaming in pain as they slowly burn to death. Others were thrown away by the sheer blasts. Barely able to recover from the barrage, multiple digimon charged through the smoke cloud and attacked nearby soldiers in surprise.

"Hostiles front!" A Commandramon yelled before their throat was ripped apart by a Fangmon.

Gaioumon drew out his Kikurin swords and immediately sliced the Fangmon that lunged at him. Blood slipped all over his armour while the lifeless and mangled body dropped beside him.

"Meteor Flame!" SavoirHackmon shouted, spewing out a burst of flames out of his mouth. The flames hit a Fugamon at center mass, burning them intensely until their flesh was charred. To put a quick end, the operative plunged the wristblade through their digicore, instantly killing them.

Gaioumon nodded at him before they joined the soldiers to clear and secure the back courtyard. The ensuing battle was brutal and savage, the terrorists held no mercy for the soldiers, nor did the latter had any to begin with. The security force was quickly outnumbered on both courtyards but they stood their ground. Soon, joining the two TEAR operatives in the fight were the Royal Knights, drastically changing the tide against the terrorists.

"Digitalize of Soul!" Alphamon's powerful beam shot through a Snimon, evaporating their whole chest and eliminating them.

The black knight spun around to look for an officer but found none. He then turned to Gaioumon. "Inspector!" He called out loudly, "Status report!" He demanded after he got the digimon's attention.

"Enemy have superior numbers. ME police station is still under attack so we have zero reinforcements. Nearby D-Brigade unit is an hour away from us. Air support should be here anytime soon," Gaioumon reported.

"Don't you have any QRF?"

"Affirmative, they're at camp Tolkien, ten minutes away but I haven't contacted them yET!" He dodged an electrical projectile shot by a Devidramon, "The embassy has a control room on the second floor!"

"We hold this courtyard until help has arrived. Duftmon, get to the control room and tell them to contact camp Tolkien for a QRF, ASAP!" Alphamon ordered sternly.

"Consider it done," Duftmon replied curtly and ran back to the embassy.

"Shit! Run!" He heard a soldier exclaim in panic.

Charging out of the dissipating smoke was a Rhinomon, affected by the X-Antibody, thus enhancing their strenght and power. The Armour-level digimon broke the defensive line, trampling and impaling nearby soldiers out of their way. They stopped in their tracks and growled as numerous soldiers opened fire. The bullets bounced off the superior Chrome Digizoid carapace armour, irritating the digimon. They spun their blade tipped tail around themselves, the sharp edges easily cut through the ranks, causing significant bleeding damage.

SaviorHackmon launched a rapid-fire burst of flames at Rhinomon, pinning them to the ground while Dukemon charges up his Aegis shield.

"Final Elysium!"

A holy beam shot out of the shield, slamming against Rhinomon's side, causing more searing pain, the holy attack burnt the armour onto their skin and flesh. Gravely wounded, the armoured digimon was still alive and kicking, literally. They bashed a Sealsdramon away, pounded a Commandramon to the ground before stomping their head, ending with a bloody mush of brain matter and bone fragments.

Distracted by the other soldiers, SaviorHackmon leapt towards Rhinomon and landed on their back. Unintentionally he held onto one of the bladed horns with his wounded arm. The operative hissed to suppress the sharp pain in his arm and stabbed with his other arm the wristblade into their back, piercing the thick layer of armour and cutting through flesh and bone. Rhinomon howled in agony as they suffer more stab wounds from SaviorHackmon. Furious, they growled savagely and rocked their body around, trying to throw the digimon off their back. But he held firm.

With his available arm and tail, he stabbed Rhinomon across their back and hind legs, trying to immobilise them and cause major bleeding. However he was slowly losing his grip on the digimon, he poised his wristblade to land a final blow through Rhinomon's skull. Unfortunately for him, with the constant and violent rocking and agitation, his flowing red cape was caught up on his face, blinding him completely. He gasped in surprise, missing his intended target by a meter and losing his grip. Rhinomon grunted with much effort and jolted his body forward, launching the blinded and cape wrapped SaviorHackmon into the air.

The operative landed head first on the dirt, feeling a throbbing pain on his forehead. Angry, he cut through his tainted and ragged cape.

"Stupid cape..." He muttered dryly.

He spun around just in time to see Rhinomon's body was beginning to glow as they charge straight for him. Swiftly getting back up, he deftly dodged Rhinomon's relentless charge, rolling out of the way before they could impale him. Rhinomon's was envelopped with a light barrier, expanding by the second before it exploded, consuming every digimon around them. The digimon consumed by the light were reduced to unstable data particles, blown away by the wind. Five lives were perished in a second.

Gaioumon ran towards Rhinomon, his swords poised to strike. The armoured digimon sensed the samurai, spinning in place to lunge their tail blade at him. The black samurai expertly dodged the strike, sliding pass Rhinomon. Now behind them and currently on the ground, Gaioumon stabbed their left hind leg. He rolled to the right to dodge another tail stab. The tail struck the ground beside him. He took the tail and severed it with one slash. Rhinomon roared out in pain. They turned their head to face Gaioumon. That was when Dukemon attacked, plunging the holy lance through their neck.

