Out of the Ashes…: Chapter 6
** Disclaimers: I don't own digimon. Never will. This fic was produced for entertainment purposes only, and will not be sold. Leave me alone, you vultures!
** Author's notes: This chapter is a little shorter than the last couple ones, but that's because it's a natural break in the story. I'm writing the final climatic chapters, so I'll need a little more time than usual. That, plus I'll be offline over the weekend, since I'm going away. Rest assured, I'll be back. As usual, a lot of help from TS on…basically everything in this chapter. Thanks again TS! ^_^
Summary: Can anyone say "takari"? Two-sided this time! YEAH! (kale, you were asking for this? Well, your patience is rewarded) Oh, and the final battle begins. Need I say more?
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Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror,
victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.
- Lord Winston Churchill
Like a single, unified beast, the determined army of three-hundred-strong men marched for Tokyo. Leaving Zion behind, they winded through the mountain passes like a snake, the column of dark-blue slipping through the forest silently.
There was no pointless conversation. Everyone was adept at subterfuge. After five years of running and hiding, they had to be. People talked only when absolutely necessary. They had left the sanctuary of Zion behind, and were now venturing into no-man's land.
You got careless, you got killed. Simple as that.
For two weeks, the army lived off the land, trekking swiftly and silently through the forest and the mountains. Keeping an ever-vigilant guard against danger, at least a quarter of the company was awake at all times. Everyone slept with his or her weapon close at hand. Campfires were strictly forbidden. The smoke column would pinpoint their location from miles away.
Finally, however, they reached the western advance base of Tokyo, about a day ahead of schedule. Tai looked at his digivice. The date read September 28th. Good. Looking around, he saw that night was starting to fall, the velvety blackness once again obscuring the landscape. The burning red orb that was the sun was sinking in the western horizon.
Raising a hand, he called a halt. Then, with a complex hand signal, he called a meeting for the destined. He called out in a low voice. "'Kay guys, we're here. We're moving out again at the crack of dawn, so don't get too settled in! Standard guard shifts again, and no campfires! Cell and platoon leaders, check your men. Destined, over here!" Cell and platoon leaders echoed his commands until the entire army had heard.
With a collective sigh of relief, the army disbanded, breaking out of ranks, and moving into the large farmhouse building that served as a base. Even settling into camp, there were a lot of tasks to do. A defensive perimeter was quickly formed around the advance platform, and weapons and supplies were checked. Guard shifts were quickly and efficiently assigned.
The digidestined and their digimon threaded their way through the crowd, and converged on Tai. They looked questioningly at their leader as he began to speak.
"OK guys, this is the last night before we split up. I want you to make the rounds, check to make sure everyone's got his or her weapons, explosives, supplies, etc. TK, Kari, Joe, check on your cells and make sure they're ready to move by tomorrow, and that everyone knows where he's going. Show the new cell commanders the reins. If anyone sees David, tell him to do the same. Matt, organize the guard shifts for tonight. Willis, double-check and triple-check that that virus is ready to go. We've got a lot to do people, let's get to it."
Everyone nodded, and disbanded, spreading out to do their tasks. For the next several hours, final directions were confirmed. TK, Kari and Joe checked on their cells, making sure everyone knew which platoon they'd be in, and where they'd be going. Attack plans were finalized and details ironed out. They would be outnumbered and outgunned. In battle, careful planning and strategy would be all they had going for them.
As they worked, the sun disappeared completely behind the horizon. After several exhausting hours of checking troop weapons and directions, TK looked up. By now, it was fully night time, and the stars were once again starting to emerge in the velvety blackness. The moon gleamed off his hair, turning it into a shade of gold-tinged silver. Darkness was enveloping the landscape, and the crickets were coming out. He could hear their chirping in the background.
Turning his head, he saw the nine bright stars he'd seen on the night of Tai's arrival. A small smile appeared on his tired features. Maybe it's a good omen, he thought. Looking around, he made sure that his cell was securely settled, then turned to leave.
"TK? Where're you going?"
