The Long Winter: Chapter 4
** Disclaimer: I don't own digimon, never will. Just did this for fun, and I promise not to sell it. So there.
** Author's notes: I feel I need to clarify something. This is an action/adventure fic. Sure, I like Takari, but in a story such as this, it's just a side-theme. I can't afford to spend too much time on it, or the story will drag on forever. Takari will appear again, but don't expect too much. Perhaps after I'm finished this series I'll go ahead and write a pure Takari, focusing completely on those two. (That would be fun!) Well, for those who'd just settle on TK, he appears again in this chapter, and the chapter after this.
Another thing, for those of you who think Willis need's a reality check, well, I apologize for the Willis bashing, if that's what it came off as. I didn't mean it that way. Have some pity for the kid, he's been lost and alone, living the life of a refugee, probably witnessed people dying by the thousands in front of his eyes, for 5 months!
Oh, and Kale… "FAITH OF MY FATHER'S" WAS WAY COOL! I'm sure you've already seen my review, so I won't talk about it too much now. But the epilogue was just soooo touching, so befitting of such a great fic. *pant…pant* you'll have to excuse me, I'm still a little in shock after reading it, so I might sound a little hyper.
Well, on with my own (and suddenly seemingly terrible in comparison) story…
The savage winter storm howled through the empty streets of Tokyo. The sky was a miserable gray black, bleak and hopeless. Snowdrifts piled up everywhere, and the wind whipped the snow into stinging needles. Its lonely moan resounded in the ears of the small party as they trudged against the elements. Visibility was nil.
TK shifted his grip on his staff nervously as he scanned the streets, turning his head this way and that, trying to see through the blinding snow. Matt and Gabumon were leading the small group, his father and Mark brought up the rear. Kari and Gatomon padded along silently beside TK. Joe and Jim had stayed behind to guard the hideout. Patamon, perched on his usual spot on TK's head, noticed.
"TK, calm down! I'm getting dizzy up here..."
TK took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and let it back out. He watched as his breath trailed behind him as he walked. "You're right."
The small group slipped silently through the streets. Night was approaching, and it was beginning to get dark. The howling wind blew stinging needles of snow into their faces, causing their eyes to tear. Matt had timed it that way. If we're discovered, then in the dark and snow, we'd have a better chance of getting away. TK was forced to agree with his brother's reasoning, but it made him nervous nonetheless, not being able to see farther than his hand. For once, the weather's on our side, he reminded himself silently. Shifting his grip on his staff again, he stepped around a large crater, and continued on his way.
He looked back to see how his father was doing. His Dad and Mark walked grimly, not talking unless absolutely necessary. The streets were a dangerous place, especially at night. Mark shifted the bag on his shoulders, carefully rearranging the laptop strapped to his back, and trudged on, head bowed against the wind.
TK turned back, and concentrated on his own walking, squinting his eyes against the blinding snow. Normally, he wouldn't be this nervous. Cautious sure, but he had run enough missions along with the group to know what he was doing. Yet this time was different.
Mark and his father, Kevin Ishida, had finally found the key to penetrating Diaboromon's firewall. They had built their own little hacker's program on the computer back at the base, and then had uploaded it onto the laptops that they now carried on their backs. Matt had almost jumped with excitement when they'd told him that they were ready to try it out. TK supposed he could understand.
If the firewall could be penetrated, and they could get online without being detected, then the implications were enormous. The information they could gain alone would be well worth the effort. Troop movements, how Diaboromon managed to transport digimon from the digital world, his plans for the rest of the city, for the rest of the world, patrol patterns, schedules, shifts...all that would be available at the touch of a key. And that was only the beginning.
With a little luck, they could upload viruses if they wanted to, wreak havoc with his network, screw up his communications, disrupt his army...the possibilities were endless. They could even send false orders to his troops. That is, if it worked.
