Episode 8 - To Live and Fight Another Day

The seven Alpha Guardians have all found what they were looking for in one form or another. Now the remaining six must take what they've found and act with it. Hard times are ahead for everyone but they know what they have to do, and won't stop until it's done.

Chapter 1

Kovin, Kelryn, Relaina and Wyrvenmon set up camp at a riverbank near the hill that overlooked the complex. They planned to stay there for a few hours and observe the comings and goings of the people, the movements of the guards and the occasional digidestined they saw, as well as look for any weakness in it's design. They had been there for the whole night and the next day and had a reasonable scale model created in their campsite.

Wyrvenmon what level are you? Kelryn asked.

Ultimate nine, she replied proudly.

I thought you would have been higher than that by now, Kovin said. No matter, we should be able to give you the chance to get to mega. I know Quirionmon is your champion form, what's your ultimate?

Wyrvenmon said. Basically the same huge green dragon, but with some cool purple body armour.

Can't wait to see it, Kovin said. Anyway, I think I've found a spot on the fence right here where I can stand and the cameras won't see me. This one and this one rotate back and forth at different speeds, there's a quick moment where they don't see this area. I can walk out and stand by the fence and be fine.

You know it's an electric fence right? Kelryn asked. How many volts?

A thousand, Wyrvenmon said. I saw a sign.

I have the equipment here for that. I'll be fine. He looked up at the sky. It's pretty dark now, I'm going to try it. Kovin grabbed his pack of gear and stood. He was already wearing the jet-black clothes for the endeavour. The four climbed the hill and Kovin continued down the other side with the rest watching. He waited behind a divot in the ground for the cameras to be at the right position in their passes for him to run up. He looked and both cameras were looking away and he went. Quick, dark, and quiet as a shadow he slipped up to the edge of the fence. He could hear the hum of the electrical equipment running the fence and could even feel the energy in the air.

He pulled a metal spike from his back, attached a wire from his gloves to it and drove it into the ground. He lowered his ceremonial goggles that were now serving a practical purpose and pulled the wire cutters from their sheath. Good bye mister fence, he said and gripped the wire. He felt pure fire as the electricity arced over his hands looking for the ground. Both palms felt burned already and he had to throw his entire body weight back to get them released. Fighting the instinct to scream and run he waited for the cameras to be back to the right place for him to run back. When they were, he ran and didn't halt at the hilltop and kept right going for the river. He immersed his hands instantly.

What happened? Relaina asked running up.

Are you alright? Kelryn asked only a step behind.

Kovin said. Are you sure that was a thousand volts?

Yeah, a one followed by four zeros. Kovin grabbed her nose and mouth with his scorched palms blind to the pain.

That's ten thousand! I could have been flame broiled! The little digimon just shrugged.

I was never very good with numbers.

* * *

Relaina finished helping wrap bandages around Kovin's hands and they both turned to see Kelryn finish getting into a scuba suit. I've broken into more than my fair share of places, but never through the septic system, Kovin said.

Well we obviously can't go in through the fence, this is the least guarded way in, Kelryn said. Relaina sat back with her canteen of water.

That's because its not a way in, it's a way out. And also, its disgusting, she said.

My son is in there. If it means I have to go in that way to get him, I will, Kelryn said. Kovin walked up to her and handed her the pack of tools.

Good luck, he said. They followed the river half a kilometre downstream to where the facilities sewer pipe drained into it. Relaina helped Kelryn get the grate off.

How are you going to get out of the pipe when you're inside? Relaina asked.

I got enough tools here to put a fair sized hole in this here pipe, Kelryn said and climbed in head first. She was wearing a diving dry suit and some headpiece she had constructed. She was also breathing bottled air to avoid the smell.

Crawling along the small pipe was slow but she was determined. She knew she had to get in to get Azuma and Demireumon back. The pipe was small, and her head light showed ever inch of it to be covered in the foulest slime she'd ever seen. She kept going with a will waiting to see a junction or valve, something to indicate she was inside the building. They had guessed that she had to crawl about two hundred metres before she'd see anything. She stopped suddenly feeling the fabric of her suit caught on something. There was a jagged piece of metal sticking out of a join in the pipe's sections. She managed to get it off easily and made a mental note to watch for it if she came back this way.