The blond boy turned to see Kevin standing behind him. His father had a worried expression on his face. Since Kari, Joe and TK wouldn't be able to command their cells during the battle, new commanders had been assigned. Kevin, Jim and Shinta were now cell commanders in their own right. At least, they would be the instant the attack started.
"Don't worry about me dad. I'll be back in about an hour."
Kevin frowned, and repeated his question. "Where're you going?"
TK sighed. "Just out back. I'll be within shouting distance."
Kevin didn't look satisfied, but it wasn't as if he could order his son to stay. He nodded once, and forced a smile on his face. "Alright. I'll keep an eye on your cell for you."
Patamon flew over, and planted himself firmly on TK's head. "Wherever you're going, I'm coming with you."
TK laughed, and gently lifted the digimon down. "No. You stay here and help dad look after my cell. I just need some time alone. I'll be fine. Look, I'll be within shouting distance, OK? If there's anything wrong, I'll shout, and you'll be able to hear me."
The digimon frowned. "TK, is something the matter?"
The boy shook his head, his golden bangs waving gently. "No. I'm fine, really I am. I'll be back in an hour, I promise." He gave Patamon a smile to reassure him.
The digimon heaved a sigh, and flew off TK's head. Landing on the ground beside the boy's sleeping bag, he looked back up. Patamon knew better than to argue with his master when he was like this. "Alright, but only one hour, then I'm coming after you whether you like it or not."
TK nodded gratefully. He took one last look at his cell. Duty always, always came first. Then, satisfied, he slipped away into the darkness. Staff in hand, he padded silently across the grassy ground to a small hill behind the encampment. The cool night breeze ruffled through his blond hair as he lay down on his back with a sigh. Putting down his staff beside him, he stared into the night sky.
Out here, it was peacefully quiet. All he could hear was the chirping of crickets, and the rustling of the wind through the dark forest. If he really tried, he could make out the soft murmurs of men as they settled down for the night. What a beautiful full moon, the random thought flitted through his mind. Scanning the sky, he spotted his nine, lucky stars, shining like beacons in the night. Reaching out a hand, he pretended he could touch them.
His fingers passed through empty air.
Sighing, he put his hands behind his head to make a pillow, and stared up at the sky, stargazing. Why did he do this? It seemed nowadays, he was doing it more and more often. Sometimes, he would just walk off, to be alone for a while. He needed some time to think.
More often than not, he found himself asking questions. Questions that demanded answers. Tim's words came back to haunt him. "What's the point of this stupid war? All it does is kill people, and we never seem to be making any progress…"It seemed the war would drag on forever, and his best efforts didn't seem to be making any difference at all. And the longer he fought, the more friends he lost, the harder it became to go on. He tried to reassure himself with the words he had told Tim, but more and more, they were beginning to sound hollow even to his own ears.
A lot of people were going to die in this attack. Inevitably, he would lose even more friends. And if he lost Kari…he closed his eyes. A tear threatened to roll down his cheek, but with a Herculean mental effort, his discipline trained and reinforced by kohlinahr, he refused to let it fall. He had to remain strong, for everyone's sake. For a moment, the slim, golden-haired boy just lay there with his eyes closed, listening to the subtle sounds of the night, the troubling thoughts echoing in his mind. The chirping of cicadas, the occasional owl hooting, the scratching of little woodland creatures, all these and more sounded softly in his ears. A soft breeze rippled the blanket of soft grass.
Then he frowned. With his eyes still closed, he called out, "Kari? What are you doing here?" Opening his eyes, he turned his head sideways.
The brown-haired girl stepped out of the shadows. Gatomon wasn't with her, TK noticed. She looked at him with concerned crimson eyes. "I was worried about you. Shinta said you just…well, up and left, after you'd taken care of your cell."
The boy smiled, though it, like all his other smiles, was tinged with a bit of sadness. "I'm fine. I just needed some time alone to think."
Kari sighed. "I know what you mean." TK frowned as he thought he detected a slight tremble in her voice, as if she was about to cry, but dismissed it as his imagination. The girl padded up, and sat beside him in the soft grass.