TK again scanned the street nervously, his gloved hands tightening on his staff. All he could see was blinding snow. The blizzard cloaked everything in an obscuring white haze. Adjusting his communicator, he made sure that the safety was on. They had each been given one, basically walkie-talkies, but had been told not to use them unless absolutely necessary. Diaboromon would be able to track the signals.
He felt like he was one huge spring, wound up tighter than it was supposed to go, ready to snap at the slightest provocation. The problem was that if they didn't manage to penetrate the firewall successfully, Diaboromon would be able to track them instantly. They had all concluded that it was too dangerous to try it back at the base. If they failed, then they would have to set up camp elsewhere, since Diaboromon would surely be able to pinpoint their location. The base wouldn't be a secret anymore.
Ahead, Matt abruptly stopped. They had arrived. Through the blizzard, TK saw his lanky form hold up a hand. The entire troupe instantly froze, and flattened themselves against the wall. Matt looked at Kari, and nodded towards the building ahead. The small resistance had grown so close that vocal commands were no longer necessary. Simple gestures were understood just as well. Kari darted ahead into the blinding snow, with Gatomon close by her heels, and disappeared into the building. TK watched her slim form anxiously as it disappeared into the darkness, then turned back to scanning the streets. Not a single word was exchanged.
The storm howled on.
Several minutes later, Kari appeared in the doorway again. She made an OK sign with her hand, and motioned the others in. Matt silently led the rest of the group inside the building. TK stepped out of the blinding blizzard with a sigh of relief, and brushed the snow off his jacket.
"All clear." Kari said to Matt. "I didn't see anything changed from last time we were here. No people, no gangs, no bugs. It's safe."
Matt nodded brusquely. "TK, stay here and guard this doorway. Kari, take Gatomon and keep a lookout on the roof for incoming air patrols. You know where to find us." With that, he turned and walked deeper into the building with Gabumon at his heels, his father and Mark following him. Padding silently, they disappeared into the gloom.
Kari glanced at TK and smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry, the program will work. Have a little faith in your father." With that, she and Gatomon bounded up the stairs.
TK sighed, and took up a position behind the doorway. Slumping down onto his haunches, he blew on his hands, trying to warm them. Patamon jumped off his head, and took up a position on the other side of the door. The blond boy settled down to wait, gripping his staff tightly, and his blue eyes scanned the streets again.
The storm howled on.
Matt padded silently through the deserted building until he came to a dark room deep in the bowels of the abandoned office block. In here, the storm was but a distant roar. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small camping light, switched it on, and set it in the middle of the room. The feeble light it cast did nothing to illuminate the dark corners, but at least they could see where they were going now. He looked at his father and nodded. "Go ahead, do it."
Kevin and Mark went to the table in the center of the room, pulled out their computers, and set up. Opening the cases, they warmed the computers up, and Matt watched as the screens flickered to life, the lights along the side flashing as they ran through their startup diagnostics and warm-up programs.
They had picked this building to try out their hacker's program for several reasons. It was a fair distance away from the base. If the program failed, and Diaboromon was able to track them, then he wouldn't find their base. All he would find by the time he got there was an empty, abandoned shell of a building, just like the rest of the city.
Everyone had drilled getting back to the base, and they all knew several routes by heart, even in the freakish weather conditions out there. If it came to that, they had orders to scatter, and make their way separately back to the base. The location of the base was to remain a secret, at all costs.
This building was also one of the few surviving ones left with an intact Internet connection. TK and Matt had scouted countless other sites out over the past week, and this had definitely been the best.
Standing behind the doorway, Matt leaned against the wall, his arms crossed across his chest to keep warm. Posting himself as a guard, he ensured that they wouldn't be interrupted in their task. Casting his eyes back on the two men, he gazed curiously as they set about their jobs.
Mark handed Kevin a cable, which he plugged into a port on the side of his laptop. Then he connected another cable to his own computer, and placed the other end near the data port in the wall. Talking in low voices, they ran through a checklist.
