Digimon: The Nail
Part 5
by Christian "Sid" Lang
I can't believe I'm running away from a bunch of children! Dieter thinks.
He uses the remote control to unlock his car and Davis hurries into it.
Dieter swiftly enters the car and starts the engine.
Seconds later he is leaving the park.
Dieter sighs when he enters his apartment with Davis.
The German notices that the boy is nervous, very nervous.
"Do you want anything? Something to drink?" he offers.
Davis just shakes his head and sits on a chair at the table.
Dieter sits down in front of him.
"Now. Why were your friends so angry?" he finally asks.
"I... I shouldn't tell you this. It's because of this."
With a sigh, Davis puts his DigiVice on the table.
"There is something the scientists haven't found out about it."
Dieter frowns. He watches the boy as he starts Dieter's laptop.
The Ex-GSG watches the boy during this procedure.
He's serious. Either he is completely nuts or he really knows something.
When the OS has loaded, Davis picks up his DigiVice and points it at the screen.
Dieter jumps when a strange program appears on it.
It looks like a neatly designed media player, complete with small video window.
He knows that there is no such program installed on the laptop.
Then he can feel the boy's touch on his shoulder.
"DigiPort - Open!" Davis commands in an even tone.
The small video window now shows a small forest, just like a webcam.
"And go!"
Before Dieter can react, everything around him becomes white.
The sensation is similar to falling, but without any wind or fear.
A second later, he is kneeling in the forest he has seen in the window.
"What the-" he starts to ask before he sees Davis.
The boy now wears a leather jacket with flames painted on it.
Dieter blinks and pinches himself. Then he looks around.
They are standing on a clearing in a forest that could be anywhere.
After a while he notices a TV set standing at the edge of the clearing.
"Where are we?" he finally asks, although he knows the answer.
Davis stares at him.
"This is the World the Digimon live in." he replies.
Dieter's hand automatically reaches for his holster before he remembers he left it at home.
This is no illusion. This is real. But how?
"Do all DigiVices have this ability?" he asks.
"At least all that look like this." Davis answers and holds up his DigiVice.
"OK, you've proven your point. No how do we get back?"
Davis smiles and points at the TV. When Dieter comes near, he can see his apartment.
This thing is a portal!
Without saying another word, Davis touches his shoulder and holds up the DigiVice.
"Return!"
This time Dieter kneels in his apartment.
He sighs. Never before has he been in such a situation:
Unbriefed, unequipped, in enemy territory and joined by a child!
He stares at Davis, who is now wearing his normal clothes again.
"It works with almost any computer." the boy tells him.
Dieter fights his instinct to grab the DigiVice.
The device is more powerful than anybody would have thought.
Still the boy has told him about it to help them.
So Dieter decides to keep this a secret. For now.
John gulps after ending the call. Dieter has instantly told him the story.
With a huge frown John looks down at the stubborn and angry kids.
"You knew it. You all knew it. Right?" he asks.
When he receives no answer, he sighs. He reminds himself that this is no interrogation.
"OK. So nobody cared about the threee children." he mutters.
With grim satisfaction he notices that Yolei and Cody blink in surprise.
Only Kari and T.K. remain calm.
"Okay. Trip's over." John finally sighs and walks to his car.
"So we're actually going to do it?" Dieter finally asks.
The two men have spent two hours discussing the situation.
John nods once.
"We have to. But who will be part of the mission?"
Dieter closes his eyes.
"OK. The two of us are mandatory. What do you think of the five kids?"
John laughs shortly.
"Forget it. Davis may be our only volunteer." he tells the German.
"Then it's us, the three kids and Davis." Dieter summarizes.
John nods. They have decided to keep this mission hidden.
If possible, the secret abilities of the DigiVice should remain hidden.
That automatically eliminated any possibility for backup forces.
The two men remain silent for some minutes.
They know that this would normally be a suicide mission.
But the enemy is not trained in human warfare. At least they hope so.
"When do we start?" Dieter finally asks.
"How about this evening?" John asks and shrugs.
Since there are no informations of any kind, it made no sense planning much in advance.
"Sounds fine to me. Will you ask Davis? I'll talk to the three new kids."
Dieter gasps when he enters the hospital room.