Blood shot out of the fatal wound as the tip of the lance stuck out from the other side. Rhinomon's motionless body fell to the ground, almost crushing Gaioumon with its immense weight.

"Thanks..." The samurai breathed out to the holy knight.

"They're starting to retreat..." Dukemon commented as the security force regained their ground, "Maybe we-"

Suddenly a powerful explosion erupted behind him. The blast shook the world around him violently, he could feel the intense heat licking his back. The shockwave was strong enough to push everyone in the area to the ground. Grunting in pain, Dukemon sat up and looked behind him. His golden eyes widened with shock as the embassy was now in flames, parts of the building caved in on itself. He could hear the screams of the civilians through the sound of battle.

"Duftmon..." He sprung to his feet and ran towards the burning building.

He broke in through the kitchen's window. He looked around for any survivors. The voices of the panicked guests could be heard, guiding Dukemon through the enflammed building. He called out to them in response, beckoning the survivors to come to him. Entering the main hall, he met the Meramon butler supporting a wounded Andiramon.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" He asked concernly to the ambassador.

"I'm fine, Sir Dukemon, just find the others quickly. There are still more down the hallway," She said weakly, urging Meramon to escort her out of the building.

Coming in through the multipurpose room was SaviorHackmon, startling the Royal Knight with his goggles on.

"What are you doing here?" The knight asked.

"I'm here to help you find the others. I can track them, it would be easier for the both of us so I suggest you stick with me," SaviorHackmon said flatly. Dukemon shrugged and followed the operative through the hallway.

They searched through the rooms, breaking down doors and guiding the survivors out of the building. Fortunately, they were able to find the mayor and both remaining ambassadors, which all three were lightly injured. The other guests were injured, few were severely wounded and two lost their lives. As time passes, the building began to collapse, becoming unstable by the second.

Dukemon was getting frustrated and impatient. His heart racing in pain for Duftmon was nowhere in sight.

"We need to move to the second floor," He urged SaviorHackmon.

"We can't rush the wounded out of here," The operative retorted stoically, "And we still have some survivors on the first floor,"

"I'll handle first floor then, you get the survivors from the second floor!" SaviorHackmon nodded and ran up to the second floor.

Parts of the roof fell, almost hitting SaviorHackmon. The heat was getting unbearable, actually starting to heat up his armour and burning his skin. The air was thick with suffocating smoke, his eyes watered and lungs dried, causing him to cough frequently. Due to the extreme heat produced by the flames around him, the goggles' vision were blinding him. Swearing, he pulled the pair up and braved the fire.

"Duftmon!" He yelled as loud as possible, feeling his vocal chords straining, "Anyone! Please respond!"

Loud but weak bangs caught his attention. Spotting at one end of the hallway was a metallic door. He ran to the door and tried to pry it open with no success. He noticed that it was an automated door, only granting access with a keycard.

"Help!" A voice screamed out weakly, coughing violently. The control room was probably filled with smoke, thus suffocating the digimon inside.

"Stay back!" SaviorHackmon shouted and punched the keycard slot.

The door slid open and a Sealsdramon fell face first to the ground, coughing and breathing dryly. The operative helped him up.

"There are two others back there, the rest are dead," The Sealsdramon informed through ragged breaths.

"Can you walk?" The cyborg digimon nodded, "Make your way downstairs and get out through the kitchen. I'll get the others," Sealsdramon nodded and wobbled his way down the steps.

SaviorHackmon coughed violently, his eyes stained by the smoke. He needed to act fast if he and the survivors want to get out of here. Going in, he found Duftmon sitting against the wall beside him while a Kokuwamon made their way out with a limp. The operative knelt in front of the knight, inspecting his wounds. Duftmon was in bad shape, he could see a trail of blood down the side of his head and a deep gash on his waist.

"Sir Duftmon, can you walk? Can you hear me?" He asked concernly.

Duftmon's eyes flickered open and gazed at SaviorHackmon. He grunted in pain as his body was registering the burning and throbbing pain that plaged his whole body. He tried to move but felt a sharp pain to his right leg.

"Sir, can you walk?" The operative asked again.

Duftmon shook his head in response, weakly pointing at his injured leg. SaviorHackmon looked down and saw a long dent in the leg armour, now digging into the flesh. Something heavy must've fell on him to cause this much damage.

"Okay, stay awake, sir, I'm going to get you out of here,"

Without a protest, the tactician let the operative lift him off the ground and carry him down the stairs and out of the burning and crumbling embassy. SaviorHackmon coughed dryly after he gently set Duftmon on the ground, a safe distance away from the building. Fresh air finally filled his lungs and his eyes were clear of stinging smoke. The sound of battle seemed to have dragged farther away from the embassy and onto the city's streets.

"Sergeant!" He turned his head right to see Gaioumon running up to him, "Are you alright?" He simply responded with a nod and a thumbs up. He looked back down at Duftmon, who was now cared by Dukemon and a combat medic.

"We managed to get all VIPs safe and sound but we've lost maybe four or five staff members in there..." SaviorHackmon informed the officer.

"You did well, kid. Get some rest while you still can," Gaioumon told him after giving a pat on his shoulder.

