~*Project: Moment*~
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Chapter 11- Red Sky By Morning*~
Sora's breath tore in her throat as she ran for her life, the sound of the Swoopmon's wings roaring behind her. Crowds of people were beginning to flood the courtyard, and the area rang with shouts and explosions. A bomb went off nearby, throwing Sora off her feet and the Swoopmon almost out of the air. Sora quickly recovered from the impact of the fall, but the Digimon was already regaining its balance, before she could stumble to her feet...
Suddenly, a nearby tower came to life, spewing fire at the Digimon from a gun turret that she hadn't seen before. The creature disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Sora gasped in shock, trying to comprehend this sudden change in plans. *What the...?*
A familiar face appeared in the crowd, and Sora leapt to her feet, grabbing Geri's sleeve.
"You! What the hell is going on?!"
Geri spat at her, and she let go of him with a startled cry, reaching up to wipe saliva from her cheek. The ratty little man disappeared into the crowd, just as another explosion colored the sky red and made the people around them scream and mill about, covering his escape.
Sora simply stood staring at her hand.
What was on it was not spit. It was slimy, and smelled bad. And...it was gray.
"What the...?"
Repulsed, she wiped her hand on the grass; whatever it was, it didn't seem harmful. Just disgusting.
"What is that guy?" she whispered, staring horrified in the direction he'd gone...
"Please, Joe?"
"For the fifth and final time, Missy, no!" Joe snapped, trying to concentrate on getting his kit in order. Another blast rocked the building, and he groaned. "There's a good fifty more invalids," he muttered, and reached for extra antiseptic.
"Oh, come on!" Missy pleaded, holding on to his sleeve. "I have the training, you know I do! They need all the help they can get out there, and I can shoot just as well as anybody! Please let me, Joe!"
"You're a child!" he said sharply, a bit more sharply than he meant to. "You can't go out into that battle!"
"What, so I should stay here and wait to be blown to bits like a duck in a bucket?" Missy griped. "I am not a child, Joe!"
"You're eighteen!" Joe shot back, rummaging through a drawer for tourniquets.
"I'm a legal adult," Missy insisted. "Not a baby! What, you want proof? Fine!"
With that, she reeled off a string of words that would have peeled paint. As the air seemed to turn blue around her, Joe and several nearby medics turned slowly to goggle at the diminutive teenager. Winding up her monologue, Missy shot Joe a grin.
"See?"
The box of tourniquets Joe held hit the floor with a thump.
"I think you'd better let her go, Joe," a nearby nurse said with a grin. "If she sticks around, half our patients are going to die of shock."
"I'm about to do a little of that myself," Joe murmured. "All right, go...but when this is over, you are telling me who taught you those words so I can do something drastic to them."
"Can do," Missy said with a grin. "In fact, I learned this one from you, the time TK had his accident." She opened her mouth, and Joe blanched and clamped a hand over it.
"I don't think these nice people need to hear that one again," he hissed. Missy nodded, her eyes dancing, and pulled away to dart out the door.
Joe sighed and bent to pick up the tourniquets. "It's going to be a long night..."
Tai pounded down the stairs, without the patience to wait for the elevator. He had to reach her! Before...
"Don't think about it," he said quickly to himself. "Just do it!"
The doorway to the courtyard loomed ahead of him. He plunged through it; it had been left open for convenience's sake, and to try and keep the glasstic from shattering under the pressure of the explosions. Then he hesitated, looking around for some cue as to what to do next.
The courtyard was lit red from the many fires blazing around it; people were running everywhere, some purposefully, some in a panic, many screaming with fright Above them, Swoopmon arced and dove, firing rapid-fire bursts of deadly light from their under-curled tail guns or dropping more Stinger Bombs. Nearby, one of the Digimon lay dead, half its tail blown away by a defensive turret. Tai winced and started off into the melee, heading for where he'd last seen Sora...
"Sora! Sora!"
Sora looked up and spotted a familiar young face, streaked with tears and soot. It took her a minute to remember who it belonged to.
"Pam? What are you doing out here?"
"I can't find DC!" the little girl wailed, running toward her. "She ran away when the bombing started, and now she's gone!"
Sora winced. Likelier than not, the dog was gone for good.
"Pam, honey, we can't look for DC now," she said hurriedly, taking the twelve-year-old's hand and beginning to run toward the door she'd come out of. It seemed so much farther away now, with all these people between them and it...
A building nearby blew up with an ear-shattering boom, sending debris flying. Sora quickly threw her arms around Pam, shielding her. A bit of brick flew past, cutting her sleeve. A trickle of blood began, but then the cloth flexed and wove back together, helping to stop the bleeding in the process. The stain flickered and faded. Sora shuddered, as Pam began to cry.
*Creepy... I have got to find Tai!*
Missy ran down a hallway and into a cluster of gunner's turrets; there were quite a few empty ones, as many gunners had been lost in the first moments of the attack, before they could reach these armored bubbles. She hurried down a short, tube-shaped glasstic hallway and into the round dome of the turret itself, sliding into the seat and pulling on her headset. Then she grabbed the twin joystick-like controls, locking them into one firing pattern with a quick press of a button and bracing herself as the headset visor automatically slid down over her eyes and the seat lifted off of the floor, balancing in the middle of the glasstic globe.
"Right...just like Star Wars," she muttered, and looked for a target. The visor locked in on one for her, and she thumbed the controls, sending a rain of fire after the hovering Swoopmon, which dodged and sped away unscathed. "Damn!" she exclaimed, slamming a fist into the control panel, and quickly targeted another Swoopmon as it shot past her turret. This time her fire connected, and the Swoopmon exploded in a magnificent blaze of light.
"Yes! Who's the best? Who's your mama?" Missy cheered, pumping a fist. In her pause, another pair of Swoopmon saw that the turret had become active and flew toward her.
"Time to join the party, huh, boys?" she muttered, and reached for her controls again, assigning a set of guns to each so that they could fire independently. Then she took a deep breath and gave up the last edges of her concentration to staying alive...