"What's going on here?" he bellows when he finds the kids.
A nurse quickly approaches him.
"We had no other choice." she tells him.
Dieter grits his teeth and looks at the three beds.
Each child's wrists are secured to their beds.
The restraints are normally used for mentally unstable cases.
He growls when he sees that Ruki's feet are secured, too.
All three kids have been gagged as well.
Cursing, he starts to free Ruki, who is struggling the most.
"Sir, I really don't-" the nurse starts to protest.
"They're just CHILDREN!" She gulps slightly when she sees the fire in his eyes and leaves the room.
"I'm sorry. I didn't knew they would do this to you." he tells them.
He frees the arms first so Ruki removes the gag while he frees the legs.
When she is free, Ruki instantly embraces him and cries.
Stroking her back with one hand, Dieter works on one of Takato's arms.
Takato then frees his other arm and his companion.
The two boys stand next to him, unsure what to do.
Ruki has by now managed to calm down again looks down.
"OK. Listen to this. This evening, we will go." he announces quietly.
All children seem to be filled with new energy instantly.
"Really?" Lee whispers.
"Yes. But you'll have to be quiet about it. And behave well until then."
The three children hug him at once, making Dieter smile happily.
"Hey! Hey! HEY!" John shouts and starts to run.
He has found the five children in one of their rooms.
To his horror, Yolei, Cody and Kari keep Davis pinned to the floor.
T.K. meanwhile punches and kicks the boy.
They stop when John charges into the room.
"OK now. Back off or I will end this fight the hard way!"
Slowly, as if to mock him, the four children walk out of the room.
Davis groans and stands up. He looks bruised, but not really hurt.
"Sorry you have to endure this just because you wanted to help." John whispers.
"No. It's all right. I want to help. And somehow the others want it, too."
John cocks his head and raises an eyebrow.
"They're really OK. But they're stressed. Especially T.K. and Kari."
"Well then. Will you still help us?"
Davis isntantly nods.
"I should warn you. The risk is high because of our lack of information."
The boy just smirks.
"I know. But still I will do it. Don't ask why."
John nods and extracts his hand.
Davis blinks and hesitates. Then he shakes the hand and smiles.
Ruki is still massaging her wrists while she listens to the makeshift plan.
The hours in the hospital have shown her how she could end.
Insane, in a clinic for the mentally unstable.
She is determined not to end this way. And she is joined by people who can help her.
The adults have told her of this mysterious gate.
Then she had to point her beeping device at the laptop screen. Nothing had happened.
"OK. If anything really bad happens, you stay with Davis." John says.
"He's the big ticket home. Remember this." Dieter adds.
Nobody has been thrilled by the plan. Two adults and four children on a hostile world.
But there seems to be no other way.
Ruki nods. She somehow feels much calmer now.
The knowledge that she would get her chance somehow made the pain go away.
A quick look at Takato and Lee tells her that they feel the same.
"Tell me what you've got." Dieter says when John comes in.
The American is carrying two big bags and smirks.
"More outside." he just mutters.
Dieter gets another bag out of John's car and joins the man back inside.
"So?" he finally asks as he unzips his own bag.
John calmly unpacks two assault rifles and puts them on the carpet.
Dieter notices that the four kids jump at the sight of it.
"Better get used to it. This one could be rough." he tells them.
Dieter's bag is full of camping and survival stuff. The German nods.
John then presents four identical pistols.
"You shoot akimbo?" Dieter asks in surprise.
"Not when I can avoid it. But I have trained it."
The rest of the first bag is filled with ammo.
The second bag contains grenades. Most of them flashbangs.
"Judging by the children's dreams, this could be a rescue mission." John explains.
Dieter nods as he understands. Explosives could hurt the ones they had to rescue.
The last few noticable items are silencers for the pistols.
Without saying another word, the two men get out their backpacks.
Davis watches the scene and gulps.
Both men pack their backpacks carefully and sytsematically.
It takes them some time, by they obviously take great care that everything is right.
His eyes wander to the two large rifles, making him gulp once more.
For the first time, Davis doubts his choice.
Kari and T.K. had told quite scaring stories. But those were just stories.
This is real.