Together, they stared up at the night sky. There was no light haze to mute the stars, so the heavens in all their glory shone before them. The stars sparkled like gossamer jewels, and the full moon cast a silvery blanket on everything below. For a few moments, the two were silent, enfolded in the tangible, velvety cloak of the night.
"Those are my lucky stars, you know." TK murmured softly. He pointed towards the nine, particularly bright ones he'd noticed almost a month ago.
"Whenever I feel sad, or depressed, I go out to be alone for awhile, and they always comfort me."
Kari gazed at the stars, saying nothing. There was no need to. The bond between them was that strong. The nine stars flickered merrily, blissfully unaware of the problems down on Earth, and for a moment, she smiled. Ever the optimistic one…. The smile however, was tinged with sadness, bitter with the knowledge of what they would be facing.
Looking down at the boy lying on his back beside her, she noticed something. "Where's your pendant?" she asked. The glistening glass pendant she had given him was not around his neck. "I haven't seen it in two weeks, and you always seem to wear it."
In the darkness, she could see him grin slightly. "I gave it to Tim before I left. He needed it more than I did."
Kari drew her knees up close, and hugged them. In the darkness, and in her dark-blue shirt, she was almost invisible. A small smile played across her lips as she thought of times long past. She knew of the close friendship between the boys. "Y'know, does that kid…remind…you of anyone?" she asked teasingly. "Young, innocent, full-of-life…hopeful?"
The other nodded, the smile turning wistful.
"Yeah."
Then, they were silent again. TK absentmindedly reached out for his stars. Kari listened to the chirping of the crickets. Then, she looked down at the blond boy beside her, and a fresh wave of pain and fear gripped her heart. His amazingly bright blue eyes were half-closed as he stared into the heavens. His blond hair waved gently in the night breeze.
"TK? I…I have something to tell you."
The boy frowned at the hesitant, sad note in Kari's voice. Perhaps the tremble he thought he'd heard earlier was real after all. Sitting up, he turned to look at the girl beside him with concern. His blue eyes were startlingly bright in the darkness. "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Kari bit her lip as she looked into the eyes of the one she loved more than life itself. Again, she was struck by how startlingly blue they were. They reflected all the horrors of war, the terrible things he had seen and done. Yet, behind it all, there shined an innocent hope. The kind that would never die.
She abruptly grabbed the back of his head, and pulled him into a passionate kiss. TK's eyes snapped open in surprise, what the…, then slowly closed as he returned it. It wasn't like they'd never kissed before, but somehow, this one was different. Not more passionate, but somehow…less carefree, less innocent. It had a snatched and unhappy feel to it.
Gently, he wrapped his arms around the girl, and he could feel that she was trembling. There was definitely something wrong. An instinctive desire to protect her, and to shelter her from harm overwhelmed the boy, and he pulled the girl closer to his chest, as if to offer her sanctuary from the world in his arms.
Slowly, their lips parted, and the kiss ended. They remained in each other's embrace for a few moments longer, TK holding the trembling girl. Then, they pulled apart a little, and in the darkness, the boy thought he could see moonlight glistening off tear tracks running down her cheeks. "Kari? What was that for? Something's wrong, isn't it?"
The girl took a shuddering breath. A short, strained laugh escaped her. It sounded forced even to her own ears. "I…I'm sorry if I scared you, it's just…well…" Tears flooded her eyes again. This time, TK was certain of it.
"Tomorrow, we split up to get into position. The final attack begins. We might not get another chance like this to be alone. And…I…I…"
"Kari." TK interrupted gently. "You don't have to…"
The girl shook her head. "Please, TK, let me finish."
Taking a deep breath, she calmed down somewhat. "If one, or both of us dies in the attack…. I know I'd never forgive myself if I didn't get a chance to tell you this."
She looked the boy in the eye. "I…I want to thank you for all the times you've sheltered me with your love in the past. You've always been there for me whenever I fell, and you've helped me back up again, every single time."
Tears blurred her vision. "And for that, I owe you…everything. You've done so much for me, and it seems like I can do nothing for you…."
"Kari…."