As Davis ran toward his station, he was suddenly stopped as a frantic-looking blond girl ran in front of him, grabbing his jacket sleeve.
"What's happening?" she pleaded, her voice high with fear, her eyes wild and terrified. Davis blinked, dazed by too many things happening at once.
"What?"
"What's going on?!" she said, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "Please, tell me!"
Davis stared at her, and suddenly noticed the long pink scar down the side of her face. His mind clicked.
"Hey...you're that girl that used to follow Tai around," he said, the light dawning. Yukiko nodded, still frantic.
"I'm Yuki," she choked. "Please..."
"We're being attacked," Davis said quickly. "Swoopmon, and possibly others. There've been sightings..."
"Oh, god," Yuki murmured, leaning suddenly against the wall. She looked like she might be sick, or faint. Davis quickly caught her elbow, supporting her.
"What is it?" he said, and then winced. Of course...Tai had told him that it had been Swoopmon that blew up that jeep, along with an escort of Apemon and a feral Kuwagamon or two...
"Nothing," Yuki said faintly, reaching up to unconsciously touch the vicious scar where it snaked across her skin. "I...it's nothing..."
Making a quick decision, Davis took a deep breath.
"I have to get to my station," he said, shooting a glance over his shoulder. A nearby window threw flame-colored light on the corridor wall. "But if you want," he added, as Yuki blanched at the thought of being left alone, "you can come with me. Is that okay?"
Yuki felt dizzy with fear...but fears have to be faced.
"Where is it?"
"Across the courtyard a ways...not too far," Davis said. Yuki nodded resolutely.
"Sure," she said, lifting her head with determination suddenly burning in her eyes again. "C'mon, let's go."
"Right," Davis said, and they started off...
TK and Kari were huddled in their doorway, watching the night unfold...well, Kari was. TK was listening, and shuddering at the sounds he heard. Explosions, screams, the hammering sound of Swoopmon wings, the pounding of running feet...
"We can't stay here," Kari said tensely "It's too unprotected. We have to get to the complex, and far inside of it...and fast!"
"But-" TK began. Kari cut him off.
"You can't fight, TK, and I don't know how! We can't do anything but get to safety, and the sooner we do that, the better."
He couldn't argue; she was right, however much he hated to admit it.
"God, I wish I could *see*," he muttered, but followed her off of the porch and into the crowd, holding tightly to her hand...
Sora ran across the pavement, half-carrying, half-dragging the terrified Pam. She didn't see Tai anywhere, and had gotten turned around in the crush so that she wasn't sure where she was anymore. The courtyard looked by now like something from a nightmare. As they passed a burning building, Pam stumbled and fell, crying out. Sora immediately dropped to her knees next to her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm...fine..." Pam whimpered, her eyes huge, and then began to cry again. "Sora!" she wailed, hugging the older girl tightly. "Sora, I'm so scared...and I don't know what happened to my family...and I'm all alone!"
Sora swallowed. "Pam, sweetie, it's okay," she said tenderly, trying to keep a lookout for approaching Swoopmon as she comforted the girl, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Your family's fine, and they love you. You're never alone when you've got love..."
Pam looked up at her with wondering eyes.
"Really?" she sniffed. Sora nodded.
"Really," she assured her. Pam smiled tremulously, and began to get up...
The sound of a dog's frenzied barking filled the air.
"DC!" Pam shrieked, and turned to see her beloved dog, only a few meters away. The burning building they'd passed had been half destroyed by a Stinger Bomb; it looked like it had been an ammo depot, probably a major target. The yellow mutt was trapped in the wreckage of a metal shelving set, her hind leg twisted and caught in the debris. The young girl let out a happy cry, twisting out of Sora's grasp.
"Pam, no!" Sora shouted, trying to grab her, but she was too late. Pam slipped through her fingertips and plunged into the ruined building, running to throw her arms around the dog's neck as it barked frantically and tried to lick her face. Sora let out a cry of frustrated fear.
"DC, you're okay!"
"Pam, leave the dog! Get out of there!"
Pam looked up, her face set in childish resolution "No!" she shrieked. "DC..."
Sora felt her gorge rising. There was danger coming, big danger...she could feel it...
"I'm getting help!" she yelled, and turned to run. She had to find someone who could drag the girl out of there!
Before she'd gone twelve feet, there was a rumble in the sky above. Sora looked over her shoulder and saw a Swoopmon approaching fast. Something dropped from it...
"PAM!" she screamed. The twelve-year-old let out a wail of terror and ducked, wrapping her head in her arms as DC howled...
The explosion was spectacular and deafening. Sora was blown backwards a good ten feet, landing with a cry as the wind was knocked out of her. As her ears rang, the Swoopmon moved on, leaving a crater of ashes and dust behind it.
Sora slowly raised her head. "Pam..." she whispered, as tears began to run silently down her cheeks.
The depot was gone.
Tai burst into the Quonset, looking frantically around. He immediately spotted Lily, who was working her way along a line of groaning injured near the bar, cleaning wounds. The Quonset had been transformed into a sort of field hospital; Tai recognized several of his co-workers from the med ward also making their way among the rows and rows of victims that were lined up on tables and the dance floor.
Against one wall, near the stage, unmoving bodies were stacked like firewood. Not all of them looked to be in one piece. The air smelled of smoke and charred metal and the heavy burnt-popcorn stink of melted glasstic from outside, but the strongest smell was the coppery, nose-itching aroma of blood.
"Lily!"
The barkeep looked up, startled. Her eyes were tired, and her bright hair stuck to her face and neck in bedraggled strands. She reached up to push it away and left a crimson smudge across her face.
"Taichi? What're y'all doing here?"
Picking his way hurriedly through rows of wounded, some only doubtfully alive, Tai reached her side, his face haunted.
"Have you seen Sora?"
"What, that nice gal I served the pineapple malt to?" Lily said after a moment's tired thought. "No, sugar, she's not here. I'm sorry."
Tai sighed, not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. "It's all right. I'll just...Lily, what are you *doing*?"