"Thank you, lieutenant," The draconic knight said before sitting down, catching his breath.

Alphamon joined them quietly, his armour a little roughed up by the previous fight. His eyes were steady and cold. He stared at Duftmon for a moment before his gaze shifted to Dukemon.

"Is he going to make it?" He asked.

"Yes... just a broken ankle, a cut on the waist and head and several third degree burns. He's lucky to have survived the full blast," Dukemon answered.

"Our QRF is unavailable. Just got word from Karatenmon that another terrorist contigency attacked a checkpoint. We're on our own for now and I need your help to clean up this mess,"

Dukemon stood up, picked up his lance and shield and nodded back firmly, "Right behind you,"

"Inspector Gaioumon, I'm trusting you with protecting the civilians until evac has arrived," Alphamon stated to the black samurai.

"Consider it done, sire,"

D-Brigade Base "Titan", Metal Empire.

The gravely wounded Commandramon weakly crawled away, a trail of blood followed behind him. A gunshot erupted in the air and a bullet pierced the back of his helmet. The soldier slumped to the floor, the wound bled profusely. The body dissipated to data particles, leaving behind a large pool of blood.

Weregarurumon X broke down the handgun with fluid motion, disassembling it and ungracefully threw it aside. His team secured the small security room, executing any remants on sight. A fierce battle between his forces and the D-Brigade waged outside the building. The Shadow Brigade has successfully overrun the military base but it wouldn't be long until Chaosdramon sends in a whole division to retake this very important site. After all, this is where he stores his new favourite toys.

"Sir, we have company," A MetalFantomon reported plainly, looking through the monitor on the security desk.

Weregarurumon X calmly walked towards him while the rest of his team called in the elevator to reach the undergound vault. The monitor displayed a live camera footage of the vault's entrance, now heavily guarded by a dozen soldiers, waiting for them at the elevator.

"The moment we step out, we're dead," MetalFantomon said bluntly.

"Is there another way in?" Weregarurumon X asked.

"We could try the air vents, but I doubt any of us is small enough to fit in there," The Reaper-like digimon said frankly, "And no, I can't simply fly through the walls," He added with a chuckle.

A rogue Sealsdramon ran up to the terrorist leader, saluting Weregarurumon X formally, "Sir, hostiles are closing in on our position. We can hold them off to buy you some time but it will be limited," He reported stoically.

"MetalFantomon, I'm leaving you in charge of the defenses..." Weregarurumon X then shifted his gaze to Sealsdramon, "Get your team ready to breach the vault," He ordered firmly.

The D-Brigade guards anxiously waited for the elevator to touch ground. The disciplined troopers were getting nervous. They were outnumbered and they were the last line of defense before the terrorists could get their hands on the nuclear weapons, stored in the vault behind them. The elevator finally reached the underground floor with a cheery ring. The troopers tensed up, their rifles at the ready. The metallic doors slid open to reveal a thick cloud of smoke spreading out, surprising them.

"Hold it..." The Knightmon sergeant ordered, eyeing the smoke cloud suspiciously. Then he heard two metallic thuds hitting the concrete floor. Two cylinders rolled by his feet. "Flashbang!"

Two deafening explosions blasted the soldiers' senses, the intense white flashes blinding them completely. They screamed in pain as their ears were assaulted by loud bells ringing from within. Suddenly, gunshots cracked and bodies started to fall.

"Open fire!" Knightmon shouted angrily while recovering from the flashbangs' effects.

The soldiers returned fire blindly, unable to get a clear line of sight of the incoming digimon. Weregarurumon X pounced on the first Commandramon, clawed at their face and ripped the rifle out of their grasps. He flipped the rifle shot the soldier three times to the chest. He switched target, a Sealsdramon, and fired four shots to the back and one to the head. Another Commandramon charged at him with a bayonet fixed on their rifle. He threw his weapon at their face, kicked their rifle away and slashed the digimon's throat.

He instinctively dodged beneath a sword strike by Knightmon. The heavy knight went for a kick, only to strike the air. He then felt intense pain cut across his back. He grimaced and turned around, missing Weregarurumon's silhouette. Another agonizing pain ripped across his left arm, pieces of his armour flew apart while he bled profusely. His face abruptly met Weregarurumon's fist, staggering the larger digimon back a few feet while pain shot through his face.

Spitting out blood through ragged breaths, Knightmon glared at his opponent, who grinned smugly while his soldiers were being executed by other terrorists.

"Face it, sergeant, you've failed your mission," The bipedal wolf taunted, "I would've let you a second chance to escape fate but I feel like ending you,"

"Good... at least we're on the same page..."

With all of his might and remaining strenght, Knightmon charged at the X-Antibody bearer, letting out a fearless and mighty battlecry. Weregarurumon X simply grinned and glided across the floor, his claws slicing through the knight before he could get him. Knightmon gasped in shock before falling to his knees and looking at his abdomen in a catatonic state. His chestplate was completely shredded, his abdomen clawed open as blood spilled out of the wounds like a fountain. Behind the knight was a black Exveemon, shouldering a combat shotgun and pointed at the digimon's back. A loud gunshot resonated as Exveemon neutralised the last D-Brigade soldier. The rogue Sealsdramon coldly watched the disappearing body.