"Modem."… "Check."
"Program."… "Check."
"LAN." Kevin grinned at his partner's use of fancy language. Pressing a couple keys, he made certain that the two laptops were properly linked. "Check."
"Firewall."… "Check."
"Anti-virus program."… "Check."
"Log-on program."… "Check."
The checklist took several minutes, and Matt quickly gave up trying to understand them. Finally, everything seemed to be prepared.
Mark glanced at his partner. "You ready?"
Kevin bared his teeth in a savage grin. "Let's do it." They both knew their roles. Mark would be attempting to log on to the network, while Kevin would be fending off any guardian protocols, tracers, cookies, or anything that might contaminate or give away their location.
Mr. Izumi nodded, and plugged in the cable.
**New York**
Tai stared in amazement at the newly digivolved digimon towering above him. Galgomon leaped into the air. "Gatling Arm!" An orange nimbus surrounded his gauntlets, and suddenly he let loose an incredible barrage of high-velocity slugs.
Tai rolled over desperately and covered Sora's injured body with his own as the attack slammed into the ground. He cringed as tremendous explosions resounded through the street, and the explosive slugs ripped up the ground like confetti. Bits of shrapnel pelted his back, and he gasped as a chunk of concrete slammed into his shoulder, yet he gritted his teeth and held on, shielding Sora from the flying debris. So that's where those marks came from...
Bakemon were sent flying into the air from the explosions. Those were the lucky ones. Those that were unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast were shredded instantly. With a roar, Galgomon landed with a thud, and methodically began wiping out the entire legion. His eyes glowed with an insane battle rage, as he had revenge on those that had hurt his master so.
Tai looked around, and sucked in a breath. A couple Bakemon had apparently decided it was too hard to battle Galgomon, and had targeted Willis instead. "Willis, look out!" he screamed.
Willis turned his head, but he was too late. "Ghostly fist!" one of the Bakemon exclaimed. His attack, a huge, extending blue fist (yeah, I know it sounds corny, but it's true), caught Willis a glancing blow to the head. The blond boy was lifted off his feet with the punch, and landed with a resounding crunch.
"Willis!!" Galgomon roared. Struggling, he tried to reach his master's side, but the Bakemon clung on like limpets. He tore at them furiously, trying to shake them off, but he wouldn't make it in time.
The small party of Bakemon stood over the fallen boy triumphantly. "Ghostly – "
"Pepper Breath!"
"Spiral Twister!"
The attacks blasted the Bakemon, and they were deleted instantly. Suddenly, Agumon, Biyomon, Tentomon and Palmon were surrounding Willis in a protective line, fending off all comers with their attacks. The blond boy looked around in amazement. Why are they doing this? I just injured one of them, and yet they're still trying to protect me!
"Willis!" Galgomon roared again. With a mighty effort, he threw off the Bakemon clinging to him. Leaping into the air, he leveled his cannons on the remnants of the legion. "Gatling Arm!" Explosions from slugs rocked the streets, and a nearby building collapsed entirely, reduced to a pile of rubble.
In moments, it was over. The legion was simply no match. Tai breathed a sigh of relief. "Nice work Agu -"
Without warning, Galgomon turned. "Gatling Arm!" Suddenly, the champion ripped loose another devastating barrage.
Izzy and Mimi dived out of the way of the attack. Tucking and rolling, they leapt to their feet again, and stared in numb horror at the devastated ground where they had stood a moment ago. "Hey, what's the big idea?" Izzy shouted at the Willis. "We just saved you!"
Willis stood up slowly, one hand cradling his cheek. He held up his other hand. Galgomon looked at his master incredulously. "But Willis…". His master merely turned and looked at his digimon, and Galgomon reluctantly lowered his arm. He did not however, devolve. "Why did you protect me?" The boy's clear green eyes stared at each one of them in-turn. "What's in it for you?"
