Xantos cleaned his bloody blade. He'd taken a few hits, but was otherwise fine. During the brief struggle, two of his troops were caught in the crossfire, leaving only 30 troops for him to command. Even someone like me needs a sizeable army. He'd gained respect though, from the soldiers. They'd stood there, gawking at Xantos's amazing strength and agility. One had even called out: "Xantos has saved us! He's our true leader!" A short cheer went up for their new android-human Commander. Xantos swelled with pride. You've got their attention, now work it. He raised a hand to quiet them down.

"My loyal troops, we have been badly battered by RAM, but do not be dismayed, we shall regroup, and come back stronger and better than before. We will inform our leader, Morhin, and leave this city to build up an army to avenge our fallen friends!"

The crowd was a bit confused at the way Xantos spoke so valiantly. Normally, the late Commander Jackson would bark orders, but they gave a cheer anyway.

Xantos smiled within his robes. His army, well, squad, was motivated and looked up to him. There was still one last thing. Xantos selected a sturdy looking man, who looked dignified and strong among the tattered soldiers. "You there, yes, the one with gray eyes, come here."

The young man obeyed and approached Xantos.

"What's your name?"

"Lee… sir." He quickly remembered to add the 'sir' formality.

"Well now, you look like a sturdy man. Are you a Private?"

"1st class Private sir." Lee spoke softly, as though he wished he weren't the one chosen.

"Well then, how'd you like to be my Lieutenant? I could use a right-hand man."

"Er… it's a great honor sir." Lee mumbled.

"Now then, if you want to be a Lieutenant, you'll have to speak better than that. And while you're at it, stop slouching. Back straight, chest out, head up, legs together, that's better, now give me a good salute and a sharp 'Yes sir!'"

Lee did as he was told, and barked out, loud and crisp, "Yes sir!"

"Good, I'll make a Lieutenant out of you yet. Now then, let's return to camp, get some well-deserved rest, and tomorrow, let the destruction of RAM begin!"

Taichi woke, for once, slowly and peacefully. The only thing missing was the sunshine pouring in from the window. The young man headed for the shower turning it up hot enough to leave a thin fog in the bathroom afterwards. Agumon still slept soundly as Taichi dressed, so he decided to let the Digimon rest after his ordeal in the basement.

Making his way to the large center room, Taichi located a computer. There, after several minutes of searching, he found a map and the name of the city Hikari had mentioned, 'New Las Vegas.' There were mostly casino hotels, but a few nice places existed. What was most impressive about New Las Vegas was that it was over the ocean, hovering on massive twin fission engines. In any dangerous situation, the floating city could move about 35 kilometers an hour and retreat to land, or move into the sky up to 5 kilometers up. It had minimal but sufficient defenses, and a dozen or so mercenary pilots.

Sounds like the perfect place, to waste money. Even so, the more Taichi thought about it, the more he saw that it was a good idea. The leftover yen he had could get him some American dollars. Here I am, it's been, what, a month since that day? I'm still scrounging for cash, but at least I'm on the right track, I hope. Taichi finally decided that New Las Vegas would be the best, and most civilized place. Maybe this time I won't have to escape from it with Peregrine's guns blasting.

"It sounds great Taichi, but I'm not going to be having a lot of fun." Lizarddramon said, showing his bandaged claw. "I got it cut up pretty bad. Glass got shattered and I forgot to use my shield instead of my hand. I have to become a lefty for awhile, but I'm fine otherwise."

"That's cool." Taichi grinned. "Wouldn't be as much fun without you."

"Hah, ya` see? I'm the life of the party!" The Lizard Digimon sat up. "But this damn thing is a pain."

"OK then, just bring your wallet and meet me at Peregrine at six."

"Is the whole gang comin`?"

"Yeah, I hope so."

"Sound's cool, I'll see `ya."

Taichi exited Lizarddramon's room, and headed for Wex's. When he rang the buzzer several times, no one answered. Huh, where is he? Taichi checked the hanger, and saw someone on the Peregrine with a welder. "Hey! What're you doing to my ship!?" He yelled.

Then, the person turned and lifted his mask. "Hey Taichi!" Just thought I'd tune up your ship before we go!" Wex replied, then turned back and continued welding.

Taichi climbed up the ladder to the Peregrine's dorsal area. "You could've let me know."

Again, Wex raised the protective faceplate. "Well, I was going to but you weren't in your dorm. Didn't think you'd mind. About tonight, I'm not doing anything, and New Las Vegas is my old stomping grounds."