"O' Twelve!" Weregarurumon X called him, "Report back to MetalFantomon and prepare for exfiltration, I want you to save as many of our own as possible," He instructed flatly.

"Sir yes sir!" Sealsdramon 012 replied sharply and ran back in the elevator.

Exveemon snorted in disgust once the cyborg commando was out of sight, "Still can't believe you recruited him," He commented with a frown.

"Well, he is an important asset to this op. Those two months of torture were worth the time so I would like you to shut it, Vee," Weregarurumon X retorted before he swiped the access card to the vault.

The large vault door hissed and whined as it slowly rolled out to the side, granting access to the terrorists. A large containment room welcomed them, filled to the brim with metal crates of ammunations and weapons, each divided and organized neatly in different categories. The flood lights on the ceiling automatically lit up, clearing the sheer size of the munition depot to the terrorists. Some of them were in awe at the sight.

Exveemon whistled in awe, "And they are storing nuclear weapons with the rest of them? That's not asking for a fuck up," He commented sarcastically, "By the Gods, that's very stupid on the D-Brigade's part,"

"Spread out and find those nukes. Some of you can set up charges around this area, time them at twelve minutes," Weregarurumon X ordered firmly, prompting the others to accomplish their tasks, "We don't have much time so hussle up people!"

Each ran through the aisles, checking briefly the crate's contents before moving on the next one. Shortly later, they managed to locate a dozen larger crates, each having a nuclear hazard symbol on them. Carefully and under their leader's supervision, they pulled the lid off of one crate.

"Huh? That's their nuclear bomb?" Exveemon asked, sounding quite disappointed upon seeing the three small devices.

"No, that the nukes' core that goes into the missiles," Weregarurumon X explained, "But even without the missiles, these cores can easily destroy half of the ME if handled carelessly,"

"Cool," Exveemon said with a childish grin.

"Alright, get them out of here and let's get the fuck out of here," The leader ordered. The terrorists obeyed quickly, taking the nukes and carefully storing them in smaller but fitting cases.

Their earphones buzzed in urgently, Metal Fantomon's voice echoing franctically to bring in the bad news.

"Hostiles breached our perimeter! We're overrun!"

"This place's already rigged with C4. Get everyone out of here now!" Weregarurumon X commanded sternly.

"Copy that, getting the fuck out of here. Good luck, s-" The line ended abruptly, followed by numerous gunshots erupting above them.

"Find us another exit point, fast!" He ordered a Fangmon, who nodded in reply and ran off. He faced Black Exveemon, a deep frown forming on his face, "I need your squad to hold them off for as long as possible. Can you do that?"

Exveemon snorted and offered an eager smile to his boss, "We're ready to give 'em hell, am I right, boys?"

"HAI!" His squadmates replied with determination.

"The rest of you, keep setting the charges and pull back to Fangmon when he finds an exit point. Exveemon, you come back to us as soon as I order you to. Got it?"

"Crystal clear, boss!"

The time was against them. The Shadow Brigade's assault force is being pushed back by D-Brigade reinforcements, now actively searching for any pockets of resistance to destroy on sight. Weregarurumon X's squad managed to find another elevator at the very back of the vault. Unfortunately, the D-Brigade reached the underground vault and engaged Exveemon's squad, greatly outnumbered and outgunned.

His digimon quickly made their way in the elevator, currently holding the door for their leader and comrades still in the fight.

"Exveemon, fall back now. You still have time and we can cover your retreat," Weregarurumon X instructed, getting concern for his comrades.

"Ah... Just go, sir... we can hold them off for awhile but - but we won't... make it..." Came Exveemon's ragged voice.

"No, there's still a chance. Retreat now while you can!"

"Not possible, sir... I'm hit and I've lost most of my guys. I can stall them for a couple more seconds so I suggest that... that you get the hell outta there... It has been an honour, sir,"

The canine digimon swore under his breath and ran back in the elevator, frustrated to sacrifice and abandon his companions.

Exveemon breathed rapidly, hissing as the pain was getting unbearable for him. He looked down at the wounds on his chest and right leg. Blood dripped through his weak fingers, his right leg twitched slightly. He clenched his teeth and huffed with effort to sit up against a munition crate, hearing the soldiers' boots hitting the concrete floor. He grabbed the assault rifle next to him and mentally readied himself for his desperate last stand.

"Hostile spotted!" He heard a soldier report, a dozen meters away from him.

The D-Brigade troopers instinctively formed a firing line at the remaining terrorist, one of them had line of sight of the digimon's left leg.

"Surrender, criminal, while you still can!" An officer announced with an authoritative voice, "We promise to not harm you in exchange for your surrender and intel on Weregarurumon X,"

Exveemon laughed weakly in response, "You really think I would give up and betray my boss? Who the fuck do you think I am?" The officer scowled at his rude reply, "I know how you idiots operate, I used to be a trooper just like you, served twenty years in the D-Brigade..."

