Disclaimer: I own nothing from Digimon.

Author's Note: So here goes the classic A/N before the story. This is my first attempt writing a Frontier fic. I personally ask you readers to help me through our wonderful reading journey. Meaning I want constructive criticism, comments, questions-anything that I need work on. Just don't cuss at me, I find people to be immature like that. I know you can review without cussing, unlike some certain others. FYI: I put in (parentheses) after certain phrases so you'll understand exactly what they mean. Forgot to say, this is an Alternate Universe. Still debating whether or not the rating will remain PG-13 or increase to R in the future.

Trapped in the Core

By: Lady Lara Croft

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-1- Too Late

February 17, 2013

5:05 PM

His dark blue eyes were fixed on the windshield before him as he situated himself comfortably in a black and white vehicle. With the windows rolled down, the wind licked his black hair causing it to fluctuate energetically. A strand of hair whipped against his cheek but took no notice of it. He was in deep thought that he was unable to hear the other voice adjacent to him. His thoughts were cloaked in past life experiences, reminiscing about his twin brother. It had been so long since he last saw him and spent good quality time together. Abruptly, his thoughts switched to a rather personal matter he conjured up. Finally, he felt a nudge on his right arm as he snapped out of his eternal trance.

He turned his head slightly to the right. "What is it?" he quizzed him.

"I asked what you were thinking," the driver who owned the voice replied, casually returning his glance back to the road, avoiding the incident of a crash course collision.

"Nothing really. I was just…resting my mind," he answered as he gave half a smile.

The other man shook his head in disagreement. "I know you better than that Kouji. Something's troubling you, am I right?"

He hesitated for a minute before answering him. He didn't have to tell him word for word what made up his thought. In fact, he had his own right not to tell anyone anything. But the person who had spoken before him had not only been his colleague for the past two years, yet also his friend, support, and comfort.

"I was just…thinking…." Kouji's voice trailed off as he caught a glimpse of kids running after each other outside. How he had wished he was a kid again who enjoyed playing in the hot sun and talking with friends. But that was all over now. He was a grown man.

"Yeah? Thinking about what kiddo?" curious, the other man said.

"If I had made the best decision entering the police force," spoke Kouji, letting out a sigh that could have out-weighed an anvil. The inclination has not fully attracted his attention until this very day.

The other man chuckled and again shook his head in astonishment. "You know, I half expected you to say that on your first day. But now?" he took a quick glance at his friend and continued, "Now that it had been two full years did you only think about it? I find that quite amusing actually. I must say, over the course of two years, you've highly progressed each and everyday I watched and worked with you. Heck, the Chief even says you're his best guy out of anyone."

"How thoughtful Lance. I'll keep that in mind."

Lance, at the age of twenty-six, four years older than Kouji, was a man of medium built who was twice the size of Kouji with green eyes, brown hair and a casual attitude, scoffed at Kouji's answer. "Don't let that get in your head too much. Wouldn't want to start competing with my partner."

"I'm on for a competition if you so much pleased," Kouji chuckled and relaxed after their brief conversation. When he was only twenty years old, he thought about the many possibilities for his professional career-lawyer, manager, business associate, salesman, etc. In the beginning he believed he would have been someone who wore pressed suits carrying a briefcase that worked in a multi-million company. But his concept proved him very wrong. He got more than he bargained for and it was going to change his life he never expected.

He met Lance, who introduced himself as Police Sergeant Lance Inaei, at a coffee shop just outside his apartment and kicked up a conversation. Kouji asked his newly found police friend the joys and risks of being an officer. That simple, nonchalant discussion triggered his interest in the particular career of criminal law. Thus ending up in Sendai Headquarters, the Northern Police District at the age of twenty. It was strange how those two strangers visibly connected, when back then, it was a bit hard for Kouji to make friends. But time does pass, and eventually everything does change.

"D-ranger signal 44J, do you copy?" Kshhk! (D-ranger a robbery just occurred. Did you get that?)A voice, which collided with static, from Lance's BC radio emitted as he made a left turn at Weiyu Avenue. It was the Dispatcher.

He picked up the receiver as he drove the car with one hand and pressed his thumb atop the radio. "10-4, I copy." Kshhk! (All clear. I received it.)

Kshhhk! "Reported robbery over at Shiku Street, targeted-Central Bank. Break--" Kshhk!

"I copy. Signal thirteen Central Bank." Kshhk! (I received it. Check address for Central Bank)

Kshhhk! "723 southbound Shiku Street. Break—"

"10-4. I'm en route to Shiku Street in three. Signal eight code seven. Over and out." (All clear. I'm going to or I'll be there in three minutes. Send backups. End of transmission.) answered Lance who blasted the siren as the car sped past many vehicles.