"What, you grew up there?"

"Yeah, it's a tough neighborhood in the slums, so I'd bring along a blaster."

"Noted. Sora and Lizarddramon are coming too. Hikari's still a maybe."

"Go ask her, I'll be awhile still, if your buddy Agumon were here I could get this done faster."

"Ah, trying to get Agumon awake is like trying to find a number in a phone book. You can't."

"Heh heh, yeah, why don't you talk to Hikari. Being a nurse, I'll bet you have to catch her early."

Taichi hopped down from Peregrine. "I'll see you later Wex." Wex nodded and returned to the task at hand.

Taichi had just entered the Infirmary, when Hikari was rushing by. Before he could call her over, several people were rushing a person on a hovering stretcher.

Hikari quickly joined the group, franticly asking questions. "What's his status?"

"Not good, pulse is weak, heart's fluttering. We need the paddles."

"I got `em." One man brought in a device with a pair of electric pads dangling from wires.

"Petroleum Jelly on there?" Hikari rubbed the metal plates together.

"Yup. Hurry, we're losing him!"

"Give me 300 volts."

"300 volts, ready!"

"Clear!" Hikari pressed the plates down on the man's chest. His body jumped slightly as electricity flowed through him. The heart rate monitor continued to beep randomly. "No good, 500 volts."

"Ready."

"Clear!" Again, the paddles zapped, but the man's heart refused to return to normal. "He's slipping fast, 1,000 volts." A doctor signaled that the machine was ready. "Please, work. Clear!" The man's body nearly fell off the hovering stretcher from the powerful shock. "C'mon, stay with me! 2,000!"

Another nurse raised an eyebrow. "He's going to get quite a shock."

"I know I can get him stable. 2,000 volts."

"Almost there… Almost there…"

"C'mon, we're gonna lose him!"

"I can't magically pull 2,000 volts out of thin air! Got it!"

"Clear!"

Taichi actually saw the tiny bolts of electricity flash as metal touched flesh. Finally, the heart line went into a brief single beep, then began beeping in a normal heart rate.

"Yes! I got him!"

The doctors and nurses around applauded and complimented Hikari for saving a life. Before long, another, older looking doctor approached, asked a few questions then went into a room with the man in tow.

Hikari wiped sweat from her brow then went in the opposite direction. She noticed her brother as she passed. "Oh, hey, where'd you come from?"

Taichi still stood speechless. Finally he uttered, "My little sister is a full blown doctor?"

"Yeah, happens every once in awhile. Comes with the job."

"But, jeez, you're 16! I thought you just did checkups or something!"

"Nah, I do a lot more than that. The doctors here are really nice, they teach me a lot. And one on one training is a lot more efficient than sitting in a lecture hall and writing papers for 8 plus years."

"…Well, uh…"

"Oh, I have something to do right now but I'll be free for tonight, Hannah says she can cover for me. I'll see you this evening, bye Taichi." She spoke so rapidly, Taichi blinked twice before his brain could interpret what Hikari had said. Wordlessly, he turned and headed out of the Infirmary.

Xantos played around with video link until finally, with Lee assisting him, they contacted Morhin. His face was completely shadowed. Maybe that's what he meant to do. But Xantos could make out his triangular jaw, and braided, jet black hair.

"This'd better be good." He sounded young for a monarch, but authority fairly dripped from his voice.

"This is Commander Xantos reporting…"

"I have no Commander under the name of Xantos. Who the hell are you?" Morhin demanded.

"Commander Jackson made me his successor. He's dead now, therefor, I rule what's left of the 3rd Scout force.

"3rd Scout force? The one in San Francisco after RAM?"

"Yes, we've been reduced to just several dozen soldiers. There's been a lot crustal activity, and we were overwhelmed by RAM forces."

Morhin slammed his fist down, sending a wave of static through the video receiver. "I don't tolerate failure! You are the new Commander, you shall be punished like a Commander!"

Xantos sighed quietly. "Understood."

"I will send a shuttle 100 miles away. At midnight tonight, you will march to it. For every day it takes for you to get there, you'll serve that much time with the slaves. If you weren't new, I'd also demote you to Captain, but I have the feeling you'll make a good Commander, so long as you don't fail me again."

"Thank you for your mercy sir."

"No need to call me sir. Morhin has enough authority itself. Morhin, out."

The video faded out and went black. Xantos sighed again. "He's a rather disagreeable fellow, isn't he?"