"Don't you understand?" Sora gasped weakly as she stood up, leaning on Tai. Biyomon flapped anxiously around her master. "We need your help to defeat Diaboromon. If we really wanted to hurt you, don't you think we'd have tried by now?"
Willis frowned. She had a point. And they did defend me. "All right, I'm listening."
Tai heaved a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't attacking them anymore. He stepped up. "We shouldn't talk now. They're probably setting up a dragnet as we speak. In under a minute, this whole place will be crawling with buggers. We can talk elsewhere."
Turning his back on the boy, he looked at his own group. "Izzy, have Tentomon go up and look out for incoming. Mimi, take Sora's bag." Mimi hopped to Tai's side, and scooped up Sora's backpack, putting them on her own shoulders. Izzy nodded at Tentomon, who buzzed up into the sky. Tai picked up Sora in his arms, cradling her slim form gently.
A moment later, Tentomon buzzed back down. "You're right Tai. A party of Diaboromon are converging on this spot. If I could see further, I'd bet that they're setting up a dragnet around this entire city block as well." The digimon looked at their leader. "So what now?"
Tai gritted his teeth. Looking over at Willis, he called out. "Well, are you with us, or against us? I wish I had time to explain ourselves, but we have to get out of this mess first."
Willis looked undecided, and for a moment, he seemed very small, and very scared. Then he nodded. "All right, but if you're lying..." He nodded at Galgomon, and the big champion glowed and devolved in a swirl of snow.
Tai nodded back, grinning triumphantly. Then he looked up at Tentomon. "Which way?"
Tentomon shrugged helplessly. "Tai, they're coming in from all over the place, in a dragnet. There's no way we can simply run away."
Damn. "Fine, we're heading west, so we can't get cornered against the sea. Mimi, you keep a lookout on our sides, Izzy, you bring up the rear and watch our backs. Try to cover our tracks as well." Then Tai looked at Willis. "Stay close, and don't wander off." His brown eyes softened. "I know how it feels to have your life suddenly cut out from under you. It's happened to all of us here. But you have to trust us. I know this sound cliché, but it's true. We need your help to save the world..."
Turning, Tai held Sora tightly as he ran due west, back the way Willis had just come. The rest of the group followed him without further ado. They had done this so many times it was beginning to become second nature.
Willis hesitated. Am I crazy? Why am I trusting people whom I've never met? He ran after them, Terriermon running along at his heels. The feeling he had earlier came back to haunt him. Despite his misgivings, he felt that something about them was special. He couldn't place his finger on it, but somehow, he felt he had something in common with them. But what?
The sky began to darken as night approached. The peculiar party of kids and digimon vanished into the streets, like wraiths in the dark, ghosts in the snow. In the distance, dark shapes began to approach in an ever-tightening dragnet. Tai looked anxiously at Sora as he ran. She had passed out, her pale face grimacing with the pain it took to breathe. He held her tightly. You'd better be all right Sora...
**Tokyo**
Kevin sweated bullets as he typed furiously on the keyboard. "Mark, you'd better log on quick, I don't know how much longer I can hold it..."
Mark, typing furiously at his own laptop, didn't even bother to answer.
Matt's father was in charge of evading all attempts to trace them until Mark could safely log on. Using one of the programs they had whipped together, he rerouted tracers, cookies, and authorization requests, finding shortcuts and electronic ways around barriers as fast as they came up. His fingers all but flew across the keyboard in a blur.
Mark was trying to log on to the network. "Come on...come on...." he whispered as he watched the coloured bar run across his screen. Slowly, the bar filled up, and a "Negotiating with host" message flashed across his monitor. Typing furiously, he readied his hacker's program. The trick would be once they were online, to plant the program in the network, so they would be allowed to log on again.
"Mark, I can't hold it! You have thirty seconds." Kevin typed frantically, his eyes riveted to the screen.