The officer signalled his troops to advanced cautiously. Rifles up and aimed at Exveemon, the soldiers slowly closed the distance. Shots rang out suddenly as the wounded digimon opened fire, hitting a soldier in the knee. The others quickly backed away, some fired suppressive shots, pinning Exveemon behind his cover. The wounded Sealsdramon was shortly dragged away by their teammates. The officer grunted impatiently and scowled at Exveemon's direction.

"It's no use fighting back, you're just a digimon. We've outnumbered you... I'm letting you one last chance to surrender,"

Exveemon laughed hysterically in response, confusing the D-Brigade troopers. "You think I'm alone? From the way I see it, I see four..." He then continued to laugh.

"See four...?" The officer asked to himself, not understanding the terrorist and slowly losing his patience.

Then it clicked in his head once a soldier swore franctically. "OH SHIT! I.E-"

The C4 charges detonated, creating a huge and deadly chain reaction as the explosion grew bigger in force. The underground facility crumbled and blew apart, the sheer force of the explosion bursted through the bunker-like ceiling and destroying the upper levels, levelling the entire building in an intense and uncontrollable inferno. The earth beneath their feet shook violently, sending heavy tremors throughout the base and farther away into the wilderness and fields. The powerful blast produced an equally mighty shockwave that rippled strongly through the land, knocking down nearby forests. Finally came the ear-shattering, earth trembling, thunderous boom. The sound was blasted into the sky, strong enough to shatter windows at nearby villages whose inhabitants all woke up with a jump as they felt the tremors of the explosion.

Those brave and curious enough walked out of their homes and looked in the distance at the dead of night, shocked as they witness a large and tall, black and fiery mushroom cloud of ash, dust, debris and fire rising up to the sky.

News of this deadly and catastrophic attack reached Chaosdramon the next morning, infuriating the emperor the very moment he got up.

Steelheim was badly scarred by last night's attack. Hundreds of D-Brigade soldiers secured the district around the embassy, establishing checkpoints on every major crossroads. The embassy was now a crumbling and ashen carcass, smoke still lingered in the air, rising from the small embers. The ambassadors, mayor and most of the evening guests were already escorted to a safer location. Gaioumon and SaviorHackmon were helping out the emergency medical teams sort out and evacuate the wounded while Raijinmon took command of the D-Brigade quick reaction force.

Alphamon paced around the back courtyard, waiting impatiently for a response from his QRF back in the Sword Zone. Dukemon sat down on the grass, a water bottle in one hand while his head rested on his arm, drained from the attack. Meanwhile for Duftmon, he was taken care of by EMT personel from an improvised medical station installed in the front courtyard.

Finally, his earphone buzzed to life, receiving an answer from one of his knights.

"Alphamon, come in. This is Examon, do you copy?"

"Five by five, Examon. What's the sitrep on your end?"

"Not good. We've lost seven of our guys, more than three dozen from our allies. The terrorists managed to breach through security and overwhelm local police. What about you?"

"Same..." He replied with a sigh, "The embassy is destroyed, the whole district is under D-Brigade control and Duftmon is injured. We're trying to figure out just what happened,"

"Well I hate to be the bringer of bad news. We just got word from Karatenmon that the ME's nuclear depot was raided and destroyed... These attacks were distractions,"

"Goddamnit..." Alphamon muttered under his breath, "Alright, standby at the base until further notice, we're returning back to you and plan out our next course of action," He instructed firmly.

"Copy that. Be careful, Alphamon, and good luck out there," Examon said sincerely before the line went dead.

"Luck doesn't exist at this side of the border," The black knight said to himself.

"So, what's the status?" Dukemon asked behind him with a yawn.

Alphamon turned around and let a small smile appear on his lips, "Glad you're awake... Not good all around, Chaosdramon will surely be furious right now,"

"Great..." Dukemon said dryly as he stood back, "Not like we needed more trouble... Now what?"

"For now, we're going to lay low. We'll regroup with Examon and Rhodoknightmon and then meet up with Angewomon. But first we need to get Duftmon back,"

"I'm already here," Duftmon said plainly, surprising the two others.

Dukemon stood up and stared at him with concerned eyes, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dukemon, can't you see I walked to find you two?" He retorted dryly.

"Great to see you too... too bad they didn't fix your attitude..." Dukemon muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," The tactician turned to Alphamon, "When are we leaving?"

"Since you're fine and well, I guess we can head back to the hotel and catch a Locomon at around noon," The black knight proposed after some thought, "Does that sound like a plan?"

Duftmon nodded while Dukemon simply shrugged in response. "Then we're leaving,"

While the Royal Knights were taking their leave and the D-Brigade and EMTs were able to reestablish security and help the civilians respectively under Raijinmon's supervision, things were calming down. As for the two TEAR operatives, they managed to slip away from security, avoiding the Storm Commander's interrogation and conducted their own investigation, regarding a certain shooter from last night.

Gaioumon followed SaviorHackmon as the latter pursued the trail of evidence highlighted by his goggles, guiding them towards the sniper's location on the rooftop of a semi-abandonned apartment. Although they were certain that the sniper was long gone, they expected to find at least some clues on the sniper's identity and hopefully their escape route, a trail that could lead the two operatives to them or a hideout.