Lee nodded, silently.

"We'll have to get a head start. Tell everyone to pack whatever they can. We'll go until 10 PM, sleep for the night, then start at 6 the next day."

"Understood sir." Lee lifted the flap and exited Xantos's tent.

Well, Lee thought to himself. At least he doesn't smack me when he's angry.

"OK, everything's done, down to cleaning the windshield." Wex said as he walked with Taichi up the boarding ramp.

"Wow, Wex, I gotta hand it to you, you've got a thing for ships." Taichi slid his hand across the polished walls. "Well, I guess that means I'm sharing my wallet with you tonight."

"Ah, just doing what I like. Besides, if I sat in front of the computer all day, I'd probably get even fatter and I'd stay there for the rest of my life." Wex patted his bulging stomach. "Yeah, too many chips and not enough veggies. But being a mechanic takes a lot of work. I remember once…"

"Oh no, there he goes with his stories, get a pillow ready Taichi." Lizarddramon's voice came from outside the ship, claws clicking against the polished metal.

"Yikes!" Taichi saw Lizarddramon, but he'd turned pale white. "Uh, you look like a ghost."

"Oh yeah, I'm shedding." Lizarddramon pulled at the creamy skin on his face. It stretched out disturbingly far and stayed there for a moment when he let go.

"That's disgusting." Taichi said, prodding the Digimon's stomach. The skin was stiff and rough. "But totally cool."

"Actually, I just think it's disgusting." Sora said as she and Hikari came into the ship together. They'd dressed lightly for the summer night.

"Whatever. Let's get going before we have to wait until midnight for a table."

After a few minuets, Agumon had warmed up the engines, and Peregrine was soon out into the cool night air. He brought it to a steady cruising pace, and they were flying over the ocean after a few minuets over the beach. It was quiet most of the ride. Wex and Lizarddramon were inspecting Peregrine further, criticizing the aging ship.

"Man, this thing is ancient, probably older than you Wex."

"That's not speaking for a lot. I'm only 24."

"Even so, that's old for a ship. In these days, your ship is obsolete in a month."

"Oh shut up." Taichi interrupted them. "It's not a matter of power. Reliability is the key. She's never let me down."

Lizarddramon rolled his yellow eyes.

"OK, she's never failed me in a bad situation. Yeah, she sputters sometimes, but I never had to get a complete remodeling."

In the cockpit, Hikari and Sora sat in the pilot and co-pilot chair. "Men, all they talk about is how good their ship is." Sora reclined the seat back as far as possible.

Hikari did the same. "I know, they make such a big deal about everything. My brother has more air in his head than brain."

Sora giggled. "Yeah, he's done some pretty dumb stuff."

"Like what?" Hikari became intrigued.

"Well, awhile ago, he spent an hour looking for a CD that was already in the drive, and another time, he got oil on his face while he was lecturing me about being careful when working on a ship."

Hikari covered her mouth, but ended bursting with laughter at her brother's lack of common sense.

Taichi heard her laughing from the hall. "Women," he commented to the others. "Always warping stories of our mistakes. I only got a couple drops on my forehead!" He said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Are you kidding? You looked like you fell in a pile of soot!"

"Get used to it Taichi. Women will always bug you. I had a girlfriend who spread stuff about me." Wex said.

"Really? Where is she now?" Taichi asked.

"Uh, we broke up."

"Well thanks for the support." Taichi mumbled.

"Hey, Taichi," Sora said walking in on the guys. "Is there supposed to be a bunch of dots on the radar thing?"

"Probably nothing." Taichi headed for the cockpit. About half a dozen dots were coming inbound from the east.

"Maybe just a group with the same idea as us." Agumon said nervously, chewing on his claw.

The comm unit clicked to life. A younger man with an overseas accent said with a chuckle: "Well lookee what we have here boys, a ship in our space."

Taichi had encountered pirates before, and they weren't to be taken lightly. "Sorry if we're intruding, we'll just make a beeline to the nearest boundary."

"Oh no, we don't mind if you're in Manta territory," Taichi didn't relax, despite the disregard of whose space was whose. "But there's a toll for how long you're in here."

"Fine, I just want to get out of here." Taichi said impatiently. He mentally reminded himself to be as kind and courteous as possible, to avoid trouble.

"Now, if you keep heading straight, eh… carry the 6… that'll be $438.29. Including the escort to make sure you don't stick around."

Taichi growled at the mention of the obscene price. "Alright, I'll land, give you the money in a container, and then I'm gone."