Unbeknownst to him, a cookie managed to get past Matt's father without him noticing. Following its programming, it force-fed itself to Mark's laptop, telling the computer to save it to memory. Then, it settled down to wait...
"Mark!"
"I'm going, I'm going! Just a few more seconds..."
Kevin struggled desperately to hold back the network guardian protocols, but they were too fast for him. He was one human typing away at a computer, they were an entire network of mainframes, with almost unlimited processing speed.
"That's it! I've lost it. You have 5 seconds before the alarm sounds, mark!"
"Come on...do it...do it..." Mark gripped the table so hard his knuckles went white as he stared at the message on the screen. Negotiating with host...negotiating with host...negotiating with host....
Two seconds...
Online with host.
"YES!!" Mark pumped his fists in the air triumphantly. "We're in!" Typing furiously, he secured the connection, locking it down and confirming that no alarm bells had sounded. Then, swiveling around in his chair, he gave Kevin an exuberant high five. "I am invincible!"
Matt and Gabumon were at their side in a moment. "Are you guys in?"
Mark grinned, slightly maniacally. "We're in, and as far as I can tell, not detected."
The cookie stored on his computer's hard-drive reacted. Its programming made several queries of the machine it now resided in. Apparently they were online with the network, but the machine did not have the proper codes identifying it as one of Diaboromon's terminals. Silently, it sent an alarm back to the network. The silent alarm spread through the Internet…
Matt pounded them on the back. "Well done guys!"
Mark didn't pause to acknowledge the praise. Again, his fingers were typing on the keyboard. "The hacker's program worked perfectly. We're online, and I'm creating a backdoor for us to sneak in again if we need to. We can even log on from the base."
Kevin was browsing through the network. "Matt, this is incredible! Look at this! Maps of troop movements, secure orders, data on the size of his army, where they're stationed, the type of digimon stationed, patrol shifts and paths..." He turned to his son with a triumphant smile on his face. "With this, we can finally begin to fight back!"
Kari was the first to notice something wrong. Standing on top of the building, she scanned the surrounding area with hooded eyes. It was hard to see things in the snow, but being higher up, she had a better view of everything. Suddenly, she noticed a small Bakemon patrol heading their way through the streets. Worriedly, she strained her eyes to pick out the details, cursing the blinding snow.
A standard patrol, ten Bakemon. She thought to herself. I hope they're just out for a patrolling cruise. TK had better be on his toes...
"Kari, you'd better take a look at this."
The brown-haired girl turned. Gatomon was pointing in the opposite direction. Straining her eyes, she saw a Diaboromon skulking in the streets. The dark, spindly shape was unmistakable, even in this weather. Not exactly headed their way, but it seemed to have stopped right where it was, looking in their direction, watching.
Turning her head, she counted three other Diaboromon, all standing stock still. What's going on?
The girl looked around nervously. Not enough evidence to warrant an all-out attack, but something about the whole setup made her nervous. Diaboromon did not just stop in the middle of streets for no particular reason. The next Bakemon patrol wasn't scheduled to come by this section of town until tomorrow.
She reached for her communicator, then hesitated. The device functioned as a walkie-talkie, and tracking devices, and they also had a in-built general alarm. If she pushed the button, all other communicators in range would begin beeping like mad. The problem was that sounding the alarm would break radio silence, allowing Diaboromon to track them. If she was just being paranoid, then using the thing would alert Diaboromon to their presence for sure. No, I won't call, yet...
Several minutes later, TK saw the Bakemon patrol emerge from the blinding snow. From his crouched position by the door, his slim frame stiffened. Patamon caught TK's sudden change in demeanor. "What's..."
"Shh."
Patamon shut up, and peered through the doorway himself. He sucked in a breath, then flapped over quietly, landing on TK's shoulder. "Do you think they've found us?" he whispered into the boy's ear.
TK gnawed on his bottom lip anxiously. "I don't know...they could just be a routine patrol passing by..."