These men are preparing for war.
Part 5
by Christian "Sid" Lang
I can't believe I'm running away from a bunch of children! Dieter thinks.
He uses the remote control to unlock his car and Davis hurries into it.
Dieter swiftly enters the car and starts the engine.
Seconds later he is leaving the park.
Dieter sighs when he enters his apartment with Davis.
The German notices that the boy is nervous, very nervous.
"Do you want anything? Something to drink?" he offers.
Davis just shakes his head and sits on a chair at the table.
Dieter sits down in front of him.
"Now. Why were your friends so angry?" he finally asks.
"I... I shouldn't tell you this. It's because of this."
With a sigh, Davis puts his DigiVice on the table.
"There is something the scientists haven't found out about it."
Dieter frowns. He watches the boy as he starts Dieter's laptop.
The Ex-GSG watches the boy during this procedure.
He's serious. Either he is completely nuts or he really knows something.
When the OS has loaded, Davis picks up his DigiVice and points it at the screen.
Dieter jumps when a strange program appears on it.
It looks like a neatly designed media player, complete with small video window.
He knows that there is no such program installed on the laptop.
Then he can feel the boy's touch on his shoulder.
"DigiPort - Open!" Davis commands in an even tone.
The small video window now shows a small forest, just like a webcam.
"And go!"
Before Dieter can react, everything around him becomes white.
The sensation is similar to falling, but without any wind or fear.
A second later, he is kneeling in the forest he has seen in the window.
"What the-" he starts to ask before he sees Davis.
The boy now wears a leather jacket with flames painted on it.
Dieter blinks and pinches himself. Then he looks around.
They are standing on a clearing in a forest that could be anywhere.
After a while he notices a TV set standing at the edge of the clearing.
"Where are we?" he finally asks, although he knows the answer.
Davis stares at him.
"This is the World the Digimon live in." he replies.
Dieter's hand automatically reaches for his holster before he remembers he left it at home.
This is no illusion. This is real. But how?
"Do all DigiVices have this ability?" he asks.
"At least all that look like this." Davis answers and holds up his DigiVice.
"OK, you've proven your point. No how do we get back?"
Davis smiles and points at the TV. When Dieter comes near, he can see his apartment.
This thing is a portal!
Without saying another word, Davis touches his shoulder and holds up the DigiVice.
"Return!"
This time Dieter kneels in his apartment.
He sighs. Never before has he been in such a situation:
Unbriefed, unequipped, in enemy territory and joined by a child!
He stares at Davis, who is now wearing his normal clothes again.
"It works with almost any computer." the boy tells him.
Dieter fights his instinct to grab the DigiVice.
The device is more powerful than anybody would have thought.
Still the boy has told him about it to help them.
So Dieter decides to keep this a secret. For now.
John gulps after ending the call. Dieter has instantly told him the story.
With a huge frown John looks down at the stubborn and angry kids.
"You knew it. You all knew it. Right?" he asks.
When he receives no answer, he sighs. He reminds himself that this is no interrogation.
"OK. So nobody cared about the threee children." he mutters.
With grim satisfaction he notices that Yolei and Cody blink in surprise.
Only Kari and T.K. remain calm.
"Okay. Trip's over." John finally sighs and walks to his car.
"So we're actually going to do it?" Dieter finally asks.
The two men have spent two hours discussing the situation.
John nods once.
"We have to. But who will be part of the mission?"
Dieter closes his eyes.
"OK. The two of us are mandatory. What do you think of the five kids?"
John laughs shortly.
"Forget it. Davis may be our only volunteer." he tells the German.
"Then it's us, the three kids and Davis." Dieter summarizes.
John nods. They have decided to keep this mission hidden.
If possible, the secret abilities of the DigiVice should remain hidden.
That automatically eliminated any possibility for backup forces.
The two men remain silent for some minutes.
They know that this would normally be a suicide mission.
But the enemy is not trained in human warfare. At least they hope so.
"When do we start?" Dieter finally asks.
"How about this evening?" John asks and shrugs.
Since there are no informations of any kind, it made no sense planning much in advance.
"Sounds fine to me. Will you ask Davis? I'll talk to the three new kids."
Dieter gasps when he enters the hospital room.