"Well now, this shouldn't be too hard. We've handled something like this before," Kouji commented as he took out his pistol and reloaded it with a fresh clip.

Kshhk! "D-ranger. Code eleven." Kshhk! (I've arrived on the seen) Upon arriving, they quickly hopped out of the car and proceeded with caution towards the entrance. They crouched as Lance opened the door, careful not to alarm the robbers; they were a bit surprised when all they perceived were people on the ground. Where were the robbers? Kouji crawled behind the right desk while Lance crawled on the left. Employees and customers hugged the ground in fear. Two parents held onto their two children near the entrance.

Kouji peeked to the side who witnessed two robbers with guns drawn that just walked out from the bank register, their arms hooked from under the neck of the two hostages. They wore a typical black "bandit" outfit, their face hidden by the black mask. Both of them were fully equipped with Uzis, AK-47s and several handguns. Lance saw a third man over at the vault loading his brown sack with all the cash he could get, but he only had a single Uzi on him.

Only three… no, this must be a trap. There's always more than three when robbing a bank; after all, it is a risky business and someone needs a car get away. Then again, what isn't risky these days? Kouji thought as he signaled over to Lance for an action plan.

"This is the police! Let the hostages go and drop your guns!" Lance yelled from the desk.

The two culprits whipped their attention over to the voice's direction. They laughed and sarcastically answered a "No". "Let them go or we'll shoot!" yelled Kouji, as he took one more peek.

"Sorry! Access denied!" the first robber shot back firing at the desk Lance was hiding from. The people on the floor screamed and the first robber fired again, this time to the ceiling.

"How are you today? My name is Ishiro," introduced the first robber with great ridicule. "This over here, is Mr. Sheiko, he's a good friend of mine," Ishiro said as he 'proudly' introduced the second robber.

After their 'unexpected' intro, Lance gave Kouji the single nod; he aimed at Sheiko, careful not to hit the hostage at any cause. Kouji's gun was ready to spit death when suddenly several exchange of gunfire came from behind. He looked back and saw a fourth robber shooting back with Lance. But he heard Sheiko's hostage scream and triggered his gun.

At the moment of releasing the bullet, Sheiko quickly shielded himself with his hostage as it entered the hostage's heart chamber. The female victim fell to the ground without as much as a whisper. "Damn it! Shit!" spoke Kouji disappointedly. He had no intention of killing a civilian and he knew this is going to cost him. He had to act fast.

He heard Lance order him to take cover as Ishiro took out his sub-machine gun, knocking his own hostage with the Uzi butt, and blasting the papers on the desk. Kouji left his hiding place and followed the trail of more desk, ducking. He exchanged fires with the two robbers.

Meanwhile, the robber responsible for the money evaded the bullets as he ran out the door.

"Give it up cops!" the second robber said as he picked up another hostage. He trained the gun on his new hostage's temple, likewise with the first robber, proceeding to leave the Bank.

Damn! Why are there no back ups? Kouji pondered. "This is K Minamoto, do you copy? We have signal fifty and code 44P. (We have shooting and robbery in progress) We need those damn back ups!" he angrily said as he pressed on his own radio. "We are out numbered! We have a 10-56D hostage! I repeat: 10-56D hostage! (We have a deceased/dead hostage)"

Ksshhk! "En route in five. Second report received- billionaire Tony Vaux's daughter abducted. Given the apologies, all cops should be there now. Over and out."

"Shit! Damn Vaux hogging all the cops!" Kouji said.

"Hey there, Mr. Officer! I know you are hiding from us. Let me tell you this. If you don't show yourself, with your guns put away, we will shoot these two targets! One hostage already died. I guess that's a real sad thing to be filed in your record isn't it?" Ishiro and Sheiko screamed as they slowly paced themselves nearing the door.

"Do as we say!" the fourth man, whom Lance had been exchanging fires, yelled. Kouji stood up, his weapon holstered, so did Lance with his hands in the air. The fourth robber, also known as their get away, made sure his two colleagues made it out safely. Kouji snaked his hand towards his gun, as the last robber saw this he shot Lance twice.

"Nooo!!" Kouji yelled, drawing his gun and firing at the fourth robber before he collapsed to the ground. He rushed quickly to Lance's aid, but life had been taken from him. Outside, loud sirens approached, Kouji looked at the clock above the vault: 5:30 PM. They were too late.

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Chief Superintendent's Office

6:45 PM

Kouji Minamoto threw back his head as he sat on a chair waiting to hear Chief Superintendent's agitating words. He recalled the unfortunate event that took place an hour and fifteen minutes earlier.