After what seemed like an eternity she came to a junction in the pipe. It went left and strait. She decided to cut a hole in the right side of the junction to get the lay of the land. She managed with great difficulty to get the drill out of her pack and lined up to make the hole. As she did she felt a blast of wind coming from down the left tunnel. She was glad she couldn't smell with the breathing apparatus over her nose and mouth, but something was strange. The air felt cold. She stopped drilling and wondered where this blast of air kept coming from. As it dawned on her she heard the rush of gurgling water just as it came in the range of her light. She covered her head preparing for the onslaught. It hit her and froze her to the bone. Kelryn felt herself being thrown back in the direction she came from at an incredible speed with the water pressure.

She tried to stop herself by pushing her hands out to her sides, but the slick sides offered no friction. She felt something jab into her right side near her waist and tear its way up to her shoulder. She felt the diving suit part and fall away from her, but more than that she felt her flesh scarred deep from the same piece of metal she wanted to avoid. Her mind clouded with pain and dizziness as she was flung from the pipe with the pressure. She hit the river's water and almost immediately felt Kovin and Relaina pulling her away from the sewage. Both saw the line of blood trailing from her in the water.

Get her cleaned, it can't get infected out here, Kovin said. Kelryn felt them both rip her shirt more so they could clean the wound properly. After a few hours she found herself back at the campsite with a bandage covering most of her right side. It was made out of one of her own shirts.

What happened? Kelryn asked. Wyrvenmon hopped up beside her with some fire-cooked bird.

You got flushed, she said.

It seems they empty the septic tanks on a schedule, and you timed it just right, Relaina said. Eat up, I'm going to show you two how it's done.

* * *

Relaina sat crouched in the ditch beside the road leading to the compound about a kilometre from it. She was waiting for the truck they knew came twice a day to come by. There was storm the night before so they used the opportunity to pull an old tree down onto the road making it look as if it fell from the weather. Wyrvenmon wanted to digivolve and do it, but her D-Power would have had any of the rouge digidestined on them easily. She had a strange abnormality, and in her rookie or lower forms put out zero D-Power regardless of how strong she got. Once she crossed the boundary to champion or above, she was just like any other digimon.

Relaina checked the presence of her harness again as she heard the truck's diesel engine approaching. It slowed at stopped by the tree and it's driver and passenger got out. Neither were armed or looked that old. They also thought nothing about such an old trick. Relaina figured that they must have been bringing in food or something else of trivial value, or rather taking garbage away. While they put their efforts to clearing the obstruction she rolled under the truck, affixed her harness to the frame, put her feet up and pulled her self up. There was no way she could be seen unless someone else climbed under with her. She was prepared to stay under for several hours while the truck was unloaded or loaded. Thy couldn't tell what the purpose was, but they did know there were ample opportunities to sneak away from it as all the security cameras were aimed outside the fence.

She felt the truck move as the two men climbed back in and started the engine. It started moving slowly and picked up speed. She only had to wait a minute before it came to a stop. She saw the feet of the guard checking the truck's manifest.

This the target truck? The guard asked.

Yeah, this is it, the driver replied.

Seems a shame to shoot up a working truck with mortars.

Don't worry about it, it's a piece of crap. Died on us three times getting here. Where do you want it?

Just park it over in the field. The guys are ready now I think. When your done you can get some coffee or whatever in the mess.

Relaina's heart stopped. In just a few minutes several people where going to be shooting this truck to bits. She heard another engine and was able to see the truck that she had wanted to be on enter the compound. The truck was driven to the edge of the small field and parked. The two men got out and headed back on foot. She looked down and saw some soldiers being led out to shoot at her. Relaina fumbled with the harness and dropped herself to the ground with a thud. She rolled out and prepared to stand when the first shot was fired and a fiery blast came from the truck's cargo compartment signalling a hit. Unfortunately it singed the clothes on her back and her long hair, almost making a barbecue of her.

She managed to get back to their camp after walking the long way around. She sat defeated with her friends, one with burned bandaged hands, one constantly washing herself, and one with three or four centimetres left of her once long hair.

Time to try the direct approach, Wyrvenmon said with Relaina's digivice in her claws.