"It shouldn't be. You and Matt checked out this area and its patrol shifts. The next patrol isn't due till tomorrow."
"They might have changed it..."
Patamon looked at his partner. "I suppose it's possible, but don't you think it's too much of a coincidence that they do it today of all days?"
TK's mind was racing. It was kind of an incredible coincidence. He reached for his communicator, then hesitantly stopped. Using it would break radio silence, and he wasn't about do that unless it was absolutely necessary. Yet.... The young boy looked at the approaching patrol, a growing feeling of unease settling in his stomach.
"Patamon, go tell Matt that we might have trouble, then come back up here immediately."
Patamon looked alarmed. "TK, if those Bakemon really are out to get us, then I won't be here to protect you..."
"Just go!" the young boy hissed, as he adjusted his grip on his staff. "Matt's gotta know about this, and I'm not about to use the communicator. You can't digivolve without me anyway. Besides, you can fly faster than I can run. If you go now, you might be able to get back before they get here."
"But TK..."
TK turned to his digimon, his golden bangs waving in front of his eyes. "Hey, I can take care of a measly patrol of Bakemon, don't worry. Remember, I had a great master."
Patamon rolled his eyes. "My words come back to haunt me..."
"Don't argue with me. Just go!"
Patamon still looked unhappy, but he shot off into the depths of the building, as fast as his wings would carry him. Shooting down the stairwell, he flew towards the room where he knew the others would be. TK, you had better be all right...
Flying down the darkened corridors, he reflected upon what this building had used to be. It had evidently been some kind of office block, with offices lining the walls, each with a blown-out computer and a desk.
Finally, he saw a light at the end of the hall. Putting on an extra burst of speed, he flew into the room, startling the people inside. "Matt! TK told me to tell you there's a patrol of Bakemon outside."
The three freedom fighters looked up from the computer screens, startled by the sudden intrusion. Matt frowned, and Gabumon looked up from his position on the floor. "Why didn't he tell me by communicator?"
Patamon panted slightly from the speedy flight. "He wasn't sure whether the patrol was out to get us, or just making a pass by the building. I gotta get back. TK's helpless right now..." Patamon prepared to fly back out.
"Patamon, wait!" The little orange digimon paused, and turned around. "How many?"
"I counted a full patrol. Ten Bakemon."
Matt turned to his father. "Check that out. Did the patrol shifts change? Is there supposed to be a patrol passing by at this time?"
His father turned in his swivel chair, and typed a few commands on his laptop. Patamon stared, amazed. "So...you managed to get online after all."
Matt ignored him, concentrating instead on the screen as his father pulled up the general patrol shifts, then narrowed it down to Japan's patrol paths. A few clicks later, the schedule narrowed even further to Tokyo itself, and a map and table popped up, complete with patrol times, paths, and patrol squads.
Matt checked his watch, then traced a finger across the table on the monitor. "10:47pm, January 2nd
...Central and Kennedy St..." his eyes widened as his finger hit an empty slot. There was no patrol assigned to this time.
"Patamon! That patrol's not supposed to be there! You've got to get back up to warn..."
Suddenly, he was cut off by an insistent beeping noise. His blue eyes widened in horror as he pulled out his communicator. The light was blinking. The general alarm had been set off. Someone had broken radio silence!!
He snapped his head back up to gaze at his teammates. "Dad, get packing. We're leaving now! Patamon, go!" The little orange digimon needed no second bidding. He shot off like a rocket. His master was in danger, and he'd be damned if he wasn't there to protect him.
Matt ran after him, Gabumon at his heels. "Dad! Mark! Meet us upstairs, don't take too long!" Then he concentrated on sprinting down the hall as fast as he could. TK, hold on…
** Author's notes: Well? Like? Hate? Down there's your chance to tell me. Next chapter…someone gets hurt! (I think you can guess who it is…) Again, I had a lot of help from TS from this. Can't take all the credit myself.