"That place over there looks good and open." The leader pirate eagerly suggested an area that was a flat and sandy.

Taichi swung around to land. He was about 5 meters from the ground, and the pirates were already down, impatiently waiting for their pay, when the dorsal gun turret blazed out dozens of full powered scarlet lasers. An entire unshielded ship exploded, with the pirate still inside.

For a moment, Taichi was in silence, then the comm nearly burst with an angry voice.

"Bastard! You killed him! Shoot `im down!"

Taichi hauled Peregrine up and away, far from the pirates who scrambled to restart their ships. Some desperately shot with blasters, but they dissipated on Peregrine's much more powerful shields. After a minuet, Taichi brought his ship to cruising speed convinced they weren't following him. "Alright, who took a shot at them without me saying to."

Lizarddramon was absent from the cockpit.

"I'm gonna wring his scaly neck…" Taichi mumbled a series of threats as he stormed to the Lizard Digimon, whose pride was swelling as he climbed down the ladder.

"Took care of them, didn't I?" Lizarddramon folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Took care of them!?" Taichi repeated, but much more loudly. "You blasted one back to the Stone Age! I didn't really care if we lost 400 dollars!"

Lizarddramon was surprised that Taichi was angry with him for saving a wad of money. "Hey, c'mon! They were pirates! It's one less person that rips off innocent travelers like us!"

"The money's not the point! He didn't know what hit him! Killing someone that way is lowering yourself to their level!"

Lizarddramon lowered his head. His white, peeling skin covered up the redness in his face. "I know, but I didn't want you to pay for some stupid rule."

"Yeah, it is a stupid rule, but you're better off playing their game than slagging them to pieces."

"But…"

"No buts. You pull something like that without asking me and I'll throw you off my ship at 20,000 meters."

Lizarddramon sulked off, his normally upright tail dragging behind him.

Taichi put a hand on his head as he turned around, and met the speechless faces of Sora, Hikari, Agumon and Wex. "What?"

"You sure snapped." Wex said. He turned around. "I'll be… in the kitchen."

"Yeah, me too." Hikari quickly followed Wex.

"And, I'd better tend to the controls." Agumon turned and half ran, half walked to the cockpit.

Sora didn't have an excuse. Instead she smiled weakly. "Well, you did come down hard on him, but, it was the mature thing to do." She picked her words carefully.

Taichi slammed his fist against the wall. Sora jumped at the suddenness and power of the punch. "I'm turning into my dad! Yelling at everyone for messing up!"

Sora tried to comfort him. She wrapped her arms around Taichi's waist. "Stop, please," she said gently. "I know you sounded like an angry mother, but Lizarddramon is still young, I'm sure he's that much more grown up."

"Maybe. I suppose the next thing you'll say is 'It'd be nice if you apologized' right?"

Sora nodded.

"Well, thanks, but later. I'm still steamed, and I bet Lizarddramon is too."

"Taichi! There it is!" Agumon called excitedly from the front of the ship. Everyone came to the cockpit and squeezed in to see. New Las Vegas was a brilliant site. From a distance, it appeared to be a bright dot, but as Peregrine came in closer, the two massive engines pumped out tremendous energy to keep the city in the sky. Larger buildings poked into the sky, scattered among smaller ones with bright neon and laser signs. Other ships flocked toward it, greatly outnumbering the outbound ships. Tour freighters were flying high, orbiting the grand city before landing and letting tourists out.

Taichi absorbed all of it in before finally hailing a landing operator. He arranged for a landing site, and squeezed in among the crowded area. All six within Peregrine went down the boarding ramp, and were met with a dazzling display of lights and sounds.

The group found a small robot-controlled monorail and boarded it. Within the cabin, clear windows allowed everyone to see the towers and casinos. After a few moments, they landed in a busy sector filled with people either in rags or fancy, official looking clothes. Police were nowhere to be found.

"So… uh… where to first?" Taichi was firmly rooted in place, unsure of which way to go first.

"Food!" Agumon pointed a claw at an average looking restaurant, one without a line.

"Well, OK, look's good." Taichi and the others had to run to catch Agumon.

"For such a tiny guy, he run's awfully fast." Hikari commented.

Xantos and his small squad plodded onward to the location. He was hoping to get in ten miles before midnight, but at the group's current state, he doubted that would work out. They'd packed up everything salvageable, and gone off, but Xantos feared they'd gotten greedy and over-packed. Progress was slow, men dropped for a moment, then painfully returned to their feet with help from others. They had gone only four miles, and mutters streamed amongst the exhausted squad.