"What's going on here?" he bellows when he finds the kids.
A nurse quickly approaches him.
"We had no other choice." she tells him.
Dieter grits his teeth and looks at the three beds.
Each child's wrists are secured to their beds.
The restraints are normally used for mentally unstable cases.
He growls when he sees that Ruki's feet are secured, too.
All three kids have been gagged as well.
Cursing, he starts to free Ruki, who is struggling the most.
"Sir, I really don't-" the nurse starts to protest.
"They're just CHILDREN!" She gulps slightly when she sees the fire in his eyes and leaves the room.
"I'm sorry. I didn't knew they would do this to you." he tells them.
He frees the arms first so Ruki removes the gag while he frees the legs.
When she is free, Ruki instantly embraces him and cries.
Stroking her back with one hand, Dieter works on one of Takato's arms.
Takato then frees his other arm and his companion.
The two boys stand next to him, unsure what to do.
Ruki has by now managed to calm down again looks down.
"OK. Listen to this. This evening, we will go." he announces quietly.
All children seem to be filled with new energy instantly.
"Really?" Lee whispers.
"Yes. But you'll have to be quiet about it. And behave well until then."
The three children hug him at once, making Dieter smile happily.
"Hey! Hey! HEY!" John shouts and starts to run.
He has found the five children in one of their rooms.
To his horror, Yolei, Cody and Kari keep Davis pinned to the floor.
T.K. meanwhile punches and kicks the boy.
They stop when John charges into the room.
"OK now. Back off or I will end this fight the hard way!"
Slowly, as if to mock him, the four children walk out of the room.
Davis groans and stands up. He looks bruised, but not really hurt.
"Sorry you have to endure this just because you wanted to help." John whispers.
"No. It's all right. I want to help. And somehow the others want it, too."
John cocks his head and raises an eyebrow.
"They're really OK. But they're stressed. Especially T.K. and Kari."
"Well then. Will you still help us?"
Davis isntantly nods.
"I should warn you. The risk is high because of our lack of information."
The boy just smirks.
"I know. But still I will do it. Don't ask why."
John nods and extracts his hand.
Davis blinks and hesitates. Then he shakes the hand and smiles.
Ruki is still massaging her wrists while she listens to the makeshift plan.
The hours in the hospital have shown her how she could end.
Insane, in a clinic for the mentally unstable.
She is determined not to end this way. And she is joined by people who can help her.
The adults have told her of this mysterious gate.
Then she had to point her beeping device at the laptop screen. Nothing had happened.
"OK. If anything really bad happens, you stay with Davis." John says.
"He's the big ticket home. Remember this." Dieter adds.
Nobody has been thrilled by the plan. Two adults and four children on a hostile world.
But there seems to be no other way.
Ruki nods. She somehow feels much calmer now.
The knowledge that she would get her chance somehow made the pain go away.
A quick look at Takato and Lee tells her that they feel the same.
"Tell me what you've got." Dieter says when John comes in.
The American is carrying two big bags and smirks.
"More outside." he just mutters.
Dieter gets another bag out of John's car and joins the man back inside.
"So?" he finally asks as he unzips his own bag.
John calmly unpacks two assault rifles and puts them on the carpet.
Dieter notices that the four kids jump at the sight of it.
"Better get used to it. This one could be rough." he tells them.
Dieter's bag is full of camping and survival stuff. The German nods.
John then presents four identical pistols.
"You shoot akimbo?" Dieter asks in surprise.
"Not when I can avoid it. But I have trained it."
The rest of the first bag is filled with ammo.
The second bag contains grenades. Most of them flashbangs.
"Judging by the children's dreams, this could be a rescue mission." John explains.
Dieter nods as he understands. Explosives could hurt the ones they had to rescue.
The last few noticable items are silencers for the pistols.
Without saying another word, the two men get out their backpacks.
Davis watches the scene and gulps.
Both men pack their backpacks carefully and sytsematically.
It takes them some time, by they obviously take great care that everything is right.
His eyes wander to the two large rifles, making him gulp once more.
For the first time, Davis doubts his choice.
Kari and T.K. had told quite scaring stories. But those were just stories.
This is real.
These men are preparing for war.