Lily, coming toward him, seemed to have stumbled, then let out a shriek and whirled to grab a nearby barstool. She began beating at the thin air between them with all her strength. Tai might have thought she'd snapped, if it hadn't been clear from the way the barstool moved that there was something there to be beaten...
Something completely invisible.
"Lily, what's going on?!"
"Shoot it! Shoot it!" she screamed, and let out another shriek, stumbling again. Tai quickly looked down and guessed that whatever-it-was had grabbed her ankle. Lily brought the stool down with a crack that echoed through the Quonset, and there was a wet thump of something large and squishy collapsing. A glass that had been lying on its side near Lily's feet shattered, as if crushed. "Shoot-ack!"
Having turned away to get help, Tai whirled back around to see Lily being dragged backwards toward the bar, doubtless by another something. She was making faint gagging noises, and her face was beginning to turn blue as she clawed at something around her neck.
"It's choking her!" Tai shouted, wishing to high heaven he had his gun. "Somebody help!" He didn't dare go closer without a weapon; he would be no help to Lily if one of those things got him, too. Tai bit his lip, longing to do *something*! Lily was strangling; she didn't have much time-
A shot rang out, making Tai jump, and Lily collapsed to her hands and knees, gasping for breath. Behind her there was a spray of gray-blue liquid and another wet thump. Slowly, as Tai stared at the place where the oddly colored blood was now spreading into a puddle, a spongy gray shape appeared, like a mass of oily clay the size of a washing machine.
"What *is* that thing?" Tai whispered, stunned and revolted.
"A Morphmon," came a voice from behind him, and he turned to see a short, stocky woman with an orange crew cut and a stern face striding toward him, holstering her gun. "They're the ultimate spies, and matchless as assassins. I've seen them once before. This one's dead," she added, giving the one she'd shot a derisive kick. It squelched. "They only revert to their true forms when they've expired. Your friend seems to have stunned the other one."
Tai nudged the still-invisible one with his foot, and grimaced. It was not pleasant to feel something where his eyes plainly told him there was nothing but air.
"Assassins?" he said, confused. "What did they want with Lily?"
"Nothing, I'd wager," the woman said. "They were probably sent in to finish off some of these people; if they rolled over one of these folks, they'd suffocate in minutes, and the medics would probably think they'd died of their wounds and not suspect murder until a good number of victims were already dead. Most of these folks are too weak to cry out for help." She shook her head, plainly disgusted. "Picking off the wounded...it's nice to be reassured that there's a reason we're fighting these buggers. We humans may not be perfect, but these guys are filth."
"But why Lily?" Tai murmured, shooting a worried look at the barkeep. She was sitting up by now, rubbing at her throat and wincing, but apparently not too much the worse for wear. The woman shrugged.
"I doubt they intended to go after a healthy victim. She probably just bumped into one by mistake. They're programmed to kill, and they're not so stupid they'd let someone live who'd discovered them. It's lucky you were here..."
Her voice trailed off. The woman studied the 'empty' spot where the unconscious Morphmon lay for a moment, then in one swift motion drew her gun and fired a shot through it. There was a gurgling moan and more blood, and then that Morphmon faded into view as well.
Tai jumped in surprise, and glared at her. "What do you think you're doing? We could have interrogated it, or...or something!"
The woman shrugged. "They're impossible to keep prisoner. They change shape at will; it's like trying to grab a handful of air. And they're not smart enough to recognize pain as a motivator...even if they could talk, which they can't." She shook her head. "These aren't a natural species, they're a genetic experiment. A very successful one, I have to admit."
"Command won't like it!" Tai spat, still angry. The woman gave him a long, studying look.
"Don't throw around the names of your superiors, Kamiya," she said coolly. "I *am* Command. Clara MacBeth, senior officer in charge of Intelligence." She stuck out a hand to shake, with a dry smile. "A friend of yours is one of my top men. Izumi Koushiro-a real whiz kid, that one. He's one of the top three programmers in my entire department, with a good chance at becoming number one...with some practice. He's on Communications Team presently, unless I'm going senile."
Tai stared.
"You're Command? I don't remember seeing you at the meetings..."
"I'm the one who attends via comm," MacBeth said with a grin. "I'm far too busy to have time for attending bothersome things like meetings in person. So, are you going to shake my hand or just stand there with your jaw dislocated?"
Tai snapped his mouth shut, looking sheepish, and shook her hand.
"You'll be searching for your friend Takenouchi?" MacBeth said. Tai frowned.
"How did you-"
"I'm in charge of Intelligence," MacBeth dryly reminded him. "It pays to be on top of things...and by 'things' I mean 'everything'. Go on, then. I saw her on my way over; she was heading toward Ammunition Depot Y-73, with a little girl in tow. I'll take care of your friend here," she added, moving toward Lily.
"Are you sure?" Tai asked, already raring to go but hesitant to leave without permission.
"Head out, soldier," MacBeth said with a firm nod and a tight grin. "Official orders." Her wristcomm beeped, and she looked down at it and grimaced. "And you might want to step on it," she said darkly. "According to my sources, Ammo Depot Y-73 just got blown to hell."
Tai ran.
Missy fired off another string of ammo and whooped as a pair of Swoopmon blew into shrapnel. The insect Digimon were like enormous craneflies, their abdomens bloated into globelike ammo wells big enough to hold a person, their tails curled under their bellies and mounted at the tip with quad-guns that spat coherent green light. They were mostly metal, and easy to blow up; you just had to hit the ammo well, and they went off like Roman candles.
A sound behind her made Missy freeze, and she let her guns fall silent, turning her chair to look into the tube-shaped hallway.
Geri stood there, a darkly pleased look on his face.
"Hello, Missy," he said with an unpleasant smile. "I told your cousin you'd pay for your insolence."
Missy stared at him. "My insolence? I'll give you insolence, you filthy little..." Her voice trailed off. "What are you doing just wandering around? Why aren't you helping? And...what do you mean, we'd 'pay'?"
Geri grinned.
"Somebody had to shut down the shields," he said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "Say goodbye to the Project, Misube."
"You...you..." Missy sputtered, for once in her life unable to come up with a word strong enough for the situation. "You filth-sucking, miserable..."
