Chapter 8:

Semper Fidelis

With most of the major cities under IDDF control after fighting for 48 hours straight, air bombings and artillery bombardments were called in more frequently by those who are still fighting. With more available and frequent support and reinforcements, the last city soon fell under the IDDF after another 24 hours of constant fighting. With the supply routes cut off by the americans and the region's capital liberated, the imperial legion was forced to retreat out of the territory. Thus the Dramon Republic was liberated, striking a huge blow to the Imperium's war effort but at a great cost:

IDDF casualties:

approx. 900 KIA, 1900 wounded.

500 imperials captured.

With the loss of an important territory, the IDDF expects the Imperium to launch a massive counter-attack if they don't act first.

FOB Ginza, 20 km away from the frontlines.

Sgt. Flamedramon was sipping quietly his cup of coffee, enjoying his time away from the warzone. Yet it didn't stopped him from feeling a bit annoyed at his superior officers. He respects and admires them, there's no doubt about that, but why is he the one to babysit every single civilian they find. After sipping his coffee he looks back at the two digimon sitting across the mess hall table, staring at him in curiosity. He let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes with his right hand, a headache was building up inside his head.

"Let me guess, you guys have questions." Tentomon and Gatomon both nodded slowly. "Well... ask then."

They both lit up like a christmas tree as they bombard him with questions:

"How long have you been in the army ?"

"Do you have a tamer ?"

"Why are you wearing armour ?"

"Where are your armoured gloves ?"

"Why are you wearing pants ?"

Flamedramon then noticed Guilmon sitting next to him with his own tray of food. Guilmon chuckled as he looks at his friend's attitude.

"Cheer up, Flamey. At least you're not ordered to really take care of them." Said the red dino trying to cheer up his friend.

"For the last time, don't call me 'Flamey'. You know I hate that nickname." Groaned lightly Flamedramon.

"And that is why I keep calling you that." Guilmon gave the blue dramon a childish grin.

"You sick and cruel digimon. I knew it there was a dark force behind your immature character." Flamedramon said dramatically as he playfully punched Guilmon's right shoulder.

"Hey, can you look after them for a few minutes, please? I'm going to take a nap." He then asked.

"Yeah right, as if I'll let you do such a thing." Replied Guilmon as he starts eating his lunch.

"You've ask for it..." Flamedramon faintly said before he turned at the two other digimon. "Hey, did you guys know that this digimon is currently dating Renamon?" He asked them loudly and obnoxiously.

"Wait, how did you-?" Asked Guilmon, caught completely off guard and turning redder then his scales.

Tentomon and Gatomon gasped in awe before they turned to Guilmon and asked him an overload of questions about his relationship with Renamon. Before the red dino could even respond, he spotted Flamedramon already on his way out of the mess hall.

"Really, Flamedramon?!" He shouted in frustration.

"Semper fi, Guilmon! Semper fi!" He shouted back with a huge grin.

Navy corpsman Hal "Holiday" Eugene sat down behind his desk with a pen and medical reports in his hands. He took quick glances at the reports before finally facing Izumi and Hikari who sat silently across the medic.

"How are you feeling, kid?" He asked, metionning Izzy.

"Fine, sir." He replied bluntly.

"Did you both had a good sleep?"

The two teens hesistantly nodded, unsure if they answered truthfully.

"Are you sure? You can tell me anything. It's quite normal if you two have night terrors, it's not a sign of weakness or that you're unusual." He informed them, hinting them to tell the truth. "Marines do have them after all..." He added for emphasis.

Izumi sighed in defeat before he spoke up with a small tremble in his voice: "I-I might have some... night terrors..."

"I understand, you've been through hell. Both of you." Eugene then looks at Hikari. "Miss Yagami, do you mind if you leave us alone for the time being? It won't be long and I've ordered the guards to escort you to the mess hall."

"N-no, not at all..." She nervously replied. She stood up from her seat and walked out of Eugene's office, heading towards the mess hall with two marines by her side.

"Do you remember anything in your night terrors?" He asked after a small moment of silence.