Reaching the stairway accessing to the rooftop, SaviorHackmon slowed down his pace and stopped just at the door. Gaioumon halted just behind him, giving the sergeant a questionning look. The dragon knight looked around him carefully before he faced the lieutenant, his black shades completely covering his eyes.

"Coast's clear," He reported before he opened the door.

As expected, the rooftop was empty apart from a few puddles of water and a couple of pots of dead plants. SaviorHackmon immediately headed for a specific spot on the rooftop, kneeling down and stared at the ground.

"How did you know it was clear?" Gaioumon asked after a minute of silence passed.

"Hmm? Oh... My glasses have built-in scanners and infrared visions. I can see through walls, identify digimon from a dozen meters and I could analyse a crime scene on the spot. It's a very useful gadget," He informed with a small grin.

"Did you built it?" The black samurai asked curiously while observing their surroundings.

"Well, I did have some help from friends... I based the model on my mentor's glasses while a geeky nun known as Sistermon Blanc helped me program it," SaviorHackmon told with a nostalgic smile.

Gaioumon approached the knight and knelt beside him. Taking a whiff of the air, he could smell a faint odor of gunpowder. He looked around to find some traces of gunpowder on the ground beneath him with three crushed cigarette butts.

"They had time to smoke," He noted, to which Saviorhackmon nodded in agreement, picking one and staring at it intently. In other words, analysing the piece of evidence.

"About half an hour before the attack. They must've been waiting for a signal after setting up their rifle," He concluded as a matter-of-fact.

"But the question is: what happened next?" Gaioumon continued, standing back up to examine carefully the rooftop, "There's no way we will catch them. They must've exited right after the first shot,"

SaviorHackmon hummed and stood up, throwing the discarded cigarette on the ground, "From what I could gather, the sniper is a male Baalmon, unregistered in any ME or Sword Zone citizenship archives," He informed Gaioumon.

"So he's not a local... possibly a mercenary," Gaioumon suggested after some thought.

"That is highly probable – Ah ha!" The knight abruptly cheered.

"What is it?"

"After analysing the scene and gathering all the traces we've got, I regrouped the evidences to then detect the smell, thus creating a trail," Gaioumon tilted his head to the side in confusion, "The sniper may rid us of any visual traces but smell lingers on, especially gunpowder and nicotine. These odor are heavy and tend to stick on digimon. With my glasses, I can visually track down the smell he left behind like a Garurumon," He explained clearly, unable to hold a smile of pride.

"Then lead the way, mutt," Gaioumon teased with a grin of his own.

With a nod, SaviorHackmon followed the trail. From what he could deduce, the sniper made his escape by jumping off to another rooftop and so on. Navigating their way carefully on the many rooftops of the neighbourhood, they found themselves near an abandonned warehouse two klicks away from the embassy, secluded from the other buildings and bordered by chain-linked fences, wrapped with light blue covers from a construction company, probably to renovate or destroy the place.

A perfect hideout for any assassin to lay low while being relatively close to the target.

A wide gap was between them and the warehouse's roof. SaviorHackmon calculated the distance, figuring out when and where to jump and how to land without falling off. Gaioumon stood beside him, staring down the gap and the narrow alleyway beneath them.

"Do we have any company?" He asked plainly.

The knight shifted his gaze to the abandonned building, scanning for any lifeforms, "Negative, lieutenant. We're the only ones here," He answered shortly after, much to his relief.

Gaioumon hadn't spoken, instead he took a couple of steps back, out of SaviorHackmon's view.

"What are you-"

The sergeant was interrupted as Gaioumon sprinted pass him and jumped over the wide gap and landed on the other roof with a roll. The officer rose up and shrugged off some of the dust and dirt on his armour. He gazed back at him stoically.

"Are you going to stand there or are you going to join me?" He asked loud enough for the stunned operative to hear him.

"R-right... coming over in just a few, lieutenant!" He replied and took a few steps back.

He breathed slowly, calming his nerves and mind. His glasses displayed him the suitable trajectory to make it to the other roof and informed its wearer that he had an 82 percent chance of success.

"Okay... I can do this..." He said dreadfully.

He hesitated for a bit before running at full speed. His bladed feet slammed hard against the concrete ground, each footstep gave off more momentum to send him flying. Just over the edge of the rooftop, his mechanical and strong legs bent down before springing to action, throwing him over the gap. The jump was a success, but the landing was another story.

Having no actual feet, upon landing, one of his feet scraped the ground on the side, making him stumble backwards and towards the gap. Flailing his arms around to stabilise, his other foot stepped on his cape and tugged him back to the empty space. He let out a yelped but was instantly caught and pulled over before he could fall off.

"Wow, that was close!" He exclaimed with relief.

"For fuck sake, watch where you land your feet!" Gaioumon scolded him, "You may have fancy glasses but you should really be careful where you land. And get rid of that god damn cape or shorten it at least,"

"Yes, lieutenant," The knight nodded with embarrassment, feeling humiliated to be scolded on like a child after a mistake was made.

The seasoned operative shook his head before he led him to a window panel, unlocking it and pushed it open, giving them access to the catwalk. It was a short and straight fall, so the chances of missing the target were slim. Going first, Gaioumon landed on the iron catwalk with a resounding 'clang', echoing louder through the warehouse. SaviorHackmon followed suit, the catwalk shook lightly beneath their feet.