Geri snorted. "Speechless, I see. Enjoy your little games, and your little friends, while they last. It won't be long now..."
Missy snapped. Launching herself from her seat with a wordless shriek of rage, she slammed her fist into the ratty little man with all her might. He squawked and stumbled out of the turret, hitting the wall out in the hallway with a smack as Missy landed a kick in the middle of his chest. Gasping, he limped across the hallway toward the door out, trying weakly to escape. Missy followed him at a close distance, like a furious cat playing with a mouse, her fists raised to attack again as rage burned in her heart...
"Keep going!" Davis yelled over the sound of gunfire as he and Yuki ducked around a corner. "We're almost there..."
She caught her breath, successfully fighting down her panic.
"We're making it!" she gasped, half unbelieving. A Swoopmon buzzed overhead, and she flattened against the wall, Davis following suit next to her. It passed, and they kept going.
"Just across this square," Davis gasped, pulling her by the hand. He had assumed the role of leader on the short journey, but Yukiko was holding her own with surprising strength.
*Of course, she's on Strike Team,* he thought. *It's no wonder she's...* His thoughts froze as he saw a silver projectile shooting toward them. *A Stinger Bomb!*
"Yuki, duck!" he yelled, and shoved her aside. They fell to the ground, Davis shielding them both. The Stinger Bomb shot overhead, and plowed into a building several meters away, making the ground roll beneath them with the detonation. They lay there for a minute, listening to the crackle of the newest fire among many, unhurt but stunned. Then Yuki opened her tightly closed eyes, staring up at Davis.
"You saved my life..." she whispered. He shrugged, sitting up.
"Don't mention it...I saved mine, too, remember? C'mon, we've got to get inside before more of those things come our way." He got to his feet and gave her a hand up, and they ran into the building nearby.
Pushing through a cluster of shouting medics, Tai spotted a form curled up on the ground near a smoldering wreck of a building. He let out a cry of instant recognition, and shoved past a group of running men to fall to his knees next to her.
"Sora! Sora, are you okay?" he said quickly, his chest tight. "Say something!"
She stirred, looking up at him with tears pouring down her face.
"Tai..." she whispered, and choked back a sob.
"Sora, what is it?" Tai said, wiping her cheeks. She couldn't answer. He shook his head. "Stupid question..." A hum-buzz caught his ear, and he looked up to see a trio of Swoopmon looping down toward them.
"Oh, shit! C'mon!" he said, leaping to his feet and grabbing her hand. Sora jumped up, too, shaking tears from her face, and followed him at a shaky run. The Stingmon came closer and closer, as more and more people joined their desperate flight.
Sora stumbled, half-blinded with tears, but Tai caught her and kept her going, literally dragging her along until she got her feet under her again. She gasped and panted, unused to running so fast, for so long.
"Hang in there," Tai said in her ear, trying to be encouraging. "Sora, come on...you can make it, just run a little farther and we'll be at the complex doors, come on...I know you can do it!"
Sora looked up at him, her legs suddenly feeling stronger, her face tearstained and dirty and beautiful as anything.
"Tai..." she whispered, her eyes shining.
"Sora," he said in return, and the whispered names said it all.
Then the man on their left jostled roughly into Sora, throwing her feet from under her. Tai lost his grip on her arm, shouting in horror as she fell beneath the feet of the fleeing crowd. She came back into view as they passed her by, struggling to get back to her feet as the Swoopmon came ever closer...
Yelling her name, Tai tried to backpedal, but the crowd was too closely packed now, carrying him along, dragging him away. He swore viciously, shoving and pushing the people around him as he fought to reach her.
Sora got to her feet, began to run-
And then, they were upon her. Time seemed to slow as Tai watched, still fighting the mob...
The lead Swoopmon took aim, fired...
A small silver-white projectile shot from the thing's tail, unlike anything Tai had ever seen, and sped toward Sora, who was still running and didn't see it...she was so close that he could see the fear in her eyes as the projectile hit her between the shoulder blades in a spray of blood, with a sound like a tent stake punching into wet sand. She went down instantly, her legs buckling beneath her, hitting the ground with a thud that seemed to strike Tai like a physical blow. He let out a scream.
"SORA!!!"
And then the Swoopmon was over her, a door opening in its abdomen, picking up her inert form in its spindly legs and shooting up into the air. Tai watched in horror, along with the rest of the people in the frozen crowd.
Another explosion almost drowned out the sound of Tai's heart breaking...
Looking out the window, Geri grinned harshly.
"I think you just lost one of your precious friends," he wheezed, his eyes alight. "The plan's finished now, you know. No matter what you do, you're all dead now..."
Missy didn't understand this, but she understood the sight of Sora's body being spirited away perfectly well. She let out a hiss.
"You monster!!!" she screamed, and leaped forward, putting all of her strength into a blow to his face that would have downed a Leomon. As it connected, there was a crunch of bone, and Geri reeled backward, hitting the glasstic window with a shattering crash and plunging down into the darkness, shrieking all the way.
Missy stood exhausted in the hallway, breathing in gasps, her shoulders slumped, arms hanging limp at her sides.
"There," she whispered, gazing out the broken window at the beginnings of a blood-red sunrise. *Red sky by morning, sailors take warning,* she thought, and spat scornfully out the window after the vanished man.
"It's a little late for that," she muttered, and turned to go to the med ward, her right hand cradled in her left arm.
Behind her, the Swoopmon began to peel away, following their fellow into the sky to hover unmoving over the Project Headquarters...
__________________________________
Coming soon- Chapter 12: Heartstrings
(AN) So, got you worried? *grins* Stupid question, I know. But don't worry, you've been doing so well with your reviews that I'll try to have the next chapter up by this Sunday. (That's fast for me, as you've probably figured out by now.)
