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!
"You always wearing a jump suit like that?" Ventra asked Jena, the two walking down the corridor side-by-side. Their Digimon trailed behind, exchanging conversation as they followed their partner. Jena nodded, keeping her senses attuned to any sort of danger.
"I'm always on my Aerial Armour...for the most part…usually don't have time to change out unless I'm taking a shower…" she answered, wondering why she was admitting so much about herself as it is. He was the enemy, and yet…here she was…telling about her life story to him.
"Life of a mercenary?" Ventra inquired, never stepping out into that domain before. He was curious, but the again, he was very curious about the mercenary who equalled his own skill in combat. "I would like it…but then…it would be harder for me to maintain my Armour."
"Yes, and I bet our battle would have been much different it we were using our own Armour's," Jena spoke, remembering her Aerial Armour back in the forest, and prayed silently no WUF patrol or personal would find it. "Speaking of which…the way you talk about your Armour, you seem to customize it…and customize it quite a bit…by the sounds of it."
"A good pilot would use as much of his Armour's potential as possible," Ventra told her in a matter-of-fact tone. Jena nodded her agreement.
"A good philosophy to remember," she spoke, the two passing one of the three hanger bays that made the small base up. She halted abruptly, her gaze falling onto an all too familiar Terra Armour. "Oh my God…it's the Armour…" she thought, staring at the ebony death that destroyed her comrades. There is stood in the hanger, carrying four gattling guns and a pair of rocket launchers…
"That's my Armour you're looking at," Ventra remarked, stepping beside her. "She's still under repair a bit…after getting a bit thrashed by an Aerial Armour not so long ago…"
"My Aerial Armour…" Jena thought, continuing to stare in disbelief at all the coincidences that could happen. She clutched her fist tightly, wishing why this had to happen to her. "First my squad…then an equal of mine…why me?"
"Jena?" Ventra asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She gasped in surprise, looking up at the Terra Armour pilot that destroyed her squad. "Are you alright? You looked like you saw a ghost…"
"I…I…I'm alright…" she stammered, trying to regain her composure. Ventra nodded, glancing back at his Armour and sighing.
"I swear…once I find the bastard who survived and did my squad in…I'm going to enjoy ripping that person apart…" he whispered, barely audible to the female pilot, but she heard, nevertheless.
A sharp pang stabbed into her back, forcing her senses to alert. She was standing beside the person who destroyed her squad…and the person who's squad was destroyed by her…both sharing death threats to each other…and still be on good terms.
"E-Excuse me…" Jena spoke quickly, departing the company of the murdered and avenger that she was just with. Kisheartmon was surprised by the reaction quickly following behind her partner after apologizing to the other pair.
"What was that about…?" Paramon asked, blinking a few times. Ventra had no idea, remaining silent towards his partner.
She blinked once, trying to find her bearings in the world of black that surrounded her form. She whimpered in fear, feeling the cold tingles of the darkness against her skin. Struggle as she might, her hands and legs were bound to the cold metal surface behind her, but she couldn't tell…the cold from the metal was the same as the cold from the darkness about.
"Ah…my pretty…you are awake…" a voice echoed in the dark, scaring her. Once more, the female whimpered, testing the binds again, and breaking it to no avail.
"W-what do you want?" the prisoner asked shakily, unable to hold back her own fear. She closed her eyes, but that only led to more darkness to haunt her. Her eyes quickly snapped back open, unable to calm herself at all in this prison.
"Just you…" the voice answered, plainly at first. "Your body…your mind…your soul…what makes you…" the voice grew softer and more evil with each item listed off, making the female captive tremble even more with each passing remark.
"W-Why…?" she asked, barely able to muster the courage needed to ask that lone question.
"You have something very important that I want…" was the reply, just as evilly, even sadistically. "And I will have it…" Once more, the female whimpered, trying to curl up closer to herself in protection to no avail. The soft hissing of machinery awakened her senses, her eyes darting around to determine the source.
She screamed out in pain as sharp steel impaled against her body, forcing gushes of blood to emerge from her captive body…
Sapphire quickly bolted up right, breathing hard, gasping for air, her hand falling over her chest, then to her stomach. She felt nothing, no scar, not even blood. She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back against the rock walls they took shelter in. Her arms instinctively wrapped around her body, shivering from the small breeze that came into the cave.
"It was just a nightmare…that's all…" the former gladiator thought, silently hefting her weapon from the ground and stepping towards the entrance of the cave. Her steps were so light Siato didn't realize Sapphire was behind him until she was latterly right behind him.
"S-Sapphire!" the other former gladiator gasped in surprise, but kept his voice down so that he would not awaken their Digimon partner. "What are you doing awake?"
"I came here to replace you as a sentry," she whispered, gripping her weapon tightly. Siato shook his head, though it was hard to see through the darkness that ensnared them.
"It's alright…you already were a sentry earlier in the night…I'll take it till morning," the male responded, trying to give Sapphire some time to rest. He softly pushed the female back into the depths of the cave, but she protested silently, remaining firm on her ground. The other sighed, making room on the rock he sat on so that Sapphire may be seated as well. She took the offer graciously.