Finally, Xantos called a halt. "Alright, we're done for the night. Ration out the food and water; don't go through it all in one night. Get your sleep, we'll be making more progress tomorrow.

"Ah, that was a good dinner." Sora stretched outside the building. All six of them had squeezed into a corner. Agumon saw cost as no issue and ordered a huge plate of ribs, while everyone else ordered lighter.

"Good dinner… bad price." Taichi stuffed his severely thinned wallet into his jacket pocket.

"Hey we all agreed. Person who guessed farthest from the bill pays." Lizarddramon said with a laugh.

"Yeah. You didn't really think you'd get away with under $200?" Agumon said. "Not with me at the same table."

"Hmph. You really racked up the price with those ribs. I shelled out almost three hundred for dinner. Don't expect me to do this every weekend."

Wex abruptly stopped the group. "Over there, look at those robots."

Lizarddramon nodded. "Peacekeepers if I ever saw them."

Taichi shivered, remembering his brief but sobering experience with the tough androids. "OK, I doubt they'll recognize us. We don't have any badges or anything that makes us look like we're with RAM, right? Just act casual."

The group walked loosely, heading past the droids and continuing for a moment before talking again. Wex suddenly went to the front, looking at the flashing lights "Taichi, I recognize this place. I used to hang out here when I was a kid." Wex turned to face Taichi. "Mind if I find a couple buddies?"

"Go on, we'll meet up later."

"No. The Golden Rule in New Las Vegas is 'Never travel alone.'"

"I'd rather go to the casino. Slot machines don't take much energy to play." Agumon waddled more than walked off.

"I'll supervise him." Hikari followed the Digimon.

"Right, c'mon, I know where to catch up with some buddies, and find out why Morhin has his people here."

"Uh, are you sure this is the right place?" Taichi staring wide eyed at the back alley sign.

"Yup, you two stay out here. They don't like Digimon in these places, and Sora wouldn't fit in." Wex went down the stairs and past the thick black curtain.

"You'd better not do anything stupid in there Taichi." Sora said as Taichi hesitantly went through the entrance.

Inside, loud, pulsating techno music shook the walls. Drunken men were laughing at stories, while others sat at the edge of the walkway gawking at the beautiful women that passed by and winked at them.

"Nice place." Taichi commented sarcastically. "Should I really be here?"

"Hey, there he is." Wex pointed to a small framed, balding man at the counter. "Hey, Antonio!"

The man blinked once then laughed heartily. "Wex, my friend! What've you been up to?" He spoke with a slight Spanish accent.

"Lending my superior technician and pyromaniac skills to RAM."

"Ah, Wex, I always told you, you'll end up in the salve gallows for being against Morhin." Antonio said somberly. "But it looks like I've misjudged RAM, it's been around for quite a long time. You and a handful of others made that little group with big dreams."

"Yeah, took a lot of sweat, blood, and tears, and we can hold our own now."

"Not that I don't find catching up with old buddies interesting…" Taichi spoke up. "But what're we doing here anyway Wex?"

"Uh, yeah." Wex scratched the back of his head. He spoke softly so no one would overhear. "Listen, me and a couple friends saw some Uglies in the streets. What's Morhin doing this far out?"

"Rumor has it Morhin is tightening security everywhere. Weapon production is nearly doubled, troops are on the move, and the Council just passed a law that anyone between 18 and 45 has to work for him or pay a hefty bill. They also dropped the requirement that women have to take a fitness test beforehand. Mothers everywhere aren't fond of that."

"Whew, that's pretty harsh. He's getting tougher every day." Wex replied.

"Eh, happens to any monarch. Power goes to their head." Antonio shrugged. "Hey, you want something to drink? Or I could set you up with one of the ladies."

"Nah, we've gotta get going, right Taichi?"

Taichi's eyes were averted. "What? Oh, yeah, our friends are waiting. Later Antonio."

"Any time you're in town, I'll be right here. You two take care of yourselves, OK?"

"OK, thanks Antonio." Wex pawed his way through the rowdy crowd, while Taichi followed in the enormous man's path. They went up the stairs back outside, where Lizarddramon was on all fours, hissing at a pair of men who'd had far too much to drink for the night, and were trying to get Sora to come home with them.

"Woah, it's a ghost." One of them pointed slightly right of the Digimon's true location.

"Huh, cool." The other laughed foolishly. "Are you gonna grant us wishes?"