Speaking of that, this fic is now indubitably my Most Reviewed Work! Not bad, ne? I have to tell you, that cheered me up. I've had the flu since yesterday, but logging on to a bunch of new reviews is definitely a big cheer-up! Arigatou gozaimasu, minna-san! (Thanks so much, everyone!) -Bandit O_o
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Chapter 11- Red Sky By Morning*~
Sora's breath tore in her throat as she ran for her life, the sound of the Swoopmon's wings roaring behind her. Crowds of people were beginning to flood the courtyard, and the area rang with shouts and explosions. A bomb went off nearby, throwing Sora off her feet and the Swoopmon almost out of the air. Sora quickly recovered from the impact of the fall, but the Digimon was already regaining its balance, before she could stumble to her feet...
Suddenly, a nearby tower came to life, spewing fire at the Digimon from a gun turret that she hadn't seen before. The creature disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Sora gasped in shock, trying to comprehend this sudden change in plans. *What the...?*
A familiar face appeared in the crowd, and Sora leapt to her feet, grabbing Geri's sleeve.
"You! What the hell is going on?!"
Geri spat at her, and she let go of him with a startled cry, reaching up to wipe saliva from her cheek. The ratty little man disappeared into the crowd, just as another explosion colored the sky red and made the people around them scream and mill about, covering his escape.
Sora simply stood staring at her hand.
What was on it was not spit. It was slimy, and smelled bad. And...it was gray.
"What the...?"
Repulsed, she wiped her hand on the grass; whatever it was, it didn't seem harmful. Just disgusting.
"What is that guy?" she whispered, staring horrified in the direction he'd gone...
"Please, Joe?"
"For the fifth and final time, Missy, no!" Joe snapped, trying to concentrate on getting his kit in order. Another blast rocked the building, and he groaned. "There's a good fifty more invalids," he muttered, and reached for extra antiseptic.
"Oh, come on!" Missy pleaded, holding on to his sleeve. "I have the training, you know I do! They need all the help they can get out there, and I can shoot just as well as anybody! Please let me, Joe!"
"You're a child!" he said sharply, a bit more sharply than he meant to. "You can't go out into that battle!"
"What, so I should stay here and wait to be blown to bits like a duck in a bucket?" Missy griped. "I am not a child, Joe!"
"You're eighteen!" Joe shot back, rummaging through a drawer for tourniquets.
"I'm a legal adult," Missy insisted. "Not a baby! What, you want proof? Fine!"
With that, she reeled off a string of words that would have peeled paint. As the air seemed to turn blue around her, Joe and several nearby medics turned slowly to goggle at the diminutive teenager. Winding up her monologue, Missy shot Joe a grin.
"See?"
The box of tourniquets Joe held hit the floor with a thump.
"I think you'd better let her go, Joe," a nearby nurse said with a grin. "If she sticks around, half our patients are going to die of shock."
"I'm about to do a little of that myself," Joe murmured. "All right, go...but when this is over, you are telling me who taught you those words so I can do something drastic to them."
"Can do," Missy said with a grin. "In fact, I learned this one from you, the time TK had his accident." She opened her mouth, and Joe blanched and clamped a hand over it.
"I don't think these nice people need to hear that one again," he hissed. Missy nodded, her eyes dancing, and pulled away to dart out the door.
Joe sighed and bent to pick up the tourniquets. "It's going to be a long night..."
Tai pounded down the stairs, without the patience to wait for the elevator. He had to reach her! Before...
"Don't think about it," he said quickly to himself. "Just do it!"
The doorway to the courtyard loomed ahead of him. He plunged through it; it had been left open for convenience's sake, and to try and keep the glasstic from shattering under the pressure of the explosions. Then he hesitated, looking around for some cue as to what to do next.
The courtyard was lit red from the many fires blazing around it; people were running everywhere, some purposefully, some in a panic, many screaming with fright Above them, Swoopmon arced and dove, firing rapid-fire bursts of deadly light from their under-curled tail guns or dropping more Stinger Bombs. Nearby, one of the Digimon lay dead, half its tail blown away by a defensive turret. Tai winced and started off into the melee, heading for where he'd last seen Sora...
"Sora! Sora!"
Sora looked up and spotted a familiar young face, streaked with tears and soot. It took her a minute to remember who it belonged to.
"Pam? What are you doing out here?"
"I can't find DC!" the little girl wailed, running toward her. "She ran away when the bombing started, and now she's gone!"
Sora winced. Likelier than not, the dog was gone for good.
"Pam, honey, we can't look for DC now," she said hurriedly, taking the twelve-year-old's hand and beginning to run toward the door she'd come out of. It seemed so much farther away now, with all these people between them and it...
A building nearby blew up with an ear-shattering boom, sending debris flying. Sora quickly threw her arms around Pam, shielding her. A bit of brick flew past, cutting her sleeve. A trickle of blood began, but then the cloth flexed and wove back together, helping to stop the bleeding in the process. The stain flickered and faded. Sora shuddered, as Pam began to cry.
*Creepy... I have got to find Tai!*
Missy ran down a hallway and into a cluster of gunner's turrets; there were quite a few empty ones, as many gunners had been lost in the first moments of the attack, before they could reach these armored bubbles. She hurried down a short, tube-shaped glasstic hallway and into the round dome of the turret itself, sliding into the seat and pulling on her headset. Then she grabbed the twin joystick-like controls, locking them into one firing pattern with a quick press of a button and bracing herself as the headset visor automatically slid down over her eyes and the seat lifted off of the floor, balancing in the middle of the glasstic globe.
"Right...just like Star Wars," she muttered, and looked for a target. The visor locked in on one for her, and she thumbed the controls, sending a rain of fire after the hovering Swoopmon, which dodged and sped away unscathed. "Damn!" she exclaimed, slamming a fist into the control panel, and quickly targeted another Swoopmon as it shot past her turret. This time her fire connected, and the Swoopmon exploded in a magnificent blaze of light.
"Yes! Who's the best? Who's your mama?" Missy cheered, pumping a fist. In her pause, another pair of Swoopmon saw that the turret had become active and flew toward her.
"Time to join the party, huh, boys?" she muttered, and reached for her controls again, assigning a set of guns to each so that they could fire independently. Then she took a deep breath and gave up the last edges of her concentration to staying alive...