"You should get some rest," Sapphire told her counterpart, positioning her weapon into the ground.
"So should you," was the response from Siato, keeping an eye on the distance as best as possible, lowering his twin axes against the rocks that made the entrance of the shelter. Sapphire giggled at the thought, knowing she was being hypocritical. However, the guise of laughter was replaced with something much more serious. Siato identified it almost instantly. "What's wrong?"
Sapphire opened her mouth to respond, but decided against it, quickly closing it and remaining silent for a few moments. "It's nothing…" she answered after a bit. Siato regarded his companion for a moment, deciding not to pursue that subject, but another.
"You should get some rest," he repeated what his companion said, trying to get her to relax. She shook her head, smiling at the challenge.
"So should you."
Ventra quickly suited up into his Armour, the alert passing through the base quickly of an imminent attack. Sensors and scouts reported UDF Armour's approaching the area quickly. He didn't like getting up in the morning like that, but he would enjoy thrashing some of those UDF Armour's, especially if that certain Armour he saw from his previous encounter returned for another round.
"Paramon, status!" he ordered through his communication device, doing a quick pre-combat test before heading towards the entrance of the hanger.
"Armour's are being mobilized!" his Digimon reported, albeit with a bit of static. "Units have already engaged the enemy, but more keep on coming. No serious causalities as of yet."
"Good," the pilot answered, seeing the flares of fire and the hail of bullets that spewed across the base he was assigned to. He smirked, quickly turning the corner of hanger door and opening fire against the contingent of Armour's who dared try to attack his base. Paramon watched from inside the hanger, safe from the hail of fire and return fire as he continued to monitor Ventra's progress. The lizard Digimon, however, got a strange idea that he would be needed in this battle…somehow…
Jena stood at the entrance of the hanger, gripping the door frame tightly with her hands as she watched Armour's move out to engage her allies in combat. Kisheartmon was by her side, also watching the fray unfold before them.
"They're attacking without reconnaissance…" Jena spoke softly, though something else distracted her thought from her mission. The ebony death that slaughtered her squad was there, fighting with the cover of the hanger by his side. From that point, he continued to slaughter her allies, unleashing a storm of bullets and a hail of missiles and rockets alike. The Aerial Armour pilot felt so confused now…
"What are they doing attacking now?" the bird Digimon asked her partner, but there was no response. Jena's gaze was too intent on the Terra Armour that destroyed her mates before, and destroyed her mates now…and yet…she didn't feel complete hatred for that boy who piloted the armour…instead…she was confused…bitterly confused…
GS spied the pair of Humans by the cave entrance near the mountain side. The 'sun' was slowly raising, returning the faint orange glow to the sky that didn't seem to feel like sun, but how should he know? He never felt what real sun was like, let alone anyone else in his generation. The scope was focused on the male and female pair, their weapons on the ground or against the wall, but even if they did have them, they were melee weapons: no way to hit the sniper.
"But where are your Digimon partners?" the mercenary asked quietly, trying to scan deeper into the cave to no avail. GS didn't care though, sooner or later, the targets would need to start moving again, and when they do, he would take care of the pair of Digimon that travelled with them.
"The waiting game?" Amnemon asked, hiding beside the Armour as they scouted out their prey. When GS didn't answer, the hedgehog Digimon knew the answer. He decided to make himself comfortable, knowing how long his partner can remain stationary to catch the targets…
Ventra leaned back against the hanger wall of the base, feeling bullets bounce off the armour plating that made the structure. He exhaled, keeping his back to the wall while waiting for an opening to strike once more. He saw many of his comrades fall already, and he knew himself he destroyed plenty of those who attacked, but the battle raged on and on…
"There's no end to this…" the Terra Armour pilot muttered, quickly rounding the corner once more and about to open fire with his weapons.
Or he would've, until a rocket slammed right into his Armour body. The pilot cried out in pain and panic as he toppled over from the blow, taken completely by surprise.
"Ventra!" the pilot heard his Digimon partner scream into the com, the young teen trying to regain his bearings after the blow. His eyes focused back to reality, seeing another missile coming towards him full speed. He quickly raised his cannon arm, using the quad gattling gun arm as a shield from the attack.
The explosion sent his Armour flying backwards even more, leaving a deep trail in the ground below him. Ventra shook the dizziness from his head, ejecting his now useless cannons onto the ground and slowly getting back to his feet, or try to before the next rocket came.
Another rocket came in his direction, this time forcing evasive actions on Ventra's part. He quickly leaped left, using the now unbalanced weighting of his Armour to help carry him. With the lessened weight now, he made quite a jump. In the air, he aimed quickly with the pair of missile launchers and fired at his target, opening up with a pair of target specific homing missiles. The two rockets directed at him impacted at where he was laying before, the explosion sending him flying even farther to the left then he thought, rolling him once before he landed flat on his face.
"Ugh…" the pilot muttered, but getting satisfaction on hearing the explosions in the distance that marked his ordinance hitting home. Even so, the pilot didn't enjoy being a sitting duck out in the open, so he decided for a tactical retreat with cover fire from his companions.