"They were more like memories instead of night terrors..." Answered Izzy with head hung down, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"Just take your time, Izumi." Comforted the medic as he gives the teenager a cup of water.

Izzy eagerly sipped down the entire cup before he started to tell Eugene what he remembered:

We were walking down some sort of military base, I can tell by the number of soldiers and equipment present in the area... I think it was two months after our capture in Odaiba, and for unknown reasons it was the only time that they didn't blinded our eyes. We were in Armoury Field, all of us together with our digimon, tied up. Once we entered the building, they seperated us from our partners as they were escorted to one side of the building and us the other.

I think it was a week later that they were talking about moving some of us out, and it was also at that time I received beatings from some of the guards. They kicked me to my ribs, punch me and even use metal poles for several minutes before leaving me on the floor. They said something about moving some of us to Saderna? Sardina... and to camp 105, I think it was that... They moved Hikari, Mimi and Joe two weeks later to that city. The day you guys invaded the area, they rushed everyone out of the building to relocate. However, they might have forgotten about me and... well you know the rest of the story...

In the FOB's prison building, lieutenant Raymond went through the reception and prison entry security checks before finally arriving to the prison cells. Most of POWs in the cells were chained and disarmed but were at least given food and water by the military police. He passed through the cells, giving quick glances at the cells before stopping to one specific cell. The detainee was a Strikedramon with his helmet and armour confiscated by the marines. The commando dragon looked at him curiously.

"Master Sergeant Strikedramon?" He asked with a stern stare. In response the digimon simply gave him a nod. "Take him to the interrogation room." He ordered as two MPs got in his cell, binded his arms behind his back and escorted the digimon.

Once they were in the room, the guards dropped the digimon on a chair and left the room as the lieutenant ordered them to. The human sat across the digimon in the small room, with only two chairs and a thin metal table present in that room. The Lieutenant placed a folder on the table and reads it out loud.

"Master Sergeant Strikedramon. Served in the 5th Mechanised Infantry Battalion of the 41st Legion. Part of C company, team leader of unit 23. You were ordered to take care of human prisoners, which you beat them every night. You were also ordered to hold your grounds in the defense of Armoury Field, to which you simply abandonned your post and ran away like a bitch instead of dying for your glorious emperor."

He stared at the digimon sternly which made him flinch a little. Raymond placed the folder down and looked at the digimon with a cold stare.

"Though I really do want to kill you on the spot, I am an open minded kind of guy so I'm willing to give you a second chance. I don't know if you digimon have rules of war but where I come from there is this thing called the "Geneva Convention"; basically war rules. And so, you are protected by this convention because this is the humane thing to do."

"... What do you want from me?" Strikedramon asked curiously.

"Tell us where you've relocated the prisoners. Answer truthfully or face severe consequences. And don't make me lose my patients." Raymond warned sternly.

"Or else what?" Asked Strikedramon with a smug smile. "You can't harm me, you just said so."

"Oh I know but I'm not the one who's going to teach you a lesson." Answered Raymond as he gave Strikedramon a sadistic smile. "However, she can and she will."

And on cue, BlackRenamon appeared out of nowhere behind the prisoner. Strikedramon jumped out of fright and looks nervously between the human and the black vixen.

"She's not part of our military nor is she part of any military." Added Raymond. "And I think you know the reputation Renamon have when it comes to fighting capabilities and their personality, especially the females."

Strikedramon gulped loudly, his confident and cool behaviour soon vanished once he laid his eyes on the black vixen. But he remained loyal to his Imperium, giving Raymond the silent treatment.

"A strong silent type?" Mused the lieutenant. "You do know you're making this worst for yourself, right? And besides, I don't think the Imperium is ever going to send their soldiers to rescue a few dozen digimon. You're dead to them." He informed before gave a hand signal at BlackRenamon.

She grabbed hold of Strikedramon's red hair, pulling them harshly downward, making him gasped in pain. She shoved a ball of cloth down on his mouth to muffle his cries. His head was forced to the table before receiving a strike to his right ribs.

His breath choked on his neck, feeling an intense throbbing on his ribs. She lifted his head upwards and violently punched him across his right cheek, his vision began to blur from the level of pain.

