Dividing Line
By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung
Disclaimer: All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!
Winter cursed silently, taking shelter in their new temporary home: a floating army of cruisers. The young leader of the rebellious army sighed, tired from his conversation with Celest. He was just glad that the female cried herself to sleep. However, a bitter remark on her part left Winter dwelling on old memories he buried all so long ago.
"How do you know how I feel?! You've never lost someone close to your before!"
Winter closed his eyes, pressing his back against the cold steel wall of the moving ship. If only Celest knew.
"Damnit!" Winter screamed out, slamming his fist into the wall. "They all die on me sooner or later..." he added softly, slowly sliding onto the ground, pulling his legs up to his chest and crossing his arms over them.
"...keep believing .you'll pull through..."
Winter remembered those words Magna spoke before they separated. That just made the 17-year old drop his head and cry softly.
"I'll pull through...or I'll send everyone to their graves..." he sobbed softly, knowing it was all possible.
* * * * * *
K.H. stepped into the HQ of their operation, pretty much his school barricaded all around. The barricades were just there to stop any massive attack if the enemy were able to get past the defence turrets bordering their territory.
"Ops, report!" K.H. shouted out, donning a headset. A voice was heard through the static.
"All convoys secure and are being unloaded," one of the operatives responded. "Job well done on the defence," the operator added quickly.
"We almost lost one," K.H. told the operator. "They're catching on. Find a way to throw them off."
"On it!" was the enthusiastic reply. The link was cut then and there. K.H. took the headset off his head and tossed it into the hands of another soldier, heading deeper into the base. Human's of many ages and sizes worked furiously at their jobs. Very little rest was allocated to those who could still work. They couldn't afford to let their guard down for a second, or risk annihilation.
The Digi-Destined entered the infirmary section of the building, taking note of the wounded. His attention was brought to Michael, being bandaged up after his arm was hit by the shrapnel of a mortar explosion out there.
"How's it going?" K.H. asked, watching the nurse finish wrapping the wound then heading off to the next patient.
"Take more then a mortar shell to keep me down," Michael joked softly, moving the arm lightly.
"Well, then let's see how you do when you get hit by one," K.H. joked back, getting soft chuckles between the two.
"Status?" Michael asked, fear hinted in his tone.
"All cargo ships accounted for," K.H. answered, getting a soft exhale from his companion. "Mimi is down at the docks supervising the unloading, as are our Digimon. Don't worry, she'll survive. I'm pretty sure you'd take the next mortar shall for her if needed."
"Heh...I guess so..." Michael responded, sliding off the bed he sat on. "When do you think we can mount an offence?"
"Honestly, not for a while," K.H. replied, becoming more serious. "It's getting harder and harder to get supplies in. If they keep adapting like they are, it'll become a game of attrition that they will win."
"And our other locations?" Michael asked next, analysing the situation.
"They're holding, but are in similar positions. Unless we can find more locations to help us out, this looking like a losing war..."
The two remained silent as they headed up towards the operations section of the base, hoping to devise a new strategy.
* * * * * *
Soaren flapped his wings lightly, hovering above one of the turrets for the ship. The Digimon, now in his Rookie form, assisting in the maintenance of the ships.
"Just a little more...there!" he shouted out, the crane halting. Technicians ran up to secure the turret barrel in place for use. Attack was imminent, and the crews of the ships were determined to give the fight of a lifetime.
"Yo, Soaren!" a female voice shouted from below. The flying Digimon looked down, seeing a pair of a male and female Human waving up.
"Evac! Solja!" Soaren exclaimed, gliding down before the two. "How goes your section?"
"Defence batteries are okay," Solja reported. "We maximised the efficiency of the engines, and all ships should be running at full speed now. We'll be as ready as we'll ever be if those Fallen Angel bastards decide to pursue." Soujiro 'Solja' Dyrana was the main engineer in the rebellion army. He was not very tall, but had a fine build. His blue T-shirt and black jeans were stained by oil and other such filth that can be picked up in the engine room. The man had black eyes and hair. On his jeans he wore a belt, and one the belt was a pair of holsters, each carrying a pistol. Extra clips could be seen as small bulges in his pants.
"Civilian personal ships are secure and are at the front," Evac continued. "If the Fallen Angel brigade follows, the civilians will be safely ahead while our main military force engages the foe at the rear." Karrena 'Evac' Kysija, the lover of Solja, was much the same. She was one of the leading technicians in the army, and helped out anyway she could. Her orange jump suit was stained the same way as her lover. She had short brown hair and emerald eyes. Like Solja, she carried a pair of pistols and extra ammo with her. Both of them were excellent shots with their weapons, and Solja could make the best custom weapons anywhere.
"Good," Soaren mused, happy with the work done.
"Soaren...how's Fox?" Evac asked, breaking an ominous silence that followed when no one in the group moved or spoke.
"Winter...I really don't know..." Soaren answered, knowing Winter's 'full name' as Winter Fox, probably better said as his full nickname. "He's confronting Celest now about our last battle..."
"Damnit...why doesn't the kid just take on the Fallen Angel's?" Solja protested. "We have the man power, and we've dealt with bigger brigades then that. Why do we have to run from those bastards every single time?"
"Because Winter doesn't feel we're ready for them yet..." Soaren answered, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
"And if we keep running like that, we'll just lose more good people!" Solja shouted. "Look at Magna...and look where this running got him..."