After some time, they managed to get their way to the ground floor and resumed to follow the tracks.

"God, this place's a dump," Gaioumon commented with disgust as he looked around the building.

Parts of the roof were gone, some of the ceiling windows were broken with pieces of sharp glass scattered haphazardly on the ground.

"Are you sure he's in this place?" He asked doubtfully.

"Positive... though it is intriguing that I have no visual of him. The trails suggest that he was present in this very building minutes before," SaviorHackmon informed.

"Then he should be close. We might have a chance to get him,"

As if on cue, the sound of creaking metal caught their attention. Turning behind them, to the warehouse's office at the very back of the building, they spotted a figure opening and closing the door, as if not noticing the two operatives. They immediately recognized the digimon as Baalmon.

Baalmon took a step forward, looked up and instantly froze, eyes as wide as a deer caught in headlights. There were five solid minutes of awkward silence between them, the air was so thick that they could pratically hear each other's breathing.

The cloaked digimon took a step back, the operatives took a step forward. Baalmon glanced around him for a quick exit. Gaioumon slowly raised his hands as if to show no aggression.

"Easy there, bud, we just want to talk. We can guarantee you our protection if you're worried about D-Brigade feds," The officer negociated in a diplomatic tone.

For a moment, no one moved a muscle. All of the sudden, Baalmon swiftly pulled out a handgun, shot Gaioumon and ran back in the office. The bullet scraped Gaioumon's helmet, staggering him. SaviorHackmon was shocked to move and looked at his superior officer with concern.

"Don't just fucking stand there! GET HIM! NOW!" Gaioumon shouted sternly.

Without a word, he obeyed his command and sprinted after the sniper. He kicked the office's door open just in time to see Baalmon exiting through the back door. Kicking the other door open, he caught sight of Baalmon and pursued him through the narrow alleyway. Baalmon threw to the side bins to slow the operative down. SaviorHackmon simply jumped over them, catching up to him.

The sniper made a hard right, ending up at a dead end, blocked off by a wall. He frantically climbed over it, SaviorHackmon caught him and grabbed hold of his left foot. In a panic, Baalmon kicked the operative hard on the face, freeing his other foot. Dazed, SaviorHackmon quickly scaled over the wall and continued the chase. They both ended up in the open street, in broad daylight where hundreds of civilians walked towards their destination.

The chase was followed with a chorus of surprised screams and angered swearing as the two digimon pushed through the sea of civilians. Baalmon was having a hard time to get rid of the dragon knight and opted to change his course of action with a simple objective: fuck the hideouts and run as far as he can.

Reaching the marketplace, Baalmon bumped into a police officer. He threw the officer at SaviorHackmon and jumped over a merchant's stall. The latter leapt over the fallen police officer, not taking his eyes off of his target. Baalmon pulled down every stall behind him and threw as many fruits, vegetables and toys back at SaviorHackmon but to no avail. The TEAR operative passed through each obstacle with fluid motion, not a single breathe wasted.

Running out of options and reaching the edge of town, Baalmon decided to take his chance and escape through the countryside. He spotted a construction site and ran towards it. He vaulted over the entrance bar, much to the guard's protest and orders, and sprinted down the dirt and muddy path.

"We've got an intruder, all units respond to sector 5!" The guard reported to the rest of his team, "Code- OH COME ON!" He shouted angrily as SaviorHackmon jumped over the entrance bar, "We have two intruders, I'm on pursuit!"

Comically, the chase now had three runners; Baalmon's pursuer now had his own pursuer. SaviorHackmmon looked back in annoyance and set his sights back on Baalmon. The cloaked digimon was closing in on the edge of the construction site, only to be jumped at by two guards. The operative was going to help them, only to be pounced on by the security officer pursuing him.

"You're under arrest, motherfuc-AAAAH!"

In one fluid and swift motion, Saviorhackmon grabbed hold of his arm and threw him to the ground, immobilising the shocked guard.

"Sorry," He said plainly and resumed the chase.

Baalmon knocked one guard and fired the second to the kneecap. He turned around and fired more rounds at SaviorHackmon. The operative raised his forearms ahead of him, shrugging off the incoming bullets.

"Fuck!" Baalmon swore and threw the pistol at him, which by random chance hit his pursuer square on the face, dazing him a second time.

While he climbed over the fence and slid down a muddy slope, SaviorHackmon was attacked by another group of guards. With a groan, he dispatched all four of them efficiently without receiving a single hit. Once done with them, he climbed over the fence, landed on his feet with a grunt and slid down the slope. The dirt slope led him and his target to a busy railroad of a dozen tracks wide where hundreds of Locomon and Trailmon pass by every minute.

Losing his patience, SaviorHackmon's eyes narrowed at Baalmon and chased after him, who was already halfway at the other side of the railroad. He leapt over the small border wall, jumped over one railway and running through the second. Going through the third, he heard a Locomon blaring their horns at him, closing in on him in seconds. He rolled forward just in time to dodge them. Passing the fourth and fifth tracks, he could see that Baalmon was having a hard time passing the railroad, slowing down his pace to avoid being crushed to a mush.