As Davis ran toward his station, he was suddenly stopped as a frantic-looking blond girl ran in front of him, grabbing his jacket sleeve.
"What's happening?" she pleaded, her voice high with fear, her eyes wild and terrified. Davis blinked, dazed by too many things happening at once.
"What?"
"What's going on?!" she said, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "Please, tell me!"
Davis stared at her, and suddenly noticed the long pink scar down the side of her face. His mind clicked.
"Hey...you're that girl that used to follow Tai around," he said, the light dawning. Yukiko nodded, still frantic.
"I'm Yuki," she choked. "Please..."
"We're being attacked," Davis said quickly. "Swoopmon, and possibly others. There've been sightings..."
"Oh, god," Yuki murmured, leaning suddenly against the wall. She looked like she might be sick, or faint. Davis quickly caught her elbow, supporting her.
"What is it?" he said, and then winced. Of course...Tai had told him that it had been Swoopmon that blew up that jeep, along with an escort of Apemon and a feral Kuwagamon or two...
"Nothing," Yuki said faintly, reaching up to unconsciously touch the vicious scar where it snaked across her skin. "I...it's nothing..."
Making a quick decision, Davis took a deep breath.
"I have to get to my station," he said, shooting a glance over his shoulder. A nearby window threw flame-colored light on the corridor wall. "But if you want," he added, as Yuki blanched at the thought of being left alone, "you can come with me. Is that okay?"
Yuki felt dizzy with fear...but fears have to be faced.
"Where is it?"
"Across the courtyard a ways...not too far," Davis said. Yuki nodded resolutely.
"Sure," she said, lifting her head with determination suddenly burning in her eyes again. "C'mon, let's go."
"Right," Davis said, and they started off...
TK and Kari were huddled in their doorway, watching the night unfold...well, Kari was. TK was listening, and shuddering at the sounds he heard. Explosions, screams, the hammering sound of Swoopmon wings, the pounding of running feet...
"We can't stay here," Kari said tensely "It's too unprotected. We have to get to the complex, and far inside of it...and fast!"
"But-" TK began. Kari cut him off.
"You can't fight, TK, and I don't know how! We can't do anything but get to safety, and the sooner we do that, the better."
He couldn't argue; she was right, however much he hated to admit it.
"God, I wish I could *see*," he muttered, but followed her off of the porch and into the crowd, holding tightly to her hand...
Sora ran across the pavement, half-carrying, half-dragging the terrified Pam. She didn't see Tai anywhere, and had gotten turned around in the crush so that she wasn't sure where she was anymore. The courtyard looked by now like something from a nightmare. As they passed a burning building, Pam stumbled and fell, crying out. Sora immediately dropped to her knees next to her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm...fine..." Pam whimpered, her eyes huge, and then began to cry again. "Sora!" she wailed, hugging the older girl tightly. "Sora, I'm so scared...and I don't know what happened to my family...and I'm all alone!"
Sora swallowed. "Pam, sweetie, it's okay," she said tenderly, trying to keep a lookout for approaching Swoopmon as she comforted the girl, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Your family's fine, and they love you. You're never alone when you've got love..."
Pam looked up at her with wondering eyes.
"Really?" she sniffed. Sora nodded.
"Really," she assured her. Pam smiled tremulously, and began to get up...
The sound of a dog's frenzied barking filled the air.
"DC!" Pam shrieked, and turned to see her beloved dog, only a few meters away. The burning building they'd passed had been half destroyed by a Stinger Bomb; it looked like it had been an ammo depot, probably a major target. The yellow mutt was trapped in the wreckage of a metal shelving set, her hind leg twisted and caught in the debris. The young girl let out a happy cry, twisting out of Sora's grasp.
"Pam, no!" Sora shouted, trying to grab her, but she was too late. Pam slipped through her fingertips and plunged into the ruined building, running to throw her arms around the dog's neck as it barked frantically and tried to lick her face. Sora let out a cry of frustrated fear.
"DC, you're okay!"
"Pam, leave the dog! Get out of there!"
Pam looked up, her face set in childish resolution "No!" she shrieked. "DC..."
Sora felt her gorge rising. There was danger coming, big danger...she could feel it...
"I'm getting help!" she yelled, and turned to run. She had to find someone who could drag the girl out of there!
Before she'd gone twelve feet, there was a rumble in the sky above. Sora looked over her shoulder and saw a Swoopmon approaching fast. Something dropped from it...
"PAM!" she screamed. The twelve-year-old let out a wail of terror and ducked, wrapping her head in her arms as DC howled...
The explosion was spectacular and deafening. Sora was blown backwards a good ten feet, landing with a cry as the wind was knocked out of her. As her ears rang, the Swoopmon moved on, leaving a crater of ashes and dust behind it.
Sora slowly raised her head. "Pam..." she whispered, as tears began to run silently down her cheeks.
The depot was gone.
Tai burst into the Quonset, looking frantically around. He immediately spotted Lily, who was working her way along a line of groaning injured near the bar, cleaning wounds. The Quonset had been transformed into a sort of field hospital; Tai recognized several of his co-workers from the med ward also making their way among the rows and rows of victims that were lined up on tables and the dance floor.
Against one wall, near the stage, unmoving bodies were stacked like firewood. Not all of them looked to be in one piece. The air smelled of smoke and charred metal and the heavy burnt-popcorn stink of melted glasstic from outside, but the strongest smell was the coppery, nose-itching aroma of blood.
"Lily!"
The barkeep looked up, startled. Her eyes were tired, and her bright hair stuck to her face and neck in bedraggled strands. She reached up to push it away and left a crimson smudge across her face.
"Taichi? What're y'all doing here?"
Picking his way hurriedly through rows of wounded, some only doubtfully alive, Tai reached her side, his face haunted.
"Have you seen Sora?"
"What, that nice gal I served the pineapple malt to?" Lily said after a moment's tired thought. "No, sugar, she's not here. I'm sorry."
Tai sighed, not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. "It's all right. I'll just...Lily, what are you *doing*?"