Her voice was rushed, as if she needed to get this all out at once. "If you died…I…I…just needed to tell you, just in case you…" her voice trailed off into a strangled sob. She couldn't finish the thought. It was too painful. TK gazed at her worriedly, wishing he could somehow take all her pain away, reassure her, and offer her sanctuary from the cruel world.
"I…I'm sorry." She forced a smile, and she tried to wipe away her tears with her sleeve, but failed miserably. "I really shouldn't be breaking down right before an attack. Geez, I'm so weak, what kind of leader am I…"
Finally, TK understood. She was afraid, just like Tim that he might die. Or that she might die, and she'd never get a chance to tell him. Essentially, she was saying goodbye, just in case…. The boy pulled the girl into his embrace again, letting her cry into his chest. "Kari, and you're the last person I'd think of as weak, and that's the truth."
"You've done a lot for me too Kari, you just don't realize it. Just being with you is reward enough. Here. Let's make a pact." He pulled her upright, and looked into her eyes.
"We'll watch each other's backs during the battle, alright? We'll be there for each other when this is all over. I promise I'll be right there beside you, forever and ever. Is it a deal?" He held out a pinky.
Kari smiled through her tears at the childish gesture. No matter how old TK got, no matter how much death and war he saw, he would always have a childish, innocent side. As a commander, he hid it well, but occasionally, he dropped his mask, and revealed his true self. Only a privileged few got to see beneath his armour, and Kari felt tremendously honoured to be one of them. "Silly." But she reached out and locked pinkies with him in the time-honoured tradition of children. "It's a deal. I'm not going to let you out of my sight, ever."
The boy smiled reassuringly. "Trust me, everything's going to be fine. When this is all over, we're going to look back, and laugh at how sappy we were over nothing. Come on, stop crying, and give me a smile. If the others see you like this, we'll never hear the end of it. Especially if Gatomon comes along."
Kari giggled. The digimon was a good friend to be sure, but an incurable gossip. The laughter was strained, but it was genuine. TK sighed, a burden lifted from his heart. Kari's musical laughter had that effect on him.
"And I love you too, Kari…" he whispered, and gently pulled her into another kiss, this one slower, and much simpler than the first one, but no less meaningful. This time, it wasn't tinged with unhappiness like the first one, but full of simple, innocent love, pure and untainted despite the horrific world around them. Wrapping his arms around the girl, he felt like he was holding the most precious thing in the world, an infinitely fragile, yet breathtakingly beautiful treasure that had to be protected at all costs.
Above the two young lovers, the nine stars twinkled merrily in approval…
Let me be a sanctuary…
Pure and holy, tried and true…
With all my heart and soul, let me be…
A living sanctuary, for you.
** one week later, October 6th, 11:55 PM **
Dark, thunderous clouds covered the sky, and a light, gray drizzle poured onto the city of Tokyo. Already, the half-destroyed streets were starting to be covered in mud. Faint lightning flickered in the clouds to the west, and ominous rumbles of thunder sounded out across the city.
They were within a block of Diaboromon's base, on the southern perimeter of the enormous complex. In the complete and utter darkness within the safehouse, Tai, the commander of the digidestined and savior of two worlds, several times over, had his eyes glued to the glowing screen of his digivice. The time function read 11:55 PM, precisely five minutes before the attack. The brown-haired boy felt like he was either going to scream, throw up, or faint with the adrenaline in his bloodstream.
By the end of tonight, he reflected sourly, I'll probably have done all three. The tension was almost tangible. You could literally cut it with a kodachi.
That's assuming I'll still be alive…
Looking behind him, he saw four other shadowy figures in the safehouse with him. Willis was fidgeting nervously with the laptop containing the all-important virus, chewing on his bottom lip until it bled. Watching closely, Tai could see the boy's hands were trembling.