It was my fault. I shouldn't have made that awful move. I should be the one dead right now, not Lance. He was the best partner I've ever had. He showed me the ropes from the first day I stepped into his office. He was a good man and his death should not be in vain. He was more than a partner- he was a true friend, he was also like a brother to me. In fact, Lance was the only person I was able to get along well enough with, in this place at least, he thought as he slammed the bottom of his fist against the rest of the chair.

"No need to get riled up," a raspy voice said from behind. Startled, Kouji spun his head and stood up as Chief Superintendent Ishinabe past him reaching his seat in front of the younger man. They bowed and both retreated to their seat.

The Chief took out a folder from his desk drawer and placed it on the surface. It was faded yellow with an inch stack of paper in it. He pulled himself closer to the desk, folding his hands together. Kouji waited for the Chief to talk; he was long ready for whatever came out of his mouth.

"This here," his forefinger tapped on the folder, "is your record. I pulled it out, since that…unpleasant incident occurred today."

"Go on. Hit me with the bad news," replied Kouji.

"I'm taking your badge."

"Say that again?" asked Kouji dubiously. He wasn't sure what he had heard so he asked him again. "You're doing what with my badge?"

"With all due respect in addition to your 'past excellent record,' I have decided it's best to take your badge from you," the Chief said, slower this time.

Kouji was taken aback. 'Past excellent record'…yeah, until today. He rendered a big gulp, thinking how fate turned its back on him. It couldn't be happening to him. Lance said that he was the Chief's 'best guy', so why this?

"So how long is my suspension?"

"Suspension?" uttered an amused Chief, his hand rubbing his chin. "This is not a mere suspension. It's a permanent resignation. You're free to look for a new job."

"Don't tell me the commission was exclusively from you," spoke Kouji who now towered the Chief. He already felt angry but at the same time shocked from the news. After performing his best in the force all of a sudden he took a downfall. Realizing that he had taken an action that was 'unacceptable' to the Chief, he sat down and apologized.

"If you honestly want to know the reason of your resignation, then I will tell you."

"I've been waiting for you to say that. What could be worse than this?"

"The woman's family, the one whom you killed today, is suing us. Nevertheless, they also want us responsible for the funeral fee, and ask the government money for 'police error.'"

"Killed? You're accusing me of something I had no intention of doing!? D'you really think I would eliminate a hostage on the crime scene? I did what I had to do!"

The Chief looked at him and crossed his brow. Some things just got worst. He looked at the ex-cop and gestured for his badge. Kouji took it off, but before he handed it over he recalled one of Lance's advice on his first day of duty…

"You're a fresh face here, what's your name?"

"Kouji Minamoto. You're Lance right?" The other guy nodded at the question.

"Hey, just a word of advice, the Chief here isn't too happy most of the time. You know he suspends and even kicks out his best guys for no reason or for taking a wrong turn. But you know what? If you're meant to be something and do something, you always go back to it

The last phrase of Lance's sentence stuck to his mind like a leech.

"You did what you weren't supposed to! You killed a victim and our job was to protect them!"

"Just tell them the truth. I was aiming for the robber. Do you really think I am a police with no brain? Think about it. I wouldn't have become one if I didn't know what I was doing! And where was the back up team?" Kouji exhaled as he said his final word.

Both of them stood up and the Chief had lost his patience. He held out his hand for his badge. "If you will, Mr. Minamoto."

Kouji placed his hand over on Chief Superintendent's palm without taking his gaze from him, but held onto his badge for a second. "I repeat: Where was the back up team?"

"They were on their way. You knew that."

"I knew that when I had to radio the Dispatcher asking for help. You gave us authorization to commence our duty, taking out the robbers, and you didn't send us back up?! Was that a miscommunication or something?"

The Chief sighed. "We had to track down Tony Vaux's daughter. You know he'd give anything to find her."

Kouji nodded furiously, his eyes burning. "Busy enough for the millions of money he'd feed you. Is that what you're all about? They killed Lance! Have you no compassion? What happened to the other squads? Don't tell me everyone was there except the two of us? What about the nearby agencies?"

"No they weren't. They were on another call. There was a heavy factory explosion over at the southern border. And we felt we didn't need the other agency's help. It was within our district."

He didn't believe the Chief's words. Not only was he angry at the situation, he was furious at him. "Within our district or not, we're all cops and we're to respond to each other... You know, 'if you're meant to be something and do something, you always go back to it, just thought I'd let you have a piece of my mind."

He released his grip from his badge as it landed on the Chief's palms. "Let us hope your confidence will not disappoint you. You may leave my office," the Chief said.

Kouji never hesitated to stay for a minute and headed out the door with a loud effect. He thought fate just slapped the worst thing that could ever approach him. Did he deserve this after losing his friend? Obviously not, but he's unfortunate as it is at the moment.

"This couldn't be the worst now. I have a feeling there's more to come," he whispered as he walked down the street away from Sendai Headquarters.

TBC…