"Get out of here." Taichi said with groan, firmly shoving the two men. They staggered and fell in a heap. After a minute of effort, they quit and drifted out of their swirling world into a heavy slumber.

"Sad to see the dark side of New Las Vegas." Wex said shaking his head.

"Hope you found what you're looking for." Sora said with a sniff. "Because I'd really like to get going back to RAM."

"RAM? Excuse me miss, what do you know about RAM?" A lone troop with a Morhin Army Uniform on intruded.

Big mouth. "Uh, nothing sir, just something I heard on the news." Sora said, sweat forming on her neck.

"I thought I heard you say something about going back to it." Suspicion filled the man's voice. His hand was twitching at his blaster.

"What she means sir," Taichi tried to cover for Sora. "Is that she wants to get back at RAM, for what they did to our guys."

"How did you know about that? Battles are banned from the media."

"Oh, we're all part of the Morhin Army…" Wex started.

The soldier wouldn't let him finish. "Digimon aren't allowed as soldiers, and why aren't you in uniform? I'm calling HQ." He brought up the mini video radio on his wrist. "This is Private number 66218, I have a group… oof!" Wex had already cracked the man's helmet. Somehow, the troop was still conscious. "Emergency, sector 3, send… help." He fell face down on the pavement.

"He's raised the alarm, we've gotta get going." Lizarddramon said, already scaling the drain going up.

"Hey, what about the rest of us that don't have claws?" Taichi complained.

"This isn't as easy as it looks with a cast on your hand. Stack something." With that, the white lizard Digimon was on the roof.

Grumbling, Taichi searched down the alley, and found a wooden crate. "Wex get on. Give us a boost." Wex did so, helping Sora onto his shoulders. She gripped the edge of the roof, and managed to pull herself up and over with some assistance by Lizarddramon. Taichi did the same, without any help, then Wex jumped, and with effort from the other three, got onto the top of the building. Taichi heard faint sounds of shouting orders, and assumed the worst. "Let's make our way across the roofs as far as we can. We'll get into Peregrine from there."

"That could take hours, and what about Hikari and Agumon?" Sora asked.

Hikari licked her lips as she said: "Two." She slid two un-important cards to the dealer, who, in turn, slid two cards from the deck back to her face down. Hikari picked them up and took in a breath sharply. Oh God, that's three Queens. She was sweating profusely after losing most of her money in poker and blackjack. This was her last game before she'd run out of money. She looked across the four other blank faces. One other man was baggy-eyed and looked in worst financial situation than Hikari. Cautiously, he murmured, "One." The dealer slid another card in his direction. His face brightened briefly then went back to passive.

Oh man, I never thought I'd have such a gambling problem, I'm not the luckiest person in the world. Her voice quivered as she said, "Ready." The other players echoed her, one at a time. The dealer nodded at the man with bags under his eyes. He placed his hand on the table, setting aside the useless cards. Somewhat confidently, he said: "Pair of Sevens. The Ogremon next to Hikari sighed as he flipped over his hand and said glumly, "Pair of Fours."

Hikari tried to control her fidgeting, but she was too nervous and excited. Her hands shook as she revealed the Queens. "Three Queens." She declared a little too loudly. The fourth person, and aging woman with wrinkles crossing her face, showed her cards.

The cards were in perfect order from six to a Jack.

Hikari's heart stopped.

"Straight." The women declared with a smile.

"Shimatta!" Hikari exclaimed, blushed at her outburst in her native language, then quietly left the table. I can't gamble like this all the time. Being a nurse causes early graying enough. She sighed and looked at her watch. Eleven, I wonder what my brother is doing. Hikari laughed to herself, imagining Taichi calling her on the comlink and shouting for help. He's always like that. She was surprised when her comlink did chime. She put it up to her ear and turned it on. "Hello?"

"Hikari, is that you?" Taichi's voice filled her ear. "Listen, I need you and Agumon to get Peregrine up and running. We, ah… ran into some trouble."

"Taichi…" Hikari's voice stressed at the end like a little girl whining. "You said we'd have a peaceful evening."

"I know, I know, but we won't be flying away with the guns blazing. Agumon should have the secondary key combo. Make sure Peregrine can take off the minute we step aboard."

"Right, right, let me see if I can find Agumon."

"I gotta go, bye Hikari." The comm clicked off, and Hikari returned it to her pocket. It wasn't hard to find the dinosaur Digimon, because he found her. "Hikari, look! I won two thousand dollars! On my last dollar too!"