Raymond leaned forward from his seat. "Are you going to talk now?" He asked with a false smile. Strikedramon remained silent in defiance.

"We can do this all day long." Raymond muttered under his breath before he allowed BlackRenamon to resume her torture.

She nodded back at him with a sly sadistic smile. She tossed the dragon on the cold paved floor, standing above him as she cracked her knuckles. She stared down at her prey with daggers pointed at him.

She stomped forcefully between his legs, the dragon released a pained growl. She knelt hardly on his ribcages before she started to strike him with fists full of bottled up rage.

Raymond waited patiently for several minutes, looking through his smartphone idly. After a few more punches, BlackRenamon hauled Strikedramon up and placed him back at his seat. The digimon prisoner was covered in bruises and bled profusely from his nostrils and on the corners on his mouth. She pulled out the gag cloth, prompting Strikedramon to gasp greedily for air.

He panted heavily before spitting some blood on the floor. He was tired, stained with his own blood. Meanwhile, BlackRenamon casually wiped her bloodied, white furred paws with some water.

"Do you want to talk or do you want to keep your mouth shut?" Asked Raymond while tucking his personal phone on his trousers' pocket.

"I'll talk." He answered with a raspy and weak voice.

Raymond gave the keys to the black vixen to uncuff Strikedramon. Once his hands were free he massaged them, the skin marked by the tight handcuffs. Raymond placed a map of the region on the table.

The dragon digimon observed the map carefully, trying to remember the locations as he browses on the map.

"There," He pointed at a specific location on the map. "this is where you'll find camp 105, located in a cave on top of a small rocky mountain." He then shifted his finger to another location. "We've also relocated some of them at the Red District in Monodramonville."

"Where exactly?" Asked Raymond inquisitively.

"At a local mercenary pub. This place is a safe haven for drug dealings, slave tradings, mercenaries and gangs, you name them. The area is currently under the control of the Black Devils company." Strikedramon informed him with a hint of dread.

"See? That wasn't so bad." He then stood up from his seat and cuffed the digimon back. "Thank you for your cooperation, Master Sergeant." He said sarcastically.

"Fuck you." The digimon responded venomously.

Raymond ordered the vixen to leave the room. After she vanished from sight, he called out the MP guards so they can escort the prisoner back to his cell. He met her again outside of the building.

"You think he's telling the truth?" She asked with some doubt as she walks with Raymond.

"Well, if he didn't, we'll just come back and 'ask' him again." He answered with a small smile on his face.

"Where are you heading now?"

"Headquarters, the higher ups will probably send Special Forces to rescue the missing children."

"And what makes you think they're still alive?" She asked as she slowed down her pace before stopping in her tracks.

He stopped and turned around with a confident smirk on his face. "For a Renamon, you sure do ask a lot. To answer your question, Semper fi."

"What does-"

"It means 'Always faithful' in latin. We're marines, it's what we do."

He then continued to walk towards the headquarters, leaving the black vixen alone on the dirt road.

"Listen up, your mission is clear. Take out the guards and help the Rangers to rescue the missing children of Japan. They have been in captivity for several months now and we will bring them back home alive. Protect them with your lives! You're the SFG, the elites of the JSDF, the shadow warriors that will install fear to the enemy. Strike them down from the darkness!"

The operators of the SFG unit "Assassin" stood up from their seats once the interior lights turned red, prompting them to ready for the jump. The low buzzing of the C-130 aircraft shook lightly. The rear ramp slowly pulled down, revealing the pitch dark sky of the Digital World, the data streams at the atmosphere provided little to no light.

1st Lieutenant Yuuki "Chaplain"stood near the edge of the ramp, observing calmly down at the void darkness. He looked back at his team, they were all ready to jump. They may be younger than the already forty year old lieutenant but they showed and proved him that they were capable for any mission.

Seconds later the lights turned green. Time to jump out. With a swift hand execution from their commander, the nine other operators leaped out of the aircraft. With the last operator out, Yuuki gave a thumb ups at the JASDF crewman beside him and jumped out.