In contrast, TK, Matt and Kari were deadly calm. Matt was standing, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His eyes were closed, and at first glance, it looked like he was asleep. However, the way he held his iron coshes at the ready belied that notion. TK and Kari were sitting next to one another. The moonlight gleamed off their faces, and Tai shivered. Their visages were set into deadly, ice-cold masks, betraying not the slightest hint of emotion. It was as if they had severed the compassionate, merciful side of their hearts, suppressing them to allow the warrior within to surface. Compassion and mercy were unnecessary for a soldier. There was no fidgeting.
It was at times like these that his own friends scared the wits out of Tai.
The leader blew out a breath. "Five minutes." Willis jumped. Matt, with his eyes still closed, acknowledged with a slight nod. Tai took a deep breath, and tried to relax. His mind wandered to the events of the past week…
** flashback, one week ago **
Solemnly, Matt shook hands with his cell commanders. The horizon was gray with first light, and already the army was on the move, ready to split up. He looked at each of them in turn, David, Shinta, Jim and Kevin. "Take care of my men for me." Stepping up, he hugged his father tightly, as if it might be the last time he'd ever hold him again. "And take care of yourselves, alright?"
David grinned dryly. "Don't worry. The boys will be fine." Then, turning, he issued orders. "Alright people, you know where we have to go. Get your stuff, and let's move out."
Matt watched as each cell broke up into four separate platoons, making up a total of sixteen separate groups of around twenty men each. One by one, each platoon, with its own leader, silently slipped away into the gray haze like wraiths of oily smoke, each heading to their assigned positions.
It was like in chess. They were strategically positioning their pieces all across the board. Then, when the time was right, they would strike, all at once.
As more and more platoons slipped away into the gray haze of dawn, Matt turned to see the digidestined getting ready as well. Tai heaved a pack of weapons and supplies on his back, and adjusted the sheathed kodachi at his side. The leader gave Sora a hug. "Take care of yourself, alright?" He gazed into her crimson eyes. Matt looked at Tai, startled. This wasn't like him. The brown-haired leader's voice was trembling, and husky with emotion. "Don't get killed. Life won't be the same without you."
Then turning, he looked at Izzy. "Izzy, I'm entrusting you with command of this group. Bring them all home safely, y'hear me?"
The auburn-haired boy nodded gravely. Matt walked up to the group, and heaved his own pack onto his back. TK hugged Sora and Mimi. Stepping back, the young boy smiled. "Show them no mercy. Blow that power plant to kingdom come."
Joe grinned savagely. "Same for you. Get that virus installed, wipe them all out."
Tai cleared his throat, and everyone looked expectantly at him. "Guys…we, uh…all know that some of us might not be…um…coming back. So before we go our separate ways, I have something to say."
He looked at each one of them in turn with his hazel eyes. He smiled proudly. "There isn't a truer group of friends that I would rather fight beside than you guys. If all goes well, then we're going to look back, and laugh at how sappy we were. But if all does not go well, then…" he paused. "…then this goodbye was well-made. We die secure in the knowledge that we did our best."
Everyone nodded. They knew the risks. TK motioned for Tai to continue. The brown-haired boy smiled. "All I have left to say is, show them no mercy. Take this world back, if not for yourselves, then for all those folks back at Zion, for humanity.
Make me proud."
** end flashback **
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Koushiro Izumi, commander of his own little "cell" of digidestined, stared as well at the glowing screen of his digivice. Outside, rain pattered down lightly, creating small, muddy puddles. The time read 11:57 PM. "Three minutes," he whispered into the pitch-black safehouse.
Looking around, he saw Joe nod. The clink of a kodachi sliding out of its sheath told him that Sora had heard as well. The auburn-haired boy unsheathed his own weapon, the deadly steel-blue blade gleaming in the moonlight. He looked up, gazing into the empty, dark streets.
From where they were, they could literally see the power plant, lit up brightly with banks of floodlights. A beacon through the rain. It was huge, with a large chain-link fence surrounding it. A small scattering of patrols could be seen defending the outer perimeter. Beside Izzy, Tentomon bristled, fairly trembling with anticipation. The boy put a hand on his digimon. "Easy, buddy. Almost time…"
Again, he looked out onto the darkened city. In three minutes, those streets will be covered in blood and data…
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David had his mask on. The "commander's mask", it was commonly called. His face was set in stone, cold, hard, unyielding, and emotionless. He was the commander, a terrible and feared figure, all-powerful, all-knowing. He too had his eyes glued on the screen of his watch.