"Taichi's in trouble, again. With the others too. He wants Peregrine ready for when he arrives there."

"Aw, but I have to cash in these things or all I'll have is a bunch of plastic."

"My brother and your co-pilot have no price tag, now come on!"

Agumon sighed as he pulled the string to tighten the bag of chips and threw it over his shoulder. "One day, I'll come back and cash these in."

"Wait… wait… OK, jump!" Taichi said in a loud whisper.

Sora ran full sprint to the edge, then leaped gracefully to the other side. Her landing was something to be desired as she tripped and somersaulted twice then slid a few more feet. She stood up and grumbled when she saw the black streaks across her shirt. "How many more roofs and rough landings?" She asked.

"Uh oh, dead end." Wex pointed at the next few buildings. "We're entering the apartments, the next few are about thirty stories high."

The Morhin soldiers below were yelling at one another, ordering for searches in houses. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of helicopter blades rang out. "They must be pretty desperate to get us if they're using choppers, they're really breathing down our necks Taichi. We could make the rest of the way on foot, but the city is crawling with Morhin soldiers." Lizarddramon said. His skin had dried and stiffened so much it was detached from the fresh layer. He scratched at the itchy dead skin. "And I need a shower."

"You can do that when we get back home, your skin is the last thing we…" Taichi paused for a moment. "Hey, that may work!"

"What?"

"It's simple. Anyone have a knife?"

"Did you see anyone this way?"

"No sir. We've searched most of the houses and we've scanned the sewers. Not a life form to be found."

"Well, we've looked down and in the middle, get the helicopter over here."

"Already done sir. E.T.A five minuets."

"I found him, I found him!" A young soldier called from an alley. "The white Digimon, but he's not moving!" That attracted a lot of attention. Dozens of troops came rushing, all wanting a piece of the action. Sure enough, Lizarddramon stood, leaning against the wall.

"There he is, why is he just sitting there"

"That's what I meant."

"Hey, put your hands up or we'll shoot!"

Lizarddramon didn't respond.

"I said put your hands up!"

The Digimon stood stubbornly, unmoving.

"On three, I shoot!"

Still, silence dominated the streets.

"One, two…" The Captain only needed to squeeze a little harder before Lizarddramon would have a smoking crater in his chest. The blaster fired, and Lizarddramon disintegrated in a puff of smoke.

"What the…?" More than one confused soldier said.

"They took it, let's move!" Taichi was already halfway down the building as he heard a young man shouting from several houses down.

"Guess there's more in that head than hair, eh?" Sora followed him down.

"That bought us some time, but not all in the world." Wex clumsily climbed down the rough surface.

"I never thought dead skin would save our butts. Could've been more careful with my hand though, I think some scabs re-opened." Lizarddramon leaped, flipped in air and landed like a cat.

The four fugitives continued down the streets, passing only the odd civilian. "Hold up, into that building!" Taichi stopped the group and headed into an abandoned shop as a trio of soldiers ran by. Taichi looked outside, only to bring it back in as two more came in close proximity.

"We're locked down, get Agumon to bring Peregrine here!" Wex whispered as a Peacekeeper clicked by on its spider-like legs.

Taichi retrieved the comlink from his pocket at clicked it on. "Hikari, you there sis?"

"I hear you Taichi, we're almost to Peregrine."

"Hurry it up, we're stuck in a building on thirty ninth street. Look for us on the roof." Taichi mashed the comlink back in his pocket. He was out of breath and in trouble again, but this time with his friends. Anything happens to them, and I'll never forgive myself. I just need a minuet to get a grip. Taichi took a deep breath. "Agumon and Hikari are coming, let's get to the roof."

Sora found the stairs in the corner, carefully because of the rickety, rotting wood. Lizarddramon and Taichi followed, while Wex took a considerably longer time because of his girth. "That's it, I'm going on a diet." He finally made it to the top.

As they went to the next floor, Taichi found another stairway up to the roof, not wasting any time. Wex was halfway up the stairs, when it cracked loudly. He tensed up and stood still, hoping the floor wouldn't drop beneath him.

"Wex, stay there, I'll signal for Peregrine."

"Not like I have much choice." Wex gripped the railing, trying not to put too much weight onto the stairs.

Taichi was on the top of the building for only a minuet, when he came down, with a gun drawn. "They're checking buildings. We have five, maybe six minuets before they drop in on us."