Lily, coming toward him, seemed to have stumbled, then let out a shriek and whirled to grab a nearby barstool. She began beating at the thin air between them with all her strength. Tai might have thought she'd snapped, if it hadn't been clear from the way the barstool moved that there was something there to be beaten...
Something completely invisible.
"Lily, what's going on?!"
"Shoot it! Shoot it!" she screamed, and let out another shriek, stumbling again. Tai quickly looked down and guessed that whatever-it-was had grabbed her ankle. Lily brought the stool down with a crack that echoed through the Quonset, and there was a wet thump of something large and squishy collapsing. A glass that had been lying on its side near Lily's feet shattered, as if crushed. "Shoot-ack!"
Having turned away to get help, Tai whirled back around to see Lily being dragged backwards toward the bar, doubtless by another something. She was making faint gagging noises, and her face was beginning to turn blue as she clawed at something around her neck.
"It's choking her!" Tai shouted, wishing to high heaven he had his gun. "Somebody help!" He didn't dare go closer without a weapon; he would be no help to Lily if one of those things got him, too. Tai bit his lip, longing to do *something*! Lily was strangling; she didn't have much time-
A shot rang out, making Tai jump, and Lily collapsed to her hands and knees, gasping for breath. Behind her there was a spray of gray-blue liquid and another wet thump. Slowly, as Tai stared at the place where the oddly colored blood was now spreading into a puddle, a spongy gray shape appeared, like a mass of oily clay the size of a washing machine.
"What *is* that thing?" Tai whispered, stunned and revolted.
"A Morphmon," came a voice from behind him, and he turned to see a short, stocky woman with an orange crew cut and a stern face striding toward him, holstering her gun. "They're the ultimate spies, and matchless as assassins. I've seen them once before. This one's dead," she added, giving the one she'd shot a derisive kick. It squelched. "They only revert to their true forms when they've expired. Your friend seems to have stunned the other one."
Tai nudged the still-invisible one with his foot, and grimaced. It was not pleasant to feel something where his eyes plainly told him there was nothing but air.
"Assassins?" he said, confused. "What did they want with Lily?"
"Nothing, I'd wager," the woman said. "They were probably sent in to finish off some of these people; if they rolled over one of these folks, they'd suffocate in minutes, and the medics would probably think they'd died of their wounds and not suspect murder until a good number of victims were already dead. Most of these folks are too weak to cry out for help." She shook her head, plainly disgusted. "Picking off the wounded...it's nice to be reassured that there's a reason we're fighting these buggers. We humans may not be perfect, but these guys are filth."
"But why Lily?" Tai murmured, shooting a worried look at the barkeep. She was sitting up by now, rubbing at her throat and wincing, but apparently not too much the worse for wear. The woman shrugged.
"I doubt they intended to go after a healthy victim. She probably just bumped into one by mistake. They're programmed to kill, and they're not so stupid they'd let someone live who'd discovered them. It's lucky you were here..."
Her voice trailed off. The woman studied the 'empty' spot where the unconscious Morphmon lay for a moment, then in one swift motion drew her gun and fired a shot through it. There was a gurgling moan and more blood, and then that Morphmon faded into view as well.
Tai jumped in surprise, and glared at her. "What do you think you're doing? We could have interrogated it, or...or something!"
The woman shrugged. "They're impossible to keep prisoner. They change shape at will; it's like trying to grab a handful of air. And they're not smart enough to recognize pain as a motivator...even if they could talk, which they can't." She shook her head. "These aren't a natural species, they're a genetic experiment. A very successful one, I have to admit."
"Command won't like it!" Tai spat, still angry. The woman gave him a long, studying look.
"Don't throw around the names of your superiors, Kamiya," she said coolly. "I *am* Command. Clara MacBeth, senior officer in charge of Intelligence." She stuck out a hand to shake, with a dry smile. "A friend of yours is one of my top men. Izumi Koushiro-a real whiz kid, that one. He's one of the top three programmers in my entire department, with a good chance at becoming number one...with some practice. He's on Communications Team presently, unless I'm going senile."
Tai stared.
"You're Command? I don't remember seeing you at the meetings..."
"I'm the one who attends via comm," MacBeth said with a grin. "I'm far too busy to have time for attending bothersome things like meetings in person. So, are you going to shake my hand or just stand there with your jaw dislocated?"
Tai snapped his mouth shut, looking sheepish, and shook her hand.
"You'll be searching for your friend Takenouchi?" MacBeth said. Tai frowned.
"How did you-"
"I'm in charge of Intelligence," MacBeth dryly reminded him. "It pays to be on top of things...and by 'things' I mean 'everything'. Go on, then. I saw her on my way over; she was heading toward Ammunition Depot Y-73, with a little girl in tow. I'll take care of your friend here," she added, moving toward Lily.
"Are you sure?" Tai asked, already raring to go but hesitant to leave without permission.
"Head out, soldier," MacBeth said with a firm nod and a tight grin. "Official orders." Her wristcomm beeped, and she looked down at it and grimaced. "And you might want to step on it," she said darkly. "According to my sources, Ammo Depot Y-73 just got blown to hell."
Tai ran.
Missy fired off another string of ammo and whooped as a pair of Swoopmon blew into shrapnel. The insect Digimon were like enormous craneflies, their abdomens bloated into globelike ammo wells big enough to hold a person, their tails curled under their bellies and mounted at the tip with quad-guns that spat coherent green light. They were mostly metal, and easy to blow up; you just had to hit the ammo well, and they went off like Roman candles.
A sound behind her made Missy freeze, and she let her guns fall silent, turning her chair to look into the tube-shaped hallway.
Geri stood there, a darkly pleased look on his face.
"Hello, Missy," he said with an unpleasant smile. "I told your cousin you'd pay for your insolence."
Missy stared at him. "My insolence? I'll give you insolence, you filthy little..." Her voice trailed off. "What are you doing just wandering around? Why aren't you helping? And...what do you mean, we'd 'pay'?"
Geri grinned.
"Somebody had to shut down the shields," he said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "Say goodbye to the Project, Misube."
"You...you..." Missy sputtered, for once in her life unable to come up with a word strong enough for the situation. "You filth-sucking, miserable..."