Another blaring horn brought his attention back on the tracks, the operative halted just at the side as a Locomon sped in front of him, the strong winds almost knocking off his feet.

"Asshole!" He heard them yell at him furiously as they pass him.

Once clear, he jumped over the seventh track, then the eighth, catching up to Baalmon. The assassin was about to jump over but was suddenly tugged back in mid-air. He fell roughly on his back but instinctively rolled to the side, dodging a stump from his pursuer. He tackled SaviorHackmon to the ground, punched him across his cheek and made his mad dash over the track.

The operative didn't slow down after the hit. He dove over the track just before a Trailmon could run over him. He grabbed Baalmon's arm and took an elbow strike to the face. In response he swiped his leg across his feet, knocking the sniper down. Baalmon kicked him back, only to miss and recieve a punch to the guts. Swiftly, he pulled out his knife and swiped the blade at Saviorhackmon's arm. Sparks jolted out of the armour but had no damage. The operative did however stepped back, getting cautious as Baalmon stood up and faced him with a glare, a blade in hand ready to spill his blood.

With deft skills, Baalmon launched first, slicing and swiping at Saviorhackmon, who could only block or dodge them. Sparks flew out, the knife slowly chipping away at his armour. Distracted, Baalmon thrusted the knife at the operative's shoulder. He parried the strike, pushing the arm away from him and his foe, and sent his armoured knee to Baalmon's torso. The powerful strike knocked to winds out of his lungs, his body bent over by the sheer force. SaviorHackmon then twisted his wrist holding the knife, cracking it painfully. No scream came out as Baalmon shortly took a hit on the face and then knocked back on the ground. SaviorHackmon knelt down on him, pressing forcefully a knee on his chest and struck him once again on his face.

Too weak to fight back, SaviorHackmon pulled him back to his feet and together they crossed the last two tracks across the railroad. He ungracefully dropped Baalmon on the ground beside him, intentionally making him fall on a pile of mud that stained his ragged, white robes. He bent down and began to search through his robes.

Baalmon moaned in pain, his face throbbing and nose bleeding, but that didn't stop him to make a sly comment about the operative's action.

"Hey, you didn't ask for my consent, that could be considered as rape, y'know..."

"Shut up."

"But I'm willing to shut my mouth if you want som-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Saviorhackmon slapped him across his cheek, sending more throbbing pain.

"I said shut up!"

"Ah fuck! Okay, okay, easy there!" Baalmon protested, grabbing hold of Saviorhackmon's hand with his good and unbroken hand.

The operative stopped and glared at him, "Let go of my hand if you don't want me to bust your face in," He warned darkly.

"Look, buddy, can't you see I'm trying to cooperate here! I surrender now let me explain," The knight made no comment to protest or agree, "I'm an undercover agent, I'm on your side and since you caught me, my cover is blown... thanks to you," Baalmon said with a scowl.

"I don't believe you," SaviorHackmon replied incredulously.

"Check my dog tags... Well go on, you're already groping me so don't hesitate," Baalmon retorted sarcastically.

"This is ridiculous..." He muttered as he searched through the sniper's robes, running his hands across his chest.

At the same time, Gaioumon finally arrived, running towards them before he slowed down and bent down, resting his hands on his knees while catching his breath.

"Holy crap... You guys went far, fast..." He commented through heavy and laboured pants, "The hell you're doing to him?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Groping me – Searching him," They both responded at the same time.

"You, shut up," Gaioumon ordered Baalmon sternly, "And why are you searching him?"

"He said he's on our side. I presume he's some sort of fed or spy..." SaviorHackmon then stopped talking, looked down and pulled out a necklace with two dog tags attached to it.

He took a closer inspection, his goggles scanned the name, serial number and symbol. Once the scan was over, the AI displayed the results and he didn't like them.

"Crap..."

"What?"

"He's from the Royal Knights..." He answered with dread and disbelief.

Baalmon gazed at the two operatives with a smug grin, "And I guess you two aren't just CNS peace inspectors... no POG can run this fast and for so long," He commented with amusement.

Gaioumon knelt down and pulled Baalmon by the collar, staring at him with a dark and intimidating expression, "For the last time, shut up. You're going to explain once we get back to camp Tolkien. So for now on, you're under our custody and under arrest. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes sir!" Baalmon replied nervously.

SaviorHackmon stood up and rubbed his right shoulder, relaxing his aching muscles, "By the way, lieutenant, how did you get here so fast?"

"I took shortcuts," Gaioumon replied with a shrug, "While you idiots ran around and caused trouble, I found an underground tunnel just behind the warehouse that led directly here. I'm pretty sure that now the police are on our asses. Let's get the fuck out of here,"

"Aye, lieutenant," Saviorhackmon agreed with an exhausted sigh.

Author's Note: *Gasp* QUOI?! Another chapter this early?! So yeah... I just felt like posting this chapter though future updates won't be frequent, it could take a week or more, it depends really if I'm satisfied with what I'm writing and time (I do want to enjoy my holiday at the same time) I hope you enjoyed this story so far. If so please leave a review if you want. It could really help me or you could give me some advice or ideas, I'm open to anything. As always, à la prochaine!