One minute.
"Lock and load."
Behind him, a platoon of twenty men all readied their weapons calmly. Their target, a supply depot was merely a block away from this safehouse. Two men assembled a crude bomb out of the explosives they had carried along with them. Final checks on weapons were made, and a series of quiet clicks sounded out behind David as safeties were flipped off, and clips of ammo slapped into place. David smiled. They had been well trained. Turning his gaze back upon his watch, he silently counted the seconds remaining.
All across Tokyo, platoons of soldiers poised on the brink of attack. Four hundred pairs of eyes were glued to time readouts. Thunder rumbled ominously in the sky. Tai watched the final seconds count down on his digivice.
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One…
October 7th, 12:00:00 AM.
A huge fork of lightning exploded in the sky, lighting up the entire city in a heartbeat. The thunderous concussion rattled the half-smashed windows in the city. The terrible, actinic white flash blazed across the sky. All of a sudden, the drizzle turned into a veritable downpour of rain.
"Digivolve!" Izzy cried. Tentomon, Biyomon, Palmon, and Gomamon all leaped out onto the street. Abandoning subtlety and stealth, the northeastern section of town was suddenly illuminated as bright as day as four pillars of light erupted. Raindrops were blown out of the way, as nature itself trembled at the power being unleashed. Diaboromon and Bakemon scrambled to meet the sudden threat.
"GO! GO! GO!" David yelled at his men. His platoon, gripping their weapons tightly, filed out quickly, and began charging through the rain towards their target. The dark-haired cell leader took one last look around the street, then grabbed his own weapon, and dashed forward, leading the charge.
All across the city, Diaboromon supply depots, network links, and barracks suddenly found themselves attacked viciously, all at the same time. The entire Zion army threw aside its cloak of stealth, abandoned subtlety, and rushed fearlessly into battle. In the space of a minute, the entire city was alive with three hundred strong soldiers, their wild war cries resounding through the streets. The screams of war mingled with the vicious lightning clashes to form the terrible symphony of battle. Diaboromon was caught completely off-guard. The first explosions rippled across the city, and the flames of war started burning…
In his safehouse, Tai could hear the sounds of the battle beginning. Beside him, he could see the muscles of Matt's jaw clench as he too heard the sounds of combat. Gatomon stretched, and padded on the ground. Kari unsheathed her kodachi, and TK stood up, twirling his staff experimentally.
Anxiously, the brown-haired leader looked up at Diaboromon's base. Already, barely thirty seconds after the beginning of battle, he could see alarms flashing. The southern gates were opening, and patrols and armies of Bakemon and Diaboromon flew out into the downpour to contain the sudden attack. Tai bet the northern, eastern, and western gates were all opening as well. The diversion was working at least. Better than any of them had anticipated. It looked like only a token defending force was left behind.
Then, he trained his eyes on the lights. "OK, guys, we move the instant those lights go out. Keep your eyes peeled…"
** Author's notes: Yeah, I know. "Natural break" my (beep). *grins * Better get used to these cliffhangers, 'cause I just love doing this to you guys.
Chap. 7 might be slightly longer than usual. Maybe a week and a half. As usual, it's written already, but I want to finish chaps. 8 and 9 first before I post seven, just in case I need to change something. And I mentioned this before, but I'll be offline this weekend, since I'm going away.
How'd you like it? How was the takari? Truth to be told, this is only my second attempt at a two-sided romance (remember, this is my first fic). The only other time I wrote something like this was when Kari gave TK his pendant in "The Long Winter", and that didn't really count, since all she did was give him a peck on the cheek. Please review and let me know. ^_^
Oh yes, just so I don't get in trouble, the little song between the takari scene and the beginning of the battle scene "let me be a sanctuary for you" was part of a Christian song, slightly modified for my use. I believe it was called "Sanctuary", but don't quote me on that. I don't quite remember.