Setting his pair missile launchers on full spread, he quickly rolled back onto this front and pointed his weapon blindly into the direction of fire, unloading every single rocket and missile in his weapon. Shafts of explosive weapons ripped through the sky and towards the line of attackers. The first missile detonated when the last missile was launched. Quickly, Ventra ejected his missile launchers, making a mad dash back into the hanger for some cover, and hopefully to re-arm.
The ground in front of him detonated in a hail of fire as he was knocked back down. Ventra once more shook the dizziness from his head, noticing his backup was shot, probably destroyed or disabled. He was surprised his salvo of rockets didn't keep the enemy down any longer then that, but then thought that this one rocket was fired while he fired his own.
"Damn…" Ventra muttered, getting knocked onto his back, stunned. He didn't exactly enjoying being like that without any weapons at all. The pilot was about to manoeuvre to get up, but was promptly shoved back onto the ground with a steel foot of another Armour against he chest.
"Ugh!" he groaned, looking up at the Gaia Armour above him, pinning him down with an assault rifle in its arms. "I guess I missed a spot…" Ventra joked seriously.
"Damn you…Terra Armour…" the Gaia Armour pilot hissed through his intercom, keeping the assault rifle trained on the defenceless Terra Armour. "You're going to pay for blasting all my buddies…"
"And you're going to pay for blasting all of mine…" Ventra retorted, but knew he was in now position to be threatening anyone, especially with an assault rifle to his head.
"You first…" was the response from his opponent, about to press the trigger of his rifle.
"HEAT ROLL!"
Searing heat in the form of a large fireball slammed right into the back of the Gaia Armour, forcing it off balance and tumbling forward. It landed on the ground with a thud, as the fireball that made the attack leaped back and uncurled, revealing the lizard form that made Paramon who he was.
"Paramon!" Ventra exclaimed in surprise, not seeing his partner getting involved in such combat before. The lizard Digimon nodded slowly, huffing.
"Damn Digimon!" the Gaia Armour cried out, kicking Paramon with the full force of its leg, despite being on the ground. He didn't fall that far away from Ventra.
"AAH!" the Digimon cried out, flying backwards and slamming right into the side of the hanger. The force of the blow left a large dent in the side as Paramon slowly slid down, dazed.
"Paramon!" Ventra shouted out again, anger over taking him. He quickly turned his focus towards the Gaia Armour, and did something unprecedented to any other Terra Armour pilot.
The pilot leaped onto the opposing Gaia Armour, much to the surprise of the Armour as he was about to finish Paramon off from a shot of his rifle. The bullet went wide and ricocheted off the hanger wall as the two Armours rolled across the ground.
"Damn you!" Ventra screamed out, getting on top of the Gaia Armour and slamming a fist into the face of it. He heard a cry of pain from his opponent, ready to jam another fist into the armoured mask if weren't for a strong kick from the Gaia Armour's part, sending Ventra up and then back down with a thud. In the next moment, the Gaia Armour towered over Ventra, assault rifle primed and ready.
"Christ…" the pilot muttered, levelling the weapon towards Ventra. "Even you should know a Terra Armour isn't made for melee combat…crazy bastard…"
"Shut up…" Ventra hissed between his teeth, not moving from his position on the ground. His gaze fell onto Paramon, who was now standing again and watching the final moments of his partner.
"VENTRA!!" the Digimon screamed out, overtaken by energy from unknown sources, his form slowly beginning to change. In response to all this, Ventra's Digivice, even inside the Armour, began to glow, blinding his opponent temporally.
"Paramon…Digivolve to…"
Limbs and appendages grew in size as the bronze armour around Paramon melted away. In turn, the previous lizardman like appearance of Paramon was replaced with a dragon whelp like shape that was only so much taller then the original form. Bronze anklets and wristbands replaced the armour he used to wear.
"Pardramon!"
"What the hell?!" the Gaia Armour pilot exclaimed, turning his attention away from Ventra completely and to the new Digimon that stood before them. Not asking any more questions, he aimed towards the dragon whelp Digimon before him.
"INFERNO ROLL!"
Much like its predecessor, Pardramon curled up into a ball, flames engulfing his body in a spherical formation. The sphere was much larger then his previous self, and the speed was just as fast, if not faster, then the prior. Before the Gaia Armour could fire, Pardramon was already upon him, crashing full force with his enflamed body and sending the two toppling. They rolled briefly before the Digimon whelp pinned the Armour on the ground.
"FAIA BLAST!"
The dragon whelp let out a large point blank blast of fire. The torrent of flames did nothing to the lizard Digimon of his own elements, but for the Gaia Armour, it lit up the inside like an oven. In a matter of seconds, the Gaia Armour fell limp, the pilot inside either passing out or boiled to death in his own protection. Pardramon huffed, leaping off the Armour and glancing back at Ventra.
The Terra Armour pilot only stared in disbelief, unable to articulate anything, let alone question what just happened in the last two minutes of battle between Digimon and Human…
Completed: 11/20/01