Geri snorted. "Speechless, I see. Enjoy your little games, and your little friends, while they last. It won't be long now..."
Missy snapped. Launching herself from her seat with a wordless shriek of rage, she slammed her fist into the ratty little man with all her might. He squawked and stumbled out of the turret, hitting the wall out in the hallway with a smack as Missy landed a kick in the middle of his chest. Gasping, he limped across the hallway toward the door out, trying weakly to escape. Missy followed him at a close distance, like a furious cat playing with a mouse, her fists raised to attack again as rage burned in her heart...
"Keep going!" Davis yelled over the sound of gunfire as he and Yuki ducked around a corner. "We're almost there..."
She caught her breath, successfully fighting down her panic.
"We're making it!" she gasped, half unbelieving. A Swoopmon buzzed overhead, and she flattened against the wall, Davis following suit next to her. It passed, and they kept going.
"Just across this square," Davis gasped, pulling her by the hand. He had assumed the role of leader on the short journey, but Yukiko was holding her own with surprising strength.
*Of course, she's on Strike Team,* he thought. *It's no wonder she's...* His thoughts froze as he saw a silver projectile shooting toward them. *A Stinger Bomb!*
"Yuki, duck!" he yelled, and shoved her aside. They fell to the ground, Davis shielding them both. The Stinger Bomb shot overhead, and plowed into a building several meters away, making the ground roll beneath them with the detonation. They lay there for a minute, listening to the crackle of the newest fire among many, unhurt but stunned. Then Yuki opened her tightly closed eyes, staring up at Davis.
"You saved my life..." she whispered. He shrugged, sitting up.
"Don't mention it...I saved mine, too, remember? C'mon, we've got to get inside before more of those things come our way." He got to his feet and gave her a hand up, and they ran into the building nearby.
Pushing through a cluster of shouting medics, Tai spotted a form curled up on the ground near a smoldering wreck of a building. He let out a cry of instant recognition, and shoved past a group of running men to fall to his knees next to her.
"Sora! Sora, are you okay?" he said quickly, his chest tight. "Say something!"
She stirred, looking up at him with tears pouring down her face.
"Tai..." she whispered, and choked back a sob.
"Sora, what is it?" Tai said, wiping her cheeks. She couldn't answer. He shook his head. "Stupid question..." A hum-buzz caught his ear, and he looked up to see a trio of Swoopmon looping down toward them.
"Oh, shit! C'mon!" he said, leaping to his feet and grabbing her hand. Sora jumped up, too, shaking tears from her face, and followed him at a shaky run. The Stingmon came closer and closer, as more and more people joined their desperate flight.
Sora stumbled, half-blinded with tears, but Tai caught her and kept her going, literally dragging her along until she got her feet under her again. She gasped and panted, unused to running so fast, for so long.
"Hang in there," Tai said in her ear, trying to be encouraging. "Sora, come on...you can make it, just run a little farther and we'll be at the complex doors, come on...I know you can do it!"
Sora looked up at him, her legs suddenly feeling stronger, her face tearstained and dirty and beautiful as anything.
"Tai..." she whispered, her eyes shining.
"Sora," he said in return, and the whispered names said it all.
Then the man on their left jostled roughly into Sora, throwing her feet from under her. Tai lost his grip on her arm, shouting in horror as she fell beneath the feet of the fleeing crowd. She came back into view as they passed her by, struggling to get back to her feet as the Swoopmon came ever closer...
Yelling her name, Tai tried to backpedal, but the crowd was too closely packed now, carrying him along, dragging him away. He swore viciously, shoving and pushing the people around him as he fought to reach her.
Sora got to her feet, began to run-
And then, they were upon her. Time seemed to slow as Tai watched, still fighting the mob...
The lead Swoopmon took aim, fired...
A small silver-white projectile shot from the thing's tail, unlike anything Tai had ever seen, and sped toward Sora, who was still running and didn't see it...she was so close that he could see the fear in her eyes as the projectile hit her between the shoulder blades in a spray of blood, with a sound like a tent stake punching into wet sand. She went down instantly, her legs buckling beneath her, hitting the ground with a thud that seemed to strike Tai like a physical blow. He let out a scream.
"SORA!!!"
And then the Swoopmon was over her, a door opening in its abdomen, picking up her inert form in its spindly legs and shooting up into the air. Tai watched in horror, along with the rest of the people in the frozen crowd.
Another explosion almost drowned out the sound of Tai's heart breaking...
Looking out the window, Geri grinned harshly.
"I think you just lost one of your precious friends," he wheezed, his eyes alight. "The plan's finished now, you know. No matter what you do, you're all dead now..."
Missy didn't understand this, but she understood the sight of Sora's body being spirited away perfectly well. She let out a hiss.
"You monster!!!" she screamed, and leaped forward, putting all of her strength into a blow to his face that would have downed a Leomon. As it connected, there was a crunch of bone, and Geri reeled backward, hitting the glasstic window with a shattering crash and plunging down into the darkness, shrieking all the way.
Missy stood exhausted in the hallway, breathing in gasps, her shoulders slumped, arms hanging limp at her sides.
"There," she whispered, gazing out the broken window at the beginnings of a blood-red sunrise. *Red sky by morning, sailors take warning,* she thought, and spat scornfully out the window after the vanished man.
"It's a little late for that," she muttered, and turned to go to the med ward, her right hand cradled in her left arm.
Behind her, the Swoopmon began to peel away, following their fellow into the sky to hover unmoving over the Project Headquarters...
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Coming soon- Chapter 12: Heartstrings
(AN) So, got you worried? *grins* Stupid question, I know. But don't worry, you've been doing so well with your reviews that I'll try to have the next chapter up by this Sunday. (That's fast for me, as you've probably figured out by now.)
Speaking of that, this fic is now indubitably my Most Reviewed Work! Not bad, ne? I have to tell you, that cheered me up. I've had the flu since yesterday, but logging on to a bunch of new reviews is definitely a big cheer-up! Arigatou gozaimasu, minna-san! (Thanks so much, everyone!) -Bandit O_o