"Taichi…" Wex's voice wavered. "I'm moving down." The stairs groaned with stress from the weight. Wex sank a few inches more. "Really fast!"

"Just hold on buddy." Lizarddramon tried to relax Wex. "Taichi, throw me the gun." Taichi did so, tossing his blaster at the Digimon. Lizarddramon caught it by the handle. "I'll hold them off."

"Don't get yourself killed dude. And this time, I'm allowing you to kill."

Lizarddramon winked a yellow eye, then slid down the first set of stairs via the railing.

"I'm going topside, we need every last second." Taichi returned to the roof.

Sora was left alone with Wex, who continued to sink steadily. Wex had abandoned the rails and took to pushing his hands against the walls. The cracks became more frequent and louder. The heavyset man was trying to remain steady, but in his position, it was hard to keep still. A loud straining sound echoed around the shop. Wex groaned as the wood under one of his feet broke and fell.

It all happened so quickly, Sora had trouble remembering it later.

With a yelp of surprise, Wex disappeared as the wood gave up and collapsed.

"Wex! No!" Sora futilely reached a hand into the dark pit. "Wex!"

"Unh, I'm still here." Wex was hanging by a single hand onto an extruding piece of metal above a long, dark plummet. Already, it was slowly bending. "Taichi! Hurry it up!"

"Peregrine's coming! Just wait for a minuet!"

The pole moaned with agony under Wex's weight. "I don't have a minuet!"

Downstairs, Lizarddramon hissed a curse and fired the blaster half a dozen times.

At the roof, Taichi watched as Peregrine slowed and descended. The ramp upwards was already opening. Agumon skillfully brought the ship close enough for Taichi to jump on, but the young man hesitated. "Agumon, Wex is stuck on the staircase up to here. Blast the roof with a low power laser." Taichi barked into the comlink.

"Righty-o." Agumon kept the ship steady as he headed for the laser turret. A pair of dim, underpowered lasers shot outward, blowing aside and revealing Wex underneath, shielding himself from the rubble that fell.

"'Bout time! Get me out of here!" Wex hollered over the noise of the engine.

"The tow cable! Lower the tow cable!" Taichi fairly screamed.

Lizarddramon was being pressed back and nursing a burnt area where a laser had grazed his scaly skin. The charge in the blaster was depleting itself quickly. As though things couldn't get any worst, the helicopter had arrived and was opening fire on Peregrine.

Inside Taichi's ship, Agumon had returned to the cockpit, and retaliated fire with the chain gun. The helicopter was shielded, but the stinging bullets rained upon it, wave after wave, and metal eventually found metal. Struck with a mortal blow, the helicopter lost valuable altitude and settled down none to gently on the pavement, crushing several troops.

Meanwhile, Hikari had secured a thick metal line from Peregrine's hatch, and fed down enough for Wex to grab on. Wex grabbed the strong wire eagerly and pulled himself up with the last of his strength. Sora as well climbed up and out of the building, not daring to jump the wide abyss. Lizarddramon continued firing at the oncoming horde, taking several out but backing up steadily as another trooper replaced each he downed. He reached the rope, gripped it with one claw, and continued to fire into the shouting crowd. A shot from the swarm of Morhin troops hit him square in the thigh, then another in his abdomen. Hissing in pain, Lizarddramon held the rope in a death grip as Hikari, Wex, and Sora pulled him up.

Realizing that this was their chance, Taichi quickly ran for the ramp, shouting for Agumon to get out of the city.

As the ramp closed, and Lizarddramon fell in a heap onto the deck, a puddle of deep red blood forming under him, Taichi jumped into the laser turret vaporizing every last soldier he could.

New Las Vegas quickly shrunk into the distance. Taichi slouched in the seat, suddenly noticing he had a headache. As he climbed down the ladder, Hikari rushed by with a medical pack at the ready. Lizarddramon was groaning in pain, breathing heavily and coughing up phlegm mixed with blood. Agumon was a blur at the controls, checking to make sure Peregrine wasn't damaged in the brief quarrel.

Taichi simply slumped against the wall, feeling incredibly exhausted, more mentally than physically. We made it out alive. Taichi stared at his hands, his trembling hands. Hikari chewed on her lip as she applied pressure to close the wounds on the injured Digimon. Wex was breathing heavily on the ground, massaging sore arms. Sora looked traumatized, staring at Lizarddramon with shrunken pupils as he faded out of consciousness.

What have I done? Taichi asked himself. How could he have put his friends through so much? What the hell have I done?