"Now, now..." Evac whispered, hushing Solja and pulling him away. "We don't need this now...the war has been tough on us all...we should all stay refreshed and ahead of our foes so we can take them prepared." Solja cursed softly, following Evac down below the deck.
"No...Winter just doesn't want to fight the Fallen Angel's..." Soaren muttered, knowing no one could hear him. The Rookie level Digimon headed down below as well to check up on his partner.
* * * * * *
"Line clear?" Marc asked, watching the static image of Tiberius on the screen.
"I have the line scanned all the times for any sort of tapping," Tiberius responded. "If they are listening, there's an instant kill command for the communication. Besides, this is even a new system for us. They won't know it for a while."
"Good," Marc spoke, leaning down and facing the screen. "At least this way, we can organise better across distance."
"Agreed," came the response from the other Digi-Destined. "But I can't seem to find a link to anyone in the east continent outside of Europe. It's like there's some massive firewall."
"Something has to be going on in there," Marc told his friend. "They have yet to dedicate as many forces as we expected to these fronts. Something must be keeping them occupied in there."
"I can see Izzy, Tai, Kari, and them holding up in there," Tiberius spoke after a bit of thought. "But even they would get swamped over this period of time. Which means, they have been holding off the fleet, as well as another group, unknown to any of us."
"Which also means we have a lot more allies out there then we first thought," Marc concluded. Tiberius nodded, agreeing as well. "The problem is finding them..." Marc added softly, though audible to his companion.
"We're working around the clock here to penetrate that firewall," Tiberius informed his companion.
"Keep me posted them," Marc told his friend. Once more, Tiberius nodded, then signed off. The eighteen-year-old Digi-Destined signed, turning around and leaving his quarters to help out with operations at his location.
* * * * * *
"Yo...Wint? Fox? Ya there?" Soaren spoke, his voice echoing throughout the corridor. He knocked on the door lightly again, though still no response. Soaren might be Winter's Digimon partner, but he still didn't want to disturb him very often, especially in delicate situations like this. After another moment of wait, Soaren tapped on the metal door once more, then not waiting anymore, pushed the door open. The metal screeched open from rusted hinges, but it didn't affect the Digimon that much.
"Hello? Winter Fox? Are you home?" Soaren shouted into the room, looking around. The light was on, the bed was made, but nothing else could be detected of anyone's presence.
"Now where the heck did he disappear to?" Soaren muttered, stepping out and closing the door behind him. He looked up the hallway, then back down the hallway, then decided on going up to look for his partner.
* * * * * *
"How do you know how I feel?! You've never lost someone close to your before!"
Winter leaned over the edge of the ship, watching the waves of water pass by, cut by the moving cruiser he stood on. The seventeen-year-old sighed softly, swirling one of his daggers in his right hand quickly. His left hand was clenched tightly in a fist.
"What...it's been three years now since I've lost her..." Winter whispered softly, grabbing his right hand dagger and clenching it tightly. "Three years I've seen the others...and now...they might be dead...I wouldn't know..."
"They all die on me sooner or later..." Winter repeated softly, closing his eyes. "It's that curse I hold...they will die because of me being there... Why did I bother to start this rebellion? It's just going to get everyone killed..."
"Would you rather get everyone killed in two years, or get them killed two years ago?" the voice behind him asked. Winter opened his eyes, not bothering to look back.
"Soaren...what's the point? Maybe they were better off dead two years ago instead of two years from now..." Winter responded to his Digimon's voice.
"Is it?" Soaren asked, heading up beside his partner and leaping on the railing, balancing himself. "I'm pretty sure Solja and Evac is one pair willing to die with each other, unlike alone and fearful if we hadn't saved them two years ago."
"Or they just might end up torturing us to death if they catch us, making it slow and painful and even worse then getting killed out right two years ago," Winter retorted harshly. Soaren sighed lightly, turning to face his partner.
"Winter Fox," Soaren spoke forcefully, and with business, as he hardly used his partner's full nickname like that. "Stop this damn pessimism with death and destiny and all that. You started this rebellion, and you're going to see it through until we're all dead or until we win. We win, that's good. We die, well, everyone followed you this far for a reason, they'll follow you to the end of this, even if it is a bloody end!"
Winter Fox blinked twice, turning to face his Digimon partner with much seriousness and thought.
"You've been around Solja and Evac just a little too much," Fox joked lightly, grinning. Soaren's serious look dissolved, getting a grin back to his partner. "Alright, fine then, friend. We fight this one to the end, all of us."
"And we all hold nothing back, and we have no regrets," Soaren added.
"Nothing held back, nothing we regret," Winter repeated, turning around as Soaren hopped off the railing. The two headed off below deck to rest up for upcoming battles.
* * * * * *
"How goes the procedure?" the Fallen Angel captain asked the scientist, examining the two subjects before them, both unconscious.
"The one you just brought in will be easy..." the scientist assessed, punching in a few keys on the keyboard. "The first, as usual, is still difficult. Resurrection has never been used before in history."
"Yes, I know," the Fallen Angel captain responded, glancing into the room with the subjects. "But if you can the first subject back...Winter Fox will be an obstacle no more to us..."
"If," the scientist told the captain of the most prestigious brigade in the army. "This process is still very much experimental."
"You will succeed, do not worry," the captain told the scientist. He bowed his head and went back to work. The captain decided to leave, not wanting to disturb the work anymore.
"You will die Fox...you will die...and I will make sure you die with your heart and soul shattered..." the captain muttered, heading down the corridor.
Fin
Completed: 06/20/01